ยฉNovel Buddy
The New Gate-Chapter 3Book 2: (1)
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Book 2: Chapter 3 (1)
Shin and Schnee entered the forest at a quick pace.
While avoiding the adventurers who were moving into the plains, they turned their route toward Tsuki no Hokora. On the way, because the set-up base had been abandoned, he stopped, broke it down, and collected it all including the interception item. Wilhelm seemed to have given priority to evacuating and since Wilhelm wouldnโt do such a foolish move like collecting items in that situation, it was only to be expected that the base was neglected.
Shinโs feelings wouldnโt be hurt or even bruised if the items themselves were left. He removed them in this situation, because there was a danger of them changing into a permanent fort without its owner. In fact, many Skull Faces might have already fallen victim to it, as there were signs that the interception magic had activated. They seemed to have been individuals, those killed here, because it was not very far from the plains.
โNow that I think about it, didnโt you receive a request? Is it completed?โ
Shin asked Schnee as he finished collecting the items.
โIt is not quite finished yet, but my job is almost done.โ
โJob?โ
โItโs the safekeeping and distribution of the items. My work now is to manage all of it to prevent infringement, since multiple countries had joined together to form a joint military unit.โ
โโฆIs this perhaps related to the recent uproar?
โOf course.โ
โSeriouslyโฆโ
Shin sighed. Although it was not intentional, he had meddled in another large affair again. He was utterly ignorant toward serious matters, he didnโt realize that the countries had started working on calming the situation down. Although he was a little regretful that he had done it in such a flashy manner, the damage was already done.
While asking Schnee about what kind of situation it was in detail, he wracked his brain to recall if there were any eyewitnesses. After grunting โuh-huhโ for a while, he concluded that as far as he could tell, no one could have seen him, except for Schnee. Even the green markers he had protected should not have seen him or which way the fireballs came from, given how massive the Skull Faces were.
โWell, never mind about that. So, does Schnee not have to show up for the distribution? I think you should at least go to the meeting place or should I say headquarters for you to finish your request.โ
โIt will be alright for a while. Even if I distribute it evenly, it doesnโt work on the basis of first-come, first-served. I am supposed to do the allocation after all the corps have gathered. It will take about one week at the earliest, until there can be a meeting. If I think about the range of each unitโs progress, there is no problem even if I donโt hurry that much.โ
As he had given up on thinking about the eyewitness case, because nothing could be done any further, he confirmed Schneeโs timeline. If she was serious, Schnee could travel faster than the others, so she could afford to spend some time with Shin
Whether it was Shin or Schnee, there were a lot of things they wanted to ask each other. While heading toward Tsuki no Hokora, they decided to explain to each other their own situation.
โSince I have a lot of questions I want to ask, you can ask me anything before that.โ
Shin decided to accept questions from Schnee first, considering the longer time she had spent here. Actually, it still hadnโt even passed one month since Shin came into this world, so he might only be able to answer a little.
โI understand. Then I will ask several things that Iโve been anxious about for the time being.โ
โGo ahead.โ
Schnee asked Shin three things.
First, where was he until now?
Second, why did his combat ability rise?
Third, what will he do from now on?
โThen the first one. About where I was until now. To tell you the truth, I personally havenโt even been here for one month, today, since I went to the last dungeon.โ
โWhat do you mean by that?โ
โItโs true. Remember the time when everyone saw off me to challenge the Origin?โ
โYes.โ
โI defeated the Origin and it should have been the end accordingly. But afterwards, in the deepest depth of that dungeon, ใGate of the Otherworldใ, there was a big door in the bossโ room. It opened soon after the Origin fell.โ
Shin recalled that moment while explaining it to Schnee. The scene where the heavy door he thought was just a decoration opened up while making a sound.
โDoorโฆ?โ
โYes. After that, I lost consciousness, and before I realized it, Iโm laying down on a grassy field. After that, I went to Tsuki no Hokora and heard the outline story. I was really surprised when I heard that more than 500 years had passed. Thatโs the reason why I havenโt been around for 500 years.โ
โSo thatโs the reason, huh?โ
Schnee seemed to understand the situation as she listened to what Shin said. It was different from the time when they met earlier; she had an expression of relief, like her chest wasnโt constricted anymore.
