World Strongest Rearguard - Labyrinth Country and Dungeon Seekers Chapter 31

Chapter 31 Equipment Improvement

I leave the Box Maker and call Alicia and the other two girls that are waiting in the plaza in front of the guild.

「Good work, Arihito. I've finished the moving procedure. When going to the next district, our lodging will be dispersed for a while though.」(Alicia)

「With those facilities' quality, some people may want to stay in the Royal Suite.」

「Yes, but that's rented after all. Reincarnator can stay free for the first month, but then they have to earn and pay for the rent.」(Alicia)

「Hee~, is that so~. Still, the stable is free, right?」(Misaki)

「Y-yeah … but I don't recommend it. The doors can't be closed, and… because it's a stable, there's a big hygiene problem.」(Alicia)

「I can understand the atmosphere a bit because my relatives have a farm…… the place sure is amazing. You can feel the nature for the living things…」(Suzuna)

I've never slept in a stable even for a day, but it seems I won't sleep outside even if I'm penniless――no, I should be careful about the remaining funds.

「Well, I don't think we'll be homeless for now. We just filled our pocket.」

「That's right… we opened ‘that' after all. In some cases, we won't have to worry about the funds.」(Alicia)

「If you say that, it will make me want to be supported by Onii-san, so you'd better keep it secret from me~.」(Misaki)

「Misaki-chan is really trying to become independent… I have to make sure that I'm not too spoiled by Arihito-san.」(Suzuna)

From the word 'really', Misaki seems to feel that there was no trust in that word, she scratches her cheek. Well, she just left her friend at the very beginning and infiltrated to another party after all.

「In my current state, I don't have any skills that are useful for exploration, right~. I think that my luck will be needed when the times come though.」(Misaki)

「Well, if you think it's dangerous, you can just spend time in the town normally. Although, you'll need to do some special training to raise your level.」

「About that, I also want to find companions by myself~. If you keep having more people, eventually I'll be just a bench warmer until my time comes. Rather than that, I also want to gather members to make the second party from the beginning, is what I think.」(Misaki)

「I see. So, are you thinking the member candidate?」

「The party doesn't specialize in fighting, but I want to gather people that sometimes seem useful to take along. If so, the role will be perfect, right~. Even if I'm being supported when not making money, I won't feel like completely relying on others at all.」(Misaki)

At first, dive as a labyrinth capture member, and when a skill is needed, replace the member with the one that has the skill.

The multi-party concept is still vague, but I guess that is not bad. If members with similar level gather in the second party, it'll be possible to go to the labyrinth and raise the level with the level that matches. Since only Misaki that's level 1, it's difficult to raise the level even if she parties with me in the current state.

Alicia also officially became a party member, but the level difference is still a bottleneck.

「I will act as a ‘guest' until Arihito and the others reach level 7 or 8. Also, when I deliver the final blow on Juggernaut, it would have been better if I returned as a guest though….」(Alicia)

「No, I don't think so. When the license's experience indication is full, the display goes back to zero when you return from a single adventure and the level goes up. I guess it means that only one level can go up.」

In other words, if we find a monster that is easy to gain experience, and when we defeat it and the experience bubble is full, we're going to immediately leave the labyrinth. From a leveling perspective, it is the most efficient.

Alicia's experience increased by one bubble even when the Juggernaut was defeated. This is probably because Juggernaut's level is 5 and lower than Alicia. Rather than 'being a strong enemy doesn't mean that the level is easy to go up', Juggernaut won't be a hard opponent if there's is a party of level 8.

(The higher the level, the harder it is to raise the level. Find the same level monster that can be hunted steadily…… I guess that would be good. If the level goes up by 1, the strength may rise)

「I'm sorry, but I'll have you as a guest for a while and join the party when fighting a strong enemy. Although if we can do something about 'that skill, we don't need to act separately….」

「…Do you think you can do something about it? Even if I throw this sword away, it comes back to my hand. You can't let go of a cursed sword no matter what…」(Alicia)

「Dispel the curse or overcome it huh. I'm sorry if I say it easily, but I think there's a way. If you don't think so I can't help though.」

「…Thank you for saying that. Because I can't even imagine good things happen in the future.」(Alicia)

「It'll be all right, Ely-san. As Arihito-san says, if there is a curse, there must be a way to deal with it.」(Suzuna)

I wonder if it possible to break the curse with the skills that 『Miko』 can learn? Well, if it's that simple, then no one has to suffer from the curse.

