Chapter 542: Verdurous Giant Spear (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 542: Verdurous Giant Spear (4)
Not only was No. 7: Milayel's Verdurous Giant Spear the ideal endgame weapon for spear users, but the single-digit Numbered Item also struck a great balance between attack and defense. The reason I had started experimenting with a Spear Barbarian build was because of the protection that this very weapon provided.
But in the end, it just turned into something like a Berserker.
Of course, this wasn't to say the Berserker class was bad. If the party had a tank of around the same level, the Berserker actually worked quite well, and they could even act as the secondary tank in emergencies.
"Hmm..." I mused.
However, the build was a little too unfocused.
I doled out orders. "Clean up the beach."
"Pardon?"
"We'll be heading out immediately!"
"Ah, oh. Yes!"
Everyone seemed to be wondering who was going to get to call this spear their own, but I decided to get the boat on the water first and think it over on our way off the island. This wasn't a decision that should be made on a whim.
"Set sail!"
Once everyone was on the boat, we began to cut through the silver ocean.
"Mister! Look over there!"
Back over on the island, which was getting smaller and smaller in the distance, a colossus rose to its feet and roared at us.
Uraaaaaah!
...Why did it only ever do that when we were leaving?
***
While we voyaged toward Library Island, I sunk deep into thought over the question of who should get this spear.
Ah, we made eye contact again.
While glancing around, half hoping to find some sort of answer on the horizon, I met eyes with a man. He was the spearman of the Hektz Clan. As the only person among the many here trained to use a spear, even if he didn't dare voice it aloud, I could tell part of him was feeling a little expectant somewhere deep down.
Fwip.
I quickly turned away.
The heart could want whatever it wanted, but the fact was that this weapon was the property of the Anabada Clan. That much had already been decided, so the only thing I was trying to figure out at this point was which of my clanmates to give it to.
First, I can take Erwen and Versyl off the table right off the bat.
The same went for Amelia and Missha. Missha was a dual wielder, and the way Amelia used her aura wasn't well-suited for fighting with a spear. Auyen wasn't a combat class to begin with. So by process of elimination, that only left Ainar.
"Hmm? You want some?"
When I met eyes with her, Ainar flashed me a bright smile and held out some of the jerky she was eating.
I accepted it and resumed pacing as I chewed.
...I guess she's the one most suited to use the spear to its fullest potential.
[The user's Natural Regeneration increases relative to time spent in combat.]
[All healing-type effects on the user are tripled.]
These two abilities worked great with the Slayer Imprint's Combat Study and Predation. On top of that, since she had skills like Wings of Greed and Curl Up boosting her Natural Regeneration by quite a bit, combined with the spear, she would have a monstrous healing factor.
My Spear Barbarian build had also used the Slayer Imprint in that way and stocked up on a ton of similar recovery-type skills.
The moment she takes up the spear, though, she'll need to abandon a few of her other skills.
The first one that came to mind was the rank-four skill Repeated Slash. It wasn't impossible to cast with a spear, but she wouldn't get the bonus of piercing damage the spear offered if she used it. In a similar vein, Wildness Control, which converted damage dealt by certain active effects to slashing damage, would become useless.
Without Repeated Slash, Blast Scars becomes useless too, and that means Mandel Oil and Residual Heat will also be useless.
Honestly, handing her the spear was essentially committing to swapping out every skill she had.
Still... Except for Hipramajent's, all her essences are below rank four, right? If we're already going to do this, how about we just change everything while we're at it?
Dungeon and Stone was a game built for builds.
It was important to plan out the final build you were going for, but even more important was planning out the incremental builds you'd need to get there. If you didn't select which items and essences you would use to get through each individual segment of the game, there was no way you would ever live long enough to reach your endgame build. It was important to keep the core character concept intact while steadily raising their stats.
Chew, chew, chew.
That was the reason I chose Repeated Slash as Ainar's core skill. It was a rank-four skill we managed to obtain early on, and after she got what she needed out of it, I was hoping to change it to another similar high-ranking skill later.
...But it's not like a change of plans would be a bad idea.
I had grown a lot. Erwen had too—after absorbing the Floor Essence, she had shot forward at an incredible pace. Missha had progressed a fair bit while traveling with Baekho Lee as well. Amelia had just been strong from the start.
