kscans

Chapter 44 - Expanding Our Forces and a Strange Matchup

A week had passed since Maris made the Elder Griffon her pet.

During that time, Hayato had completed Relic's weapon, Requiem. He planned to give it to him today, but instead of Relic, it was Maris who came to the base's dining hall, looking angry for some reason.

Diite, who had been visiting a lot recently, was also there, so the three of them ended up talking.

"Um, could you tell me in detail why you are angry?"

"Listen to this! It is true that tamed monsters can raise their stats and skills by fighting, just like us! But is it not pitiful to make them charge in defenselessly just for efficiency's sake! Another orange juice, please!"

Drowning her sorrows not in sake, but in juice. When he gave her an orange juice, Maris drank it all in one gulp.

"Uh, I do not really get it, what happened?"

It was probably a story a tamer would understand, but Hayato did not get it. Thinking it would be difficult to get it from Maris, he tried to ask Diite.

"Tamed monsters can be made stronger than they are now. Or rather, they are not that strong immediately after being tamed."

"Huh? I feel like it was pretty strong right after being tamed, though?"

There were not many monsters that could defeat a dragon single-handedly. The Elder Griffon could clearly be called a strong monster.

"It is true that some monsters are strong from their initial state. In other words, if you train them, they become even stronger. Monsters also have stats and skills. These can be improved by fighting. In that respect, they are the same as us."

"I see. So why is Maris angry?"

"There are efficient ways to raise skills, are there not? A similar thing can be done with tamed monsters. I imagine she does not approve of the method."

When Diite looked at Maris and asked her that, Maris let out a deep sigh and then nodded.

"Monsters have something called resistance skills. It is like a benefit for pets that cannot equip weapons or armor. They can gain resistance to fire or ice in their natural state, but you can raise that by taking that kind of attack."

If you want to raise your fire resistance skill, you take fire attacks. By repeatedly taking such attacks, the resistance skill eventually rises to 100. At 100, the specification is that you can nullify that attack.

Of course, you cannot get all resistance skills to 100, so the mainstream approach is to get just one to 100. The true pleasure of being a tamer is using multiple pets for different situations.

"I understand about the pet skills. So, what is this about not liking the method?"

"They were making their tamed monster charge into a place with a lot of weak monsters and not letting it fight back... Is not that pitiful! Even if it takes almost no damage, seeing a pet getting beaten up like that made me so angry!"

There are roughly two types of monsters. Monsters that do nothing even when they see a player, and monsters that attack as soon as they recognize a player.

The pet Maris saw was all alone in a swarm of attacking monsters. And it was getting beaten up by the surrounding monsters. This was a common method for raising a pet's resistance skills.

(I see. The person doing it was probably an efficiency-focused player. And Maris, who loves pets, disliked that act. But I wonder. To save time, maybe an inhumane way of leveling is necessary. And right now, it is during a Clan War event. They might want to strengthen their pet as quickly as possible.)

Hayato did not know what the best thing to say was. As he was worrying, Diite peered into his face.

"What do you think of such an act, Hayato-kun?"

It was a difficult question. In reality, he would definitely not do it. But this was a game. The pet did not feel pain, and it would not get angry because of it. Regardless of how it looked, the method was not bad.

Hayato thought about it and came up with an answer.

"Even if it is for efficiency, I do not really like the idea of making a pet charge into a swarm of monsters. But I had a lot of monsters hunted to raise my production skills, so I cannot criticize other people."

At Hayato's words, both Maris and, for some reason, Diite looked happy.

"What are you talking about! Monsters and pets are different! You have to clearly separate them between allies and not! But I am glad you think that way, Hayato-san!"

"I am of the same opinion. One must make a clear distinction between friend and foe. Even if it is an enemy, I would not want them to be tormented."

To the two of them, there was apparently a clear difference between pets and monsters. Hayato had seen them both in the same category, so he was inwardly anxious that his answer, which indirectly suggested he disliked the act of defeating monsters and obtaining a large amount of materials, might be disliked, but that was not the case.

