Chapter 141

Around the time the sun began to rise, I went outside to test【Sacrifice】.

The place is the base of the mountain where we defeated goblin thieves.

Losing skills for training is a bit wasteful, but its better than panicking during the real battle.

Even so, I don’t feel like wasting powerful skills for the sake of practice.

Thus, I decided to offer【Frontstep Enhancement】.

It’s only 200 LP so it doesn’t hurt that much. In my mind, I voice that I sacrifice the skill.

「Fuoh?!」

A sensation strong enough to make me leak a silly voice overcame my body. As a strong power was overflowing from the core of my body I felt a sensation akin to that of rapidly recovering from a sickness.

The feeling was interesting, but since I had only one minute I promptly begin testing abilities.

First, I use 【White Flame】on an empty area. The size of the flame is clearly different. Anyone who knew how it looks normally would be able to tell that it was strengthened.

Then, what about 【Purple Lightning】?

A charge of electricity is emitted from my fingertip.

What I understood immediately is that the speed increased. And also that the range increased. It now was about four meters.

This skill had an effective range of three meters, it was even stated in the description.

Though temporarily, but without using 【Edit】 it overrode the details of the skill, so I can’t help but be impressed.

Since I confirmed the increased output of the magical skills, it was now time to test the physical ability.

Kicking a thin tree easily broke it. With the fruits that I prepared beforehand I put the grip strength to a test as well.

Using my full strength, I crush in my hand a fruit that was way tougher than an apple. For the first time in my life I actually succeeded in that.

ーーAnd there I felt the effect fading.

It’s not like I felt anything bad, but with the power overflowing me before, I immediately noticed when that effect disappeared.

「Such an increase from a low rarity skill.」

That surely explains how Litorine-san could take on even Master. Well, but the truly terrifying one is Master, who won against her and then forgot about it.

If there is a flaw to【Sacrifice】then it would be the short duration of the buff.

With Fake Olivia as an opponent sacrificing three skills for a five-minute buff would be the best course of action.

With three brothers of frontstep, backstep, and sidestep it would be a total of 700 LP.

Cheap skills seem to give about a 20 or 30% increase.

I’d like to try high skills as well, but…… But for a cheapskate such as myself, wasting several thousand LP is impossible.

I have to try it during the real battle. I got the gist of this, so there should be no problem.

Remaking 【Frontstep】 I return to the town. Two people were guarding the gates when I left, but now there was only one. Moreover, he looked restless.

「Was there a thief or something?」

「No, a mercenary was attacked a while ago, and had their money taken.」

「Robbing a mercenary, huh. Must be pretty bold. And also, strong.」

「Apparently, the criminal is a woman. It might be unrelated to this, but several people were attacked last evening. So things are quite dangerous those days. Both cases are under investigation, just in case, be careful.」

「Thank you for the warning.」

I wonder if the criminal was that desperate for money to target a mercenary. Many of them should be just as scary as professor Elna.

Anyway, let’s make some purchases at the morning market. It’s just about the time for goods to arrive.

Mother and Alice would be glad if I bring back fresh fruits.

「Damn, the hell is that woman……」

「That’s quite a beating you got. Was she that strong?」

A man covered in bruises was talking with a guard on a road leading to the market. Out of curiosity I slow down a bit to strain my ears.

「She had fun tormenting me…… And even stole my sword.」

「But you are pretty strong. Just what kind of a woman was she?」

「Blue hair, super beautiful.」

?! I froze in place. I have spent 15 years in this town, but I didn’t see any blue-haired beauties in the town, not even once.

I have to confirm this. Approaching the two I ask.

「Excuse me, was that blue-haired woman wearing white clothes?」

「Y-yeah. Could it be an acquaintance of yours?」

「No, no, no way. I just thought that I might have seen her some time ago. She was about this tall……」

As I kept listing Master’s features they shouted that it’s surely her.

How could it be?

Fake Olivia escaped from the Hidden Dungeon.

Is that even possible? I can understand those that came from the outside, like Toramaru or myself, being able to escape.

But Fake Olivia was created by the dungeon. Normally it shouldn’t be possible for her to leave. Or rather, you have to have command of speech to be able to leave.

Is Fake Olivia an exceptionーー

「ーーAh! So it copied even memory of Master?!」

The password has quite an impact.

In fact, we even brought it up in casual conversation with Master. Even the forgetful master remembered it.

According to the merc, he was robbed about 30 minutes ago.

However, the gatekeeper said that people were getting attacked since last evening. So she got outside yesterday, and the mercenary is just the most recent victim.

What is her reason for stealing money?

I ask【Great Sage】for Fake Olivia’s location. I was nervous if it can grasp it, but the reply actually came, so I rush there.

There is no one at the specified location. So she left before I arrived.

Since there was a bakery nearby, I ask there if the woman came.

