Chapter 5: The Chain of Encounters 01
Soushi
Adventurer Level: 10
Weapon Skills
– Mace: Lv. 15
– Longsword: Lv. 8
– Dagger: Lv. 4
– Hand-to-Hand: Lv. 8
Armor Skills
– Buckler: Lv. 11
Physical Abilities
– Stamina: Lv. 13
– Strength: Lv. 16
– Speed: Lv. 13
– Explosive Power: Lv. 13
– Reflexes: Lv. 11
Sensory Skills
– Enhanced Vision: Lv. 9
– Hearing: Lv. 7
– Smell: Lv. 6
– Touch: Lv. 6
– Dynamic Vision: Lv. 11
– Presence Detection: Lv. 9
Mental Skills
– Composure: Lv. 7
– Thought Acceleration: Lv. 5
– Excitement: Lv. 2
Special Skills
– Regeneration: Lv. 2
– Poison Resistance: Lv. 2 (new)
– Hallucination Resistance: Lv. 1 (new)
– Stability: Lv. 3
– Herculean Strength: Lv. 2 (new)
– Steel Body: Lv. 3
– Honshin: Lv. 2 (new)
– Heavy Impact: Lv. 1 (new)
Unique Skills
– Bad Luck: Lv. 10 (new)
Freinir
Adventurer Level: 5
Weapon Skills
– Spear: Lv. 3
– Hand-to-Hand: Lv. 1
Armor Skills
– Buckler: Lv. 1
Physical Abilities
– Stamina: Lv. 3
– Strength: Lv. 2
– Speed: Lv. 3
– Explosive Power: Lv. 2
– Reflexes: Lv. 2
Sensory Skills
– Enhanced Vision: Lv. 2
– Hearing: Lv. 2
– Smell: Lv. 2
– Touch: Lv. 2
– Dynamic Vision: Lv. 2
– Presence Detection: Lv. 2
Mental Skills
– Bravery: Lv. 2
– Mental Focus: Lv. 1
Special Skills
– Holy Attribute Magic: Lv. 2
– Divine Attribute Magic: Lv. 2
Unique Skills
– Saint’s Eye: Lv. 1
Note: Skills are merely estimates.
After a week away, we returned to the town of Euron, but since I had only spent about a week there before, it didn’t feel particularly nostalgic.
Looking at Freinir, she also showed no signs of having come to a new place.
“Have you been to Euron before?” I asked.
“Yes, I’ve been here a few times. Though, I haven’t really walked around the town on my own like this,” she replied.
Freinir didn’t elaborate further, only adding to the air of mystery surrounding her.
By the time we arrived, it was already evening, but we headed straight to the Adventurers’ Guild.
The lobby was bustling with over twenty adventurer parties, and several people were lined up at the counter, but no one was in front of the notoriously unfriendly receptionist. While I thought she was quite beautiful, it seemed her attitude kept people at bay.
“Excuse me, I have a report to make,” I said.
“Oh, Soushi-san, you’ve returned. What’s your report?” the receptionist replied.
“I encountered undead monsters on my way back from Maneji,” I explained.
“Undead, you say? Do you have any evidence?” she asked.
“Yes, here it is,” I said, presenting the misshapen Magic Stone and the Staff of the Dead dropped by the high-ranking Skeleton.
The receptionist’s eyes narrowed slightly at the sight.
Uh-oh, this feels like it could lead to trouble.
“Let’s discuss this further. Please follow me,” she instructed.
I followed her into a back room furnished with a large table and chairs.
As we sat down, the receptionist seemed to notice Freinir for the first time.
“Is this your party member?” she inquired.
“Yes, that’s right. We met in Maneji and finally formed a party,” I confirmed.
“I see. May I have your name?” she asked Freinir.
“Of course, I’m Freinir. I’ve joined Soushi-sama’s party. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she replied, bowing her head.
The receptionist looked at me with a knowing gaze, but it didn’t seem accusatory. Perhaps she knew something about Freinir.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Mariane,” she introduced herself, quickly shifting her attention back to Freinir.
Mariane prepared her writing tools and turned back to me.
“Now, please tell me your report.”
“Yes, we departed from Maneji yesterday morning…”
I recounted the details of our encounter with the undead monsters.
Mariane maintained her usual expressionless demeanor, but she asked detailed questions, indicating that this incident was indeed a rare case.
