NoveLight ™
"Bjorn, are you going to the Holy Land today?"
"There was something I couldn't finish yesterday. I'll be back tonight, so don't shirk your training.
As soon as it dawned, I went to the Holy Land to obtain the 3rd stage of the [Spiritual Imprint]. The cost was 2 million stones, the same as in the game. This also coincided with the fact that at each stage of the [Spiritual Imprint] multiple of the 3rd, a characteristic was given.
"Hahaha, I've never seen a barbarian with so much money as you. There are three paths in front of you.
When I put the money in the jar, the shaman asked:
"There is the Spirit of Flame, the Spirit of Iron, and the Spirit of Wildlife. Warrior, what will you choose?
Just in case, I listened to the shaman's explanations, but it seems that nothing has changed after the change in reality. And so:
"I'll choose the Spirit of the Wild."
I chose without hesitation, because these traits were the main characteristics of a shield barbarian.
[You have activated Imprint of Immortality: Stage 3].
[Physical Resistance and Fire Resistance greatly increased].
[Constitution +50].
[Your body is now inhabited by a Spirit of the Wild. Your base threat level has been greatly increased.
Threat Score: In other words, the chance to attract aggros from monsters increased simply by breathing. In addition, [Wild Splash] temporarily increased the threat level by 3x, and I could receive a physical bonus proportional to that number.
Initially, I used this skill only occasionally, when I was raising a barbarian with a large sword.
In the early days, I often compensated for the barbarian's lack of survivability with the [Imprint of Immortality]. However, at that time, the [Wild Splash] was a double-edged sword. The stronger the indicator, the more enemies were attracted. Of course, for a barbarian with a shield, everything was different.
No risk, high returns.
An increase in the number of monsters? For a tank, this is only a joy. With the increase in physical stats, not only did the stability increase even more, but when used in conjunction with the [Gigantization], which greatly increased the threat level, it was possible to obtain a temporary, extreme result.
I didn't know that I would finish the 3rd stage for [Gigantonization] in 3 months.
Although I was happy with my height, I also felt bitter. All I was doing was fighting for survival, but somehow I ended up like this.
"I'm tired, so you can go."
It was already 5 o'clock in the evening when I left with the [Spiritual Imprint]. Since Misha promised to cook beef, I quickly popped into the library and returned to the tavern, checking the time of our meeting. After various experiments, I figured out the trigger conditions of the [Wild Splash].
'Behellaaa
Here's how it worked.
***
At noon the next day, I went to the meeting place alone.
The store was called "Promise of Flowing Water," so I was wondering what the place was, but it was a regular dessert shop.
Bloody hell.
— ... Barbarian?
"What the hell?" Is the owner in debt?
As soon as I entered, all eyes turned to me. For some reason, it was even worse than in the library. It didn't look like I was forbidden to be here.
"Mr. Yandel?" This way!
Changing the seat was inefficient, so I went over and sat down.
"Did you make the request?"
— Yes. My name is Shawina Emur and I am a 7th Class Officer of the Ravigion Administrative Department. You can call me Shawina.
— Of course.
Shavina Emur, race: human. When the librarian said that the petitioner was a friend, I expected her to be young, but she looked about 30. She seemed like a nice person, but I find out her real identity after talking for a while.
"I didn't order anything because I didn't know you'd like it. What do you want to eat?
"I'll take grilled meat with beer."
— ... Forgive me?
"If not, don't think about it. I don't like sweets.
"Oh, I see...
That should be enough for a silent protest for being called to such a place.
I hurried to get down to business.
— So, what is the request?
"Haven't you heard that from Ragna?"
"Ragna?" Oh, you mean the librarian?
Shavina flinched at my question, then nodded as if she understood.
"I don't think you knew her name. Faithfully... for Ragna, it makes sense. Her name is Ragna Litaniel Peprok. She's not a bad person, so please don't get angry.
I had nothing to be angry about, for I had never asked her name. I repeated the name to myself.
"Ragna Litanel Peprok, right?"
"Not Litanel, but Litaniel.
In general, so. Why was her name so hard to pronounce?
— ... Is she a noblewoman?
"No, not like that...
When I asked the first thing that came to mind, the answer I got was quite strange.
"I can't tell you the details. If she found out, she would definitely get angry.
So there was some kind of story behind it, right?
"Tell me the content of your request."
"This is a simple request for patrols. Sometimes criminals and tax evaders hide in the sewers, which requires regular patrols. But...
Shavina broke off with a strange tone, as if she was waiting for something.
— ... But?
Just in case, I joined the conversation, and Shavina continued her explanation with a face as if she had been waiting for it.
"But the explorers who are usually tasked with patrolling haven't returned from the maze this time. As you know, Mr. Yandel...
— ... Yes I know?
"There was a big incident on the 3rd floor. It looks like they hit him! This is such a tragedy.
I didn't know if it was a tragedy or not, but I knew for sure that something was wrong with her.
"That's why you decided to entrust this request to me.
— Yes. Since this is an official request from the administrative office, it cannot be entrusted to anyone. So while I was looking for the right person, Ragna told me about you!
- I see.
I understood the basic context. But ...
"Why me?" There had to be others, more suitable.
When I listened to the details, it was closer to routine work than an errand. The administrative office must have delegated requests to researchers as if they were dealing with a subcontractor, and the payment couldn't have been that big either. However, even in this case, there would be many people in the city who want to take on this request.
