Chapter 1:
Ulmutt Bound
MUNCH, MUNCH.
Gobble, gobble.
You guys have been eating curry for days now. Aren’t you bored of it?
“Nope.”
“Woof!”
I see.
Three days had passed since we left Bulbola.
We were on our way to Ulmutt, making camp in a clearing next to the forest. This area was a designated resting place for travelers. The ground was flat and even, and there was a small well to draw water. A convenient spot, which unfortunately meant it was often a den of bandits and monsters. Travelers who visited to drink could end up permanently relieved of their thirst, among other things.
City soldiers and adventurers served as the area’s caretakers, but year-round maintenance was nigh impossible. We spotted some goblins making a mess of the place when we arrived, although they were easily eliminated with a few spells. Then we pitched camp and got to the business of dinner.
Curry was on the menu again. Fran had a plate of hot beef, while Jet enjoyed a bowl of ultrahot fish. I’d have preferred they eat a well-balanced meal, but I had promised them a week of all-you-can-eat curry when we left Bulbola, and they still had a few days to go.
“So good.”
“Arf arf.”
The phrase “bored of curry” didn’t exist in their vocabulary. Even though they’d had it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for three days now, they always reacted like they had never tasted it before. It was a good thing I’d made several pots.
Still, it was only a matter of time until we ran out of ingredients. That would be bad. Especially for Fran’s mental health. Fortunately, we’d loaded up on spices before we left Bulbola. All we really needed was a kitchen. I wanted to make a batch here at the outpost but didn’t want to risk a random traveler happening upon a flying sword stirring a pot of curry. I gave myself a pat on the blade for being cautious.
“Yum… Teacher.”
I know. Someone’s coming.
“Woof.”
Fran and Jet halted their feast and readied themselves for a fight, but the yellow splotches of food around their mouths stopped them from being intimidating.
The newcomer was no ordinary man. We couldn’t pick up on their presence until they stepped into the outpost, which meant they were using some sort of stealth skill to conceal their aura. Our guest was no neophyte.
We were concealing ourselves, too, but our campfire gave us away. The stranger must’ve seen Fran from afar, but I didn’t sense any malice from them yet…
“Why, hello there.”
“Hi.”
“I didn’t think anyone would beat me to this place tonight.”
“Hm…”
An old man emerged from the darkness. He looked to be over sixty years old, yet retained an athletic symmetry to his body. Perhaps he was a warrior of sorts.
His gray hair was slicked back to his shoulders, and he had a fashionable gray beard that made me think he’d been a dandy in his youth. His black suit was decorated with embroidery. It looked like a tuxedo from afar, but upon closer inspection, I saw it was a suit of light armor, made of fabric and leather.
The man smiled as he addressed Fran, despite Jet standing right there. If he was skilled enough to track Fran from a distance, he didn’t need to be overly cautious around her. His attitude told me that the old man was a lot stronger than he looked.
He slipped past Fran as she sat down, and stood right in the corner of her vision. Startled, Fran got up again.
Fran, whatever you do, do not engage!
He’s…that good?
Yeah…about on par with Amanda, I’d say.
…!
I used Identify to reveal the old man’s immense battle prowess. For a moment, I thought the skill had bugged out.
Name: Dias
Age: 71
Race: Human
Class: Phantasmist
Level: 76/99
HP: 241; Magic: 668; Strength: 122; Agility: 291
Skills: Sensitive Sole 4; Intimidate 4; Conceal 7; Stealth 8; Disassemble 8; Martial Arts 4; Sense Disruption 7; Fade 7; Sleight of Hand 8; Reveal Weakness 4; Royal Etiquette 6; Presence Sense 8; Conceal Presence 7; Illusion Magic 10; Phantasm Magic 6; Reveal Vulnerability 10; Hush 3; Abnormal Status Resistance 5; Dagger Arts 7; Dagger Mastery 7; Earth Magic 3; Magic Tricks 10; Throw 7; Poison Magic 4; Fire Magic 3; Mana Drain 2; Magic Resistance 3; Mana Sense 6; Charm Resistance 4; Carpentry 4; Play 7; Disarm Trap 7; Trap Sense 8; Lay Trap 7; Spirit Manipulation; Dull Pain; Fortitude; Split Thinking; Mana Manipulation.
Unique Skill: Skill Amnesia 7
Class Skill: Mental Suggestion 8; Visual Suggestion 8
Titles: Illusionist; Trickster; Surpasser of Human Limits
Equipment: Dragonfang Dagger; Dragonscale Suit; Fleetfoot Boots; Bracelet of Sacrifice; Phantasmist Ring
At Level 70, this guy was stronger than Amanda and Forlund. A master magician, and a formidable fighter, too. His skills made him dangerous even while unarmed. Magic Tricks and Sleight of Hand could make him a talented assassin. He had a Unique Skill of his own as well.
Skill Amnesia: Causes opponent to forget a targeted skill for a period of time. Duration is determined by skill’s level and rarity. Maximum duration of one minute. Recast is determined by skill’s level and rarity.
Well, that was distressingly strong. A minute of forgetfulness was all this Phantasmist needed to finish a battle.
Mental Suggestion: Plants an instantaneous suggestion in a target’s mind, making them more susceptible to persuasion.
Visual Suggestion: Plants an instantaneous suggestion in a target’s sight, creating an illusion in their field of vision.
These two skills, combined with Fade and Conceal Presence, made up an arsenal of stealth skills. I imagined he could make himself disappear in the heat of battle with Illusion Magic, too. As his Phantasmist class suggested, Dias was a master of mirage. Even up against a stronger opponent, I doubted he would be easy to hit.
We didn’t know his intentions, so I thought it best to stay on his good side for now.
He uses illusions. Listen—
As I was about to warn Fran to stay at a safe distance, Dias opened his mouth. What he said sent chills down my blade.
“You Identified me just now, didn’t you?” His tone was gentle, but his eyes weren’t amused.
So he did notice! I had a bad feeling when I saw Identify Sense in his skill list. Did we sour his mood? I hoped not. I hoped the weathered old man could find it in his heart to forgive the curiosity of a little girl.
Instead, Dias narrowed his eyes and focused on Fran.
Identify gave you a peek at your target’s personal information. It was only natural that it was considered an attack by those with secrets, people with a guilty conscience, and, naturally, private individuals.
I should’ve anticipated there was a skill which allowed you to know when you’d been Identified, considering all the other Sense skills we’d seen. If Identify provoked this old man to attack Fran, it would be my fault!
Sorry.
What’s done is done.
Just get ready to teleport out of here if things go south.
Hm.
“Hmm…”
The aura around Dias grew even more menacing. Were we in for a fight? We watched the old man for any sudden moves, but he broke the silence with a chuckle.
“No need to be so cautious now.” His grim mask flipped into a smile. “I promise you I’m not upset.”
He spoke teasingly, and the intimidating aura we’d felt a second ago was gone like a bad dream. He smiled.
“You have every reason to be suspicious of strangers in a place like this. Don’t expect everyone to be as understanding, however. There are people who will fly off the handle if you Identify them. You must pick your targets carefully.”
I listened, despite my general dislike for being lectured. Fran took his advice the same way and answered with a docile nod.
“Just a bit of advice from an old adventurer.”
“Old adventurer”? The phrase had an odd ring to it.
Fran felt the same way. “You knew I was an adventurer?”
“Yes. People were talking about you at the guild in Bulbola.”
Was he in Bulbola during the incident? People would’ve talked if a veteran of his caliber were around.
“You were in Bulbola?”
“Only two days ago. I could’ve helped if I had arrived a few days earlier.”
So he wasn’t there when Linford nearly razed the city. Wait…two days ago? We’d departed Bulbola three days ago, and ridden Jet the entire way here. With his ability to run through the air, Jet could cover a lot more ground than a horse. Had Dias caught up with us in spite of all that?
Fran looked at Jet, then back at Dias. The old man knew what was bothering her.
“I’m light on my feet, you see. I have a bit of endurance as well. I ran all the way without stopping.”
He wasn’t lying. He’d run a straight marathon without even slowing down. Dias’s stats were a testament to his superhuman strength. There was no need to treat him like an old man.
“I had business to take care of in Bulbola when I heard people talking about you. A Black Cat and a black wolf. The student of a chef who cooked strange yellow food. You are quite difficult to mistake, Swordceress Fran.”
Dias had deduced Fran’s identity instantly.
“You already know my name, but allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Dias. An adventurer.”
“I’m Fran, D-Rank Adventurer. This is Jet.”
“Woof!”
“A pleasure to meet you both.”
They maintained their distance, even after making their introductions. Fran kept her eyes on Dias as he tried getting her to let her guard down. Faced with Fran’s apparent rudeness, his smile only broadened.
“Yes, very good. You won’t make it far as an adventurer without being careful.”
He was like a wise old grandfather teaching his grandkid. They were the right ages for the comparison at least.
