abcnovels
Chapter 137: Sodom
Chapter 137: Sodom
Chapter 137: Sodom
So, regarding our general location…
We had appeared in the general vicinity of the Dungeon, a little way off from where Faltown’s south entrance would be.
Although we had been blasted back five thousand years, the landscape, especially the mountain range, was somewhat familiar.
If we head north from here, we could get ourselves to the location that would later become Faltown.
Now I wonder, could that be the location of the ‘Sodom’ place that Giorno had mentioned? I’ve long forgotten most of the locations from this era, too… I had brought up T’oued when I’d lied to Giorno just because I knew that it existed in this era. I must say, it was fortunate for us that Lylia hadn’t pressed the matter further back then.
So, this Lylia lady… ever since she’d told me that I was ‘so weak’, she’d been walking in front of me, without turning around to look at any of us for a second.
And to my side was the supposed Hero, Giorno, yawning as we carelessly strutted along.
Which reminds me, when I’d looked at them with the Appraisal Glasses, I’d managed to see their whole statistic sheets. Over the past month, I’d been working to upgrade the Glasses’ capabilities, and had planned to test it on T?s first. It seemed to have worked out well, though, so that was totally worth it.
Well, actually, at first I’d thought it was broken because of how… broken the numbers were, but when I saw those two in action, I knew for sure that it was no error.
Another point of interest was that, at the present, those two were Holy Warrior ‘Candidates’. I wonder what’s up with that? Does that imply the existence of other candidates that could take their place?
“Say, Poer… It’s quite surprising to see a human like you use magic in battle, especially in this day and age.”
“You think so? Haha…”
“Considering how much information one needs to process in order to use magic, I’ve always thought it would be better left to the Elves, what with their naturally long life span allowing them to better cultivate their knowledge. You must have studied a great deal, seeing how you were able to process so much information during the battle back there.”
Right, the Elves do have an approximate lifespan of two to three thousand years.
That would indeed make them a better fit for handling magic, even though the art of magic itself was humanity’s invention.
Also, the Elves in this era… they have yet to be labeled as Dark Elves, just as I thought. According to T?s, they should already be called that by this time, though… had he gotten his facts wrong?
I’m half in doubt about this, but it would also be better to assume that magecraft isn’t a thing yet in this time period. Well, at our skill level, I probably would need to rely on it to survive, but would it be safe to use it in front of those two?
“There it is. Sodom.”
As Lylia looked into the distance, I peeked over her shoulder and focused my eyes to get a visual of it as well.
After a whole day of walking, running, and fighting, we were finally here.
But this place is, well… I did see this coming, but still…
“Master, isn’t that…”
“Yeah…”
The location is just too good to not build a town at, huh?
Its structure and people were completely different, but it was indeed located exactly where Faltown would be.
“Well well, the place is looking dreary as ever.”
“Not that I care. Besides, we can’t play Poer’s bodyguards forever, so let’s hurry and get ourselves over there.”
“Aye aye, ma’am.”
This Holy Warrior Candidates bantered, one acting strictly, the other one not much so.
I couldn’t do anything but smile along. Same case for Pochi, I’m sure.
The fact that Giorno didn’t deny Lylia’s statement implied that he was in agreement with her, too.
Damn it, I’ve got to increase my powers as much as possible while I’m here. There must be a reason that we got sent back to the past. Yes, no doubt about it.
Not that I didn’t want to go back, but while I’m searching for a way to do that, I might as well train myself up, too.
Get stronger here, then bring the solution to our new powers back to the future. That’s what I think I’m supposed to do, at least.
“Hehehehe, Master… ‘playing your bodyguards,’ she said! That really cracked me up!”
Oh? Isn’t this supposed to be the part where she’s in agreement with me?
??????????
We thanked those two, then thanked them again… and then thanked them some more before finally parting from them at the entrance to Sodom.
Although Pochi had suggested that we went together with them, we had our reasons not to.
Sure, it might have been better to stick close to then, but we’d need to be as strong as them to actually consider that. After all, if we hindered them in any way, history might be changed.
That’s why we must go back to our basics.
Then again, with there being so many powerful monsters around, is the town’s security forces even doing all right?
…That was what I had in mind at first, but it turned out I was wrong to worry. Through my Appraisal Glasses, I could see that the people stationed at the gates, men and women, were Level 180 on average – they were on a whole different world from us.
I don’t know if they’re a group of ridiculously powerful people, or if these kinds of numbers are the norm for this day and age, but I reckon I’ll find that out soon enough.
Pochi and I headed to the Adventurers’ Guild of this era. Its building was technically old, but still looked fresh. That’s right – I’ll go in and ascertain myself of the abilities of this era’s adventurers.
Heh heh heh, how clever of me, if I say so myself.
“…Hmm?”
This scary man… seems to be the receptionist.
As soon as I made my first step inside, I was welcomed at the same instant with conspicuous wrinkles and a burst of murderous intent – now that was something I’d probably never experienced before.
“Who the hell are you? New face ’round here?”
“I’m Poer, a mage. I’m here to sign up as an adventurer.”
Once I introduced myself, the man answered with a long, scrutinizing glare.
