One Small Step

The miracle mathematician who turns a five-percent chance into a hundred-percent certainty—Edwin Revan.

Yeah. That's me.

"Heh heh…."

As expected of a boss item obtained early on, the effect itself wasn't all that impressive.

When mental power was poured into it, a translucent Gorgon figure would leap from the ring and inflict the petrification status on a target of the user's choosing. The power wasn't strong, and the range was short, so its practical value on its own was low.

But a weak effect and a useless one were two entirely different things.

Let's see…

I glanced around. In the game, if a party of three or fewer entered the dungeon, there was a set chance of being ambushed by a band of six or more mercenaries. Right after taking down Pygmalion, the danger was even higher. Raiding an exhausted party for their loot wasn't exactly rare in the mercenary world.

I had already decided that if an ambush came, I would have to make some hard choices. Yet even with Pygmalion gone and every summoned monster vanishing along with him, not a single person showed me hostility. No—several mercenaries startled when our eyes met, turned their heads, and hurried out of the dungeon altogether.

I guess a full granary really does breed generosity.

Any mercenary who worked Pygmalion's Cloister long-term wouldn't be hurting for coin. And Remington County, famous for producing spirit mages, was second to none when it came to agriculture. With the people of the territory living comfortably, the mercenaries who operated here had naturally grown open-handed as well.

Now I almost feel bad.

If they had just attacked me, at least I wouldn't feel this awkward. This way it looked like I had disrupted their livelihood for no reason at all. Pygmalion had been an excellent hunting ground that constantly supplied them with monsters. Now that I had killed the boss, they wouldn't be able to make proper money here until the dungeon restructured.

Still, it was a relief that this wasn't one of those dungeons that vanished forever once the boss was slain. In five days Pygmalion and every monster he summoned would reappear.

Good. Time to head back.

I had gotten everything I came for. It was time to return to the estate.

"What the hell happened to you?"

When we returned to the Remington count's estate, I ran into my brother swinging his sword in the training yard that had been set aside for us. His gaze raked me from head to toe. Corroded greaves, cracked armor, black blood dried sticky all over my body—I looked thoroughly filthy.

"Just stepped out for a quick drink. Anyway, how about a round?"

My hands were itching to test the performance of the item I had just acquired.

"Cocky little bastard."

My brother smirked and thrust his sword straight out.

Whoosh!

"Ack!"

Clang!

I barely managed to raise my shield and block his sudden thrust.

"Training is—"

Clang!

"—like real combat!"

Using the principles of a shield bash, I shoved his blade aside and stepped back. It was the same movement I had seen in Cretus's vision—not merely blocking an attack, but creating distance so I could reset my stance. Thanks to that, even a surprise strike left me ready almost at once.

Still, just stabbing at me out of nowhere? My brother was going to need a little correction today.

I immediately poured mental power into the Gorgon's Ring.

Sssss!

The translucent Gorgon that sprang from the ring coiled around my left arm. The moment its sharp fangs touched my skin, the surface of my arm turned gray and hardened. As the petrification began, it felt as though a thin shell of stone had been layered over my flesh. At the same time my temple throbbed lightly—proof the ring was consuming mental power.

"Dodge or die, Brother!"

"As if that toy of yours could even hit me!"

The knight tournament was right around the corner. It was time to see just how far my current strength had climbed.

Whoooom!

I concentrated the power of Flesh-Carving Bone-Crushing into the warhammer in my right hand. A warhammer had a shorter reach than a sword. My brother used that difference to keep a distance where only his blade could touch me, trying to attack one-sidedly. A textbook choice.

Of course I had no intention of playing along.

I moved my shoulder as if swinging the warhammer. His sword came in along the trajectory I expected.

Ting!

I deflected the blade with my kite shield, then drove forward with the principles of a tackle. The key to fighting with a short-reach weapon was dragging the opponent into your range. But my brother seemed to have already read my intent and twisted his body. He let the warhammer glance off the curve of his armor while aiming the pommel of his sword at my jaw. He had decided that as long as he avoided the warhammer and the shield, any wrestling technique could simply be shrugged off by the armor.

That was a critical mistake.

The defense score of hardened skin was reflected in the Barrier. And Flesh-Carving Bone-Crushing converted that defense score into attack power.

