Chapter 75

The task of peeling was quite difficult.

It took two of us nearly 20 minutes to peel it.

And yet, there were only two barites, and the rest were all pebbles.

What a poor yield.

Goodie was embarrassed, but decided to share them one by one.

Oh.

Let me get back to Goodie's story.

At first, he was fighting the Rock Worms normally.

But because there were too many, they all had to run away.

He, being the slowest, was left behind.

What a misfortune.

Moving while leading monsters is also called a train, and it is essentially as malicious as PK behavior.

Intentionally doing this and pushing a swarm of monsters onto other players is called MPK.

I didn't know that.

Is it okay to say that travel shame is to be discarded?

Reflecting on my past gameplay, there is something that concerns me.

The opponents were the kind who engaged in PK behavior, but wasn't inciting the Evil Ants also like MPK?

That's dangerous.

Summoning monsters is dangerous.

It seems that their party didn't have the option to run away at first.

Perhaps they thought it was fine since there were few other players in this map.

Goodie's anger seems to be turning into sadness.

The five party members he teamed up with, though not fixed members, were people he had teamed up with several times.

That's why being abandoned was such a shock.

Hmm.

I wonder how I should approach him.

So I decided to bring up the topic of the future.

"So, what do you plan to do from here?"

"I'll go back. It's tough to get through the southern cave alone."

"Wouldn't it be a waste to die after being saved?"

"I guess I have no choice but to accept it."

I see.

You're a tough kid.

"I'm exploring this map too, but how about we travel together for a while? It's too early to go back."

"Huh?"

"It's fine. I have a plan."

That's right.

If we team up, we can use Return Home to jump straight to the front of the master's house from here.

But it's only noon.

It would be a waste to go back when we came here to explore this map.

Goodie intended to spend time recovering with potions, but that would take too long.

With the continuous effect of Fire Heal, he had recovered to about 50%, but he was still uneasy.

I cast Earth Heal and Light Heal in succession to recover him to about 90%.

He was only embarrassed.

Since I've already taken care of him this much, I decided to take care of him thoroughly.

"So, which direction did your companions run?"

"Ah! Wait a moment!"

Goodie started walking in the direction he had been running.

Immediately, Helix took off and gained altitude.

Where are they?

It might not be bad to chase them.

How to coordinate with Goodie.

He was too embarrassed to team up with the Union.

"That would be like repaying a benefactor with ingratitude."

That's what he said.

It's probably because it would be advantageous for him in terms of experience points.

But if I put him in my party, it would be unfair to him.

It's quite a dilemma.

We decided to travel together but remain as separate parties.

It didn't take long to find the five people who seemed to be his companions.

They were in a suspicious area that looked like an area portal.

In the center of a bowl-shaped area, there was a huge stone.

It was hard to see from the ground, but I could clearly see such a place.

Let's go check it out.

I arrived at the bowl-shaped area.

The five people I was looking for were around the stone.

But something was wrong.

They were fighting monsters.

Three of them were already lying on the ground.

"Goodie, are these definitely your companions?"

"Yes."

The situation was clearly unfavorable for them.

While we were talking, the remaining two were being burned by flames.

One of them stopped moving.

The last one was being attacked by two monsters.

He was swinging his spear to drive them away, but it wasn't very effective.

In a moment, his green marker disappeared.

"They seem to have been wiped out."

"Yes."

"Didn't you have a lot of complaints to make?"

"Yes. I wanted to know what their true intentions were."

Indeed.

But I obtained valuable information.

These are the event monsters of this area portal.

Even from a distance, it's clear that they have fire attributes.

The distance is too far for [Identification] to work, but that's enough.

Following the previous pattern, they are probably spirits.

And they look like birds.

In that case, I should switch out Slime Rig.

He seems to have a terrible affinity with fire.

I returned Rig and summoned Kuki.

I want to rely on his bow and arrows.

What about Senki?

He might struggle against a bird.

I still have plenty of MP.

Even if I switch and summon, I can maintain 70% of my MP bar.

I returned Senki and summoned Obsidian.

I could see the human soul on top of the stone.

"Shall we go?"

"Huh?"

"Are you coming with me? You can wait here if you want."

"Are you going to fight that?"

"Yeah. You can watch from nearby if you want."

Well, what will you do?

