Chapter 2
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Translator: Xrecker
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Valendia (2)
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I exchanged the goblin magic stones for cash and asked Deishee.
"This is my first time in Valendia. What are the inn prices like here?"
According to Deishee, the average inn could be afforded for about a day with what I earned from the three goblins.
'As for meals... I have bread and water in my inventory, so I'll have to make do with that.'
"You said this is your first time in Valendia, right? Have you perhaps registered as an adventurer?"
"No."
"Then how about registering now?"
Even students of Lucadia Academy could register as adventurers.
There were even characters who entered the academy already as adventurers, so there was no problem.
In fact, it was better for me to register as an adventurer right now.
It meant I could accept quests from the Adventurer's Guild.
"Yes, I'll do that."
"What is your name?"
For a moment, I considered what name to use, but.
"Ishihan."
I decided to use my real name.
After answering a few more of Deishee's questions, the adventurer registration was complete.
"Registration is complete."
Deishee handed me a star-shaped badge, the mark of an adventurer.
And, perhaps thinking I was about to leave, she recited the same line as her greeting.
"Mr. Ishihan, may a radiant light shine upon you!"
"I have something I'd like to ask."
"Oh, yes. What is it?"
"When is the entrance exam for the Lucadia Academy?"
"Are you planning to enroll in the academy?"
"Yes."
Unlike the guard, Deishee didn't laugh; she simply smiled and answered.
"It will be held in 28 days."
'As I thought.'
The line in the quest window about entering the academy.
It meant the academy's entrance exam was going to be held in the near future.
'In Lu-Fan, the entrance exam was the tutorial.'
But I couldn't face it with no money and nothing to my name like in the tutorial.
"What is the highest-paying quest right now?"
"If you're looking for a high-paying quest... please wait a moment."
A moment later, Deishee showed me some quest forms.
Perhaps as a perk of being transported into the game, I could fortunately read the game's unique characters, which would have been unreadable without a separate interpretation feature in Lu-Fan.
"Currently, these three are the highest-paying quests."
[Stone Orc Subjugation]
[Bandit Subjugation]
[Poison Boar Subjugation]
Stone Orcs and Poison Boars were both monsters found in areas quite far from Valendia.
In the game, it would take less than 10 minutes to run there as a character, and less than a minute if you used a warp.
But it had taken me 30 minutes just to get from some unknown place to the vicinity of Valendia and encounter goblins.
On top of that, it took well over 10 minutes to get to Valendia after defeating the goblins.
It would surely take a considerable amount of time to travel to where these two monsters were.
'The closest in terms of distance is... the bandits, of course.'
Bandits who had several hideouts near Valendia.
In Lu-Fan, they were treated as common monsters and were differentiated into types like Bandit Minion, Bandit Elite, Bandit Captain, and Bandit Boss.
A Bandit Minion would probably be no different from a goblin, so defeating them would be easy.
Most importantly.
'Unlike the game, I'll be able to collect a variety of loot.'
In the game, when you defeated them, they didn't drop a magic stone but only a small amount of gold and a material called a Bandit's Bandana.
'But in reality, there will be more to take.'
The money or equipment the bandits were carrying.
This would be a better way to secure initial funds than hunting monsters.
'If they're bandits around Valendia... I might be able to find that item.'
After considering the three quests and my current situation, I made a decision.
"Thank you for showing me."
"Have you decided on a quest?"
"I'm going to try the bandit subjugation."
"I see. Then I will provide you with information on the bandits. But are you sure? Since this is your first time, I would recommend a simpler quest if possible."
"No, it's fine. I'm confident in my skills."
"Understood."
Deishee told me the approximate location of the mountain that the bandits were using as their hideout.
"For proof of subjugation, please bring back the bandanas the bandits wear."
After hearing all the information, I found an inn and rented a room for the night, which left me penniless again.
By the time I entered the room, I was feeling hungry, so I took out bread and water to satisfy my hunger and organized the day's events.
The phenomenon I felt while fighting the goblins.
It was surely the effect of Spearmanship Mastery.
The sentence that was under the description that said potency increases by 300% when using a spear.
[A skill for one who has reached the pinnacle of the spear.]
If this description was manifesting literally, then I could understand the phenomenon of seeing the sword path... no, the spear path, I should call it, when I fought the goblins.
Mastery-type skills like Spearmanship Mastery were different from other skills in Lu-Fan.
While existing Lu-Fan skills were simply acquired by leveling up and their skill levels were raised by farming materials.
'Spearmanship Mastery was leveled up by accumulating experience based on the number of times you used a spear-type weapon.'
It was a skill raised by increasing what was essentially spear proficiency.
Because of its unique proficiency system, it was displayed as a percentage instead of F~EX ranks, and it changed to a MAX display once all levels were completed.
Other weapons also had their own mastery skills, such as Swordsmanship Mastery and Wand Mastery.