"Hup!"

Rather than try to recover the warhammer that had already slid along the armor's curve, I released the shield from my left hand and swung my elbow. An ordinary elbow would have been nothing more than a meaningless thrash against armor. My brother seemed to think the same; trusting his armor's defense, he tried to dismiss my attack as trivial.

Clang!

"Ghk!"

My brother let out a pained groan and staggered back several steps. The side of his armor was dented shallowly. I had controlled the force carefully enough that it shouldn't have led to a fracture.

That's more like it.

Until now the initiative in our exchanges had usually tilted about eight-to-two in my brother's favor. I had been fighting with only a shield, and the gap in level and experience was nothing to sneeze at. But now I had a new means of attack, and the Gorgon's Ring as well. Unless my brother was prepared to stake his life and go all-out, a single moment of judgment could decide the match. The gap had narrowed that much.

I looked down at my brother clutching his side and lifted my chin.

"Kneel. This is the difference in eye level between you and me."

"You little…."

My brother's gaze turned cold and still. Until a moment ago this had been a spar to check his younger brother's progress. Now it was different. His eyes said he was going to put me on the ground for real.

Okay, that's not good.

I hurriedly lowered the warhammer and stepped back.

"Just kidding, kidding. More importantly, how do you like the effect of my new item?"

"Item?"

His hostility vanished in an instant, replaced by curiosity and envy.

"Don't tell me you took down the dungeon master?"

I nodded without a word.

"What does it do?"

I activated the Gorgon's Ring in silence.

Sssss!

The Gorgon form that sprang from the ring sank its teeth into my brother's shoulder.

"Kh! You little…!"

"You're the one who asked what it does."

"Use your words, you bastard…!"

My brother frowned at the sensation of hardening spreading from his shoulder.

"A curse of petrification? But how is that supposed to help in a fight…."

His words cut off midway. By now he understood a fair amount about a Guardian's capabilities.

"You're using petrification like that? …Have you actually gone insane, Edwin?"

The petrification status was quite dangerous. But when a Guardian's blessing met status-ailment resistance, they created a synergy. Any Guardian player who had run through Paoga had passed through this famous build at least once.

"It's the best I can prepare right now."

I stripped off my ruined gear, stretched with a long yawn, and rolled my shoulders. All I had left was the spare armor in my bag. I was completely broke, so buying new equipment was difficult, and there wasn't time to hunt for another dungeon either.

"…."

My brother dug into his coat with a thoughtful expression. I watched him blandly.

"Going all-in is how you ruin a family, Brother."

He flinched. His shoulders trembled ever so slightly. The last tenth of his fortune he had set aside for the worst-case scenario—after that spar, he had apparently gained the confidence to bet even that on me. Honestly, it was the kind of behavior that would be embarrassing if anyone else saw it. If I had been the eldest son, I would already be talking about the family's honor and confiscating his seal, wouldn't I, Brother?

"…Shut up. More importantly, if you're done preparing for the tournament, shouldn't you go see Lady Ariella?"

He pulled his hand from his coat and changed the subject.

"I was planning to anyway."

When a social debut fell around the same time as the tournament, custom dictated that the tournament champion escort any young lady who still lacked a partner. The knight burnished the lady's beauty and house; the lady elevated the knight's honor and authority. They became ornaments and partners for each other. There was a high chance I would briefly escort Lady Ariella at her social debut as well. We needed to get our rhythm in sync beforehand.

I wonder if she's made any progress by now.

The last time I checked, it had looked like Lady Ariella would need about a week before she could see a spirit with her own eyes. By now one or two small spirits might already be frolicking at her side.

After parting from my brother I washed quickly and changed into my spare armor. I could hardly go meet a young lady covered in blood and stone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dust.

"Ah, you're here."

The moment I stepped into the garden, a strange sense of dissonance struck me. There was still time before May, yet the garden was already overflowing with flowers of every color that had no business blooming in this season.

This isn't something a spirit mage in the early stages of a contract should be able to cause.

Even before receiving a blessing, contracting a spirit was possible. But to change the surrounding environment this conspicuously, the spirit had to have materialized enough to affect reality. Lady Ariella had not yet undergone even the blessing of Elysion. That meant she still lacked a spirit mage's blessing. So what on earth was this phenomenon?

