by Aneko Yusagi
“Anyway, we can worry about that later,” the old guy said. “It’s not like me or Tolly have finished our training yet anyway.”
“You haven’t?” I asked.
“Just a little more and I think I’m really going to have something,” the old guy enthused. “Although there’s still a lot more beyond that too.” So he was coming up to a milestone at least. Hmmm.
In any case, we needed all this cursed gear to be purified.
“I don’t want it to sound like an afterthought, but we’ve also got some weapons we made using the Spirit Tortoise materials. After all the hassle recently, go ahead and take them with you,” the old guy said, truly sounding apologetic.
“So you solved the problem?” I queried.
“Yep, that’s right. I asked my master about it, and seriously, he solved it so damn quick. All that worrying on my part just seemed silly. It really makes me think, you know, I’ve got a long way to go yet,” the old man replied. He was so skilled though. I had to wonder at his humble personality sometimes. “The Q’ten Lo bigwigs said they’d pay, so no need to worry about that,” he continued.
“Hey, that’s a big help,” I said gladly. Just as we finished that exchange, Imiya’s uncle found a break in his work and came over. Hmmm, he also looked a bit thinner.
Then he went into the back room with the old man. They clattered back with all sorts of gear in their arms. There was a shield among the pieces and some armor too.
“That dragon of yours brought the core on over. That let us complete this armor for you!” The old guy beamed. It looked a lot like the Barbaroi Armor that I’d worn in the past. However, after a closer inspection, a tortoiseshell-colored material had been added to the metal parts. The slightly darker coloring had been made brighter too.
Barbarian Armor + 3
defense up: impact resistance (large), slash resistance (large), fire resistance (large), wind resistance (large), water resistance (large), earth resistance (large), lightning resistance (large), absorb resistant (medium), HP recovery (low), magic recovery (low), SP recovery (low), EP recovery (low), magic power-up (medium), dragon territory, earth vein protection, dragon element, four holy beasts power, Spirit Tortoise power, magic defense processing, automatic self-repair, growth power
It had so many effects on it that it made my head spin a little. The curse from when it was the Barbaroi Armor was gone too. I could already tell, just from a glance, that it was better than what Romina had made. No, more like an enhancement to one of Romina’s pieces that had ceased to function.
“Can I give it a try right away?” I asked.
“Sure thing. Show us what it looks like!” the old guy enthused. I took the armor and got changed in the fitting room. While feeling familiar and well-worn, it also had a new feeling to it. It felt a bit strange. Still, although the coloring was different, the design wasn’t changed much.
“How is it?” I asked the old guy.
“Looks like you’ve come back to yourself at last, kid,” the old guy replied.
“Yes . . . I’m not sure it’s my place to say this perhaps, but for a hero it might be a little . . . Ah, sorry, it’s nothing,” Imiya’s uncle started and then thought better of it. I mean, he wasn’t wrong. The old guy always seemed pretty pleased with it, but when I first saw the armor, the first thing I thought of was a thug from some apocalyptic future. But just putting that same armor on made me feel stronger. The old guy made it—someone I entrusted implicitly—making it the armor I felt I could rely on the most.
Raphtalia had said she wanted to become my sword. The old guy had given me this armor. Modifying this Barbarian Armor really did make the best armor.
“Now I just have to think about the shield. After copying it, what to do?” I wondered. It was another piece the old man had taken the time to make for me, after all. Maybe hang it up on display in the storehouse?
“I think I’ve got an idea of what you’re thinking kid, from the look on your face. But am I mistaken? You look like some blue-blooded collector who just found his next trophy.” Ulp. I guessed I’d have someone equip it.
With that I gripped the shield, and with a sparkly flash, weapon copy was activated.
Weapon copy activated!
Conditions for the Spirit Tortoise Shell were unlocked!
Connecting with the Spirit Tortoise Heart Shield!
