Money-Wasting Dragon's Seal, Stage Two
Clang! Clash!
In the training hall, a young man and a young woman locked blades in a fierce exchange. Sparks leapt from steel as their swords met, and Rendel's gaze tangled with Rabiel's in the air between them.
Awe shone in Rendel's eyes. Bewilderment filled Rabiel's.
Crossing swords made it clear.
He's different!
Different?!
Moving his body, he felt it for certain. He had grown stronger. The truth settled into his bones.
Rendel knocked aside Rabiel's incoming blade and fell back. Her next strike came without pause.
Whoosh.
The sound of air splitting brushed past his ear. In that fraction of a second he twisted his shoulder and barely slipped clear — then seized the opening. Her side was exposed. He drove his sword up from below —
Clang!
Rabiel yanked her blade inward in a flash and caught the blow. Rendel's sword rebounded, leaving him open. Instead of thrusting, she slammed her shoulder into his chest and sent him flying.
"Guh—"
Rendel sailed through the air and tumbled across the floor. That kind of force had no business coming from a slender girl's frame. It had looked like a simple shove of the shoulder, yet the power behind it was monstrous.
The spar ended that abruptly — but Rendel's mood was bright.
"Hah…"
He was bracing himself on his sword to stand when Rabiel asked, eyes wide with surprise.
"Rendel. Have you been practicing behind my back?"
"No. Our spar two weeks ago was the last one."
"…Really? But your movements are so much lighter! How did you do it? Did you eat something good?"
"As if that were possible."
She was right, though. His body felt incredibly light. The mana flowing through him was clearer, cooler. Even the mana he fed into his blade moved more smoothly. It was like floating free of gravity.
If there was a reason for the change, there was only one.
"If anything good happened… I opened Stage Two earlier, didn't I? That must be it."
"Ehk? No way. You don't just get stronger the second you open Stage Two. That never happens."
"…It doesn't?"
"Nope. Absolutely not."
Rabiel declared with total certainty that it wasn't Stage Two's power, then stepped closer. She circled him, studying him from every angle. What Seranis had said earlier still nagged at her.
"Hmm…"
"Is something wrong?"
"Nothing. Good work."
No matter how she looked, nothing stood out. She was simply puzzled.
Can a Magic Seal's effect really show this fast?
Rabiel shook her head, expression grave.
No. Impossible. The seal's effect showing up already doesn't make sense.
In two hundred sixty years of life, she had never heard of such a person. Which meant only one explanation.
Talent!
That was the only answer that fit. Rabiel beamed at him.
"Rendel, you must be a genius!"
"All of a sudden?"
"Yeah. You're getting stronger this fast, aren't you?"
Rendel looked unconvinced. No matter how he turned it over, it had to be Stage Two of the seal. If it wasn't that—
There's no way I'd get stronger otherwise.
But Rabiel was so sure it wasn't… he had no choice but to let it go.
"I suppose so."
He smacked his lips and looked down at the arming sword in his hand. Rabiel pulled something glittering from her clothes and held it out — a gold bar left over from carving the seal.
"Here. Outfit yourself with this. Your first trip into the Labyrinth isn't far off, right?"
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me. It's money you earned."
Next Monday — five days from now — Rendel would be able to register as an adventurer. The moment he received his proof of registration, he planned to dive straight into the Labyrinth.
Of course, I'll need a party before I can go in.
A party would work itself out somehow. Worst case, he would enter as a porter if he had to.
Whether Rabiel knew any of that or not, she clasped her hands together, eyes sparkling.
"Rendel! What should we do for your coming-of-age ceremony? After you come back from the Labyrinth? Something grand and lavish? Or keep it simple?"
She was practically bouncing — like grass swaying in a spring breeze.
Rendel's head tilted.
"I'm the one becoming an adult. Why are you…?"
"…Huh?"
"?"
"Ah."
Rabiel's eyes darted left and right. Then she spun on her heel and walked off with stiff, awkward steps, like a wind-up doll with a broken spring. Rendel had no idea what that was about, but he had seen the look before, so he let it pass and turned his mind to the plan ahead.
I wonder if any good gear will turn up at the auction.
Remembering the auction ticket Lokt had given him, he headed back to his room.
Three days after he had unlocked Stage Two of the Dragon's Seal, Saturday night arrived.
He had not shown his face at the Adventurer Guild in those three days. Rather than take commissions and earn coin, he threw himself into training for his first Labyrinth run. He adapted to the greater mana pool Stage Two had given him and honed his footwork to a sharper edge. Watching his sword stretch out in clean, straight lines, he steeled his resolve.
Building power like this before entering the Labyrinth was uncommon. Unless you were a student at the Labyrinth Academy, most residents of Labyrinth City only picked up a sword after registering as adventurers. Then they adapted gradually while clearing the first floor. Commoners especially — they rarely had the fortune for academy tuition.
How many floors could someone like me reach…?
The question itched at him. The higher you climbed, the better the pay. And once he had money?
He would get stronger.
Rendel swung his sword one last time and wiped the sweat away. Back in his room he washed, then dressed in a clean shirt and black trousers. Tonight was the auction Lokt had told him about.
He slipped the million-Ref gold bar into his pocket and went to find Rabiel.
"Rabiel."
"Hm?"
"Please send me to the city."
"Ah, you're heading out now?"
"Yes. I want to buy gear and prepare ahead of time."