To put it coldly, we could hunt just fine even without Ainar around. Which meant that right now, we could cut her from the team entirely if we wanted.
Theoretically, anyway. But all that is to say that using the spear definitely wouldn't hurt her in battle, even if it doesn't perfectly suit her build right now.
A single-digit Numbered Item was an endgame weapon without equal. The effects granted by this particular spear were more than enough to compensate for the skills she'd have to abandon to use it properly. Especially considering they were all from rank-four essences or lower.
A 1,200 percent piercing damage boost, triple damage for all attacks made with the spear, the ability to punch a hole through virtually any material... Even just taking into account those three bonuses, one could argue that she'd be able to deal even more damage with the spear than she currently could using her sword. And with all those regeneration buffs stacked on her, she would be even tougher to kill than she already was.
The problem then becomes, will she take it...? Let's talk to her first and see.
There was nothing to lose by asking.
"Ainar." In true barbarian fashion, I walked back over to her and got right into it. "Have you thought about using a spear instead of a sword?"
"...A spear?" Ainar stopped chewing on her jerky and lifted her head to stare at me.
I sighed.
Yeah, I figured it was a long shot.
Even ignoring her personal preferences, barbarians tended to hate weapons like this in general, claiming they were for cowards—
My Spear Barbarian build had also used the Slayer Imprint in that way and stocked up on a ton of similar recovery-type skills.
The moment she takes up the spear, though, she'll need to abandon a few of her other skills.
The first one that came to mind was the rank-four skill Repeated Slash. It wasn't impossible to cast with a spear, but she wouldn't get the bonus of piercing damage the spear offered if she used it. In a similar vein, Wildness Control, which converted damage dealt by certain active effects to slashing damage, would become useless.
Without Repeated Slash, Blast Scars becomes useless too, and that means Mandel Oil and Residual Heat will also be useless.
Honestly, handing her the spear was essentially committing to swapping out every skill she had.
Still... Except for Hipramajent's, all her essences are below rank four, right? If we're already going to do this, how about we just change everything while we're at it?
Dungeon and Stone was a game built for builds.
It was important to plan out the final build you were going for, but even more important was planning out the incremental builds you'd need to get there. If you didn't select which items and essences you would use to get through each individual segment of the game, there was no way you would ever live long enough to reach your endgame build. It was important to keep the core character concept intact while steadily raising their stats.
Chew, chew, chew.
That was the reason I chose Repeated Slash as Ainar's core skill. It was a rank-four skill we managed to obtain early on, and after she got what she needed out of it, I was hoping to change it to another similar high-ranking skill later.
...But it's not like a change of plans would be a bad idea.
I had grown a lot. Erwen had too—after absorbing the Floor Essence, she had shot forward at an incredible pace. Missha had progressed a fair bit while traveling with Baekho Lee as well. Amelia had just been strong from the start.
To put it coldly, we could hunt just fine even without Ainar around. Which meant that right now, we could cut her from the team entirely if we wanted.
Theoretically, anyway. But all that is to say that using the spear definitely wouldn't hurt her in battle, even if it doesn't perfectly suit her build right now.
A single-digit Numbered Item was an endgame weapon without equal. The effects granted by this particular spear were more than enough to compensate for the skills she'd have to abandon to use it properly. Especially considering they were all from rank-four essences or lower.
A 1,200 percent piercing damage boost, triple damage for all attacks made with the spear, the ability to punch a hole through virtually any material... Even just taking into account those three bonuses, one could argue that she'd be able to deal even more damage with the spear than she currently could using her sword. And with all those regeneration buffs stacked on her, she would be even tougher to kill than she already was.
The problem then becomes, will she take it...? Let's talk to her first and see.
There was nothing to lose by asking.
"Ainar." In true barbarian fashion, I walked back over to her and got right into it. "Have you thought about using a spear instead of a sword?"
"...A spear?" Ainar stopped chewing on her jerky and lifted her head to stare at me.
I sighed.
Yeah, I figured it was a long shot.
Even ignoring her personal preferences, barbarians tended to hate weapons like this in general, claiming they were for cowards—
"Oh! If you're talking about that spear, then yes! Give it to me!"
