ch81-ch100 · 095-ch95

Chapter 95: 【Contradiction】 Part 1

"...Now then, shall we go shopping? I'll go change. It will take a little while, so once you're dressed, Haruki-san, please find somewhere to pass the time."

"...Yes. I'll be back in a bit."

Clank, clank—Kasumi-san heads up to the second floor, still in her armor.

Left behind, I change clothes in high spirits.

Not that changing takes me long.

No armor to shed, and my "dressed up" only goes so far.

Changed in a flash.

(What do I do about this?)

The 'Mystery Gate'...

Still sitting there.

I'll dismiss it when we head back, and go have a look around the shops meanwhile.

(If I'm going anywhere, the weapon shop, I guess?)

And so I came to the weapon shop on Floor 1.

What I want isn't a weapon but armor—specifically, a shield.

(I went and became a shield job, and yet I'm not using a shield.)

The one I've got is the big Orc Knight shield.

Bad match for a two-handed spearman like me.

I could switch to a one-handed spear, but there should be arm-mounted shields, so I came looking for one of those.

(This is it. This kind of thing is what I need.)

I found a small round shield—one that can be strapped to the arm or removed and held in hand.

Might as well test whether the skills activate with it strapped on...

(...I hadn't learned the skills yet. 【Status】. 【Skill Points】. 【Charge Shielder】, there we go.)

Skill Points: 9

'Available Skills'

【Charge・Shield・High】 5

【Charge・Shield・Armor Enhancement・Shield・High】 1

【Charge・Shield・Strength Up・High】 1

【Charge・Shield・Endurance Up・High】 1

【Charge・Shield・Agility Up・High】 1

【Charge・Shield・Magic Up・High】 1

【Charge・Shield・Shield Parry】 1

【Charge・Shield・Shield Counter】 1

︙

【Charge・Shield・Shield Bash】 1

【Charge・Shield・Shield Spike】 1

【Charge・Shield・Shield Shock】 1

︙

【Charge・Shield・Magic Shield】 1

【Charge・Shield・Wide Shield】 1

【Charge・Shield・Sphere Shield】 1

︙

【Charge・Shield・One with the Shield】 50

【Charge・Shield・Dimension Wall】 50

【Charge・Shield・Mirror Shield】 50

【Charge・Shield・...etc.

I'm learning 【Charge・Shield・High】 for 5 points and 【Charge・Shield・Armor Enhancement・Shield・High】 for 1—those two are certain.

And with the remaining 3 points, the basic super mode set, huh...

I take 【Charge・Shield・Strength Up・High】, 【Charge・Shield・Endurance Up・High】, and 【Charge・Shield・Agility Up・High】.

The 'overworked skills' Dr. Amamiya talked about...

It frightens me, but honestly, fighting without super mode from here on just isn't possible.

If I'd had super mode active today, I could have met the charging Ogre King head-on.

No—in the first place, when it jumped to get away, I wouldn't have let it escape.

...That's how it'll be from now on, huh.

(Maybe I can afford to slow down a little.)

My near-term goal—getting Kasumi-san past Floor 30—is already accomplished.

All that's left is going to enjoy her home cooking...

The level gap between me and Soushi has gotten pretty wide too.

I'll raise Soushi at a leisurely pace and use the time to get my body accustomed to things.

I flagged down the clerk and got permission to try it on and use skills.

(【Status】. 【Charge・Shield・High】. 【Charge・Shield・Armor Enhancement・Shield・High】.)

Activates without a hitch.

The enhancement works even with it strapped to my arm.

MP: 537→535

(Hm?)

MP: 535→531

(I see—dismissed.)

It's draining 2 MP per second.

Probably because it's a high-tier skill—so is it that much stronger for it?

I can tell the super mode itself is stronger now, probably.

But I have no idea what 【Charge・Shield・High】 actually does.

Does the shield get harder? Or does it... explode when you smack something with it?

Maybe you're meant to combine it with skills like Shield Bash or Shield Spike?

It needs testing, but I can't do that in a weapon shop, and I'm out of skill points anyway.

For now, I'll just buy the shield.

It's iron and a bit heavy, but at 8,000 yen the price is reasonable.

I can manage that out of pocket.

Iron weapons and armor are easy to enhance, so they're actually more popular than gear of other materials.

Shields, for instance—some people can't enhance shields made of clear plastic, like riot shields.

That's why cheap beginner gear tends to be iron.

(I'll have Mia-san make me a proper one later.)

Shield in hand, I come back to the warehouse.

(Is Kasumi-san done changing?)

I beep the kitchen door open with the card key, and there's Kasumi-san poking at the 'Mystery Gate' with her halberd.

"Welcome back. Is that... a shield?"

"It is. Just a stopgap, but I bought it hoping to practice activating skills with it. Your outfit looks wonderful, Kasumi-san."

I'd love to ask what she's doing, but at times like these, you compliment the outfit first.

Today's outfit is for the meet-the-parents dinner, apparently—a rather formal, long dress.

Ivory, maybe? Too pale to call beige.

"You think so? It doesn't look strange?"

Kasumi-san stretches out her arms and does a twirl.

Aside from holding a halberd, there's nothing strange about her at all.

"Of course. Everything is lovely. By the way—what's with the halberd?"

"Ah, sorry about that. This 'Gate' will not budge, no matter how I push or pull, so I was trying poking it."

I see.

It's not connected to anywhere, so nothing can go in, right?

