by Tôwa
♦Acquired Skills♦
Double Attack
Thunderbolt
Mirage Step
Decoy
Force Target
Snow Country Skin
♦Available Skills♦
Level 2 Skills
Wolf Pack:
Boosts abilities the more guard dogs are in your party.
Spinning Spear:
Increases damage when attacking by spinning your spear.
Level 1 Skills
Ether Ice:
Installs Ether with Ice attribute.
Dance of the Warrior Maiden 1:
Slight chance of canceling an attack from an enemy of the opposite sex.
Piercing Strike 1:
A portion of your attack penetrates the target’s defense when you’re equipped with a spear.
Mist of Bravery:
Nulls party members’ Fear status.
Freezing Thorns:
Freezes opponent’s legs and slows their movement.
Bulletproof 1:
Enemy long-ranged attacks are slightly less likely to hit.
Remaining Skill Points: 3
“It looks like the Valkyrie job can choose from at least three main roles,” I said.
“There’s so many things I can do that I can’t decide which would be the best…and there’s no way to practice the skills so you can use them properly in battle,” stated Igarashi.
“Yeah. There may be some skills you can use in combination with your other skills. Like, could you use Spinning Spear with Double Attack…”
“I want to test that as well, but the level-two skills need two skills points…” While she was talking, her eyes were glued on one particular skill, Wolf Pack, which wasn’t at all surprising considering her love of dogs. That skill would probably have the most noticeable effect when you put as many guard dogs in the party as possible. It did seem that my skills were the only ones that let me see the values in number; all the others seemed to be very vague about the amounts.
“All right, how about you take Wolf Pack and one other skill?”
“Uh… Are you sure? We only have Cion right now, so it probably won’t make that big a difference.”
“Even if it’s a small amount, it’s a constant improvement to your abilities, so I think it’ll be effective. I also just think the skill really suits you.”
“…Th-thanks. How about Ether Ice? I think it’d be useful if I choose skills that no one else can do.”
“I don’t think you should take that right now. The Ether skills summon an ether, which is like an object that responds to attacks with a certain attribute,” interjected Elitia. I thought she was going to go rest, but she’d come back to give us some advice. Misaki and Suzuna came back then as well and gave us the herbal tea they brought back.
“We definitely think you should go for Dance of the Warrior Maiden 1. More girl power, then,” said Misaki.
“You think…? I wonder what kind of dance it is… Do Valkyries dance?” asked Igarashi.
“It’s not that weird; you have Mirage Step. Dances are made up of steps,” I said. If monsters had genders, too, then it would be interesting to be able to catch a strong male enemy off guard.
“Were you in a dance club before, Kyouka?” asked Suzuna.
“Yeah, my first year in high school… But I changed to a different club in my second year, so I wasn’t in it very long.” Everyone seemed to guess why Igarashi changed clubs. I did, too, but I kind of wished I could have seen her in her dance club.
“What d’you think, Atobe? Is it better to save the points? I also wanted to take Piercing Strike sometime.”
“Yeah… How about we save one point for now, then,” I suggested.
“All right, I’ll take Wolf Pack… Oh. Wow, I just felt like some strength flowed into me.” Apparently, at this level, the amount it went up with just one guard dog in the party was large enough for her to feel it. If that was the case, then taking Wolf Pack was the right decision.
“I’m neeext! I didn’t take any skills at level two, so I have tooons of skill points,” said Misaki.
♦Acquired Skills♦
Increased Drop Rate:
Slightly increases enemies’ rare item drop rate.
Child of Luck:
Slightly increases probability of finding a Chest after battle.
♦Available Skills♦
Lucky Seven 1:
Achieves good results when you roll two dice with a total value of 7.
Magic Number 1:
Each party member is given a random number. The individual with the winning number can force one person to follow a single command.
Dice Trick:
Guarantees a designated number from a dice roll.
Russian Roulette 1:
Chooses a random target among both allies and enemies and halves their vitality.
Poker Face:
Renders facial expressions unreadable.
Lucky Guess 1:
Allows you to vaguely sense which action will lead to good results.
Coin Toss:
Increases luck if the coin lands on the face chosen by an ally.
Bad Luck:
Slightly reduces enemies’ luck.
Remaining Skill Points: 4
Ack… Risky skills galore!
“Ha-ha! Seeee, there’s tons of exciting-looking skills. Like this Magic—”
“W-wait a minute,” I interrupted Misaki. “Don’t you think this Lucky Seven is a good idea? You’re always rolling two dice anyway,” I said.
“I guess… And if I use it with Dice Trick, then I could guarantee a seven every time.”
“Even if a skill doesn’t explicitly say it used magic, it can still wear you down. And there’s usually a cooldown period before you can cast it again, so you wouldn’t be able to keep using the skill back-to-back,” explained Elitia. She was still able to give us relevant advice even without viewing Misaki’s license.
“Atobe, what’s wrong? You don’t look so hot…”
The Magic Number skill was basically the same thing as Truth or Dare. Nothing good would come from that skill if Misaki acquired it.
