kscans

Chapter 154 - Treasure Hunting

What Diite called Treasure Hunting was, simply put, a treasure hunt.

In Another Frontier Online, there were several systems classified as Treasure Hunting.

The most straightforward was finding treasure chests in dungeons. Treasure chests appeared randomly within dungeons. There were various types, and the quality of the contents differed depending on the material. They ranged from iron to Adamantite, and it was said that the more valuable the metal, the better the loot inside. There were even rumors of chests made from a metal superior to Adamantite, Hihiirokane.

These chests were also locked. Monsters in the dungeon would rarely drop keys, and using those keys to open the chests was common practice.

The keys could only be used within the same dungeon, and the material of the key had to match the material of the chest. Because of this, many players found it tedious to search for the corresponding chest and would just sell the keys at auction.

Furthermore, chests made of low-value metals didn't contain anything remarkable, and it was more profitable to just fight monsters normally. Unless it was a Mithril, Orichalcum, or Adamantite chest, the time spent didn't match the reward.

"My main thing was always dragon slaying, so I've never actually opened a dungeon chest. In dungeons, I've only ever gone to the boss room and defeated the boss."

Ren nodded as Ash said this.

The memory of going to the boss room in the Labyrinth Castle, a place filled with undead monsters, time and time again to obtain cursed equipment was still fresh. It wasn't just Ash. The majority of players probably did the same. It was simply easier to just defeat monsters, and the rewards were good for the effort. It was only natural to choose that path if you were going to spend the same amount of time.

"And chests have traps, right? I've heard disarming them is a pain."

Treasure chests were set with traps. You couldn't get the contents just by unlocking them, you had to disarm the trap as well. There was the option of intentionally triggering the trap, but depending on the type, it could cause significant problems, so it was said to be dangerous.

Disarming required the Trap Disarm skill, but few players had it. Even fewer had it raised to 100. Since the total number of skill points was capped, the mainstream approach was to invest in production skills if you had extra points. Unless a player was roleplaying as a thief or something similar, they wouldn't bother raising the skill.

"So you're saying it's not an event everyone can enjoy. There probably aren't many players who would change their skill composition at this point..."

"How about increasing the key drop rate or lowering the effectiveness of traps for the duration of the event? And maybe improving the contents?"

"I see. That might increase the number of players who participate."

"And since it's an event, that means we'll get some kind of points again, and there will be prize money, right?"

"That's right. This time, rather than points, it's a system where you collect an item called a Treasure Coin. You can get them from any of the Treasure Hunting systems. You'll get prize money for collecting a certain amount, and I plan to give out prizes to the top ten players with the most coins in the end. Of course, I'll also give prizes to the top-ranking clans based on their total coin count."

Diite responded to Esha's opinions and questions.

Hayato thought to himself that if there was prize money, everyone would bite, but he didn't say it out loud. He felt that Diite had been thinking a lot lately about how to make the game more enjoyable for the players, and he didn't think that was a bad thing.

Hayato had been listening to the conversation between Diite and Hypnos, but he didn't know how an AI or an administrator should act, nor what was right.

He simply found the current Diite more likable than before. His affection level for her wasn't bad to begin with, but now she seemed more human, and Hayato welcomed it.

"Hayato-kun, what is it? You've been looking at me for a while now, as if watching something heartwarming?"

"Ah, sorry. By the way, what other Treasure Hunting systems are there besides dungeon chests?"

"Right, there are a few. Hayato-kun, do you know of an item called an Ancient Scroll?"

"I've heard of it, but I don't know the details."

"Then let me explain."

An Ancient Scroll was, to put it simply, a treasure map. It indicated a location where a treasure chest lay buried, which could be obtained by digging it up.

Although it was called a map, the method for indicating the location varied. Sometimes it was an actual map, other times it was just coordinates, or even a cipher.

This had to be solved by the players themselves, regardless of their skills. The Ancient Scroll also had a time limit. It had a mechanism where if you didn't find the location within an hour of looking at it, it would crumble into dust.

