Chapter 1

【Fly】Report on the Appearance of Masked Person 1【Disappear】

1 Name: Anonymous Watching Masked Person

This is an adventure book to discuss the Masked Person who appears in Ezo.

Every time we meet, the Masked Person... no, transforms.

Let's share reports on the Masked Person's transformations.

* Those who do not believe in the Masked Person and are heretical are forbidden to access.

The curse of the Masked Person will surely befall those who dare to disrupt this place.

2 Name: Anonymous Watching Masked Person

>>1 Nice

It's finally up, huh w

3 Name: Anonymous Watching Masked Person

Oh wow

Until recently, most adventurers didn't encounter the Masked Person thanks to the Shinjuku Station reclamation.

But now that the Shinjuku Station reclamation is over, adventurers are returning to their hometowns.

I think they might mistake the Masked Person for a monster when they see her.

Don't you think we should have a place to report in the Ezo local board?

4 Name: Anonymous Watching Masked Person

Makes sense

Indeed, there's no guarantee that no one will be surprised and attack her on sight wwww

5 Name: Anonymous Watching Masked Person

She's a good person, contrary to her appearance w

She's an adventurer respected even by Kagemitsu-san.

I completely understand the desire to avoid accidents.

6 Name: Anonymous Watching Masked Person

I'd like to see it just once

When he takes off his mask

7 Name: Anonymous Watching Masked Person

You can't see anything when he takes it off wwww

8 Name: Anonymous Watching Masked Person

Let's summarize the Masked Person's appearance so far

9 Name: Anonymous Watching Masked Person

- Floating mask

- Feathers growing from the neck

- Wriggling plants on the back

- Body made of scales

- White face on the back

- Tentacles around the waist

- Centipedes parasitizing the abdomen

- Can release avatars

- Mask glows (NEW)

10 Name: Anonymous Watching Masked Person

Avatars, huh w

Still as bad as ever wwww

Wait a minute!

What does "mask glows" mean!?

* * *

After finishing everything in Asahikawa, Haruki and the others returned safely to K-town.

Haruki had been away from home for three whole weeks.

Under normal circumstances, he would have breathed a sigh of relief at the familiar house, but his expression was clouded with a thick, gloomy cloud.

The reason was one.

It was due to the newly manifested skill.

Hiren went to the hotel to sort out her luggage.

Haruki also put his luggage at home.

He shared the mutton obtained in Asahikawa with Kito-san and received green peppers in return.

"You always do so much, Haru-kun."

"Not at all, it's my pleasure."

Kito-san must have been working hard in the scorching summer sun.

His skin was beautifully tanned, making his bulging muscles stand out even more.

He was an elderly man over 70, yet he seemed to have no signs of aging.

Rather, with the summer, his vitality seemed to have increased in proportion to the growth of the crops.

However, there was almost no aura floating around Kito-san's body.

(Is it because he's an ordinary person?)

This wasn't just Kito-san.

Even the nature and creatures that should be full of vitality did not have any aura.

Perhaps a certain level of slaying experience is required to have an aura.

After everything was settled, Haruki headed to the prefab.

"...Huh!?"

When Haruki entered the prefab, Ako gave him a second look.

She must have been quite surprised; her eyes were wide open.

"What did you do this time?"

"..."

"Why is your mask glowing!? It looks so divine!?"

"......There's a deep, deep reason for this."

Haruki's shoulders slumped.

Ako's observation was correct.

She said the mask was glowing, but in reality, the mask wasn't actually emitting light.

More accurately, it now appeared to others as a "divine mask floating and glowing" in mid-air.

The cause was the new skill, "Divine Aura."

"Divine Aura: A skill that harbors a strong presence."

Haruki interpreted this as "the power to acquire a presence as strong as a god."

His interpretation was not off the mark.

Indeed, he had acquired a presence as strong as a god.

However, an unexpected situation occurred.

For some reason, the mask began to appear as if it was glowing.

The cause might be the strength of the mask's presence, or perhaps the thinness of Haruki's presence...

