While time flowed relatively slowly in the ninja world, in the Arcane Dungeon, 16 days had already passed in the blink of an eye.
Initially, Tanaka intended to go to one of the villages to hire some workers to take care of daily needs, but he changed his mind and simply created two butler personas. He named one of them Sebastian, a classic and fitting name for a butler, while he, less creatively, called the second one Sebastian Junior...
In essence, he didn't make them too different from himself, just an older version with long red hair tied back in a ponytail.
At this moment, Kaguya returned. She was dragging a pig as large as a cart by its leg, pulling it through the forest.
The scene was striking, as Kaguya, a woman of incredibly delicate appearance, easily carried an animal that must have weighed over a ton.
Sebastian Junior stepped forward and said, "Miss Kaguya, allow me to take that."
She looked at him and nodded, letting go of the pig's leg, and headed to the gazebo Tanaka had recently created.
The gazebo was a delicately ornate structure made of a gleaming material that resembled polished silver, contrasting with the surrounding vegetation. Small reflections of light danced across the elegant and finely sculpted columns, each detail meticulously designed by Tanaka to exude an aura of tranquility and refinement.
Whether due to its appearance and comfort or to enhance his Manufacturing skill, this place became Kaguya's favorite spot to sit and relax.
Unprompted, Sebastian brought tea and cakes to the gazebo.
Kaguya knew they were clones created by Tanaka, but she didn't know they shared the same mind and thoughts. She thought they were independently intelligent clones that he used for trivial tasks, like now, serving her tea.
However, even with that assumption, she was neither disrespectful nor anything of the sort to any of them. She remained her usual self, with an air of freedom and nonchalance that somehow increased her appeal as a beautiful woman, exuding a certain nobility.
Every movement she made seemed timelessly elegant.
In Tanaka's item crafting workshop, an isolated soundproof space protected by formations, he worked in a spacious area of 50 square meters filled with materials from Rank S animals.
Their bones were valuable, and even teeth or some organs were precious items for crafting new creations.
The materials he obtained in this dungeon were something he would hardly get elsewhere; after all, even in his own world, most animals had not even reached level 100. Even summoned creatures barely reached Rank S.
Additionally, in recent days, there had been a subtle shift in this dungeon. The absence of the Divine Tree, along with the end of its miserable existence, had caused natural energy to become even more abundant, allowing even humans to reach higher power levels.
However, those who experienced the most drastic increases were the animals. Although some had gone mad, as if they had completely lost any vestige of sanity, they still reached Rank S. Or rather, without restrictions, each breath from these creatures — now mindless beasts — made them grow stronger, little by little.
...
The first game Tanaka played, where flying was possible, was called "Perfect World." The reason he remembered this game was the thrill he felt playing as a character that could fly. In particular, he liked the elves, not because of their classes, but because they had feathered wings, similar to angels.
This desire persisted even in his future game choices, although over time, he played a variety of games where flying wasn't necessarily an option.
But if he had to say he had a wish he'd like to fulfill, it would be to fly... Of course, he was already able to do that, but although it was possible, he longed to fly with wings made of feathers. Childish perhaps, but who doesn't have childish wishes sometimes?
In front of Tanaka, there were exactly 3,000 uniformly proportioned feathers, each 20 cm long, carefully chosen. All of them belonged to albatrosses that had attempted to attack him and steal the prey he had hunted.
After 15 attempts, on the sixteenth, he finally obtained the desired result.
══════
[Legendary Red Feather - Rank A+]: Defense Boost: 150.
[Crafted by Tanaka Uzumaki, The Gamer]
Legendary Red Feather created using Rank S albatross feathers, Rank S albatross essence, and Rank C Soul Stones.
Effects:
1: Can be fused
2: +0.1 DEX
3: +0.1 VIT
4: +0.1 STR
Durability: 5,000/5,000
User Restriction: Tanaka Uzumaki
══════
The effects may seem simple, but not entirely. Considering that a pair of wings would require at least 2,000 feathers, the fact that they can be fused and increase DEX, VIT, and STR by 0.1 makes them an incredible item.
"Very well, I need to craft several more with this same pattern…" he thought.
In the next instant, he followed the same pattern to create the next red feather. The process was still slow to avoid mistakes.
When he finally finished and saw he had achieved the same result, he smiled as he performed hand seals, creating 200 shadow clones using his newly acquired skill: Multiple Shadow Clones.
Although not as durable as conventional shadow clones, he had enhanced the Shadow Clone skill to level 99, making it more versatile for this purpose.
[22x4=88]
[Uzushio, 11:33 at night]
Akane couldn't sleep. Her restlessness made her get out of bed and go to the living room for some tea.
It was two days until Tanaka's 16th birthday. Somehow, this made Akane feel anxious.
At his age, and considering how mature he is, Akane felt that sooner or later, he would want to live independently.
It wasn't unknown to her that he could earn substantial money on his own. Perhaps, in Uzushio, no one could generate as much wealth in such a short time as he could.
If he wanted, buying a house with a yard wouldn't be difficult. Or even claiming the house left by his parents.
Blowing on the tea, she took a sip, trying to calm her mind.
"Why is this affecting me so much? It's not like it's going to happen now, and even if it does, it's not like we won't see each other anymore…"
She felt a pang just imagining Tanaka moving out. It was strange; even though it made her sad, it shouldn't be affecting her this much. So, why?
The truth is that maybe she knew the reason but refused to acknowledge it.
"He's just a kid…" She tried to convince herself, whether it was about him living alone or for some other reason.
[11x3=33]
All daily dungeons below level 100 were completed, and Killua, along with the sisters Tatsumaki and Hanako, returned to the base.
Upon arrival, Hanako and Tatsumaki went to their residence at the base to sleep.
They had the option of separate rooms, but, for now, they slept in single beds in the same room.
Maybe, after everything they'd been through, there was still some lingering insecurity, or perhaps they simply enjoyed sharing the room. Whatever the reason, it wasn't a bad thing in itself.
After changing into pajamas and taking care of bedtime routines like showering and brushing their teeth, Hanako, who still hadn't fallen asleep, pulled the blanket up a little and asked, "Tatsumaki-nee, are you still awake?"
"Yes, I am," replied Tatsumaki. "If you have something to say, just say it; I'm almost asleep..."
"Uh... I'm just a bit restless and wanted to talk…" Hanako said. "By the way, I'm already at level 59. And you, Tatsumaki-nee?"
"60~~," she replied in a drowsy voice. Soon, her breathing became softer; clearly, she had fallen asleep after answering.
Hanako pouted slightly but quickly sighed quietly before turning over to sleep.