**Side: Flam**
After parting ways with Star Wind, we took a lunch break at a safe area we were told about and then headed to the forest indicated to us.
It took nearly an hour to reach the forest from the safe area, but that was within our expectations.
As the information we received suggested, the forest was inhabited by a large number of P-R Rank Monsters, Grand Silk Crawlers, and also Silkest Crawlers.
About thirty minutes further in, we were even able to hunt M-I Rank Monsters like Royal Crawlers.
Both are only about 50 centimeters in size, and we can only extract the silk from their internal organs. However, one creature provides enough silk to tailor a dress for nobles. Therefore, 43 Silkest Crawlers, 56 Grand Silk Crawlers, and 7 Royal Crawlers are a significant haul.
“If we have this much, we won’t have to worry about clothes for a while.”
“We also had issues with our underwear, so this is a lifesaver.”
“Since we evolved, we’ve had to replace them quite frequently.”
Like myself, the women who have evolved to Ancient Class have prepared nearly 100 pieces of underwear, including spares.
This is similar to weapons and armor; they cannot withstand the magic power of the Ancient Class and degrade due to magical fatigue.
Even just living normally can damage them after only a few uses, and when hunting, we might have to change them after every battle.
Therefore, if we don’t prepare a large quantity, including spares, we might end up going without underwear in the worst-case scenario.
“Ah, so it would be better to prioritize underwear then?”
“Could you do that for us, please?”
I agree that we should prioritize them. However, I also want to use them for everyday wear, so if possible, I’d like to continue hunting here today.
“Then shall we go a bit deeper to look for Grand Silk Crawlers and Royal Crawlers?”
“The safe area isn’t far, so we might as well hunt them all.”
“I agree.”
Fiana and Marina immediately agreed to Yamato’s suggestion, and I suspect they are thinking the same thing as me. Marina is a tailor, and Fiana is a carpenter, but she is also proficient in blacksmithing and sewing. They are likely eager to try weaving cloth from the silk of Grand Silk Crawlers and Royal Crawlers.
The cloth from the Helios Orb can be made from monster materials or from plants spun into threads.
There are three types of plant-derived fabrics: cotton, flax, and the Fusang tree. Cotton requires a large amount of water to grow, so the Trader’s Guild carefully manages it. Cotton cloth is woven from threads spun from cotton-like seeds. Flax has several varieties; some are used as potion ingredients, but the type used for fabric is called linen, and it can also be pressed for oil. Linen threads are made by steeping the stems in hot water and then drying them. The threads are spun from these dried stems, and the resulting cloth is linen. Amister only cultivates it in the south, so it’s rarely seen in Feel, and I’m not very familiar with it. The Fusang tree can only be found in the Haura Great Forest and the Gagun Great Forest. I recall that its many leaves are boiled down in tree sap.
Monster material cloth primarily uses monster silk as its main ingredient. The silks used are from Spiders, Caterpillars, and Crawlers. Spiders are numerous, and their ecology and ranks vary, so the properties of their silk and cloth differ slightly by region. However, Caterpillars and Crawlers each have only one rank, so their properties and quality are stable. Among them, Crawler silk is called “kinu” (silk), and it is famous as the finest silk and cloth. By the way, Silkest Crawler silk is called “jōkin” (upper silk), Grand Silk Crawler silk is called “kōkin” (light silk), and Royal Crawler silk is called “ōkin” (royal silk). The names for Catastrophe Species and Demise Species are unknown, so we don’t know what they will be called.
“Crawlers are S-N rank, and even Silkest Crawlers are G-U rank. While we can form familiar or summon contracts, I never considered it.”
“For seamstresses, these are monsters they absolutely want to contract with.”
