By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 2 - Chapter 3

Chapter 2 Episode 3: Invitation Received

~Ryoma’s Side~

I was focusing so hard I forgot about the time... Sebas brought me back to the present and warped us to where Eliaria and the others were. I only noticed once we arrived, but our Warp practice had moved us pretty far.

“Welcome back, Ryoma.”

“Hey. You took quite a while; how far did you go?”

“Did you learn any new magic?”

Once they noticed our arrival, Eliaria’s party came running over.

“Yes, thanks to Camil and Sebas.”

“That’s good. Care to show us, if you still have energy left?”

Reinbach said. I first went through all the magic I learned from Camil. Next was Dimension Home... It took around ten seconds to open up the entrance. I still needed practice.

“Dimension Home.”

It was a success. When the entrance opened, everyone other than Sebas froze. Come to think of it... at my age, using Item Box was impressive enough. I was so excited, I forgot... Oh well. Sebas already knew, so there was no real way of hiding it. In fact, the four of them were already closing in on Sebas.

But they soon came to me to praise me too. I could understand it being an impressive feat, but having my head patted over it was a little embarrassing...

It was nearly sunset after that, so we returned to the inn. However, because steady practice was the best way of learning space magic, I decided to return using Warp. Sebas would accompany me just in case anything happened.

Thus, we were on our way back when Sebas suddenly remembered something.

“Master Ryoma, we are planning on taking Lady Eliaria to the abandoned mine in the mountains for monster combat practice tomorrow. Would you like to join us?”

“That sounds nice. You wouldn’t mind if I went too?”

“Of course not, Lady Eliaria would be delighted. Do you possess any weapons other than a bow and arrow? The mines are narrow on the inside, so I do not recommend the use of bows. You will need armor too.”

“How about a dagger? I can use magic and martial arts too, but I don’t have armor.”

“That would suffice as a weapon. The monsters are weak, and the escorts will be there too. The main purpose is to teach my lady how to think about the opponent before moving, and gain that experience.”

“Then I shall go with a dagger. As for armor...”

Weapons could be made using earth magic to an extent, but badly made armor would hinder movement.

...Come to think of it, I received a letter of introduction from the guildmaster for this. I should use this chance to buy something proper.

“I think I’ll go and buy some once we return to town. I just so happen to have a letter of introduction from the guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“I see, that’s perfect then.”

■ ■ ■

After we reached town, Sebas went back to the inn while I went to search for the armory. When I found the recommended armory and went inside, I was welcomed by a thick-built man with a creepy, wide smile.

“Welcome! Are you after something today?”

“Y-Yes... I’m searching for a weapon I can use in a narrow place, like an abandoned mine. Something like a dagger? And armor as well.”

“The daggers are on this shelf; feel free to browse around!”

“...Pardon me for asking, but are you forcing your voice to sound like that?”

“......You can tell?”

“...Very easily so.”

His smile had collapsed within seconds, leaving a peculiar expression on his face... When I informed the man of this, he immediately looked surly.

“Argh, enough of that! Sorry, kid. Friend of mine told me I was too gruff, so I tried being friendly. Just wasn’t in my nature.”

“I see. By the way, this is the Digger Armory, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Whaddabout it?”

“I received a letter of introduction from the Adventurer’s Guild guildmaster. He told me to come here and show you this.”

“Worgan? Now ain’t that odd... You’re a newbie, right? We’re not a cheap place, though our quality is guaranteed. You have cash?”

“Yes, I don’t know the value of weapons, but I can pay up to 30 small golds.”

“That’s more than enough, then. What didya use until now?”

“I normally use a bow and arrow, but maneuverability inside the mines is a bit...”

“I see... In that case, you can use a dagger like you mentioned, or a short spear or single-handed sword would be good.”

“Then I’ll take two daggers, and do you have any throwing knives?”

Even though I had a throwing weapon mastery skill, I had only used rocks until now. This was a good chance to stock up.

“It’s 1 small gold for 10. They’re expensive but good. If you retrieve them afterward and maintain them, they’ll last a while.”

“Then I’d like to purchase 10 throwing knives and two daggers, please.”

“One dagger is 2 small golds, so two and 10 knives makes 5 small golds. And you needed armor too, right?”

“Yes, the easier it is to move around in, the better. What kinds do you have?”

“If you want mobility, it’s leather you’re after. Monster leather is more sturdy than your run of the mill metal armor, too. There are full-body armors out there that have been enchanted with magic to move as smoothly as leather... but those aren’t in circulation here, and we don’t stock ’em either.”

