Chapter 6: Great Opening of the Liebe Forest





When the maintenance was over and Rare logged in, there were several notifications. There was a message about the maintenance itself, but this was something that had arrived before the maintenance, and Rare had only glanced at the title and ignored it.

"---A video of the battle scene, huh. Well, my face isn't in it, so I guess it wouldn't be a problem to give permission... Ah, that's right..."

A thought occurred to her, and she added it as a proposal. It might turn into something interesting if it worked out.

"---Now, about that player named Wayne or something..."

"---Was there something about Wayne?"

Kelly, who had been standing by nearby, asked.

Ever since the day Kelly had gone for a walk in the forest with Wayne, she had been almost constantly standing by in the Queen's chamber. It seemed that her actions, such as showing weakness and attacking her comrade, the worker ants, had been quite stressful for her. It didn't seem like she had any intention of getting involved with Wayne unless Rare gave her an order.

"---It's about the event the other day, the one I was gone for about two hours..."

"---Would it be best to dispose of him if he becomes a hindrance to the princess?"

"---No, that won't be necessary... Yes, that's it. I'll have Kelly go to town, and then I'll use [Summoner's Call: Spirit] to possess her. In that state, we'll make contact with Wayne---lure him into the Liebe Forest, and kill him for the experience points."



***



[Spatial Magic] and a variety of other skills had unlocked the skill [Summoner's Call] in the [Summon] tree.

She had already obtained so many skills that she no longer had any way of verifying what the acquisition conditions had been, but the effect of this skill was "to summon oneself to the location of a subordinate."

Despite the fact that the target of the summoning was limited to "oneself," when the skill was activated, a list of summonable targets appeared, just like with a normal [Summon]. Among the items in this list was "oneself," and current equipment, such as weapons, could also be targeted. This meant that it was possible to have supplies delivered.

This list also included an item called "Spirit," which allowed the summoner to possess a subordinate's body with their spirit. This was the reverse process of a skill that allowed the summoner to possess their own body with a subordinate's senses.

When the summoner's spirit possessed a subordinate in this way, the subordinate's abilities were enhanced by the [Subordinate Enhancement] skill and other effects, and one-tenth of all of the summoner's abilities were added to them.

The amount of time that the summoner could possess a subordinate in this way depended on the summoner's MND, and with Rare's current MND, it was possible to remain in possession for several days.

However, the subordinate was the one who was actually moving, so even if the summoner had obtained a skill, it could not be used if the subordinate had not also obtained it.

When Rare first used [Summoner's Call: Spirit], she saw her own avatar sleeping on the throne through Kelly's senses, and she felt a strange sense of disorientation, as if she were playing a VR game within a VR game.

However, she had once seen a news article in the library about a major craze for playing mahjong games within MMOs in the past. Perhaps it was only natural for people to do such things.





When Rare received a message from Kelly that she had arrived in the nearest town, she used [Summoner's Call: Spirit] to possess her.

She had only done this once before, for the purpose of skill verification, and she felt a sense of discomfort, or rather, a feeling that this was not her own body. This was only natural, of course.

If this were Gundam, it would be like the feeling of piloting a robot that had been completely mastered, or rather, the difference in body size was so great that it was not particularly noticeable.

"---Maybe it's because the character's sense of self is so strong, or in other words, because there are quirks in their actions, that it feels uncomfortable...?"

In the real world, each and every person had their own unique quirks, such as the way they walked, which could be used for authentication purposes. She didn't think that such things would be reproduced in a game, but on the other hand, she felt that it wouldn't be surprising if this game did.

"---Isn't it said that highly developed science is indistinguishable from magic?"

She muttered to herself as she headed towards the mercenary guild. She had developed a habit of talking to herself, which was fine when she was in the Queen's chamber, but she needed to be careful at times like this.



There were not many mercenaries in the guild---or so she thought, but there were more than usual. Upon closer inspection, they seemed to be players.

She couldn't sense the desperate determination that was unique to those who lived in this town, or rather, she got the impression that they were on vacation, visiting the countryside, or something like that.

Rare had been raised mostly in the countryside, so she was sensitive to such atmospheres.

As VR technology had advanced and opportunities to go outside had decreased, or rather, because of that, the gap between the countryside and the city had deepened. The sense of isolation that was unique to the countryside had faded, but the proactive attitude of wanting to get to know the locals had also faded.

"---And, about Wayne---found him."

He was sitting in a chair in the corner of the guild lobby, staring at the floor. The atmosphere was so heavy that Rare almost mistook it for a VR job placement center. She had never been to a VR job placement center, though.

"Hey, Wayne. Did I keep you waiting?"

"Rare... I see you've decided to show up."

"Well, you seemed to have something on your mind, and I haven't seen you since I got back from the forest."

Rare clicked her tongue in her mind as she said this, she noticed several players in the lobby looking their way due to Wayne's reaction.

If only he could be more considerate, he wouldn't have such a hard time making friends. But Rare didn't feel like pointing that out to him.

"I don't mind talking, but you're causing a bit of a scene... Let's go to the forest. There shouldn't be many monsters or people around if we stick to the outskirts."

Wayne stood up and nodded nervously. Rare left the guild with him. It seemed like no other players were following them, but it wasn't like it would matter if they did.



As they walked towards the forest, Rare made an effort to move in a way that wouldn't feel out of place. With this body, not feeling out of place meant she was successfully emulating Kelly's habits.

Rare wasn't sure how closely Wayne had been observing Kelly's actions, but to her, it felt like she was on a mission to speak with someone she didn't know while in disguise. It was surprisingly fun. She decided she wanted to keep up the act without getting caught.



Once they reached the forest, they decided to walk about 20 minutes in. That way, they wouldn't be visible from the outside.

Being in the forest was good training for Rare, as it was originally Kelly's territory. Avoiding any sense of incongruity made it surprisingly easy to move around.

Perhaps Rare could join Riley and the others on their regular patrols from time to time.

"Alright, this should be far enough. So, Wayne, what did you want to talk about?"

"......Are you really Rare?"

