Frontiers ~Chronicles of Bucket-san’s Detailed Pioneering~ - Chapter 69 – I’m glad I could keep my promise

After doing my usual morning things, I logged in.

It’s time to get back to what I was doing yesterday! I’ll finish the steel set that Armilate requested!

The store is still closed for today, so even after I’m done making Armilate’s gear, I should still be able to make items for Rush, so… Let’s get started!

******

I noticed that a bright sunlight was shining through the workshop’s window… I logged in at midnight, but it seems like I was so absorbed into the production activities, that over six hours have already passed.

It’s not that strange for me to spend six hours crafting, but I usually put some other production activities in the middle of it, like drawing Magical Formations or making Dolls in order to not get tired of it.

But this time, I only made steel gear and nothing else.

Thanks to that, Armilate’s request has already been completed… Too fast!

I was also able to make some of some of Rush’s armor pieces by now. I didn’t talk to him about it, but the types of gear he needs are probably still the same as before, but let’s send him a message about it just in case.

And after looking at my friends’ list, I realized he was already online, so I’ll probably get a reply right away.

Especially because he is part of Mika’s clan, the Mist Knights. Since she upgraded her gear already, he probably expects his turn to come soon.

But well, I think now is a good time to take a break. Let’s contact Armilate, then go to the Guild to get all this gear evaluated.

And since I’m at it, I should also take a Steel Bucket Helm with me to clear the promotion test to 5* Guild Rank.

It should definitely be enough to clear the requirements, so I’m confident in passing the exam.

******

“Congratulations on reaching the 5* rank, Bucket.” The usual receptionist told me.

“Thank you.” I replied.

“For reaching the 5* rank, you’ll be getting some special privileges. Please see this booklet for details.” She then handed me a small booklet.

“Got it.” I said.

“Then, thank you for your current and future cooperation.” The receptionist told me.

As expected, the promotion exam was completed after I delivered the Bucket Helm to the Guild.

Seems like 5* rank has more privileges than the others, so she handed me a small booklet listing them all out… It’s a thin booklet, but it’s definitely more information than what I usually got at my rank ups.

I wanted to read it right away, but there were a lot of people glaring at me right now… Is it because the store is closed? But I announced it on the blog beforehand…

And it’s not like they can see the items being evaluated by the Guild or the item I gave for the promotion exam. Those are only seen by me and the receptionist.

So, they shouldn’t know that I make steel gear yet. I only delivered them to Mika and Hime, after all.

… Wait a minute. Those two are really popular on the forums, so… Well, I guess people must have realized they got their gear from me.

I suppose I messed up a bit there.

Well, even then, by now they should know that if they try asking me directly to make gear for them, the only thing they’ll get is a ban from my store, so I didn’t get anything other than glares.

The people from the forums understood that if they want my gear, it’s better to line up at my store than to try asking me directly about it.

In any case, Armilate and Rush replied to my messages, so let’s quickly return to the workshop.

Seems like both of them will come soon… So it’s not just Mika and Hime who behave like that in front of steel, huh?

To think its appeal is strong enough to stop even Armilate from hunting…

******

“Thank you. I can be stronger with this!” Armilate told me.

“Rather than that, I’m glad I could keep my promise with you.” I replied.

She giggled, “You must be the only one who tries this hard to keep that kind of promise.

“If you need anything, please don’t be afraid to contact me, for I’ll do my best to help you.

“Of course, some things just can’t be done, but I should still be able to do plenty.”

“Thank you.

“Though it would be more than enough if you could just sell me your materials.

“But if something does go wrong, then I won’t hesitate to ask for help.” I told her.

“Of course, don’t hold back at all. I’ll be there for you.” Armilate replied, to which I nodded.

She arrived at the store first, so I immediately delivered the gear to her, clearing her quest.

In addition to the Skill Points from the quest, I also got the money from the gear sold, and she sold me the materials she had obtained from her recent hunting trip.

Of course, they’re high-rank materials obtained at the Eku Labyrinth.

She also said she’ll be selling them to my store from now on, which is something I’m quite grateful for.

Not to mention the Skill Points! She gave me twenty Skill Points!

It’s amazing! I can evolve skills again with this!

Or rather, this is just wonderful… Could there be more NPC quests with Skill Points as the rewards? I’d love to get some more.

In any case, immediately after she left, Rush arrived.

While it hasn’t been that long since we last met, since I do see him when I make priority sales for acquaintances on the private section of the blog, that’s pretty much the only time we see each other.

It can’t be helped though, as men can’t participate in the girls-only gatherings.

However, he is very helpful to the store as he always sells his materials there.

Rush used to play solo before joining the Mist Knights, but he seems to have progressed quite a bit since that time.

He also seems to have found a party within the clan, and is now working hard to catch up to Mika.

And well, Mika’s clan is also growing. At first her party was the only one within Mist Knights, but it now seems that there are other members and parties inside it.

And all of them are all top combat-focused player pioneers! It’s really a great clan, isn’t it?

In any case, I was able to sell a full set to Rush too, as the type of gear he wanted hasn’t changed since the time I sold him iron items… And as expected of someone from Mist Knights, he was actually able to pay for the whole set right away… Mika’s clan is truly amazing.

Thanks to that, I have quite a bit of money with me right now… I think I can upgrade more equipment to Intermediate level with this. That’s just how incredible that profit margin of steel is.

But well, Rush has now left, so priority sales for acquaintances has now ended. Mika’s and Rush’s parties are not subject to priority sales, so I guess the rest of the items I make will go to the store.

… Or maybe I should give a bit of priority to them? They do often sell materials at my store, after all.

Well, for the time being, let’s upgrade my equipment first and decide later! I earned this money, so let’s spend it! That’s how the economy keeps on flowing!

******

Thanks to the 20 Skill Points rewarded by Armilate, I was able to evolve Leatherworking and Woodworking to their improved versions.

Each skill cost me 15 Skill Points to evolve, which consumed almost all my spare Skill Points on top of everything I just got from Armilate.

But it was a worthwhile investment. And this, paired up with upgrading more of my equipment to Intermediate Tier, I’m getting closer and closer to making steel items with Options!

… Well, I just started making 3* steel items though, so it will probably take a while until I can actually make them with Options.

Still, the power of evolution is amazing. And the same holds true for intermediate equipment! So I can have hopes!

Purchasing the equipment ended up making me spend most of my money though… But it’s fine, as steel gear is very profitable, so I’ll be able to make even more money soon! Let’s keep on working hard!

******

Intermediate equipment takes up a lot of space.

If I keep on updating two or three at a time, it will naturally end up occupying too much space and end up making the workshop feel small.

Though it also means that the workshop has been improved! Needing a large space for production activities is a good thing!

From now on, let’s keep on upgrading my equipment and making the workshop’s spare space become smaller and smaller!

Also, since I was at it, I decided to upgrade the desk I used to draw Magical formations at.

I could have made a new desk myself with Woodworking, but for now it’s more important to make steel gear, so I just bought a ready-made one.

It did end up spending most of the money I had left, but it was still a good purchase.

After all, my old desk was just… A desk.

This new one feels more like a proper study desk that gives off a nice feeling. It also has a nice drawer, which just makes it even better! These differences more than compensate needing to pay for it!

I tried drawing a Magical Formation for a change of pace while using my new desk, and I felt like the drawing experience was even better than usual this time around.

But the rank didn’t change… Is the chair the problem? I think I need a chair with a leather cover in it… Could there be a recipe for it somewhere? Or maybe a store that sells it.

I want to look for one once I have a bit of time.

Not now though. My midday logout is approaching, so let’s keep on making steel gear until then!