「Suzuna, when you helped at the shrine, have you done an exorcism?」

「Yes, I've helped my father before. Although, it seems a little different form 『Miko』's skill.」(Suzuna)

「Is that so… sorry, but can you show me your skills?」

「No, I'm the one who should apologize. I'm sorry for being late to show it even though I'm joining your party. My skill is like this. I've already taken two skills though… ah, the points increased.」(Suzuna)

◆Skills learned◆

・ Purification: Improve the mental state of the party and repel weak spirits.

・ Exorcism 1: Purify the spirit body. The success rate decreases as the target level increases.

◆Acquirable skills◆

・ Exorcism Arrow: Holy attribute will be added to the arrow when using a bow.

・ All Hit: Depending on the level, only a certain number of arrows will always hit.

・ Prayer: The success rate of the whole party's action is slightly increased.

・ Piled Salt: Placing piled salt in a certain area to prevent the monsters from approaching.

・ Spirit Perception 1: Detects the existence of a spirit that cannot be seen normally.

Remaining skill points: 2

(The Miko-ish skills lined up for sure… 『All Hit』 seems different though. This is…)

「Suzuna, do you have any experience in archery?」

「Y-yes… you sure know about it. Ah, the new skill…」(Suzuna)

「『All Hit』 usually not a skill that you can learn at level 2, right? It means that your ability using a bow is high from the beginning so you can learn this skill.」

「If you find it useful, then I want to learn it.」(Suzuna)

「That's right, this is going to be much more useful later. I think it's fine to take it.」

Suzuna decides to pick 『All Hit』. Because it's not raising the hit accuracy but 'hit the target', so it will have a tremendous effect on the enemy with high evasion.

『Piled Salt』 seems to be useful to create a safe zone in the labyrinth, and spirit perception is likely to be essential in labyrinths with many spiritual monsters. It would be nice if we can cover it with equipment, but otherwise, we won't feel alive if we attacked by invisible enemies.

「I wonder if 『Purification』 always working? With Suzuna here, I feel calm down.」

「I-is that so… I hope that's true. To be frank, I don't even know how it works.」(Suzuna)

「That's because Suzu-chan was being called a healing~」(Misaki)

「Misaki-chan, that has nothing to do with this…」(Suzuna)

I don't think it's not related. Most skills can be gained through 『Job』, but some skills come out of individual aptitude, so even the same Miko may not have 『Purification』.

I think popular skills are common, but Igarashi-san and Theresa also had unique skills. All of my skills are too unique, but I don't see anyone with the same job so I can't say that all the skills are unique.

(…Wait. What happens if someone writes 『Middle Guard』 or 『Vanguard』? After all, it won't be accepted easily?)

I don't know how many people have reincarnated so far, but I was the only one who wrote 『Rearguard』 and was accepted. The license display is not normal, and the same is unlikely to happen.

「R-rather than that… Arihito. Is your skill always activated?」(Alicia)

「I think that if I'm behind, it'll recover the health regularly, but… I'm sorry if you feel restless. I hope I can stop it when not necessary.」

「Is that so…? Ah… 『Recovery Upper Limit』 appeared in the license.」(Alicia)

「Hmm? No, for my license…」

It is displayed as 『Arihito』's 『Support Recovery』 is activated. Does it mean that the display is different from the recovered side?

When Alicia showed her license, the display was like this.

◆ Current Status ◆

・ 『Alicia』's mental status recovers → Calm State

・ 『Alicia』's health recovers → Recovery Upper Limit

(My skill name doesn't appear… wait, Suzuna's skill name doesn't appear too. Does the display differ between the user and the receiver? Another person's attack skill name appears though, so it's different for recovery, huh?)

