Chapter 46
Rows of tall, three- and four-story buildings stood all around us.
The sidewalks were neatly paved, and the streets were bustling.
Even a quick look around revealed beautiful fountains and statues of adventurers. It was obvious at a glance how prosperous this city was.
“The Adventurers’ City of Lacolina... I’d heard rumors, but it’s even more impressive than I expected.”
“I-It’s such a huge city... I’ve never seen streets like these before. I’ve never been outside Rondarm.”
Ruche murmured excitedly in response to my words.
In this world, traveling between cities was no easy matter.
Since you had to account for the possibility of encountering monsters, hiring adventurers as guards was essential.
Some adventurers even made a living as relatively safe, dedicated escorts after leveling up to a certain point in Dungeons.
That said, while it was safer than a Dungeon, it was only relatively safe. There were also groups of bandits made up of fallen high-level adventurers.
After defeating Malice, the heir to House Edvaughn, in a duel, I decided to leave the city of Rondarm, which the family ruled. I wanted to sort out my feelings... and aim higher as an adventurer.
And so I arrived here, in the city of Lacolina.
High-level Dungeons tended to appear around the city.
Many promising mid-level adventurers made it their base for that very reason, and it was known as a holy land for adventurers.
Dungeons were an important resource for a city.
The benefits of their drops were substantial, and having the right environment for high-level adventurers to grow was a boon to any territory.
If the average level of the Dungeons that appeared nearby was too high, defending the city and even establishing its foundations would be difficult. In that regard, Lacolina was said to have the ideal Dungeon level for a city’s development.
Of course, the skill of the nobles who ruled this entire region was probably a major factor, too.
“B-But my city, Rondarm, isn’t so bad either, right? It’s one of the more developed cities in the kingdom, at least!”
Ruche was displaying a mysterious hometown pride.
Technically, the city belonged to my father, Count Aizasu.
“W-Well, I’m sure Rondarm is a reasonably developed city, too...”
I gave her a wry smile and opened my 〈Status〉.
――――――――――――――――――――
【Elymas Edvaughn】
Class: Heavy Knight
Lv: 41
HP: 100/100
MP: 41/41
Attack: 27+5
Defense: 60+5
Magic: 32
Speed: 32
【Equipment】
〈Foot Soldier’s Sword〉 〈Frenzied Ogre Shield〉
〈Iron Armor〉
【Trait Skills】
〈Death’s Edge Rampage〉
【Normal Skills】
〈Rampart Reversal〉 〈Disarm〉 〈Parry〉
〈Stunning Slash〉 〈Shadow Treading〉
〈Shield Bash〉 〈Life Shield〉
【Titles】
〈The Immovable〉 〈D-Rank Adventurer〉 〈Upset〉
――――――――――――――――――――
I was finally starting to leave beginner status behind.
I wanted to level up quickly from here, but... my weapon was holding me back.
I’d like to do something about my armor, too, but in this world, a lack of attack power was the most fatal weakness.
――――――――――――――――――――
【Skill Tree】
[Remaining Skill Points: 1]
〈Oath of Heavy Armor〉[34/100]
〈Basic Swordsmanship〉[5/50]
〈Frenzied Smoldering Fang〉[5/70]
―――――――――――――――――――
None of the Skills I could unlock by spending points in my Skill Tree right now would grant me a new Skill.
Basically, I’d use Skills from 〈Oath of Heavy Armor〉 to mitigate the difficulty and risks of using Skills from 〈Frenzied Smoldering Fang〉.
Looks like I’ll be investing in 〈Oath of Heavy Armor〉 for a while...
“...Actually, I should get a proper weapon first.”
That would be the quickest way to make up for my lack of attack power.
Ruche and I had already discussed that our top priority should be getting a weapon drop and making money from the items we found.
“Once we’ve done some research at the Adventurers Guild here, we’re heading straight to the next Dungeon, right? I-I should probably spend the Skill Points I got from defeating Embryo soon, too...!”
Ruche opened her own 〈Status〉 and began thinking hard, tilting her head.
“Well, can’t you decide after we’ve picked our next Dungeon? Even if not, it’s not like it’ll be too late once we get to the Guild...”
