Chapter 25: Skill Selection 3
“Claris… the truth is… I…”
After returning, I honestly told Claris about my situation.
It felt more sincere than lying and just spending the night with Claris as things were.
However, Claris’s reaction was unexpected.
“Loin… you’re quite serious, aren’t you?”
“Ugh… I-is that bad…?”
It’s partly because I grew up in the countryside; I have that side to me.
“But… I’m happy. It means you thought about me that seriously.”
“Yeah… I want to cherish you, Claris. We have this precious connection, after all. I don’t want to ruin it over something trivial.”
If I hadn’t told Claris about Salina-san, I would have felt guilty forever.
And that… could even lead to the party’s collapse.
“But, I think people like you, Loin, are rare these days, you know? Polygamy is pretty common. Many men have relationships with multiple women… as expected.”
“I-is that so…? It wasn’t like that in my hometown…”
“Besides, I’m sure that Salina-san person wouldn’t mind. If she likes you, Loin, I think it would be fine even if you and I got into that kind of relationship.”
“Is that how it is…?”
I’ll properly explain about Claris to Salina-san too.
I decided I want to cherish them both.
I knew polygamy was common, but still, I never imagined a future where I’d be this popular with women…
“C-Claris… are you really okay with this?”
“Yeah… I’ve liked you from the start, Loin… Otherwise… someone like me, who went out of her way to be a solo tank, wouldn’t suddenly join a party.”
“I-I see… Thank you. I… like you too, Claris.”
“I’m… not like this with just anyone, you know? It was my first time even joining a party, so it’s only because it’s you, Loin, okay?”
I gently kiss Claris.
It’s a fool who doesn’t eat the meal set before him!
Somehow, everything is going well.
Maybe it’s because I’ve gained confidence by being active as an adventurer.
That night, I exercised a lot and worked up a sweat.
◇
“Ngh…”
In the morning, I woke up to the chirping of birds.
I stretched out wide.
“Good morning, Loin.”
Claris said from beside me, still sleepy.
I gently patted Claris’s head.
“Yeah, good morning, Claris.”
Alright, after we eat, let’s check yesterday’s Skill Books.
Depending on what’s in the Skill Books, it’ll decide whether we stay here longer or not.
“Okay, shall we open them?”
“Yeah, please.”
We checked the Skill Books one by one.
[Speed Up] Scroll x2
[Power Up] Scroll x2
[Teleport] Scroll
[Wall Destruction (Thermite)] Scroll
[Reflecting Shield (Reflect)] Scroll
[Charged Slash (Sword Burst)] Scroll
[Weakness Scan (Weak Search)] Scroll
[Lightning Strike Sword (Thunder Sword)] Scroll
“Oooh…! We’ve gathered some pretty good ones.”
“But, there are a few duplicates, aren’t there…”
It looked like these ten were the ones we could use.
The other five were magic-related, so we decided to go sell them.
You can’t use magic without magic power, after all…
It’d be great if we could somehow get something for that with rare drops later on…
“For now, let’s use these usable ones right away.”
“Right.”
[Speed Up] Scroll
[Power Up] Scroll
Since these two were duplicates, we each used one.
With this, both of us should be able to move much more freely.
[Reflecting Shield (Reflect)] Scroll
This skill was clearly for a shield user, so it was for Claris.
As for the remaining five, Claris was hesitant, so I used them.
My combat power should have increased considerably with this.
“Let’s try using them.”
We went outside and used the skills.
“”Power Up—!””
Then, I felt power welling up from inside my body.
It was as if my own body had been strengthened many times over.
“Amazing! I can lift heavy things so easily!”
“I feel like my legs have gotten faster too.”
Furthermore—.
“”Speed Up—!””
This skill was useful for closing distances in an instant.
It could be used for evasion, and it was also helpful in close combat.
“Ahaha! Amazing! It’s like I’ve become the wind!”
We ran around all over the place at high speed.
There were other skills I wanted to try, but—.
“Combat skills, though… we’ll have to go to a dungeon.”
“Hey Loin, what’s this skill?”
“Eh…?”
Come to think of it, there was one scroll left.
[Teleport] Scroll
I’d never heard of this skill, so I hadn’t used this one yet.
“If we use this, couldn’t we go to a dungeon…?”
“That’s ridiculous…”
Because, if we could do that, it would be too convenient.
Teleportation was impossible…
Even if it were possible, it would probably be short-distance at best…
“Well, shall we try using it?”
I immediately tried it out.
“Teleport—!”
Holding hands with Claris, I pictured the Death Ruler Volcano.
And then—.
—Shun!
“N-no way…”
“Amazing…!”
We really managed to travel to the Death Ruler Volcano in an instant.
This was revolutionary…
“Well then, since we’re here, shall we do a bit of hunting?”
Just in case, I’d brought my equipment and also some cooling potions.
Let’s try out the skills we could only test in a dungeon.