kscans

Chapter 197 - The Morning of the Second Day of Exploration

Hayato awoke at the Campsite on the floating island.

While logged in, he was in a state that was half-asleep, but he was short on sleep after spending so much of yesterday crafting items late into the night.

It didn't have much of an effect, but he stretched his body just as he would in the real world. Then he took a deep breath.

And though he wasn't sure if this had any effect either, he took out a coffee to wake himself up. The coffee, which had almost no bitterness, seemed to circulate through his body, and it felt good.

After slowly exhaling, he finally noticed how noisy the Campsite was. Though noisy, it was the sound of everyone having fun.

Wondering what was going on, Hayato left his room and went outside where the voices were coming from.

Most of the members were gathered there, laying out the items Hayato had made on the ground and browsing through them, saying which ones they liked.

Ney and Sonia, noticing Hayato, approached him. After exchanging morning greetings, Ney began to speak excitedly.

"You're the same as ever, Hayato! To think you'd make so many items in just one day!"

"I just got carried away and ended up making that many. Unfortunately, I'm all out of materials, so it would be a big help if you could bring me some more."

"Leave it to me! We've got gear with special attack properties against dinosaurs, and even armor with defensive resistance! With that stuff, I think we can fight at a huge advantage against them!"

The armor made from dinosaur bones, fangs, and claws also came with a resistance that reduced damage from dinosaurs. This would be important equipment for frontline classes, so Hayato had mass-produced that as well.

It's not that strong outside of this island, but if you only consider this island, its stats are pretty amazing. I think future exploration will be easier. And if that happens, new materials... The possibilities are endless.

Perhaps Hayato's thoughts showed on his face, because Sonia laughed with a look of exasperation.

"Honestly. Don't push yourself too hard, you hear? You were up late making stuff yesterday, weren't you?"

"Yes, I didn't realize how late it had gotten. Well, it's like a hobby for me, so I'm not overdoing it. By the way, what's the plan for today? I think the equipment has improved, so you should be able to go deeper in."

"That's right. As planned, we're going to circle the island clockwise. Even if we can't make it all the way around, we can just use a Ring of Teleportation to get back, so it'll be easy."

"I see. Well, I'm hoping for some new discoveries. Materials would be nice, too."

"Leave both to me. You're staying on guard duty again today, Hayato?"

"I'd like to go, but I'll wait until we have a full picture of the island."

Hayato's login times were only in the morning and at night. He couldn't go adventuring at night, so that meant he could really only adventure in the mornings. It was more efficient to decide on a specific place to explore.

"Got it. In that case, we'll finish the island map as soon as we can. Well then, I'll leave you to guard the place with Relic and the Esha girl. We'll head out to explore as soon as we've decided on our equipment."

"Understood."

As Ney and Sonia walked away, Rosalie came over to take their place. Lunaria was next to her, but for some reason, she was tied up with a rope and was glaring at Hayato with a resentful look.

"Good morning to you both... Do I have to ask about Lunaria-san?"

"Good day. If you would be so kind, I would like you to tell me if what Lunaria-sama said is true."

"What are you talking about?"

"Lunaria-sama, please state your case."

"Good morning, Hayato-san. I got yelled at when I put what you told me yesterday into practice. This is your trap, so take responsibility. Also, prove my innocence."

"What on earth... oh, yesterday. Did you actually do that, Lunaria-san?"

Last night, Lunaria had visited Hayato's room.

Her reason was, "Increase the attack power of my pillow." At first, he didn't know what she was talking about, but since it was about a pillow fight, Hayato had brushed her off. His words at the time were this:

"How about putting a pillowcase on Arondight and throwing it? Arondight will class change into a pillow."

When Hayato was crafting, he became even more careless than usual. He had wanted to get back to his production work immediately, so he had told Lunaria that.

Hayato remembered this and explained yesterday's events to Rosalie.

Rosalie held her head in her hands.

"I think I could win this case in any court, don't you?"

"Then we'll have it in the Demon Country. I'll use my authority as Demon Lord to find you guilty."

"Please stop that."

Rosalie said this, then let out a deep sigh. She untied the rope that was restraining Lunaria.

"For now, let us pretend this never happened."

"That would be a great help. By the way, is anyone hurt? Was everyone okay?"

"The only damage was from Lunaria-sama's self-destruction. There were no casualties."

"That is absurd. Since I took damage, there were indeed casualties."

Lunaria's opinion was ignored.

"Oh, right, Rosalie-san, you and your group have your own beloved weapons and armor, so you won't be equipping the things I made, right?"

"That is correct. Unfortunately, none of the equipment was as lovely as the clothes we made ourselves, so we will not be wearing them. Though Cecil was the first to grab the best items."

"You made them yourselves, which means you have the Sewing Skill. Well, that's fine. In that case, could you drink this Coconut Juice?"

Hayato took a juice out of his item bag. It wasn't one of those things with a straw stuck in the fruit, but a proper bottled juice. He handed it to Rosalie.

"What is this?"

"It's a juice made from coconuts I found on this island. I drank some yesterday, so it's not dangerous. Plus, it's five-star, so I guarantee the taste."

Coconuts were a fruit you could find on the mainland as well, but the juice Hayato took out used coconuts gathered on this island. Relic had gathered them from a nearby forest yesterday afternoon.

"Hmph, you want me to drink it here?"

"If you would. And after you drink it, I want you to check your status. I don't think it's just me, but I'd like to test it on someone else just in case."

"So you want me to be a guinea pig?"

"To put it plainly. But if it works, I think it will make exploring this island easier for you and your group, Rosalie-san."

Rosalie gave him a suspicious look, but perhaps because she had some trust in Hayato, she began to drink it normally.

When she finished, Rosalie checked her own status.

"This is... quite a surprise. I myself am gaining a Dinosaur Special Attack property? And a resistance to dinosaurs as well."

"Oh, so it wasn't just me, and it's not a random effect. With this, you and your group can fight dinosaurs as you normally would, Rosalie-san. The only thing is, the juice has a time limit, so you'll have to take a lot of it with you."

Even with five stars, the juice's effect lasted for thirty minutes. If they were going to be exploring for half a day, each person would have to drink a fair amount.

"That cannot be helped. In that case, please give me all you have. The exploration seems to be an all-day affair, so it will be quite a large amount."

"It's in the shared storage, so take it all. I'll make more today, so feel free to drink as much as you like."

"That is a great help. Then, Lunaria-sama, let us go. With this, you will be able to rampage against the dinosaurs."

"I am already in a state of rampage, but if I can rampage even more, I will drink it. Thank you, Hayato-san. With this, I will consider yesterday's incident a thing of the past."

"That would be a great help."

Rosalie called the members of the Black Rose and walked with Lunaria toward the shared storage.

Hayato felt relieved that the exploration would now be manageable. They had a considerable amount of combat power to begin with. If they could gain an advantage against the dinosaurs on top of that, there would be no problem.

Then he started to think about what to do today.

What Hayato had originally planned to do was cook with "Dinosaur Meat." Yesterday, he had focused on making weapons and armor, so he hadn't touched cooking with meat at all.

The juice made from the coconuts on this island had an effect that manifested in his stats against dinosaurs. Hayato inferred that the meat would have a considerable effect as well.

I should try making various dishes. Esha seems like she'd eat anything. And I need to gather coconuts for the juice. I should also check out the lake at least once. When Esha and Relic-san get here, I'll go on a little adventure... Oops, before that, I should make a rod. I have the one I made from the World Tree, but I should really try making one with the wood from the trees on this island.

Hayato made his preparations while considering various things.