The Tutorial Boss Prepares for the Dungeon
Even after Eck left, the lingering trace he'd left behind still hung in the air. Rebecca crossed her arms and legs, leaning back against the sofa as she rolled the empty potion bottle he'd returned between her fingers. His lip marks remained on the glass rim. She gave them a quick lick with her tongue.
"Eck..."
Rebecca slowly rose from the sofa. She turned her gaze to the window. The plaza in front of the guild stretched out below. She could see Eck's back as he headed toward the inn-restaurant attached to the guild.
"Love at first sight, huh? Didn't know you had such a romantic side."
Eck had never once seen a woman as a person. To him, they were either tools for pleasure to be used up or annoyances to discard when they got tiresome—just those two types. Yet here he was, raising one. And not just that—he was even sending her off into danger in the Red Forest back and forth.
"He drugged her but didn't lay a hand on her violently or even yell."
The old Eck would've swung first without hesitation, but he'd mellowed out quite a bit. Still,
"Even like that, you're cute."
A woman's name floated into Rebecca's mind.
"Elena."
The rookie exploding onto the scene at the guild—a giant killer who'd only taken down monsters above her rank, the beautiful female adventurer currently the hottest topic on everyone's lips. The girl Eck was doting on and nurturing. Rebecca repeated the name to herself.
I should've hit her once.
If it were that crazy bitch Rebecca, she'd have laughed in delight even after a thorough beating.
No, there's no profit in giving her what she wants.
I swallowed my boiling irritation and headed back to the guild restaurant. I'd momentarily forgotten amid the shock of reuniting with Rebecca, but now that the tension eased, a headache—hangover or drug aftereffects—came crashing in.
"E-Eck, a-are you... okay?"
"Jeina."
I dropped into my usual seat like collapsing, and Jeina stood before me, hands politely clasped, trembling like a kid awaiting punishment.
"Bring me some booze."
"Y-Yes? Right away!"
Blaming her wouldn't gain me anything.
...Or would it? Maybe I should use the drugged drink as an excuse to lay down the law once.
That's what Eck would've done, no doubt. I shook my head side to side, brushing off the thought.
No, that approach won't work.
Eck's way was convenient. Honestly satisfying, too. But it cost a lot. Above all, now that I'd become Eck, his influence would only fade over time. This incident proved it. The moment I drank that spiked booze, reflex should've had me flipping the table—instead, I just let it slide mildly. Even after noticing the taste had changed, it hadn't occurred to me to suspect foul play. I wasn't as sensitive as Eck. I lacked his instinctive distrust of others. I didn't know the deaths he'd faced. Even sharing his experiences, I fell short of that depth—too much was still shallow. At this rate, something would slip somewhere, and that gap would be exploited. If the booze had been poisoned, today would've been my last. Eck had plenty of enemies. He knew it intimately; I just knew of it. That tiny difference was actually massive.
Guess it really won't work.
I pressed my temple.
What a pain.
Just looking after Elena was overwhelming enough, and now my own security was wide open.
"H-Here you go."
"..."
"N-No drugs this time. Hehe."
"...Go."
Jeina cautiously set down the drink, bowed deeply, and fled to the kitchen. I knocked back the booze, pondering. The cheap swill's thick burn and lukewarmness—that was the taste I knew. I'd been ready to analyze it if it were poisoned, but Eck did this every day. No wonder he was so sharp.
Nothing useful among the connections Eck built. Better to comb through them one by one eventually and use them as stepping stones for Elena's growth.
But if things went smoothly, those guys would end up bowing to me anyway. Just the network I'd built this time around—each one was a heavyweight or tied to one. I ticked them off on my fingers.
Barie, Pila, Dorea, Borudo, and... Rebecca.
Not many, fitting on one hand, but Barie was nobility, Pila a mage, Dorea an alchemist, Borudo a blacksmith, Rebecca the guild master. Each wielded real influence in the city. Right now, only Barie could help immediately, but mobilizing just her would wipe out several thief clans lurking in the back alleys.
"Pretty solid."
I folded my fingers back one by one. Muttering Barie's name inwardly, I tucked in my thumb. Pila might seem airheaded, but she was sharp like any mage, with top-tier talent. Offer research materials, sponsorship, or experiment help, and she'd pitch my views to the Magic Association—no reason for her to refuse.
"Only downside is she's creepy to keep around."
I folded my index finger. Dorea was an alchemist cast out by nobles, but potion guilds coveted his knowledge. We'd connected over troll materials this time, but I'd keep it strictly professional, no personal ties.
