Frontiers ~Chronicles of Bucket-san’s Detailed Pioneering~

Frontiers ~Chronicles of Bucket-san’s Detailed Pioneering~ 16

Sponsored Content

 

I really don’t hate this at all

 

 

The “Zabrina Royal Library” was a small castle-like building.

Books weren’t very valuable because paper was sold for cheap, but still there seemed to be some rare books, so the security of the library was quite strict.

There were two guards at the bottom of the stairs leading to the entrance, and two more at the top.

In addition, there were two more guards near the reception, and four more by the stairs in the back.

 

Well, I hadn’t come here to do anything wrong.
I was an honest consumer, so I didn’t have to worry about that.

But yeah, the security was quite tight.

 

I bought an “admission pass” for 10,000 Nils, which would have completely taken the wind from my sails if I had done it just as I started my adventure here.

But at least I wouldn’t need to pay any admission fees as long as I showed the pass at the entrance.

By the way, borrowing a book seemed to cost about 1000 Nils per book as an insurance premium.

It also appeared that you couldn’t be overdue, as the fee would be collected automatically as soon as the deadline is reached, even without your permission.
Though it’s really a very convenient system in reality, isn’t it?

 

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

 

There were few people in the library other than the guards.

Everyone was simply too busy hunting and crafting, and it wouldn’t be a good idea to spend too much time reading books at the library.
The admission fee was also high.

In fact, I myself hadn’t been able to do this until now that I can finally afford it.

 

So I should do that now that I have the chance to.

During the beta test, the library was just a place to read books.

Other than that, there were only a few quests related to it, and it was a place where you could learn a bit more about the game’s setting, like some kind of a sub-story.

In fact, I also wanted to read that sub-story, but it seems that when the full game was released to the public, the admission fee wasn’t the only thing they changed about the library.

 

Ah, there was another big addition.

It was the skill “Language” for reading books.

 

Sponsored Content

Even though the words spoken by NPCs and the written characters are in Japanese, this skill is necessary to read books here for some reason.

It’s a mysterious skill that you need to have if you want to be able to read most books.

Of course, I got that skill because the librarian at the reception explained all about it to me, but for now it’s just a completely unnecessary skill for me, except for reading books.

 

Perhaps it’s a prerequisite for another skill.

Since this skill wasn’t there during the beta test, I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with it later.

 

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

 

The collection of the “Zabrina Royal Library” is quite large.

It’s a little bigger than what they have at the municipal library in the real world.

But unfortunately, I couldn’t go to the second floor even if I paid the admission fee, so it seemed that about half of its collection was off-limits to me.

It was said that the books on the second floor were not what one would call “forbidden books”, but books that had a few levels of restrictions set on them.

I asked the librarian how I could read those books, to which they only replied with a “You need to earn our trust…”

 

What would be “trust” in the world of “Frontiers? Could it be “Guild Rank”?

“Guild Rank” was something quite important and with a high level of recognition, so having a high rank should mean you’re quite trustworthy.

Or maybe the librarian meant that they themselves needed to trust me specifically?

If that was the case, I should be able to obtain the librarian’s trust by coming to the library normally.

It wasn’t as if I had the intention to be noisy or start damaging the books here.

I only had to handle both the books and myself with care while in the library.

 

By the time I finished reading “The story of the Sabrina Kingdom” I had found in the history section, I was able to understand why the librarian’s position in the library had been changed from the one it had during the beta test.

 

And I was also able to get my hands on some recipes.

 

You could normally obtain recipes by purchasing them or as a reward for doing quests.

However, I got three recipes while reading “The story of the Sabrina Kingdom”.

It was a little surprising that there were three recipes in just one book, when you would normally get a single recipe at a time.

 

I was very happy with this side effect because I knew that it would be troublesome to obtain these recipes after having obtained the beginner’s recipes at the “Training Center”.

Sponsored Content

Actually, I was looking at this from the wrong angle.
This wasn’t a side effect.
The library itself had turned into a place for me to get new recipes.

 

It was a minor change they made for the full release, so it wasn’t strange that only a few people knew about it.

Looking closely, all of the people who were using the library seemed to be wearing relatively wealthy-looking clothes.

Was I the only one here using combat equipment, such as my “Bucket Helm”?　In other words, was I the only player here?

So it made sense that no one was talking about this in the forum.

No one could have thought that the library, which had existed as a mere element of bonus content during the beta test, had become such a useful facility.

 

Furthermore, recipes were very important for us crafters, while more and more combat-based Pioneers don’t need them because they would have to be able to learn them in order to use them.

People might discover this eventually, but for now, I’ll refrain from posting anything about it on the forum.
It’ll be my secret spot.

After all, the library is a place where I can spend some quiet time, surrounded by only a few people.