Of course, the mask's glow could be suppressed by Haruki's will.

However, if he relaxed for a moment, the mask would start glowing immediately.

With practice, he would be able to suppress the Divine Aura unconsciously.

But during the adjustment period, the mask might start glowing suddenly and without any context.

If he relaxed, the mask would emit light, and if he was distracted, the mask would start blinking.

When he thought he had control, only the eyes would glow suspiciously,

and if he tried too hard to control it, the mask's hair would stand on end and emit a faint glow like a halo.

--- In short, the Divine Aura was an extremely dangerous skill to use in public.

Even Haruki, who wished for a strong presence, found the mask's glow hard to accept.

No.

The power I sought wasn't this kind of power!!

No matter how many times he denied it, the nature of the skill wouldn't change.

Moreover, a skill that he had maxed out couldn't be reset to zero.

What's done is done, as the saying goes.

The only option was to try his best to control the Divine Aura.

And there was another unexpected thing.

--- This was the worst.

Even if he took off the mask, no matter how much he emitted the Divine Aura, there was no change in Haruki's presence.

In other words, no matter how much he multiplied his presence with the Divine Aura, if the original presence was zero, it would remain zero.

"...Guh!!"

"Wh-Why are you crying!? Calm down? Okay?"

Even through the mask, Ako could tell that Haruki was sobbing.

She tried to comfort him, despite her confusion.

Her gentle tone only made Haruki cry more.

--- I thought I would finally get a strong presence!!

Darkness highlights light, and light highlights darkness.

Similarly, the mask's glow increased.

Leaving Haruki's presence behind...

The Divine Aura had plunged Haruki from the gates of heaven to the depths of despair.

Physical level is added to basic performance.

In contrast, skill level is multiplied by basic performance.

Haruki had assumed this about physical and skill levels, but the "Mask Glow Incident" unexpectedly proved his assumption.

--- Anyway.

After a few minutes, Haruki finally stopped crying and took out several items from the magic bag he had received.

The first was a piece of wood.

About 10 centimeters in diameter and 1 meter long, it was a material from the Dungeon Lord.

Thanks to other adventurers hunting only for materials, the selling price was not good.

Wood can be used for various purposes.

Rather than selling the valuable material at a low price, it would be better to use it if possible.

Thinking this, Haruki kept everything.

"Can you process this? What do you think?"

"Hmm? Oh, this is Dungeon Lord material, isn't it!"

To Haruki, it looked like just a piece of wood, but Ako immediately identified it.

She was indeed a clerk at the large company, Ichimatsu.

"I can process it in various ways, but what do you want to make? I think it would be a waste to make furniture."

She was probably referring to Asahikawa's specialty, "Asahikawa furniture."

But if he wanted furniture, he would have bought it in Asahikawa instead of asking Ako.

"I want to make a new sheath for my magic sword."

Saying this, Haruki placed his magic sword on the counter.

The magic sword had grown through repeated battles.

The blade had curved and the body had elongated since he bought it.

He had been using it勉强地，但在与下级神的战斗后，它大幅成长，终于无法再装入剑鞘了。

"可以做剑鞘，但你的魔剑还会继续成长吧？"

"是的。"

"那不如不做剑鞘，直接携带裸剑怎么样？"

"裸剑？"

"是的。有一种可以挂在剑柄和护手上的支架。这样即使剑身继续成长，也可以一直使用。"

"嗯……"

Haruki摸了摸下巴。

如果剑身继续成长，无论换多少次剑鞘都是徒劳。

魔剑不会生锈，所以保护剑身的剑鞘其实没有必要。

但是，如果一直裸剑携带，移动时可能会划伤周围的东西，无法确保携带时的安全。

（裸剑确实很酷……但）

"嗯，还是做剑鞘吧。"

"为什么？"

"因为很酷！"

"哈……"

听到Haruki的话，Ako叹了口气，显得有些无奈。

好不容易魔剑已经变得像一把胁差，如果现在不做剑鞘，就不能使用最具存在感的攻击方式——居合斩了！

拔出剑的同时将怪物一分为二。

拔出的剑已经回到了剑鞘中。

"好强！完全看不见剑刃！"

