(95)
＜ 16. Prisoner and Hero (2) ＞
“ It ‘s done. Have a look .”
The blacksmith held out a card to Andrea with a rough hand full of calluses. Andrea takes the card and examines it carefully .
‘[ Unique] Summon Marco ++ (3 cost): Summons Marco, an elite soldier from Helios .’
‘Marco Summon’, which was a normal card with a plain white border, has been transformed into a unique card with an impressive pink border .
In the illustration drawn by Marco, the background changed from a wilderness to a field at sunset, and the posture changed to one holding a hammer on the shoulder. Compared to the way he wielded a spear like a jobber, he looked pretty cool .
The method suggested by the blacksmith was to reconstruct the card from scratch. Not in haste like Arpan, but like other cards that have already been made, by matching the appropriate grade, standard, and cost .
“ In the first place, the card’s rating was too undervalued compared to the summon’s potential. Didn’t you want your summons to be too strong for a normal rank ?”
“ I did .”
“ It’s all because that goat-headed guy doesn’t have eyes to see. If you make a person into a card, what if you make it your own without looking at it properly? Arpan, I’ve never really liked that bastard …”
The blacksmith had also heard the story of how Marco became a card. He broke Arpan’s gossip for a long time with a sullen expression. Andrea carefully cut off her words as she thought that if she waited for a while, she would continue to talk endlessly .
“ Then, what specific things have changed ?”
“ Since your rank has risen, you will be able to use more unique skills. Normal grade summons can only use one skill, but unique grade can use up to three. I don’t know exactly, but it’s probably a skill linked to hammer mastery …”
It was somewhat predictable, but still surprising. Reinforcing a summon card usually only increases the skill level, but there was no case where the number of skills increased. It was possible because it was a rebuilding that raised the ratings .
Andrea asked again .
“ So, is it possible to enhance the 3rd level now ?”
“ It might be possible, but I don’t recommend doing it right now .”
“ Why ?”
The blacksmith paused for a moment. He was hesitant to say anything. Receiving Andrea’s urging gaze, he reluctantly opened his mouth .
“ You know what? If the 1st and 2nd stages of the summon are what the summon has experienced at some point, then the 3rd stage is the ideal appearance the summon thinks of itself .”
“…”
“ Other summons in a dungeon, where the only thing on their mind is battle, will take on the most powerful form they can imagine, but… I can’t quite figure out what form a real human from outside the dungeon will take. Because human desires are diverse besides wanting to be strong .”
“… Does that mean that the battle could turn out to be unfavorable ?”
“ Dungeons are in the environment, so the probability of that is low. However, unexpected changes may occur. Either lose your humanity, which is not helpful in battle, or overwork yourself for a certain goal …”
“…”
” I guess it’s best not to enhance it until we know for sure what the ideal person wants .”
The blacksmith shook his hands and grabbed the hammer again. I was about to finish what I was doing. He gave me all the help and advice he could give me. From now on, it was a matter for these challengers to decide for themselves .
Andrea raised her forehead and fell into thought. Andrea didn’t even know that there was such a setting for strengthening summon cards. I was thinking of just going to relax and leave, but I was faced with an unexpected challenge .
‘ What is the ideal self Marco wants… ?’
Judging from my experiences with Marco, it seems unlikely that he would want to be cruel or unkind .
However, it was possible that he changed to overwork himself for a certain goal. Didn’t he plan to cross the ocean eating human flesh to find his daughter ?
‘ If Marco can escape the dungeon by working hard on himself, that’s enough. Because it’s a body that can’t die… But I’m already with the daughter I want to meet so much… sh*t, come to think of it, do I have to keep hiding the fact that Tricia is Marco’s daughter? My head hurts .’
As I thought about it, my thoughts jumped in the wrong direction, which made my headache even more painful. In the end, Andrea put aside other things and decided not to strengthen until she knew Marco’s ‘ideal figure’ as the blacksmith said. It turned around and was the starting point .
‘ Still, even if the number of skills increased as the grade went up, it should be considered that the intended purpose has been achieved. That’s something that can’t be obtained even with reinforcement .’
Andrea thanked the blacksmith and left the blacksmith with the others. The blacksmith glanced back at the trail they had left .
For a while, there were only routine challengers, but he was a very unique person, both in person and in his story. A feeling that will be remembered for a long time .
However, it is forbidden to think of anything else when tapping iron. The blacksmith washed away his thoughts and swung the hammer again with a clear mind. As has always been the case for hundreds of years, the sound of metal clashing with metal echoed in the forge for a long time .
*
“ How are you feeling, Marco? Do you feel that something has changed ?”
“ Um, well? It seems like my body has become a little lighter… but I’m a bit confused about whether it’s because of my mood or if it’s really like that .”
Marco looked at himself in bewilderment. He was worried that something was going wrong by making the card completely new. However, when I didn’t feel any change, let alone a problem, I became curious .
“… are you really making a new card ?”
