Legend

The day after Vihera’s shocking confession.

In the end, last night’s events came to an abrupt close and Rei, Elena, Set, and Yellow returned to the Golden Wind inn before going to sleep, recovering from their various forms of fatigue.

「……I overslept yesterday and today again. I’ve been living quite sloppily, haven’t I?」

Feeling sluggish after waking up, Rei muttered to himself as he stretched and looked out the window to see people already out and about.

You wouldn’t be able to tell from the inside of the inn room, as the temperature was maintained at a constant level using magic items provided by the inn. However, you could already see places outside where the air was shimmering due to the heat.

「I don’t really want to go outside……but I have to finish absorbing those magic stones.」

Currently, Rei had one Forest Panther magic stone and three Kamaitachi magic stones.

Since he had already obtained a set of paired orbs, his goal for coming to Exil, he could continue to enter the dungeon to collect more magic stones, but……

「Based on what happened yesterday, if I tried going to the dungeon, there’s a high chance that Vihera will try to follow along.」

Rei let out a small sigh as he straightened his appearance.

Of course, he was very happy to be favoured by someone like Vihera. There was no doubt about that, but in reality, he held some confusion.

Needless to say, Vihera had a well taken care of appearance and had a body that attracted men. From the way she took care of Byune, she was also a good caretaker.

Her biggest problem was that she like to fight, but even so, Rei could see that as her way of raising her skills to a higher level.

However, the fact that a person as attractive as Vihera like him was what made him confused.

In that sense, Elena was in the same position, but……she seemed to be an exception as Rei saw her as someone special.

「That’s right, I’ll absorb the magic stones outside Exil. For now, I’ll consider exploring the dungeon done.」

He decided to ignore the issue of Vihera for now as he put on the Dragon Robe as he went done to the dining area where Elena would be waiting.

Having had an early lunch, and buying skewers and sandwiches for snacks until dinner, Rei and the others went to take a look around outside teh city.

There were many people entering Exil, but there were also many people leaving.

The frequetn conflicts between the families that ruled Exil seemed to have made both merchants and travelers uneasy.

With regards to the Church of Holy Light, Rei had heard from other people in the dining area that guards seemed to have been sent over to keep them under house arrest.

The rumors Rei heard didn’t seem such that much different from what he had heard from Vosk.

「Putting the Church of Holy Light aside, it must be quite painful for the adventurers exploring the dungeon.」

「Mhm. The people of the Church of Holy Light demand high rewards, but their skills were solid. If they can’t head to the dungeon due to interrogation by the guards, it will hurt those who relied on the Church of Holy Light to make up for their lack of skill. However, it was only those behind the Church of Holy Light that were messing with us. Those working openly in the front have been quietly cooperating with the interrogation, so it’s unlikely that they will cause any more trouble.」

As they left Exil, Rei let out a sigh and spoke as he walked with Elena towards the forest they had been to previously.

「Phew, this is nice. We’ve been in so many incidents since we came to Exil.」

「It’s not because you’re in Exil that you got dragged into incidents, is it? Recalling all the times I’ve been with you.」

Elena gave a small smile as she said that.

Even though there might have been a big commotion, they were all good memories of the time she spent with Rei.

Leaving the highway, Rei’s group started to make their way through a grassy area.

Set and Yellow, who had been under the constant gazes of those passing by near Exil, were now running and jumping about happily without care.

Looking at them with a smile, Rei suddenly asked Elena something.

「Speaking of which, what happened to Tufal? Even if we leave Exil, we can’t leave him behind, right?」

「That’s right, I let Tufal use the carriage as well. ……I never thought it would be so easy to get a set of paired orbs, so he might be a while.」

From Elena’s point of view, the longer it took Tufal to come back, the more time she would be able to spend with Rei, so she honestly wanted to Tufal to take his time coming back.

Entering the forest while having various conversations, Rei took out a magic stone.