"Of course I am. I'm Rare. No doubt about it."

Right now, she was possessing Kelly's body, so she was indeed Rare. If anything, it was the Rare up until now who wasn't truly Rare.

"The Rare I know... doesn't seem like you..."

Wayne's words left Rare taken aback.

What had she done wrong? Had she been found out already? This player named Wayne seemed to be more perceptive than Rare had anticipated.

"----Even if you say that, the game logs in with brainwave authentication. There's absolutely no way to switch bodies. If it were just fingerprint or iris authentication like it used to be, I guess it could be faked..."

And the avatar was undoubtedly the same one Wayne had met as Kelly before.

The person Wayne was meeting now was both Kelly, the person Wayne knew, and the legitimate player named [Rare].

She was the purest form of Rare that had ever existed.

"By the way, is that what you wanted to ask? Can we call it a day now?"

"Wait, I'm not done with my question yet!"

She had answered his question, so why was he still going on? Wasn't he satisfied?

But even if it was a hassle, if Wayne felt something was off, it wouldn't hurt to listen for future reference.

"Alright, I'll hear you out. Why don't you think I'm Rare?"

"First of all... it's the way you speak. Rare used to emphasize role-playing and spoke in a way that fit her female mercenary character."

Come to think of it, Kelly did speak in a somewhat flowery manner before she learned honorifics. She must have spoken like that when she met Wayne too. This was definitely Rare's mistake.

"Oh, well, I guess I can let that slide. Is that good enough?"

Rare deliberately changed her tone to something closer to what Kelly used to use. Recently, Kelly had been using honorifics all the time, so she didn't quite remember the details.

"Another thing, it's the way you walk in the forest. Last time, you followed behind me and seemed surprised by everything... But today, you're walking in front of me without any hesitation. I can't believe you got so good at navigating the forest in just two weeks."

That was exactly right. Rare had been walking through the forest as if she were the real Kelly.

Come to think of it, Kelly had been timidly following behind Wayne last time. She must have been stressed not only during battles but also in situations like these. This was another mistake on Rare's part.

"And one more thing, the login authentication matter. Based on what you said before, I got the impression that Rare wasn't very knowledgeable about hardware or software. It seems unnatural for Rare to explain about the old-fashioned biometric authentication methods."

That was true. The residents of this world - the NPCs like Kelly - wouldn't know much about the VR equipment's system.

After not hearing from Kelly for a while, Wayne must have thought that she was a weak player who was not good with machines. He had a habit of talking too much, which ended up being his downfall. This was a rare mistake for him.

What a mess. It was Rhea who was the fool.

"You... at that time, Rare was sometimes talking in the friend chat, right? And the Rare I know is not actually her player name. I'm not friends with Rare, so if the girl I met at that time was called Rare, I have no way of knowing if that was her real name or not."

Rare had indeed made a mistake, but Wayne's sharpness was also undeniable. She never thought that she would be subjected to such a precise and logical deduction. 

Wonderful. Rare never thought that she would be able to experience the feeling of being a criminal pursued by a mystery in this game.

"I see... so your conclusion is that there are two players with the same appearance, one of them is me, and the other one is the Rare that you met?" 

she said casually, emphasizing the fact that they were both players and had the same appearance.

For Rare, this is ultimately fine as long as it is not revealed that Rare herself looks completely different and that NPCs can use her inventory, friend chat, and other functions.

If Rare's appearance is discovered to be different, it would inevitably lead to questions about how she was controlling Kelly's body, risking the exposure of skills she wanted to keep secret.

"So, it really is..."

Rare's current words sounded like a confession to Wayne, who hung his head. It seemed she had led him exactly where she wanted. Despite his sharpness, he was rather easy to fool.

"If you ask why I did such a thing, there's no particular reason..."

The real reason was that Rare didn't want to go out into the city, mainly due to the limitations caused by albinism and low vision.

However, revealing this would connect to Rare's true appearance, so she couldn't say it.

"It was more like a honey trap. I just wanted to hunt careless players. If you kill NPCs, it's over, but players can be hunted over and over, including identifying them.

Even though I look like this, I was a closed beta tester. Back then, I pretended to be an NPC and killed the foolish players who took the bait—"

"...What did you say? In the closed beta... you pretended to be an NPC and PKed... Did you just say that?"

"That's right. It was hilarious. I did it several times, but if you do it in the same city, you get caught quickly. So, I stopped and moved to another—"

"—That time!"

Wayne suddenly shouted, startling her.

"The foolish player who got hunted was me!"

I see, Rare thought.

"So that was you! It's fate! I laughed at how foolish that player was back then, but to think you've grown so much to see through my plan and corner me now. I'm quite impressed!"

"Ugh... you...!"

Wayne glared at Rare and put his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Oh, you're going to draw your sword. I don't mind at all. I was expecting it."

"...You said it was a honey trap...! Why didn't you do it yourself? If you look the same, why did you involve Rare... her?"

The truth was, they didn't look the same at all, and the honey trap story was a lie.

"I think you understand from our talk that I'm not good at such things. I thought she, being naturally straightforward, could handle it. And didn't you fall for it again? But it seems to stress her out a lot, so I don't intend to make her do it anymore."

"The source of the stress is you!"

(No, if anything, it's Wayne.)

However, there was no point in saying this. Rare would only do some promotion, and then let Wayne withdraw for a while.  

"I'm currently using this forest as my base. I'll think about the specific methods later, but I plan to continue to hunt and kill players like this. You'll be the first one, of course," 

"That's not something that can be allowed!" 

"What are you going to do if it's not allowed? Are you going to form a group with others and come to kill me? That's fine too. If I'm killed many times, I'll eventually become so weak that I can't beat other players."

The experience value lost through the death penalty is only 10%, but no matter how much experience value Rare has, if she is killed 30 times, she will be weakened to less than 5% of her current state. 

Of course, she had no intention of being killed even once by those who participated in the exhibition.

As Rare was speaking, she raised her hand to the sky. Then, a sword named "Ichirou" that had been waiting in the sky descended into her hand.