“I’ll give you another piece of advice, young Fran. Identify is a common skill, but I sense that you use it quite often.”
“Hm.”
I was the one using it, to be exact.
“As I said, you should pick your marks carefully. Royalty tend to have the Identify Sense skill, and they don’t take kindly to people snooping around.”
If we caught a whiff of a royal secret…
“You have a bright future ahead of you, and I’m sure you’ll have an audience with royalty one day. Take care you don’t offend them, or…”
Dias made a chopping motion across his neck with his hand. He was right. I should be more careful.
“Got it.”
“Well, I’ll be on my way then. It looks like my presence is making you tense.”
“Hm.”
“Goodness, you won’t do me the kindness of saying that isn’t so?”
“No. Because it’s true.”
“Hahaha, how mean. Well, a healthy dose of paranoia is a necessary part of the job. I’ll see you soon.”
Dias laughed as he walked away. He waved to Fran before disappearing into the darkness.
He’s gone…
“Hm.”
“Woof.”
Despite his lack of hostility, dealing with a stranger leagues stronger than us was still exhausting. We relaxed as he faded away.
Looks like he’s bound for Ulmutt, too. Maybe we’ll run into him there.
Munch, munch. “Yeah, maybe.”
Gobble, gobble.
They sure didn’t waste any time returning to their dinner!
“Hm?” Munch.
Nothing. How’s the food? Good?
“Hm! Amazing.”
That was good enough for me. The terrible encounters with monsters and powerful adventurers seemed to have prepared Fran for Dias. I, on the other hand, needed to do some introspection.
I needed to be wary of Identify Sense, and more discreet about Identifying dangerous entities, and even nobles, from now on.
The day after we ran into Dias, and three weeks since we left Alessa, we finally came within sight of the Dungeon City of Ulmutt.
“Teacher, is that the one?”
“Woof!”
Yeah, that must be the Dungeon City.
Ulmutt was located in the middle of a forest and surrounded by thick walls. Alessa felt like such a long time ago… Even though not much time had actually passed, the things we’d been through lengthened our perception of it. We’d fought a Lich on a floating island, aided a revolution in the naval kingdom of Seedrun, participated in Bulbola’s great cooking contest, and somehow faced an archfiend immediately afterward.
Fran had grown mentally and physically stronger.
We’d promised Garrus the blacksmith that we would see him again in Ulmutt, and I was sure he would be surprised at the progress she’d made. He might not even recognize her!
“Hm?”
Fran seemed to notice my gaze, and turned her head to look at me. Her face was adorable, as usual.
I…might have been getting ahead of myself.
“What do you mean?”
Don’t worry about it. I was just thinking that we’ve finally made it.
“Hm. It’s smaller than I thought. There’s something weird going on, too.”
“Arf?”
Ulmutt was a small city. It was nothing compared to Bulbola, and only about half the size of Alessa. However, the city’s diminished size did nothing to lessen its imposing stature. We had a clear view from Jet’s back, and the first thing that caught my eye were the walls which protected the town. You could tell the walls were thick, even from a distance. And they built them high too. I suppose they needed all the protection they could get from the local monsters, but even Bulbola, the jewel of Granzell, was nowhere near this fortified.
The defenses seemed heavy for such a small city. Did it really need to be so well guarded?
A gigantic tower-like structure loomed on the eastern side. It was difficult to miss. Was it built using magic? The structure reminded me of the concrete towers back on Earth. It was about thirty meters tall, and looked like it could be used as a stronghold, but I could only speculate about its true purpose for now.
We’ll have to go there to find out.
“Hm.”
“Woof.”
Getting into town was going to be difficult. A thousand people were waiting at the city gates. I should’ve expected that. The fighting tournament was famous throughout Granzell and attracted adventurers, merchants, and tourists alike.
With Bulbola’s Festival of the Moons wrapped up, I figured most of the people who’d attended it were here now. Anyone who left the port city before the incident with the Archfiend would be arriving in Ulmutt around this time. Thinking about having to wait in that line was enough to make me ill, but we weren’t nobility, and didn’t have the privilege of skipping the queue. And riding Jet over the walls was basically asking for trouble.
Oh, well. Let’s find the back of the line.
“Hm.”
Jet, land somewhere away from everyone. Landing right in the middle of the line would cause a commotion.
“Woof!”
Jet found a quiet place in the forest, about 200 meters away. From there, we walked to the highway and set out for Ulmutt on foot.
We were greeted by a huge crowd. After some questioning, we confirmed that this was the only way to get into Ulmutt, so we joined the line. A girl with a sword on her back and a wolf familiar would’ve stuck out like a sore thumb anywhere else, but not in the Dungeon City of Ulmutt. There were a lot of adventurers here, and, because the dungeon itself wasn’t too difficult, many beginners.
Kids around Fran’s age weren’t a rare sight. Further in line was an adventurer who looked to be in their mid-teens. There weren’t too many Tamer classes, although I still felt the presence of their familiars.
That said, none of them were quite as young as Fran.
Let’s just get in line.
“Hm.”
We finally joined the queue, but…
This line isn’t moving. At all.
Progress was as slow as molasses.
Listening to the merchants in front of us, we discovered that Ulmutt had two dungeons, which were home to substances used to make dangerous drugs and catalysts for dark rituals. If you weren’t an adventurer, you were rigorously screened on entry. Once you passed screening, you were allowed to freely enter the city for half a year, but at this time of year, merchants and spectators always crowded the gates for the fighting tournament. The yearly crowd was part of Ulmutt’s seasonal scenery. Someone had probably written a song about it.
Some of the shrewder merchants were already selling food to those waiting, stationing themselves along the line with mats to hawk their wares. Some of them even cried to potential customers from makeshift stalls. Many things were on sale here: food, handmade souvenirs, even alcohol. It reminded me of the waiting line for back on Earth, where the event started as soon as you got in line.
The veterans had already whipped out their folding chairs and started drinking. Just like home.
Looks like we’ll have to be patient.
“Hm.”
Thirty minutes later…
Goblin.
Ogre.
Uhh…dragon.
Kobold.
Hang on, let me think… Demon.
Chimaera.
Hmmm.
We had decided to play a little word association game to pass the time. I’d explained the rules, and Fran genuinely seemed to enjoy it. The subject today was monster names. It made waiting our turn a little more bearable. However, not everyone was blessed with the virtue of patience. Adventurers, aggressive by temperament if not by vocation, got into arguments with each other as the line crawled along. The arguments hadn’t developed into shouting matches quite yet, but I could imagine a brawl breaking out soon.
I wished they’d understand they were only making it worse. We watched from afar as they squabbled, but our peace wouldn’t last for much longer.
“Hey, kid! Get over here!” a bearded adventurer shouted arrogantly.
“…”
“Hey, kid!”
“…”
“I’m talking to you, punk!”
“Hmm…”
Fran paid him no mind whatsoever. The adventurer was flushed with anger. Then again, he had been drinking all day, so it was probably the alcohol. His face was as red as an apple.
I didn’t need to use Identify to know he was weak. His footwork was all wrong, his equipment looked shabby, and even the strongest adventurers probably couldn’t fight as drunk as he was.
Hmm…
Fran.
Giving up, Teacher?
No, we have a guest.
“Hm?”
Fran finally turned toward the man. Boy, was he angry. I could see veins bulging across his neck. He clearly had a short fuse if his dignity was that hurt by just a few seconds of ignoring him.
“I had half a mind to buy you a drink, but you went and pissed me off, kid!”
Fran gave him an annoyed look. “Urgh, keep it down,” she muttered, covering her cat ears.
That only earned her more of his ire. “You little twerp! You think you’re better than me?!”
He really was making quite a scene, and he wasn’t the only one looking at Fran. A group of passing adventurers stopped, and their leader turned to stare at Fran. He had golden blond hair and looked to be a nobleman’s son. As much as I hated to admit it, he was devilishly handsome.
“You.”
Ew. I already disliked him just from his voice! I couldn’t believe he would talk to Fran, given the current circumstances, but “reading the room” probably wasn’t part of his skillset.
“You,” he said again, ignoring the drunken man and speaking to Fran. “Come hither.”
“…”
Fran just ignored him, too. She didn’t mean anything by it. And besides, it was his fault for trying to strike up a conversation when Fran was clearly occupied. However, he didn’t take kindly to it.
“I did not think you would ignore my call.”
He was arrogant, that was for sure. Judging by his demeanor, he probably came from a long line of aristocrats.
“How dare you ignore Lord Seldio when he speaks to you! The nerve!”
“Lord Seldio, what would you have us do to this girl?”
So he was some kind of noble. He had three companions: a mage girl, a scout, and a large man in heavy armor. The mage and the scout seemed like your run-of-the-mill adventurers, but the big man caught my eye. Unlike his two comrades, he stood still as a statue. I couldn’t see his face through his helmet, but he was clearly the strongest of them. If things went south, he’d be our first concern.
“You.”
