Chapter 36: New Equipment
Three weeks have passed since then.
The first thing completed was three hundred Potions.
Each time I got money, brought in Petals, and made a new request, I asked about the Laser Gun’s progress, but was naturally told, “Not yet.”
He said he needed a week, but it’s already been three weeks.
I retorted, “Why the heck not!?”, but he passionately explained how profound the handling of Catalyst Crystals was, and I promised to wait a little longer just last week.
But the leather guy finished his work perfectly.
The Monkey Skin Gear was completed, and it turned out to be some seriously cool equipment; I’m extremely satisfied with it.
A highly adhesive resin that increases Magical Power conductivity, mixed with black paint, was applied while combing it through.
It has light vertical lines, yet a sleek and glossy form.
The buttons to fasten the front are also made of a somewhat fire-resistant material.
The seams I was worried about are completely unnoticeable.
He said he joined them using a secret chemical.
Thanks to all that, the two gold coins weren’t returned, but I’m extremely satisfied.
I was so satisfied that I ended up paying five large silver coins as a thank you.
I obtained a long fur Coat brimming with a sense of luxury.
If I wear this, flames will be almost completely ineffective, so it’ll be a considerable advantage in interpersonal combat.
It seems to have considerable resistance not just to fire, but also to cold and wind, and the leather guy was getting excited, saying he’d become the creator of terrifyingly high-class equipment.
The drawback is that it doesn’t match the appearance of my exclusive armament.
Honestly, I think it’s just that, but I don’t want Yuri to think I look uncool.
But if I get carried away and rush onto the battlefield with just the Coat, I’ll end up getting insta-killed.
Well, I’ll think about that later.
Finally, today, my evaluation reached ten times the specified value.
I’m ready to graduate at any time.
But I’m starting to worry if it’s really okay to go to Yuri’s place like this.
There’s no reply to the message Mr. Owen sent for me.
Knowing Yuri, I think she’d reply immediately if she knew.
A suspicion arises that it might not have reached her, but I have no way to confirm it.
While harboring such anxieties, I came to report to Mr. Owen that my evaluation points had accumulated, but…
“You’ve certainly cleared it… You must have pushed yourself quite unreasonably. However, graduation is in three months.”
“Huh? No, no, why is that?”
“I explained that it’s once every six months, didn’t I? Since you hadn’t surpassed it by the recent cutoff, it’s natural to wait until the next one.”
Oh, ooh. Now that you mention it, that was the case.
Since I made an unreasonable request like ten times the amount, I wish they’d cut me some slack on that…
I think so, but the decision isn’t made by the teacher but by the principal, so it’s probably useless to tell him.
“For now, you can end your studies once you’ve cleared the criteria. However, your Hunter qualification will be in three months.”
“So, what does that mean?”
“It means you can leave the school as is and be free.”
That being said, if I leave school, it seems I can’t enter Dungeons until I get the qualification.
Since I don’t have the qualification, I’d have to hire an escort to travel between towns.
And then, in three months, I’d need to return here for the procedures.
“Th-then there’s no point in leaving!”
“That depends on the person. You yourself are wondering whether to go see Lady Yurisia, aren’t you?”
That’s true, but…
“Um, can I go show my face, come back, and then enter Dungeons here again?”
“Of course, you can do that while you’re enrolled. You can think of it as your graduation being set, no matter how much you take off.”
Then, should I go see her?
Honestly, thanks to the ten-times evaluation criteria, my pockets are quite warm.
For a short stay, I don’t need to buy citizenship, so just showing my face is a real possibility.
I hated parting ways in that state.
While I’m at it, I wonder if I can bring Potions and stuff?
But I don’t want to drop out after coming this far, so I should ask first.
“Mr. Owen, are the Potions and such I prepared for the Dungeon not allowed to be taken out?”
“No, weapons and armor, of course, but also Potions and combat Magic Tools won’t be confiscated, so you’re fine.”
It seems there’s a limit on the number of equipment and Magic Tool-related items, but for Potions, perhaps because this isn’t a Dungeon where materials drop, there’s apparently no limit.
That’s a relief. In that case, I can carry them without worry.
“Understood. Also, I’d like to request the purchase of a Familiar.”
“You too, huh? There are various restrictions, and it costs ten gold coins on top of that, but are you sure?”
I heard that there’s a test to make something a Familiar, and you can’t register it unless it passes.
If you want to take it out without doing that, you have to prepare a cage and carry it that way.
Since it’s a creature that will attack people if not properly trained, it’s only natural.
Also, if the Familiar injures someone, the responsibility falls on the owner.
I understand that much, so I proceed with the conversation.
“How do you do that?”
“The trainer hired by the school will do everything. Make it walk in the instructed direction, stop it, make it run, make it sit. Also, it must not show hostility even if attacked. Clearing those evaluation criteria is the minimum.”
Ah, I see. Since it’ll be pulling a Beast-Drawn Cart, that’s necessary, huh…
Most of it should be fine, but the “even if attacked” part makes me uneasy.
As I listened, it seems they’re made to do things of even higher difficulty.
Well, that just means the price goes up when you sell it, so I don’t really care.
“If you’re uneasy, you can request training. Even if you’re buying it, that fee is included, so you can request it for free.”
“That’s the kind where they hit it with a whip, right?”
“Well, it’s part of the criteria, so of course.”
…It can’t be helped. I’ll try my best to teach it myself.
“Understood. I’ll try various things and then think about it.”
Saying that, I gave a slight bow, left the place, exited the school, and headed to the Hunter’s Guild.
