Chapter 60: Rules of Survival (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 60: Rules of Survival (3)
To save time, I took off the ring first. No. 9425: Ring of the Frost Spirit, was a Numbered Item I had obtained by tricking an old man who happened to be the master of the school of Altemion.
"Here, take it."
"Huh? A ring? Why...?" Missha took the ring without much thought, but her expression soon changed to one of alarm.
"It's a ring I've been saving for the right person."
"But... why are you giving it to meee?"
That was because things had changed. "Swear to your guardian spirit," I said shortly, "that if you accept this, you will continue to be by my side in the future."
The market price of the Ring of the Frost Spirit was 1.5 million stones. However, since there was no available stock for sale, it was difficult to obtain even if you wanted to buy it. If the true value of this ring were known, its price would skyrocket.
"Huh?! Bjorrrn! Have you gone insane?!" Missha screamed, scolding me, but my head was clear as day at the moment.
What, did she think I'd just give this to her? I was choosing to use it for our survival, but I needed a promise that she would continue to follow and help me in the future. Of course, this was not a one-sided contract. "The moment you accept this ring, I swear on the honor of a warrior to be by your side and help you in the future. So, I want you to do the same."
"Are you being serrrious...?"
To prove just how serious I was, I looked into Missha's eyes. "I am sincere." This would be a win-win in the truest sense of the word. It was a kind of pledge of comradeship.
Picking up on this, Missha stared at me in surprise for a while and soon spoke with a voice free of any playfulness. "...It's very sudden, but I can tell you're not saying all this to mess with me. To be honest, this is the firrrst time I've ever received an offer like this, so it's not that I'm not happy!"
"Then I'm gl—"
"But I'm sorry, Bjorn. I've neverrr thought of you like that."
"...What do you mean?"
Missha squeezed her eyes shut. Then, she met my gaze with determination. "I... I like skinny men," she replied.
"Skinny men...? What does that mean? I don't understand—"
"Eeet! It means that you have no charrrm as a man!"
For a moment, my mind went blank. Was this what it was like to be rejected when you weren't even confessing? One thing was certain, however. "...You've misunderstood."
"Yeah, let's just go with that. We have to keep working togetherrr, but this will only make it awk—"
What was this kid talking about? I guess it was my fault for not speaking more directly in order to avoid seeming elitist. I forgot we barbarians had our own way. "What I meant was that I want you to make a pledge of comradeship in return for this ring."
"Pledge of comradeship...?"
"Of course, you can end the contract at any time if you find another one of these rings or give me a payment of fifteen million stones. Do you understand now?"
"Y-You think?! What the hell is this rrring that it costs fifteen million stones in the first place?"
"Fifteen million is actually cheap for this ring."
"No, I mean, what the hell is this thing—?"
I cut her off. "This ring can make your long-awaited desire come true."
"...What? Dream?"
"For example, if you take it, your brother will no longer be able to call you a half-wit."
Had I touched on something I shouldn't have? Missha stiffened, but after thinking it over for a moment, she gave me a strained smile. "Wow, you think I'd fall for that? No matter how embarrrassed you are, you shouldn't lie—"
"It's not a lie."
The conversation stopped for a while, and silence fell between us. Missha, who had been smiling awkwardly up to this point, was no longer doing so. Instead, she shot me an icy look. "This isn't something to joke about." Her voice was uncharacteristically cold and hard. "I clearrrly gave you the chance to backpedal, so why do you keep lying? Do you think I'm some kind of fool just because I keep laughing at your jokes?" Missha angrily bit her lip. "...I shouldn't have told you about my past."
This reaction was unexpected, but it made sense. A wound that had been picked at and burned for the entirety of someone's life was bound to hurt at the slightest touch.
"I didn't bring this up to reopen old wounds. I really—"
"I have never hearrrd of such a thing. How do you know something that not even my clan knows about?"
Instead of answering, I kept my mouth shut. This wasn't something I could offer a detailed explanation for, nor did I want to. We couldn't stay here forever. I decided to end this quickly. "Missha, let me ask you one thing."
"Go ahead."
"If everything I said so far were true, would you accept my offer?"
"Still joking at—!"
Cutting her off before she could get worked up again, I shouted back, "Answer me!"
