Chapter 54: More than Enough“Gals, please strip off everything this loser had on her except for basic clothing. Give the gear to Theo for storage. Marcus, please keep an eye on the other party in case they try something stupid.”
I walk over to fetch the dagger Sherry made for me and see someone run off through a portal. Eventually, the rest of her crew snap out of their stupor and start yelling, “What do you think you’re doing?! Get your filthy hands off our Lady.”
“This is well within my rights and she promised to do the same to me. If any of you don’t like the result, ask the marshal here to repeat the rules for you. Any actions you take in opposition to the marshal’s ruling will be in viotion of imperial w.”
The marshal reluctantly nods in agreement, though he too may be uncomfortable with my crudeness. With everything packed, it’s time to leave before their Adventurer brings anyone else.
Then some rge, old fart who wasn’t here earlier decres in a booming voice, “I challenge you to a duel.”
“On what grounds?” I ask.
The fool doesn’t seem to actually know. After a little mumbling with his side, he retorts, “You threatened to kill these boys while they were just trying to negotiate.”
“That’s not what happened, but I see that your family hasn’t been convinced to leave us alone. Send out the next brat.”
“Not them. Now you shall face me.”
Roxanne shakes her head to discourage me. Marcus and Theo try to calm her, though they too look a bit uncertain. Alina and Sherry don’t look like they’ve recovered from the first duel. Regardless of their opinions, I can’t have these people bothering us ter.
“Are you sure? A moment ago, you didn’t seem to know why you were here.”
“Talk, talk, talk. Fight me now or surrender everything you own.”
“Alright, old man, I accept. I mercifully granted the woman a quick death. I can’t promise you the same.”
“Ha ha ha, I like you.”
I turn back to my party to choose my weapon. I might need Durandal’s power for this guy. Roxanne is too anxious to stay quiet.
“Sir, that man is ?Szabó Baradám?. [1] In the wolf-kin tribe, his strength is second only to the notorious Simon the Pirate. He is an experienced fighter who is known for killing with a single blow.”
She says his name like it’s supposed to mean something to me. It doesn’t, but I won’t casually dismiss Roxanne’s warning. Identify shows that ‘Sabo’ is a level 52 Beast Warrior. [2] His combat job is way over any of mine and this guy looks as dangerous as Roxanne suggests.
Sure, I already defeated Simon, but that was with magic and distractions. Just like Simon, this guy almost certainly outcsses me in swordsmanship and battle experience. On my side is my holy sword, nearly impervious armor and the Hero job. Maybe a little taunting will help me squeeze out a bit more.
“Lord Marshal, is it permissible for my opponent to use an Orb of Self Destruction in a duel?” [3]
“Yes, Lord Moreau, all weapons are allowed — even those without honor.”
Sabo protests, “What are you talking about? I have no need for such things.”
Surprisingly, his minions look really guilty. My bluff seems to have uncovered something. I’ll stick with the rod after all.
“It’s OK, keep it. You certainly can’t risk the dishonor of losing to a Mage.”
Sabo says, “Say whatever you want. I’ll be selling that pretty armor at the next auction.”
“Oh? So that’s how you can afford such nice stuff. That woman said something simir. You’re just a barely-legal bandit.”
The marshal calls for silence and we go to our starting positions. Unfortunately, my taunts don’t seem to have any impact. Sabo appears calm and collected. This probably is what he does — duels others for profit and glory.
The match starts with Sabo just casually walking towards me with his sword resting on his shoulder.
“How are you going to kill me without damaging the spoils?”
My st word is accompanied by a breeze ball to his chest.
Sabo stops and takes a look around. “What the hell was that?”
“Are you unwell? Do need to take a break?”
Another breeze ball on the st word. Even if the damage is minimal, these spells hit much harder than a mere ‘breeze’.
Sabo seems much more intrigued than annoyed. “How are you doing that?”
“Nice bluff, old man, but it won’t…”
Sabo suddenly rushes forward before I can finish my sentence, probably hoping to catch me at a vulnerable stage. His incredibly fast, overhead strike appears to be directed at my head. Using Overwhelm, I twist and lunge forward. Even Sabo appears a bit surprised.
