29 - The First Generation's Weapon
To put it simply, the second generation's skill allows others to use his own skills.
To be precise, it's complicated, but simply put, allies within a certain distance can use the skills.
The first generation's Full Over as well.
The fourth generation's speed too.
Creating a state where they can be used by others at any time... that is the second generation's skill, [All].
However, this skill consumes an extremely small amount of mana.
After all, it only makes skills available for others to use, unless a skill is actually used on someone, it consumes only a negligible amount of mana.
But the greatest characteristic of this skill lay in its ability to distinguish between friend and foe within a certain range.
A space where trees grew in alignment, creating a room.
The boss who was supposed to be in the [Innermost Chamber], having appeared by blowing away the entrance just large enough for a person to pass through and scattering wood fragments.
Despite being an orc, it had red skin, hairy arms, and hair that covered its back.
The orc, which looked almost like an ogre, possessed a greatsword that had belonged to an adventurer it had killed.
When held by a giant orc, the greatsword looked like an ordinary sword.
Seeing me point a saber at it, perhaps thinking it was being threatened, it let out a roar.
Around me, the five companions who had challenged the labyrinth—Novem, Aria, Zelfie-san, Rondo-san, Rachel-san... all flinched for a moment at the roar.
After all, the voice was loud.
With the giant orc inside, the room, which had some breadth, felt narrow.
However, I was able to know the orc's condition to some extent.
(I can see why the second generation hesitated to let me use it. It really is too powerful in a sense.)
To be blunt, rather than the original purpose of being a skill to let others use skills... the byproduct was the more important skill.
As if called by the red orc that let out the roar, the monsters that had been wandering the labyrinth gathered in the room where we were.
Zelfie-san tried to step in front of me.
No, since she holds a shield, she was likely acting as the tank for the entire party.
However, with Zelfie-san's strength, it didn't seem like she could counter the current red orc.
"I'll handle the red orc. Could you please take care of the other monsters entering the room?"
When I spoke to everyone, Rondo-san raised his voice.
"What are you talking about! That enemy is dangerous. It's better for everyone to take it down all at once!"
It was certainly a correct opinion, but there was no time to waste on the enemy before me.
"I'd like to do that, but there's not much time... look, here they come!"
As I spoke, goblins entered the room.
As they leaped out from behind the red orc, Novem used magic.
"Wind Bullet."
The goblin was blown away and crashed into the wall.
At the same time, I drew my spare saber and started running toward the red orc.
The red orc raised the sword in its hand and swung it down at me.
"This certainly is an incredible skill."
I dove in while maintaining my momentum, and the greatsword swung down stabbed into the ground, failing to slice me apart.
I ended up slipping between the sword and the orc.
With the sabers in both hands, I slashed both knees of the red orc in front of me.
"Shallow? More than I thought... no."
I tried to think that the skin was harder than expected, but before my eyes, the orc's knees were healing.
I immediately leaped to the left, and the red orc's left fist slammed into the ground, gouging the earth and creating a small crater.
As I leaped aside, took a roll, and stood up, a voice called out.
"Riel-kun!"
It was Rondo-san's voice.
He likely called out in a panic after seeing a goblin leaping at me from behind.
However, without looking back, I swung my saber behind me and stood up.
Goblin blood rained down on me from above my head.
"I can't see."
As I muttered that, there were reactions of people rushing toward me in a panic.
Novem, Aria, and Zelfie-san.
Other than them, monsters in the vicinity, seeing an opportunity, attacked me.
I swung the sabers in both hands, moving while turning on the spot.
As I swung the sabers, blood splattered on the ground.
Wiping my eyes with my sleeve, I could see the surrounding situation.
"I can do this much even without seeing."
I swung my sword, avoiding the attacks of the lunging monsters and cutting them all down.
Who was where, and in what condition... the second generation's skill, which could perceive all surroundings, had a decisively different point from the fifth and sixth generations' skills.
The fifth generation spoke nostalgically.