The handsome idiot resumed his spiel. Listening to his voice was enough to send shivers up my spine. I felt like I was getting an allergic reaction—only instead of breaking out in hives, I almost broke out in a fury.
Before I could say anything to Fran, Seldio reached out to her. Although she had ignored him, I didn’t sense any hostility. He was slow, too, so he couldn’t have been preparing for an attack. Still, I kept a close eye on him, and readied Telekinesis just in case.
I thought he was going to put his hand on Fran’s shoulder and turn her around, but he didn’t. In fact…was he reaching for my hilt? My god, he really was.
Fran finally took notice at that. “Hm?” She batted him away with the back of her hand and glared at him. What was this guy trying to pull? Touching another adventurer’s sword was grounds for a fight to the death.
The hostility was clearly radiating from Fran now, but Seldio only tilted his head like he didn’t understand. His lackeys filled in for his lack of a reaction.
“How dare you hit Lord Seldio’s hand!”
“The nerve!”
Fran made no attempt to conceal her bad temper. “What do you want?”
“Give me that sword.”
Was he really trying to shake us down in front of this huge crowd?
“What? No.”
“I am a high-rank adventurer. A noble in fact.”
“And?”
“The entire world would benefit from me wielding that sword. You must understand that?”
“I really don’t.”
“Enough idle chatter. Hand me the sword.”
“?”
Fran could only stand there dumbfounded, her hostility now accompanied by confusion. If he’d been blatantly malicious with his demands, she would’ve cut him down right there. But this man had an earnest expression on his face that lacked any ill-will.
“He’s going after her next is he? The poor thing.”
“Why don’t you stop him then?”
“Are you kidding? The guy may be a nutcase, but he actually knows how to handle himself. I wonder what he’s doing in Ulmutt?”
Judging by the whispers of the surrounding crowd, I guessed this wasn’t the first time Seldio had tried to take someone else’s weapon. The two adventurers only looked at Fran in sympathy.
“I shall compensate you with any amount of money. You would be able to retire. This isn’t a profession suited for young girls, you see. I shall take your sword and the responsibility that goes with it, and wield it for the good of the people.” Seldio tapped his chest as if to reassure her that he would take up her fight. “Your sword must long for me to use it.”
“He doesn’t.”
Damn right I don’t.
“Ah, but I understand how a sword feels. A child like you is unsuited for that blade. You could stop fighting and return to your life as an ordinary girl. What is holding you back?”
“You don’t know me.”
Yeah, you don’t know Fran like I do!
Even after her blunt refusal, Seldio refused to shut his mouth.
“You are slow to understand, little girl. Are you so reluctant to part with your enchanted blade? I suppose it does give off an air of great worth…but it saddens me that you cannot see past your own selfish gains. I suppose I must teach you a lesson. For your own good of course. Worry not, for I will not spoil you by sparing the rod.”
To make matters more irritating, he had yet to utter a single lie. I kept up Essence of Falsehood, but Seldio meant every word. Each of his mad statements were accompanied by supreme self-righteousness. He even felt perfectly justified in using violence against a little girl.
He’d managed to make me feel nauseated, despite my lack of an organic stomach. I didn’t know delusional people could be literally sickening to be around. Maybe he was eccentric, or just mad. It made no difference to me. I’d rather be swung around by a goblin than be in his hands. My entire being rejected him. It was a matter of principle.
I swear I’m getting goosebumps.
The more Seldio talked, the more murderous Fran grew. She knew it was only a matter of time before he grabbed me for himself.
Should I kill him?
Let’s wait and see.
Disposing of him wouldn’t be difficult. He said he was a high-ranking adventurer, but he really wasn’t that strong. However, when I Identified him, I found he did have the title of Baron. If we killed him, things would get messy. Should we flee? Outrunning them wouldn’t be hard, but I didn’t think he’d give up that easily…
“Have you decided to yield your sword? I can give you more money if that is what’s stopping you. Here, this should be enough for a couple years.”
His offer was 500,000 gold. That was cheap. I happened to be a magic sword. Five hundred thousand? Was this guy serious?
“…”
Fran was quiet with anger, but Seldio took it as a negotiation tactic. He clicked his tongue. “You’re saying this isn’t enough? Love of money is the root of all evil, you know? Well then. Shall I take you as my bride?”
Excuse me? Did I hear that right? This moron’s out of his mind.
“Yes, I suppose that would be compensation enough. You look the homely type, but I trust that you’ll clean up well. Consider it an honor. I come from a family of marquises. As my wife, you will be treated to the finest things in life. A wonderful proposition, especially for a beastman like yourself.”
…
“You will have access to all that I have. Surely that is enough.”
He didn’t imagine for a second that anyone would turn him down. In fact, he expected Fran to be crying tears of joy.
Hahaha. Make Fran your wife? First you try to steal me, and now you want to marry her? Oh, I know where your intentions lie, kiddie fiddler!
Fran looked dumbfounded, which was just as well for him. If she’d understood, she might have attacked him out of pure revulsion.
All right, you little prick. I’m gonna cut you up into little—
But just as I was about to rain hell down upon him, our previous guest reminded us of his presence.
“Who do you think you are, acting like I’m not here?!” the drunk shouted.
I had completely forgotten about him. By now, the man was in a drunken fury.
“You assholes! I’m gonna hurt you real bad!”
Was he really going to attack a child in the middle of a large crowd? This guy was a class act. Maybe he thought threatening Fran and Seldio would scare them out of it. It still seemed like a stupid move, considering Seldio was the son of a nobleman.
“Raaargh!”
No, he was probably just too drunk to think things through.
“Hm.”
His menacing cry did nothing to sway Fran’s cool head. She ducked under the drunk’s lumbering arm and struck him in the solar plexus. The punch looked straightforward enough, but there was no mistaking the damage it caused. The onlookers couldn’t quite believe what they were seeing.
“Eargh!”
Fran’s hook sent the man flying across the ground for some distance.
Did you hold back?
Yeah. I didn’t need you for that.
That…might still have been a little much though.
Hm. Controlling my strength is kinda hard.
Fran had yet to master the Compound Skills she got after the battle with the Lich. Going full force against a powerful enemy was easy enough. She wasn’t perfectly efficient with her mana use, but she had me as an external tank. However, holding back required control and finesse. Fran still hadn’t gotten the hang of it.
It was like driving a car. Flooring the gas pedal was easy enough, but slowing down for perfect control in a tight turn took a lot of practice.
“Hurk…”
The drunk guy convulsed as blood and vomit poured out of his mouth. I couldn’t say that he didn’t deserve it. How could he have the nerve to attack a girl barely in her teens? Nevertheless, some people took issue with it.
“Bulras! Are you all right?!”
“The hell’d you do to him, punk?!”
“Whatever that was, you didn’t have to do it!”
The drunk’s friends gathered around the man squirming on the ground. They yelled at Fran, ignoring the fact that he’d intended to hit a minor.
And then they all drew their swords.
Bulras’s friends were as drunk as he was. Their faces were beet red and their breath reeked of alcohol. Intoxication gave them a bad temper. Not that it excused their behavior. The men stumbled over to Fran in a drunken stupor, and it wasn’t long before they joined Bulras squirming on the ground.
“Oeergh…”
“Wargh…”
As much as they brought it upon themselves, the sight of the four men losing their lunch was disgusting. The other people waiting in line jumped back to avoid the vomit. They all looked at Fran, as if asking her to do something about the mess she had made. I supposed we were kind of at fault for not gauging our strength correctly…
Now, how should we keep them away?
As I pondered the question, some soldiers approached from the direction of the gate.
“You there! The child!”
The man who shouted wore an angry expression. He didn’t look like he’d accept self-defense as a reason for this ruckus, as legitimate as it was. It would be nice if the people around us would speak up and tell the truth…
Fran looked around, but was greeted by the sight of people unanimously turning away. I thought we could somehow pin the entire thing on Seldio, but he had already left.
Damn it! He’s gone!
Seldio might have lacked the capacity to read the room, but his friends certainly didn’t. As a result, a single girl was left as the cause of four men’s blood and vomit.
“You’re making it hard for us to do our jobs, girl. Can’t you see how busy we are?”
“Let’s get you to the station.”
“Come on, move it.”
The soldiers weren’t planning on giving Fran a fair hearing. We’d already been in line for an hour. Having to start again would be awful, but these soldiers didn’t seem reasonable. They glared at Fran. I suspected they’d throw her in a jail cell out of pure spite.
And what about the four men sprawled out on the ground? Were the soldiers really going to let them lay there and bring Fran in for self-defense?
“What about them?”
“Shut up! Don’t talk unless you’re spoken to!”
“You’re making our job worse than it already is!”
“Keep talking, girl, and we’ll toss you in a cell.”
Maybe the four men didn’t need to be taken into custody, but they definitely needed medical attention. These guards were no better than thugs. That said, we couldn’t exactly run away.
We’ll have to do what they tell us, Fran. Those idiots might’ve started the fight, but we still beat them up.
