The Summoner Is Going Chapter 13

Translator: Cryus

I log in and savor the comfortable feeling when I open my eyes.
Yesterday was tough.
There were too many item drops from the swarm of Evil Ants.
Obviously, I didn't have time to【Appraise】each and every one of them. I just carried the item drops into the workshop and left them there.
This morning, Master instructed me to organize the item drops.
And we still have to deliver the potions to the Adventurer's Guild.
I can't afford to waste time.

《You have received some information from the GMs. Do you wish to read it?》

Why does this happen at times like these?
I set a『Bookmark』on the message to save it for later.

《Update: A new skill has been added in the current patch!》

Now I know for sure it's not urgent.
I'll read the details later.

I also have a message from Reina that I haven't read since yesterday.

『I tried making arrows using different feathers! I'll send you the【Appraise】results!』

She lined up the data for each of the arrows for comparison,
Even with the + added to the names, it doesn't look like a huge change.
The first ones she sent were Rabbit Horn Arrows.

※Using Steppe Hawk Wings
【Weapon: Arrow】Rabbit Horn Arrows+　Grade C　Rarity 2
AP 4　Power 1　Weight 0+　Durability 40　Range +7%
Arrows made using Wild Rabbit Horns as arrowheads.
Relatively easy to use with a moderate piercing ability.

※Using Pheasant Wings
【Weapon: Arrow】Rabbit Horn Arrows+　Grade C　Rarity 2
AP 4　Power 1+　Weight 0+　Durability 40　Range +3%
Arrows made using Wild Rabbit Horns as arrowheads.
Relatively easy to use with a moderate piercing ability.

※Normal Arrows: For Comparison
【Weapon: Arrow】Rabbit Horn Arrows　Grade C-　Rarity 2
AP 4　Power 1　Weight 0+　Durability 40　Range ±0%
Arrows made using Wild Rabbit Horns as arrowheads.
Relatively easy to use with a moderate piercing ability.

Next, the Evil Ant Arrows.
I'm a little more interested in this one.

※Using Steppe Hawk Wings
【Weapon: Arrow】Evil Ant Arrows+　Grade C-　Rarity 2
AP8　Power 0+　Weight 0+　Durability 30　Range +20%　Continuous Damage (Slight)
Arrows made using Evil Ant Stings as arrowheads.
Has a higher piercing ability and causes bleeding damage.

※Using Pheasant Wings
【Weapon: Arrow】Evil Ant Arrows+　Grade C-　Rarity 2
AP8　Power 1　Weight 0+　Durability 30　Range +15%　Continuous Damage (Slight)
Arrows made using Evil Ant Stings as arrowheads.
Has a higher piercing ability and causes bleeding damage.

※Normal Arrows: For Comparison
【Weapon: Arrow】Evil Ant Arrows　Grade C-　Rarity 2
AP8　Power 0+　Weight 0+　Durability 30　Range +10%　Continuous Damage (Slight)
Arrows made using Evil Ant Stings as arrowheads.
Has a higher piercing ability and causes bleeding damage.

I think the combination of Evil Ant Stings and Pheasant Wings can make well-balanced arrows.
I can get both materials from the forest anyway.
The last dataset was for the Bat Fang Arrows.

※Using Steppe Hawk Wings
【Weapon: Arrow】Bat Fang Arrows+　Grade C+　Rarity 2
AP 6　Power 1　Weight 0+　Durability 60　Range +25%
Arrows made using Bat Fangs as arrowheads.
Boasts increased Attack Power and Range due to the shape of the arrowheads.

※Using Pheasant Wings
【Weapon: Arrow】Bat Fang Arrows+　Grade C+　Rarity 2
AP 6　Power 1+　Weight 0+　Durability 60　Range +17%
Arrows made using Bat Fangs as arrowheads.
Boasts increased Attack Power and Range due to the shape of the arrowheads.