Did not the hunters of evil spirits send this man?
In my heart, I assumed the worst, but the answer turned out to be absurdly laconic.
"Aren't you the most talked about person these days?"
"What?"
— To be honest, I was a little curious. I also wanted to meet you in person...
In a nutshell, she took the reason for the request at the administrative office to satisfy her personal curiosity.
"Oh, I'm going to buy some cookies for later." Can I brag to my colleagues that you bought them for me?
— ... Do what you want.
Judging by the bright smile, it wasn't a pretense.
"So, what are you going to do?" The fee is only 150,000 stones, but that would be a good deal for you. I'm embarrassed to talk about it myself, but...
Again? Can't you just tell me directly?
It looked like she was playing games with me.
— ... But?
When I nudged her again with a soulless question, Shavina happily continued:
— There are people who believe that receiving a request from the administrative office is already a reward! Since our selection criteria are somewhat strict, needless to say, they are considered proven talents in other organizations...?
This time the sentence ended with a question. Trying to explain at the level of the barbarian's eyes, it seemed that a lot of unclear things were mixed into this.
"This means that trust will also increase.
I was a barbarian with a modern mind and a savage body.
Shavin applauded my short and concise summary.
"Yes!" Simply put, yes! Hmm, well... With your reputation, I'm sure you're getting a lot of inquiries from everywhere.
— Not really.
I smiled bitterly. It's been two weeks since I got my reputation as a Little Balkan. However, this was the first time anyone had contacted me for the purpose of placing an order.
I had a rough idea of the reason.
Probably because I am an ignorant barbarian.
There is a difference between the ability to fight and intelligence. Perhaps I could use this opportunity to change public opinion about myself. But you shouldn't stand out too much either...
Soon I made a decision.
"I'll comply with this request.
***
"Then I'll go."
After listening to the details of the request, the barbarian left without hesitation.
Shavina smiled as she watched him leave.
He was the first interesting person I met in a while.
She wondered why Ragna was starting a conversation with him, but now it was clear to her. She felt inner peace from talking to a man who was innocent, unlike many others.
This child must have felt the same way, no matter how fleeting her words were.
It was safe to say that it had been a few years since Ragna had first mentioned someone else.
However, I was nervous, so I asked to meet him in person. But he didn't seem like a bad person to me.
He didn't seem to know anything about Ragna either.
Shavina sipped her tea and collected her thoughts. Next time, it would be nice to create an environment for the three of them, framing it as a coincidence. If she left them alone with it, they wouldn't know each other for the rest of their lives.
Maybe I'm going too far...
It's time for the child to make friends.
***
2 days later, 10 days before the maze opened, I arrived at the entrance to the sewers under the guidance of the staff, for some reason, along with the entire team of losers.
— ... Bjorn, you didn't say it would stink like that here," Hikurod complained.
"I didn't know it was so bad either. But shouldn't you have expected this when I told you it was a sewer?
"Well, yes, but...
Yesterday, when we all got together, I started talking about the request I received, and this is what happened:
"You don't have to share the request fee. Exploring the sewers with all sorts of ghost stories? Hahaha! How can I miss such an opportunity? Hikurod laughed.
"May I go with you?" Dvalki asked. "I have a headache from reading books every day, so it will be a good change of scenery.
Brown said thoughtfully:
"Hmm, the roads in the sewers are complicated, right?" It would be perfect to test my new abilities.
"A place where criminals are hiding?" It can be dangerous there alone," Misha warned.
Everyone was tired of the daily training, so it was decided that they would follow me. I just agreed. There was no need to share commissions, so there was no need to shy away from free labor.
I don't know about the others, but Rothmiller, the intelligence officer, will be very useful.
After handing Brown the map I had received from headquarters, I inserted a video recorder into the groove of my helmet to record the patrol. At this point, the preparations were completed.
"Let's go."
I stepped forward and opened the iron doors, then went down the damp stairs to the basement. When I got to the last step, there was almost no light, so I had to turn on the flashlight.
"It's bigger inside than I thought.
"That's why some people live down here. Hahaha!
The flowing water from the drain and the ditch next to it created a gloomy atmosphere against the flickering torch.
"This way."
Following Brown's instructions, we walked along the ditch, trying not to fall into the water. The farther we got from the entrance, the darker it became around.
"Do you know about it?" There's a myth that there's a horrible monster living in the sewers—" The dwarf laughed and spread stories as if he were here to have fun.
Misha and Dvalki sincerely encouraged him.
"Dvalki, could there really be a monster here?"
"I've heard that all the waste from the tower goes down into the sewers. If reagents or monster corpses accidentally touched and reacted, it would be possible to create such a creature.
"Oh... In earnest?
Of course not. Our predecessor was paid 150,000 stones per patrol and went in and out of the sewers for two years without any problems.
*Splashes, splashes*
I sighed inwardly and carefully moved my legs. But was it because of the ghost stories that Hikurod told non-stop? Each step sounded much louder.
Since there are five of us here, it feels like we are in some kind of dungeon.
Hell, nothing bad should happen, right?
***
[Bjorn Jandel]
Level: 3
Constitution: 330 (Nov. +50)
Spirit: 124
Special Abilities: 115
Item Level: 828
Total Combat Strength: 822 (new +50)
Essences Purchased: