Chapter-11 · EP-178

Episode 178: Who Should Obtain the Skill Orb

"What do you mean? Please explain. You say it so easily, but even the Kujo family can't just get their hands on a Skill Orb. Or have you found some other way to obtain a magic skill besides a Skill Orb?"

Hikaru asked in response to my words about going to look for magic skills now.

I realized I might have skipped over a few things, so I explained.

"No, no, of course, I was talking about going to look for a Skill Orb."

"But Skill Orbs aren't that easy to find…"

"No, first, listen to me!"

I held up both palms to stop the two of them, and then slowly began to speak.

"First, you need a magic skill, young lady. No matter how much you train with other weapons, it's pointless. You have to get a magic skill first, or nothing will start. But they're not easy to get. So I thought, who would know the most about Skill Orbs?"

The two listened silently.

"They say you have to go deep to get Skill Orbs now. So the only ones who can get them are explorers who explore the depths. Fortunately, right now, there's one deep-floor explorer at the academy."

When I got that far, the two seemed to realize who I had heard it from.

"Susa-san?"

"Yes. I went to ask Susa-san if he knew of any Skill Orbs. Well, it was just a side thing since he called me for something else. And he told me. About an unexplored area on the first floor of this dungeon. He said if you go there, there's probably a Skill Orb."

I tried to look cool and winked.

But the two ignored that and questioned me.

"Th-that's not information he would just give away easily! Don't tell me you traded it for the high-rank potion information Susa-san was looking for?"

Perceptive Hikaru seemed to have realized there was a trade involved.

But she was slightly off: she thought I had traded my high-rank potion information for the Skill Orb information.

From my perspective, I had traded it for leveling, and the Skill Orb information was a bonus. Moreover, we had agreed that I hadn't told him about the potion rank-up, so in reality, only I was benefiting.

"Well, we'll leave the details for later. So, if you find a Skill Orb, young lady, I have a small request. Not of you, but of your father, Duke Kujo. Could you have him contact me after the exploration?"

"Of course, that's fine. Whether we can grant your request depends on the content and my father, though."

"OK, OK, that works! Then let's go."

The explanation was done, so I tried to head off to explore, but Hikaru stopped me.

"Wait a moment. Even if we do find a Skill Orb, is it really alright for me to take it?"

"Of course! Mei-chan, you're okay with that too, right?"

"Obviously! More importantly, are you sure there really is a Skill Orb there?"

"Susa-san said there should be."

Hikaru pressed us further.

"Is it really that simple? Do you two know the value of a Skill Orb? If you sold it, it would be an astronomical sum."

"It's worth about as much as one missile, someone said? It's too big to imagine."

"That's right. As much as one missile. Several hundred million yen. Is it okay to just give something like that to me?"

"If you're selling it, maybe. But selling one isn't that simple either, is it? If you touch it carelessly, you'll acquire the skill and the orb will disappear. And it's so valuable you risk theft. Isn't it better to just use it as soon as you find it? Without thinking too much about the money."

It was said that if you were to sell a Skill Orb, if the skill was beneficial to national defense, it could be worth as much as a missile, and would be traded at missile prices. In other words, several hundred million yen. But there were numerous problems to selling one, like who to sell it to and how, so it wasn't realistic.

A Skill Orb should be used by the person who finds it.

But Hikaru still seemed unconvinced.

"Don't you two want skills too?"

Apparently, she felt bad about being the only one to get a skill if we found it together.

"Well, here's an idea! If the Skill Orb yields a magic skill, you get it, young lady. If it's a combat skill, I get it. And if it's some other special skill, Mei-chan gets it. When we find the orb, use your Analysis skill to see what it is."

"Th-then, I suppose…"

With those conditions, the young lady finally seemed to agree.

That said, I don't really need a new skill right now, and neither does Mei-chan. The young lady, on the other hand, strongly needs a magic skill.

According to Susa-san's theory, a Skill Orb with the skill you need appears before the person who needs it.

If so, a magic skill orb should appear before Hikaru.

And honestly, if I just form a party with her, I can also acquire any skill she obtains. So I have no reason to be the one to get the Skill Orb myself.

Thus, with Hikaru finally convinced, and Mei, who still seemed a bit suspicious of me, I headed for the unexplored area that Susa-san had told me about.