[Set has acquired the 'Wind Arrow Lv.4' skill]
That announcement echoed through Rei's mind, and he was slightly surprised.
Yellow Birds were D-Rank monsters.
To Rei and Set, they were by no means strong — rather, they were nothing more than small fry.
That was why the fact that Set could acquire a skill from a Yellow Bird's magic stone came as a surprise to Rei.
(Well, I suppose Set has acquired skills from even Goblin Rare Species before, so it shouldn't be strange to acquire a skill from a D-Rank monster's magic stone.)
Set, having acquired — or rather, strengthened — a skill, purred happily and rubbed his face against Rei.
While petting Set, Rei surveyed his surroundings.
Several adventurers were training, but perhaps because it was still early morning, there were not many people in the courtyard of the Green Springside Pavilion.
"Haa!"
"Too soft, Elena!"
...Among those several people were the likes of Elena and Vihera.
As expected of Golts, which had a stable that could accommodate Set, the Green Springside Pavilion had a fairly large courtyard.
Normally, Rei would absorb magic stones out of sight, but he and his party were currently staying in Golts to conquer the Dungeon.
And since they were going to conquer the Dungeon alongside Reliu, who held the alias Gale, there was almost no room to absorb magic stones without drawing suspicion.
That was why they had taken to absorbing magic stones early in the morning, but Rei's expectation that it would fail anyway since they were low-rank monsters was easily betrayed — Set acquired a skill.
Naturally, since there were few people in the courtyard, no one had seen Set swallow the magic stone.
The handful of people present were all focused on their own affairs.
"Well then... does this mean there might be more in store?"
Murmuring to himself, Rei drew Death Scythe from his Misty Ring and, with a practiced motion, tossed a magic stone into the air and sliced through it.
[Death Scythe has acquired the 'Wind Hand Lv.4' skill]
Just like before, an announcement message echoed in his mind.
"We accepted the subjugation request to earn the trust of Golts's adventurers and residents, but it produced unexpected results. ...Or are the monsters in that Dungeon on the cliff face simply that powerful?"
So he thought, but it was a Dungeon where monsters, beginning with Goblins, fell to the ground one after another to their deaths — a Dungeon best described as absentminded.
(Well, in games and such, Dungeons located in places you can't normally reach are generally high-difficulty, so... maybe that's not such a wrong assumption?)
Rei thought while recalling the games he played back in Japan, but that was nothing more than game content, and it was inappropriate to apply it to the common sense of this world.
Still, while wondering whether there was any need to be cautious, Rei petted Set, who was delighted after hearing the announcement message that Death Scythe had acquired a skill.
"Well, whatever the case... the fact that Wind Hand's level went up is a good thing for me."
That was Rei's honest impression.
Wind Hand was one of the skills used to create Fire Whirlwind, one of Rei's trump cards.
Given that, raising that skill's level would undoubtedly be effective when creating Fire Whirlwind.
(Still, Death Scythe got Wind Hand. Set got Wind Arrow. Considering both are wind attribute attacks, Yellow Birds must have been skilled at that kind of attack. ...Yesterday's ambush left them with absolutely no room to use it.)
Although the adventurers had provided support by throwing stones from a distance, the fact that Golts's adventurers suffered no casualties from the Yellow Birds' wind-based attacks was probably fortunate.
The sudden ambush that left the Yellow Birds completely unable to react was likely the biggest reason.
"Set's Wind Arrow... is a bit hard to test here right now."
"Grr."
At Rei's words, Set let out a somewhat disappointed cry.
While petting Set, Rei held Death Scythe and tested Wind Hand.
"Wind Hand."
A tentacle made of wind extended from Death Scythe.
At Level 1 it reached 100m, at Level 2 it was 150m, and at Level 3 it was 200m.
Given that pattern, it wasn't difficult for Rei to predict what would happen at Level 4...
"About 250m, huh."
That prediction was by no means wrong.
Of course, he hadn't measured it precisely, so there was probably a margin of error of a few centimeters — or perhaps even a few meters.