...Huh? What was with this reaction?
"Just to clarify," I began slowly, "I'm saying you'll need to use a spear for the rest of your life. Also, we'll have to swap out all your essences."
"Swap them out... You mean Semura's essence too?"
The essence of Semura was the one that gave her Repeated Slash. The same essence that her old master passed down to her via Soul Succession before he died.
"Yeah," I confirmed. "That one too."
"I see..." Ainar's eyes lost their shine for a second.
"You can take as much time as you—" I started to say, but it turned out she didn't need much time to think it over at all.
"All right. I'll switch to the spear."
"...Huh?"
I was telling her she would need to change basically everything about herself, but it didn't even take her a minute to agree to it.
Is this what it means to be a true barbarian...?
She was on a level I couldn't even hope to aspire to.
However, it turned out that Ainar might not have made this decision on a whim.
"Why are you so surprised? From the start, aren't all the essences I have right now the ones you recommended to me?"
"Uh... I guess?"
"Thanks to them, I'm well-known and respected in a way that I couldn't have even dreamed of before. I can fight powerful enemies I couldn't even imagine fighting and protect my comrades with my own two hands."
Ainar looked directly into my eyes, resolute.
"So I will trust you."
I was speechless.
"You've never done anything to cause me harm," she concluded.
I see. She hadn't made this decision on a whim at all. She was only willing to go down this path because she trusted in me wholeheartedly.
Would I be able to do the same?
I wasn't sure I could ever manage that level of trust.
"And more than anything..." Ainar glanced away from me. To be more precise, she shifted her gaze from me to something else, a hungry gleam entering her eyes. "...th-that spear is really cool! It's huge!"
"Ah..."
"It's nearly double the size of my greatsword!"
I was once again rendered speechless.
Just like how crows instinctively gravitated toward shiny objects, barbarians tended to like big things.
"It's also cool how it sparkles!"
Even more so if those things were shiny too.
"And it seems like everyone with wings uses spears, anyway!"
Yeah... So you had plenty of reasons, huh?
***
After officially switching to the Spearman class, Ainar began training to figure out how to use the spear. She practiced spinning it in the air, thrusting it forward, maintaining her distance, and more. At first, she was clumsy and didn't even know how to hold it properly, but she got used to it incredibly quickly.
"Eh heh, now I'm finally getting the hang of it again!"
"Again?"
"Don't you remember? When we were kids, we were taught how to use all the weapons!"
"Oh! If you're talking about that spear, then yes! Give it to me!"
...Huh? What was with this reaction?
"Just to clarify," I began slowly, "I'm saying you'll need to use a spear for the rest of your life. Also, we'll have to swap out all your essences."
"Swap them out... You mean Semura's essence too?"
The essence of Semura was the one that gave her Repeated Slash. The same essence that her old master passed down to her via Soul Succession before he died.
"Yeah," I confirmed. "That one too."
"I see..." Ainar's eyes lost their shine for a second.
"You can take as much time as you—" I started to say, but it turned out she didn't need much time to think it over at all.
"All right. I'll switch to the spear."
"...Huh?"
I was telling her she would need to change basically everything about herself, but it didn't even take her a minute to agree to it.
Is this what it means to be a true barbarian...?
She was on a level I couldn't even hope to aspire to.
However, it turned out that Ainar might not have made this decision on a whim.
"Why are you so surprised? From the start, aren't all the essences I have right now the ones you recommended to me?"
"Uh... I guess?"
"Thanks to them, I'm well-known and respected in a way that I couldn't have even dreamed of before. I can fight powerful enemies I couldn't even imagine fighting and protect my comrades with my own two hands."
Ainar looked directly into my eyes, resolute.
"So I will trust you."
I was speechless.
"You've never done anything to cause me harm," she concluded.
I see. She hadn't made this decision on a whim at all. She was only willing to go down this path because she trusted in me wholeheartedly.
Would I be able to do the same?
I wasn't sure I could ever manage that level of trust.
"And more than anything..." Ainar glanced away from me. To be more precise, she shifted her gaze from me to something else, a hungry gleam entering her eyes. "...th-that spear is really cool! It's huge!"
"Ah..."
