kscans

Chapter 303 - Previous Visitors

The airship carrying Hayato and the others arrived safely at the Floating Island.

However, the situation was not ideal.

This was because there were already other people there. The number of players who could reach the Floating Island was limited, and Hayato cursed his own foolishness for not considering this.

As Hayato descended the ramp-style gangway, a smiling figure approached him. He was dressed like a barbarian, and Hayato only knew one acquaintance who looked like that.

"Well now, it feels like it's been a while. Have you been well, Hayato?"

Jolto, the leader of the clan "Bandit," called out to him with a smile.

"You look well, Jolto. I was doing fine until a moment ago, but now I'm feeling a bit down."

"You don't have to look so displeased. We've fought together before, haven't we?"

The name "Bandit" comes up when talking about the clan that has progressed the furthest in this game.

They also place high in every event, snatching up the prize money, which sometimes earns them the moniker of actual bandits. But they are also arguably the clan most envied by other players.

Hayato's clan, Daedalus, had fought and defeated Bandit in a Clan War.

After that, they had also fought alongside them to defeat Agres Berion during a Stampede event, but it was hard to call them allies or enemies. Hayato personally thought of them as rivals.

However, he had previously brought someone from the Foundation to this Floating Island. Although it couldn't be helped, he had brought a troublesome guest for Hayato, so honestly, his impression of him wasn't good.

Fundamentally, Hayato found Jolto difficult to deal with as a person. Being with someone who felt like he was constantly gathering information just by talking was tiring, as it reminded him of his time working at a company.

"It's really troubling when you make such a disgusted face. Could you at least try to hide it?"

"Talking to you feels like you're trying to extract all sorts of information, and I don't like it. Are you like that in real life too?"

"You're not very good at role-playing."

"So you're like that in person too? I'd rather not get too close, then."

"Are you angry that I brought that 'client' before? It was impossible to refuse that."

"I'm sure it was. I'm not angry about that. I just genuinely find you hard to deal with."

"That's even more hurtful. But it seems like there weren't any particular problems, right? I don't know the specifics of what you did, but I wonder if the various positive changes in this game are thanks to you, Hayato?"

"It's not thanks to me, at least."

"Oh? Well, I won't pry into real-world matters. Putting that aside, your clan has been quiet recently, Hayato. I don't see your name anywhere near the top of the event rankings. Are you slacking off?"

He wasn't slacking off, he was just getting caught up in other things through the game. That was why he couldn't actively participate in events, and his rank wasn't anything noteworthy.

He did want to enjoy the game more purely, but his desire to help friends and acquaintances in trouble was stronger.

Some troubles affected reality, while others were confined to the game, but either way, the NPCs were human. His thinking was that if he had acquaintances in trouble and he could help them, he wanted to.

"I'm not slacking off, but I've been busy with various things. You guys are amazing, getting such good results in every event. I imagine you've earned a lot of prize money, but are you still aiming for more?"

"We get prize money, but we have a lot of allied clans. When we split the prize money by the number of people, the amount per person isn't that much. Well, we earned quite a bit during the Clan War... but wait, did you win the Clan War with NPCs, Hayato? Did you get ten people's worth of prize money all by yourself?"

"No, it was just one person's share. I'll omit the details, though."

Diite had proposed adding one hundred million yen in exchange for deleting one of his NPC companions. Hayato had refused instantly, but he didn't want to imagine what would have happened if he had accepted the offer.

"I see. Even one person's share is a considerable amount. I guess you're just taking it easy and enjoying the game now."

Hayato thought about recent events and mentally denied it. He was not taking it easy.

The Genesis Dragons' Stampede, the treasure hunting, gathering knowledge for the medicine, and the commotion in the Eastern Country. It wasn't slow at all, but everything had settled in a good way, so there were no particular problems.

"That's right. I'm enjoying it in my own way."

"That's good to hear. Oh, right, what about the matter of the apology? You never said anything, so I left it alone."

