So, what now?」
「Now?」
「Not about money, or anything else immediate. What’s our goal here?」
「Aw, shucks…」
They had spent the previous day in denial of their reality by making bags of other items, but it was too pathetic to just walk around without a destination. They had to face the world in front of them and figure out what they had to do.
「Well, our ultimate goal should be to head on back to Japan. The first thing to do, I reckon, would be to gather all sort of information.」
Hiroshi said, as he frantically struck the rocks in his hands on each other. Haruna gave a quick nod.
「Even just to gather information, we’ll have to find a town, first.」
「Yeah, but they could tax us just to get in. We betta get some stuff worth a buck or two…」
「We can talk to them first to see?」
「That’s all dandy, but I just want to process these guts here into potions before we go. These materials rotted in the game after a while, too.」
With that, Hiroshi pointed at a few of the organs from the bear they cut open the day before. Hiroshi would say that he was only desensitized to the grotesque disembowelment of the bear, thanks to the disembowelment skill that anyone would obtain in the game.
「What can you make from them?」
「A level 3 special potion. I could use it for any level 5 potion, but we don’t got materials to make bottles for it. Besides it don’t look like I could make anythin’ more than a level 3 potion with the stuff around here. So I decided to put it towards special potions.」
「What kind of special potions?」
「A Strength potion from the heart of a bear or wolf over a certain power level, a Vitality potion from the liver, and from a bear, maybe an Antidote from the stomach.」
「A Berserker Bear meets that power level, then?」
「Bears, more so than other animals, are good for making potions. I mean, there’s a heap of materials required… For example, a basic level 2 potion requires about five different materials, and double that for a complex potion. Ya have to combine that many different materials. If we take into account the materials I sprinkle in to make it my own, there really is an infinite number of variations.」
To what seemed like too vague an answer, Haruna wanted to ask if Hiroshi was sure. Before she could, he added:
「Well, I think they just group all the potions that have similar effects and call them level 2s. Like they do for some stuff in reality, too.」
「Hmm… I guess so. So, what have you been making over there?」
「A joke of a mortar. I can’t make a bottle without one.」
「I’ve been wondering, but… How come you can only carve the bigger rock down? They look like the same material to me.」
「Right. I pumped up the smaller with a short-hand enchantment. Can’t do it ‘til you’ve got at least intermediate in Enchantments, along with Manufacturing or Crafting, by the way.」
Haruna, absorbing all the new crafting information, nodded with amazement. She knew that Hiroshi had reached Advanced Crafting when she watched him collect all sorts of unfamiliar materials when taking apart the bear, but she didn’t quite grasp how much depth there was to it.
「You can really do a lot with these things, can’t you?」
「Actually, your skill level don’t go up much without doin’ all sorts of things.」
「Sounds like a lot of work…」
「The knack for crafting’s repetition, routine, and acceptance of futility.」
Even as he said so, Hiroshi finished the mortar, albeit rough around the edges, which could serve their purpose.
「So, Toudou-san. How much harvestin’ do ya do?」
「Around Novice 15. Then I gave up to go walk around town.」
「So, like, average?」
「Yep, average. Sorry.」
「No, no. If everyone could make it to intermediate and advanced, I’d lose my only edge.」
「Yeah. And it looks like I’m much better at cooking and singing.」
Hiroshi agreed, and brought back the derailed conversation.
「Then, I’d hate to ask, but could you help me gather some materials? Anything you can grab is just fine, and I don’t need that much.」
「Sure thing. I haven’t practiced much, though. So don’t hold your breath.」
「We can’t carry around too much to begin with. Take it easy.」
「Okay.」
Haruna waved him off, walking off into a bush. After watching her leave,
「Alright, then. Let’s get into it.」
Hiroshi said with a stretch as he began the very work he suggested.
By digging a quick hole and stacking some rocks, there was a furnace. Then, Hiroshi repeatedly collected some select stones from the river bed, which he crushed in the mortar to line up the ingredients for glass. After a certain amount was ready, he shoved a load of firewood, which he had processed in some way, causing a fire too powerful to be just burning on wood.
Then, he finished the glass in this mock-up furnace, shaped them, until he had about thirty bottles. After collecting all the vegetation he could from around their campsite, Haruna, wearing exhaustion on her face, came back with a pile of grass and leaves she could barely fit in her arms.
「Would these be enough to- You made the bottles already!?」
「Just now.」
「Aw. I wanted to watch you make it…」
「Maybe next time. I threw together a pot, too. I’ll whip up ‘em potions.」
With that, he did some odd motions after crushing and mixing the ingredients, then bottled what he had cooked down in the pot.
「It makes a decent amount.」
「Yeah. The leaves aside, if a bear’s heart could only fill this tiny thing, there’ll be a riot.」
With that, he whipped up ten bottles each of the three potions, before finally plopping down, with a tired look finally creeping up on his face.
「Thank you.」
「Phew, making all the tools from scratch was a little much…」
「If I were you, I would have given up halfway through.」
「Hold up. I’ve been thinkin’ while I was craftin’… You sounded like your Bard skill level’s pretty high?」
「I’ve got an Extra Skill, so I would be lying if I told you it wasn’t high.」
Hearing the keyword Extra Skill, Hiroshi looked impressed. Seeing that, Haruna was now sure of an inclination she had. But, she decided to hold off asking about it, and let Hiroshi finish.