「Set, let’s start with the Kamaitachi’s magic stone.」

「Guru~!」

Okay! Set seemed to say with a cry. Rei threw the magic stone of the Kamaitachi over and Set caught it in his beak before swallowing it immediately.

【Set has acquired the skill『Wind Arrow Lv.3』】

A familiar announcement echoed in his mind.

「In a way, that was expected. Set, use it on the tree over there and see.」

「Gurururu~」

Hearing Rei’s words, Set gave a cry before glaring at a tree a short distance away with his round eyes.

「GURURURURURU~!」

Using the Wind Arrow skill, familiar wind arrows were created around Set.

However, the number was different.

Previously, only 7 arrows could be created, but now, the number had increased to 15.

「Is this the type of skill where the performance increases drastically when it levels up?」

As Rei analysed the skill, Set shot the wind arrows at the targeted tree.

The individual powers of the 15 wind arrows that were shot out didn’t change much from level 2.

However, due to the increase in projectiles, its power had also increased compared to before.

It was like a pistol had been replaced by a sub-machine gun……it wasn’t quite that big a difference, but a single wind arrow would gouge the tree trunk, so the result of 15 hitting the tree in a row caused it to collapse under its own weight and fall to the ground.

At teh same time, several squirrels, which must have been using the tree as their home, ran out as they disappeared into the depths of the forest.

From the squirrels’ point of biew, it was like their house had just been destroyed, so it must have felt bad.

「This……well, it’s become much easier to use.」

Elena, who had been watching from the side, muttered in admiration as Rei agreed with her.

「Yeah. The individual power is only slightly greater than before, but it’s quite useful for firing out a barrage. ……Set, well done.」

「Guru~」

While stroking Set, who stretched out his head for Rei to praise him, Rei took out another Kamaitachi magic stone along with the Death Scythe.

「Now then, if Set leveled up Wind Arrow, then it’s probably……」

Moving away from Set, Rei threw the magic stone into the air and slashed it with the Death Scythe.

【Death Scythe has acquired the skill『Penetrate　Lv.2』】

Yes, an announcement echoed in his mind.

「What?」

Rei spoke without thinking at the announcement message.

Since Set had leveled up Wind Arrow, he had thought for sure that Flying Slash would go up a level as well.

Judging from how the Kamaitachi had looked like, Flying Slash seemed more likely than Penetrate.

「What happened?」

「……No, I thought Flying Slash would be upgraded, so I was a little surprised when Penetrate was upgraded instead.」

Rei answered Elena’s question and thought for a moment before continuing.

「I guess Penetrate is a skill that could be upgraded from the magic stone of a Kamaitachi in the sense that it also wrapped itself up in wind?」

「That’s true. Besides, Penetrate is a very useful skill in terms of its high piercing power, isn’t it? In fact, it showed considerable strength against Oricule.」

At those words, Rei nodded.

He had been a little surprised as he thought Flying Slash would have been upgraded, but if asked whether or not Penetrate was a useful skill, it definitely was.

(Besides, piercing the enemy with the shaft has its uses.)

The magic Rei used at the of the fight against Oricule passed through his mind.

It was a horrific magic that sent a flaming snake through the target’s body, burning their body from the inside while targeting their brain.

However, to use 『Dancing Fire Snake』 , the shaft had to be embedded inside the target’s body.

Considering that, the usefulness of Penetrate, which increased the piercing power of the shaft against a target, was obvious.

「Guru~?」

Rei stroked Set lightly, who tilted his head as he looked at Rei with round eyes, before stroking Yellow, who landed on Set’s head.

「Kyu.」

「Well, it’s better than not learning anything.」

Saying that as he stroked the two of them, Rei recollected himself before moving over to a tree a short distance away with the Death Scythe in hand.

Then, rotating the Death Scythe around to hold it like a spear……

「Penetrate!」

He activated the skill.

The next moment, wind clung to the shaft.

What’s more, the amount of wind surrounding the shaft had visibly increased compared to when he had fought Oricule.

