“Haaa……Haaa…… P-Prince, thank you very much for being my sparring partner.”
“Yeah, thank you too. You must be tired; you can lie down and rest.”
“Please excuse me……I’ll happily take upon your kind words.”
Ain was training with one of Ishtalika’s knights at the knight training grounds adjacent to the castle.
This all begun with Lloyd at first, and Ain felt he was just being toyed with in the beginning.
“Great work, Ain-sama. It looks like you can’t have a normal knight as an opponent anymore.”
Chris called out to Ain after the match was over. This training was started by Lloyd, but Chris also participated in the role of instructor and to keep Ain safe.
“Will I be able to beat my father soon? ”
In truth, Ain wanted to just call him Logas. However, however, he felt some resistance to simply dropping all honorifics.
Ain was able to become like this because he came to live in Ishtalika and was surrounded by family, therefore, many of his thoughts about the Roundharts were pretty much gone.
“Well, I wonder? I guess you’ll never really know unless you actually fight each other. Even if you have higher stats it doesn’t really mean you will win.”
“I guess you’re right. However, I don’t think I’ll ever get to see them anymore.”
“You never know what the future has in store for you, Ain-sama. C’mon, for now, wipe your sweat.”
She handed him a dry, fluffy towel. The refreshing scent of herbs healed Ain’s fatigue.
“Thanks, Chris-san. Come to think of it, I wonder if you could beat my father, Chris-san……? ”
“Is that a question?”
Chris replied with a slightly angry expression on her face.
“Should I have not asked?”
“Ahh, no, is not that I don’t want to answer it, it’s just that I’m wondering how should I explain.”
“……What do you mean? ”
“Hmm. Well then, I guess I should show you my stats. You haven’t seen it yet, right? ”
“Yes. I’ve shown everyone my stats, but I’ve yet to see yours.”
Ain had a bit of a resentful look, but Chris just laughed it off.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to show her stats, it’s just that she really never had a proper opportunity to do so.
“Right now it’s a good chance. Take a good look.”
Christina Wernstein
[Job] Holy Knight
[Level] 81
[Stamina] 2290
[Magic] 3110
[Attack] 574
[Defense] 299
[Agility] 813
[Skills] Holy Swordsmanship, Wind Magic, Spirit Magic,
“No way, so strong.”
Ain spoke in a weird, surprised tone. But that couldn’t be helped after seeing Chris’ stats.
“I have some where I’m better, but Lloyd-sama has higher stats overall.”
“Is he a monster?”
Chris chuckled and continued speaking.
“Fufu……I suppose it’s only normal you think so. That person is probably the person who works the hardest and has become the strongest in all Ishtalika.”
“I guess you’re right. So, can you actually beat my father?”
“Excuse me. I think you’ve seen it in my stats. I’ll probably lose in terms of physical strength, like Attack and Defense. However, I’m sure I’m more agile, and I also have Wind Magic……The truth is, I’m not sure unless we fight.”
Ain was surprised seeing Chris’ stats, but he wasn’t that convinced about her quickness and wind magic.
“But probably Logas-dono wouldn’t be able to follow my movements with his eyes…… So, I think I’ll be able to easily beat him.”
“A surprising answer.”
That answer as rather appropriate. Ain began to realize that Chris’ nature wasn’t so much as that of a clumsy person. At least considering her previous words.
She had just said 『wouldn’t be able to follow』. She gave off the feeling she could easily manage.
Previously she had said she couldn’t know unless they fought, but one could feel Chris felt a little confident in her abilities.
“If he had the strength of Lloyd-sama, his eyes could follow. And properly cope with it.”
“I see. By the way, it’s my first time seeing Holy Swordsmanship, is that different from the Holy Knight skill? ”
“Ahh, that means I can use a holy sword. I acquired the skill after getting used to wielding it. Just like with a magic sword or another similar, if you learn how to properly wield it, after some time you’ll probably get the skill.”
Apparently, it was easy to get if you had a holy sword. Chris said this was a testament to those who could use the real strength of a holy sword, and to those who could properly wield it, making it easier to draw out the potential of a holy sword. This was not to say that without the skill you couldn’t use a holy sword, it was just that without it, it would be just a sharper sword.