I have a chance of winning since I have some information about the opponent.

But Goodie wouldn't know that.

"It's fine. I can win."

Saying that, I started walking towards the stone.

I slowly approached, casting spells one after another.

Resist Fire on everyone.

Enchanted Weapon on everyone.

The event started at that moment.

"Traveler."

"We are the markers."

"We are the puppets."

"We are the jesters."

"If you wish to unseal this great rock, you must undergo a trial."

"Pass the trial, and we will unseal the great rock and guide you."

Of course, I chose "Yes" to proceed with the event.

Come on!

Bird-shaped monsters were emerging from the surface of the rock.

There were two of them.

No, in this case, two birds.

They were beautiful when seen up close.

They seemed to be enveloped in fire.

There was no mistaking it.

They were probably fire spirits.

[Identification] revealed this opponent.

Resurrected Fire Spirit Phoenix Pup, Level 4

Event Monster ???

Hmm.

Phoenix?

Isn't it a fire bird?

This might be bad.

There's nothing to do but try.

Helix and Obsidian flew up and attacked the monsters.

Kuki and I also ran on the ground and approached the monsters.

A ball of fire was shot from the monster.

It exploded at my feet.

At the same time, the surroundings were enveloped in flames.

Naturally, I took the hit.

There was damage, but Resist Fire was working.

It wasn't a big deal.

But I can't keep taking hits in succession.

I moved out of the area enveloped in flames and approached the monster.

"Kehehe!"

I could hear Kuki's cry.

He seemed to be excited.

An arrow was stuck in the monster's torso.

Damage was being dealt to the monster's HP bar.

But there was more.

The monster, which was trying to fly, froze for a moment.

The monster turned its head to face Kuki.

It seemed to be distracted from me.

I attacked the monster.

It would be troublesome if it started flying around.

The first target is simple.

To prevent it from flying.

"Water Needle!"

I cast the attack spell at close range and grabbed its wings.

I intended to prevent it from flying by mounting its torso.

But there was an unexpected event.

Just touching it caused damage.

It was hot.

Resist Fire was working, but I was still taking gradual damage.

I hit the torso regardless.

What about the monster's HP bar?

It was decreasing.

But it was gradually recovering.

What is this?

Is it like the continuous recovery effect of Fire Heal or the effect of a recovery pill?

How troublesome.

The monster tried to attack me with its beak.

I could barely grab its head and neck to prevent it from attacking.

Suddenly, the monster stopped moving.

Its neck was cleanly cut off.

Kuki had severed the monster's neck with his scythe.

"Kehe"

But Kuki didn't stop.

He continued to attack the base of the wings.

Huh?

The monster's HP bar still had nearly half left.

The severed head of the monster disappeared.

At the same time, the head was regenerating.

Really?

Is this possible for a spirit?

Honestly, it's disgusting.

Following Kuki's example, I concentrated my attacks on the wings.

I stepped on it and pulled hard.

The wing was torn off, dealing considerable damage.

It was surprisingly doable.

The wing gradually disappeared.

A new wing was regenerating at the torn spot.

The head had fully regenerated and was facing me.

But Kuki severed the neck again.

Finally, the monster's HP bar stopped regenerating.

What about the other one?

There were objects flying around in the air, entangled with each other.

Red and green markers were moving rapidly.

Helix and Obsidian were fighting well despite taking damage.

The monster's HP bar was already down to 20%.

The monster fell to the ground.

I could see Obsidian's talons on the wings.

Nice.

I dashed, but Kuki had already attacked the monster.

The monster's head flew off again.

But I couldn't finish it off.

Helix attacked the monster's back with its beak and finally finished it off.

Hmm.

Good teamwork.

I was the least active.

"Great job."

Goodie looked somewhat dazed.

Is something wrong?

"I've seen arena battles, but this isn't the way a mage fights, is it?"

"Is it?"

I'm used to this style, so I don't mind.

Helix and Obsidian didn't fully recover with potions.

I used the recovery spell Fire Heal to almost fully recover them.

See?

I'm using spells too.

I think this is how a summoner who uses magic should be.

Kuki fully recovered with potions.

I took too much damage.

I used potions and the recovery spell Fire Heal to recover to about 80%.

This should be enough for now.

On the wide map, this place is called the Fire Spirit Rock.

