Chapter 14: Neglecting your main job to gather materials... I think that's a thing.

The next area I need to cross to get from Secondil to Thirdrema, the "Marshlands of Agony," is, as the name implies, a wasteland dotted with numerous swamps. Apparently, mineral items drop there. "You'll know when you go." After receiving such oddly unhelpful words for an NPC, I purchased essential supplies like healing items and a map to organize my inventory, then headed for the Marshlands of Agony.

"Now then... first, let's verify monster drops..."

That’s what I’d like to do, but first I need to see how effective the Goblin Hand Axes are. Depending on the results, I might have to prioritize making a weapon first. For now, my target punching bag for verification is the monster known as the Mud Frog, which served as the material for my Split-Edge Leather series.

Judging by the armor's description, it’s safe to assume they have resistance to slashing attacks. This kind of weapon compatibility is the cliché of clichés. Apparently, specific parts are resistant to piercing as well, so is it recommended to defeat them with blunt strikes or magic? Or is there another type? Firearms exist as weapons in this game, but are those treated as piercing or something else?

"Man, I never thought I'd re-evaluate the Goblin Hand Axe for being so dull that it actually possesses blunt attributes."

If you turn a blind eye to the fact that durability decreases at a terrifying rate when using skills, it’s actually very good as a disposable weapon that combines blunt and slashing properties. For the time being, the priority is ore, then monsters. I saw dog-like and bird-like monsters in the distance, but perhaps because we were too far apart, I didn't get caught in their enemy AI's detection range.

"That really was a case of 'You'll know when you go'..."

Reaching the edge of a reasonably large swamp, I understood the meaning of the bearded old NPC's words. Right in the middle of the swamp, something like a lump of rock was growing out of it. Since I could see parts with a texture different from rock—likely ore—here and there, it seems this is the object containing mineral items in this area. And by a strange coincidence, I found the other thing I was looking for.

"Ge-gogo, Ge-gogo."

"Is that... a frog?"

Judging by the croaking and its general features, there’s no mistake that it is a Mud Frog. However, unlike a real frog which looks like a Shogi piece with limbs attached, how should I describe this...? A frog made by sticking biological parts onto a rectangular box? It was a frog with a truly unique shape.

"Actually, it's huge, hey."

That frog is about the size of a large dog. It's covered in mud so I can't tell the color of its skin, but it's probably the same color as the leather clothes I'm wearing right now. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Holding two Goblin Hand Axes...

"Shaa-oraaa!"

"Ge-gyo!?"

You fool. Did you think I would fight in the swamp where my movement is clearly restricted? You fool... no, you fool-rog (Bakaeru). As expected of a God Game that's a monster of quality, I can throw my weapons without hesitation or mercy. I aimed for the eye, but missed; however, even if it is a stone tool, the hand axe hitting its face caused the Mud Frog to reel back significantly and flip over... Kaeru (frog) only flips over (Hikkuri-kaeru).

"Hah-haaaa! Chaaance!!"

Stepping into the muddy swamp, sure enough, I couldn't run and had to pull my legs out of the mud one step at a time to advance. But perhaps due to generous balancing in that regard, the Mud Frog didn't recover from its flipped state by the time I reached it.

"It's practically radiating 'I am a weak point' energy... Hmph!!"

"Gyueee...!!"

The sound of a frog being squashed... or rather, it was a frog. Anyway, the spare Goblin Hand Axe I slammed into the exposed weak point of the Mud Frog dug deep into its belly with a critical hit effect. That must have been a fatal wound, as the Mud Frog scattered into polygons.

"For now, I'll retrieve the one I threw... Well, I knew it, but the drop item is skin."

Since an NPC sells it as armor, it’s probably not a rare item. In my estimation, the skin from its back is the rare drop. At any rate, I found that the Goblin Axe is still serviceable against Mud Frogs. I'll suspend the monster verification for now and get to work on the main prize: ore mining.

"The pickaxe... you can equip it as a weapon, not just an item..."

You can't underestimate the pickaxe as a strong weapon. In survival games, it can be easily made with sharp stones and tree branches, and since it unleashes a "piercing" attack with a "swinging" motion, some people use it as their main weapon. I can assert that a pickaxe wielded seriously by a player from a baseball game background is a lump of killing intent greater than a clumsy spear.

"...But, seriously... it's heavy...!"

I'm clanging the pickaxe against the rock lump, but perhaps because it can be used as a weapon, it's a bit hard to handle with my current STR. It's not that I can't swing it, but a single swing consumes two-thirds of my stamina. This is too inefficient.

Still, as a result of doing my best to keep hitting the rock, I spent about ten minutes gathering as much ore as I could. Volcano... Chief... Pickaxe... Ugh, my head...

Translator's Remarks

• "Neglecting your main job to gather... I think that's a thing": The title is a reference to the Japanese comedian Tenshin Kimura, known for his "Erotic Poetry Recitation" (Eroi Shigin) act, where he ends his jokes with the catchphrase "Aru to omoimasu" (I think that exists/I think that's a thing).
• Bakaeru (Fool-rog): Sunraku calls the frog "Bakaeru." This is a portmanteau of Baka (Idiot) and Kaeru (Frog).
• Kaeru/Hikkuri-kaeru: Sunraku makes a pun when the frog flips over. "It flipped over... Kaeru dake ni." Kaeru means Frog, and Hikkuri-kaeru means to flip over.
• Volcano... Chief... Pickaxe: A reference to the Monster Hunter series. Players often mine for charms/ore in the Volcano map. The "Chief" (Shunin) is a common nickname in the Japanese community for the monster Uragaan, who notoriously rolls into the area to disrupt miners like an angry boss checking on an employee.