ICDS Universe, 1st Dungeon, 15th Floor Shop.
"Welco back, Custor-Nim." Loretta said cheerfully after seeing Shin walk out of the Floor Master Room. "You succeeded aga---"
However, before she could continue, she saw Peika floating over Shin's shoulder.
"Custor-Nim, is that..?" Loretta asked.
"You can see Peika?" Shin asked in an amazed tone. "You're the second one who could see her today."
"Huh? Second? Did you et another---" Loretta began to ask.
"Oh, she's a mber of the Fairy Race." Peika said, cutting off Loretta. "And an elf at that. But she's hiding in a puppet like a coward."
The Fairy Race, the race of people in this universe with the greatest affinity to mana. This race consists of fairies, dwarves, hobgoblins, and the most representative race, the elves. And of all the races making up the Fairy Race, the elves have the greatest affinity with mana. On top of that, they are all born with Elental Eyes, allowing them to see Elentals, even without having a contract with them.
"I see." Shin said after hearing Peika's exclamation. "Now that I've beco an Elentalist, I can see that, too."
Hearing that, Loretta showed so apprehension on her puppet's expression. Seeing that, Shin tilted his head in confusion.
"What's wrong, Loretta?" Shin asked.
"Don't you find scary now that you know what I am?" Loretta asked, looking like she would cry at any mont.
"Scary?" Shin asked, tilting his head to the other side. "Why would I think that? Whether you're a human, an elf, or a dragon, Loretta is Loretta."
Hearing that, Loretta relaxed visibly. Then, she smiled brightly.
"I was hoping you would say that." Loretta replied. "Now, back to my previous question. Soone else was able to see your Elental, Custor-Nim?"
"Yeah, he's another Explorer from Earth." Shin replied with a nod. Then, he put on an expression as if he had just rembered sothing. "That's right, I was supposed to invite him into a party so that we could talk after the raid."
With that, Shin accessed his Dungeon Explorer interface. Then, he opened his friend list and sent Tatsuo a party invitation.
The friend list is a feature like you can find in most online gas. It allows Explorers to register other Explorers in the sa Dungeon as friends, even if they are from other worlds. Then, if they are on the sa floor, they can create parties to climb together.
A mont later, after accepting Shin's request, Tatsuo appeared in front of him and Loretta. And when Loreta saw him, she blinked her eyes in confusion.
"Hey, Kang-San… Took you long enough." Tatsuo said with a smile. Then, he turned to Loretta as he continued. "And Loretta-Oneechan, I just saw you, but how are you?"
"Huh? You know Loretta?" Shin asked in a confused tone.
"Yes, I am the Shop Keeper for Tatsuo-Sama, as well." Loretta said with a smile. "then, she narrowed her eyes at Shin. "So, if I find you bullying him, you'll have to deal with , Custor-Nim."
It should be noted that languages in the Dungeon are translated automatically to the listener's most proficient language. So, Tatsuo and Shin are hearing the honorifics Loretta uses in their native tongues.
Ignoring Loretta's threat, Shin looked at Tatsuo in confusion.
"And why do you call her Big Sister?' Shin asked.
In response, Tatsuo only shrugged before answering casually.
"It just kinda happened." Tatsuo replied while shrugging his shoulders. "And she's been really nice to . Just like my adopted sister. But she's not in this world."
That statent was enough to make the Floor Shop fall silent. Shin, Loretta, and Peika all felt a asure of pity for Tatsuo after hearing that. However, Peika was slightly different, her pity was because of the fact that Tatsuo was alone in this world after leaving his own. Though she did not know his circumstances, her status as an Elental that was as old as the Earth made her unaffected by the ans used to create an identity for Tatsuo in this world.
Loretta was also powerful enough to be unaffected by the ans used to grant Tatsuo an identity on Earth. But since she was not from Earth, she was completely unaware that Tatsuo had been transported to Earth from an entirely different universe.
While Shin, Loretta, and Peika were pitying him, Tatsuo knew exactly what they were thinking. In fact, even in the mories Tatsuo received upon entering this world, he did not have an adopted older sister. He was talking about Kasumi. But they did not need to know that.
