Chapter 72: Dragon HuntersDay 86
The girls are still asleep so I take the opportunity to update my jobs and skills. Mage is up a level, not that it really matters. Maximum HP Recovery costs an additional 32 bonus points and only provides double the previous rate — not worth it. Instead, I’ll lower my EXP leveling and add another job. I’ll use the leftover for crystals and the st bonus point will go to Endurance, just for fun.
Bonus Points: 149
Lvl
Cost
Skill
Note
2
3
Char/Job/ID
essential
2
3
Chant Omit
keep
4
15
EXP Needed
1/5
5
31
EXP Gained
10x
Weapon
rod
Accessory
Sherry
5
31
Extra Jobs
6 jobs
5
31
MP Recovery
20x
5
31
Crit Hits
+25%
2
3
Crystal Acc
4x
*
1
Stat Boost
END
Errant has waited so patiently for me, so it’s time to see what it has to offer as my sixth job. [1] The Effects slot is empty. Rather than ‘none’, it looks like a skill crystal slot so, yep, here’s a bunch of stat bonuses. Hero’s bonuses seem natural to add here. Hmm, it only accepts a single effect rather than all of the effects from a job. What a rip-off. Well, it’s not like I need to keep Errant. I’ll pick Hero’s INT medium for now.
Errant’s skills are Effect Settings, Skill Settings and empty. The first two are probably just to make the job work. The st is the only feature that might make this job interesting. I could add Adventurer’s Item Box, though that wouldn’t offer any advantage over just keeping Adventurer. Healing would simirly be useless since Errant still counts as a job. The only skill worth adding has to be magic.
Unfortunately, Errant can’t duplicate a full set of a magic job or even a complete element. This cheap-ass skill slot will only hold one single form of one single spell. Well, no need to waste it on carbs when I can go straight for the steak — Lightning Storm. I’m still not convinced that Errant is useful, but it’s worth trying.
[Mage: 51, Adventurer: 44, Hero: 49, High Priest: 42, Wizard: 9, Errant: 1]
Who could possibly benefit from Errant other than someone with multiple jobs like me? It’s basically garbage by itself. My one-spell-at-a-time Mage jumped to two with Wizard and now three with Errant. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more like a cheat character than right now — and that’s even without Durandal.
The girls are waking up so I put my wax pads away and warp downstairs to start making oatmeal. I deserve the quips I get for that silly stunt. Alina takes over the cooking while I go out with Sherry and the buckets to gather water with my Water Wall. Roxanne sets the table and we get ready to eat.
The breakfast conversation is dominated by my new magic. There’s no way I could deny its significance even if I can’t quite reach their level of enthusiasm. I’ll break the news that I can actually use three spells simultaneously when I get a chance to show it. Telling them now would just be a tease.
Roxanne hesitantly says, “Master, I’m worried about you travelling so far alone. Could you consider taking one of us with you?”
Alina adds, “Your st long trip was with Marcus. Wasn’t it good to have a helper?”
I look to Sherry, who responds, “I’m not worried about you. It’s better for me to go to the library.”
“Good answer, Sherry. Fine, Roxanne, you can come with me as long as you make it up to Alina ter for leaving her with the cleaning.”
I grab the map of adventurer guilds and jot down a reasonable route from my furthest point to the east.
“Roxanne, I’ll temporarily switch you to Explorer so you can carry your weapon and armor. Also, grab two extra pairs of shoes and spare swords. Anyway, it’s better to use your Item Box than mine in public.”
“Master, travelling as an Explorer is fine, but I want to wear my armor and sword.”
“Alright, Roxanne. You’ll be my guard, after all.”
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We drop Sherry off at the Imperial Library and I take Roxanne on the path east to find the dragon-kin.
I start with a town I visited with Marcus, Dohona. We had to hunt around a bit to get a ride to the next stop, Dobro.
Roxanne says, “I’ve been here before.”
“Sherry’s home vilge should be somewhere near this town. I asked if she wanted to visit — it really doesn’t seem like I should ask again.”
“Master, it’s most common for sves to never be expected to return.”
(I really don’t need to hear sad stuff like this. Well, maybe I do but I don’t want to.)
“Anyway, the next town is, um, Saboja.”
“Master, are you sure we should go there? The Baradam family controls that region.”
“Thanks for the warning. I’m pretty sure they should be peaceful now. Just in case they aren’t, let’s go through it quickly.”
