Lizetta looked around Roland''s workshop.


    (There are only two workers. That sword is class B. ......)


    Lizetta sighed and slumped her shoulders.


    (Mr. Roland. It really was a fake.)


    Aina was miffed at Lizetta''s attitude.


    (What is this girl? She''s so obviously disappointed. It''s disrespectful to Mr. Roland.)


    I''m sorry, Mr. Roland. Who is this girl? Do you know him?"


    Roddy asked.


    ''She''s an artificer at the Dragon''s Fires.


    What?　Dragon''s Fires, ......, is that the biggest company on this island?"


    Lizetta. What the hell are you doing here?　I thought we broke off our business with Dragon''s Fires?


    Mr. Roland, I am disappointed in you.


    Lizetta gives an exaggerated shrug.


    I was looking forward to working with you because I heard that you were an executive of the Golden Eagle, a major guild in the City of Adventurers. I can''t believe you lied to me."


    I''m not lying. I am, without a doubt, Roland, an executive of the Golden Eagle and an S-class appraiser.


    Then why are you making your silly creations in such a tired workshop?


    What do you mean? What kind of silly work is ......?"


    When Aina tried to attack her, Lisetta took out a silver knife.


    It was a gleaming, sharp, and well-made piece of art.


    "Oof!"


    Silver Knife


    Power: 50


    Durability: 50


    Weight: 10


    (Power and durability are about the same as sword C.) But considering its weight, it''s a tremendous status)


    Roland looks at the design of the knife.


    (So that intricate design helps to house a powerful spirit.)


    This is a knife I made the other day as a prototype," he said. You guys could make this?"


    d*mn."


    Aina says nothing and withdraws.


    This knife is still a prototype, but I (I) alone created it. This knife is the crystallization of my blood, sweat, tears, and soul, with all the skills I have cultivated up to this point! If two people can only make a B-class sword with two people working together, it''s no wonder people say it''s a piece of crap, isn''t it? Even that sword B is a mediocre work that is not in the realm of ready-made products. There are many people who can make something like this in the Fires of the Dragon, or even in alchemy guilds other than the Fires of the Dragon. A guild that can only produce something of this caliber will probably go out of business soon on this island, much less!　It is hard to believe that someone who is satisfied with this level of quality is an adventurer who leads a guild that has conquered three dungeons. Mr. Roland!"


    Lizetta looked accusingly at Roland.


    ''You said it yourself, didn''t you? You said you were going to slay the Giant Fire Dragon (Gran Fafnir). You said you wanted to work together with the "Dragon''s Fires" to kill the S-class monster. Is this what you are doing for this guild? Were those words a lie?"


    I don''t lie one bit," he said. I just changed my policy."


    Policy?


    Oh. At first, I was going to cooperate with you guys to defeat the "Giant Fire Dragon (Gran Fafnir)". But we decided not to. I will start my own alchemy guild, train alchemists who can maintain S-class weapons, and defeat the ''Giant Fire Dragon (Grand Fafnir).


    "Raise?"


    Yes," he said. Yes, we are going to raise them. It is true that our guild may not be as good as yours at the moment. But we will surpass your guild in size and quality.


    ...... I see."


    Lizetta''s shoulders slumped again.


    Roland''s answer never satisfied her.


    (Anyone can just say it with their mouth. (Anyone can say it, but it''s not enough to surpass the Dragon''s Fires from here. It would take tens or hundreds of years. I thought he was the one who would take me to another level.)


    Lizetta was discouraged, but decided to get back on track.


    She has far-reaching ambitions.


    She wants to surpass Raul, the absolute number one in the "Dragon''s Fiery Fire," and create a weapon to defeat the "Giant Fire Dragon (Gran Fafnir).


    She had no time to be discouraged.


    I understand your thoughts very well, Mr. Roland. I know we have taken different paths, but I will support you from the shadows so that your business will be successful. Good bye."


    Lizetta turns on her heel and heads for the exit.


    Wait for me," she said. Tell the head of the "Dragon''s Fires" guild. Tell him that he will regret refusing to cooperate with us.


    Lizetta giggled.


    ''Yes, that''s right. If you guys can make better equipment than I can, I''ll be happy to transfer to your guild. Well, please do your best.


    You don''t want to disappoint me too much.


    ?"


    Lizetta is a bit of a kook.