'I relied on this skill quite a bit myself, but the byproduct is definitely the more impressive part. My skill looks at things from a broader perspective, so it's not suited for a chaotic brawl like this.'
The sixth generation agreed.
'Indeed. It's understated, but quite useful. Thanks to the skills of the first and second generations, there were many battles where we were able to survive.'
I felt bad for the sixth generation who was being sentimental, but right now, I wanted advice regarding the enemy in front of me more than that.
"I heard attacks don't work, but is it healing? If I keep attacking, it'll eventually lose mana and fall... but it seems my stamina will run out first."
If it were just me, I could manage somehow, but my other companions were here too.
The one to fall first would be Rachel-san, who was illuminating the room, or Novem, who was using healing magic and supporting me with attack magic.
After that, Aria would fall, and Zelfie-san would follow.
Even if Rondo-san were last, he wouldn't be able to completely defeat the red orc in front of me.
(Perhaps because it grew by defeating veteran adventurers, it's become even more troublesome. Monsters grow and even possess skills... I wonder if the blessings God gave to humans are a lie?)
Lowering my gaze to the sabers in both hands, I stepped backward. The red orc's sword was swung down in front of me.
It didn't seem to know how to handle a sword.
In that case, it would have been more troublesome if it were holding a club or something.
"The nicks in the saber blades are terrible. The weapons will go first. To finish it in one blow, would it be better to finish it with magic using a skill?"
I tried to reach a conclusion within myself, but I was slightly lacking.
Since the other companions were dealing with the monsters that had entered the room, it would take time even to ask for help.
Because I was the opponent, the red orc didn't attack the other companions. If I tried to help someone, the red orc might change its target.
"I hate gambling... now, how should I finish it?"
I had to defeat the monster in front of me in one blow with my greatest attack.
The opponent's skill had been revealed, and I could grasp most things with the second generation's skill. When I could intuitively know things like stamina and mana... the way of fighting changed.
The first generation—.
'Isn't your skill, [Second Generation], a bit too cowardly?'
The second generation shouted back.
'What do you mean cowardly! It's a convenient skill! Because it's too convenient and one would rely on it completely, I didn't let Riel use it yet!'
I felt as if I had gained a new sense, but it certainly seemed like it would take time to use frequently.
Rather than mana-wise, mental fatigue seemed likely to set in.
While avoiding the red attacks in front of me, I pondered.
Then, as if the red orc found me eerie, it took a step back. It let out a roar, and from the walls of the room—between the trees—ordinary orcs with green skin appeared.
"Did these guys call their comrades!?"
As Aria let out a surprised voice, Rondo-san approached to protect Rachel-san.
Zelfie-san also stepped in front of Novem and Aria.
"Riel, how much longer can you hold out!"
At Zelfie-san's voice, I looked up and thought for a while—.
"I'll finish this quickly, so please hold on for a bit."
I said.
Hearing that, the first generation laughed loudly.
'Look at you, Riel! That's it. A man has to act cool at times like this! Alright! I'll teach you something special—'
At the first generation's statement, the fifth generation was slightly shaken.
'Hey, what are you thinking. It's still too early for that.'
I used Limit Burst temporarily on the two orcs that emerged from both sides of the red orc and threw the sabers in both hands.
The sabers, rotating, pierced the orcs' heads.
The two orcs, from the impact of being pierced, lifted their chins and collapsed onto the ground.
Seeing me lose my weapons, the red orc let out a roar.
"I wonder if I can finish it with magic... it might be barely enough."
I thought I could defeat it, but it was barely enough. Since there was a possibility I couldn't finish it, I would put everything into one blow.
(If I can't finish it, I'll just punch it with my bare hands.)
For a moment, I found it terribly funny that I had started thinking similarly to the first generation.
(I wonder... is this not bad?)
Just as I thought that, the first generation spoke.
'Hey, grip the jewel orb.'
"What are you talking about?"
Since the surroundings were fighting other monsters, the conversation between me and the first generation wasn't heard.