“Then I shall take the monster leather armor.”

“Gotcha. However, I’ve only got two that would fit your build. If you want something else adjusted, it’ll take a day or more. So which will it be? Wanna see them all?”

I had to use it tomorrow, so I needed to buy it today.

“I’m going to the mines tomorrow, so just the armors I can buy today please.”

“Aight, then.”

The man went around the back and brought out two armors.

“These two are the monster leather armors. One is made from the skin of a grell frog. It’s bendy and easy to move in, and is sturdy enough in its own right. It’ll cost you 4 medium silvers.”

The texture was like rubber. Frogskin, huh...

“The other armor is made from the hard skin of a lizard. This one’s pricier and will cost you 5 small golds.”

“That’s a rather big difference in price.”

“It’s a matter of materials. The hard lizard lives in the wastelands and are rarely spotted. On top of that, they have an ability similar to the neutral spell Physical Enhancement, so they’re quite difficult to hunt. Your average weapons can’t cut them, and magic often ends up damaging the skin. I’ve lowered the price quite a lot already, y’know?”

Physical Enhancement wrapped the skin with magic energy, raising defense and making it harder to wound the body. Monsters that could use it would surely be difficult to hunt.

“To defeat it properly, you need both luck and skill. But the leather’s light and can harden if you pass magic energy through it. It enhances durability while keeping the flexibility of the leather, so it’s light and easy to move around in. It’s even sturdier than regular leather. That’s why it’s popular among magicians that don’t have as much physical energy. However... this one was made from the leftover leather of another armor, so there wasn’t enough material to go around. I could only make one the size of a child like you. That’s why adult adventurers can’t wear it, but at the same time kiddie adventurers like you don’t have the coin. I don’t have the material to amend the size either. And so, it’s remained unsold for two years now. If you have the money, I’d be most grateful if you bought this one. The quality of this one is definitely better.”

Indeed, based on his description this one did seem substantially better. The guildmaster personally recommended this store, so he should be trustworthy...

“I understand, I’ll take the hard lizard armor.”

“Much thanks. Your weapons and armor come to a total of 10 small golds.”

I took my coin bag out of my Item Box and paid for the purchase, which the man confirmed before handing me the daggers, knife, and armor to put away.

“Thank you very much. I didn’t introduce myself earlier, but I’m Ryoma Takebayashi. I’ll be back again if I ever need something.”

“Right. I’m the owner, Darson Digger. That armor will last you long if you maintain it well and avoid being reckless. Once you outgrow it, come back to buy another. I’ll give you a discount next time.”

I thanked him for his words and returned to the inn.

■ ■ ■

The next day.

We set out for the abandoned mines early in the morning, rattling along in the carriage. The path gradually grew bumpier, but the weather was pleasant and we should be arriving soon, since it was roughly three hours’ travel from the town...

“...”

I wonder why? Eliaria seemed to be acting strangely. She was sitting beside me, but she hadn’t spoken much since breakfast, seemingly deep in thought.

“My Lady, are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

At least she didn’t appear to be sick... maybe she was nervous?

“Is it possible that you haven’t fought with monsters before... and this is your first time?”

“That’s not true. I wouldn’t say I’ve had a lot of experience, but...”

“Then you should relax a little, Elia.”

“Grandfather...”

“That’s right, you won’t sound convincing at all if you don’t calm down a little.”

“Not you too, Mother...”

“Hahaha, it’s been a while since the last time, after all. We’ll be arriving soon. Shall we go over what we’re doing today?”

Figuring it would be more distracting than doing nothing, Reinhart began to speak.

“First, the place we’re heading to is called the North Gimul Mine. As its name implies, it’s a mine located to the north of Gimul Town, and it’s been abandoned already. Now, what is our goal there?”

“To investigate the mines. We need to gather information before we can put out a cleanup request at the Adventurer’s Guild. And it’ll also be practice for me.”

“That’s correct. Normally we’d be able to reference the regular patrol reports from the public office, but... after the investigation the other day, we found they’d been dipping their hands into the funds for the northern mines too. The reports won’t be as reliable. That’s why we’ll be going through several mineshafts to gather information on the monsters we see inside, then use that to make a request for the Adventurer’s Guild.”

It was unclear how many monsters there would be inside the entirety of the north mines, but eliminating them all would be a large job spanning over several days. That’s why today was both practice and a simple investigation.

The reports from the public office weren’t reliable, but there had been no sightings of high rank monsters discovered. It would be good practice for a child.

I swayed with the carriage as I looked between the nervous Eliaria and blue sky outside the window.