Chapter 31
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Maya
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Named NPCs.
They boasted superior specs compared to regular NPCs, and once you built up a certain level of trust with them, special events would trigger.
In other words, each one had their own individual story.
Aiden was a prime example.
But before meeting Aiden, Jun had no plans to recruit any named NPCs into his mercenary corps.
And why would he? The era Jun lived in was set a few years before the starting point of the game <Blackout>.
Naturally, he had no idea where those named NPCs were or what they were up to.
But after that chance encounter with Aiden, Jun began seriously considering recruiting named NPCs.
Most of them had ties to Aiden, after all.
And recently, Jun had recalled the past of one particular named NPC.
It wasn't exact, but a likely location at this point in time had come to mind.
A barren rocky wasteland—that was the spot.
"Why are you here...?"
But to think that named NPC had suddenly popped up in the Black Forest, of all places—and working under the mercenary guild's branch chief, no less.
Maya.
Just like Aiden, she was one of the most famous named NPCs among players.
"Hm? What was that you just said?"
"Oh, nothing."
Jun realized he'd unconsciously muttered in Korean and quickly regained his composure.
"That's the person you were talking about?"
"That's right. Name's Maya. Her main weapons are dual swords."
Jun shifted his gaze back to the woman called Maya.
Short, neat black bob cut. Her faintly glowing golden eyes carried a subtle venom.
And perhaps because of her lean, wiry build, her overall impression was that of a stray alley cat.
"Hello."
She greeted them awkwardly in short bursts, and Braden spoke up.
"She's an 'Outer.' That's why she's still clumsy with our language."
Outer.
It referred to the natives who had entered Blackout hundreds of years ago—before the Imperial Family even discovered it—and made their homes there.
"Ah, an Outer...? But how...?"
Aiden visibly panicked as he glanced at Maya.
All Outers were those who had refused to submit to the first emperor centuries ago.
Naturally, the current Imperial Family didn't look kindly on them either.
As such, they couldn't become mercenaries or adventurers.
They weren't citizens of the Empire, after all.
And the Outers viewed the Empire with equal exclusion, so they lived as if they didn't exist.
"Well... she's a special case. Her tribe of Outers found and raised her. Her bloodline's Empire stock, though."
"Ah."
Only then did Aiden nod in understanding.
"Maya. My name."
"Nice to meet you."
Jun extended his hand, and Maya tilted her head for a moment before grasping it.
"Nice... to meet?"
"She really doesn't know this language well."
This was a pretty serious issue.
It meant communication—the core of team play—would be impossible.
Braden hurriedly chimed in.
"N-No, I'm not saying take her right now."
"What do you mean, then?"
"One month. Give me one month to train her up. Then you can take her."
"You're starting from the wrong premise, Branch Chief."
Maya was a named NPC. One so popular among players that she rivaled even Aiden.
Of course Jun knew her skills well.
But he couldn't show it, so he deliberately played it cool.
"I need to see her skills first."
"Ahem. Fair enough. Maya, you warmed up?"
"Duel?"
"Not a duel—a spar."
"Spar?"
"Spaaaar."
"Don't know."
"Urgh..."
Could she really be socialized in just a month?
Jun eyed Braden skeptically, and Braden averted his gaze slyly.
"J-Just wait and see. Her skills are the real deal. You'll see for yourself."
"Fine. Aiden, want to spar with her?"
"Y-Yes! I will!"
A new member. A warrior type who'd fight up close alongside him.
Aiden nodded eagerly at the prospect of a new comrade.
"Hm. Still, don't get too excited."
"Pardon?"
"Just... be careful."
"...?"
Jun's quiet advice lingered in Aiden's ears.
Two figures stood atop the sparring arena located in the mercenary guild's basement.
Aiden, gripping his Cloudlight Sword, let out a shallow groan.
"Mm..."
He'd assumed a spar meant wooden swords, of course.
But Maya had refused outright—insisted so firmly that they went at it with real steel, like a real fight.
The Cloudlight Sword in his hand gleamed brightly, thanks to the daily oiling.
'Is this okay?'
Even to Aiden, raised in the Imperial Family, the Cloudlight Sword was worthy of being called a masterwork blade.
One wrong move, and Maya's sword could snap, causing an accident.
As worry crept in and Aiden glanced at Maya—
"...?!"
His skin prickled, his hair standing on end.
'What killing intent...'
Aiden's first impression of Maya had been listlessness.
If he had to compare, she was like a dying ember. A flame that desperately wanted to burn fiercely but had no fuel, flickering out.
But now, she had fuel.
Herself.
His senses, honed sharp over the past two months of journeying, screamed it out.
It echoed Jun's words right before the spar.
-Be careful.
"Begin!"
At Braden's signal to start, the beast moved.
Raw hatred burned in the beast's eyes. But it wasn't aimed at Aiden.
It was emotion with nowhere to go, spilling out like overflowing sludge onto everything around.
'Fast!'
Maya, at the far end of the spacious arena, closed the distance in an instant.
Aiden's pupils dilated.
The insight he'd gained facing the beastman knight Pride during the strategy battle manifested now.
Beneath Maya's seemingly emaciated frame hid explosive muscles brimming with power.
Legs moved. Then waist, then shoulders.
He had to see it.
'Huh?'
He couldn't.
Boom—!