(But it's Level 4 now. And when a skill reaches Level 5, its performance jumps dramatically. So does that mean Wind Hand, at Level 5, might suddenly extend to around 500m?)
Dismissing Wind Hand so it wouldn't be noticed by anyone, Rei gazed at Death Scythe and pondered.
If his prediction was correct, it might make his trump card, Fire Whirlwind, more powerful and usable from long range, so he wanted to raise it to Level 5 as soon as possible.
"Grrr?"
Set rubbed his face against Rei as if asking, "What's wrong?"
While petting Set, Rei shifted his thoughts away from Wind Hand and turned to today's Dungeon conquest.
He had seen the Dungeon itself yesterday.
Judging from the entrance, fortunately, it was wide enough that even Set could enter easily.
That meant Rei and his party wouldn't have to leave Set outside when they conquered the Dungeon — something Rei, and Set who hated being separated from Rei, considered a lifesaver.
Set's presence was reliable in many ways.
When moving to high or low places inside the Dungeon, Set would undoubtedly be very reassuring.
Of course, there were those like Rei and Elena who had Sleipnir boots, so it wasn't as if they could do nothing without Set...
Before Rei's gaze, the mock battle between Elena and Vihera came to an end.
He hadn't been watching that intently, but from what he could see now, Mirage's blade was pressed against Vihera's throat, and who had won was obvious to anyone.
For Rei, it was a familiar mock battle, but even though they were staying at the high-end Green Springside Pavilion, to the adventurers who primarily operated around Golts, it was a battle between people with skill beyond their imagination.
Even as a mock battle — no, in this case, it was precisely because it was a mock battle — the sight of two beautiful women fighting as if dancing was captivating.
What's more, while Elena was wearing armor, Vihera wore only the thin garments that a dancer or a prostitute might wear. ...Though she did have her Hand Gauntlets and Foot Guards equipped.
Seeing Vihera moving about flamboyantly in that state, several men were even leaning forward.
However, such a sight was one Vihera was thoroughly accustomed to, so the person receiving those lustful gazes didn't seem particularly bothered.
"Well then, the mock battle is over, so shall we head to the cafeteria? We're starting the Dungeon today, so we need to eat well and build up our energy."
"...You say build up energy, but in Rei's case, he has warm, freshly cooked meals even inside the Dungeon, so I don't think we need to worry about morale dropping when it comes to food."
"Eating in the Dungeon and eating in the cafeteria just have a different feel to them, you know."
When Rei put it that way, Elena was convinced.
Between eating with Ara and Rei versus eating with someone entrenched in aristocratic privilege — even if the menu were the same... no, even if the latter were more lavish, Elena would choose the former without hesitation.
"You're right. Let's go eat, then. ...Now, I'm a little excited to see what kind of monsters appear in the Dungeon."
That was Vihera's line — for her, fighting strong monsters raised her morale more than a meal — but Rei and Elena understood that was simply her personality, so they had no intention of commenting on it.
"Right. Marina, Byune, and Reliu might be waiting too, so let's head to the cafeteria."
"Oh my, Byune might still be sleeping. That girl is usually weak in the mornings."
Saying that, Vihera directed her gaze at Rei.
Rei understood what that look meant without being told.
Rei, too, was by no means strong in the mornings when not working on a request.
It wasn't that he went to bed late.
In fact, compared to his time in Japan, he clearly went to sleep much earlier now.
The reason Rei was up early today... was, naturally, the Dungeon.
(It's probably like looking forward to a field trip so much you can't sleep at night or wake up early.)
During elementary school sports days, field trips, school excursions... he'd experienced the same thing several times.
It wasn't as if this were his first Dungeon, and yet he still ended up in this state... he could only describe it as a vague feeling.
Or perhaps he found the novelty of a Dungeon existing on a cliff face intriguing.
Whatever the reason, the fact that Rei was looking forward to the Dungeon he was about to visit today was an undeniable truth.
Under weather that could fittingly be called a clear autumn sky, Rei headed to the cafeteria to fill his stomach for the Dungeon challenge ahead.
