Chapter 57 - World Quest?
“Woof!”
Lupi naturally won the race home. Still, the fact that I managed to keep up without falling too far behind might be thanks to my stats? Although, there’s also the theory that Lupi went easy on me.
Aren’t you going to set traps?
“I’m thinking of upgrading the vines a bit.”
Upgrade?
I figured it’d be faster to show her, so I quickly started working.
I lightly stripped the vines with the club I got from the goblin, peeling off only the bark. I gathered this and boiled it in an earthenware pot. It’s apparently good to add a little ash to the water.
“It’s great that even time-consuming tasks finish in 15 minutes. After this, if I dry and weave it, it’ll become rope.”
That’s amazing. Shou-kun, where did you learn all that?
“Probably from my dad. When I was in elementary school, he dragged me camping all over the place.”
More like bivouacking than camping? I feel like he taught me all sorts of survival skills, but in IRO, securing drinking water and starting a fire can both be done with magic.
While it was boiling, I made a simple clothesline. Though, it was just rebuilding the tent frame I’d assembled before.
“Is it ready yet?”
Please don’t burn yourself.
“It’s fine, it’s fine.”
I used the club to entangle it and transferred it to a pot filled with water.
After lightly washing and squeezing it, I hung it to dry, and it felt like I was doing laundry at home...
Will this dry in 15 minutes too? Well, while I wait, I’ll go check on the river.
“Lupi, don’t jump into the river this time, okay?”
“Woof.”
When I went down to the river and looked into the enclosure, about five fairly large river fish had entered.
“Alright, alright. Then, I’ll close the entrance, and all that’s left is to catch them. Lupi, if they try to escape, I’m counting on you.”
“Woof!”
I tossed the caught fish into the pot.
Lupi perfectly caught the ones that tried to jump out and escape!
“Nice!”
Lupi-chan, nice!
All five fish I caught seemed to be the same species. For now, Appraisal.
[Flower Trout]
*A freshwater fish that prefers clear streams.
Cuisine: Typically grilled. Smoked is also delicious.*
Oh! This looks delicious. Just as I was thinking of going back and grilling it right away,
[Ancient Ruins Discovered!]
“Eh?”
Ah, right. It said “discovered,” so it wasn’t me.
This must be a World Announcement that some other player found it.
I’ll go take a look.
“Ah, yeah.”
Mion probably went to peek at the Official Forum. It shouldn’t have anything to do with this island, so I didn’t think there was any need to rush.
“Lupi, let’s go back and cook. You don’t hate fish, do you?”
“Woof.”
Even though I say cook, for now, it’ll probably just be skewering and grilling.
Hmm, I want a frying pan... Or rather, when I think about cooking, there are too many things I lack, like oil, flour, butter, and so on. This Flower Trout is apparently delicious smoked too, but again, I need salt and spices, so I guess I should seriously start thinking about salt soon.
.........
...
...
I gutted the Flower Trout, put them on skewers, and held them over a distant fire.
Lupi was watching with sparkling eyes and a wagging tail, which was adorable.
I thought it might taste bland without salt, but the fat was dripping nicely, perhaps because it was fatty...
I’m back.
“Welcome back. Did you find anything?”
It seems Bell-buchou’s party found the Ancient Ruins. I saw screenshots, and Seth-chan was in them too.
“Seriously...”
According to Mion, they found an Ancient Ruins tower on the southeastern side of the Kingdom.
It was apparently quite a tall tower, but they couldn’t see it until they got close. Well, maybe it’s a game-gimmick like thing?
She apparently said something about going inside during tomorrow’s live stream.
“Hmm, so they didn’t rush in immediately after finding it today. Or rather, maybe they just saved it for tomorrow’s content.”
Will you watch Bell-buchou’s live stream tomorrow?
“Hmm, I guess I’ll ask during club activities tomorrow.”
Of course, I want to watch, but I also have a lot to do. Oh, are the fish ready?
“Hot!”
I transferred one to a wooden plate and split it with a knife. It seemed to be thoroughly cooked inside.
“Just a little longer.”
“Woof.”
Lupi sniffed, unable to wait. I didn’t want her to burn herself, so I made her ‘wait’ just a little longer.
Just as I transferred the remaining four fish to plates,
[Cooking skill level increased!]
Ah, yeah. I don’t know if there’s any difference when the level goes up, but oh well.
More than that, I was curious about the finished product. I took a bite with chopsticks made from Hermit Bamboo...
“Delicious! Lupi, you can eat. Don’t burn yourself, it’s hot.”
“Woof!”
She ate heartily from the cooled parts. And she’s strong enough to crunch through bones!
It looks delicious...
Mion muttered enviously, but I couldn’t share any with her.
We both polished off all five fish and were completely full. My Satiation must be over 100%...
[Ancient Ruins Discovered!]
“What! Again?!”
I’ll go check.
“Ah, yeah, go ahead.”
Lupi seemed to be in nap mode after getting full, so I guess I’d weave some rope.
I twisted two sufficiently dried vine barks together. The thickness would be about the same as the unprocessed vines, but the strength should have increased considerably.
“Hm, good.”
As I lightly pulled it to check its strength,
[Material Processing skill level increased!]
This time it’s this one. Well, they say it goes up to 5 quickly if you keep at it.
Still, Mion hasn’t come back...
[World Quest initiated!]
“Huh?!”
World... Quest? What’s that??
Shou-kun, I’m back. But something else seems to have happened.
“Yeah, it’s a World Quest. I’ll take a look.”
The in-game notification was glowing, so I opened it.
Wait, there was a quest confirmation window? Miki (Seth) didn’t use it either, I had no idea... Bell-buchou was looking at it, I think.
“Uh...”
[World Quest: Expansion of Living Space]
*Emperor Gicrest of the Grania Empire passed away without naming a successor, and the struggle for succession between First Imperial Prince Sigmund and Second Imperial Prince Burklest escalated into a civil war.
Citizens of the Empire who detested war fled to the Wolkelst Kingdom and the Marsis Republic, forcing both nations to expand their living space due to a rapid population increase.
Objective: Clear monsters from undeveloped land, and develop new towns. Completion Status: 0%*
“That’s a huge order. It says to create new towns.”
Will players be building towns where only players live?
“Hmm, I don’t think that’s possible, though...”
There aren’t any people who want to roleplay as shop clerks or guild receptionists... Or maybe there are, but not many.