A sound unbelievable for clashing swords erupted.
"Kgh?!"
Blocking that strike had been pure instinct.
Thanks to the skill [Beast's Body], which heightened his senses.
"Beast."
"What...?"
"Like one."
Aiden didn't quite get it, but Maya had likened his instinctive dodge to a beast's.
She'd sensed [Beast's Body] intuitively.
At the same time, Maya's movements shifted.
'Huh?'
Slow.
No, fast. No, slow.
In Aiden's widened eyes, her movements were readable—unlike before.
But unreadable.
Legs, waist, shoulders, whole body moving—visible, yet not.
Eerie. Unnatural.
How did such motion even work?
Before the question could form, Maya's sword was at his nose.
His reaction was slower this time.
'It's slower than before—why!'
The sheer physical force from that slender frame shoved Aiden back, unbelievable in its power.
'No decoding that movement now! I have to create an opening!'
Move to force a gap.
Even as he was pushed, Aiden detonated mana at his feet.
He righted himself mid-air.
Maya pounced without missing the chance.
She charged like an arrow, but Aiden anticipated and thrust his sword.
Scraaaape!
Her twin blades blocked his.
His reach advantage left her no choice but defense.
'Keep it up—force the gap...!'
What caught Aiden's eye was the sole of Maya's boot.
"Huh?"
Thwack!
'W-When?'
He hadn't taken his eyes off her once.
Yet magically, her foot slammed into his head.
He'd missed the motion entirely.
As if the swing vanished, leaving only the impact.
Had she held back? Or was the angle awkward?
Despite the burning pain on his face, Aiden rolled calmly to recover.
Again, thanks to [Beast's Body].
"Urgh..."
"..."
They faced off.
Though less than a second, Aiden sensed it instinctively.
At his level, he couldn't beat her with his usual methods.
Only one option left.
Force a variable.
In that split instant, Aiden's mind flashed back.
To the massive figure charging at Jun's rock-solid barrier.
The Golem.
[Charge]
Mana moved on its own, ignoring his will.
Not just mana—his body bent as if puppeteered.
The stance mimicked the Golem's [Charge] prep perfectly.
And then—
"...!!"
A gale whipped through.
The surroundings blurred in an instant.
In a moment too brief for "instant," Aiden swung.
And he felt it.
The variable created.
"Eh."
Kaboooom—!!
His shadowy afterimage grazed Maya, smashing into the wall and kicking up dust.
"Oof..."
Jun's rueful voice echoed through the arena.
As the dust settled, it revealed Aiden, knocked out against the wall.
"Skill proficiency issue, huh..."
It was a variable, sure.
Maya, radiating killing intent moments ago, stood dumbfounded.
Braden's belated laughter filled the arena.
"Ugh."
When Aiden opened his eyes, he saw the arena ceiling studded with glowstones.
"Awake?"
"Gah! S-Sunbae?"
"How many do you see?"
"Three?"
"Hm. Head's fine, then. Potion must've worked."
"Ugh... My head feels like it'll split."
"Obviously. You smashed into the wall at full speed. Look."
Turning where Jun pointed, Aiden saw the dented arena wall.
"J-Just now..."
"[Charge] right into the wall."
"Whoa."
Shame hit Aiden late, and he covered his face with both hands.
"Heh heh. How was your first active skill?"
"I... have no idea what happened..."
"Figures. That's why they say a skill's lifeblood is proficiency."
Even in-game, new active skills had abysmal accuracy.
You had to hit low-level hunting grounds to grind minimum proficiency each time.
'And he pulled it off in real combat.'
No wonder.
"No need to be that embarrassed. It's trial and error everyone goes through."
"Hahaha! Spot on! If you nailed it first try, you wouldn't be human."
"Ah, Branch Chief. Um... sorry about the wall."
"No worries. Happens more than you'd think. I pushed the idea first anyway."
"Yes... thank you."
Aiden glanced around, but Maya—who'd crossed swords with him—was gone.
Something felt off, and he hung his head.
"That's the face of someone who hit a wall."
"Haha, yeah, I slammed hard."
As Aiden deflated, Braden shook his head.
"Felt just like facing a real wall, right?"
"That too."
Aiden nodded.
Not just physically, but the skill gap with Maya felt like an impenetrable wall.
"How does she even move like that...? No clue."
Even recalling it now, Maya's motions were mystical, bizarre.
What if she'd been serious about killing him?
Thinking of that foul killing intent made cold sweat trickle down his back.
"Natural, really. She came from a tribe surviving on Layer 5."
"L-Layer 5?"
Did that mean Maya was Level 5?
"Nah, not that she's Level 5. Her tribe that raised her is that strong. She's practically endgame Level 4."
"Good lord..."
Until recently, Aiden had been proud of his skills.
He'd gained [Beast's Body], shone in the Goblin Lord subjugation, and landed the finishing blow on the Forest Guardian in a hidden stage after centuries.
Even Jun had boasted he'd hold his own on Layer 3.
"Level 4..."
But today, that pride shattered.
He didn't know her exact age, but she looked about his.
Reading Aiden's turmoil—or not—Braden turned to Jun without another word.
"So? Skills good enough?"
Enough? She surpassed the White Whale Mercenary Corps by a level.
But.
"She's worth taking on as a temp member."
Jun said it with a straight face.