CLWU 08

Chapter 8

The next morning.

“The skills evaluated by the system are divided into ranks according to their level, but just because two skills have the same rank doesn’t mean they’re actually at the same level.”

I listened while my entire body was still aching and thought Jerick’s words were a little out of the blue.

“Yes. Well. I know that.”

For example, my Thrust was a Common-rank skill, but ordinary Spearmanship was also a Common-rank skill.

Obviously, my Thrust, which was merely a part of Spearmanship, was an inferior version.

“But why are you telling me this now…?”

“Originally, since you wanted a class, I tried to turn simple movements into skills as quickly as possible so that you could master them and use them in combat. Those were Thrust and Advance and Retreat Steps.”

“…Yes. I know. I agreed to it too.”

“But you’ve already raised both of those skills to their maximum level.”

“…I did, didn’t I?”

“Even if you evolve a skill, it would be better to evolve a better skill, wouldn’t it?”

“Obviously…”

Just as I wondered what he was getting at—

“Those two skills are originally parts of my Spearmanship that I separated and taught you. Therefore, the two skills can become a single skill.”

“Ah…?”

“You’ve practically been using them simultaneously during combat anyway. Now that they’ve reached their maximum levels, you should be able to combine them into Spearmanship simply through practice. That’s what I wanted to tell you.”

“Oh!”

Only then did I understand.

“For a while, don’t enter the labyrinth. Focus on combining those two skills into one.”

“Whoa…”

“Besides, didn’t you say you would sell the Majesty of the Ruler, use the proceeds to replace your equipment, and then return to the labyrinth? It isn’t something that can be sold immediately, so while you’re waiting for the Merchant Guild to contact you, train.”

“…Yes. Thank you for the advice, Master.”

“There’s no need to thank me for something so obvious.”

Jerick patted me on the shoulder and left.

From then on, I began training to combine the two skills, recalling my experiences in the labyrinth.

And it was easier than I expected.

On the second day.

Whoosh.

Fwoom!

I took one step backward, then advanced one large step again and thrust forward.

The sound of the thrust cutting through the air was unusually loud.

It was an extremely small portion of the Spearmanship Kirk had shown me in the labyrinth.

It was practically nothing more than a combination of three simple movements—evasion, charging, and thrusting. It was almost questionable whether it could even be called Spearmanship.

But it definitely worked.

It isn’t perfect, but if there’s a vanguard fighting in front, this Spearmanship is perfect for looking for openings from the side.

For someone as inexperienced as me, it was just right.

The moment I fully understood the footwork and thrusting as a single concept in my mind—

[Skills Thrust (Common—Lv. 10) and Advance and Retreat Steps (Common—Lv. 10) are being combined into a single skill.]

[Pendulum Spearmanship (Common—Lv. 10) has been created.]

“Oh!”

Fwoom!

My concentration broke at that moment, but I still smiled.

It was a little disappointing that the rank hadn’t increased, but I had expected that anyway.

More importantly, the basic skills I had considered one attack skill and one evasion skill had been combined into a single skill.

• For a Summoner, the best method is to focus on developing a small number of skills.
• I recommend three things: an attack, a mana cultivation technique, and a defense or evasion skill.

According to Master Jerick’s advice, this meant that one more skill slot had become available in the three-skill Spearman build I had envisioned.

Since my Spearmanship is basically just Thrust… I need a technique specialized in evasion—in other words, footwork. Is there somewhere I can learn one?

Just as I was happily thinking about it—

“Hyung! The Merchant Guild contacted us!”

Kirk brought me some good news at exactly the right time.

“Actually, there were many people who wanted to buy it, so we kept raising the price and dragged things out for another two days. Hobgoblins are becoming increasingly rare, so I wanted to push the price as high as possible, but… well, as you know, the people who want to purchase this Ability Stone are usually of rather high status, haha. So dragging it out too long would have been difficult.”

“I understand.”

Jerick nodded from in front of us at Peterson’s words.

Peterson was the branch manager of District 9 of the Goldman’s Merchant Guild.