"That sword, from that event...

"Well then, for now, goodbye. I'll be waiting for your challenge."

Wayne approached at an unreactable speed with [Shrink] and beheaded him with [Slash].



***



It seems that the management has fully accepted Rare's proposal.

Rare's proposal was as follows.

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continue

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***

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A certain player discovered a dramatic and unexpected way to become stronger and participated in the official event to show it off. The management, seeing it as a valid method, edited and published a video of it as good publicity. However, the player has no intention of teaching anyone else and is currently hiding in the Great Forest of Liebe.

Adding elements that could be misinterpreted and comments in the video would be interesting.



The management-approved commercial video was made exactly according to the proposal.

To be precise, Rare participated in the event to gauge the other players' abilities, but that is something only Rare knows.

Additionally, Wayne, through SNS, helped to spread the information about Rare. The video features a player in black full-body armor committing PK acts in the Great Forest of Liebe, among other things. The information about Kelly is also mostly incorrect, but it has been left as is to avoid causing trouble.

Even if Rare wanted to correct it, there is a risk that Wayne's efforts would be wasted if Rare were to directly voice their concerns on SNS. It's better to remain silent and only speak when cornered and forced to reveal everything. Yes, like Rare did the other day.



In this way, Rare has been relatively inactive but has been working in the background for about a week.

Currently, players are gathering one after another in the Great Forest of Liebe, a name Rare recently learned.

The nearby town of Airfalen, also recently learned, is in an unprecedented boom. One could say it's a special demand for the Great Forest.

The players believe that Rare's strength comes from the dungeon-like forest and are flocking there, thanks to the management's commercial and Wayne's stealth marketing.



Rare is currently managing the Great Forest in a way similar to the way dungeons are managed in other games today.

Rare have the goblins make weapons and armor from the low-rank metals produced in the veins and scatter them in the shallow parts of the forest. When a player finds and takes them, they will hide the same rank of items in a different place after a while.

Rare also scatter useful materials such as low-rank potions, wood, and fruits that can be harvested in the middle layer of the forest, as well as monster fur. Rare have so much of these middle-layer materials that it's a hassle to have the Queen's Heavy Infantry Ants store them, so they just let the collected Foot Soldier Ants carry them.

Rare always have the Scout Ants monitor the situation of the scattered items and the movements of the invading players. Rare have increased the production of Scout Ants and established a reconnaissance unit specializing in surveillance due to the large number of players.

The players who have invaded the Great Forest have been able to defeat the monsters (almost all ants) to their hearts' content and obtain weapons, items, and other rewards. They are also being killed by the Cavalry Ants, Sniper Ants, and other high-level ants with murderous intent.

Rare has noticed something.

When an ant defeats a player who has gained experience points, the ant will receive more experience points.

However, if the players realize that they will lose experience points as a death penalty, they will eventually stop coming.

To avoid such criticism, Rare have been adjusting the amount of experience points so that it is roughly the same as when the player first invaded or slightly more if the player has grown.

This requires a detailed calculation of the player's strength, which is done by increasing Sugal's INT to a considerable extent. As a result, the INT of all the ants has slightly increased, and their coordination has improved.

Additionally, the strength of the acid produced by the Worker Ants has increased as a side effect. Specifically, it can now dissolve copper. Weak monsters' bone equipment and players with copper equipment can be easily dealt with by the weakest Worker Ant.



Furthermore, the metals from the veins in the Great Forest of Liebe, which had been occupied by Rare and the others and whose supply had been stopped, are now being indirectly brought to the town by the players. This has caused the price of iron in the town to decrease.

However, the players are bringing back refined and shaped metals, not raw ores, so the work of the blacksmiths has not been restored. The remaining blacksmiths will likely continue to struggle for a while. However, there is still a demand for the maintenance of metal products, so the need for blacksmiths will not completely disappear.

Remy is the one from bring this information.

Now that the production system in the Great Forest had been established, there was no longer a need for Remy to constantly supervise it. As a result, she was relieved of her duties as the general supervisor and was instead given the title of "Flow Alchemist," allowing her to sell low-rank potions and items in town.

While players could obtain potions in the Great Forest, it was only natural that they wouldn't set out on their journey without any to begin with. On the other hand, there were also players who wanted to sell their surplus potions.

The pharmacists and alchemists who were originally in town did sell potions, but they didn't buy them from players. After all, it was only natural that they wouldn't buy them since they're consumables and the only source of supply was the shop. However, things were different now. There were plenty of potions with unknown origins but proven effects that could be gathered in the forest.

Remy's shop had been able to differentiate itself from the existing potion shops by handling buy-back items, and it seemed to be doing quite well.



Ever since the dungeon attraction "Liebe Great Forest" began operation, the amount of experience points that could be obtained from Rare's lap had been like a bonanza. Thanks to its high efficiency, the need for goblin and monster farms had decreased, and their numbers had increased as a result.

Fortunately, this had allowed the goblins and monsters to be chased by ants and then pitted against players in MPK-style battles. This not only prevented the players from getting tired of just the ants, but also helped to prevent a decline in customers due to Mannerly-ization.

Goblins and the like were no more than small fry, equivalent to worker ants. However, the beast-type monsters bred on the farm were quite powerful. While they were usually one-sidedly hunted by the ants in large numbers, a party of several players could defeat them without any trouble. Rare hoped that everyone would think of them as mid-bosses or something and enjoy themselves.

Thanks to the significant increase in INT, the operation of the attraction could be left to Sugal alone without any problems. A heavy-duty ant soldier had been assigned as support, so it should be able to respond to any unforeseen circumstances to some extent. If a more prominent combat ability was required, Diast could be sent out.

Kelly had also been dressed up as Rare's younger sister, and sometimes she PKed players who had entered the forest instead of Rare. The fact that the attraction was thriving was a good thing, but Rare couldn't always be the opponent.



When they started the game, 

Rare's initial spawn in this Liebe Great Forest was a coincidence. Furthermore, at that time, it was still in the open beta phase and the difficulty adjustment had not yet been made. Without a great deal of luck, they would not have been able to come this far.