If nothing can go in... then what IS it?

"That 'Gate' can't produce its pair, so it isn't connected to anywhere. It doesn't seem to have any use at the moment."

"A use... Actually, I have seen something very like this before."

A 'Floor Gate'?

There's a difference between a diamond and a rectangle, but it's basically the same thing.

Kasumi-san continues.

"【Wide Guarder】—the skill of what Japan calls 【Wide-Area Shielder】: 【Dimension Wall】. I have seen footage of overseas adventurers using it. The shape and size are different, but the same phenomenon is happening here, so might it work the same way?"

"No way, you can't be serious..."

【Dimension Wall】? The skill that costs 50 points?

I've seen that video too.

Hard to believe, but I pick up the second halberd and try poking the 'Mystery Gate' myself.

"HRAAH!"

A heavy, solid feeling.

Like smacking a thick wall, or hammering the ground.

"HYAH!"

Kasumi-san pokes the other side.

It doesn't budge an inch...

"You're serious?"

"Probably. There's no mistaking it's a dimensional wall."

"That can't be. 【Status】. 【Charge・Spear】. THIS should be able to break it. Give me about five minutes."

I'll treat that 'Gate' to a 400 MP 【Charge・Spear】—the kind that punches holes in dungeon walls.

If THIS doesn't break it, I'll accept that it's a dimensional wall.

"True, if you wish to test durability, maximum firepower is the way... But please do not overdo it... Say, can you place a 'Gate' anywhere you like?"

"Um. There's the 'Left Gate' and the 'Right Gate,' and they appear at the position of my left and right palms. But this 'Gate'—I don't even know where it came from. If I dismiss it, I can't summon it back, so I've been leaving it out."

"I see. The skill is 'acting up,' is it. Fufu."

"That's right. Acting up."

We smile at each other.

"Why not recreate what you were doing at the time? You may find you can summon it freely."

"Good point. [Gate]."

I hold out my right hand and try 【Gate】, but what appears is the 'Right Gate.'

"The original 'Gate' is still over there, so that was a failure? Was anything else different from that moment?"

At the time, let's see...

Kasumi-san had come downstairs in her under-armor, and I was trying not to look too much.

So I turned to the right and tried to produce the 'Right Gate'...

"[Gate]."

There it is.

I tried for the 'Right Gate,' and yet it appeared on my left—between me and Kasumi-san.

And the 'Mystery Gate' that had been there is gone.

"Success? How did you do it?"

I had turned to the right so as not to look at Kasumi-san—but my eyes alone had stayed left, on her.

My eyes.

That's it. The left eye.

"Apparently, the third 'Gate' comes out of my left eye. [Gate]."

Closing my right eye and calling it out, the 'Gate' appears in the direction my left eye was looking.

If it comes from the left eye, then it's the 'Left Eye Gate.'

"Summoning it freely already? Impressive as ever. The skill's 'condition' has improved, hasn't it. Fufufu."

"All thanks to you, Kasumi-san. Ah—it's time. Kasumi-san, please step away. There may be quite a lot of noise and vibration, so be careful."

MP: 531→128

"Th-that much!?"

Once I confirm Kasumi-san is gripping the warehouse wall, I take my stance...

Here I remember the story of 'the 【Charge Spearman】 who broke both arms.'

Weapon enhancement and Endurance Up were essential, apparently.

"【Charge・Spear・Weapon Enhancement・Spear】. 【Charge・Spear・Endurance Up】. Here goes."

【Charge・Spear】, fire.

No run-up, but a one-step plant and a two-handed thrust from standing.

A BANG of rupturing air.

"KYAAAAH!"

I get blown backward and slammed into the wall.

Kasumi-san... is down on one knee, hands pressed over her ears.

She gets up and rushes over to me.

She seems all right.

"Haruki-san? Are you all right?"

I'm fine too.

The halberd is fine too.

"Yes. And the 'Left Eye Gate'? ...Wha—no way."

Not a scratch.

"I'd say we can be confident it's the same thing as 【Dimension Wall】."

"That cannot be. Then you mean a 【Charge Spearman】's 【Charge・Spear】 cannot break through a 【Wide-Area Shielder】's 【Dimension Wall】?"

"That is what it means. Physical attacks, and surely magical ones too—nothing breaks through. That is the ultimate shield: 【Dimension Wall】."

...A contradiction.

'This shield is so hard that no spear, however sharp its blade, can pierce it.'

So say the shield jobs.

And therefore the strongest job in the world is 【Wide-Area Shielder】.

'This spear is so sharp it can pierce any shield.'

So say the spear jobs.

And therefore the strongest job in the world is 【Charge Spearman】.

And someone once asked:

'What happens if that spear strikes that shield?'

(...The shield won.)

It was my loss.

So the strongest romantic job was, in the end, nothing but a fantasy...

"Lies. I can punch holes in dungeon walls, and yet..."

"Hm? You punched a hole in a dungeon wall?"

Ah...

"No, it's nothing."

"Hmmm. You hid something, didn't you. Just as Endo-san said. She even said you had the makings of a cheating man, Haruki-san. Tell me the truth. Liars are cheating men in the making!"

What is Endo-san teaching people!?

Being called a cheating man is unbearable, so I told the truth...

"Well, the thing is..."

"Why would you do such a thing!!"

I told the truth and got scolded...

"At the time, I..."

I told her it wasn't on purpose, told her about the Floor 30 business, and got scolded even more...