"It's nearly double the size of my greatsword!"
I was once again rendered speechless.
Just like how crows instinctively gravitated toward shiny objects, barbarians tended to like big things.
"It's also cool how it sparkles!"
Even more so if those things were shiny too.
"And it seems like everyone with wings uses spears, anyway!"
Yeah... So you had plenty of reasons, huh?
***
After officially switching to the Spearman class, Ainar began training to figure out how to use the spear. She practiced spinning it in the air, thrusting it forward, maintaining her distance, and more. At first, she was clumsy and didn't even know how to hold it properly, but she got used to it incredibly quickly.
"Eh heh, now I'm finally getting the hang of it again!"
"Again?"
"Don't you remember? When we were kids, we were taught how to use all the weapons!"
"Ah, that... Yeah..."
Yikes, don't bring up the good old days out of nowhere like that.
As always, I was quick to skirt around any mention of the past with a vague noise of agreement, but Ainar, unfortunately, wanted to keep reminiscing.
"Now that I think about it, it's kind of interesting. I heard that my mother and my sister also used spears."
Thankfully, that was a topic I could actually comment on. This was my first time hearing about the spear thing, but Ainar and I had talked about her sister before.
Ainar, second daughter of Fenelin. She had an older sister.
Or rather, she'd had an older sister.
"Huh? You have a sister?" Erwen, who also had an older sister, asked Ainar in surprise, but the latter just shrugged.
"Ah, did I never mention it? She became an adventurer four years before I did. She used to tell me all sorts of stories about her adventures while using her new skills to bully me, haha..."
"...What?" Erwen looked baffled by the fond tone with which Ainar recalled that particular memory. It seemed the cultural differences were tripping her up. "Ah, so, what is your older sister like? Is she famous?"
"She died. Two years before I had my coming-of-age ceremony."
"Oh... I-I'm sorry..." Erwen paled and apologized, clearly worried that she had touched a nerve.
However, Ainar didn't seem to mind at all. "Huh? Why are you apologizing? It's not like it's your fault she died."
"Still... It's a sad thing to think about."
"Sad? What do you mean? I only have good memories of her. Of course, it's a shame I can't see her anymore, but I always smile whenever I remember the good times I had with my sister."
Erwen blinked, at a momentary loss for words. "How... How can you think that way? Even now... whenever I think about my older sister, I feel my heart clench."
The crack in her voice came out sounding a little accusatory, but Ainar thankfully didn't seem to care. She tipped her head to the side in thought, as unbothered as ever. "Even if you ask how I can do it... I couldn't really tell you. It's just that being happy is better than being sad! My sister would say so too!"
It was a truly barbarian-like answer.
In the face of that logic, Erwen was left unable to muster a response. She just stared at Ainar for a long moment before quietly excusing herself to head back up to the crow's nest.
Hah... I can finally breathe again.
As I let out the breath I was holding, Ainar looked at me in confusion. "...Did I do something wrong?"
"No. Just keep doing what you're doing. We're going to jump straight into real combat as soon as we land on the island."
"Oh! All right!"
After leaving Ainar to auto-train by herself, I headed toward the helm of the boat. Once I was done checking in with Auyen about how long it would take for us to reach our destination, I leaned back against the mast and closed my eyes.
They should be able to take care of the random mob monsters with no problem, so they should only wake me if something strong shows up.
When I woke up from my nap a short while later, I took out my water bottle and went looking for Ainar. I was curious how much progress she'd made while I was sleeping.
Huh?
But for some reason, Ainar had stopped training and was currently resting on the deck.
With Erwen.
"Ah, that... Yeah..."
Yikes, don't bring up the good old days out of nowhere like that.
As always, I was quick to skirt around any mention of the past with a vague noise of agreement, but Ainar, unfortunately, wanted to keep reminiscing.
"Now that I think about it, it's kind of interesting. I heard that my mother and my sister also used spears."
Thankfully, that was a topic I could actually comment on. This was my first time hearing about the spear thing, but Ainar and I had talked about her sister before.
Ainar, second daughter of Fenelin. She had an older sister.
Or rather, she'd had an older sister.
"Huh? You have a sister?" Erwen, who also had an older sister, asked Ainar in surprise, but the latter just shrugged.
