kscans

Chapter 123 - Shopping and a Familiar Face

Hayato, Ash, and Ren were walking down the main street of the Royal Capital Anhemudal.

Since it was a weekday morning, there were few players, but the many NPCs filled the area with life. Although dragons were attacking in a Stampede, the city's recovery was surprisingly swift, likely due to having repelled two of them already.

Hayato wondered where to go first.

He had a few things to buy, but he decided to head to the Herb Shop to gather materials for alchemy first.

The Herb Shop sold a variety of plants. It was popular with players who had the Alchemy or Cooking Skills because of its wide selection, but it was also popular for other reasons.

Though it was a virtual reality, the game could almost perfectly replicate the five senses, so some enjoyed the scents like aromatherapy. It was a popular spot for players who enjoyed it that way, even without the Alchemy Skill.

When Hayato explained they were going to the Herb Shop, Ash tilted his head.

"Wouldn't it be faster to gather herbs from a nearby forest? I'm sure you could get a decent amount with your Herb Knowledge Skill, Hayato."

Gathering herbs with the Herb Knowledge Skill increased the amount obtained and the chance of finding rare plants. It would certainly be much cheaper than paying money at a shop.

"The herbs I'm planning to buy can't be gathered unless the climate conditions are right. There's a place where I could get them anytime if I traveled far enough, but I don't have the time to go all the way there, so I figured I'd solve it with money. The Dragon Eater Replica sold for a pretty good price, you see. Spending money isn't a problem."

"I see. I don't really know what kind of herbs grow where... Understood. Alright, let's head to the shop right away."

As Ash started to walk off, Ren stopped him.

"Jeez, you're in too much of a hurry, big brother. Why don't you try walking slowly and enjoying the city view for once?"

"Well, it would be a problem if the items are sold out, right? That's why I thought we should get there and buy them quickly."

"They won't sell out that easily. The things we're planning to buy today are a little expensive because they're hard to gather. I doubt anyone can afford to buy so many that they run out of stock, even if they need them."

In this game, even items at NPC-run shops could sell out. There was a unique distribution system, and both the number of items in stock and their prices would change depending on it. In the worst cases, a shop could even go out of business.

(Even though they're NPCs, they're still controlled by humans. The shop's inventory changes sometimes. I guess everyone is properly living in this world.)

"Hayato-san, by the way, what kind of herbs are you buying? Laughing Grass or something?"

"Why would you think I'd buy that? I'm buying Lightning Grass and Wind-Snow Grass. They're pretty expensive since you can't gather them unless the weather is just right. I'll buy some other things too, but those are the main ones for today."

"I don't really know, but what do you use them for?"

"Those two are for the Stampede. You could call them a countermeasure for the Illusion Dragon."

Hayato had never seen the Illusion Dragon's Stampede up close, but thanks to information from Diite, he knew a certain amount about his opponent.

The Illusion Dragon Suien Mikazuki was a dragon that spread a mist around it which induced bad statuses. It wasn't that strong, but it was recognized as a difficult dragon to fight.

Its main bad statuses were poison and paralysis. Poison dealt damage to HP or MP at regular intervals, while paralysis caused a state of being unable to move for a moment that lasted for several minutes.

There were several types of poison, and this one wasn't particularly potent, but it was subtly troublesome. As for paralysis, it caused the body to freeze for an instant every few seconds, which was loathed because it would interrupt weapon skills mid-activation.

Both could be cured with an Antidote Potion or a Paralysis Cure Potion, or with Holy Magic, but the Illusion Dragon spammed its mist creation, so even if you were cured, you would immediately get the same bad status again.

"I can make rings and bracelets that grant poison or paralysis immunity, but we're using those slots for knockback and stun immunity. So I have to deal with it another way."

"Does that mean there's a medicine for poison and paralysis immunity?"

"Sharp as ever, Ren-chan. That's correct."

"Yay. In that case, I'd like some pudding, please!"

