Chương 99: Chapter 29 Are We Sure This Is Okay? (Part 1)

(Part 1)

"Oh~, an S came out, huh? Could you tell me the details, including the other things?" Tachibana was still appraising the escape item. Mochida had gotten the low-probability S. This was good. S-Classes were powerful, and from what I had heard from Tachibana, although the descriptions were somewhat rough, they seemed to have a fairly clear direction. Perhaps S-Classes were specialized types.

"Sure~." Tracker: Discovery, Tracking, Response Meat Shield: Transformation, Self-Control, Resistance S-Sakimori: Can defend regardless of distance. If selected, the method of defense does not matter. Judging from the descriptions, the S-Class descriptions were more formal and their direction was clearly defined. However, Sakimori didn't seem very Sakimori-like... Because if the method doesn't matter, then offense is the greatest defense, right?

Depending on the method, it could turn into indiscriminate attacks if things went badly. And since the target didn't matter either, if it evolved to the upper ranks, it might even become something like a city defense system...

"Wow~, I really got one! You can say it like you did with Tachibana-san, right?" Mochida was excited, but what exactly was Mochida's image of defense? If it were an image like mine, it would be an offensive type. If it were dedicated defense, it would be a counterattack type. Or perhaps an iron-wall image, a truly hard-core defensive type. Well, whatever she was thinking, I'd put that aside for the moment.

"Congratulations! Kaori, it's something to celebrate, but that power... I think S-Classes are specialized types. If you don't discipline yourself and lose sight of your purpose, things could turn out badly."

"Is it really that serious? What do you think, Tachibana-san?"

"Hm? Excuse me, I need to rest for a bit..." For some reason, Tachibana sat down with a pale face. Was this... him reaching the Intermediate rank? It was my first time seeing it, so I didn't know, but since he hadn't lost consciousness, I thought he was probably fine.

"If you need medicine, let me know. For now, Kaori, choose your Class, and let's wait here for Tachibana-san to recover a little."

"Understood. The Class is S-Sakimori, after all. I'll protect~, I'll defend~. It's very SP-like, which is great. After that, we just need to get a weapon once Tachibana-san has recovered, right?" I took out my kiseru and puffed out some smoke. I didn't think anything would come, but when I first walked this path, I had been attacked by a Mitsume. There was no harm in being too cautious.

"Yeah. Well, I don't think anything will come, though. In this white, dark mist, hide yourselves... Where is everyone?" The smoke I exhaled spread across the passage like a wall, concealing our figures. It was only enough to blind them, but if they got caught in the smoke, they'd lose their sense of direction, spin around, and probably turn back.

"Heh~, so this is magical smoke. I've seen fireballs and people flying through the air, but this is my first time seeing smoke from this close." Mochida cautiously tried to touch the smoke, but it slipped between her fingers and drifted softly through the air. Smoke was really useful. It made invisible things visible. Air, existence, and space. And at the same time, it could cover up things that had been made visible, turning them vague and ambiguous again.

There was nothing easier to work with when it came to forming an image. As I continued adding to the drifting smoke, Tachibana unsteadily rose to his feet. Good. It seemed he was all right. There didn't appear to be any outward changes, either, and I didn't think he'd been asked for an offering like I had. If he had been, though, I'd have to grill the Sorts about what exactly they meant by "suitability."

"Tachibana-san, are you all right?"

"... More or less. Good grief, reaching the Intermediate rank is quite something. I'll get used to it eventually, but my head hurts. Appraiser became Appraisal Tactician. And for my second Class, I have Martial Artist, Tracker, and a newly added one, Scripter. Which do you think would be good?"

"No, before that, what exactly is an Appraisal Tactician?" His complexion was still bad, but Tachibana was speaking happily. The character for "technique" had been added to Appraiser, but what exactly had changed? I could imagine it to some extent, but there was also a possibility that it had gone off in a completely unexpected direction. Tachibana returned the escape item to me and began explaining.

"Simply put, I only have to look now. So until I get used to it, the sheer amount of information gives me headaches. It doesn't matter what I'm appraising. Magic, objects, people... too? Chloe, magic... you're not using any right now. Your equipment, too...?" He was talking with his usual irritatingly smug expression, but when Tachibana looked at me, he froze, then alternated his gaze between Mochida and me. Judging only from his explanation, it seemed that he had made appraisal completely his own.

The added "technique" was proof that he had accumulated the experience and made it his own ability. That's why all he had to do was look. It was the first step after taking off the training wheels and beginning to walk on his own strength, with the second Class there alongside him, like something supporting him as he learned to stand. Combined together, the possibilities could let him keep walking as far as he wanted. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

"Tachibana-san, smoke hides your eyes, confuses you, and makes things ambiguous. If you look around, you'll understand, right? My smoke is here." There was no superiority or inferiority between Classes, but if there were upper and lower ranks, then perhaps there were things that couldn't be seen as well. Tachibana had only just reached Intermediate, so the fact that he couldn't see me clearly probably meant I could consider it confirmed that my Class was above his.

Well, my abilities had been strange from the very beginning anyway...

"... Let's leave it at that. I don't dislike women with plenty of secrets."

