Chapter 20

【〈Angel's Toy Box〉: Recommended Level: 50】

As soon as we entered, a message rang in my head.

The floor and walls were so colorful, as if someone had covered them in huge sheets of colored paper, giving the place a fantastical atmosphere.

A passage about four meters wide stretched ahead, with branches splitting off here and there.

"Leave it to me, Elymas-san! I don't know if I can live up to your expectations, but I'll do my best to repay your kindness! I'll protect you with this 〈Iron-Piercer〉!"

Ruche swung the 〈Iron-Piercer〉 around wildly.

"No, protecting you is my job, isn't it...?"

...I hope she doesn't end up spinning her wheels.

Well, it was a good thing she was motivated.

I opened my 〈Status〉 and adjusted my Skill Tree.

Now, should I learn that Skill?

I made a point of saving my Skill Points until just before I needed them, in case something unexpected happened.

If I held on to my Skill Points, I could learn Skills suited to the situation, or dump them all into 〈Defense Boost〉 to forcibly raise my stats.

There might be times when that would save my life.

I had to adjust my Skill Tree and allocation depending on how things went from here and my companions' stats.

The ideal build was one that would make me as strong as possible in the end, so it would be best to keep 〈Beginner Swordsmanship〉 at a minimum and put nothing into 〈Defense Boost〉, which I planned to remove eventually. But there were times when I couldn't afford to be so particular.

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【Skill Tree】

[Remaining Skill Points: 7]

〈Oath of Heavy Armor〉[15/100]

〈Defense Boost〉[0/50]

〈Beginner Swordsmanship〉[5/50]

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Thanks to Madhead, I'd gained seven Levels and earned the same number of Skill Points.

Now that I was an E-Rank adventurer, the limit on my Skill Point allocation had been raised.

This meant I could reach 【20】 in 〈Oath of Heavy Armor〉 and acquire the incredibly useful Skill 〈Shadowstep〉.

For now, I'd put in 【5】 and save 【2】, just in case.

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【Skill Tree】

[Remaining Skill Points: 2]

〈Oath of Heavy Armor〉[20/100]【+5】

〈Defense Boost〉[0/50]

〈Beginner Swordsmanship〉[5/50]

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【Your 〈Oath of Heavy Armor〉 has reached [20/100]. You acquired the Normal Skill 〈Shadowstep〉.】

〈Shadowstep〉 was a Skill often used by defense-focused Classes to draw enemy attacks toward themselves.

It was also an important part of my money-making plan this time.

If I hadn't been able to get this Skill, I wouldn't have chosen 〈Angel's Toy Box〉 as our hunting ground.

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〈Shadowstep〉【Normal Skill】

Step on a target's shadow to keep them from escaping.

However, the effect ends if their feet lift even slightly.

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All right, first, I'd use this to quickly raise Ruche's Level a little.

Defense-focused Classes were well suited to power leveling.

After we'd gone a little farther inside, a patchwork teddy bear came toddling toward us.

It stood about a meter and a half tall, and its eyes looked like buttons.

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Monster: Patchwork Bear

Lv: 20

HP: 41/41

MP: 17/17

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"...It looks cute, but its Level isn't cute at all."

Ruche narrowed her eyes and murmured.

"Its 【Attack: 22】... Ruche's maximum damage from it is 【18】, so even if she takes one hit, she'll still have HP left."

Besides, its movements were obvious, and it didn't have any notable Skills, so I wouldn't make the mistake of letting it attack her.

A critical hit could bring Ruche's HP down to zero, but if I nudged it to throw off its balance as soon as it started its attack motion, I could completely prevent the Patchwork Bear from landing a critical hit.

"How do you know all that so quickly, Elymas-san? Do you like Patchwork Bears?"

It's not that I particularly liked Patchwork Bears...

I knew most of the numbers and formulas in 〈Magic World〉.

"I'll handle its attacks. Ruche, attack from its blind spot and finish it off. Watch out for its claws and bite."

"Y-Yes!"

I stood in front of the Patchwork Bear and stepped on its shadow.

"〈Shadowstep〉!"

Now the Patchwork Bear couldn't get away from me.

"S-So I should attack it now, right?!"

Ruche moved around to the Patchwork Bear's blind spot and slashed it with the 〈Iron-Piercer〉.

Stuffing scattered through the air.

The Patchwork Bear had fairly high Defense, but thanks to the 〈Iron-Piercer〉's effect, her attacks were dealing solid damage.

As long as she landed enough hits, she should be able to take it down.

"I've got its attention, but be careful. Its shadow stretches farther than you'd expect."

It would've been nice if 〈Shadowstep〉 completely restricted the enemy's movements, but its shadow could stretch about two meters.

When fully extended, it pulled taut like a rubber band, making it harder for the target to move.

In a narrow place like a 〈Dungeon〉, even if you thought 〈Shadowstep〉 had restricted the enemy's movements, it could still easily pummel the back line.

"Come to think of it, you said to watch out for its claws and bite, but the Patchwork Bear doesn't seem to have claws or fangs..."

The moment Ruche said that, the Patchwork Bear's arm split open, revealing long, hooked claws.

I used the 〈Parry〉 Skill to deflect the claw strike with my sword.

The Patchwork Bear quickly recovered its stance and leaped at me.

The stitching on its belly came undone, revealing a gaping mouth lined with huge fangs.

I slammed my shield into the stuffed bear's head, stopping its attack.

"Good thing I have a shield. With just 〈Parry〉, it'd be a little tricky to fend off attacks without moving my feet. All right, Ruche, keep attacking as much as you can."

"I-It's not cute in appearance, either, never mind its Level..."

Ruche stared at the Patchwork Bear's enormous mouth and murmured that.

While I blocked the Patchwork Bear's attacks, Ruche slashed at it from its blind spot around ten times with the 〈Iron-Piercer〉. At last, its body burst apart.

"Hah... hah... Th-That took quite a few hits... But we beat it safely...!"

The Patchwork Bear's fabric tore, and stuffing spilled out. The fragments vanished as if dissolving into the air.

A brown magic stone rolled across the ground.

【You gained 36 Experience Points.】

Since it was three Levels below me, the Experience Points I got had been reduced quite a bit.

But Ruche should have gotten them without any trouble.

"Ruche, how many Levels did you gain...?"

Ruche went pale and rushed over to the Patchwork Bear's remains, hugging the tattered cloth and stuffing as they began to disappear.

"Patchwork Bear-san, please drop an item! After all the help I've gotten, if I can't prove I'm useful, I'll have nowhere to go again!"

"No, that thing was just for leveling up, so I don't want you using your Luck on it... Save it for later."

By the way, Ruche had jumped from 【Lv: 13】 to 【Lv: 16】 in one go.

Good, things were going smoothly.

If we hunted two more monsters or so, she'd reach the Level I was aiming for.

First, I needed to raise Ruche's Level to make money.

I needed to develop Ruche's Skill Tree, 〈Fool's Acrobatics〉, and have her acquire a certain Skill.

That would finally complete all our preparations.