Episode 47.

Reorganization II

The single exposed eye rolled around and around.

I could sense a sort of what-do-I-do, what-do-I-do air about her. It also felt like if I just kept my mouth shut, I might be able to haggle the price down even further.......

But before that, there was something I needed to confirm first.

"Would it be possible to start with a trial lesson?"

"A trial lesson? What do you mean?"

"I mean something like a chance to experience in advance how well the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠master's training suits me."

To put it in modern terms, it would be a one-day trial pass.

"Ho-oh."

Carmelin stroked her chin as if intrigued.

"So you mean you don't trust this Carmelin's skill? What a cheeky little whelp."

Honestly, that was one of the reasons.

Of course, anyone who'd earned the title of master would have at least the minimum level of skill, but that didn't necessarily translate directly into teaching ability.

"Fine. I'll give you a firsthand look at the ultimate art of the scythe. Do you have a weapon?"

"No."

"I'll lend you one."

In an instant, Carmelin vanished as if melting into the darkness, then reappeared moments later holding a scythe.

"Catch."

I hastily caught the scythe as it flew toward me, tracing a spinning arc.

Goddamn it, who throws a bladed weapon like that?

My heart lurched.

"......!"

The moment I felt a chilling presence beneath my chin, I kicked off the ground and sprang backward.

Whoosh!

I saw a blue blade flash in the darkness.

If I'd stayed standing there, my chin would have been pierced. Well, not actually, but still.

'Is this really a sparring match?'

I was used to mortal danger. It had been my constant companion ever since I fell into this world.

But I'd never felt it this distinctly before.

Not when I encountered <Shadow>, not when I was caught up in <Wood Revenge>, not even when I stopped by 'Chef Haitan's' restaurant.

[Carmelin's killing intent bears down on you.]

[You are afflicted with the status ailment <Fear>.]

Damn it. Going this far against a beginner?

As cold sweat ran down my whole body, I heard Carmelin's voice.

"Everyone says the scythe's shape makes it ill-suited as a weapon."

"......."

"Well, honestly, it's a truth that's hard to deny."

I didn't expect her to actually admit it.

Carmelin looked at my expression and let out a small laugh.

"What, is it funny that someone called a Scythe Master would accept that so readily?"

"A little."

"Debate only happens when there's no clear answer, but in functional terms, the answer is always obvious. Take a ship, for example. It's designed in that shape to sail the sea while obeying the principles of buoyancy. There's no room for other opinions to intrude there."

"......."

"Likewise, the scythe is fundamentally a cutting tool. But the farther your hands are from the blade, the more the force of a natural swing is dispersed."

That was true.

The scythe's uniquely infuriating shape would raise the difficulty even further.

By contrast, consider the spear, another polearm. Its long reach makes its thrusts more lethal. Its form serves its function extremely well.

"Then what should you keep in mind above all when handling a scythe? If you must bear a risk so great that even a single swing could cost you your life, what should we pursue? After pondering for a long time, I came up with something I could call an answer of my own. What do you think it is?"

Was this another kind of test? I racked my brain and answered.

"A one-hit kill?"

"Mm."

Carmelin hummed through her nose and smiled as if satisfied.

"You got half of it right."

"Then the other half is......."

"It's no fun if I tell you everything."

"......."

"I'll start again. Get ready."

And then the massive darkness came crashing in once more.

"......!"

That was no metaphor. It really was.

It truly felt as though a pitch-black wave were surging toward me, and with the naked eye, I could not see beyond it.

Was that a skill too?

'If so.......'

I abandoned my vision and focused on my hearing.

The moment I focused every ounce of attention on my hearing, I faintly heard something like air tearing above me.

I clenched my teeth and swung the scythe upward.

Clang!

The two scythes collided. Even as pain throbbed through my wrist, every hair on my body stood on end.

Of course, unless this woman was insane, she wasn't actually going to kill me here.......

But people sometimes feel fear even in situations where safety is 100% guaranteed. How many people could jump from hundreds of meters up just because they're wearing a parachute?

"Good judgment. If you'd tried to block with the handle instead of the blade, the handle would have been cut through—and so would you."

Carmelin withdrew her killing intent. The wave of darkness that had seemed ready to engulf everything evaporated away with it.

Carmelin, revealed once more, stepped lightly down the central staircase. For some reason, I thought she had a noble bearing.

"Now. The other half?"

"......."

So she wanted to keep going with this Zen riddle.

I slowly steadied my breathing.

'Half is a one-hit kill. Then the other half is.......'

My palms were already damp with cold sweat. I wiped them on my clothes as if rubbing them dry and replied.

"The resolve to die."

"......."

