Chapter 94

After finishing the discussion with the chairman, I received the silver plate as proof of my B-rank status and returned home.

"Phew... I'm exhausted."

"You were more tense than usual. Indeed, he had an intimidating presence, so it can't be helped, I suppose."

As soon as I got home, I gathered everyone in the living room to discuss today's events.

The chairman, Christoph. I had always thought of the chairman as a stern person, but he turned out to be easy to talk to. However, he hit the nail on the head with the parts of us he shouldn't know, which made me nervous. There's no doubt he's not an ordinary person... If I have to talk to him again in the future, I'll need to be careful.

"Still, I didn't expect to receive a request right after becoming B-rank."

"It was a request for escort. The Magic City Queres... What kind of place is it?"

The request letter shown by Christoph was for an escort to the Magic City Queres. It was a B-rank or higher designated request, and the client was a wealthy person living in the capital. The departure was in six days, and the journey from Brune to the capital by carriage would take more than ten days. The reward was 600,000G.

Wow, rich people are really generous. But, is it okay for us, who just became B-rank, to take on an escort mission? It seems there shouldn't be any problem with our combat capabilities, but I'm worried if we can handle it properly.

And the destination of this escort mission, the Magic City Queres. As the name suggests, it's a city mainly inhabited by mages. I might finally get to see mages in this world, and I'm curious about what kind of city it is.

"Hmm, good morning..."

"Oh, you're up, Luna."

Luna, wearing her usual nightcap and pajamas, came into the living room. She seemed to still be tired from yesterday, rubbing her eyes and looking sleepy. It's a good time to tell her about the escort mission.

The escort mission will take more than ten days, so we won't be able to return home during that time. We can't place beacons freely because of other people's eyes, and we might not have the time to set them up along the way. This means Luna will be alone at home. She's not registered as an adventurer, so I can't take her with us.

"Hmm, you can leave it to me. I'll take responsibility for the security."

"You're reliable. Oh, and please take care of Muffet's food too."

"Sure, I'll spend time with Muffet, so don't worry."

Luna crossed her arms and answered confidently. She looks like a little girl, but she's very dependable. Since I can't take Muffet with me, it's convenient that Luna will be at home. After returning, I took Muffet from Noelle and started petting him.

"I'm worried about leaving Luna alone! I'll stay too!"

"What are you saying? If I don't bring the priestess, I'll get scolded for the escort."

Cisaha, who had been listening, slammed the table and stood up, making a fist in front of her chest, insisting on staying. Of course, I can't accept that. It's impossible to not bring a priestess in the party. Besides, if we complete this mission, Cisaha will become E-rank, which is convenient.

"Lu, Luna, don't you want me to stay? Right?"

"No, not at all."

"Ugh... That's so mean..."

Luna, understanding that my persuasion was in vain, started to plead with her. Luna, without even looking at her, continued to pet Muffet and answered indifferently. Cisaha, hearing the response, sat back down and put her face on the table, sobbing softly.

Too harsh... I thought we had gotten closer, but she dismissed me so quickly...

But, it's better this way for now.

"There are a few days until the agreed date. Is there anything we should prepare?"

"Hmm, since we can't use the items from the gacha freely, let's buy a few necessary things."

I plan to avoid using the convenient items from the gacha as much as possible in places where there are other people. Not being able to use the gacha food is a pain, but it can't be helped. We'll pass through a few villages on the way to Queres, but I'll bring some food that lasts.

"Oh, by the way, we're supposed to be lent horses, right? We'll need at least two. Who will ride the other one? I can ride one, but who will ride the other?"

"I can't ride a horse. I'd prefer to ride behind you, brother."

"Ooh, you can't ride a horse. The last time you rode one—"

"A, ah! I can't hear it, I can't hear it!"

Noelle was about to say something unnecessary, so I shouted to cover it up. Don't spread that embarrassing story!

This time, we're supposed to ride horses to escort the carriage. If everyone could ride, we'd need four, but Estelle and I can't ride. We can only have two people on one horse, so we need someone else who can ride. What should I do... I guess I'll have to practice riding in the remaining days? The trauma from the last time I rode is still there.

