kscans

Chapter 170 - Distributing Treasure and Salvage

After repelling the vampire Damian's ghost ship, it was, of course, time to inspect the treasure.

Some thought it was a bad idea to do it right here, right now, but the overwhelming majority felt they couldn't rest until they opened the chests, so it was decided they would open them immediately.

They had found three treasure chests. All of them were locked and trapped, but Sonia disarmed them.

They contained various things, but for the players like Hayato and Ney's group, they were also automatically distributed Treasure Coins. The amount was ten per person. Just enough to earn a little pocket money as a reward.

Besides being exchanged for prize money, Treasure Coins could also be traded for any item of their choosing. The ranking was based on the number of coins earned, not held, so exchanging them for items wouldn't lower their rank or prize money.

Since this was the first time Hayato had obtained Treasure Coins, he didn't know what items he could exchange them for, but he planned to check as soon as he got back.

As for the other treasures, they were basically coins. If it were real money, carrying it would be a hassle, but the money in this world was data-managed by the power of magic. The coins in the treasure chests could also be converted to data on the spot, so carrying them was no trouble.

Sonia would hold onto it for now, and they would redistribute it once they returned to port. There was still the Salvage left, so they would divide it all up with the treasure from that.

Other than money, there were also several magic items.

There were magic rings and bracelets with various effects. Some of them possessed abilities that could never be created with production skills, but such items were extremely rare.

Hayato checked all the items they had obtained, but since they were all things he could create with production skills given enough time, he wasn't particularly tempted. However, there was one item that caught his interest, a ring that improved the Diving Skill.

It wasn't that rare, as it could occasionally be made with production skills. But he was reflecting a little on how he should have prepared such an item for a Salvage operation.

Depending on the situation, they could fall into the sea. By switching equipment, he could survive for a while in the ocean or water, so Hayato swore to make one next time.

And so, the treasure was distributed to those who wanted it. Even if there was nothing he wanted, just watching to see who wanted what was fun. And when desires overlapped, it was settled with rock-paper-scissors. A single round, no hard feelings.

Basically, Ney's group and the Black Rose members didn't participate.

Ney's group said they had the equipment Hayato made for them, so there was nothing they particularly wanted. The Black Rose members also said they had plenty of equipment at the Demon Lord's Castle, so they didn't want anything either.

Cecil was happy with the sword she had obtained from the skeleton that looked like the captain, so for the most part, the loot was divided among the members of the Treasure Hunter Guild and the Dragon Busters.

Esha and the others didn't seem to want anything in particular, but when there was wine in a treasure chest, Relic wanted it. No one else competed for it, and it easily passed into Relic's hands.

"I feel rather bad hogging all the wine for myself."

"There's no one here who really wants anything alcoholic, so don't worry about it. It's better for someone who can enjoy it to drink it, so please don't hold back."

"Is that so? Then I shall partake without reservation. I look forward to my evening drink tonight."

Relic put several bottles of red wine into his item bag, looking pleased.

Basically, there was a game restriction that you couldn't drink alcoholic beverages like wine unless you were twenty years old in the real world.

The legal drinking age varies by country in reality, but this game used twenty as the standard. Of course, Hayato and the others were over twenty, so they could drink. The only person Hayato knew who couldn't was Ren.

Hayato and the other players generally didn't drink alcohol in the real world either. In reality, it was an expensive luxury item, and unless you really liked it, the option to buy it just didn't come up.

Many players had their first drink in this virtual reality, but it wasn't very popular. Simply put, alcoholic beverages caused bad statuses like intoxication and didn't restore MP like juice, so it was really just for enjoying the taste and the feeling of being drunk.

Some players thought that was the best, but most weren't used to drinking, so it wasn't popular.

Given the situation, Hayato had a question.

(Putting the present aside, I don't think you could get your hands on alcohol during the era of resource depletion, right? Why does Relic-san like wine? I think Mist-san also enjoyed wine. I wonder if they've ever had it in the real world? Or did they try it in the game and come to like it?)

It wasn't a big deal, but since he didn't have any alcohol-loving people around him, Hayato was a little curious. Still, it wasn't something worth prying into.

Esha, Ash, and Ren had all decided to become residents of this game for their own reasons. He didn't know the circumstances, but the same must be true for Relic and Mist. He was definitely curious, but not enough to feel he absolutely had to know.