How are the support attack and support defense displayed? Everyone didn't seem to notice because they couldn't afford to see the license during the battle, but if it's clearly visible, it would be better to be able to hide it arbitrarily. If a third party is present while we are fighting, the skills will be known after all.

「Alicia, is it possible to hide the used skill so it doesn't show in the license?」

「Yes, if you have the 『Concealment』skill, you can keep others from knowing what you did. Even if you don't have the skill, you can substitute it with some ornaments.」(Alicia)

「Is that ornament very valuable?」

「Let see… it doesn't appear much in the market, but when you open the 『Box』, one might come out.」(Alicia)

「Thank you, I hope we can find one in this box.」

「It means, you can hide it when doing something bad, right~? So even Onii-san thinking about something bad~.」(Misaki)

「I-is that so……? Arihito, unfortunately, even if you hide it from the license, it still will raise your karma. Don't do something pervert, okay.」(Alicia)

Well, that's too bad, is what I want to say as a joke. But, Alicia and Suzuna seem to be innocent, so it's better to not joke about it. I'm like a guardian to these girls and I don't want to lose their trust.

Returning to the Box Maker and transfer to the room ahead, weapons, armor, decorations, other things, and money were sorted to some extent.

We decided to sell it and leave only the things that are useful, but there are not many to sort out.

「One of these bags was a thousand gold coins, and there were about 6,000 in total. I reduced the trouble of counting it by removed the scrapped money and compared each bag's weight with a scales.」(Kyouka)

「That's Igarashi-san for you. But, wasn't that hard just to put a thousand coins in the bag?」

「Yes, that was… so heavy. If you put it in the bank, it's better to get a check when you need a large amount of money.」(Kyouka)

It is the moment when I realize how convenient paper money is. No, the number of paper money equivalent to the value of gold coins is also too much and it is still troublesome.

(We got too much money, my sense for money's value starts to become numb….. not good. I'll use it boldly when necessary, but I'll use it frugally if not.)

「I bought the scraps because they couldn't be used without recasting them. I bought a lot of silver coins and copper coins, but these are easy to be damaged, so the number of good ones was not much.」(Falma)

Bronze and silver coins are discolored, but they can also be cast and used. The purchase price was already attached. It is called 'deteriorated silver coin' for convenience, but there were about 4,000 coins and its value is 30%. Considering the time and effort to recycle it, it was lucky that it has a price.

「I wanted to try it once, scatter the gold coins and shout 'it's treasure~'.」(Misaki)

「We just gather it with trouble, so don't open the bag. I don't know when is it, but I'll call you when we're going to open the box again.」

「You promise? The power of money sure is scary~, it makes me can't leave from Onii-san like this… ah, please listen to me~」(Misaki)

「You'd better pick equipment that's useful for gambler if you find one. The thing that seems useful for me…」

「How about this, Atobe-kun? A sling made from ebony wood.」(Kyouka)

What Igarashi-san found was a sling that was clearly better than the one I'm using now.

I can't use Blaze Shot anymore, but it seems there are corrections for 『Hit』, 『Accuracy』, and 『Range』.

「Congratulations, that's a weapon with a rune slot. By inserting a rune into it, the performance will be even stronger.」(Falma)

Falmsan who was watching my situation talks to me. She points to a hole in the sling――so this is a rune slot.

「Rune… is that different from the processing by using magic stone?」

「Runes are made from magic stones. Because the magic stones are gathered and then compressed, they are more powerful than regular magic stones. There were cases where the trash magic stones had value when turned into runes.」(Falma)

「It seems my spear also has a slot. Unlike the lance, it doesn't have a shield… Atobe-kun, can I switch it?」(Kyouka)

The spear that Igarashi brought is made of alloy, and there are corrections for 『Hit』, 『Defense Probability』, and 『Penetration』. This spear's type is 'Cross Spear' and seems to be able to receive an attack from the enemy with a crossed blade――if so, a shield may not be necessary.

