Good Gear, Outstanding Talent

"H-Hmph, friends, you say?" Sera said in a flat voice, looking at Lee Hyun-ho. "What, I didn't even need to come support you guys? If it's something that could be solved by her."

Then, Lee Hyun-ho got serious.

"No, that's not true. If Miss Yumia hadn't been here, we would have been in real danger."

Lee Hyun-ho explained what had just happened. From her slaughtering the spiders to piercing the boss in a single strike.

At that, Sera's eyes went wide as she looked at me.

"You got that strong?"

"Who do you think I am?"

I wasn't the same as before. Sera scanned me up and down as if dissecting me.

"Indeed... the mana I feel from you is denser, and you changed your staff?"

"I treated myself to one. Though someone told me it was subpar."

I remembered Lee Hyun-ho saying those ridiculously huge staves were better. That comment had genuinely made me want to grab the back of my neck in frustration.

"Hmm... I don't know. Doesn't it look similar to the old one?"

"Seriously, not you too."

"One-shotting a B-rank boss monster. You really did get stronger, I guess."

"Of course."

Though, thanks to that, my staff now had a death sentence hanging over it. Why not just avoid using Dragon Mana? Because then I'd have to struggle through a tedious fight. Better to break it spectacularly and pay for it. The school would understand.

"By the way, you really knew Hunter Lee Sera."

"We're pretty close," I said, unlinking my arm from hers.

"Won't you join the Baekho Guild?"

"I'm a bit too busy to join a guild right now."

Honestly, I wasn't busy at the moment, but I still had to attend classes diligently. If I didn't, Karnaroff would assign extra homework, and then I really wouldn't have a spare moment.

"I tried to recruit her, but she said she has school."

"She really was a student. To be at that level at her age..."

He was making some strange misunderstanding, but I didn't feel like correcting him.

"So, why are you here?"

"Huh? Because I was bored?"

"So you aren't busy."

Well, that was true. Honestly, Reinhardt's homework was manageable. If it weren't, all the students would be dead. I had gotten used to Karnaroff's workload too. Isabel didn't really assign extra ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠homework, so I had some time left over and came here.

"First, let's climb the Tower and think."

It was farming time. I hoped something good would drop.

Oh? No speedrun this time. Instead, there was an option to strengthen the enemies.

Strengthening enemies in the Tower was a high-risk event. While it increased the probability of getting good rewards, the danger level of the floor would skyrocket accordingly.

...Or so I had learned at the training center.

—Kieeeek!!

—Kieeeee!!!

White lines crisscrossed as the screams of tree monsters with faces like Halloween pumpkins echoed through the air.

"...What? Why are they so weak?"

Even the spider monsters weren't like this. I had struggled to hit them because they kept dodging. Of course, later on, I got annoyed and just used homing formulas or concentrated fire. But these guys were weak, except for the fact that they took two or three hits to die. They were just numerous, easily swept away by my strengthened mana bullets.

"Well, I guess this is normal."

Even the 4th floor had been like this. The 5th floor was just exceptionally weird; everything else was at a level that could be covered by Basic Attack Magic.

Though they don't die in one hit. Their magic resistance seemed to be quite decent.

I opened the golden chest to claim my rewards.

Mmm. Delicious.

Status enhancement tickets were always welcome. After all, each one I used permanently strengthened my physical body.

I drank the Moonlight Elixir. The sweet liquid flowed smoothly down my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠throat.

Oho. My mana rank increased. Finally, I reached B-rank, matching my Agility!

And now, the actual main reward.

...What is this?

Both were complete duds. My technique rank was S. I could manage well enough without having to equip a trait like that. And what was with the gold bullion? Though it was quite massive. Still, it wasn't enough to shake the market, so let's make a choice that looks to the future rather than quick cash.

But first, let's do this.

I picked up the Arcana that was radiating an ominous aura.

"Yep."

"Kyaaaah!"

"Whew... whew..."

...Still, it's somewhat bearable now. And I've come to understand the concept of the breathing method just a tiny bit. Maybe I can use it once all the minus signs are gone?

For the Arcana, I chose [Aura Manifestation (R)].

And I discarded all the other new Arcana. Since I had nothing better to do anyway, I might as well practice Aura.

The special reward came out normally. As expected, Leokan's floor was just weird.

This leaves me with enough time to go to the next floor.

