Chapter 6:
Plunderer
EARLIER, inside the Remote Magic Tower.
“…What’s going on?” Rin asked. His eyes widened at the hologram in front of him. It showed a large treelike monster and a young man—Yanagi, he recognized after a moment—fighting it. A shaking girl stood in the corner of the image, watching the fight.
“Hana!” Rin gasped.
His heart leapt into his throat. There was clearly a problem. What in the world had happened? Questions crowded and clouded his mind, but he tried to stay calm and make sense of the situation. He had no idea how this image was connected to dungeons on a foundational level. The system said it deemed this information the most valuable to him. What information was it trying to convey?
“Is it showing me something that’s happening right now?”
He’d lost track of exactly how many days he’d been inside the Remote Magic Tower, but if memory served, today was the day of Hana’s dungeon practice. Did that mean this image was part of it? He studied it closely.
“That shouldn’t be possible. Such a high-level monster wouldn’t spawn inside an E-rank dungeon, and Hana would never be left alone with Yanagi-san. Something isn’t right…”
Regardless of how the situation had started, if he didn’t go to her, her life could be in danger. Yanagi was fighting on par with the monster, but the balance could easily tip. Someone had to save them before the monster killed Yanagi.
Just then, Rin’s thoughts hitched, and he felt as if something important had slipped out of his hands. He faltered for a moment, but instinct demanded he rush to the scene immediately. He didn’t have time to catch a stray thought.
“Hey, system! Get me out of here!” Rin hollered at the top of his lungs.
“Challenger’s intentions confirmed. Now exiting the Remote Magic Tower.”
A soft glow surrounded his body and lifted him from the ground. The teleportation spell deposited him outside, leaving the tower soaring in front of him, any remaining secrets locked inside.
He sensed some sort of intention—something he hadn’t sensed before beating the tower. What was this dungeon? What was that third prize? Why did it give him an image as a consolation prize? He didn’t like leaving without knowing the truth, but he didn’t have time to mull it over.
“It’s forbidden to use skills outside a dungeon, but I won’t get something for nothing,” he reasoned to himself. “She’s at Sumifuku, right? Evasion will get me out of here.”
Rin took off running. Just then, he thought he heard a voice. Something nostalgic.
“You can do it, Rin.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Did oniichan really come here? But how?
Hana watched Rin take down the treant in one strike, staring in unbridled amazement. She hadn’t even seen him enter the room, and such powerful attacks were beyond his abilities.
Wait—maybe they’re not!
He’d let her copy his Conceal skill to hide Stock from prying eyes. When she asked why he knew a skill like that, he put off answering her. Seeing him, she could guess why. He wanted to hide his true abilities and used Conceal to do it. Was there a reason for him to hide it? Hana wasn’t sure.
Yanagi let out a belly laugh, completely unconcerned that the monster he’d manipulated was obliterated. He quivered with glee, not fear, as he spoke to Rin.
“I’m surprised, Amane Rin. I didn’t expect you to defeat a treant in one strike,” he said. “You’re only level 5,000.”
Rin’s brow furrowed. “Did I say that was my level?”
“Oh, are you surprised to hear that I discovered your real level?” Yanagi taunted. “My unique skill, Plunderer, lets me see the level of anyone I touch. Does that ring any bells in your little head?”
“…We shook hands when we met.”
“That’s right. I instantly saw you were hiding your true power, and there’s only one reason for that! You have a skill you can’t tell anyone about, don’t you?”
Rin kept his mouth shut, but the silence spoke for itself. He might as well have said yes.
“I decided right then and there that I wanted your skill all to myself! I was disappointed to hear you wouldn’t be joining us today, so imagine my surprise when you showed up on your own! I can plunder your sister’s skill and yours in one go! Lucky, lucky me!” His grin widened, stressing the corners of his mouth. “That said, I can’t have you get in the way of your sister’s murder. I’ll pick you off first.”
The system intruded on Hana’s mind.
“Plunderer wishes to change the target. Do you consent?”
“What?!” she yelped.
“You heard it, right?” Yanagi asked. “Sorry to bother you, but I can only target one person at a time, so I’m changing it from you to him. Please hurry up and agree.”
“I would never!”
She suspected he needed to switch the target or he wouldn’t gain the skill from killing Rin first. If she consented, she’d hand him the exact conditions he wanted to fulfill his plan. She turned to Rin, her brows knitted together.
“Give your consent, Hana,” Rin said.
“W-what? But you’ll—”
“Don’t worry. Trust me,” he said confidently. She knew her brother must have an idea, so Hana nodded. There was no one she trusted more.
“Okay. I…I consent.”
The system confirmed that she was no longer a target. She was left with stillness in her mind as the system switched to Rin.
✦ ✦ ✦
“You have been chosen as the Plunderer’s target.”
“This decision cannot be rescinded unless the target and the activator agree.”
“So, that’s how it works,” Rin said to himself.
This makes the fight a whole lot easier.
Yanagi was dead set on stealing his and Hana’s skills. He wouldn’t have a reason to go after her when Rin was the active target. Rin worried Yanagi might take Hana hostage, but this lowered the chance, since Yanagi needed her alive to get Stock.
All Rin had to do was defeat him. He stepped forward.
Yanagi grinned.
“Ah, familial love. You idiots,” he mocked. “If you had the balls to ditch your sister, you could’ve saved yourself. You think you can beat me?”
Rin didn’t answer.
“You got a big head from defeating a weakened treant, so I’ll teach you a lesson. It’s impossible for a worm like you to defeat me!”
To Rin’s amazement, seven giant monsters materialized around Yanagi. Appraisal revealed they had names like orc king, salamander, king ice wolf, and even more level-10,000 monsters. A daunting roster.
“How did you do that…?” Rin muttered.
“The same thing I did to the treants. I can use my plundered Tamer skill to recruit any monster lower level than I am to fight for me!”
Rin narrowed his eyes. “Their levels are higher than yours.”
“Kid, you’re not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you? I pulled the same trick you did.”
“…Conceal.”
Yanagi’s lips curled. “Exactly. My real level is over 10,000, and I have more powerful plundered skills than your thick head can imagine. My abilities vastly outweigh adventurers of a similar level! There’s no way you’re getting out of here alive!” he spat.
Yanagi lifted his hand and a jagged spike of lightning crackled overhead. As if it was their signal, the monsters positioned themselves for battle. With militaristic precision, the ones that specialized in close combat formed the front line, while the magic users prepared to support from the rear. They all turned to face Rin.
“I’ve been dreaming of it, but now I’ll kill you for real,” Yanagi cackled like the arrogant villain he was, as if the battle was already won. “I don’t know what tricks you have up your sleeve, but don’t think you can wriggle out of this! Now die, Amane Rin!”
Yanagi’s signal prompted his force to attack in unison. The magic attacks hit Rin first. Lightning struck and rocked the ground. Flames raced forward, fervent enough to melt metal. Spears of ice stabbed from the sky. Each was a direct attack, just for him.
Hana lay behind him, so he couldn’t afford to dodge. Even if he could, the orc king and the other close-combat monsters surged at him in a wave, ready to strike. He was trapped with no hope and no way out. The epitome of despair.
“Come on, Nameless,” he said in a steady voice.
Light gleamed from the white metal of the longsword in his right hand. A crimson short sword manifested in his left. He stepped forward as if the path ahead of him was as clear and serene as a cool spring evening.
Despair had no hold on him.