On a side note, an Extra Skill is a skill with unbound powers obtained through meeting certain requirements and beating a dedicated quest. There were many different Extra Skills, from an ultimate attack of an ancient hero, the perfect defense that disables any attack, to a dance for the gods, but all of them had in common that the triggers for the quests were never made clear, and that just possessing the skill provides all sorts of ridiculous modifiers.
「Well, if you got an Extra Skill an all, I just thought what the heck we’re doin’ here making measly bags and potions, instead of bamboozlin’ past the guard and have you sing a ditty in the plaza.」
「But even if I do… We couldn’t carry much of that money without a bag, right?」
「Yeah, guess you’re right.」
「Besides, the heart would rot without making it into potions, too, so it’s not a waste… What do you think?」
「Right, that’s why we were making ‘em potions. It was like raising cows to make cheese, I forgot all about that.」
In response to Haruna snorting out a chuckle to this accurate yet ridiculous metaphor, Hiroshi returned a half smile as he passed her one of the completed bottles.
「Here’s a Vitality Potion for starters. You don’t seem like the type for brute strength, Toudou-san.」
「I’ve never used these kinds of potions before. What’s it like?」
「In-game, it gives you a bonus modifier to your Armor for twelve hours. I can’t promise it’ll taste any good, but I didn’t fail the crafting process so it should work the same.」
「Twelve hours? They last a while, huh?」
「The full boost only lasts three hours, tops. The effect gradually wears off, until it’s miniscule after six to nine hours, and finally gone after twelve hours.」
「That game really puts the devil in the weirdest details, doesn’t it?」
「The devil himself. Well, they didn’t seem to implement any effects from combining potions, so I’ll whip up some Magic Potions, too, next time.」
He said, judging that Haruna rather leaned heavy toward magical skills.
「Yes, please. So, Azuma-kun.」
「Yeah?」
「Why don’t we show each other our cards already?」
「Our cards?」
「Uh-huh. Like which skills you acquired at which Skill Level, or what Level you are now, or how far you’ve completed the main quest?」
Hiroshi’s eyes wandered into thought.
「Hate to tell you, but I don’t got my stat screen. I don’t remember the details.」
「Your best guess is fine. I don’t remember everything about my own stats or skills, either.」
One of the reasons that compelled them to believe that they were in reality was the fact that, while they could use any powers from the game just fine, they couldn’t see their stats. As for skills acquired in the game, muscle memory would tell them how tired they would be after how much of work to yield how much results. However, it was inconvenient to not be able to see the numbers on the skills they haven’t maxed out in the game.
「Hmm…」
「I don’t know what’s on your mind, Azuma-kun, but from here on out, we’re in this together.」
「Yeah… Well, I did already whip ‘em potions up. And I don’t think you would…」
「I would what?」
「Back in the day, there was some drama going ‘round craftin’. It was during my breaks so I didn’t get involved myself, but it ended with one of them not bein’ able to play the game no more. Bunch of other folk quitted crafting or the game itself. All the Craftsmen, including me, we’re more careful ‘bout showin’ our skills. Earlier, it felt so much like an emergency that I stupidly over made ‘em potions.」
Haruna, sensing the gist of said drama, simply replied sorry. She finally grasped why there were almost never any rumors of anyone with high Crafting skills. All she knew was that something happened during the time of high school entrance exams.
「To start with, do you know how many craftin’ skill there are, Toudou-san?」
「Wha? Oh, let me see… Excavation, Harvest, and Fell, for the materials. From there they branch into Refinement, Weaving, Building, and Crafting. Then you finish the product with Forging, Sewing, Metalworking, Compounding, and Tool Building… I think? 」
「That’s the ballpark. Besides that, there’s Carpentry, Furniture Makin’, Ship Building’, Construction, and Tinkerin’. Categorically, there’s also Cookin’, Fishin’, Enchantin’ and Farmin’.」
「I could see Cooking, but Fishing and Enchanting, too…?」
「Yes ma’am. Well Enchantin’ also counts as magic, so that’s affected by Magic Skill Levels, too.」
Looking at this way, Crafting, or even Manufacturing skills, were vast. Aside from Tinkering, Haruna had never even heard of skills like Carpentry, Construction, or Ship Building. By the way, Fishing and Cooking, out of these skills, lack ranks, in exchange for a higher maximum Skill Level.
「The Manufacturin’ skills I haven’t maxed out are Cookin’, Fishin’, Farmin’, and Construction. And I still need the Extra Skill for those, plus Enchantin’ and Furniture Makin’.」
「…Excuse me!?」
「Nothing to write home ‘bout. All the skills in the first processin’ branch will max out on your way to getting’ to Advanced Craftin’, and once you’re past Novice 70 for the Manufacturin’ and day-to-day kinda skills, although it’s only one skill per log out, will go up on their own while I’m logged out even without materials.」
「Still, it’s just… Unbelievable.」
Chuckling at Haruna’s face, he decided to show her inside the magician’s cap some more.