Ch.67Innocent NPCs Getting Dragged In. (2)

[NEW! SKILL: DEVIL HANDLING THUG]

[-Occupation: Mountain Keeper NPC- Level: 401 Name: Jack. Age: 18.]

[Strength: 178+???]

[Agility: 214+???]

[Intelligence: 6+??]

[Luck: 6+??]

[HP: 309,850+???]

[MP: 0+0]

[Skills: Mountain Manager. Slimaime Golem Tamer. Veteran Mountain Keeper. Devil Handling Thug.]

[Mountain Manager Effect: All stats increase within the mountains you manage. As a Veteran Mountain Keeper, you can instinctively sense everything happening within a 5KM radius around you in the mountains.]

[Veteran Mountain Keeper Effect: Half the continent is now your managed mountain. Your stats slightly increase in any mountain you visit. In areas affected by Mountain Manager, stat increases stack.]

[Devil Handling Thug Effect: The strongest of the Seven Deadly Sins has submitted to you. Additional damage is inflicted on all demons and demon followers except the Seven Deadly Sins. (Additional damage: ???)]

[Mountains under management: -Ponia- -Ottoman Empire- -Aigram-]

[Titles: View details.]

————

[-Occupation Village Girl: Level 40 Name: Ira. Age: 11.]

[Strength: 16]

[Agility: 18]

[Intelligence: 68]

[Luck: 20]

[HP: 916]

[MP: 412]

[-Occupation: Following Swordsman- Level: 200 Name: Ray Sol. Age: 19.]

[Strength: 154]

[Agility: 218]

[Intelligence: 27]

[Luck: 45]

[HP: 2,800]

[MP: 145]

[Skills: Can’t Stand Injustice. Swift Sword. Steel Swordsman.]

[NEW! Skill: Steel Swordsman.]

[Steel Swordsman Effect: With your iron will and steel-like heart, all stats increase by +20 when you have something you want to protect behind you. HP and MP remain unchanged.]

[Slimaime Golem: Level 132]

[Strength: 261]

[Agility: 193]

[Luck: 0+??]

[Intelligence: 66]

[HP: 110,000]

[MP: 500]

[Skills: Mimicry, Absorption. Enlargement.]

[Mimicry Effect: Absorbs and perfectly copies the opponent’s actions. Luck is proportional to the opponent’s luck.]

[Absorption Effect: Grow stronger by eating.]

[NEW! Skill: Enlargement.]

[Enlargement Effect: Grows larger. Maximum size is proportional to MP consumed. After enlargement, consumes MP equal to size mm x 0.02 per second.]

Ragni shows no changes. Just listing our stats alone is approaching 1,000 characters.

If I included my titles too, it would easily exceed 1,500 characters, so let’s skip that. Wait, who am I talking to anyway?

“Gor, how long can you maintain 5M?”

[About 1 minute. If I grow larger, the duration will decrease significantly.]

Gor, after absorbing the wrath demon’s heart manastone I brought, nearly doubled in level and gained a new skill.

He said he naturally gained about 3 levels when dealing with monsters, but after absorbing the manastone, he jumped 50 levels at once. He really levels up easily.

I also gained a strange skill after defeating that creature: [Devil Handling Thug]. This skill, which sounds like I’m some kind of demon babysitter, doesn’t work on the Seven Deadly Sins themselves, but seems effective against their underlings.

But doesn’t my stat window just keep getting more question marks? It’s driving me crazy.

Ray also gained a new skill.

It’s a game-like skill.

A cheat skill that passive characters like her normally get upon reaching level 200. Unlike my skills that only activate in mountains or require registering nearby mountains, hers is quite good.

Of course, a 20-stat increase might seem small as levels increase, but it’s like constantly having stats 5 levels higher than your actual level, so it’s definitely not a bad skill.

“Come on, you two! Keep it up!! Just one more! One more!!”

“Hut! Ha! Hut! Ha!”

“Nngh!! Nngh!!!”

I check everyone’s status while watching the three of them.

After the last incident, I started training not just Ira but Ragni as well.

I no longer plan to let that blonde swordswoman go, and even if she tries to escape, I’ll drag her along by her hair. So I decided to increase Ragni’s combat power.

She brought this on herself. I also decided to make her responsible for training the kids.

She’s been enthusiastically taking charge of Ragni and Ira’s physical training, especially since she’s been basically loafing around for half a year.

“Aaah!! Big sis! I can’t do it!!”

“Me neither!!!”

*Thud!!*

“Come on! Just two more.”

“You’ve been saying ‘just one more’ and added 20 to our original 30! Are you trying to kill us?!”

“Ray must have muscles for brains. Brother, I’m tired…”

“Ray. That’s enough.”

“Hmph. Fine.”

She’s quite the Spartan.

Her endless “just one more” would continue indefinitely if no one stopped her.

Of course, leveling up naturally increases strength and stamina, but since we won’t be leveling up in Aigram anymore, I thought we should at least build up some basic stamina.

This masochistic swordswoman seems to develop sadistic tendencies when teaching.

Wait, is she naturally S&M? Self-sustaining?

“Haaah. Brother, hug me.”

“Haha. Sure.”

“Master, hug me too.”

“Hey, Gor, throw her into that orc cave…”

“I’ll walk properly!!!”

That day’s events must have been truly traumatic, as this is how I respond to her nonsense now.

