Chapter 204
"It's great that we can acquire skills, but the real issue is how bulky these items are."
"You're right. Our magic bags would be full in no time."
Since then, while battling other monsters, we continued to fight, searching for Mimic Armor and using Memory Stones each time to obtain ancient weapons.
Even Nel, with her incredible luck, couldn't maintain a perfect success rate and missed out on the ancient weapon drops multiple times. Normally, these are considered low-probability drops—so rare that getting one after defeating a hundred monsters would be considered good luck.
One might expect the drop rate to increase given the tedious effort required, but the abysmal odds seem to mock that notion. Yet, Nel, the fox girl, defies those odds as if they don’t apply to her.
"Honestly, getting just one would already be lucky, but here we are, carrying so many that it takes three of us to manage."
"Perhaps we should prepare a carrying frame next time."
Using sticks found nearby to bundle and carry the ancient weapons isn’t a dream—it’s reality.
I don’t understand the principle behind this drop rate defiance, but it’s certainly convenient for us.
"If Nel learns the Item Box skill, transporting these would become much easier."
The fact that all three of us are carrying similar items means we’ve already gathered far more than the ancient weapons we bought at the previous auction.
"Ah, I can see it now."
"It’s good we’ll make it back before sunset."
"Welcome back, everyone!!"
Returning with such souvenirs, we arrived at the golem-guarded carriage campsite.
Near the entrance, Amina, who had been playing with spirits, waved to greet us.
"So many!!"
"Yeah, an absolute haul. Honestly, with this much, I’m starting to worry about tomorrow’s drops."
Amina’s eyes sparkled as she saw the ancient weapons we brought back, while the spirits behind her stared curiously at the worn-out gear.
『『『????』』』
The tiny spirits looked at them as if wondering, "What in the world are you going to do with these?"
Their appearances—resembling young children—were color-coded: green for wind, light blue for water, and white for light. Though their floating forms made it clear they weren’t human.
"These are called ancient weapons. They contain things we need right now."
『But they’re broken, aren’t they?』 『You can’t fight with these!』 『Amina might get hurt.』
The spirits were clearly worried about Amina—a sign of their strong affection for her.
It’s rare for spirits to show such concern so soon after forming a contract. If there were a "favorability meter," starting at mid-level would be a blessing—most begin much lower.
But Amina had been bonding with them since before the live show, back during the very first public gathering—sharing snacks, singing together—which was why they now fretted over the idea of her fighting with such battered gear.
『Amina mustn’t get hurt!』 『We’ll fight instead!』 『We’ll fight with this big one!!』
They eagerly volunteered to help. Seeing how effortlessly Amina had achieved what even seasoned spirit users in FBO struggled with, I couldn’t help but feel a little sympathy for them.
The idol-themed character builds in the game had a tough time with this part.
The campsite was the usual Moti Dungeon.
Parking the carriage inside and stationing golems at the entrance provided more than enough security. Without having to worry about monsters, we could rest properly.
"It’s okay! Actually, why don’t you all see what we’re doing with these?"
『You won’t use them?』 『Really?』 『What are we seeing?』
Perhaps to reassure the spirits guarding the campsite, Amina suggested letting them watch as we unsealed the random-box items.
It’s true that keeping them in their bulky state was inconvenient, so converting them into skill scrolls quickly was a good idea.
I was a little worried the spirits might get too absorbed in watching, but seeing us react to the results could be fun for them.
"Then let’s do it inside. Is Ingrid preparing dinner?"
『『『Food!?』』』
But their interest was quickly overtaken by hunger the moment I mentioned Ingrid’s cooking.
"Yeah, Esmeralda said she’d help."
"...Wait, can Esmeralda even cook?"
"Who knows?"
A noble lady cooking—the image that flashed in my mind was of something charred black being served at the table.
A common gag in comics, but experiencing it in real life was something I’d rather avoid.
Amina, tilting her head, didn’t seem to imagine such a scene, instead hugging the light-blue spirit, Mii-chan, from behind.
The remaining spirits, Fuu-chan and Pii-chan, snuggled up enviously—adorable and picturesque. But there was no time to enjoy the moment.
Right now, dinner was more important than heartwarming scenes.
"I’ll go check on things."
Moving quickly, I carried the ancient weapons into the dungeon while heading to see how dinner preparations were going.
Inside the dungeon entrance, the carriage was parked, and a tent was set up nearby.
The horses had been unhitched and were eating feed and drinking water.
A little further away, two figures were cooking over a makeshift stove.
"You cut it evenly like this." "L-Like this?" "Yes, that’s perfect."
A young lady being taught cooking by a maid.
