Vol 6 Chapter 1 (1/2)

Chapter 1: Murderer

1

As usual, Akatsuki entered a pathhich was not very wide In a deep corner of the production street, this zone was a remodeled basement full of wooden boxes

This was the storefront of the production guild Ae number of worn-out japanese swords on display with the 'pick up' option disabled Auild that specialized exclusively on japanese swords

The uild were not norredients and tools were overflowing froe inside Even the storefront had crates of unfinished blades and ingredients, looking more like a warehouse

But this was convenient for Akatsuki

Being bos of 'welcome' pressured her and she would be put off by a sales clerk recoh she could converse freely with her guild up to Tohya and Isuzu, she still found it hard to handle people other than them

Akatsuki was thankful that she could browse Amenoma's merchandise in peace (because of the laid-back nature of this guild)

”Hmmm”

Akatsuki recalled the way around and walked to a corner of the store

japanese swords that could be used by many classes were displayed in this section

Glass displays were unco on the wall

This zone ned by the guild Amenoma so the sale items had been set to be iuild h she could touch them She could examine the items and see the stats on her status screen, so it was not an inconvenience to shoppers They did not need to worry about shoplifting either, a very convenient setting

There were dozens of swords in this section

Akatsuki had set her eyes on several of them

In Elder Tales, the conditions for equipping an iteh its status screen For exaht hilt' could be equipped by Guardians, Sai; these 6 classes

Samurai could basically equip all swords, but if the status screen of the sword did not include Samurai in its user list, they would not be able to equip that sword On the other hand, Monks could not equip most swords, but they could equip the ones that specifically stated that they could be equipped by Monks

The main weapons in Akatsuki's assassin class were boords, blades, and whips But they could also equip a wide array of other weapons because they belonged to the weapon-based class Akatsuki had used the Kodachi since Elder Tales was still a garown to love it because of its practicality after the Catastrophe With her experience in Kendo, this was the weapon she found easiest to use

It was tough to choose a weapon Akatsuki browsed through the list she was fae There were probably tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of weapons in Elder Tales But it was coe that the choices werean ideal weapon

In terms of weapons, there were one handed swords, two handed swords, spears, axes, pole ar weapons, whips, and other special weapons The number of each weapon type was different, but each type had about 10 of the hundred thousand weapons available

Another issue was the levels needed to equip weapons In Elder Tales, there would be higher-tier weapons available for every ten levels you gained Every Adventurer needed to refresh their equip 10 levels since they would lose out to players of the saear Hardcore players would pay even more attention to their equipment and review it frequently With the level cap at 100, they would need to change their weapons 20 tiraded every 5 levels

Another thing to note was the 12 classes available to players Take a Kodachi for instance assassins focusing on agility and attack poould consider different attributes coic power and elemental defense, and they would choose different Kodachi Siher daher attack speed would affect their weapon choice

Applying these conditions would filter the choices further down from the 10 suitable by level rank The choices would dwindle down to atotal number of available weapons

For Akatsuki, there were about 10 choices

Here lay another giant problem

The possibility of obtaining them

In Elder Tales, without exception, the most powerful weapons were the rewards of major raids Akatsuki had no experience inskills, but that was the limit of Adventurers who only went for party battles Also, 90 of the raid weapons dropped had a 'no trade' attribute That ift or sell the items obtained from raids Unless you took part in the raids and picked them up on-site, you would never be able to obtain them

Although Akatsuki had 10 weapons on her wish list, only 2 could be traded without taking part in major raids

” Welcome”

Akatsuki turned and faced the source of the voice

Standing there was a girl about Akatsuki's size Dwarves as a race were about the height of a huht be taller They had several traits that were beneficial to production players, and were a popular race auilds

Her nareat crafting skills Akatsuki knew her and acknowledged the greeting with a nod Although she knew Tatara, they were not acquainted at a level where they could chat casually yet

”Erm”

But Akatsuki was still grateful for Tatara's presence Tatara had the reputation of pouring all her love into her swords, evident frorade Blacks to the custo business She was one of the few people Akatsuki was not afraid of

Akatsuki asked her about so she was concerned with

”Pardon me, may I ask what happened to the sword that was displayed here?”

