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- Artificial Human Blood – Quality: Inferior, Rarity: R (Rare)
Blue blood that flows in the veins of artificial humans created through alchemy.
Attempting to mimic humanity is akin to replicating the divine works of gods.
Its quality is so poor, making it nothing but harmful to artificial humans.
- Artificial Human Bones – Quality: Inferior, Rarity: R (Rare)
Blue bones with a green tint flowing through an artificial human created through alchemy.
Attempting to mimic humanity is akin to replicating the divine works of gods.
The quality is so poor that they cannot form a proper skeletal structure for a normal artificial human.
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As a result of skinning the Failed Homunculus, these two inferior items were obtained. Although only low-quality materials were acquired, this paradoxically meant that if we obtained high-quality materials, we could create a perfect Homunculus.
Moreover, the existence of the Failed Homunculus implies a high possibility that beyond the dark walls, there are creators of these beings. Having access to the equipment or technical manuals capable of creating even Failed Homunculus would certainly be a plus.
The problem arises if the entities possessing this technology are not friendly… Since they are feared by the inhabitants of the continent, including the Nadeus tribe, it would suffice to defeat them in battle if it comes to that. Since we played the role of the looter during the war event, we had no intention of hesitating now.
While I was pondering these thoughts, everyone heard an electronic beep sound. It was surely a notification message from the management.
“Ah! It seems a new event has been announced.”
“‘The Fresh Green Mountains, The Deep Blue Seas’… It appears to be an event set on a fairly large uninhabited island.”
“Speaking of which, it’s almost the summer vacation season for students, isn’t it?”
Somehow, it was already early summer in reality, and in about a week, students would be starting their summer vacations. Although it’s irrelevant to me as a working adult, there are surely those who might consider starting playing with this occasion.
In fact, along with the announcement of the event, I vaguely recall that it was either the fourth or fifth batch of new releases that were advertised. The event was meant to have interesting content for players who are just starting out, as well as for players who have been playing since the release date, so it seems that they are definitely aiming to attract new players.
“An event at this timing, huh… It seems we’re free to come and go as we please, so if the mood strikes, I might just check it out.”
“It appears NPCs won’t be involved this time which would make it easier for monster players to join in. And it looks like PKing isn’t allowed either.”
“To think that players can now head straight to rewarding locations without being targeted by others… It’s really different from our starting days.”
Despite the increase in numbers, the proportion of monster players remained relatively low. The harsh conditions at the start of the play were believed to be the main deterrent, but clearing that hurdle could potentially attract many to choose the path of the monster. Even if they didn’t like their choice, the reincarnation system revealed by Mikelo allowed for easy changes. It was now easier to make a selection compared to before.
“Setting the event aside for a moment, I can see the dense mist Lady Muno mentioned. Our destination lies within it.”
While it was fine to discuss the event, our current goal was coming into view. In the central part of “Ashfall Hills” a small hill was enveloped by a thick mist. Beyond it lay the place the Nadeus tribe referred to as the “Black Wall”.
The wall seemed to enclose something, but even the Nadus tribe’s folklore didn’t clarify what lay inside. It seemed that even the brave ancestors of the clan deemed crossing the wall too dangerous.
[Report. Detecting magic power from the dense mist ahead. Advise against entry due to potential danger.]
“Magic power from the mist… Could it be [Mist Magic]? I can’t say for sure, but is it safe to say that proceeding further is risky?”
[Affirmative.]
As we drew significantly closer to the dense mist, Shiratsuki issued a warning and came to a halt mid-air. It seemed that plunging into the mist with Shiratsuki was risky. While it might have been feasible to cut through the mist in one fell swoop and make our way to the Black Wall, it would be foolish to risk damaging Shiratsuki in the process. Looks like we have no choice but to proceed on foot from here.
“I see. Let’s land here. Please announce the landing over the ship’s broadcast.”
[Understood.]
At any rate, we have to land here first While listening to Shiratsuki’s broadcast, I thought about how we might navigate through the mist.
◆◇◆◇◆◇
“I see…so this is the ash?”
After Shiratsuki landed, what greeted us outside was a peculiar sight of ash accumulating beneath the dense mist. It was at this moment that the reason why this field was called “Ashfall Hills” became clear to us.
I was puzzled because there had been no ash sightings anywhere in the areas where we had been active before. And even now, at the place where Shiratsuki landed, there was no ash. However, just below the dense mist, the ash was piled up to the ankles. Anyone could see that the mist and the ash were closely related.
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- Deathly Ash – Quality: Inferior, Rarity: S (Special)
This substance is the result of miasma sand weathered by powerful undead magic.
Although it is not strictly ash, it is referred to as such due to its texture and color.
It has a slight healing effect on undead creatures.
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So, it’s called Deathly Ash. It seems this item could heal both me and Hanna who were undead. As an experiment, I scratched my body a little with the scythe and then sprinkled ash on it, and the scratch slowly recovered little by little. While it’s utterly useless as a healing method in dire situations, it seems like it could have various applications during normal times.
Moreover, if it was processed in a certain way by Shiitake it might become an instant healing medicine. This would be good news for undead creatures like us, who lack healing options. There might be some downsides, but that’s unavoidable.
“If you look closely at this mist, you’ll see that it’s gently swirling. That’s why it doesn’t seem to spread…but how does it work?”
