Chapter 36 - Present and New Resolve

I was dazed for a while even after Rifreya left.

She saw my appearance.

Someone that knows about me being able to use Dark Spirit Abilities.

According to Grapefull, there are no users of Dark Spirit Abilities around here. She has joined a variety of parties, so it must be true.

We are in a fantasy world.

There’s a chance I will fall into a witch hunt situation.

(Damn it… What should I do…?) (Hikaru)

Can’t be helped even if I think about it.

I have no choice but to believe that that girl Rifreya will keep my secret.

One other thing I could do would be to live in hiding even more.

…At worst, I can leave the city, but I want that to be my last resort.

“[Darkness Fog].” (Hikaru)

I once again cast a dark fog and shut myself inside of it.

I sat on the ground and looked at the loot I got this time around.

“Chaotic Spirit Stone…huh.” (Hikaru)

This is my second time getting this.

Different from the other monochromatic Spirit Stones, this one is colorful, releasing a mystifying light, and it reminds me of an opal.

My [Create: Undead] needs Chaotic Spirit Stones or Dark Spirit Stones. Meaning that if I use this stone, I can summon that Mantis as an undead.

“Let’s save it…” (Hikaru)

Having the means to overturn a bad situation like being surrounded by monsters can help me maintain composure.

I don’t know if it would work on the 3rd and 4th Floor I haven’t seen yet, but at the very least, there’s no monster stronger than the Mantis in the 2nd Floor.

It would surely give me a pretty penny if I were to sell this, but this time around, I got a lot of orc Spirit Stones. I will be able to live with this for a while. I might even have the leeway to buy equipment.

I killed some time for a while, and crawled out of the dungeon in fear that Rifreya might be hiding somewhere.

I wasn’t that long in the dungeon today, so it is still late in the night.

I returned to the inn and took out the Gem Orb, which I got before I saved Rifreya, from the Shadow Bag.

Grapefull said that this takes form outside the dungeon.

I was thinking this while watching the gem I left on top of the table, and that thing that only looked like a glass ball began to change form all flabbily.

After around 10-20 seconds, it finished changing into a different shape.

(Seriously…? This fits me way too well…) (Hikaru)

The gem had changed into a jet black gauntlet.

The treasures that you obtain in the dungeon are apparently given to that specific individual by the Divine Beast. I don’t know if they are the Gods of dungeons or whatever, but that means that the Divine Beast has given me an item that fits me.

This is hard to believe, but I see. With this, I can somewhat understand why a Divine Beast would be pissed from people stealing it.

I wanted to hide my skin areas as much as possible, but stuff like gloves were expensive, moreover, gauntlets were at a price that I definitely wouldn’t be able to buy, so I am honestly happy about this.

On top of that, this jet black gauntlet is a precious item that was made from several black metal plates and leather gloves. If I were to buy it normally, I might have needed gold at worst.

(I should try appraising it as well.) (Hikaru)

It is not everyday that I get a rare item.

I use 1 Crystal to do an Item Appraisal.

[Dark Night Gauntlet: A present of a Divine Beast. A jet black gauntlet made from special metal and leather that doesn’t reflect light. Even when the metal plates come in contact with each other, it doesn’t make a sound, so it is suitable for stealth. It is made of extremely light materials, so even weak people can use it as if it were a leather glove.]

(So cool…!) (Hikaru)

I tried equipping it right away, and it fit me perfectly as if it were order-made.

I see. Something as nice as this can show up in the 2nd Floor.

The stealing of treasures must have been rampant in the past.

I don’t know if this talk about angering the Divine Beast is true or not, but it is not hard to imagine there would be people who would envy the ones that get treasures.

I lie down on the bed with my Dark Night Gauntlet still on.

I am just worried about Rifreya speaking about me, but now that I think about it, this world doesn’t even have photos, so it shouldn’t be that easy to catch my trail.

Just thinking about how I have the option of leaving the city makes it easier for me.

Also, it is true that I saved her when she was about to be killed by the Mantis.