“Even so, we were able to get quite a good price. Since it’s been a long time since a Majesty of the Ruler appeared, we’ve narrowed it down to two options.”

As we all listened intently, he continued.

“First, pure gold. Count Deckard’s family has expressed their willingness to purchase it for 1,200 gold.”

“Gasp!?”

“Wow!”

Jerick maintained his composure, but Kirk and I couldn’t hold back our exclamations.

After all, the price we had known was roughly 500 to 600 gold.

This was more than twice that amount.

“The reason is that Majesty of the Ruler hasn’t appeared in quite some time. And the second condition is a little ambiguous, in my opinion…”

“Ambiguous?”

“…Because it involves a condition set by Master Jerick.”

Jerick had set a condition?

When all our gazes turned toward Jerick—

“The Viscount Volante family has offered 900 gold, along with the basic portion of a secret footwork technique, with the condition that you fulfill Master Jerick’s request.”

“Good. We’ll take that.”

Before any of us could say anything, Jerick nodded first.

“Master?”

“Master?”

“Kirk will receive 600 gold, while Char will receive 300 gold and instruction in the footwork technique. You understand what I mean, don’t you?”

I tilted my head for a moment, but then my eyes widened.

This was an offer made entirely for my sake.

“Thank you, Master!”

“As long as you understand.”

No matter how famous a noble family was, if it was merely a basic technique, it wouldn’t have much value to a native.

Bluntly speaking, Kirk—who had been an adventurer in the fifties—had little reason to learn the fundamentals of a technique he could probably master himself.

But I was different.

If I can properly learn it, I can evolve it with Skill Points.

On top of that, just as I had created Pendulum Spearmanship and had one slot free in the skill build I was planning, an opportunity like this had appeared at exactly the right time.

All of this was thanks to Jerick’s consideration.

“Thank you, Master. I think you should just keep the 300 gold yourself.”

“Me too! Me too, Master!”

“Enough. I’ve got plenty of money, you brats!”

Once again, I realized just how fortunate I was to have met Jerick.

Someday, I’ll definitely repay you. I promise.

Just as I was feeling deeply moved—

“Um, my commission is 10%…”

Merchant Peterson’s perfectly legitimate statement slightly dampened our emotional moment.

“Even if it’s a basic technique, it’s still a technique belonging to a prestigious noble family. You should expect it to take a month. So I’ll have Kirk join another labyrinth party separately.”

“Yes, that’s probably for the best.”

Kirk was already a powerful fighter far beyond what his displayed level suggested.

Normally, floor number and level roughly correspond.

Even without a class, this meant that it was strange for him to continue traveling around with me.

No matter how quickly I was growing, there was still a huge difference in our actual combat abilities.

More importantly, Kirk had no reason to wait around for me for an entire month.

“First, I’ll go to the Viscount Volante family after I combine the two skills and create Spearmanship…”

“It’s done.”

“…Huh? Already?”

“Yes.”

“…Heh.”

Jerick quietly looked me up and down before letting out a hollow laugh and nodding.

“All right. The Viscount Volante family is in District 4, so send word ahead and then go visit them. Make sure you show proper courtesy.”

“Of course.”

And so, what I had expected to be a long period of continuous labyrinth exploration was put on hold.

For a very good reason.

But before that, there was something I needed to do.

“Could you recommend somewhere good for buying equipment?”

“Now that you’ve been paid, you’re going straight to buy equipment?”

“Yes. If I go to a noble family wearing this equipment, won’t they turn me away at the door?”

“…You’re right. That’s a good idea. Honestly, if you’re going to focus on close combat, ordinary leather armor is dangerous. Even on the lower floors.”

“Yes. This time, I’m planning to choose sturdier armor. Especially shoes. I want something reliable.”

Jerick chuckled at my words.

“Yeah. You’ve been complaining about your shoes for a while. The blacksmith I’d recommend is…”

Just before Jerick could finish—

“Excuse me, if you’re looking for good footwear, would you be interested in Artifact boots?”

Merchant Peterson, who had somehow approached us without me noticing, added something surprising.