“N-No, you should decide for me, Elymas-san! I-I just don’t know what to do!”
Ruche turned her 〈Status〉 around and showed it to me.
...I always told her she shouldn’t show that to other people.
――――――――――――――――――――
【Ruche Lubis】
Class: Clown
Lv: 39
HP: 49/49
MP: 48/48
Attack: 28+3
Defense: 22
Magic: 30
Speed: 52
【Equipment】
〈Ironstone Piercer〉
【Trait Skills】
〈Beckoning Nyalon〉
【Normal Skills】
〈Dice Thrust〉 〈Acrobatic Footwork〉 〈Doppel Illusion〉
【Titles】
〈D-Rank Adventurer〉 〈Upset〉
――――――――――――――――――――
Her Skills hadn’t increased at all.
That meant she really hadn’t spent any Skill Points in quite a while.
――――――――――――――――――――
【Skill Tree】
[Remaining Skill Points: 18]
〈Fool’s Acrobatic Arts〉[10/100]
〈Great Luck〉[15/70]
〈Attack Up〉[0/50]
――――――――――――――――――――
She’d been saving up quite a lot of Skill Points...
“Well... it depends on whether you want to aim for a balanced build, a magic build, a multi-hit build, or a critical-hit build.”
Though for anything other than a balanced build, she’d need to get a 〈Skill Book〉 at some point.
“A balanced build... wasn’t that supposed to be weak in the end?”
In the first place, in 〈Magic World〉, there wasn’t even such a thing as a balanced Clown.
It was simply that if you wanted to get by as a reasonably capable adventurer in this world, it was better to use a Skill Tree that quickly raised your stats without worrying about your endgame build.
“Well, yes. If you’re going for a balanced or magic build, you shouldn’t spend any points on 〈Great Luck〉 until you have points to spare.”
The Luck boost from 〈Great Luck〉, and the increased drop rates it brought with it, were powerful. It was useful to me, too.
However, with a balanced or magic build, there weren’t many opportunities for Luck to directly help in combat.
“Please pick the strongest one! I want to aim high, too! And... I don’t want us to have to split up because I can’t keep up in battle anymore...!”
“In that case, you should go for a critical-hit build... so let’s put 15 points into 〈Great Luck〉 for now.”
Ruche’s hidden Luck stat was probably quite high, so a critical-hit build that put it to use was definitely her best option.
If she aimed for one of the other builds, she’d end up as something close to an inferior version of another class.
“Got it! Then let’s do it!”
Ruche spent her Skill Points without hesitation.
――――――――――――――――――――
【Skill Tree】
[Remaining Skill Points: 3]
〈Fool’s Acrobatic Arts〉[10/100]
〈Great Luck〉[30/70]【+15】
〈Attack Up〉[0/50]
――――――――――――――――――――
S-She did it without a second thought...!
“Oh! 〈Beckoning Nyalon〉 evolved into 〈Angel of Happiness〉!”
Like 〈Beckoning Nyalon〉, 〈Angel of Happiness〉 was a Trait Skill that increased Luck.
It should have gone from a 500% increase in Luck to 700%.
Generally, the more expensive an item was, the lower its drop rate. But a Clown who invested in 〈Great Luck〉 gained Luck so quickly that having even one in your party let you start raking in expensive drops.
“Now that I’ve settled on a goal, I’m suddenly feeling really motivated! I’ll do my best to become a critical-hit Clown!”
Ruche clenched her fist and said it with determination.
“In that case, we’ll need to get the key 〈Skill Book〉, 〈Reaper’s Deadly Hand〉. Considering 〈Frenzied Smoldering Fang〉 cost me fifty million Gordo... should we be prepared to spend over a hundred million?”
Its drop rate was low to begin with, and it dropped from high-level monsters, making it difficult to obtain.
On top of that, it was much easier to use than 〈Frenzied Smoldering Fang〉.
“...Actually, maybe I should go for a different build?”
Ruche’s face had gone stiff.
“No, either way, we won’t get a chance to obtain it until much later. By then, we should be able to manage a few hundred million. The real question is whether we’ll get a chance to obtain 〈Reaper’s Deadly Hand〉 at all.”
“I-I’m starting to get a little scared...”