Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: The Eternal Compass Awakens
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There were plenty of people in the world who commanded minions.
Pets.
Summons.
Mercenaries.
Even magical beasts.
People had been employing them through various methods, like summoning them directly or taming them.
In the early days of Agas, taming had even been all the rage for a while.
By directly subduing targets.
Or raising them from cubs, and so on.
But the process wasn't easy, and even if taming succeeded, you had to level them up from 1 all over again.
Maybe that's why.
After that, the atmosphere shifted to where most people didn't even bother trying.
'Even if they succeeded in taming, there were tons of guys who gave up midway because raising them took too much method, time, and money.'
Of course, some had succeeded among them.
A tiny minority, but there were indeed users still making a name for themselves through their minions.
A prime example was Pain.
The first to successfully summon the hellhound Cerberus, he'd climbed to top ranker status as a bona fide summoner.
Luke himself had struggled quite a bit against that Cerberus once, and he still vividly remembered that battle.
'Especially that black flame spewing from all three mouths at once. What a pain in the ass.'
Just one well-raised summon meant you barely needed other party members.
Why?
Because it could handle the workload of several people on its own.
That's why Luke never dismissed taming outright, but Poko's stats were way beyond his expectations.
Hellhound Cerberus.
Pain's disclosed major stats for that beast hadn't even reached triple digits.
'A tanuki with mana! You think that makes any sense?'
'......'
'Not to mention innate magical talent and intelligence on the level of understanding human speech!'
The underground lab suddenly flashed in his mind.
The black mage excitedly rattling on about the imprisoned Poko.
He probably hadn't anticipated this level of mana either.
'And this subspace pouch.'
That's how it was pulling out all those items from its body. A hidden secret like this.
Subspace.
A standalone dimension that could hold anything.
Its capacity was several times that of a player's inventory.
No, it might even be more if trained well.
And Poko had one inside its body.
'Called it a spirit beast.'
It was living up to the name.
'It doesn't have skills matching its stats yet, though...'
Those would come naturally as it leveled up, fulfilling conditions one by one.
The only issue was naturally getting closer to Poko.
Naming it had boosted affinity somewhat, but it still trembled every time he touched it.
The distance had narrowed, but it would need time to adjust.
And he'd have to build more affinity in the meantime.
'Looks like it developed trauma from being locked up so long.'
In that case, approach without triggering it.
How?
Without restraint.
Close the gap slowly and naturally.
'Heh heh heh, a lucky charm like this rolls right into my lap. Raiding that lab was truly divine intervention!'
His mouth stretched into a grin.
A sleazy smile spread across his face before he knew it.
"Po, Poko?"
"Ah, ahem. Old memories just popped up outta nowhere, heh heh!"
Luke threw an excuse at the startled Poko and checked his new achievement.
'Nature Affinity... Holy shit, Luck +5?!'
He'd been wondering about "Nature Affinity."
Then the stat boost hit him, and his jaw dropped.
Luck stat.
A whopping +5.
'Achievement-level real talk?'
His chest swelled with pride.
Considering you got just 1 stat point per level-up, a +5 to Luck was top-tier.
'Dunno what Nature Affinity does, but Luck alone is jackpot!'
Steal's skill level-up recently included Agility and Luck in the steal probability.
Perfect timing for this boost.
Luke inwardly marveled as he looked down at Poko.
"Poko, you hungry at all?"
"Poko?"
"Want some bread like last time? Nah, can't skimp on crumbs for you. Hold on, I brought something special this time..."
He rummaged for food.
Several hours later.
Grab!
As dusk settled, a hand appeared at the cliff's edge.
"Hoo!"
It was Luke.
After an arduous climb, he'd finally reached the summit.
"Made it sooner than expected."
Thanks largely to Shadow Step.
Eliminated presence and footsteps.
Even boosted balance.
He'd dodged nearly half the endless wild animals swarming the path.
'Couldn't avoid the ones with sharp noses.'
