Mebius World Online – Mari’s VRMMO Diary, Embarking on a Laid-back Adventure as a Novice - Chapter 61
Sorry for the late update, the ISP is f-ed up.
61. Mari-nee and how to exchange the special awards and points
Upon being led into the shop and to a private room in the back, Roulette-san, Mareus-san, and Kanna-san were already seated, waiting.
“…Long time no see.”
“Oh? Hey, what’s with you? You look exhausted all of a sudden.”
Mareus-san’s casual remark irritated me, and I unintentionally pursed my lips.
“Well, I do get tired. You know what? Graham-san who came to pick me up and the townspeople are acting strange. I understand they’re worried, but…”
“It’s all for your sake, Maria-chan. I’ll explain everything in detail, so please, take a seat.”
When Kanna-san instructed me to sit next to Roulette-san, she seemed to be lost in thought about where to begin.
“…Alright. Do you want to hear the slightly bad news first or the really bad news?”
“So there’s confirmed bad news… then please start with the slightly bad news.”
Some mental preparation is necessary, after all.
“Understood. Some players are targeting you, Maria-chan. There are two slightly bad reasons and two really bad reasons for why they’re targeting you, making a total of four.”
“Four!?”
“Yeah, there’s been a huge surge in players wanting to get close to Maria-chan, who’s become famous from events. You’ve probably been bombarded with notifications of that sort, right?”
“Yes. Honestly, I was too scared to open them, so I just ignored them.”
“Wise decision. I’ll teach you how to block notifications from anyone but your friends later, so please rest assured. These people just want to be friends, so the chances of them forcibly contacting you are low. So that’s a relatively better situation.”
Oh, that kind of setting exist?
And if that can be done, then I won’t have to remember the notifications I ignored, so that’s very helpful.
But, Kanna-san…
There’s one thing I want to say.
The first reason is already not okay for me, you know?
“The second reason is about the Cougar. Since news of a new mount has come out, the bulletin board is in an uproar. As a result, there are quite a few people who want to ask Maria-chan about how to obtain it.”
“Cougar isn’t a mount though…”
“Of course, the three of us who have been involved with Maria-chan know that, right? We’re something like your important family. But from an outsider’s perspective, they wouldn’t know. Especially those who are particularly obsessed with knight or hunter jobs. Knights are associated with horseback riding, and hunters with dragon riders, stuff like that.”
I understand that it looks cool as an illustration, and I understand the allure, but since it’s sustained by the ‘Jobs’, honestly, I think it’s hopeless with other jobs.
“In response to this, there’s also a part of our role, so if we post information on the bulletin board, it should calm down eventually. However, when we do, I want to disclose that it’s due to Maria-chan’s job skills. Would that be okay with you?”
“If it brings back peace, then I don’t mind at all.”
“Thank you… but whether peace will return is a bit uncertain.”
“Huh?”
“The third one is related to the jerky you made, Maria-chan. At first, we tried to keep it under wraps, but we ended up spreading it. And it’s become a festival for two reasons: the taste and the high cooking buff. The taste is undeniable, so there’s nothing we can do about that, but especially the latter is problematic. AGI also affects movement speed, so everyone can easily feel the benefits. The few remaining pieces of jerky now have a premium attached to them and are selling for outrageous prices.”
When I heard the amount, I was so shocked that I almost fell backward in my chair.
If Roulette-san hadn’t supported me, I might have hit my head on the floor and lost consciousness.
Oh, but considering how the bad news is escalating, maybe it would have been better to lose consciousness before hearing the last fourth one.
“Well, it’s like a bubble, so there’s nothing we can do about it. We’ll do our best to cover as much as possible, but please keep the situation in mind.”
“…I understand. So, what’s the fourth one?”
I was already halfway resigned and asking for it myself.
I can’t imagine anything worse, and I don’t even want to imagine.
“The fourth one is that you’re being targeted by PK.”
