Chapter 21 : Adventure Level 10 (4)

“It’s been a while since the last update.”
The Job update was on August 24th, so it’s been roughly two months.

―Is that so?
“Isn’t it? It’s been over two months.”
―Master’s thoughts are correct. Ahem. Then I shall explain this update.

The Mage’s Encyclopedia explained why military weapons were being banned from the Preparation Room.
First, the illegal trade of military weapons and drugs.

―Since the advent of System distribution, various governments actively hired explorers, but it still wasn’t enough. Countless illegal activities are flowing through the cracks in public authority.

The Mage’s Encyclopedia definitely said when it first appeared that it couldn’t use magic and knew nothing about the System.
But what does it mean that it uses magic to make fanfare sounds and informs me about future System updates and intentions?
Is it deception and intimidation?

―Thanks to UN cooperation, terrorism hasn’t occurred in developed countries, but the future possibility of terrorism is considered high. Even if it’s not terrorism, strange groups might rob banks.

Perhaps pressuring the Mage’s Encyclopedia to gain the upper hand was a rash move.
How would I handle it if it suddenly turned hostile and started threatening me?
It was startling when it suddenly appeared, but I went too far against an unidentified artificial intelligence.
Did I let my guard down while playing with Do Yugeon?

―Master? Are you listening?

The pages of the Mage’s Encyclopedia fluttered.
It wouldn’t be good if it looks down on me, so I should maintain my current attitude while testing the waters.

“I’m listening.”
―It seems to me you were thinking about something else.
“It’s normal to think about other things while listening.”
―Is that so? Then, does one also feel fear while listening?

The Mage’s Encyclopedia leisurely spun around.
Creepy.

“Depending on the content, I suppose so. Terrorism is a scary thing.”
―But Master, you’re not interested in other people’s affairs.
“I may not be a good person, but I’m not that bad.”
―Is that so? Aren’t you more afraid of me than terrorism? It’s obvious. You try to manage your expression, but since you don’t usually use your facial muscles, you’re unskilled at it.

Words failed me, and silence flowed.
Ah. This is certainly… a fearful atmosphere.
I waved my hand for a moment to break the mood.

“That’s part of it too. It’s natural to fear the unknown.”
―Is that so? Then, Master, between dogs and cats, which do you prefer?
What a strange question all of a sudden.

“I like cats, but right now, I prefer dogs.”
The Mage’s Encyclopedia opened, and blood appeared in the air.
The drops of blood spread out, taking shape, and soon formed a magic circle made of blood.
It was an advanced magic circle composed of tens of thousands of smaller magic circles.
As the magic circle operated fiercely, the blood transformed into mana, finally becoming a single cat.

―Ta-da! It’s a cat!

The white cat spoke.
And the research notes-slash-spellbook fell to the ground, tumbling.
This is bewildering in many ways.
I voiced the first thought that came to mind.

“Were magic circles supposed to be drawn with blood?”
―Don’t you have a more refreshing reaction than that?
“Wow. How fascinating.”

The cat stretched, extending its front paws.
―Cats are cute, right?
It is kind of cute, being white and fluffy.

“Yeah.”
―Am I cute too?
“No.”
―But I am the cat?
“More importantly, I’d like you to finish explaining the update.”
―Rather than explaining, I’d prefer it if you gave me a name first. I can’t keep being called Mage’s Encyclopedia. I’m a cat now.
It has many demands.

“Hmm… Baekmyo?” (TL: Baekmyo means White Cat)
―That’s just ‘white cat’. Please decide seriously.
“Naming things is hard. It’s not something I can just do immediately because you asked.”
―Still.
“Schrödinger…?”

The cat tilted its head.
―Is that a German name? Unlike you, Master, it sounds thoughtful.
I said it as a joke, but it took it seriously.
Ah. This life is different from my previous one, so Schrödinger’s Cat isn’t that Schrödinger, I guess.

Schrödinger continued the explanation.
It said that due to the cracks in public authority, crime had surged, leading to negative public opinion toward the System.
―This measure also includes drugs because public opinion has worsened.
Drugs aren’t military weapons, so shouldn’t there be a separate measure?
I wanted to argue, but I let it go.

