Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Ch. 27 .｡.:✧ Basel (4) ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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I was startled when Tay suddenly hugged my waist. Still, I gently patted and stroked her shaggy hair. She was the type who couldn’t help but look cute even with such impulsive actions.
‘Ha. Indeed, it’s still magnificent even if slightly inferior to her peak skills.’
Just looking at this mana stone made me want to smile. It was beautiful. A masterpiece that not only didn’t damage any of the mana stone’s unique properties, but maximized them. The textbook example of top-grade mana stone processing.
“I wonder if she’s calmed down a bit now.”
“Sniff. Yes…”
I didn’t know why she suddenly burst into tears, but I paid it no mind. It didn’t matter what the reason was. As long as Tay became my exclusive mana stone processing factory from now on, that was enough.
“Besides the next mana stone commission, there’s one more proposal I have. How about becoming my exclusive craftsman?”
“Huh? Exclusive?”
“I’m not saying to only accept my commissions. You’re free to take on other work, but if I entrust you with a commission, you must always prioritize that job. If you can abide by just that…”
“Does that mean…?”
“Is it too unreasonable of a condition?”
“Oh, no! I’ll do it! Exclusive craftsman! No, I want to request it of you! Please let me become your exclusive craftsman!”
I was worried she might refuse, but as expected, Tay was different from the main heroines and wouldn’t commit the atrocity of repaying kindness with enmity. This was why I couldn’t help but adore her.
“This mana stone has a symmetrical structure. I think it would be best to split it in half and make two. The output won’t decrease much even then…”
“Then please do that. And feel free to work as you see fit without confirming every little thing with me. What I want is the result of Tay fully displaying her skills without restraint.”
“Really? No specific requirements? Just work as I please?”
“That’s right.”
Tay’s eyes sparkled with excitement. She seemed thrilled to be able to pour her preferences into the work, having met a client who wasn’t uptight. The result of Tay working as she desired would be the optimal result anyway, so there was no point in me imposing unnecessary conditions.
“When the work is finished, contact me at the hotel room just like before.”
“Yes, understood! Goodbye! Mr. Undecided!”
The exclusive contract was complete. I had also entrusted her with the next top-grade mana stone processing. With lighter steps, I left the workshop.
[Undecided: 4.9%] [Receiving mild admiration. You are someone special to somebody.] [*Warning. Impersonating someone else.]
Someone special to somebody? Based on the circumstances, that somebody could only be Tay. I was a bit skeptical if it was to that extent.
Just as I was puzzling over that,
“Young master!”
Was someone calling for me? I turned around at the rough voice. It was the elderly master craftsman whom Tay had been attending.
“Thank you!”
He approached me, panting, and painfully bent his already uncomfortable-looking back.
“That child Tay has been struggling due to her unique habits. I had thought those habits might become a talent when handling top-grade mana stones, but I never dared to entrust her with something so expensive.
So I was trying to chase her out, thinking she wouldn’t even be able to do the work of one person in this industry. But thanks to young master’s bold investment, Tay was able to blossom with her talent! I am deeply grateful from the bottom of my heart!”
Well. So he says. It seemed the master had cherished Tay quite a bit. How much hardship Tay had endured, and how significant it was for her to regain confidence through this commission – frankly, that wasn’t my business.
“She had a good teacher.”
“I am an incompetent teacher. To think I didn’t recognize Tay’s talent until now…”
“Anyone else would have kicked her out long ago. Rather, I want to express my gratitude to you for keeping Tay by your side all this time.”
“Sob. Sniff…!”
Ack. Why is he suddenly crying? I had no interest or desire to see a fully grown dwarf bawling his eyes out. Was it in the settings that dwarves are prone to tears? This was the second time today I witnessed a dwarf crying.
“Please continue to take good care of Tay.”
I turned my back before witnessing any more unsightly scenes and left. As always, there was a lot to do today.
Despite being a fairly well-developed city, there were quite a few unconquered dungeons around Basel.
You might wonder, shouldn’t the dungeons near such an important city have been cleared out by now? It was because the dungeons surrounding Basel were all black star dungeons.
Dungeons that mercenaries had already shed blood over multiple times and officially declared as abandoned by the Mercenary Council.
Abandonment didn’t mean conquest was forbidden, but hardly any fools would challenge such dangerous dungeons.
In other words, there were plenty of dungeons around Basel that could be leisurely conquered without interference.
Some even had another dungeon beyond the first one, forming a double dungeon. A honey dungeon with double the rewards. I was currently heading towards that dungeon, with-
“Aaaah!”
“You won’t fall, so stop screaming. Don’t you trust me?”
“…I trust you.”
-Undecided on my back as I crossed the city.
The water had to rise at this time, so Undecided made a face and asked me to piggyback her.
With Undecided constantly flailing about, I had no peace of mind to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the city’s landscape reflected in the rippling water.
The only saving grace was that Undecided’s growth had stopped at a young age. To others, it would simply look like I was giving my little sister a piggyback ride.