※Normal Arrows: For Comparison
【Weapon: Arrow】Bat Fang Arrows　Grade C+　Rarity 2
AP 6　Power 1　Weight 0+　Durability 60　Range +10%
Arrows made using Bat Fangs as arrowheads.
Boasts increased Attack Power and Range due to the shape of the arrowheads.

These arrows catch my interest too.
Both the Evil Ant Stings and Bat Fangs make a good combination with Pheasant Wings.
The Range bonus from Bat Fangs helps too.
That's good synergy.
With the extended range, bow users may be more versatile.
Regardless of combination, the arrows are sure to be more powerful than the standard.

She also left a comment at the end.

『I haven't gone public with the results yet. I wanna hear your opinion first!』

I wonder just how much these arrows will help bow users in combat.
I can't give a realistic estimate since I don't use bows at all.
Depending on the situation, players may rush into the forest to secure materials like these.

There's probably going to be more victims falling prey to the Ants.
And it'll probably get rowdy around his house.

I'm heading down to the workshop. When I enter, I see Master still sleeping on the worktable.
He's not leaning on it. Instead, he's lying on top of it.
There's a towel on the table, and another towel acting as a quilt cover.
It's probably the Metalskin that did this.
There's a faint smell of alcohol in the workshop.

The table is really wide. Even with Master laying on it, there's still s.p.a.ce to work with.
Except it's mostly occupied by the Evil Ant Sh.e.l.ls and Stings.
Since there are plenty of chairs, I'll use them in place of the table.
First, I'm splitting them by Grade.

A mystery presents itself as soon as I start using【Appraise】.

【Material】Evil Ant Sh.e.l.l　Raw Material　Grade X　Rarity -　Weight 0+
The sh.e.l.l of an Evil Ant.

What does Grade X mean?
And the Rarity is masked too.
Does that mean that there's no way to discern the Grade?
Or, could it be that my【Appraise】level isn't high enough to reveal the masked data?
But how does this happen with Evil Ants?
I don't know what's going on.
I've only started with Evil Ant Sh.e.l.ls, and there too many of these already.

I continue organizing the items while using【Appraise】.
There's the ones with the Grade I'm familiar with.

【Material】Evil Ant Sh.e.l.l　Raw Material　Grade C　Rarity 1　Weight 0+
The sh.e.l.l of an Evil Ant. Small, light, and somewhat tough.

The description is different from the ones that are Grade X.
Not only are there Grade C sh.e.l.ls, but there are also Grade C- ones too.
Overall, there are 17 Grade C sh.e.l.ls, 2 Grade C- sh.e.l.ls, and 82 Grade X sh.e.l.ls.
Looking closely, the Grade X look slightly different in terms of color.
And compared to the other Grades, the Grade X ones reflect a little less light.
The quality of the surface feels different because of that.
But the difference is only so slight that you wouldn't notice unless you compared them closely.

I'm organizing the Evil Ant Stings in the same way.
There are a lot more stings than sh.e.l.ls.
Overall, there are 32 Grade C stings, 7 Grade C- stings, and 157 Grade X stings.

There's just too many!

I think Volff, Helix and I killed more than 10 ants last night.
I don't think we went over 20, did we?
It took us all of our effort to stop them from surrounding us.
At the very least, I shouldn't have killed more than 5 of them.

His gatekeepers are really strong.
There's too much of a gap between us.

The Metalskin opens the door and brings in the breakfast.
It's putting the breakfast on the empty s.p.a.ce on the worktable.
Hm?
It looks like there's some bear meat from yesterday.

「Hm? Is it morning already?」

Master has woken up.
Unlike yesterday, he seems more conscious now.
Is it because of the smell of the food?
When we make eye contact, he reacts as if he's embarra.s.sed for some reason.
I thought he didn't eat much, but maybe he has room for his favorite food.
Or maybe he's just a glutton.

「Hm? Have you finished organizing?」

「Yes.」

「Now, how does it look?」

He looks at the item drops on the 6 chairs, and turns to me with a question.

