TFCG 30

Chapter 30

Why did it have to come full circle like this again?

The first main quest had me dive into the sea to retrieve a black box from a crashed airship, and now the last main quest on Mid-Isle was also about diving underwater.

Sure, I managed to clear that first quest without personally going into the sea, but this time there was no escaping it.

Of course, my plan was to accept the quest and then postpone it for as long as humanly possible.

Holding the commission slip Lena had kindly yielded to me, I walked over to Belinda.

Belinda looked at me blankly, then signed the document and handed me a small glass vial.

“It’s a potion that lets you breathe underwater for a short time. Duration: two hours. Make sure you surface before then.”
“Y-yes, thank you. But, uh… there’s no deadline for this quest, right?”

I carefully accepted the glass bottle, asking just to make sure.

“No, of course not. Even Faber from the magic workshop, who ordered this potion, said it’s a difficult task, so it’s fine to take your time.”

Thankfully, there was no time limit.

I let out a quiet sigh of relief and asked a second question.

“Um, can I take on other requests while this one’s still accepted?”
“Hmm, yes. There’s no rule saying you can only accept one quest at a time.”

At her answer, I clenched my fist in triumph.

Perfect…! I’d shelve this one for now, prepare properly, change my name, power up my gear, and move on to the next area once I was fully ready.

Just as I turned around, though, I locked eyes with my red-eyed roommate.

Her gaze seemed to say, “I gave up my turn for you, and you’re not even going to do it now?”

“……”

I pretended not to notice. Not a thing!

I tried to casually walk past her, but—

“If you weren’t going to do it right away, why’d you ask me to give it up?”

Lena’s sharp voice hit me directly.

“W-well, you know, I need to prepare! If I’m going underwater, I’ll need a diving suit, right? It’d feel gross if my clothes got wet.”

Of course, anything you put into the inventory came out completely dry, as if sun-dried—but I ignored that fact and pressed on.

“Hmm, true.”
“And what if the two-hour potion isn’t enough? What if I don’t find the item in time? I should have spares, right?”
“…Yeah, that makes sense.”
“Exactly! Better safe than sorry. I just want to be thoroughly prepared before I go.”
“…R-right?”

Lena tilted her head, half-convinced, half-confused.

“As expected of you, Lady Elaine! You always give your all in every quest—how admirable!”

Leo clasped his hands, eyes sparkling.

…Why did this feel like I was scamming innocent people?

Still, it wasn’t a lie.

Eventually, I would prepare a diving suit, extra breathing potions, and dive into that ocean—once I had everything ready.

Powerful gear, combat stats that exceeded the recommended level, and most importantly, a new ID card with my new name on it!

After learning the “origin” of my old name, my friends had started just calling me “Elaine,” dropping the “Strongest Shooter” part—but flashing that ridiculous title on my ID was still mortifying.

So yes, a new name was essential.

I’d even asked Belinda how long the renaming process would take.

She said two days, right.

Anyway, this whole ordeal reminded me not to get complacent.

Next time there was a main quest I wanted to delay, I shouldn’t just leave it on the bulletin board. I should accept it first, then decide what to do.

Because who knew what might happen in the meantime?

Feeling the tension rise, I realized I couldn’t afford to laze around anymore—doing just one or two small quests a day, gathering and crafting at a snail’s pace.

I needed to move.

Hmm, this one’s still too high-level for my crafting skill…

Days had passed since my “quest standoff” with Lena. By now, most of my gathering and crafting skills had surpassed level 5, and I’d collected a decent stash of Rainbow Stones.

My combat level had risen to 15, unlocking new skills—and two more Rainbow Stones.

Thanks to all the gathering, my gathering proficiency hit 10, granting yet another Rainbow Stone.

Now I had twenty-nine in total. Just one more to go!

Every day I camped by the request board, waiting for a quest that rewarded Rainbow Stones, while also crafting good equipment for a shooter.

That’s why I was here, in the library.

The beginner crafting manuals sold in shops had nothing useful for high-tier gear.

They were all basic recipes, after all.

A rare-grade outfit was the bare minimum for me now.

My gun was a unique-grade weapon, after all—it deserved matching gear.

So, searching for new crafting blueprints had become part of my daily routine.

I’d already made quite a few items.

Under Tanner’s guidance, I crafted knee-high leather boots and gloves, later enchanting them at Faber’s magic workshop.

Enchantments were random, so I hadn’t expected much—but luckily, my boots gained a slight movement speed boost.

The gloves didn’t get any special effects, but at least they improved defense.

Under Smith’s guidance at the forge, I’d also crafted accessories—earrings, necklaces, and bracelets—from the bones of that giant lizard we fought.

Each was enchanted with magic that supported my shooter skills.

So now, my status window looked like this:

[StrongestShooterElaine]
Lv. 15 Shooter
Combat Power: 1,425 (Equipment +1,125)

Four digits! Finally!

Amazing.

When I first fell into this world, I was a fragile level-1 shooter with a combat power of only 10.

Now I had three skills: Freezing Bullet and Flame Bullet among them—magical rounds imbued with ice and fire.

They’ll come in handy in the next region.

Those elemental skills had perfect synergy with the monsters there—clearly by design.

Anyway, I was looking for headgear.

I had a +5 defense outfit from a previous pull, but head protection was separate.

I couldn’t exactly march into battle wearing a construction helmet with a headlamp.

Hmm, what would look good? Shooters in steampunk games always have such cool gear—gears, goggles, little brass accents…

I flipped through book after book, searching for a nice design.

Nothing was perfect. Pretty gear had weak defense; strong gear looked clunky and ugly.

And the pretty, strong ones?

Ugh, I can’t craft those yet…!

What a dilemma.

As I irritably flipped another page, a gloved white hand appeared in my view.

Tap, tap—Adrian gently knocked on my desk.

“Ah! Y-yes, Sir Adrian? Did you need something?”

Hopefully he wasn’t about to scold me for roughing up the books.

He handed me a book instead, expression calm as ever.

“You should find suitable shooter gear recipes for your level in this one.”
“Oh! Thank you so much.”

I gratefully accepted it—then froze.

Wait… how did he know I was looking for shooter gear?

Adrian, noticing my wide-eyed surprise, flushed slightly and murmured an explanation.

“Lately, all the books you’ve been checking and copying from were crafting manuals—and every one of them was for shooter gear.”
“Ah… right, that’s true.”

Of course. He was the librarian—how could I expect him not to notice?

I buried my face in the book, flipping pages in embarrassment… when suddenly—

WEEEOOOOW—!

A shrill siren blared through the library.

“W-what’s that sound?!”

I froze. I’d never heard that noise before—not even while playing the game.

“…That’s an emergency alarm. It seems something serious has happened.”
“An emergency?”
“We should head to the Order’s office. The commander will likely call an urgent meeting.”

Adrian grabbed his coat and rushed out, and I—utterly confused—hurried after him.

The alarm still rang outside. It wasn’t just the library; it echoed throughout the entire town.

What on earth could be happening?

My mind went completely blank.

By the time we reached Commander Clemens’ office, all members of the Order had gathered, faces grim.

And then—

Wait… this atmosphere, this layout, this setup… why does it feel familiar?

A chill ran down my spine as realization struck.

This was that scene.