Chapter 27: [Arc 1] Chapter 21: The Evil Lord’s Tricks and Traps

"Thank you for your visit. It was a pleasure having you as visitors." - Librarian

With a polite bow, the librarian gave her farewells. The moles and Gust who had arrived after me waved back to her as the doors were closing.

...Quite a lonely fate. Having to stay down here for who knows how long, not even sure if anyone else is coming to visit. Maybe that's why it's a Living Spirit, rather than a real person, that's placed with that job?

She must have thought the same, as she allowed me to take with me as many books from the library without worrying about delivering them back. Due to that, I figured out the limits of [Spatial Storage]: 50 + 5*[Skill Level] amounts of items can be stored at once, plus that you can store up to 99 duplicates in a single "slot". Weight hasn't anything to say, but liquids are counted as 1 liter = 1 item. 

Since each different volume was classified as a different item, I couldn't store them under the "Book"-slot. I even tried to store the books in self-made bags made out of spider thread, but that didn't work. Then there's that I needed space for other items I may find, meaning even fewer books for me...damn...

I walked towards the next place of interest written on the map, trying to walk away from my failure with the books. 

"Hey, where are you going? Are you not going to say something about our performance this time?" - Gust *Smug face*

......Thanks for being of use for the first time.

"Yes, yes, just as you- hey! What's that supposed to mean!" - Gust

Whoops. Guess telepathy isn't working well with keeping the truth a secret~.

I ignored the babbling bird and used the Skill Scroll that I had obtained with this Quest. No bonus requirements were fulfilled this time.

I wanted this one. Especially after clearing "The Book of Undeads". That's a Legacy Quest that partly unlocks the Spectermancer class. It's one step away from the all-too-famous Necromancer class, which is an Advanced-Rank class. It will also work wonders with my new nobility. However...

"...What?" - Gust

'What' indeed. Spectermancer has the opportunity to upgrade the [Tame] skill into [Undead Servant], which is limited to taming only undeads, but I can do so with a large number. 2 for each skill level!

And that's the problem. It only works for undeads, not birds. Unless it's an undead bird, but as expected, even I can't do something that heartless. 

...Better come clean about it now rather than later. I told Gust about my plans for the Spectermancer class, and...

"That's all? Then why not wait until the taming contract expires?" - Gust

Eh? We can do that?

"You did not know? The contract will be broken whenever the tamed monster dies, or undergo an evolution. I think the last one is because creatures can evolve into a different genus that does not match the taming skill, so the contract has to be renewed with each evolution." - Gust

Ah, that sounds legit. Then, what happens to those who treat their tamed monsters like slaves?

"Probably eaten? The low-tier taming skills only work on those with a lower racial rank than your own." - Gust

Scary thought. Keeping a horde of undeads sounds better by the second. Quantity over quality. Numbers can beat anything. Even I would have fled if I saw hundreds of Greycave Rats charging at me. Of course, if their teamwork was nonexistent, then it wouldn't be so scary.

Then, do you have any plans of evolving then?

"Hmm, it was more of a dream back at the Grand Library. I wanted to become a Sage like my owner." - Gust

Oh, that's a big dream. Then, are you going for that after we escape the Dungeon?

For some reason, I couldn't ask him if he was planning on leaving.

"Hmm, Master's a dunce about the norms of society, so I guess there is no other choice than for me to guide you~." - Gust

I'm fine with that, even if you're just sticking around for the books we were allowed to take with us, but that tone of yours's gonna go.

*Squeeze*

"AIIEEE!! MY HEAD! AT LEAST NOT MY HEAD!!" - Gust

I gave the bird a good iron claw for his bad behavior. I'm not gonna tell him I'm secretly happy about his decision though.

---

The fourth Challenge was located in the castle garden. A huge glass roof covered it, preventing the Dread Spirits from entering the garden. As for the Challenge itself, it was a clean-up of the place. Getting rid of weeds and such. As one could guess...

We had the moles finish the whole deal. We even got 66 Skill Scrolls with the [Herbology] skill, which improved your knowledge regarding herbs. The moles were happy about it, but I and Gust simply stored our copies in the Storage until we figured out if we needed them or not.

The [Cultivation] skill, which is a better alternative to their [Planting] skill, was given to the mole leader. Oh, but it's not an evolved skill. It is a better alternative, with [Planting] being a 1 Skill Point skill and [Cultivation] needing 3. The former skill got integrated into [Cultivation] when the leader got the skill though.

Speaking of which, I bought the [Linguistics] skill at the library, which is the improved-but-not-evolved variant of Gust's [Reading]. That one is a skill students would kill to get.

With the left leg Remnant in our bagpackStorage, we walked to the training grounds, the location for the fifth Challenge.