Mako-san wears a conflicted expression, but it seems many seamstresses do have familiar contracts with Caterpillars. Some even have summon contracts with nearly ten Caterpillars, enabling them to supply a stable and large amount of cloth. Since familiar and summon contracts can be formed with monsters of G rank and below, a minority have successfully contracted with Crawlers. Those individuals have all achieved great wealth, making contracts with Crawlers a dream for many seamstresses. However, Crawlers look like hairy grubs, so while many are fine with Caterpillars, they are repulsed by Crawlers. Mako-san screamed upon first sight, and I… well…
“Indeed, I can’t handle those either.”
“I was okay with it, but I didn’t feel the need to contract with them.”
Yamato-san also finds their appearance off-putting, and while Mana-sama was fine with them, she didn’t feel the necessity to contract. This is understandable, as we have trouble using even the finest silk cloth due to magical issues, so the necessity is indeed low.
“We have about two more hours until sunset. Let’s hunt a bit more today, then return to that safe area and set up camp there.”
“Right. Shall we go?”
Has it gotten that late already? Even though we are in the forest, if we just need to return to the safe area, Athena or Eos could fly us there in their dragon forms. However, we can’t have them fly in the dark, so about another hour is the limit. But if that’s the case, we need to hunt as much as possible. After all, silk is a dream material for seamstresses. If you don’t have a familiar or summon contract, you need to defeat at least S-N rank Crawlers. They can immobilize you with their silk, and if they cover your face, there’s a risk of suffocation. Furthermore, their silk has a strength that even Normal Class adventurers cannot tear. Therefore, dealing with them is quite difficult. They also move freely through trees using their silk, and they seem to live in groups, so even High Class individuals can be in mortal danger if attacked by several at once. Despite this, Crawlers are considered lower-ranking monsters among S-ranks, and it’s not uncommon for them to be preyed upon by other monsters. This is why those with familiar or summon contracts can earn a stable income. Even normal variants are like this, so upper and rare variants have increased attack and defense, making them even more challenging to deal with. Anomaly types are so dangerous that there are only a few recorded subjugations even in labyrinths. Thus, only a handful of seamstresses have likely ever worked with Royal Silk. To be able to use that silk, especially upper silk, light silk, or royal silk, is reason enough to be motivated for the hunt. The silk-producing organs are near their hearts, so if you carelessly aim for the heart, you’ll damage the organs and ruin the silk. We must be careful about that.
**Side: Mako**
After hunting Silkest Crawlers and Grand Silk Crawlers to our limits, we asked Eos to carry us to the safe area before sunset. Thanks to that, we were able to hunt 65 Silkest Crawlers, 93 Grand Silk Crawlers, and 13 Royal Crawlers.
I have Bestowed Magic, including Summoning Magic, but their appearance is physiologically repulsive to me. I screamed like a child the moment I saw them, so a summon contract is absolutely impossible. Flam felt the same way, and Mana-sama judged that there was no point in contracting, so none of us formed familiar or summon contracts.
“My, you hunted so many Royal Crawlers too?”
“Yes. They are M-I Rank, so we can use them without concern.”
Star Wind had also returned to the safe area, and we were discussing each other’s achievements.
“Using ultra-high-class items, not even royalty has used them, for underwear. Well, I suppose it can’t be helped.”
“I agree it’s questionable, but changing every battle, let alone every day, is just too much.”
“I see.”
Star Wind’s party has Cole and Shuran nearing level 60, and their four High Class members are around level 55. Therefore, dealing with G-U Rank Silkest Crawlers is easy, and even hunting P-R Rank Grand Silk Crawlers is not difficult with a little effort. This time, they prioritized quantity and focused solely on Silkest Crawlers. I believe they hunted about 150 of them.
“Did you not encounter any Royal Crawlers over there?”
“No. Well, even if we had, it would have been problematic. With me and Cole here, it’s not impossible to defeat them, but we can’t guarantee it wouldn’t result in more than just injuries.”
Star Wind’s High Class members all use alloy weapons, so they can defeat M-Rank monsters if they work together. However, there’s always a risk of serious injury, and in the worst case, someone might lose their life, so they wouldn’t willingly seek such battles.