"Ah, did I never mention it? She became an adventurer four years before I did. She used to tell me all sorts of stories about her adventures while using her new skills to bully me, haha..."
"...What?" Erwen looked baffled by the fond tone with which Ainar recalled that particular memory. It seemed the cultural differences were tripping her up. "Ah, so, what is your older sister like? Is she famous?"
"She died. Two years before I had my coming-of-age ceremony."
"Oh... I-I'm sorry..." Erwen paled and apologized, clearly worried that she had touched a nerve.
However, Ainar didn't seem to mind at all. "Huh? Why are you apologizing? It's not like it's your fault she died."
"Still... It's a sad thing to think about."
"Sad? What do you mean? I only have good memories of her. Of course, it's a shame I can't see her anymore, but I always smile whenever I remember the good times I had with my sister."
Erwen blinked, at a momentary loss for words. "How... How can you think that way? Even now... whenever I think about my older sister, I feel my heart clench."
The crack in her voice came out sounding a little accusatory, but Ainar thankfully didn't seem to care. She tipped her head to the side in thought, as unbothered as ever. "Even if you ask how I can do it... I couldn't really tell you. It's just that being happy is better than being sad! My sister would say so too!"
It was a truly barbarian-like answer.
In the face of that logic, Erwen was left unable to muster a response. She just stared at Ainar for a long moment before quietly excusing herself to head back up to the crow's nest.
Hah... I can finally breathe again.
As I let out the breath I was holding, Ainar looked at me in confusion. "...Did I do something wrong?"
"No. Just keep doing what you're doing. We're going to jump straight into real combat as soon as we land on the island."
"Oh! All right!"
After leaving Ainar to auto-train by herself, I headed toward the helm of the boat. Once I was done checking in with Auyen about how long it would take for us to reach our destination, I leaned back against the mast and closed my eyes.
They should be able to take care of the random mob monsters with no problem, so they should only wake me if something strong shows up.
When I woke up from my nap a short while later, I took out my water bottle and went looking for Ainar. I was curious how much progress she'd made while I was sleeping.
Huh?
But for some reason, Ainar had stopped training and was currently resting on the deck.
With Erwen.
What is this?
The second the question popped into my mind, Amelia appeared at my side. "Leave them alone for a bit. Don't try to butt in."
"...I wasn't planning to." I was just curious what they were talking about.
To that end, I pricked my ears and focused on their conversation so I could hear what they were saying. I'd been a little worried about the two of them being alone together, but their exchange was decidedly normal.
"Haha, so you have a younger sister too? What's she like? Is she an adventurer as well?"
"No, not yet. She'll have her coming-of-age ceremony next year, but I'm a bit worried."
"If you're worried, you can make sure to teach her what you know."
"It's...not that simple."
"Hmm? Oh, because we're stuck in here?"
"No, not that... Honestly... ever since our older sister died... and after Mister suddenly disappeared... our relationship hasn't been that great."
"Oh yeah, I guess you would've been obsessed with going to battle and taking revenge. So it's all your fault!"
I was horrified by Ainar's accusation, but surprisingly enough, Erwen took it in stride. "My fault... Yes, you're right. It is my fault."
"Haha, as long as you know that, it's fine. So can't you just treat her better once you're back home?"
"But I think it's too late. I think she hates and resents me."
"Did she say that to you herself?"
"No, but—"
"If she didn't, stop wasting time worrying about it. Hate you? How could she when you're family? She's probably hoping for your relationship to go back to the way it used to be."
"...Really?"
The two of them made a strange picture: an elf, of all people, getting lectured by a barbarian, her race's sworn enemy.
But at the same time, it somehow made perfect sense.
"Yes, that is right! You can trust me!"
I also felt like I could finally understand how Ainar was able to make so many friends.
***
We reached Library Island on day seventy-six with the goal of farming as much as possible.
Bellarios would be great, but I hope we can get an essence we can give to Ainar.
With that thought in mind, we entered the building and began our long trek down the stairs before we were soon brought to a screeching halt.
"Yandel, there's someone down there."
"Only one person. No one else."
"They're curled up and seem to be asleep..."
"What will you do?"
Amelia and Erwen had delivered completely unexpected news.