Waiting there was a handsome man, even in the cheap metal armor, complete with a helmet. Needless to say, he is a Living Spirit. I could see the black spots again like with the general, macho cook, and the old man that tended the garden. Only the librarian lacked them, probably because she already existed without the addition of the Quest.

"Welcome, lovely lady. May I ask if you are here for the auditions for the Guard-tryouts?" - Handsome knight

"...What's he talking about?" - Gust

I kept my mouth shut and faced the handsome knight in the middle of the training grounds. That's easier than talking after all. Robbery, I mean.

"I see. One of the silent types. Could the small animals please stay at the audience space?" - Handsome knight

The moles and Gust did as he said after I glared at them. 

The knight drew his sword and took a stance. Not that I knew of stances or such myself, so I was just standing there, ready for anything.

"Well then, ready...GO!" - Handsome knight

*Bong*

The bell by the wall made a sound as the knight started the fight. He didn't do anything, probably waiting for me to make a move first. Seeing that I also took the wait-and-see approach, the knight lunged himself towards me with his sword ready to slash towards my abdomen. 

Such a telegraphed move. Not that an ordinary man could see it unless they had [Thought Acceleration] like me. I crouched to escape the slash, and while I did, I used the Dark Grasp spell underneath the knight.

The spell created arms made of darkness to constrain the knight, but he shrugged them off like it was nothing. Seeing that, I used the Blow Wind spell from [Magic Ability] to blow the dust on the training ground towards the knight's face.

It looked like the knight reacted to the sudden wind, but... yup. He got dusted. 

I swiftly got behind him, caught his free hand, and pinned him down by binding him with my threads. The knight was left helpless on the ground, but his sword arm was still free, so I slapped some goopy threads on that one too, sticking him fully on the ground. And now-

"That's enough." - Handsome knight

*Bong*

The bell signalized the end of the fight before I could strike the final blow. Then, the knight brushed off the thread as if it was dust!? What the hell!? Those are Spider Lord threads, you know! They aren't meant to be brushed off like that!

"Thank you. That was perfect! You have by all means the right of being a member of the Guards." - Handsome knight

Tch, he's handsome even when covered in dirt. Die already. Then it wasn't just my imagination back then. He could have evaded that blast of dust before. Then this really was a test. The knight 'acted' as someone weaker than himself... well, not that an army or whatever wouldn't have recruited someone as strong as a knight captain. This guy must have lowered his strength so that potential recruits wouldn't be disillusioned by the sheer difference in abilities. 

More importantly, how am I supposed to snatch the Remnant from him? It's not for certain, but after this performance, I'm not so sure if I'm able to rob the Remnant from this guy. Heck, I don't know where he has it stored even.

"But could you tell me why such a fair maiden would want to join the guards?" - Handsome knight

Urgh, I'm gonna be sick. But I can use this. Now, [Parallel Processing], full throttle!!

"...My mother... she is sick... the medicine... too expensive... normal works... not enough..." - Garami

I used all of my mental abilities to weave a story that would pull the heartstrings of this handsome bastard. I also used the Shapeshifting skill to change some of my facial features, making them look more like a heroine in distress rather than a vicious ogre-demon.

I peeked up from my hood and looked at the handsome bastard with the best melancholic expression I could make. Oh, a good reaction from him. Heck, now he's starting to cry? What a sucker.

"What a tragedy! Please, let me help your poor family! Here, take this. Selling them will give you more than enough money to save your poor family. And do not worry, I will tell the commander that it was a bonus for our recruit." Handsome (sobbing) knight

The handsome bastard used a Storage skill of some sort to retrieve a Skill Scroll, a slender sword in its sheath, and the Remnant piece, for then handing it over to me.

"Now go and help your mother, oh kind and noble lady." - Sobbing (previously handsome) knight

Yikes, he's got snot and tears all over the place now. I made a small bow for then retreat towards Gust and the moles. When we exited the training grounds...

"...Scammer." - Gust

Oh, shut it! That was the only thing I could think of!

Damn rude bird. I didn't waste time on him and rather focused on the Skill Scroll. The skill allows any type of armor to work even better than before. Even my battle-robe. 

There we go. As for this thing... a rapier? Its blade looks kinda dark, and its edge looks damn sinister. The hilt was a silver-colored crossguard, with the grip sharing the color.

Not bad. It's weaker than the ATK 110 Steel Swords, but this one got more effects and is lighter to boot. Probably because it's of a higher quality even if it's the same rarity. Not to mention that it's leagues above the dagger I'm using. Oh, and yes, rapiers can also cut. They're not solely stabbing weapons. 