You just have to answer the question. Yes or no.
As I loudly demanded an answer, Missha flinched and bit her lip again. "...If all of what you said is trrrue, even treating you as my benefactor until the day I die wouldn't be near enough. But—"
"No buts. That's it, then." I took a step closer and grabbed her wrist. "Missha Karlstein, it may be hard to believe, but I swear on my honor as a warrior that everything I have said so far is true."
"....W-What?" Missha looked baffled. Seeing this, I wondered if it would have been easier if I had used the oath of a warrior sooner. Well, it didn't matter now.
"So, when you wake up, keep your word, too." I yanked Missha toward me and put the ring on her finger.
Crack!
Then, I smashed the blue glass jewel on the ring with just the force of my fist.
[The Ring of the Frost Spirit has been destroyed. The seal on the Ice Beast Skadia has been released.]
Like ripples on the surface of a lake, a wave of cold air rolled across the earth.
Whoosh!
When no. 9425: Ring of the Frost Spirit was destroyed, it activated a unique effect. In the game, choosing to destroy it was practically pointless because doing so dealt no damage, but I was able to make a discovery after various experiments.
[The special conditions have been met.]
If the wearer was a beastperson, something else happened at the time it was destroyed.
[Ice Beast Skadia has offered Missha Karlstein a contract.]
It would forcibly awaken the beastperson's innate special ability.
"...What? Dream?"
"For example, if you take it, your brother will no longer be able to call you a half-wit."
Had I touched on something I shouldn't have? Missha stiffened, but after thinking it over for a moment, she gave me a strained smile. "Wow, you think I'd fall for that? No matter how embarrrassed you are, you shouldn't lie—"
"It's not a lie."
The conversation stopped for a while, and silence fell between us. Missha, who had been smiling awkwardly up to this point, was no longer doing so. Instead, she shot me an icy look. "This isn't something to joke about." Her voice was uncharacteristically cold and hard. "I clearrrly gave you the chance to backpedal, so why do you keep lying? Do you think I'm some kind of fool just because I keep laughing at your jokes?" Missha angrily bit her lip. "...I shouldn't have told you about my past."
This reaction was unexpected, but it made sense. A wound that had been picked at and burned for the entirety of someone's life was bound to hurt at the slightest touch.
"I didn't bring this up to reopen old wounds. I really—"
"I have never hearrrd of such a thing. How do you know something that not even my clan knows about?"
Instead of answering, I kept my mouth shut. This wasn't something I could offer a detailed explanation for, nor did I want to. We couldn't stay here forever. I decided to end this quickly. "Missha, let me ask you one thing."
"Go ahead."
"If everything I said so far were true, would you accept my offer?"
"Still joking at—!"
Cutting her off before she could get worked up again, I shouted back, "Answer me!"
You just have to answer the question. Yes or no.
As I loudly demanded an answer, Missha flinched and bit her lip again. "...If all of what you said is trrrue, even treating you as my benefactor until the day I die wouldn't be near enough. But—"
"No buts. That's it, then." I took a step closer and grabbed her wrist. "Missha Karlstein, it may be hard to believe, but I swear on my honor as a warrior that everything I have said so far is true."
"....W-What?" Missha looked baffled. Seeing this, I wondered if it would have been easier if I had used the oath of a warrior sooner. Well, it didn't matter now.
"So, when you wake up, keep your word, too." I yanked Missha toward me and put the ring on her finger.
Crack!
Then, I smashed the blue glass jewel on the ring with just the force of my fist.
[The Ring of the Frost Spirit has been destroyed. The seal on the Ice Beast Skadia has been released.]
Like ripples on the surface of a lake, a wave of cold air rolled across the earth.
Whoosh!
When no. 9425: Ring of the Frost Spirit was destroyed, it activated a unique effect. In the game, choosing to destroy it was practically pointless because doing so dealt no damage, but I was able to make a discovery after various experiments.
[The special conditions have been met.]
If the wearer was a beastperson, something else happened at the time it was destroyed.
[Ice Beast Skadia has offered Missha Karlstein a contract.]
It would forcibly awaken the beastperson's innate special ability.
***
[The contract has been successfully completed.]
***
A gust of cold wind wrapped around Missha like the eye of a typhoon. As it slowly subsided, Missha opened her red eyes. In her gaze, there was a complex, yet somewhat blank look.
