Ossan Saikyō Chapter 10 Part 10
“It was a Rare Boss that isn't even listed in Bartlan's guidebooks… But honestly, Soushi-san, your rate of encountering rare cases is unbelievable. To get them on both Boss floors...”
Mariane stood there in stunned silence until Rani gave her shoulder a playful pat.
“The fun's only just starting, so this isn't the time to be surprised!”
“The fun...? You mean the skills?”
“Exactly! I'm sure we'll get some great ones. It was a Rare Boss, after all!”
After waiting for a while, I felt the familiar sensation of new skills settling into me.
The new skill I obtained was【Diamond Body】.
It was an advanced version of【Steel Body】that further increased my defense. Apparently, someone out there really wanted me to keep acting as the girls' shield.
Freynil gained【True Holy Magic】, an advanced version of【Holy Magic】.
For now, she'd learned a spell called «Ascension», which returned (exorcised) all undead within its area of effect to the heavens.
Rani acquired【Crucible】.
Freynil already possessed the skill, and it enhanced the power of magic. While it wasn't considered especially rare, obtaining it here probably meant it was normally difficult for Rani to learn. Needless to say, it would strengthen the power of her magic sword techniques.
Sphenia received【Advanced Wind Magic】.
As the name suggested, it was an advanced form of【Wind Magic】. Her【Wind Magic】had reached its level cap quite some time ago, so she was visibly delighted to finally gain access to higher tier wind spells.
Finally, there was Mariane.
“It's called【Affliction】... It allows me to inflict conditions like『Paralysis』and『Poison』on monsters. Apparently, it's quite a high-tier rare skill.”
I wasn't sure how effective status ailments generally were against monsters in this world, but considering Sphenia's《White Heron Bow》could inflict『Immobility』even on Bosses, this might be an exceptionally powerful skill.
“So... is it a strong one?”
“It is.”, Mariane replied to Rani, her expression noticeably softer than before.
“I've heard that even among top ranked parties, having someone who specializes in this skill greatly improves their chances against Boss monsters.”
Judging by the relaxed look on her face, it seemed she'd received something very close to what she'd been hoping for.
We'd see just how powerful it was in the C-Rank dungeon we planned to tackle next.
◇◆◇
We headed straight back to the Guild that day, sold our loot, and returned to the inn.
Only Mariane remained behind at the Guild to finish the paperwork.
I couldn't help feeling that she was the only one whose workload kept getting more and more unreasonable.
She insisted, “This is no more work than usual, so there's no problem.”
(E/N: Typical workaholic…)
Still, I wasn't convinced.
“Soushi-sama, what shall we do tomorrow?”
Once Mariane returned and everyone was gathered for dinner, Freynil asked the question.
“We'll train in the morning, then spend the first half of the day in today's dungeon getting used to our new skills. In the afternoon, we'll prepare for the C-Rank dungeon.”
“So we'll be looking around town?”
“Yeah. Since we're here, we might as well take some time to explore.”
Come to think of it, we'd arrived in quite a large town and immediately thrown ourselves into dungeon diving.
Maybe I'd become more of a workaholic... or perhaps just muscle-brained.
“Yes. I'm looking forward to it.”
Freynil smiled brightly.
Seeing that, Rani turned a skeptical look toward me.
“Soushi, you're ridiculously nice to Fray, you know.”
“Am I? I think I treat everyone the same.”
“I don't think so. Whenever you're talking to Fray, your eyes get all soft.”
“I've never noticed... But I care about you just as much, Rani.”
Maybe, somewhere in the back of my mind, I unconsciously thought of Freynil like a daughter.
Either way, I didn't want anyone feeling left out, so I made sure to tell Rani how I felt.
Judging by the way her face immediately melted into a silly grin, I'd said the right thing.
“Well... if that's the case... then it's fine. Tomorrow let's buy lots of meat!”
“Sounds good. Since it's only a 10 floored dungeon, one overnight stay should be enough. But we'll still need supplies for what comes after.”
As I resumed eating, I noticed Sphenia quietly watching me with her usual cool gaze.
“What is it, Sphenia?”
“Nothing. I simply wished to hear what you think of me as well.”
“...?”
I had no idea what she meant until Rani leaned over and whispered,
“Sphenia wants to hear how you feel about her too.”
“Oh... Sorry. Of course I care about you too, Sphenia. A party is basically family.”
“Thank you. That puts my mind at ease.”
Sphenia smiled warmly before returning to her meal.
A party with so many girls really was more delicate than I'd expected.
Maybe this was the sort of reassurance I needed to give from time to time.
Still...
Mariane had been watching the entire exchange from the side, nodding as though something had finally clicked in her mind.
I wondered what that was about.
Surely there hadn't been anything in that conversation worth reporting to the Grandmaster.
◇◆◇
The next morning, we first descended to the 5th floor of the D-Rank dungeon we'd cleared the previous day so everyone could become accustomed to their new skills.
The one I was most curious about was Mariane's【Affliction】.
Its effect was exactly what the name implied.