Since noble education typically didn’t cover such skills, she seemed to be struggling—but thankfully, it wasn’t the comedic disaster I’d imagined.
"Welcome back, Liberta-sama."
"I’m home."
"Ah, welcome back, Liberta! Just wait a little longer—I’ll serve you a delicious meal soon!"
"Please don’t look away. You might cut your fingers."
"Right."
Ingrid noticed my arrival and bowed in greeting while Esmeralda, still holding a knife and ingredients, tried to welcome me but looked a bit unsteady.
"My apologies. Dinner will take a little longer."
"Got it. I’ll check today’s haul in the meantime. Let me know when it’s ready."
"Understood."
At this rate, there was still time before dinner. Ingrid was supervising well, and Esmeralda seemed determined to learn the basics—so I wasn’t too worried.
I’d always assumed noble ladies either didn’t cook or left it to others, but both Ingrid (also nobility) and Esmeralda (a duke’s daughter) showed no aversion to it.
Come to think of it, they were rare even among FBO’s noble NPCs.
There were other noble characters, but hardly any who’d cook during camp like this.
Occasionally, wild-type characters who believed in "fighting as justice" would serve barbecue-like meals, but this kind of proper cooking was almost unheard of.
I didn’t have any strong feelings about it—just found it interesting.
"Guess nobles like this really do exist," I mused, feeling the gap between game tropes and reality.
Glancing back at the entrance, I saw Nel, Claudeia, and Amina entering the dungeon, followed by the spirits.
"Dinner’s not ready yet, so let’s convert the ancient weapons into scrolls first."
"Got it. The transfer papers are in the carriage, right?"
"Yeah. At this drop rate, I wish we’d bought more. Will we have enough?"
We lined up the ancient weapons near the sleeping tent and counted them—thirteen in total.
Armor, helmets, shields, swords, spears, boots—all in various forms but uniformly worn-out.
"Even with all these, we still don’t know what’s inside, right?"
"Right. Just because it’s a sword doesn’t mean it’ll contain a sword-related skill."
We’d bought extra transfer papers anticipating Nel’s luck, but never imagined we might run out.
"It’s strange. Why don’t they attach?"
"No idea. Even I don’t get that part."
Fifty sheets had seemed like plenty. But considering we’d be hunting all day tomorrow, running short was now a real possibility.
As Amina and I examined the weapons, Nel returned with the transfer papers.
"Got them."
"Thanks. For now, Nel, can you separate the promising ones from the duds?"
"You mean using Appraisal?"
"More like gut feeling. Just like last time, pick based on instinct."
"Okay."
If so, letting Nel choose the good ones first and leaving the bad for later was the best move.
Last time, her intuition had been spot-on.
"This one... no good."
I asked her to sort them—left for good, right for bad.
Nel immediately began, scrutinizing each item before shaking her head and placing an old shield on the right.
"This one’s no good either."
Next, a helmet joined the reject pile.
"This one... seems a little better."
The third item finally went to the left.
"This and this are bad too."
She continued swiftly until finally—
"The best one is this!!"
Nine were duds, three were mediocre, and one stood out as the best—a worn-out dagger.
"Then let’s save that for last. We’ll load the rejects onto the carriage later and start with the iffy ones."
I had no idea how impressive the results would be.
Maybe, just maybe, we’d get a rainbow-tier skill.
Hope and skepticism warred in my mind.
For mental stability, I decided to start with the safe bets.
First was a pair of battered gauntlets.
"Nel, if you would."
"Leave it to me!"
No repeat of last time’s mishap.
I handed her the transfer paper, and she pressed it against the gauntlets—
"Blue."
"Blue."
"Blue."
『It glowed!!』 『Same color as me~』 『Ah, it crumbled.』
So "mediocre" meant blue.
Once again, Nel’s intuition proved right—not white, but the next tier up.
"What skill was it?"
"Archery."
"Hey, not bad! That’s a decent pull."
"But none of us use bows, right?"
"Could be useful if we meet someone who does. No harm keeping it."
First was a standard archery skill.
High demand, and if we ever recruited a ranged fighter, it’d come in handy.
"Fair point. Next one."
Then came another blue, and another.
"Guess the really good stuff doesn’t come easy."
One was Riding—a skill for mounting animals or monsters more easily.
The second was Sand Curtain, an area-defense earth spell.
Though weaker than single-target shields, its wide coverage made it versatile.
"Alright, here goes."
All three were solid pulls, but now it was time for Nel’s top pick.
The moment the transfer paper touched it—
"Wait, this is—"
"GOOOOOOOOOOLD!!!"
At the golden glow, I couldn’t help but shout.