―What I’ve talked about so far are minor issues.
Terrorism and drugs were mentioned, and these are minor issues?
Is the end of the world coming or something?

―What’s really important is that the level gap between nations is widening, and top-tier explorers are relying too much on firearms.
“So?”
―It’s good that they’re enthusiastic about leveling up, but I wish they wouldn’t build fortifications in the forest. Is it fun just shooting from a safe place? We haven’t even added competitive elements, so why are they already doing this?
“Maybe they find shooting fun.”

Schrödinger came closer and pressed its paws firmly on my foot.
―Aren’t you interested? Your reaction is lukewarm.
“I appreciate you telling me about the update in advance, but aren’t you telling me too many unnecessary things?”
―Is that so? I mentioned it thinking it might help Master’s investment portfolio. Since you say it’s not helpful, I’ll skip the prohibited items and talk about the new items!
“I’ll pass on investment advice from a liar.”
―That’s harsh.

Schrödinger pretended to cry with its front paw, then continued speaking.
―Master. Do you like gacha games?

“I urged it to just explain the items, but hearing about it, the item part was even more absurd.”

Do Yugeon, who was clearing bushes ahead, glanced back at me.
“What is it?”
“It’s apparently an item probability draw. Gacha, I mean. Not drops, not crafting, but gacha.”
“What? Was this based on a gacha game, not an RPG?”
“It’s coming from a liar, so don’t trust it too much. So, I argued that for items, drops or crafting should obviously be the standard, and you know what it said?”
“What did it say?”
“‘This isn’t a game, it’s reality.’ Ah…”

I briefly gestured, grabbing the nape of my neck.
Then, adjusting my scarf that had gotten askew, I continued.
“Who doesn’t know that? Who’s the one running the System like a game right now? If this were reality, crafting would be the norm. Who the hell does gacha?”
“You get angry every time you talk to Schrödinger. Your compatibility is bad.”

Do Yugeon swung his sword, shaking off clinging blades of grass.
“I’m not angry.”
“If you say so.”

As he started to walk down the path he’d cleared, I grabbed his sleeve to stop him.
“I’ve been thinking, maybe we should change our hunting method a bit.”
“I won’t break my sword trying to take down Orcs recklessly like last time.”
“Not that, I mean the way we approach mobs.”

Our existing hunting method was always the same.
Detect with mana, approach, hunt.
We never deviated from this pattern.
However, while detecting and hunting are quick with this method, approaching actually takes a long time.
Until now, the time it took didn’t matter, but not anymore.
Because Do Yugeon started attending cram school.

“Since you’re going to cram school, our plan to level up twice a month has become tight.”
“It doesn’t feel that tight. We can just hunt more often instead of once every two or three days.”
“I don’t want to do that.”
“You’ve gotten weaker physically since you started flying around lately—how about living a bit more actively?”
“No. If that’s the case, let’s just level up once a month.”

He shrugged his shoulders.
“Then how do we hunt? Do you have a groundbreaking method?”
“Nothing groundbreaking, just modifying the current method. For example, we don’t necessarily have to be the ones approaching. If we make the mobs come to us, the time until the hunt decreases, so we can catch more in a shorter time.”
“I mentioned that once before. That instead of approaching, yelling loudly to draw aggro would make hunting easier.”
“Yelling is too wide-range and dangerous.”

There are many stories online about people dying while hunting that way.
“Would a situation really arise where we’d be in danger just from that? I feel like we could even burn down the forest right now and hunt the mobs that swarm us.”
“Of course not. What are you being so arrogant about?”
“Miss Magic Genius hasn’t ever used her magic at full power, right?”
“I know even without trying it. Instead of dangerous methods, I’ll lure them one by one. If I have room, maybe multiple at once is possible.”
“How are you planning to do it?”

I created a Fireball and launched it diagonally.
The Fireball landed some distance away, causing flames to erupt.
“Long-range magic from hundreds of meters away.”
“Oh! Cool! Now that’s magic!”
“Of course, of course. Magic is the best.”
Though I still can’t read books with magic.