'I'll teach you something interesting. It'll be good news for you right now... after all, we can use the mechanism the seventh generation went through the trouble of preparing.'
"The seventh generation... Grandfather?"
I interrupted the use of magic and gripped the jewel orb as told.
The seventh generation started shouting, asking why he had taught it to the first generation.
'Why did you teach him! It's still too early! With Riel's mana, he can really only use it for a few seconds!'
Then, the first generation declared.
'A few seconds? That should be enough! You guys, who was it that told me this kid... that Riel is amazing! I'm the one who permitted it! I won't let anyone get in the way! Now, let's go, Riel!'
Then, the jewel orb emitted a blue light, and the chain wrapped around my neck was undone on its own.
The craftsmanship that seemed to envelop the silver jewel orb changed its form in my hand.
"This is—"
The surroundings also seemed curious about my state. I was enveloped in smoke, receiving the blast of the magic Novem used.
Feeling a weight in the jewel orb unlike anything before, I gripped the thing that had been the jewel orb with both hands... no, the silver craftsmanship I had assumed was the jewel orb's decoration.
Holding the hilt with both hands, the silver blade glowed faintly blue. The guard where a blue jewel orb was embedded... the jewel orb was shining.
'I don't know anything as grand as sword techniques. That's why a weapon for hacking and slashing like this was the best.'
What was gripped in my hand was a silver greatsword.
The first generation shouted.
'There's no time! Hurry up and finish it!!'
As if pushed by that voice, I dashed forward and leaped high. In the process, I twisted my body in mid-air to avoid the greatsword swung by the red orc, and then used the weight of the greatsword I gripped to rotate in the air.
Just as I tried to use centrifugal force as an ally and generate maximum attack power all at once with a skill.
'This is my final skill—[Full Burst]!'
Whether the first generation supported me or not, when I activated the skill, power welled up from the depths of my body more than ever before.
I adjusted my rotation and swung the greatsword down on the red orc with maximum power.
"With this—"
It overlapped with the first generation's voice.
"It's over!!!"
'It's over!!!'
The red orc tried to survive by sacrificing its left arm, but I cleaved the red orc vertically, along with that left arm.
The silver greatsword stabbed deeply into the ground, and the ground caved in, telling of the strength of the impact.
"Haa, haa... how vicious."
As I confirmed the cleaved body of the red orc slowly falling, the silver greatsword returned to being the decoration for the jewel orb.
(The seventh generation said he had it specially made... come to think of it, Zel said it was a rare metal.)
Remembering what Zel had said when I was kicked out of my family home, I thought I wished he had told me sooner.
However, because I used mana abruptly, strength left my body.
As my knees hit the ground, the person supporting my body... Novem was there.
"Riel-sama!"
Novem, who hugged me, squeezed with a strength that suggested she was truly worried.
"Ahahaha, sorry... maybe I pushed myself a bit too much."
Zelfie-san also rushed over and checked on me.
"What on earth did you do? That light and the weapon... wait, hold on! Don't collapse in a place like this!"
The noisy Zelfie-san was her usual self, and I felt a bit relieved. Around us, Rondo-san was injured, but he was receiving treatment from Rachel-san.
Aria also seemed out of breath, but she had defeated monsters using her skill.
"Please be quiet! Riel-sama, let's leave this place immediately. Can you maintain consciousness until then?"
She likely meant to either rest here for a while or take me out immediately.
But if I remained the same as always until the end, it would be as if I hadn't grown at all.
I hated that.
I wanted to show a bit of stubbornness.
"I'm okay. If I rest for just a bit, I'll be able to stand immediately... thank you, Novem too."
"No."
Novem seemed relieved, but she continued to support my body. To Aria, who approached, I said.
"We fought the monsters and won. Did you gain a bit of confidence with this?"
When I spoke teasingly, Aria looked surprised.
"You... were watching?"
Perhaps thinking she was being praised, she looked unexpectedly happy.
