Chapter 15-16

Chapter 15 - The warrior exploring the ruins Part 1

Beyond the top of the stairs was a dimly lit stone passage.

Some of the walls were crumbling and the debris was evident.

The air was humid and stale.

Marianne pulled out a map, and Kaede quickly created an orb of light.

"Most of the first and second floors have already been explored. So the place to go is the third floor onwards. There are also a few danger zones, so please be careful.

"How dangerous are these places?"

"To be exact, there are two areas that are very deteriorated and are inhabited by demons. We have not yet been able to explore them."

Hmm, I see. If we go to the next few floors, there's a good chance we'll find demons lurking around.

We'd better ignore those and hurry down the stairs.

That doesn't mean we have to limit ourselves, though.

The chances of finding treasure should be greater if we explore this place for several days.

It is decided.

"Today we explore the danger zones. But to ensure Marianne's safety, I will be the only one who goes in there."

"I'm sure I can put up a good fight."

I wonder what The Count would think about what you just said.

"Ugh… I understand."

Marianne bowed her head and nodded. Urara felt relieved and placed her hand on her chest.

We started walking and decided to head to the nearest danger zone first.

"By the way, what's the name of the group?

"Manyu Brigade"

"Fufu, I can tell Toru-Sama made it up."

"You can?"

I bowed my head, wondering what that meant.

Kaede walks up and stands beside me.

"Master, there's a strong smell of demons ahead."

"Can you evaluate them from here?"

"…They're a group of mushroom-type demons."

Her evaluation ability

It can be used to search for enemies, and even detect the true identity of targets.

We continue along the corridor and reach the danger zone.

There, more than a hundred walking mushrooms were crowded together, and newly grown ones were sticking their tops out of the walls and the floor.

The spores of the walking mushrooms are poisonous, so we cannot approach them without care.

Maybe it'd be better to leave this place and go to another area?

No, I think I can do this now.

After all, I am level 300. I should be able to resist most poisons.

"You three stay here. I'll go alone from behind."

"Be careful."

Kaede shook her fluffy tail. Her hands were crossed in front of her chest, making her breasts rise.

This sight seems to work better than any mushroom poison.

Calm down, calm down, calm down.

"Don't take too many risks, Toru-Sama. I know you're strong, but you shouldn't be too confident because of that."

"I see…"

Marianne says those words to me as she grabs my arm.

Her plentiful breasts rested on either side of my arm, their soft sensation making my brain stop thinking.

Madam, you are right.

Thank you very much.

"Aaaaaaaaah!!"

I rushed to kill all the mushrooms. Except for the poison, they are weak demons and are no match for me.

If you step on them, they will be crushed.

In a matter of minutes, all the walking mushrooms were eliminated.

It seems that the poison has no effect on me. Perhaps Dragonoids are a strong race after all.

I went to the back and found a stone door. Upon pushing it open, it gave way to a small room.

There were bottles, boxes and lots of garbage inside.

"Is it all rotten? No, it looks like it can still be used."

I pick up a bottle and rub it's surface with my fingers.

The liquid inside is crystalline and does not smell rotten.

But what is it? Some kind of medicine? It is said that restorative medicines of great purity can be found in ruins, even if rarely, so I guess it is the same kind of medicine.

It would be great if it was a healing elixir for all kinds.

Well, maybe it's nothing special, not everything can be good.

When I went back, the girls were happy to see me.

"How was it, Master? was there something in the back?"

"I found some things. There's this bottle, it seems to be some sort of elixir. There was also a locked box that seems to be promising."

"I didn't know there were still objects on this floor! Well done, Toru-Sama!"

"Marianne-San, you are standing a bit too close to my Master!"

Kaede pulls Marianne away from me by pulling her arms. I can't help but feel disappointed, the feeling of softness and warmth has disappeared.

Suddenly, I feel a sharp look and my consciousness returns.

Kaede looked at me with a scowl.

"What?"

"My master is mine."

"I see…"

Is she angry?

Well, I don't really understand a woman's feelings.

"Toru-Sama, you need to show some male discipline."

"Umm, I suppose…"

Urara looked at me with narrowed eyes.

What the hell is going on?

There are three danger zones on the second floor, one of which we have already completed.

We went down to the second floor and opened the map again to know where to go.

"There are danger zones here and here. And here is an area that hasn't been investigated yet."

"Hmmm, I guess this area is not much bigger than the second floor. I was wondering, does this place belong to the old race?"

"According to one theory, it was a subterranean fortress. It is not clear what kind of enemies they were fighting, but a lithograph has been found that describes the defense at this site".

Kaede and I said "Wow" in unison, as we were impressed.

If it is a subterranean fortress that resembles a dungeon, then what exactly is a dungeon?