As if answering that question, a familiar presence caught my eye.

What are you doing here?

On Lady Ariella's shoulder, a spirit in the form of a girl a little smaller than a palm was curled up, sleeping soundly. Tiny leaves sprouted among her green hair, and on her back she wore wings woven of twigs and vines.

The hidden boss of the dungeon Aria's Forgotten Paradise.

The once-corrupted high spirit, Aria.

"This is…."

"Surprised, right?"

Lady Ariella squared her shoulders with the proud look of a child who had successfully pulled off a prank.

"You went into a dungeon?"

"Yes."

"Without a blessing?"

"I didn't go alone!"

Seeing my expression harden, Lady Ariella hurriedly waved both hands.

"Sir Kaiden and the knights went with me. So please don't look so serious."

Sir Kaiden, of course. He was one of the few people who knew about my vision, and the only one who could have told her where the Seed of Hope was used.

"That still doesn't change the fact that it was a dangerous act."

Lady Ariella shed the proud expression from a moment ago and lowered her gaze.

"…I could hear a spirit's voice."

"A voice?"

"At first I couldn't understand the words very well. But I could tell it was crying."

She carefully looked at Aria sleeping on her shoulder.

"When we arrived at the dungeon, it attacked us. Sir Kaiden told us to withdraw several times."

The fingertips peeking from her sleeves were red and swollen. She had probably used her fairy eyes to catch the connection between the Seed of Hope I had given her and the spirit Aria. The signs that she had forced herself to expend mental power without a blessing were plain to see.

"It was a voice crying for someone to help…. After hearing that, how could I turn back?"

Lady Ariella smiled faintly.

I never imagined she would clear a hidden piece without even a spirit mage's blessing….

She had not defeated the corrupted Aria. She had sprouted the Seed of Hope, channeled the power of the spirit tree, and purified the corrupted energy while enduring a drain of mental power that even I, who had received a blessing, would have hesitated to take on. As a result Aria existed here not as a hidden boss, but as a high spirit contracted to Lady Ariella.

I shifted my gaze to the flowerpot. In the pot where the Seed of Hope had been planted, a young sapling had already grown.

I thought it would take at least a year…. Don't tell me she even attempted the second stage of the vision?

She was the sort of person who couldn't easily abandon a crying child. To save Aria, she had probably blushed with shame and imitated the movements of insects, hadn't she? The image formed so easily in my head that I hurriedly covered my mouth and clenched my jaw. Otherwise I would have burst out laughing.

Lady Ariella, however, seemed to take my expression a different way.

"I'm truly sorry. Even so, I just couldn't leave her…."

Knowing it was dangerous, she still could not ignore a voice weeping so pitifully. A choice entirely like her.

"I'm only saying this because I was worried. Unexpected things always happen in dungeons."

I myself had just come back after getting hit by a pattern that didn't even exist in the game.

"Yes. I'll be more careful next time."

Lady Ariella nodded obediently. A moment ago she had been excited and eager to show off her achievement; now she looked deflated, like a child caught mid-prank. Scolding her any further would just be unseemly.

"Still, you did well."

"Pardon?"

"Purifying and contracting a high spirit without even a blessing."

I nodded as I looked at the sleeping Aria.

"I really chose an excellent disciple."

"Why am I supposed to be your disciple, Mr. Edwin?"

Lady Ariella narrowed her eyes and glared at me. But that expression didn't last long either. The corners of her mouth softened, and soon she was smiling bashfully as she bowed her head politely.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Edwin."

"Why so suddenly?"

"The only reason I could come this far is because you reached out your hand to me…. That's why I couldn't abandon this child who was asking for help either."

Lady Ariella glanced once more at Aria sleeping on her shoulder, then spoke.

"I will never forget this debt, even in death."

"No, if you die you're supposed to forget…."

"That's not what I meant…."

Lady Ariella pouted and let out a sigh. Thanks to that, the atmosphere that had grown a little heavy quickly returned to normal.

"Anyway, do you have a moment, Lady Ariella?"

"Hm? Yes…."

She composed her expression and nodded.