But they did it.

For Rare, the Great Forest is her home in this game world.

For Rare, this forest, which had bestowed its blessings on the many animals and monsters that lived in the surrounding area and the people of the town, had now become a magical realm that extracted experience points from those who approached it in search of its blessings.

This was not what Rare had intended to achieve in this game world, but it had ended up that way. There was no turning back now, and they must continue down this path.

Besides, they had already started to promote the game to the players by Rare taking on the role of the villain.



***



"──Here, take this. It's a kimono for a noblewoman or a rich man's daughter, and a uniform for a knight who serves a lord, or something like that. Did I say knight's uniform?"

"Thank you for your hard work, Remy. Was the money okay?"

"Yeah, my store has a decent income, so I can afford to buy clothes like this."

"I see. In that case, it would be a good idea to have the heavy-duty ant soldier take care of the money you spent later. We'll also need it for our future activities."

"Got it."

Kelly received a bath towel from Remy and handed it over to a nearby worker ant.



Recently, Remy, who has been running a shop in town for information gathering and manipulation, has returned to the Great Forest. The purpose of her visit is to replenish funds and supplies, have a regular scheduled meeting, and she also brought back some nice-looking antique clothes that she found in town. The selection of clothes was entirely up to Remy's sense of style, but that's not a problem since she used to be a leader in the production relations of the Great Forest. She should have a better sense of style than anyone else.

Ideally, Remy would have liked the boss, Rare, to make the selection, but she refused. She said that she doesn't have an artistic sense. Remy don't think that's true for a boss who can do anything, but she was adamant in her refusal, so Remy had to give up.



"Hey, is that a new outfit? But even if it's new, it smells like another human..." 

The big dog (wolf), White Magic, immediately started to complain. This dog seems to have a rival-like attitude towards the cat-beast people, Kelly and others, and will complain about anything.

At first, this regular meeting was attended only by the four members of Kelly's former thief group, but somehow, White Magic's dog group, the queen of the ants, Sugal, and the dead spirit knight, Dias, have also started to participate. The purpose of the meeting is to manage the Great Forest without causing trouble for the boss, so it's good that they are attending, but the one who is always noisy is this dog.

Currently, the boss is asleep.

"Can't be helped. Clothes, you see, they're a pain to make and cost a lot. Money's not the issue, but you need a certain standing or connections to have them made. For us, just buying old-fashioned clothes is a struggle."

"I agree with Kelly. Besides, we're not just going to have the boss wear this as is. This is just a design sample. We'll use it as a base to have the Ants group make us better equipment using materials from the Great Forest."

White magic, who had been laughing at the situation, was taken aback.

"Hey, don't ignore him. You think he's trying to fool the boss?"

"Ah, no, that's not what I meant! I admit, what I said was out of line... The boss, with that beautiful appearance, would be a perfect being if only he had fur... If only she had four legs..."

White magic was left speechless, but the others laughed at the joke.

The old-fashioned dress that Kelly had bought for the noble lady was, as she had said, just a design sample for the boss's clothes. They planned to combine this design with the boots and accessories that the mercenaries used, and remake the entire set using materials from the Great Forest.

The boss had no intention of going out in public, and so she spent her days in a simple, unadorned outfit, with her fur-clothes tied together with a string. Despite her beautiful appearance, she seemed to have little interest in fashion. This had been the case even during the event. When the others had suggested that she should go out and join them, she had seemed to have no intention of doing so in her current outfit.

The others couldn't bear to see her like this, and so they decided to work together and put together a set of equipment that would befit the ruler of the Great Forest. 

They also bought clothes for the knights who served their master, so that they could use them as a reference for their own outfits. 

The knights' clothes were all made for men, but the others thought that they could be combined with the women's mercenary bottoms to create a rather stylish look.

"Well, anyway, I'm counting on you, Ants group. Please use your skills to create equipment that will be worthy of the boss and of us."

The Ants group may not have been as skilled as human craftsmen, but they were all able to work at the same level and could share their workload with one another. They didn't need to rest as much as humans, either. Making clothes was a time-consuming process, but the Ants group would be able to finish the job in just a few hours.



All that was left to do was wait for the final results while having a light reporting session. That’s when Rare, the boss, woke up.

"...Good morning. Oh, Remy, you’re back. Welcome home."

"Good morning, boss. Remy, prepare the meal..."

"—Ah!"

Remy froze, with a look of realization on her face.

"Remy, don’t tell me..."

"...I’m sorry. I was so focused on the old clothes..."

"No, don’t worry about it. It’s not like we absolutely have to have city cuisine. If there’s nothing already prepared, we can cook now. We have plenty of ingredients from the forest, right?"

It was an inexcusable mistake, but the boss forgave her kindly.

"Yes, of course. If you don’t mind what we usually eat, I can prepare something..."

"So, you usually eat something different from what I do. Well, my lifestyle is rather irregular. Alright, I’ll take this chance to try the food you usually have."

With that, Remy, the most skilled and experienced, began cooking for the boss, using the ants who were available as assistants.

However, since it was a special occasion cooking for the boss, Remy decided to incorporate the techniques she learned in the city for the presentation and serving, even though the food itself was the same as what Kelly and the others usually ate.

Dias, who once served someone of high standing, also lent a hand. It was a good opportunity, so Kelly was allowed to join as training to serve their noble boss.



"Princess, here is the hors d'oeuvre."

Dias, dressed like a butler with a skeletal face, presented the starter plate to the boss’s table. The butler outfit seemed to have been made by the ants, referencing knight uniforms, while Remy was cooking. Since it didn’t have any special defensive or magical properties, it was quickly made.

"Wow, this is impressive. It looks quite authentic. So, what is this dish called?"

"According to the chef, it's a marinade of poison crowler and Zenmai," Diass explained.

"Poison... what?"

"Poison crowler, my lady. It's a large, poisonous insect that lives in the Great Forest."

"An insect!? No, the real problem is the poison. Is this safe to eat...?"