「She did, she did. She bought a ton of freshly baked stuff. She was super gorgeous, but very cheerful and wasn’t putting on airs. I couldn’t help but give her a bonus.」

「She paid?」

「Well, of course.」

「Please, tell me what else you talked about with her.」

「She asked me to tell her about stores with good wine or tasty food. She seems to be going through them since last night.」

So she was stealing money to pay for stuff, eating, and drinking?

Since she has Master’s memory, her actions might be similar as well. After asking in which direction she went after leaving I resume my pursuit.

「This is bad……」

This is very bad. I wonder how much LP Fake Olivia has.

Yesterday she shouldn’t have had that much, but there is no telling about now. There is a good chance that she spent all night eating tasty stuff.

LP is tied to desires.

In my case, lewd stuff gave the biggest increase, followed by delicious cooking.

Appeasing your own greed and sense of accomplishment from big achievements seems to work as well.

When I passed the exam to the hero’s school I got LP as well, though only a few hundred. I should get a whole lot when I save Master.

The basics should be the same for Master as well.

Two hundred years ago she was prioritizing sexual desire, but I guess after two hundred years things have changed, so Fake Olivia is going for the food now.

Both Fake Olivia and I get more powerful with the accumulation of LP.

「Found! Fake Olivia, stop right there.」

She was openly walking right in the middle of a road. She’s got a nerve.

『Ahha, Noir Stalgia-kun~.』

I appraise her without missing a beat. Her level remained unchanged, but the same cannot be said about the skills. Now she had【Appraisal】.

Whoa, so she actually has a good understanding of how it works. With it she can see the abilities of others.

And by being able to do this she can use 【Edit】as she pleases. But even so, for now there is only one additional skill. And the moment I was about to think that, I get to the verge of crying.

The sword that she must have stolen from the mercenary. It was because that sword, that for now was resting in a scabbard, was excessively powerful.

【Light Weight Blade】, 【Sharp Blade】, 【Thunder Blade】.

For a weapon of not so strong mercenary it’s way too good.

A person with such a weapon wouldn’t get beaten so badly.

It’s only natural to think that Fake Olivia enhanced it after stealing.

『You are appraising, right? I’m also checking a lot of stuff.』

……Hm, suddenly, I can’t see the weapon’s skills anymore.

I lost【Item Appraisal】?!

『Nahahahaha! Did you notice? I broke it, hihihi.』

So she didn’t want me to see the weapon? No way, she surely knew that I already saw it.

She must have done it just for laughs.

So she imitates Master even in such an aspect.

I immediately remade the skill.

And to be honest, I’m not pleased at all with being seen through by the opponent.

I have no intention of going along with this charade, so dash and slash at her. A metal clang resounds through the town.

I was sure that I moved quite fast, but she blocked it pretty casually.

With our swords locked, begins a pushing contest.

She is strong…… It looks like I’m losing even in the simple brute strength.

I’m struggling, clenching my teeth, while she has a calm and composed smile.

Pushing back, I then unleash a barrage of slashing attacks.

*Cling, Clang, Cling, Clang*

Two times she blocked, then she parried, it repeating for three sets would hurt even my pride.

「That’s enough!」

『I’ll pass on this one~.』

As I unleashed a full force attack from low stance, she escaped it with a backstep. Though she had no skills for its enhancement, she jumped way farther than I would.

So this is a difference in specs…… I keenly felt it after only a short fight.

Master, who was several times stronger than this, surely frightened even monsters with her strength.

「There she is, it’s that woman!」

Since we made a scene, about seven or eight guards were dispatched. I had no plans of stopping, but the guards surrounded Fake Olivia.

I have nothing but a bad feeling about this situation. If she gets even slightly serious, a few people would surely die.

「Aaah, how annoying. Can’t you leave me alone? The way to escape is…』

「Don’t think you can escape from us.」

『Well, I guess I can just take Leaping S.』

Looks like she was already done with that, and immediately made a display of her outrageous jumping ability by flying over the heads of surrounding guards and landing on the roof of a nearby building.

And jumping several more times she disappeared from sight. The guards stood with their mouths gaping.

「Yo-young man, it’s amazing that you could fight against that.」

「I have Appraisal, that thing is not a human.」

「Then what is that?!」

「It’s a sentient magic device called cursed chains of death. That appearance was merely borrowed from a harmless person and is not its actual form. Also, for now, it doesn’t pose that much danger, so you shouldn’t try to go out of your way to fight it. Its level is 420 after all.」

「HUUUUUUUUUH?!」

「Can you share that information with commanders and soldiers?」

The guards showed some hesitation but agreed anyway.

If I won’t say this much, Master would be treated as a criminal by the time she is finally freed. It might be self-flattery, but ain’t I a good disciple?

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However, Fake Olivia is strong. Enough to make me want to run away.

It’s just a hunch, but with Master living true to her desires, I think she was gaining more LP for every action than I.

Assuming that, the longer I leave her alone the worse the situation would get.

I don’t want to involve unrelated people, but I won’t be able to win without support.

Let’s consult with the people I can trust.