Chapter 193
Chapter 193
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 193
Chapter Title: Settler (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Aouterica was a fantasy world brimming with all sorts of fantastical elements, including magic, but overall, it closely resembled the medieval era of Western Europe.
In this world too, mysteries like magic and auras were considered advanced knowledge in their own right, making it far from easy for ordinary commoners to encounter them.
Unless one was fortunate enough to have their exceptional talent discovered and taken in as a disciple by someone influential—or unless they staked their life on becoming a sellsword eating sword rice—such things were nothing but pipe dreams.
In such an environment, public safety was naturally nothing to write home about.
And with monsters roaming the wilds that even ferocious beasts avoided, the dangers went without saying.
Not to mention now that "madness" had spread across the continent?
Losing one's life to some unexpected mishap in this world was hardly a rare occurrence.
And with those deaths naturally came a tragedy.
Children left abandoned without protectors now had to fend for themselves with nothing but their own strength.
Sad but true—it was undoubtedly happening all too frequently across the continent even at this very moment.
But such circumstances were the exception here.
"Hey! That's mine! Give it here!"
"Ehehehe~ Come and catch me~!"
"Kids, be careful! You'll get hurt!"
The orphanage in Chehai Village echoed with the boisterous sounds of children at play.
A sight rarely seen elsewhere, but here it was just another ordinary day.
And on one side of the terrace in the central courtyard where the children gathered...
"Sis, sis, you said you came from the city, right?"
"Wow! How big is the city? Are there tons of people? We had a festival in our village not long ago, and there were so many people. More than that?"
Isea gave an awkward smile as she was surrounded by young girls with eyes sparkling in curiosity.
Apparently, among the recent visitors from out of town, she looked the youngest, so the kids had taken to her more easily.
However, there was someone else drawing the children's attention in the exact opposite way...
"Ooh!"
"Woooah—!"
"Huff, huff— Did I do it? I really did it! Alright, whose turn next?"
Amid the cheers of the boys huddled together in the courtyard, a triumphant boy's voice rang out, accompanied by heavy panting.
"...Isn't it Billy? It feels like it was Billy..."
"What are you talking about? It's your turn, Hans! Don't tell me you're scared?"
"Uuu~ Hans is a scaredy-cat!"
"N-No, that's not it! I just forgot! I can do it, can't I?"
The boy called Hans, around ten years old, gulped nervously and slowly made his way toward the overgrown corner of the garden, clutching a piece of jerky in one hand.
And with footsteps as cautious as if he were exploring a danger zone...
"Gwaaaah—!"
The boy finally accomplished his goal and came sprinting back to his friends, screaming at the top of his lungs.
His face pale as if he'd encountered a monster.
In the shady spot at the corner of the garden that the boy had just visited...
"Hmm! These kids show real promise as warriors."
Munch munch—
Harley leaned against a tree, nodding contentedly as he chewed on the jerky the boy named Hans had just placed in his mouth.
What the boys were doing was a sort of test of courage game.
No matter how much he'd suppressed his presence, the ferocity seeping unconsciously from deep within his cells was still too much for young children to handle.
That was why he'd hidden himself away in this corner on purpose—only for them to seek him out and turn it into their plaything...
"Kuhahaha! Facing your own weakness head-on is the surest shortcut to strength! You've learned how to conquer your fears yourselves, so you'll make fine warriors in time! Hahaha!"
Harley burst into hearty laughter at their admirable spirit.
Of course, that was from his perspective; to the kids outside, it was just a creepy noise emanating from the shadowy gloom between the trees.
The next boy in line pulled a long face... but it was a trial he had to endure to grow stronger.
And it wasn't just the two of them mingling with the orphanage kids.
Geos, already familiar with the children, was having serious conversations with those who'd grown enough to seek work outside.
Heinrich sat like a totem in the midst of the toddlers, gently stroking each little head with a soft smile.
And finally, Hesperon was...
"Here, hold this first."
"Oh my! Thank you!"
Receiving one-on-one instruction from Chehai, he quickly took the tray of snacks from the approaching lady and bowed in greeting.
A middle-aged woman with healthy bronze skin and gentle eyes.
She was Chehai's wife, the lady of the house at this orphanage, and effectively the mother to all the children here.
'She's quite remarkable herself.'
In truth, money wasn't much of an issue since Chehai had saved up from his mercenary work and Geos had provided support, but caring for so many children couldn't be easy.
Yet for twenty years, without a single complaint, she'd taken the initiative every day to look after them...
It was the kind of character that made one think Chehai had made the right choice in marriage.
"Ahem, let's take a short break then. I'll go check on the kids, so relax in the meantime."
"Ah, yes! Understood."
With a moment of leisure, Chehai abruptly stood and headed to the children, leaving Hesperon behind.
While he taught Hesperon, the others had agreed to watch the kids in his stead.
Still, he seemed uneasy leaving it entirely to them after doing it for so long.
"Hmm, a unique skill."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Unique Skill Avatar has grown! Left alone in the room, Hesperon sipped his drink and recalled the system message that had popped up moments ago one more time.
'Come to think of it, it's been ages since my Avatar skill leveled up without spending any karma. Lately, I've just been using what's given to me without much thought.'