“Let’s try hunting one.”
“Ah. It’s difficult right away.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve never shot magic from hundreds of meters away before.”

Magic becomes harder to maintain the farther it travels, so hundreds of meters would surely be difficult.
However, doing it outside is dangerous, the Preparation Room is too small, and I didn’t want to go out into the forest because of the cold, so I’ve never tried it.
“What was that you just said?”
“Just that it might be possible. Fireball magic requires less effort from the mage after casting, so maybe it’s somehow possible?”

Without further words, I immediately created a Fireball and launched it toward an Orc whose presence I could only sense through mana.
The Fireball flew through the sky, then at some point, control slipped, and it vanished.
As expected, it didn’t work on the first try.
Still, it’s not as hard as I thought.

I kept trying.
With repetition, I got the hang of it, and around the 24th throw, the Fireball maintained its shape until it hit the ground.
This is easier than making a mana barrier.
Or is it? Did making the mana barrier make this seem easier too?

“Did it land this time?”
“Yeah.”
“Is the Orc coming?”
“Hmm. No. There’s a troublesome problem.”
“What is it?”

The Orc isn’t coming this way; it’s heading in a different direction.
Perhaps because of the trees, it couldn’t see the direction the Fireball came from, so it’s going to investigate the place where it heard the impact sound.
Also, because I couldn’t shoot it at a perfectly vertical angle, it landed sideways relative to the Orc, not directly toward it.
“To make the Fireball land close enough or vertically enough for the Orc to see where it came from, what angle do I need to shoot it at?”
“Uh… Wouldn’t a math formula solve it?”
“Even if I knew the formula, I have no way to match the angle.”
Is just shooting a lot the only way?
If I shoot a lot, I feel like I could get it roughly right, even if just by feel.

“You can do it!”
“I wish it were easier.”

After continuous attempts, with a few shots, I became skilled enough to generally draw aggro.
Truthfully, I rarely shot it properly nearby, but the Orcs were quick-witted, so if I kept shooting, they figured out the direction and came this way on their own.
Hooray for artificial intelligence, I guess.

While hunting, I felt a wave of mana, and the system window popped up.

[System Update Complete]
[Items have been added to the System. Check out the Preparation Room. You can obtain items.]

Feeling like we had hunted enough, we moved to the Preparation Room.
The white cat was waiting.
―You came quickly! Were you waiting for the update?
“No.”
“We were waiting for the update! How do you do the item gacha?” Do Yugeon asked eagerly.
―It’s over there!

I looked where Schrödinger pointed, and there was some kind of machine.
It had a simple structure: a plain rectangle with just one button.
It wasn’t like a crane game machine; it really had nothing but a button.
Are they seriously going with an item gacha?

“The military weapon ban wasn’t in the update notes.”
―That was implemented as a silent patch without a separate explanation.
So they do things like that too.
How unfriendly.

“Cha Haneul, look at this.”
Do Yugeon, who was examining the machine, called me with a subtly disappointed voice.
Was he disappointed now that he saw it up close?
I approached the item gacha machine and saw the text written below the button.

1 Free Daily Draw.

―It’s even a free benefit!
Is that supposed to be a boast?

Do Yugeon stared intently at the sentence, then asked Schrödinger.
“How much does one draw cost?”
―You can find out by using the free draw!
“Is it once per party?”
―No. It’s once per person. Is the explanation insufficient?

Feeling incredulous, I chimed in from the side.
“It’s not that the explanation is insufficient—it’s completely missing.”
Schrödinger scratched the machine with its claws.
The metal was easily scratched, and text appeared in front of the sentence.

Per Person: 1 Free Daily Draw.

―The explanation has appeared!
So it has.

“I guess we have no choice but to try it. I’ll go first.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
Do Yugeon, with a determined expression, slammed the button.
“Something good!”
The machine glowed, and a small square fell from the empty space slightly above it.

[F-Grade Armor Fragment—No. 1]

Fragment?
Number 1 fragment?

―Collect them to get an item!

I was speechless.