Her normal attacks could inflict negative statuses such as『Poison』,『Immobility』,『Paralysis』,『Sleep』, and『Stun』.
『Poison』and the brief interruption caused by『Immobility』were useful enough, but『Paralysis』and『Stun』practically decided a battle the moment they landed.
Interestingly, the skill didn't trigger randomly with each strike.
Instead, even against powerful monsters, the effects accumulated until the status was guaranteed to activate.
Naturally, using the skill consumed stamina, so it couldn't be spammed indefinitely.
Still, the fact that it would eventually work no matter what was an enormous advantage.
The 5th floor boss, the Murder Tree, became paralyzed after only two strikes.
The delighted smile on Mariane's face at that moment left quite an impression.
◇◆◇
Around noon we returned to town and headed out together to do some shopping.
Bartlan's central street was bustling with people.
Numerous market stalls lined both sides of the road, selling ingredients and foods we'd never seen in Euron.
Freynil and Rani wandered about with sparkling eyes, buying one thing after another and handing everything to me.
I simply stored it all inside my【Item Box】.
Since I never had to carry anything myself, we ended up buying far more than we normally would.
Our recent increase in income certainly helped.
As we strolled through the street, someone suddenly called out.
“Well, if it isn't the members of〈Saul's Guidance〉.”
Turning around, we found the capable merchant we'd met the other day, Mr. Toronto, poking his head out from beside a freight wagon.
“Thank you again for the other day. Thanks to you, I managed to obtain an excellent supply of Salamander materials. Their hides have exceptional fire resistance, you see.
…
They are highly sought after for noble furnishings and armor alike. Once I return to the Royal Capital, I expect to make some very good business.”
“That's wonderful to hear. Though I must admit, I'm surprised the head of such a trading company personally handles procurement.”
At that, Mr. Toronto smiled sheepishly.
“Haha. Even if I am the company head, I'm the sort who enjoys being out in the field. I did spend quite some time in the Royal Capital giving orders from behind a desk, but my children have become capable enough these days that they can handle things while I occasionally travel around myself.”
“So it's because you can't truly understand the market unless you experience it firsthand?”
“Oh, I simply enjoy the moment of discovering something valuable. Though... I rather like your explanation. Perhaps I'll use that one next time I need to convince my son.”
(E/N: Haha, Toronto reminds me of young Luram in Celivera (Death March Reference)
“But doesn't your family worry when you're away? After all, monsters like that Salamander can appear.”
At my remark, Mr. Toronto's expression immediately became serious, and he lowered his voice.
“Speaking of that... Have you heard that the number of monsters has been increasing lately?”
“Yes. I heard as much at the Guild.”
“The truth is, there've been reports of several monsters unlike anything anyone's ever seen before. Every one of them is supposedly B-Rank or higher. I even heard that one town was attacked and a third of its residents were killed.”
“Monsters no one's ever seen before?”
“Yes. They're said to look like grotesque creatures stitched together from pieces of human bodies. Some people are even calling them demons.”
“Ahh...”
That was an awfully grim topic for casual conversation.
As someone who had actually fought one of those things, I couldn't simply dismiss it.
“Well, I'm sure〈Saul's Guidance〉has nothing to fear after seeing you defeat that Salamander in a single blow. Oh, and separately from that, I also heard that an adventurer party near this town was attacked by an unidentified monster. It may not be my place to say so, but please be careful.”
Mr. Toronto bowed politely, climbed into his wagon, and said,
“I shall look forward to seeing you in the Royal Capital.”
With that, the wagon rolled away.
Watching it disappear into the distance, Rani turned to me.
“Hey, Soushi... that monster he mentioned...”
“It's almost certainly the same kind we fought. I never imagined there were multiple of them. Mariane, had you heard any of this?”
“No. That information hasn't reached us yet. It would seem the trading companies have a better intelligence network than the Guild.”
“I see... The unidentified monster is concerning as well...”
“A subjugation and investigation request was issued this morning, so it should be resolved soon enough. Several parties have accepted it, including〈Supreme Radiance〉.”
“So they're in this town as well?”
Freynil looked distinctly displeased.
“Yes. From what I've heard, their schedule rarely overlaps with ours. They spend much of their time taking on subjugation requests.”
“Then that's lucky. Running into them inside a dungeon would be the worst.”
Rani puffed out her cheeks, and Sphenia quietly nodded.
“I agree.”
In any case, with multiple parties already investigating the matter, there was no reason for us to accept the request ourselves.
All we could do was hope the problem would be resolved by the time we'd finished conquering the C-Rank dungeon.
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E/N:
Trouble follows Osaan everywhere but… all he gotta do is crush them to a pulp! SPARTA STYLE!
Also, please note, the White Heron Bow's special ability, which was previously named『Stun』→『Immobilize』. Stun itself is a separate effect, as you might've read in this chapter.
Apparently, while the former means to make the opponent faint, latter is similar to Paralysis, maybe a lower version. Not specified by author.
Stay tuned!
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