“PK?”
“It stands for Player Killer. To put it simply, they’re people who enjoy killing others in the game.”
“Killing!?”
What’s that? It’s too scary.
Wait, why am I being targeted???
As I reached the peak of confusion, Roulette-san gently took my hand, as if to reassure me.
“It’s okay. In the city, Graham-san and the townspeople are cooperating to secretly watch over you, and outside the city, I’ll protect you.”
With Roulette-san here… there’s nothing more reassuring than that.
…But you know?
I have to say, secretly watching over me? I’m not sure about that.
They’re not even trying to hide it, and they’re acting suspiciously!!
“…But why am I being targeted by those PK people?”
“There are always a certain number of people who enjoy PKing in any game. And those kinds of people often have a mindset of wanting to defeat famous players to become famous themselves.”
“What a pain…”
My true feelings slipped out involuntarily.
“Well, not all aspects of PKing are necessarily bad as a game element, you know? It can make player interactions more dynamic and lead to people finding their roles. Like those who kill PKK, the player killers. But if it goes too far, newcomers might not stick around, so it’s tricky to strike a balance.”
Hmm, it’s all unfamiliar stories for me.
Anyway, I promised to always inform Roulette-san when going outside the city, and if she’s not around, try to inform Graham-san.
I felt drained even more than before I came here…
Seriously, how far away did my peace run off to? I can’t even see its back anymore.
“Hey, let’s cut the explanations and get to the point already,” Mareus-san leaned forward impatiently as if saying he couldn’t wait any longer.
“Yeah, let’s stop with the depressing talk. Now, let’s move on to what you’ve all been waiting for – opening the special rewards for clearing the event!”
Special rewards… Oh, right, if you rank in the top 10, you get special rewards.
I completely forgot about that, I really can’t say anything.
“The rewards are attached to the email notification from the management, so Maria-chan, it’s a good idea to block everyone except friends before checking. By the way, management emails won’t be blocked, so don’t worry.”
As expected of Kanna-san, she really understands my concerns.
I followed the instructions she gave me to change the settings, and the numerous notifications disappeared, replaced by a few remaining ones.
Among them, there was one notification with the header “First Official Event Clear Reward”.
“Alright, let’s open them all at once. Three, two, one!”
I opened the notifications in sync with Kanna-san’s countdown.
“I’ve obtained the [Cursed Divine Soul of Calamity].”
What appeared in my hand was a round object resembling a black crystal that didn’t let light through.
I decided to read the explanation for now.
[Cursed Divine Soul of Calamity]
<An object formed from the condensed grudges of those who became the core of Nemesis.
It’s an extremely rare material with immense power, but it chooses its wielder very carefully, and mishandling it can bring calamity upon its owner.>
…Huh? This isn’t cursed?
Thinking it might be some sort of punishment disguised as a special reward, I looked around. Kanna-san seemed to have received a coat resembling Nemesis’s wings and was already changing into it, looking excited.
Roulette-san got a crown made of roses, similar to the one Nemesis wore.
Mareus-san, though, seemed to have received something like a shield, but it looked like the scales that covered Nemesis’s lower body? He had a slightly unpleasant expression on his face.
When I asked about the performance of the equipment, unsurprisingly, being special rewards, they all had exceptional abilities.
It was nice to have tangible rewards like this.
Except for me.
By the way, the three of them, after reading the explanation for the [Cursed Divine Soul of Calamity], all had ambiguous expressions.
…It’s fine. I didn’t work hard for rewards anyway.
“W-well, let’s pull ourselves together and proceed to point exchange!”
Taking the initiative, Kanna-san tried to change the atmosphere.
“Y-yeah, with this many points, we can choose whatever we want, right?”
“That’s right. Maria-san probably has no items she can’t exchange for.”
Thanks, everyone’s kindness really touches my heart.
With a tearful smile, I opened the point exchange screen.
There were items and skills I had never seen before lined up.
