NOVEL NEXT chapter 29
Chapter 29
Before I knew it, the number of people participating in the barbecue had somehow increased.
How did it come to this…?
No, it started with…
Ah, that’s right.
Someone approached me first.
I was called out to by the watchman from another party.
…Watchman.
Yes, a watchman.
When I asked why a watchman was necessary, he explained that while monsters can’t enter the safety area, regular NPCs and players can.
Apparently, they need combat-ready personnel who can respond immediately in case those NPCs or players have malicious intentions. It’s an unspoken rule that some party members need to stay awake through the night.
And if there’s a malicious opponent, they might need to team up with other parties to drive them off.
But we hadn’t discussed anything like that at all, had we?
When I talked with Misaki-chan and honestly apologized for not knowing, she forgave us, saying it’s fine as long as we’re careful from now on.
She’s surprisingly nice.
That nice person.
Apparently, he had overheard our conversation and came to negotiate, asking if we could spare some alcohol in exchange for payment.
Well, keeping watch in the middle of the night with nothing to do must be painful.
So I casually gave permission, saying it’s fine, and if they have ingredients, they can grill them too.
Then watchman in similar positions started coming one after another.
It seems this night watch duty is decided by rock-paper-scissors and has become a sort of penalty game.
In that state, they must have been quite frustrated, and when a place like an izakaya opened up where they could eat and drink as they pleased just by paying reward stones… well, of course they’d use it.
Maybe they’re usually frustrated, but they started complaining about their parties, having drinking contests with Gobuzou-san and falling to the ground with the [Intoxication] status effect, or Misaki-chan showing an abnormal obsession with grilled meat and somehow being revered as the “Meat Queen” by the surrounding adventurers – they’re really going all out.
As for me, I’m in a very uncomfortable situation, listening to the real-life family circumstances of the watchman who first called out to me.
He’s newly married but trapped in the game, and might face divorce when he returns… Could you not tell me stories that make the alcohol taste bad? I mean, it’s serious for him, but it’s too much for someone who’s just been dragged into it… Please, can we talk about something more fun? Please?
As I look around the barbecue venue that has somehow become crowded… Iko-san is missing.
Wondering where she went, I look around and find her.
She’s standing in front of a large tree at the edge of the safety area, looking up at it.
Curious about her figure, I excuse myself from the man and head towards Iko-san.
“Iko-san!”
“Oh, Yama-san. Thank you for accepting the escort request today. Thanks to you, it was very easy, and dinner turned into a very enjoyable occasion.”
“I’m glad you feel that way, but we might have gone a bit overboard.”
I really didn’t intend for it to become this scale at all!
It feels like we overdid it a bit!
As I reflect on this, Iko-san maintains her usual refined smile.
“Not at all. I enjoyed it very much.”
“If that’s the case, I’m glad.”
“Yes, I enjoyed it very much. That’s why I personally want to thank you. Would you hold my hands?”
Saying that, Iko-san holds out both her hands, so I lightly grasp them.
They’re small, wrinkled, and hard hands.
I wonder what kind of life – or for an NPC, what kind of background – Iko-san has walked through with these hands. I can’t help but be curious.
—And then.
“Gyaaaah!? Ow, ow ow ow!? Iko-san, my hands! My hands!?”
“Ufufu.”
A pain like an electric current flowing from Iko-san’s hands invades my body and races through my entire being.
But Iko-san just laughs innocently, like a child who has successfully pulled off a prank.
I’m trembling and tingling, but there’s no damage to my body.
If I had to compare it to something, it’s like those electric baths from the old days. I’m not sure if they still have those in public bathhouses these days!
“Abababababa…!?”
“Calm your mind. And feel the magical power circulating within you.”
Magical power? This tingling, rampaging feeling is magical power?
Feeling this…
I’m feeling it all over my body!
Strange sweat involuntarily flows down my back.
This is really tough…!
“Yes, once you can feel the magical power, try to move it slowly within yourself. Like this, slowly and gently…”
“Ububu…! Mo-move, can it mooove…!?”
My lips are trembling on their own, making strange sounds!
But I can feel something moving inside my body!
This is probably Iko-san forcibly flowing magical power into me and stirring up my own magical power, isn’t it!?
Am I supposed to memorize this with my body and senses!?
I want to say it’s impossible… but this probably feels like a special event for a unique request!
If that’s the case, I’ll try my best!
Even though I don’t know what I’ll gain from it!
“Yes, keep controlling that magical power.”
Iko-san releases my hands, leaving me with a strange feeling of something moving gwing-gwing inside me. Is this magical power? It’s so unstable and precarious that it feels like it might fly off somewhere if I lose focus even a little!
