Chapter 37
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Skill Book
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Another week passed.
After Marcel stepped in to mediate, Shan stopped accusing me of being a devil worshiper, but that didn't make my mind any more at ease.
Finally, reinforcements arrived.
Troops from three nearby cities had banded together—150 soldiers, nine knights, and more than 200 adventurers.
Among the adventurers were as many as ten Silver-rankers and even one Gold-ranker.
To me, who had felt the giant's overwhelming power firsthand, it didn't quite sink in.
But they said this force could tear the giant apart, so I just thought, Ah, I see.
We didn't join the devil subjugation battle.
For one thing, we'd pushed ourselves nearly ten days straight without properly treating our injuries, and above all, none of us felt confident facing that giant.
If we stubbornly insisted on fighting it and entered its territory, we'd just end up trembling in fear and being a burden to everyone.
I knew my limits clearly.
All we had to do was hand over the information we'd gathered and get out of there.
We received the reward we were originally owed, plus an extra ten silver coins.
That was the value of our ordeal.
It would be a lie to say I wasn't left feeling empty, but surviving was what mattered most.
"Shall we head back now?"
"Yeah, our job's done."
Marcel calmly packed his things.
Then he mounted the horse the subjugation force had lent us and extended a hand to me.
"You can't ride alone, right? Grab on. I'll help you up."
"...Thanks."
I really couldn't ride a horse by myself.
I took Marcel's offered hand and climbed up. He turned his head to look at Shan.
"What're you waiting for? Let's go."
"...Right."
Shan mounted his horse as well, and we set off together.
Our destination was the capital.
It seemed necessary to return and sort out the current situation.
First off, through this incident, I'd come to understand how I needed to conduct myself.
And I'd also realized that this system wasn't benevolent toward me.
Until now, it had been just speculation.
When I assassinated the goblin village leader.
Seeing the dice roll low, I'd thought the system wasn't purely malicious.
But upon reflection, I realized that wasn't the case.
The dice were ultimately about probability.
So unless it was manipulating probabilities, even malice couldn't do much about it.
That meant I needed to look at factors outside of probability.
Assassin's Blade.
Villain.
Bonuses added to specific events.
All of it felt like it was mocking me.
I swung my sword at a plea to be killed, and the Assassin's Blade gained the Villain trait.
Was what I did truly evil?
Was granting that little girl's final wish truly a wicked act?
No.
It stemmed from mercy and compassion.
Yet the trait and skill descriptions condemned me.
There was no reason for it.
It felt like reasonless malice.
I wondered if it was because I'd killed a good person regardless of my intentions, but seeing the Villain trait strengthen after surviving the devils' territory convinced me otherwise.
The system grabs any pretext from my actions and slaps penalties on me.
I still hadn't found the answer to why, but I'd sorted out how to approach the system.
"Marcel."
"...I'm probably twenty years older than you, so why do you keep talking down to me? Why?"
"If someone bullies you for no reason, what's the best way to respond?"
"Huh? That guy?"
Marcel skillfully guided his horse while glancing back at Shan trailing behind, then quickly shook his head at my reaction.
I knew Shan suspected me, but it wasn't 'for no reason'.
No matter how I looked at it, I wasn't the type to get mad at suspicion that had grounds.
"Well, you're pissed off, so it feels like pointless picking on you... You want to know how to deal with that?"
"...Yes."
It was a slightly different reason, but not wrong, so I answered. Marcel tsked as if I'd asked something obvious.
"Get stronger, and it'll solve itself."
"...Pardon?"
"People pick fights with you, right?"
"Yes."
"Would they if you were strong? Even if you're in a bad mood, would they dare say it to your face?"
"...No, they wouldn't."
"Train, get stronger. That fixes most things."
"Not a short-term solution."
"Nothing in the world gets fixed short-term. Problems always hit suddenly and demand quick fixes, but solving them always takes ages."
The answer was simpler than expected, leaving me stunned, but it rang true.
All of this stemmed from my weakness.
If I were strong, even if the system tried to impose unfair penalties or the dice rolled high, I could handle it.
But separate from that satisfying answer, how to get stronger was still a daunting question.
I had no talent.
That's why I'd relied on good weapons and traits to fight.
"...Is there a way to get stronger?"
"Life-or-death battles? Training? Sparring? You know, that stuff?"
"...No shortcuts to strength, huh."
"Don't say something obvious like it's disappointing. Neither I nor Shan got strong easily."
Right.
