Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Violet Eyes
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Violet.
Unfortunately, I couldn't test the violet power.
All eyes were on me, after all. I simply suppressed my presence and slipped outside.
Old man Volkan had vanished somewhere, and with nothing much to do, I headed back to the inn.
"Oh, hello..."
"..."
There was the Execution Princess, Lucia.
Yet she's a Villainess too.
'This girl's ended up pretty pitiful.'
>
I gazed at Lucia.
Blood-red hair and blood-red pupils. Her eyes, somehow heart-shaped, seemed to gaze at me with affection.
'...Has her obsession gotten even stronger?'
Why the sudden change?
I pondered seriously. Could this violet power be the kind that enchants people?
>
"Your eyes have changed."
"I leveled up in the labyrinth and got a gift."
"Some gifts do affect the user's body. Looks like you got a good one."
"Is it good?"
"Gifts that cause changes are tied to attributes. They come with drawbacks, but the strengths usually outweigh them."
Lucia said this with a beaming smile.
Her seductive voice made for a captivating picture.
I looked at Lucia.
I knew she obsessed over me. I knew she was called a Villainess.
Still, seeing her like this sometimes made me waver. She was pretty no matter the look.
'Well, there's a reason she's called a Villainess.'
Even if she was engaged to some weirdo, and that guy was floundering under some other weirdo's thumb.
>
None of that concerned me.
And it didn't seem like things would play out that way anyway.
"Huh, Yuseong?"
Ermé's voice.
Ermé's outfit was different from usual—a short skirt hugging her curves and a blouse.
Suspicious.
Where was she headed, dressed up so pretty?
Ermé approached with a bright smile, then flinched for a moment.
"Huh, your pupil color changed? Did you level up? You're so fast."
Ermé stared at me with sparkling eyes. She smiled brightly, but her expression stiffened briefly upon seeing Lucia.
It was very brief, though.
"But who is this?"
"This place is nice, so I stopped by for a bit? Don't worry too much."
>
...It sounded an awful lot like she wanted me to worry.
"But what's with the outfit? Looks like you're off on a date."
Lucia smiled sweetly at Ermé. Ermé smiled back and linked her arm with mine.
"Exactly—we planned a date for today."
"D-date?"
For the first time, Lucia's composed expression cracked. Her face hardened, her eyes turning icy.
"Yes, a date. You said you'd just pop into the labyrinth today, so I prepared hard. Luckily, our timing worked out."
Ermé beamed. But I felt uneasy for no reason.
It felt like she was picking a fight with Lucia.
'No way.'
>
Ermé was a pretty rational woman.
"Then let's head out for our date. I found a great spot. Ah, you must be tired from the labyrinth—sorry, I should've been more thoughtful. How about a bath first, then a nice meal together? Okay?"
Ermé coaxed me sweetly, playing cute.
A normal guy might fall for it in another situation, but since she was a party member, I went along.
>
'Plus, it felt sticky.'
First, a bath.
-A man without chastity.
Rishiel's voice echoed in my mind.
-Should I hide somewhere? As long as I'm in your room, it should be fine.
'That won't happen.'
-That female seemed all too eager. She might devour you at the first opportunity.
I chuckled at Rishiel's scolding tone.
No way.
The "great spot" was just for buying arrows. It had to mean that.
'Is she worried Lucia will steal me away?'
Was this what they called a woman's intuition?
She knew about Lucia's obsession and was protecting her party member as leader.
-Hmm...
Rishiel, having read my thoughts, wore an incredibly subtle expression.
I left her be and entered the bathhouse.
>
'Better era than I thought.'
They had pretty much everything.
Baths, food hygiene concepts. Even food I expected to taste bad was surprisingly good.
Living in a world like this didn't seem so bad.
'The problem is that this world is doomed to perish.'
My friend's words came back to me.
He'd poured his heart into dragging me into that game. It worked, and now here I was.
Thinking about it just brought a sigh.
All this suffering because of that guy.
If I was honest, I just wanted to let Lucia obsess over me and enjoy some leisure time.
'Perish...'
What would happen if it perished?
Nothing left—that's what perishing meant. Then I could die comfortably, right?
In that case, I'd want a peaceful death.
'Of course, I won't go down easy.'
I'd thrash around as much as possible.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Ermé seemed to be in a great mood.
Maybe because Lucia wasn't around.
>
Anyway, the place we headed was a massive workshop. I'd figured we'd go to that dwarf with the [Master] title from before.
>
"They're experts with swords. They don't handle special arrows or bows. Ah, if you need a sword, they'd recommend something good."
"Yeah?"
"Pretty much. Today it's here."
>
Ermé smiled brightly, tugging my arm along as she chattered idly.
>
Mostly about herself.
>
"I grew up in the countryside and learned the sword from a retired knight there."
"No wonder your balance is so good."
"Knights have this aggressive or defensive image, but it depends on their style. Most build solid fundamentals and stay balanced."
>
Her eyes sparkled when talking about swords.
I thought it was a pretty unique hobby. Few women were this serious about blades.
Still, it didn't look bad. Being sincere about your job was admirable, whatever it was.
>
"This is the workshop."
>
The place Ermé led me to was like a giant factory.