And even if you knew where the treasure was, there was a possibility that powerful monsters were roaming the area, so it wasn't as if you didn't need any combat strength at all.

There were other reasons as well, but due to these mechanics, it was not a very popular piece of content in the game.

"There's no key like in a dungeon, right? How do you open the chest once you've dug it up?"

"You have no choice but to open it with the Lockpicking skill. Actually, dungeon chests can also be opened with the Lockpicking skill, which is part of the reason for its unpopularity. A player with both Lockpicking and Trap Disarm at 100 would be a rare sight. I doubt any player would break their current skill composition to raise them after the event starts."

Everyone had limited skill points. On top of that, raising a skill to 100 was difficult. Breaking a skill composition that had been raised to 100 would be a heart-wrenching decision. Hayato, too, had no intention of changing his skill composition now.

"Couldn't you just ask the Thieves' Guild to handle the lockpicking and trap disarming?"

Ren suddenly suggested.

"Relic-san mentioned before that he sometimes teaches Lockpicking and Trap Disarm skills at the Thieves' Guild. I don't have a very good image of the Thieves' Guild, but how about having them use this as an opportunity to improve their image? With the catchphrase, 'The safe, secure, always smiling Thieves' Guild.'"

"Hmm, that's a good idea. Inviting guild members to your party is one option, and I could also make it so you can bring the whole chest back. If you can carry it around without having to open it on the spot, that should work out."

"Oh! You're adopting it? What do you think, Hayato-san!"

"Eh? Ah, yeah. I think it's a good idea... right?"

(What is she trying to prove? And she seems to be taunting Esha with a 'hmph' expression. Esha, for her part, is looking at Ren-chan with half-lidded eyes. Ash's look towards me seems a bit complicated too. What is happening?)

While feeling perplexed, Hayato asked Diite about the next Treasure Hunting method.

"The next one could be called an NPC quest. It's the act of raising treasure from a shipwrecked vessel at sea. You might know it as salvage?"

Sea monsters were generally considered strong. The lore was that many ships had sunk because of them, and NPCs in port towns would give quests with information about them.

The system involved going to the designated location by ship and using a salvage item to pull up the wreck, which would yield a treasure chest. The chest itself was no different from what you'd get from a dungeon or a treasure map.

For that reason, this content was also not very popular. But Ren's proposal could solve that.

"I'll make it so salvaged chests don't have to be unlocked on the spot either. They can be brought back as items. You can just take them to the Thieves' Guild to have them opened."

"That's fine, but do ordinary players even own ships? Don't you make those with the Carpentry skill?"

Esha's question was valid. Some clans didn't own a ship at all. It could be considered content that only a fraction of players could participate in.

"Well, you can buy small boats from NPC shops. And you could negotiate with NPCs or players who have the Carpentry skill to build you a large ship. I think it would be going too far to make large ships easily obtainable, so I don't plan on making any adjustments there... but what do you think, Hayato-kun?"

Diite asked, sounding unsure of herself.

"I think so too. If you make everything too easy, the game becomes boring. All these skills have been somewhat neglected, so I think it's fine for them to have their moment in the spotlight... though part of the reason is that I have the Woodworking skill myself."

"I see, I'm glad to hear that. Then let's do that. Now, as for the others..."

Diite's explanation continued.

There were various other ways to collect Treasure Coins, such as exploring undiscovered islands, or defeating pirate ships and ghost ships to steal their treasure.

These were all new content for this event, and Diite seemed anxious about them, but when Hayato said they sounded interesting, she seemed relieved.

She also mentioned that systems like Dual Wielding were scheduled to be released with the start of the event. She had spoiled it for Hayato and the others, but she said she hoped they would enjoy it.

After that, the talk about the game ended and they enjoyed a normal conversation, but as it grew late, they decided to part ways.

(Diite-chan has her own anxieties, huh. I'm busy, but I should try to log in as much as possible. Lately, I've been here for purposes other than just playing the game, like earning money or preventing the collapse of this virtual reality. I need to just purely enjoy myself.)

With that thought, Hayato logged out.