It was not that Hayato had answered in a way to be liked. He genuinely thought so. This game was so realistic it felt like reality. Even if the pet did not feel pain and it was for skill improvement, he would not feel good seeing his own pet get beaten up.

(I do not think anything of multiple people ganging up on a monster, though. And I do not think anything of defeating an opponent in a Clan War. What is the difference?)

He did not think he would find an answer by thinking about it, so Hayato abandoned that line of thought.

Immediately after, Maris stood up.

"Talking about it has made me feel much better!"

"That is good. Uh, are you going somewhere?"

"Yes! I am going to train Lancelot too! Of course, not in that way. I will train him with love in my own way!"

Lancelot was the name Maris had given the Griffon.

"I am off!"

Maris said this and dashed out of the dining hall. Thinking she was as energetic as ever, Hayato looked at Diite.

"Uh, are you still going to be here, Diite-chan?"

"Is it wrong for me to be here?"

"It is not wrong, but is it not boring just being here?"

"No, not at all. Many people come here, you see. It is enjoyable to talk with them. And the coffee is free here. I have taken a liking to it."

"Well, if you are fine with that."

Diite still felt strange, but he seemed to be getting along with the clan members. When he asked Ash and the others, they said they did not have a bad impression of him.

Even Esha did not seem to mind him that much anymore. It was probably because Diite had used healing magic on her when she was petting Lancelot, Hayato thought.

Because of that, he had invited Diite to join the clan again a few days ago, but he was turned down.

According to Diite, he would not be participating in the next Clan War. He did not answer when asked for the reason.

"Do not mind me. By the way, who will you be fighting in the next Clan War? I believe you chose a Betting Match."

"I am planning to fight the third-ranked clan, the Blood Knights. But I do not know if they will choose us yet. The wagers are about the same price, though."

The pet auction was different from the normal auction and was hosted by the Tamer Guild. The auction facility was also inside the Tamer Guild.

Hayato had been taken there by Maris once, and the male calico cat and the Hercules Beetle were traded for about the same price. You could even say the Hercules was slightly more expensive.

But the price was astounding. Looking at past transaction information, the minimum line was 100 million G. Hayato could not understand it.

Be that as it may, the prices were balanced. He had already applied for a betting match with the opposing clan, but there had been no reply yet.

"Fum. It seems I am trusted enough for you to tell me such information so easily."

"...Do not go selling this information anywhere, okay?"

"So it was not trust, but a slip of the tongue. You can be quite airheaded at times, Hayato-kun. Rest assured. I will not do such a thing. But I see, no reply even after applying."

"Uh, do you have any good ideas?"

"No, I do not. Let us pray that you can fight that clan. Now then, I have remembered I have an errand, so I will be going. I have disturbed you."

Diite said this and left the base.

(He is leaving after all. I still do not know why he comes here. From what everyone says, he does not seem to be a problem, so I would like him to join the clan... Oh well, it cannot be helped. I will just wait for Relic-san.)

Hayato thought this and drank his coffee.

About thirty minutes later, Relic arrived.

He said he would put the things he bought in the storage first, so Hayato was thwarted at the start, but that finished quickly, and Relic returned to the dining hall.

"Relic-san, sorry to keep you waiting. This is the weapon you requested."

Hayato said this and handed Relic the white gloves said to have been worn by a legendary butler, Requiem.

"Hayato-sama, thank you. However, this is..."

"That is the highest quality one that was made first. If you do not like it, I will remake it."

"That is not it at all. I was just surprised by its incredible performance."

The Requiem that Hayato had created, in addition to its normal performance of triple damage to undead, had the ability to halve the cool down time of hand-to-hand combat skills.

(Halving cool down time is insane.)

While Hayato was thinking that, Relic took off his old gloves and equipped Requiem. Then he started throwing punches on the spot, like shadowboxing. He even did a high kick that reached the height of his own head. The sound of the wind being cut reached Hayato's ears.

(Does equipping gloves increase the attack power of kicks too...?)

