Artificial Fantasy

Chapter 82: New Builds

Two days have passed since Kazuki started training on his [Scribe Mastery] and so far, he has made some decent progress. And this is during the last few days of our school before the winter break along with the amount of homework for us to finish. I've also made some progress on my end as I've managed to learn some cool blacksmithing techniques from Ol' Wally in the game to make some unique arrowheads for some new arrows. I know I'm not interested in this stuff, but I won't lie that I wasn't having fun learning more about the world of blacksmithing from Wallaby. Still, we only have about one-and-a-half weeks so we can not only get our revenge on those smug ants, but we might able to unlock the secrets of Kazu's mysterious book.

Eventually, another class has gone by and I'm hoping I can pick Kazuki up on time so we can continue our training. But then, I feel someone grabbing my shoulder and I turn to see Zac and Damon glaring at me with the widest frowns I have ever seen. Then again, I might have deserved those death glares along with a day of silent treatment considering I kind of abandoned them to take that dreaded library [Quest] that day. Regardless, I sigh in dismay that they're still mad at me.

"Look, I get that you're still angry at me. But please don't beat a dead horse. I already said I'm sorry!"

"You better be. Thanks to that [Quest], I can never see words in any paper or book ever again!"

Geez, Zac? Isn't that a bit exaggerated? Sure, I also suffered, but I survived regardless.

"As much as I want to criticize Zac's dramatics, it has left me with a bit of trouble sleeping from that librarian's demeanor," Damon says. "Action speaks louder than words, Palmer. If you want to make it up to us, then I suggest you start by helping us get some new gear for the dungeon and invite us to your house before your brother's birthday. It's Zac's idea, though."

Fair point. I can do Arthur's sword, but Razul's? I think that might be Kazuki or Star's department. As for the invite, I'll see if my parents will approve of it.

"I understand. Just give me some materials for them and I'll see what I can do."

"Great! That makes me feel better. Oh! And speaking of birthdays..."

Zac starts to rummage around in his bag as Damon and I watch him in confusion. But when he takes something out, I gasp in shock at what I see.

"Z-Zac, i-is that..." I start.

"Hehe... Surprised? You can do anything with the power of express delivery!" Zac declares. "Don't worry, your Dad paid it through a bank transfer once we found it. Of course, I had to send it to my house with my Jungle account."

Good move, Dad! Kazuki can be a little too curious for his own good. For his past five birthdays in a row, he has managed to find every hiding spot we know whenever we order something online for him and it was so bad that we've had to resort to delivering in Zac or Damon's house as a last resort. And considering this will be the biggest birthday gift we'll ever give to him, it's imperative we need to be extra careful this year.

"Nice! I'll inform Dad that it arrived. Just keep it with you until Kaz's birthday and you can give it to me before the party. And of course..."

"I get it. I'll make sure not to mess up the gift wrapping this time. You do realize you have to pay for the wrapping. You did suggest this beforehand."

"Yeah. For now, I'll pick him up alone while you guys head home immediately. We'll meet back in [Isekai] once we do."

"10-4, Captain Hayate."

We leave the school afterward and as discussed, we split up as planned.

----

A few hours later, Kazuki and I are back home and we finish dinner as usual. After that, we quickly log into the game and we head off to the <Force Blade's Guild Crafting Hall> where I let Kazu do his own thing upstairs while I continue working on my current project: the special arrowheads.