Chapter 36

In the slums dominated by darkness, an old man stumbled along, drunk. Occasionally, someone would appear to attack him, but they would all be repelled by the first strike and fall to the ground, crouching.

This was because when enemies attacked, a 'Physical Reflection Wall' would instantly be cast in front of them.

To be precise, it would automatically be cast once at the start of combat. The 'Physical Reflection Wall' was a magic that reflected the first physical attack from all enemies. It wasn't very useful in the game, but in reality, it was quite convenient.

"The 'Aegis Forehead Crown' is showing the expected effect, well done."

A cute girl's voice, like the tinkling of bells, came from the empty space. However, her tone was rough.

"Artifacts are mysterious things. This is an intriguing artifact."

Scratching his head, the old man lit the wisdom in his single eye without being surprised by the voice.

"And, the effect of your 'Equipment Effect Off' is also interesting."

"Because, if Odin were dressed as a samurai, it would ruin the atmosphere. 'Equipment Effect Off' is convenient because it transfers the effect to Odin's equipment. No one will know you're wearing the 'Aegis Forehead Crown.'"

The space distorted, and a girl riding an eight-legged horse appeared. She was hidden in a robe with a hood.

None other than the beautiful girl, Miharu. Her night outings are a secret from her parents. They would be sad if they thought she had become a delinquent.

"Oops, 'Hide II.'"

Realizing he had let his guard down, he used 'Hide.' His figure, along with the eight-legged horse, Sleipnir, melted into the space and disappeared. This 'Hide II' would wear off after a certain number of steps.

"Hmm... The power of the gods is tremendous. I feel as if I am peering into the abyss now."

"I don't think too deeply about it. Just go with the flow. As long as it works, that's fine."

The old man, Odin, was fascinated by the settings of the 'Aegis Forehead Crown' and 'Equipment Effect Off.' He seemed more interested in 'Equipment Effect Off.' Well, it's a mysterious game feature, so I understand.

In the game, a character's appearance would change when they equipped different items. However, some players disliked this because it broke their image, so 'Equipment Effect Off' was introduced. Using this, the character's appearance wouldn't change even if they changed their equipment.

Basically, it was for fans who didn't like their favorite novel characters to be seen in loincloths. In reality, it transferred the effect to Odin's hat. The appearance was completely unnoticeable. Removing the equipment would revert it to the 'Aegis Forehead Crown.'

By the way, I would end up in my underwear. Only gentlemen would be happy about that, so I have no plans to use it.

I was genuinely surprised when I found this setting. Because even with iron armor equipped, it would look like a robe. However, weapons couldn't be 'Effect Off,' so equipping a longsword would still look like a longsword, not a dagger.

Odin was amazed by this feature and was trying to study it. I understand his curiosity, but I'm satisfied as long as it works. Pressing the switch would start the game. That's all I need.

Odin, the old man, chuckled at my words. He is 'The Great Mage Odin,' a god from Norse mythology. However, Odin is actually a magician who was allowed to call himself a creator god. He is a god, but Odin is not his real name. I wonder what his real name is.

Seeking wisdom, he would even sacrifice his life. That's Odin.

Incidentally, he is my companion. You can make him a companion by praying to the Norse god statue in 'My Room.'

To be more specific, he is one of the Norse god set for 500 yen. In other words, a companion you can get by paying.

The game version of 'Magical Night' fixed the levels of the main characters to maintain the novel's image. However, this made it difficult to defeat secret bosses or clear extremely difficult dungeons. Honestly, even with cheat skills, the main characters, fixed at level 70, were useless.

So, what we did was recruit random companions at the adventurer's tavern. It seemed they were trying to force the use of the main characters, who had low base stats. The more you leveled up, the more the gap between the main characters and the companions grew. The only one with high base stats was the player. It's a common game trope.

So, I reluctantly paid for the level cap removal and leveled up, defeating enemies solo.

The game company must have been pleased that the game was selling well. After all, in this day and age, turn-based RPGs don't sell unless they are from a famous series.

So, they introduced companion sets as a paid item. They had high base stats, fixed jobs, and powerful unique skills. Some were even stronger than the novel's main characters.

Moreover, they saved the trouble of leveling up, and their levels were dependent on the player character's level. You had to buy them, right? The game company was too clever.

The companions I obtained varied, but they were generally set to be in 'My Room.' The setting was that they were summoned from another world, or given physical form by the shadow of a god. Either way, it was fine.