「It's a good weapon, so I recommend switching it. Ah, there's armor over there…… but, isn't this for women?」

「It's 『Lady Armor』. Because it's lightweight and putting importance in evasion, it's often equipped by women with a combatant job. It also has a slot.」(Falma)

An armor designed to be perfect for Valkyrie, or maybe you can say you're Valkyrie after equipping it. Looking at it, Igarashi-san had a hard time deciding it――no wonder, although not as much as a bikini armor, it has a lot of body exposure.

「I think the performance is higher than the current armor, and I think it matches with the red scarf… n-no, please don't glare at me.」

「B-but… if I wear such bold armor, I can't walk around town.」(Kyouka)

「I don't think so… an armor imbued by magic is more defensive than how it looks, and I recommend using it. It's less powerful than my armor, but I think you can use it until you reach level 5.」(Alicia)

Alicia, who seems to value the equipment's performance, recommends it to Igarashi-san without any regard for the design. Falmsan placed the headgear and other sets of equipment around the armor, and then hit Igarashi-san's shoulder.

「If you like, I can help you dress. It's okay, you may not get used to it at first, but you will get used to it if you equip it. You can also put on a cloak in town.」(Falma)

「T-that… Falmsan, have you equipped them before…?」(Kyouka)

「Actually, there was a time that wearing a Lady Armor is yearned by women warrior. The equipment that I could wear is limited, so there's no difference with the clothes I usually wear…」(Falma)

Igarashi-san argued why she's being recommended to wear it, but when she stared at the performance displayed on the appraisal scroll, she sighed.

「…I'll equip it. I'll hit you if you say it's like cosplaying, Atobe-kun」(Kyouka)

「N-no, I won't say that. I'm looking forward to it.」

「Uh… you don't have to say flattery now! Really!」(Kyouka)

Was she couldn't angry because it lost with embarrassment, Igarashi-san and Falmsan changed place while holding the equipment.

Next, Theresa came and showed me a short sword, shield, and boots. The boots seem to be made of materials that can be worn by Theresa.

The shield's category is 'Targe' and seems can be used as armor on leather armor chest. Defense, endurance, and avoidance are all above the buckler.

The short sword has already been remodeled and you can use wind-based techniques. The performance without remodeling was also high, so I immediately recommended to switch it.

Neither has a slot, but we will find one with a slot eventually. She's not getting stronger as much as Igarashi-san, but it's important to steadily get stronger even little by little.

「As for boots… ah, so you can take that off too.」

The new equipment, 『Chameleon Boots』, had the function of assimilating to the surrounding scenery. If it can be used without the whole Chameleon, it is perfect for surprise attacks.

Theresa who sits on the floor, becomes bare feet, and changes the boots. The lizard boots she has been wearing for a long time aren't bad, but they're quite used. A shoes' durability will hard to drop if you bring some spares and change it――that is if it's like regular shoes though.

「…………」

「Ohh, the colors match and it has a good vibe. It looks good, Theresa.」

Theresa says nothing, but she seems to like the new equipment. But, Chameleon, huh. If there's such a monster, will it come attacking while keep transparent as it is――that's frightening.

「Suzuna, how about this cape?」

「Eh… i-is that okay? Receiving such a valuable thing…」(Suzuna)

「I want you to have a little more defense, so it's okay to equip it if possible.」(Alicia)

After passing the cape, Suzuna puts it on white clothes. The cape is also white, so the Miko-ish white and red remains intact.

「…Ah, Arihito. There's 『Choker of Concealment』. It may be annoying to put it around your neck, but now you can do just like what you thought.」(Alicia)

「Oh… it's the first time I wear a choker.」

「Then, I'll put it on for you~. Please stay still.」(Misaki)

While doing so, Igarashi-san who has finished changing clothes and Falmsan comes back.

「Ah, uh… Atobe-kun, I, equipped it, but…」(Kyouka)

「Yes, good work for changing the clothes. How does it feel……」

Looking back after putting the choker on, I lost my words to the sight in front of me.

Chapter end