โSchnee?โ
โFufufu, itโs nothing.โ
โThen, thatโs good.โ
Though Shin had a question mark dancing above his head because Schnee, for some reason, was in a good mood, he didnโt think about it too much because it was boorish to be a wet blanket; especially when with someone who is in such a joyful mood.
Now then, for the next one. My abilities and stats went up because of the titles I acquired after defeating the Origin.โ
โTitles? What kind of titles?โ
โThere are three of them. ใLimit Breakerใ, ใAccomplished Oneใ and ใLiberatorใ. The first two are related to the growth of my stats. Though I heard them for the first time when I got them, do you remember hearing any of them before?โ
No, Iโve just heard all of those titles for the first time as well. What kind of effect do they have?โ
Shin explained each of the titlesโ effect in answer to Schneeโs question. Even though there was not a stat raise for the title ใLiberatorใ, since he felt like it had some kind of meaning, he explained it in one go. (E/N: ใLiberatorใ โ Immune to all binding and restriction effects, be it items or magic skills. ใAccomplished Oneใ โ All ability points doubled. ใLimit Breakerใ โ The upper limit for all stats has been removed, and all stats will rise according to how many ability points were discarded prior to limit removal.)
โโฆThatโs absurd, isnโt it.โ
โTotally. I also thought it was a joke until I looked at the stats.โ
Shin too, could understand the feeling of Schnee who was at a loss for words. If a chosen one acquired these titles, the power balance of the world would likely collapse.
โHowever, I think it is not necessary to worry about it to that extent.โ fre(e)webnov(l).com
โWhy is that?โ Shin asked.
โIt is the acquisition requirement. Although monsters exist in this world, the phenomenon of re-spawning in the same place with completely identical unique monsters doesnโt happen. I donโt think there is a person who can meet the acquisition requirement anywhere else, because the Origin might be the only one. Also, the dungeon that Master went to has completely disappeared.โ
โI see. That does make it impossible.โ
According to Schnee, several days after Shin left to conquer the dungeon, Shinโs support characters became exasperated when Shin didnโt come back, so they gathered together and followed their Masterโs path. However, not even a shadow or shape was there, even the outlines were gone.
When they stopped the search temporarily and went back to Tsuki no Hokora, the support characters of other players were making a racket saying, โMy Master has disappeared!โ. Schnee heard it and was convinced that Shin had cleared the dungeon. But they still doubted that he disappeared with the other players, and started to investigate the story on their own. She also thought of the possibility that Shin was still in this world, just like her and the others were.
However, the earthโs crust changed, and a state of confusion followed on the continent afterwards. While helping the people who were in trouble, Schnee remained in Tsuki no Hokora, and the rest of his support characters separated to continue searching for Shin, or moved to protect their own race.
Somehow, Shin had expected that they would do that.
โBut wait? Didnโt the Dusk of the Majesty occur right after I defeated Origin?โ
Shin had noticed that there was an unusual time lag for the support character to make a racket.
โMaster, if you think about the former location of Tsuki no Hokora, of course it would take some time for the information to circulate. Where did you think it was?โ
โโฆTrue.โ
Schnee was saying that since numerous boss monsters existed in the area near Tsuki no Hokora, one could say it was a remote outpost. In a situation where the support characters couldnโt use the chat function, information couldnโt be shared right away.
โThatโs why I believe that a person who has Masterโs titles or at least similar titles will likely never appear. If such a person does appear, well, please do something about it.โ
โSo it falls to me, huh?โ
โOf course. Only someone of Mastersโ standing can oppose them, if a person with a power similar to our class obtains those titles. Therefore, I leave all of it to you Master.โ
โWell, that is right.โ
The stats double, so that mean that the higher the original stats were, the stronger the titleholder would became. If a chosen one with a high ability obtained the title ใAccomplished Oneใ or in evenใLimit Breakerใ, even Schnee wouldnโt stand a chance against that person.
However, since there were strict requirements for the acquisition conditions, and Shin had beyond maxed stats, Schnee believed that the appearance of any enemy that would be able to get a solid hit in, was very unlikely in the present state.