Spirit Tortoise Shell (awakened) 80/80 AT
special effects: gravity field, C soul recovery, C magic snatch, C gravity shot, vitality boost, magic defense (large), lightning resistance, nullify SP drain, magic assistance, spell support, growth power
special equip effect: comet shield (Spirit Tortoise)
mastery level: 100
So it had blended with the Spirit Tortoise Heart Shield? It looked like an enhanced version of that. Its shape was also different from the original, strengthening the idea of it being a mixture with the Spirit Tortoise Heart Shield.
However, it looked like it couldn’t use Energy Blast.
It was still incredible. It was like it had all the best parts of the Spirit Tortoise line of shields. Overall, it was better than the Demon Dragon Shield too. I thought I should be making this my main shield in the future.
“S Float” was likely “Second Float Shield.” That would make it a semi-passive skill that created a floating shield, like E Float. Considering other “Second Shield” examples, it probably made a second shield appear or something like that.
What about Reflect Shield though?
Based on the text and the games I knew of, it might perform a counter based on a percentage of the damage taken, but that would be worthless against weaker enemies.
Also, what was this “growth power” that I sometimes saw? Yeah, there were quite a few effects here that I didn’t really know what they did.
The special equip effect comet shield (Spirit Tortoise) also caught my eye. I’d caused trouble for the old guy by testing things in front of him before, however, so I’d put that off until later.
“It looks like you’ve copied it, but hasn’t its appearance changed quite a bit?” the old man noticed.
“Yeah, it’s because it’s a Spirit Tortoise shield,” I explained. “I’ve got all these bonuses which make it transform.” Ost’s blessing was still in effect. I was happy to make use of it.
“Here, Sword Kid, one for you too. This is the Spirit Tortoise sword created by my master,” the old man said.
“Huh? Spirit Tortoise sword? We saw one of those in Zeltoble,” I recalled.
“Yeah, about that,” the old man started.
“What?” I prompted.
“We reckon the Spirit Tortoise piece you saw in Zeltoble was one made by my master,” the old guy finally explained, his face looking pained. “Once, when he was looking for some spending money, my master used some rare materials to make a sword, and it seems those were Spirit Tortoise materials. He only told me once he got a good look at these materials.” What? So the sword we saw in that auction had been made by Motoyasu II?
“In the least, I’m yet to encounter a blacksmith other than the two of us who can turn Spirit Tortoise materials into any kind of workable weapon. I think that has to be the case,” the old guy continued sheepishly. I mean, Motoyasu II was exceptionally skilled . . . but had that piece traveled all the way from Q’ten Lo?
I probably should have pressed for more information, but Motoyasu II looked hard at work and I didn’t want to disturb him.
“Hmmm. Ren, how about your curse?” I asked.
“Yeah, it feels a lot better, thanks to you guys, Naofumi. I don’t think the sword will snap or anything like that,” Ren answered.
“My master made that especially sturdy, just for you, Sword Kid. Should be fine,” the old guy added. Without further ado, Ren took hold of the Spirit Tortoise Sword.
“Wow!” He was impressed at once. “It has incredible sharpness. I just
copied it, and the quality is so high. It has some bonuses on it!”
“What! Even those effects are reflected in the copy?!” I failed to contain my surprise.
“Yeah, the level required for transformation has been significantly dropped, and there’s a pretty big bonus on the sharpness. It looks very easy to use too. It’s like an order-made weapon with all sorts of effects on it!” Ren said, sounding very pleased.
I hadn’t seen the same kind of stuff with the Spirit Tortoise Shell though. Mine had been a special transformation realized solely by the link with the Spirit Tortoise Heart Shield. So why didn’t it have these other bonuses?
I looked at the old guy, and he was embarrassedly scratching at his head.
“I’m sorry. When you compare things made by my master with the Spirit Tortoise Shell, I’m ashamed of how poor it looks,” he lamented.