“Right, how about I take the first three and then Bad Luck?” suggested Misaki. “I wanna help you guys out somehow.”
“…F-fine, but…make sure you only use this second skill when it’s appropriate,” I added.
“It’ll toootally be useful! I can’t believe there’s all these fun skills to pick from! I’m sooo glad I wrote down Gambler for my job!”
“You seem like you’re really enjoying yourself, Misaki… I’m glad you got some good skills,” said Suzuna.
“Thanks, Suzu! Get excited, ’cause I’m sure these skills will help you out, too!”
Well, I suppose Misaki’s a good girl at heart… No harm done as long as she doesn’t abuse Magic Number.
I’d have to keep an eye on Misaki to make sure she didn’t start causing trouble. She wasn’t necessarily going to use it for something like Truth or Dare, so I couldn’t claim it was an entirely problematic skill.
Last up was Suzuna. She came over to sit next to me and showed me her license. Unlike Misaki, whose skills had the potential to cause so much trouble, Suzuna’s new skills were very reassuring.
Part V: The Monster Ranch
Suzuna came to sit next to me, and the rest of the party went to the other rooms for a moment to get ready for the next expedition. Maybe they felt like they weren’t going to gain anything from observing us. There were even more skills on Suzuna’s license that really suited a Shrine Maiden. In the Labyrinth Country, the job was obviously geared toward support.
♦Acquired Skills♦
Auto-Hit
Purification
Salt Laying
Medium
Exorcism 1
Spirit Detection 1
♦Available Skills♦
High-Angle Shot:
Fires an arrow upward to strike the enemy at t
he end of the arrow’s arched trajectory.
Archery Master 1:
Increases damage from shooting a bow using proper archery techniques.
Exorcism Arrow:
Adds Holy attribute to arrows when using a bow.
Cleansing:
Adds Holy attribute to whoever is in a body of water with you.
Prayer:
Party’s success rate increases slightly.
Handwash:
Purifies water scooped with your hands.
Wash Away:
Uses water to null a portion of abnormal status effects. (Prerequisite: Purification)
Remaining Skill Points: 2
“Handwash… I wonder if that’s anything like when you wash your hands before entering a shrine,” I said.
“I think it is. Incredible that this lets you purify water just by scooping it up… It’s like magic,” replied Suzuna.
“I don’t think this is what it’s intended for, but it could be really useful in making sure we have water to drink. But High-Angle Shot seems powerful, too… I’m not sure what to go with.”
We could take something now, but they all seemed like they had their uses. It might be better to take them when we needed them, like we did with Salt Laying. I decided we’d hold off for the time being and pick the skills we needed when we knew what we should take.
It’d be best if we could take all our skills, but that won’t be possible unless we get fewer new skills as our levels increase. Elitia hadn’t been aware of any other method for obtaining skill points, so at the very least, I can assume that if a way exists, it’s as unknown by the general populace as the Hidden Gods are.
“Atobe, we’re ready,” announced Igarashi.
“We just finished looking at skills, too. I’ll go get changed,” I said.
“Check it out, Suzu! I got the chest part reinforced, so now it’s more like Kyouka’s and Elitia’s armor!” exclaimed Misaki.
“Gamblers can only equip light armor, so don’t do anything reckless just because your armor is stronger. There’s a limit to the amount I can cover for you,” warned Elitia.
“Yuuup, I’ll be careful!”
Elitia was trying to tell Misaki what was best for her, but Misaki didn’t seem to understand the danger she might get herself in… I was a little worried.
“You sure you’ll be all right…? You can’t tap out now that you’ve come this far,” I said.
“Hee-hee… I just wanna be with you, Arihito, so I’m gonna keep working as hard as I can,” replied Misaki. I couldn’t tell if she was being sincere, but no one teased her for it, and she started to blush.
“……”
“Mm? …Theresia, do you mean you feel the same way?” I asked.
“Us too. I imagine it’ll be necessary for us to be put on the bench sometimes, but we’d rather fight together than be left behind,” said Igarashi.
As you might expect from someone who chose Valkyrie, Igarashi had fought some incredibly powerful enemies so far without ever getting scared. I sort of understood why she could learn the skill Mist of Bravery, which got rid of her allies’ Fear. Perhaps Valkyries were resistant to Fear? If there really were secret abilities, it meant that every job in the Labyrinth Country had incredible hidden potential.
Our current party had seven members as well as Cion, our guard dog. I had Madoka and Melissa make our second party and wait in town. As the leader, I could manage up to sixteen parties, so the other two still appeared on my license. However, as a two-star Seeker, I was limited to two parties for the time being.
Melissa had a butcher’s knife equipped, which was apparently quite a powerful close-combat weapon. I wanted to see it in action, but I’d have to wait on that.
“Arihito, everyone, I pray for your success in the upcoming expedition,” said Madoka.
“…Take me along the next time you get the chance. I want to do some on-site dissection, too,” added Melissa.