「Hah-!」

Thrusting forward with a shout, he easily pierced the tree trunk growing in front of him.

The impact seemed to be absorbed by the wind surrounding the shaft, so he barely felt anything.

「How should I put it, it’s quite troublesome. Is this just the piercing power of the Death Scythe or is it the effect of Penetrate?」

The Death Scythe weighed over 100kg and Rei could swing it around with ease. Considering the butt of the shaft was decently sharp……Rei’s honest conclusion was that he would have been able to pierce the tree trunk even without using the Penetrate skill.

In any case, judging that the power of the thrust had probably increased, Rei took out the last magic stone. The Forest Panther’s magic stone.

Taking it out, he threw it over to Set without any hesitation.

【Set has acquired the skill 『Power Crush Lv.2』】

Another announcement echoed out.

Hearing that, Rei frowned slightly.

「I thought it would give Optical Camouflage. ……The Death Scythe would have probably upgraded Power Slash if I used it.」

「Fufu~, is that why you gave it to Set?」

Rei nodded as as Elena took out some dried meat from her magic pouch to give to Yellow, who was perched on her left shoulder.

Rei could use Power Slash, but he need to find ways to avoid the recoil.

With respect to that, Set’s physical ability and its lack of flashiness made it an easy skill to use.

Because of that, Rei was find with Set upgrading Power Crush.

「Well, even if it’s Power Crush, Set should be able to use it without any problems.」

「Guru~」

Nodding at Rei’s words, Set went over to a rock a short distance away…….

「GURURURURURU~!」

Activating Power Crush, he slammed his front claws down.

The next moment, the rock, which was about the same size as Set, was easily broken as fragments were scattered into the surroundings.

「As expected. However, this is in combination with Set’s own physical strength among other things.」

「Guru~?」

That means? Set, who came back over to Rei, tilted his head with a cry.

Gently stroking him, Rei took out the sandwiches he had previously bought to eat.

As the sun started to set, Rei and the others headed back ot the Golden Wind inn through the streets of Exil.

In the end, after finishing the sandwiches, Rei spent the afternoon training and testing his skills as well as relaxing with Elena for the first time in a while.

Even for Elena, there was no doubt that Vihera’s open declaration of war the previous day had some effect on her.

As the two of them bought food from various stalls, they eventually arrived back at the inn.

And so, when Rei entered the inn, he was greeted by……

「Rei, you’re back.」

Vihera, who was dressed like a dancer as usual.

However, she had a somewhat apologetic look on her face.

It was clear that the reason for this was the black haired man standing next to her, as he looked at Rei and Elena with sharp eyes.

************************************************

【Set】

『Water Ball Lv.3』 『Fire Breath Lv.3』 『Wind Arrow Lv.3』new 『King’s Awe Lv.1』 『Poison Claw Lv.4』 『Size Transformation Lv.1』 『Tornado Lv.1』 『Ice Arrow Lv.1』 『Optical Camouflage Lv.2』 『Evil Eye Impact Lv.1』 『Power Crush Lv.2』new『Sense Enhancement – Smell　Lv.1』 『Bubble Breath Lv.1』

【Death Scythe】

『Corrosion　Lv.3』 『Flying Slash Lv.3』 『Magic Shield Lv.1』 『Power Slash Lv.2』 『Wind Hand Lv.3』 『Terrain Manipulation Lv.1』『Pain Burst　Lv.1』 『Penetrate Lv.2』new

Wind Arrow: Shoots up to 15 wind arrows. Their individual power isn’t high, but as the arrows are made from wind, they are hard for enemies to see and fly very fast.

Power Crush: Increases the power of a single attack. Normally, there would be recoil against the user, like Power Slash, but in Set’s case, there is almost no recoil due to his natural physical ability.

Penetrate: Wraps the Death Scythe in wind, increasing the power of thrusts. However, in order to activate its effect, the attack has to be made with the shaft.