โBy the way, Schnee.โ
โYes, what is it?โ
โThat, โMasterโ calling, can you do something about it?โ
While talking, Shin by all means felt bothered. Though he didnโt mind it during the game, simply because she was an NPC, it was very awkward when she called him that in the current situation.
โIs there a problem when Iโm calling Master, โMasterโ?โ
โNo, thereโs noโฆproblem, but isnโt Schnee famous now? If such a person calls me โMasterโ, it will absolutely turn into an uproar.โ
โMu, thatโs certainly the case, butโฆโ
Shin well understood the influence of Tsuki no Hokora. And, it was certainly Schnee who made it so. It was impossible that nothing would happen if a person such as Schnee appeared to have a master whom she looked up to.
โDonโt you think so? I would especially like to avoid becoming the center of the attention. Therefore, I request that you do not call me โMasterโ.โ
โBut, then what should I call you?โ
โEh? Wouldnโt using my name normally be enough?โ
โUh!? T-Thatโฆโ
For some reason, the surprised Schnee looked downward with her mouth mumbling. After a short time, she raised her face to stare straight at Shin as if she had made up her mind.
โT-ThenโฆShin.โ
โAh, there we go.โ
Schnee said it in a whisper. Her cheeks were dyed a faint, pink color and her ears were bright red.
As for Shin, he had quite the response of โEh, what is that reaction!?โ and strangely enjoyed the embarrassed feeling.
Schneeโs reaction was certainly seen in a lot of mangas and games. Though Shin well knew of this situation, the problem was whether or not he could return the reaction directly.
Though he was not well-versed, it didnโt mean that he had never experienced love before.
To tell the truth, Schnee had never changed her expressions to be this shy in the game, so the very action of calling his own name with somewhat upturned eyes was terrific, and considerably very โโโโ โMoeโ.
โHow should I say thisโฆthat has destructive powerโฆโ
โEh!?โ
โNo, itโs nothing. Yeah, itโs really nothing. From now on, please call me Shin.โ
โI understand. Then, after this I will call you S-Shin.โ
Schnee tried to act calm, but the flushed cheeks and ears vividly expressed her state of mind. Shin, who knew her usual calm appearance, was worrying about the too extreme gap.
(Is this the true โGap Moeโ? Indeedโฆthe destructive power is worthy of comparison with the gap of Celica-san, which I felt in the guild.)
After that, they walked without saying anything to each other for a while. After confirming that the ears of Schnee, who was fidgety, returned to their former color using side glances, Shin resumed the conversation.
โAh, though we got off topic, should we continue with the questions?โ
โYes, I showed an unsightly side. But Iโm alright now.โ
Though he felt that her voice still sounded somewhat excited, he ignored it, because the conversation would not advance if he pointed it out.
โLet me seeโฆErrr, Iโve already talked about my abilities. Then about the last question. First of all, I intend to go around collecting information around here and there after this.โ
โInformation?โ
โYes, first I will learn about this world. For the time being, I have investigated a little in the kingdomโs library, and I intend to go to the Sacred Land later. Has Schnee been there before?โ
โYes. But because it was only a simple internal investigation, I still donโt know whatโs going on in the center of the city.โ
โIs that so?โ
Whether the key to returning to his former world lies there or not. The only way is to go there directly.
โUmโฆShin.โ
โHmm?โ
Schnee called out to Shin, who was thinking on whether he wanted to go the Sacred Land next. Her voice had completely changed from a while ago and was a little bit stiff.
โIf you find the wayโฆare you going to stop and return?โ
โโฆAh.โ
He went silent for a while and replied. Though he hesitated on how to answer Schneeโs in this state, it wouldnโt change the conclusion even if he lied. He didnโt mean to give up if there was still a possibility.
And there was no meaning in vague answers, either.
He didnโt want to lie.
โThat should be expected, huh?โ
โโฆSorry.โ
โNo, When I listened to your talk earlier, I already thought you wanted to do so.โ
Schnee nodded while showing an innocent smile, seemingly understanding in some respect. At the expression that resembled a look of relief, Shin felt a faint sense of incongruity.
โHey, Schnee. How much do you remember from the game?โ
Shin asked, in an attempt to change the sense of incongruity.
โEverything.โ
โEverything..?โ
โYes. From the time I descended down from that place to be together with you.โ
Everything until this very moment now.
โโโโ