Hm. Can’t be helped.
As Fran quietly consented, a voice interjected.
“Now, wait just a second there.”
Huh?
I recognized that voice. We’d talked to him just the other night. What surprised me was the fact that I didn’t detect him. The old man really had a knack for giving people heart attacks.
“She’s done nothing wrong.” Dias, the old adventurer, came to Fran’s defense. He wore the same relaxed smile as last night.
“Huh? And who the hell are you?”
The guard glared at Dias condescendingly. Was he going to try and throw down? Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see Dias in action quite yet.
“S-stop it, you idiot! Who do you think that is?!”
“A-apologies, sir! He only started working in the city recently!”
“Forgive us for our insolence, Sir Dias!”
The remaining soldiers smacked the glaring man across the head and bowed deeply. They followed up with profuse apologies, accompanied with perfectly appeasing smiles. The difference in their attitudes was night and day.
The old man was more influential than he seemed. He didn’t have a surname when I Identified him, so his influence didn’t come from a bloodline. No, Dias might not officially be an A-Rank, but an adventurer of his experience and power was still a force to be reckoned with. I wouldn’t be surprised if his words held more sway than a noble’s.
“What brings you to our corner of the city, sir?”
“I just happened to be passing by.”
Dias smiled fiercely, although his eyes weren’t in on the action. His intimidating gaze drilled holes into the guardsmen. They turned visibly pale.
“I-I see.”
“If I may repeat myself, the girl did nothing wrong. The men lying on the ground started this mess. I’m sorry that you boys have to get your uniforms dirty today, but you’ll take them away, won’t you?”
“Y-yes, of course!”
“Affirmative, Sir Dias!”
Wow, so that was it? The guards didn’t want to get their hands dirty with blood and vomit, so they were content to arrest Fran instead? Fran would’ve been framed for the entire affair if it weren’t for Dias. We owed him one.
The guards hurriedly got the four men on their feet and scurried away.
“Thank you.”
Fran bowed her head, and Dias returned her gesture with a warm smile.
“You are very welcome. We can’t have a promising adventurer get dragged into petty squabbles like this, can we?”
“Why not?”
“Hahaha. I’ll tell you some time later. Maybe. But now, I have to go. I’ll be seeing you,” Dias said suggestively as he left.
What was that about? Didn’t he say the same thing last night? Was he stalking us? Maybe that was just how he said his goodbyes.
Fran was left alone with the terrified glances of the people around her. Good thing they let us back into our previous spot in line. I guess they didn’t want any trouble. Some of them visibly reeled back from her. She had gained the reputation of a girl who would immediately resort to extreme violence.
At least it was a perfect defense against nosy rubberneckers.
“I’m bored.”
How long was this going to take?
We might as well continue our word association.
An hour after Dias saved us, we finally entered Ulmutt. Reaching the gates took ages, but the screening took no time at all. Fran was a licensed adventurer without a criminal record, after all. The merchants and tourists took much longer.
“Wow. Look at the size of that fort!”
It was huge when we saw it from the outside, but it’s downright gigantic from this angle.
“Woof!”
The streets of the residential area were paved with stone, just like the downtown areas of Alessa and Bulbola. The houses themselves were short and stout, in jarring contrast to the gigantic structures about the city. I appreciated the contrast, since it gave me a rough idea of the size of each building.
Let’s drop by the Adventurer’s Guild first.
“Hm.”
We had collected a lot of materials on the road from Bulbola, and needed information about the local dungeon too. I doubted you could just waltz in and out of them without permission, but since we had a letter signed by Klimt, Guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild in Alessa, getting an entry permit shouldn’t be too hard.
Fran, get your letter of introduction ready.
“Hm.”
Fran took a letter out of her Pocket Dimension.
“Found it.”
Not that one. Get the one Klimt gave you.
Fran had taken out the letter of recommendation given to her by the Bulbolan Guildmaster, Gammod. It was an invitation which allowed her to participate in the auction in the royal capital in June. Gammod had written it after discovering we couldn’t get our wage’s worth in crystals. The auction in question dealt exclusively in crystals, so we were sure to find many interesting specimens there.
“This one?” Fran produced the right letter this time.
Yep.
Letter in hand, we asked for directions and arrived after a ten-minute walk.
The Adventurer’s Guild was located smack in the middle of the city and looked like a shrine. Ulmutt had two dungeons, so it was only fitting that the guildhouse was appropriately large. It was a three-story building, and over 1,500 meters wide. While the Ulmutt guild wasn’t equipped with dedicated research facilities and office areas like the one in Bulbola, it was far larger than the one in Alessa.
The entrance is huge, too.
“Hm. About the same as Bulbola.”
The Bulbola guild might have been taller, but what the Ulmutt guild lacked in height, it more than made up for in scale. The reception area was the biggest we’d seen, with twenty counters lined next to each other. Every one of them was packed with adventurers.
So much activity.
“Hm. There’s so many people here.”
“Woof.”
Ulmutt wasn’t called the Dungeon City for nothing. The place was crawling with adventurers. The tournament might have contributed, but even without it, this place probably had a higher concentration of adventurers than Bulbola.
We joined the shortest line, and the man in front of us turned around to look. He was bald, and I couldn’t tell whether he was an adventurer or a bandit. Were we going to get into a fight already? I readied Telekinesis to prepare for an incoming fist.
“Hey, kid. This is the E-Rank queue.”
But all he did was tell us where we were.
“The lines are divided by rank?”
“Yeah. I’m only gonna say this once—”
The man was blunt, but he gave us a quick explanation on how the counters worked. They were divided by adventurer rank, starting from the farthest: G, F, E, D, C, and so on. Each rank had four counters.
Fran listened to his explanation and made her way to the neighboring D-Rank line.
“Kid, you’re not listening. That over there’s D-Rank.”
“Hm?”
“I said, that’s the D-Rank queue. The low-rank lines are over there.”
Tough as he looked, the man might actually have a soft spot for kids. He sounded like someone trying to help a lost child in a shopping center. Maybe that was how they treated kids in Ulmutt? There were quite a few young adventurers here. The veterans must’ve been used to looking after them.
“That’s why I’m standing here.”
“What?”
“I’m D-Rank.”
“You’re a what?!”
The man wasn’t the only one who did a double take. Other adventurers turned to Fran with a look of surprise.
“Really? You are?”
One of the members of the party in front of us turned around. She looked to be around twenty years old.
Wait, was this girl a Black Cat?
Fran, is she one of yours?
Hm.
Fran nodded.
This was my first encounter with a Black Cat adventurer aside from Fran. They were known as the weakest of the beast tribes, and their inability to evolve made them the subject of ridicule. I thought it was amazing how Fran persisted despite that.
“Huh? Hey, we’re the same!”
“Hm.”
The girl gasped. This was probably her first time seeing a mid-rank Black Cat adventurer, too. She broke into a smile. Fran was more reserved, but I could tell she was happy.
“So tell me, are you really a D-Rank?”
“See for yourself.” Fran took out her Guild Card.
“It’s true… Wow!” The young woman was agape with awe. There was a hint of vexation in her voice, though she mostly just sounded astonished. “Are you looking for a way to evolve too?”
“Of course.”
“I’m so happy to see another Black Cat trying to achieve the same thing! My name is Inina.”
“Fran.”
“Oh… I can’t believe you’re a higher rank than I am. And at your age! I’m still in E-Rank.”
“I thought this was the D-Rank line?”
“Well, I’m still an E-Rank, but my party is D-Rank. Here, I’ll introduce you.” Inina introduced the men in front of her one-by-one. “This is Lest, our leader; Channum, the shield tank; Galian, the mage; Solus, the scout; and Caillou, the swordsman.”
“Hey there. I’m Lest, leader of the D-Rank party, the Hatchery.”
Lest, Channum, and Galian were D-Rank. Solus and Inina were E-Rank, while Caillou was an F-Rank. The D-Ranks looked around thirty. The others were probably in their early twenties, although Solus and Caillou could have still been in their teens.
The Hatchery, as the party was apparently called, was dedicated to the education and training of low-rank adventurers. Its members changed regularly, aside from the three D-Ranks who were its pillars. Joining the Hatchery allowed low-rank adventurers to finish quests a lot faster. Many of the D-Ranks in town owed their rank to the Hatchery, and still paid the party proper respect. They weren’t the only party dedicated to the training of new adventurers either. It seemed fitting that the town with two dungeons would have a lot of support groups for beginners.
“That’s great.”
“I wouldn’t say so. We’re only doing this because the GM insisted. It’s our job.”
“Don’t say that! I’m really grateful for your help! Getting into a party is so hard as a Black Cat, but you took me in anyway, Lest.”
“It’s not about race, it’s about motivation.”
Man, this Lest guy. He looked scary, but he was actually pretty chivalrous.
“Do you run solo, Fran?”
“Hm.”