"Next time we meet, it'll be after you're back from the Labyrinth. Be careful. In the Labyrinth…"
Rabiel launched into a thorough lecture on every precaution he should take inside. Most of it he already knew. One point, though, she drove home harder than the rest.
"Never — never trust your party members. Always think of yourself first, and trust only yourself. Understood?"
"Yes. I'll keep it in mind."
In a place where anything could happen, your own life came first. That much was true.
Rendel stepped onto the magic circle drawn on the floor. Rabiel waved and spoke the spell.
Warp.
His vision flared white — and he was standing in his lodgings in Labyrinth City.
No matter how many times I see it, it's incredible.
Spatial magic was not something an ordinary mage could cast lightly. Yet Rabiel, who introduced herself as a swordswoman rather than a mage, performed it as if it were nothing.
A dragonoid trait, maybe?
That was the only conclusion he could reach.
Rendel left his lodgings and made for the Adventurer Guild. He pushed the door open the moment he arrived, ready to ask Lokt a question.
"Lokt. Does the auction have armor and things like—"
That was as far as he got.
Lokt came charging at him with a face radiant with joy, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Rendel!!! What took you so long! I've been waiting!"
"?"
"No — wait, that's not it. I found it!!!"
"Found what?"
Lokt wore the expression of an explorer who had just unearthed a treasure map from an ancient pirate ship. What exactly had he found? Rendel had never asked him for anything. He tilted his head, and Lokt patted his back as if consoling him.
"This big brother stayed up all night searching for his little brother. Sniff."
"Searching for what, exactly."
"A way to save you!!!"
This man was exhausting.
"So what is it, then?"
"I…! Sniff. I found a way to remove your Dragon's Seal!"
"………What?"
Words Rendel had never heard in his life came tumbling out of Lokt's mouth.
"You can… remove it?"
"Go on, thank me."
"How?"
As far as Rendel knew, no such method existed. The Dragon's Seal was bound to a fundamental force — the soul itself. And someone claimed it could be erased?
Of course, Rendel had not the slightest intention of removing it.
"That's right, Rendel. You're not too late yet. You can't remove a Dragon's Seal normally — that's a given. But at Stage One, you can."
"……"
Hm.
Lokt's face was painfully sincere.
"Heh. I've got everything ready, so let's go erase it right now. The auction? You don't need that. Getting rid of the Dragon's Seal is way more important for you! That's how much of a piece of garbage it is."
The fact that Lokt had already prepared to erase the seal was startling — but Rendel could not follow him. Because—
"I hate to say this, but…"
"Ah, you're thanking me? Come on! Between us, you don't need to—"
"No. That's not it."
"H-huh?"
He was grateful that Lokt had searched for a way for his sake. Even so, he had no choice but to drive a nail through all that effort.
"I already unlocked Stage Two."
Lokt froze solid.
"…Huh? What… did you say?"
"I already did Stage Two."
"…Mmm. Ahem. Haha! Sorry, sorry. My ears must be off. Come on, let's go erase it, Rendel."
Was he trying to deny reality? Rendel found the sight so pitiful he could only manage a bitter smile. Lokt glanced at his face — and his own drained of color.
"F-f-for real?"
Rendel nodded.
Lokt's face twisted into something demonic, and he unleashed a roar that could have been a dragon's breath.
"Y-YOU INSANE BASTAAAAARD!!!"
The bellow of pure rage rang so loud Rendel's ears rang with tinnitus.
"Feeling a little calmer?"
"…Because of you, I won't live half my natural lifespan. What the hell were you thinking, carving Stage Two? No — more than that!!! Why did you carve a Dragon's Seal in the first place!!!"
As Lokt's voice climbed higher, Rendel had no clear answer to give. Only this:
"I had no choice. For the sake of my goal, it was something I absolutely needed."
"…Damn it. What the hell is that goal of yours. Hah — forget it. Do whatever you want."
He waved a hand, already resigned. Rendel, for his part, had come to the guild in the middle of the night for a different reason entirely.
"Anyway, that isn't the important part."
He pulled the auction ticket from his pocket.
"Does this auction have gear and things like that? I need to buy equipment before I go into the Labyrinth."
Lokt squeezed his eyes shut and sighed.
"As far as I know, this one doesn't. The main event is runes. And you…"
"Right. I don't need those."
"Ah, hell. Money down the drain. Tch."
Watching Lokt click his tongue, Rendel read the room carefully.
"…How much did it cost?"
"Forget it. Don't worry about something like that."
When Rendel asked the price, Lokt waved him off.
"It's an underworld auction, so going's a bit of a hassle anyway… Ah, well. Might as well toss it."
He was still fiddling with the ticket when someone approached.
"Um…"
A fox beastwoman with tangerine-orange hair. Her red eyes, set against that hair, were striking.
"I… overheard what you were saying. Would it be all right if I bought that auction ticket?"
At the sudden approach, Rendel glanced at Lokt once, then turned back to the fox beastwoman.
"Ah! I-I wasn't eavesdropping on purpose! It just… kind of carried over."
"And you want to buy this?"
"Yes. I really need it… Is that not okay?"
Rendel considered for a moment, then held it out without hesitation.
"What's your name?"
"Oh — I'm Mirmya Ve… no. Just Mirmya."
"Rendel. The auction starts soon, though. You should hurry."
"Th-thank you so much! I'll repay this favor, I swear, Master Rendel!"
Mirmya bowed deeply, her tail swaying, and bolted out of the guild.
Watching her go, Rendel let out a quiet sigh.
"Ah. I didn't take any money."
"…You crazy bastard."
Money was precious.