"Stop joking around. What are you really going to do? I can hold the reins if you want."

"Huh, can you ride, Cisaha?"

"I'm not as good as Noelle, but I can ride. After all, I'm a priestess, you know."

"Alright, then I'll count on you."

Cisaha, who had raised her head, said she could ride. There were no traces of tears on her face. She was just pretending to cry...

It's a relief that Cisaha can ride. But, to be able to handle close combat and ride a horse... What are priestesses?

"Well, let's start preparing gradually, but there are other things I want to do before we leave."

"Hmm, is there anything else to do?"

Besides packing for the escort mission, there's something I want to check first.

"Using the synthesis machine and checking the skill upgrades we got from the dungeon."

"You received such things? Skill upgrades, can they enhance our skills?"

"Probably, I think so."

The SSR synthesis machine and the SSR skill upgrade from the dungeon. The synthesis machine can mix two items, and the skill upgrade, from its name, seems to enhance skills.

I glanced at Estelle, thinking she might show off like when we reduced costs, but she just smiled back and didn't point at herself. She just kept smiling at me.

"You're not showing off this time?"

"No matter how much I want to, it's too important to choose skills."

Reducing costs is important, but skill upgrades are not that simple. She's making the right judgment. This makes me want to enhance her skills, but I can't.

For skill enhancements, Noelle, Estelle, and Luna are the main candidates. Cisaha hasn't used her skills yet, and there's no need to enhance them now. I don't have any skills because of my title change. Among these three, who should I choose?

Noelle's skill increases all her abilities, making her almost invincible, but she can't move for a while after it ends. Estelle's skill increases the power of her magic, allowing her to deal significant damage to enemies with high magic resistance and defense, but she feels unwell afterward, reducing the precision and power of her magic. Luna can perform high-damage single attacks in a short time, but the more she uses it, the more her bloodlust increases, leading to a loss of rationality.

They're all so powerful that I'm at a loss. Hmm... Should I enhance Noelle's skill? There's a possibility that the immobility after the skill ends might be reduced. If she can continue fighting after the skill, it would be a huge help. Estelle and the others also have after-effects, but they can still move, so they can endure.

"Alright, I'll choose Noelle this time. It might reduce the pain."

"That would be nice. It really hurts..."

She always cries in pain after using her skill. If it's that painful, it must be really bad. I hope it can be reduced...

So, I immediately selected the skill upgrade on my phone and targeted Noelle. Light overflowed from the phone and was absorbed into Noelle's body.

"How does it feel? Any changes?"

"Hmm... Not really, I don't feel any changes."

Noelle is checking by clenching and opening her hands and moving her body, but there don't seem to be any changes. I guess we won't be able to feel any changes until we use the skill. Let's check the status.

【Silver Aura☆2】

12 minutes of 3.2x all stats. Reuse time: 10 hours

"This is quite something... I wonder how high it will go in the end."

"But it still hurts to use... I want to strengthen it as soon as possible!"

"I want to get rid of the headache too, so I'd like to have it strengthened."

Checking Noelle's skill, the duration has increased, the stat boost has improved, and the reuse time has shortened. Just one enhancement made such a difference. I wonder what it will be like at max enhancement. This makes me want more skill upgrades.

"Shall we try it out now?"

"Sure, let's do it!"

Noelle squeezed her sides and shouted, and her body was enveloped in a white aura. Since the reuse time has increased and we have nothing else planned for today, I decided to check her skill. If we do it now, we can see what happens after the skill if we don't fight.

"Wow, this is Noelle's skill. It's amazing."

"Luna, it's the first time you're seeing it! Isn't it cool?"

"Yeah, it's awesome."

Luna is clapping and looking excited. Noelle, feeling praised, is proudly puffing out her chest. Using the skill seems to make her feel good, as she's always so energetic. Luna, who I thought would be cold, seems to like this. She's practically glowing with excitement.

