Chapter 12: Lucrative Loot

Even though the “Defeated!” notification came up properly, Aurey’s body is still there.

She didn’t shatter and disintegrate into nothing like people and monsters usually do when you defeat them.

Will there be a quest or something, I wonder...

Although right now I don’t have the leisure to be thinking about such things... uotto-!

A spearhead narrowly misses me as I dodge out of the way, and the wielder spits out a,

“Damn you-!”

A furious Minas to deal with, huh?! Good, good, let’s keep this going-!

Hahaha- ah, oops. If I don’t check myself, the chibi’s gonna call me a mass-murdering yokai again.

Minas draws back, his face black with anger, and readies himself for another attack.

Very well. Let me take your spear-!

As he stabs out, I parry with my left axe and swing downwards with my right.

Clang!

Although our weapons resonate with the jarring blow, nothing happens to the spear.

Fumu. Weapon durability. I forgot.

Even if it looks like a thin rod of wood, I need to deal more damage than the haft of the spear’s durability to break it.

Cheh. Annoying game mechanics.

Because I got a little too into it and forgot about how the game works, the only thing I managed to do is damage both of our weapons.

Although I’ve at least managed to unbalance him, slamming the head of his spear against the ground like that.

“Tch!”

Minas clicked his tongue and both he and I leapt back to take our distance.

We stare each other down like in some sort of samurai duel, but I can’t take too long to glare at him.

Gaooou!

“Gyaa!”

“It’s coming back!”

“What do we doooo?!”

Aka, Aoi, and Orange are panicking like idiots.

If you can’t handle it, then back up and take cover, you blockheads!

Jeez...

Out of the corner of my eye, I see pins of green magic flying.

, huh.

I’ll leave it to you for a little while longer, Juri.

Between “whoever moves first loses” and “whoever acts first controls the battle”, I’m a more pro-active person.

“Sei-yaaa-!”

At my yell Minas flinched, bringing up his spear – Ah, like I’d come straight at you like that-!

A backstep, a turn, and a dodge to the side, then strike!

“Kuu-!”

Minas flinched and fell back as my axe bit into his side, but that’s not going to be the only strike.

For the first time, I swing my left axe with the intent to injure ...

Arara – it’s weak after all.

Not just because of the damage penalty; my dexterity with my left hand is horribly lacking.

“Hmph. In that case...! !”

With a wide swing directly towards Minas’ guard from my right, I activate .

A pity it was directly at the place where he was guarding himself, but with 5 high impact blows at an un-miss-able range, along with the damage I did before, at the end of it there was a discernable,

CRACK!

And Minas’ spear splinters into 2 parts.

Seeing his look of disbelief, I can’t help but let loose a nasty grin and -

“Oryaa!”

- I headbutt him right in the chest.

The stomach would have been better, but I’m not in the right position to aim for it.

With a slight throbbing sensation in my forehead, I struggle to keep up the assault.

No moment for resting!

“!”

“Auuugh!”

Before he could recover his footing, Minas’ body froze, then shattered into many, many tiny pieces before disintegrating into thin air.

Yosh!

Fumu.

After taking care of the interlopers, it’s time to go after the big prey *grin*.

“Oi, Juri, you 3 blockheads, pull back and give me support fire~!”

“Eh? What are you going to –“

“”” Don’t call us blockheads!”””

Ooh, nice response. If they’re so lively ... ah, I see.

We were lucky. The drakeling was focused on the bandits, huh?

To think there is “friendly fire” among nonplayer mobs ... it’s a good sign for the rest of the game.

Alright, with the people I have to worry about pulled back out of the way, it’s time to work hard for 5 minutes ...

“!”

“Kyaa! What?!”

Juri shrieked as I ran out in front of everyone.

Because I ran out in front of everyone? Because I narrowly missed her as I ran?

Because I’m a bear?

The drakeling notices me quickly.

Well, I’m a giant white bear in a dusty, rocky environment, who is also wielding dual battleaxes, so I stand out quite a bit.

Gurrrouuu!