While thinking about that game-like question, Hayato asked Relic how it felt.

"How is it? It looks good to me."

"Yes, I feel like my movements have improved. Of course, this equipment does not have such a performance, but the fact that you made it for me, Hayato-sama, seems to be improving my movements. I feel like I have become younger."

Being told an embarrassing line with a smile, Hayato was the one who got flustered. Not to be outdone, Hayato replied with a smile.

"I am glad you like it. It was worth making. I am counting on you in the next Clan War."

"Of course... Now then, if you will excuse me, I will go for a test slash, or rather, a test punch. I would like to confirm how strong it is in actual combat."

"Yes, please do. There is no problem with the shopping, so please feel free to test it out."

"Yes, then I shall be on my way."

Relic bowed and left the base.

One week before the Clan War, the opponent was decided.

As Hayato had hoped, they were successfully matched with the current third-ranked clan, Blood Knights.

However, there was a point that bothered him.

In the end, the Blood Knights had not chosen Hayato's clan. They had chosen another clan, but for some reason, they ended up fighting Hayato's clan. It was a welcome development for Hayato, but he did not know why it had happened.

"Hah, I see. So that is why you called me."

"Yes, sorry to call you during the day."

"No, no, it is fine. I am an undead, so I do not have a desire for sleep. I sleep because it is good for my health, though!"

It was her usual undead joke, but the vampire Mist was a former member of the Clan Management Committee. He had called her to the base during the day to see if she knew anything about the current situation.

Mist basically slept during the day and was active at night. Hayato had requested her to procure lumber at night.

Mist had previously trained her Logging and Woodworking skills to make her own coffin, but she had given up. It had become too much of a hassle to make furniture other than coffins to raise her skills.

Still, she had continued to raise her Logging skill to 100. Hearing that, Hayato requested her to procure lumber. In exchange, Hayato would make the necessary furniture and health goods.

"The number of high-quality furniture in my mansion has increased, and I am very pleased. The health goods have also increased and are popular with my servants."

"Is that so. I am glad to hear that."

Mist lived in a country called the Demon Country.

The Demon Country was a country where demons and undead lived, but it was unknown whether it functioned as a country.

The basic principle was only freedom. You could do whatever you wanted, but you could not complain about what was done to you, and it was a place where the weak could not survive. However, there was freedom there. It was also freedom to protect the weak with order.

Mist had built a house in that country and lived there with several servants.

"Now then, Hayato-san, what you want to ask about is your opponent in the Clan War, correct?"

"It is not about the opponent, but I do not really understand why we were matched. Until the day before, we were not in a position to fight. I was wondering if you, as a former member of the Clan Management Committee, would know anything about the situation, Mist-san."

"I see. In that case, the opponent they chose was probably not approved. So, I think it was just a random match between those who were in a betting match."

"Is that how it works?"

"Yes. To prevent match-fixing, a betting match may not be approved. In that case, you get a random match with a clan that is in a betting match but does not have an opponent."

"So, it was just luck that we were matched with the Blood Knights?"

"That is right. Of course, it is not completely luck, as you are matched with those who have similar strength, rank, and the value of the items being bet."

Hayato became a little scared of his own luck.

The opponent was not allowed to fight the clan they had designated, and Hayato got to fight the clan he had hoped for. And the opponent was ranked third. Honestly, it was too good to be true.

"I want to ask one thing, is it possible to intervene in that matching?"

"That would be impossible. After all, it is God who decides the matching. We just help with that, but we have no say in the selection."

"God decides the matching?"

"Yes. We prepare some information, but basically, it is all God's decision."

(Is God the game management? Ash and the others said there was a nameless god, is it the same concept...?)

Just as Hayato was thinking that, the entrance to the base opened with a loud bang.

And three unfamiliar men entered from the entrance without any hesitation.

The man at the front glared at Hayato as if to intimidate him.

"Hey, this is the Daedalus base, right? We are the Blood Knights. Bring out your leader, a guy named Hayato."

Hayato thought this was going to be a hassle, but he approached the men to hear them out.