Machinery

「Is this a safe area, perhaps?」

「It seems that way, doesn’t it?」

The 20th floor was a somewhat spacious, large cavernous area.

There’s something deeper inside.

There are stairs leading underground and… a mysterious door, with a switch in front of it.

And in front of that is a treasure chest.

「Is this a reward for reaching here?」

Tsumugi opened the treasure chest, her eyes sparkling.

Inside was…『The Foundation of Something』, perhaps?

Well… it also seems to contain some equipment.

The names are Machinery Kit and The Foundation of Something.

「Could these be new creation tools and materials?」

「It would seem so.」

「There’s blacksmithing, crafting, and shipbuilding too, so I figured something like this might exist, but…」

I never expected to end up operating machinery here.

Wasn’t this game’s genre fantasy?

Well, many games do have sci-fi equipment appear as remnants of ancient civilizations.

Like mechanical swords or gunblades.

「The drill was unlocked, but there was a limited way to obtain it. Can we make it here too, I wonder?」

Ah, it did become available over there too, didn’t it?

So these items are materials for making tools like drills, huh.

It seems creation elements are being added as much as possible to prevent boredom.

Well, unlike regular games where you can just quit when you get bored, not being able to do that in this game is a drawback.

There’s also the possibility of rivaling and vying for resources, so having a crafting branch would be enjoyable in its own way.

Now, among my acquaintances, the one skilled at this kind of crafting would be Romina, I suppose?

「Nn.」

For some reason, Sheryl raised her hand.

「What is it?」

「Machinery.」

「You want to learn it?」

Sheryl is a shipwright.

Well, modern ships do have machinery incorporated into their operation.

There were things like compasses and ballistae installed on ships.

So it may tie into shipbuilding after all.

「Got it. I’ll leave it to you.」

「Yeah.」

「Still, you should consult with Romina on it. The materials might be used for things other than just drills, like machine swords and various other weapons.」

「The materials could be used for future weapons too.」

Images of Shouko swinging a fan with a saw attached, and Tsumugi swinging a scythe-like weapon with a chainsaw-esque attachment, flash through my mind.

…Quite formidable-looking.

It has a bit of a steampunk vibe to it though.

「Aren’t you imagining something ominous?」

「These could be necessary elements for future weapons.」

「I’d prefer to fight with a classic, old-fashioned fan if possible.」

All we can do is pray that there are developers who prefer that style too.

Well, in most games, branching jobs… or derived weapon lines in this game’s case…

In many games, the previous weapons and skill lines are still powerful, or rather, simpler and easier to use.

「It’d be nice to get strong weapons.」

「That said, the door is our focus now.」

After checking the treasure chest, we turned our attention to the door.

We tried touching the door to open it, but it wouldn’t open.

Pressing the switch in front of it also had no effect.

「Maybe there’s some condition we haven’t met yet?」

「Here.」

Sheryl discovered a control panel under the switch.

It seems to be broken, so from a game perspective, it probably needs repairing.

「Ah, so the Machinery is essential, huh?」

There’s an obvious, easy hint rolling around.

It’s trying to get players to learn the skill, I guess.

「Let’s play.」

Using the tools Sheryl handed over, she attempts the repairs.

Hmm… at a glance, it seems simplified, with actions like tightening screws and soldering.

There are things like wrenches and spanners included in the equipment, at least.

「No…」

「Failed?」

「Yeah.」

Well, I suppose it’s understandable that it can’t be done immediately after just obtaining the tools.

Her proficiency and skill level must be too low.

「For now, let’s proceed while hoping Sheryl’s skill level rises.」

「I wonder what lies ahead?」

「Who knows…」

After that, we proceeded until the 25th floor below, but our supplies were running low from the onslaught of monsters, so we retreated.

Having Tsumugi with us allowed us to advance about twice as far as last time, which is quite an achievement.

The energy was tasty too.

「It’s a bit tough, Onii-chan. The experience points here are delicious, I think it’s better to raise your levels. Or rather, it’s quite taxing having to protect you all while fighting here.」

「Would it be easier fighting solo?」

「To be honest, there was an option for single player among the entries I saw before entering, so I’ll try going that way.」

「Understood.」

Shouko can fight without sustaining much damage, which is good… but the enemies’ attacks are really hurting me a lot.

Still, single player, huh…

These kinds of instant dungeons usually increase the enemy stats as more people join, right?

And then there’s an easier version for solo players.

Well, it’s more inconvenient than the party-oriented ones in various ways.

「So Onii-chan can get stronger without fighting, huh?」

「But you won’t gain proficiency without fighting, will you?」

「From an efficiency standpoint, it might be better for us to withdraw after getting a bit stronger, Shouko-san.」

「That’s true, but…」

「The monsters do seem to have patterns in their movements, so it might be good to study them first. My intuition says leveling up from around 5 to 7 should make things considerably easier.」

Even if Tsumugi is the one saying it, I wonder how much energy a spirit like me would need to accumulate?

「Ah, I also found out that past the 20th floor, the fuel for the return lantern decreases each time you descend the stairs, and eventually you’re forced to return.」

「There’s even an element like that…」

Is it to prevent rushing straight through to complete the exploration?

It does seem possible to remain on specific floors, defeat monsters, and grind.

We’ll probably need to study that system aspect too.

「With Sheryl’s machinery skills improving, there’s also the possibility of new weapons. How about updating our equipment with good items gathered from the dungeon? It might be better to challenge it after getting new equipment.」

「Well, I think Onii-chan can just wait around fishing while we do that. In exchange, I’ll have to ask you to procure recovery items and such.」

「OK. I’ll also incorporate things like cultivation into that.」

And so, Shouko and Tsumugi each entered the solo dungeon.

The end result was that the content was quite similar, with the same monsters appearing up to the 20th floor, but slightly easier to fight.

However, the items obtained were of a somewhat lower rank.

Inside the dungeon, it seems an island-exclusive material called Miraka Ore can be obtained.

If you enter with a party, a higher purity version called Miraka Crystal can also drop.

Solo players only get Miraka Ore.

Also, Peckles and the Foundations can still be found, at least.

And so, we had Shouko and Tsumugi proceed with exploring the dungeon, with the possibility of entering in a party depending on the situation.

As for me, I was procuring recovery items and fishing during that time.

Waiting for Sheryl’s skills to improve.

Since the exploration was quite troublesome, I was waiting for the Santa Hat Peckle to come so I could ask if there was anyone else I could call, but it didn’t respond.

What are the conditions?

Eventually, a large quantity of Foundations was delivered to Sheryl, and for the past few days, Sheryl has been tinkering with them nonstop.

She had been creating things after bringing various materials from the workshop and the island’s warehouse, but… I was surprised when a light bulb was hanging in the room.

Sheryl had installed light bulbs in the houses and turned them on.

The island became somewhat brighter… or rather, not really.

There were already lights from before, just system-generated ones.

But it does seem like her skills have improved considerably.

「Sheryl-kun has made materials for new weapons using the machinery. Here they are.」

What Romina and Sheryl showed me were probably materials made from the Machinery…

Prototype Motor.

Apparently, by processing this along with existing materials, machine-like objects can be created.

「For simple things, we should be able to make a drill. Sharpen the tip, attach the motor to the base, and hammer it in to complete it.」

Saying that, Romina created something called a Prototype Iron Drill for me.

It seems to have more output than the drill from the Pioneer’s Seven Tools.

When I gripped the handle and put some force into it, it spun with a powerful Gyuiiiiin! sound, rotating much stronger than the Seven Tools’s Drill.

Quite a superior piece of equipment, it seems.