    [Lizetta''s skills


    Silversmithing: A to A


    Spirit addition": B to B


    (Silversmithing A" and "Spirit addition B". (Silversmithing A" and "Spirit addition B" are indeed an excellent and powerful skill combination. However, her "Spirit Addition" cannot be extended any further. I know a better silversmith.)


    You think you''re the best guild on the island and that you''re in the clear, but your methods leave room for error. You can''t fool my eyes. When you come to work in this workshop (atelier), you''d better hone your skills to the best of your ability so that you won''t be a liability.


    (Oh, my, he''s bullish. (Oh, how I hate people like that.)


    Lizetta felt her heart flutter a little.


    I''m so sorry," she said. That''s it. That''s great. I''m looking forward to it.


    Lisetta walks away with a smile on her face.


    While Lizetta was exhaling in her studio at the "Arsenal of Spirits" branch, a party was struggling against monsters in a dungeon on the island.


    The orcs are here, and so is Ptera the Winged Dragon!


    What are you doing? What are you doing, Erio? Build a wall, quickly.


    I know. d*mn. This armor is so heavy. ......


    Erio, a warrior with a large shield, runs awkwardly, but somehow manages to stand in front of the giant orc and protect the rear guard of his allies.


    The club of the giant orc strikes the shield, emitting a dull metallic sound.


    At the same time, the pterodactyl''s breath of fire scorches the skin of his armor.


    Ggh!"


    However, the shield is able to catch the attack, and the armor repels the flames.


    （The armor and shield are made of "dragon''s fiery fire," as expected. The durability is second to none. (But ......)


    Gosh, Cecil!　Give me some recovery magic."


    Good. Recovery magic."


    Cecil, a thief who can also use "recovery magic," casts a recovery spell, and the shieldman''s wounds are quickly healed.


    （The shieldman''s wounds healed in no time at all. We can hold out a little longer now.)


    Elio continued to be attacked by the enemy, and soon Jeff, the archer, secured an advantageous position, while Leon, the swordsman and leader of this party, flanked the enemy.


    Leon, the swordsman and leader of this party, flanked the enemy. Now!


    Fold it up!"


    The adventurers succeeded in repelling the monster.


    "Good. Somehow we managed to fight them off.


    Now all we have to do is get through here and we can reach the Metal Line.


    I''m going to go to the airport. I''ll get to ...... before dark."


    What''s up, Elio?


    Sorry. My arm strength seems to be a little low.


    Erio is carrying his shield heavily and frowning.


    Again."


    Leon said, unable to hide his disappointment.


    When you wear heavy equipment while your arm strength (power) is lowered, your body is overloaded and your endurance (toughness) is lowered.


    When endurance (toughness) goes down, the entire status goes down faster this time.


    Then, it is no longer possible to act properly in the dungeon.


    It can''t be helped. I''ll lend you a shoulder from here. Take your potions often and don''t be reckless.


    Leon said.


    ''Yeah,'' he said. I''m sorry.


    But what are we going to do? What will Erio do against the orcs with this?


    What? The Metal Line is just around the corner. Oh, I can see it now.


    Numerous exposed chunks of ore spread out in the group''s path.


    Large red, blue, and multicolored gems protruded from the surface of the earth like vegetables growing in a field on a brown rock face.


    They cheered and set about collecting them.


    This is a lot of stuff," they say.


    Yeah, we''ll be fine for a while if we can get this much.


    Take the ores in order of value. First, there are ''fire-absorbing ore'' and ''fire-repelling ore. Next are ''Windfults'' and ''Windrests.


    Once they sheathed their weapons, they took out their pickaxes and set about collecting the ore.


    They sheathed their weapons, took out their pickaxes, and set to work collecting the ore. That''s it. Let''s move out."


    The leader, Leon, gave the order to withdraw after a moderate amount of time.


    Each of us stopped our work and started to move out.


    "Ugh!"


    Elio?　What''s wrong?"


    ...... No." Item possession" is not triggered.


    When Elio puts the ore in his item bag, it sloshes around and falls out of the bag.


    Unlike large guilds such as the Golden Eagle and the Guardians of the Magical Tree, they are a small guild and cannot afford to hire an item handler, so each member must learn the low-ranked "item handler" and also take item possession of the resources they harvest.


    Erio had also acquired the skill "Item Holding C," but he could no longer even maintain item holding due to the exhaustion of his status.


    （He was so drained of stamina that he could no longer maintain his "Item Possession" skill. (d*mn!)