The boss looked at the plate and furrowed her brow. The vibrant green of the fiddlehead ferns and the purple of the crawlers were beautifully intertwined, making it look delicious even to Kelly, who usually ate this food. However, the boss was cautious, not being deceived by appearances and staying wary of potential poison. As expected of the boss.

"Removing the poison gland is no problem. A small number of them are even circulated as high-class ingredients on the streets. It seems that a special qualification is required for cooking, though."

"......Is it something like a blowfish? Or maybe a grub worm? No, wait... Oh, right, you said it requires a qualification. Does Chef Remy have one?"

"......She most likely does not, but... It should be fine. We're always fine, after all."

Usually, it's prepared more casually, but at least Kelly has never had any stomach problems.

"No, no, no, that kind of amateur judgment is the most dangerous. Mushrooms are the same, right? I'm not doubting Remy's skills, but this time, let's call that thing 'that' and have her properly obtain the qualification before we eat it."

Indeed, Kelly's words were correct. 

The fact that removing the poison gland is enough is merely their empirical rule. Moreover, there might be some that are harmless to beastmen but cause discomfort to elves.

"......Well, in my human days, there was no culture of eating such things, so I can understand Her Highness's feelings... It can't be helped. Kelly, sorry, but you guys will have to eat this dish."

"Got it. I'll have some later."



"Next is the soup."

"Waaa... What's this? It's got tree bark floating in it."

According to the chef, it's a cold soup made from mountain burdock.

"Burdock!? No way, that's not human food! It's a root, and it tastes like dirt!"

"You've gone too far!"

"Uh... I-I'm sorry...... But, burdock is impossible! I don't even want to eat something like that in a game!"

For a moment, the boss was taken aback, bthe boss still stubbornly refused to eat the burdock, and instead crossed her arms and shook her head, clearly indicating her refusal.

Her demeanor made other feel apologetic for having provided her with a dish she disliked, but we also learned that if we wanted to see the boss's cute side, we should serve burdock. we looked towards the kitchen and caught Remy's eye. I gave her a thumbs up, and she gave a thumbs up, too. This is teamwork.



"Here is the fish dish. It's a muniere of trout."

"Oh, finally a normal dish has arrived! ......Huh!? Was trout this big?"

The trout from this forest are usually this size. There are parasitic worms resembling human fingers.

"......Uh, parasitic worms, huh. Well, it's been cooked, so it should be fine..."

The boss skillfully cut the fish with a knife and fork. Her technique was truly beautiful, and other was convinced that it was even more refined than that of the nobles in the city,

"Uwaa! A finger! There's a finger in it! Whose finger!? Could it be Remy's!?"

"Ah, that's the parasitic worm."

"Parasitic chu-... Oh, I see, you meant that it resembles a finger in appearance, not size!? What's wrong with this forest!?"

"Your Highness, there are still two types of meat dishes and dessert, as well as a drink after the meal. What would you like to do?"

"......I'm not really in the mood to eat today... I'll take a little break, so everyone, please eat... "



The boss returned to her throne, and everyone enjoyed the dishes that Remy had prepared for her. As expected, they were several times more delicious than what Ants usually made. It might be because they were made with the boss in mind.

I also recommended them to Dias, but he refused, saying, "I can't eat it, I'm Undead. it's unfortunate"



***

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continue

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Various things happened, but finally, a substantial amount of time was secured. I also gained experience points to try something out. While waiting for a report from Marion, who was on a business trip, I decided to use this time to practice alchemy.



First, I'll create a new living something or other using the aforementioned metal and the knight's grudge.

I've already made plenty of armor and swords, so this time, I'll make bones. It's a rather adventurous undertaking, but in the pursuit of technological advancement, sacrifices are inevitable. I'm not one to fear such criticism.

"Alright, let's give it a shot. [Philosopher's Egg]"

I fed the crystal egg that appeared the metal chunk and the knight's remains. I put in a generous amount of metal, as I noticed during the mass production of swords that any excess material is not consumed but simply left over. It's not the case that the more you put in, the more it's used.

If you put in too little, it fails, and the material remains but the egg is broken. This is a waste of MP.

As for the remains, I couldn't figure out a way to obtain them again, so to conserve them, I used only one bone that seemed to be a rib.

Next, I activated [atanol], and the inside of the egg turned into a marbled marble pattern without any issues. This means that some kind of magical beast will be born.

"Alright, time to activate [Great Work]"



Come to think of it, in the official announcement, they mentioned something about being able to change the skill names that are spoken aloud. I should probably think of a cooler name.

I don't see the need to change the names of production-related skills, but changing the names of magic spells activated during battle can have great tactical value. Even if an enemy is nearby, it can prevent them from guessing the content of the skill from the activation key.

For example, if the activation key for [Flare Arrow] is changed to [Slash], it can be made to look like a close-range physical attack, but instead, a flaming arrow will be fired. However, it is necessary to investigate whether it is possible to assign existing names.



As I was thinking, the light of the egg gathered.

Inside the egg was a skeleton wearing black armor, the same color as the armor.

"Skeleton Knight...or something like that?"

It's quite black. Since bones are usually thought to be white, there is a strange sense of mismatch.

As soon as the skeleton came out of the egg, I used [Enslavement] on it. This is a familiar task, and it seems that monsters that I have created myself do not resist [Enslavement] in the first place. Sugal's ants are also able to receive commands immediately after they are born, which is probably part of it.

"The race name is...Adamant...Knight?"

It's a joke, but I found out the name of the metal that makes up the skeletons. It seems to be a representative of magical metals, something like adamantine or adamantium. In any case, it's adamant something. In most games, it is famous for its hardness. The knights and swordsmen were certainly very hard.

There are no excess materials left, so it seems that all the metal materials I put in were used up, but I only used one bone bone. This means that this Adamant Knight can be mass-produced.

Obtaining the bones of a knight filled with grudge again will be difficult, but with the amount I have now, I should be able to produce a group of Adamant Knights that exceeds the size of the original group that was cut off. One knight's bone can generate multiple Adamant Knights.

