Chapter 269

　　Defense Specialization and Going Together

　　“Now…I wonder if there’s any new information . ”

　　Izu decided to head out and see if there was any new information since she expected most of the town exploration would have ended by now .

　　She had mainly just shut herself up in the workshop in order to create new items, so it had been a long time since she last went outside for a reason other than acquiring materials .

　　“Uhhh…information on monsters…”

　　When Izu checked the information about tamable monsters, she saw that there was a great variety of them . Among the monsters that were easy to tame, the strong ones could often be seen walking around town with their master .

　　“Even the ones that aren’t rare monsters are quite strong . I’m sure Sally is checking this out too…as for monsters that can help with production…”

　　As she continued to look, she found a monster that had been discovered recently . The requirement for starting the quest was producing a certain amount of a new item . It had been recently discovered by a player who was like Izu, and had shut themselves up in their workshop all of this time .

　　It was suggested that clearing the quest would get you a fairy, but as no one had completed it yet, no one knew what kind of abilities it would have .

　　“Yes, this is good! I’ll choose this one . ”

　　And so Izu excitedly made her way to the house where she could accept the quest . There was a large chimney on the top and a row of barrels next to the house that looked like they were stuffed with materials . From what Izu could see through the window, the interior was filled with familiar crafting tools .

　　“This is the place . If I’m not wrong, fulfilling the requirements should mean the quest…yes!”

　　As Izu stood in front of the door, a blue panel was displayed in front of her, and the quest appeared .

　　“‘The Three Trials . ’ It seems pretty hard…”

　　Izu accepted the quest and entered the house . And there in front of her was an old man with a very long, white beard . The house was littered with old tools as if they were proof that the owner had dedicated his entire life to crafting . As Izu looked around the room, the old man started to talk to her .

　　“Since you came here, you must want to borrow the power of fairies . Hmm…well, it seems you have a reasonable amount of skill . Wait here one moment . ”

　　The old man took out a single sheet of paper from his desk and handed it to Izu .

　　There were three item names written on it .

　　“Fairies do as they please . If you can get them to help you, you will be able to create something quite wonderful…but you must be a worthy master first . ”

　　In other words, she had to prove that her abilities were worthy of the fairy . And so she would have to make these items .

　　“This…yes . Alright then . ”

　　Izu decided . She would finish making all three of these items before she next visited this house . And so she left .

　　She had never made any of these items before . While the recipe was on the paper, the items she needed would have to be made by combining other items . And she knew that she would have to be patient as she worked .

　　“The crafting is fine, but…this is going be hard . ”

　　There were many items that she needed that came from monsters that looked quite strong . It would be hard for Izu to face them on her own .

　　“I might have to ask someone for help . ”

　　She checked which guild members were currently logged in . Then she noticed that Maple and Mi were in the town square while on their way back to the guild home . Then they also noticed that Izu was there, and Maple started waving at her .

　　“h.e.l.lo, Maple . How are things? Is the exploration going well?”

　　“Yes! Mi invited me to go leveling with her today . ”

　　“Oh, I see . Then I can’t ask you today…”

　　Maple tilted her head to the side and asked her what had happened . And so Izu told her about the quest that she had just accepted .

　　Maple looked like she wanted to help her, but the promise she made with Mi was also important .

　　Mi listened to all of this from the side and put a hand to her mouth as if she were deep in thought . Once Izu was finished talking about the quest, Mi entered the conversation .

　　“I see . Then how about this? I’ll go too . So it will be all three of us . I was planning on leveling up today anyway . And you’re going to a pretty harsh area, right? In that case, it should be pretty promising for leveling up . ”

　　“Are you sure? Mi?”

　　Maple asked . And Mi winked so that only Maple could see her .

　　“Of course . Besides, hehehe… It will allow me to witness the abilities of my rivals . ”

　　And she really did feel that way . But she also wanted to help them and play together .

　　“If that’s the case, will you please help me? Of course, I’ll do everything to support you . ”

　　“Yeah, I don’t mind . ”

　　“Alright, then . Let’s go! Let’s go!”

　　Like that, Izu took the lead, and Maple and Mi followed her . They decided to make their first destination the volcanic mountain, as they had rarely gone there and had few materials .

　　“It’s pretty far… Should I use ‘Savagery’? Or do you want to ride Syrup?”

　　“It will take up a lot of time if we have to fight on the way…yes, it might be best to ride on Syrup . ”

　　As the two talked about this, Mi made a suggestion .

　　“I have a better way . Hehehe… Maple, don’t a.s.sume that you’re the only one who can fly in the air . ‘Awakening’!”

　　Mi said . And then her ring began to glow red, and then a bird with orange feathers and a long tail landed on her arm . Red flames flickered at the ends of its wings, and it was obvious that this was no ordinary bird you might see in the forest .

　　“Ohh!! So that’s your buddy, Mi! Ah, so that’s what you wanted to show me today . ”

　　“I see…is it…a phoenix?”

　　Maple kept shouting excitedly about how cool it looked . Mi looked rather smug as she made her buddy enlarge .

　　“Ignis, ‘Enlarge’!”

　　As she said this, the bird that she called Ignis blew up into such a size that all three of them could ride on its back .

　　“We’ll arrive in no time like this . Now, let’s go!”

　　Mi said . And then she helped Maple up, as she looked like she was struggling . As Maple got up onto its back, she whispered to Mi .

　　“You sure are excited . ”

　　“Oh . I-I couldn’t wait to show it to you! What do you think?”

　　“Yes, it’s so cool!”

　　Upon hearing this, Mi laughed with satisfaction . As they talked, Izu also climbed up, and then with all three of them on top, Ignis flew off in the direction of the volcanic mountain .