Chapter 10

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"…It’s so desolate."

"…There’s a strange atmosphere."

The starting city of Elria had become much more desolate compared to the image we remembered.

For a moment, I thought something had happened, but I quickly convinced myself.

Elria is the "starting city."

It was a thriving place, the first city that newly logged-in adventurers would visit.

However, the players have disappeared from this world.

What remains… or rather, the only ones who have wandered in here, as far as I know, are me and Mr. Isato.

Given that, it’s only natural for this "starting city" to be desolate.

The lack of facilities has only added to the ghost town-like atmosphere. Knowing the original bustling state, even through the game screen, makes it all the more melancholic.

“Is this the place?”

“Probably around here?”

“Haven’t you two been to the city of Elria before?”

“Ah…, not exactly, or something like that.”

This is my first time coming to Elria.

However, I understand the city’s layout from my experience in the game. By comparing the surrounding buildings with my memory, I can grasp the general location of various facilities.

…Mr. Isato, on the other hand, is wandering around unsteadily, looking around.

Come to think of it, he was directionally challenged even in the game.

The warehouse is located in the central square of the city.

In the game, this square was bustling with player-operated stalls.

Now, the square is empty and desolate, with hardly any people in sight.

“Is this city always like this?”

“There are no rare specialties here… On market days, it’s a bit more lively, but usually, it’s like this.”

Hearing Armit’s answer, I felt a bit relieved. It seems the city hasn’t completely turned into a ghost town.

“Still, what do you plan to do here?”

“Check the warehouse.”

Mr. Isato answered succinctly and moved towards the stone monument in front of the square. It’s a simple stone monument, like a black obsidian block cut into a rectangular shape, about 90 cm tall, with some kind of pattern carved on its surface.

“Warehouse?”

Armit, not understanding, tilted his head. The “?” above his head seemed visible.

“By the way, Armit, do you know what that stone is?”

“Isn’t it a monument in the square?”

“Ah…, I thought you’d say that.”

The concept of a warehouse seems to have faded in this world.

It’s a shame that, despite the existence of monsters, the concept of magic has been forgotten. Normally, a new concept, such as science, would have developed to replace magic, but it seems that hasn’t happened here.

Well, that’s understandable.

It’s not that science developed and magic declined; rather, in a world that thrived with magic, the magic disappeared for unknown reasons.

Thinking about it, it might be better that we haven’t entered a chaotic era.

It’s like if electricity suddenly disappeared in our modern world, causing civilization to collapse.

There are many depictions of such worlds in movies, manga, and dramas, but few show a gradual decline like this. Most tend to be apocalyptic, with villains running rampant.

Even if we have inherited our in-game status, I’m glad we don’t have to fight as post-apocalyptic dominators in the real world.

“Mr. Isato, how’s it going?”

“Yeah, I can access it normally. I’m just a bit slow because I’m not used to operating it in real life.”

“What’s it like?”

“Hmm…, it’s like a smartphone or a laptop’s touchpad… You might understand better if you try it yourself.”

“Can we operate it simultaneously?”

“Hmm…, it’s not impossible, but it might just get in the way, so please wait a bit until I’m done.”

“Alright.”

In the game, the warehouse could be accessed by multiple people simultaneously, but in real life, that’s not possible. Standing behind Mr. Isato, who is operating the monument with a serious face, feels like waiting in line at an ATM.

“We’re taking out food and… sand materials and a chest.”

“Right.”

As Mr. Isato operates the air, I try to recall the contents of my warehouse.

Our plan is simple.

We’ll pack the chest with enough food for the villagers to live comfortably for a while and leave it in Karat.

That’s it.

Simple is best.

Think of the chest as a large, stationary inventory. It’s convenient, but it has its pros and cons compared to our basic inventory.

The regular inventory can hold any number of items as long as the weight limit isn’t exceeded, while the chest can hold an unlimited amount of a specific type of item without a weight limit.

