Chapter 139
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Festival of Fire
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I grinned, successfully replicating the 'Hunter's Stride' that the Beast King and Leo had shown me.
'Though I've been overshadowed lately by the amazement of [Lust Absorption]... the [Sensory Block] skill is no slouch in the cheat department either.'
Who would've thought I could use [Sensory Transfer] to steal someone's entire senses and master their technique in a single instant. If this is possible...
"...You did that in one try?"
"Hey, you pick up anything else?"
I flashed a savage grin at Leo, whose expression had gone completely slack, and threatened him into showing off his other techniques.
Leo balked at first, but after I gave his fist a gentle rub, he caved to my request and began demonstrating the other moves he'd learned from the Beast King, one by one.
"Hmm..."
'...Can't copy this one right away?'
Leo, sporting a lump on his head, shot Ian a sidelong glance as he demonstrated the movements his master had taught him.
Who would've thought he'd replicate the footwork from Master after seeing it just once... It took me over a month to get it right...
'But his body's moving kind of sluggishly.'
Is it because he's distracted by other thoughts? His movements feel unnaturally choppy, stuttering once in a while. More accurately, it's like the sensations themselves are cutting out...
'Did he take one too many hits?'
While Leo went through the motions with his complicated feelings, I experimented with [Sensory Transfer] to see if I could steal and learn his other techniques.
The result? Failure.
'Urk...'
Activating [Sensory Transfer] over and over and shoving Leo's senses into my head brought on a wave of intense nausea and vertigo. I'd felt it before when transferring a familiar's vision to myself, but trying to overlay someone else's senses without blocking out my own was downright impossible.
The clashing dissonance between my lingering original senses and the transferred ones... Ugh, damn.
'And unlike transferring just 'vision', this requires shifting over sensations from most of the body and even mana flows... No way I can handle it.'
The more complex the sensations I transferred, the shorter the duration I could endure. Complex techniques naturally tangled together intricate body movements and mana flows, putting hard limits on what I could learn with [Sensory Transfer].
'Can't push it further. Feels like my brain's about to fry.'
Nursing a pounding headache, I signaled Leo that we were done.
'The footwork worked on the first try because I was already primed to learn it.'
Before Leo showed up, I'd been taking beatings from the Beast King while drilling 'Hunter's Stride'. I'd botched executing it plenty, but I'd watched his movements enough times by then, and I could clumsily mimic the mana and body flows.
[Sensory Transfer] only lasted seconds for such complex sensations, but I'd nailed 'Hunter's Stride' in that brief window because I only needed that final step.
Well, even so...
"I'm back! You boys been training hard..."
"Beast King."
Right on cue, having wrapped up his errands, the Beast King strode back into the training grounds.
With a cocky smile, I channeled mana from the far end of the grounds and dashed forward using 'Hunter's Stride' to close the distance to him.
"...You..."
"How's that? Learned it proper..."
"Damn it! So frustratingly close! Be my disciple already!"
"No, damn it."
Is he seriously losing it? Why does he keep flip-flopping?
I barely slipped away by chucking Leo into the Beast King's grasp as he tried to nab and lock me down, then bolted out of the Martial Guild.
'Gotta steer clear of the Swordsmanship Guild and Martial Guild for a while...'
He'd asked dead seriously if I'd take him up on discipleship, said he'd respect my choice when I refused, then immediately went back on it. His teachings were top-notch, but I had a bad feeling I'd end up dead before my time training under him.
And that shocking bladder-busting sensation... felt like losing some vital piece of my humanity... Damn, dwelling on it again. The training method itself was solid, though—maybe pick up some equipment? Wait, Alensia's mansion storeroom had a few last time. Wonder if I could use those?
I'll think about it later. Head back to the mansion first.
'Not like I didn't have to come back anyway...'
After getting back from the Labyrinth, handing off materials to Miranda, getting healed up by Alensia, and training with the Beast King, the 'Festival of Fire' was now tomorrow. I'd already promised to go with Miranda, so a return trip was inevitable.
'Hope it turned out great.'
Thanks to [Lust Absorption] with Alensia, I'd hit Lv6 in [Swordsmanship], and with the Beast King's lessons on top, I was itching to dive into the Labyrinth and test my power—but holding out one more day meant new gear.
Brimming with anticipation for my new equipment, I tossed and turned all night, then bolted from the mansion at first light straight to Miranda's workshop in the smithing district.
"Miranda!"
"...You're up early."
At the workshop entrance, Miranda greeted me with sunken, hollow eyes.
"Where's my gear?"
"Just wrapping up the final processes. Good timing. Come on in."
She looked beat, but irrepressible pride gleamed in those eyes. My heart racing, I stepped inside.
"Here it is."
"Ooh..."
Toward the back of the workshop sat a full set of leather armor and a longsword with a reddish gleam.
First up, the leather armor.
Made from variant ogre hide, it had the same overall pitch-black hue as the beast itself, giving off a menacing vibe, with red-sheened metal plates reinforcing the vital spots.
"Ogre leather base, with the salamander scales you brought layered over the vitals. For the tanning solution, I used sap from millennium ancient wood..."
I suited up while listening to her rundown. Upper and lower torso, pauldrons, greaves—the full set fit with a comfort and lightness beyond my expectations.
"Alright, now..."
The moment I had the armor on, Miranda grabbed a sword from the corner of the workshop and swung it at me.
-Ting!
"O."
"See? A plain weapon without mana infusion doesn't even dent it."
We tested sword, bow, spear, axe—every attack bounced off without a mark. Not just Miranda; even when I swung, the results were the same.
