Well, we have a long two-month wait until our new weapons are ready.

  Normally, we'd just hunt some mochi to raise our skill proficiency, make rice lotion for money, and call it a day.

  That's definitely the safe and reasonable approach.

  "But that's no good."

  However, as a former hardcore gamer, my mind immediately concluded that this approach is too inefficient, and an alternative pn fshed through my thoughts.

  "? What's no good? Nel did a good job haggling for us, you know?"

  "That's right. We could've pushed a bit more, but if we haggled any further, it would've ruined our retionship with that shop."

  "No, it's not that."

  Should I do this or that?

  I only criticized my own pn, not Nel's haggling skills. I shook my head with a wry smile to crify.

  "Our future pn is to either continue hunting mochi and mass-producing rice lotion until our weapons are ready or try something new. It's a choice between the two."

  I honestly shared my thoughts.

  ""Something new?""

  "O-oh, I was thinking the same thing, but is it really that obvious?"

  A true hardcore gamer knows that to reach the realm of obsession, you need to efficiently prepare and tackle other tasks while waiting for your gear to be ready.

  Fortunately, both Nel and Amina are willing to cooperate, and they're even somewhat enthusiastic about it, so I'll go ahead with the pn.

  Though, the expressions on their still-youthful faces don't seem like the kind they should be making.

  "I get that it's necessary, but there's a limit to how much of the same thing you can do, you know?"

  "Yeah, tely, I've even been dreaming about mochi. Seriously, enough already, right?"

  "I had a dream where I was chased by Kagami mochi."

  "Oh, I've had that one too."

  With her arms crossed, Nel, our leader, furrowed her brow in dissatisfaction, while Amina stood beside her, nodding emphatically.

  Well, character development, in the extreme sense, is just about repeating monotonous tasks with super efficiency.

  The same goes for mastering pyer skills.

  You just drill the same actions into your body, repeat them, and expand your range.

  That's how you learn simple movements and increase your patterns.

  That's how you build the foundation.

  I understand the frustration building up, and I can empathize because I've felt that same frustration countless times in the past.

  So, I can also understand the need to change things up a bit in our routine.

  If mochi is starting to appear in our dreams—a clear early symptom of obsession—then treatment is essential.

  "Just give up on that. If we keep doing other things, eventually other stuff will start appearing in our dreams and overwrite the mochi."

  And the best way to do that is to take on new quests to fill our minds.

  ""Ehhh...""

  The girls compined about my solution, but this is just the nature of being a hardcore gamer. There's no helping it.

  You keep working on something until you fall asleep, and it sticks in your brain. Then you start thinking about how to do it more efficiently. That's the hardcore gamer mindset.

  "So, to overwrite our current routine, I think we should take on an underground quest."

  "Underground?"

  "What's that?"

  "It's about fishermen. Well, not exactly people."

  The best quest we can do during this two-month wait.

  We've already ordered a mithril fishing rod, so we can't just leave it without someone to use it.

  "Though it's a golem."

  A golem specifically designed for fishing—or rather, a golem optimized for fishing.

  Well, it's not exactly an official quest, but by completing multiple quests to gather the necessary parts, we can eventually create a golem. That's why I call it that.

  "So, you mean a golem that fishes?"

  "There's such a thing as a fishing golem?"

  "Well, not exactly. We'll be making one."

  There are roughly two types of golems.

  "Wait, we can make one?"

  One is the wild, monster-type golem, like a cy figure.

  "Yeah, we can make one. I think I expined it before, but Amina's build is designed with golem creation in mind, right?"

  "Amina, you forgot, didn't you?"

  "Ah, hahahaha..."

  The other type is the pyer-made magical golem.

  The freedom in creating these golems is so high that some pyers even joked that you might as well make an entire game just about that.

  The only exception is that no one has discovered how to create golems with biological parts or materials that resemble living flesh, so all golems end up looking distinctly non-living.

  I did mention a bit about creating golems when expining the concept of a busy-type idol, but that was a long time ago.

  Well, it's understandable.

  Nel looks a bit exasperated at Amina, who's ughing awkwardly, but with so many skill builds in FBO, even pyers sometimes forget.

  It's just one of those things.

  "Amina, you're hopeless. But Libert, is there really a shop in the royal capital that can do that? I've never heard of it."

  "Me neither! I've never seen anyone using a golem before."

  "From what I know, they're somewhat popur, but yeah, I've never seen one either."

  So, I was about to expin what a golem is, but Nel's question and Amina's experience made me pause.

  In all their time living here, they've never seen a golem in the city. Even in the game, there are no NPCs who openly handle golems, and the golem specialty shops are mainly for pyers.

  "Well, there's still a way, so it's fine. For now, let's move."

  In this world where I seem to be the only pyer, it would be impossible to get the parts needed to make a golem.

  "Where are we going?"

  "If it's outside, we can't go too far at this time, right?"

  "Don't worry, it's nearby."

  We left Ganjii's shop and headed east.

  "Is there something over here?"

  "I think there are a few shops, but they're all pces to eat, right?"

  Relying on my memory, I searched for something familiar, and as we walked, the surroundings gradually changed.

  "Found it."

  "Eh, here?"

  "This pce... a tavern?"

  What we arrived at was a tavern with swinging doors that looked like it belonged in a western.

  Even though it was daytime, the loud voices of men could be heard from inside.

