Since theres always an expert here, I see its all kept in working order

Shin got down from the Elder Dragon and whispered to himself while looking at the surroundings .

In Palmirack and Celciutos, the lack of maintenance had not caused serious problems, but in Rashugum, the aboveground part had been preserved perfectly .

The fact that the temperature wasnt too low and it wasnt difficult to breathe, despite the altitude, was proof that the atmosphere control system was working . The dragons dwelling here surely found it very pleasant too .

Over here~~

The group followed Vizzy to the front of the castle .

Shin tried concentrating on his hearing as they walked, but could not hear any sound of fighting . The attackers had either been driven away or annihilated . He checked the map and, as expected, found no sign of the Wyverns .

Hey, thatcant be

While the group was heading towards the front entrance, Tiera noticed something .

Shin looked in the direction Tiera pointed at; Rashugums flatland area, which had been added because they felt the need for some nature, and the mass of colorful creatures crawling and squirming on it .

Wow, thats impressive .

Shin remembered Rashugums nickname and understood . What they were looking at was a group of dragon-type monsters, of all kinds and levels .

Eastern-style dragons with long torsos, western types with powerful limbs and all kinds in between: it was like a dragon exhibition .

Looking more closely, there were wyverns too, but different from the ones that had just attacked the castle .

T-they wont attack, right?

They wont, no worries . Theyre a~~ll good boys and girls .

Tiera was nervous, but Vizzy replied in her usual tone .

Some dragons noticed the group and raised their heads to look . As Vizzy was with them, the dragons probably understood that they werent enemies . Most dragons either went to sleep or started flying again .

You could stand up to them by now, right Tiera?

Indeed, some of them you could take down on your own .

It might be, buttheyre still scary .

Even if her stats had increased, Tiera had only recently become much stronger, so dragons still looked like fearsome foes .

Seeing so many dragons left grazing freely like that, she couldnt help fretting .

Hey, that ones coming closer?

Tiera, who was looking at the dragons with a stiff expression, stopped walking .

Shin looked too and saw something covered in ash grey fur emerge from the pack and waddle towards them .

Oh my~~

Vizzy saw it and expressed her surprise . She didnt stop it, however, so it shouldnt be dangerous .

Looking at the creature better, the group realized that it too was a dragon . Even including its tail, it was still very small, about the size of a puppy .

The mini dragon waddled left and right, unsteady on its feet, but straight towards Schnee . Then, despite Schnees confusion, it proceeded to rub its face on her feet .

Er?

Oh~~This is rare~~baby Illusion Dragons rarely get close to people~~

Why would it come to me?

Actually, this babys parents were found and rescued by you, Schnee~~ . I dont know why their child would warm up to you, though

Apparently, the babys parents had a connection with Schnee . During a material gathering mission, Schnee had defeated some monsters and found young Illusion Dragons nearby .

Illusion Dragons had peaceful temperaments, so Schnee healed them, then talked about them to Vizzy: that is the reason why they were brought to Rashugum .

The parent dragons thought of Schnee as their saviour, so they were very fond of her .

Since its come to you like that, why dont you pet it a little~~

Shouldnt we hurry on, though?

Well go first . Its not like we need lots of people for what we have to do anyway .

Schnee was not sure what to do, but Shin told her that she could give priority to the baby dragon . Following Vizzys advice, Schnee timidly tried touching the dragon . The baby then started rubbing its head against it .

Baby Illusion Dragons are so different from their parents

Shin expressed his surprise at seeing how easily the baby dragon had approached Schnee .

I was surprised too the first time~~

As opponents, Illusion Dragons were impossible to even touch if they werent tamed: they were monsters formed by smoke or fog in the shape of a dragon .

Ehm, what should I do with this baby?

The baby Illusion Dragon was playing by tapping its front paws on Schnees hands . It was a very peaceful scene, but Shin and his party had things to do . Schnee probably thought that she couldnt just stay there .

Keep an eye on the kid until the parents come back .

But

The search didnt take much at Celciutos either, right? This is a rare occasion too, why dont you just relax once in a while .

Well, I admit it would be difficult to leave

The baby dragon cried sadly every time Schnee tried to go, making her feel guilty . Shin didnt need much help, after all, so he asked Vizzy to stay too, for when the parents would return . Yuzuha, apparently intrigued by the mini dragon too, jumped down from Shins shoulder .

Shin left her to Schnee and walked away . He didnt need a guide to know what was where in Rashugum .