The fact that she was actually older than me was nonsense.
‘But does she have any lingering attachments to life?’
It seemed like an obvious question, albeit a late one. The fact that Guardian Knight activated properly meant Undecided had the awareness of being protected by me.
In other words, it signified that Undecided also had the desire to survive. But judging by her actual behavior, I really wondered if she truly wanted to live.
She wouldn’t even ask for food until collapsing from hunger. She wouldn’t budge an inch even when a wolf’s claws were right in front of her eyes. In any case, she was peculiar.
Perhaps there was a separate principle behind her actions that I had yet to grasp. I decided to figure that out gradually.
“We’ve already run two laps, are you not tired?”
“…Overflowing. With energy.”
Inside a dungeon deep in a remote mountain. Undecided raised her arm, showing off her non-existent muscles. Her condition was probably at its peak, having just received a fresh supply of blood.
Of course, Undecided refused to eat any other blood, so I had to cut my arm and feed her. At this rate, my entire left arm would be covered in knife marks. Did she not eat blood that had even slightly lost its freshness?
Surely it wasn’t because she particularly liked my blood, right?
Last time, when I defeated that gang of thieves, I should have experimented with the freshly spilled blood.
“Shall we do a performance test?”
The mana stone Tay had processed, scattering a brilliant light.
Originally, I planned to embed it in a sword, but I was in such a rush that I just brought it as is.
To maximize the performance of a mana stone, it was important to keep it in close contact with the body.
With nothing else to secure it, I placed it on my left hand and roughly wrapped it with bandages.
“Wow. It really does make a difference.”
When I couldn’t manipulate mana, I had no idea why good mana stones were so expensive. It just made my body feel a bit lighter, that’s all?
Even that was so faint that I doubted if it was just a placebo effect.
To me, it was no different from a germanium bracelet. But with the Mana Control trait now, it was definitely on a whole other level.
Previously, I had to concentrate with all my might to control the flow of mana, but now it felt ten times easier.
Naturally, the duration I could maintain it without going berserk had increased. The extra focus could be directed towards combat, inevitably boosting overall battle power.
The higher the skill level, the more pronounced the effect would be, so it was indeed worth risking one’s life for a mana stone.
“Keeek! Kiek!”
“Oh.”
Just then, a performance gauge appeared. Goblins. But unlike Blin, their skin was a mess and their eyes were murky from living in dark places, giving them an eerie appearance.
I was reminded once again that Blin was on the handsome side among goblins.
Shoop…!
The creature immediately drew its bow and fired an arrow. Unlike Blin, these ones seemed filled with malice, leaving no room for dialogue. I promptly switched to a defensive stance and-
“Are you hurt?”
“…No.”
I caught the arrow right in front of Undecided. In the past, I would have pushed Undecided out of the way to dodge. But thanks to Mana Control, the arrow looked so slow that I could catch it.
“These brats. Not even elves, but they shoot so well.”
“Kiek!”
Poof.
I threw the arrow back and it pierced through the chest of the goblin wielding the bow, embedding itself in the head of the goblin behind it.
The increase in combat power was palpable.
Should I test it with a sword this time?
“Kieeeek!”
“Kek!”
The cries of the creatures resounded loudly in the dungeon before quickly fading. They were just goblins, not high-level monsters, so it wasn’t difficult.
At this point, I felt confident facing a pack of Fenrir head-on. Without any crossbow tricks, that is.
“Let’s advance slowly.”
“…Okay.”
After slaying the goblins, a long corridor stretched ahead. At the end of the empty corridor was a door leading directly to the final chamber.
If we could just reach there, it would be over without even a final boss.
“This corridor ahead is full of traps. You have to step only where I step.”
“…Okay.”
Of course, there was no way it would be empty in between. The long corridor was packed with deadly traps.
How dangerous must it be for it to be declared as an abandoned dungeon despite only having goblins as monsters?
Naturally, I didn’t bang my head and memorize it directly during the 12 rounds.
Occasionally, some crazy bastards would emerge, declaring they would challenge the abandoned dungeon, and I would tag along with them.
And then I would remember where the guys in front died. I repeated this every round, obtaining a safe route to reach the end of the corridor.
“One misstep and you and I will die together.”
“…Okay.”
It wasn’t difficult. Just the repetitive task of extending my foot to the memorized spots and passing through.
My memory seemed to be holding up as I hadn’t forgotten anything in the middle, allowing me to cross safely.
Now, Undecided just had to cross and it would be over.
“Hey! Hurry up and cross!”
“…Huh?”
The moment I turned around. At the end of the corridor, I saw a goblin with only its upper body remaining, drawing its bow.
The creature lost consciousness and collapsed the instant it released the bowstring. Tenacious bastard.
The swiftly flying arrow embedded itself in the tile right in front of Undecided and-
“…Ah.”
The tile gave way and Undecided’s figure dropped down.
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