Chapter 27
“Getting two 〈Shining Larna Ornamental Swords〉 is huge... If we sell them well, these alone will fetch thirty million Gold. For items worth this much, we really need to find somewhere that’ll buy them for even a little more.”
But with that much money involved, there’s also a significant risk of attracting unwanted attention or getting a name for ourselves, so it’s a tricky situation.
I could end up dragging Ruche into it, too, so I’ll need to discuss it properly with her and think things through.
“T-Thirty million... ten lots of three million...”
Ruche still couldn’t believe it, apparently, and kept muttering those words to herself.
Still, it had taken us quite a while to find the Moneybags Larna.
It would be difficult to hunt another one today.
If we leave it alone, we might be able to hunt another Moneybags Larna later—or someone might defeat this area’s 〈Dream Lord〉 and make the 〈Dungeon〉 disappear.
Even so, we shouldn’t rush into anything unnecessarily.
If we lose our lives, all of this will be for nothing.
Besides, now that our Levels have risen this much, we have the option of hunting in a 〈Dungeon〉 with stronger monsters.
In this world, 〈Skill Books〉 are valuable, so aiming for those item drops and selling them on the black market could also be an interesting way to make money.
I opened my 〈Status〉 and checked my current Level again.
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【Elymas Edvaughn】
Class: Heavy Knight
Lv: 33
HP: 68/82
MP: 14/34
Attack: 22+5
Defense: 51+5
Magic: 26
Agility: 26
【Equipment】
〈Lower Soldier's Sword〉〈Mad Ogre Shield〉
〈Iron Armor〉
【Trait Skills】
〈None〉
【Normal Skills】
〈Rampart Reversal〉〈Disarm〉〈Parry〉
〈Body Check Slash〉〈Shadowstep〉
【Titles】
〈The Immovable〉〈E-Rank Adventurer〉
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My 〈Status〉 was finally starting to look respectable.
I’d been promoted to E-Rank Adventurer as a special exception, but I was now around the Level range where I could fight as one of the upper-ranked adventurers in Rondarm—a D-Rank Adventurer.
And then there was the question of what to do with my Skill Tree...
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【Skill Tree】
［Remaining Skill Points: 12］
〈Heavy Armor's Oath〉[20/100]
〈Defense Up〉[0/50]
〈Beginner Swordsmanship〉[5/50]
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I wanted to keep some Skill Points in reserve for when I got 〈Smoldering Fangs〉...
Actually, though, I’d need to level up 〈Heavy Armor's Oath〉 to make full use of 〈Smoldering Fangs〉 anyway.
In that case, leveling up 〈Heavy Armor's Oath〉 now would be perfectly reasonable.
...Still, 〈Beginner Swordsmanship〉 wasn’t a bad option, either.
〈Body Check Slash〉 was useful, and I’d already decided to remove 〈Defense Up〉 to make room for 〈Smoldering Fangs〉.
So it wouldn’t be a bad idea to level up 〈Beginner Swordsmanship〉 and get “Attack: +5 while wielding a sword.”
That would be a great help early on for a Heavy Knight with low base Attack, and an extra five Attack would still be plenty welcome later.
It would be a compromise, but the stability it offered made it worth considering.
“I’ll decide when the need arises... For now, I’ll save the points.”
Skills can become powerful advantages when the situation suits them.
If I took the Attack boost from 〈Beginner Swordsmanship〉, I wouldn’t gain any overwhelming advantage, but I’d become stronger in a reliable, consistent way.
As for 〈Smoldering Fangs〉... I’ll probably be a much higher Level by the time I get it anyway.
In that case, there’s no need to be so desperate to save my Skill Points right now.
If I need more defense, I’ll invest in 〈Heavy Armor's Oath〉; if I need more offense, I’ll invest in 〈Beginner Swordsmanship〉. If I don’t particularly need either, I can save the points until I get 〈Smoldering Fangs〉.
It would be best if nothing happened that forced me to power up in a hurry, but you never know what might happen—that’s just the way of being an adventurer.
“I’m 【Lv: 31】 right now, and I have 【10】 Skill Points left... W-What should I do with them? Should I put them into something? Elymas-san, Elymas-san, could you take a look at the Skill Tree in my 〈Status〉 again? I’m really scared to assign the points by myself...”
“I told you before, but your 〈Status〉 isn’t something you should show people so freely...”
“You’ve seen it before, so it’s a little late for that. It’s fine! I owe you for helping me Level up this much, Elymas-san, so even if you used me up and tossed me aside like an old rag, I wouldn’t hold it against you!”
Ruche clenched her fist and said something outrageous with a determined look on her face.
“If it got that far, I think it’d be even harder on me if you didn’t hold it against me...”
...Well, I already knew what Ruche’s Skill Tree looked like, so it was a little late to worry about it now.
And it was true that I’d already given her advice on how to assign her stat points.
At this point, the honest thing to do was to check everything carefully and make sure I gave her the right advice.
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【Skill Tree】
［Remaining Skill Points: 10］
〈Fool's Acrobatics [10/100]〉
〈Great Fortune [15/70]〉
〈Attack Up [0/50]〉
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Honestly, it was a tough choice.
If she wanted to become stronger in the long run, she’d need to level up 〈Fool's Acrobatics〉 and 〈Great Fortune〉 while continuing to aim for efficient ways to gain Levels.
But to do that, she’d need to understand which 〈Dungeons〉 and strategies suited her, and share that knowledge with her companions.
In that sense, 〈Attack Up〉 was also an option, since it would let her fight reliably even without much knowledge.
Besides, this world wasn’t a game.
It was perfectly reasonable to avoid taking unnecessary risks to Level up and instead stick to hunting monsters well below your Level.
In a game, the goal eventually became getting as strong as possible, but that wasn’t necessarily the case in this world.
“Obviously, it depends on what you want to do, Ruche... and what you want to become. If you want to aim higher, you should save your points for now and invest them in 〈Great Fortune〉 once you become an E-Rank Adventurer and the point-allocation limit is lifted. But if you want to fight more reliably at your current Level, you should invest in 〈Attack Up〉.”
“I-I see... When you put it to me like that, it’s a pretty difficult choice... Since I became an adventurer, I’ve wanted to strive to become one of the best, but... honestly, I’m not sure I have the confidence for that... B-But you’re aiming higher, aren’t you, Elymas-san? Then I’m your companion, so I should, too...!”
“You should come to your own decision instead of following someone else. There’s no need to rush into it now. I’ll talk it over with you as much as you like once we’re back in town.”
Status-boosting Skill Trees might not make you the strongest in the end, but they were reliable.
If Ruche invested all her current Skill Points in 〈Attack Up〉 at her Level, she could make up for the Jester’s lack of Attack.
She’d still have her natural Agility, her tricky Skills, and her good fortune, so she wouldn’t have trouble earning money or finding party members.
I’d be happy if she turned that option down and chose to aim higher with me, but I shouldn’t let her make that decision on impulse.
I decided we’d head back for the day and started walking toward the exit of 〈Angel's Toy Box〉, but Ruche stopped partway there.
“What’s wrong?”
“...Elymas-san, didn’t you hear something like a baby crying? Or was it just my imagination?”
“A baby crying...?”
I hadn’t heard anything, but I knew what that might mean.
The sound of a baby crying in 〈Angel's Toy Box〉.
That was the sound of its 〈Dream Lord〉.
Normally, though, a 〈Dream Lord〉 didn’t leave the depths of a 〈Dungeon〉, so I couldn’t imagine its voice reaching this far.
“Could it be the 〈King's Wandering〉?!”