Missha stared at me and spoke. "It was so easy... Why did I spend all that time..." Then, with a look of betrayal, she asked, "Bjorn, what the hell is this rrring? If there was such a thing as this, then why didn't my father tell me about it?"
I didn't know whether the beastpeople were aware of the existence of this ring, but in the interest of giving her the answer that she wanted... "Perhaps he didn't know, either."
"...He didn't know?"
"Yes. It seems that some wizard only recently learned about its effects after researching it for a long time. It's probably not that your father didn't think of you as his child and hid it from you on purpose."
This explanation would be better for her mental health. But even with my answer, Missha seemed to be full of questions. "Wait, then how the hell did you know? Where did you get this rrring?"
This wasn't difficult to explain, because I had pre-planned explanations. But before that, there was one thing that needed to be done. "It would be better to talk after you put on some clothes first."
"...Clothes?" Missha cocked her head, then tilted it downward, following my gaze. When she confirmed her current state... "Uh, ah? Huh? W-W-Why am I naked?!" she screamed, malfunctioning like a robot.
"I left your clothes folded beside you, so let's talk after you put them on."
"A-All right..." After I turned around, Missha picked up her clothes and dressed. "Y-You can turn back arrround now."
"That was fast."
"What, should I have taken my time!?"
I turned around and saw that Missha was in casual clothes, a thin garment that was worn under most equipment and armor. Because it fit tightly, the curved lines of her body were more clearly defined.
"Aren't you going to wear any gear?"
"Beforrre that, answer this! Why was I, uh, ah, naked?!"
"That's because I undressed you."
"U-U-Undressed?! Y-Y-You?!"
"I had no choice. I heard that all the equipment on your body would disappear during this ritual."
This was a lie. I hadn't just heard about it, but experienced it myself. Fuck, I had worked so hard to level up that character, but when all my equipment reset, there was nothing I could do.
"...W-Wait! Is that why you asked me that question at the starrrt?"
"Question?"
"Whether I was marrried or not."
Oh, that. I nodded honestly. "If you had a spouse, that would have made you uncomfortable." I was a proud Korean Confucian. I could never undress a married woman with my own hands.
But Missha screamed at me like that was ridiculous. "Someone who was able to think that far ahead somehow didn't think to warn me what would happen in advance?!"
"I had no intention of keeping it a secret. But you didn't believe me at all anyway."
"Y-Yes, but..." When I countered all of her questions with reasonable explanations, Missha had nothing more to say.
***
[The contract has been successfully completed.]
***
A gust of cold wind wrapped around Missha like the eye of a typhoon. As it slowly subsided, Missha opened her red eyes. In her gaze, there was a complex, yet somewhat blank look.
Missha stared at me and spoke. "It was so easy... Why did I spend all that time..." Then, with a look of betrayal, she asked, "Bjorn, what the hell is this rrring? If there was such a thing as this, then why didn't my father tell me about it?"
I didn't know whether the beastpeople were aware of the existence of this ring, but in the interest of giving her the answer that she wanted... "Perhaps he didn't know, either."
"...He didn't know?"
"Yes. It seems that some wizard only recently learned about its effects after researching it for a long time. It's probably not that your father didn't think of you as his child and hid it from you on purpose."
This explanation would be better for her mental health. But even with my answer, Missha seemed to be full of questions. "Wait, then how the hell did you know? Where did you get this rrring?"
This wasn't difficult to explain, because I had pre-planned explanations. But before that, there was one thing that needed to be done. "It would be better to talk after you put on some clothes first."
"...Clothes?" Missha cocked her head, then tilted it downward, following my gaze. When she confirmed her current state... "Uh, ah? Huh? W-W-Why am I naked?!" she screamed, malfunctioning like a robot.
"I left your clothes folded beside you, so let's talk after you put them on."
"A-All right..." After I turned around, Missha picked up her clothes and dressed. "Y-You can turn back arrround now."
"That was fast."
"What, should I have taken my time!?"
I turned around and saw that Missha was in casual clothes, a thin garment that was worn under most equipment and armor. Because it fit tightly, the curved lines of her body were more clearly defined.
"Aren't you going to wear any gear?"