Incidentally, if you try to store a chest in your inventory, the weight of everything inside it is counted, so you can’t create an infinite inventory by stuffing it with chests. I’m not the only one who tried this and ended up stuck due to weight overload.

…Mr. Isato must have done it too.

“Hey, Akiyoshi.”

“Hmm?”

“How much food do you have?”

“Hmm…, I was more into potions, so I don’t have much food. I used to sell the drops in bulk once I had enough.”

“I see. Then a small chest with three drawers should be enough, right?”

“Right. Still, it’s surprising that Mr. Isato has a chest.”

As I mentioned earlier, a chest is a stationary storage item. Unlike a warehouse, it can’t be accessed from anywhere. In that sense, to use a chest conveniently, its purpose must be very limited.

When I said he had one, Mr. Isato shook his head easily.

“I don’t have one.”

“…Huh?”

I froze.

Wait, wait.

I have a really bad feeling about this.

“Anyway, I’m pretty sure Akiyoshi will be shocked—…”

Mr. Isato’s gaze wandered to a distant place as he finished operating the monument and turned to us. He casually tossed out rare drop woods, planes, nails, and other DIY materials.

No way. No way, no way.

In front of me, Mr. Isato raised his hand towards the materials and—… activated the furniture crafting skill.

“Hey, why do you have the furniture crafter skill, dammit!!!”

“It was just a whim!!!”

With a “plop,” the completed chest appeared in front of me, and I couldn’t help but bark at Mr. Isato.

Again, this guy has escaped the hardship of leveling up his main job to get a new crafter skill…!!!!!

“Who said you were going to focus on leveling up your main job, the spirit mage, to increase your firepower…!!!”

“It was me!!! Because!!! It’s so troublesome to keep returning to the city to restock items when I go hunting to level up!!! So I thought having a chest would help me level up faster!!!”

“What about the ‘house’ to place the chest, what were you planning to do about that…!!!”

“Well, that…, I thought I’d get permission from Akiyoshi and Remone after the fact… or something…”

Mr. Isato’s tone dropped in the second half.

That’s right.

To use a chest conveniently, you need a “house.”

For us adventurers, who basically live day-to-day, the concept of a house isn’t that important. We log out when we’re not adventuring, so it doesn’t matter where we log out.

So why is a house important?

The answer lies in its location.

A “house” exists on the land given by the fairy king Oberon after completing the quest “The Request of the Fairy King Oberon.” This land is a piece of the fairy king’s domain, which can be accessed from anywhere.

This means—… a “convenient home” that can be accessed from anywhere.

If you place a chest in this house, you can restock items without having to return to a large city with a warehouse.

This is the advantage Mr. Isato is talking about.

If the hunting ground is far from the city, it becomes very troublesome to return to the city every time your drops accumulate or your recovery items run out. I can understand why Mr. Isato wants a house for convenient hunting.

If my memory serves, Mr. Isato (the guy) hadn’t even received the Oberon quest yet. More accurately, he hadn’t received permission from Remone to take the Oberon quest.

So why can he make a chest?

In the game, there are three ways to get a chest. One is to gather materials and acquire the furniture crafter skill to make it yourself. Another is to gather materials and pay an NPC with the furniture crafter skill a high price to make it for you.

Generally, people ask NPCs to make it. Even if they get overcharged or the NPC accidentally fails and ruins the materials, it’s easier than raising the furniture crafter skill to the point where you can make a chest yourself.

The most common method is the third one, where you ask a player who has chosen a production skill on a whim to make it for you. I asked Remone to make the chest I have at my house. More accurately, I asked Remone’s sub-character.

“I think the guy (Mr. Isato) should be killed by Remone once.”

“…Ugh.”

If Remone finds out that Mr. Isato secretly acquired the furniture crafter skill—especially to the point where he can make a chest, which is quite a high level—she’ll tear him apart while laughing maniacally.

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