“Wow, and I thought you were strong before! You’re younger than me, but you might be my role model!” Inina said, happily patting her role model on the head. She was definitely treating Fran like a child. Not that I minded, since Fran was clearly enjoying the compliments. “Tell me if you run into any problems. We Black Cats have to look out for each other!”
“Thanks.”
“Remember, I’m still older than you! We’ll definitely need to work together to achieve the Dream of the Tribe.”
“The Dream of the Tribe?” Caillou asked.
“Evolution,” Inina answered him eagerly. “Black Cats have been made fools of because none of us have managed it. But there has to be a way.”
“Hm. We’ll get there for sure.”
“Yeah! One day, no one will be able to say a bad word about the Black Cats!” It was clear that Inina didn’t want to be the only Black Cat to evolve. She might prioritize her own evolution, but she intended to figure it out for the entirety of the tribe. “Let’s do our best, Fran. Put ’er there!”
“Yeah.”
Inina and Fran raised their fists together. They were already friends.
We were conversing with the Hatchery when an angry voice came from behind us. “Hey, why don’t you stop lying and tell the truth!”
Lest and his crew were kind enough to believe Fran was D-Rank, but there would always be skeptics.
“But I am telling the truth.” Fran was annoyed at this newcomer for interrupting her time with Inina.
“How can a kid like you be a D-Rank?!”
“You’re a kid too.”
For once, an actual child was the one doubting Fran’s abilities.
“I-I’m fifteen!”
The boy blushed and glared at Fran. He had red hair and the shape of his face was less stern than adorable.
“I bet that card’s a fake!”
“It’s real.”
“Y-you’re lying!”
“It’s real.” Fran shoved her guild card in the boy’s face, but he refused to believe it.
“It has to be fake! I’m still in G-Rank, so there’s no way!”
The boy made up his mind that Fran was lying. It was a bitter pill for him to swallow. But what should we do with him? We couldn’t just beat him up. I felt kind of sorry for him.
Teacher, do I blow him away?
Wait, hang on.
What? Why?
Fran was no ageist when it came to taking down people who annoyed her. She treated middle-aged drunks and teenage boys with equal disdain. Actually, this was probably her blanket approach to older men in general. She was probably also extra-hostile because he’d interrupted her conversation with Inina.
He’s clearly an immature kid. You shouldn’t beat on him.
So what should we do?
Hmm.
Maybe we could silence him with a bit of wind magic. No, he’d immediately start yammering again once the spell wore off. We’d only be adding fuel to the fire.
As it turned out, though, we didn’t need to cast any spells.
“Oh, what is all the noise about?”
A new voice sounded from inside the guild, and someone stepped onto the stage. The guildhall fell quiet. The deep and rowdy voices of the male adventurers fell to a hushed silence as they straightened their backs.
“Oh, Elza,” Inina whispered.
“Are you arguing again? What am I going to do with you naughty children?”
The entire guildhall was silent. Fran stared openly, clearly utterly taken aback. I understood how she felt; Elza was quite a sight to behold.
“E-Elza.”
“Yuri, dearest, are you the cause of all this ruckus?”
“Uh…no, there was a child playing around in the guildhall and I just warned her, that’s all.” Yuri, the lad who’d been picking on Fran, immediately stood at attention as he answered Elza’s question.
“A child? Really? How adorable!”
“…”
Fran.
“…”
Oh no, she’d frozen. Fran couldn’t hear me at all.
Fran!
“Huh? Sorry, the shock got to me.”
You all right?
“Nice to meet you, dear. My name’s Elza.”
“…Fran.”
“Frannie then? Hello!”
“Hm. One question.”
“Yes?”
“Are you a guy or a girl?”
The person called Elza lifted a muscled arm, and placed a finger on their lips. With a wink and a smooch, they blew a kiss to Fran.
Yikes! I’m getting goosebumps! And I’m a sword!
“That’s for me to know and for you to find out. Teehee.”
They walked, no, strutted their way over to us. I didn’t know where to start with Elza. Their voluminous red hair was done up in an afro. They were made-up in thick blush and eyeshadow, accompanied with purple-red lipstick. There were thick muscles beneath their leather armor, accentuated by pink tights. They were too swole to pull off this look!
The mace slung over their back only made Elza look even more terrifying.
Name: Bardische
Age: 47
Race: Human
Class: Vajra
Level: 50/99
HP: 580; Magic: 129; Strength: 355; Agility: 148
Skills: Transport 3; Environmental Resistance 5; Terror 4; Vigilance 5; Cosmetics 6; Punch Arts 5; Punch Mastery 5; Breath Control 5; Regeneration 5; Weaving 3; Advanced Staff Arts 1; Advanced Staff Mastery 4; Abnormal Status Resistance 6; Mental Status Resistance 3; Quarterstaff Arts 10; Quarterstaff Mastery 10; Provoke 5; Intuition 6; Aesthetics 5; Cooking 3; Alchemy 3; Steel Body; Dull Pain; Transmute Pain; Berserk
Class Skill: Resistance Proficiency
Titles: Surpasser of Pain; Protector of Ulmutt
Equipment: Protector’s Mace; Crimson Leopard Leather Armor; Pink Silk Innerwear; Venus Sandals; Charm Earrings
Where do I begin? How about their name: It wasn’t Elza, it was Bardische! But the thing most worth mentioning was one skill in particular.
Transmute Pain: Upon receiving damage, transforms pain into pleasure.
That was the best skill a masochist could ask for. I wondered if there was a sadistic version of it where you got stat boosts from hurting your target. Also—a drag queen and a masochist? I’d run into a lot of exceptionally unique people on my travels, but Elza might be the most memorable yet.
I realized then that I had broken my promise to be more careful about using Identify. But what was I supposed to do when faced with such a unique character?
“A Black Cat girl with a sword… You were the one that got into an argument outside the city gates, weren’t you?”
“Hm.”
“Goodness me, you’re so cute.”
“Hm?”
“So cute that I almost forgot why I’m here. The GM told me to look for you.”
The GM? Did the Guildmaster know who we were? Word about the scuffle outside the gates must have spread.
“Will you come with me?”
“The GM?”
“Yes, he sounded like he had something to discuss with you. You have time, don’t you?”
I didn’t think the scuffle had been enough for the Guildmaster to take interest in…but we couldn’t refuse a direct invitation.
“Sure.”
“Thank you, dearie. I’ll be borrowing her for a while.”
“Oh, of course.”
The boy who’d accused Fran of lying saluted Elza as he walked away. The gesture wasn’t fearful either; he might have been intimidated by Elza, but there was a healthy dose of admiration mixed in with it. I didn’t know why, yet, but I could tell that the rest of the guildhall felt the same.
The adventurers here genuinely respected Elza.
“Oh, and Yuri? You need to learn how to gauge someone else’s strength, honey. Ignorance will get you killed in the dungeons.”
“Huh? What?”
“Over here, Frannie.”
“See you later, Fran,” said Inina. “Let’s talk again some time.”
“Bye.”
Inina waved, and Fran returned her gesture.
We should talk to her again once we got things sorted out here. She might have a lead on how to evolve, and she’s a senior Black Cat adventurer.
Fran followed Bardische—
“What did you call me?” Elza asked with a voice full of rage. “I’m sorry, I thought I heard someone call me something unpleasant.”
They were practically glaring in my direction. I didn’t think I had been found out yet, but still…
“I guess it was just my imagination. Strange. My woman’s intuition told me that someone called me by another name. How very strange.”
Woman’s intuition? So that’s what the Intuition skill did? It was so strong! I should only refer to her as Elza from now on.
“Well, c’est la vie. Let’s move on.”
“Hm.”
Elza’s sudden burst of anger had intimidated the rest of the guildhall. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife, but Fran wasn’t the slightest bit bothered. My girl had nerves of steel.
“Duh nuh nuh nuh~”
God, stop wiggling your ass when you walk! I averted my eyes and focused on Fran’s back instead.
“Right this way.”
Elza led us up the stairs and down into a far room. The door’s elegant decoration told us this was the Guildmaster’s office. Without bothering to knock, Elza opened the door.
“Guildmaster, I’ve brought Fran, just like you said.”
“Thank you, Elza. I told you we’d meet again soon, Fran.”
“Dias?!”
“I’m glad you remembered.”
“You’re the GM?”
“Yes. Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Dias, Guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild at Ulmutt.”
He wasn’t nobility, but he was a Guildmaster. In a city filled with adventurers, it wasn’t hard to imagine the Guildmaster having the respect of the local guard. But…that was odd. All the Guildmasters we had run into so far had “Guildmaster” in their list of titles, including Klimt and Gammod. Dias was the only one without it. Were there specific requirements to unlocking the title?
As I pondered that, I suddenly gained a deep interest in one of the corners of the room. I thought I saw a shadow, or felt a presence, or…something. I couldn’t help but stare at the potted plant to the right of the entrance.
There’s nothing there…
Hm.
Fran felt the same, turning her gaze on the innocent-looking houseplant.