"Hey, I never said I'd give you pudding for being right, did I? Anyway, there's a medicine that can prevent poison and paralysis, though only temporarily, so I was thinking of buying the ingredients to make it. I'm sure other people are thinking the same thing, but I really doubt it'll be sold out."

Hayato continued toward the Herb Shop as they talked.

When Hayato's group stepped into the store, another customer seemed to be talking with the clerk.

That alone wouldn't have been a problem, but Hayato recognized the customer.

The customer seemed to notice Hayato too, stopping his conversation with the clerk and approaching them.

"You're Hayato-san from Daedalus... aren't you?"

"It's been a while... I'm sorry, I don't know your name."

"No, of course you wouldn't. I never introduced myself. But it seems you remember me?"

"This might be a weird way to put it, but you're hard to forget. You're from the Demon Summoning Research Association, right?"

"Yes, thank you for that time."

The man who bowed his head was a member of the Demon Summoning Research Association they had fought in the Clan War. The reason Hayato remembered him was because of his shady attire, but he obviously didn't say that.

Ash and Ren didn't seem to remember him and were wary at first, but upon hearing Hayato's words, they relaxed their guard.

The man had been wearing a deep, black, hooded robe, but he pulled back the hood. Underneath was a gentle-looking young man. He had brownish black hair and a young face that looked to be in his late teens.

From his voice, Hayato had assumed he was older, but it seemed he just had a low, mature sounding voice.

"Pardon my delay in introducing myself. I'm Adrian, the leader of the Demon Summoning Research Association."

"As you seem to know, I'm Hayato, the leader of Daedalus. These two are my clan members, Ash and Ren."

After they all exchanged greetings, Adrian smiled.

"This is the first time we've spoken like this. After you all defeated a Duke-class Demon, I'd been wanting to talk to you. Do you have a moment now?"

"Uh, just a little while."

Adrian's smile widened. "Then just for a bit."

According to Adrian, after they lost the Clan War, he had thought about visiting their base several times but had refrained, thinking they would be busy during the war. He had tried going once after the Clan War ended, but only a maid clerk was there and Hayato was absent, so he had given up.

However, he had recently spotted what looked like Hayato during a Stampede he was participating in and was planning to visit soon. To run into him here of all places was a stroke of luck, he said.

"Your clan finished in fourth place, if I recall. If we lost to a clan that made it into the top five, I can accept that."

"It's a relief to hear you say that. But I never expected you to use a Duke-class Demon. I knew you would do something unpredictable, though."

Hayato had heard various things about the Demon Summoning Research Association from the Maid Guild. He had been told they would do something that would be protested as cheating, so he had been mentally prepared. If he had seen that without any warning, he might have panicked even more.

"We were surprised too, you know? I never thought you'd have an attack that could shave off two thirds of that demon's HP. And that vampire who kept reviving over and over. I was like, what is that?"

"Hey now, we were thinking the same thing. Being able to summon a boss that appears in large scale battles, what is that?"

Hayato and Adrian spoke with smiles the entire time. It wasn't sportsmanship, exactly, but more a mutual acknowledgment that they had both done their best.

They continued to reminisce about the Clan War, but then Adrian adopted an apologetic expression.

"Oh, my apologies. I only meant to talk for a moment, but this has gone on longer than I expected."

"No, it's fine. By the way, you seemed to be discussing something with the clerk earlier?"

"Ah, yes. I actually came to buy a certain herb, but it was sold out, so I was asking when they would get more in stock."

Hayato felt a pang of anxiety.

To put it simply, this was a flag. He had the feeling a massive flag was being raised.

"And that herb would be...?"

"Lightning Grass and Wind-Snow Grass. Apparently, a gunman like man and a cleric like woman bought them all up in large quantities. Hayato-san, is something wrong? You and Ash-san's group are all making grim faces."

(Come to think of it, were the facilities we destroyed in the Imperial and Demon Capitals herb shops? They're using some obvious countermeasures.)

Hayato had other ways to nullify status effects, but they were a lot of trouble, so he preferred not to rely on them if he could help it.

It looked like he would have to go gather the herbs himself, Hayato thought.