Chapter 15: That frustrating thing when time efficiency is bad

• Stone Pebble A pebble with nothing special about it. It has zero value as ore, but it has utility value as a throwing stone.
• Grey Iron Ore Grey-colored iron ore. While it has no special effects, it can be processed for various uses. It doesn't shine even when polished, so it is the lowest of the low for accessories.
• Silver Iron Ore Silver-colored iron ore. Equipment using this possesses the "Magic Fortitude" effect. It's silver, but it's iron.
• Swamp Coffin Fossil A fossil that is likely a part of some monster. The "Swamp Coffins" that stand in disorder across the Marshlands of Agony sometimes contain memories of creatures from the ancient past. Whether what you dug up is just a remnant of the past or a legacy from the past depends on your luck...

Swinging a pickaxe like a mechanical task for ten minutes was quite "trash-game-esque" (boring work), but I think the results can be called quite successful. Especially the item called Swamp Coffin Fossil that dropped just once—it reeks of a super rare aura.

Apparently, after you mine it a certain number of times, the rock... or rather, the "Swamp Pillar" object collapses, and you can't mine it anymore. The moment the last Grey Iron Ore dropped, the Swamp Pillar crumbled away.

"Now, what to do..."

Well, the best move is probably to go back once and have a weapon made. I want to check what can be crafted with the items I just collected. If I don't have enough, I'll shoulder the pickaxe again; if I do have enough, I'll level up with the made weapon and then shoulder the pickaxe. There are still tons of Swamp Pillars in this area, so for now, I'll dig them up from one end to the other for item verification.

But seriously, it really helps that my high school started summer break earlier than others. After all, the summer break season is prime time for most industries. Naturally, it’s self-evident that ShanFro, currently charging straight ahead as a God Game, will break sales records this summer. From here on out, the first town will surely be buried in new players.

It's a rude way to put it, but if new players all start their adventure at once, every area and item will be devoured like a swarm of locusts. I heard countermeasures are in place, but the sight of players everywhere is... well, yeah, it'll probably be annoying.

"Hey, I gathered the ore. What can you make with this?"

"Let me see... Ooh, you gathered quite a bit. With this, I think I can make most things."

If I can make a weapon by digging up just one Swamp Pillar, it implies there's little need for a small number of players to keep digging them unless something extreme happens. Well, I'm going to dig them anyway.

"Hmm, hmm..."

Among the newly displayed weapons, two caught my eye.

• Marsh Daggers 10,000 Mani
• Ferocious Twin Saws 16,000 Mani

"Well, I'm just curious about the other one, but my decision is made. Make me two Marsh Daggers."

I sold off the items I farmed in the Forest of Rampancy, so I have some money to spare. Besides, I'm going to dig up Swamp Pillars and hunt monsters anyway, so I can just buy the other one later.

"Aye. You a dual wielder, brother?"

"Hm? Well, yeah."

"It's been a while since I made two of the same weapon for dual wielding! Gahahaha!!"

Huh, are dual wielders rare? However, it seems it's not as simple as handing over the materials and money and getting it instantly. "Come back when it's night!" he told me, so I ended up with time on my hands.

"What to do..."

Well, leveling, I guess.

And so, I have returned to the Marshlands of Agony. I thought about what to do until nightfall, but I decided to level up after all. I need to earn money too, so let's overhunt Mud Frogs. Let's do that. Just then—perhaps because it's a game—a high-pitched shriek rang out from overhead, blatantly sounding as if to say, "I am going to attack you now, prepare yourself."

Looking up, I saw the bird I had glimpsed when I first came here... looking at it again, it was a vulture-like monster, diving right at me to attack.

"I appreciate the verification target coming to me on its own."

The vulture tried to land a kick with its sharp talons on my head. I stepped to the side to dodge it while slamming a Goblin Hand Axe into its leg to test it out.

"Gyaeee!!?"

"Ugh! Broken in one hit!?"

One screamed in agony, the other screamed at the damage to his wallet. It was worn, but it still had two-thirds of its durability left; I didn't expect it to break in a single blow. Is this a sturdy monster that Goblin Hand Axes don't work on, or was that leg particularly hard? ...Well, whatever.

"Oryaaa!"

I threw the remaining axe at the vulture. Then, holding two "new" axes—though they were worn down from killing the Mud Frog—I closed in on the vulture, whose movement had stopped after the thrown axe hit its wing.

"Head! Wing! Body! Leg again!!"

Damn, I'm hitting it a lot, but it just won't go down. Is the Goblin Hand Axe only good for Mud Frogs? The sight of me beating a vulture on the ground with stone tools was quite surreal, but after beating it continuously for about forty seconds, the vulture finally converted into polygons and exploded, leaving behind a feather.

"That takes time... wait, a feather?"

I picked it up and examined it.

• Bandit Vulture’s Feather One of the feathers of a Bandit Vulture. Literally just a feather. It has no value other than being used as proof for the Thieves Guild. But precisely because of that, it is the proof of those who were once treated only as sinners.

"It's not worth it!!"

I involuntarily screamed at the value, which was far too low for the effort involved.

Author’s Notes & Lore

Stun-Lock Mechanics Actually, it is practically impossible for a monster to keep flinching continuously for 40 seconds. However, since critical attacks have a knockback effect of about 1 second, theoretically, if you can keep chaining critical hits with a weapon that attacks frequently—like Dual Blades or Dual Wielding—you can completely shut down most trash mobs (perfect kill). That is, of course, assuming you can keep swinging your weapon at the optimal angle against a writhing monster. By the way, monsters above a certain level will use special actions to forcibly break out of the flinch state.