kscans

Chapter 157 - Three Blueprints

An airship. A ship that flew through the sky.

In reality, flying was not particularly rare. On Earth, even cars flew. Spaceships were not uncommon either, and the only people who had never ridden one were probably newborn babies. One could fly not just into the sky but even into space with the ease of going for a walk.

But that was just a safe vehicle carrying people. There was no real sensation of flying. Of course, the view from up there was wonderful, but since you weren't piloting and the scenery didn't change, it didn't feel special.

However, the act of flying would surely look and feel different in a fantasy world.

In this virtual reality, flying was a privilege reserved for a select few characters.

A vampire turning into a bat, a tamer riding a flying monster, and so on. Now there were two-seater mounts, so it wasn't as much of a privilege as it used to be, but there was still a certain longing for the ability to fly freely.

How good would it feel to be able to fly through the sky at will, wherever you pleased?

Hayato still thought about such things, but he also had a bitter memory associated with it.

He had once been able to fly temporarily when Diite changed his settings, but it felt more like he was being abducted by Diite than flying.

(I was definitely not flying. The view from that place was certainly beautiful, but I want to fly in a different way.)

Pushing such memories out of his mind, he looked at the blueprint before him.

In the first place, the only flying vehicle in this game was the Griffon Courier Service, which Hayato had used before. It was a vehicle that utilized flying monsters. That was fun in its own way, but you couldn't pilot it yourself. It was a vehicle that relied on Maris's Riding and Animal Taming skills.

From the looks of the blueprint, this Airship Angra Mainyu was a normal ship aside from its ability to fly. That meant that even Hayato could pilot it. He didn't know if he actually could, but the possibility seemed high.

Hayato was more excited than he looked.

Seeing this, Sonia gave Hayato a sly grin.

"My, my, it seems Hayato is already raring to go, isn't he?"

"Yes, well. When you show me something like this, the craftsman in me starts to itch. I'd love to give it a try."

"I'm glad I showed it to you then. But unfortunately, this alone isn't enough."

"Not enough?"

"There are three blueprints. This is just one of them. In other words, you can't build the airship without the remaining two."

Hayato slumped. Just when he was about to get started, this blow came.

He had never done such a thing, but he felt that it was comparable to the despair Esha would feel if he presented her with a parfait and then said she couldn't have it after all. And he vowed to himself that he would never do such a thing.

Sonia kept smiling and placated Hayato, saying, "Now, calm down."

"I know where the other two blueprints are. I want to ask you to build the ship, but I also want you to help me get the remaining two blueprints. Of course, I'm not asking you to go and get them. I'm asking you to help with your skills."

"You know where they are?"

"Of course. Normally I wouldn't tell you, but I'm the one requesting the job, so let's share the information. You don't mind, do you, Relic? Once you hear this, you'll have to accept the job, you know?"

"From the moment you showed him the blueprint... no, from the moment you came here, you were planning to drag him into this whether he liked it or not, what are you talking about."

"Well, that's true. I'd heard about Hayato from Relic. I expected Hayato would bite the moment he saw the blueprint. If you don't bite at this, you're no craftsman. It's impossible to turn down the first great undertaking in the world."

"You're right. Please let me do it."

Being told that fired Hayato up. He knew he was easy to persuade, but he was weak to that kind of talk. Everyone has words that pierce their guard, words they can't defend against.

Being the first to accomplish something in an online game would probably feel pretty good, Hayato thought. He didn't want to stand out because of it, but he also had a contradictory desire to stand out once in a while.

He had done many things that were likely firsts before, but he didn't know if they were actually the first. However, this airship would undoubtedly be a first.

Hayato was quite motivated, determined not to let anyone else have this.

Seeing Hayato like this, Sonia smiled, while Relic had a complex expression that was a mix of exasperation and amusement.

"Alright, let's share the information. One of the blueprints is at the bottom of the sea. The ship that was carrying it sank, so we need to raise it to get our hands on it."

"You mean salvage?"

"Exactly. My guild doesn't have a ship, you see. So first, I want to borrow one. Or have you build one. I'd like a large ship, since we don't know what we'll find. Besides, you can't salvage with a small ship anyway."

"A large ship, huh."

The difference between a small ship and a large ship was the number of people they could carry. A small ship could hold up to ten people, while a large ship could hold up to fifty.

When fighting sea monsters, footing was crucial, so it was standard practice to go out to sea on a large ship with a wide deck. Small ships were only used by players for fishing and were not suited for combat.

