Chapter 374 - Chapter 329 The Seed of the Problem
Friday
After school. Back from the port, I finally took a breather.
"Phew, I'm back."
"Woof" ""Bow""
"~~~♪" """~~~♪"""
After that yesterday, I helped the Selkies with their olive picking before heading back to the port for the night.
On the way back, I'd put a medium wine barrel into the Ancient Magic Storage in the Large Transfer Room, but I still needed to make some Camlus Fruit compote.
Shou-kun. For the next live stream, will you be going out through the church's main gate?
"That's the plan. But I'm only intending it to be a brief reconnaissance, really."
If I go and return within the live stream's timeframe, it'll probably just be enough to exit the main gate and investigate that dilapidated house I saw.
I hope it's not dangerous…
"We're only going as far as we can see, so I think it'll be fine. It's not just Lupi; Leda and Roy will be with us too."
"Woof"
""Bow!""
I gave the three of them who'd answered so enthusiastically a good pat, then quickly prepared their meal.
Oh, right. For Sweee and the others, Torotoro Dried Papu Fruit should be fine.
Is tonight for preparations, then?
"Hmm, I don't think much preparation is needed. More importantly, I'm thinking of making an alloy for the Mana Transmission Line today."
I see. If your Alchemy skill goes up, you might be able to create even more types of metals, right?
"Yeah. There's also the stairs to get to Pan's place, and a roof for True's cave."
A light, strong, rust-resistant metal. Mithril might fit the bill, but it's too cost-inefficient. I'd rather make something with iron, light silver, and copper.
"And I might want to improve my Ken-nata and knives soon."
There's also your bow, you know.
"Oh, right. I wonder if I can make something light yet flexible? Maybe I should try making wire first."
You're going to improve the rope further, then.
"Yep."
*My Trap Crafting skill was stuck at 6, and Trap Setting/Disarming at 7.
That's probably because I'm setting the same traps in similar locations.
I made all sorts of things when I wiped out the goblins, maybe I should try that again…*
…
…
…
"I'm home."
Welcome back.
Returning to the physical Club Room just in time, I found Bell-bucho back earlier than usual.
Yata-sensei was still doing something… probably related to final exams, I bet.
"You're back. I have a quick question, if you don't mind?"
"Oh, yes. What is it?"
"Apparently, some Transfer Magic Circles have been found in the Necropolis."
"Oh…"
According to Bell-bucho, several Transfer Magic Circles were found in front of the southern church, after removing the rubble from a collapsed tower.
Well, yeah. Azure-san did mention there were Transfer Magic Circles in the tower I visited too, different from the one I used.
Did they work?
"No, apparently none of them worked. Do you know why?"
"Uh, I have a hunch… or rather, the [Appraisal] results mentioned, 'If there's an obstruction on top of the destination magic circle, it won't work'…"
Bell-bucho looked enlightened by my answer.
"But that was written in the [Appraisal] when I first found it, too."
"Oh, really? I only heard rumors from the people remaining in the Necropolis. My apologies."
"No, no, I understand."
*Bell-bucho and her group are already back in Anheim Territory, I guess.
Nat and his guild members are back in Rashad Territory, apparently attacking the ancient ruins deep within the Gnome Village, commonly known as the 'Inner Ancient Dungeon'.*
Will they be able to find out where those Transfer Magic Circles lead?
"Who knows? You probably won't know unless you try using them."
"So if they tried to see if the ones they found were usable…"
"They probably tried, yes."
Bell-bucho gave an exasperated look.
I thought, 'They really go for it,' but it's a game, so trying it before logging off, even risking a death penalty, is a valid strategy.
"By the way, are those things portable?"
"I wonder? I don't know that much, but what about the one on Shou-kun's island?"
"Ah, the one in the mountain cabin could be moved, so I transferred it underground as a precaution. If anything happens there, it can be contained. And Nina has it fixed in place for me."
"Fixed in place? Nina is like a Dungeon Core, isn't she?"
"Yes, that's right."
Was that too much information?
No, it's probably better to tell them. There's a chance they could find them in other ancient ruins too.
"It's more like making the magic tool itself immovable from that spot. Transfer Magic Circles are tools that shouldn't change location, and storage boxes should probably be fixed in place too, considering theft."
"Oh, how interesting…"
Bell-bucho seemed to be pondering something after my explanation.
Bucho?
"Oh, forgive me. If such Transfer Magic Circles are found on the mainland, I suspect there will be disputes over their operation in the future."
"Ah… yeah, there probably will be disputes. It's all been vague, but the issues between the Empire and the Principality haven't been resolved either."
"Well, that's only if the Transfer Magic Circles actually work, isn't it?"
True.
Ultimately, it depends on where those Transfer Magic Circles lead.
Um… what will happen to those Transfer Magic Circles they found?
"Apparently, a fan of Game Dolls found them, so I imagine it's up to them."
"…Will that really be okay?"
Considering what happened with the Uninhabited Island Start…
Bell-bucho gave a wry smile and said,
"Well, I suppose it'll be fine as long as they can't use them. More importantly, someone might appear from Shou-kun's Transfer Magic Circle, so you should be careful."
"Oh, that's already covered with a stone wall."
After the World Quest ended and I returned, I made sure to place a stone wall over it to render it unusable.
If I ever use it again, it'll probably be when I go to pick up Mion…