"Yo, Rei. Took you long enough. The girls already finished their——"
Reliu, seeing Rei and the others arrive at the cafeteria, began to say... then stopped as he saw Byune reaching for bread once again, and reopened his mouth.
"She's in the middle of her meal."
"Kyu!"
Beside Byune, Ielo, having taken off from Elena's shoulder, landed.
"Nn."
Byune tore off a piece of the bread she had been eating and gave it to Ielo.
Ielo let out a happy cry as it ate the bread, drawing warm looks from the people eating breakfast at the surrounding tables.
...There were a few who harbored ill intentions toward Ielo as a Child of the Black Dragon, but even such people quickly recalled who Rei and his party were and immediately dismissed their foolish thoughts.
"What about Marina?"
Rei asked, seeing that Marina was not at the table, but Reliu shook his head.
Looking at Reliu, Rei scanned the cafeteria.
It was still early in the morning — right around the time when the six o'clock bell might or might not have just rung — so there were a fair number of people who were about to leave the inn gathered inside.
Of course, compared to Gilm, which had more people than Golts, and especially compared to the Wheat Inn at dusk, the number of people inevitably felt smaller.
Regardless, there were those hurriedly stuffing bread and soup into their mouths, those who perhaps had no work today and were leisurely enjoying a slightly luxurious breakfast, and others discussing plans with their companions while eating skewers — a variety of people filled the room.
Even among them, if Marina had been present, she would have undoubtedly stood out.
That was how high Marina's presence was — those around her could not ignore it.
"I don't know if she's still sleeping... but she hasn't come to the cafeteria. I can't exactly go to her room, either."
For Reliu, unless there was some urgent matter, he didn't want to go to Marina's room under these circumstances.
There was no telling what misunderstanding might lead to something he couldn't face his wife about.
"Got it. Well then——"
"Oh my, it seems there's no need to worry? Look."
At the end of Vihera's gaze, Marina appeared in the cafeteria.
Clad in a party dress as always, her appearance was far from what one would consider appropriate for a morning cafeteria.
The people in the cafeteria — even those who had been looking at Rei... no, at Elena and Vihera — shifted their gazes to the newly appeared Marina, their attention concentrating on her.
But she was surely accustomed to such stares. Without appearing particularly bothered, she approached Rei's table.
"It looks like my timing was just right."
"...Spirit Magic, huh. How convenient."
Elena's words, understanding from Marina's remark how she had managed to arrive at the cafeteria with such perfect timing.
What came back was a smile.
"Well then, we're finally starting the Dungeon conquest today, so let's make sure to eat a proper breakfast."
Saying that, Marina took a seat and placed her order.
[Set]
'Water Ball Lv.5' 'Fire Breath Lv.3' 'Wind Arrow Lv.4' new 'King's Intimidation Lv.3' 'Poison Claw Lv.5' 'Size Change Lv.1' 'Tornado Lv.2' 'Ice Arrow Lv.3' 'Optical Camouflage Lv.5' 'Magic Eye of Shock Lv.1' 'Power Crush Lv.5' 'Sense of Smell Enhancement Lv.4' 'Bubble Breath Lv.1' 'Crystal Breath Lv.1' 'Earth Arrow Lv.1'
[Death Scythe]
'Corrosion Lv.4' 'Flying Slash Lv.5' 'Magic Shield Lv.1' 'Power Slash Lv.3' 'Wind Hand Lv.4' new 'Terrain Manipulation Lv.3' 'Pain Burst Lv.3' 'Penetrate Lv.3' 'Multi Slash Lv.1'
Wind Arrow: At Level 4, fires up to twenty wind arrows. The power itself is not particularly high, but since the arrows are made of wind, they are difficult for enemies to see, and they fly fast.
Wind Hand: A colorless, transparent tentacle-like object woven from wind magic grows from Death Scythe. Wind-based interference is possible only with objects touched by the tip of the tentacle. At Lv.4, the tentacle can extend approximately 250m.