Someone had gotten here before us.
Who could it be?
I had a few ideas for who could be down there, namely that clan that came down to Basement Floor One with the Armin Adventurer Group a few weeks ago. Their name was...
"I have a feeling they're a part of the Ainpelial Clan."
Ah, right. That was it.
"But the numbers don't add up. Only one person? Where did everyone else in that huge group go...?" Myul furrowed his brow as he fell into thought, but I didn't bother mulling over those questions myself.
Rather, I didn't want to waste time wondering.
"It's quicker to just ask them directly."
We'd get a much clearer answer by going down there and talking to them than we would standing around speculating up here.
And so, we quickly made our way down the stairs.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Since we were so noisy, the figure who seemed to have been sleeping jolted upward at an awkward angle the second we reached the bottom.
"Uh...! Y-Your Lordship?"
And when the person spotted us, their eyes went wide in shock.
I could sympathize with the sentiment.
"...Maderkin Lilgreams."
The man staring back at me was the Silver Lion Clan's captain—the very same one we had split up with on the village chief's island over a month ago and hadn't seen alive since.
What is this?
The second the question popped into my mind, Amelia appeared at my side. "Leave them alone for a bit. Don't try to butt in."
"...I wasn't planning to." I was just curious what they were talking about.
To that end, I pricked my ears and focused on their conversation so I could hear what they were saying. I'd been a little worried about the two of them being alone together, but their exchange was decidedly normal.
"Haha, so you have a younger sister too? What's she like? Is she an adventurer as well?"
"No, not yet. She'll have her coming-of-age ceremony next year, but I'm a bit worried."
"If you're worried, you can make sure to teach her what you know."
"It's...not that simple."
"Hmm? Oh, because we're stuck in here?"
"No, not that... Honestly... ever since our older sister died... and after Mister suddenly disappeared... our relationship hasn't been that great."
"Oh yeah, I guess you would've been obsessed with going to battle and taking revenge. So it's all your fault!"
I was horrified by Ainar's accusation, but surprisingly enough, Erwen took it in stride. "My fault... Yes, you're right. It is my fault."
"Haha, as long as you know that, it's fine. So can't you just treat her better once you're back home?"
"But I think it's too late. I think she hates and resents me."
"Did she say that to you herself?"
"No, but—"
"If she didn't, stop wasting time worrying about it. Hate you? How could she when you're family? She's probably hoping for your relationship to go back to the way it used to be."
"...Really?"
The two of them made a strange picture: an elf, of all people, getting lectured by a barbarian, her race's sworn enemy.
But at the same time, it somehow made perfect sense.
"Yes, that is right! You can trust me!"
I also felt like I could finally understand how Ainar was able to make so many friends.
***
We reached Library Island on day seventy-six with the goal of farming as much as possible.
Bellarios would be great, but I hope we can get an essence we can give to Ainar.
With that thought in mind, we entered the building and began our long trek down the stairs before we were soon brought to a screeching halt.
"Yandel, there's someone down there."
"Only one person. No one else."
"They're curled up and seem to be asleep..."
"What will you do?"
Amelia and Erwen had delivered completely unexpected news.
Someone had gotten here before us.
Who could it be?
I had a few ideas for who could be down there, namely that clan that came down to Basement Floor One with the Armin Adventurer Group a few weeks ago. Their name was...
"I have a feeling they're a part of the Ainpelial Clan."
Ah, right. That was it.
"But the numbers don't add up. Only one person? Where did everyone else in that huge group go...?" Myul furrowed his brow as he fell into thought, but I didn't bother mulling over those questions myself.
Rather, I didn't want to waste time wondering.
"It's quicker to just ask them directly."
We'd get a much clearer answer by going down there and talking to them than we would standing around speculating up here.
And so, we quickly made our way down the stairs.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Since we were so noisy, the figure who seemed to have been sleeping jolted upward at an awkward angle the second we reached the bottom.
"Uh...! Y-Your Lordship?"
And when the person spotted us, their eyes went wide in shock.
I could sympathize with the sentiment.
"...Maderkin Lilgreams."
The man staring back at me was the Silver Lion Clan's captain—the very same one we had split up with on the village chief's island over a month ago and hadn't seen alive since.