Chapter 28: Stamina Up, Survival Up
Chapter 28: Stamina Up, Survival Up
The mentors who had taken charge of teaching Marlin and Abel were fulfilling their roles with complete dedication.
“Holding the dagger properly is important.”
The basement—whose original construction purpose was highly suspicious—was currently being used as a training room.
Butler Sergius looked around at Marlin and the thieves as he spoke.
“Do you know what happens if you swing your fist at someone without properly clenching it?”
While the adult thieves hesitated, the youngest, Marlin, raised her hand high.
“Obviously the other person gets hurt more, but wouldn’t your own hand get injured too?”
“Correct. As expected, your insight is remarkable.”
The elderly butler stroked his chin with a gentle smile before turning his gaze toward the other thieves.
“…Why is it always Miss Marlin who answers? Why do you not know what even a fourteen-year-old understands?”
His brow furrowed and his voice dropped.
Unfortunately, the warm kindness he showed toward a granddaughter-like figure was a service reserved exclusively for Marlin.
Andre, the former vice guild leader of the Black Sword Guild, hurriedly opened his mouth.
“It’s just that Marlin is so intelligent that ignorant thieves like us never get the chance to answer!”
At first glance it sounded like a pathetic excuse, but that was not the case.
It was actually a calculated tactic: praising Marlin, the butler’s favorite, in order to soften the cold atmosphere.
Sergius easily saw through the trick, but chose to overlook it.
“That is true.”
After all, it was an undeniable fact that Marlin was far more intelligent than the others.
Kar the cultist had praised her excessively as “a talent who makes teaching enjoyable,” which made Sergius curious.
Honestly, she wasn’t quite at that level.
But considering her young age, she was unquestionably talented.
“Let us return to the topic. For a thief, handling daggers and throwing knives must be as natural as breathing. You must not move only after thinking and judging. When facing an enemy, your body should react naturally even before your mind issues a command.”
Since she answered questions so well, he found himself asking her more often.
“A thief has four essential elements. Just as dagger techniques and throwing-knife techniques belong to the category of weapon handling, the remaining two belong to the same classification. Miss Marlin, do you know what they are?”
“Hmm…”
This time she seemed to think for a moment.
But soon her answer came clearly.
“Isn’t it concealing your presence? I read in a book that thieves usually rely on ambushes by exploiting openings rather than fighting head-on.”
“…Exactly.”
A smile formed naturally on Sergius’s lips as he continued.
“The remaining two are footwork and stealth. I will teach Miss Marlin one of the highest-tier Mysteries among the foundational thief-class Mysteries accumulated by the Brites family.”
Mysteries were usually granted by deities or learned through Mystery Tomes.
However, there were other ways to acquire them.
Repeated combat, training, and labor.
The same factors that raised one’s Soul Rank.
The conditions for acquiring Mysteries were much stricter, but that was not a problem.
After all, difficulty could be overcome with effort.
“I have a question.”
Andre, with his intimidating appearance, hesitated before speaking.
“Are you only going to teach Marlin…?”
“…?”
The elderly butler tilted his head.
What kind of question was that?
“Of course. You will learn Mysteries that are merely decent.”
“…I see.”
“However, through harsh and painful training, I will raise your proficiency to the extreme. My evaluation standards are very strict, so it would be wise for you to give your best every day.”
The thieves silently made miserable faces.
Marlin watched cautiously before clenching both fists.
I’m already excited…!
Perhaps after completing all the training, she might become a perfectly elite thief.
Kar would surely be surprised.
If nothing else, she wanted to work hard enough to shock the patron who always teased her.
You’d better prepare to be surprised!
At the same time—
Abel was also receiving instruction in the kitchen.
“Did you know? A cook is the most important class in an expedition.”
Chef Charlotte spoke leisurely while sipping alcohol.
“I see.”
“Hey, don’t answer like a golem. Think about why.”
“Is it because labyrinth conditions often require explorers to remain inside for long periods depending on the clear conditions?”
“Wow!”
The freckled maid rubbed her cheeks with her hands.
“The cultist praised you so much for being smart… now I see why! Were you blessed with knowledge by Arteine?”
“You flatter me.”
“It is flattery.”
“I thought so.”
As expected, she was difficult to predict.
Abel nodded calmly and tried to listen carefully to his master.
“A cook must single-handedly take responsibility for satisfying the hunger of their companions.”
Charlotte set the bottle down and spoke more seriously.
“So don’t entertain the foolish thought of becoming just an average explorer. And abandon vague ambitions of simply making tasty food.”
Abel understood perfectly.
“You mean I should aim to become the greatest cook from the very beginning.”
He spoke with firm determination.
“I will become the most famous cook-class explorer in Pletika.”
He intended to make that happen.
At the very least, for the patron who believed in him.
“That’s good.”
Chuckling, Charlotte lifted a kitchen knife.
“Then let’s begin learning how to cook even monsters that look like they crawled out of hell into something delicious.”