This is a very powerful force.

The metal that makes it up is the same as that of the knights, and the status is almost the same. The knights have slightly lower STR and VIT, but in return, their INT is somewhat higher.

I decided to have the rare ant receive MP potions from the heavy infantry ant and drink them while continuously producing Adamant Knights.





As a result of repeating the same thing until the bones of the knights were gone, I found out something.

When bones related to the torso, such as the ribs, are used, an Adamant Knight is born.

When bones related to the legs, such as the thigh bone, are used, an Adamant Scout is born.

When bones related to the arms, such as the upper arm bone, are used, an Adamant Mage is born.

And when the skull is used, an Adamant Leader is born.

If the bones are too small, such as the bones of the fingers, they are insufficient as materials, and the skill will fail. In such cases, it is necessary to put in multiple bones, but if bones of different parts, such as the legs and arms, are mixed and put in, for some reason an Adamant Knight will be born even if the bones of the torso were not used.

Therefore, the number of Adamant Knights is the highest. I tried my best to sort the bones, so there are a decent number of Adamant Scouts and Adamant Mages, but the number of Adamant Leaders is quite small because I don't know what to do with the skull bones.

However, the rare Adamant Leader has the same strength as the subordinate I acquired the other day.

If battle experience and other factors are taken into account, it may be that the subordinate cannot win against the Adamant Leader, but in terms of fighting against the player, they are equally strong.



As the work neared completion, the parts that I didn't know what bones they were became the majority, and the chunks of adamant that had been gradually accumulating also became less and less.

Therefore, I had to use more and more metal.

And the one that was born was the "Carbide Knight". For a moment, I didn't know what I was saying, but could it be that this name is derived from carbide, a carbon compound? It's not magical at all, and I don't know what it is just by saying carbon compound.

However, after various tests, I found that this Carbide Knight also has a performance that matches the hardness of the Adamant Knight. It seems to be a super-hard alloy, not just ordinary carbide.

However, numerically, its VIT is low, so its defense and durability are low for its hardness. It may have the characteristic of being easily chipped or broken, considering that it is a metal. In other words, it's hard but brittle. Since it has the skill [Physical Resistance] like the knights and the Adamant Knight, it can be thought of as being very hard and breaking and scattering the moment its durability is exceeded.

Also, its STR is about the same as that of the Adamant Knight, so its attack power is very high. On the other hand, its AGI is slightly lower.



I also created a large number of these, using up all the remaining bones. As a result, the number of Carbide Knights exceeded that of the Adamant Knights. They are brittle and easily chipped, but that is only in comparison to the Adamant Knights. If attacked with an iron sword, the hand will become numb and the sword will be repelled, while the sword's blade will be crushed. However, if attacked with a heavy weapon such as a mace, depending on the location of the hit, it can suffer quite a bit of damage, so it can be said to be weak against impact.

The skeleton-like creature was resistant to heat, making even high-level fire magic ineffective. Water magic was also ineffective, but if fire and ice magic were used alternately, its physical resistance would disappear, revealing a weakness. Additionally, it had no particular resistance to lightning magic and would sustain normal damage.

The creature was weak to strikes, just like a skeleton. A warrior skilled in strikes would be at a disadvantage, but this was only a matter of compatibility. It was doubtful that there were many players at a level where compatibility mattered.

However, the only way to know was to try. It was necessary to test the performance of the Adaman Series, which was considered a cheaper version of Mr. Gavia's. Even if the Adaman Series passed the performance test, Rare wanted to see the Carnight in action.

Therefore, Rare decided to have the Carnight attack a group of players.

In other words, she just wanted to play with her new toy.





Rare thought that a moderately strong player would be a suitable opponent for the Carnight, but it seemed that things would not be so convenient.

Rare had captured a Fukurou(Owl)-type magical creature, named Ominous, with the help of Riley. She was using Ominous's eyes to search for a player to serve as prey.

In the great forest, there was a party that had fought in the final round of the event.

Rare would have preferred a stronger opponent to test more things, but it seemed that there was none. 

She would have to impose a burden on them, but she would have them participate in the test. As a bonus, she would let them take home some good equipment.

Rare had Mr. Ants prepare swords and armor that had been made in the smithing test. Their performance should be higher than that of the usual castings and mass-produced goods sold in town.

The party was delighted to find the equipment and immediately put it on. They then ventured deeper into the forest, seeking further success. Recently, Rare had also prepared an artificial beast trail that was easy to walk on and had the added purpose of luring them in.

Rare thought that a typical player would decide to retreat at this point. She unleashed the Carnight with a sense of satisfaction.

The party was shaken by the sudden appearance of a monster they had never seen before.

"What the hell is that thing!"

"Is it the boss of this area?"

"No way, no way. Up until now, only Ants and Goblins have appeared. It's unnatural for an undead boss to suddenly appear!"

"It may be unnatural, but we have no choice but to fight if we can't escape. With the equipment we just got, we should be able to win, even if the enemy is a bit stronger!"

It was a good thing that they were able to make a decision quickly. It was a wise judgment, as they had no intention of escaping. However, with their current equipment and skills, they were no match for the Carnight.

The sword that Rare had given them as a bonus might become useless as soon as they fought the Knights She had intended to give them the items they desired, but she would have to be more careful in the future when it came to temporary bonuses.

Forgetting about future challenges, Rare focused on the current test.

Based on past lessons, Rare decided to first have the Carnight receive the players' attacks. If it could withstand the attacks of players at this level, it would be considered a sufficient force. After all, there were many Knightmares.



As one of the players attacked the motionless Carnight with a sword they had picked up earlier, they used a skill.

"Haah! [Kurai]!"

It was unclear what skill they had used.

Perhaps they had set the phrase they were likely to say when attacking as the activation key. It was a wonderful idea. However, it was impossible to know what had been activated at the moment of activation. Only by observing their subsequent movements could it be determined that it was [Slash].

In the future, as more and more players like this emerged, it would be impossible to keep up with high-end PvP unless Rare directly saw and memorized all the skills that the players were likely to use.