“Pleased to meet you.”
“!”
One second was all it took. It happened the instant we took our eyes off Dias. The old man was in front of Fran and already shaking her hand. Fran was just as shocked.
“Ugh!”
“Whoa now.”
Fran used her free hand to bat at him, but Dias had already stepped back.
“Did I take you by surprise?”
“What…did you do?”
“There’s no reason to glare. I just wanted to shake your hand.”
The old man acted like a gentleman outside the city, but who was to say it wasn’t an act? He clapped his hands and bowed, looking very much like a mischievous schoolboy.
Fran was angry at being taken off guard, but she wasn’t hurt and he had helped us get here. “Do that again…and I won’t let you off so easy.”
“Now, now. I just find these skills useful as long as I’m in town.”
He probably used his Class Skills, Visual Suggestion and Mental Suggestion. They were much more dangerous than I thought. If this were an actual fight, we would’ve taken a hit.
Fran glared at the grinning Dias as she figured out what had just happened. Elza let out an exasperated sigh. “GM, will you stop picking on our recruits? I’m sorry, honey. He always does this to promising adventurers.”
So it wasn’t the first time Dias had done this and it probably wouldn’t be the last. Was it really okay for him to be Guildmaster?
“If he annoys you, you have my permission to whoop him silly. Got it, Frannie?”
“Got it.”
“I hope you get him good. Our GM deserves it.”
“That’s awful mean of you to say, Elza.”
“Well, it’s the truth. Just because you can’t get fired doesn’t mean you get to abuse your power!”
“Why can’t he get fired?”
“Several reasons,” said Elza. “He’s strong for one. I’m a B-Rank myself, but I can’t hope to beat our Guildmaster.”
Dias was that strong? There wasn’t a huge stat difference between the two. The difference must be in their skill usage then. Elza seemed to rely on raw strength, so she must’ve been weak to more subtle forms of attack.
“Let’s just say that he’s strong enough to be the Guildmaster of the town with two dungeons,” said Elza. “Our GM is also the only one who can negotiate with the Dungeon Masters.”
How does that even work?
“Negotiate?”
“Ah, of course. You’re new in town, Frannie.” Elza elaborated: “Ulmutt is famous for having unconquered dungeons right in the midst of it.”
“Very dangerous.”
“It would be, under normal circumstances. But Ulmutt is different.”
“How so?”
“Put simply, we’ve managed to forge a deal with the Dungeon Masters. They don’t power up the monsters too much or allow them to spill over into town, and we agree not to destroy their dungeon cores in exchange. If there are any materials the outside world needs, they arrange it for us.”
So Dungeon Masters could be negotiated with, provided they were intelligent enough. They must’ve realized that coexistence was better than being annihilated.
“Our Guildmaster struck the deal with them in his youth.”
“It wasn’t easy, I remember that much.”
“I don’t know how this geezer did it, but the Dungeon Masters trust him enough to be their middleman, so who knows what would happen if he quit his job. Since Ulmutt is built upon those dungeons, he’s become indispensable.”
“Heh. That means I’m free to do whatever I want!”
“Guildmaster, no!”
They went at it like a mischievous little boy and his overbearing mother.
“Huff. Anyway, I should be going.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Elza.”
“I only wish you’d make it easier for me.”
But I guess they got along in their own way.
“Catch you later, Frannie. I must say, I’ve taken quite a liking to you. Feel free to call me anytime you need help. Heehee.”
“Hm.” Fran just waved goodbye. Her initial shock had been mostly out of confusion.
“Buh-bye. Mwah!”
Elza blew a kiss as she left. I instinctively tried to dodge.
What’s wrong, Teacher? I felt you move just now.
I-I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.
The Guildmaster sighed as Elza left the room. “She’s a good person, I assure you. Are you all right?”
“What do you mean?”
“Elza can be a little intense for newcomers. Some people like her, others not so much. You must admit she’s a little…idiosyncratic.”
“She’s a guy, but also a girl?”
“That’s one way of putting it, yes.”
“Does she have other quirks?”
“You’re going to deal with her a lot, so I might as well tell you. I fear for my life if she ever sinks her venomous fangs into you. That woman terrifies anyone she deals with…” Dias muttered with a grave expression. “You see, Elza loves both men and women, and her tastes in age are as flexible as her taste in gender. She also quite enjoys taking a bit of punishment.”
…???
“Are you following all this, Fran?”
So Elza was a bisexual, genderqueer drag queen, and possibly a cougar too? And a masochist?
Teacher, do you know what he’s talking about?
Uh, kind of. You don’t have to get it yet, Fran. It’s okay.
Why not?
It’s grown-up business. You’re too young to understand. Elza’s a little strange. Let’s leave it at that.
Hm. Got it.
Phew, that was close. I didn’t think I could handle explaining it all to Fran.
“Elza loves children with all her heart, and would never allow any harm to come to them. And she’d never do anything untoward. But she is the ace of the Ulmutt Guild, and a lot of our younger members look up to her,” Dias continued. “By the by—a certain someone asked me to keep an eye on you. And she has made it clear that Elza is not to scoop you up…or else.”
“A certain someone?”
“Yes. I’m sure you’re acquainted with Amanda the Hariti?” Dias smiled wryly. “And I quote: ‘Fran is so cute that she stands out from the rest of the crowd. I’m sure the other adventurers are going to pick on her! You better do something about it, got it?! And I know for a fact that Elza’s going to like her, too, so you better keep an eye on her at all times! Or else!’ End quote. She and Elza get along well enough, but you know how protective Amanda gets.”
Dias imitated Amanda’s feminine gestures as he quoted her verbatim. That really was something Amanda would say, though the old man’s impression of a spry elf woman was hard to watch.
“There’s someone else I should warn you about.”
“Who?”
“Baron Seldio Lesseps. The man you scuffled with outside the city. He belongs to a family of marquises and is also an A-Rank adventurer.”
So he was nobility. Was he that seriously that strong though? I hadn’t felt anything like that sort of power from him; but then again, we’d met A-Ranks in the past who didn’t exactly emanate powerful auras.
Fran had the same doubts. “Him?”
“Heehee. Yes. Deplorable as it may seem, he is an A-Rank.”
“How come?”
“Put simply, he used money and connections. He’s barely a B-Rank in terms of strength. Honestly, he’s about as strong as an upper-level C-Rank,” Dias scoffed. It looked like he disliked Seldio as much as we did. “And that’s not all. There are a lot of unpleasant rumors doing the rounds about that man. I suggest you stay away.”
“All right.”
We would’ve avoided him even if Dias hadn’t asked us to, really. Fran didn’t want anything to do with a man who’d tried to take me away from her.
“Just ignore him and run if it comes to it. I’ll cover for you if I have to. Amanda absolutely despises him, and she’d have my hide if she knew I let you run into him. Now, if you’ll allow me, I would like to move on to more serious matters.”
Dias rested his elbows on the table and folded his hands. What could be more important than his warning about Seldio?
“That’s no ordinary sword, is it?”
Wha—
The old Guildmaster fixed his gaze directly on me. There was no doubt that I was the sword in question. But what could he mean? No ordinary sword?
“Hm. It’s an enchanted blade.”
Good answer.
Magic swords were common enough in the grand scheme of things, but they definitely weren’t ordinary. But Dias shook his head.
“Yes, I can tell that it’s a magic weapon. But there is something unique about this particular one, isn’t there?”
“Hmm…”
Had he really found me out?
“Heehee,” Dias said, seeing Fran bite her lip in caution. “I see you’re wondering how I found out. How about you Identify me again?”
“?”
“Go on. No tricks, I promise.”
I might as well humor his request. He’d asked us to do it, and I really wanted to know how he figured out what I was.
I Identified Dias again.
Teacher?
Hey…those skills weren’t there before.
His stats and skill levels remained the same, but there were two additional skills listed now: Fake Identity and Mind Read. Both of them were Level 8. The titles Guildmaster and A-Rank Adventurer were added to his title list as well.
I told Fran of my findings.
“Can you see it?”
“Hm. Fake Identity and Mind Read. I can see your titles too.”
“Correct! Do you know what Fake Identity does?”
“Hm.”
“While you can use it to hide your true stat values, I personally use it to hide my titles for added privacy. There’s no better way to conceal my identity. I’m quite famous around these parts, you know.” An A-Rank Guildmaster would attract attention anywhere. “As for Mind Read, that’s my ace in the hole.”
As if his mastery of misdirection wasn’t enough… Dias couldn’t ask for a better skill. I finally understood the real danger of Fake Identity. You let your opponent Identify you and lull him into a false sense of security about your skills. And then, you struck. Innocuous as it was, the skill could easily turn the tide of battle.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used Mind Read and Skill Amnesia to outsmart my enemies. Things would be easier if I had Identify, but I don’t have the talent. I just can’t get the hang of it. Granted, equipment and spells are simple enough to observe with the naked eye, whereas there aren’t many people who can use their skills without thinking about it. That’s where Mind Read comes in handy.”
