Chapter 280
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The event has ended.
You acquired Title: 'First to Conquer the Special Boss of the Mountain-and-Sea Labyrinth.'
You acquired Title: 'Talk of the Mountain and Sea.'
You acquired Title: 'Mountain-and-Sea Peddler.'
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Yesterday, after the event ended, I returned to Shiratsuki immediately. I had nothing else to do after that and was planning to log out, but the Centaur children invited me to play with them, so Cal and I became their playmates. I feel like playing with those hyperactive children tired me out more than doing business.
When I logged in today, I was notified that I had acquired three Titles at the same time. All three were clearly Titles exclusive to the event, but I might as well check them.
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'First to Conquer the Special Boss of the Mountain-and-Sea Labyrinth'
Proof of being the first to conquer the special boss of the labyrinth in the event 'Verdant Mountains, Azure Seas.'
30 SP is awarded.
Was fulfilling the conditions required to acquire this Title a matter of luck or skill?
No. It was because you possessed both.
Acquisition condition: Be the first to defeat the special boss in a specific event.
'Talk of the Mountain and Sea'
Proof of having become a topic of conversation among many players in the event 'Verdant Mountains, Azure Seas.'
They say a rumor lasts only seventy-five days. Is yours a good rumor, or a bad one?
Acquisition condition: Be discussed by a certain number of different players on the event forum.
'Mountain-and-Sea Peddler'
Proof of having bought and sold items brought in from outside the event in 'Verdant Mountains, Azure Seas.'
How's business? Can't complain.
Acquisition condition: Trade items brought in from outside the event with ten or more people.
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None of them has any special effects, but the SP bonus is extremely welcome, since my supply was beginning to run low. Unlike human players, we have no access to NPC quests, which sometimes award SP. That is especially true for someone like me, who has learned a great many Skills.
Now that I had finished checking the Titles, we had to begin serious preparations today for the battle against the Hell Beasts that had driven the Centaurs to seek refuge here. Hunting the Hell Beasts roaming the field was one thing, but there were several other things I wanted to take care of as well.
"Hmm... Seeing the actual items piled up like this, there really are an astounding number of them."
In the hall of the partially ruined royal palace, I stared at one type of item I had taken out of my inventory and groaned. That item was the Demonic Bones I had gathered in enormous quantities during my adventures and the event.
Although I knew the exact number because they had been in my inventory, seeing them piled up as items was overwhelming. Even so, according to my plan, this many was still slightly insufficient. It was a plan bordering on reckless, even by my standards...
"Then let's get started... on this dream plan and hellish task of creating an Undead army!"
The reason I had continued gathering countless Demonic Bones was that I intended to use 【Necromancy】 to create an army of the Undead. I was going to turn the armchair theory I had come up with a little while ago into reality.
The 'Daywalker' I sold at the event was a magic item I had commissioned in the first place so that the Undead in the army I created could overcome their 【Light Attribute Vulnerability】. I still had plenty left, so I didn't expect to run out.
"When was the last time I created Undead? During the War Event? It feels like an awfully long time ago, but this time I'm creating an army that needs numbers. Rather than focusing on making a small number of powerful individuals, I should concentrate on making as many reasonably capable individuals with roughly equal combat power as possible."
The Ushi-Oni I created with Shiitake was made by taking the techniques available to me at the time as far as I could. This time, however, I don't intend to obsess over each one's performance. Or rather, I can't afford to.
Besides, I once read in a book that group combat requires both numbers and a uniform level of training among the soldiers. When units with equal numbers and equal equipment fight, a unit in which everyone is roughly equally strong supposedly has a better chance of winning than one with a single exceptionally strong soldier.
I don't know why that would be, and I have no idea whether the information is correct. Still, I imagine it would make planning tactics easier if the soldiers were all of comparable ability. This is just an amateur's judgment, but perhaps I'll create them according to that policy this time.
To that end, I first sorted the bones by shape and size. Straight ones, curved ones, and rounded ones. Large ones, small ones, and ones somewhere in between. Then there were the exceptions that fit none of those categories. I divided them into rough groups like that.
As a result of the sorting, the most common were medium-sized, straight bones, while the rarest were large, rounded bones. To give specific examples, the former were arm and leg bones, while the latter were presumably the skulls of large monsters.
The results were as expected, but even the rarest type numbered well over a hundred. I had no idea what to do with the skulls of large monsters, but I would think about that while working.
"Now that the sorting is finished... let's do this!"
I steeled myself and stood up, gathered the required number of bones, and used 【Alchemy】 to alter them into the sizes and shapes I had decided on beforehand. As I did so, I mixed in a small amount of powder made by extracting and grinding down some of my ribs. It was a tiny amount compared to the total mass, but it would be a nice bonus if it caused some kind of change.
Although I had only mixed it in on a whim, the bones underwent a visible change. Starting from the spot where I had added it, the bones changed color to gray and clearly became an item unlike ordinary Demonic Bones. I used 【Appraisal】 on it reflexively.