Raising the proficiency itself required a significant amount of time.
That was why, in the late game, many users chose to stick to and raise only one weapon for their main character.
'Well, I completed all the weapon masteries, though.'
I had only chosen the spear because it was my preferred weapon, but in the current situation, spearmanship was a relatively good choice.
In the case of something like Bow Mastery, unlike the game, I could run out of arrows, and as for wands, seeing that I had a magic stat, it probably meant I would consume magic power every time I used magic.
'I don't know how much magic it consumes. I could run out of magic while using it.'
Compared to that, a spear, which had a longer range than a sword, was better.
Thanks to the effect of Spearmanship Mastery, my potency was tripled when I used a spear, and I could handle a spear like a master.
And the other skill I chose, Penetration.
When it pierced the goblin's torso, it notified me with a mechanical sound.
That it had pierced the goblin.
'Does that notification sound appear whenever I pierce anything?'
I had nothing in particular to pierce right now, so I couldn't test it.
'I'll have to test it when I face the bandits.'
After organizing my thoughts on my skills, I planned my future schedule.
First, I would obtain initial capital by subjugating bandits.
In the process of subjugating the bandits, I would study my skills more and test if I could earn points by repeatedly defeating enemies, not just from quests.
'It wasn't written as skill points, but just points, so maybe it's not just for skills....'
I might be able to raise my stats as well.
And if these were the bandits in the mountains near Valendia, I might be able to find that item.
If I did find it.
'I can start in a very good position before taking the entrance exam.'
I had about a month until the academy's entrance exam, but I couldn't just sit still.
I had to start as soon as possible, if only to find the item I wanted.
After making a rough plan, I immediately got up and left the room.
Stab!
"Guh... ugh! Gh!"
I left Valendia and ran straight for the mountain Deishee had told me about.
I didn't know how high a stamina of 6 was, but even if it wasn't an all-out sprint, I ran marathon-style for over an hour and arrived at the mountain without my body feeling tired.
Twenty minutes into searching for bandits in the mountain.
I found two of them.
One was holding a sword, and the other had a bow slung over his back.
"What's this guy?"
"Pfft, looks like he got lost while hiking."
"What an unlucky bastard!"
The bandits saw me, sneered, and attacked.
They were human scum who attacked people on sight, trying to kill them.
So even if I did feel guilt, would it be lessened?
Or maybe, just like when I killed the goblins, I would feel nothing at all.
I immediately took the spear out of my inventory and held it.
The moment I gripped the spear, just like with the goblins, I felt the trajectories.
That time, my body had just moved on its own according to the visible trajectories, but this time was different.
I could newly understand what the trajectories were in my head.
The trajectories were not just one, but many branches.
The trajectories represented the movements I could currently make, the paths of the attacks I could currently perform.
The moment I chose a trajectory I liked, my body moved in response to my will.
I accurately stabbed and finished off the bandit who was foolishly charging at me.
"You, you bastard!"
The bandit with the bow took it out and drew the string.
At that moment, a new trajectory appeared.
This wasn't a trajectory for an attack.
The bandit released the string, and the arrow was shot.
I swung my spear along the newly appeared trajectory.
Clang!
The tip of the spear collided with the arrowhead of the shot arrow, deflecting it.
"What...!"
I could see the bandit's face, his eyes wide with shock as if he had just witnessed something impossible.
'Since you shot one, should I throw one too?'
I readjusted my grip on the spear and, following a trajectory, threw it at the bandit archer.
[You have pierced the bandit.]
The spear pierced through the bandit's body and continued onward, embedding itself in a tree behind him.
"Cough!"
Vomiting blood, the bandit with a hole in his chest collapsed.
'So the notification sound does go off.'
I pulled the spear from the tree and checked the spearhead.
Fortunately, it wasn't chipped.
I swung it moderately to shake off the blood on the spearhead.
Turns out, the bandits weren't any more difficult to subjugate than the goblins.
And the phenomenon I had named the spear path, or trajectory, affected not only my offense but also my defense.
I could attack and defend by seeing the trajectories, choosing one, and moving my body.
'I feel like some kind of martial arts protagonist.'
I turned back and looked at the corpse of the bandit, lying in a pool of his own blood.
Even if he was a bandit, I had killed a person.
But just like with the goblins, I didn't feel anything in particular.
Even though he had attacked first, even though my opponent was a scumbag.
I had been worried that if I killed a person, I might feel even a little bit of guilt or fall into a panic, but.
'I don't really feel anything.'
Objectively speaking, it was a strange situation.
But as I had thought from the beginning, this was a better situation for me.
'I'll think about my changed mental state later.'
More importantly, there was something else to focus on right now.
At the corpse's waist was a small pouch.
It was the source of the faint clinking sound I heard when the bandit fell.
My prediction hadn't been wrong, then.
'Alright, then...'
It's farming time.