    I don''t have a choice. Elio, you don''t have to hold the ore. Just try not to deplete your status as much as possible and think about going down the mountain.


    U...... understand."


    Elio somehow makes his way down the mountain with his friends carrying him on their shoulders.


    Elio, are you okay?"


    Cecil, a thief (shifu), carries Elio on his shoulder and calls out to him.


    He said, "Yes, I am. I''m sorry. I''m sorry, I''m just not good enough.


    I don''t care. Don''t worry about it. Let''s just think about getting out of the dungeon.


    Yeah, okay.


    "...... is not good."


    Jeff, the archer, said.


    What''s up?"


    It''s those ''white wolves''."


    Jeff said as he stared at the end of the mountain road.


    His skill "farsightedness" allowed him to see farther than most people.


    They are coming this way. They''re going to try to fight us.


    What?　What''s the distance?"


    We''re almost there. We can''t escape!"


    In the meantime, a group of bandits (Thief) approached.


    "Tsk. It can''t be helped. Prepare for battle.


    Leon and his team flapped about, getting ready for battle.


    Erio, are you all right?　Can you stand alone?"


    Yeah, I''ll see what I can do.


    (Our guild doesn''t have the luxury of letting our people play around. (We can''t even move around much, but just standing there with our shields and armor on should be enough to call their bluff!)


    Elio stands in front of his friends and holds up his shield.


    In the meantime, the "White Wolves" were approaching.


    Leon spots a man with an eye patch among the "White Wolves.


    (Tsk. Jamil is here. This day is not going well for me.)


    Jamil appraises Elio''s status.


    Kukk. Hey, that shield-bearer is in a mess.


    You seem to be wearing equipment that doesn''t fit your stature."


    I can''t even move around with that thing. I''m going to use my agility to get the upper hand and take them out in one fell swoop.


    Jamil uses his quick movements to flank Erio, and knocks him down with a body slam.


    Ugh."


    After disabling the only shield-bearer in the guild, he then broke up the rear guard with a white hand-to-hand combat.


    The guild "Shield of Dawn" surrendered to "White Wolf" and handed over most of their ore to them.


    The guild "Shield of Dawn" surrendered to "White Wolf" and handed over most of their ore. We''re done with our quota for today."


    At the Dragon''s Fireside, Edgar, one of the quartet, had finished his work for the day and was getting ready to go home.


    Edgar?


    An?" What is it?"


    Mr. Erio from "Shield of Dawn" wants to talk to you about his equipment. Please respond."


    Tsk. That guy again?


    What do we do now?　Shall I have them leave for the day?"


    Oh," he said. "Oh, that''s okay. I''ll get it done in no time.


    Edgar stops preparing to leave and heads toward the customer service desk.


    Hey, Edgar. Can''t this armor be a little lighter?"


    Elio said pleadingly.


    ''I mean, you''re going all the way to the "Metal Line," right?


    Yeah, so ......"


    ''Then it''s not safe to lower our defenses any further. Wyverns and Fafnirs will also appear.


    No, that''s true, but ......


    So, I''m going to go down a bit in rank, but shall we go with Class C armor?"


    Edgar takes out a catalog.


    ''No, that won''t do. It won''t have enough defense. Even the White Wolves are after us.


    Then I guess we''ll just have to let him keep working in his current armor.


    No, but ......"


    I''m not sure I''m getting this, Erio. It''s after hours here, and I''m dealing with this. Or what is it?　You don''t like our equipment?　If you want, why don''t you go to another alchemy guild?"


    ......"


    Seeing Elio shush, Edgar grins and smiles wickedly.


    ''Well, let''s try a little harder with that equipment, shall we? What? I''m sure you''ll be fine, Erio. If you train your arm strength (power) and endurance (toughness), you can handle this much weight.


    As Elio walked out of "Dragon''s Fires," his friends who had been waiting outside came running up to him.


    How did it go?"


    No," he said. If you don''t like this armor, you have to lower your rank."


    I see.


    They ain''t responding to me at all. This place."


    I like the product, but... But the flexibility..."


    But we can''t keep doing what we''re doing.


    All four of them sighed in unison.


    Anyway, Elio had no choice but to raise his status.


    Good luck with that," he said. It''s up to you."


    Oh."


    (Huh. I wonder if there is an alchemy guild that can make more suitable equipment for me.)


    <>