Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Here’s the Mace
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"Here, this is the mace."
If a companion joins in the middle of progressing through a game, the unwritten rule is that they usually show up equipped with items matching the player's progress.
Senia and Cecilia had been a mess in terms of setup, but they'd at least been wearing their shards diligently.
But what the hell was this?
Seeing her completely empty sockets, Alicia's and my faces crumpled up like we'd just stared at a fish-head curry.
According to her excuses, she hadn't been totally without shards.
Right before becoming my follower, she'd handed all her shards over to her previous follower as payback for the spider dungeon debt.
"...I told you. I had no plans to enter any dungeons."
She started sputtering excuses, clearly feeling guilty.
Of course she should feel guilty.
Who the hell just hands over everything like that unless they're a total pushover?
Wasn't this basically her protesting that she'd never set foot in a dungeon, even if it killed her?
The healing output from the Church of the Final Dawn scales with the caster's vitality.
The number of blue shards directly determines healing capacity.
Higher-level dungeons demand even greater healing output.
In her current state, tackling the Undead Dungeon was out of the question.
"I could scrounge up a few shards for you."
"N-No, it's fine! You don't have to go that far...!"
"No, we're not fine."
Mine shriveled up at Alicia's firm words.
Of course, I could spare her a few blue shards.
I still had some Stage 2 shards left over from a month of dungeon farming and the Doll Dungeon.
Worst case, I could borrow some from Cecilia.
But shoving shards into her willy-nilly here wouldn't help the raid at all.
"Let's have you earn them by clearing dungeons yourself."
"Y-Yes?!?"
I glanced at Mine's slender arm as she let out a shriek.
Truth be told, the core reason Cecilia and I meshed so well was her own combat prowess.
When battles switched to turn-based, she executed my commands flawlessly.
Even her independent actions were always an effort to align with my intentions.
Setting aside any fondness, she was a true martial artist.
The kind who could charge in at a word.
But what about Mine?
Her frail body looked like it had never seen a day of training.
Aside from the massive holy power pouch hanging below her shoulders, what did she even have going for her?
"Your junior's right. If we drag her into a dungeon like this, we're nine times out of ten looking at a wipe."
It wouldn't matter in a game.
I could just control Mine directly.
But this was reality.
Mine's body, which had spent its life avoiding anything resembling training, could never carry out my orders.
Even if I cranked fluidity to max and gave her first turn, she'd probably still fail to move as intended.
The Undead Dungeon wasn't some pushover you could brute-force without prior experience.
"We need to ingrain the sensations into her body first. Handing her shards now would just poison her."
"Exactly. What's the point of growth that's just handed to you?"
No helping it.
What I needed wasn't Tool #1, but a healer who could reliably counter every gimmick in the dungeon.
"Um... y-you're not saying I have to go into the dungeon alone or something, right...?"
"Nah, nothing like that."
"Phew... that's a relief."
"You need to be solo-clearing the Goblin Dungeon within two months."
Mine's face drained of color, and she started swaying.
"Mine?"
"Junior. What's wrong? You're staggering."
Plop.
Then she collapsed onto the training ground floor.
'No matter how you slice it, this is overkill.'
Staring at the fainted Mine, I had a bad feeling these next two months would be nonstop chaos.
"The Empire's Saintess fainting already? She won't even get a foothold in the Abyss like this."
Alicia clicked her tongue and moved to help Mine off the training grounds.
"Senior. Where are you going?"
"Shouldn't I escort our poor fainted Saintess to the infirmary?"
"It's your turn now."
"My turn? What turn are you talking about?"
What else? Armor inspection.
Trying to sneak away, huh.
"You're so rigid. Worried my gear doesn't meet your standards?"
"Just a quick check, then you're good."
"Kuhuhu. To think you'd so boldly pry open a princess's core. Mind your manners in front of others."
"Noted."
I tuned out Alicia's nonsense and immediately opened her core.
'Lemme see.'
Fortunately, all 16 sockets were packed.
Pass for now.
The rainbow glow leaking from the sockets suggested she wasn't a bloodpig like the Ren sisters.
But...
╔═════════╗
◈Abyss Core - Cornelia◈
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▸ Equipped Shards: 16/16
□ □ ■ ■
■ ● ● ●
◎ ◎ ★ ★
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
╠═════════╣
□ = Red Shard II x2
■ = Blue Shard II x3
● = Yellow Shard II x3
◎ = Green Shard II x2
★ = Black Shard II x2
☆ = White Shard II x4
╠═════════╣
▸ Ability Bonuses
Attack Power 4
Physique 6
Defense 6
Crit 4
Fluidity 4
Magic Power 8
╚═════════╝
Hm.