“Hmmm. In that case, in light of the further growth I expect from you, I think it best I leave the Spirit Tortoise Shell with you. Right?” If he could enhance the Spirit Tortoise Shell further, it would only make me stronger too.
“I’ll make it just like the weapon the Sword Kid just got,” the old guy vowed.
“Good. I believe in you,” I replied.
“Right, what else? Ah, my master also made weapons using Spirit Tortoise materials for Raphtalia, S’yne, Filo, Rishia, and Atla,” the old guy confirmed.
“That lecherous dog. He only made weapons for the women? The size of his balls!” I was almost impressed. He’d likely only made the sword for Ren because he sensed a kindred spirit.
“Anyway. Come by again soon,” the old guy told us.
With that, we carried the gaggle of new weapons back home with us.
Once we were in the village again, I looked at the sword Motoyasu II had made for Raphtalia.
Spirit Tortoise Katana
Its specs were too high. I could only see the name. I seriously needed a shield that would raise my appraisal abilities.
I had Raphtalia copy it anyway. She quickly started swinging it around, reporting that the level and status required to use it were lower than the White Tiger Katana. It had some powerful bonuses on it.
Just what the hell was Motoyasu II? Some kind of forging god?
I didn’t like it. Not one bit! Were we going to have to suck up to that perv to get him to make the best weapons now?
Rishia’s own weapon was semitransparent and couldn’t activate copy, so there was no way to use her new one. The gear that the old guy and his master had provided would fetch a pretty penny if we sold it though. Not too shabby, if we considered it our reward for the invasion of Q’ten Lo.
Chapter Four: Fitoria’s Request
It was around the time the sun had begun to set.
“Right. We are heading out tonight to take care of Fitoria’s request,” I announced. I had to admit I was a bit anxious about this one. Who would be best to take along? Fitoria had said that Filo and I should be able to handle it without too much trouble. If that was the case, did I really need to worry too much about the party I picked? Still, I had my concerns.
“Master Naofumi! I want to go with you,” Atla piped up.
“Raph!” offered Raph-chan. She was a lock, of course. As for Atla, it wasn’t going to be all that dangerous, so it was probably fine to take her along too—even if that meant having to take her brother along as part of the set.
“Then let’s count Atla and Fohl in . . .” I started.
“Fohl actually isn’t here at the moment,” Raphtalia corrected me.
“Indeed, my brother headed out after breakfast with the Hengen Muso Style master,” Atla confirmed.
“What? Where could he possibly have gone that’s more important to him than being close to his sister?” I asked, somewhat meanly.
“Well, it seems my overwhelming victory against Atla using the Raph species last night put him at ease,” Raphtalia explained. “So he headed out to learn the deeper secrets of Hengen Muso Style.” What was that muscle-head thinking? Don’t tell me our little chat the previous night had set him off. It sounded like maybe he was forgetting what was important in his desire to simply become stronger than his sister.
Well, whatever. If he wasn’t here, so be it.
Gaelion was staying behind, no question. Filolials were going to be involved, after all. Wyndia could sit it out too. I could take some of those from the village, like Keel, but I really didn’t want to think we’d be in need of such numbers.
“A shame the killer whale sisters aren’t here,” I commented.
“They’re still out and about somewhere,” Raphtalia confirmed.
“They’re not going off wandering, just the two of them, are they?” I wondered. Could it be that the two of them actually got along?
I had my promise to think about, so I’d have Atla stay behind.
“Right, Atla, you can stay behind,” I decided.
“No thank you. I’m going with you, no matter what,” she offered defiantly. Even if I left her behind, she’d probably just follow us. Very well. For a job like this, it should be fine to take her.
“Where’s S’yne got to?” I asked.
“She was tired from training with Atla earlier in the day and so went to bed already,” Raphtalia revealed. Teaching the ways of life force was clearly quite a burden. S’yne had been looking very tired recently.