"Apology?"

"Yes. The apology for bringing the 'client.' I mentioned it before, but I'll give you some information. You asked for information about the Necropolis, but it's the same as if I didn't tell you anything."

Hayato remembered that conversation. But being asked so suddenly, he couldn't think of any information he wanted.

"I don't have anything right now."

"There's no deadline, so feel free to ask anytime. I'd welcome you, Hayato..."

Jolto stopped talking mid-sentence. His gaze was fixed behind Hayato, toward the airship.

Hayato followed his gaze and saw Maris getting off the gangway with her pets.

"Hayato-san. The unloading is finished, so you can miniaturize the ship now."

"Thanks. I'll be there later, so go on ahead to the campsite."

Maris replied, "Understood," and headed toward the metal building that would serve as their temporary base, leading her pets. Next to her was Surya with her dragon, Garland, and the two seemed to be talking about various things as they looked around.

After seeing them off, he turned back to Jolto.

"Sorry for the interruption. What's with that face?"

It was no wonder Hayato was surprised. Jolto, who usually wore a confident smile, was staring at Maris and the others with his mouth half-open.

"...That's a Pteranodon, right?"

Behind Maris was a Pteranodon walking on the ground. It walked with a dosun dosun sound rather than a toco toco patter. It was Maris's pet, which she had just successfully tamed. It didn't have a name yet.

"That's right. We encountered it on the way here, so she tamed it."

"...How?"

"How...? She just tamed it normally, I think?"

Jolto sighed and then looked at Hayato.

"It seems you're saying that in earnest, not sarcastically. Since you don't seem to understand, I'll explain. Taming has an effective range. It's quite small. You have to get very close to the monster. Normally, for a flying monster, you'd first aim for its wings to make it fall to the ground, then tame it. The question is how you tame a Pteranodon that spits fire without getting close to the airship... wait, don't tell me you didn't see her taming it?"

"Ah, so that's it."

Hayato didn't know the detailed circumstances of taming, but he understood that taming a flying monster was difficult.

A Pteranodon might become unable to fly if weakened, but it wouldn't just fall onto the airship's deck. Jolto was asking how they had managed to get within taming distance.

From what Hayato had seen, it went like this.

Surya used her whip's weapon skill, "Attract Whip," which pulls the target, to draw the Pteranodon onto the airship's deck. After that, the Pteranodon couldn't escape the whip, and on the deck, Maris's taming, also known as persuasion, began, leading to it successfully becoming her pet.

The whip's attack range was wide, but it was only about three meters. It was difficult to get the airship that close to the Pteranodon, but that was probably due to Hayato's piloting skills.

Once you hear the answer, it seems so simple.

But sometimes, assumptions and preconceived notions can prevent one from finding the answer. Hayato thought that even Jolto and his team, who had a lot of information and many excellent players, hadn't arrived at the answer.

To Hayato, it wasn't a big deal, but since he wasn't the originator of the technique, he couldn't just give away the information. Besides, there was no reason to provide it.

"Sorry, but I can't tell you."

"I figured... but damn, I messed up. I should have just made normal small talk. I was so surprised I just blurted out 'how.' And then you go and say 'she tamed it normally.' That really threw me off."

"Don't blame me. Anyway, you're supposed to be giving me information, right? Why are you trying to get information from me?"

"That's that, and this is this. Well, we'll be here for a while, so if you need anything, come and ask. I'd prefer if you told me the taming method, though."

"I feel like for every piece of information I get, you'll take three, so I'd rather not."

"I was planning on taking about five."

"Even more reason not to. Well, if I need any information, I'll come ask."

With that, Hayato parted ways with Jolto and moved toward the campsite.

Since it was the same place as before, they knew how to use it, and it was already prepared as a temporary base camp.

In that case, I'll start by making the Dinosaur-slaying Coconut Juice, Hayato thought, and began gathering people to collect coconuts.