“That’s the Unique Skill that was announced across the server!” Emoji cried out. “I heard it here too! So you’re the one who obtained it, island lord?!”
“Heeey, couldn’t you have mentioned that sooner?”
“Sorry, sorry.”
I hadn’t gotten any questions while we were living by the Crystal Lake, so I never even realized I hadn’t explained it.
“If I ever met the one who obtained it, I wanted to ask. How do you acquire a Unique Skill?”
“Oh, that. After the update rolled in, I was scrolling through my skill list, and one of the entries was strangely sparkly. Since it’s first come, first served, I just grabbed it.”
I told them about the circumstances under which I obtained the skill. And of course, I mentioned the acquisition conditions too.
“Wow...those are some tedious requirements.”
“What’s more, it’s first come, first served, right? No wonder you had to claim it as soon as you could.”
Huh. They’re both pretty understanding. Is this what you should expect from frontliners?
“But it does seem incredibly powerful.”
“It’s less the skill itself and more that it stacks with everything,” I explained. “Come to think of it, just before I got summoned here, I was testing it out and one-shot a Red Iron Bear.”
“Red Iron Bears, huh? That takes me back. I remember fighting them with Shouko and the others.”
“I have never met one myself,” said Emoji. “But I have heard of them.”
Right, Emoji got stuck here before she could’ve met them.
“When you say one-shot, do you mean with a skill?”
“Nah. Normal attack.”
“The heck is up with that, Kizzy?”
“Well... The Hunting Gear I’m using right now was forged from Four Heavenly King materials... Gear of the Great Blue Sea.”
The materials were—at least, for now—incredibly hard to obtain, so of course they were powerful.
After the fight against the Devil’s Dragon, I was certain I would’ve been able to solo it in no time, no skill required. To be honest...if I was looking for a real fight, then the Prado Desert just wasn’t the place for me.
Going all over the map with Shouko had brought my Energy on par with the others, and the proper path for me would probably have been heading deeper into Mikakage or finding some other place the update unlocked.
“Regardless, you are quite the warrior, island lord.”
“I should’ve seen it coming.”
“It’s just the stuff I do in between fishing. It doesn’t really feel real to me...”
For what it’s worth, I was indeed the lord of Cal Mira Island, so it was fitting... Whether I liked it or not, I was considered a top player.
“To think you’d even nab yourself a trump card without anyone knowing.”
“Let me remind you that I was summoned to the Prado Desert only two days after the update.”
I’d come as soon as I’d obtained the Hunting Gear Skill, so there was no way anyone would know. But even then, there was no way I could really hide it; the skill was just that powerful.
“But even if it is strong, I don’t see it doing too much for us in Prado. It also limits the content I can participate in, and I apparently get a negative ninety-nine percent damage modifier when fighting humans.”
If the dungeon boss went down that easily, it was just overkill. Sure, it was great if I wanted to regularly dive into the dungeon for supplies, but...yeah, maybe it was made for someone like me.
“You’ve taught me the essence of farming, and you can summon Pekkles. You’ve already done more than enough, island lord.”
“Let’s get through this development lickety-split.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
“But we must meet up with everyone and share this information,” said Emoji. “Of course, swearing never to breathe a word of it once we make it out.”
“You wouldn’t want any unnecessary trouble, after all.”
It was nice how they were so quick on the uptake. And reasonable too.
There was definitely a chance I’d get harassed over it. Most people just saw me as a guy who fished all day, and since Cal Mira was such an important base, there weren’t many people who tried to mess with me.
“Do you think we will ever catch up to the island lord?”
“I just picked up a new skill, is all. I’m sure you’ll both catch up soon enough.”
“I think those Unique Skill conditions are way too convoluted,” Therese sighed. “I can’t even imagine what the others are like.”
“Aye. Whatever they are, it seems we’ll need to diversify if we want to find them.”
That was where the conversation ended. Emoji started off toward the next chamber.
Weren’t we going to take the elevator back?
“Island lord. Brave Bunowny came from a treasure chest in that room,” she said...gesturing toward what looked to be the same room where I’d obtained Brave Pekkle on Cal Mira.
“Same for me.”
“Yeah, if a normal player goes there, they just find a chest with a reward,” said Therese. “I guess it’s different during the development period.”
“Hmm.”
So even that changes.
“Now that I’m thinking about it, one of the updates said that you could dive deeper into Cal Mira’s dungeon or something. Did that happen in Prado too?” I asked.
“That’s what I came to check,” Emoji replied.
So that’s what she brought us here for. Or maybe she just wants to check while she’s here.
She tested out the once-sealed door, which swung open with a click.
“Looks like we can keep going.”
“So it seems.”
“Judging by the lantern, we’ve got a bit more time before we have to return to a safe zone. What do you think, Lahal?”
“The island lord turned out to be a powerhouse. Perhaps we could take a quick peek.”
I couldn’t help but think, Don’t rely on me too much. But it was on the way, so I gave a nod.
“Got it. If things get dicey, we just have to retreat.”
“Now, into the unknown.”
“Honestly, I bet L’Arc and Kana already checked it out ahead of us.”
And what a laugh that would be.
We chatted back and forth like that as we descended deeper into the dungeon.