We reach Saboja and jump to the next town, Aiena, without incident. I’m just starting to realize that I’ve seen most of these names in the manga. This is the route to the pce with the mirrors. Well, I don’t want to get into the import/export business, at least, not as a Mage.
Since I might need to refuel on the way back, I ask the guild staff for directions to the nearest byrinth.
“Follow the path past the west gate. There will be a sign.”
“Thanks. Which way is west?”
On the way, I notice that the rest of my party is more northwest than directly west. The warmer air and different trees make sense. I could draw a nice map with basic trigonometry — another useless idea. The byrinth is barely a kilometer away and free admission, so we go in to make a transfer point. We immediately pop back to the adventurer guild and find a ride to the next stop. Eventually, we reach our target city of Zabir. [2]
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Zabir is a pleasant little town. The air is warm and clean. The people are happy and calm.
This sucks! Nothing but irrelevant humans as far as the eye can see.
I announce, “Let’s try the merchant guild.”
Doesn’t exactly look like this pce is a center of commerce. We might need to look for a bigger town.
Not defeated yet, I greet the clerk, “Hello, can you direct us to the nearest sve shop?”
She gnces at the armed and alert Roxanne.
“Certainly, Sir. You’ll find Malik’s shop near the south gate.”
“Is it reputable?”
“It is a legal sve shop. The merchant guild wouldn’t suggest it otherwise.”
“Sorry, no offense intended. Um, what do you sell that’s special for this region?”
“We have some rare spices, which are hard to find anywhere outside Kassim.”
“I’ll buy whatever you recommend.”
“Thank you, Sir. Tell Malik that Rosha sent you.”
After a short walk we find that Malik’s pce is in a nice, clean area with no suggestion of slums in the vicinity. At least on the outside, it’s nicer than An’s pce. The door has a single, zy guard and an attentive servant. The servant greets me in a formal tone.
“Hello, Sir. May I help you?”
“I am David Moreau. I am interested in purchasing sves.”
“Does My Lord have an appointment or letter of introduction?”
“No, Rosha recommended this pce.”
“Very good, Sir. Please wait here a moment and I’ll see if Master is avaible.”
The servant returns just a few minutes ter to escort us inside.
“Master will be with you shortly.”
The interior looks and smells clean, just like An’s. Maybe all sve shops are like this. I’ll just assume that everyone is well-treated and happy. La .
Soon, an elderly man, human, of course, enters the room. This fat guy looks more wealthy than regal.
“Hello, Sir. I am Malik, the owner. Can anyone besides Rosha vouch for you?”
“Greeting, Malik. I have previously dealt with a Sve Merchant far to the west, near the Imperial Capital. His name is An.”
“An? I know him well. Just being cautious.”
“I understand. I am interested in dragon-kin, possibly two.”
“Ah, yes, that expins why you would come all the way out here. I should inform you that my top sves are reserved for the upcoming auction in Curatar.”
“I understand.”
“What will the sve’s primary duty be? Are you looking for male or female?”
“To work as my vanguard in the byrinths. Male, if he can be fully trusted around beautiful, young women.”
“Then I’ll show you to our female sves. Your guard is welcome to come along if she wouldn’t mind removing her sword.”
“Roxanne, Item Box.”
“Yes, Master.”
We walk upstairs to a corridor of several rooms. Malik speaks to a female guard who unlocks one of the doors. Several dragon-kin women are inside. These women are as gigantic as Sherry described. Their chests are much rger than simply proportional. Even if dragon-kin are most known for combat, it’s impossible to believe that chest size isn’t a major selling point. The boob tax must be astronomical. The sver’s eyes must be spinning like a taxi-meter to measure how long I stare at these girls.
The biggest girl is a 15-year-old, level 2 Vilger. [3] With that pretty face and vacuous expression, she’ll certainly be expensive and probably not expecting combat. The next is a 30-year-old, level 12 Dragon Knight. I’m getting some Tessa vibes by the way she’s sneering at me and scoffing at Roxanne. I probably look like I’m just here for the boobs. I’d rather take the cute, possibly passive giant over an angry, potentially homicidal one. Last are the two shortest girls, barely taller than me. They are very simir in appearance and are holding hands nervously. They are 22 and 20 and both are level 20 Warriors.
“I’d like to speak to the sisters.”
“These young beauties were acquired recently to serve as companions, but they do have some combat experience. Neither speak Brahim so I have not yet been able to confirm their willingness to become sex sves.”