"Easier to deal with someone like that, actually."
I folded my middle finger. Borudo's status alone was a challenge to other smiths.
"Those guys are all prideful as hell."
I folded my ring finger. And Rebecca...
"Tch."
Her position as guild master was too valuable to ignore in my current situation. A guild master commanded even nobles' ear. I folded my pinky.
Before the dungeon pops, I need to lay some groundwork with these folks.
I headed straight to Borudo's Blacksmith right after finishing lunch.
Borudo's Blacksmith was hotter than ever, the heat choking the air. The moment I stepped in, sweat beaded on my cheeks; I wiped it with my sleeve as I pushed deeper inside. Borudo was crouched before the anvil. Not forging—he had a finished piece in front of him, arms crossed, admiring it smugly.
Barie's commission. The ingot's surface, infused with a black sheen, was veined with red like tree rings. An alloy of adamantite and red materials, hammered by Borudo into a sharpened blade form. In the future, it'd be called the Crimson-Black Sword, briefly wielded by Elena—a rare item. And now it was complete.
"Borudo."
"Oh, you're here. Take a look."
Borudo looked up. Not his usual grumpy mug—the face of a man who'd accomplished something.
"Finished Barie-san's commission."
His voice brimmed with pride as he lifted the completed blade, catching the forge light.
"Adamantite—I'd only seen it at my master's forge, never hammered it myself. Tempering it was a nightmare. Heh. Recreating what I glimpsed over his shoulder drained me dry."
His mouth said exhausted, but his grin betrayed pure joy.
"No shortcuts, but this is top-notch, right? Can't wait to show Barie-san. What do you think?"
"Hm..."
The Crimson-Black Sword had no hilt yet—just the blade in my hand. I knew its fate, and Eck's innate swordsman's instincts had given me insight into that end.
"As is, it'll get rejected."
A high-grade rare item, but to nobles, rares were just ordinary swords. If a recommended smith—one a cut below but presenting an equal blade—showed up, it'd end up warehoused. Doomed to become Borudo's trauma-ridden scrap, cheap for Elena.
"Wh-what?"
Borudo glared in protest.
"This'll be my life's masterpiece. No hilt yet, but the blade alone stands up anywhere!"
"If it's just this, sure. What's lacking is your name value."
"What? Bullshit."
"This is your first time presenting to a noble, right? Think your name carries weight with them? Keep yelling if you do."
Borudo gaped, but his pride wouldn't let him. A craftsman's ego was the same whether in a low-end shop or not.
"Too bad, but pass this job to another smith."
"Th-the lord's commission! Barie-san asked me personally—give up this chance?"
"Yeah."
I laid out the cold reality.
"Clinging to a shallow opportunity like that? Waste of time."
"E-Eck... even you... I've... no, you've watched my efforts... how can you spout such nonsense..."
"You little shit."
I looked down disdainfully at the dwarf's short stature. Borudo shrank in fear but wouldn't drop his glare, pride stung. I smirked.
"Just make my gear."
"...Huh? What'd you say?"
"My gear?"
"What's lacking is your name value. I'll fill that for you."
"You can pull that off?"
"Think I can't?"
"..."
A-rank. That rating alone rivaled nobles.
"Forget contests. They're just events to exploit talent cheap from above. If it passes a contest, it'd pass without one. No need to cling—it's ugly."
I lifted the Crimson-Black Sword. The black-and-red blade was quality enough for a noble.
"In my eyes, your skill's not the issue."
"R-Really? Praise from you... feels weird."
"What'd you think was why I only use your weapons?"
"Hm..."
Borudo scratched his cheek, embarrassed about his outburst.
"Thanks to Elena?"
"Why bring her up outta nowhere?"
"Hard not to? Knowing you like I do, it's scary. You some other thing wearing Eck's skin?"
"Heh."
I laughed despite myself.
"Then what'll you do?"
"...Tch."
Absurd even to himself, Borudo took back the Crimson-Black Sword. He crossed his arms. His eyes changed—from corner-store clerk spotting a faker to dead serious.
"So? What to make? Not armor. Don't tell me all that praise was just to snag my masterpiece."
"Piss off."
I scanned his face.
"Shed the obsession faster than I thought."
"Well... coldly put, nobles won't recognize a nameless smith's work. Wonder why I didn't see it while making this."
Greed blinds you to the obvious. I shrugged and handed him the commission.