kscans

Chapter 86 - The Rabbit's Horn

To get straight to the point, I got chewed out.

Or more accurately, Kagura-san, in a state of excitement that bordered on fury, cornered me, and after a series of incidents where I was almost pushed over—

“Sorry.”

“Well…”

There was Kagura-san, looking awkward after calming down, and me, left with nothing but a wry smile. On the table in front of the artisan, who was uncharacteristically blushing with embarrassment, lay a single ‘crimson’ horn.

—Item name, [Ruby Rabbit Demon Horn]. It was, quite literally, the iconic horn of the [Ruby Bullet Rabbit].

This material was the reason Kagura-san had become as flustered as when she saw the [Withered Fragment of the God-Wedge], the material that became my [Prologue: Wedge Fragment Singing of Eternity (Angalta)]… because this horn was, without a doubt, a brand-new, never-before-seen material.

The [Ruby Rabbit Rabbit] itself had been known since the early days when players started advancing into the Garden, and it had been defeated before.

The dungeon it inhabited was, needless to say, impossible, but if you wanted to hunt a single rabbit, there were plenty of ways. Like I had been doing during my clear, you could block it with a shield and let it self-destruct.

Naturally, players had sized up its appearance and figured, “That horn has got to be a great material,” and for a time, there was even a period of mass hunting (during which the players were also hunted in return). But…

No drops. No finds. Nothing.

No matter how they defeated it, even if they managed to break the horn before killing it, there was no sign of the horn ever dropping.

On top of that, there was an animation where the horn would glow and shatter upon death or when the part was broken, leading to the prevailing theory that either a special acquisition condition existed, or it simply wasn't a material that could be obtained… and so it had been left alone.

—Now, I would like you to take a look at the solo clear reward I obtained from the [Spiral Crimson Tower], the [Spiral Crimson Ring].

[Spiral Crimson Ring] Accessory: Ring MID +100 Non-transferable
A proof of the Ruby Rabbit's affection, given to one who conquered the tower alone. The wearer is treated as one of their kind and earns the right to win the symbol of their pride.

Do you see it now?

Yes, it was one of the prevailing theories— “some kind of special acquisition condition.” And here it is. Thank you very much.

This was the main purpose of my material gathering after clearing the [Spiral Crimson Tower].

While equipped with the [Spiral Crimson Ring], you have to break the horn of a [Ruby Rabbit Rabbit] without defeating it—that was the acquisition condition for the [Ruby Rabbit Demon Horn].

I mean, it was tough.

Against an enemy charging at an insane speed, any clumsy counter-attack would result in either me or the rabbit exploding.

If I tried to stop its movement by blocking it with [Prologue: Wedge Fragment Singing of Eternity (Angalta)], it would self-destruct.

In the end, there was no other way but to “smack the horn from the side with perfect timing,” and until I got used to it, I racked up quite a few more game overs.

I can only offer my wholehearted praise to my 《Quit Counter》-kun, which, in combination with the newly acquired 《Fatal Leak》, performed an unprecedentedly great service. I’m sorry for treating you like you were useless until now…

Anyway, the Demon Horn was a dream material for many reasons. Even I get a little excited when I hear “new material,” so it’s understandable that Kagura-san, an artisan, would get even more worked up.

“Think you can make something good?”

“...Honestly, it’s a pretty unexpected item. I thought it was a pure physical monster focused entirely on AGI, but then—a Demon Horn.”

“That surprised me too.”

That rabbit—I thought it was a speed freak with all its stats dumped into AGI, but it turned out to be a magical creature with all its stats in MID.

The flavor text of the material revealed that its absurd speed and the unique properties of its horn were all realized through magic.

In fact, its body was treated like a magical construct, a sort of clone… which would explain its all-out suicide attacks. No matter how many times it exploded, it was never truly ‘defeated’ in the real sense.

“But, well… yeah, I guarantee it. I can make something interesting out of this.”

As she said that with a smile, I could see a familiar, flame-like emotion flickering in Kagura-san's eyes. I have no idea what kind of item it will become, but seeing her like this, I’m sure I can expect great things.

“Just a hunch, but it seems more suited for a weapon, right?”

“I’d say so. It lacks the stability to be used as armor, and for accessories, you already have a fine actor on stage. Both for its original purpose and to expand your own arsenal, turning it into a weapon would be the best choice.”

“What’ll it be?” she asked, looking at me. I thought for a moment.

“The size is just right, so I’d like a good dagger around now… oh, it would definitely be great as a spear too.”

“For now, what do you need the most?”

“…A dagger. I want to start graduating from my store-bought items as soon as possible.”

“You got it,” Kagura-san nodded. I opened the usual trade window to hand over the materials. I selected the [Ruby Rabbit Demon Horn] from my inventory and set the quantity to entrust—

“Ah, how many do you need? And what about the commission fee?”

“If I’m just making a single dagger, well, one would be enough.”

“However,” Kagura-san continued.

“Unfortunately, this is a new material I’ve never touched before. I can’t imagine I’d be able to make anything decent on my first try… I’ll need at least five or six for practice, or as spares. As for the commission fee, we can just call it even with the practice materials.”

“I’m already getting more than enough out of the technical experience,” she confirmed. But for me, who already considered Kagura-san practically family, there was no problem.

If anything, I don’t recall ever paying her a ‘fee’ for anything before. Isn’t that more of a problem on my end?

“In that case, would it be better if you had as many as possible? If so, there’s no point in me holding onto them, so I can just give you all I have now.”

“Ah, well, I wouldn’t mind having as many as… wait. The way you say that makes it sound like you have a lot more than I thought—”

“Well then, please accept this.”

—Do you want to entrust Kagura with [Ruby Rabbit Demon Horn] x219?

“—…………”

“Yeah, this material is ridiculously light, so mass farming was a breeze…”

And after some back and forth… it was decided that for the time being, all my commission fees to Kagura-san would be waived.