I didn’t want to take her along just to have her collapse. The battle with the Phoenix was coming soon too, so for now I’d just have her rest up. If she did wake up, she’d just start watching over me again.
“Right. Looks like this is the team,” I said. Melty had brought both Filo and Ruft along. Letting him see the rougher side of filolials would bring him totally over to the Raph side.
“Mr. Naofumi, why do you always seem to get that conspiratorial smile when looking at Ruft?” Raphtalia asked, but I chose to ignore her.
With that, the party was formed of Raphtalia, Raph-chan, Atla, Filo, Melty, Ruft, and me. A composition much like when we’d been on the run, with a few new additions for flavor.
And I was still a little worried that this party would be able to pull off whatever was needed.
“Around here, was it?” I asked. It was now night, a time period during which I really didn’t want to move around much.
The moon was up in the sky, and we were in the mountainous region of Melromarc, a place with lots of mountain paths. Filo was trotting along one such path, pulling a wagon. Just a regular wagon that was used in the village. Filo’s original wagon had been taken by Motoyasu after all, and the wagon we had used in Siltvelt and Q’ten Lo had been too large to bring back with us. It might have been possible to transport it back if we’d disassembled it into smaller parts and had the heroes all bring pieces, but come on. Didn’t that sound like a massive pain in the ass?
“Seeing you wearing that armor, Mr. Naofumi, it feels like you’re finally back to yourself,” Raphtalia complimented my appearance.
“You think so?” I asked.
“It’s cool.” Ruft also nodded in agreement. Maybe the two of them shared similar sensibilities?
“Still, having to do favors for a filolial now . . . Do I look like some kind of handyman?” I grumbled.
“You put it off for so long, and now you’re still complaining about it?” This jab from Melty. I mean, okay, it was time to take care of this.
“This is where we destroy the filolials, correct?” Atla sounded ready to let some serious power off the chain.
“We’re not destroying anything, just stopping their mischief,” I corrected her. Just what was it that had made her so violent?
“Raph,” commented Raph-chan.
“It’s probably going to be some kind of competition, a clash between wagons maybe. I’ve just got you guys along as insurance,” I clarified.
“Honestly, I’m more worried about the trouble the power of these weapons might cause,” Raphtalia confided in me.
“Let’s hope that’s the
only problem we have,” I responded. With a party this size, I wanted to think it would be fine.
I was also afraid that S’yne’s enemies, or even Witch, might be behind this.
However, it being a request from Fitoria, the chances of that seemed pretty low. Or so I hoped.
In any case, we continued along the mountain path for a while longer.
“Nothing’s happening, is it?” Raphtalia eventually commented.
“I noticed,” I replied. “We’re just waiting for the bandits to find us, basically, so it can’t be helped.” This was the place, apparently. Maybe they were taking the night off?
“Do they have a hideout or something? I mean, if they’re filolials, maybe a nest?” I wondered.
“No idea about that,” Melty explained. Useless, honestly. It was going to be filolials, right?
Even as I thought that, something like the light of torches appeared in the distance and started coming toward us. Trotting along, they came close at a reasonable speed, heading in our direction from the distant mountains.
That was kind of them to illuminate themselves for us. We were using a lamp too, so they’d see us. That was likely what they were heading toward.
Right then. Time to see who turned up.
What? What was this?
I looked at the incoming bandits and couldn’t help but furrow my brow.
The dust cleared, revealing the group that had been called mountain bandits, and had been called filolials, but now looked like some kind of wagon—or more like some insane long-hauler’s pimped-out ride—glittering with Gold leaf and decorated with images of Filo.
It was floating too. Clearly floating. I hadn’t seen anything like this since coming to this world.
It felt as strange as a UFO showing up in a fantasy epic.
The ones pulling this road-going travesty stopped in front of us. I made out three young girls. Feathery as they were, one was red, one blue, and one green. Meanwhile, in the driver’s seat there was—