Chapter 14: Gathering While Neglecting Your Main Job? Yeah, That Happens
The next area — the "Four-Wheel-Drive/Eight-Wheel-Drive Swamp Wasteland" that I have to cross to go from Secondale to the third town, Thirdrema — is a wilderness dotted with many swamps, just as the name suggests. Apparently, mineral items drop there.
"You'll understand when you go," the NPC said, giving me a remarkably unhelpful remark for a non‑player character. After reorganizing my inventory and buying various necessities like recovery items and a map, I headed to the Four-Wheel-Drive/Eight-Wheel-Drive Swamp Wasteland.
Sunraku: "Alright... first, I need to verify the monsters' drop items..."
That's what I'd like to do, but before that, I need to see how well the Goblin's Hand Axes hold up. Depending on the results, I might have to prioritize crafting a new weapon. For now, as a test dummy, I'll target the monster called the Mud Frog — the one that provided the materials for the Blade‑Resistant Leather set.
From the equipment descriptions, it's safe to assume the Mud Frog has resistance to slashing attacks. Weapon affinity like this is a classic trope. Some specific body parts also seem resistant to piercing attacks, so maybe blunt attacks or magic are the recommended way to defeat it? Or maybe there are other damage types — this game also has firearms as weapons, so are those piercing or something else?
Sunraku: "Man, I never thought I'd appreciate the Goblin's Hand Axe for having such poor sharpness that it actually deals blunt damage too."
If I overlook the fact that its durability drops at an alarming rate when using skills, it's a great disposable weapon that deals both blunt and slashing damage.
Anyway, my priorities are ores and monsters. I could see dog‑like monsters and bird‑like monsters in the distance, but they were too far away, so their enemy AI's detection range didn't seem to trigger.
Sunraku: "So 'you'll understand when you go' was right..."
When I reached the edge of a decently sized swamp, I finally understood what the bearded old man NPC meant. Right in the middle of the swamp, something like a rock cluster was growing. Parts of it had a different texture — more like ore than rock — so apparently this object contains ore items within this area. And coincidentally, I also found the other thing I was looking for.
Mud Frog: "Gegogo, gegogo..."
Sunraku: "Is that... a frog?"
From its croak and general characteristics, there's no doubt that thing is the Mud Frog. However, unlike real frogs — which look like shogi pieces with limbs attached — how should I describe this one? A rectangular box with biological parts stuck onto it? It was a frog with a very unique shape.
Sunraku: "More importantly, it's huge."
That frog is about as big as a large dog. It's covered in mud, so I can't tell the color of its skin, but it's probably the same color as the leather set I'm wearing now.
Let's give it a try. I took two Goblin's Hand Axes...
Sunraku: "HRAAAH!"
Mud Frog: "Gegyoo?!"
Fool. Did you think I'd fight you in a swamp that clearly restricts movement? Fool — no, you foolish frog. As expected of a ridiculously high-quality god-tier game, it lets you throw weapons without the slightest hesitation. I aimed for its eye, but my throw went wide and hit its face instead. Still, even a stone axe hitting its face made the Mud Frog reel back and flip over — as only a frog can.
Sunraku: "Hah! Opportunity!!"
When I stepped into the mud, I couldn't run as expected. I had to pull my feet out of the swamp one step at a time. But thanks to some kind of balancing, the Mud Frog's stunned state didn't wear off before I reached it.
Sunraku: "You're practically screaming 'weak spot'... Hah!!"
Mud Frog: "Gyue...!!"
It sounded like a frog getting squashed... well, I guess it literally was a frog. The Goblin's Hand Axe (spare) that I slammed into the Mud Frog's exposed weak spot dug deep into its belly with a critical effect. Whether that was the fatal blow or not, the Mud Frog scattered into polygons.
Sunraku: "First, I'll retrieve the thrown axe... Well, I figured, but the drop item is just hide."
Since NPCs sell it as armor, it's probably not a rare item. My guess is that the back hide is the rare drop. At any rate, I've confirmed that the Goblin's Axe is still effective against Mud Frogs. I'll pause monster verification for now and move on to the main event: mining ore.
Sunraku: "A pickaxe — you can equip it as a weapon, not just as an item?"
A pickaxe is no joke as a strong weapon. In survival games, you can easily craft one from a sharp rock and a wooden branch, and since the "slash" animation actually delivers a "piercing" attack, some people use it as their main weapon. I can confidently say that a pickaxe wielded by a player from a baseball game background is more lethal than any amateur spear.
Sunraku: "...Wait, this is... heavy...!"
I kept smashing the pickaxe against the rock cluster, but perhaps because it can be used as a weapon, with my current strength, it was a bit difficult to handle. It's not impossible to swing, but each swing consumes two‑thirds of my stamina. That's far too inefficient.
Still, I kept at it, and after about ten minutes of swinging, I managed to mine as many ore items as I could.