After a while, we all watched Noelle as her skill wore off. Finally, the white light that was overflowing from her body subsided, and Noelle collapsed to the floor.

"It hurts, it hurts... Why is it like this..."

"You can't move, even though you're not doing anything."

"Are you okay, Noelle? The pain should be reduced now."

"It looked cool, but it's like a fire burning out."

Noelle is crawling on the floor, crying. Cisaha quickly rushed to her, lifted her upper body, and cast a healing spell. Luna, watching Noelle collapse, is saying something not so nice. Indeed, it does look like a sparkler burning out.

The first enhancement didn't make much of a difference. And the immobility after the skill seems to be unrelated to the movement. If she could just use the skill to attack and defend without moving, it would have been easier.

"Sorry, but please stay still today."

"Ugh... I shouldn't have used it..."

After Cisaha finished healing, I helped Noelle, who could move a little, to sit in a chair. I really feel bad for her. But, we had to try it to know.

"Next, let's try the synthesis machine."

"I was actually looking forward to this. Mixing equipment to enhance it sounds fun."

"I don't think it's that convenient."

I placed the synthesis machine, a white box, in the corner of the room and decided to try mixing something. The front part has a black panel, which seems to display something. Hmm, let's try putting something in randomly.

First, I decided to put in an R-rank greatsword and boots that I don't mind losing. When I opened the white box, there was a divider in the middle, allowing items to be placed on either side. The items were clearly larger than the box, but when I put the greatsword on the left side, it turned into particles of light and filled the left side of the box. Then, I put the boots on the right side, and they also turned into particles of light and filled the right side.

Is this ready? Let's close the lid and see.

"Huh? It's not starting?"

"Brother, there's something displayed here."

The box didn't move at all. When I looked at the black panel as Estelle pointed out, it said, "These materials cannot be synthesized." It seems these two items can't be mixed.

After trying various combinations, I finally got the black panel to display, "Do you want to synthesize? Yes, No," when I put in a greatsword and a stinger's venom needle from the gacha. I imagine the result will be a venomous greatsword.

Then, it asked, "Do you want to prevent the disappearance of the equipment by consuming one magic stone? Yes, No." Hmm? Prevent disappearance... one magic stone!?

What is this? If it fails, the equipment will disappear!?

No, that can't be. It can't be that unreasonable.

I chose No, and the synthesis machine started. It shook for a while, then stopped with a "ding." After that, the black panel displayed:

"Failed. The equipment will disappear."

"Wha!? It really disappeared!?"

Surprised by the display, I opened the box, and the light inside had disappeared. Oh... Not only the equipment, but the materials are gone too.

"It disappears if it fails... But, it can be prevented, right?"

"But, consuming one magic stone for each attempt is a bit painful."

Indeed, preventing disappearance is possible, but as Estelle said, consuming one magic stone per attempt is quite a cost. Moreover, it doesn't increase the success rate.

"It's better than disappearing."

"If we try to synthesize UR items, preventing disappearance is a must."

Luna and Cisaha also agree that preventing disappearance is essential. I understand the importance, but I hesitate to consume magic stones.

To understand how the synthesis machine works and what the results might be, I decided to keep mixing my Excalibur with the stinger's venom needle. The magic stone for preventing disappearance only applies to the original equipment, and the monster's material disappears with each attempt.

After 14 attempts, the black panel finally displayed, "Success," and the stats of the synthesized Excalibur appeared.

――――――

●Excalibur☆29

Attack +3290

Action Speed +190%

Status Effect: Poison (Small)

――――――

"14 magic stones, and it's still weak."

"Don't say it's weak! We finally succeeded!"

"It would have been better if it was Behemoth's horn."

Damn, I didn't expect it to take this long to succeed...

Well, at least we know the success rate is low. I had 60 magic stones left from the dungeon rewards, so 14 is still manageable.

But, if it was Behemoth's horn, it would have been better. Since the materials disappear with each attempt, I can't mix rare items from monsters casually.

I was hoping for a significant enhancement before the escort mission, but it seems it's not possible for now.