The day after they had finished stripping the materials, Rei and his party were back in the dungeon as usual.
They were on B16F, the floor where the undead resided. The moment they finished teleporting via the magic circle, the intense stench of rot once again assaulted the nostrils of the two humans and two beasts.
"Ugh. No matter how many times I smell this, I just can’t get used to it."
"Indeed. Although, it is hardly a scent one would wish to grow accustomed to."
"Guru..."
"Kyu, kyu, kyuuuu!"
Rei muttered with a displeased scowl, and Elena nodded in agreement.
Seto, being a Gryphon, possessed sharper five senses than the others and instinctively covered its nose with its forepaw. The effort seemed to have little effect, however; the Gryphon soon turned a sorrowful gaze toward Rei while letting out a plaintive cry.
Iero was flying through the air as if writhing in agony from the same intense stench of rot they had encountered two days prior.
"Alright, Seto, Iero, calm down. Standing around here won't help, so let's keep moving. I want to get the Magic Stone absorption over with as soon as possible."
"Guru."
Seto looked up at him with round eyes while trilling, but since they couldn't exactly turn back now, it began to make its way down the passage.
Seto and Iero took the lead, followed by Rei and Elena. As per usual, Iero took its position on Seto's back.
"...The Living Armor showed up almost immediately the day before yesterday, but there don't seem to be any this time."
Elena nodded at Rei’s murmur as they passed the spot where they had previously fought the Living Armor.
"The Living Armor was a reasonably formidable foe, and you still need one more Magic Stone from them, Rei."
"Yeah. That said, considering the skill Seto learned was Power Crush, there's a possibility it would just be Power Slash for me..."
"Guru!"
Seto let out a sharp, wary cry, cutting off Rei's voice.
When they stopped their idle chatter and listened, they heard a rhythmic clack, clack, clack.
Rei let out a small sigh.
"Skeletons, huh. Seto, use Fire Breath—"
He broke off for a moment as an idea occurred to him.
"Come to think of it, even in the Dungeon of the Altar of Inheritance, I never actually ended up absorbing a Skeleton Magic Stone, despite all the talk. In a way, this is perfect timing."
"Guru?"
The damage to its nose likely hadn't healed—or more accurately, it hadn't gone numb yet. While looking disgusted by the stench, Seto turned its gaze toward Rei. Its expression seemed to ask: Are you serious?
Rei nodded mercilessly.
"It’s true that Skeletons are low-rank, but considering the case with the Goblin Rare Species, there's always a possibility. So... let's go!"
With that shout, he readied the Death Scythe he had retrieved from the Misty Ring and unleashed a horizontal slash. He targeted the rightmost opponent among the three Skeletons that had emerged from the depths of the passage.
Feeling almost no resistance, the Death Scythe's blade sliced right through the Skeleton’s chest, cleaving the Magic Stone lodged inside it in two.
The blade continued its path, and the bones fell onto the cobblestones and shattered. At the same time, the Magic Stone in its chest was absorbed and vanished through Beast Magic... but no announcement message played in his mind as it did when he learned a skill.
"Tch, just as I thought... Hah!"
He caught the rusted sword swung by the middle Skeleton with the Death Scythe's butt end, then swung the handle hard with that same momentum.
The Death Scythe was channeled with magic power and Rei's own physical strength; the rusted blade stood no chance and snapped in half.
"Raaah!"
Utilizing the momentum from the block, he spun on the spot. The Death Scythe's blade delivered a horizontal slash to the Skeleton's waist. As its upper body fell to the ground, he continued the rotation to sweep the legs of the Skeleton while it was still standing, tripping it.
Approaching the upper half as it tried to push itself up with its hands, Rei crushed its ribs with his Sleipnir's Shoes and snatched the Magic Stone from within. Finally, its movements ceased, and its arm bones hit the cobblestones as if its strength had failed.
"...Now then."
He muttered and stored the Magic Stone in his Misty Ring while turning his gaze toward the third Skeleton. It had already been destroyed by a single blow from Seto's forepaw, scattering bone fragments across the cobblestones.
Though the bones had been shattered with considerable force, the Magic Stone was almost entirely undamaged—a testament to Seto pulling its strike.
"I guess I didn't need to worry."
"Guru?"
Seto, who had immediately picked up the Magic Stone with its beak, turned a gaze toward Rei while trilling as if to ask: What's wrong?
Rei gave Seto a small shake of his head and prompted it to absorb the stone.
Following Rei's gesture, Seto immediately swallowed it... but in the end, no announcement message echoed in their minds.
"It was a long shot anyway, so I guess it can't be helped."
He quickly gave up on the idea of acquiring a skill from the Skeleton Magic Stone and looked at the remains scattered around. Most of the weapons were rusted, and they had only gained a single intact Magic Stone from the three Skeletons. In terms of harvest, it was negligible.
"Alright, next, next. I believe there’s a fork in the road further ahead, and if we go left, there are several small rooms. Let's finish the Magic Stone absorption there."
Recalling the information he had heard from Elena the day before yesterday, they proceeded down the passage and took the left path at the fork.
As they followed the cobblestone passage, several doors appeared in the walls.
"So, which small room shall we enter?"
"The nearest one is fine. We just need a place where we won't be seen absorbing Magic Stones or experimenting with skills."
Rei answered Elena's question and opened the first door they reached.
It was a room of about ten tatami mats—a size that could only be described as a small room by the standards of the world's residents. However, because Exil was so densely populated, an adventurer without coin would be lucky to secure a room of even three tatami mats. Anyone who couldn't afford that was relegated to the common sleeping areas.
"...At this size, it might be better to avoid testing any skills that look dangerous."
"Probably. I would rather not have the entire area turned into a sea of fire while I'm inside."
