Chapter 25
I tried to give Dantes-san back the pocket money, but he wouldn't take it. "It's good that you found something you wanted. Buy some sweets with the rest," he said, patting me on the head.
At that moment, I remembered my father back in Japan, whom I had hardly thought about until then. He was more than ten years older than Dantes-san, and yet he was so unreliable—a textbook deadbeat salaryman who lazed around on his days off until my mother told him, "You're in the way while I'm cleaning." I had thought I would probably become a salaryman someday, too, but I vaguely felt that I shouldn't end up like my father.
...And yet, now I missed him terribly.
Lunch was noodles. The broth was made from dried fish—or rather, it was such a rough stock that all it amounted to was a fishy, salty soup with uneven noodles floating in it.
But even that tasted delicious, and I devoured it. When I finished, I was embarrassed to see Mimino-san, Dantes-san, and Non-san smiling fondly at me....
"Th-then, may I go see the training ground?"
"Of course. You really are a boy, Reiji. Wanting to see something like that."
Dantes-san said it with a completely paternal expression, but my real purpose was different.
I wanted to watch the adventurers fight and turn what I saw into power of my own with 【All Creation】.
The training ground was just as spacious as the warehouse, with bare earth underfoot. It was sunken in places, showing that it had seen some intense use.
Near the front stood practice dummies resembling scarecrows, while the far end was an open space where people could fight freely.
"Your teamwork is far too sloppy! You're letting your Talents toss you around!"
A muscular, bald man was sparring with four others. Everyone wore simple leather protectors and trained with wooden swords.
The four attackers were young, appearing to be in their mid-teens.
Other boys and girls stood along the walls, turning pale and trembling whenever one of them was struck by the bald man's wooden sword and cried, "Ugh!"
"Oh, Rikila-san."
I noticed a tall beastman watching the training. He had his hood pulled low over his eyes, so at a glance he didn't look like a beastman.
Mimino-san and Non-san had gone out to buy supplies—but because of the commotion over my Reikon, Non-san and the others had cut their shopping short—and Dantes-san had brought me to this training ground.
"Mm. ...What, it's just the old man and Reiji."
"I thought you'd been asleep."
"...Yeah, well, what can I say? I was a little curious about this guild's level. Looks like it's training for the rookies now, but the veterans are supposed to train next."
"I see."
Something about Rikila-san seemed off... Was Rikila-san feeling down?
Well, whatever. Even if I asked, he probably wouldn't tell me.
I stood beside Rikila-san and Dantes-san, watching the training.
(【Arm Strengthening】【Leg Strengthening】【Swordsmanship】【Spearmanship】... And is that 【Support Magic】?)
A boy who seemed to be providing backup was casting magic on a girl in the vanguard.
"Good, good! Keep using your magic! That's how you get used to real combat! But Eightfold Magic is forbidden! If you wreck the warehouse, I won't let you off easy!"
When the bald man shouted, a boy who seemed to have been about to use attack magic flinched and broke his concentration.
"Think carefully about when to put power into Eightfold Magic and release it! You can't use it if an ally is on the straight line connecting you and the enemy! Consider it the hardest kind of magic to maneuver with!"
I see. Unlike in games, attack magic could hit your allies, too....
(【Hearing Enhancement】, maybe? ...Hm, that's it. My hearing's becoming incredibly sharp, too.)
As I watched the boys and girls rotate through their battles, I gradually absorbed their Talents into my own body.
Ahh, I want to fight, too. I wonder how good 【Swordsmanship】 is. I'd love to try it out.
"Heh-heh. I thought he was watching seriously, but this guy's hand is moving."
"Hah."
I felt my body grow hot when Rikila-san laughed at me. How embarrassing. It felt like someone had caught me shadowboxing with the pull cord hanging from the light in my room....
"...Could that instructor be a Gold-ranked adventurer? I'm sure I've met him once before..."
Dantes-san said that.
"Gold rank...? What's that?"
"Ah, I haven't told Reiji yet, have I?"
