Danmachi : Start With Terraria Calamity Mod! Chapter 60 60: Strategic Partner of the Elves

Although Drake had been to The Hostess of Fertility many tis, this was his first ti going up to a private room on the second floor.

After all, most of the ti, he simply bought food to-go and brought it back to feed a certain goddess.

After pushing open the private room door, Drake saw Riveria, who had sent the invitation…

And for so reason, the blonde elven girl Lefiya was sitting beside her.

"Good evening, Heroic Smith of the Hephaestus Familia."

Hearing Riveria address him by his alias so formally, Drake scratched his cheek and sat across from the two of them.

"There's no need for such a heavy title, Nine Hell."

"Hehe… Then I'll call you by na, Drake." Riveria smiled as she spoke.

The aura she gave off was elegant and noble, but not aggressive.

Her gentle tone gave people a soft, springlike feeling.

"I'm glad you accepted my invitation. First, I would like to apologize on Loki's behalf…"

"There's no need to bring that up again."

Drake shook his head and interrupted what Riveria was about to say.

"To be honest, I didn't feel any pressure. If anything, the adventurers from your Familia helped clear out so inventory."

Riveria rembered how Anakitty had gone around the Familia borrowing money that day, and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.

"Then allow to thank you for your generosity. Now, for the other matter."

As she spoke, Nine Hell placed her hand on Lefiya's head and gently stroked it.

"It concerns this child."

"You gave her sothing today, and then she fell unconscious… That should be the general course of events, correct?"

"Hmm… Yes." Drake's expression grew serious.

It seed they had finally reached the important topic.

But judging by the appearance of Thousand Elf, it seed she had not suffered any aftereffects.

After thinking for a mont, Drake sincerely said to Lefiya,

"I'm very sorry. I didn't expect that item to cause such a commotion. I had never seen anything like that happen before either."

Faced with Drake's apology, Lefiya instead beca sowhat flustered.

Her delicate elven features showed a hint of childish panic, though they could not hide the natural beauty of her race.

"U-um… You don't need to apologize. Rather… I should be thanking you."

"…Thanking ?"

Beside her, Riveria coughed lightly, interrupting the slightly mismatched conversation between the two.

"It seems you still don't understand the full picture, Drake."

"Allow to explain from the beginning."

Then Riveria calmly summarized what had happened after Lefiya fainted.

When Drake heard that Lefiya's Magic slots had broken past the limit and gained an extra blank slot out of nowhere, his eyes almost popped out.

'What the hell?! How did I not know sothing that ridiculous happened?!'

After thinking back, Drake finally realized why.

He did not currently possess even a single spell himself, so naturally, he could not see the difference.

Whenever his Status was updated, his Magic section was blank anyway.

"Wait."

After Riveria finished explaining, Drake thoughtfully examined the sowhat shy elven girl.

"Doesn't that an… Lefiya is now the only adventurer in all of Orario who can possess four spells?"

Of course, that was excluding himself.

"That is correct."

Riveria confird it in Lefiya's place.

"This fact has already been verified by the patron goddess of our Familia, Lady Loki."

"That is why I wish to know… what exactly was the item you gave Lefiya at that ti?"

After a brief pause, Riveria's expression grew solemn, and she bowed seriously to Drake.

"I understand that this may involve certain private information of yours, such as a Developnt Ability… or a Skill."

"But as a mber of the elven royal family, I guarantee that everything discussed today will not be known to a fourth person."

"…"

Seeing Riveria speak so solemnly, Drake did not respond imdiately.

Instead, he fell into thought.

The two elves did not interrupt him and waited with great patience.

Because Drake's answer might very well concern the future of the entire elven race.

"Before that."

Finally, Drake organized his words and asked,

"Lady Riveria, may I ask why you attach such importance to this matter?"

As if she had anticipated that Drake would ask this, Riveria answered without hesitation, "Young man… You are human, so you may not understand the importance of magic to our race."

The elves, alongside the legendary Spirits, were one of the most representative magical races.

They possessed extrely powerful magical aptitude from birth.

Even elven adventurers who were not caster types had a very high chance of awakening innate magic from their bloodline.

To races whose mbers might spend their entire lives without ever comprehending magic, this was practically an overwhelming advantage.