「Do you know what separates the items that are most in quant.i.ty compared to the rest?」

「No, I only know that they're different somehow.」

「Mm.」

Master begins putting the Grade X sh.e.l.ls and stings onto the worktable one by one.
The Metalskin is putting the rest of the Grade X items into his《Item Box》.

「You may have the rest.」

「Thank you very much.」

「You may take these as well. But do not sell them.」

Master becomes absorbed in his food, and hasn't said anything further.
I wonder why he warned me not to sell them.
Is he trying to pose some kind of riddle?

I did start eating later than he did, but I'm surprised that he finished his food first.
And to top it off, we're eating Hunter Bear Steak early in the morning.
There really is a STR buff when I check it.
I get the feeling that hunting monsters today is going to be different from usual.

We're going to the town of Remut again.
I have Zangetsu and Helix summoned, just like it was yesterday.
Hunting monsters in the plains in the morning yields pretty good results, but it's just slightly different today.
It's cloudy with some light rain.
The monsters aren't reacting well to the rain.
I can just retaliate if they come at me when they're in an Active status, but many of the monsters have the Pa.s.sive status right now.
That means I can ambush them freely.
My main source of income is the rabbits, but many of them are staying close to their burrows.
Some of them are right next to them, while others pop their heads out for a while, but whenever I attack them, they tend to make a quick escape.
It's a matter of whether I can catch up to them and stop them in time by striking them with my rod.
Overall, I've succeeded less than half the time.

As for the Wild Dogs, I'm making use of Zangetsu's mobility to hunt them.
The only problem is the lack of item drops.
Earning money by hunting around Remut is proving difficult.

I haven't seen a single Steppe Hawk.
Helix doesn't seem too interested in flying around the plains or locating monsters when it's raining either.
I can tell because he's staying perched on top of my rod.

There's an info popup right when we approach the town gates.

《Monster Summon『Zangetsu』Level Up!》

Zangetsu leveled up while we were still moving.
Maybe it's because I've been riding her.
Zangetsu's stat box appears, and her AGI has already increased.
I decide to a.s.sign one point to her SPI.

Monster Summon　Zangetsu　Horse Lv1→Lv2
DEX　 7
AGI　19（↑1）
INT　 7
STR　20
VIT　22
SPI　 7（↑1）

Skills
Trample　Dash　Endurance Run　Wild Gallop　Stampede
Kick

I don't know which is better, covering her weaknesses or raising her strengths.
I just thought it would look nice if I raised her lowest stat to match the other lower ones.

We arrive in town and head straight to the Adventurer's Guild, just as we did yesterday.
There are even fewer players walking in town today.
The players who are here right now are wearing hoods and coats to stay dry.
I don't really care since it's only light rain, but maybe I should buy something to keep dry.

It seems even quieter inside the Adventurer's Guild.
I wonder if everything's okay.
I follow Master into the room inside the Guild. The female NPC from yesterday is counting the potions that Master delivered.
There's a lot of potions. It doesn't look like she's going to finish any time soon.
I see something troubling.
I'll just ignore it.

I open my message box in the virtual window and include Fiona, Saki, Mio, and Reina as the recipients of my message.
I'm sending the same message to all of them.

《I've just arrived in Remut. Once I'm done with my errands, I'll see you at the stalls》

This should be okay.
There are some items I want to sell, and I think everyone stands to gain.

「Oh! You're early today, Aurnier!」

Master ignores the guild leader's outstretched right hand, instead grabbing and tugging at his long beard.

「What do you mean early? And what's that?」

There are desks on both sides of the room. They weren't here yesterday.
There are empty potions lined up on the desks.
There are some bottles below the desks too.

「Hm, well, you know. I have a request-」

「But I refuse.」

「Let me fin-」

「No way, you senile old man.」

「Why you…」

「No you…」

Oh, now the guild leader is retaliating.
They're both pulling each other's beard. The conversation isn't going anywhere.
But despite that, it looks like they understand each other for some reason.