There were quite a few adventurers nearby—all mid to high-rankers, by the look of them.
>
'Lots of adventurers—must be really famous.'
>
Even more inside.
Maybe because of the crowd, Ermé's grip on my arm loosened a bit.
I unlinked our arms and took her hand instead.
>
"E-eh, eeh?!"
>
Ermé let out a silly squeak.
>
"Whew, what a hot couple."
>
A familiar voice from somewhere.
I turned to see Volkan whistling.
>
So that's where this old man had gone.
>
"What is it?"
"Came to get that scarecrow fixed after you trashed it, and what do I see? An entertaining sight. Thought I'd liven things up."
>
This was entertaining?
Holding hands in a crowd?
>
Volkan caught my expression and gave Ermé a pitying look.
>
"You're a prodigy in combat, but zero talent on this front. Or maybe too much talent?"
>
Volkan stroked his chin, lost in thought. What was he on about?
>
"So, what's your business here?"
"Buying a bow and arrows."
>
I skipped the part about it being a date, too.
He'd pull a sleazy face and tease me if I mentioned it.
>
"Hmm, not here for a date? The girl's acting like it."
"Then call it a casual date."
"Hah, you magnificent bastard."
>
Volkan cursed out of nowhere. I hadn't done anything to deserve that.
>
Whatever.
>
"What bow do you even use? I've never seen you in the rear guard."
>
Volkan's question sent me into serious thought. Bow size wasn't a big issue for me.
>
Longbows were tiring but had high attack power and range. Shortbows favored rapid fire.
>
At this point, with mana in play, it wouldn't make a huge difference anyway.
>
'Shortbow might be better.'
>
When using Hidden Space, I always pretended to pull something from my pocket.
Or in one-on-one scraps, to create variables without showing my hand.
>
Volkan gave me an incredulous look as I pondered.
>
"...Why are you agonizing over a bow?"
"Just wondering which one's best."
"Which one do you use? What bow?"
"I just shoot a bow."
"...You sound like some amateur hack."
>
Volkan eyed me strangely.
>
"But coming from you, I can't just brush it off."
"Think of it as shooting as well as anyone else."
"...At least as good as a level 3 pro archer."
"What?!"
>
Volkan's face twisted in shock at Ermé's words.
Pro archers specialized solely in bows, huh.
>
"Unbelievable. Don't people usually know what they themselves use?"
>
Volkan looked at me suspiciously. Ermé smiled brightly.
>
"Want to test it? They have a range here anyway."
"Hmm..."
>
Volkan looked doubtful but nodded.
>
"Fine. If you're right, I'll hook you up with a top-tier bow from here."
>
Volkan made the offer.
Prove my skill in exchange for a bow, basically.
>
-Cunning old man.
'Cunning?'
-No big loss for him either way. If he learns your skill, the Adventurer's Guild gets stronger. If not, that girl Ermé's trust in you drops. Simple.
Rishiel said as much.
-Worth a few dozen gold at most. In exchange, he uncovers the secret of your rear-guard prowess—a solid gain.
'Is the rear guard that important?'
-More precisely, reliable high-skill talent is always rare.
Rishiel explained.
-Remember this, always: skill and character don't always align. Even a genius can have the basest personality.
'Like you, Rishiel?'
-...
Rishiel went momentarily speechless.
Considering our first meeting, it really was the worst possible encounter.
>
'Well, now she's someone I can more or less trust.'
-Y-you... Don't make jokes like that. Bad for the heart.
No heart to speak of.
I brushed off Rishiel's words and turned to Volkan.
>
"Fine, let's do it."
>
No real loss for me.
>
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
There weren't many people at the shooting range. Just a vast field dotted with straw target dummies.
>
"What do I do here?"
"A level 3 pro archer should be able to damage a dummy at this range."
"Not destroy it?"
"Even if a level 3 can break a straw dummy, not everyone can. Depends on bow power or rapid fire."
"Then."
"You? Break the straw one."
>
Volkan grinned.
>
'Breaking it is no issue.'
>
Felt like he was singling me out.
>
"Obviously. I've acknowledged your talent already. But bow skills? That's another matter."
"This is... about credentials, huh."
"Exactly. It's all about the record."
>
He clearly wanted to promote me openly.
I glanced around. No one nearby.
>
Time to do it properly, then.
I pretended to draw a bow from my pocket.
>
I nocked an arrow and drew the string. Aimed at the target.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡
Charging Shot
Mana surges through the arrow. Violet power gathers at the tip.
Mana drained sharply.
Violet power began condensing on the arrow.
>
Crackle, crackle.
Purple lightning sparked and gathered at the arrowhead.
>
'I didn't even activate it?'
>
Were all my skills infused with this violet power?
>
I focused calmly.
The purple lightning crackled, pooling at the bow's end.
>
Screeeeech!
With a piercing whistle, it rocketed off—
>
💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥
Thunderclap!
Straw dummy vaporized without a trace.
Rumble!
Thunder boomed, and the scarecrow was obliterated.
>
The straw dummy—a level 3 feat to merely break.
>
It was gone without a trace.
>
"...I said break the scarecrow, not erase it entirely..."
>
Volkan looked utterly deflated.
>
I had nothing to say, so I just stood there.