"……这位剑士，尊姓大名？"

"没什么好报的。"

--- Haruki曾无数次幻想过这种存在感极强的场景。

居合斩是Haruki梦寐以求的攻击方式之一。

不能放弃购买剑鞘。

"啊，嗯。虽然不明白，但我知道了。"

Ako含糊地回答，点了点头。

她似乎在说，男人都是有病的，真让人无法理解，然后开始仔细测量魔剑的尺寸。

剑鞘会比魔剑大几个尺寸，以确保有足够的空间。

"只做剑鞘太无聊了，我想在中等级别的基础上进行加工，怎么样？"

"剑鞘还有中等级别的吗？"

"有的。带剑鞘的武器在地下城中几乎不会掉落。"

"啊，这么说来确实如此。"

地下城中掉落的武器很少有带剑鞘的。

因此，Ichimatsu公司理应制作了许多适合地下城产武器的剑鞘，以匹配武器的等级。

"此外，更换剑鞘的冒险者也不少。"

"是吗。那就拜托你了。"

"好的，交给我了。"

她在订单纸上写下，Haruki拿出了下一个材料。

"这是……"

"……嗯？"

看到这个材料，Ako的眉头皱了起来。

Haruki拿出的是Est的蜕皮。

与蝉或蛇的蜕皮不同，Est的蜕皮非常坚硬。

轻轻敲击，会发出像敲击铁器一样的高音。

"……这是从哪里得到的？"

"我们家的Est蜕皮了。"

"蜕皮……"

Ako难以置信地看着Haruki，摇了摇头。

这不是谎言。Haruki轻轻摇了摇头。

"原来她会蜕皮啊。"

"是的。那么，这个可以收购吗？……或者说，可以加工吗？"

"嗯。如果要收购……"

Ako用放大镜仔细检查了Est的蜕皮。

"5万日元吧。"

"哈！？"

Haruki惊讶地差点叫出声。

他没想到Est的蜕皮，原本以为只是蝉蜕皮的程度，竟然能值5万日元。

"真贵啊。"

"是的。其他地下城也有类似的怪物，叫死蚀虫。这个蜕皮和死蚀虫的甲壳非常相似。虽然价格比实际的死蚀虫便宜，但我觉得这个价格不亏。"

"哦。"

Est是稀有的多足虫。

某个地下城中可能有Est的上级种，被称为死蚀虫，Haruki并不知道这一点。

"如果要加工，可以做成防具，但尺寸上只能做一套。性能肯定超过多足虫。怎么样？"

"那就给火莲做防具吧。"

在与下级神的战斗中，火莲遭遇了危险。

投掷武器的攻击比斩击更钝。

Haruki可能可以避开，但火莲不行。

作为后卫职业，火莲不像Haruki那样具备躲避攻击的能力。

因此，让火莲特训以避开攻击的想法有些偏离了。

每个人都有擅长和不擅长的事情。

擅长的事情通过练习容易提高，但不擅长的事情即使练习也难以提高。

因此，用武具快速弥补不擅长的方面更有效率。

火莲现在装备的是多足虫的铠甲。

目前，这在防御上有些不足。

Haruki装备的是鳞片的上级防具，暂时不需要更新。

因此，如果可能的话，打算给火莲换新防具。

--- 这是Haruki和火莲在前往K镇的途中讨论后得出的结论。

"那就给火莲做防具。要做的防具，交给我吧？"

"当然。"

经常带着火莲下地下城的Ako，应该最了解火莲需要什么样的防具。

Haruki毫不犹豫地点了点头。

最后，Haruki拿出了破碎的材料。

然而，不知为何，Ako一看到材料就愣住了。

---

《成为冒险者！第2卷》决定发售！

这多亏了各位读者的支持，非常感谢！

（详情请见活动报告）

关于第五章。

这一章是试作版。如果这一章书化，可能会全部重写。

可能会给大家带来不便，但希望继续得到大家的支持……