CH 11

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Now, it is time to create the workbench. Therefore, let’s check again the materials needed to make the workbench.

・Basic workbench――materials: woods x 10, nails x 40, vise x 1, basic toolbox x 1

Wood and nails are fine. It’s ready to be made, or rather, it’s already prepared. The problem is a vise and a basic toolbox.

・Vise――materials: irons x 20, machine parts x 10

Yeah, this is manageable. The crafting time is very long, though. As for the machine parts, I was able to make them after I made the parts with chisel, tagane, and file. My crafting ability is amazing; whether it’s a vise or the machine parts, even if I don’t know the structure, I can make it if I have the materials, tools, and time. So, I’ll reserve as much crafting time as I need for this.

Nevertheless, machine parts is a very outrageous description, isn’t it? I was curious, so I actually made one and pulled it out of my inventory. What I found was something like an assortment of bolts, nuts, gears, springs, thin metal bars, metal rings, and other such things.

I see why it takes so long. It would take a hell of a lot of time to make these things by hand without a processing machine. These machine parts, if I make them now, it would take me more than 30 seconds to make each one.

In the meantime, let’s find out about the toolbox while crafting machine parts.

・Basic toolbox――materials: sturdy wooden box x 1, metal tools x 8, machine parts x 2

This one requires a total of eight different metal tools, such as saw, hammer, knife, tagane, chisel, file, drill, and planer. A sturdy wooden box can be made of wood and nails, so it’s no problem. I was a little surprised to see that the knife was considered a tool. But when I think about it, it is a necessary item, isn’t it? Or rather, I guess I’ll just have to add two machine parts to it. Well, that’s fine.

It took some time, but both the vise and the basic toolbox were completed, so I finally created a workbench. Thinking about it, it took me this long… No, not so much, right? Thanks to Sylphy’s help, I was able to get into making iron quickly, and I’d say things were going rather well. I’ve had a lot of tough battles with the Lizarf, got beaten up by Sylphy, and almost got beaten up by a mob, but…

“Umu, it’s done.”

I set it up right away. Setting up a workbench on a mountain stream bank is a bit strange, though.

“Hmm, it’s definitely a workbench!”

A vise is attached to a sturdy-looking desk, with a shelf on which tools are stored. It’s really a workbench, indeed.

“Hou… Hohou.”

When I access the workbench, the list of crafted items is displayed in a row. Basically, the list includes things that I was able to craft manually, but the crafting time seems to be decreasing across the board. Besides, it appears that I can craft some never-before-seen items.

“Here it is, here it is!”

・Basic crossbow――materials: twigs x 2, woods x 2, machine parts x 1, fiber x 20 ・Crossbow――materials: twigs x 2, animal bones x 2, woods x 2, machine parts x 2, fibers x 20 ・Improved crossbow――materials: steel leaf spring x 1, woods x 2, machine parts x 3, solid string x 1

The crossbow is famous both as a knight-killer that can easily penetrate armor and as an anti-zombie weapon. In-game terms, it’s often a weapon that is easier to handle, more powerful, and less fast to shoot than a bow, but in this world?

“I think I can make the basic one and the standard one right away.”

It appears that steel leaf spring cannot be made in the current simple furnace. I guess it would require a higher-grade furnace or blacksmithing equipment. Even the solid string seems to require either an animal tendon or a lot of fiber and glue. I’m out of stock of the animal tendon, and apart from fiber, I can’t find any glue anywhere on the crafting menu. I think I probably need a separate device for making chemicals and stuff.

Also, it seems that crossbow bolts can be made. The materials for those are iron arrowhead and wood. I wonder if it needs a bird feather for the arrowhead…?

I made one to try it out, and for some reason, it had the arrow feathers on it. What does that mean? Well, it’s too late for that since I can make drinking water in a plastic bottle from raw water in a wooden water bottle.

Let’s not think too much about it. Yeah. As long as it’s convenient, I don’t mind.

But I guess I need a more advanced furnace or… a large furnace with fireproof bricks or something. It might also need more advanced bellows that send wind and promote combustion.

That’s why I look for new bellows from the crafting menu on the workbench.

“There’s nothing, huh.”

So perhaps when it comes to the bellows, it doesn’t bother to differentiate between the small and large ones. However, upon a closer look at the workbench menu, I found an option called “Upgrade.”

・Workbench upgrade――: machine parts x 10, steel leaf springs x 5, leather straps x 2

Fumu… As expected, the steel plate spring is the main problem. I guess the next step should be a more advanced ironmaking facility. I’ll need to upgrade from a simple furnace to a standard furnace. So, with that in mind, I check the simple furnace in operation.

“Hmm?”

There are more upgrades that shouldn’t have been there before.

・Simple furnace upgrade――: animal hides x 5, bricks x 50, whetstones x 3, machine parts x 10

“Mmm…?”

Surely there wasn’t any of this stuff a while ago. Why are there so many of these all of a sudden? Could it be that there is a leveling-up factor? Or is the feature unlocked when certain conditions are met? Hey, hey, hey, if that’s the case, you should at least give me one of your notifications. I mean, I should at least be able to see the indicators――no, wait?

I open my inventory with the Tab key in mind and stare into the menu.

“There are more entries…”

There used to be only inventory and crafting menus, but now there are more entries for status, skills, and achievements. What are the achievements? But then I found the so-called “Achievements” feature.

“You should have unlocked this kind of thing from the beginning…”

I groaned as I looked at each entry.

