Defense Specialist

We reported to Alto about the events in the dungeon and checked Brave Peckle’s status together using the Peckle Counter.

「Brave Peckle that appeared when you all returned has a terrifying ability, for sure.」

「Indeed.」

Even at the acquired skill level 1, its overall stats are higher than other Peckles.

Unlike Santa Peckle who is a jack-of-all-trades, it has a high basic level that allows it to handle anything decently.

Probably because it’s a hero.

Well, in RPGs, the hero is often an all-rounder type.

「You can give various things to Brave Peckle-pen. It will gradually get stronger with each thing given-pen!」

「What?」

「So it’s the type of NPC whose stats get incrementally boosted whenever we give it items, huh…」

「However, Brave Peckle specializes in defense and cannot attack-pen! Be very careful about that-pen.」

Santa Peckle continues to explain about Brave Peckle.

In summary, Brave Peckle is a special Peckle among the others, with generally high base performance.

Moreover, it can grow from here, and its stats will further increase whenever we give it items or materials.

「Indeed, it seems there are unique instructions that can be given to Brave Peckle… though it seems to prioritize the orders of Kizuna-kun, who is the representative.」

「So we can give instructions from the Peckle Counter, right?」

Checking Brave Peckle’s status again…

It seems to possess unique skills like Alchemy, Cooking, Crafting, Enhancement, and Command Bonus by default.

It’s clear that it’s quite different from the other Peckles.

「Well then… let’s try having it use the Command ability for now.」

I instruct Brave Peckle to use the Command ability through the Peckle Counter.

Then… the stats of all Peckles increased by about 50%.

「…Incredible. It’s even applying a buff that increases work experience gain for all individuals.」

「It’s ridiculously powerful, isn’t it?」

「Yeah… It’s a Peckle that can do literally anything. This isn’t a reward for clearing the dungeon, was it?」

「Ah, it was behind the door we opened with the key I got when I caught the nushi.」

「So a reward fitting that difficulty then…Good that the development is progressing.」

「It’s thanks to my fishing.」

I unnecessarily assert myself.

Otherwise, I’m pretty much useless.

「I don’t think you’re wrong.」

「You should be more modest, Onii-chan.」

「That’s why I helped explore the dungeon, isn’t it?」

「By the way, did the boss revive?」

「I defeated the Dragon Zombie and got materials from it! With my dismantling skills!」

At this point, I was starting to feel a bit annoyed with myself.

Well, whatever.

「I wonder how much it would sell to the frontline troops… but for now, why don’t you take it to Romina-kun?」

「Sure!」

With that, we parted ways with Alto and headed to Romina.

When we brought back the Dragon Zombie materials, Romina seemed satisfied as she received them.

「You’ve brought me some pretty good materials. Now then… if I recall correctly, it was for Tsumugi’s equipment, wasn’t it?」

「Yeah, that’s right. With this equipment, the battles in the dungeon should become easier.」

「Understood. Let me try making it. It should be easier than the ancient fish materials.」

Then, Romina crafted equipment for Tsumugi using the materials we brought.

A mysterious black-gleaming armor is created.

Tsumugi immediately tries it on and strikes a pose in front of us.

「Wow, amazing! It’s much sturdier than my previous armor!」

「I’m glad to hear that.」

It’s an armor with a skirt design.

The design is quite elaborate, isn’t it?

「I could have done some stylish customizations, but I needed a bit more material. I prioritized practicality and made it with the minimum necessary materials.」

「Got it, Onii-chan. Let’s go get more materials again.」

「Okay, okay.」

Well… I want to raise my experience level, or rather, my combat proficiency a bit more, so it’s not a bad thing.

That said… I’m starting to miss fishing.

「At least I didn’t fail this time.」

「About that though, the Oreikal Ore you brought…its forging difficulty is surprisingly high.」

「Kizuna-san is always ahead of the curve, it seems.」

Shouko whispers.

I don’t intend to, but I can’t deny it after recalling the empty can scam.

「I managed to make it, but going further is still difficult. It seems I’ll be able to gain quite a bit of experience from the Corrupted Dragon materials, so it would be great if you could bring more.」

Romina-san seems troubled.

She’s becoming like our dedicated blacksmith… It’s scary to think that even after leaving the island, we might take it for granted and have her make equipment for free.

Even among close friends, courtesy is essential.

I need to consider various things to maintain a good relationship moving forward.

「Tsumugi, Shouko… Make sure to properly pay with the money we earned in the dungeon. If we keep taking it for granted and having Romina make things, we’ll end up like the frontline troops.」

「…You’re right. We can’t keep taking advantage of Romana-san’s kindness forever.」

「I know. Onii-chan.」

「We’re the ones requesting and being provided good materials, after all…」

This is about drawing the line.

Being too dependent will affect our future lives.

I’ll also give Romina a tilefish, the most delicious fish on the island next time.

Though I do give her fish regularly anyway.

「I am getting paid. It’s a valuable experience for me to work with difficult materials like these. But…I’ll accept your respectful attitude.」

「Getting back to the topic, the Oreikal ore, Starfire stone, and ancient fish materials were difficult for weapon crafting, right?」

「That’s right. It just means my skill isn’t quite there yet.」

「It’s okay. For now, we’re not falling behind against the dungeon monsters.」

Shouko and Tsumugi, that is.

As for me, I’m somehow managing thanks to the Inferior Ancient Dress.

「Is Sheryl next? It wouldn’t hurt to have some armor for her too, right?」

「…Yeah.」

Well, since Sheryl is also a craftsman, she can help out little by little… As I’m thinking that, I notice her eyes on the scraps of the Corrupted Dragon’s skull, bones, and wing membrane.

「Do you want them for ship materials?」

「…Yeah.」

「Then we’ll go get some more after a break.」

「Oh!」

That said, I want to return to a slow life after one more trip.

With that, we prepared our equipment and challenged the dungeon again.

Well, at this point, it’s routine, so let’s just defeat the Dragon Zombie again and call it a day.

During the intervals in the dungeon, we did some excavation and obtained construction materials.

There were no rare drops this time, were there?

Sheryl’s level seemed to increase moderately, while Tsumugi’s level was rising rapidly.

For the next batch of Dragon Zombie materials, Sheryl received them, and the remaining materials were used to make equipment for her.

Ah, it seems Romina acquired new smithing tools since the materials didn’t quite match.

After continuously delving into the instant dungeon, I was tired and declined going to the dungeon, instead focusing on fishing, hunting, and improving my swimming skill on the island.

According to Alto, the Peckles have been working efficiently thanks to obtaining Brave Peckle.

「Alright!」

Thanks to the Giant Catfish Fishing Rod, I can easily catch tilefish too.

And since Romina made fishing hooks from the Dragon Zombie’s fangs, the durability has been reinforced… The only downside is that sometimes the fish gets poisoned… At night, I can catch Bonefish.

Should I stop using these hooks?

As for hunting, I acquired the Trap Mastery skill.

Initially, it was for creating pitfall traps specifically for monsters, but after using it several times in the hunting area, I was able to raise the skill level.

The next day, I went shell-hunting with Sheryl through free diving.

When I mentioned making and eating clam chowder at the Underground Lake, everyone else wanted to try it too, so Sheryl decided we could gather clams from the sea.

Shouko said I shouldn’t just focus on fishing, so maybe it’s better not to specialize?

Surprisingly, we could gather abalone on Kalmira Island.

We had a barbecue and ate them together.

The meat was firm and delicious!

Yeah! This feels good!