After Kazu's new build, it's my turn to finish mine. By the time we get back downstairs, we see Arthur and Razul waiting at my station. Right behind them is a [Beastfolk] guy in our age wearing overalls, a brown shirt, boots, and goggles. That guy is and in real life, he's sort of a maintenance man to some Airsoft guns that Razul's team were using for their games.

After I visit their clubroom and explain about my build here a few days ago, Mach becomes interested and agrees to help me on assembling everything as well as do a quality check on the parts to see if everything works as I intended.

While he already did the latter, he wants to do another check today before he doing a full assembly. Of course, I introduce him to Kazu and Azul since they spent upstairs on the former's build, and surprisingly, he's great with kids! And I only say that because he has two younger siblings he loves at home. And they seem to share the same love with engineering... Huh.

After that, I let Mach check on the parts that I’ve finished building as promised and wait for his response. To be honest, I'm a bit nervous since there's a chance that the quality of a part is lower than the others. And since [Blacksmithing] doesn't have any form of making duplicate items at once, I fear I may need to build it all over again.

Eventually, I hear him sigh and turn towards me.

"What do you know? Not only you managed to put all of the parts' quality between 18 to 20, but there seem to be no signs of physical faults around each of them," Mach says. "If I was a quality checker, I would put all of them into mass production."

My eyes widen, as I realize what he said. "So that means..."

"Yep!" he says flashes a thumbs-up right in front of me and smiles. "These parts are ready for the assembly line! At least that's what my Dad says all the time."

I can't help but pump my fist in the air like Arthur. But still, my dream weapon is about to be finished!

"Just give me an hour to finish this and your compound bow will be completed. If you like, you can help me with the assembly since this is your creation. I have a skill that lets me finish faster if I have someone from my friend list to help me with the assembly."

Well, I did add him after his initial check, so I accept it and got to work on finishing the build.

Wow, this is the first time I see Wind as invested in crafting as much as I do. Then again, we did promise to become stronger. Besides, once he's done with his weapon, we’ll be ready to go back to do two missions:

One: To get payback on those [Link Ants].

And 2. To find out more about my mysterious book.

We're getting closer now to our end goal. I can feel it!

"Um... Hey, Kazu."

My eyes widen and turn to Azel as they're staring at me.

"Have you been thinking of going on your separate way from your brother someday?"

My eyes widen at that question. " Not exactly. I don't even know if I'm ready to see my brother off to college if he ever decides on one. Although, I also wish to not have to rely on him all of the time..."

I shake my head after saying all of that from my head.

"Why are you asking that now? Are you thinking the same for your Dad?"

"Yeah. Not only do I want to see if I can take on [Isekai] on my own. My Dad is going to be very busy for the Renaissance fair and I don't want to disturb him because of me," they answer. "Thankfully, my birthday is coming up and if I get a high grade for the test, I get to play it solo!"

"Your birthday is this month? When is that?"

“The 18th .”

"Seriously, that is much closer than mine!" Once I said this, my eyes widen in realization. "Heck, I got a better idea! How about we celebrate our birthdays together?!"

"T-Together?! But our birthdays are a day apart from each other!"

"Come on! You're my best friend! Besides, I don't think Wind and his friends have any qualms about it. Heck, I'll convince our parents to invite you as a special guest!"

"Y-You really mean it?"

I quickly nod my head as fast as I can. I'm even willing to drag them to my house so we can enjoy our birthdays today! Azel is my friend and there is no way I'm leaving them out of the festivities!

"I-I'll be happy to! I’ve never had a birthday party with someone outside of my family before. Let alone from an MMO of all places."

"Hehe... First time's for everything, right?"

Azel nods, at which they smile in response. "Okay, I see if I can convince my Dad to..."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'NO'?!"

Huh? Is someone fighting outside?

"Look, I don't care if you're the hot-shot newbie everyone is talking about in the forums lately, but we don't accept anyone who has a budget that’s the same as their brain."

I can hear a man's voice from the door.

"But you accepted barters with that last guy. What makes you think I don't deserve the same treatment as him?"

As for the other one, I think he's younger than the one who's arguing with him. But there's something about him that seems very familiar.

"Three words: You're an idiot. Who even wants a kid like you with a questionable [Mastery] set like yours?! You're even worse than the [Insignis] mage kid tagging along with his [Human] hunter partner."

What was that?! Is that guy talking bad about me and Wind?! Okay, I can't take this any longer!

"Kaz?! Where are you going?!" I hear Azel shouting behind me as I marched towards the door.

"Where do you think? I'm going to give that guy a piece of my mind!" I answer.

"But your brother..."

"Don't worry. Wind is nearby and so is your father. I won't be gone for long."

With that, I go out to confront my naysayer.

"Oh, man... I think you've been influenced by some hotheaded fantasy heroes a bit too much, Kazu... Wait for me!"

Huh... Who knew assembling a mechanical bow was hard work? Sure, I’ve had Mach's help, but it's like assembling a cellphone from the 2000s. I’ve had to make sure I didn't accidentally break the part when putting them all together and I have to check if they're moving normally as I intended or not. Thankfully with Mach's instructions, I’ve managed to assemble everything without an issue and here it is.

My very own mechanical compound bow.

[Experimental Compound Bow]

[A mechanical iron bow created for a skilled archer. Using this bow requires iron arrows as wooden ones can easily break due to their powerful shots. This bow is experimental and may experience some problems. Some adjustments may be advised.