That makes sense.

It was around lunchtime, so I decided to eat.

I had bought something from a stall in the morning.

I had two meals, so I shared with Goodie.

He only had portable food.

Portable food is tasteless.

I want to enjoy meals as much as possible.

We chatted while taking a break.

I mainly listened to Goodie's story.

Kuki seemed to have climbed somewhere and was on top of the rock.

Helix was circling overhead.

Obsidian was perched on my left shoulder.

Well, half of it was complaining.

But I gained various insights from the conversation.

It turns out that a player built a camp on the south side of Remuto.

And it was a single Stonecutter.

The location is near the quarry.

I haven't even been to the quarry, so I can't confirm it on the wide map.

It doesn't seem to be a problem to reach the camp.

The problem is the dungeon formed by the cave.

It's not listed on the strategy board, but there is a hidden dungeon.

But it seems that you need to fall into a trap.

And no party has returned normally from there.

All of them have died and respawned.

It's said to be a nest of zombies and skeletons.

The cave itself is said to have bats, slimes, water spirits, and Buer Slaves.

Honestly, it seems to be a setup that female players dislike.

And the boss is Buer Guard.

It seems to summon and absorb surrounding monsters.

According to Goodie, it's tough without an area attack spell.

I don't have an area attack spell yet.

I'm not really interested anymore.

We wrapped up the conversation at a good point.

Goodie's original plan was to clear the area portal and then log out.

Otherwise, he would have died and respawned.

Goodie had brought a tent.

He was carrying about three days' worth of portable food.

He's better prepared than I am.

"Is the time okay?"

"About three hours."

No, you don't have to be that embarrassed.

It's not like I'm in a hurry to clear it.

Three hours means 3 PM in-game time.

In real life, it's past midnight, 3 AM.

It's a time when most people would be sleeping.

Thinking about it, it's clear how many people are addicted to this game.

It's strange for me to say this, but...

Oh.

"Since we're here, how about accompanying me for another two hours of exploration?"

"Huh? Aren't you going back?"

"It's fine. I have Return Home."

Goodie seemed to freeze.

I ignored it and headed west.

I want to explore the forest as much as time allows.

The main goal is to hunt orcs.

Main Character: Keith

Race: Human, Male, Race Level 9

Class: Summoner (Summoner) Level 8

Bonus Points Remaining: 9

Set Skills:

Staff Level 7, Strike Level 5 (↑1), Kick Level 5, Joint Techniques Level 4, Throwing Techniques Level 4

Evasion Level 5, Guard Level 4, Summoning Magic Level 9, Space-Time Magic Level 2

Light Magic Level 4, Wind Magic Level 5, Earth Magic Level 5, Water Magic Level 4

Fire Magic Level 4, Dark Magic Level 4, Ice Magic Level 3, Lightning Magic Level 2

Wood Magic Level 3, Dust Magic Level 2, Melting Magic Level 2, Burning Magic Level 2

Alchemy Level 5, Pharmacist Level 4, Glassworking Level 3, Carpentry Level 4

Coordination Level 6, Appraisal Level 6, Identification Level 6, Insight Level 2, Cold Resistance Level 3

Grapple Level 6, Horsemanship Level 6, Precision Operation Level 6, Jumping Level 3

Heat Resistance Level 4 (↑1), Climbing Level 3, Dual Wielding Level 4,

Body Strengthening Level 2, Mental Strengthening Level 4 (↑1), Fast Chanting Level 4

Equipment: Kay's Rod x1, Kay's Tonfas x2, Snow Leopard Hidden Claws x3,

Wild Horse Leather Armor+, Snow Monkey Arm Guards, Wild Horse Boots+

Snow Monkey Leather Helmet, Wild Horse Belt+, Backpack, Item Box x2

Held Items: Peeling Knife, Complete Set of Carpentry Tools

Titles: Disciple of the Old Summoner, Proof of Forest Guardian, Seeker of Moderation

Spell Catalog

Summoned Monsters:

Volf, Wolf Level 7

Crescent, Horse Level 5

Helix, Hawk Level 5

Obsidian, Owl Level 4

Jean, Bat Level 4

Jerrick, Wood Golem Level 3

Kuki, Oni Level 3

Senki, Beast Ape Level 3

Rig, Slime Level 3