“You need to circulate that within your body, knead it, and make it your own.”
“This is really tough… What will I be able to do if I keep doing this…?”
The numbness has subsided.
As I thought, that numbness was caused by Iko-san forcibly flowing magical power into me.
While circulating the magical power in my body, I ask, and Iko-san starts counting on her fingers.
“If you master this, you’ll get favorable modifiers for all actions that consume magical power. And once your control stabilizes, you’ll be able to do things like this.”
A clearly visible blue aura-like substance wraps around Iko-san’s outstretched right hand.
This is, on a different scale, but similar to what Instructor Lilica did with covering her arm in magical power…?
“It’s called [Magic Armor]. It’s a useful technique that can reduce damage from opponents by consuming magical power, and even deal damage to enemies with [Physical Nullification].”
That technique… Even after Instructor Lilica demonstrated it, I tried it several times on my own, but I couldn’t do it at all.
And for good reason.
It’s probably a technique that can’t be established without a proper understanding of magical power at its foundation.
So, now that I’ve recognized magical power, can I do it…?
…………
No, no way, no way!
I’m already at my limit just slowly moving the magical power!
There’s no way I can knead this!
I can’t knead it! Knead it!
Moreover, I’m afraid it might explode if I loosen my grip even a little! I can’t move a step in this state!
It’s like trying to carry a glass filled to the brim with water without spilling a drop, moving with tiny shuffling steps!
If I stumble even a little, the contents will spill everywhere!
There’s no way I can use [Magic Armor] in this state!
▶[Balance] has been activated.
Adjusting the balance of magical power.
▶Acquired [Magic Power Control] Skill Lv1.
▶[Balance] has been activated.
Adjusting skill balance.
▶[Magic Power Control] Skill has become Lv5.
…Yeah, that’s right.
If it’s unstable, we should balance it…
The magical power that I was struggling to control just a moment ago now feels easy enough to manipulate casually…
The scope of [Balance]’s work!
Anything goes, huh!
Now I feel like I could use [Magic Armor] normally.
Look, I did it.
▶Acquired [Magic Armor] Skill Lv1.
▶[Balance] has been activated.
Adjusting skill balance.
▶[Magic Armor] Skill has become Lv5.
“!? You learned [Magic Armor] so quickly…
“!? You learned [Magic Armor] so quickly…!”
“Somehow I managed to do it.”
“I see, so this level of reward isn’t enough…”
No, it’s more than enough as a reward!
Please, no more tingling!
Oblivious to my inner thoughts, Iko-san continues.
“Well then, I’ll teach you this too. It’s tiring so I’ll only do it once. Watch carefully.”
Saying that, Iko-san assumes a natural stance and lightly taps the tree trunk with her palm.
…………
Huh? Nothing happened?
“Well, that’s about it.”
As Iko-san turns towards me–
A cascade of green leaves suddenly falls from the great tree like an avalanche.
Rustle.
–Wait, wait, wait!
Did she damage only the leaves without harming the tree trunk, causing all of them to fall!?
The scene was so incredible that even the drinking crowd stopped their ruckus and fell silent.
It’s that incomprehensible!
Well, only Gobuzou-san is cheering enthusiastically!
“[Vibration Impact]–. The old man just calls it [Vibration] or something. It’s what you’d call a secret technique that ignores the opponent’s defense and deals damage to their insides.”
A secret skill, huh.
Although I already have one secret skill, its content is overwhelmingly powerful.
Just hearing that this secret skill deals damage ignoring defense might sound like a common effect in RPGs, but judging from what I just saw, I think it can target and explode any desired area?
In other words, it’s like Hokuto Shinken.
…………
Wait, is it okay to let players learn such a dangerous secret technique? This would be a coveted technique for PKers, wouldn’t it?
Moreover, is it alright for me to easily acquire secret technique events like this?
Well, it’s not guaranteed that I can acquire it!
Besides, I’m not well-versed enough in martial arts to steal someone’s technique just by seeing it once, and I’m not that dexterous to begin with!
Isn’t this supposed to be a skill that a skilled person learns after escorting Iko-san and raising her affection?
It seems my affection with Iko-san has maxed out due to the hospitality and service along the way, but isn’t this originally a skill obtained by a warrior-like person who perfectly completes a high-difficulty escort request…?
Anyway, sensing that this won’t end unless I do something, I stand in front of a different tree from the one Iko-san defoliated and try to imitate her stance.
Like this?
I think it was something like this…?
Well, how’s this…?
▶ [Monkey See Monkey Do] has been registered to [Yamamoto Style].
…………
Who are you calling a monkey!?
I’m trying this seriously! Ooh ooh ah ah!