Creator:

Effects: +20 Ranged ATK, Powered Shot

Quality: 24]

"Damn... I have to say, 24 is not a bad quality, Windy," Mach says to me.

"Um, thanks? But it's because of you that I got higher quality than I expected. Now, I might be able to use those metal arrows more easily than before."

"Heh... you don't have to sell yourself short, kid. Your parts were the main stars here and I must admit that you've done good for your first time."

"Well, he learned it from the best after all, right?" Wallaby says, at which I nod in acknowledgment.

"Still, are you sure that monstrosity will work on [Isekai]? It's way too advanced for a fantasy world like ," said Arthur in worry.

"That's why the hall has special areas to try out new weapons. Why don't you check it out for yourselves?" Mach suggests.

"Good idea. Let's..."

Before I can go there, a pop-up window suddenly appears right in front of my face.

[WARNING]

[You're 2 feet away from the intended distance from your assigned minor. Kindly return to their side. Straying too far will give you a warning.]

2 feet away?! Hang on a second...

"Has anyone seen Kazu?!"

My friends look around to find him, but they find nothing.

"I also can't find Azel, too," Wallaby informs.

"Wind, don't tell me they went out of the hall?"

That I can't deny, Razul. If I hear his voice from outside...

"HEY! What makes you think you have a right to ban kids from your shop because of their [Mastery] set?!"

And there it is. Without any second thoughts, I rush out to defuse whatever trouble Kazu has got himself into.

"Kazu, stop! I think you're making things worse for both of us!"

That I'm aware of, Azel. But I can't back down and this jerk is already peeving me off! This guy is just making excuses not to sell this blue-haired kid whatever he's selling simply because of his [Mastery] set and now, he's trying to blame me for all of this!

"Look! Isn't the point of [Isekai Online] is having the freedom to choose whatever we want to be?!" I shouted at the rude shopkeeper. "I'm playing [Isekai] my way and that also includes him and Azel! If you have a problem, then you might as well turn to my magic for answers!"

I quickly pull out my staff and aim it at him. I'm not actually going to attack him, but I can't just sit here and let him insult that kid any longer!

"That's cute, kid. But the real question is whether you can handle my men in a real [Duel]?"

Before I ask, he snaps his fingers and to my shock, several men in armor appear as they pull out their swords and axes right towards us.

"Hey, no fair! Six against one is cheating!" I protest.

"Like I even bother with numbers, kid. Besides, you got him and your girly mage with you. What else do you get in your puny team?"

"Try one pissed-off [Guardian] and two friends ready to kick your butts."

I quickly turn around and to my shock, Wind, Razul, and Arthur are behind us with my brother already pointing his sword towards the rude players.

"Or do you want to get a reminder on how I beat up the last player who dared to hurt my partner?!"

So much for me protecting Azel alone... But at least it's enough for them to back off and run away screaming before Wind can do anything with them. However, I do hear one of them shouting that we’ll pay for this. Guess that's not the last I can see those jerks...

"Kazu!"

Uh oh...

"What were you thinking, splitting off like that?! Are you trying to get me in trouble with the law?!"

Oh, right. If I split off too far, Wind's going to get in trouble... My bad...

"S-Sorry, Wind. But I can't sit around and let those jerks bully a kid player like that!"

And there's Wind sighing in response. "Still, you can't just go off on your own like that. You might endanger yourself from those people if you keep it up."

I scoffed. "Yeah... Except you didn't realize that I'm about to turn 12, which I can go off my own soon."

"What was that?!"

I quickly back away, realizing I might have muttered it a bit too loud. I try to defend myself, but I feel something on my shoulder.

"Hey, you with the white hair."

I turn around and see the kid with the blue hair that those bullies kicked out earlier. Strange... Why do I have a feeling I have seen him before?

"I know what you did gave your partner a lot of trouble, but thanks a lot for the help, Kazu."

"Um... Thanks?" Then I realize something. "How did you know my name?"

"On your head." The boy points something above me. "Sometimes, we can see each other's name depending on our settings."

Oh, right. I also see his name on his head, too. ...

Wait, why does that name sound familiar?

"Sorry to ask this, but do you attend Big Apple Middle School?"

"Yes?"

And at that point, my brother quickly jumps in front of me and glares at the boy. But before he says anything, he raises his hand.

"Hey, easy there. I'm not a stalker or anything. Though, I suggest you need to choose a different name, Kazuki. You're not exactly good at hiding secrets, especially at a new kid like me."

New kid? Yur1?

....

Hang on a second! Now I remember!

"No way! Yuri Ichiro from my class?! You're playing the game, too?!"

Before I can say anything else, the boy I know from school quickly covers my mouth and grins.

"Dude, secrets! Your dad gave me a message a bit too late. He said you're getting a new beta tester friend right now."

I can hear Wind's sword hit the ground and him groaning before I see him falling unconscious and his [HP] go down by 1 point.

Wind's Masteries

[Archery] Level 19

[Woodcrafting] Level 10

[Swordsmanship] Level 18

[Cooking] Level 9

[Wind] Level 16

[Physical Enhancement] Level 17

[Hunting] Level 15

[Blacksmithing] Level 18

Kazu's Masteries

[Arcana] Level 20

[Thunder] Level 18

[Wind] Level 15

[Alchemy] Level 18

[Magecrafting] Level 15

[Magical Affinity] Level 19

[Scribe] Level 18