Oh, here comes Raster .

Shin felt a presence coming from inside the castle and stopped . At present, Vizzy and Raster were the only ones present in Rashugum, so it had to be him .

The map showed two overlapping light dots: he was probably riding one of his mounts . After a while, a young man riding a small dragon appeared .

Raster Zay, servant of the Blue Trickster Cain, one of Rokutens members .

Characterized by his silver eyes -covered by a bandana- and copper skin, Raster was a High Lord in his twenties .

He too was of higher race, but his stats were almost all concentrated in DEX, making direct fighting not his forte . On the other hand, he was a master at using items and supporting his allies .

Come o~~n, youre so late~~

Whoops, sorry, sorry . The Illusion Dragon egg hatched, but the baby disappeared somewhere . I knew that lord Shins group had arrived, but I had to look for it

The baby?

After hearing the apologizing Rasters words, Shins party directed their eyes at Schnee and the Illusion Dragon baby she was holding .

Next to her, Yuzuha -now a fox about 1 mel in size- was looking curiously at the baby dragon .

I looked everywhere, and there you areI was worried, you know .

Raster followed the gaze of Shins group, then sighed in relief .

Well, problem solved then .

Shin tried cheering up Raster, who had clearly been worried sick . Shin knew how it felt: accidents like this could be dealt with if they happened one at a time, but for some reason they tended to occur in multiples .

Thats exactly it! Besides the parents were worried too, I had to go welcome Lord Shins party, yet I couldnt help but worry

Shin told the apologetic Raster to not worry about anything .

Okay then, I leave to rest to you guys . If Vizzys here, the parents wont attack younot that Schnee would have trouble with them, though .

Thats uncalled for . In case anything happens, I will focus on defense .

According to Raster, the parent dragons were on edge because of their missing child . Normally, it would be possible to spot the baby through its presence, but there were too many dragons at Rashugum, so its presence was thin and hard to find . It hadnt completely disappeared though, so the parents would surely come back soon, or so said Raster .

Me and Vizzy have taken out resources and stuff from the warehouse, but we never laid a hand on the Rokuten members stock .

Each members sections and the materials to preserve Rashugum were stored separately, so Shin and the other members items did not risk being used as material . Some materials, however, were difficult to find and were getting pretty low in stock .

Ill refill the stock with the spare stuff from our generator later . Let me just check the lists first .

Sure thing!! Its great enough that youre going to refill our stock . Im really thankful!!

Raster bowed again .

The maintenance materials were usually bought from Berett or gathered with the dragons help . Highest class items, like Drops of Erathem and Chimeradite, were always needed, albeit in very small quantities, but they were impossible to find .

They could be replaced by other items, but lowering the quality also lowered the overall result, so Raster and Vizzy were rather troubled .

Oh yeah, you havent learned Generate yet?

I only need a little more proficiency, but as you know, at this level you need to mess with really high grade materials to gain any pointsbut we dont have enough stuff, so I cant just use em up for practice .

Rasters proficiency was indeed just steps away from acquiring Generate . When practicing to raise proficiency, it was not uncommon to render materials unusable, which was keeping Raster from advancing .

It involved using rare metals such as Chimeradite, Mithril, and Orichalcum to create things after all . All of them were very valuable in this world: using them in large quantities just to increase proficiency sounded just like something out of a videogame .

Okay, Ill give you some materials to practice after Ive refilled your stock then . Our generators been working hard enough, so we wont run out anytime soon . How much do you need?

The items just kept piling up, so Shin made this proposal to Raster thinking of putting them to good use .

Fo, fo, for real!?! As expected of a noble High Human, just like lord Cain! I cannot thank you enough!! Ill check the items and tell you later!!

After calming the overjoyed Raster, Shin and the group reached the storehouse and checked the item lists .

They checked all sections twice, like they did in Celciutos, but could not find the item they were looking for .

Nothing here either

Shin

Tiera was worried, but Shin laughed .

They hadnt checked the storehouse in Palmirack yet . But as they barely found any event-related items in Celciutos and Rashugum, the probability of the same thing happening in Palmirack was high .

Just like Shin and Tsuki no Hokora, Rokuten members had homes outside their guildhouses . He couldnt check those, however: differently from him, the other Rokuten members did not materialize their homes unless absolutely necessary .

Cooks home, Shigureya, remained intact, but according to Zazie the item they were looking for was not there . Cook never kept items unrelated to cooking, so there was nothing to do about it .

then, what about Garden?