"Beforrre that, answer this! Why was I, uh, ah, naked?!"
"That's because I undressed you."
"U-U-Undressed?! Y-Y-You?!"
"I had no choice. I heard that all the equipment on your body would disappear during this ritual."
This was a lie. I hadn't just heard about it, but experienced it myself. Fuck, I had worked so hard to level up that character, but when all my equipment reset, there was nothing I could do.
"...W-Wait! Is that why you asked me that question at the starrrt?"
"Question?"
"Whether I was marrried or not."
Oh, that. I nodded honestly. "If you had a spouse, that would have made you uncomfortable." I was a proud Korean Confucian. I could never undress a married woman with my own hands.
But Missha screamed at me like that was ridiculous. "Someone who was able to think that far ahead somehow didn't think to warn me what would happen in advance?!"
"I had no intention of keeping it a secret. But you didn't believe me at all anyway."
"Y-Yes, but..." When I countered all of her questions with reasonable explanations, Missha had nothing more to say.
I could be a little more tough on her now. "Actually, because I had to undress you in a hurry, you can imagine the hardships I went through. Tsk. Why do you have to wear so much gear?"
"...I-I'm sorrry."
"Before you apologize, isn't there something you should do?" I looked straight at her, beating around the bush a bit. In situations like these, the rule was that you had to be as patronizing as possible.
"...Thank you."
"Is that it?"
Missha thought it over for a moment before speaking again. "...Thank you verrry much?"
"Don't try to avoid it. Isn't there something else that needs to be properly addressed?"
"D-Do I rrreally have to say it?" Missha avoided my gaze with a shy, embarrassed look on her face, but I wasn't the type of person to let her get away with that. These sorts of things should not be left unsaid.
"Of course." At my stubborn reply, the look in her eyes changed, suggesting we had reached the limits of her playfulness.
Like she had had no intention of skipping over this from the beginning, she straightened her shoulders and met my eyes head on. "Bjorn, you know... I... in the past... trrried to kill myself."
What now? I'd honestly had a feeling that was the case, but for now, I just listened to her solemn tale.
"It was my fatherrr who found me and saved me back then."
"You must be grateful to your father, then."
"I wish I could be, but... It's not all that pleasant a storrry. When I woke up, you know what the first thing he said was? That if I really wanted to die, I should die in the labyrinth. That I should stop brrringing shame to our family."
Ah... uh... um... Her family was turning out to be shittier than I'd thought. As I was seriously contemplating whether I should correct the inaccurate assumption I made just a few seconds ago, Missha calmly continued.
"That's why I first entered the labyrinth. Of course, I didn't come here to die as my father suggested. I just wanted to rrrun away from home. Even if I didn't have a Soul Beast, I hoped that if I became a great adventurer and got recognition for it, my father would look at me differently." In that rough, restrained voice, I could hear all the emotions she must have felt growing up. "Of course, I don't know if my fatherrr will accept me because of this. But somehow... Now I don't really care." Then Missha bowed to me. "...Thank you, Bjorn. I will not forrrget this kindness for the rest of my life, and I will keep it close to my heart until I pay you back."
Even if that promise might end up being diluted by time someday, it seemed silly to doubt Missha's sincerity now. But anyway, enough New Wave drama. "You swear on your guardian spirit?" I asked after hearing her out.
Missha grinned and nodded. "I swear on my guardian spirit."
Okay, nice and easy.
***
Summoning, Strengthening, Special Ability—a beastperson who made a pact with a Soul Beast generally acquired one of these three abilities. Missha had gotten Strengthening.
[The power of the ice beast Skadia resides permanently in Missha Karlstein's body.]
Aside from an improvement in physical stats, the Freeze attribute was always granted to the user, hence why my stomach was cold from her punch.
"Ah! I punched you because you told me to, but I didn't know that was going to happen! A-are you all rrright?"
My skin was red like it had been frostbitten. I smiled at the sight.
It's a pity that she didn't get a summon or special ability, but... Still, this is something.
After that punch, I was even more certain. The long-awaited attribute-based attack strategy was now solidified in my mind. With this, it would now be possible for us to beat up some spirit-type monsters.
"Huh? Snap out of it, Bjorrrn! Why are you laughing like an idiot?!"