So far I've immersed myself in them as a matter of course, but when I think about it, those structures are full of mystery, aren't they?

The other day, the dungeon we explored simply disappeared.

I wonder where it went.

"By the way, Toru-Sama, it's about time you taught me how to fight."

"....Really?"

Not only I, but also Kaede and Urara were surprised.

I looked to Urara for confirmation, but she shook her head vigorously.

"The agreement was that we would come if you would join us, but you didn't say anything about teaching you to fight."

"Just a little bit, please. I am tired of being protected by Urara and rescued by Toru-Sama. I am tired of being a weak girl."

"But…"

"Please! Please!"

She hugged me and pressed her chest against mine.

I managed to keep my mind from turning to mush at the feel of her breasts against mine and focused on what I should do.

If you want to get stronger, I can do it with my skills. But the problem is that you could get hurt.

If something were to happen, it would be irreparable.

The story would be different if there was at least one way to heal the wound.

"It can't be helped. Since master is in this situation, I will make an effort to heal Marianne's wounds if she gets hurt.

"Can you heal wounds?"

"Yes, my healing waves can easily remove even the toughest wounds."

So there would be no problem?

"As a servant of the Crown, I strongly oppose it. If anything should happen to the young lady…"

"I'm glad you feel that way, Urara. But this decision was made with the future in mind. There is no guarantee that the demons will not attack again, and I have to become stronger in order to help my father."

"My Lady…"

She is certainly right. If you have great physical strength, you are less likely to be caught by the enemy, and if you have a high level, you will not be hurt easily. You can even avoid situations like this.

"Let's train you, Marianne."

Paki. Paki.

A sound interrupted my words.

"Notice: Since the Lvl of labor savings has reached the upper limit, it will be paid when you move up the rank"

"Notice: payment has been updated due to the effect of the skill effect UP"

"Notice: You have acquired the job title Dragon Knight."

"Notice: You have acquired the job title Master Tamer."

"Notice: You have acquired the job title Imitator."

"Notice: You have acquired the job title Great Thief."

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Chapter 16 - The warrior exploring the ruins Part 2

Paki Paki Paki Paki.

The sound of breaking glass echoed inside me.

"Notice: Your labor savings has reached the upper limit, so your payment will be updated."

"Notice: The payout has been improved by the effect of the UP skill."

"Notice: You have obtained the job title "Dragon knight"."

"Notice: You have obtained the position of "Master Tamer"."

"Notice: You have acquired the position of "Imitator"."

"Notice: You have acquired the job of "Grand Thief"."

"Notice: Your job savings skill has been damaged. It will take some time to repair."

The words appeared in a row before me.

Concerning the matter of my experience points savings, the number was doubled and paid, but it appears that my efforts were graded and returned.

The problem is the effort itself.

Speaking of job titles, isn't "dragon knight" a super rare, high-ranking job like a "Paladin"?

I have a serious headache.

In addition, I've gained the highest rank of the "Tamer" class, "Master Tamer".

As well as the highest rank of the "Thief" class, "Grand Thief".

If I had one of those, I'd be some kind of hero….

But I don't know what an "Imitator", as in, a copycat, is.

It's a job I've never seen before.

It is best not to use it carelessly until you ask an expert.

I opened the status and checked it.

LvL: 300

Name: Toru Eiban

Age: 25 years old

Sex: Male

Race: Dragonoid

Job: Warrior, Dragon Knight, Master Tamer, Imitator, Grand Thief.

Skills:

Damage reduction: [LvL 50]

Body Enhancement: [LvL 50].

Experience savings: [Under repair].

Magic Saving: [Under repair].

Skill Experience: [In restoration]

Labor Savings: [Under restoration].

Skill Savings: [LvL 48]

UP skill effect: [LvL 50].

Magic balance: [LvL 50].

Authority: LvL 3 Dungeon(x1)

...Huh? What is this "Authority"?

I'm not familiar with it, no matter how much I try racking my head about it.

I don't think it was there when I last checked my status.

In the text you can see that it has some kind of authority in the dungeon, but it does not give any information regarding what it means.

I wonder if it has anything to do with that missing dungeon?

I will look into it when I have more time.

For now, I'll concentrate on exploring this dungeon.

"Master, what is it?"

"It's nothing. Anyway, I understand what you want, Marianne. If you want to grow stronger, I will teach you."

I add: "However."

"You are not to do anything rash, and you are to listen to everything I say. As soon as I tell you to back off, you back off. That's the deal."

"I understand. I would also like to ask if I can be a member of your group. Of course, not forever. I would like to be a part of your group for as long as you are in town."

Urara nods to her words.

In other words, the two will be temporary members from now on.

I don't think it was necessary for her to force me to accept it, but I suppose it's a sign of sincerity on her part.

"Well then, let's head for the next danger zone."

"Alright!"

And so we went on our way.

We got to the second danger zone, but found nothing there.

All we got were demonic materials and medicinal plants at best.

However, there was a lot of leveling up.

Marianne was able to level up.

He fought in several battles with Urara's support.

Marianne started out as a level 6.

However, now she's level 36.

Her level was growing at an unusual speed.

Of course, the cause of this was my UP [experience point doubling / general] skill.

"Wow, this is amazing! My level has risen again!"

"Me too, my lady. I used to be level 50 and now I'm level 70, it's almost shocking to see my level go up so easily."

The two were getting greedier and greedier and pushing further and further forward.

I know how they feel. At those levels, they already qualify to be part of the heroes' group. Especially for Marianne, who until recently was a damsel in distress who had to be protected.

Kaede smiles at the situation.

"What?"

"No, I wonder if I was like that too."

"That's right… I think it was worse for you."

"Master!?".

Kaede laughed, but at that moment she was already greedily chasing after the enemy.

Of course I know exactly what I'm doing.

She was trying hard to be strong for me.

That was just a little teasing.

"By the way, Master, I think we'd better get back to the surface."

"I think so too, what do you think Marianne?"

"I think we'd better take a look at the unexplored areas, since we still have some time left. There might be some valuable objects there."

Certainly, with Marianne as she is now, the return time should be considerably reduced.

The unexplored area is close by. It would be a sufficient distance just to look inside.

That is why we decided to continue our search.

"That's where it goes from here."

Marianne points to a hallway in the back.

Although this is an unexplored area, it is merely a continuation of the same scenario as before.

Unlike the dangerous area, there don't appear to be any monsters.

I'm walking ahead, with Marianne and Urara right behind me.

Kaede is positioned at the rear.

Walking together, we continued onward and soon reached a dead end.

"Looks like it was a waste of time, my lady."

"I'm sorry."

The two kept chattering, but I kept my eyes on the wall.

Something seemed slightly odd.

I had a very strange feeling.

This is probably an instinct of the newly acquired [Great Thief] skill.

My observation skills have improved more than ever and it is possible to discover even the most irregular details.

"Master?"

"Quiet."

I put my ear to the wall and tapped it lightly.

Knock, knock.

The sound is light.

The other side is probably hollow.

I check to see if the wall slides to one side.

But it is firmly fixed and there is no sign of movement.

I have no choice but to tear it apart.

"Back, all three of you."

I pushed everyone back and hit the wall very hard.

In an instant, the stone wall shattered and, in the blink of an eye, a passage behind the wall appeared.

The passage itself is very short and a door can be seen just beyond.

I went ahead, opened the door and peeked inside.

"It looks like a room."

"It smells like dust."

Kaede and I enter first, with Marianne and Urara right behind us.

The room was quite large and had several items that appeared to be relics in storage.

I picked up a sword I saw and pulled it out of its sheath.

The blade of the sword looked like a mirror, I could see my face reflected in it.

The metal used was unknown. It didn't appear rusty and looked like it could still perform well.

The scary thing is if this sword could be found anywhere.

If this is a tool that was mass-produced, then the ancient species must have possessed a frightening amount of knowledge and technology.

No, I'm sure they did.

"Master, please come here."

"Hmm?"

I was called by Kaede and walked towards her.

She was bent over and looking at something.

Likewise, I also bent down.

"…What are those?"

"I think they're eggs."

"Well, this is a place that's been abandoned for a long time. There can't be live eggs in a place like this."

"I think so too. ….What kind of eggs are they?"

There were two eggs placed on a pedestal.

Their colors were white and purple, their surface was elastic to the touch. The white egg was smooth, while the purple one felt unusual.

This is the first time in my life that I have ever seen eggs like these.

Kaede, who possesses appraisal skills, explored their identity.

"Do you know what they are yet?"

"It looks like these are beast eggs."

"What?"

"They're like creatures created by an ancient species. It seems they were mainly used to assist people, but also, they could be used for combat."

Did the great race even create living beings?

These relics of a bygone era look like something out of a dream.

"'The creatures are in a state of suspension so as to prolong their lifespan for a long time. You will be happy to hear that you can reanimate them and make a contract with the creatures if you pour in a large amount of magical power."

According to Kaede, as soon as the eggs are awakened and blood is spilled on them, the beasts are born.

Once awake, the creatures will recognize the owner of the blood as their master and will obey any command.

It is a very intriguing story.

I'm not sure what kind of creatures could hatch from eggs created many years ago, but I'm curious.

"I'll wake them up."

I poured my magic power into the white egg first.