The orcs here probably couldn’t defeat Ragni anyway, but since her stat-boosting skills “Quality of an Emperor” and “One Who Stands Above” aren’t activating, the princess is genuinely afraid of orcs. Please stop talking nonsense.

“We’re leaving soon, right?”

“Yeah. Why? Don’t want to go?”

“No, I don’t mind going to Neity. I’m just wondering what you’ll do about your promise to Green Dol.”

“…I’m sorry. It’s because of me.”

While having lunch at the restaurant, Ray becomes dejected again at the thought that I have to go to the [Spirit Demon Country] because of her.

“It’s fine. I’ll handle it. Besides, originally…”

“You never specified when you’d go. You said you’d go when you wanted to. Is that what you mean?”

“Oh, very accurate. Hello there.”

“Tch. I was busy then and only made a verbal agreement, but not being specific is now coming back to bite me.”

Green Dol confidently appears at our restaurant, sits at our table, and casually orders his own meal.

Promises should be made without loopholes. A promise full of holes is practically an invitation to be broken. Wait, is that right?

“Sigh. So, I heard you’re leaving soon for Neity. When will you return?”

“Well, I’d like to stay until Ira graduates…”

“Elementary school alone takes 3 years, from what I know.”

“What? No, at least high school graduation.”

“…Are you saying you’ll come back in 10 years?”

“How about before I die?”

“I didn’t take you for this kind of person…”

If he didn’t see me that way, maybe his eyes are the problem? Of course, going to the [Spirit Demon Country] isn’t an issue.

Actually, I’d rather go there than to Neity.

The Wrath Demon was originally rampaging in Siltra, the Spirit Demon Country. But it appeared before Envy, who was supposed to appear in ep.1, and was defeated first.

This means Siltra now only has the ‘personal’ issues between the three races: elves, beastfolk, and demon folk. There might still be Wrath Demon followers, but honestly, they can’t confront us directly.

From what I know, elves’ base level is all above 100, and the elves in this world aren’t captured and exploited as sex slaves like in some other worlds.

The elves here are seriously strong. The 0.5-tier DPS elf archers have absolutely insane cheat skills.

“Hmm. Then, Jack, how about this?”

“Ordinary conditions won’t be enough to change my mind.”

I smirk as Green Dol tries to propose new terms. I do plan to go eventually.

Since he saved Ray, if elves are truly suffering because of demon followers or demons, I can lend a hand.

But only if those followers are from the Wrath faction. I have no intention of fighting other demons.

However, this world keeps throwing unfair situations at me, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’ll lose out if I don’t negotiate better terms.

Of course, Green Dol doesn’t know this, and he rubs his forehead as if getting a headache from my desire for different conditions.

“Among things I can offer, you’re not interested in money or ‘women’?”

“Of course not.”

The women beside me turned their heads toward me at incredible speed, but my response was faster.

Please don’t be like that, I don’t like clingy women. Except Ira.

Ira, you can turn your head faster.

“Then, how about this? I’ll become Ray’s swordsmanship master.”

“…What?”

“Huh? Me?”

Wait. What does this mean? The deus ex machina will become Ray’s master?

“I’m not offering to teach [Wind Riding]. However, Ray’s swordsmanship is clearly a self-taught derivative style, completely practical with no formal structure. Am I right?”

“Y-yes, that’s true.”

“Sword forms developed for a reason—to prepare responses for all types of situations. A purely practical style means you ‘see’ the opponent’s attack and counter, or even if you attack first, you’re ‘easily countered.’ To put it simply, even for basic horizontal and vertical slashes, [Wind Riding] has three defensive, counter, and offensive forms for each. Do I need to explain further the difference between having prepared forms versus reacting on the spot?”

So, Ray’s sword is weak because she has no formal swordsmanship. And he’ll fix that? A 4,000-year-old elf?

I quietly looked at Ray, and her blue ocean-like pupils began to tremble like a storm was brewing.

I understand she wants to learn, but I also see why she can’t bring herself to say it.

“Alright. But please let Ira enroll first. And give us time until she’s settled there.”

“Fine. How much time do you need?”

“One year. Give us one year after Ira enrolls. I’ll come after that.”

“Good. Shall I teach in advance? Or…”

“In advance, please.”

“W-wait a minute! Jack, if you do that…!!”

Ray shouts at me for proceeding on my own, but I gesture toward the person beside me.

Ira, sitting quietly beside me, eating while listening to the conversation. After carefully chewing and swallowing her food, she looks at me and speaks.

“Brother, how long do I have to wait?”

“About half a year. Is that too long?”

“Yes, it’s too long.”

“I’ll be leaving Gor, Ragni, and Ray with you.”

[Eh? You’re leaving me behind too?]

“But I like being with you.”

“Is that not okay?”

“…Do you have to come back quickly?”

[Um, Master?]

Looking at those round purple eyes that are beginning to glisten at the thought of our brief separation a year from now makes my heart ache. But still.

“Yes. If Ira is good and stays well with the big sisters, I promise I’ll come back really quickly.”

“Okay. I’ll be really good.”

[Should I stay with the golem and follow you, Master?]

“My, my. I feel like I’ve become the bad man separating a family.”

That’s right. Feel more sorry about it.

I completely ignored Gor’s continuous status window chatter and patted Ira’s head.

For the next year, I’ll make sure all my companions grow strong enough not to die or lose to demons, even without me.

I strengthened my resolve and smiled at Ira.