First of all, the status, this was a simple function. The only thing that can be confirmed is that my current physical condition can be checked to some extent explicitly… or rather visualized. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to display a quantified status, such as STR or AGI, like in an RPG. It only shows hunger and dryness, health, stamina, fatigue, and the presence or absence of status abnormalities. The most notable feature is the ability to check “Experience Value.”

I don’t know what conditions are used to accumulate experience value, but apparently, there is a level concept. My current level is 6. Would there be any benefits for me if my level was higher?

And then there are the skills, but…

“Hmm… this bothers me.”

Apparently, the concept of levels is useful here. In the skill column, there are several skills, and skills can be acquired by spending skill points. It seems that the skills can be divided into two main categories: production and physical strengthening. There are five production skills displayed at the moment.

・Skilled craftsman――: Crafting time is reduced by 20%. ・Mass Producers――: Reduces the number of materials required to create 10 or more of the same item by 10%. ・Loggers――: Increased plant material intake by 20%. ・Miner――: Increased mineral material intake by 20%. ・Dismantler――: Increased living organism material intake by 20%.

Hmm, this is troubling. At first glance, it seems like a good idea to be a mass producer, but to be honest, it’s a bit subtle that I need to create more than 10 items at a time to get the bonus. Then it would be more versatile to increase the number of materials acquired. I don’t feel the need for the skilled craftsman now, but if items with a crafting time of more than ten minutes or an hour per item come out in the future, it seems like it would be a great benefit. I don’t think it would have much of an effect on things that only take ten seconds or so, to begin with.

And the physical strengthening skills.

・Strong Cardiopulmonary Function――: Increased stamina recovery speed by 20%. ・Agility――: Increased movement speed by 10%. ・Strong Arm――: Increased melee attack power by 20%. ・Excellent Archer――: Increased attack power from ranged weapons by 20%. ・Iron Skin――: Reduced damage taken by 20%. ・Survivor――: Increased health by 10%, increased health recovery speed by 20%. ・Reptile Stomach――: Reduced hunger by 20%. ・Camel’s hump――: Reduced dryness by 20%.

These are the eight skills that can be acquired at the moment.

I’d say that I’d be happy to get a strong cardiopulmonary function, agility, excellent archer, iron skin, and survivor immediately. The increase in stamina recovery speed would be useful for both mining and combat, and combined with agility, it would lead to an increase in escaping pace. As I have no skills to handle weapons, I would basically attack from a distance, so the excellent archer would be suitable, and the iron skin that can reduce damage when attacked, and the survivor that increases the upper limit of health and the recovery speed would rightly lead directly to an increase in survivability.

On the other hand, I don’t think I need a reduction in hunger and dryness, as long as I keep in mind to make sure I have enough food and water. No, it would be useful when traveling through a land where supplies are unlikely to be available, such as in the Great Wilderness of Omit, right…?

Hmm, it’s troubling. If I could get all the skills, I wouldn’t have to worry about it, but the skill points I have now are the same as my level, which is 6 points. I’m not sure if I can retrieve it or not, so I can’t take it lightly.

“Anyway, let’s just ignore it for now, ignore it.”

It’s not something I have to take right now. Yeah. More importantly, let’s check the achievements.

“…Well, well, well, isn’t this just a display?”

・First time crafting――: Crafting an item for the first time. ※Unlock skills. ・???――: Hidden achievement. ・First time collecting――: Perform collecting for the first time. ※Unlock skill. ・First time mining――: Perform mining for the first time. ※Unlock skills. ・First time hunting――: Acquiring living organism material for the first time. ※Unlock skills. ・???――:Hidden achievement. ・???――: Hidden achievement.

What is this “???”. There is too much hidden stuff that is totally not helpful. What is this, a shitty game?

・First Workbench――: First time crafting a workbench. You can upgrade all sorts of workbenches and items and add status, skill, and achievement entries to the menu.

Ooh, more information to answer the question. I knew that creating a workbench was a condition for unlocking upgrades and adding additional menu entries. Is there anything else?

・First time copulation――: First time copulating with the opposite sex. You’ll love it, too. Increased strength and stamina by 10 points.

What does this “You’ll love it, too” mean? Also, it’s not my first time――Oh, I see. So it means since I came into the world. I see. And how many points is that, exactly? I don’t know, my status isn’t numeric, so I don’t know.

・Technician――: Satisfy the other party while copulating. Not bad. Damage to the opposite sex is increased by 10%.

What do you mean by “Not bad”? It’s none of your business; I don’t need your help. I can’t even be happy with a bonus that’s slightly more effective.

“What’s up with that stupid look on your face?”

“Hoaaaahh!?”

Suddenly, a mysterious voice was called out to me. It seems that before I knew it, Sylphy had come back.

“I told you that monsters sometimes come to this river to drink the water. If I were a monster, you’d be dead by now.”

“Oh, ah, yes. I am a little careless. Sorry.”

I honestly apologize while suppressing my palpitating heart. I may indeed have been a bit too careless. If a quick monster or something like that had come, it would have been a close call.

“And what’s this?”

“A workbench. I get a lot done with it.”

“Fumu. Well, it looks like you had a productive time. We should get back now. Are you done with the gathering?”

“Oh, sorry. Give me some more time. I’ll get what I need as soon as possible.”

I just took the miner’s skills from the skills column, broke some rocks with the pickaxe, and dug around in the ground. It seems like the amount of resources that come out when breaking rocks is definitely increasing. Also, the steel shovel is much better than stone shovel.

After spending an hour or so, I managed to get enough mineral resources and clay, and we decided to leave the mountain stream. Now that I have enough materials, I think I’ll ask Sylphy to let me build a work shed in her backyard when we get back to her house. Finally… it’s exciting to build something.