"Gurulu."
Seto trilled as if to say it would be fine.
The party entered the room and firmly closed the door. They looked around, but the cobblestone room was completely empty, save for a few metal fragments that appeared to be pieces of armor or weapons.
"This place is perfect. ...Now then, let's start with the ones we have two of. Seto."
He took out a Kobold Magic Stone and tossed it. Seto caught it in its beak and swallowed it.
【Seto has learned the skill 『Sense of Smell Enhancement Lv.1』】
The announcement message played in his mind. Hearing it, Rei instinctively turned his gaze toward Seto. He hadn't actually expected to learn a skill from a Kobold Magic Stone.
"...That was certainly unexpected."
"Did it learn a skill?"
"Yeah. ...Though, it's a bit of a pitiful skill to make it use here."
Given the name "Sense of Smell Enhancement," it naturally meant the Gryphon's sense of smell would become sharper. Rei shook his head slightly. Since its sense of smell was currently struggling with the stench, he thought it would be truly cruel to enhance it even further and force it to experience the foul odor again.
Elena seemed to share his sentiment after hearing Rei's explanation.
"It is a skill that would likely be very useful under normal circumstances, but in this situation, it is quite unfortunate in many ways."
"Yeah. Well, the next floor is a forest, so it'll probably be useful once we head down there. ...Now then, if Seto learned a skill, can I expect one too?"
Rei tossed the Kobold Magic Stone into the air and slashed it with the Death Scythe. The stone vanished like mist, but no announcement message played in his mind.
"Tch, no good. I suppose I should just consider it a win that Seto got one."
Just as with the Skeletons, he had halfway expected failure, so he didn't feel particularly depressed. He calmly took out the Bloody Dile Magic Stone.
"Now then, we have two of these as well, so we don't have to worry about who gets it. Seto!"
"Gru!"
He tossed the Bloody Dile Magic Stone. Seto caught and swallowed it, just as it had with the Kobold...
"...No good, huh."
"Guru."
The announcement message did not play, and Seto let out a disappointed cry. With its head drooping, it looked so dejected that it was hard to believe it was an A-Rank monster. Anyone who saw Seto now would have a hard time believing its high rank.
Elena, who had been watching Seto along with Iero, gently reached out and stroked the Gryphon's head to comfort it.
"Come now, cheer up. Considering you learned a skill from a Kobold Magic Stone, there’s no need to be so downcast, right? Besides, the Death Scythe is the one with the real problem. If it couldn't learn a skill from the Kobold stone and then also failed to learn one from the Bloody Dile... it would have no leg to stand on as your partner, would it?"
"...Wait, Elena. You aren't just putting pressure on me while pretending to comfort Seto, are you?"
Elena gave him a small smile and shook her head.
"Of course not. I am simply looking forward to seeing what kind of skill you obtain, Rei."
She spoke as if there were no ulterior motive, but to Rei, it felt as though she were applying even more pressure. He let out a small sigh, tossed the final Bloody Dile Magic Stone into the air, and slashed it with the Death Scythe.
【Death Scythe has learned the skill 『Pain Burst Lv.1』】
An announcement message echoed in his mind. Rei tilted his head. He had no idea what kind of effect "Pain Burst" would have based solely on the name.
Up until now, he had understood most skills by their names alone. Flying Slash sent out a slash, for example. Corrosion and Wind Hand were a bit vaguer, but he could still guess. But "Pain Burst" eluded him.
(Pain, so it's about hurting? But Burst... tch, I wish the Beast Magic would at least give a brief explanation of the skill's effect. Takumu Suzunose had come from Japan as well, so he could have at least designed it to explain things properly.)
While grumbling to his fellow countryman who had been part of the Zephyle Clan, he spoke to Elena.
"I learned a skill, but I don't really understand its effect. Judging by the name Pain Burst, I think it's related to pain."
"Pain... since it's called Burst, perhaps it reduces the pain inflicted on oneself?"
"Or there's the possibility that it increases the pain dealt to an enemy... but I can't exactly use it carelessly here."
He gripped the Death Scythe and activated the skill, thinking that if it reduced his own pain, he should test it.
"Pain Burst."
Then, with his left hand, he tried pinching his right hand.
(I certainly feel pain, but it's just normal pain. It doesn't seem to be increased or decreased. In that case...)
Having checked his own sense of pain, he looked at Elena.
"Elena, sorry, but could you try pinching my arm?"
"...Are you sure you're alright?"
Rei gave a small nod to her worried question.
"Yeah. As far as I can tell from pinching myself, there's no change. I want to check if pain inflicted by someone else feels different."
"You'll tell me immediately if it hurts?"
When Rei nodded, Elena gently reached out and pinched his offered right arm, but...
"No change in pain, huh."
In the end, there was no noticeable difference. They decided they would have to try it again once they encountered a living monster.
【Seto】 『Water Ball Lv.3』『Fire Breath Lv.3』『Wind Arrow Lv.2』『King's Intimidation Lv.1』『Poison Claw Lv.4』『Size Change Lv.1』『Tornado Lv.1』『Ice Arrow Lv.1』『Optical Camouflage Lv.2』『Magic Eye of Shock Lv.1』『Power Crush Lv.1』『Sense of Smell Enhancement Lv.1』 (New)
【Death Scythe】 『Corrosion Lv.3』『Flying Slash Lv.3』『Magic Shield Lv.1』『Power Slash Lv.2』『Wind Hand Lv.3』『Terrain Manipulation Lv.1』『Pain Burst Lv.1』 (New)
Sense of Smell Enhancement: The user's sense of smell becomes sharper.
Pain Burst: When the skill is activated and a target is slashed with the Death Scythe, the pain inflicted on the enemy increases. At level 1, the pain is doubled.