Chapter 18
After parting ways with Klein and the others, Ruche and I headed to the tavern attached to the Adventurers' Guild, where we discussed what to do next.
“Um... Thank you for inviting someone like me into your party, Elymas-san. But, well... I don't think I'm strong enough after all...”
Ruche looked worried.
She probably lacked confidence in herself.
And no wonder. It seemed Klein had treated her pretty terribly.
“You don't need to worry so much. If we level you up against monsters suited to your Skill Tree, you'll gain Levels in no time...”
“Oh, um! I-I was just thinking... could it be, Elymas-san, that you saved me because you fell in love with me at first sight?”
Ruche blushed and fidgeted as she said this.
“...What are you talking about?”
“I kept wondering why someone a higher Level than me would stand up for me, and that was the only thing I could think of... Hehe... I mean, I'm cute, after all. Um! I thought you were really cool too, Elymas-san, but I think we should start as friends...!”
Ruche blurted this out restlessly, fiddling with the tip of her jester's hat.
I clutched my head.
...Maybe I should take back what I'd thought a moment ago, that Ruche lacked confidence.
“...But I still don't think things would work out if you teamed up with me out of pity. I'm really grateful for your kindness, and I'm so happy you stood up for me. But I don't want to give up on becoming an adventurer, so I think I'll try to find someone lower-Level than me and work hard to somehow get some attack Skills.”
Ruche said, scratching her hair and smiling wryly.
“You have the 〈Great Luck〉 Skill Tree, don't you? I want you to lend me its power.”
〈Great Luck〉 was a Skill Tree that some Classes, such as Jesters and Merchants, occasionally had from the start.
By investing Skill Points in it, you could acquire Trait Skills with vague descriptions like 'Simply being there will bring happiness.'
In reality, it increased the hidden Luck stat.
This Luck affected your own critical hit rate in battle, as well as your opponent's.
It also had a major effect on item drop rates, rare monster spawn rates, and rare event occurrence rates.
And this hidden stat didn't change with Level.
Its value was determined by your Class, and the only way to raise it further was to use a Skill Tree or equipment that increased Luck.
When a party acted together, the effect of its Luck on things like item drop rates decreased according to the number of party members... and the higher-Level members' Luck accounted for a greater share of the effect.
This was a little complicated, but basically, adding more members didn't improve the party's drop rate.
Also, even if you invited a low-Level adventurer with high Luck into a high-Level party, you couldn't benefit much from it.
Ruche was about ten Levels below the party leader, and there were three members in the party.
Even so, the fact that she'd clearly helped them get rare drops showed just how powerful her influence was.
If you made good use of 〈Great Luck〉, item drop rates could swell to five or even ten times their normal level.
To fully realize its effect, you needed to know the value of the hidden Luck stat and exactly what percentage it contributed to the final drop rate, but of course, I'd done my homework.
I had it all memorized.
“R-Really...? But my stats are low, and I don't have any attack Skills...”
Ruche held a hand up in the air, brought up her 〈Status〉, and turned it toward me.
“Look at this. Just look at it. My only attack Skill isn't even something I can use properly... The only thing I could do was risk my life standing in front and acting as a shield... So, setting aside how Klein-san put it... I guess there was some truth to it, maybe.”
――――――――――――――――――――
【Ruche Luvis】
Class: Jester
Level: 13
HP: 20/20
MP: 19/19
Attack: 11+2
Defense: 9
Magic: 12
Agility: 21
【Equipment】
〈Circus Knife〉
【Trait Skills】
〈Beckoning Nyar-on〉
【Normal Skills】
〈Dice Thrust〉
【Titles】
〈F-Rank Adventurer〉
――――――――――――――――――――
She'd shown me her 〈Status〉 without hesitation.
I was dumbfounded by her lack of hesitation.
“You really shouldn't show that to people...”
“It's okay. I can tell you're not the kind of person who'd spread it around or misuse it, Elymas-san. ...Besides, um, rather than getting your hopes up and then being disappointed later, I'd feel better if you gave up on me now...”
Trait Skill 〈Beckoning Nyar-on〉...
It was a broken Skill that increased its owner's Luck by 500%.
In 〈Magic World〉, 〈Great Luck〉 was a highly sought-after Skill Tree, far beyond merely improving a party's efficiency.
As you developed the Skill Tree, this Trait Skill would evolve into an even more powerful version.
“And here's my Skill Tree.”
Ruche flipped over her 〈Status〉, tapped it with her finger, and turned it back toward me.
――――――――――――――――――――
【Skill Tree】
[Remaining Skill Points: 0]
〈Fool's Acrobatics [2/100]〉
〈Great Luck [15/100]〉
〈Attack Boost [0/50]〉
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...She was willing to show me that without hesitation, too?
Shouldn't she learn to be a little more suspicious of people?
She'd probably put 【2】 points into 〈Fool's Acrobatics〉 because, as an F-Rank Adventurer, she'd hit the Skill allocation limit.
By the way, investing 【2】 points in 〈Fool's Acrobatics〉 unlocks 〈Dice Thrust〉.
It's a piercing attack, but it randomly produces an effect showing a number from one to six.
The effect depends on the number; if you roll a six, it deals 1.3 times normal damage and is guaranteed to be a critical hit.
...But in the end, its expected damage was lower than simply slashing normally, so it was a Skill that was hardly ever used in 〈Magic World〉.
Luck did increase your chances of getting a somewhat better roll, but normal attacks were still more reliable.
I could understand why Ruche had said, “My only attack Skill isn't even something I can use properly.”
She must have been so happy to finally get an attack Skill, only to find out it was worse than a normal attack.
It was easy to imagine how disappointed Ruche must have been.
“At least if I'd split the points between 〈Fool's Acrobatics〉 and 〈Attack Boost〉, I could've fought decently... Ahahaha... Man, I really messed up. I was so excited when I heard 〈Great Luck〉 was a powerful, rare Skill Tree, but... I never imagined things would turn out like this.”
Ruche hunched her shoulders and gave me a resigned smile.
“...Well, seeing your 〈Status〉 helped me understand.”
“You understand, right? With my Skills, going into the 〈Dungeon〉...”
“On our next expedition, we'll easily earn thirty million Gold and get you to 【Lv: 30】, Ruche.”
“Um! Were you even listening to me?!”
Ruche cried out as if she were about to burst into tears.
The adventurers at the nearby tables looked over to see what was going on.
A Jester with 〈Great Luck〉 was the ultimate character build for an adventurer specializing in exploration.
In 〈Magic World〉, they were often affectionately known as Lucky Clowns.
The downside was that 〈Great Luck〉 ate up Skill Points and Jesters had low base stats, but 〈Fool's Acrobatics〉 let you fight in a tricky way that made use of the Luck you'd built up with 〈Great Luck〉, so you could keep leveling up without trouble even in the endgame.