Chapter 106: Strange Talk
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 106: Strange Talk
We went to a training hall in western Calax. It was a small, modest place that cost about two silver per person for a day's use. Rubica said she frequented this spot to get a feel for her bow.
"Combustion Acceleration, is it?"
Theodora nodded as if she understood. It had been a while since I’d heard that skill name. Rubica didn't just eat a lot for no reason. I kept forgetting, but it really was the influence of her skill.
To form a fixed party, it was only natural to know each other's skills well. By the time someone reached Gold Grade, they usually had at least two skills, unless they were a mage or possessed some other special ability. Sharing information among party members was essential for smooth communication.
—Twang!
Crrrash!
The arrow fired from Rubica’s heavy metal great bow advanced like a ballista bolt, piercing through three or four thick wooden targets simultaneously. Among skills that affected physical strength, it had a fairly good efficiency ratio, and since its effects were extreme, its power was undeniable.
Holding a massive metal great bow that was nearly two meters long with one hand was impressive enough, but as expected of someone from a noble family, she had many minor talents as well. It seemed she could even use a bit of magic.
"The arrows are metal from the fletching to the shaft. Don't you retrieve them?"
"I do. I currently use four arrows in total, and all of them are engraved with retrieval magic. As long as the arrow is within three kilometers, I can pull it back to me using a small amount of mana."
"That’s incredible."
The heavy metal arrow that had smashed through the wooden targets returned to Rubica’s quiver at her gesture. The speed wasn't particularly fast, but the fact that they could be recovered from a distance was a huge advantage.
Seeing her pull out her bow with magic last time, it seemed her magical skills were better than I’d thought.
"Spanya, do you have any other skills besides Combustion Acceleration?"
"I do... but it is not a particularly useful skill for combat, so I rarely use it."
"What kind of skill is it?"
"Umm..."
"Is it hard to show us?"
"It is not exactly that, but..."
Rubica hesitated for a moment, then pulled out an arrow and brought the arrowhead close to her face. Suddenly, she reached out a hand to cover her mouth.
"U-ugh..."
She abruptly stuck out her tongue and let saliva drip onto the arrowhead. Since she was covering her mouth, I couldn't see clearly, but it was definitely a face she didn't want to show others.
A single drop of saliva stretched from the tip of the arrowhead in her left hand. When Rubica snapped her fingers with her right hand—
—Whoosh!
"It is the Saliva Ignition skill. It makes it easy to start a fire, but it is not a skill I particularly like."
"Aha. Still, it must be convenient for making campfires."
"That may be true, but..."
It was a skill she hadn't shown before. It certainly looked like something one would be reluctant to use in front of others. I hadn't noticed because of the Combustion Acceleration skill, but Rubica was actually someone who valued her dignity and grace as a noble.
"Any other curse skills? Anything that might be a hindrance during combat or labyrinth exploration?"
"I currently possess four skills in total. I shall tell you about the remaining two."
The ones she’d shared so far were Combustion Acceleration and Saliva Ignition. One of the remaining two was the 'Sparkling Blood' skill; it made her blood phosphorescent, which apparently made stealthy movement difficult if she had an open wound at night.
Fortunately, dried blood didn't glow all day; it only happened while the blood was in liquid form. But if her blood sparkled, wouldn't Rubica herself glow at night?
A glow-in-the-dark Rubica—that sounded pretty amazing. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case; it only glowed when it came out and was exposed to the air, or something like that.
"Hmm, I see."
"The last one is the Cognitive Translation skill."
"Cognitive Translation?"
"About three or four times a day, when an unfamiliar word comes up in conversation, I hear it substituted with a word from a language I know. Yoo Eon, that is how I learned the meaning of your name."
"Eh?"
"What? The meaning of Aven’s real name?"
"Huh?"
As soon as Rubica finished speaking, Theodora, who was standing beside us, perked up her ears and looked at me as if asking what she meant.
"Aven? What does that mean? Your name has a meaning?"
"You didn't know? You said it was a unique name when I told you before."
"That’s because the pronunciation is unique. I’ve never heard that the name actually had a meaning."
Does that mean until now, when I told people my name, no one except Rubica understood 'Yoo Eon' as the words left behind before death?
‘That’s strange. Sera definitely reacted by asking if I was lying.’
"Theodora, so you just thought the pronunciation of the name 'Yoo Eon' was unique?"
"Yeah. Why? Does it have a meaning?"
"Umm..."
It seemed the reason Rubica had asked if I was 'going to die' after hearing my name was because her Cognitive Translation skill had turned my name, 'Yoo Eon,' into the actual word for 'last words' or 'testament.'
‘Come to think of it, no one besides Rubica specifically misunderstood it as a testament.’
"Well, never mind that. It’s not a very pleasant meaning anyway."
"Tell me! I want to know too!"
"You know, the words you say before you die."
"Why would a name have a meaning like that...?"
"It just sounds the same. It wasn't intentional."
"Hmm..."
One way or another, 'Aven' was probably more comfortable for people who didn't know. I wasn't used to it at first, but now that I’d heard it so much, it had become familiar.
"Rubica, please try to call me Aven as well."
"Very well, I understand. It would have been better if you had told me you had a pseudonym."
"I didn't have one when we first met."
At any rate, I confirmed that Rubica didn't have any skills that would cause major problems in combat. As for me, I only had two skills, and I was using both of them quite effectively. That only left Theodora’s skills, and come to think of it, I didn't recall ever hearing about them.
"Theodora, by the way, don't you have any skills?"
"Me? I have some, but..."
