kscans

Chapter 21 - Assessing Allied Strength

The day after clearing Relic's trial, the first thing Hayato did was assess his allies' strength.

The preparations to retrieve the sword were complete. But there was one other thing he had to consider. Whether or not they could defeat the "Goddess of Annihilation" in a Clan War.

Even if they got the sword back, losing the Clan War would mean losing their base. That would be pointless. Hayato's victory condition was to retrieve the sword and keep the base safe.

Hayato figured the clan "Goddess of Annihilation" was A-rank, making them incomparably stronger than the newbie-hunting clan they fought last time.

Despite the spy situation, "Goddess of Annihilation" had achieved a complete victory over "Kokuryu." Even without Ney's Excalibur Replica, the result was unusual.

There might be some reason for it, but Hayato decided he first needed to investigate the strength of his own allies.

He had a general idea about Esha, Ash, and the mercenaries. The ones he knew almost nothing about were Ash's younger sister, Ren, and Relic, whose Stealing Skill was 100 but whose combat ability was a mystery.

With that in mind, he decided to accompany Ash and his mercenary group to their hunting grounds where they went to slay monsters. It was to see just how strong Ren was. Hayato also wanted to confirm the detailed information on her Dragon Curse. As for Relic, Esha had said, "He can fight, you know," so he put that off for later.

(I'm curious about the enemy team, but my allies come first. I've heard that in high-ranking clan battles, you're more likely to win by forcing your tactics on the opponent rather than reacting to theirs. In other words, the one who imposes their strategy wins. I'll leave the basic tactics to Ash, but I need to study up for emergencies… and it seems like a cool, tactician-like position.)

Hayato thought this as he traveled with Ash and the others to the hunting grounds.

Their primary hunting ground was a place called "Boboda Mountain," home to numerous dragons.

This location was also a popular hunting spot for players. Many materials from dragons were expensive. If a player had the strength to hunt dragons, they would almost certainly make this their hunting ground.

However, there was a troublesome monster here. A rare dragon appeared every two hours. This dragon boasted tremendous strength, and a party of just a few people stood no chance of winning. This meant that when the dragon appeared, they had to retreat from the hunting grounds. After about an hour, the dragon would go somewhere else, so it was an unspoken rule among players not to hunt until it was gone.

"That rare dragon isn't you, is it, Ash?"

"As if I'd attack humans. That's one of the hardline dragons. Tyrant Dragon Agres Berion. He's said to be my father's right-hand man and—"

"Ah, you can skip that part."

"...You think so? This is where it gets good, you know? Won't you listen just a little? The battle between the Underworld Dragon and the Thunder Dragon and—"

"Big Brother's stories are long, so it's better not to listen. More importantly, let's talk about curses! What's your favorite kind of cursed doll, Hayato-san!? Is it the type whose hair grows!?"

"...The type whose head spins all the way around… I guess?"

"I knew you got it, Hayato-san!"

(I really wish I didn't.)

While having such conversations, Hayato and the others proceeded with their hunting preparations.

A few dozen minutes later, Hayato was astonished.

Ash and his group were hunting dragons at an unusually high speed.

The biggest reason was likely the performance of Ash's sword. The blade, called Dragon Eater, had the incredible ability to deal five times the damage to dragons. A dragon struck by it took a substantial amount of damage in a single hit.

The next reason was Ren's curse magic. It was her first time using her Dragon Curse skill, so it couldn't be said she was using it very effectively. But her curse magic was another story. She had a spell called Curse that dealt damage over time, and the amount was brutal. It visibly drained the dragons' HP.

"The five-sun nails you made for me are the best, Hayato-san! My curse damage went way up! Uhihihi…"

"...I'm glad my hard work paid off. But the high damage is probably because of your collection, Ren-chan, not me. Your whole set of equipment looks so sinister, was that ‘uhihi’ because of it? —Oh, it wasn't? That's just you?"

Hayato had made five-sun nails for Ren. Following Esha's advice, he had crafted them from Orichalcum.

He hadn't really wanted to make such things, but as a craftsman, Hayato aimed for five stars nonetheless. The result was the "Orichalcum Five-sun Nails" that Ren now held.

Their performance wasn't much different from ordinary ones, but they had one special effect. It was, "The more cursed equipment you wear, the greater your curse's power becomes."

Cursed equipment was a type of gear where merits and demerits coexisted. They were characterized by having greater merits the larger their demerits were, and if the demerits were severe, the merits could far surpass those of normal equipment. Some players favored using such gear for that reason.

Ren was a collector of these items.

Upon seeing the five-sun nails Hayato had made, Ren equipped her entire collection, which she had been hoarding until now. What had once been just a collection now had practical use thanks to the nails. As a result, her curse damage had skyrocketed.

However, because of the cursed equipment, all of Ren's stats except for MAG, which indicated magic power, had dropped to their absolute minimum. Her HP was likewise at rock bottom, and her MP was in a state of gradual decline. She was offsetting this MP drain with the recovery effect of a chocolate parfait.

This was her first time employing this combination of cursed equipment and Orichalcum Five-sun Nails, but after confirming she could manage well, Ren was extremely pleased.

(They say in this game it's better to raise your firepower than to focus on balance. A specialized build certainly seems stronger. And it's not like she's playing solo. She's with her friends, so there's no problem if she can't do things outside of her specialization.)

Hayato thought this as he watched Ash and the others fight.

"The nasty one is coming soon, so let's pull back from the hunting grounds."

After they defeated their thirtieth dragon, Ash suggested this.

"You mean that Tyrant Dragon guy you mentioned earlier?"

"Exactly. It's impossible to beat him with this group. I could turn into a dragon and defeat him, but I can't completely eliminate him, so it's a waste of time to fight."

(I don't really get it, but it's probably part of the lore. He should be defeatable… he's probably saying he can't completely eliminate it because it reappears after two hours.)

"Besides, for some reason, we've gotten a lot of spoils today. Our item bags are full, so let's go back to the base and sort them out."

"I think the large amount of spoils is because of my Dismantling Knowledge skill."

"You have skills other than production skills, Hayato?"

"I only have seven production-type skills. The rest are knowledge-type skills. They're support skills for some of my production skills, so I kind of have to raise them."

Hayato's Dismantling Knowledge skill was used as a support skill for his Cooking Skill. It didn't affect all dishes, but its effect was to influence the success rate when making mainly fish-based cuisine. Besides that, it also had effects like increasing the number of items dropped by monsters and making it easier for them to drop rare items. It was a skill primarily used for the latter effects.

"It might be a good idea to bring you along when we come hunting from now on, Hayato. If it makes this much of a difference just by feel, the effect must be considerable."

"I don't mind when I have time. But it'll be impossible when the Clan War gets closer, since I'll be busy with preparations. And I want you to understand that I'm completely useless as a combatant."

"Being useless in combat isn't a problem. In exchange, we have the benefit of not having to worry at all about the durability of our food, medicine, or weapons and armor. We could fight without taking breaks, so I think we were actually more efficient than usual."

Since Hayato couldn't fight, he utilized his production skills to make various things. That was what had enabled them to fight continuously.

"I appreciate you saying that. Well then, shall we head back?"

Just as Hayato said that, Ren raised her hand.

"Hayato-san, the effects of my food wore off. My MP ran out, and I can't move. A chocolate parfait, please."

"We're leaving now, so why don't you take off the cursed equipment that drains your MP? …Huh? I should take the hint? Ah, you just want an excuse. Alright, here you go. That's it for today."

Hayato, thinking that he would need to make a lot of chocolate parfaits in stock from now on, used a Ring of Teleportation and teleported everyone back to the base.