"Tachibana-san, that's an approach, you know... So, what can you see about me?" Tachibana stared at Mochida when she asked, then quickly looked away. He could probably see all sorts of things... her weight, her three sizes, maybe even the color of her underwear. In a sense, it was an erotic Class. He could peep to his heart's content, and if things went too far, he might even be able to appraise someone's heart.

"An approach... Mochida-san is using S-Sakimori for defense? Did Chloe give you any warning?"

"Yes. She told me that if I don't discipline myself and lose sight of my purpose, things could turn out badly."

"I see. Then I have nothing more to say. However, I'm glad Mochida-san is human. If it had been something malicious, it might have become impossible to handle." I didn't know whether his thoughts were the same as mine, but Tachibana was also concerned about Mochida's Class. It was called defense, but if you thought of it as offensive defense, something as absurd as bringing down an entire city might be possible if things went badly.

If you struck down and crushed the enemy first, you could defend yourself as much as you wanted.

"Tachibana-san, that's enough. At least until we retrieve the weapon and she has a chance to form her own image, it might be better not to say too much that could influence her."

"Eh! Isn't Tsukasa going to explain it to me? Hand-holding me through it?" Mochida hugged her own body and wriggled suggestively, but I decided to pretend I hadn't seen it. As a test case for the advisory role, there were two ways to approach it. Either thoroughly implant an image in her, or help develop the direction she came up with herself. This time, I'd have Mochida work it out on her own.

"I'll give you either a honey-sweet lesson or a spicy one, but first, let's start with your own image."

"... Understood. Then let's move on."

"Before that, my second Class still hasn't been decided..." Tachibana stopped Mochida as she began walking. His choices for the second Class were Martial Artist, Tracker, and Scripter. The question was whether to focus on a combination or preserve each Class's independence, but Appraisal Tactician had high versatility. With Martial Artist, becoming a one-man army wouldn't be a dream. With Tracker, he'd be extremely capable in a support role. Scripter...

according to what I'd seen on the bulletin board, it was apparently a walking scroll. I was worried about Tachibana's brain, but if reducing his mental load was the priority, this might be the Class for him.

"Tachibana-san, what direction do you want to take?"

"Let's see... I'm torn between the two other than Martial Artist. My physical abilities can be handled with the Sphere of the Martial Artist, so that's fine, but the other two each have abilities I'd like to have." Tachibana seemed to prefer versatility through combination rather than becoming a one-man army. If so, I thought this was probably the better choice, but was it really my place to interfere? If he continued working as a police officer, Tracker would probably serve him extremely well.

Whether it was apprehending criminals or tracking someone down, it was essentially a hunter-like Class. If we assumed it would also be used to fight monsters, we'd have him rely on the "Response" aspect. Combining Response with the Sphere of the Martial Artist would probably allow him to handle most monsters without losing. If Scripter involved reproducing memories, it had a high affinity with Appraisal Tactician, and perhaps he could even reproduce the effects of appraised items.

"Direction... I... think I'll choose Scripter. There are still many unknown items inside the Gate. And besides, there are things I don't want to forget."

"I see... Then let's choose our Classes and move on." After each of us selected our Class, we came to the first box. Now, what would the weapon of a Sakimori be? Normally, I'd think it would be a shield, but there was already a Class called Shield-user. Would those guys really put something that was simply an upper-tier version of another Class into the list? I didn't know the details of Shield-user, so I couldn't say for sure, but it probably protected something.

"This is my first time opening one of these, too. What will come out, what will come out?... Huh?" Mochida opened the box while speaking to the rhythm of a nostalgic TV program that no longer existed. Now, what was inside? What Mochida took out was a black rod about thirty centimeters long, along with a black ball about the size of a baseball that floated alongside it. There were also several silver coins, a pair of scissors, and a ring for Mochida. The scissors were probably Tachibana's.

There didn't seem to be a weapon for Intermediate. Mochida happily slipped the ring onto the ring finger of her right hand.

"What is this, I wonder? Tachibana-san, do you know?"

"It seems to be called the Sound of Defense. Probably a flute. I have the scissors, just as the information said.... Oh? The Sphere of the Martial Artist is..." Tachibana held the scissors and repeatedly opened and closed them with little snipping motions. Meanwhile, the Sphere of the Martial Artist he took out of the ring—which had definitely been black before—had changed color to gray. Since it wasn't broken, the weapon had either evolved, or a new one had been transferred into the ring.

Mochida had her weapon appraised and was now frozen in place, holding what appeared to be a flute. Well, there was quite a difference between the image of a weapon and a flute, so I couldn't blame her. If I were handed a musical instrument and told, "This is a weapon too~," then ordered to fight monsters with it, I'd probably want to throw it away. But what exactly did the Sorts mean by "weapon"?

It had originally been intended as a cleaning tool, but either way, they had completely ignored how it would actually feel to use. Well, those guys didn't have bodies in the first place, so perhaps they made things assuming the shape didn't matter.

"What am I supposed to do...? I'm only Music Level 2... And a transverse flute... My recorder makes weird noises, too."

"That's... unfortunate. For now, do you want to try blowing it?" Mochida made a troubled face, held the flute sideways, and blew into it. Then, a high-pitched pee came from the round ball. Since the sound wasn't coming from the main body, it somehow felt like watching a ventriloquist act. The problem of distance was probably handled by having this ball move.