Dantes-san explained the adventurer ranks to me.
Those just starting out were "Bronze," followed by "Copper," then "Iron," then "Silver," and finally "Gold."
Reaching Gold rank apparently made someone a top-ranked adventurer at each guild branch. This ranking system was used not only for adventurers, but also by the various Apothecaries' Guilds and Merchants' Guilds.
Mimino-san and Dantes-san were "Silver," so they could be considered high-ranked. Non-san and Rikila-san had joined this guild after entering the "Silver Scales," so they were still "Bronze."
Among the Gold ranks, renowned adventurers became "Platinum," while the highest rank was "Mithril."
When I heard the word Mithril, Rikila-san seemed to twitch, but he said nothing.
"Oh? Isn't that the 'Hard-Silver Greatshield'?"
The bald man noticed Dantes-san and called out to him.
"...So you are Josef, the 'Undying Lightblade.'"
"Long time no see! Has it been since we slaughtered that goblin horde?"
"You had the highest kill count back then."
"Now, now, that's only because I had a 'Greatshield' who protected the rear guard so well."
Dantes-san was called over and walked toward him, but Rikila-san, who had been watching, covered his mouth with one hand and trembled with laughter.
"...Rikila-san?"
When I asked him, feeling a little uneasy,
"Pfft! T-the 'Undying Light'... Isn't that just your shiny bald head? Heh-heh."
I knew it! That was what he had been thinking about and laughing at!
"How about it, 'Greatshield'? Care to help train the rookies?"
"No. As you can see, I'm already half petrified."
"That much of a handicap should make it just right! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
Shiny... no, Josef-san! Ah, great, Rikila-san's making me blurt out weird words!
Josef-san didn't seem to care about the petrification at all, and he and Dantes-san began training the rookies.
Some of the rookies were clearly frightened when they heard the word "petrification," and Josef-san charged at those people and kicked them in the rear.
The screams grew even louder.
(...Dantes-san is amazing.)
Even though they called him the "Greatshield," he wasn't carrying a shield here, instead fending off attacks with a wooden sword he didn't normally use. Dantes-san hadn't moved even one step. Though the attackers were approaching from his petrified left side, he casually parried them all the same.
"Old Man Dantes is seriously amazing. No wonder he's got an epithet."
"...Having an epithet really is impressive, huh?"
"Yeah. Your rank goes up if you complete enough requests, but you don't get an epithet without accomplishing some great feat. Lots of people give themselves one, but becoming known in other cities like that is seriously impressive."
The gloomy air that had surrounded Rikila-san earlier was gone, and perhaps his tongue had loosened, because he started telling me all sorts of things.
"You see that blue-haired guy attacking? He probably has 【Sprint】. But he hasn't mastered it yet."
"【Sprint】?"
"It consumes Stamina, but it lets you dash faster for a while or move without making a sound."
"!"
Move without making a sound? That meant....
"I have it, too, but—"
I knew it! Rikila-san's movements were the result of a special Skill!
"—You have to combine it with 【Stamina Enhancement】, or you'll run out of steam right away. 【Stamina Enhancement】 is useful. You don't get tired even during long journeys. ...Hey, what's wrong?"
"...N-no, it's nothing...."
"If you suddenly clutch your head and crouch down, anyone would think something was wrong, right?"
I had figured it out. Rikila-san almost certainly had 【Stamina Enhancement】, too.
And without even realizing it, I had acquired Rikila-san's 【Stamina Enhancement】 as well... In other words, the reason I could move through the forest without getting tired wasn't because my body had grown stronger after all!
Ahh, no! I was so embarrassed by how I'd been saying things like, "I'm growing, too (smug face)!" Of course not! You can't build up stamina just by walking for a day or two, right!?
"Hey, kid."
"Ah, um, yes."
"They're calling you."
"Huh?"
Dantes-san was motioning for me to come over, while Josef-san stood beside him with his arms folded, staring intently at me.
"...I have a really bad feeling about this."