The fact that I managed to defeat a monster without feeling the laughs and the gazes made me feel lighter.

And so…it has been a while since I have been able to sleep soundly.

◇◆◆◆◇

I woke up just past noon. I stretched my body and opened the wooden window.

I am at a cheap inn that’s at a back alley, so there was a wall right in front. I couldn’t really say it was a nice scenery.

Even so, it is still a foreign country and an isekai, so I can manage to see a scenery that was different from my usual lifestyle, reminding me every time that I have come to a place that’s not on Earth.

“[Shadow Bag].” (Hikaru)

A jet black opening was made in my shadow as I chanted the name of the ability.

I stick my hand inside that, take out the things inside of it, and line them up at the bed.

Sometime somewhere, I should really ask about the treatment of the Dark Spirit Users.

It may be treated as a taboo art, and might be required by duty to be reported to the authorities if found.

We are talking about a medieval fantasy world after all. There’s no assurance that there’s no witch hunt-like practices like that.

It wouldn’t be strange for there to be people who think light is justice and darkness is evil…

“…I say all that, but suddenly leaving the city would be way too cautious.” (Hikaru)

What I brought out from the Shadow Bag was the Mallow Moon Silver Flower, the Barrier Stone, the Chaotic Spirit Stone (Mantis), dagger, rope…

I didn’t bring out the album of Nanami and just left it there.

I think about what I will be doing from now on as I spread out my belongings.

Defeating the Mantis served as a confidence boost for me.

When I was observing the explorer parties, I could tell that the difficulty would change quite a bit depending on if they could use Spirit Abilities.

Dark Spirit Abilities don’t have offensive abilities, so there’s the need to manage something for your battle style, but it should be decently safe to fight monsters depending on how you use it.

“My only weapon is this dagger. The rope is useable too… The Chaotic Spirit Stone will be my trump card. If things go south, I also have one Barrier Stone.” (Hikaru)

I don’t have anything that I would call my belonging, and in terms of weapons, I have a severe deficiency of them.

There’s no doubt I would be able to get good cash from selling the shining flower, but it is apparently a super rare item. If I sell this, I really should be prepared to bail from the city. In the first place, I don’t think that black market old man will buy the flower at the proper price.

He doesn’t seem to have the assets for that after all.

I sold all the equipment from the dead explorers.

I didn’t have any intentions of fighting, and I didn’t want to get bitten later with problems stemming from using the equipment of dead people.

It might have been fine to keep an extra dagger just in case, but weapons were what brought the most money, so in the end, I have no other weapon aside from the dagger I first bought.

The rope is something I bought with a Crystal to sleep on top of the trees.

I didn’t want to throw it away, so it was still rotting inside the Shadow Bag.

“For monsters that I can use a dagger against…it would be better to go to the 2nd Floor rather than to fight the skeletons.” (Hikaru)

I hardened my resolve to fight monsters.

I don’t feel the laughs and the gazes after that battle with the Mantis, so I saw a glimmer of hope that maybe…it is okay if it is inside the darkness?

I thought that my viewers would increase because of the matter with Rifreya, but there wasn’t as much change as I thought there would be.

At the very least, it is not a situation where a billion people are watching me…

Their interest most likely switched to other more interesting Chosen. They are not so free to watch a person that’s hiding in the darkness the whole time.

(If my viewers continue decreasing like this, I could return to my lifestyle as a single human being.) (Hikaru)

The things I left behind on Earth that I won’t be able to reach anymore…

About my parents, about my two little sisters…I am of course worried about those, but I don’t know what I can do about that.

My messages continued increasing when I checked the Status Board.

I don’t know if they are all insults.

My viewers have decreased, so there’s the chance that the ones that continue watching are actually rooting for me.

My little sisters are intelligent unlike me. Celica and Karen might have thought of a good idea.

But the only thing I can think of is to continue living.

An unknown country, an unknown world.

No address, no identification, and using a cheap inn as my base -a rootless lifestyle.

At the very least, become stronger.

That’s the only thing I can do right now.