Gaou-!

For the hell of it, I roar loudly in response to the drakeling.

It’s a shame.

My own roar isn’t as intimidating when compared to the roar of, you know, a giant flying lizard that’s bigger than me.

Now, there is one problem with fighting this thing...

Which is that it flies-!

Even though I really want to try to do some sort of move like jumping on its back and fighting it like that... maa ... it’s a question of surface area.

It’s not a dragon or a drake. It’s a drakeling.

The target area to land on is ... un, it’s barely the size of a mini-car.

Yeaaah... This is not a good situation to try a flying jump ...

Tch.

If that’s the case ...

I stow the Beginner’s Axe away, leaving my left hand free to avoid any penalties.

“Oi, you lizard-brain! Where are you going, scared?!”

I don’t have a provoke-type skill, but making loud noises and being conspicuous seems to have done the trick, and the drakeling looks over with a glare, leaving the broken remnants of the bandits alone.

Gurrrrouuuu!

And with a loud roar, the flying lizard swoops at me ... and ...

“Chesssst-ooo!”

Swish!

Ah, I missed.

Does a big flying wizard like this have any right to be that dexterous?

It takes some distance to do another rush.

“Oi, you 3 blockheads, direct him this way!”

“””Like we said, don’t call us blockheads!”””

Although they protest, Aoi, Aka, and Orange obediently shoot a hail of arrows towards the drakeling, limiting its movement as it swooped in a second time.

And wait for it, wait for it, and ...

CLANG!

Ah, no good.

Even though it didn’t veer as much as it did the first time, the drakeling took the axe head on with a headbutt.

It reduced the damage by attacking?!

Alright alright alright! The AI’s too good, zo!

Then how about this -!?

Even though it blew my right-hand axe away, my left hand, er, paw, is still free, ya know?!

At the last second, before it crashed into me and into the cliff, it went to veer off towards my right, but it’s not like I’m going to let you get away!

Gaaou-!

With a roar, I dug my claws into the wing of the drakeling that was closest to me, and from the sharpness of my claws and the force from the drakeling trying to get away, I mangled that wing pretty good!

It roared in pain, crashing into the ground as it writhed, then tried to take to the skies again.

“Like I’m going to let you-! Oi, Juri, you 3 blockheads, let him have it, don’t worry about me!”

I throw aside my axe to give the drakeling’s wing a good, painful hug, digging in my claws. I grit my teeth, preparing to get hit with friendly fire.

Although, I will probably only get hit with the blockheads’ arrows, since Juri’s gotten pretty good at shooting magic while avoiding me.

The arrows scatter into the drakeling’s hide, some narrowly grazing me, and ever once in a while the body of the drakeling shudders as a heavy wind magic hits it.

The drakeling flails desperately. It wants to tear me off, but it’ neck isn’t quite long enough to reach around to get at me, and so it can only bash its neck against me.

It roars in pain as it’s being peppered with arrows and wind magic, struggling to get away.

I grit my teeth and dig in. Strength buff, don’t fail me now!

Giri giri

Even as I’m getting dragged along, especially since the ground is too hard to really dig my feet in, a creaking sound comes from the wing and body.

This is ... is it doing continuous damage as I’m wrestling it down?

The wing feels like it’s going to break...

Well then, my axe is lying over there, both of my arms are occupied ... un, it’s time to try out that thing I’m not too keen on trying out...

I open my mouth wide and bite down.

GURRROUUUU!

The drakeling’s screech resounded in my ears.

It squirmed harder to try to break free, but the only thing that happened was a satisfying feeling of flesh and bone giving away beneath my claws and teeth.

Un, it’s not pleasant, the taste of bodily fluids erupting in your mouth, but there’s a strange sense of empowerment.

If I had my normal teeth, I’m sure it would feel like my teeth were getting pulled out, or that I can’t get a good grip, but with the fangs of a bear, my teeth dug into the drakeling’s flesh like tiny daggers, and as it tried to get away, instead of loosing my hold, my teeth simply dug in deep and tore gaping wounds.

