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Chapter 31: Mari-ane and New Partner

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A few days have passed since then, and the event is already coming tomorrow. 

I raised my level, went to the church, passed time with Esther-san and the children, and would at times be kidnapped by Vanessa-san. 

…For the last one, seriously, please spare me. 

I logged in to MWO right at 9 p.m. in real life in order to fulfill a certain promise. I had come to the Plain of Beginnings that is at the west of the city of Eden. 

That promise is in order to confirm a certain result. 

There were 3 people waiting at that reunion spot. 

“Hello. Sorry for the wait.” (Mari)

“Hello there, Maria-san. It is okay, we simply looked forward to it so much that we came too soon.” 

Roulette-san with her swirly glasses that have already become her trademark within me answered me with her stable and gentle voice. 

“Hi, Maria-chan. It is as Roulette-chan says. Honestly speaking, it has been a while since I have been in so much of a daze while crafting!” 

Kanna-san has a total female appearance with a dandy veteran voice actor coming out from his mouth. The gap between his voice and appearance is intense. 

I know that he specializes in woodworking, but I wouldn’t be surprised if his real life occupation is voice actor. 

“More importantly, let’s test it out already. I still have a lot of things I gotta do before the event.” 

Mareus-san is saying this with his usual curt attitude, but he is the one who is the most fidgety here.

It would be a pain to point it out…well, not really, but I feel like it would get to his head too much and would try to deny it, so I didn’t say it out loud. 

Hm? There wasn’t much point in my correction there? It is okay, I am simply thinking here. 

“If you are that impatient, you will be hated by the adventurer guild receptionist, Marcia-chan, you know?” (Kanna)

Even though I kept it in my thoughts… Kanna-san, you…

“You… And what about it?! No, in the first place, it is not like that!” (Mareus)

The one who stopped this predictable flow of events was Roulette-san.

“Okay oka~y, leave it be. I will bring it out now, okay?” (Roulette)

Hearing this, the 2 turned silent.

I also waited for that moment with bated breath.

“Then, here I go~.” (Roulette)

Right after Roulette-san’s finger moved slightly, a polar bear of around 3 meters in size appeared before us. 

“Wow, a polar bear I have only seen in videos is right in front of me!” (Mari)

“I am the one who created the skeleton, so I was expecting it to be big, but this is more than I imagined.” (Kanna)

“Yeah, and this realism… Roulette, just how much time did you take on this?” (Mareus)

“I used most of my log in days in this little one.” (Roulette)

“That’s incredible. Then, does that mean you didn’t take any requests from players at that time? The people of the Sewing Union must be weeping.” (Mareus)

“It doesn’t matter. The requests that only I can deal with come mostly from troublesome people anyways.” (Roulette)

“Well, that’s true… So, Maria, the most important part in all of this are your preparations. I hope it went well.” (Mareus)

“Yes, I learned it properly. I didn’t know that, aside from a ‘dead skill’ and ‘useless skill’, it also meant that it is ‘a skill you learn while dying’.” (Mari)

The skill that I learned in the name of training. 

It is Ride.

To learn it, you need to perfectly ride a horse that a resident designates to you for a set period of time, but it is quite the rampaging horse, and I was thrown off countless times. 

Moreover, my HP decreased each time I fell, and if you fall badly, there’s the admirable setting of instant killing you. 

I stopped counting after my deaths went over the 2 digits. 

Thanks to that, the durability of my equipment lowered, and I ended up having Roulette-san fix it countless times, but by the time I noticed that it would have been better to just change it to a beginner set, I had already learned the skill. 

The Ride skill that allows you to ride things has all of those displeasing emotions bottled up in it. 

But because things you can ride don’t exist at present, it is called a ‘dead skill’ or at best a ‘dream skill’. 

What I proposed when I learned about the existence of this was: ‘If something to ride doesn’t exist, just create it’.

And so, the result of the interest and motivation of the 3 heads of the Crafting Alliance was this polar bear. 

As for why a polar bear, it is because it is strong and cute. 

Also, what settled it was probably how someone in yoga had told me about how she saw a movie about a girl riding a polar bear. 

A panda was also a candidate, but since it diverged heavily from the image of everyone when it comes to running fast, that idea was abandoned. What a shame. 