「Oh, don't worry about it. This always happens.」

The middle-aged guild employee is talking to me.

「It looks worse than yesterday.」

「It's even worse when they're alone. This is nothing.」

「Huh.」

I've also accepted a request from the Adventurer's Guild myself.
I'm taking out the potions I made and stored in the《Item Box》.

「I've managed to make the potions as requested yesterday.」

「Oh, you're fast.」

Both of us count the potions. The employee begins inspecting the goods after that.
The requested amount was 30 potions, but I delivered 53.
The employee removes one of the potions he checked using【Appraise】.
That's weird, but when I【Appraise】it, it's actually Grade C-.
I checked them yesterday, but maybe I mixed it up or didn't【Appraise】it properly.
It's my mistake either way. I'm reflecting on it.

「You've exceeded the requested amount. That'll help us.」

He quickly finished the calculations, and is handing me a small bag of coins.
There are 13 silver coins.
Since I received a total of 1,300 Dyns, each potion should be about 25 Dyns.
The price has increased from yesterday. That means they're probably selling them to players at an even higher price.
I'm happy about it personally, but I wonder how the other players feel about it.

《You have completed a quest from the Guild!》
《You have received 5 Bonus Points and 2 extra Bonus Points. You currently have a total of 9 Bonus Points!》

「Would you mind taking on another request? We would like you to deliver 60 potions this time. The deadline is 5 days from now.」

《You have received a quest from the Guild. Do you wish to accept it?》

What should I do?
The deadline is in 5 days, so I can collect herbs and finish the quest on my own.
Master is the problem here.
He and the guild leader are still pulling each other's beard and glaring at each other.
Well, I'm sure they'll stop eventually. I'll accept the quest.

「I understand. I accept.」

《You have accepted a quest from the Guild! Please deliver 60 potions within 5 days.》

「Thank you.」

Saying that, the employee begins putting the empty bottles on the desk into the《Item Box》.
He's putting in more than 60 bottles, but I won't point that out.
I know what he's expecting anyway.

After putting in all the empty bottles, he begins inspecting the potions Master delivered.
Speaking of Master…
He's still at it.

「You may go take a walk around town. I have to remain here and teach this senile old man a lesson.」

「You fool. You'll pay for this.」

Master stops pulling on Lugran's beard, and begins actually hurting him by pinching his chin instead.
In retaliation, Lugran uses his Iron Claw technique on Master's temples.
That's a strange way of competing against each other.
The 2 employees are quietly inspecting the goods.
They're good at ignoring the commotion!

I wonder if this really is Master's routine.
I wanted to do some shopping anyway. I decide to take Master's suggestion and leave.

There's something I want to buy before I head to Fiona's stall.
I enter the clothing shop I bought the Cotton Clothes in yesterday.
Seeing that I'm somewhat soaked, the salesperson approaches me proactively and recommends some clothes.
I tell him what I want while trying hard to remain expressionless.
I want a coat that will cover me from the rain.
Since the prices are more or less the same, I'm buying everything that looks good at a glance.
I've spent almost half of the money I earned from delivering the potions.

I'll take a look at the new location where Fiona and the others have set up shop.
It's in a slightly better place.
No, it's probably because they aren't facing as much compet.i.tion due to the rain.

「Am I a little too early?」

Mio's stall doesn't have any food yet.
Looks like she's still in the middle of setting up.
She's squatting in an unfeminine manner and kneading something.
Fiona has less than half the fish she had in her stall yesterday.
Instead, there's a huge stack of bags and boxes at the back of the stall.

「Oh, welcome.」

「Howdy!」

Mio gets back to work.
Fiona invites me into Union again. I accept the invitation.
Is there something she wants to talk about in secret?