I understood that much, but I read the skill’s description anyway.
Mind Read: Faintly reads a target’s thoughts.
Which meant he could easily read my thoughts. Was that how he noticed?
“Hahaha. You’re panicking. I see you’ve noticed what Mind Read does. Yes, that is how I noticed that the sword on your back had a mind of its own.”
“!”
Crap, he’s going to read my mind again!
“Although I must admit that it was pure luck that I found out. I thought you were talking to your wolf last night, but I knew that wasn’t the case when we almost came to blows. That sword of yours told you to stop.”
Damn it. There was no hiding it now. He had us figured out. Was that why he asked to see Fran personally?
“Now, will you please tell me the identity of your sword?”
What do we do?
Hmm. He’s already figured me out, and refusing to cooperate wouldn’t do us any favors…
He didn’t have any concrete evidence. Fran could still deny her way out of this. I didn’t know what Dias was after. What if he wanted to take me for himself?
“Hahaha. I see you don’t trust me. I swear on Amanda’s name that I mean no harm to you, or the sword. I owe her big time, and she’ll have my head if I try anything funny. Besides, I showed you the best skill in my repertoire. Won’t you please return the favor?” Dias said, wearing an innocent smile.
He wasn’t lying, but…
Well, there was nothing I could do now. If we were staying in this city, then we might as well get on the Guildmaster’s good side. We had no chance of talking our way out of this treacherous old man’s accusations anyway.
May I?
Hm. Can’t be helped.
The worst possible person had to be the one to find out.
You got me.
“Oh? That voice…”
Yeah. I’m Fran’s sword.
Dias leapt out of his seat, clearly surprised.
“Well, this is fantastic! I knew you had a will of your own, but I wasn’t expecting to be able to converse with you. You have the eloquence of a human!”
“Hm. Teacher’s the best.”
“Teacher?”
We went through our usual song and dance. I explained the circumstances behind my christening, heavily implying Dias should compliment Fran on her excellent naming sense. Master of subtlety that he was, Dias got the hint and lavished Fran with praise. He almost laid it on a little too thick.
So, was there anything you wanted from me, or was it pure curiosity?
“Excuse me, this is my first time meeting an Intelligent Weapon. My excitement almost made me forget my reason for talking to you. I wanted to give you some advice.”
“Advice?”
“You haven’t leveled up your detection skills much, have you? I suspect you’re not used to using them either.”
What makes you say that?
“Because you’ve been completely oblivious to the fact that I’ve been using my skills. Mind Read, Visual Suggestion, Mental Suggestion, all of them. Granted, I’m an expert at concealment. But even then, you’re far too careless. You’ve been focusing on your hard-hitting skills, but that leaves your flank exposed. The difference between your combat skills and detection skills have created an imbalance. If you were more balanced, you should be able to sense me.”
He was right. We hadn’t leveled up our detection skills with the same amount of dedication.
“I suppose it’s all right if you have nothing to hide, like Elza, but I suspect the two of you want to be better than that.”
You’re right. My existence is the biggest secret of all.
“Allow me to make a proposition. I know of a place where you can train your detection skills. All you need to do is investigate it.”
Investigate? Do you mean one of the dungeons?
“Correct. I trust you know of Ulmutt’s two dungeons?”
“Hm.”
“The West Dungeon is aimed at beginners, while the East Dungeon is suitable for veterans. There aren’t many traps in the West Dungeon, and the monsters that spawn there tend to attack you directly—perfect for beginners who want to gain their first few levels. In contrast, the East Dungeon is littered with traps, and the monsters there aren’t shy about ambushing adventurers. The lower levels are home to even stronger creatures, and it isn’t rare for D-Ranks to perish there.”
So you’re telling us to train in the East Dungeon.
“Exactly. You should be able to sharpen your detection skills there. How about it? You won’t instantly gain a ton of levels, but I promise your experience won’t go to waste. Usually, one would need to go through the West Dungeon to enter the East, but I can issue a special permit for you.”
Why are you doing all this? I didn’t think it was out of the kindness of his heart.
“Hahaha. No tricks, I promise. It’s for the good of the Adventurer’s Guild.”
“What does my exploring the East Dungeon have to do with the guild?”
“Because if you explored the West Dungeon, the fight you got into outside the city gates would happen again. It’s full of low-ranked adventurers, you see. They can’t tell how strong you are, and will definitely have some choice words for you. I guarantee it.”
The tournament attracted a huge number of adventurers from far and wide, which meant there would definitely be some idiots in the mix. It was in the guild’s best interests for Fran to not start a riot.
“There aren’t that many adventurers in the East Dungeon, and the ones that are there are strong enough to judge what you are. The guild will also tell them to leave you alone.”
Which is why you’re telling us to skip West and head right to East.
“Mutually beneficial, wouldn’t you say?”
What do you say, Fran?
“I don’t mind.”
“Good. I can see you’re motivated too.”
Dias had clearly anticipated that we would cooperate. He rummaged through his desk, took out a special permit for the East Dungeon, and slid it over to Fran. Her name was already on it. The old man was prepared.
I wasn’t suspicious of Dias, but I couldn’t bring myself to completely trust him either.
Check to see if there’s any fine print.
“Hm.”
Fran took the permit and inspected it closely for anything suspicious. She turned it, flipped it upside down, and even held it up to the light just in case there was holographic ink.
“Is something the matter?”
“Just checking to see if this thing’s rigged.”
“That’s an awful thing to say right to my face. It’s safe, I promise.”
“…”
Dias laughed as he denied her accusation, but Fran kept her suspicious gaze on him. The old man seemed to finally notice her mistrust, and started sweating a little. “P-please believe me. I promise I won’t pull any more pranks on you, Fran.”
“…”
“R-really! I only play tricks on my adventurers if it’s for their own good.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s my job to remind the youngsters that they must never let their guard down. I swear it’s not for my own entertainment.”
“Uh-huh.”
As composed as Dias usually was, even he faltered under Fran’s cold stare. “I suppose…it’s partly for my own entertainment.”
“Hm.”
“I know! I’ll throw in some other perks, and you don’t even have to finish exploring the East Dungeon to enjoy them!”
Dias was clearly trying to change the subject now. We should hear him out.
Other perks?
“Yes. Three come to mind.”
Three? That’s a lot.
“First, I’ll put out an order for the protection of underage adventurers. You’ve noticed the young adventurers in this town, Fran?”
“Hm.”
“We have two dungeons in this city, but only one of them is E-Rank. G- and F-Rank adventurers are allowed to explore the upper levels of the dungeon, provided they team up with an E-Rank or greater. That’s why a lot of low-ranks flock to this town. It’s the only dungeon in the country where a G-Rank is allowed to explore higher than his rank allows.”
“That’s why there are a lot of G-Rank kids here?”
“Yes. Although there are also awful people who trick the kids into being bait.”
“That’s terrible.”
“Indeed. An adventurer takes responsibility for his own life, yes, but that doesn’t mean you should take advantage of innocent children. I’ve been thinking of ways we could regulate such behavior. Maybe institute a punishment.”
Now that Fran’s here, you think it’s time for such punishment.
“Precisely.”
“What are the other two perks?”
“Second, I’ll spread a rumor that you’ve become one of Elza’s favorites. There isn’t an adventurer in Ulmutt who would go against her.”
We saw the effect Elza had on the local adventurers firsthand. It was enough to silence the guildhall.
“What’s the last one?”
“I’ll increase your rank immediately.”
“?”
Meaning?
“Fran, your accomplishments haven’t gone unnoticed by the guild. All you need to do is turn in a few more quests to meet the formal requirements for C-Rank.”
“Shocking.”
This was news to me too. Had word about what we did in Bulbola reached the powers that be?
“Of particular note is your acting as a bodyguard for the royal family of an allied kingdom. Your clients wouldn’t stop singing your praises.”
The bodyguard job we took from Fult and Satya seemed to be the clincher. Fran couldn’t have asked for a better review. She had the unfair advantage of being personal friends with the royal twins, but we appreciated the kind words nonetheless.
Upon hearing she was on the cusp of reaching a new rank, Fran’s eyes lit up, and with it the quiet fire of her fighting spirit.
“I’ll work really hard.”
She clenched her fists and squinted her eyes in determination, a gesture only I and Jet could discern.
“It’s best that you do. When an adventurer is promoted to C-Rank in Ulmutt, their name is broadcast throughout the entire town. There’ll be fewer adventurers who come to you looking for trouble, once they know.”
Not that that would reduce the number to zero. A lot of folks wouldn’t be happy about a child reaching C-Rank before they did. Still, the fewer people came after us, the better.
“I’ll give you some quests you can finish in the East Dungeon. Do them, and you’ll rank up straight away,” Dias said, showing her around thirty contracts.
