Chapter 309 - Chapter 272 Completion, Installation, and Then...
Saturday
"Alright, finished!"
After taking breaks, the wooden [Jade Goddess Statue] was completed in three hours starting Saturday afternoon.
[Crafting skill level increased!]
[Crafting (Woodcraft) skill level increased!]
[Crafting (Woodcraft) skill level increased!]
With this, my [Crafting] skill was at 9, just shy of a breakthrough, and [Crafting (Woodcraft)] was at 3. [Crafting] seems to have a wide range of applications, so if there's a higher-tier skill after cap breakthrough, I definitely want it.
[Crafting (Woodcraft) Arts
Huh? Arts? What are Arts for production skills? Um, Nat taught me how to check what kind of Arts they are: open the menu, select skills from stats, and then select Arts within that…
[Crafting (Woodcraft) > Self-Replication]
An Art that instantly replicates products made using Woodcraft skill.
Requires all necessary materials and tools to be in possession.
Replicas will not exceed the quality of the original.
MP Consumption: Varies by original product size. Cooldown: Original product creation time x2
It felt like a somewhat subtle Art. The cooldown was there, and it was quite long. Ah, no, if I use the Art, I can make the same thing quickly and do other things during the cooldown, so it's actually super useful. Things I'd want to re-make with woodworking… wooden cooking tools and tableware?
"~~~?"
As I groaned, Sweee poked my cheek. She had been off playing with Lupi and the others, but it was getting late, so they probably came back. "The Arts can wait for later. Sweee, what do you think of this [Jade Goddess Statue]?"
"~~~♪"
She put a hand to her chin, observed it with a professional air, then… gave me a firm thumbs-up. With the Queen's seal of approval, it should be fine to place in the church.
"Woof."
"Oh, is that a flower crown?"
"""~~~♪"""
The Fairies apparently made it to match the wooden statue, and they gently placed it on the goddess statue's head. Yeah, I need to find avatar costumes for Mion that resemble this.
""Bow!""
"Leda and Roy, thank you too."
They seemed to have caught two [Forebit] each, for a total of four. I quickly dismantled them and cut them up for snacks. I made sure to pet and praise them thoroughly. The remaining meat went into my inventory for now… Ah, no, I have to take the goddess statue to the church, so I need to clear some inventory space.
"Wait a moment. I'm taking this to the church, so I'll get ready."
"Woofn."
Thanks to [Spatial Magic]'s
………
……
…
In my inventory, I had the life-sized wooden [Jade Goddess Statue] and one piece of [Amama Fabric]. Leading Lupi, Sweee, and the others, I headed to the back of the church.
"I'm just placing it there, so you can do whatever you like."
"""~~~♪"""
As I called out, the Fairies flew off towards the [Grapeful] trees. Sweee remained seated on my shoulder, apparently wanting to see it through. I'd make her some [Dried Grapeful] or [Frozen Grapeful] later.
"Oh, thanks."
I opened the church's front door and stepped inside. In the dim light, Sweee quickly conjured a light from a [Light Spirit] for me. From what I'd looked up in real life, the altar was at the back. The large hall leading up to it, with two rows of benches, was the nave. The paths on either side were the aisles. I walked straight down the nave to the altar. In the back, where the apse was, I checked the pedestal.
"Wait a moment. I'll clean it before placing it."
"~~~♪"
Sweee's [Wind Spirit Magic] swept up the thin layer of dust and carried it out the front door. I lightly wiped the pedestal with a mop made from [Greydeer] leather… Is this good enough? I'd get to the altar and benches later.
Alright, time to place it. I felt a little nervous…
"Heave-ho. Hmm, a little more this way… Okay."
[Safe Zone added!]
"Oh, it worked!"
A gentle, pale green light began to spread from the base of the goddess statue, eventually covering the entire interior of the church. It even leaked out through the front door, so it looked like the fields behind and the area around the gate would also become a [Safe Zone]. I was prepared to try a stone statue if wood didn't work, and then a bronze statue if stone didn't… but it worked, thankfully.
[Is that alright?]
"Huh? Nina? You can talk here?"
[Yes. More precisely, I just became able to talk a moment ago.]
Ah, oh! Is it because I placed the goddess statue? …Is that pedestal a switch or something? No, more importantly,
"Didn't you say all facilities were operating normally before?"
[Yes. In the absence of a statue, the area falls outside the mana supply target as per initial settings.]
Ah, yes, ma'am… Yeah, her very mechanical response was typical of an AI. "Anyway, understood. Oh, can you light up the inside of this dark church?"
[Yes. Would you like to turn on the lighting for the chapel interior and the basement?]
"Yeah, both… wait, basement?! There's a basement here?"
[Yes. There are stairs to the basement under the altar.]
Seriously… I was incredibly curious, but Mion wasn't here now, and there wasn't time. "For now, could you just light up the chapel interior?"
[Yes. Understood.]
With her reply, the interior of the building became quite bright. It seemed to be because lantern-like lighting fixtures between the windows on the second floor had lit up. I wonder what kind of magic tools they were…
"Woof?"
"~~~?"
"Ah, yeah. Let's head back for now."
The basement was intriguing, but I'd seal it off for today's live stream and try to visit it tomorrow night. "Nina. There aren't any monsters in that basement, are there?"
[No. No abnormal mana has been detected.]
"Do you know what that basement is used for?"
[No. However, it is not a place for humans to reside, but rather a structure resembling a storage facility.]
A very ordinary underground storage? Well, I'll investigate on Sunday. I'll refrain until the [World Quest] ends…
………
……
…
"Oh, it arrived. And it's huge!"
When I descended into the [Large Transfer Room], there it was, right beside me. It was about two sizes larger than the [Magic Storage Box] on the first floor of the [Mountain Cabin], and looked like it had about four times the capacity. I wondered how many sweets Argenta wanted…
"Nina. Did this arrive while I was gone?"
[Yes. Dragon: Individual name Argenta brought it via transfer and transported it to the current location.]
"Got it. This isn't something to recycle, so don't dispose of it, okay?"
[Yes. Understood.]
After tonight's live stream, I'll have to make a huge batch of `warabi mochi`…