Her voice was a bit stiff Akatsuki got tense when asking questions to people ere not her guildht about all this, Tatara slouched lazily on the counter and replied: ”I sold it”

This was a stunning revelation to Akatsuki

Akatsuki frequented Amenoma for the past 2 months

The high-level equipment Akatsuki was after was horribly expensive since it was a rare tradable weapon drop fro it, but from what Akatsuki knew, Kodachi were not in demand here That's why it had remained unsold after 2 months, and Akatsuki assumed that even if she did not buy it, the store would not be able to sell it

”Really?”

”Yeah, it's true I remember It was paid in cash”

”Woo”

She was at a loss for words This was totally unexpected

Akatsuki looked to the wall again and confiranemushi+' which she wanted the most, as well as the absence of 'Sentou-Byakumaru' 'Sentou-Byaku area frost dah physical defense, but area dae was difficult to control in solad her favorite weapon was still available

” Want to buy?”

”Woo oo”

She could not vocalize her answer to this question

(Of course I want to I want it so bad)

As a weapon-based class, assassins relied more heavily on their weapons' quality than other classes In addition, Akatsuki had soenda She wanted better weapons

But high-quality weapons were so expensive

The weapon at the top of her wish list, 'Meito-Haganeet sold too if she left it alone But the price tag ice the amount of Akatsuki's entire fortune

No matter how much she wanted it, she was unable to mouth the words 'I want to buy'

Akatsuki had been battling monsters daily She had kept this up since the Sand Leaf uild house But after the Catastrophe, there was a limit to the means to secure money in this world by yourself

shi+roe, no, uild ht be able to come up with the money easily, but it was a heavy burden on Akatsuki She forced herself to look away fro her head several times to express her intent

It see sales Since Akatsuki was not buying, she continued to rest face down on the counter The counter was just like her bed

Akatsuki grabbed the hilt of the Kodachi she had equipped, to take her s and left Amenoma

For the young girl anted to improve her coo

2

The streets of Akiba welcomed the scenery of December completely

Yamato was cooler than the japan of the old world in the summer, which translated to a more brutal winter too It had snowed several tih the snow did not pile up yet, the as beco chillier by the day

But Akiba was a city of Adventurers

Although there was an increase in the number of People of the Land, two-thirds of the pedestrians on the streets were Adventurers Adventurers had tough bodies and did not fear the cold, but they could also equip an aquaot too chilly for them

Akatsuki rushed through the streets in the ht

Her destination was the suburbs Akatsuki blew her su forth a black stallion to her andit

(I want to get stronger)

Akatsuki said to herself in her heart

This thought surfaced once every day No, she thought about it dozens of times daily

Akatsuki reached for the sheath on her waist with her fingertips

This 'Changing Kiln' sas a top Production-class weapon that had been with her before the Catastrophe happened It was not a weak Kodachi, being one of the best weapons you could get through party-level adventures

Akatsuki thought she was similar to this weapon

She was in the top ranks in 6-ned duties perfectly But there were higher tiers in Elder Tales, and that was major raids Akatsuki did not have any experience with these raids She avoided the time and the complicated personal relations involved

Another reason was that no one asked her

But the fact remained that Akatsuki did not have experience with raids This et the Artifact or Phantash these raids There were battle guilds like Black Sword Knights and DDD ere the top of their league in Akiba There should be top-ranked assassins ere better than Akatsuki and with equipreen with envy

It was the sau, and Nyanta

They were part of the legendary Debauchery Tea Party that had top-notch Adventurers who rivaled those of uilds

Compared to her comrades, her abilities paled in comparison

Akatsuki was a coht not be top-class, but she definitely was at the peak of the 2nd class But she was not a top-class assassin

This was the reality Akatsuki was facing

The best of the 2nd class

She was the sa

She was thinking of advancing to the worst of the top class in equipment when she visited Amenoma, but the top-class weapons were too expensive for her She felt ridiculous visiting the shop everyday

Akatsuki dis anything sinister, she just wanted to move in silence

After traversing the overgrown forest for a while, her vieas blocked by the greenery

This was a well-traveled path in the forest, designed to n technique to er than it really was

'Birdland Duvacha' was a type of field h it was outdoors, the area was confined by the ht monsters