I attached the rapier with its sheath so I could pull it with my right hand and moved the dagger so it would fit my left. Thinking about it, isn't it a practice for rapier users to have a parrying dagger or a buckler to help the rapier... not exactly roguish, but hey, why not be a gentleman rogue?

"Looking good there." - Gust

Why thank you.

"But there's something I was wondering about: what was that move you did against the knight guy? Your speed when you pinned him down was incredible." - Gust

That was due to the [Blink] skill.

[Blink] allows you to rapidly move from one location to another. A "Movement speed up" skill, so to say. I could buy it for 3 Skill Points since I had the Rogue class, but many other classes can buy it.

"[Blink], is that not a Light attribute skill? What happened to the Heretic ones?" - Gust

I found out I wouldn't need them.

At the library, I read about a creature called a Lilim. It's a C-Rank Heretic- and Darkness attribute demon, and a special evolution of the Succubus line.

The E-Rank Lesser Succubus can evolve into either a regular Succubus or a Lesser Lilim. The condition for the second evolution is for the Lesser Succubus to have consumed something called "Essence of Darkness", which is obtained through a certain Legacy Quest. This "Essence"-item encroaches the Lesser Succubus during the evolution, transforming it from the sole Heretic attribute demon it was to the Heretic- AND Darkness attribute Lesser Lilim.

Finding this funny, I looked up more regarding evolutions where the evolving party gained an additional racial attribute. And guess what, around 90% of all the evolutions needed such an "Attribute Key Item", as I have coined it. 

By taking the Lilim as a reference, I have deduced that the Kur Kigal evolution requires some Heretic Attribute Key Item, cloak-and-dagger skills, and high proficiency in the Darkness attribute.

The first one's gonna be a pain in the butt, even if I can delay evolving until I find an item like that. The second requirement is something I'm already doing. Same with the third.

Due to the only problem is the Key Item, I decided to focus more heavily on skills that would help me survive the Dungeon. And the first point of business is to get another main attribute, so to say. And my eyes were on the Light attribute. I mean, a demon commanding both darkness and light? Isn't that something too cool to not aim for?

Therefore, I was filling out my skill portfolio with Light skills. As for the third attribute, I'll let that come by itself. Whenever it's Heretic due to skills obtained from evolution, Death or Undead due to Spectermancer, or something completely different, just come on!

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I explained it all to Gust, except for the chuuni-parts for why I aimed for the Light attribute, saying it was to gain some well-needed speed moves.

"Hmm, I did not know about that 'Attribute Key Item' as you called it, but it does sound logical. Obtaining another attribute is way more difficult than changing the one you already have." - Gust

Phew. Managed to trick him.

"And obtaining the Light attribute is a smart move. If you are lucky, you may overcome some of the light-related weaknesses that creatures of the Darkness attribute have." - Gust

!? Y-yeah, obviously...

Crap. I never thought of that...

The talk continued until we reached the location for the next Challenge: the castle's smithy.

---

" 'Elcome. What can I do for ya?" - Smith

The smithy consisted of a workbench, several shelves with a few weapons and armors on them, some anvils the smith must be using for his work, and a ginormous hearth. 

The smith himself didn't have any notable features. Not bad-looking, but not handsome. Not old, but not young either. A smith who looked like the very concept of "average". Except that he was a Living Spirit, but I've grown used to it. I could see the black spots on the wall from the light from the hearth. This guy's gonna be a pain like the rest.

Uh-oh. There goes plan A-to-K.

Just gotta follow the rules. Brute-force didn't seem like the right way with the captain before either. It's not guaranteed that the items in his storage-like ability would pop out if I killed him.

"So much violence!" - Gust

Yeah, yeah. Gust, time for plan L.

"Eh, why do you say that to me?" - Gust

Because it's the plan: "Leave everything to Gust".

"Why me!?" - Gust

You haven't done anything today except for riding the mole's tailcoat in the library. Now, get busy.

"Fiiiine," said Gust, while walking forward to the smith.

"Excuse me, good sire. Could I have the honor of borrowing some of your time?" - Gust

"Hoo? A talking crow's something ya don't see every day." - Smith

"Yes, you see, I am a raven-" - Gust

"Then, what's ya wishing from me?" - Smith

Wow. Completely ignored. 

"...Is it true that you are in the ownership of the left arm of a certain armor?" - Gust

"Sure am! Wanna buy it?" - Smith

"Eh, ah, yes? How much?" - Gust

Just like that? No assignments, tricks, or traps? That's new.

"Just some 1.000.000 Sols' enough." - Smith

"One million!? That's highway robbery!" - Gust

It is? I've yet to encounter money in this world, so I don't know. But it doesn't sound like Sols are an inflated currency. 