“The monsters that attacked us in the grassland were also G-rank, so it will be tough for us going further.”
“Yeah. That’s why we planned to hunt more Silkest Crawlers and Grand Silk Crawlers tomorrow and leave the day after tomorrow.”
“Leaving so soon?”
“Yes. Our original objective was to investigate the 5th Level, but fortunately, we descended more than a day earlier than planned. Moreover, we’ve managed to earn quite a bit, so there’s no need to push our luck.”
Indeed, dying while pushing our luck would be meaningless. It could even lead to becoming an undead. Well, if you die in a labyrinth, your body and equipment that aren’t eaten by monsters are apparently absorbed by the labyrinth, so you don’t become undead.
“What about your plans?”
“We’ll hunt Grand Silk Crawlers in the morning and resume our investigation in the afternoon. We planned to stay for about a week this time, so we’ll go as far as we can.”
“Even at one level per day, you might reach around the 10th Level. Or perhaps that depends on the monsters.”
“That’s right.”
We don’t know the total number of levels in the Krater Labyrinth, but as Cole said, if we investigate one level per day, we would reach the 10th Level on the final day. However, this time, securing monster materials is also a objective besides investigation. Therefore, there’s a possibility we might end our investigation around the 7th or 8th Level. Of course, there’s always the chance that all the monsters on a level are A-Rank or O-Rank.
“By the way, do you think other hunters could descend this far?”
“It’s debatable. Both the Amazoness Queen on the 3rd Level and the sea on the 4th Level require thorough preparation beforehand, and even then, unforeseen events are common. Unless there are Ancient Class adventurers, reaching the 5th Level without a lot of luck would be difficult.”
“Since Wing Crest is here, they must have defeated the Amazoness Queen, but we don’t know the cycle until the next Queen appears, so it’s hard to say.”
That’s true. We also defeated the Amazoness Queen on the 3rd Level this time. Lydia and Ludia actually defeated her, and it’s been nearly a month since Mina and Flam defeated the previous one. We don’t know how frequently the next Queen appears. Moreover, the period isn’t necessarily constant, so it would take considerable time to determine it.
“That’s also true. If they were lucky, those who came after you might have descended to the 4th Level, but without a ship, they can do nothing. It depends on whether they were prepared for that.”
“Actually, after we defeated the Queen and descended to the 4th Level, two raids followed us. Neither of them had ships prepared, so they gave up and returned to the 3rd Level.”
“Perhaps they didn’t intend to go to the 4th Level because of the Queen, or maybe they thought the information was exaggerated. The former seems more likely, considering they could reach the teleportation array near the 3rd Level.”
The 3rd Level is almost a straight path to the teleportation array. So even if they only intended to confirm the Amazoness Queen and not descend to the 4th Level, they would have followed us. It’s unavoidable due to the structure, so we didn’t mind, but they seemed to be concerned about it and apologized after descending to the 4th Level. They probably didn’t expect Lydia and Ludia alone to defeat the Amazoness Queen.
“They did mention that. They intended to observe the 3rd Level briefly after confirming the Amazoness Queen. But since Lydia and Ludia defeated her, they wanted to see if the 4th Level was as described in the information.”
“I see. Well, I understand their feelings, and since it’s a straight path, it’s a common occurrence.”
Information is important, but verifying it with your own eyes is just as important.
“But they certainly lost out.”
Lost out?
“Well, of course. If they had negotiated with you and accompanied you, they could have come to the 5th Level. If they can reach near the teleportation array on the 3rd Level, they could have earned a lot here too.”
Ah, that’s true. Those two raids returned to the 3rd Level immediately after observing the 4th Level, so there was no talk of negotiation. They probably didn’t expect to find Silkest Crawlers and Grand Silk Crawlers on the 5th Level. In hindsight, it was certainly a huge loss. Many High Class adventurers are polite and have high morals, but that’s also why they often lose out. Still, they must have earned enough. So, our condolences for this time.