"It's nothing. Let's go. We've been in one place for too long."
After tidying up our surroundings, I led Missha out of there. We tried fighting against a rank-nine spirit-type monster, a Wraith, that we ran into along the way.
[The Wraith has cast Corpse Fire.]
Corpse Fire was an active skill that combined dark and fire abilities. Its strength was lower than that of a rank-nine spell, and for me, with the dark resistance of a vampire, it only felt warm. In truth, most of the spirit-type monsters in the forest had low combat power compared to the rest of the monsters in their rank. They had really only been difficult to deal with because we had had no means of attacking them in the beginning.
[You have killed a Wraith. EXP +1]
With my holy water-sprinkled mace and Missha's two frosty fists, we beat up a group of about fifteen Wraiths.
"Hmm, it feels weirrrd every time I hit something."
The reason she used her fists instead of a spear was simple.
I guess the first stage of the awakening doesn't apply to weapons.
Just as there were stages in a barbarian's Spirit Imprint, a beastperson's Soul Beast contract also developed gradually. Still, it was fortunate that Missha had originally been a fighter. I was pretty sure she used to fight with just her fists until she noticed her limits and switched over to a dagger, which likely seemed like the easiest weapon to adapt to.
[You have killed a Witch's Lamp. EXP +1]
[You have killed a Dairouter. EXP +2]
[You have killed a Mutant Low-Rank Elemental. EXP +2]
Anyway, after that, we continued to wander through the forest. We slaughtered all the monsters that we saw as long as we didn't have to push ourselves. In addition, whenever there was an opportunity, we rested as much as possible and preserved our stamina.
[You have killed a Woodman. EXP +1]
[You have killed a Homunculus. EXP +2]
[You have killed an Owl Bear. EXP +2]
About eleven hours passed like that. We hadn't encountered any rank-seven monsters yet, but the lower-ranking ones weren't difficult to defeat. There hadn't been any precarious situations, either. Contrary to what we had feared, there had been no sign of the bitch, Elisa, coming to look for us yet.
Did something happen to them too?
That could be the case, or it might not be. Rather than holding out hope that things would be easy, I continued to prepare myself for the opposite by doing everything that I could do in the moment.
Ha... still no essence.
That left a bitter taste in my mouth. With holy water and the ice beast Skadia, we were able to hunt spirit-type monsters without any problem, but still, not much had changed.
About 30 percent.
That was what I thought our chances of returning to the city safe and sound were.
[It has been 12 hours since you entered the Witch's Forest. Field Effect – The Witch's Forest has strengthened. Status effect Witch's Eye is now active.]
The real test of survival started now.
I could be a little more tough on her now. "Actually, because I had to undress you in a hurry, you can imagine the hardships I went through. Tsk. Why do you have to wear so much gear?"
"...I-I'm sorrry."
"Before you apologize, isn't there something you should do?" I looked straight at her, beating around the bush a bit. In situations like these, the rule was that you had to be as patronizing as possible.
"...Thank you."
"Is that it?"
Missha thought it over for a moment before speaking again. "...Thank you verrry much?"
"Don't try to avoid it. Isn't there something else that needs to be properly addressed?"
"D-Do I rrreally have to say it?" Missha avoided my gaze with a shy, embarrassed look on her face, but I wasn't the type of person to let her get away with that. These sorts of things should not be left unsaid.
"Of course." At my stubborn reply, the look in her eyes changed, suggesting we had reached the limits of her playfulness.
Like she had had no intention of skipping over this from the beginning, she straightened her shoulders and met my eyes head on. "Bjorn, you know... I... in the past... trrried to kill myself."
What now? I'd honestly had a feeling that was the case, but for now, I just listened to her solemn tale.
"It was my fatherrr who found me and saved me back then."
"You must be grateful to your father, then."
"I wish I could be, but... It's not all that pleasant a storrry. When I woke up, you know what the first thing he said was? That if I really wanted to die, I should die in the labyrinth. That I should stop brrringing shame to our family."
Ah... uh... um... Her family was turning out to be shittier than I'd thought. As I was seriously contemplating whether I should correct the inaccurate assumption I made just a few seconds ago, Missha calmly continued.
