[S- Sorry, Maā¦ā¦ Old man. I slipped it outā¦ā¦]
It was Radd who bowed his head and apologized.
The woman who charged toward me at the training ground was an Adventurer named āMaisieā, and even though it was just for a few while, she and Radd had been acquainted with each other before he became an Adventurer.
Perhaps because of their friendly connections with each other, when I started training Radd, she heard the bad rumors about me and went to give him some advice, and thatās when Radd told her a lot of things about me.
[I was stupid and believed those rumors at that time butā¦ā¦]
A few weeks after that, yesterday, Radd and his party defeated the Boss of the Lava Cave.
The first time she saw him, Maisie thought they were still young chicks, less powerful than her and the others, but all of a sudden, that happened.
[Thatās when I realized it. That when Radd that āHeās the best teacher in Freliaā, he was telling the truth.]
[Wait, Maisie-san!?]
Radd was flustered by her sudden revelation, but it gave credence to Maisieās words.
[Hoh. Radd said that huh.]
[T- The heck are you looking atā¦ā¦]
When I egged him on, his mouth twitched.
Iām glad that he unexpectedly recognizes me like that, but egging him more like this would probably make him really pissed at me.
[My party and I have been adventuring for nearly two years now, and weāve been to the <Seven-Colored Lava Cave> once, but we saw that clearing it was just impossible, so we ran away.]
[And so, you were grasping at straws.]
I said, to which Maisie fluttered her hands.
[I- I know this is a selfish request! Even Iām not so shameless as to ask you to teach me like you do to Radd! Itās just, I want to know my talent. My initial Class was Fighter, but I didnāt feel like I fit in. I changed jobs over and over again and tried to do my best in various aspectsā¦ā¦ But in the end, no matter what I did, it just doesnāt feel rightā¦ā¦]
As if to suppress her frustration, Maisie bowed her head once more.
[And so, could you please at least tell me what talents I have, or if I had any talent at all! If an amazing person like you were to tell me I donāt have any talent, I feel like I would be able to give up! Thatās whyā¦ā¦]
Even an onlooker could see that Maisie was asking me so desperately.
Her enthusiasm is palpable butā¦ā¦
(I knew itā¦ā¦)
I tried using <Inspect> at her, but that didnāt tell me anything more than āshe kinda strayed off in her lifeā.
The only reason I was able to discern the aptitude values of Radd and his party was that I calculated backwards from their abilities.
This was possible because Radd and his party have never experienced a Class Change, and moreover, to put it bluntly, itās even possible that what I wrote are miscalculations or misunderstandings.
If I could make her level-up, I could determine her growth rates by the difference, but with the ability values of a Lv 11, it would take some time for her to do so.
[Nii-san. Looking into that girlās abilities will take time, and thereās no merit to it. It would be better to say no hereā¦ā¦]
The nearby Resilia softly whispered.
That is certainly a good argument.
Howeverā¦ā¦
[Okay.]
I answered without thinking too much.
[Eh? Is itā¦ā¦ really alright?]
The one who was most surprised by my response was Maisie, who had asked me to do it.
She looked at me with a blank stare of disbelief.
""
[Yeah, but we canāt do it here. Come with me.]
I said, to which Maisie responded with a resounding āO- Of course!ā
I chuckled inwardly at that.
(I can use this as a test caseā for Raddās group.)
I had actually been thinking of doing this along the way, but with opportunities like this rolling in, it should be alright to move my plans up a bit.
[Weāre heading to the arena. Itās going to be a bit of a walk.]
I left the training grounds with these words, and for some reason, Radd and the others followed behind.
I was going to ask them to do some independent training butā¦ā¦ Well, fine.
[Is this really alright? It would be dangerous if she leaked information about what Nii-san can do.]
[Iāve already spoken to Verteran about this anyway. Itās too late worrying about stuff like that now.]
When I responded like that, Resilia raised an eyebrow.
I feel like I heard her whisper something like āAs expected, if Iām not by Nii-sanās sideā¦ā¦ā, but Resilia was just being too worried.
[Itās alright. This is something I had already planned for?]
[Planned?]
[The world is too weak for average Adventurers. Thatās why, Iām planning to speed up the era a bit.]
I smiled at Resilia, who still looked anxious at my words.
[Well, taking on dungeons and beating monsters isnāt the only way to fight. Thereās an adult way of fighting in this world.]
Well, it isnāt really as big a deal as it sounds, but saying it like this makes me sound like a guy who had considered a lot of things in mind.
As we approached the arena in the distance, I led the group, trying my best to look confident.