But after the Catastrophe, you could bash through thepath, although it ht be troublesome and slower It took some effort to climb up and down the cliff, but it was an easier route for the light and agile Akatsuki

'Birdland Duvacha' was about 40 minutes away from Akiba by horse As a zone with level 80 et EXP here, but it was a safe place for her to travel in The monsters that appeared here could be beaten by her safely and would not fall in one hit, a suitable place for her to try out her weapons and skills Akatsuki had visited this place for battle training many times before

The group she was looking for was also training

After bashi+ng through the bushes for a while, she could hear the sounds of battles The sound of iron clashi+ng, the harsh sound of freezing air and the sharp noise of lightning The Black Sword Knights were going through group training today

Akatsuki looked for a depression in the ground and lay low She could see the whole training ground through the vegetation from her position

Two parties of Black Sword Knights were going through a fierce mock battle Akatsuki used her Tracker subclass to hide her presence as she watched the Black Sword Knights train

Rumors of 'Over level' started to spread around the time of the Libra Festival

It started out as an urban legend and began to spread a the populace

In Elder Tales, the special moves of Adventurers were expressed in the form of skills Skills offered Adventurers the ability to perform many feats under certain conditions, but they were normally restricted to what their class was capable of An example would be the skill assassinate used by Akatsuki which assassins could learn after reaching a certain level As the Adventurer's level rose, they would have access to higher forms of the same technique For instance, assassinate III which awakened at level 47 eaker than assassinate IV which was learned at level 57

But the sa on who used it And that was dependent on the skill level The skill you learned after gaining the requisite level was known as the 'Comprehension level' You could use the skill but it lacked in power By using specific ite 'mastery points', you could improve the skill to 'Novice', 'Intermediate', 'Hidden', or 'Secret level' Intermediate level required the use of an 'interh-level Adventurer of the same class Hidden level needed a 'hidden scroll' that was h price

But it was different for the 'Secret level', which required co a raid level quest to obtain the 'secret scroll' This was the reason behind the gap of the top-class Adventurers in uilds and 2nd class Adventurers like Akatsuki These skills were hard to master

As for 'Over level', it was ruher than Secret level

It was a level that did not exist before the Catastrophe, when Elder Tales was still a game

As the skill level increased, its power could be seen in many areas

Although the skills differed slightly, assassinate was an attack skill, so it purely increased attack power From what Akatsuki reressed it from 'Comprehension' to 'Secret level' There was no telling how much the poould improve if she reached 'Over level'

Although she had heard nothing but good things about 'Over level', its existence remained just a rumor because the Adventurers who could confirm and say for sure were few in number About half the people in Akiba did not believe that 'Over level' existed The other half remained skeptical of its power Akatsuki only believed it existed because shi+roe said so

(If I can get er)

Akatsuki thought this as she hugged herself

Most of Akatsuki's skills were at the 'Interh for party-level Adventurers, but it eak couilds This was the obstacle Akatsuki was facing

But 'Over level' definitely existed

Since shi+roe said so, it must be true

Out of all the Adventurers in Akiba, the hts would be the ones most likely to reach this skill level Honesty and DDD probably had members with 'Over level', but the elitist Black Sword Knights had a higher chance of finding such people

Although she was not sure how tothe fact that the 'Secret level' was learned through special raid-level quests, it should be the same for 'Over level' That hat the word on the street said The way to learn 'Over level' was basically unknown Without the support of online guides, the spread of knowledge in Elder Tales had ground to a stop, and the value of knowledge was reh

That hy Akatsuki was enduring the chilling cold of Dece up under the trees to observe the Black Sword Knights' training If another assassin used 'Over level', she could confir through a quest, she wanted to kno to go about it

(Powerful The fight on in an instant)

By observing thehts were strong Aside from the assassins, the other classes of Adventurers were also at a remarkable level

'—Hey, put your back into defending'

'—Use e won't do!'

'—Your legs are not steady enough!'