Garden?

Its a guildhouse focused on cultivating medicinal herbs, with also many structures to create all sorts of catalysts . A High Human called Hecate was in charge of it . It looks like its in a relatively dangerous area now, though .

During his explanation to Tiera, Shin reflected .

White Scent Nectar is extracted from a plant called Lily Orchid . The possibility of vegetable-related materials being stored in Garden was considerable . Higher than the other guildhouses, at least .

It had been abandoned by them, after all, so it was also a good opportunity to go check on it .

This is the right chance . Lets go check Palmirack first though .

Shin and the party had already visited it once, so they could teleport to Palmirack directly from Rashugum . Shin was also currently registered as Palmiracks master, so they could go straight to its storeroom .

Leaving Tiera and the others behind, Shin teleported from Rashugums to Palmiracks teleport point, then into the storeroom .

Several minutes later

. .

I can imagine what youre going to say, butdid you find anything?

Tiera guessed while looking at Shins expression . Filma, Shibaid, and Raster could also pretty much tell, so they waited in silence for Shin to talk .

I found the item in question, butits still not enough to make a Blessed Tag .

Shin had actually found White Scent Nectar in Palmirack, but just 1 item card of it . Adding to what he already had, he would need at least 2 more .

From the bottom of his heart, Shin hoped that his search would end here .

Do you know where that Garden is?

Yeah, I know just the place .

Shin answered Tieras question .

A large forest area to the east of the center of the continent of Eltnia . Apparently, Garden -officially called 5th Daze Garden Romenun- was at its center .

I actually went there once to check too . It was a heck of a party, poisonous plants and monsters everywhere . Monsters without poison resistance couldnt even step close to it . Even poison-bearing monsters had to be pretty strong to get close .

Riding a dragon, Raster had gone on reconnaissance from the sky . Romenuns surroundings were covered by thick poisonous fog, and even the Elder Dragon Raster was riding refused to go near .

Romenun itself looked unaffected and unharmed, at least from the outside .

We cant get in contact with Oxygen and Hydro, right?

Correct . But hey, considering the location, I think theyre both alright .

Raster meant to say that the two were both so focused on their research that they didnt step one foot outside . At least, they wouldnt try to leave Romenun now that it was surrounded by toxic mists . The structure was self-sufficient, so they would not risk starving to death .

In THE NEW GATE, in case of failure when creating or developing items, the materials used normally turned into trash . In rare instances, however, unexpected results happened: dangerous items called failures .

Such items often had Something like a or Fake in their names and were generated more easily the more valuable the materials used were .

Some exploded when used, others summoned monsters, other bizarre ones changed the surrounding players into swimsuits when materializedetcetera .

They were dangerous items: no one knew when they would activate or what effects they could have . The more one delved into the depths of creation jobs, the more one would encounter them . Naturally, Shin was no exception .

Well, at least it seems they cant turn into sudden death items .

The failure items could have all sorts of effects, but it had been officially stated that they would never exhibit sudden death effects . Shin couldnt be sure that this applied to the current world too; besides, Oxygen and Hydro were probably rational enough not to use failed items without thinking .

Trusting in this, Shin chose to stop thinking about it for the moment .

Raster, does the name White Scent Nectar tell you anything?

Really sorry sir, but nothing . There is someone here who could know, though .

Here?

By here Raster referred to Rashugum, of course . Shin thought that only Raster and Vizzy were supposed to live there, but then an idea flashed in his mind .

The Ancient Dragon?

Yessir . Theres one here thats like the boss of all the other dragons . Its been living for pretty long, so it knows all sorts of stuff .

There were monsters who could speak human language in the game era too . Dragons were rather famous for it, but other than them, Element Tails like Yuzuha and Fujis Kagutsuchi belonged to this category too .

It was fairly common for dragons to communicate with humans in the novels and comics Shin read too, so he remembered easily accepting the idea in the game .

Rashugum sure turned into an incredible place, huh .

I tell you, ever since Vizzy brought the dragons to live here, things turned pretty bizarre . The Ancient Dragon noticed that lots of dragons started dwelling here and appeared all of a suddenthat was a huge shock . Ah, the Ancient Dragons name is Tzaobath .

Oh, Tzaob . wait, really!?

Raster mentioned the dragons name very casually, but hearing it made Shin stop in his tracks . Filma and Shibaid did the same .

Only Tiera failed to understand why everyone stopped, and looked at them confused .