(Aria might be surprisingly easy to deceive. I should tell her to be careful... more than that.)
I looked at Rondo-san and the others.
"I'm sorry for acting on my own."
Then, Rachel-san let out a sigh, but Rondo-san, who was wrapping a bandage around his injury, was smiling.
"That was amazing. I didn't think you could do this much. The nickname 'Riel the Foolish Son' isn't fitting anymore."
Seeing Rondo-san, who didn't lose his smile, I thought he was a broad-minded person. He was smiling at a younger adventurer who had acted selfishly.
However, Rachel-san was different.
"You act on your own too much. It was fine this time, but you're in tatters. You should be more aware that there are people who will cry if you die. That's what I want to say, but I couldn't play an active role, so I'll honestly say thank you. Thank you."
I didn't feel like she thanked me honestly, but it was likely her own way of showing concern.
I gave a wry smile.
Zelfie-san also cautioned me, while saying it wasn't cool.
"I was saved thanks to Riel, but trust those around you a bit more. If you had said what you could and couldn't do, we could have moved more efficiently. I understand the feeling of wanting to hide your skills, but consider letting us know indirectly."
While thinking that it was truly so, I pondered whether I should mention the ancestors.
(First, I have to tell Novem. There are many things I have to talk about. Especially about the first generation...)
With a barbarian style, not worrying about details, moving by emotion and disrupting the field.
But he is the reliable first generation of House Walt.
(I wonder if I've been acknowledged.)
As I thought that while gripping the jewel orb, Novem's eyes widened.
"The orb is glowing... this is..."
As Novem spoke, the surroundings also had surprised reactions.
It was the same as Aria before.
The blue jewel orb glowed, announcing the birth of a skill.
What floated in my head was the name of the skill.
"...[Experience]."
It wasn't just words that floated.
What exactly could my skill do? How do I use it?
Those things also floated up simultaneously.
It took quite some time from the manifestation of the skill until it took a solid form.
"Wait, this... can you use multiple skills?"
Aria was surprised, but the content of the skill was even more shocking to me.
After all, my skill was a support type that was essentially always active.
Until now, I thought the reason I tired so easily was because of the ancestors, but part of the cause was also my incomplete skill.
(A skill to gain more experience? ...And if it's always active, it means mana is constantly being consumed.)
When it was incomplete, it seemed my skill didn't produce an effect but only consumed mana.
And now, it has finally started to produce an effect...
(My skill is way too mediocre!!)
After the break.
We led the five adventurers out of the labyrinth in three groups.
While the five filled their stomachs with soup prepared by the support person acting as the driver, we made our way to the Innermost Chamber.
As long as there are treasures—as long as there is treasure—the labyrinth grows larger and continues to spit out monsters.
To remove the danger, recovering the treasure was essential.
Upon entering the Innermost Chamber, Larf-san found a shining metal between the trees.
"Isn't that it!"
He dashed forward, cutting through tangled tree branches with a dagger, and retrieved the treasure.
Then, the feeling of suffocation vanished abruptly.
"With this, the labyrinth subjugation is over. It was easy because there was only one floor, but if there were three or four floors, subjugation would have been impossible with this group."
The metal obtained seemed to be iron.
However, it was a special iron that had been bathed in mana in the labyrinth.
"Ooh! If we make this into a weapon, it'll be material for a magic tool that can be granted skills!"
Larf-san, overjoyed, confirmed this with Zelfie-san, who nodded with a wry smile.
"If you take it to the craftsmen in Darion, I think they'll make a few if you give them half. However, choose a craftsman designated by the guild."
She said it's not very good for such rare metals to flow through dark routes.
"Larf, we really have to divide the reward cleanly. Since there are seven of us, shall we divide it into seven equal parts?"
Then, Larf-san pressed Rondo-san.
"Can't you buy it! If we have this much, we can also have magic tools. Then we can challenge things like labyrinths as adventurers!"