『Sorry, stuff happened yesterday, and there are a few players who wanna meet you today. Is that okay?』

『That's fine with me. Has there been a problem or something?』

『First of all, thanks for leaking the info on the forums. Taking the initiative regarding the ape bones really was for the best.』

『A Blacksmith came to me and requested a one-handed hammer. He wants the bones as materials for the shaft. It's becoming quite a commotion.』

『A commotion?』

『Yeah. I don't think it's really that compatible as a weapon, but apparently when a Blacksmith uses it, the weapon Grade will increase.』

So she says, but…
I honestly have no clue about crafting weapons.

『Anyway, he's bringing the stuff here today. He's also bringing along a player from another production guild.』

『Huh.』

Mio is suddenly staring at Fiona.

『Right, I've finished setting up! Private chat is over!』

She has 2 meat skewers in her hands. They're the ones she showed me yesterday.
We disable the『Whisper』on the chat.

「Let's start with a sample!」

Mio waves the skewers in front of me and Fiona.
What's with that smug face?

【Food】Striped Wild Rabbit Skewer (Salted)　Satiety +3%　Grade C　Rarity 3　Weight 0+
Slight AGI buff, lasts for 5 minutes
Horned Rabbit Meat that has been tapped lightly and cooked with multiple spices.
Stuffed with arrowheads (plant) and green soybeans, giving it an accented feel.

Um.
The buff doesn't last for too long.

「Why are you making that face? Just eat it.」

「It's such a waste to eat it though.」

「Grr. Who cares about the buff, it's the taste that's important!」

Fiona is urging me to eat too, so I do as I'm told.
Yup, it really is delicious. It feels good in the mouth too.
It makes me want to drink beer.
I leave just a little for Helix.
It's not raw, but he eats it anyway.

「Yup, it's pretty tasty.」

「Right?」

「I can't beat Mio only when it comes to cooking.」

「What?! I've beaten you in many other ways!」

They're behaving like real sisters. It brings a smile to my face.
Well, with Saki included, all three of them may be sisters in real life.
Someone approaches without getting into their conversation.
It's Reina.

「Hey! I'm here!」

(insert image here)

This seems to be her default greeting.
They jump straight into their girl talk, making me feel left out.

「Oops.」

Fiona is the first to snap out of it.

「By the way, have you read the GM info yet, Keith?」

「Not yet, I've had my hands full.」

「I see. I'm going to say something that may make you feel uncomfortable. Is that okay?」

I wonder what it could be.
I prepare myself for the worst.

「Alright, go ahead.」

「After the first day, the GMs publicly released the data on player selected races and jobs.」

「It's actually pretty interesting! Only 100 players chose Elf as their race, and that's less than 3% of the total number of players!」

「That means we know how many players chose specific races and jobs.」

「Hmm.」

Speaking of which, I think the GMs sent an info message on the 2nd day.
I remember reading the subject line and saving the message without reading it.
I must have been too depressed about not getting accepted into a party and completely forgot about it.

「Well, you're the only player who selected the Summoner job. The data they sent today shows the same thing.」

「It's not very popular, huh.」

「Why do you think that is, Keith?」

「Uh, I get the feeling that Summoners are treated as a burden. Maybe it's because Summoners are weak?」

I remember getting that same treatment during party recruitment.
It was pretty rough.

「That may not be true. Reina! Do you think Summoners are weak?」

「No way! I think they're the strongest in terms of combat!」

「Eh? Then why is it unpopular?」

「Ah, where should I start?」

Fiona is showing an agonized expression.
It looks kind of nice.
That was a little indecent of me.

「Alright, let's say the three of us here have formed a party of 6 with Keith and his Monster Summons, and have defeated some monsters!」

Reina is talking cheerfully.

「And let's say that the entire party gains 600 EXP! How is it distributed?」

「Each person will get… Huh?」

That's it.
What about the Monster Summons?

「Actually, the Monster Summons will gain EXP too!」

「Using that example, everyone gets 100 EXP each, including the Monster Summons.」

「Now, here's the problem!」

「That's right. From my point of view, is Keith really getting only 100 EXP?」

Eh.
Ah!