 

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

 

I continued to get more recipes while enjoying lots of reading until the library’s closing time while having a lunch break.

Thanks to that, I was able to get a reasonable amount of recipes, which would have been quite expensive otherwise.

It made me feel that this alone had paid for my “admission pass” in full.

 

I’ve been reading in the same position for some time, so I feel like my body was going to start creaking like a bunch of old branches, but it turned out that wasn’t the case.

Still, I couldn’t help but want to stretch my body.

 

As I left the library and headed for the “Rental Production Facility”, I received an email from Mika-chan.

She seemed to want me to sell her a “Magic Circle”.

I was going to sell them at my stall either way, so I thought she would be coming soon.

I had also been thinking about increasing my stock, so the timing was perfect.

 

But if I started buying “Magic Paper” I wouldn’t be left with much money.

I am a crafter.
I’d prefer to make ends meet without having to spend too much money.

 

Until I went to the library, I knew that “Magic Paper” could be purchased at stores, but things are different now.

This is because one of the recipes I got in the library was “Recipe / Alchemy: Magic Paper”.

Sponsored Content

The recipe for “Magic Paper” hadn’t been discovered during the beta test.

That’s why I also thought that “Magic Paper” couldn’t be manufactured, and could only be obtained by purchasing it from stores.

 

So I got myself the new “Alchemy” skill and immediately took a tutorial at the “Training Center”.

It was night time because I was there until the library closed.

Thankfully, the “Training Center” is open 24/7.
Well, some stores were still open as well.

 

I went around the stalls and stores to buy the necessary materials and then came back to the “Rental Production Facility”.

Even if you have the recipe, it doesn’t mean that you will be able to make “Magic Paper” right away.

First of all, if you do not raise your Skill Lv, you will most likely fail to make it.

 

The foundation of “Alchemy” is potions.

Needless to say, even here in “Frontiers”, potions are the most basic recovery items.

 

They’re especially important because the only other recovery methods that are available at first are the “Prayer” active and “Regeneration Up” passive skills.

“Prayer” cannot be used as a quick recovery method unless its Lv is raised considerably, and at its early stages it just feels like a skill that increases natural recovery.

So recovery items are the preferred way to stay healthy during a player’s early levels.

 

Since NPC stores have a limited stock on items, it would be a problem if they started to run out of potions.
But since they are the lifeline of combat-oriented players, most crafters have started to take measures and took it upon themselves to learn the “Alchemy” skill in order to sell potions as a side business.

Thanks to that, it seems that there is no shortage of potions, but on the other hand, it’s hard to make a solid profit with them.

 

I had expected such a tendency, so at first I had decided to skip taking the “Alchemy” skill, but this was an unexpected turn of events.

Starting today, I am also making my debut as an alchemist!

 

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

 

Potions are basically made with a pestle and mortar that are included in the “Beginner Alchemy Set” you get as a reward for completing the tutorial, and using the “Art” while mashing the material and mixing it with the liquid.

 

The liquid is the tricky part, as the recipe only says to use “liquid” but doesn’t elaborate on it.

However, there are many liquids that exist as materials, such as just “Water”, “Grassland Spring Water”, “Fresh Water”, and “Distilled Water”.

 

Sponsored Content

You can even make other liquids with a little processing, and there was a thread on the forum where they were talking about a certain “Concentrated Magic Liquid” that apparently can be made by boiling potions and thickening them.

Naturally, the potion’s rank changes depending on the liquid used, which also affects their performance.

Furthermore, by mixing multiple liquids, you can make different kinds of potions, which adds a whole new depth to potion-making.

 

The way it’s implemented is simply unbearable for people who like research.

There is also a hot thread on the forum about this topic that has sprouted quite the heated debate.

 

Well, I will only scoop up the most interesting bits derived from the results.

What I want is a skill level that allows me to make “Magic Paper”, all while still wondering if it’s going to sell well.

 

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

 

Actually, it turns out that potion-making is a rather relaxing experience.

I really don’t hate this at all.

It feels like the same kind of grinding work I do when removing impurities when making ingots.

Both can be quite relaxing.

 

With a low Skill Lv, even if you mix multiple liquids and elaborately mix them, the result will always fail, so I’ll just be making simple potions for now.

Even so, I had no problems with successfully making a “Life Potion (S)” of average quality.

 

====

Life Potion (S)

Item / ★3 / HP +50 / Number of uses: 3

====

 

By the way, the finished potion requires a “Bottle” to serve as a container.

You can’t carry potions without them.

Depending on the size of the “Bottle”, the number of times a potion can be used may change.

It seems that since this one was (S), it has only 3 uses.

 

Let’s continue to make more potions like this until I can finally make my own “Magic Paper”!