"I have to prepare for my social debut as well, so things are a bit tight, but a cup of tea would be fine."

"I'm not asking for tea."

"Then what?"

"There's a high chance we'll be partners in society. Shouldn't we at least get our rhythm in sync beforehand?"

I courteously extended my left hand toward her. The gesture meant I was asking for a dance.

Lady Ariella's gaze slowly descended from my face to my hand. Then her eyes narrowed oddly.

"…What is that?"

Her gaze was fixed on the Gorgon's Ring I had taken from Pygmalion.

"Ah, this is an item I obtained in the dungeon."

"Does it have to be worn on the ring finger?"

"There seems to be a restriction on the item. If I put it on any other finger, the effect doesn't activate."

"Is that so…."

Lady Ariella continued to stare fixedly at the ring. Normally, when someone offered their left hand to request a dance, the other person placed their right hand atop it. Instead of resting her right hand there, however, she cupped my left hand in both of hers. A warm, soft sensation covered the back of my hand.

At that moment Aria, who had been sleeping on her shoulder, opened her eyes.

"Aria?"

Aria slid down Lady Ariella's shoulder as if it were a playground slide.

Sliiiide.

Then she stacked her own tiny hands atop Lady Ariella's.

Huuuum.

A fresh energy that felt like the scent of spring seeped along our fingers into the ring. The black aura that had been clinging to the ring's surface writhed. It was an ominous power, a mixture of Pygmalion's obsession and a demon god's authority. Over it Aria's green light stretched out like vines. The black aura thrashed a few times in resistance, then was swept away by the green light and scattered like smoke.

The ring's appearance had changed a little as well. Over the rough, crude silver band, delicate decorations resembling tree trunks and leaves had blossomed. A wedding ring forged from Pygmalion's twisted obsession. The restriction that had bound it to that form seemed to have been purified by Aria's power.

Doesn't seem to be a spirit armament….

I knew that once a spirit mage's affinity with a high spirit rose high enough, they could create armaments that borrowed the power of nature. But that was only possible after receiving a spirit mage's blessing. Since she was a high spirit of considerable intelligence, she had probably decided through our conversation that she owed me a debt and given me a gift.

"How is it?"

At Lady Ariella's words I slipped the ring off my ring finger and tried it on my index finger. A faint Gorgon form appeared from the ring. The same happened on my middle finger. Even just holding it in my hand or resting it on the back of my hand kept the effect active.

Ohhh!

Tanks get hit a lot. Fighting with a ring on the ring finger risked damaging it, and later, if I obtained a better ring, I might run out of fingers and have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to take it off. But if the restriction on the equip slot was gone, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the story changed. I could string it on a leather cord and wear it like a necklace, or fix it inside my armor. It had become an item I could use for far longer than I had expected.

"Thank you, Lady Ariella."

I offered my gratitude with genuine feeling, then carefully wrapped the Gorgon's Ring in a handkerchief and tucked it into my coat.

"I didn't do anything, though?"

Lady Ariella turned her head as if it were nothing. But the slight upward curve of her lips suggested she was rather pleased that her help had been useful.

"Anyway, so what do you intend to do?"

"Mother recommended you as my partner for the social debut, Mr. Edwin. I was just about to go look for you myself. So…."

Unlike usual, her words came out in a rapid, almost pushy tempo.

"Ahem. I'll be in your care as well."

Only then did she place her right hand atop my left. This time it was the proper posture of the one requesting a dance and the one accepting. I carefully took Lady Ariella's hand and brought my other hand near her waist. She likewise settled into position naturally. As expected of a noble young lady, her basic education was already complete. There seemed little ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠chance we would step on each other's feet or trip from mismatched rhythm.

We began to move our feet slowly in the middle of the garden.

"You're quite skilled."

"For the second son of a destitute baronial house… is that what you mean?"

"What kind of person do you take me for, honestly…."

This was no glittering ballroom, and no beautiful melody was playing. I was still in crude armor, and Lady Ariella wore comfortable clothes that wouldn't mind a little dirt. Even so, I felt no sense that anything was lacking or incomplete.

A beautiful garden overflowing with flowers. The natural melody of birdsong. A tiny audience clapping its hands. This place was already more than enough of a splendid ballroom.