Chapter 97

I am currently at the inn in the first ward, having just taken a bath.

When I came out of the labyrinth, the sun was just starting to rise. I took a room and finished my meal in the dining hall, which brings me to the present. I don’t really need to stay, but I had to book a room to use the bath. I have the 'Purification' spell cast, so it’s more of a mental issue.

Galahad asked for a beer after the bath, and we started drinking in the room.

He said it was a thank you for my help and gave me the attribute stones and gems that we found on the way. He offered to give me all the materials, but I declined. I got one of the three that had dropped for me, including the spare, which was enough.

"Since there are male-related issues and there might be interference with the handover of Shizukana, it would be helpful if you could hold off on selling it until everything goes smoothly."

"Understood."

"It seems safe if Homura has it."

"Even if that guy managed to send information in that short time, once the mask is taken off, he can’t be traced anymore."

That’s the situation.

And I received a second 'Seed of Illusion' from Galahad, a rare drop from Fal-Faashi, which is apparently related to alchemy. I want to plant it, but unfortunately, I don’t have a place to do so. I want to get a house soon, but I’d like to look around a bit more. Maybe a clan house first?

"What was that guy, anyway?"

"He’s definitely involved with us."

"He seems like a low-level guy, but I’ll investigate a bit when I get back to the country."

"By the way, Homura, you seemed fine looking at that?"

"Yeah... it was far away, and it looked like an enemy."

The game mindset had completely taken over, and the most memorable part was how Fal-Faashi looked after finishing her meal, rather than the gory scene. If it were a resident I was close to, it might have been different. Probably.

"Man, when we invited him, we were prepared for a tough fight since our levels were over 20 levels apart, but it was unexpected."

Galahad, drinking his beer with a smile.

"Homura’s status resistance was extraordinary."

"Her equipment and MID are at the level of a holy mage you’d see in the mid-levels, and with skills like 'Verna’s Protection' and status resistance buffs, her status resistance is probably on par with the 'Holy Mage' level in that area."

"I don’t have any resistance skills."

Multiplying 0 by 0% doesn’t result in 0, right?

"Even without skills, high MID boosts resistance."

"Still, it was really good that we didn’t encounter any succubi on the way."

Galahad, sitting cross-legged on the floor and drinking his beer.

"Yeah, I remember you saying something about high-level succubi in the future, but they appear on the way, not in the deeper levels?"

"From floors 31 to 39. They’re like field bosses."

"Normally, you rarely encounter them. But seeing Homura’s title, we kept running into rare bosses, which made me really anxious."

"If Homura gets charmed, it would be a disaster."

"Can’t it be cured with a potion?"

"Succubi use two types of 'Charm.' One makes the target join the succubi and attack allies, and the other makes them attack indiscriminately. ...The latter isn’t an attack."

So, it’s more of a sexual nature. Are there male succubi too?

"Normally, only men get charmed, and if Camilla distributes the potion to bring them back to their senses, they can escape. Some succubi are whimsical and might just charm you and leave without attacking. But if Homura gets charmed and attacks, it would be a disaster..."

The 'Art of Bedchamber' skill!

"Anyway, for the sake of our mental peace, I’d like to ask Homura to get the 'Charm Resistance' skill. The 'Confusion Resistance' skill is less of a concern because the chance of the skill activating from confusion-induced skill spam is low..."

The 'Art of Bedchamber' skill!

It’s not explicitly said, but it seems the 'Art of Bedchamber' skill is quite traumatic for her. Despite everything, the air around her suggests she won’t feel safe until her resistance is 100% or she becomes immune to charm.

"The skill is listed, but should I use skill points to get 'Charm Resistance' here, or should I get 'Magic Circle Creation' and quickly make an item to prevent possession?"

"......'Magic Circle Creation.'"

The guys made a decision as if it were a great sacrifice, pushing for 'Magic Circle Creation.'

"Since Fal-Faashi didn’t cause any status effects, if we think about the probabilities calmly, that makes sense."

Camilla is calmer than the two of them.

Well, I can make a magic circle as a bonus, and if it’s just to prevent possession, I can make an accessory with alchemy and then have it crafted into jewelry. But I won’t say that.

Do you need a book with sample magic circles for 'Magic Circle Creation'?

"By the way, Homura, about that mask, as long as you don’t reveal your name while wearing it and don’t show the putting on or taking off, you should be fine. Even if we call you 'Homura,' people around us will probably recognize you as 'Rengard' or 'Sir' or something similar."