"How is it? Yesterday, I calibrated Stage 2 shards on that machine named after me. I think this qualifies me to stand by your side."
She crowed triumphantly, but my take was different.
'...It's a mess.'
Alicia's buffs scale with defense and magic power.
The standard build is obviously heavy on yellow and white, with a dash of black.
Not expecting damage from her, so why slot attack power and crit shards? Planning to be a physical buffer?
'Might've been better off as a bloodpig.'
Still, right after seeing those empty sockets, I wasn't too disappointed.
As a princess, she had the funds, and she'd put in the effort to calibrate Stage 2 shards without being asked.
The real issue was her core.
Abyss Core [Cornelia].
Cornelia's effect was straightforward.
If she took a certain amount of damage, the user entered a fluid state for 5 seconds.
In fluid state, movement speed skyrocketed, arts were unusable, but she could chug potions or bail from the battlefield.
It had a cooldown, of course, but for Alicia, the escape and recovery chance in near-death situations made it worth slotting.
It just left a weird taste in my mouth.
'Didn't she say she was betting on me?'
Felt like she'd ditch me at the first sign of trouble.
Sure, she was a princess. She needed an exit strategy in case I bit it.
Maybe it wasn't that special after all.
"Why are you staring so intently? Something not to your liking?"
"No."
Couldn't let it show.
We hadn't even synced up yet, so knowing Cornelia's effects would be suspicious.
I handed Cornelia back to Alicia.
"You'll need to tweak the setup."
"Care to explain why?"
"Last time I saw you, the magic power from your fan stood out. Strengthening that seems like it'd help the raid."
"Kuhh. I-I actually thought the same! Maybe we're a great match after all!"
Doubt it.
As Alicia headed out of the training grounds, she glanced back at me.
"You know about all the 'eyes' on you for this raid, right?"
I knew.
Nobles, the imperial family, or the board of directors, probably.
The Church of the Main God was grinding their teeth over it too.
"Some of those eyes don't want the Abyss cleared. Idiots who think eternal peace will last forever."
I nodded, and she added with a meaningful look.
"Those idiots might pull strings for this special training assignment. You could get something other than a dungeon raid."
"Then what do we do?"
"What do you mean? Don't worry about a thing, junior. I've got your back, don't I?"
Alicia toyed with her lips with a finger.
"No matter what, my decision won't change. We'll definitely raid the third Abyss layer before this training period ends."
Seeing her smile, I felt certain the scales had tipped in my favor.
Alicia dragged the unconscious Mine out of the training grounds by the arm.
Mine's legs flopped awkwardly on the floor.
If you're gonna do it like that, maybe I should've carried her.
⁎⁎⁎
After class.
I stood at the entrance to the Spider Dungeon.
Unlike before, the entrance was neatly maintained.
As the second-most frequented dungeon after the Beast Dungeon, it brought back a flood of memories.
Nostalgia aside, a groan came from ahead.
"Ow... ugh..."
Standing in front of me was a suit of armor belonging to someone a bit shorter than me.
It was Mine.
That morning, with Adelin's help, I'd scrounged up a set of armor used by female soldiers.
I could've gone with Valhillar plate, but that might trigger her trauma, so I skipped it.
"Y-Yes...!"
Mine nodded, and the armor creaked awkwardly.
"Good."
A watched pot never boils, as they say.
Mine's Maker.
Starting today.
To raid the Undead Dungeon, overcoming her dungeon phobia came first.
You can't teach calculus to a kid who can't do basic arithmetic, so I'd brought her to the easiest spot.
I reassured her trembling form.
"We're heading into the dungeon now. Don't worry. Nothing dangerous will happen. You're safe. I'm safe. So just focus on clearing it."
"...Ugh..."
"I'm not laying a hand on any monsters. If I do, you won't train."
All monsters had to be killed by Mine herself.
That was the goal of this training.
"Hold out your hand."
Mine extended her hand at my words.
I looked down at the weapon in my grip.
[Crushing Mace (II)]
[Attack Power 9 / Fluidity -9]
[Has a chance to reduce the target's defense.]
Spoils from the Goblin Dungeon.
Absurdly overpowered for the Spider Dungeon's difficulty.
For someone like me who'd smashed Barhatan without proper gear, failing a dungeon with this was unthinkable.
I placed the mace in Mine's hand.
"Here, this is the mace."
Her gripped hand trembled like a frightened rabbit.