“Artifact boots? Here, in District 9?”

“Yes. We recently handled a request from a high-ranking adventurer, and they gave us an Artifact as payment. Quite troublesome, actually. We couldn’t exactly refuse it.”

“A high-ranking adventurer came here?”

I asked suspiciously.

“Well, for the sake of confidentiality, I’m afraid I can’t reveal another client’s identity… but there is a guild called Drake Guild that’s been rising quite rapidly lately…”

The moment I heard that, someone came to mind.

“Giggs?”

“Mr. Giggs?”

“Oh!? You know him?”

Peterson’s face immediately brightened at our response.

I decided to at least take a look at the item.

And the moment I saw it, I was amazed.

“Oh.”

The boots were made of blue and yellow leather, and they emitted a faint magical glow, giving them a rather impressive appearance.

Peterson beamed.

“Now, as you can see, they look quite splendid, don’t they? They’re made from the hide of a Thunder Bison, which appears around the 30th floor. They’re tougher than steel boots while remaining extremely comfortable. They even have an automatic fitting function and a self-repair function. As long as you periodically supply them with Mana, they’re a luxury item that can be used practically forever.”

“Oh…”

“Why don’t you try them on?”

“Oh, is that okay?”

Almost mesmerized by his words, I slipped on the pair of boots.

Jerick immediately objected.

“So. What functions do they have that actually help in combat?”

“Um, as I mentioned, the leather is tougher than steel boots, so they provide excellent protection all the way up to the shins…”

“They’re Artifacts. That’s a given. What other effects?”

Peterson’s smiling face stiffened awkwardly.

“…As far as I know, they have the ability to relieve fatigue in the feet.”

“That’s it?”

“…As I mentioned, they also have automatic fitting and self-repair functions.”

“So they’re noblemen’s boots, not combat boots.”

“…Ahem. The quality is still excellent.”

Under Jerick’s successive criticisms, Peterson’s expression gradually became more rigid.

“Char, there’s no need to look any further. This is a waste of money.”

Even though Jerick said that, I couldn’t bring myself to listen to him.

Th-This can’t be.

The soft, cushioned feeling.

In this savage world, I had never expected to experience the comfort of functional athletic shoes, but the feeling captivated my feet.

On top of that, just moving around for a moment made it obvious how completely they wrapped around my feet and reduced fatigue.

Compared to the rough leather shoes I’d been wearing, it felt like I was floating on clouds.

Would functional sneakers custom-made to fit my feet perfectly in the modern world have felt like this?

Even considering that my senses had deteriorated over the nearly year and a half I’d spent here, that’s what I thought.

“Char, I said let’s go.”

“Ah, well…”

The moment I took off the Artifact boots and put my original leather shoes back on, it felt like I had plummeted from heaven to hell.

Forget cushioning.

I could feel every pebble beneath my feet, and the contrast with the boots was so enormous that I almost felt as if going barefoot would be better.

No. This won’t do. I can never go back.

The moment I experienced comfort that surpassed even modern civilization, I no longer had a choice.

My rational mind immediately began searching for excuses.

“So these really are tougher than steel, right?”

“Yes! Of course! They don’t even break, so they should absorb blunt-force impacts better than steel boots as well.”

“Char.”

“Master, it’s not like I can wear many Artifacts that affect my physical abilities or Mana anyway. I can get better ones later.”

“Does that justify buying this expensive luxury item right now? Didn’t you almost die because your equipment was so poor?”

“That’s exactly why I’m buying much better equipment. With these, at least my soles and shins won’t get pierced, right?”

“They’re Artifacts. Do you even know how much they cost…?”

“100 gold! I’ll only charge you exactly 100 gold.”

Jerick hesitated at those words.

Seeing his reaction, I immediately realized.

This is incredibly cheap for an Artifact.

“Master, even with the money left over, I think we can still get the rest of the equipment…”

“But still…”

“90 gold. I can’t lower it any further. I’m already taking a loss!”

“…”

Jerick’s expression wavered even more.

“Deal! Give them to me.”

Before he could say anything else, I immediately handed over the money pouch.