After making sure that he wouldn’t drop dead from the aftereffects of his reckless mistake, Vaan took a look at his status.
Name: Vaan
Title: One Who Creates, Magical Pioneer, Reckless Fool
Class: Adventurer - F
Age: 21 years
Gender: Male
Race: Human
[Parameters]
Strength: E
Endurance: C
Agility: E
Mana: EX
Mental Power: C
[Skills]
Restoration – The ability to restore something to its former state.
Mana Manipulation – The ability to directly handle mana in its purest form, as well as deconstruct magical phenomenon back to its basic elements.
…There was something odd added to his titles there, but it seemed like things worked out well enough. And he managed to get two skills out of it.
Not to mention that new parameter… From the fact that it wasn’t listed in the guidebook, it seemed to be one of the additional parameters that could be gained.
“Still… that was unexpected.” Vaan muttered and checked his body.
It felt different now. Lighter. And he could feel a pressure from the surroundings, like he was surrounded by water… but thinner than that.
Whatever the case, it seemed like his experiment was a success. In that case…
Vaan reached out and focused, imagining a sword in his right hand. Like always, a spark of light emerged. But different this time, he didn’t feel a headache or a drain in his body. Instead, he felt a cool breeze pass through him and up his arm before a sword appeared.
…It was still lackluster. In fact, it seemed even less detailed than when he made one out of iron.
However, it seemed that he could use it as a source.
Since that was the case…
“I should go.”
Head to the auction, create something worth selling, and then get the resources to enter Babel through the Ancient Tower.
With that decided, Vaan left his room to try and find the auction house.
Mitri watched Vaan leave without a word. As the young man left the inn, setting off into the city, the elf frowned and muttered, “Mister Vaan, was it?”
The young man didn’t notice. No, it was probably something that he could not notice.
“What is a ‘forsaken one’ doing in this city?”
It was troublesome. Although Mitri accepted him as his guest because of the pitiful state he was in, Mitri never expected Vaan to be that.
Even so…
Mitri sighed. “Yet another troublesome guest.” He glanced at his ledger and then shook his head. “Well… I pray that he does not get involved in too much trouble. Even if he caught that woman’s interest and has my protection, if the King or the Sage catches wind…”
Mitri sighed again. “…I knew I should have retired earlier.” Shaking his head once more, he kicked back in his chair and flipped through his book.
It was day time, early morning. The sun was still low in the sky, leaving streaks of orange still present in the blue expanse above. Even so, there were quite a lot of people around.
More than yesterday night, for sure.
Vaan kept his hands close to him and lowered his head, keeping to himself as he made his way towards the slums. From what he remembered of the book, it wouldn’t be too hard to reach…
Still, as he made his way deeper into the city, he couldn’t help but notice more and more people around. Not only that, but they were all armed and equipped, buzzing with a strange tension.
After seeing another group walk past, Vaan muttered, “Did something happen?”
“Hm? Didn’t you hear?” A gruff male voice called out in response.
Vaan did his best to not flinch and then slowly turned towards the speaker.
A man with bulging muscles and tanned skin, littered with scars. He wore a chainmail vest and had a giant double-edged sword strapped to his back. His hair, short cropped, was black, but a few streaks of silver ran through it. Staring at Vaan, he said, “The Emerald Dragon went on a rampage and forced a lot of monsters out from the Southern Forest. It’s not too big a deal, but there was an emergency call by the Guild Hall to have all nearby adventurers defend against the approaching wave. Though…” He looked at Vaan’s equipment and said, “You don’t look like you’d be of much use. New to town?”
“…Something like that.”
The muscular man laughed and patted Vaan on the shoulder. “No need to be so guarded, friend. Unlike some of those other scumbags, I try to keep an eye out for the rookies.”
“Leo!” A female voice in the distance. “Stop wasting time and get over here, you musclehead!”
The man, Leo, chuckled and said, “Looks like I’ve gotta head off.” He patted Vaan and said, “Don’t wander around the city too much. Past this point the people aren’t too friendly.”
“Thanks. But I know what I’m doing.”
“LEO!”
The muscular man frowned but then walked off. “If you say so… But don’t wind up in a ditch somewhere, alright, friend?” With that, the man waved and left.
When he did, Vaan frowned. “…Weird.”
Was it an innate ability of his making things go his way? Or was he just lucky?
Things seemed to still be going too well for him…
Sensing that something was odd, Vaan cautiously walked down the road and deeper into the city. As he did, the already misshapen and chaotic buildings were even more decrepit and squished together. At the same time, the people walking around looked less like warriors and adventurers and more like vagabonds or beggars- No, it wasn’t that they looked like those, but that they were.
Vaan pulled out his book to double-check his information and said, “Was that information correct?”
The book that Aurelia gave him seemed pretty old. While everything else seemed to be in order, maybe the information about the underworld auction was outdated-
A faint breeze by his right cheek.
Vaan started to move, but his body acted first. A rush of wind and then something silver was brushed to the side, clattering against the ground.
Not long after, Vaan heard and felt presences surround him.
A sixth sense that he didn’t have before. Slight pressures from all around, indicating the number of enemies.
One, two… a dozen.
At the same time, a seedy looking guy with rotted teeth and grimy skin stepped out from an alley, flipping a knife in his right hand. With a sneer, he said, “Wandering around in here with those clothes… Looks like a noble lost his way. Didn’t your mommy tell you about walking around alone in this part of town, kid?”
Ba-dump.
‘Hey. What are you afraid of?’
A voice in his head as well as a headache.
‘Don’t you know what you have? And look around you… Don’t you think they’re convenient materials?’
Vaan flinched, clutching his head.
“Oho? Looks like the kid’s terrified!” Mocking laughter. The man and the others slowly stepping forward. “Well, kid. Since it seems like your first time here-“
‘Hey. How much longer are you going to go with the flow? With the way that things are?’
Vaan slowly lowered his hand. “That’s right…”
“Hm?”
Vaan looked up at the man holding the knife. “What’s there to be afraid of?”
The guy froze and then narrowed his eyes. “…Did the kid lose it?”
A racing heart. A throbbing headache.
‘Take it. The strength you lack, the power you need. Use it all. In this world-’
Vaan dashed forward, a manic grin on his face.
‘-You can’t afford to be weak.’