I clamped my mouth shut, realizing my careless words might belittle the efforts of those already strong.
I had to get stronger.
Strong enough not to crumble under the system's malice.
"When we get back, I'll spar with you."
"...Huh?"
"Why?"
"Why are you being so nice now? You hated it at first."
"Can't help hating having an apprentice adventurer by my side. Even trivial tasks can kill you if you're careless—blinded by an arrow or whatever. And you're entrusting your life to me in battle as an apprentice? If it weren't me, I'd have cursed you out first."
"So why treat me well now?"
"'Cause of that asshole."
Marcel nodded toward Shan without hesitation and spat the curse.
But it wasn't the whole reason; he continued.
"And you fight pretty well. Your swordsmanship is honestly kinda iffy, but better than most at your level, so I acknowledge you."
His tone was light as air, but the words carried weight.
A Silver-rank adventurer had acknowledged me.
My gloomy, heavy heart lifted just a tiny bit.
I felt a twinge of guilt wondering if I even deserved to feel this, but...
I tried to embrace the forced uplift anyway.
Living on nothing but depression and slumped feelings was too exhausting.
You can't be picky with emotions.
Picky eating of emotions sickens the heart.
Just like picky eating sickens the body.
"Anyway, let's head back and think it over. Things got more serious than expected."
"...Yes."
"Not even the kingdom's outskirts—devil worshipers swallowing a city whole from inside the borders? Yeah."
I could overlook some implausibility in a game world, but as Marcel said, this was definitely weird.
Shan had explained it took massive time and manpower to sacrifice an entire city.
Meaning, during preparations for such a sacrifice...
The risk of detection mid-process was enormous.
Plus, guys with melting faces wearing masks and exuding creepy auras? Harder not to notice than to spot.
Yet they pulled it off.
It was definitely dangerous.
Either the devil worshipers found a new method, or there were collaborators in the kingdom's cities.
"It's serious."
"Very."
Marcel replied calmly, slowing his horse to match pace with Shan behind.
"Hey."
"What?"
"You're the adventurer who's killed the most devil worshipers, as far as I know. Any guesses?"
"...No clue. If I did, I'd have prepared long ago."
"Frustrating."
The two bantered while suddenly bringing something up.
"Hey, Ellie."
"...Yes?"
"It's weird now that I think about it. How'd you notice something off in a city even Shan missed and warn us first?"
What should I say here?
No way they'd believe me about the game system, so I had to make something thin up.
".........Instinct."
I knew how flimsy it sounded even as I said it, but it was all I could manage.
"Don't wanna say, then don't. Anyway, your warning saved us at least, so I won't gripe."
"...Yeah."
If he'd pressed relentlessly, I couldn't guarantee how it'd go.
But Marcel noticed my discomfort and let it slide.
A few days later, we arrived back at the capital.
After reporting to the Adventurer's Guild...
We agreed to meet again tomorrow and parted ways for now.
"Hey! You!"
Turning at the call, the girl who'd taken my emotions was pointing at me right after arriving in the capital.
"Ah...!"
Right, I'd gone off for training without picking up the book.
"Where've you been? The translation's done ages ago, and you never showed. Thought you'd gotten yourself killed somewhere!"
"Sorry... I forgot."
"Ten silver per emotion reading, and you forget? Rich much?"
"No."
"Take it anyway!"
The girl waddled over in an oversized robe dragging on the ground and handed me a book.
"And since it's way past the pickup date, pay storage fees."
"...Uh, how much?"
"......Your clothes are weirdly dressed. Just ten coppers."
I fished out coppers from my pouch and handed them over. She beamed.
"Thanks. Oh, right. Burned the original like you asked."
With that, she spun around and returned to her spot, business done.
I looked down at the book in my hands.
Unlike the original, no inkblot stains, no foul smell.
The scripture of the thunder god goblins worshiped.
A translation of that—what could a monster-written book contain?
I felt a spark of curiosity.
I stopped by necessary spots, bought what I needed, booked an inn, and holed up in my room.
Pulled out the book and read slowly.
Finally reaching the last page...
My status window changed.
Traits:Autonomy B, Silent Steps B, Gloomy Aura D, Villain E
Skills:Military Swordsmanship E, Assassination Sword D, Lightning C
"...What?"
You have read the scripture of the thunder god worshiped by goblins.
Goblin scriptures are a mess—not a proper 'book' by any means.
But their thunder god is real. A faint spark of lightning from the thunder god now resides in you.
"......This."
It's a skill book.