The excited Larf-san seemed to want to make magic tools with the treasure obtained. But judging from the amount of metal, at most three or four could be made.
"I don't have that much money. Let's go steadily."
Rondo-san let out a sigh.
With this amount, how much would it be in gold coins?
As I was thinking that, Zelfie-san's gaze was directed toward the corner of the room.
I looked there too.
"...They were an acquaintance, right?"
When Rondo-san spoke to Zelfie-san, she muttered a small "Yeah."
"He was a selfish guy. Despite saying that it's over once you die, in the end, he threw away his life to save a rookie."
Zelfie-san, with a complex expression, approached the corpse of the veteran adventurer and searched through the luggage.
After gathering valuables, she finally recovered the Guild Card.
Watching her, she looked like a highwayman.
"Come on, you guys come too."
Being told that, the three of us—me, Novem, and Aria—approached the corpse.
Perhaps having been struck by a club, the corpse was in a terrible state.
Novem covered her mouth, and Aria, with a pale face, sat on the spot and vomited.
I also covered my mouth.
"Remember this. This is what it means for an adventurer to die. In the end, valuables are stripped away, and the corpse is discarded. Don't forget to recover the Guild Card and deliver it to the guild."
The money belongs to the adventurer who was stripped.
Saying so, Zelfie-san carefully packed the veteran adventurer's belongings into a leather pouch she didn't usually use.
"Zelfie, you don't have to go that far..."
Aria, pale and out of breath, tried to stop her, but Zelfie-san wasn't listening.
"This is also my right. I came to a dangerous place to confirm the corpse. I also investigated what happened here. Is there something wrong with that?"
Zelfie-san, glaring at Aria, looked different from usual.
Rondo-san and the others didn't interfere.
"Now, the recovery is finished. Let's go back and rest slowly. Also, you, the big one."
"Me?"
Being told by Zelfie-san, Larf-san pointed to himself. He was holding the rare metal under his arm.
"My share can be this guy's, so negotiate with Riel and the others as you please. They're still rookies, so they might be easily deceived."
Seeing Zelfie-san leave the scene after saying that, Aria looked at her back sadly.
"Because her family became like that, Zelfie became like that too..."
Seeing the adventurer's form, Aria looked sad.
I tended to Novem and gave Aria a water bottle to rinse her mouth.
If you die, you are abandoned, and your valuables are stolen by living adventurers.
I was shown various real-life examples of such things.
"You two, let's go soon."
When I said that, Aria looked at the corpse.
"At least bury them..."
Then, Rondo-san explained.
"In a little while, the labyrinth will wither. It'll just rot away, so it's the same whether you bury them or not. Or would you like to carry the corpse outside?"
Aria looked down regretfully.
Then, Rondo-san said.
"It's good to cherish that feeling. It might be naive, but before being adventurers, we are humans too."
As Rondo-san also left the scene, Larf-san followed him. Finally—.
"Let's negotiate later. Oops, I don't intend to cheat you. It's just that the things we can offer are few... sorry, this wasn't the time to say that. At this rate, I can't speak ill of Rachel."
He seemed to try to lighten the mood, but realizing it was impossible, Larf-san also left the Innermost Chamber.
I lent a hand to Novem and Aria to make them stand and walked while supporting the two.
Then, the fourth generation—.
'A flower in each hand, naturally...'
Muttering in a voice full of jealousy, the third generation, hearing that, laughed.
'Riel is lucky. That's an important thing.'
And then, the sixth generation said.
'Come on, let's get back quickly. Zelfie went through the trouble of showing you reality. Consider those feelings too.'
Hearing those words, I wanted to tilt my head in confusion.
(Zelfie-san's feelings?)
The second generation let out a sigh.
'Honestly... it seems she really intends to entrust this young lady to Riel. Even going as far as that acting.'
The ancestors said the previous actions were acting, but I couldn't understand.
(Entrust her seriously? I wonder what that means.)
Supporting the two, I headed for the entrance and exit of the labyrinth.