WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Copy Skills with Affinity! ◈
Chapter 68: Taming (3)
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Sigmund Helmut was a man at the very bottom of the Imperial nobility’s hierarchy.
Power among nobles was usually measured by two things: the rank of one’s title, and the amount of material wealth one actually possessed.
And if someone had no money and an ambiguous title, they could easily be despised and sink to the depths of life, noble or not.
Unfortunately, Helmut was a man who had refused to compromise with that reality.
“So you enjoyed putting on airs despite having nothing to your name?”
“...Could you call me a true noble with a bit of romance left in him?”
The other person gave a derisive snort and dismissed Helmut’s words outright.
“As if spending your entire fortune on gambling, women, and drugs wasn’t enough. You couldn’t even stop before you ended up on the verge of having loan sharks rip out your guts. What kind of romance is that?”
“...”
“Would ‘the aesthetics of vermin’ be an accurate description?”
“...”
...That hit painfully hard.
Even so, Helmut held back his anger.
This person was his client. If he bit them because he was angry, no lifeline would descend into his hopeless situation.
“So, what would you have me do, sir?”
Still, it would be wrong to say Helmut had no useful qualities whatsoever.
At the very least, he was quick-witted, cunning, and occasionally displayed a remarkable talent for deceiving others.
The reason he was still alive despite his disastrous lifestyle was that he had the skill to tell clever lies wherever he went.
And the task a client would entrust to such a man was simple.
“There’s something I need you to do involving Lionheart’s husband.”
“...Pardon?”
Helmut’s voice was filled with alarm at the enormous name that had suddenly come up.
“Excuse me, but I’m merely some insignificant baron. If you tell me to deal with someone as important as Lionheart out of nowhere, that’s a little...”
“Not Lionheart. Her husband.”
With that, a photograph dropped onto the table before him.
It showed a fine-featured man with the look of someone who had been burdened by exhaustion all day.
“...Ah...”
Helmut’s voice carried clear dissatisfaction.
Even if it was not Lionheart herself, the job honestly looked far too dangerous.
“And being on the verge of having loan sharks rip out your guts isn’t dangerous?”
“...”
...This person really needed to stop hitting him where it hurt.
“Don’t worry. I’m not asking you to do anything dangerous.”
With that, the client explained the task.
“You’ll forgive all my debts if I handle it?”
“Of course.”
Only such a casual reply came from the person who had made such an unbelievable proposal.
His debts were not some trifling sum. Some of the places he had borrowed from were quite dangerous, too.
They must have piled up like a mountain...
“...Honestly, it’s a difficult offer to believe. Though I don’t have much choice.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. At least give me some proof that I’ll receive such compensation once this is over...”
Before he could finish, Helmut saw the plaque slammed down on the table and fell silent.
Stamped into it was the seal of a certain organization.
Even someone at the very bottom of noble society like Helmut could not possibly fail to recognize it.
Anyone who had ever relied on the underworld, even once, would know that organization.
“...The Merchant of Death personally commissioned this?”
“If you can’t believe it even after seeing this, forget it. I hope you can breathe without your organs.”
“No, no, it’s not that I don’t believe you.”
Helmut spoke with a hollow laugh.
In any case, saying such a thing to someone who had gone this far was not merely rude. It bordered on sacrilege.
Then he asked with another laugh.
“If this man is merely some live-in son-in-law, why would someone so important take an interest in him?”
The other person remained silent for a long while before finally speaking in a serious tone.
“...I’m simply playing a little joke on someone I like.”
That sentence.
“To see whether he’s someone I can remain close with from now on.”
It spread coldly through the dark room and lingered there.
▣
“This is that magical beast from before?”
On the train returning to the Imperial Capital, Noel looked down at Aiden’s feet with fascination.
What appeared at a glance to be a medium-sized dog sat there quietly, wearing an unpleasant expression.
It was Reaver, having reduced its own size. Anyone would probably react much as Noel did if they compared its current appearance to the time when it moved like a living tank, grinding everything in its path to pieces.
It would not have been strange to be shocked by its appearance alone, but thinking about it, it was not that strange.
Reaver had once used the absurd technique of making its enormous body entirely invisible.
Aiden had been sure it was not completely incapable of manipulating abilities, but he had not expected it to have the talent to shrink itself like this.
She had tried poking its cheek once, but immediately pulled her hand away when Reaver growled as though it would bite off her finger.
[Don’t touch me. I’ll kill you-]
Of course, Reaver became quiet the moment Aiden smacked its head and glared at it.
It seemed its understanding of the hierarchy had been firmly established after last night...
“It can talk?!”
“...”
Aiden answered awkwardly as Noel paid more attention to that than Reaver threatening to kill her.
“It can, strangely enough.”
“Ever since I was little, a talking dog has been my dream pet!”
Aiden quietly closed his mouth as he watched Noel’s eyes shine with delight.
...Then Noel began vigorously petting the growling Reaver with both hands, leaving him even more speechless.
Reaver looked somewhat pitiful as it stayed still, unable to defy Noel now that the hierarchy had been established.
“...What exactly did you do to tame it?”
It was a rare sight indeed, Katia rather than Noel asking an entirely sensible question, but Aiden could not give a proper answer.
It would be better to say nothing rather than tell them what Reaver had gone through in the Mindscape last night.
By the end of the training, Reaver had nearly lost its mind, to the point that Aiden had shown it mercy.