I twisted my upper body suddenly, and with a violent wrench, the wing snapped and completely tore off, leaving the drakeling crippled and in pain on the ground.

Throwing the destroyed wing on the ground, I scramble out of the agonized flailing of the drake and seek out my axe, that was thrown about in our tussle.

This entire time the 3 blockheads and Juri have been continuously assaulting it with arrows and magic, and with it bleeding out at the side like this there’s no doubt that, as long as no one does anything stupid, we’ll have it dead in the end without too many casualties.

Looking at the drakeling, as I try to catch my breath (it wasn’t the easiest to breathe while biting down like that), fumu, it has to be under half health, that’s what my intuition is saying.

Which might not be all that wrong, considering I took [Sharp Senses]. Although it won’t give you the Skill that lets you watch your opponent’s HP, there should be a passive, but I don’t know if it only lets you predict critical hit zones or if it actually helps you sense how much HP your opponent has left.

Nmaa, either way, that lizard crawling on the ground over there doesn’t look good at all.

On one hand, it seems to want to get its revenge on me, but on the other, it wants to stop the arrows.

Twisting this way and that, the drakeling actually seems panicked and unsure of itself.

Well, as much as I’d like to sit and watch to see how advanced the AI is, I’d like to hurry up and end this long, annoying escort quest.

I approach the head of the drakeling, and it just weakly snaps at me.

“Fufu, it seems like it’s the end for you. So obediently become my ExP! !”

Zu-dooooon!

My last blow to its cranium didn’t quite end it, but the next volley of arrows and Juri’s fully ended the drakeling’s life.

With a hiss like a balloon leaking air, the drakeling convulsed a little, then flopped down, before shattering into a million fragments, leaving behind only the drop items.

“Whoooa!”

“We’re all alive, with almost no damage!!”

“Yay!”

As the 3 blockheads are celebrating, I look sourly at the one wagon that bore the brunt of the bandit/drakeling attack.

... It doesn’t look good, but it can still go down the road, so we should be ok? The town is just up ahead, right? Hopefully?

While we were basking in the aftermath of the battle, from behind us,

“He...hehe... they’re, they’re weakened, so ...”

Oya? The bandits were still here.

What are they saying, aren’t they in worse shape than we are?

Look, there’s like, 2.5 of them left.

With 1 minute left to werebear form, I can only turn to look at them with a grin.

Obediently become my ExP!

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has now worn off, and increased to Lv10. And, eh? has been enhanced? CD is now 20 minutes instead of 30 minutes?

I set that aside for now.

It’s looting time!

The drop items from the drakeling aren’t that great, but my [Scavenge] is good enough that we got 5 pelts, 10 scales, and 2 fangs off of it, aside from the cheap change and vendor trash. Ah, and there was an unidentified light armor boots.

I guess I’ll just give the boots to Juri, and we’ll divide the crafting material drop items.

The bandits didn’t drop anything interesting, mostly just vendor trash, but Minas dropped his spear.

---

Turncoat’s Spear

Spear

After fending off a double-crosser, he left behind his weapon, a decent spear.

Attack: +25% damage (pierce)

Durability: 80/100

Special: 5% chance of multi-attack.

---

Green quality, that is Uncommon, but it’s not the best weapon.

Eh? +25% damage isn’t that bad?

Well, I guess, but even though my axe has a fixed damage amount of +87-92 damage, that’s almost 50% my current damage output you know?

Even the Beginner’s Axe was doing about +30% damage when I first got it.

Although I did out-level it fast, so before I got my Spectre’s End, it was only doing about +5% my damage output in the end.

Maa, it feels more like this spear should be used as a backup weapon.

Although I hate fighting with spears, so maybe I can sell it.

But really, even though I broke Minas’ spear in battle, the drop is still at 80/100 durability...

Games are amazing, naa.

Anyway, onto more interesting things!

Aurey’s corpse that’s just lying there...

It’s probably a hidden quest or something, like bury her or whatever, but ...