(The girls make a distinct twitch at the mention of sex. This could be good.)
“I am satisfied with the women I have now.”
Roxanne’s stoic look breaks into a light smile. The dragon-kin girls seem to notice this and rexed a bit.
“Oh? Then perhaps a deal can be made. With training, I expect these young women will fetch a high price as companions. If you are interested in using them for combat instead, I could consider a discount, especially if you want both of them.”
“Selling to me lowers your risk, since they may never accept becoming companions.”
“Sir, they have not yet been here long. Yet, you are correct. They have been quite reluctant so far. Even combat sves would be expected to be companions as well.”
“Roxanne, please try to communicate my intentions.”
Roxanne does some weird gestures which involve grabbing my arm and shaking her head. I guess it might have meant something to them because one responds in broken Brahim, “No night.”
“Agreed.”
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We go downstairs to discuss the price with Malik. Rather than a fixed price for the pair, I copy An’s deal of ‘second at half price’, so I can use my haggle cheat. We eventually settle on a base price of 400k for one, which comes to a total of 422k for both. Malik says something like, “For your understanding and discretion”, i.e., my haggle skill is effective. I’ll skip the mercy cuse since I can fix that myself when it feels right. These girls could seriously kick my ass in a fair fight so a little discretion seems wise.
Using Roxanne’s Item Box to conceal my own, I pay the sver and we do the usual ceremonies. Malik definitely peeks at my card and the girls just look down. Roxanne pulls out shoes for the girls and puts her own sword back in its scabbard. We leave the shop and walk to the adventurer guild.
“There should be an unmanaged byrinth nearby.”
“Have you been here before, Master?”
“No, I read about it. I’ll go ask for directions.” [4]
We easily find the suggested byrinth just to the east of town. I ask Roxanne to hand them swords and I say that we’re just doing a quick test. The girls look a little nervous but nod. No Explorer or guard at the entrance so we go inside. Roxanne forms the party in the traditional way and does the chant for Dungeon Walk. That’s just a fake that we arranged in advance so we actually arrive inside Aiena’s Labyrinth, or whatever it’s called.
We turn around, walk out, and the girls immediately notice the abrupt change. Roxanne collects their swords and we find a pce to sit while the girls chatter in some unknown nguage. Roxanne watches them in a rexed manner that says, ‘I could cut you.’
“Zara, Sima, we are far from Malik so please feel at ease.”
The girls look at me nervously without speaking.
Without taking her eyes off the sisters, Roxanne says, “Master, I don’t think they understand.”
I wait patiently until Zara, the oldest, finally says in reasonably good Brahim, “How we come here?”
“I have special movement magic. I’ll expin ter. First, was Malik keeping you there against your will?”
“Old master sick, then die. He kind. Give us to wife. Wife angry, sell us. Malik not bad, not good.”
“If you are willing to work with us in the byrinths, I will treat you well and there will be no night duties.”
“Promise? No night?”
Roxanne proudly announces, “Master has me, Alina and Sherry at night.”
Zara nods. “Thank you, Master. We work well. We want shells now.”
Sima echoes, “Shells, please.”
I’m not sure that word transted right.
“Is this what you want?”
I handed over the st of the pistachios that Theo roasted.
Sima shakes her head and Zara replies, “No, Master. Hard fish shell. White one.”
I doubt they mean fish scales so maybe they want sea shells. Let’s see, dragon-kin, dragon, dinosaur, bird, shell grit for calcium. Wait, does that mean they y eggs? Probably too personal to ask at this point. Somehow, this makes Roxanne’s tail seem rather trivial.
Roxanne nudges me to continue and we walk over to the adventurer guild to buy some shell grit. The girls greedily take a bag each and start munching. Well, this is another world after all. Zara and Sima seem happy and thank me.
We walk back to the byrinth and then warp to our front yard. Zabir must be pretty far away because it’s not even noon here. I only feel a little tired from that long warp. Good to know.
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[1] The LN’s name, Jobless, means unemployed. Errant is closer to the WN’s transtion. It still holds the negative connotation without literally contradicting.[2] All of these towns are from the LN, but the spellings are adjusted back to the WN. The linguistic variation in the WN seems quite deliberate.[3] This might be one of the LN characters before the auction. David wouldn’t know so we don’t either.[4] David probably read this in the manga. I read it in the LN (v5 c3).