"That's why I first entered the labyrinth. Of course, I didn't come here to die as my father suggested. I just wanted to rrrun away from home. Even if I didn't have a Soul Beast, I hoped that if I became a great adventurer and got recognition for it, my father would look at me differently." In that rough, restrained voice, I could hear all the emotions she must have felt growing up. "Of course, I don't know if my fatherrr will accept me because of this. But somehow... Now I don't really care." Then Missha bowed to me. "...Thank you, Bjorn. I will not forrrget this kindness for the rest of my life, and I will keep it close to my heart until I pay you back."
Even if that promise might end up being diluted by time someday, it seemed silly to doubt Missha's sincerity now. But anyway, enough New Wave drama. "You swear on your guardian spirit?" I asked after hearing her out.
Missha grinned and nodded. "I swear on my guardian spirit."
Okay, nice and easy.
***
Summoning, Strengthening, Special Ability—a beastperson who made a pact with a Soul Beast generally acquired one of these three abilities. Missha had gotten Strengthening.
[The power of the ice beast Skadia resides permanently in Missha Karlstein's body.]
Aside from an improvement in physical stats, the Freeze attribute was always granted to the user, hence why my stomach was cold from her punch.
"Ah! I punched you because you told me to, but I didn't know that was going to happen! A-are you all rrright?"
My skin was red like it had been frostbitten. I smiled at the sight.
It's a pity that she didn't get a summon or special ability, but... Still, this is something.
After that punch, I was even more certain. The long-awaited attribute-based attack strategy was now solidified in my mind. With this, it would now be possible for us to beat up some spirit-type monsters.
"Huh? Snap out of it, Bjorrrn! Why are you laughing like an idiot?!"
"It's nothing. Let's go. We've been in one place for too long."
After tidying up our surroundings, I led Missha out of there. We tried fighting against a rank-nine spirit-type monster, a Wraith, that we ran into along the way.
[The Wraith has cast Corpse Fire.]
Corpse Fire was an active skill that combined dark and fire abilities. Its strength was lower than that of a rank-nine spell, and for me, with the dark resistance of a vampire, it only felt warm. In truth, most of the spirit-type monsters in the forest had low combat power compared to the rest of the monsters in their rank. They had really only been difficult to deal with because we had had no means of attacking them in the beginning.
[You have killed a Wraith. EXP +1]
With my holy water-sprinkled mace and Missha's two frosty fists, we beat up a group of about fifteen Wraiths.
"Hmm, it feels weirrrd every time I hit something."
The reason she used her fists instead of a spear was simple.
I guess the first stage of the awakening doesn't apply to weapons.
Just as there were stages in a barbarian's Spirit Imprint, a beastperson's Soul Beast contract also developed gradually. Still, it was fortunate that Missha had originally been a fighter. I was pretty sure she used to fight with just her fists until she noticed her limits and switched over to a dagger, which likely seemed like the easiest weapon to adapt to.
[You have killed a Witch's Lamp. EXP +1]
[You have killed a Dairouter. EXP +2]
[You have killed a Mutant Low-Rank Elemental. EXP +2]
Anyway, after that, we continued to wander through the forest. We slaughtered all the monsters that we saw as long as we didn't have to push ourselves. In addition, whenever there was an opportunity, we rested as much as possible and preserved our stamina.
[You have killed a Woodman. EXP +1]
[You have killed a Homunculus. EXP +2]
[You have killed an Owl Bear. EXP +2]
About eleven hours passed like that. We hadn't encountered any rank-seven monsters yet, but the lower-ranking ones weren't difficult to defeat. There hadn't been any precarious situations, either. Contrary to what we had feared, there had been no sign of the bitch, Elisa, coming to look for us yet.
Did something happen to them too?
That could be the case, or it might not be. Rather than holding out hope that things would be easy, I continued to prepare myself for the opposite by doing everything that I could do in the moment.
Ha... still no essence.
That left a bitter taste in my mouth. With holy water and the ice beast Skadia, we were able to hunt spirit-type monsters without any problem, but still, not much had changed.
About 30 percent.
That was what I thought our chances of returning to the city safe and sound were.
[It has been 12 hours since you entered the Witch's Forest. Field Effect – The Witch's Forest has strengthened. Status effect Witch's Eye is now active.]
The real test of survival started now.