Chapter 21
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: The Professor's Slightly Delicate Request
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After learning through her status window that Arin was already a powerful spirit in her own right.
I shared the news with her.
"Really...? Does that mean I can actually help Dad and Lulu sis...?"
Arin must have been inwardly worried about this.
Her eyes grew misty, her face twisting into one that looked ready to burst into tears at any moment.
"Ah, Arin! Um... y'know... yeah! How about we try out your skills? Dad's super curious about what you've got!"
"My skills...?"
To distract Arin, who seemed on the verge of crying, I desperately blurted out the first thing that came to mind, begging her to show me her skills.
"...I'll give it a try..."
Sniffle-!
"Hnnng...! Hiya!"
Arin wiped her nose once, closed her eyes in focus for a moment.
Then, with an adorable kiai, she activated her skill.
'Arin' has used the skill 'Shark Spirit'.
Shaaa-!
"Nya?! A shark, nya! A shark made of water appeared, nya!"
"This level of water control without any actual water...?!"
I wondered what the Shark Spirit (B) skill was all about.
And sure enough, it was a skill that conjured a shark—adorably rendered—out of water in midair.
We watched Arin for quite a while like that.
"Return!"
Shaaa-!
"Move!"
Shasha-!
"Protect Dad!"
Shaa-!
"Turn scary!"
Shaark-!!!
The water shark moved freely at Arin's command.
It could shift into any shark-like form.
However, on the flip side.
"Turn into Dad!"
Shaa-?
"Turn into Lulu sis!"
Shaa-???
Maybe because the skill was called Shark Spirit.
It wasn't impossible for it to shift away from a shark shape, but the results looked pretty clumsy.
Around then, it hit me that this was probably a skill specialized just for shark-related stuff.
"It's different from the water spirit the Professor mentioned...? It seems limited to shark forms, so maybe it's more offensive than supportive..."
"Eek...!"
Arin must have overheard my absentminded mutter.
She scrunched up her brow, puffed out her cheeks.
And suddenly commanded the shark to attack.
"Attack that tree!"
Shaaa-!!!
At her order, the shark opened its cute little mouth wide and charged the tree.
'Arin' has used the skill 'Predation'.
Soon, her second skill triggered.
The shark ballooned to a size that could swallow the massive tree she was pointing at in one bite.
It chomped down on the tree and the surrounding area, crunching away with a grind-grind.
"Huh?"
"Nya?"
Lulu and I were stunned by the savage display.
"Hic-?!"
Then came Arin's hiccuping surprise from right beside us—she clearly hadn't expected it to grow that big either.
...Arin, sweetie. What am I supposed to do if even you freak out...?
After Arin's spine-tingling shark mukbang show wrapped up.
'Arin' has used the skill 'Predator's Gaze'.
Zing-!
"...It's just cute?"
"Arin-nya! Even the death glare is cute, nya!"
"Hiiing... Guess it doesn't work on Dad and sis..."
We checked out her last skill, Predator's Gaze (B), but realized it had no effect.
So we decided to call it there on skills.
"Maybe it only works if it sees the target as prey?"
"You think so...?"
"We'll find out during tomorrow's hunt, nya! More importantly, Arin-nya! Lemme show you my skills too, nya!"
"Sis's skills...! I wanna see!"
While Lulu showed off her skills to keep Arin entertained.
I gathered up the materials I hadn't grabbed yet, and once time was up, headed out of the tower.
[Exiting the Tower.]
.
.
.
Back in my tiny one-room apartment.
"Kids, no dirt on the bed, so wash up before lying down, okay?"
"Got it, nya!"
"Yes~!"
While my mud-caked little ones washed up.
I logged into the still-blazing gallery and shot a 1:1 chat to the Professor.
Professor. I'm here.
You're here? Been waiting since earlier.
Eh? Me? Why?
Got a crafting commission in mind. And I saw your 4th floor clear record—looks like you found a hidden clear condition.
So? Another super-fast clear. What was the condition?
Hidden monster again. You know that massive lake on 4F, right?
Yeah. Tower of Struggle's 4F lake has good materials, so low-floor climbers hit it up in parties a lot.
Hmm... In other words, prime farming spot.
The lake was huge, so yeah, it probably had tons of stuff.
But the scale fragment compressed the whole thing, so I couldn't even check the byproducts.
'Got the Concentrated Great Lake Origin instead, though...'
No obvious use coming to mind right now.
Might be good for a potion. Register it as a main ingredient later and run some recipes.
Anyway, back to the chat.
4F's hidden clear was taking down the 'Lake Master,' a hidden monster somewhere in that lake.
Lake Master? That's the 10F boss. Why's it on 4F?
Who knows? But if it's the 10F boss, ain't it pretty strong?
Pretty? It's insanely strong. Without a mid-floor Climber in the party, it's near impossible.
Early Climbers twisted themselves into knots to clear it. Otherwise, Korea might be a monster hellscape like North Korea by now.
"That serious...?"
The scale crushed the lake outright, so I had no real sense of its power.
But citing North Korea—already overrun by tower-spawned monsters—as an example.
The Lake Master must've been way stronger than I'd thought.
Anyway, I'll check with some contacts.
If it's legit, might have to restrict 4F access for safety. Big deal.
Anything I can do to help?
Nah, getting involved might dox you.
I'll handle it. Don't worry.
Nothing more I could do there, so I'd leave the 4F mess to the Professor and hope he sorted it.
With that wrapped, we moved on.
Anyway, how's the homunculus coming along?
Oh, that? Haven't made it yet. Materials aside, it takes a ton of time.
I hesitated at the Professor's question about Arin.
Best to keep her under wraps for now.
Reasons aplenty, but biggest was explaining the scale fragment—I didn't know enough myself.
Next, even with our good rapport, telling him I'd crafted something human-like might make him see me as a threat worth eliminating.
Homunculi are tough. Lemme know when you make one.
Sure.
Once we knew each other better and I felt secure, I'd spill about Arin then.
We bantered pointlessly for a bit after.
Then I remembered he'd mentioned a crafting commission earlier and asked about it.
So, what's that crafting commission you mentioned? Need something?
Ah... that...? Not for me, actually.
A contact got hurt recently, body's messed up. Wondered if you could make a potion for it.
Where's the injury?
Uh... well... is it okay to even say this...?
Why the hemming and hawing?
It's my request, but it's kinda... personal and touchy...
Heh, even the Professor.
How touchy could it be to make him beat around the bush like that?
C'mon, between us? Spill it straight!
No lie.
Any request from the Professor—short of doxxing or Arin stuff—I'd bend over backwards for.
...Don't freak out and really hear me out?
The Professor hemmed and hawed forever before committing to the chat.
Then I saw why he'd stalled.
A high-up Climber buddy wrecked his junk. Can't get it up anymore—depression city.
Any potions to restore dick function?
Pardon?
...Sounds like a joke, but I'm dead serious. If he stops climbing, Korea's in deep shit.
No, not that.
Just confirming I got this right, 'cause I'm confused.
You mean... erectile dysfunction?
Yeah... bingo. Told ya it was touchy.
Professor.
You said it was slightly touchy.
I had no idea it meant that touchy...!