「Even though I'm in the same party, I'm getting 3 times the amount of EXP. Other players may see it that way…」

「Right. From our point of view, it's unfair to us. Other players would have to put up with disadvantages like that when teaming up with Summoners.」

「And it's even worse in a『Union』, which is a large team of multiple parties!」

「The EXP is still split evenly among combined parties after all.」

「I see. There's 6 times as much of a gap when a party of 6 teams up with a Summoner with 5 Monster Summons.」

「That's one way of seeing it.」

Is this it?
Is this the real reason why people tend to avoid Summoners?

「On top of that, as the Summoner's level increases, the number of monsters he or she can summon at once also increases.」

「In other words, the stronger a Summoner becomes, the number of players who can team up with the Summoner will decrease!」

This too.
Using the example from before, let's suppose I can summon 3 monsters at once.
There's only a maximum number of 6 allowed in a party. If I were to play it to my best advantage, one of the players would have to leave the party.
The supposed unfair distribution of EXP would increase from 3 times ot 4.
The more I progress, the more isolated I will become.

「Many players have the opinion that teaming up with Summoners means that they'll only be their p.a.w.ns!」

「In fact, teaming up with a Summoner means that the player will quickly become stronger. Even then, there's still too much of a gap between the player and the Summoner.」

「The Summoners in beta had the same problem!」

「Well, even during beta, there were many people who insulted Summoners for the wrong reasons, although there were other factors too.」

「The distribution of item drops! There was a huge fuss because there were disagreements over one of the Summoner's contributions!」

「That was a horrible incident.」

Apparently there were 4 players and 2 Monster Summons.
There were 4 rare item drops. Since there were 4 players, they were going to split it equally among the players themselves.
But then the Summoner wanted 2 more item drops because his monster summons were helping.
Yup, they would have argued. No doubt about it.
The Summoner should have backed down.

「Well, I guess it's common for players to argue, but they definitely couldn't stand it.」

「I think everyone who played the beta version knows about it!」

「Well, there were similar incidents too.」

「Many players say that Summoners just suck, but that's not true! It just sucks for the players!」

「And it goes back to the Summoners. No one wants to team up with Summoners now.」

Ouch.

「That's why Summoners are seen as solo jobs. Otherwise they're treated as trash.」

「The GMs announced that they weren't going to fix this unfair system in the public release, and that did it!」

Really?
That was it?

「I've been playing without realizing it all along.」

「During character creation, you can only choose the Summoner job if your a.s.signed Parent Cla.s.s was Summoner. The chances of that are probably lower than having Elf available.」

「There were some players who kept recreating their characters in beta, hoping that they could choose Summoner!」

「The GMs are to blame! They probably didn't bother because it wouldn't break the game if there weren't many Summoners!」

「No, I don't think so. Isn't it more likely that they couldn't fix the EXP distribution and make it fair to everyone?」

「You're naive! That's the same as saying that they didn't bother fixing the system! They're just lazy!」

Reina has a harsh opinion about the GMs.
I should back down.

「But then, if they distributed the EXP by treating Summoners and their monster summons as one unit, then that would make their growth rate…」

「That's that the beta test was for! They're in the wrong for leaving it horribly unbalanced!」

「Reina, you don't have to get so heated up. We've come to this point already.」

「But that means you'll have to keep playing solo. Are you going to be fine?」

「Well, he's brought us some rare materials so soon. I think he has potential!」

「Maybe the GMs are going to try and fix it through some kind of event?」

Being unfamiliar with online games like this is working against me.
Well, I have my own reasons for joining this game.

「I don't really know the complicated stuff. It's enough for me if I can enjoy the game.」

An NPC approaches Fiona's stall, bringing our conversation to a halt.
There's a slightly awkward pause.

「Oh, right. I brought some more materials today. Do you need any?」

Mio is the first to jump at it.