Sera had told me to hang out at her guild afterward, so I had planned to clear just one floor and leave. But it ended way faster than expected. I didn't even have to ponder the rewards for long. Let's go up one more floor.

And there was one more thing I realized.

Namely, that the staff's performance was beyond my wildest imagination.

All kinds of picture frames flew around, spamming magic at me. They seemed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to be ghost-type monsters.

"Casting, Bullet, Explode, Deca."

Ten mana bullets struck exactly where I wanted, creating localized explosions.

Even though I had executed Deca Casting—a four-verse chanting technique I hadn't even learned—I felt no strain whatsoever.

Is this... my talent?

The staff absorbed my mana incomparably better than before. It vividly demonstrated the difference between R-grade and SSR-grade. Mana efficiency, casting speed, stability. It overwhelmed the R-grade staff in every single metric.

"The wooden staff was trash."

Sorry. That's just how it is. Though I wasn't actually that sorry.

Statues clattered as they approached me.

"Casting, Bullet, Penta."

White lines partially destroyed the statues.

Hmm, indeed, if the casting time is too short, the power is a bit lacking.

I'll have to learn Beginner Magic to make up for the power.

I drew my sword. Ziiing. Blue mana faintly coated the blade. I slashed. A clean cut, like perfectly sliced marble. The halved statue stopped moving.

Aura is effective against some enemies too.

Was this treated as a physical attack rather than a magical one? However, I wasn't used to it yet, so manifesting Aura took some time.

Ugh... dizzy...

Once I drew it, it consumed so much concentration that I couldn't manifest it again. Plus, my Aura was only at the level of reinforcing the sword with mana. It seemed I would need a lot of practice to use it properly.

"Sigh. I'll do the rest with this."

I raised my staff, maximizing the power.

"Casting, Bullet, Explode."

Mana bullets fired at maximum output began to sweep through the statues.

"No way, how can nothing good drop?"

What did drop was just an enhancement ticket and an artifact. But it wasn't something I could use.

It was a subpar version of basic defense magic. More useful for a swordsman than a proper mage.

Since no good Arcana appeared in the Hell Difficulty Special either, I decided to just choose the movement skill [Wind Riding (SR)].

I needed a movement skill anyway, so it wasn't bad, but...

"Would it kill you to drop something tasty?!"

"Geez, that's just how the Tower is," Sera scolded as I kicked a can in frustration.

"Really?"

"Honestly, it's weirder for SR-grade artifacts to drop like common candy."

I guess so. But almost nothing was usable. Though the enhancement tickets alone made climbing the Tower more than worth it.

"But seriously, don't you want to at least register with the guild? You seem to visit the modern world quite often."

"Why?"

"Registering with a guild makes a lot of things easier. Taxes, contracts, Gate-related issues."

It seemed she was genuinely trying to help me. Since it was Sera, there wouldn't be any ulterior motives. But...

"Sounds like a hassle."

"Fine, whatever."

With that, we arrived at the Baekho Guild.

"...Is this a building?"

My eyes popped out. It was grander than most major conglomerate headquarters.

"Didn't you say your guild was a small, elite group?"

I knew this because the Baekho Guild had come to promote themselves at the training center. They claimed to operate with only a hundred or so hunters. Perhaps because of that, almost all of their hunters were B-rank or higher.

"That's just the hunters. There are tons of staff members supporting us."

"...Oh."

"Ah, you must be hungry, right?"

Sera guided me to the cafeteria. A buffet-style meal that could easily slap high-end restaurants across the face unfolded before my eyes.

Damn. Maybe I should have said I'd register. I'm suddenly regretting it.

I piled my plate with Korean food and sat down with Sera. I placed my newly acquired artifacts and my staff on the empty seat next to me.

"By the way, is that staff an artifact? It doesn't look that great."

"...Is this an artifact?"

Actually, I was also unsure. Anything with mana is lumped under 'artifact', but strictly speaking, on Earth, artifacts are items from the Tower.

"How did you get it?"

"I just borrowed it from school."

"A school that lends out artifacts... I'm really getting curious about it."

"You have to pay for it."

And she'd be shocked if she saw it in action.

Suddenly, Sera looked at me and made a suggestion.

"Since we have time, want to go get your artifacts appraised?"

There seemed to be a research lab inside the building.

"Sure, why not?"

Honestly, I was curious how they'd react to this staff.

So we submitted it for appraisal.

A few hours later, an appraiser in a white lab coat ran out with a bewildered face.

"What on earth is this thing?!"