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Undead Lord's Eerie Bone Quality: Good Rarity: S (Special Grade)
A gray bone containing a fragment of the Undead Lord's power.
It retains properties similar to those of the Undead Lord, the source of that power.
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Oh? Since I became a Race bearing the title Undead Lord, does that mean this is an item I could create only because of that? This is interesting in its own way.
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Your 【Necromancy】 level has increased.
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Oh, my 【Necromancy】 level went up here? I wasn't using anything but 【Alchemy】 just now, though... Could it be because I processed my own bones? Still, I'm glad the level went up.
What I created by combining the 'Undead Lord's Eerie Bone' was a humanoid shape like a mannequin made of bone. I considered making Skeletons, but it would be difficult to prepare all the bone parts for those. I do have myself as a model, but that wouldn't suit my goal of mass production.
On the other hand, with these, I could process the bones into easy-to-use shapes, so I didn't need to worry about the shape of each part. All I had to do was make them to the specifications I had already decided on.
I assembled one according to Iris's design. If I cast 【Necromancy】 on it...
"With this... the first one is complete!"
The completed bone mannequin stood up without a sound the instant it was finished. Its movements were smoother than I had imagined, and it didn't feel like an artificial construct at all. It might have turned out better than I expected.
Now, what Race had it become? I Appraised it with anticipation.
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Name: Not Set
Race: Undead Puppet Lv40
Job: Servant Lv0
Skill: 【Vitality Enhancement】
【Defense Enhancement】
【Spear Arts】
【Shield Arts】
【Armor Arts】
【Increased Vitality Recovery Speed】
【Coordination】
【Night Vision】
【Status Ailment Immunity】
【Light Attribute Vulnerability】
【Blunt Vulnerability】
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Undead Puppet—that is, a puppet of the Undead, I suppose. Aside from the Skills that are fixed for all Undead, I had set all the others in advance. I planned for these guys to serve as shields in the coming battle against the Hell Beasts. That was the thinking behind my choices.
After that, I continued quietly making Undead Puppets. However, I assigned the Skills for an archer to one out of every four.
This wasn't to train unerring marksmen like Shio. It was a unit meant to rain down arrows, like in the Sengoku period. A unit like that would be necessary in group combat as well.
"Phew... Repeating the same task all this time is tiring. I should do something else for a change."
Repeating a task turns it into a routine, and you develop a familiar method that's efficient in your own way. But frankly, simply repeating the same task over and over gets boring. That might be one of the drawbacks of mass-producing identical things.
Conveniently—or perhaps I shouldn't call it that—I also had the task of making talismans. That was another series of simple repetitive tasks, but changing the magic infused in the talismans changed the nature of the work. It was enough to serve as a change of pace.
And so, whenever I was about to get bored making Undead Puppets, I switched to writing talismans and kept at it steadily, alternating between the two tasks. After several hours of in-game time had passed, some visitors came to the hall where I was.
"Yo, brother! How's it coming along?"
"Grrr!"
It was Jigoro, with Cal in tow. Apparently, they had been fighting. When I checked the logs, I saw that Cal's level had increased. I had turned off notifications so I could concentrate on my work, so I hadn't noticed until then.
"Looks like I can make soldiers stronger than I'd expected."
"This bone doll... Nice. Too good to use as disposable troops."
"I don't intend to send them into battle assuming they'll all be wiped out. It's just that they rank below my companions and the Centaurs."
I said that to Jigoro as he muttered while patting an Undead Puppet. Though I said I made them to serve as shields, these were soldiers I had gone to the trouble of making. I simply prioritized my fellow players and the NPCs, and wanted to avoid wasting them as much as possible.
Moreover, after surviving the battle against the Hell Beasts, the Undead Puppets might evolve into more powerful soldiers. That was another reason I had no intention of letting them die needlessly.
"Oh? Then can I borrow the ones that can move?"
"Hmm? I don't mind, but... what are you planning to do?"
"I thought I'd go level them up for you."
"You mean power leveling?"
Power leveling meant defeating opponents one couldn't beat alone with the help of a high-level player, then gaining a large amount of experience all at once. According to the forum, it apparently let one raise a Race's level in a single burst.
However, because they themselves did not fight properly, their Skill levels were difficult to raise. As a result, compared to their Race levels, they ended up with fewer martial techniques and spells they could use.
"What brought this on? You hate the type that has a high level but no skill more than anything, brother..."
"Don't underestimate me, brother. I'll have them fight strong opponents until they're on the verge of death. Then I'll land the finishing blow."
"You mean to nearly destroy soldiers you just made. But if that's the plan, it will also raise their Skill levels. All right, I'll leave it to you..."
"I heard everything!"
Jigoro apparently intended to have the Undead Puppets repeatedly engage in mortal combat, leveling both their Race and Skills. Since that was the case, I was about to accept Jigoro's kind offer when someone threw open the hall doors and entered.