There were two ways to strengthen a unique skill.
Gradual growth through deep contemplation and consistent practice, or instant evolution via the Karma Shop.
Until now, he'd focused solely on the latter thanks to his overwhelming karma income, but this incident had deepened his understanding of his unique skill enough to meet the conditions for strengthening.
'Thinking about it, the last time a system message announced skill growth like this was right after finishing Harley's body modification, wasn't it?'
After that, there had been minor efficiency improvements and freer allocation of mental power between avatars, but nothing the system formally acknowledged until then—the first and last time.
'That was when I created Hubert and started raising him as a merchant. It's been quite a while.'
Other Awakened would naturally delve into and grow their skills repeatedly to save even a single point, but with karma in abundance, he'd grown complacent, relying solely on the shop.
Never pondering the skill itself, just depending on store-bought upgrades.
'Not using the cards available on purpose would be a problem too. Well, I can pay more attention from now on. Time to be a striving bourgeois.'
What was done was done; realizing it now was what mattered.
Chehai's advice wasn't particularly ingenious, but it pointed out details Hesperon never would have considered alone.
Not the sensations of using magic or holy power, but that special something dwelling within that enabled skill activation.
The core of the teaching was to become more aware of it, grasp the mechanics of ability activation, and make it operate more efficiently—using only as much as needed.
Since their innate abilities differed fundamentally, it was more advice than specific techniques, but that alone was enough to shift Hesperon's perspective dramatically.
'This alone is a huge gain. The next upgrade point for the unique skill was a whopping 1.2 million.'
Of course, it wouldn't match the effects of a karma investment exactly, but simply increasing the number of avatars was a major boon in itself.
He already had plenty, but...
'The more, the merrier—there'll always be a use for them.'
He stroked his chin and nodded firmly.
And Chehai's teachings didn't stop at advice for the unique skill.
Seeing Hesperon's Avatar Cloud, he'd assumed it was a similar spatial unique skill and explained in detail the "vision" he'd created using his Phase Refraction.
Having started, he seemed determined to share everything without holding back—like a true mentor pouring out all he had.
Of course, the technique had been restructured for his own aura use, so it was impractical for a mage like Hesperon to employ directly.
But the underlying principles held potential for application in other fields.
'To develop such advanced theory on his own...'
It spoke volumes about how much he'd devoted himself to his unique skill after the system vanished.
Recreating it forcibly imposed numerous constraints, binding the previous versatility and freedom into the rigid framework of a "technique," but that was unavoidable.
'I wonder if Harley could use this with his Bio-Aura?'
Bio-Aura, forged from monsters' vitality, only resembled normal aura superficially—the mechanisms were entirely different.
Still, as the most similar energy he had, it was worth trying.
'He permitted the others to learn it too, so even if I can't master it all now, I can always ask Geos later.'
Chehai had formulated the theory, but Geos, having inherited it and refined it through countless battles, wouldn't lack proficiency either.
As Hesperon pondered what he'd gained so far and what lay ahead...
"Good work, Heron."
"Ah, Master."
Isea entered the room from the courtyard, opening the door.
She too seemed to have reaped some rewards, a faint smile playing on her lips.
A grand magus's senses and intellect far surpassed ordinary imagination.
Even while chatting with the kids outside, sorting through every conversation in this room in her mind was child's play for her.
"Experience truly can't be ignored. Riley and I put our heads together and worked hard, but I still feel so lacking."
At her self-deprecating words, Hesperon turned his gaze to the distance.
He'd been too busy reveling in the ripe fruits to engage in deep contemplation.
"...By the way, Master? When are you going to come clean...?"
"Ahem, ahem!"
Isea coughed sharply, cutting off Hesperon's question.
Just as she could, anyone else so inclined could easily overhear the room's conversations.
And one couldn't casually cast a soundproof barrier in someone else's home.
'Come on, it's about time to spill it.'
Hesperon averted his eyes from her glare, grumbling inwardly.
She really ought to tell at least the party that she was from another world by now, but she still kept it secret from the others.
He'd broached the subject obliquely once before...
And the response had been absurd.
'"Missed the right timing"? What kind of excuse is that.'
If she'd spoken up right after Hesperon appeared, fine—but now, long after, it felt awkward to reveal belatedly.
Things had dragged on vaguely until now, though she insisted she had no intention of hiding it forever and would find an opportunity soon.
'...That's probably not the whole truth. Just an excuse.'
After all, she'd concealed it from everyone except Princess Riley for eight long years here.
Instinctively resisting the idea of confiding in people she'd just met was only natural.
'In short, she needs time to mentally prepare.'
Hesperon had been the exception, thanks to Riley's mediation and him revealing himself first.
'Not that it matters—everyone in the party except Geos already knows.'
No, it went beyond mere knowledge.
Compared to their own secrets, hers was downright cute.
The shocking truth that everyone except Geos was from another world!
She was adorable, fretting all alone oblivious to it, but Hesperon just smiled without saying a word.
It was amusing watching his little master wrestle with her dilemmas.
Thus, when Hesperon and the hero party arrived at Geos's hometown village and reaped various achievements with the help of Earth-born settler Chehai...
The second Continental Summit was now less than a week away.