“Here are the Magic Stone and the Staff of the Dead dropped by the high-ranking Skeleton. I’d like to sell the stone, but I intend to keep the staff if there are no issues,” I stated.
“Based on your account and the shape of this Magic Stone, it’s almost certain that the undead monster was a Lich. If you plan to use the staff, I recommend having it appraised,” she advised.
“Is there a chance it’s cursed or something?” I asked.
“Such occurrences are quite rare, but they do happen. If you wish to have it appraised, we can handle that here. The fee is 100,000 Rom,” she explained.
“Would it be safe to assume that this staff is quite powerful?” I inquired.
“I’ve heard it’s typically used by mages of C-Rank or higher,” she replied.
Hmm, it seems like a powerful weapon, but the real concern is whether anyone will resent Freinir, an F-Rank adventurer, wielding it.
Adventurers in this world don’t seem to be that rough, and there aren’t many who would meddle in others’ affairs. For now, I’ll let her use it and deal with any issues if they arise.
“Understood. Please proceed with the appraisal. That concludes my report, but is there anything else?” I asked.
“I almost forgot to mention, Liches are monsters ranked at the upper D-Rank or C-Rank. Please be careful not to overextend yourselves,” Mariane cautioned.
Her expression remained unchanged, but perhaps her demeanor was causing her to miss out on something.
The next morning, when Freinir and I went to the training grounds, we found an unexpected guest. Zeal, the leader of the C-Rank party Fortuner, was diligently swinging a Dark Metal Rod instead of a longsword.
As we began our usual stamina training, Zeal occasionally glanced our way, likely curious about why I was training with Freinir.
During a short break, Zeal approached us.
“Hey, it’s been a while. Were you off scouting for party members?” he asked.
“I was exploring a dungeon in Maneji. I happened to meet her there,” I explained.
“Hmm… that girl looks quite young. She doesn’t seem like she’s of age to have had an Awakening,” he remarked.
“Yeah, I think so too, but I’m an exception myself, so I can’t say much,” I replied.
“Haha, that’s true. It’s rare, but not impossible. I’m Zeal, and you are?” he introduced himself.
Freinir hesitated for a moment before responding.
“I’m Freinir. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said.
“Such a polite young lady. Freinir, huh? Nice to meet you,” Zeal said, then returned to his training but suddenly stopped, noticing something.
He was staring at the Staff of the Dead that Freinir was holding. Since we received confirmation that it was “problem-free” during the appraisal yesterday, she had equipped it right away.
“Hmm? Freinir, where did you get that staff?” he asked.
Freinir looked at me, and I answered for her.
“Actually, we encountered a Lich on our way back from Maneji, and that’s the loot we obtained,” I explained.
“A Lich? Did you defeat it all by yourselves?” he asked, surprised.
“Yes, we did. It was a bit dangerous, though,” I admitted.
“‘A bit’ doesn’t quite cover it. But if you can take down a King, it’s not too surprising. Sorry, but our mage has been wanting that staff, so if you find a buyer, please let me know,” he said.
“It really is a rare item, then,” I noted.
“Yeah, Liches don’t show up often, and they usually break apart when defeated. It’s definitely a rarity,” he confirmed.
“I see…”
“However, it’s strange that a Lich would appear around here,” he added.
“Isn’t it said that they appear near graveyards?” I asked.
At that, Zeal burst out laughing.
“Not at all. If that were the case, no one would dare visit a graveyard. Undead typically only manifest in places with heavy miasma outside of dungeons. Especially Liches, they’re special monsters that don’t appear normally,” he explained.
“Really…?”
Then why did we encounter one? If it’s due to my Bad Luck skill, that’s quite a troubling thought…
As I pondered this, Zeal furrowed his brow and began speaking again.
“Actually, there’s been some talk going around. It seems undead have been appearing in various places lately, and there are reports of suspicious figures seen nearby,” he said.
“What do you mean? Is someone summoning the undead?” I asked, intrigued.
“Yeah, that’s what it sounds like. It’s a sketchy story, but it seems there have always been people who do such things. You should be careful when passing by graveyards,” he warned.
“Understood, I’ll be cautious,” I replied.
It felt like I had returned to Euron only to hear some outrageous news.
It was a relief to know that my Bad Luck skill wasn’t the reason we encountered the Lich, but it seemed like more troublesome matters were on the horizon.
I’d prefer to avoid getting involved, but I had a feeling my Bad Luck skill would react to whatever was coming. If that’s the case, there’s only one solution: I need to become stronger, that’s all.