「Yeah! I want Striped Wild Rabbit Meat!」

「Sorry, I don't have any today.」

「Oh.」

「I have some meat from Horn Rabbits though.」

「Gimme!」

Mio is buying them at 1 Dyn each.
I'm getting ripped off.
But I don't care enough to barter.
She's showing it to me now.

「Here's a meat skewer. It's tasty, right?」

She's such an imp.
She must have been afraid of getting a penalty for buying the meat at such a low price.
The meat is pretty easy to get anyway, so I'm letting her off the hook.
I didn't get to hunt as much today, so she only managed to cook 4 meat skewers.
I'll just think of it as keeping casualties to a minimum.

「Do you want these, Reina?」

It's the Evil Ant Stings.
There's a total of 40 stings with Grade C and C-.

「Hey, why do you have so many?!」

「Well, I just happened to get them.」

Yup. the ones that killed most of the ants were Master's monster summons. I didn't do much at all.
In fact, Master is holding on to more than half of the item drops.

「This amount of materials isn't normal!」

「Yay! We don't have to go to the Western Forest anymore, right?」

「Mio, we have to! You said you wanted Bat Fangs, and you wanted to hunt Wild Pheasants!」

「Eh?! I'm fine with going in the day, but not at night!」

A player jumps into the conversation halfway.
I know because there's a green marker.
It's a group of 2 male characters. One of them is standing out because of his appearance.
He's short and has a thick beard. He's also muscular.
He's a Dwarf.
I actually haven't seen that many Dwarf players.
Compared to Humans, they have much lower AGI and slightly lower INT and SPI, but are much better in terms of DEX, STR, and VIT.
They're clearly built for melee.
It's similar to the ones I've seen in tabletop RPGs which I played long ago.

The man beside him looks muscular too.
His face looks a little exotic.
It's obvious that he's a Human, but he makes me feel uncomfortable for some reason.

There are some special traits in common between both of them.
They're wearing dirty worksman clothes, and are wearing a few leather belts of some kind. Attached to the belts are some tools.
The hammer catches my attention.
He's most likely a blacksmith.
I can almost smell the sweat.

「Fiona has a customer, huh.」

「Yeah, wait a while longer! Anyway, did you bring the stuff we requested?」

「Of course, here you go.」

Saying that, the Dwarf takes something attached to his back and hands it to Reina.
It's a hammer.
The shaft looks familiar. It's made of Snow Ape Bones.

「Yup, it looks good!」

「What is this Summoner doing here?」

「Giedre! Don't be rude to our customer!」

The other person is giving me a nod, so I nod back in kind.
The fact that they called me a Summoner means that they've used【Identify】on me.
I'll【Identify】both of them too.

Giedre　Lv.3
Blacksmith　Standby

Kaya　Lv.3
Blacksmith　Standby

Both of them are Blacksmiths.
Since Fiona called them here, maybe they have something to do with the commotion we talked about.
Speaking of which, I wonder what it was about?

「Thanks for waiting. Saki is running late, but let's begin.」

Fiona has invited me to『Union』again.
It looks like they want to keep this conversation private.
Giedre is the first to speak.

『Fiona, this is just a prototype, so I had to try it out. It's dangerous.』

『You think so?』

『We should check it first. I have the prototype here. Go ahead and【Appraise】it.』

Everyone is taking turns to【Appraise】it.
I'm the last one to do it.

【Weapon: One-handed Hammer】Echoing Hammer　Grade C+　Rarity 4
AP +3　Power 2　Weight 1　Durability 110　Throwing Range 10
Blacksmith Skill Boost [Slight] A hammer with an iron-cast hammerhead, wrought with Snow Ape Bones.
Compared to the weight of the hammerhead, the shaft is somewhat long and light. Relatively difficult to use.
A beautiful sound echoes through the bones when the hammer is struck. Throwable.

Kaya is picking up the conversation.