"Anyway, you said you were gonna talk to about being able to see your Elental, right?" Tatsuo said, breaking the three out of their dazes. "So, I'm guessing that isn't normal, right?"
"Huh? Ah! Yeah." Shin said after coming to his senses. "Usually, only Elentalists can see Elentals…"
Like that, Tatsuo got a crash course in Elentals and Elentalists from Shin and Peika. anwhile, Loretta simply listened in silence. However, she was wondering why Peika was so gentle when explaining to Tatsuo. Yet, when she spoke about her, she seed almost… disdainful.
"So, you're saying that I must have Elental Eyes, right?" Tatsuo asked after the long, two-pronged explanation ca to an end. "Because I'm sure I'm not an Elentalist."
"Yeah, pretty much." Shin replied while nodding his head and scratching it simultaneously. "but that's strange in itself."
"Custom--- No, Shin-Nim is right." Loretta added, speaking for the first ti since the explanation started. "Humans are not known to be born with Elental Eyes. Usually only certain beings, mostly those with an innate affinity for mana, have them from birth. Others usually only gain them after obtaining certain kinds of [Evil Eyes]."
"[Evil Eyes]?" Tatsuo asked with an eyebrow raised in an interested tone.
Not only Tatsuo, but Shin also seed to be interested in this new information, as well. Unfortunately, both young n were destined to be disappointed.
"I'd like to tell you, but both of you are still too early for such information." Loretta replied while shaking her head. "If I tell you too early, it could stunt your growth instead."
Expecting Tatsuo to look at her with puppy-dog eyes and use his "Onee-Chan Divine Technique", Loretta tensed her muscles to quickly turn around. But Tatsuo's actions to the contrary surprised her greatly.
"Well, we can't have that, can we?" Tatsuo asked with a wide smile on his face. "Either way, even if those [Evil Eyes] sound powerful, I don't need them to be the best."
Looking at Loretta's expression, which was filled with shock after he acted differently than she expected, Tatsuo chuckled for a mont. Then, he turned his gaze towards Shin, who was looking at him with a competitive glint burning in his eyes.
"And I get the feeling you're gonna end up with a pair of those [Evil Eyes] in the future, Kang-San." Tatsuo said with a grin. "And for your sake, I hope you get them. Otherwise, competing with you probably won't be fun anymore."
By now, Tatsuo's confidence was overflowing, despite the fact that he was beaten in the contribution race only a short ten minutes ago. However, no one felt that it was out of place. In fact, it even felt quite natural.
Plus, Tatsuo already knew that Shin would end up with the [Evil Eyes of Petrification] thanks to his prior knowledge from the novel. So, he was only giving him a little spoiler without going into any details.
"Anyway, I have another raid to do." Tatsuo said as he turned back towards the Floor Master room. "So, I'll catch you guys later. I'll see you on the 20th Floor, Kang-San."
"Yeah, see you then, Soramoto-Ssi." Shin replied with a nod. He then continued after Tatsuo left the party and returned to his own instance of the Dungeon. "But I doubt you'll catch up to again after that. I won't be rushing up and back down to fight bosses 5 Levels below anymore."
Hearing that, Loreta's eyes lit up.
"Good." Loretta said with a nod. "Rember, the fruit of adventure is always sweet, Shin-Nim. And there is always sothing special about being the first."
Those words led to a fundantal change in the way Shin approached Dungeon Exploration. However, he still needed to raid the Dark Ratman solo after his conversation with Loretta.
anwhile, Tatsuo had a few more raids before he could get the rest of the [Thunder Crystals] he needed to completely conquer the Dark Rat man.
Like that, another week passed. While Shin had moved up to the 20th Floor after soloing the Dark Ratman and succeeded in soloing the Lizard Knight in his first attempt, Tatsuo was still raiding the Dark Ratman. Although he had gotten all the necessary [Thunder Crystals], which raised his Magic Stat by 5 when he maxed out his lightning affinity, a few days ago.
And the reason for that was simple, Thanks to his maxed out Lightning Affinity, he wanted to do an experint with [Blacksmithing] and [Enchanting]. However, he would need a few items dropped by the Dark Ratman to do the experint he had in mind.
