“Error. The person you are trying to contact has either turned off their device or is in an area without reception.”
Seeing as Kanade was nowhere to be found, I sent her a chat and got an automated message in response.
“I can’t summon Brave Pekkle No. 2 anymore... To think my own sister, after all the consideration I showed her, would just forget her debts and skip town... Oh, the humanity!”
“That’s right! You’re awful, sis!”
I exchanged my complaints with Tsumugi as we were both faced with the fact that our sister wasn’t around when she was supposed to make breakfast.
It was a joke, of course. We both knew better.
“Umm...” hazarded Shouko, “I don’t think that’s the case.”
“Lady Kanade isn’t so shameless, I daresay.”
“Uh...huh?”
Since Sheryl had been holed up in the workshop the whole time, she didn’t know too much about my sister. Judging by her expression, she wasn’t quite sure how to react. Yeah, they’d exchanged greetings, but that was about it.
“They’re clearly not serious, so you don’t have to respond so seriously,” said Romina.
“Pretty much,” Tsumugi conceded.
With Kanade absent, the task of cooking breakfast had fallen to me.
Naturally, I grilled up some of the fish I’d caught the night before and served them along with a few sides that sis had prepared in advance.
“If we’re being real here,” I said, “I’d say she was probably summoned away like Alto. Probably by an old friend.”
Romina nodded. “I’d imagine so. She does have that missing leader, after all... I’d wager she’s the one who called her.”
“Ah, do you know her? L’Arc and Therese seemed to know her too.”
“Yeah, she’s a good person, I’d say. Pretty well-known—anyone well-connected would recognize her. As for L’Arc and Therese, I’d suspect Mr. Aultcray had a hand in that.”
It turned out Romina knew her too. Aside from Alto—who wasn’t around anymore—she was the only one among us with any reach.
“I’m sure you’ve at least heard her voice before, Kizuna.”
“Hmmm...”
“Come to think of it, she resembles you in certain ways.”
Who could that be? No one’s coming to mind.
But regardless, a few more people had gone off the radar, and I was sure they’d get in touch sooner or later. They were probably in some area scheduled to appear in a future update.
“On another note, Kizuna. That Unique Skill that was announced in last night’s broadcast—you’re the one who acquired it, right?”
“Yeah. A one-of-a-kind skill called Hunting Gear. It works a bit like this.”
I pulled out the orb and demonstrated a few moves.
“So you barely lose any time switching weapons, huh?” said Tsumugi. “Sounds like the right weapon for you, bro. Seeing how you’re always swapping.”
“Yes, she does have a point,” Shouko chimed in.
“The weapon transformation is similar to that giant catfish fan of yours, though,” said Romina.
“This one feels like it’s more specialized for transformation. Well, since it says it’s a beginner’s weapon, I figure it can be upgraded or replaced with something stronger. Could you take a look at it, Romina?”
I handed the Hunting Gear core to Romina for inspection. It was apparently impossible to trade it, but she could at least take a closer look at it.
“Hmm... I see. I didn’t know there were weapons out there with such unique gimmicks, though I suppose it’s a unique weapon for a reason. One of a kind, just for you.”
“Hey, they might release some downgraded version in a later update.”
“Don’t say that. Don’t even think it! What are you trying to do, spoil the romance?” Romina scolded me.
I guess it’s my fault for not playing along.
“I daresay, I’m a bit jealous.”
“How about we search for another one together? If we pick up all sorts of skills, we might stumble across another Unique Skill eventually.”
“The conditions will probably be pretty brutal. Only someone like my bro would spread himself thin over so many skills.”
“Indeed. I daresay, the game seems to reward versatility.”
I guess there’s a lot we have to consider.
Since the developers were selling the game as a complete Second Life, it made sense that stacking up various sorts of experiences would put you at an advantage.
“Oh? It looks like I can craft a new vessel for your Hunting Gear’s core.”
After looking into this and that, Romina seemed to figure something out.
“If you can make it, does that mean you can mass-produce them?”
If she could craft them, maybe we could hand them out to other players. But what exactly makes a skill unique? As the question flashed across my mind, Romina shook her head.
“No, according to the entry added to the help menu, I’ll only get the crafting option at the forge if the person with the corresponding skill puts in a request. Even then, the weapon that comes out of it can only be wielded by you.”
Darn...so even if someone else crafts it, the weapon type is still locked to me.
It wasn’t like I was aiming for something like crab armor where it flooded the market, but it would be way easier for me if I could just go out and buy a finished product without jumping through any hoops.
Compared to that, gathering the materials and having someone forge it would in all likelihood be quite the grind.
Hmm, yeah, I guess that’s the drawback of having a unique weapon.
“The crafting difficulty’s up there as well.”
“Pretty rough?”
“Hey, I’m not saying I’m against it. I’m grateful, even. This will let me rack up some smithing experience in spades. It’s just what I was hoping for.”
Oh...that’s good to know.
“At present...though they’re incredibly difficult to craft, the strongest hunting gears look like they’re made of materials from the Demon Lord’s Four Heavenly Kings. Looks like I’ll just barely be able to make it from the stuff you and Yamikage brought back. It’s a good thing you got the Aqua Jewel—that one’s the most important piece.”
“Didn’t Shouko win her invasion battle too?”
Sheryl’s stare turned blank at the mention of the invasion.
Hey, you did great in the wave battle! You don’t need to be like that. Come on, you can keep up that smug grin a little longer.