Like the East Dungeon permit, Dias had prepared these beforehand. The old man was prepared for every eventuality. If this were our first time meeting him, he would’ve seemed like a wise, reliable Guildmaster…but thanks to all the misdirection, I thought he was little more than a shifty old man.
You only get one chance at a first impression.
“To increase your rank, you’ll have to finish twenty-three requests, ranked D or higher. I’ll give you these to start. Just pick the ones that are easiest for you to finish.”
“All right.”
Thanks.
Which reminded me that I’d thought there would be a test before Fran could explore the dungeons. So much for Klimt’s letter of recommendation. Well, Klimt was still a Guildmaster, so it was only good manners to give the letter to Dias.
“Here.”
“What’s this…? This is the seal of the guild in Alessa.”
“A letter of recommendation from Klimt.”
“Yes? From Master Klimt?”
“Hm.”
The second Fran nodded, Dias’s face turned pale. He was almost blue. I began worrying for him.
You okay there, grampa?
“B-by the way, Fran.”
“Hm?”
“You won’t tell Master Klimt about the fact that I startled you, will you?”
He was as meek as a kitten all of a sudden.
“What’s it matter?”
“Yes, well, to be perfectly honest, I owe an infinite debt of gratitude to Master Klimt for taking care of me in my early adventuring days. I still consider him my superior.”
I activated Essence of Falsehood. He didn’t seem to be lying; Dias really was terrified of Klimt. Good thing we hadn’t thrown that letter away. Who knew it would end up becoming our trump card?
“Any more funny business and I’ll tell Amanda and Klimt on you.”
“Yes. I apologize. I’ll never do it again.”
The Guildmaster’s desperate apology was quite a sight to behold. Shame there were no cameras in this world. At least Dias would put an end to his unwanted tricks now.
Fran puffed up her chest, holding Klimt’s letter in the air while Dias bowed his head. It looked like the concluding scene of a story.
Before we left the Guildmaster’s office, we asked Dias if we’d be able to sense an enemy’s skill use after improving our detection skills.
“It depends. For example, Identify is very difficult to sense, let alone detect. I was only able to sense it because of Identify Sense. The same applies for Connoisseur and other perception-type skills. On the other hand, Mental Suggestion and Skill Amnesia are very difficult to conceal. Even at my level, I need to use some sort of diversion if I don’t want my target to sense it.”
Identify and Connoisseur only allowed you to view information, but if that information was vital, it could have profound implications. Mental Suggestion, on the other hand, diverted the target’s attention. There was a world of difference between being looked at and having your mind tugged in a certain direction.
Applied to my own skills, Identify and Essence of Falsehood were hard to detect. Skill Taker, however, would feel quite apparent to the target.
“Sensing Identify without the Identify Sense is possible, though it requires sizable training. Diversion skills don’t take as much practice to detect.”
Got it. Thanks for the advice.
“No problem. Now go and train to your heart’s content.”
“Hm. See you around.”
“Indeed. And do send my regards to Master Klimt if you see him again.”
Dias sent us off with the deepest respect for his old master. And with that, we left his office.
We should learn more about the dungeon in the guild library.
“Hm.”
Just a quick look will do. We don’t have much time left today.
We still needed to figure out where to stay before the sun set, and there was one person we wanted to look for in particular.
I wonder if Garrus is still in town.
We strolled around the city of Ulmutt, looking for old Garrus.
We’d parted with the dwarven blacksmith in Alessa, and he should’ve reached Ulmutt long before us. We’d suffered through a lot of detours. It was obvious Garrus had already arrived from the fact that a lot of the equipment in town bore his signature craftsmanship, but when we asked the adventurers where they got their gear, they all named different shops. It sounded like Garrus offered his services to a number of different places.
We visited some of these shops, listening to town gossip from the local adventurers. They were mostly talking about the tournament and dungeon exploration, and not a single word was mentioned about the old blacksmith. But one story from a three-man party stood out.
“An Evilist fortress fell overnight? And you’re saying it’s the Millennium Fortress? That’s the strongest fort those Evil One worshippers had.”
“That’s not the only place they congregate, you know. Rumor has it some of them have been blessed by the Evil One himself.”
“He can do that? I only thought criminals and crazies worshipped him.”
“Not that I’ve met one myself, but they say those Corrupt Goblins and Kobolds have been touched by the Evil One too.”
“Would hate to run into a souped-up Evilist, I’ll tell you what. Maybe one of the kingdoms will finally get rid of them.”
“But the Millennium Fortress is in Raydoss. Those guys are more inclined to use the Evilists, rather than destroying them outright.”
“So who killed them?”
“Who knows? One of the underlings ran into an acquaintance of mine, and he said there was a traitor in their ranks. One of the higher-ups had just returned to their base and it was him who started the slaughter. He went into a berserker rage and started killing his companions, cackling, ‘Feed me with your strength!’ He sounded like a monster.”
“Yikes, really?”
“Sounds like a ghost story!”
“Well, it actually happened. Although it might be embellished by the rumor mill.”
I was surprised to hear that the Evilists had a fortress, but I was even more surprised to learn that fortress had already fallen. And the one who destroyed it came from their own ranks?
Are they talking about Theraclede?
You think so, too, Fran?
Killing his friends for power sounded like Theraclede’s standard practice. Maybe if we let him do his thing, he would annihilate all the Evilists for us. Then all we’d have to do was kill him, although God only knows how strong he would be at that point.
Grrr, Jet growled. He sounded eager to settle the score.
We’ll get him someday, Fran echoed.
Having escaped our clutches in Bulbola, he and Zelyse were clearly on Fran’s kill list.
We will. But we have to get stronger first.
Hm.
Woof!
We walked about the town, picking up any rumors we heard. On our third shop, we finally got a lead on Garrus. The shopkeeper was a dwarven blacksmith just like him.
“He’s not in town anymore?”
“Not since he heard what happened in Bulbola. He set off a few days ago, saying he needed to do something about it. He said he should be back before the tournament. Just hang around and you’ll see him again.”
“All right.”
“Garrus told me about you. So that’s his Named Gear… It’s a work of art.”
The blacksmith’s eyes gleamed as he admired Fran’s Black Cat Gear. He stared at her armor, but it looked like he was ogling the little girl wearing it. Passersby looked at the man with unsettled expressions, while others outright glared at him. I wondered if one of them would call the town guard.
Five minutes later, the man was finally satisfied. He smiled and thanked us.
“It really is an inspiration to behold. As thanks, feel free to visit me for gear maintenance. I’ll give you a discount. I have some dungeon-crawling essentials for sale too.”
While he’s being generous, ask him if he knows of any good inns.
“Hm. Know a good place to stay?”
“You don’t have a room yet? There’s this place called Sword in the Ground. Highly recommended. Serves great ale to boot.”
Such were dwarven priorities. I doubted if a rowdy alehouse would make for a good night’s sleep.
“The pub’s underground, so the noise is perfectly isolated.”
“Thanks. I’ll check it out.”
“No problem. You come again now.”
“Hm.”
We made our way to the inn and found that the façade was more refined than I expected. Fran peeked inside. It had an atmosphere more like a lounge than a rowdy bar. There was a separate dining hall which didn’t serve alcohol, which must’ve helped with the noise levels. We wouldn’t have to worry about nightly roughhousing.
Fran’s room was clean, and the bed was soft and fluffy. Furthermore, Jet was allowed in for an added price, provided he was in his miniature size. This was the best inn we’d stayed in so far.
“Hm. Not bad.”
“Woof.”
Fran and Jet liked it as much as I did. She wasted no time in leaping onto the bed.
So, what now?
“Dungeon.”
“Arf arf!”
It was nice to see them motivated. We needed to finish some quests anyway, and I had already learned about the dungeon.
Let’s sort out the quest files before we go.
“Oh yeah.”
We laid the documents out on the bed. Was it really okay for Fran to be taking on all these quests at once? If anyone else knew about it, they could make a decent case for favoritism.
Fran, don’t tell anyone else about these quests.
“Hm.”
That said, about half of them were extermination requests. The other half asked us to collect materials.
I’ve never heard any of these monsters before.
“Hm.”
If I remember correctly, they should start spawning from the tenth floor down.
“Can’t wait.”
Low-rank adventurers weren’t even allowed down to where the D-Rank quests were located. In the East Dungeon, F-Ranks were only allowed up to the ninth level.
Phantom Dogs and Dark Stalkers. These stealthy creatures will make up most of our quarry down there.
Dias was right. The East Dungeon would make excellent training grounds for our sense skills.
Filing through the paperwork took time, and Fran and Jet were clearly bored. I didn’t mind remembering these details, but Fran needed to learn that gathering information was part of being an adventurer. I could only hope that she would improve her tenacity with tedium.
She did manage to put up with an hour of sorting through paperwork before tapping out, though. Last time we tried this, she lasted all of five minutes.
Well, let’s get going.
“Hold on. We can’t go yet.”
What’s that? Did she want to process more information?
“We haven’t had lunch.”
“Woof!”
Right. Of course.
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