Companions could only be summoned from level 15 to maintain game balance. This was to prevent new players from breaking the game balance.

This one-eyed old man, Odin, is one of them.

His stats are as follows:

Odin

Level 15 (Physical stats locked until level 50)

Main: Great Mage: ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Secondary: Spear User IV: (Locked until level 50)

Sub: Mage IV: ☆☆☆☆

HP: 78

MP: 314

Strength: 61

Vitality: 75

Agility: 63

Magic: 296

Luck: 31

Unique Skills: Enemy Analysis, Wolf Support, 200% Increase when Equipped with Staff, 200% Increase in Magic Attack, Eagle Transformation, Resistance to All Magic Except Universal, Sleipnir Summon, Triple Magic, Odin Magic

Skills: Great Mage V, Supreme Attack Magic III, Supreme Area Magic II, Supreme Support Magic V

Equipment: Aegis Forehead Crown, Odin's Robe (Non-Transferable), Gungnir (Non-Transferable)

Madam, do you see these stats? They are overpowered. Isn't the paid character too overpowered? By the way, 'Great Mage' is a composite job.

Cough, I accidentally used lady-like speech. Even at level 15, these stats are exceptional. The game company's shallow thinking is clear. They thought that by capping the level, new players wouldn't break the game balance.

Indeed, with low MP, the Great Mage's composite job would be unusable due to high MP consumption. However, this time, I somehow got the 'Aegis Forehead Crown,' so it's not a problem.

The 'Aegis Forehead Crown's' awakening event? It awakens by consuming 100 MP. I'm not the protagonist of 'Magical Night.' I'm a game player. Using the 'Use' command, I could awaken it. Odin's max MP was just over 100. There's no dramatic awakening event. In the original, the enemy awakens it.

The 'Aegis Forehead Crown' increases MP and Magic by 200. Additionally, it automatically uses 'Physical Reflection Wall' at the start of combat. There are other abilities, but they are not important now.

With this MP, Odin can fight 2-3 times. Plus, there's the raven, Munin, which can analyze enemies. 'Analyze' can read enemy attributes and flavor text.

There are also the wolves, Geri and Freki, which attack automatically, making Odin one of the strongest companions, at least in my opinion.

If asked about just 2-3 times, I would say those 2-3 times are guaranteed wins. He only has enough MP for about 6 uses, but he is still a useful old man if used correctly.

A game balance breaker. That's the paid warrior Odin. Yeah, the name is lame.

Surprisingly, this old man had a sense of self, just like in the game. In the game, there was a 'Talk to Party Member' command, and we talked a lot.

Now, he is a magic otaku, a drunk old man. His personality is worse than in the game, but I like him because he is more human. He even respects me as a lady. Well, it's better than being an enemy.

I set the strategy to auto, so Odin acts on his own will. I have no plans to use 'Command,' as it would definitely delay his actions in reality.

I confirmed that even if they are far apart, choosing 'Talk to Party Member' allows us to communicate telepathically.

Finally, I have a trustworthy companion who knows some of my secrets.

Now, I am with Odin, searching for a dungeon in the slums to level up secretly.

I'm a bit sleepy, but I'll try my best. I have attached 'Hunter I' to my unlocked sub-job. Sub-jobs can use half the unique skill's power and can be mastered up to level 4.

I plan to master 'Thief' and 'Hunter.' I think this is the fastest growth route.

"Miss, we are at the location you mentioned."

"Odin, you never get lost, right?"

"I have Munin, of course."

"Are you using the flavor text ability?"

Odin's flavor text mentions that the raven, Munin, gathers world information. Is there even a fragment of that ability? It's like a convenient GPS raven. I want one too. Since he has two, maybe he can give me one.

"Anyway, is that the dungeon?"

"Yeah, but something seems off?"

With his ice-blue eyes, he looked at the location said to be the dungeon. It was a kamaboko-shaped warehouse. However, there were many guards with assault rifles, and the security was tight.

Some had colorful hair, indicating the presence of mages.

"But, what's that?"

Children with ropes around their necks were being carried into the warehouse like cargo. About five of them, in dirty clothes, stumbled into the warehouse.

"The dungeon is said to be a source of income. The reason for such actions has been the same since ancient times."

Rubbing his chin, Odin seemed unperturbed, as if he had seen this before.

"Isn't 'Magical Night' supposed to be a modern fantasy? This is more like high fantasy. ...But, I guess we'll save them."

Either way, the action is clear. The righteous Miharu wouldn't ignore this.