I receive a direct hit to my left shoulder, but it’s from close to the hilt. My trusty armor tanks the majority of the impact so I remain upright and close enough for a slow dance. I tap my rod a few times under his chin and Sabo freezes in hypnosis. I use my dagger to gently cut his Cord of Substitution from his wrist, spin around to his back and cleanly sever his spinal cord at the base of his skull.
Ouch, even a weak hit from that guy really hurt. It feels like the impact got redistributed over my whole body. I silently cast several heals on myself and check that I’m not bleeding. Thankfully, my armor appears to be undamaged.
Looking up, Sabo is lying face down and the marshal is staring at the scene as if he got hypnotized. I even have to cp my hands to get his attention to decre the end of the duel.
In a cheerful tone, I ask, “So, who’s next?”
The remaining members of the losing side flee without looking back. Marcus and Theo help me strip Sabo of his valuables and we pack it all away.
“Thank you, Lord Marshal. Do you need help disposing of the bodies?”
He declines and we leave the area without receiving another challenge. As soon as we reach a convenient alley, I warp us home. Marcus and Theo take care of the loot and I go upstairs to have the gals check me for residual injuries. Roxanne elects to check me more thoroughly while the other two prepare lunch.
“David, thank you for fighting for me. Even if it should have been me protecting you, I’m so happy you were willing to do that. I never imagined what a wonderful feeling this would be. I will spend the rest of my life repaying this debt to you.”
Well, it’s not like I expected her to leave anyway.
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After a short rest, we go downstairs to join the others.
Marcus excitedly says, “Boss, when you took that hit, I thought you were a goner.”
Theo adds, “I bet he never anticipated such a reckless move.”
“Yep, he was aiming for my head, but when I moved in, he pulled back. My guess is that he wanted to minimize the damage to the armor. That action left him off bance so I could get in my hypnotic strike. Of course, it was over after that.”
Alina admonishes, “That sounds way too risky. What if he actually hit your head?”
“I was pnning to use my sword to keep some distance until his people let slip that they had an Orb. Sabo wasn’t someone I could beat with swordsmanship alone, especially not so decisively that he wouldn’t have a chance to set it off.”
Sherry asks, “How did you know he had one in the first pce? Did you see it?”
“Nope, I was just taunting him. I only figured it out when his people acted guilty. So, did he have one on him?”
“Didn’t find one, Boss.”
“Without being able to use magic openly, this was much tougher than the fight against Simon. Even without him having an Orb, I probably made the right choice.”
Roxanne looks confused.
“Simon was one of the brigands who tried to ambush Rutina, or maybe me. Regardless of their real target, we got him along with Heinz’ gang a few weeks ago.”
“What?!”
“It took the guys’ help and heavy use of magic to defeat them. There’s no way I could have matched Simon in a real sword fight. I’m still far below Theo and I’m pretty sure Alina could beat me in a fair fight. I often have to use sneaky tricks to win.”
“Absolutely incredible.”
Doesn’t seem like Roxanne heard the part about my limitations.
Alina tells her, “I have Simon’s sword. I’ll show you ter.”
“Marcus, Theo, what’d we get?”
“They had some great gear. The woman’s jacket, boots and gloves were all made of dragon-leather. The man had steel pte armor, boots and gloves. All in good condition.”
Theo adds, “We also got a beautiful rapier, a heavy two-handed sword and some assorted coins, crystals and potions.”
“Looks like our shopping trip worked out after all.”
Marcus already cleaned up the swords. The rapier is equipped with Stun and even has a free slot. This is perfect for Roxanne. Now that I think about it, I forgot to ask Sherry to enchant anything st night. Worth it, though.
“Roxanne, this sword goes to you. It’s a Damascus-steel Rapier of Stunning.”
“Thank you, Sir, this is wonderful.”
“OK, as soon as we can get ready, let’s go to the next floor of Nordselm’s Labyrinth.”
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Sherry tells us that Nordselm’s 19th has Sarracenia, those icky pnt-monsters that spit bile. Yuck.
“This will be a magic-heavy floor. Your main task will be to avoid getting hit, watch my back and block only if they get too close. We’ll follow the map to shorten the time here.”