“I would love to also have a weapon of my own someday.”
“I guess you’re right. The Dark Knight is rare…… actually, it’s a skill that people should be able to acquire, so I think it’s okay to just take your time and think of a weapon that could go with it.”
“I think it should be something like a magic sword, right? ”
“It appears there was once a Dullahan who wielded a holy sword. I think I read that in a book.”
＊
Changing places to Katima’s laboratory.
In a room in the basement of the castle, Ain and Katima were engaged in a discussion about research.
“In other words, it is rare to be able to absorb skills from a magic stone? ”
“I think so, nya. You ate the Green Wyvern magic stone the other day nya, right Ain? ”
“That unsavory thing? I properly finished it. As for my stats, my HP went up a little.”
“I have a hypothesis about the rise in stats, nya. Shall I explain both, nya? ”
“Please, nya.”
There was a huge gap in the skills acquired from absorbing magic stone when compared to stats gained.
When it came to skills, he hadn’t gotten any since that one with the Dullahan’s.
The upper and lower ends when gaining stats were also quite extreme.
“Don’t imitate me, nya. Let’s talk about skills. Green Wyverns are definitely small fries when compared to the others from the Wyvern family, but even then, they are still wyverns, nya. They have various skills, like flying and breath, nya.”
“But I’ve yet to get one of those.”
“Umu. That’s why I’m thinking it has to do with the amount of magic power and life force in the magic stone, nya! ”
“What does that mean?”
Between nyans, Katima established her hypothesis.
“The magic power and life force that was contained in the Dullahan’s magic stone was enormous, nya. That’s the reason why I think you acquired that skill, nya.”
“In other words, that means I can’t get a skill by absorbing the magic stones of weak monsters……?”
“To answer that, here, nya! I prepared 10 Black Fern magic stones using some pocket money, nya! ”
“By the way, what kind of monster is that Black Fern?”
The cat took out the magic stones of a monster called Black Fern. They were ten with a color close to brown.
“Speaking of the Ferns, they are monsters who can speak words, they are smart and harmful to people, so they are hunted, nya. The Black Fern tricks people into becoming their nourishment and eat them, nya.”
“I see. So, they are like evil plants.”
Katima explained that both the Black Ferns and Ferns expelled fog as they moved.
Apparently, its effect wasn’t that great in open spaces where they could be seen, but if they happened in forests, it had a big disturbing effect.
From the magic stone of the Black Fern, Ain felt a rich scent that reminded him of walnuts.
The smell alone was flavorful, to the point you could almost taste it, but there was one problem.
“Katima-san, can I have a word? ”
“Nya? ”
“The magic stone of the Black Ferns smells somewhat like walnuts……But I don’t really like walnuts.”
Ain didn’t like walnuts. Or rather, he hated them. The sensation and smell were somewhat acceptable. But just because he didn’t dislike almonds it didn’t mean he would like walnuts.
“What the heck are you saying, even though you’re half dryad, nya……”
“Well, even dryads don’t eat only walnuts, you know……?”
If you had water, you could get the rest of the nutrients from the soil. And, if you became a humanoid type, you could just eat normal meals. So, it was weird to think like that.
“More than anything, this costed a lot, nya. I won’t let it go to waste, so eat them.”
“By the way, how much was it?”
“The Black Fern’s magic stone is expensive, nya. Each one was 90,000G so all then were 900,000G, nya.”
The magic stones that Ain bought at Majorca’s magic stone shop were 30,000G and 52,000G each. And 300,000G for the mysterious one. Leaving aside the mysterious magic stone, the prices of the White Bison’s and Green Wyvern’s magic stone couldn’t compare to these.
“Well, I don’t really want to have them wasted, so I’ll eat them.”
“Go at it, nya.”
He steeled his resolve. He thought, ‘I’ll absorb them fast enough that I won’t have the time to taste them’.
And so, Ain reached for one magic stone and began to absorb it.
“What a strong flavor……I’d be happy if I didn’t hate it.”
Ain tasted the rich scent of walnuts.
This would be the perfect extract to make cakes and other sweets, but for Ain, who hated walnuts, this couldn’t matter less.