But for elves, the restriction of only being able to possess three spells directly shackled the upper limit of their racial developnt.

Even Riveria, known as Nine Hell, rely used different chant stages of her three spells in combination to achieve nine different magical effects.

Only Lefiya could use her special magic, Elf Ring, to cast the thousands of spells mastered by elves.

That was also the origin of the alias Thousand Elf.

But there was only one 'Thousand Elf' among the elves.

And from the change that had occurred in Lefiya, Riveria saw a new hope.

That hope was to use the mysterious item in Drake's possession to allow all elves to break through the limit and possess four spells.

"I see… Even if other races broke through the limit, they probably wouldn't have that many spells available to awaken."

Drake understood the implication behind Riveria's words and summarized,

"Only the elven race, with its accumulated heritage of thousands of spells, can maximize the advantage of a fourth Magic slot."

"Am I correct, Lady Riveria?"

"Exactly."

Riveria looked at Drake with approval.

For soone his age to imdiately see the key interests involved, it seed he was not rely a rough blacksmith who only knew how to forge.

"So… may we continue the topic from earlier?"

"The information about the item in my possession, you an."

Drake thought for a mont, then said,

"A few days ago, I reached Lv.2 and received the alias Heroic Smith."

"You two should already be aware of that."

Riveria nodded sowhat awkwardly.

Aware?

Not only were they aware, that alias had even been proposed by the goddess of their own Familia.

"When I Leveled Up, I chose a Developnt Ability — Stigmata Alchemy."

"Alchemy?"

Hearing this, Riveria seed to understand sothing.

Orario's alchemy could indeed produce so magical items with unbelievable effects.

Among them were things like the Philosopher's Stone, which could grant eternal life, and even resurrection items that could bring the dead back to life.

However, she had only heard of ordinary alchemy.

This Stigmata Alchemy seed to be a rare ability she had never seen before.

Because it concerned Drake's Status information, Riveria did not continue asking further.

"That's right. While relying on this ability, I created an item called a Mana Crystal."

Drake reached into his pocket and took out a blue Mana Crystal from his inventory.

"Ah… That's the thing!"

Lefiya covered her mouth lightly and instinctively cried out.

Seeing her reaction, Riveria's gaze flickered as she looked at Drake.

Even Riveria herself found it difficult not to be tempted by this special item that could break past limits.

Perhaps after obtaining a fourth Magic slot, her alias might even beco sothing like Sixteen Hell.

"Are you able to mass-produce this item called a Mana Crystal?"

"Of course…"

Drake looked at Riveria's burning gaze, which seed as if she wanted to lock him in a small room and squeeze every last bit of value out of him.

"…no."

Naturally, he would not give her an answer that satisfied her too easily.

Only by keeping the initiative in his own hands could he gain the qualifications to negotiate.

"In fact, up until now, I've only managed to make two."

Drake shrugged and lightly flicked the Mana Crystal in his hand, producing a crisp sound.

That sound seed to pluck at Riveria's heartstrings, causing her gaze to involuntarily follow it.

"If you are willing to cooperate, the elven race can bear all costs related to producing Mana Crystals."

Riveria naturally understood Drake's implication and offered terms without hesitation.

"In addition, I can also pay you a considerable reward in the na of the elven royal family."

What cost was there to making a Mana Crystal?

This thing only required five Fallen Stars to craft.

For Drake, simply strolling around Terraria at night would put several Mana Crystals in his pocket.

Of course, he would never reveal that business secret.

In any case, the effects of the Mana Crystal were genuine. Since there was demand… there was a market.

"The materials are easy enough to handle, but…"

Seeing Drake look troubled, Riveria asked with concern,

"As long as it concerns Mana Crystals, I can support you with the full backing of the elven race."

"All right."

Since Riveria had already said that, Drake seed to finally make up his mind.

"What I'm about to say next… Lefiya, do you want to step outside for a mont to avoid suspicion?"

"Don't worry. This child is very obedient and will not reveal your secret."

Riveria stroked Thousand Elf's head. If not for their different hair colors, they really would have looked like family.

'…You chose this yourself.'

After muttering that inwardly, Drake finally spoke.

"To create Mana Crystals, I need sothing called 'Soma' to enhance the effect of my Stigmata Alchemy…"

----

Damn