As promised, I spam fire or wind magic, depending on the configuration. I’m starting to run low on MP so I temporarily lower my EXP Needed skill and maximize MP Recovery. The change isn’t dramatic, but it’s enough to be useful. We keep up a brisk pace through the floor. After getting used to this floor, Roxanne’s exceptional sense of smell could predict the next monster configuration with high accuracy so I knew what to cast and when.
Stopping for a quick break near the end of the floor and very close to dinner time, I decide to try out something I only know from the manga.
“I’m going to attempt a special spell that I’ve never cast before. Even if it looks dangerous, it only targets monsters. If I pass out after casting it, just drag me to the waiting room and feed me a strengthening pill.”
The next set was three Sarracenia, sensitive to fire, and two Hat Bats, sensitive to everything except fire. I believe the next spell combines fire and earth so both types of monsters should be hit somewhat evenly.
“Meteor Crash!”
I just had to yell it out for dramatic effect — and dramatic it was. The monsters were hit from above by red-hot va rocks that impacted so hard, we could feel the vibration along with the heat. Wow! That was way cooler than a mere fireball. An awful lot of MP got sucked away without completely destroying the monsters. Luckily, a few fire and wind storms finished them off. That wasn’t exactly fuel-efficient but could be used now and then for dramatic effect or just amusement.
“OK, that worked well. Let’s go to the waiting room so I can catch my breath. Come on, let’s go.”
Safely in the waiting area, Marcus asked, “Boss, just what was that back there? It looked like the end of the world.”
“That’s one of my special spells. It takes a lot of energy so I probably won’t use it very often. Still, it’s fshy enough to act as a great distraction in an emergency. If I ever use it in public, look for an escape portal and don’t worry about getting hit.”
Alina quipped, “Yep, just another human skill.”
While waiting for my MP to recover, I daydream about that other bonus spell, Gamma-Ray Burst. Feeling well enough, we enter the boss room to defeat the boss monster and its attendant.
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Back home, I rested while Roxanne and Marcus clean up the rest of the new equipment and the others make dinner or whatever. This should be a good time to check my bonus points. Mage is up to level 45 now, which gives me a little more to work with. If I can live with a mere 100x EXP, I could bump up both MP Recovery and Critical Rate without sacrificing anything else. I’m just one point shy of opening another job slot so I’ll throw the rest into Crystals as my usual junk skill.
No, wait. Why do I always throw away my extra bonus points? Instead, I should use the remainder to boost my INT stat and increase my spell power. I’ve done that sort of thing for special purposes so why not use it in general? Too bad INT wasn’t for real intelligence or I may have figured it out earlier. That means I would have needed it before I used it. Whatever.
Bonus Points: 143
Lvl
Cost
Skill
Note
2
3
Char/Job/ID
essential
2
3
Chant Omit
keep
5
31
EXP Needed
1/10
5
31
EXP Gained
10x
Weapon
rod
Accessory
Sherry
3
7
Extra Jobs
4 jobs
5
31
MP Recovery
20x
5
31
Crit Hits
+25%
Crystal Acc
skip
*
6
Stat Boost
INT
This arrangement feels like a great bance, though it will require a little extra effort to switch to maximum Haggle or call out Durandal.
We had a nice dinner and decided to stay home for the evening. Way too many things happened today to do anything else. Of course, my busy ‘employees’ continued to clean the new equipment and other chores. Before Sherry scurried off somewhere, I asked her to make another Cord of Substitution.
With Roxanne standing nearby, looking like she was about to burst, it seemed safer to accommodate her as soon as possible.
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[1] The LN name ‘Sabo Baradam’ seems intentionally Hungarian since it fits ‘Szabó Baradám’ so well.[2] Simon was defeated here at an earlier date (day 21) than in the LN (day 60). In the LN, Sabo ruined his family’s economy by buying doping potions to become strong enough to challenge Simon (again). That wasn’t necessary here, so Sabo didn’t reach level 99 as he did in the LN.[3] In the LN, Sabo kills Roxanne’s rival for refusing to use an Orb of Self Destruction against Roxanne.