The business, of course, was the escort fee to Razbel.
When I actually came and asked, the cheapest course was quite inexpensive.
It’s something called a regular service, like a shared carriage.
Since I’m not going alone, it’s much cheaper compared to what I heard from my Uncle and the others.
It only costs about five large silver coins, so I decided to take this opportunity to go.
The next one seems to be in five days, but I paid the money anyway, made a reservation, and received a tally.
After that, I returned to school, trained with Raku until evening, and at night, I reported to everyone that my graduation was decided.
“Oh, then it’s a celebration! Is there still some of that meat?”
“Indeed. In that case, some good meat would be nice.”
“Eh, there’s still some of that meat?”
And so, these guys repeatedly made comments indicating they were only after that dinosaur meat, irritating me, but since there was plenty left over and it was a celebration, I served it.
I talked about my future plans and consulted with them on what to do about the Elemental Magic lessons I’d been teaching them when I had the chance.
Akito and Ami, who had each managed to learn one, were fine.
But Hiroki and Naomi, who still hadn’t learned a single one, were groaning “Mmm-mmm.”
“Ami! Can you learn it in my place?”
“Huh? It’s impossible to learn it now! Are you stupid?”
“Hiroki, you chose fire, which is in the highest demand for combat, so please?”
That’s right. They promised to each choose one and teach each other.
Or rather, I guided them in that direction.
Since we’ve become separate Parties, I can’t teach them constantly, so I had them narrow it down, thinking that was the limit.
They chose fire, water, earth, and recovery, and they managed to learn recovery and water.
All that’s left is Hiroki’s fire and Naomi’s earth to finish.
“Here, I’ll keep it out the whole time I’m cooking, so practice.”
I put a Magic Circle on the Platform and started cooking.
Naomi kept glancing over as if she wanted to come here, but Ami had grabbed her and was pestering her to learn quickly.
Ignoring the two of them working desperately, I got excited talking about Familiars with Akito and the others.
“No way! You’ve already saved up the purchase amount!?”
“That’s amazing. You’re on the twenty-fifth Floor now, right?”
“Nah, I’ve been to the fortieth.”
“””Huh!?”””
“Aren’t you an idiot?”
Huh, they seem a bit put off.
Ah, I see. The gap has gotten too big.
“Ahaha, that Maso is just really strong.”
“I see. So that’s what Yuri wanted from you…”
“Yeah. She was getting fired up, thinking this might save her family home.”
Naomi lowered her gaze and said, “I feel bad for doubting you.”
“Well, I’ll go tell her all that. I’ve made a reservation for the shared ride to Razbel in five days.”
“Oh! You’re finally going! But will you be okay?”
“Yuri-chan’s parents are Margraves, right? Will they let you meet her?”
Feeling uneasy at Hiroki’s and Ami’s interjections, I asked Akito for advice.
“If you have something you received from her that has her family crest on it, that would serve as proof, I suppose.”
No, I haven’t received anything with a family crest on it…
“Ah, I have it!”
That’s right.
She said both Yuri’s name and mine were on the Backpack.
This should serve as proof.
“I see. Then all that’s left is to hope they don’t think it’s a prank impersonating a dead person.”
No, no, surely that won’t happen.
I mean, the person himself is actually going.
“More importantly, you’re wrong about that.”
“No way!?”
That sort of idle chatter continued late into the night, and Hiroki and Naomi worked tirelessly to master them, but as expected, they couldn’t learn them in a single night of cramming, so they disbanded, still having not mastered them.
The next day, I reported to Riana-san and the others that my graduation had been decided, but I still felt a bit of distance from them, so I quickly excused myself.
After that, I hunted all the Apes and dinosaurs at the bottom of the pit, and at night, I trained with Raku.
For the two days after that, I had some free time, so while training Raku, I spent it lecturing Hiroki and Naomi on Magic Circles.
Then, on the morning of the fifth day, after arranging for Raku’s care, I headed to the Third School Building and asked the guy in charge of the Staff about his progress.
“Fufufu. It was just completed three days ago. To be honest, I wanted to run various tests for about one more day, but if you’re going on a long trip, you’ll need this, right?”
While saying that, he materialized ten boards with Magical Power, set them up, and then shot them to demonstrate.
The laser was fired for only an instant.
And yet, it pierced all ten boards.
“Hahaha, no matter how many times I see it, this thing is insane, isn’t it?”
“If the higher-ups find out, it’ll be confiscated, you know.”
“We’d be lucky if that’s all that happened…”
Ah… now that you mention it, that’s right.
They were wary of even a Gun, but this thing is even more dangerous, isn’t it?
“Um… you’ll keep quiet about this, right?”
“If you make one for me too, I don’t mind passing it off as something found in a Dungeon, you know?”
“Yeah. This is perfect for processing, and I definitely want one!”
“Ah. I can’t let this go now…”
Seriously? You want me to make them before departure time?
No, if it’s just the Magic Circle part, I can probably do it quickly.
Once that was decided, as I prepared to make them quickly, they hit me with unreasonable demands for them to be smaller, and even smaller, forcing me to make three of them, each about five millimeters.
I made them while using a magnifying glass, but even so, it was incredibly mentally draining.
“Your control is truly amazing.”
“Yeah. It’s a waste to have you be a Hunter.”
“Fuhaha, with this, the only processing cost will be Magical Power…”
As they got more and more excited, I implored them to be absolutely sure not to show it to others, then left the Third School Building, packed my luggage onto the Cart, and hurried to the Hunter Guild.