The h words freely were an elite group that only took in the top 1 of players on the Yamato server

Their movements, coordination and equipment were beautiful and powerful

Just looking at thee of tears

Although she could not do anything other than fight

She eaker than others in battling

Akatsuki recalled that night of the festival and the profiles of her lord and junior illuh, beyond Akatsuki's reach

She wished to be by shi+roe's side Very strongly

But Akatsuki was unable to grasp shi+roe's point of view So now she had to pay the price

(I want to becoer)

Akatsuki said to herself in her heart again

But repeating this would not er, and Akatsuki understood this She also kne foolish she was, observing the Black Sword Knights this way She did not have the strength to acco

The Akatsuki as protecting shi+roe's secrets was lonelier than anyone in the winter of Akiba

3

The glass bottle was so huge that describing it as a bathtub lass was lass container A man on a stepladder threw some pale brown leaves in casually

Although the fragrance that arose with the stea Roderick kneould not have any taste

This was a research lab that was known as 'Roderick's Workshop'

Just one of the roouild tower

A guild toas another way of saying a guild hall For The Roderick Firs to use as their base, it was an appropriate name for this place Especially for a skyscraper like this

One of the uilds of Akiba, The Roderick Firion of Akiba to serve as their guild base One of them was Roderick's personal research laboratory, which was filled with research apparatus lass

Although there were smaller pieces of equipment, most of the apparatus were si as a bathtub

To craft iteame menu selection and it would be made in 10 seconds This method remained viable in this alternate world But to achieve the new possibility Roderick was after, it was necessary to forego the game menu and start from scratch

They would need bigger machines for mass production

When the Round Table Council was for brand-new items

The first to bloo real world of fashi+on There were new inventions announced by the craftsy advanced rapidly

But there was soe that existed in the old world which could not be replicated by the craftsmen here Roderick was one of them He was a Pharmacist, a production subclass that could create balames

Since 'Recover HP by 180' potions did not exist in the old world, he could not use the old world as a reference to brew such a concoction The Alcheilmaker, Jeweller and other fantasy production classes faced similar issues

But that did not mean they could not craft new items

If the ingredients and techniques of the old world were not applicable here, they would have to exa in this world Recovery and strengthening potions up to level 50 had been developed in the half-year that had passed, and there had also been significant i

For Roderick, the mass production of 'h Unlike the real 'appearance reset potions', it was a weak version that could only reset 2 out of the dozen settings like gender, height, weight, body shape, hair color, eye color, and skin color But thanks to the prevalence of the potion, Adventurers ere distressed because their gender differed from the old world could now rest easy

Following this, Roderick analyzed high quality potions like 'Ambrosia', 'Theriaca' and 'Yo alternatives through research

The Roderick Firuilds, but the direction it was taking and its goal differed froanizations

When Elder Tales was just a gaame menu The items that could be crafted varied froredients Before going into production, the craftsather numerous 'recipe scrolls'

Take Pharmacists for instance, they could create instant HP recovery potion, HP increase potion, HP recovery over tients, 3 types of antidotes, preventive anti-toxins, dozens of poisons (to be applied on weapons), speed increase potion, attack speed increase potion etc There were new stronger potions available to the subclass with every 10 level increase so Roderick was able to ame days That was the number of recipes he had

But it was hard to gather all available recipe scrolls, even e where you could e investame wealth

The Roderick Fir the library of recipe scrolls The recipe scrolls could be duplicated using rare ingredients The crafts recipe scrolls would be able to learn fro advantage over other craftsmen

It was only natural for The Roderick Firm to shi+ft their focus to research and development after the Catastrophe

So far, all those interested in research and developathered in The Roderick Firm

Adventurers who applied techniques fro towards mechanization and mass production would join Oceanic Syste with the People of the Land congregated at the 8th District Shopping Center Oceanic Systems had their own sales department, but The Roderick Fir Center and othertheir spare ti about new experiments

The Roderick Firradually became a mess, stuffed with co their experih school and college students Since they were still in school, they were couild that was like a research facility

Most of the members referred to themselves as part of the Roderick Research Laboratory, or Rod Lab for short For the research, just like a school with lax discipline

With activities like the popularity poll for the girls of 'attachuild like Crescent Moon Alliance, they were growing accustomed to this world in a different way

In this gigantic roouild hall, Roderick turned his head

A young guildboy went off after leaving a guest behind Roderick stepped down frouest

”Good day Nyanta-san”

”It's evening already nya”