After silently browsing for a while, my eyes stopped on a certain item.
“Oh, there’s a portable production kit. This seems convenient as it allows production anywhere. It costs 200,000 points.”
“Let’s see… the portable production kit is subdivided into categories like forging, woodworking, tailoring, and cooking. This is essential for production-oriented players.”
“Yeah, I totally agree. It seems like a necessity for us to produce properly.”
“I agree. Let’s all exchange for this. Anything else useful for everyone?”
“For us, it’s either materials for production or skills… Hey, Roulette, Kanna.”
“We know even without you saying it.”
“We have a feeling this might be for this purpose. Plus, it seems versatile and useful. I’m in favor of it.”
“What about you? If it’s better for me to take it, I will.”
“Oh, I see. This is something we need, the three of us, so don’t worry about it.”
Mareus-san’s words were echoed by Roulette-san and Kanna-san.
It felt like I was being left out, but if they said not to worry about it, then I guess there’s no helping it.
I decided to check out the skills rather than the items for now.
Among the job-specific skills, common skills, and production skills, two caught my eye.
?Dual Wielding? :
Allows the user to wield different weapons in each hand. Equipment attributes do not overlap and are granted separately.
?Moira’s Thread of Blessing? :
By bestowing invisible and inviolable threads from the heavens onto a target, this skill enables the target to act of its own free will. However, while under the influence of Moira’s Thread of Blessing, the target cannot use magic or combat-related skills. When using this skill, the maximum MP of the user decreases, and the ability to turn it on or off is at the user’s discretion. As the skill level increases, the reduction in maximum MP is mitigated.
If I have the Dual Wielding skill, I can have threads of different natures in each hand, like the sticky thread of the Great Spider in my left hand and the magical silver thread in my right, right? That would broaden the scope of battle, and having equipment attributes granted separately is quite beneficial, I think.
As for the Moira’s Thread of Blessing, it would allow Nero and Cougar to move freely without the constraints of the threads, right? It’s almost like they’re truly alive. It might not be suitable for combat, but compared to that, the freedom of movement for those two is more important.
They each cost 150,000.
I exchanged them with a click.
Together with the portable production kit, that makes it 500,000.
With 500,000 left, what should I use it for… Huh?
As I looked through the items again, I found one that required a significantly high number of points for exchange.
Its name was Dragon Thread.
It sounds like something the ancient people would like.
The exchange points needed for it were a whopping 400,000.
I quickly skimmed through the explanation, and the effect seemed amazing.
There was nothing else that attracted me more than this, so… Let’s go for it!
I exchanged it with a click.
Now I had 100,000 left, but I had no regrets.
Satisfied with the excellent items I exchanged for, I used the remaining 100,000 mainly on cooking ingredients.
By the time I had used up all my points, it seemed that Roulette-san and the others had finished their exchanges too.
And so, we thoroughly enjoyed the rewards for clearing the event.
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(Maria: Marionettis Level 20)
Stats:
-
- STR: 1
- VIT: 5
- AGI: 8
- DEX: 80
- INT: 5
- MID: 23
Karma (Capital City): 100,000
Skills (Skill Points +24):
- ?Thread Manipulation? Level 20
- ?Manipulator? Level 14
- ?Clown? Level 18
- ?Bundled Manipulation? Level 5
- ?Moira’s Thread of Blessing? Level 1
- ?Capture? Level 7
- ?Cooking (Intermediate)? Level 2
- ?Preparation (Intermediate)? Level 1
- ?Acceleration? Level 8
- ?Dark Vision? Level 6
- ?Meditation? Level 8
- ?Visual Enhancement? Level 6
- ?Auditory Enhancement? Level 7
- ?Ride? Level 7
- ?Dual Wielding? Level 1
Puppet Targets:
- Nero (Cat Plushie)
- Cougar (Polar Bear Plushie)
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Wait- what is this karma value!?