"Sorry. Either pay or scram." - Smith

"The only thing here that's scrambled is your head! For what reason should we pay that ridiculous fine?" - Gust

"I don't know? It's ya who wanna have this rusty piece of garbage." - Smith

And the bird's out. Gust looks like he's clueless about what to do next. This calls for a lifeline.

Hey, repeat after me.

"Eh? Ehm, then how about we barter that "rusty piece of garbage" from you?" - Gust

With that, I retrieved a certain something I had stolen from the kitchen.

"Sure, as if you have somethi---oiiii!! Where did you get that!?" - Smith

What I had placed on the smith's workbench was an expensive-looking bottle containing something called "Millenium Rum". Apparently, some of the most highly exclusive and delicious alcohol there is. 

Repeat after me.

"Then, have we captured your interest? One of these fine bottles in exchange for the piece of armor?" - Gust

"Eeeh? Just one bottle?" - Smith

As expected of your average smith. Alcohol gets their gears moving.

Repeat after me.

"If that is not enough, how about three... wait, three!?" - Gust

Hope he said that last part to me on the private channel rather than through speaker telepathy.

"Three!? Sir, ya make a hard deal, but I accept! Here, take ya piece of thra-piece of armor. No refunds. Ta-ta!" - Smith

The smith grabbed the three bottles of rum after dropping off the Remnant and left the place in a hurry. 

Challenge, cleared~. No extras? That's what I get for following the rules? The Skill Scroll appeared on top of the Remnant, so that's enough for me. 

"HEY! What was the deal about that just now? Don't you know the worth of that alcohol?" - Gust

It sounds pretty expensive when you put it like that.

"Yes, it was! Then why did you gave him three!?" - Gust

Because if he didn't accept that final offer, then I was planning on having him show us the Remnant as to prove he deserved more payment, for then stab him in the neck and steal it then and there. 

The raven started to look more like a white pigeon when I explained my backup plan to him. 

"B-brutal... but that still doesn't explain-*Thud, thud, thud*-...oh. That's why." - Gust

The bird shut up when he saw me taking out several barrels filled with the same type of rum. In total, I managed to snatch 20 barrels of these, plus 35 smaller bottles, including the three I used as payment just now. When I think about it, why are the barrels and the rum counting as one item when the books and the bag didn't? Do I need some special skills to make containers?

"Anyway, that's six out of seven. Just one more to go! And that is..." - Gust

The throne room.

"Well, aren't someone prepared." - Gust

It's pretty easy to imagine, as long as you know what this Quest is based on.

"...It is based on something?" - Gust

This.

I showed him one of the books from the library. Legendary Figures of the Past: Ulrit Avalar.

"I know this guy! He's the one who founded the biggest human kingdom on the Invidia continent. What about him?" - Gust

See that coat of arms in the book? And the ones decorating the walls?

Slow but steady started the bird to understand the situation. This Ulrit guy was one of the greatest kings in Terra Sol's history, and this Quest is based on one of the episodes in his life. More precisely, his downfall.

Ulrit Avalar created a massive kingdom in his life, something that irked one of the other big kingdoms on the continent. They sent a spy undercover to take Avalar down, something that succeeded in a rebellion that the spy initiated.

That's probably why the armor pieces are called the Remnant of Rebellion. Another fact that led me to this conclusion is that the Challenges all are based on events that the spy was the main character of, according to a study on the downfall of Avalar. 

The kingdom itself is still standing, around the time the book was printed, but that's not important now. The important thing is...

"Wait... does that mean that the Challenge in the throne room is..." - Gust

To steal the sword of the king like the spy did to kick off the rebellion? Oh yes, it is.

And if my guess is right, then we have a guest actor for this last bit. One who Gust never wants to see again... Please let me be mistaken here!

Description:

A spider monster that was first seen in the Dungeon: "The Water-Knot of Glavras". It is one of the most unusual monsters of the Dungeon by not only being a derivation from the norm of reptile monsters in the Dungeon but they are also a deviant amongst spider-type monsters due to their lack of webbing and their water attribute.

They act as an army and swarm on their enemies without fearing death. It is believed that evolved species act as sergeants and generals for the basic soldiers.

Appearance:

The Glavras Aquarect is a 60 cm high spider with a small trunk in navy colores. Its legs have a more aqua-green color.

Abilities:

The Glavras Aquarect lacks certain strengths typically found in spider monsters, such as threads and poison, but it makes it up with its abilities to shoot blasts of water strong enough to crack boulders when used at maximum power. 

These spiders have an incredible sense of unity. Add a bunch of them together with a leader, and they can face D-Rank monsters without problems. There would be casualties on both sides though.

Gust's comment: Even now, Garami's more of a spider than these guys.

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