『That's understandable. How did the commotion go, Giedre?』

『I regret even looking at it, and after using【Appraise】… I made everyone quiet, but we cannot be careless.』

『Even though they're your people?』

『Precisely because they are. Everything's still okay with the information about the bones up on the forums. I have warned everyone that they won't get the bones if they do anything uncalled for.』

『My condolences.』

『In any case, this is simply a requested item. And I doubt that anyone would try to break the rules and become Corrupt.』

I think I heard something disturbing.
I wonder if the main problem is the『Blacksmith Skill Boost [Slight]』part.
It looks like the Grade and Rarity of the weapon are a little higher than normal.

『Fiona, about the issue you sounded out before. The only option is to set the privileges of this hammer to Rental. Otherwise, I don't have the confidence to keep my people in check.』

『Giedre, I heard that you guys were going to move out of Remut into the camps in the north?』

『I understand the folly and the trouble it would take to move the hammer. But this is the minimum for a compromise.』

『Aren't they just being unreasonable?』

『There are those who don't believe the information that Keith has presented. Eventually, they will plot to steal a march.』

『Information will leak eventually. And withholding information isn't any different from monopolizing the benefits. You're the one who said that to me in beta, right?』

『Don't get started on beta. Kaya, is everything going well on your end?』

『I gave the excuse that I wanted to try getting some information through an intermediary. Well, I guess it's not a lie since I'm actually here.』

『That's not what I was asking.』

『There hasn't been any Outrage. They're not that bad. But I can't say for sure if there are other players who will actively become Corrupt this early in the game.』

I didn't get much of that.
Outrage?
Corrupt?
I don't know what these things mean.

『Hold on a minute! It looks like Keith doesn't understand what we're saying!』

Reina seems to have noticed.
Fiona and Reina are giving me a supplementary explanation.

『What's special about this hammer is the Blacksmith Skill Boost [Slight]! Using this hammer gives the user a chance of making better weapons!』

『That's right. It also means that players with the Blacksmith skill can have it grow faster.』

『No wonder the demand for this weapon is high! Look at the early boost and those materials!』

『Naturally, people will start looking for Snow Ape Bones. If they can sell the bones to Blacksmiths for a high price, then they'll definitely want to get their hands on them, right?』

『Fiona getting you to post the information was the next best measure! We're trying to protect you as our supplier!』

『There may be players who are gonna try to PK you, threaten you for the bones, or perform an Outrage on you.』

『But right now, you can only get the Snow Ape Bones through events! That's a point to consider!』

『If you get PKed and end up quitting the game, all the Blacksmiths will hate you for it. That's how it is right now.』

『There are Blacksmiths who think that making the information public is a sign that you intend to sponsor the bones!』

『In a way, it's protecting you indirectly.』

Um…
It's possible that I'll become a target?
Getting threatened sounds scary.
And there's still something I don't understand.

『Sorry, but can I ask a stupid question? What's PK?』

There's an awkward silence, and everyone is frozen in place.

Protagonist　Keith
Race　Human　Male　Racial Lv3
Job　Summoner Lv2
Bonus Points Remaining 9

Skill Sets
Staff Lv2　Punch Lv2　Kick Lv2　Joint Lock Lv1
Evade Lv1　Block Lv2　Summon Magic Lv3
Light Magic Lv2　Wind Magic Lv2　Earth Magic Lv2　Water Magic Lv2
Alchemy Lv2　Pharmacy Lv2
Cooperation Lv3　Appraise Lv3　Identify Lv3　Cold Resistance Lv2　Grab Lv2
Horsemanship Lv1　Precise Manipulation Lv1

Equipment　Beginner's Rod　Cotton Clothes　Cloth Shoes　Rucksack　Item Box

Items　Survival Knife

Monster Summons
Volff　Wolf Lv3　Resting

Zangetsu　Horse Lv2（↑1）
DEX　 7
AGI　19（↑1）
INT　 7
STR　20
VIT　22
SPI　 7（↑1）
Skills
Trample　Dash　Endurance Run　Wild Gallop　Stampede
Kick

Helix　Hawk Lv2