The middle of the event was tough as I was desperately trying to catch up, so I couldn’t really be active. However, as we entered the late stage, we were finally able to beco a stable party of three people, and Wayne was able to earn a decent amount of experience points.
Due to the proposal from ntaList, we prioritized earning experience points over funds, so I wasn’t really catching up to Gil or ntaList, but I should have grown enough to fight alongside them.
Currently we are earning money in the country called Wells, which is where Gil and ntaList were based previously. This country, like Hiers, is predominantly human, making it easy for our party of all humans to operate.
Now we are in the lounge of an inn in the city of Carnemonte, just three n enjoying tea.
Carnemonte is a relatively large city even in Wells, but it’s player-friendly due to the proximity of the monster zone. Despite being on the frontier, the city seems to have continued expanding, with multiple layers of outer walls, and the city is situated between these walls. We are in an inn in the outermost shell of the city.
Maintenance is over, so each of us has logged in and co out of our rooms.
“Hey Wayne, your equipnt is getting pretty bad. Is that made of iron and monster skin or sothing? Sohow you’re still managing to keep up with that. Your player strength must have improved a lot, not just your skills and abilities.”
“Yeah, that’s right. It seems like I hardly get hit these days. The sword is just a raw blade, so the damage isn’t that great, but I cover for my attacks with magic, so if I could improve the sword, the DPS I deal would be more stable.”
“No, your equipnt is shabby because nta said to leave it for later. Honestly, looking like that, if you were active in another party, the mbers would be poached by others one after another.”
Wayne had complained several tis, but ntaList simply said to leave the equipnt for later and didn’t engage in the discussion much further.
In return, Wayne received plenty of support during battles, and if ntaList and Gil, who are his party mbers, say it’s okay, Wayne can’t really argue. He is aware that he is dragging them down, but at the sa ti, he feels that he is being lifted up in return.
“But seriously, what are you thinking? Tell . It’s not like you’ve been letting Wayne wear shabby gear without any reason, right?”
In response to Gil’s words, ntaList finished his cup, stood up, and said, “That’s right. Let’s continue in my room.”
They brought chairs from Wayne and Gil’s rooms and gathered around a small table in ntaList’s room.
For Wayne, he would have been fine with a separate large room, but since Gil and ntalist are not strapped for funds, a private room would be fine. Wayne has managed to pay his bills, but it will be difficult to maintain his standard of living if he does not shift his weight to earning funds rather than experience soon.
While ntaList ntioned it, Wayne realized that the current funds were prioritized over experience points in their activities. It might not be enough to catch up with Gil and ntaList, but at least they should have grown enough to fight alongside them.
“Now, by the way, let confirm sothing. In the raid against the calamity, I missed collecting the tal chunks as drop items. I’ve already honestly inford the participating mbers, gained their understanding, and we agreed to no rewards. Is that okay?”
As Wayne, it was a bitter mory. If only we had collected those chunks before the calamity reappeared. Since the Hiers capital is already under the influence of the calamity, those tal chunks have probably already been collected by them.
“That’s right… I do feel sorry, though.”
“Well, it’s not just Wayne’s responsibility, right? By the way, nta, didn’t you say you picked up a few of them?”
“I did. I still have them.”
Although I briefly considered sharing with everyone, those tal chunks belonged to ntaList, personally collected within the capital, not the raid drops. They should remain with ntaList.
“You’re quite shrewd or maybe just smart. So, what was that tal in the end? Magic iron or sothing? Were you planning to use it to make equipnt for Wayne?”
“It’s sothing like that, but there’s one correction. This tal isn’t magic iron.”
ntaList took out a tal chunk from the inventory and placed it on the table. It had already been processed into ingots, and it was evident that it had undergone appraisal and refining at a blacksmith or similar place.
“I had this secretly turned into ingots at the city’s blacksmith. I was told it couldn’t be handled in the small towns I’ve been to before. Even in this city, it had to be taken to a well established blacksmith near the center for it to be acknowledged.”
“Seriously? What was it then?”
“It’s called [Adamas].”
Adamas. Wayne had heard of it before. It was originally a word ntioned in Hesiod’s Theogony, an ancient Greek text, likely referring to steel or sothing similar. The origin ant ‘unconquerable,’ and it was generally associated with a hard and durable material.
“How is it treated in this ga? Gil, have you heard of it?”
“No, I haven’t. With the na, it’s probably sothing akin to Adamantite or Adamantium. Did that exist in the ga?”
“It seems so. According to the blacksmith, it’s particularly hard and durable among normal tals, and its performance is significantly superior even compared to magical tals. He ntioned sothing like Orichalcum… It’s apparently sowhat inferior to materials with nas like that. However, comparing it to Mithril, which has different applications, it’s hard to say which is better.”
They had researched quite extensively.
However, that ant it was a considerably rare tal.
And it was lying around in the middle of the royal capital.
“Seriously… The drops from the calamity are dangerous. If it beca known that defeating the undead in the city center drops this tal, players might swarm the old Hiers capital.”
“It might… but I don’t intend to make it public.”
“…I see. Sorry, ntaList.”
“What do you an?”
“Gil. Even though everyone agreed once, the fact remains that the calamity’s drops were lost due to my mistake. If it turns out that it was actually a valuable tal chunk, the consequences are uncertain. ntaList is worried about that, so they’ve been keeping quiet and only telling us.”
“Well… Sorry about that, ntaList.”
“It’s fine. If you didn’t intend to make it public, why bring it up now? You could quietly sell it. It’s not like anyone would find out.”
“I already know, but I thought about getting new equipnt for Wayne and Gil with this. It might be troubleso if we put it on the market. Even if players won’t find out, NPCs buying it would definitely mark us. I’ve kept it quiet from the blacksmith who appraised it, and I’ll continue working with him in the future.”
“…What do you want to do, Wayne?”
To be honest, it felt awkward. There was a part of him that felt selfish for considering upgrading only his equipnt, and besides, these were ntaList’s possessions.
However, ntaList was the one bringing it up, and Wayne’s subpar equipnt was indeed hindering the overall party’s performance. Looking at it from the perspective of boosting the party’s overall strength, ntaList’s suggestion made sense. Also, considering the amount of tal Gil would need for their combat style, Wayne’s burden would be lighter. If Wayne refused, Gil would likely follow suit, stopping Gil’s upgrade.
Knowing the personalities of the two, ntaList had carefully considered the proposal.
“…ntaList, I’m glad you’re not an enemy.”
“I’m honored to receive your praise, Leader. So, is it okay if we proceed?”
“Yeah. Sorry, but please go ahead.”
Let’s change our perspective. Eventually, the goal is to defeat the calamity again. The raid mbers will be rewarded at that ti. These tals are borrowed for that purpose.
“All right! Shall we go now? To that blacksmith.”
“Yeah, they’re probably eagerly waiting for us to show up. So, the sooner, the better.”
“Is that blacksmith so dedicated to their work?”
“No, Adamas seems to be rare even in this city. Opportunities to handle this much of it are apparently scarce because of it, so they’re quite eager.”
“So that was how it worked, I see.”
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