Carmelin looked at me. In her one exposed eye, I no longer saw the lightness, flippancy, or affected air she'd shown until then.

After a moment, her head tilted.

"What's this. Have you already put your life on the line before?"

"Well, I am a Delver."

"Is that so? If there were a Delver who used a scythe, I'd think I would have heard about it."

"I've only been on one exploration so far."

"A rookie, then. Well, you do seem to have fought your way through a fair bit of hell."

"......."

"Come here and sit."

Where?

Before I could even ask, Carmelin sat down on the spot as if settling into a formal seated posture.

"......."

Just moments ago she'd moved with a bearing that called nobility to mind, and now she was sitting right down on the bare, dust-covered floor. A woman who was hard to pin down, I supposed.

Left with no choice, I sat across from her in the same posture. Carmelin spoke.

"The resolve to die and the resolve to kill are concepts that are often confused on the battlefield. My combat style actively exploits that point."

"What do you mean?"

"Who knows? The trial lesson ends here. I can't tell you any more for free."

"......."

"......So what'll it be?"

Having said that, Carmelin studied my reaction again.

Honestly, I didn't know why someone this skilled was so desperate to land a single student.

'She seems like a highest-grade class, at any rate.'

Naturally, even among weapon masters, differences in skill exist, and so do distinct schools.

For example, the sword has the most guilds, and there are several figures who bear the title <Sword Master>. Naturally, the gaps between them vary enormously too.

'Could she be a <Grand> class?'

Among masters, only those with overwhelming strength and achievements are granted the title of Grand.......

As far as I knew, there were only seven Grand Masters in this city, and none of them wielded a scythe.

'In any case.'

This person was probably the only Scythe Master in the entire city.

Whether her skill was good or bad, that meant I had no other option, and if she was this strong, that was all the better.

"I look forward to working with you."

"Good choice."

Carmelin nodded with a satisfied face and spoke.

"So, how would you like to pay? I said it was 150,000 seed per lesson, but if you pay for ten lessons at once, there's an additional discount......."

Carmelin launched into a busy explanation.

The next day, I visited Royal Capital District 5—the shopping district—again.

Today's objective was also clear: use the two <Trait Stones> I'd accumulated.

'Trait Stones.'

Literally, stones that randomly grant a character a Trait.

If someone asked me what the most important factor was for growing in <FoS>, I would answer without hesitation.

'First is Traits, second is Talents.'

Surprisingly, Traits take priority over Talents. Traits can compensate for Talents, but the reverse is impossible.

'Of course, there's a chance you could get a Trait that completely ruins your character.'

I'd delayed using them because of that risk, but I was no longer in a position to do so.

And they were Grade-3 and Grade-4 stones anyway. The longer I put it off, the more their value dropped.

'Of course, I'm not the one using them.'

It hadn't been an easy decision, but I wasn't going back on it. Right now, I believed this was the closest thing to the correct answer.

I still hadn't finalized my <Summoner> build. Naturally, I didn't know which Trait was the top priority yet. So—

"......Why are you staring at me like that?"

I should use a build I already knew well and had verified.

"I was just wondering if you slept well."

I answered my companion, who had tilted his head after noticing my gaze.

"Haha. Compared to life in the forest, the Royal Capital is heaven. Of course I slept soundly."

"Glad to hear it."

"......Mm. But."

Kazen scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Are you really sure about this?"

"About what?"

"The <Stones> you can get in the forest...... I've heard they're truly wondrous objects. They say there's a person who became a master of the sword overnight, and someone who gained a face more beautiful than a fairy's......."

Becoming a master of the sword would be the <Sword's Owner> Trait, and the beautiful appearance would be <Peerless Beauty>.

Both were ultra-rare Traits with less than a 1% chance of being obtained even by Grade-1 Stone standards.

"Didn't you hear any other stories? Like someone's perfectly fine arm suddenly becoming paralyzed, or waking up to find their face had turned hideous."

"O-oh, really? I hadn't heard that far......."

This was why you shouldn't blindly trust rumors. They were extreme, whether for good or ill.

"......Could something like that happen to me too?"

"Only if you're catastrophically unlucky. Why, scared?"

"Mm. I don't mind if my face turns ugly, but losing the use of an arm would be a bit......."

"You'd be fine with your face turning ugly?"

"Well, it's not like I have a handsome face to begin with."

I stared at Kazen with a dumbfounded expression. I'd thought only his sister was like that, but this guy was something else too.

"What if there's a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠risk? Want to back out now?"

"......."

At my question, Kazen's face clouded for an instant, but only for a split second.

"......When I was being dragged around the forest by the White Knight's party."

"......."

"I heard that Kria went on all sorts of adventures with you, Kaindel."

