Frontiers ~Chronicles of Bucket-san’s Detailed Pioneering~ - Chapter 86 – Of course?

After we finished talking, I saw both Mika and Hime off.

I still have a bit of time today before logging out, so let’s work hard on crafting!

… Well, before that, I guess I should decide what to do with the Large Shadow Crystal.

There are recipes that can make use of it, but many people on the forums have said that they ended up getting Substance X when trying to make recipes using the Large Shadow Crystal.

However, as the recipes using it end up leading to stronger items when compared to what we can make with normal Shadow Crystals, people have still been trying to make use of it somehow.

As for me, I was thinking of trying to make a new Magical Formation with it, because… Well, I want to draw a new Magical Circle!

It’s not like the Magic Circle in the recipe is particularly hard, but… It’s a limited-time Magic Circle, you know? It probably won’t be available anymore after the event. Even if it might not be enough to satisfy me, there is still a charm in drawing something that won’t be available forever.

I mean, maybe there might still be some leftover materials by the end of the event, but I guess they’ll all disappear by that point, so, while there is still time for it, I wanna make the event-exclusive Magical Formation!

However, the Large Shadow Crystal is pretty rare, so it’s hard to buy them.

The one I have with me was bought from that Gospel clan that I met on the Guild the other day. They got it after defeating a strong event boss it seems.

And it is also luck-dependent to find those event bosses, so Mika and her friends haven’t met many of them yet… And well, even if you do beat the boss, it is not guaranteed to get a Large Shadow Crystal.

Though if you defeat enough bosses, it should inevitably drop. After all, people wouldn’t be able to experiment with it on the forums if it wasn’t dropping at all.

But still, because of that, it’s quite hard to get Large Shadow Crystals.

Nonetheless, I have decided it! I’ll use it for a Magical Formation! There is still a chance that I might get Substance X, but I’ll try my best!

And well, I’m confident in being able to properly draw the Magic Circle, but it is still a bit scary…

Well, this kind of challenge is also a way of doing Pioneering, I suppose.

Let’s believe in my pen and on all the drawing skills I have obtained so far!

Come on, my new beloved Magical Formation!

******

Magical Formation: Shadow Barrier Destroyer

Item/7*/15 uses

——

A 7* Magical Formation is quite surprising… Well, I guess it’s probably because I used the Large Shadow Crystal, which is a 6* item.

Of course, I also used the highest rank of Magic Paper I have, but it’s still most likely due to the Large Shadow Crystal.

I mean, no! It’s obviously because of my skills! That’s why I didn’t get the Substance X, after all!

… Though I don’t really know the effects of this Magical Formation, as the list of recipes doesn’t list their effects.

I tried looking at the details section of the item, but all that appeared was, ‘A Shadow Barrier Destroyer emanates from the user’.

And of course, there is no Art with this kind of effect, so I have nothing to compare it to, but still, I’d like to know the effect of this Magical Formation.

But well, barrier skills in general have yet to be discovered, so I can only speculate on the exact effects of this skill… Maybe it weakens the damage reduction against attacks without attributes of the event mobs? There are fifteen uses total for this Magical Formation, so I think it should be enough to test it out.

The problem is finding a good place to use it, as even the boss mobs of the event can be defeated by fighting normally right now.

Sure, you do need to have a certain strength to be able to beat them, and you’ll probably still need to use some of the event items to win safely, but… Well, it’s a pretty big event, and almost all combat-focused Pioneers are participating on it.

Due to that, all sorts of event items are being sold in order to give people better chances of beating the event mobs. Things are quite different now when compared to when the event started.

Perhaps things will change if the event mobs start appearing in the higher-level areas though, as they’d definitely be much stronger there.

Right now though? They are only variants of small fries, so even if they’re stronger than normal, they’re still upgraded versions of a weak enemy that the top players are very used to defeating.

People on the forums are all speculating that the event mobs will start appearing on the high-level areas soon though, so… Maybe this kind of Magical Formation will be useful then? To help people defeat the strengthened version of the already strong mobs.

I mean, if it was able to nullify their resistance against attacks without attributes, it would be a huge boon to the offensive potential of the players because… Well, the event equipment is quite weak.

People are still using it together with special attacks in order to bypass the resistance against attacks without attributes in them, but steel gear would be without a doubt much stronger if the enemies’ damage reduction wasn’t a thing.

And well, good weapons with attributes in them are really rare… Mika is most likely the only player Pioneer in the Zabrina Kingdom that has a weapon like that.

Then, what should I do now? The market price of this Magical Formation is high, so it’s a good item for sure.

I think I can expect it to have a good effect, so let’s inform my acquaintances about it through the private section of the blog and see if anyone is interested.

It will be first come first served. It’s been a while since I last used this part of the blog, so now is a good opportunity for it.

******

“Well, as expected of you.” Mika told me.

“You do realize I don’t really know its effect, right?” I asked her.

“That’s still a big deal! You used a Large Shadow Crystal as a material! It’s definitely a good item!” Mika exclaimed.

“But can you pay for it? You can’t really rent a consumable, you know?” I asked her next.

She giggled, “Of course!”

“Of course…?” I asked just to be sure.

“Of course not! So please buy this!” Mika exclaimed and showed me an item.

“Oh, that’s a Large Shadow Crystal…” I commented.

“Yeah, it sells for quite a bit, doesn’t it?” Mika said.

“Yeah, but this Magical Formation is even more expensive, as it uses the Large Shadow Crystal as a material…” I told her.

“I know, but it’ll still considerably reduce the final price, right?” Mika asked.

“Well, that much is true.” I replied.

“That’s it! Thank you! I can pay for this now!” Mika hugged me as she said that.

In the end, Mika was the one to buy it.

While Mika has a weapon with an attribute, she still dual wields, so she can still benefit from something that reduces the enemy’s resistance. Not to mention that her party members don’t have weapons as good as hers.

The event weapons can’t really compare to Mika’s weapons, but a steel weapon would be a lot closer in effectiveness if the enemy’s damage reduction was nullified.

Therefore, the Shadow Barrier Destroyer Magical Formation might be incredibly useful if its effect ends up being what we expect.

And since Mika sold me a Large Shadow Crystal, she was able to buy it.

If she was able to get many more Large Shadow Crystals, then Mika might be able to get rid of her debt in the not-so-distant future… Well, it’s not exactly a debt though, it’s renting.

In any case, after selling the item to Mika, it was time for today’s logout.

After logging in tomorrow, I’d like to check my funds and start making preparations to start upgrading my facilities to the Advanced tier, for I’ll finally be able to make 4* steel equipment with Options if I get this upgrade done.

Moreover, the price of the steel items will be further increased with Options, so it will be easier to save up for upgrading the other facilities after that.

And well, right now steel gear is immediately sold as soon as I finish restocking the store, so I have no doubts that the items with Options will also sell really easily.

Of course, I still can’t make that many items due to their long production time, but the important part is that my profit margin will increase even more. Especially if I get a good option when crafting!

I’m really looking forward to that!

Though before that, I need to go through the exam to purchase advanced facilities.

Of course, I’m confident in passing the exam, but when I hear that I need to go through an exam, I end up getting nervous, I mean… I couldn’t go to school much, so I have little experience with those things.

And Mika often times complains about her exams, so I end up imagining that they are actually quite scary.

Though it’s not just scary, I mean…

It can’t be helped, but I couldn’t live a normal life, so I end up longing for it.

This is a little different from a school’s exam, but still… Well, I guess it is both scary and fun at the same time.

I can’t wait for tomorrow!