'Lv6 [Swordsmanship] can't even scratch it?'
No mana poured into them, sure... but the performance was undeniably stellar.
"Oh, and I added auto-repair."
"Huh? That's possible?"
"Nah, had the Alchemy Guild enchant it... cost me my life savings. Your old armor looked so beat to hell, figured repair enchant made more sense than anything flashy."
Hearing that, I channeled mana into my sword and slashed. This time, a thin slice appeared at the edge. Staring at it, I watched the armor's gash slowly knit itself closed.
"Thanks."
"No biggie. Bargain for my life savings. Now the sword... salamander scales and fangs, its heart, flame golem ore, flame stones from the 21st floor..."
I turned my gaze to the blade as she explained. My old longsword had a blood-like dark crimson hue, but this one evoked roaring flames—a brighter orange-tinged red.
I gripped the hilt. Tailor-made for me, it molded perfectly to my hand the instant I touched it.
"Somewhere to test it?"
"Follow me."
Following her lead, we headed to an open lot with a steel training dummy planted in it.
"Anyone in the smithing district can use this spot... Go wild and test it however."
However, huh... First, to gauge the power output I wanted...
"Can swing full force?"
"Shock-absorbing magic circles all around."
"In that case."
I hefted the sword and brought it down on my own arm instead of the dummy. Miranda yelped something from the side in a panic, but I tuned her out.
'[Physical Resistance] hit Lv6, but it cuts clean. Alright then...'
Blood welled up, and the [berserker's Gauntlets] on my arm hummed to life. Activating [Limit Break] simultaneously unleashed a surge of destructive power.
-Rooaaar...
'O?'
Pouring mana into the blade made tiny flames flicker along it in its wake. A fire-spitting sword. Blade function? Romance approved, at least.
I took a single step forward. Thanks to learning the [Footwork] skill, even that small motion achieved exquisite balance, smoothly shifting my weight from toes to arm as I thrust with full momentum.
I unleashed the strike.
-KABOOOM!
Instead of a clean slice, an explosive roar like something detonating. Miranda gawked in horror beside me, but I beamed innocently.
"Tough stuff."
The blade hadn't chipped in the slightest. If anything, the mana-sparked flames seemed to amp up the destructive force even more.
"You... that was..."
"Let's roll, Miranda. Got to enter it in the festival, right?"
I gave her wide-eyed bunny stare a thumbs-up, smiling in satisfaction as I sheathed the sword.
This blade... the real deal. Sword and armor alike—flawless masterpieces.
"...Yeah. Let's go."
It had 'festival' in the name, but the Festival of Fire was surprisingly straightforward.
Head to the Temple of Fire, sign up on the participant list, and submit your crafted gear. Advanced artisans do the initial judging, selecting the top 10 standouts to present to the God of the Hammer, Vulcan. Just making the top 10 qualifies you for Advanced artisan status.
Then Vulcan evaluates those 10 and picks one grand champion for a private audience. No further tests—the winner claims the Advanced artisan title on the spot.
"Festival's pretty low-key."
"It's the most sacred event for dwarves. Part festival, part ritual."
I trailed behind Miranda as she clutched her gear to her chest with a tense expression, heading into the temple.
'So this is the Temple of Fire?'
Until now, the only temple I'd visited was the Temple of Light where Gloria lived, so I'd never properly seen the others. But the Temple of Fire felt less like a temple and more like...
'A forge?'
The God of Fire doubled as the god of blacksmiths, after all. The interior was decked out like a full-on smithy: an anvil on the raised altar, a massive furnace in one corner... Yeah, it fit.
The temple staff were mostly dwarves too. Fittingly un-temple-like, plenty were knocking back drinks.
"It's fine. With this gear I made, we can even shoot for the win..."
"A half-dwarf winning? Don't make me laugh."
"...What?"
As Miranda and I filled out the participant roster inside the temple, a grating voice piped up from behind.
Turning around, a rough-looking dwarf and a black-haired man were glaring daggers our way.
'...East Asian?'
For some reason, the man standing next to the dwarf felt oddly familiar, so I kept staring. Meanwhile, the instigating dwarf and Miranda launched into a verbal spat.
"Anthony. You entering too?"
"Obviously. What about you? A half-breed like you overstepping..."
"All mouth. Picking on half-blood status? Insecure about your skills? Dwarves let their work do the talking."
"Right—your work's a cut below mine. Whatever, give it your best shot. Might squeak into the top 10."
Miranda fired back fiercely while Anthony the dwarf sneered at her. The two bickered for a good while before finally stopping when someone emerged from deeper in the temple.
"Who's that?"
"Hmph. Guy my dad used to teach... Got booted once for causing trouble. Started picking fights with me after that. Dad smashed him with a hammer and sent him packing, though..."
"Causing trouble?"
"Stole someone else's prepped materials. Got expelled for his screw-up, took it out on me. Dad whacked him good and he scrammed."
Miranda trashed Anthony with venom, her face twisted in frustration.
"Still, his skills are legit. Dad took him as a disciple for his insane talent... Word is he's the top mid-level artisan out there right now."
"...Who's the guy behind him?"
"Eh? Probably an apprentice or something. Or maybe an adventurer hauling materials, like how I brought you. You get one companion."
"...Gotcha."
I eyed the man as he walked off into the distance. Then his gear.
'Earth Guild'
The exact same guild emblem as the one on that 'Excel' adventurer I'd faced in the tournament.
And a black-haired East Asian. No way...
'An Earthling.'
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