Fortunately, the Adaman Series came in a variety of types. If Rare could have them acquire different systems of skills for each type, she should be able to do some skill preparation.

However, upon calm reflection, the Adaman Series existed on a military scale, and an enormous amount of experience would be required. She would have to ask the customers to come to the store in a hurry.



As Rare pondered these things, the battle in front of Ominous's eyes continued. The attack with the skill that was probably [Slash] ended in a complete miss. The player who had used the skill picked up the item as if they were a heavy warrior in some past battle.

The party did not seem to have a magician, and the other members also subjected the Carnight to weapon attacks. Rare paid particular attention to the attacks of the maid, but there was no sign of any part of the Carnight being missing.



After watching the battle for a while, Rare decided that there was nothing more to be gained from this party.

Just as Rare had done in the event, she had the Carnight grab the player's head and crush it. The STR-type was performing as expected, which was more important than anything else.

The players who tried to escape were also chased and killed in the same manner. The AGI of the Carnight was indeed low, but it was not as if they were prioritizing AGI. The players were no match for them. If they learned their lesson from this, Rare hoped they would come back and challenge again with a stronger party.

The experience points Rare gained from defeating the players were not much, but the fact that she was able to gain experience points at all despite the huge difference in skill was impressive. Players were truly a valuable resource.



In terms of combat power, the results of the test were satisfactory, but as a new variation of monster in the Great Forest, they were unacceptable.

If these were the only monsters roaming around, no one would bother to challenge them. They needed more moderately weak monsters, or they needed to raise the level of the visiting players.

Rare should probably order the Ants to play the role of host for a while and help the players grow. 

She also gave instructions to the Adamant series to respond to the request for reinforcements from Sugal without Rare's permission, and for now, she had left the matter to Sugal.

With the combined strength of the Ants and the Adamant series, it would be possible for the players to break through the Great Forest once they had grown a little. In fact, it would probably be difficult for Rare currently to break through the Great Forest alone.



Rare suddenly thought, but perhaps there was a problem with this. 

It was unlikely that this combat power would be used against them, but if it were possible for Rare, then it was also possible for NPCs and monsters to do the same. Or perhaps the Six Nations were born as a result of such actions.

Currently, they were in a relatively peaceful state and were not being regarded as an enemy, but they had no elements that would allow them to get along with the humanoid nations. Therefore, they should assume that the nations may one day turn against them and work to strengthen their combat power.

There were also things that they needed to confirm. 

They did not know what would happen to the dependents if the master were to die. 

If it were possible for them to die together, then it would be fatal for Rare to be defeated.

Players did not truly die, so it might be different if the NPC was the master, but they should consider the possibility that the dependents might also be in a death state if Rare were to die.



Therefore, Rare needed strengthening that would prevent her from dying in a haphazard way. 

The enhancement of Rare's abilities through [Dependent Strengthening] was connected to the overall bottom-up enhancement of the group's combat power, so a certain percentage of the experience points obtained were always used for the enhancement of Rare's abilities, and this had been routine. However, they might also need to consider other means of growth. They needed a more dramatic skill or a hidden trump card.

When Rare thought about this, the "Reincarnation" system that she had heard about in the official announcement came to mind. 

According to the announcement, it was possible to "reincarnate as a servant of a vampire" if certain conditions were met. 

This was just one example, and the wording of the announcement was "if a character meets certain conditions and triggers a specific event," 

which suggested that there might be other possibilities.

One of the possibilities that Rare thought of was the "Philosopher's Stone" that could be created through the secret of [Alchemy], [Great Work]. 

In this game, it was unclear what the Philosopher's Stone would do, but in most cases, it was said to grant immortality or transform base materials into valuable ones. 

If that were the case, it might be possible to change a character's race or other aspects by using the Philosopher's Stone under certain conditions. 

Even if that were impossible, something would surely change.

The original meaning of [Great Work] was the act of creating the Philosopher's Stone. 

If they could create the Philosopher's Stone, 

it should be possible to guide a character's race to a higher state. 

Rare looked at the recipe for [Great Work].



The most suspicious thing about the recipe was that it required the most number of materials and did not belong to any of the trees in the recipe list, but existed as a single tree. This was the one that Rare was aiming to create as a temporary Philosopher's Stone.

The recipe required six materials: 

mercury, sulfur, iron, the heart of a monster, and strong acid. The other one is unknown.

The strong acid had been unlocked, which meant that Rare had seen it before. The only acid that she had seen so far was the one that the engineer Ants had produced, so that was probably the one that she needed.

The fact that it was strong was not a problem, and for the purpose of experimentation, Rare was planning to prepare a "material-exclusive engineer Ants" and have them grow as much as possible before producing the acid. If this recipe was not the Philosopher's Stone, the material-exclusive engineer Ants would lose their job, but they were high-spec and should be able to find work elsewhere. A jack-of-all-trades was always in demand.

Mercury and sulfur are obtained from the mines. As for sulfur, it is obtained by refining iron and other sulfide ores that are being mined.

Rare wonder if it's impossible to combine mercury and sulfur into cinnabar by using regular sulfurization. If it requires a magical combination through alchemy, then there's no other way.

Cinnabar, when mentioned, was once called the Philosopher's Stone in literature.

After obtaining the Alchemy skill, Rare spent time during VR logouts and other opportunities to read up on ancient alchemy literature in the VR library.

Cinnabar is not only famous in Western alchemy but also in ancient China, where it was used as an ingredient for divine elixirs and spirit medicines. However, since it is essentially mercury sulfide, it has strong toxicity, and if taken as a medicine, it usually results in death.

Suppose, hypothetically, that mercury and sulfur are listed as materials to create the "Philosopher's Stone" cinnabar.

In that case, the question arises as to what the other materials are needed for.



First, the presence of iron, which has a relatively low rank among the materials, is curious.

Is it for the storage of mercury? Mercury can form alloys with many metals, but it was unlikely that it could form an alloy with iron. Or is there some other reason?

If there is a special reason for the iron, then it seems that the remaining one unknown material can be inferred.