Adventures, he said.

All we did was take down a Black Tree and run around the underground world.

"My little sister, Kria, has grown. I felt a drive and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠confidence in her that weren't there before. Haha. I thought those were the words furthest from Kria......."

The moment Kazen looked at me, I could roughly guess what answer was coming. This guy often had this look in his eyes when he'd steeled his resolve.

"I'm the only one who's fallen behind now. I don't want to stay like this forever. I want to contribute somehow—to the exploration, to the party."

It was an admirable thought.

Moreover, Kazen's resolve cut straight to the essence of the forest.

A place where you could gain nothing without taking risks.

That was what <Eternal Forest> was.

"You don't need to worry too much. If the success rate is under 30%, I won't even look at it, whatever it is."

Besides, this time the failure rate wasn't even 30%.

At most around 3%? Unless you were catastrophically unlucky, there was no need to worry about it going wrong.

"Yes......!"

Listening to Kazen's energetic reply, I headed for my first destination. The <Alchemists' Guild>, and within it, the place called <Cat's Footsteps> that I'd frequented often.

As I stepped inside the guild, Kazen marveled.

"So this is the Alchemists' Guild."

"First time here?"

"Yes."

That was unexpected.

He was good with his hands, so I'd assumed he'd stopped by at least a few times.

"Oh....... So that's a distillation apparatus. What's that hanging on the wall over there? It looks like a lizard's tail."

"Who knows. Feel free to look around. Just don't touch anything without permission."

"......Ahem. I'm not that childish."

......Saying that with those dazed eyes wasn't very convincing.

As I sighed to myself, a man who looked like an alchemist approached.

"You look like outsiders. What business brings you to this guild......?"

It wasn't the atmosphere of the Delver Guild or a Magic Tower. There was a receptionist, at least, but the attitude was far from friendly.

That said, it wasn't exactly a place that turned customers away.

That was just how these people were. I got straight to the point.

"I'm here to commission a <Stone Combination>."

Would he understand if I put it that way?

"Hm. What kind of combination?"

Fortunately, he understood just fine.

"I want to lower the chance of a Negative Trait being attached and raise the chance of a specialized Trait awakening."

"A dual enchant with <Penalty Removal> and <Specialized Trait Grant>, then."

"......"

He just used game terms outright. I'd deliberately talked around it for fear of being found out as a Player.

"First, let me see the stones."

When I held out the <Grade-3 Trait Stone> and <Grade-4 Trait Stone>, the alchemist examined them and nodded.

"<Penalty Removal> requires a lower-grade stone. Your materials are sufficient. Then, what specialized Trait would you like?"

"An Alchemist Trait."

"Oh. Do you have the materials?"

"I was planning to buy them here."

"I see."

The alchemist crossed his arms and seemed to calculate for a moment, then spoke.

"The combination fee, enchantment fee, and material costs all together...... come to 1.2 million seed."

"......."

My stomach was burning again.

Of course, this couldn't be helped.

If I used the Grade-3 Stone as-is, who knew what kind of god-awful Trait would get attached.

'Besides, if I'd distributed this exploration's profits the normal way, I'd have given him far more than this.'

It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all an investment. An investment.

With trembling hands, I paid the fee and handed over the stones.

"It'll take about two hours. You may wait here, or if you have other business, you may leave and come back."

"Yes."

I took Kazen, who had been looking around the guild in a daze, to a nearby restaurant for a meal and came back. Then after waiting about another hour—

"Here is the finished product."

I received the stone I'd commissioned.

Trait Awakening Stone

Grade: Grade-3

Randomly awakens a Trait of C-grade or higher.

▶ Through a special process, the chance of a <Negative Trait> awakening has been greatly reduced.

▶ The chance of an Alchemist-related Trait awakening has been greatly increased.

I handed the <Grade-3 Trait Stone> to Kazen.

"Don't just hold onto it and lose it. Use it right now."

"......Kaindel, I really am grate—"

"Enough. Just hurry up and use it."

I cut him off at the source because it seemed like he was about to say something sappy again if I left him alone.

Kazen, his eyes reddening, nodded and cupped the Trait Stone in both hands.

'Hoo.......'

I didn't let it show, but I was nervous too.

There were three Traits I was aiming for: <Engraving>, <Sage>, and, finally, <Puppeteer>.

'I'm not even hoping for <Puppeteer>.'

Please, just let it be either <Engraving> or <Sage>.

[Companion 'Kazen' uses the <Grade-3 Trait Awakening Stone>.]

[<Dice of Fate> is rolling.......]

[Die result: 20]

⁝

[Companion 'Kazen' gains the Trait <Mechanical Heart>.]