According to regulations, cultists could not stay overnight outside unless they were exploring a labyrinth or had received permission.
The rules had not originally been this strict.
After all, strict rules are usually written in blood.
In the past, several cultists wandered around freely and caused major incidents.
As a result, their juniors now faced stricter control than students in a high-school dormitory.
Senior cultists… what exactly did you do?
Since the Great Temple incident, the cult had not expanded its influence at all.
All its rights were stripped away.
Even worse, they failed to pass down the know-how for appeasing Evil Gods.
There were not even any senior cultists who had achieved a respectable reputation as explorers.
Only notorious outlaws.
In the end, juniors like me walking through abandoned wilderness had no choice but to carve our own path.
“Kar! We’re leaving!”
“We’ll be back!”
The tiger beastman siblings—who formed the core of my pioneering spirit—waved to me before heading toward the rich district.
Recently they had been commuting daily to Odilon’s mansion as if it were a school.
I had suggested they stay there for a while since the Brites villa was luxurious and had many rooms.
But they insisted on continuing to live with me in my small, shabby house in the cultist district.
《Those siblings clearly developed separation anxiety. If you do not educate them properly now, they may cling to you later and refuse to leave.》
A minor problem caused by my overwhelming charm.
Besides, once adolescence arrived, they would probably slam doors and shout whenever I spoke to them.
There was nothing to worry about.
《Perhaps you should begin training as well. Laziness and procrastination are terrible diseases that rust the mind of intelligent beings.》
“I was just about to.”
Sipping Abel’s specially brewed tea—Flower Garden in the Lake, perfectly suited to delicate elven tastes—I descended into the basement.
Flickering magic-stone lamps.
An eerily quiet atmosphere.
Perfect for reading.
I pulled out a yellow Mystery Tome from my pocket and opened it.
《First-Tier Mystery Tome (Growth Type) — Avatar of the Earth》
《Originally an innate Mystery of Earth Elves, but due to a certain reason you refuse to explain, it became a Mystery Tome. It strengthens the body by absorbing the energy of the earth.》
Avatar of the Earth.
A powerful growth-type Mystery that gained additional effects with each tier.
Up to Tier Three, it merely enhanced physical strength.
At Tier Four, the energy of the earth could be converted into an aura that covered the body.
By Tier Seven, one could manipulate the earth itself.
《As the tier of [Avatar of the Earth] rises, your body will become increasingly healthy and durable. Though the curse “Fertilizer Sprout” will completely block its growth!》
Each tier increased Strength by a staggering three points.
As the “Right Eye” had said, the curse Fertilizer Sprout would interfere.
However, thanks to the artifact Copying Mirror, which replicated the Mystery Dark Clouds Rumble, half of that growth—1.5 points—would be converted into Vitality.
In other words—
Instead of its original effect, this Mystery would massively increase my Stamina, and with it my survivability.
But the text is way too difficult.
The problem was that no matter how much I read, I couldn’t understand it.
It felt like some bizarre hybrid of classical poetry full of archaic characters and avant-garde experimental poetry.
It was completely different from Ghoul Mobility, which had been easy to read.
Just learning this might take at least a month.
So that’s why it took so long to learn in the game.
The more I thought about it, the more Nightmare Dungeon seemed like an incredibly meticulous game.
No wonder the developer Kato Roger had been so popular.
Though once it was revealed that he was an extreme Japanophile, he became the subject of ridicule in Korea.
Crackle.
The lightning tattoo near my collarbone carried the will of the Exalted One.
If you’re going to keep daydreaming, why not go stare at our handsome Odilon instead?
That seemed to be the meaning.
“So you noticed that I don’t want to read.”
It was just too difficult.
Even so, I forced myself to concentrate on reading while suppressing the endless distractions.
Then—
Ding-dong.
The sound of a doorbell rang upstairs.
I immediately put the Avatar of the Earth Mystery Tome back into my pocket and went upstairs to open the door.
“Greetings.”
Three holy knights stood outside, wearing armor in striking black and white.
The knight in the center stepped forward.
“Pleasure to meet you. Cultist Kar of the Twisted Truth. I am Valentin, the Small Shield of Lady Arteine.”
《Holy Knight Valentin (Human, 37) of the “Spear of Order,” the holy knight order serving the hypocritical goddess. Since detailed information cannot be read, he appears to be a formidable enemy. Prepare to flee in case he came to beat you senseless.》
He was certainly dangerous.
The vice-commander of the Spear of Order.
A Level 6 Holy Knight.
His nickname was Heretic Crusher.
If fought head-on, he could easily subdue even Rosalia.
But there was no reason for me to run.
“Truly a pleasure, Kar.”
Valentin smiled, revealing impressively white teeth.
“I came to inform you that you are now permitted to undertake external requests.”
My mind, tangled from reading the difficult Mystery Tome, cleared instantly.
An event triggered when a cultist gained enough reputation.
I had been waiting for this.
Finally.
A legitimate opportunity to leave the district.