“ Um… yes. Well, in any case, physically, there seems to be no significant change. But since skills have been added, you should be able to use them someday .”
In fact, Andrea did not know what skills were added and how to use them. I had no choice but to hope that it was discovered by chance, like Hammer Mastery, or that Marco mastered it on his own .
The entire party agreed not to inform Marco about the 3rd level reinforcement. It was a decision made because there was a great deal of concern about causing unnecessary confusion and worry to Marco .
But Andrea decided to keep talking about who Marco wanted to be. Even though the forge of fate had passed, the ‘brilliant reinforcement ticket’ was still in my arms. Of course, I wouldn’t use it recklessly, and I was really sure there would be no problem, and I was thinking of using it only when I couldn’t escape the crisis .
‘ It would be best not to have such a situation at all …’
Anything could happen in a dungeon, so it was futile to hope for that .
In any case, the party continued onward, picking up trifles about blacksmiths and giants. After walking for a while, I soon came across a stairway extending straight up. Emilia opened the map to see what was up there and the road was like this .
“ Eh …?”
Emilia’s eyes widened. She sprinted towards Andrea .
“ Andrea, what sign is this ?”
Emilia’s finger was pointing at the mark on the 65th floor. A picture of two swords colliding. Unlike other signs that outline what kind of event it is, there was no explanation attached .
‘… Ah, I forgot this .’
Come to think of it, it’s already time to reach here. Unlike the other floors that are randomly assigned, the 65th floor was a floor where fixed events occurred, just like the 25th floor of the village .
Coincidentally, Emilia asked well. Andrea decided to let everyone know about the next floor .
“ This is a sign that means ‘war of forces’. The event on the 65th floor is fixed with this. Therefore, it is an event that all challengers must pass through .”
“What is ‘ war of forces’ ?”
“ Hmm… To make it easier to understand, you can think of it as doing what we did in the arena on a larger scale with a specific faction .”
‘ Force Battle’ is an event in which challengers are assigned to different camps and fight against the opposing camp with soldiers from that camp. The common point with the arena event is that you can only pass the floor by defeating the opposing faction, and the difference is that a substantial reward is given to the winning side .
In addition to that, there was one more important feature in ‘World War’ .
“… The battlefield of the power war does not cover the place and time. Inside a dungeon, outside a dungeon, past, present, future… You can land anywhere on a battlefield that will remain in history. We can fight against the Helios army in Khalisis, which is about to be destroyed, or we can fight against the regular army as a rebel in the Kleitos civil war .”
The setting is like that, but there were a total of 15 battlefields that actually appeared in ‘Faction War’. And the information about those places was already crammed into Andrea’s head. What kind of force is how strong and how many heads, what strategy is used and how it controls the terrain …
‘ Even if there is a difference between easy and difficult, there is no force that is impossible to win. As long as I know everything about the battlefield .’
Andrea was confident. Other challengers could be a variable, but he was confident that he would not be pushed back even with pure combat power. It was a floor that could easily be passed if one was not vigilant .
The party was a bit anxious at the thought of not knowing where they would fall, but they were relieved after hearing Andrea tell them to trust only themselves. After lightly explaining the possible battlegrounds, I quickly climbed all the stairs and reached the top .
A moderately spacious vacant lot, scattered various insignias. I could see a large stone altar behind a flower bed full of rusty swords instead of flowers .
Above it is a portal that spins with sparks. It was the entrance to the battlefield .
Trisha led the way and entered the portal first. The moment she stepped into the portal, Trisha suddenly disappeared as if she had been sucked in with a short scream. Not knowing why, the party looked at each other’s faces for a while.
I had no choice but to follow her in order to see why Trisha was like that. Emilia, Marco and finally Andrea .
As soon as Andrea took a step, she realized why Trisha was screaming .
The exit of the portal was floating in the air, not on the ground. It’s pretty high too. Of course, Andrea, who had stepped on the ground knowing that there would be land, plummeted to the floor .
boom !
” Ugh, damn it …”
Fortunately, there were no major injuries, but fortunately that was the end. Andrea looked up and looked around. And soon, I couldn’t help but frown in embarrassment .
It was the first time I had ever seen the surroundings. The low plains, the not-so-high mounds, and the coniferous forest next to them, none of the battlefields that Andrea knew had such a scenery .
‘ What, is it that a new battlefield has been added …?’
After thinking about that for a while, Andrea was once again greatly perplexed for another reason. A gloomy atmosphere that flows through the cool breeze. I arrived first and couldn’t see my colleagues who should be around .
Marco, Trisha, and Emilia priests. I called in turn, but no answer came from anywhere. Even when I looked behind the trees or climbed up the mound, I couldn’t see a figure, let alone a shadow .
Andrea washed her face dry. At this point, I couldn’t help but admit it. For the first time since we started traveling together, the group completely separated from each other .
“ After … ”
He took a deep breath and hurriedly moved on. In order to figure out what the hell happened, Diligent had to sell his feet .
＜ 16. Prisoner and Hero (2) ＞ End