Also, salvaging could only be done with a large ship. This was because it required a huge winch for salvaging, and the ship had to be large enough to carry it.

(I originally built a large ship for the Kraken subjugation... ah, no, that one belongs to Ney and the others, right? Do I have to build another one?)

Hayato's favorite knife, the "Adamantite Knife - Extreme," used Kraken ink as a material. When he was in Kokuryu, he had to hunt a large number of Krakens to make the knife over and over again.

He had a large ship that he built at that time, but he hadn't brought it with him when he left the clan.

He considered borrowing it, but he thought Ney and the others would probably be participating in this event as well, so he quickly decided that he would have to build a new one.

Besides, he had heard something interesting in the plaza of the Royal Capital.

(I heard they had a cannon fight with pirates. I want to ask what's happened to the world setting, but it's probably a cannon that fires with magic, similar to Esha's Beelzebub. Maybe the manufacturing method is somewhere... damn it, I want to play the game, but I can't skip my afternoon job.)

All sorts of new elements were appearing, so he wanted to get started right away, but time was finite. For now, he resolved to listen to the story and prepare again at night.

"I'll prepare a large ship. Um, by the way, is it alright if I come along when you do the salvage?"

It was unthinkable to just wait at the base or in the real world for something this interesting. He knew he wouldn't be much of a combatant, but Hayato wanted to go along no matter what. Because it was romantic.

"Of course, you can. You don't mind, do you, Relic?"

"If Hayato-sama wishes to go, then I suppose it cannot be helped."

"Um, I think it's dangerous because of the monsters, but is that okay? You just said not to get him involved in anything dangerous...?"

"Ah, when I said dangerous, I was referring to criminal acts. Sonia is capable of saying she's going to steal something from the Royal Castle. If you're just defeated by a monster and return to the base, that is not dangerous."

Relic's definition of danger was different from what Hayato had been thinking.

Haya to also didn't want to get involved in criminal acts. He had heard stories from the early days of the game about players who committed crimes in-game and started from a jail cell the next time they logged in. He wanted to avoid that.

And so, it was settled that Hayato would prepare a large ship and go along for the salvage. Then Hayato asked Sonia about the other blueprint.

"Where is the other one?"

"Do you know of a place called the Grand Prison in the basement of the Imperial Capital?"

"The Grand Prison? No, I don't."

"It's a story from long ago, but the Empire was originally just a single country. It conquered the neighboring countries with military force and became an empire. At that time, they imprisoned the royalty of other countries in that prison. The story goes that one of the captured kings hid a blueprint somewhere in that prison."

Haya to nodded, thinking, I see.

And he always wondered. How did that story get out? Hayato was the type to feel a sense of dissonance when there was a map of a place that was said to be impossible to return from alive.

"Um, how reliable is that story? It sounds a bit fishy to me."

"I know, right. But hear me out. That prison isn't used anymore. It's off-limits, but for a thief, being told something is off-limits is like an invitation to enter. Don't you think that's exactly where you'd find treasure?"

"Well, from the perspective of someone hiding treasure, they'd want to make it off-limits. But that's...?"

"I did some digging around there and found what seems to be that king's manuscript. Chronologically speaking, I found the manuscript first, and then I found one of the blueprints in some ruins. That was also written in the manuscript, so I think it's highly credible."

"So that's how it is. In that case, there's a high probability it's in the Grand Prison. And the one that sank in the sea was also mentioned in that manuscript?"

"Ah, that's right. According to the manuscript, that king was collecting the blueprints to obtain an airship and go to a floating island in the sky. It's said that there's treasure of gold and silver there."

"A floating island in the sky?"

A floating island in the sky brought Dragon's Grave to Hayato's mind, but there was no treasure there. If you said the treasure of the Dragon Soul was a treasure, then maybe so, but you could get there with a Griffon without needing an airship.

"Do you know of Olga Domus Waterfall? It's in the Spirit Country."

"I know of it. I've fished in the lake formed by the waterfall before... could it be that there's an island at the source of that waterfall?"

"At least, that's what the king seemed to think. What do you say? Let's build an airship and go there. Even flying monsters can't reach it, but an airship should be able to, don't you think?"

"We have no choice but to go."

Hayato was a production player, but he had a spirit of adventure. He vowed to himself that he would collect the blueprints, build the airship, and go to that island no matter what.