"Oh, convenient."

"It’s a divine artifact."

The Pantyhose God, as expected, gives me what I need. It’s like scratching an itch!

After delivering Shizukana to the client, I agreed to meet with Galahad and the others in three or four days to give them the item to prevent possession, and then we parted ways.

I turned the clan chat back on.

Homura: Hi there?

Kikuhime: You’re late!!!!

Reo: Hahaha!

Shin: I’m tired!

Ochazuke: I’m dead!

Homura: What happened?

Shin: I followed Reo and got trained a lot, and when I was in a bind, I encountered Baron’s area boss and took a desperate leap, but I died.

Ochazuke: It was bad.

Homura: Reo’s guidance is brave.

Kikuhime: I want to buy potions!

Shin: Me too, me too!

Ochazuke: Same here.

Reo: Same!

Homura: Give me the materials or buy them from the store.

Ochazuke: OK, OK.

Reo: I don’t have money!!!

Kikuhime: Why are you so poor!

Shin: I wonder why (far-off look).

Ochazuke: The vending terminals in other countries besides Jears should have them. At least buy them there?

Shin: Really!?

Homura: Where?

Ochazuke: It was at the production facility, I think.

I had set the world announcements to only check the menu during boss fights to avoid distractions, and I usually turn them back on after the fight, but sometimes I forget.

The production title announcements were originally set to only check the menu, but the other day, Aria had gained a new one.

Production titles are mainly given for completing specific production requests for the first time, and the requests are varied. The titles range from just names to ones with significant effects. By stacking small titles, you can become well-known among residents and receive named requests that can grant you larger titles.

Because of this, many titles, like 'Hobby Crafting' to 'Apprentice Crafter,' change and evolve like a fish growing into a larger one.

Well, I’ll browse the announcements when I have free time.

I’m scheduled to meet at the production facility in the second ward in an hour, after I finish my production. The others are a bit too early to sleep, but with the death penalty, production and combat are difficult, so they’re doing errand quests in the city.

When I arrived at the production facility, I asked for the location of the vending terminal and started buying the materials for HP and MP recovery potions and vitality potions.

Homura: Are HP and MP recovery potions and vitality potions okay?

Kikuhime: OK.

Shin: Oh, and antidotes too.

Reo: Me too, me too.

Ochazuke: I want ten transfer stones. Can I give you the attribute stones later?

Homura: Sure, but why are they more expensive than the store prices?

Ochazuke: It’s a trap to catch people who don’t know the market prices at NPC stores.

Reo: My storage is full of junk, so I put them at a higher price to use it as storage.

Shin: If you put them slightly higher, you can make some money.

Kikuhime: Cheap!

Don’t hoard junk.

I want to say that, but my storage is also full of various things. The storage magic is convenient.

I bought cheaper herbs from the residents’ stores and, while at it, bought some cheaper attribute stones and a dexterity ring from Yaggyakuru, which is appearing quite often. This, is it possible to make with a magic circle and healer-type buffs? The compatibility of gems also seems to play a role.

High-quality herbs were also for sale, so I bought a few without knowing if they were expensive or cheap. I want to increase the recovery amount of the recovery potions soon. Maybe I can make high-recovery potions.

I found some unattributed stones for sale, and I thought a while ago that others could make them too, but now there are already status-enhancing stones for strength, health, and attack, like Fire Needle stones, available for consignment. Unattributed stones are versatile and come in many types.

However, for attack magic, there are only stones up to level 10, and checking further, I found that higher-level magic is stored in gems.

Red crystals and rubies with level 20 Fire Sword magic were for sale. Since the material rank of red crystals is lower than that of rubies, it seems that higher material ranks allow for more magic to be stored, and lower-level magic can be stored more easily in higher-quality gems.

Looking at the items for sale, it seems that the type of magic that can be stored varies by the color of the gem.

It’s fun to see the variety. The only downside is that unattributed stones are still expensive, making anything made with them expensive as well. The bottleneck is using dark and light attribute stones as materials for unattributed stones. Once my alchemy level improves and I can synthesize six materials, I might be able to make them from fire, wind, earth, metal, water, and wood, but it will take some time to get there.

In the Illusion Route, attribute stones drop, and dark and light attribute stones are easy to obtain. Whether the progress in the route or the production profession comes first, the supply will