For example, let's assume that the cinnabar is the Philosopher's Stone.

And suppose that the other materials are also materials for creating the Philosopher's Stone.

Apart from cinnabar, a well-known substance that was once called the Philosopher's Stone is potassium ferrocyanide, also known as yellow prussiate of potash.

In the Middle Ages, it was made by adding iron and potassium carbonate to animal organs, such as those of livestock, which were rich in cyanogen...

"Ah, is that the iron for?"

In that case, the heart of a monster could substitute for the animal organs. That would mean that the last remaining material would be the substitute for potassium carbonate.

It would need to be moderately magical and contain potassium carbonate.

Ignoring purity, the easiest way to obtain potassium carbonate is to burn plants and dissolve the ashes in water.

However, this is what Rare was doing during the official event. The firepower was too high, and most of the trees were vaporized, leaving almost no ash. There was also a hot spring nearby that could produce a small amount of potassium carbonate. In other words, Rare should have seen it. However, the material name is not unlocked.

Does this mean that it is not potassium carbonate itself that is needed, but a magical substance related to it?

"A random... land plant ash... and something magical..."

If this were something like "World Tree Ash," it would be quite troublesome.

Even if it exists, the location of the World Tree is unknown. It is not marked on the map that was given by the management.

As in the case of the Living Mail, if the rank or type of the final product changes depending on what is put in, and some reaction occurs, then it seems that success is possible to some extent with a rough approximation of "Magical Plant Ash."

"In that case, I should consider procuring magical wood materials."

The trees that grow in the Liebe Great Forest are not ordinary plants. Some of them grow abnormally fast, and there are trees that are harder than iron.

They have been making charcoal from these wood materials, but the fact that they are not yet unlocked means that the magical degree of these wood materials is still insufficient, although it is hard to believe.

If it is not possible to obtain them in the Liebe Great Forest, then it will be necessary to consider procuring them from outside.

The materials available in the town are mostly blessings from the surrounding plains and this forest, and it is hard to imagine that they are growing magical crops in the farmland within the castle walls.

"I have no choice but to wait for Marion's report......"

With the acquisition of the map, the need to explore the surroundings of the Liebe Great Forest has been reduced. Therefore, Marion and Silver were ordered to scout the magical beast territory closest to the Liebe Great Forest.

According to the regular reports, they seem to be proceeding smoothly, and there is no mistake in the direction when checked with the map and the [Coordinate Grasp] skill. At this pace, they should soon make contact with the neighboring magical beast territory.

That magical beast territory is also a forest-type, which is convenient. If possible, Rare would like to subdue it.

It is difficult to say whether it is possible or not until Rare see it, but if Marion arrives, Rare would [summon] the Adamant series at the coordinates, and we should have enough strength to conquer the area.

If that forest has a different ecosystem from the Liebe Great Forest and magical wood materials are growing there, that would be the best.

Rare decided to keep herself busy by setting up unreasonable bosses for the players to fight while waiting for Marion's report.

'Oh, I forgot about the reception play.'



***



[Early-Stage Earning Location] Conquering the Liebe Great Forest [Still can't seem to leave the early-stage]



521: NO H

It's tough, huh.

I've been thinking that I should start exploring other areas or something, but I just can't seem to get out of here.



522: Yen's Kinzel

Is it really that delicious?



523: Tansu with Ponzu

No, I don't think it's that efficient, but it's exquisite.

Every time, I'm usually killed at the point of "just a little more".

If I could go back without dying, it would be super delicious.



524: Dora Taro

The flavor of the Liebe Great Forest is delicious.

Well, if you farm to a certain extent, super strong undead will start to appear, so it will become flavorful first.

But, well, that, no, no...



525: Jeans

No, it's not good. What is it?



526: Dora Taro

If I say it, more people will come.

If the higher-ups gather and come, and if that undead is defeated, the gap will widen even more.



527: Tansu with Ponzu

Oh, well, that's true.

Regarding the matter of the super strong undead, I think that's probably what will happen.



528: Jeans

Then what is it!



529: Amatein

Wasn't that place famous for ants?

They destroy your equipment and stuff. Is it still good?



530: Anty

There are indeed individuals that destroy your equipment, but their combat power when fighting alone is the weakest.

It's tough for beginners, but if you get used to it, you'll be able to deal with them with ease.

You'll also be able to distinguish the individuals that attack with equipment destruction.



531: Warm Hands

Amazing. You're an ant expert, aren't you?



532: Anty

I've been praised by Warm-san!



533: Tansu with Ponzu

Is this being praised...?

Well, it's good if the person themselves is good.



534: Orinki

Ants and undead are fine, but what about fluffiness?

Didn't you say that fluffiness would appear?



535: NO H

It does appear. Sometimes you can see small ones. Even the small ones are about the size of a large dog.

Well, they are cute. You'll die if you encounter it, though.



536: Jeans

cuteness is a good healing frame. It's good, but what about the undead?



537: Tansu with Ponzu

Probably, or rather, maybe, if you defeat that undead, you might be able to get the armor that the first event event's winner was wearing. It has a similar texture, and it also has abnormal defense and stuff.



538: Dora Taro

I've said too much. Well, either way, it'll be known.



539: Jeans

Seriously?

That's the armor that choked and crushed my neck!



540: Warm Hands

Um, can you stop the gruesome topic?



541: Anty


Hey, stop it! I don't like it!


542: Jeans

Eh, it's not that bad...?



543: NO H

Not just undead, sometimes characters that look like the real thing are lurking around.

If you encounter them, you will be PKed without hesitation.



544: Dora Taro

The rumor that you can farm in the Liebe Great Forest is serious. I haven't seen it myself, though.



545: Tansu with Ponzu

Um... I don't know what to say.

It doesn't feel like someone else, but it doesn't feel like the real thing either. The movements are slightly different from the official video, and they don't talk.



546: Gilnoregamesh

They haven't talked from the beginning. In that case, the theory that they're actually event characters prepared by the official team is quite convincing, isn't it...?