  They were clearly having a good time, and the crowd inside didn't exactly look like the most upstanding citizens.

  "Yeah, this is the pce. He should be here."

  Since this is before the original story's events, there's a chance he might not be here, but if the quest details are accurate, he should definitely be around.

  "What should we do? If you're scared, I can go in alone."

  "...I'll go."

  "If you two are going, I'll come too."

  The sight of drunk men ughing and shouting loudly might be scary for kids, depending on the person.

  The men's rough appearances certainly didn't help.

  I guess it's weird that I'm not bothered by it.

  Thinking that, I led the slightly nervous duo through the door.

  The creaking sound of the door drew the attention of a few people inside.

  Some were curious about what kids were doing here, while others quickly lost interest and went back to drinking.

  But there's always an exception.

  "I AM!! The great inventor, Mister Egg!! And I demand you bring me more ale!!"

  "Shut up!! If you want ale, pay up like everyone else!!"

  A drunk man with an afro and a rough-looking tavern owner were shouting at each other, completely oblivious to our presence.

  "What's with that guy?"

  "Ugh, getting that drunk in the middle of the day..."

  Nel and Amina immediately gave the man a cold stare.

  And who could bme them?

  His unkempt, half-done afro.

  A wrinkled, stained b coat, mismatched shoes, and an overall unkempt appearance that, while not smelly, just screamed unsanitary.

  It was clear even to the owner that this guy was a troublesome customer, and he was visibly on the verge of throwing a punch.

  "Ah, there he is."

  "Eh?"

  "No way..."

  Unfortunately, the loud, obnoxious man causing all the trouble was exactly the person I was looking for.

  My gaze locked onto Mister Egg.

  Realizing this, the two girls immediately grabbed my shoulders from either side, shaking their heads in disapproval.

  "Libert, that guy's no good."

  "Yeah, nothing good can come from dealing with him."

  To the two girls, Mister Egg probably looked like the epitome of a failed adult, chasing dreams and living a miserable life.

  "Well, I can see why you'd think that."

  But in the game, he's one of those characters you'd never expect to be so capable.

  Interacting with the drunk afro man, Mister Egg, triggers a quest.

  'Drunken Ambitions'

  This quest is essential for creating golems in the southern continent.

  In FBO, to find this quest, you need to first learn about golem creation and then start gathering information. Eventually, an NPC will share a rumor:

  'Apparently, there are some strange men showing up at various shops, making weird things. Whether they're lying or telling the truth, what they're saying isn't exactly realistic. Well, if you're interested, you might want to look for them. You'll probably find them at eateries.'

  Yeah, this is the info you need to trigger the quest. As you can tell from the rumor, there are multiple quests like this.

  And every single one of these guys is just like Mister Egg, drunk and causing a scene five seconds before we arrived.

  "But sorry, this is necessary."

  I understand why Nel and Amina are worried, as if they think I'm being scammed. I felt the same way when I first read about this on a walkthrough site.

  If it weren't for the trust we've built, Nel and Amina would've definitely tried to stop me.

  Times like these really show how important trust is.

  Reluctantly, they kept giving me looks, asking if this was really okay. I smiled wryly and assured them it was.

  We approached the scene just as the shouting match was about to turn into a brawl.

  "Owner!"

  "Yeah!?"

  Without hesitation, I stepped into the fray.

  The other patrons were stunned that a kid like me would intervene in such a heated argument. Some looked shocked, while others hesitated, unsure whether to step in.

  The owner, caught off guard by my sudden interruption, gred at me, but I calmly took out a silver coin from my pouch.

  "Use this to give him a drink!"

  """"Huhhhhhhhh!!?????""""

  And so, I treated Mister Egg to a drink.

  One silver coin, worth a hundred zeni—equivalent to ten thousand yen.

  For a kid to spend that much money, and on a clearly no-good adult at that, left Nel, Amina, the owner, and the other patrons utterly shocked.

  "W-wait, Libert!?"

  "What's wrong!? Are you feeling sick!?"

  "Kid, I don't know where you're from, but listen to the girls! Are you hungry? If so, I'll get you something to eat right away. Treating that idiot to a drink is a joke, right?"

  Nel was stunned by my actions, while Amina frantically checked if I was feeling okay.

  Even the owner, who had been furious just moments ago, was now worried about my sanity.

  Yeah, this is how it goes. This is exactly how it went when I did this in the game.

  "Unfortunately, I'm perfectly sane."

  Feeling a bit lonely under everyone's strange gazes, I knew I had to push through to progress the quest.

  "Keh keh keh keh keh!! See that!? The great inventor Mister Egg has a sponsor now!! Hey, owner, bring me that ale!!"

  The only one who accepted my actions without question was the suspicious-looking afro man, Mister Egg, who ughed weirdly and smmed the table, demanding his drink.

  He showed no shame or guilt about having a kid pay for his drink.

  The epitome of a failed adult, the gazes from everyone around us grew even colder.

  Ah, how sad.

  Nel's gaze was filled with genuine confusion, asking "Why?"

  Amina's gaze was filled with genuine concern, asking if I was being threatened.

  Maybe they're just kind-hearted?

  The owner, taking Amina's words seriously, reluctantly prepared the ale while gring at Mister Egg as if he were the scum of the earth.

  I know I'll have to repeat this exchange four more times.