He’s scanning from the bottom of my feet to the top of my head – kinda creepy.
“Hmph.”
He turned away from me and instead focused on Pochi, then did the same thing.
Pochi puffed up with pride, seemingly happy that she was being looked at. So NOW she likes to be the center of attention, huh?
“What’s her name?”
“She’s Shiro?”
“…Hmm. So you signed the Contract with this… animal, in this time and place. Strange dude. Do you really have what it takes to be an adventurer?”
In other words, he was asking why I hadn’t formed a contract with a monster or a more powerful beast instead. The stereotypical type to judge a Familiar’s capabilities by their archetype, I see.
Pochi seemed ticked off for a bit there, but didn’t make a fuss about it. After all, this was a regular occurrence, in a way. There will still be those who discriminate against Familiars in our original time, too. Pochi understood that well, and had come to terms with it.
“Bah, pain in the ass. Anyway, put your hand on that.”
The man signaled with his chin, prompting me to look where he pointed.
In front of the counter, there was a small source of powerful arcane energy… a Spell Circle. Wait, no, isn’t this…?
“Hurry it up. I’m a busy man.”
Seeing that he wanted to get things over with, I proceeded to do as told.
There wasn’t anything like this in the future. Some kind of special ritual, perhaps?
Suddenly, my body radiated a golden aura, which then swirled off slowly, wrapping around me.
The man, seeing that, told Pochi to follow suit, and so she did.
Golden auras wrapped our bodies… what could this be?
The man, seeming to be waiting for something, tapped his fingers on the counter.
Eventually, the aura around me dispersed. And at the same time, a certain sound chimed in my head.
…Huh, what’s this?
“No way! This is… a level up?!”
“You from the sticks or what, huh, Poer? First time goin’ up a level? Everyone and their mommy use this thing to level up, you should know that.”
“Well, I thought it was supposed to just happen when I kill a monster, so…”
“Yeah, that only works up to a hundred. Any higher than that, and you need to touch a Limit Breakthrough Craft Circle to get your level to show.”
“What?! THIS is the Limit Breakthrough Craft Circle?! How is it here-“
I was busy being surprised, but then another voice snapped me out – it was Pochi, standing beside me, her aura dispersing.
“MASTERRRRRRR?! THE LEVEL UP FANFARE IN MY HEAD!! MAKE IT STOPPPPP!!”
“W-what’s going on?!”
“Hey, you can’t just be surprised by everything.”
The receptionist man shrugged his shoulders as if to express his exasperation, and then proceeded to explain,
“You’ve been killing a lot of enemies ever since you got to Level 100, right? This isn’t anything unusual.”
Oh, right… Pochi has been stuck at Level 100 for a long time now.
From the implications of what the guy had said, now that the cap was released, all her accumulated EXP must have been factored in at once…
“How’d you two even survive out here at the Front-Front Lines at just Level 100, anyway?”
“Front… Front Lines?”
“Lemme guess, you just got up to Level 101, huh? Can’t believe you’re here so early… you sure you have a skill to keep yourself alive? Hahahaha!”
“……”
“Oh, it’s stopped now…”
“And it looks like you’ve been working her so damn hard, newbie… Try not to get killed in your sleep! HAHAHAHAHA!”
The receptionist man let out a hearty laugh, prompting the others in the Guild to assault my ears with laughter as well.
But that didn’t matter. Things that did matter were…
One: Magecraft already existed in this time period.
Two: The Limit Breakthrough magecraft was a fixed-position type in the form of an ultra-small Craft Circle, created by means yet unknown to me.
Three: …I have… no, WE have-
“Master… what’s my level right now…? I must have heard that fanfare in my head repeat about thirty times now…!”
NAME: POCHI
TITLES: Advanced Familiar; The Powerful; Wolf Saint; Watchwolf; Mage; One Who Requires Earplugs; Godparent; Sweet Tooth; The One Raised by the Fool; The Swift; The Strong
LV: 132
HP: 5,611
MP: 1,498
EXP: 29,816,310
SPECIAL SKILLS:
- Breath Attack (Zenith)
- Air Claw
- Gigantification
- Tempest
- Fortify Strength
- Light Body
- Fortify Resilience
- Attack Magic (Elementary)
- Recovery Magic (Intermediate)
- Support Magic (Elementary)
“It’s… 132…”
“132?!”
NAME: ASLEY
TITLES: The Eternal Fool; The Polarizing; Hermit Candidate; Great Mage; Advanced Alchemist; Staff Master; Six Archmages (Tentative); Honored Teacher; Rank S; Top Student; Papa; No Guts; SS Slayer; Guardian Mage (Tentative); The Strong; The Swift; Below Familiar
LV: 101
HP: 3,129
MP: 35,277
EXP: 10,988,401
SPECIAL SKILLS:
- Attack Magic (Skilled)
- Support Magic (Skilled)
- Recovery magic (Skilled)
- Purification (Skilled)
- Fortify Strength
- Fortify Resilience
- Tempest
- Light Body
We have been in this era for a mere two days. Two. Days.
And we’ve already found the Limit Breakthrough craft that we’d been searching so hard for.