“That said... We might be headed for an event where we’ll lose contact for a bit.”
“Oh? You got a lead?”
“We’re on alert,” Therese chimed in. “There’s no telling when it’ll happen, so we’re keeping our distance. Wouldn’t want to be a bother.”
“Yeah, something like that. But I think it’ll be more fun with you, little lady, so we might invite you too.”
“You don’t have to...”
“There’s manners among friends. Anyway, if nothing happens, we’ll come hang out, okay?”
“See you later, Kizzy.”
By the sound of it, L’Arc had a lead on a nice quest.
“Well’n, it’s time to claim some bonus rewards.”
“I’m sure you’re set to get another Energy Blade Expansion, milord.”
Hey, Yamikage! Don’t go jinxing it!
“Here’s praying it doesn’t happen! And... Reward Check!”
The wheels on the slot spun round and round. The fishing rod and fish icons are all I need! Now what will it be? And whatever it is...I need a hit!
“Pennn!”
From out of nowhere, a Pekkle appeared on one of the reels and pennn’d it to a stop.
No! Not you!
One after another, I’d landed three Pekkles in a row.
Please say psych! Please bump down one slot! I screamed in my head. But...nothing happened. The result was locked in.
Acquired Pekkle House
To put it mildly...what the heck is this? What even is a Pekkle House?!
I went and checked the item that appeared in front of me.
A dollhouse? It seems to react to the Pekkle Pipe.
“Is that what you pulled, milord?”
“Yeah. Honestly, I don’t know what it’s supposed to be.”
It’s got to be a dud, I thought. But as it turned out, it was a special item.
The description said it was magic, at least. Untradable, undiscardable, and overall a pain.
Was this an item only the island lord could obtain?
“Then it works out nicely, I daresay. Here, milord.”
Yamikage handed over something called a Cost Reduction Adapter Energy Blade Attachment alongside the Energy Blade I’d entrusted her with.
“You...”
“That’s what I pulled, so I’m giving it to you as a present, I daresay.”
Just how far could an Energy Blade be upgraded?
I mean, the update clearly expanded the upgrade list.
And, with nothing else to do, I clicked the new attachment into place.
High-Density Enhanced Energy Blade Attachment V
Oh? The variable forms include a dismantling knife and a drill now. Is it more practical now that it’s evolved beyond a prototype?
Unfortunately, there was still no fishing rod.
The mileage you got out of invested Energy seemed a bit better too. I only ever used it at clutch moments, so I’d have to run some tests to confirm it.
“How was your reward, Kizuna?”
“What about you, Shouko?”
I knew it really didn’t matter, but this time I felt like hearing her results before sharing mine.
“I received something called Thread of Heaven’s Dew. It seems to be usable as fishing line, so I’m planning to put it on my rod.”
“Oooh! Awesome!”
Well color me jealous. You think she’ll give it to me? I sent her a hopeful look. How about a trade? Your thread, my Pekkle House. No, I know the system won’t let it happen, but still...
“Don’t beg her so blatantly, milord.”
“I apologize; it seems to be untradable. You can look at it, but I am the only one who can use it,” Shouko said.
Urgh... That just makes me want it more.
“Aww...”
“What did you get, Kizuna?”
“Some Pekkle House thing. I don’t really get it, but it looks like a dollhouse. It’s got equip slots like a mount, but...”
“I daresay, even if you want to test it out...how exactly do you use a dollhouse? I don’t really get it.”
I know, right?
Still, I set it on the ground, and it began to swell. Larger and larger—until we were left with a dome-shaped building unmistakably modeled after a Pekkle.
“A shelter. It must be a tent-type item,” Kanade calmly said as she eyed the expanded Pekkle House.
As for the door...it had a hole just the right size for a Pekkle Pipe.
Without a word, I slid the pipe in. And with a clunk, the door opened.
The inside was surprisingly spacious with furniture all themed around Pekkles.
“Ah ha ha! You’re becoming more and more of a Pekkle Master, bro! Pen-pen!”
“Shut it!”
“Is this to let us rest wherever we are? Having it might make camping easier.” Shouko nodded.
But I wasn’t so convinced. “Yeah, but...”
“It could be convenient for fishing too,” she insisted. “You could go inside and step out right to a fishing spot.”
Is she trying to say it’s good for night fishing? If you look at it that way, it’s not too bad. Especially in places where we can’t use a ship...
“First, we’ll have to see where we can actually use it.”
“You can’t use them in monster-heavy fields, you know. Tents,” Kanade informed me.
Of course, there were places where you could never know where a monster might spawn. That just left fishing spots and those odd safe areas where the monsters stayed away.
Regardless, everyone seemed to get something—some hits, some misses.
My big sister scored her second mount: a rideable dragon with apparently higher specs than her last one.
“Now then... I guess I ought to dismantle the Dimension Ganesha.”
“Sheryl did most of the work, so we should get a sizable share.”
“Uh-huh...”
“How about we use the materials for Sheryl?”
Sheryl shook her head at my question.
“Cover losses. I’ll hand over the drops later.”
As expected from the MVP—she even got some loot.
From Sheryl, I received Ganesha’s Longsword, Ganesha’s Japa Mala, and a throwing weapon called Vajra. The sword was straightforward enough, but I’d need to think about how we were going to use the beads and Vajra.
The beads boosted magic, so Yamikage was our best bet. As for the Vajra, no one in our group could use it, so I decided to have Romina process it into something else.
“So you want to compensate us for all the materials you used on the turrets? Even if we don’t make a weapon out of them, you could always use the materials to make ship parts, you know.”
“I know...”
On to the dismantling. The monster was massive, so I broke out the Hakugei no Tachi.
My skill rank was more than enough to handle it, and the blade sliced cleanly through.
The boss’s humanoid features gave me pause, but I managed to get through it without issue.
Most of the yield was tusk, bone, and hide. Brave Pekkle’s reacting to something. Once we’re done dividing up the drops, I’ll try giving him a few things.
“For now...let’s head back.”
With that, we left the still-debating players behind and took off.
That night, my sister treated us to a feast to celebrate our victory.