That morning, Olivia’s house was finally ready for her, so we all gathered around to see her off. She looked each of us over with tears in her eyes.
“I haven’t been this happy in ages. You have to come visit me. Promise you won’t forget poor old Olivia…”
“As if we could forget you,” I said. “Your new place is just a five-minute walk away!”
“Ah ha ha ha! I guess you’re right. Plus, I plan to visit every day.”
Apparently, she’d taken a liking to my mother’s cooking. Despite everything, she felt at home here.
“Ah, the Stardia family. What am I going to do without you all? Well, Noir, let’s get going.”
“You got it.”
I walked her to her new home, not that Olivia needed an escort.
“That reminds me,” she said on our way. “Noir, how much LP do you have now?”
“About thirty-four thousand.”
“I guess you used a lot to regrow that arm, huh?”
“Yeah, but I’m heading back into the dungeon today. I might be able to collect a few more enchanted items.”
“Let’s talk more when I’m moved in.”
“I can’t wait.”
Mr. Domado was waiting at the house to hand over the keys. It was all Olivia’s now. We walked into the big yard, which was far fancier than the one at home, and immediately started talking about the new skills I’d learned. For example, I wanted to know if I could hide in a box of Stone Walls and rain stones down on my enemies.
“It’s not a terrible idea, but I’m not sure you’d be able to hit anyone if you can’t see them.”
“Oh, right. What if I target the areas where my opponent might dodge?”
“I like it. I think it’d work even better if you had Shukuchi!”
It was a skill that would let me close in on an opponent, even faster than Front Step and the like. It was one of Leila’s specialties. It cost me 2,500 LP, and Stone Rain cost me 1,200.
As soon as I acquired them, I started practicing. Stone Rain summoned rocks about five or six yards above someone’s head. It didn’t have much range, but once the stones appeared, they just fell. It only took a few seconds. Then I practiced Shukuchi. It took me all morning to get the basics down.
“When you hit 100,000 LP, I’ll treat you to some extra fun training,” she said.
“I’m counting on you, Master.”
For all Olivia’s shortcomings, she always had my best interests at heart. She was probably trying to motivate me to get all that LP.
After lunch, I headed to the hidden dungeon and went straight to the seventeenth floor. I still needed to find the stairs, but I wanted to search for more enchanted items first. After all, the last time I was there, I had been interrupted by the Black Lancer.
I took out the Bell of Perception and walked around. Dealing with the masked men again would have been a pain, so I hid whenever I saw them and waited until they passed. After six or seven hours of searching, I acquired two enchanted items—a cup that could chill water in seconds, and a knife that made your opponent catch a cold. They were both rather unique, but LP was my main priority. Between them, they earned me 5,900 LP.
The bell wasn’t reacting anymore, so I went back to searching for the stairs. I asked the Great Sage for their locations and noted down his response. Then I marked my current location and headed off toward the closest one.
The first stairs were just in between some trees, but when I descended them, my path was blocked by a wall.
“Maybe that’s not it? Or maybe I’m supposed to destroy it? I should try the others first.”
I returned to the spot I’d marked and consulted my notes to find the second spot. They led me to a rock on the beach, with the stairs hidden beneath it. I tried going down.
“Again?”
It was just the same as before: another wall. I returned to my landmarked spot and hurried to the third.
It was located just inside the mouth of a cave. I descended the stairs, feeling a little nervous, but this time something else awaited me there—a long hallway. It was a familiar sight in this dungeon, so it seemed like this was the right one. It was also a good place to leave things for the day, so I headed home.
When I got there, someone was waiting outside for me.
Who would be waiting around in the cold and the dark like this?
When I got closer, I saw that it was Mira. I’d told her where I lived, so I supposed it wasn’t that strange.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Noir.”
“Well, this is sudden. Did something happen?”
“I never fulfilled my end of the bargain, remember? I brought you a weapon.”
She pulled an incredible spear out of her Pocket Dimension. That’s when it hit me: right, I’d won the drinking contest!
“You really did come through!” I said. “I thought that was just the alcohol talking.”
“I always keep my word. Also, you got time to come with me? Daddy wants to thank you. It won’t take long.”
“I guess I can’t say no to that.”
We walked down the dark street together. Mira was brimming with curiosity as she asked what I did with these enchanted items. I explained that I consumed them and turned them into power for myself.
“Oh, but don’t worry,” I said. “I promise I’ll take good care of the weapon you gave me.”
“What are you talking about?! You can do whatever you want with it! Sure, I like enchanted items, but I don’t care how you use them. Honestly, I kinda want to see it in action.”
I guess I’ll have to demonstrate!
First, I used my Discerning Eye on the spear.
Reaching Spear
Grade A
Sharp Edge; Extension