“Then, I will try moving it, okay?” (Mari)

I extend a Faith String and activate Companion Puppet. 

[Not enough strength in the connection to link with the target.]

Eh? 

The polar bear is not moving an inch. 

It says there’s not enough strength in the connection, but what’s this connection strength?! 

The person who created these notices really lacks explanations as always! 

Fuuh…let’s calm down. If there’s not enough, just increase it and we can manage somehow. 

Now that I think about it carefully, it is completely different in size from Nero, so it wouldn’t be strange to require a string of that degree to control a big one like this. 

This time I tested it out with 2 strings, but the result was the same. 

I increased the number of strings even more, but even though I brought out the highest number I can bring out, 5, there were still no signs of it moving. 

The notice is still telling me the same. 

What to do…

This is bad. I am getting impatient here. 

The other 3 also noticed that something was strange with my state and changed their expressions dubiously.

If at the end of all the hard work, the end is that ‘I couldn’t move it!’ I wouldn’t be able to apologize no matter how much I try!! 

I searched for something that might solve it, and when I finally found it, I was secretly moved. 

[Coiled Faith]: Several strings coiled about. Intensifies the connection strength to the target. The more strings put together, the stronger the connection strength. The connection strength is proportional to the skill level. 

This is it! 

I think I saw it when I did the class change, but I got distracted by Nero who began moving even more smoothly and forgot about it. 

You have obtained [Coiled Faith].

I didn’t even need to confirm how many points I needed to obtain it! Get it, get it!

I used all 5 strings and, once again, activated Faith String and Companion Puppet…and it finally moved!! 

Light came onto its green eyes, and after its big body trembled once…

“Guoooooh!” 

It let out a roar that shook the surroundings. 

The 3 were surprised.

I was also surprised. 

The Horn Rabbit that was eating grass nearby was also surprised. On top of that, the Horn Rabbit got so surprised it began foaming from the mouth. 

“I was surprised when I saw Nero-chan too, but this is incredible. It is as if it is alive.” (Kanna)

“Yeah. I am so moved, I feel like I am going to go crazy.” (Roulette)

I completely agree with the opinion of Kanna-san and Roulette-san. 

Maybe because their skill level increased, the expression ‘it is as if it is alive’ is not enough to describe this. 

Because of the skills of the 3 people themselves as well, it is already on the level where you could even say ‘it is alive’.

“…”

And here I was wondering why it was so strangely quiet. Mareus-san is dumbfounded here. 

A tear slowly dropped from his eye. 

Eh? Is he crying? 

“Wa, I am not crying!” (Mareus)

“I didn’t say anything. No need to self-destruct.” (Mari)

Mareus-san isn’t honest, but he might actually be an emotional guy. 

“Leave Mareus be. Maria-san try getting on it quickly.” (Roulette)

I nodded to Roulette-san who was unusually restless. 

I told it my will through the string, and it lowered its big body, making a posture that is easy to get on. 

I get close to it and climb onto its fluffy back. 

When I sat down, it stood up as if it awaited that, and my vision went up in one go. 

“Uwa!” (Mari)

The thing that I didn’t even imagine possible has actually become true!! 

After enjoying the fresh view, I told it to run, and it once again roared as it began to run through the plains.

(Maria: Marionettist. Lv.16→Lv20) 

STR: 1

VIT: 4→5

AGI: 6→8

DEX: 67→80

INT: 4→5

MID: 18→23

(Skill: Skill Points +19→+24)

[Faith String]: Lv15→Lv18

[Companion Puppet]: Lv7→Lv10

[Clown]: Lv10→Lv13

[Coiled Faith]: Lv1

[Capture]: Lv5→Lv7

[Cooking] Lv10 → [Cooking (Intermediate)] Lv1→Lv2

[Preliminary Arrangements]: Lv6→[Preliminary Arrangements(Intermediate)] Lv1

[Acceleration]: Lv6→Lv8

[Night Vision]: Lv3→Lv5

[Meditation]: Lv4→Lv8

[Vision Enhancement]: Lv2→Lv5

[Hearing Enhancement]: Lv3→Lv5

[Ride]: Lv1

(Companion Puppet Target) 

Nero (Cat Plushie)

?? (Polar Bear Plushie)

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