“It’s unlikely to be just an effect. In FSW, meaningful effects usually have a purpose.”
It’s a well-known fact that seemingly insignificant effects and descriptions often conceal important information. Therefore, there must be a reason for the swirling of this mist. The question is, what could that reason be? Our exploration would likely revolve around investigating this mystery.
“Hey, brother! Isn’t it about time we went in?”
“You’re so restless… Fine, let’s form a party and start the exploration.”
We divided ourselves into four groups based on our fighting power, scouting skills, and teamwork skills. The first group consisted of me, Karl, Jigoro, Iris, and Shiitake. While my magic echo was the only method of scouting, Jigoro and Karl’s fighting power more than made up for it. The reason I did not choose Genjuro, who was on par with Jigoro, was solely because no one but me could control Jigoro. I’ve said it many times, he’s not a bad guy. He just tends to pick fights more than necessary.
The second group consisted of Ruby, Shio, Genjuro, Shifu and Wool. This was the most balanced group of the four and it was capable of handling both melee and ranged combat, aided by Ruby’s proven scouting skills. I was confident that if any group was going to make significant gains, it would be this one.
The third group consisted of Eiji, Usaji, Seventh Armor, Moth-san, Mikelo, and Nenashi, for a total of six members. Moth-san’s ability to scout using ultrasound was undoubtedly effective, and while their combat skills tended toward melee, the balance wasn’t bad. With Mikelo, who excelled at healing, this group was probably the most stable for exploration.
The fourth group consisted of Sei, his familiars, Hanna, and Roja who was the fastest on land. They all share a special tactic called mounted combat, and often work together on a regular basis, making their range of activity within the same timeframe far greater than the other parties.
“Since we received some last-minute requests before departure, feel free to conclude the exploration based on your own judgment.”
The main goal of our expedition was to investigate the Black Wall, sparked by the incident involving the rescue of young Kirde. However, this meant our time for exploration was considerably limited. We decided to wrap things up before anyone got too sleep-deprived.
Thus, we embarked on our exploration. Given our party’s lower scouting capabilities, we opted to walk around the outside of the mist. Jigoro seemed somewhat dissatisfied with this decision, but he was convinced that interesting enemies might still emerge on the outskirts.
“…Isam’s the only one who can make you listen~~?” Shiitake said
“Huh? Did you say something?”
“Must be your imagination. More importantly, we need to collect plenty of ash. Ash is essential for alchemy, right? It’d be interesting to mix it with soil to grow herbs. There’s so much to look forward to!”
“Ahaha. It certainly seems like it can be used in many ways.”
“Grrr…?”
With that, the two production players in our guild excitedly collected ash and started filling their containers. As expected, they were excited to see new material.
Although his approach was different, Karl also seemed fascinated by the ash. He had been poking at it with the tip of his tail and the claws on his front paws and seemed to be perplexed by its unique texture. Yet he made no move to stop, which suggested that he might actually like it.
“Gruru… Gyaoooooo?!”
“Karl?!”
When Karl next brought his nose close to the ground, the situation took a sudden turn. The mist near the ground transformed into what looked like a giant human hand and snatched Karl’s head in its grasp! What in the world was happening?
“An enemy?! Where is it?!”
“Where could it be? I can’t see it…”
“Magic Echo… There! Iris, extend your tentacles in the two o’clock direction!”
“…There’s something there! Here it goes!”
In a rush, I activated my magic echo and started searching for the enemy’s location. When I got a response from within the mist, I asked Iris to restrain it. Her tentacles then caught hold of something and dragged it out.
The enemy had an extremely strange appearance. It was a gray ball with a rough surface, about one meter in diameter. Other than that, it resembled a dirty balance ball with no other distinguishing features and it was floating in the air while being entangled in the tentacles. What on earth could this be?
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Race: Mist Ball Lv71
Job: Mist Master Lv1
Skills:
- [Intelligence Enhancement]
- [Spirit Enhancement]
- [Water and Ice Magic]
- [Flame Magic]
- [Mist Magic]
- [Mist Manipulation]
- [Mist Perception]
- [Mist Adaptation]
- [Soft Body]
- [Stealth]
- [Sneak]
- [Ambush]
- [Assassination]
- [Blunt Attack Resistance]
- [Wind Weakness]
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“It feels like a monster that specializes in using mist~~?”
“That’s right! Wind Blade!”
After agreeing with the opinion of Shiitake, who also has [Appraisal] like me, I quickly unleash one of the [Storm Magic] spells. It sliced through the misty arms that were clutching Karl’s head. Losing their controlling force, the mist arms could no longer maintain their shape and literally dispersed into the mist.
“Guooooo…oooou?”
“No way?! Even though I was using a martial technique?!”
Karl who grew furious charged in with killing intent, but the Mist Ball monster managed to slip through the gaps in Iris’s tentacles and dodge the attack. Even though she was using a restraining martial technique, It likely escaped due to its [Soft Body] skill.
Though not explicitly mentioned in its skill list, the monster appeared to be difficult to restrain. Once freed, the Mist Ball started to wrap itself in mist like a cloak while remaining afloat. This mist served as both its weapon and its armor. It seemed like we’d encountered a formidable enemy this time as well, but let’s give it our best shot.
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