While he was thinking about such things, the distribution of treasure ended, and they once again set the ship in motion toward the waters where the sunken vessel lay.

Incidentally, the masterless ghost ship sank as if melting into the sea. It turned out that the ghost ship was something the vampire Damian had created with magic, and it couldn't be captured.

Diite, who had explained this, was relieved of her duty at the helm. Ney was now at the ship's wheel, looking like she was having fun.

Diite didn't look particularly dissatisfied and approached Hayato.

"Are you satisfied now?"

"...I do think I got a little too carried away. But it was a pretty good stress reliever, so I've had enough for now."

"That's good to hear. But should I arrange to have a ship available for you regularly? This one belongs to Sonia-san, so we'll have to build a new one."

"I would definitely appreciate that. There's a chance we'll be doing more Salvage operations in the future, so I don't think it's a bad idea to have a large ship."

It seemed Diite had taken a liking to steering the ship. She was even giving Hayato a lecture on the subject.

Well, as long as her spirits were lifted, that's what mattered, Hayato thought as he listened to her words.

A few minutes later, the ship stopped on Sonia's command.

As always, the surroundings were covered in fog, and they couldn't see anything, but this was apparently the correct spot where the ship carrying the design documents had sunk. According to Sonia, her magic compass that could determine coordinates was pointing directly here.

"Alright, I'm dropping the hook into the sea. It'll probably take more than one try to pull it up, so we'll be doing this a few times. We might fish up a monster, so stay on your toes."

Everyone nodded at Sonia's words.

Salvage wasn't a matter of simply dropping a hook near the coordinates of a sunken ship and guaranteeing you'd pull it up. It was influenced by probability. Moreover, you didn't just pull up treasure chests, sometimes you could also reel in monsters.

On Sonia's command, the hook attached to the Winch was thrown into the sea. After a while, the Winch's rope stopped. Then, the Winch started to move, as if reeling in the rope.

"Now, let's see what we get. This is the fun part."

Some people were hopeful, some readied their weapons, and some, for some reason, watched while sipping tea. The reactions were varied.

And then there was the person who remembered something. Hayato was a little concerned. There was a person on this ship who made monsters go berserk. That was on Hayato's orders, so if anyone was responsible, it was him.

"Esha is just disliked by monsters, right? She doesn't, like, attract them or anything, does she?"

"Well, I don't really go outside of town much, so it's hard to say. I don't think I attracted the ghost ship."

The moment Esha said that, the ship shook violently. And the Winch stopped.

"We drew a blank! Prepare for battle!"

Sonia gave the command, and everyone readied their weapons. Immediately after, dark brown tentacles shot out from around the ship and grabbed it firmly.

Hayato knew this method of appearance. It was the Kraken, the monster they had fought many times when he made the "Adamantite Knife - Extreme."

"If it's a Kraken, Ney and the others can beat it on their own, so it's not that scary."

At Hayato's murmur, Esha let out a sigh.

"What's with the sigh?"

"Well, yes, to put it simply, Maris-sama's pet Lancelot is an Elder Griffon, a superior species of Griffon."

"I know that, but why are you bringing it up now?"

"Most monsters have a superior species, and of course, the Kraken is no exception. My monster-attracting ability can be put to good use in situations like this, you see."

"Huh? So you're saying these tentacles aren't a Kraken, but..."

"How perceptive of you, Master. You're wonderful. This is the Kraken's superior species, Poseidon. We'll have to be prepared for some sacrifices."

It was common knowledge in this game that monsters with the names of gods were quite strong. Poseidon was a monster on par with Agres Berion. The only saving grace was its simple AI.

"Alright, I'm getting serious now, too. You'd better seriously work on restoring the ship's durability, Hayato-kun, or we'll be sunk. The guardian protecting the design documents is supposed to be a Kraken, but we've drawn a rare one with a very low probability."

"I'm pretty good at drawing the bad kind of rare..."

It was hard to say whether this was because of Esha's demerit or Hayato's bad luck, but he knew they wouldn't be able to win unless everyone worked together.

Diite held a book in one hand, and Esha readied her Beelzebub.

And so, the battle with Poseidon began.