She and Madoka had decided to stay behind. Apparently, they would be working in the small workshop that was in the courtyard of the mansion.
“If you nab a rare monster, bring it back right away,” said Melissa.
“Will do. And give our regards to Rikerton,” I replied, and the two saw us off as we headed toward the Monster Ranch.
We needed to teleport to the Monster Ranch the same way we did for the storage units. We walked from the mansion for about five minutes, then came across a sign that said RANCH INFORMATION OFFICE. The building looked too small to fit all of us comfortably, so I went in alone, and the rest finished getting ready to go into the Shrieking Wood. We’d meet back up afterward.
“Hello, my name is Atobe,” I called, knocking on the door. A moment later, a white-haired but healthy-seeming elderly man came to the door. He had on a cap and protective leathers and sported a thick beard.
“Welcome, Mr. Atobe. I am the Manager of the Seventeenth Monster Ranch, William Christensen. Have you come to register the Demi-Harpies you sent earlier for summoning?” he asked.
“Yes. If possible, I’d like to register them immediately. Will that take a while?”
“That will depend on whether or not the Demi-Harpies are already obedient to you. You can summon them whenever you like as long as they have equipment that will respond to the summoning stones. My granddaughter can explain the details further; she’s in the ranch at the moment. This way, please.” He guided me down the stairs where, as I suspected, we came upon a teleportation door, though this one seemed to have only one possible destination.
“Due to the nature of the Labyrinth Country’s Monster Ranches, we are required to care for and manage the lives of the monsters left in our care. The first week of care is free, but there is a fee after that,” explained William.
“All right. Does the fee vary depending on the monster?” I asked.
“It does, yes. The large monsters require larger spaces, and we have to provide appropriate feed. If males and females are kept in the same area, the monster numbers may increase, which would also require an appropriately large space. There aren’t many who capture monsters in District Eight, so our ranch here always has space available.”
“That’s good to know, as long as you’re not feeling overwhelmed by the monsters I leave in your care.” William seemed happy, in a way, to hear it. I wondered why, but he started explaining.
“Whenever there’s a fee involved, there are those who decide they wish to dispose of or free the monsters we have in our care. There’s nothing to gain from paying for the care of a monster that can’t help you in battle. Anyway, when that happens, we Zoologists take in the monsters in order to study them. I prefer to study live monsters wherever possible to learn about their biology. That was actually the reason I requested approval to open this Monster Ranch.”
“Huh, really?”
“There are so few people who select jobs when they reincarnate that allow them to speak with monsters, and then it’s even rarer for there to be people who are suited to the Monster Tamer job. My granddaughter is one. She used to be affiliated with a Seeker party and would bring back monsters for me.”
“Your granddaughter was a Seeker? And you…?”
“Yes. I had quite an embarrassing record in the end, but I spent many a day and night in the labyrinth. It was all spent studying monsters in their natural habitat, though,” said William with a sheepish smile. I was interested in learning about monsters, too, but our chat was coming to an end, and he indicated I should touch the teleportation door.
“Oh, William. I’ve thought about it a little, and I’d like to have all three of the Demi-Harpies I captured stay here for summoning. I imagine they’d get lonely if I kept only one,” I said.
“Ah… I think the girls will be happy to hear that. They seemed on edge, since they weren’t certain what would become of them,” he replied, making it sound like it was possible to communicate with the monsters. I’d have to ask his granddaughter as well, since she was a Monster Tame
r.
The door opened, and I was instantly teleported upon passing through. In front of me now was a calm ranch spreading as far as I could see. I’d gotten used to dramatic changes of scenery when teleporting, and I thought this ranch looked almost exactly how I expected… But I looked up at the sky, and something just felt wrong. It looked like a blue sky stretched above us, but it felt like it was just an illusion. I was able to see it thanks to my Hawk Eyes. The grass that spread to the horizon was also a trick of the eye; it stopped eventually. What that meant was that this space was really a rectangular “room” in much the same way as our storage units were.
I guess that’s to be expected… If this were an open-air-type labyrinth, monsters would be coming out of nowhere. This is just a man-made space somewhere in the Labyrinth Country that was made to look like a field.
William must have put his own money into making this or modified an existing facility. Either way, the feeling of the dirt below my feet felt real, and the air that filled my lungs was cleaner than that in the city, which made it feel all the more realistic.
I saw some cow-like animals enclosed in a fence—maybe they were the Marsh Oxen I’d heard about before. Feeding the cows was a young girl wearing a cap with cow-like horns sprouting from it. She was wearing leathers similar to William’s, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t keep my eyes from resting in a certain place.
A cow tail…? Some sort of decoration, maybe?
The girl noticed me and came over. She jumped the fence and gave me a bow. I bowed back, and her face split into a kind, gentle smile.
“Welcome. My name’s Millith; I’m the caretaker here at the ranch,” she said.
“Hello, I’m Atobe. I came to, um…register the Demi-Harpies for…um, summoning.”
“Oh, they’re playing in the woods over there. Please wait a moment; it’s feeding time for these guys here.”