Judging by the way Theodora was hesitating, it seemed she didn't really want to talk about it.
"Well, it doesn't matter if you don't tell us. We didn't have any problems because of skills when the two of us went down to the 13th floor before, right?"
"Ah, right...?"
"Indeed. If you do not wish to speak of it, you need not. As long as there were no inconveniences caused by the skill in previous labyrinth runs, it should be something Lady Lymain can handle on her own."
The power of Rubica’s arrows was outstanding. There was the demerit of the superhuman appetite that came with the Combustion Acceleration skill, but if we worked hard and moved past the 2nd Stratum, the 3rd Stratum was full of animal-type monsters that could be eaten.
According to Theodora, many of them tasted quite good. As for Rubica’s Combustion Acceleration skill being hard to utilize in the 2nd Stratum, I could just store Wild Boars from the 1st Stratum and carry them down.
Once we reached the 3rd Stratum, we could just eat whatever we hunted. With this much combat power, we should be able to reach at least the 3rd Stratum.
"I have a schedule tomorrow, so that’ll be difficult. How about we enter the labyrinth for a trial run the day after?"
"I’m fine whenever."
"Likewise."
"Then let’s meet in the Southwest Branch Guild lobby the day after tomorrow. As for the time... 10:00 AM should be plenty of time, right?"
And so, the schedule for the next labyrinth run was set for two days later. It felt like it had been a very long time since I’d entered the labyrinth, and there were quite a few things I needed to prepare.
"Since it’s a trial run, let’s not go too deep. We’ll go down to about the 10th floor, assign roles, and get used to working together. Got it?"
"Will do."
"Got it."
* * *
"Yoo Eon, what’s going on?"
"I have a schedule to enter the labyrinth in two days. I need to prepare my equipment and a few other things before then."
"I see... You left as soon as you got back, so I wondered if something had happened."
When I went back to the inn just to grab some money and head right back out, Sera caught my right hand and asked. Because I’d lost most of my gear when I fought the human hunter hired by the Antonio Brotherhood, I currently had no labyrinth equipment left.
Fortunately, I’d managed to bring back my storage artifact, but excluding that, I’d lost my pouches, my helmet, and even my mace and shield.
I’d spent two-thirds of the reward money I’d received from my date with Sera, but even so, I had enough money to buy much better equipment than I’d had in the past.
"Haha, don't worry. I won't be sleeping out tonight or tomorrow."
"Mhm..."
Apparently, the conversation didn't end with Sera’s "mhm." Seeing as her grip on my hand hadn't loosened, it seemed she had something she wanted to say.
"Sera, do you need something? Should I buy it for you while I’m out?"
"Ah, well... that is..."
I leaned down slightly to meet Sera’s eyes as I spoke. After hesitating for a long time, Sera suddenly—
Chu.
"Se-Sera...?"
"Have... a safe trip..."
"Haha... Y-yeah, I will."
After shyly kissing me on the cheek, she ran off in a hurry for some reason.
"Hmm..."
Maybe I should buy some delicious snacks at the market on my way back.
"Let’s go."
Fortunately, because I’d taken a mace into the labyrinth last time, my sword was still in my room at the inn. It wasn't a sword with amazing specs, but I didn't need a legendary weapon if I was only going to the 10th floor.
In the first place, the 1st Stratum was doable even without a weapon. However, since I had Delbaheim’s teachings, I was trying to keep using a sword and shield to get a feel for them. And above all, the Encyclopedia of Monster Anatomy that Ravi had given me was proving to be quite helpful.
"Clothes that open at the back? Why? Are you trying to show your comrades exactly where to stab you?"
"No... it’s not exactly that. I was just wondering what to do if wings or something grow out of my back."
"I haven't seen this brat in a while, and now he shows up like this! Go get that mental illness curse skill removed before you come back!"
The owner of the tailor shop who had made my gambeson. When I asked if there were any clothes where the back could be easily opened and closed, he just treated me like a crazy person.
"Oh, come on. I told you, it’s not like that."
In the end, I was having quite a bit of trouble finding equipment that would allow me to use my skills at any time. Clothes with four armholes, or clothes with holes for wings to pop out of.
Since there was a demand from beastkin for tails, there were some ready-made items for that, but wings were such a specific case that nothing like that existed. I’d either have to get them custom-made, or...
‘Should I just cover my whole body in scales?’
When I reached the 3rd Stratum later, I’d have to raid the Drake caves some more. So I could cover myself like a suit of full-body armor.
I hadn't gone to the tailor shop because I wanted to buy something specific. Since I already had a weapon, I just needed to buy a new pouch to wear on my waist. A gambeson wasn't necessary for a three-person party of Silver, Gold, and Gold Grades going to a mere 10th floor.
"Okay, the pouch is in good condition."
I felt like I’d made a good purchase—a deep black pouch made of high-quality leather and a clean belt. I’d spent a fortune of 14 silver coins, but honestly, calling it a fortune felt a bit much now. Those crazy bastards at Oro, 12 gold for one meal? Seriously.
Now, with the remaining money, I planned to replace the mana crystal embedded in my storage artifact.
"Whew, I’m scared."
I was afraid that Iris might be doing something weird again.
* * *
—Knock, knock.
"Iris? Are you inside?"
When I knocked on the door of the magic item shop, the door slowly opened to reveal the interior. As always, it was dark and gloomy, with thin threads of sunlight leaking through the blinds.
"What is it? I haven't called for you yet."
"Do I only have to come when you call? I can visit on my own sometimes."
"How lewd."
"There you go with that strange talk again."