The Beginning Of The Fairy Migration Project.

Recovery medicines, treatments, and enhancement drugs with effects potent enough to be called miracles are often referred to as Potions (Secret Medicines) and are divided into five distinct grades.

They are categorized as Supreme, High, Mid, Low, and Lowest, but the deciding factor for this classification is only one thing: the number of materials used in the concoction.

If it’s just one type of material, it’s Lowest; if it’s two, it’s Low. It is an exceedingly simple system. I feel like the influence of the game remains strong in this regard.

However, unlike the game where item numbers were limited, in this materialized world, there are countless materials. Consequently, even though they are combinations of only four or five types, there are still many Secret Medicines for which High or Supreme recipes have yet to be discovered.

Well, I happen to remember them all, though.

Furthermore, there are precautions regarding combinations: high-rarity materials cannot be used for low-grade concoctions. For example, a Fire Dragon’s Tail, which is a material for Vitality Recovery Medicine, has a rarity of 4 stars so it can only be used when refining High-grade potions or above.

In the case of this External Trauma Medicine, the Unicorn Horn I managed to bring with me when leaving the capital is a 3-star rarity, and the Bitter-Juice Grass is a 1-star rarity. By adding the 2-star Great Deer Saliva I obtained yesterday, I was finally able to transmute a Mid-grade External Trauma Medicine consisting of three types of materials.

“For my sake, such a precious medicine… w-why?”

“If someone is in trouble, it’s only natural to help them, isn’t it?”

I answered the man in the form of a beautiful girl standing in front of me with as serious a tone as possible. If Ethan-san were actually a woman, this would be a situation where my motives might be questioned. I definitely do not have interests in that particular direction.

“B-but, well…”

“If you insist that you absolutely do not want to owe me a debt, how about this? You could help us out.”

“I… help?!”

“Yes. I’ve heard rumors of your wonderful hunting skills, Ethan-san.”

The Treant youth was struck speechless, staring intently at my face. After a short pause, he continued, his words sounding as if they were being squeezed out.

“I hear that since you arrived, Sir Nino, this village no longer suffers from a lack of meat or leather. For someone like me, who shamefully fled from a monster and couldn’t even heal his own injury properly…”

“No, the fact that you survived such a dangerous situation is already proof of your excellence.”

Treants, who are well-versed in medicinal herbs, sometimes take on the role of an apothecary. In Dra-Chro 2, this slender hunter was the one who handled most of the plant-related procurement. In that respect as well, I’m certain he will be of great help in the labyrinth exploration.

At my words of praise, Ethan-san silently looked down. Until now, he likely held a certain pride in supporting this village by doubling as both a hunter and an apothecary. But then came last year’s cursed incident where his acquaintance went missing, and he himself was left unable to even walk due to a major injury. And then I suddenly appear, taking over all of Ethan-san’s jobs. It would be impossible to tell him not to lose his confidence.

But I don’t want this person to end up broken like this. If he gets serious, Ethan-san is truly incredible. After all, once he grows, he becomes a damage dealer who vies for the top one or two spots in the entire game.

“Ethan-san, please. Lend me your strength!”

I pressed in toward the youth sitting on the bed, forcefully grasping his hands and looking into his emerald eyes. In his current timid state, a single sincere sentence should be more effective than stacking up unnecessary words.

“I need you!”

“…………I… I understand.”

It seems he understood. As the color returned to Ethan-san’s face all at once, we shared a firm handshake once more. With this, the matter of training archers looks like it will work out somehow.

“Until your intuition returns, would you mind teaching the villagers how to use a bow for a while?”

“Yes, if I’ll do, then gladly!”

“Thank you. That helps a lot.”

At my words of gratitude, Ethan-san showed me a lovely smile, like a flower blooming.

After leaving the isolated house at the edge of the village, we met up with the usual members at the tavern. On our way to the labyrinth, we decided to peek into Heimo’s workshop.

Perhaps because he’s afraid of fire, it was built quite close to the river. It’s a single-story building but has an open construction, and the concept of an “entrance” doesn’t seem to exist. In the dirt-floored area protected only by a roof, a large furnace was set up, with water tubs and anvils placed around it.

Amidst all that, Heimo was sprawled out, snoring loudly. Furthermore, three Goblins were stuck tightly to him, nestled against his sides and between his legs. Empty ale barrels and wooden plates were rolling around the blacksmith, suggesting they had been drinking all through the night.

As I watched, the Goblins shivered and snuggled closer to Heimo, hugging him tight. Even though it’s February, it’s still cold. To the Wicked Fairies born in the labyrinth—which is always kept at a constant temperature—the chill of the surface seems to be quite a trial. Until he got used to it, Gob-tchi was always clinging to Yoru or Kuu as well.

“I was going to ask what he wanted to do today, but I’ll let him sleep.”

Even when Yoru and Kuu patted his forehead, he showed no signs of waking up. Wrapped in a “Goblin futon,” the blacksmith looked quite happy.

Today’s party consisted of Yoru and Kuu riding their blue slimes; the usual duo of the Monster Tamer and the Mage; and, for safety, the Chief (who returned to being a Healer) and his wife, Carina-san. Additionally, there were four villagers for leveling.

Because the “luring” duo of Yo and Gob-tchi were absent, things were less efficient, but we still reached the fifth floor in an hour and a half. Naturally, I didn’t forget to three more Fairies on the fourth floor.

Upon entering the Goblin settlement, Goblins came swarming out. When they realized Heimo wasn’t with us, they let out a chorus of disappointed laughs.

“Heh, he was quite popular, wasn’t he? Uncle Heimo.”

“How tragic—!”

“Koo!”

He seemed to have unexpected popularity—or rather, “Gob-larity.”

Using the gallnuts I obtained along the way, I handed the Black-Fur Wolf Pelts—which I had finally been able to tan—to the Goblins in the leather-processing squad.

“Chief, it’s about time you had leather armor made, too.”

“Is that alright?!”

“Fufu, that’s wonderful, dear. I’ll make sure they put their heart and soul into it.”

“Of course, it’s for Carina-san as well.”

“Oh, for me too?”

While the couple happily had their measurements taken, I went to check on the “Imo-tchi” squad. Things aren’t progressing very well here.

“Hmm, raising levels just with Horn Rabbits is tough after all.”

“Kee-hee!”

“Kehe-kehe.”

It seems Yo and Gob-tchi tried their best, but a Great Caterpillar with only can’t land a finishing blow. Consequently, they gain little experience and need to defeat many, but since their movement is slow, that’s not feasible either.

“Well, those guys should be spawning soon…”

The one Fairy here and had Yo join instead. Without an experienced lure, the sixth floor and beyond would be difficult.

With a three-Fairy formation, we handled crab and turtle fishing, and on the seventh floor, we climbed the tower to focus purely on grinding experience. Thanks to that, the two who were Level 14 reached Level 16 in about two hours. I decided it was too early to go deep into the eighth floor, so we mapped the area near the stairs while gathering mushrooms. Every time they found a new colony, the Fairies were ecstatic.

We also managed to hunt two Branch-Horn Deer, so we pulled back to the settlement without overextending. Yes, let’s keep increasing the Fairies at this pace.