Maa, let’s first look through her pockets.

She was an orderly woman, so it doesn’t take too long.

The result was:

---

Kit (Wayfarer’s)

Magic Bag

This Magic Bag is designed to hold the tools that most Wayfarers use.

Special: This Magic Bag can only hold 1 of each the following:

☑Water Purifier

☑Flint and Steel

☑Book of Matches

☐Candle

☑Twine

☑Chalk

☑Signal Whistle

☑Compass

☑Spyglass

☑Penknife

☑Prybar

---

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Wayfarer’s Cloak (Apprentice)

Cloak

The cloak of an apprentice Wayfarer; an official cloak of the Wayfarers’ Society.

Defense: +2 defense, +5 against pierce

Durability: 60/80

Special: Waterproof

---

---

A Fallen Wayfarer’s Pass - Aurey

Important Item

A leather pass with an upside-down cross emblazoned on it, with the letter ‘N’ emblazoned at the top above an arrow; the pass of a fallen Wayfarer.

Special: The Wayfarers’ Society will want to know about their loss.

---

---

Mysterious Letter – Black

Important Item

This letter has an emblem of a ring that surrounds the lower half of a circle, but is otherwise unsigned

Contents:

As an initiate spy we’ve placed in the Wayfarer’s Society, we ask that you prove your worth. A caravan merchant named Jemino will be carrying an artifact of ... valuable interest. Meet our contact to hear the details.

This letter will serve as one of the signs.

Special: The Wayfarer’s Society will want to know of the contents, as much as others may not wish for the contents to be known.

---

Hm... Somehow, I don’t really want to wear a cloak taken off of a dead person.

Even though, if it was a regular drop, I wouldn’t mind.

And as for the Kit, Aurey, you’re out of candles.

At the same time ... A compass, a spyglass, and a water purifier!

Those are super expensive items, aren’t they?! I hope the Wayfarer’s Society doesn’t want THOSE back...

Haa... Okay, yeah, who cares about the cloak and the kit, right?

What about those 2 OTHER things, right?

Of course I pocket the ‘Important Items’ as well.

But as for what I’m going to do with them ...

The pass aside, I’m not sure what to do with the Mysterious Letter.

Even though I won’t insist on staying in good standings with all of the reputation factions, how should I say it ...

This black letter faction looks like it would be troublesome if I got into BAD standings with them.

I’ll think about it later.

For now, I head over to where Juri is sitting, waiting for the 3 blockheads and Jemino to fix the wagon and shift the cargo around.

“Oi, Juri, do you want any of the drops from Minas and Aurey?”

“No, you killed them by yourself, right?”

No, you helped me out by guarding Jemino, right?

But I don’t say anything.

It might be low of me, but I REALLY want everything in the Kit.

Juri sagged wearily against one of the wagons.

Two empty MP bottles lay next to her.

Although it was a short battle timewise, I see that it drained her MP pretty badly.

She should be careful on taking too many of those at once, though, or she’ll hit the Potion Sickness Bad Status. It’s very similar to a mild Drunk Bad Status, with an added demerit of reducing the effectiveness of potions.

Juri glares, although it’s more of a pout with her, at me and says,

“That wasn’t how you’re supposed to take down the drakeling at all.”

“Well, saying there’s a way you’re ‘supposed to’ take down a monster is...”

I shrug my shoulders.

“Even if things are made so you have a lot of freedom to finish quests and stuff, who ever heard of wrestling a drakeling to the ground?!”

“Ah, that’s true.”

I laugh.

“Mou, you’re saying it like it has nothing to do with you! And what was with that second form? That, that’s definitely at least a High Rare ability! It’s so rare that the NPCs aren’t even coded to react to that!”

“Ah, is that how it is.”

I was wondering why Jemino and the others didn’t react to the fact that I turned into a giant white bear, only saying something like, “We’re glad that you had more power hidden in there.”

I see.

So I can’t expect funny – I mean, more personalized interactions with the NPCs when I’m in Werebear Form.