Anyway, the new awakened skill had saved time.
All that remained was finding traces of the hidden scenario marked on the map here at the peak.
"Po, Pokoooo—!"
Then.
Poko flailed, clinging to the cliff edge.
"Kid, hold on proper and climb."
"Po, Poko."
"Here."
He hoisted Poko up.
Poko flopped exhausted onto the summit.
Like a drained human.
Luke chuckled, then scanned the surroundings.
Cool breeze.
Vast panorama below.
To the distant horizon at sunset's edge.
A picturesque mountaintop vista.
But he had no time to gawk.
Only the hidden scenario mattered now.
So he pulled out the map again.
"Mark's right around the summit."
But nothing.
No suspicious landmarks.
No hidden traces or clues.
Just scattered rocks.
Was this the right spot?
'Keep looking for now.'
Luke pocketed the map and searched more.
'Hmm.'
Near the peak.
'Hmmm.'
Between the cliffs he'd climbed.
'Hmmmm!'
Rocks and trees below the cliffs.
He scoured everywhere, but nothing promising.
"Poko, tell me right away if you spot anything suspicious, got it?"
"Poko."
He was desperate enough to enlist Poko's help.
Awoooo—
A distant wolf howl.
Time had flown; the sun was setting.
Darkening sky.
Cooling air.
'Even I can't wander mountains at night safely.'
No night vision.
Especially against nocturnal beasts—he'd be done for.
'...No choice.'
Search again tomorrow.
Luke moved to log out of Agas.
But then.
"Poko?"
Poko tilted its head.
If he left, it'd be alone up here.
"You gonna be okay by yourself?"
"Pokopoko."
"Yeah?"
"Poko!"
Nodding confidently.
'Answering so sure. Plus, it followed to the summit fine.'
It had chased him to the battlefield before.
"Then hide good."
He petted Poko's head briefly.
Then logged out and vanished.
"......"
Left alone, the spirit beast.
Poko circled the spot Luke vanished from, then sought a hiding place.
The next day.
'Sun's up. Time to search more thoroughly.'
Logging back into Agas, Luke resumed scouting.
Landmarks missed yesterday.
Surrounding plants and all, checked meticulously.
'Skipped the prerequisite quest, so can't miss a single detail.'
He only had this map marking the hidden scenario.
No clue how the quest started.
Or its structure.
'No map updates, so gotta find it manually.'
If all else failed, sell the map as-is.
'But best to find it first.'
He widened the search radius.
The mark might cover a broader summit area.
Rooting around the peak.
'Could be a hidden piece that triggers up close.'
No possibility excluded.
So the next day.
And the day after.
Searching nonstop.
But.
'How's there nothing?'
Zero discoveries to the end.
Exhausted, Luke flopped down.
Nothing.
Not a trace or clue.
Not even a suspicious landmark.
'Map alone isn't enough?'
Info.
Or pathfinding means.
Maybe the prerequisite gave that.
'If prerequisite's required...'
Finding the hidden scenario from the map alone was near impossible.
"Tch, just sell the map then?"
No point investing more time.
Prep for the upcoming 2nd anniversary event might be smarter.
Luke sprawled out, thinking that.
"Pokopoko."
With tail-wagging Poko beside him.
Gazing blankly at the sky.
'Damn clear.'
Luke sighed deeply.
Then stowed the map back in inventory.
That's when.
'Oh, this?'
An item next to the map slot.
The broken compass he'd forgotten.
'Supposed to point to what you want most, but always busted.'
Proof: needle stuck in place...
'Huh?'
Not stuck.
It pointed somewhere, trembling faintly.
"What."
Startled, Luke jumped up.
Pulled the Eternal Compass from inventory.
"......"
Sure enough.
Moving.
The needle quivered subtly.
To test, Luke walked nearby.
'...!'
It changed.
Direction shifting.
'Wasn't it broken?'
Ding!
Soon, a message cleared his doubt.
'Not... broken?'