-If you listen to me from now on, I’ll let you skip training for days at a time.
-Senior, go easy on it. This kid’s more mentally fragile than I thought.
...And this was the result.
-System Log
▶ The Affinity of the target, “Soul Reaver,” increases.
▶ Your Bond Level increases!
▶ You can copy 1 skill!
“...”
How hard had it been for Reaver’s Affinity to increase just because Aiden said it could skip training for a few days?
It had even been called mentally weak.
‘If I was given it, I might as well use it...’
Still, being put through all that after stubbornly resisting was entirely Reaver’s own fault.
Whatever the case, Aiden was not the type to refuse what he was given. If there was a skill he could copy right away, he should make use of it.
The skills he reviewed through Reaver’s system window had simple but straightforward effects.
In short, they enhanced basic stats. Things like making the body tougher or increasing strength.
The problem was that, perhaps because they were skills copied from a nonhuman target, they came with various penalties that made them difficult for Aiden to use.
They were still straightforward and simple abilities that could produce immediate results, but honestly, with only these...
‘They’re a little lackluster.’
As befitted a top-tier magical beast whose greatest weapon was its physical ability, the skills were focused in that direction. They would help Aiden, whose basic stats were lacking, to some extent, but they were not enough on their own.
After all, Aiden had survived this long by making up for his lacking base stats with the effects of overwhelming skills.
They were good, but not exceptionally so.
Then there was another option to consider.
‘Should I look for something that can create synergy?’
Countless real battles had already proven that it was more efficient to combine various skills than to use just one.
He still had a fair number of unused skill-copy tickets. He could find plenty of things that worked well together.
One he had taken from the Pontiff. And one he had obtained from the Aslan Ducal House, from Lady Liza-
‘...Huh?’
Aiden’s expression twisted as he scanned Liza Aslan’s skill window.
He had found a skill he had never expected.
‘Why does she have this?’
After reading through the skill description, Aiden let out a hollow laugh.
-Skill Info
◆ Beastification
Unleashes the abilities of the magical beast dormant within your body. Your race temporarily changes to “magical beast,” and if you possess abilities related to magical beasts, their effects are amplified.
...Well.
Aiden guessed that it had appeared because Liza was the first case to reach Beastification and then return to being human. After she was injected with the Beastification drug, Aiden had cured her and returned her to human form.
And if he could copy this...
It meant he could make the most of the skills he particularly wanted from Reaver.
-Skill Info
◆ Ancient Strength
Magical beasts at the top of the ecosystem after devouring other magical beasts all possess tremendous physical strength by default. Soul Reaver stands out even among such magical beasts, and it also knows how to amplify that strength.
★ Your race is not “magical beast.” The effect is reduced by at least half!
Right.
If he combined them like this, it would not merely be an ordinary set of simple skills. Depending on how he used them, they could produce powerful synergy and give him a chance to turn the tables in a single stroke.
Even simple strength was an ability with countless applications.
The saying that a poor head made the body suffer also worked in reverse. A truly good body was a powerful weapon capable of making up for even a truly bad head.
And as for the other skills...
‘The Pontiff’s skills...’
He could use them when the need arose later. The problem was that every one of that person’s skills was too advanced.
There were far too many that required prerequisites. There was little point in copying them immediately.
After reviewing all that information, Aiden sighed inwardly and rubbed his face.
Even with only that much, what he had gained while progressing through Chapter 2 was highly satisfactory.
He had strengthened himself, and he had gained something akin to a new mount...
Even so, he could not call the situation entirely satisfactory.
As always, he was not given much time.
‘The time remaining until Chapter 3 begins...’
Considering how tightly paced the original game had been until the coup, the final act of the Imperial Capital Rift, he would not be given much leeway.
At most, perhaps a few days to a week.
Considering the absolute amount of time and his progress so far, it might seem like he had a fair amount of breathing room. But when he considered the scale of what was coming and how much he needed to prepare, it was unbearably tight.
‘What should I do first...?’
Before then, he had to force as much growth as possible. What was the fastest way to become stronger?
As Aiden rubbed his chin and began to lose himself in thought.
-System Message
▶ An emergency event occurs!
▶ A bonus quest has appeared before the main event.
Apparently.
The system window intended to make his concerns easier to resolve.
-Quest Info
▲ Bonus Quest!
▶ A target who is already favorably disposed toward you will soon make contact.
▶ This is an opportunity to raise the target’s Affinity far more than before. Respond well!
▶ An event related to “Ganesha Aldebaran” will occur soon!
What was this now?
Aiden blinked quietly as he read through the window.
Well, he did not know anything about it, but...
‘...It doesn’t seem bad?’
It really did not.
No matter how he looked at it, there was nothing about it that felt bad.
No, someone was practically walking right up to him and begging to have his skill copied. What could possibly be bad about that?
The problem was...
‘But Ganesha?’
The name was quite familiar.
‘Why would he be interested in me?’
Ganesha Aldebaran.
Commonly known as the Merchant of Death. A wealthy magnate of the continent’s underworld.
And if he added one bit of information that probably only Aiden knew.
‘Wasn’t he difficult to encounter even in the game?’
Ganesha was a special NPC who only appeared after certain conditions were met.
“...”
Aiden considered the other person’s information one point at a time, then rubbed his chin.
‘...You know.’
This was probably.
A jackpot.
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