Anyway, I’m answering all of Juri’s rants simply because there’s something that I’D like to ask HER.

“So, hey, Juri, you wouldn’t happen to be a Hidden GM or something like that, just kidding ...”

As soon as the words left my mouth, Juri’s face turns an astonishing shade of blue.

I stare at her.

“Eh... seriously?”

“N-n-n-no ... w-what are you t-talking about...”

Achyaa... her eyes are jittering all over the place.

“Ha... even though the conversation was supposed to go, ‘Are you a Hidden GM?’ ‘No way, right?’ ‘Ah, then are you a programmer or designer or something?’ ‘Teehee, how’d you know? I just wanted to check it out from the consumer’s point of view.’”

I shake my head, holding a hand to my forehead, and sigh.

This girl, no, woman, has way too many openings.

“Oh, so you were just guessing.”

“I know for sure now, though...”

“Ah-!”

It’s impolite to pat an older woman on the head, so I just pat her shoulder awkwardly instead and say,

“Well, don’t worry about it. I don’t really like doing things like optimizing gameplay or finding out all the secret places, so it’s not like I’m going to use it against you or tell anyone or anything.”

Juri groaned and dropped her face into her hands.

“Even though I told my supervisor this would happen... Even though I asked if I could just moderate the BBS and World Chat ... Mou-! This isn’t my fault! It’s bad personnel assignment!”

Ah. It sounds like Juri has a hard time in the workplace.

As a college student I’m not really sure what to say to that, so there’s just some awkward silence.

Until Jemino interrupts with a,

“Alright, we’re about ready to go-!”

And we’re on the road again.

Juri is sitting in the backs of one of the wagons, and I’m walking awkwardly next to it.

She still seems really upset, but finally she sighs.

“Haa... so how did you know?”

“How did ...”

Is she kidding?

I barely manage to stop myself from saying the second part out loud.

“W-well, Juri knew a lot about the tendencies of mobs and NPCs, considering this is still the first week of the game being online...”

“Oh...”

“... And then you knew about the details about the caravans heading out west without having the quest yet, even though it’s not widely known information on the forums or wiki...”

“Ooh...”

“... And the – “

“Ok, stop! I get it!”

Juri turned bright red and buried her face in her hands.

“Mou... I should have taken it slow and stayed near the beginners’ areas!”

“Well... don’t mind it! I’m the only one here, anyway, and I’ll protect Juri’s secret, so you only need to be careful from now on. If anyone asks, just say you barely got through because you were with me.”

“Eh? Well, it’s the truth, but why did you bother saying that?”

I stare a little at Juri.

“W-well, wouldn’t it be difficult to explain how you got here at Avg Lv 5? So if you just say you were dragged along by me, it would cover up all the weird parts ...”

“Ah!”

... Juri’s boss, is this really going to be ok?

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TALENTS

[Axe]Lv15 (+1)

[Bolstered Endurance]Lv15 (+1)

[Sharp Senses]Lv12

[Scavenge]Lv13 (+1)

[Spirit of the Wild Hunt]Lv11

[Inheritance of the Forest Guardian]Lv10 (+1)

Avg Lv: 12

TP: 14

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EXTRA

About the Game Pt7:

Potions

There are Instant HP and MP potions, as well as Delayed HP and MP potions.

The first recovers HP/MP immediately, while the second recovers over time.

How much and how quickly is all dependent on quality and types of HP and MP potions.

In order to limit people from constantly downing potions, not only is the purchase of HP/MP potions limited to 5 each a day from NPC venders, but there is also the BS (Bad Status) called Potion Sickness.

After 2 potions, when you take the 3rd, you will gain the BS, Potion Sickness.

It makes you mildly disoriented with the queasy feeling that comes with getting a Poison BS, and also, the 3rd potion will only be 80% effective.

The effectiveness of consecutive potions will continue going down by 20% for each additional potion.

And yes, it is possible for the potion to begin to take negative effect.

In other words, if you persist in drinking potions, the Potion Sickness will change to a Poison BS, also known as ‘overdose’ by players.