And today, Tatsuo had finally gotten all the items that he needed to start his experint.
ICDS Universe, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
*Sigh* I'm gonna feel like I wasted the last few days if this doesn't work." Tatsuo thought to himself as he looked at the materials he would be using for his experint.
Lying on the floor in front of Tatsuo were two of the weapons dropped by the Dark Ratman, the [Dark Ratman's Claw], eight [Thunder Crystals], and four mana crystals.
Taking a deep breath to get himself in the right state of mind, Tatsuo picked up one of the [Dark Ratman's Claws] then, he threw it into the portable furnace he bought from Loretta.
"Alright, let's get started." Tatsuo said with a solemn expression on his face.
The process of lting the [Dark Ratman's Claw] continued without issue. And once it was completely lted, Tatsuo then picked up a [Thunder Crystal] and dropped it into the mass of molten tal, watching it dissolve. Then, he picked up a rod with a higher lting point and mixed the combination of materials.
A mont later, Tatsuo picked up another [Thunder Crystal] and repeated the process. Then, another. However, when he added the third, sothing different happened. As soon as the [Thunder Crystal] was properly mixed into the rest of the materials, the molten tal began discharging small sparks of lightning.
"I think that's all it can handle." Tatsuo muttered as he ejected the tal infused with black lightning into a mold to harden. "Hopefully, once I get an ingot of this stuff, I'll be able to tal work properly with it."
Once the tal was in the mold, Tatsuo repeated the process with the second [Dark Ratman's Claw]. And once it was also placed in a mold, Tatsuo picked up a pair of tongs and took the first ingot out of the mold. Then, he heated it enough so that it could be hamred into shape.
A few hours passed after he started hamring on the two pieces of tal. By the ti he was done, a pair of black, bladed knuckle dusters with dark purple edges could be seen on his anvil. On top of that, a pair of mana stone was sitting on the edge of the anvil, as well.
Tatsuo then took those two mana stones and ground them down into powder. Then, he applied them to both bladed knuckle dusters. After that, he pulled one of the largest mana stones he still had left out of his [Inventory]. And with the knuckle dusters in his left hand and the mana stone in his right, he concentrated on completing the [Enchanting] process.
"Alright, last part." Tatsuo mumbled with his eyes closed. "I need them to be fast and sharp like lightning."
A mont later, Tatsuo's bedroom was inundated with light. A mont after that, the light dimd and a handful of mana stone dust fell from Tatsuo's right hand. At the sa ti, the [System] description for the bladed knuckle dusters in his hand popped up in his closed eyes.
{[Thunderclap Daggers – C-]
A pair of bladed knuckle dusters created by a talented blacksmith and enchanter with exceptional sharpness.
- 20% extra damage from slashing and stabbing attacks.
-Increases [Dexterity] by a significant amount.
-All attacks imbued with [Energy] add additional Lightning damage.
Restrictions
-One who defeated the Dark Ratman alone.}
Seeing the description of his new weapons, Tatsuo could not help but smile brightly. Then, like he had done when he created the [Keen-Edged Knuckle Dusters], Tatsuo equipped the [Thunderclap Daggers] and started going through his weapon forms without flowing any [Energy] into the weapons.
"Hell yeah, these feel great in my hands." Tatsuo said with a smile after putting on his display of skill. "Alright, I'll start climbing the Dungeon seriously again starting tomorrow. For now…"
Tatsuo then looked around his bedroom at all the materials and byproducts scattered all over the place. Then, he let out a forlorn sigh.
"I need to clean up this ss." Tatsuo said while shaking his head. "I guess I should get registered as an Ability User soti soon, too."
With that, Tatsuo sucked all his blacksmithing tools into his [Inventory]. Then, he started cleaning up any traces from his crafting session. And once he was done, he decided he would go to sleep and get a good night's rest for the climb that would start tomorrow.
"*Yawn* Only one more Floor Master before I'm *Yawn~~~~* Silver-Class." Tatsuo mumbled sleepily as he fell into the world of dreams.
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