Chapter 28: Procrastination“Alina, now that you’ve decided to work with us in the byrinths, we should talk about which type of job you’d most like to pursue — support or combat.”
“What type of support, David?”
“Mage seems impossible so it would be healing. It’s very helpful for a party to have someone able to perform group healing. So, for you it would mean becoming a ‘Shrine Maiden’.”
“Sure… um, what’s that?”
“It’s a Miko, you know, the female version of a Priest.”
Theo steps in, “Boss, the female version of ‘Priest’ is just ‘Priest’. All jobs have the same name for men and women.”
“Oh, that makes sense. So, Alina, you could become a Priest for healing or you could choose pure combat. Our vanguard is well-covered, but your speed and agility would make you well suited to eventually become an Assassin… that’s a real job, right?” [1]
“Yes Boss, there is a combat-reted job called ‘Assassin’.”
“The only disadvantage with Assassin or other specialized combat jobs is that you would need to spend time as a Warrior first.”
Alina says, “I’d like to be useful sooner and I’m not confident of my fighting abilities yet. So, what do I need to do to become a Priest? Can you change me now?”
“Hmm, I don’t remember the requirements. Maybe something with water.”
“I’ve heard that some sort of job uses a waterfall for preparation. Could it be this one?”
“Yes, that’s it — you need to stand under a waterfall and meditate. Do any of you know where to find one?”
Alina cautiously replies, “I’ve been to one in Selmer — it’s painfully cold.”
“Well, Alina, let’s go ask around in town. Guys, if I promise not to do anything dangerous, can I leave you here?”
“Yeah, we should finish the yard work we started anyway.”
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Alina and I warp to Curatar, but I want to make a quick detour.
“Alina, I want to get this ring appraised. If it’s cheap, I could just give it to him. Otherwise, I’ll offer to sell it.”
We walked to the merchants guild and scanned the room for potential brokers. A couple losers tried to get my attention before I found a real Merchant named Luke. Hmm, I think that’s same as the broker in the manga. Well, I don’t recall him being dishonest so we’ll use him, even if it’s a different Luke.
“Hello, are you avaible? I am David Moreau and this is my colleague Alina. We are looking for a good broker.”
“Certainly, Sir. Have we perhaps met? I noticed that you selected me specifically.”
“No, but I recognized you from a friend’s description. You’re Luke, right?”
“Yes, indeed. Please come with me and we’ll find a comfortable pce to talk.”
Of course, he tried to get my non-existent friend’s name, but gave up quickly when it was obvious that I came here for my business not his.
“I’m interested in buying some skill crystals and would like to start with Kobold. If this goes well, I may wish to have you buy other types for me. I’m in no great hurry and will be satisfied with just two or three over the next few days.”
Luke told me about his 500 Nars commission and some of the most recent prices. Kobold crystals have been going for a bit over 5k — damn cheap, if you ask me. And then I got to my real question — evaluation of the ring.
“By the way, I may have acquired a ‘Ring of Determination’. If I did and decided to put it up for auction, how much might I expect to get for it?”
“Interesting hypothetical, Sir. Such rings are quite rare so should fetch a minimum of 100,000 Nars. A patient seller might get 150.”
“Thanks you, I’ll keep that in mind. If I have the opportunity to sell it, I’ll come to you. Anyway, I’ll leave 2000 Nars with you now to apply to future bids. I’ll check back in a few days.”
“Certainly, Sir. I’ll get a good price for you and look forward to future business.”
That certainly didn’t take long. Sure wish I could remember the names of other useful skill crystals. Even if I can’t get Sherry, I should be able to find some partner. May as well start buying now since they take time to get.
“David, why are you bidding on skill crystals? Could it be that you can do enchantments?”
“No, Alina, at least I don’t think I can… hmm, I really should check that though. Anyway, I pn to partner with a dwarf soon.”
“Um, David, you know that…”
“Yes, Alina, I know the normal limitations.”
Pretty sure Alina got the hint since she didn’t ask further. We walked to the adventurers guild to ask about avaible waterfalls. Didn’t take long before we found someone to take us to a spot a bit South-East of here, on the warmer (human) side of the mountains. Fortunately, it’s still a bit early in the season for official use so we were able to get in without trouble.
“Alina, I’ll go first so I can help with the chants. Also, better for me to wait in the cold than you since I’m bigger. Please stand guard and tell me if anyone or anything comes near us.”
“Yes, I brought my spear.”
I’ve seen this sort of thing done in several mangas, animes and even regur movies. The hard part for me is to get my brain to shut-the-hell up for even a few minutes.…………This feels good. Why the heck didn’t I think to bring soap? Oh yeah, I drifted off there for a while. Um, yep, got it!
“David, you were in there for a really long time. I was getting worried.”
“Sorry, forgot what I was doing, which I guess is sort of the point. Anyway, it worked for me. Step in when you’re ready and I’ll monitor your progress. Just try to rex and clear your mind of all worries. Stay in as long as you can and I’ll pull you out as soon as you get the job. I’m here to make sure you’re safe in the outside world.”
“David, you say some really weird stuff sometimes. Here I go.”………
“Alina, you got it! Let’s go back right away before we freeze.”
I took us directly upstairs so we could quickly dry off and change into warm clothes.
“OK, Alina, you’ll need to empty your Item Box before I can switch you to Priest.”
“Aw, can’t I keep both?”
“Sorry. It will always be possible to switch you back, well, as long as you’re with me. Leave the spear and let’s go show off your new skill.”
I swapped in Priest for me and switched off the skills needed for Chant Omission. Then, I switched Alina to Priest.
“Alina, think about ‘Group Heal’.”