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Located in the center of Frelia, the <Arena> is one of the townās most famous landmarks as well as one of the Godsā Relics, a facility where people can enjoy dueling each other under various rules without risking their lives.
(Come to think of it, the tournament is coming up soon.)
In B&B, the āTournament for the Worldās Strongestā is held in the 6th Month and the 12th Month, where you can enjoy battles with not just Adventurers, but also various famous NPCs.
Itās not simply a matter of being able to fight opponents that you wouldnāt normally be able to fight, but itās also very important from the standpoint of strengthening your character, as in addition to the huge prize money that is awarded to those who remain in the top ranks, there are also skills that can only be learned by becoming the Arena Champion.
However, now is the off-season for that tournament.
The Arena is filled before and after tournaments, but in the morning and at lunchtime, there are a few people making use of the Arena, and if you apply, you can have mock battles within your party.
[Iāve never been to the Arena before.]
Even if they said that, itās not like regular Adventurers would have much chance to go here, but nevertheless, Radd and the others fidgeted as they looked around.
However, what really caught their attention was the huge stone statue standing proudly at the entrance of the Arena.
[This guyās cool. I wonder if heās an Arena fighter?]
When Radd curiously tapped the stone statueās base, Mana immediately came out and explained.
[This is the statue of the First Champion! Heās a Legendary Gladiator who had never lost a single match in the 30 years since the World Tournaments began, and remained undefeated until his retirement, despite being regretted by those around him! Ah, by the way, the current champion is a distant descendant of this man!]
[As expected of Mana. You really know a lot.]
Being an Adventurer Maniac, she would also be familiar with the trends in the Arena Tournaments huh.
When I called that out, Mana tapped her fingers together, and confessed with her face bright red.
[Ah, uuu, that isā¦ā¦ I- I just read that from a sightseeing magazineā¦ā¦]
Thatās kindaā¦ā¦ making it sound like sheās not an Adventurer Maniac, but a simple country bumpkin.
Well, putting such suspicions aside, Maisieās nerves seem to have eased a bit when she saw what Radd and the others were like.
[ā¦ā¦Maisie. Are you ready?]
[Y- Yes!]
She still looks a little nervous, but well, it canāt be helped.
Urging her, we went inside the Arena.
[Look. I said Iād check your aptitudes, but there is a condition before that.]
[A- A condition?]
[Itās nothing big. All you have to do is go up to the Arena and stay still. Yeah, howeverā¦ā¦]
I looked at Maisieās equipment from top to bottom.
It doesnāt appear like she had any gear that would change her ability values, but they could also be Enchanted equipment.
Just in caseā¦ā¦
[āāāāTake off all your equipment.]
As soon as I said that, Maisieās shoulders shook and I could see the blood drain from her face.
[Y- Yesā¦ā¦ Iā¦ā¦ understandā¦ā¦]
Perhaps thinking that she had come this far so it canāt be helped, she nodded with a resolute expression and walked to the stage.
(Perhaps, did she think she would be beaten up after she took her equipment off?)
Well, her misunderstanding should be cleared up when she enters the stage.
With that thought in mind, I was about to get on the stage tooā¦ā¦
[āāāāI- I misjudged you, Old man!]
A voice suddenly shouted from behind me.
[ā¦ā¦Eh?]
I turned around to see Radd standing there, his shoulders shaking as he was seemingly suppressing his anger.
Not only that, there was also Nuku who looked astounded, Pranaās cold gaze was piercing at me, and Mana who was pouting.
And then, thereās the last one member of the groupā¦ā¦
[Nii-san, so this is the adult way of fighting huhā¦ā¦.]
With a look of disdain on her face, I finally understood what Maisie and the others had misunderstood.
In B&B, character graphics change depending on their equipment.
Some of the equipment, especially the stylish ones for the fashion conscious, simply changes the armor, but graphically changes the clothes inside as well.
That is just for the convenience of it being a game, but what would the process be like if that were to become reality?
Perhaps, there were some equipment that was treated as āone piece of equipmentā, including the clothes and underwear behind it.
And if itās that kind of equipment, itās naturally worn directly on the skin, so what would happen if she were to take it offā¦ā¦
[A- Ahhhā¦ā¦]
I felt like my blood was draining out of my face.
Putting myself in Maisieās shoes, letās reflect on my earlier words and actions.
I told her that I had a condition to assess her aptitudes, and calling her into the Arena, I demanded that she take off her equipment and stay still.
This, depending on how you look at it, no, I donāt even need various perspectives toā¦ā¦
[āāāāY- Youāre mistaken! Thatās not what I meant!]
And so, I had to desperately persuade the crying Maisie, who was trying to get naked in the corner of the Arena.