Alina chants: “If fault there be, let it be soothed by the devoted Priest’s blessing — Group Heal.”
Of course, we all felt the same as before, but it probably worked. At least this chant seemed easier than the others since she got it on her first try.
“Oh, I felt that. I’m really a Priest. Thank you, David. That was really fun.”
“OK, let’s try it out for real. Besides, I wouldn’t mind smashing some monsters after spending so much time with nobles.”
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Since it was already mid-afternoon, I decided to take us to Curatar’s Labyrinth. Quickly checked my notes and grabbed the map for the sixth floor.
“Since you’ve started a new job, make sure to take it easy. We can rely on my individual healing for a while. The main monster of this floor is a mad bull called ‘mino’. We’ll also see a weird, one-legged pnt called ‘colgen coral’ and maybe some left-over sheep. Just need to avoid the mino’s charge.”
We pretty much followed the map and made it to the waiting room without much trouble or a direct run-in with other parties. Only one party ahead of us so we didn’t have to wait long before facing the somewhat angrier bull with a completely mysterious name. More importantly, it wasn’t especially difficult to beat and we got some meat for our trouble. I asked Theo to start storing monster drops, especially when they’re sort of weird like this. Good thing I’m not too particur about eating food that’s been on the ground.
Too hungry to even take a peek at the seventh floor, we went home to fry the meat along with some of the hanging ham and veggies. It was too te to go for an evening session so we drank a little mead while rexing in the living room. While the others talked, I let my mind wander.
Hmm, what about instant death? Those brigands could have killed me and I really should get better protection. I should get one of those sacrificial thingies, a Cord of Substitution. I’m certainly rich enough, but I’m not sure they’re avaible at the normal stores. Seems a waste since Sherry, or substitute, can make them. What about bonus points?
I put Durandal away and start going through my options. A Basic Ring for a minor stat boost? Nope. I can skip Ring of Determination and next is a talisman with resistances — good but not enough. After that comes the Hero’s Sigil. This amulet grants substitution and moderate stat boost. Level 4 costs 15 bonus points: sold… if I had the points to keep Durandal.
Teaching Rutina slowed my progress but Mage is up to level 31 now. If I lower EXP gains even further, I can afford protection against death and still keep Durandal. I hate to slow my progress, but I guess my life is worth it.
Bonus Points: 129
Lvl
Cost
Skill
Note
2
3
Char/Job/ID
essential
2
3
Chant Omit
keep
4
15
EXP Needed
1/5
4
15
EXP Gained
5x
6
63
Weapon
Durandal
4
15
Accessory
Hero
4
15
Extra Jobs
5 jobs
Crystal Acc
skip
Pushing aside these petty concerns, I rejoined the conversation.
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Day 23
The duke ordered me to bring the ring though he didn’t actually set a deadline. Deying for several days will add to my stress for no real benefit so I should bring it today. He also didn’t set a preferred time of day. To shorten the possible interrogation, I’ll wait till te afternoon. I don’t work for the duke so he really shouldn’t compin — though he probably will anyway.
After breakfast, Alina decided that I needed another shave. Without a mirror, I can’t really argue, not that I’ve ever really cared much anyway. Alina certainly knows how I should look to maintain my weak illusion of respectability. Either that or she’s just grooming me to suit her taste. Meh, whatever.
“We should avoid Nordselm for a couple days to give the duke’s team enough time to investigate. Likewise, Curatar is way too crowded in the morning. We’ve only done a few floors in Vale so it would be good to work on it.”
Checking my notes, I see that we finished Vale’s fourth before Rutina’s training so I took us directly to the fifth floor.
“Looks like we’ve got new sheep and old bulls here so it’s simir to st night. Make sure to dodge when they rush and tell me if you get hurt, even a scratch. I’m going to cast a little protective shielding on you, Alina, so the first hit shouldn’t really do anything. Actually, may as well cast shields on everyone, including myself — I have more than enough mana anyway.”
“Um, thanks.”
Damn, now I’ve lost track of what I’ve kept secret. I guess by now I should tell them basically everything other than my completely unbelievable origin story, which even I might stop believing after a few years.
We kept up a pretty good pace, despite having no maps for this byrinth. Whenever we ran into a dead-end, I just opened a portal back to the st branch and we continued from there. Got in the habit of keeping a limited map in my head and Theo was good at assisting when I was uncertain (or just wrong). Of course, I shouldn’t get too cocky since the same could be done by any Explorer, and maybe they do.
We took a very short break for bread and water since everyone seemed rather energetic. Consequently, we stayed a bit too long here and were moving a bit too fast to try to reach the boss room. We were pretty tired when we did… and decided to push through anyway.
“The boss-sheep casts spells to put you to sleep. Fortunately, my sword interrupts spells so it’s basically just a tougher sheep.”
As expected, it was fine. We warped back home, thoroughly exhausted. I went upstairs and changed into my fancy clothes to take care of the chore I’ve been putting off.
“Well, it’s time for me to get yelled at by nobles. Don’t worry if I’m te for dinner, just eat without me. I’ll return tonight, one way or another.”
“Please be careful, David. Remember how high up a duke is. He’s the highest-ranking elf and has the Emperor’s ear, or so I’ve heard.”
“I’m working to make him not like me enough to bring me in but not so badly that he want’s to kill me.”
“I really and truly wish I hadn’t heard your reckless pn. Please be nice and maybe err on the side of him liking you a bit more.”
“Meh, that doesn’t sound nearly as much fun. OK, sorry, it was really all a joke. He likes me just fine. Don’t worry.”
Don’t think anyone was convinced, myself included.
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[1] The MC read about the Assassin job in a Reddit of the LN. That’s why he’s uncertain if it’s a real job.
