WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Copy Skills with Affinity! ◈
Chapter 80: Remnants
──────
Every night, Aiden entered the Mindscape with Reaver, where Meyer beat the living daylights out of them.
Because of that, there was always a stark contrast in mood between Meyer and Aiden whenever they entered the Mindscape.
Meyer looked ready to vent every bit of stress he had accumulated that day on Aiden and Reaver. Aiden had reached the stage of resignation, while Reaver was still half-dead.
But today, the atmosphere was different from usual.
There were mainly two reasons for that.
The first was likely the object Aiden had brought with him, one Meyer had never seen before.
“What’s that?”
“I got something new. Looks good, right?”
It was not exactly the sort of thing one could boast about as though wearing a new outfit.
Meyer narrowed his eyes at the white cube floating near Aiden’s body.
After staring at it for a while, he spoke in an impressed voice.
“Did you make that? Liquid metal?”
“...You can tell?”
“You put some thought into it. Equipment that can change shape however you want? You can use it as both armor and a weapon. What did you mix?”
“Star iron and ectoplasm.”
“You sure picked materials that are hard to get. You put some work into it, huh?”
Praise like that rarely came from Meyer, but considering what the information window said, such a reaction was hardly surprising.
-Item Info
[ Aether ] [ Special Equipment ]
[ Liquid metal made by melting star iron and using ectoplasm as its power source. Its form can be set freely, and it is equipment specialized for Ability Imbuement. ]
▶ You can set its form however you wish!
▶ Ability conductivity is 100%. Imbuing an ability amplifies its power!
▶ Its durability is semi-permanent. Even if damaged, it repairs itself automatically!
< Unique Ability >
◆ Release
It specializes in attacks that fire the ability contained within the equipment outward. Attack power is greatly amplified when performing attacks shaped through Forming to launch an ability.
How should he put it?
This did not feel like a mere weapon. It would not be strange to call it an all-purpose tool.
The ability to make it take any form, whether a gun, sword, armor, or anything else, was an undeniable advantage that allowed him to respond flexibly to any situation. With a little creativity, it could do even more than that.
And the key was the unique ability it had gained because materials with such good compatibility had been combined.
‘...Attack power amplification.’
It had ended up as all-purpose equipment rather than a weapon, but its main purpose was still to attack others. As an added effect for that purpose, it was top-tier.
It was simple and intuitive, which also made it easy to use. For Aiden, whose specialty was forming abilities and firing them at his opponents, it was safe to say nearly every attack would be amplified.
‘A few good combinations are already coming to mind.’
And when paired with its ability to freely change form, dozens of ways to unleash those attacks tactically and strategically had already flashed through his mind.
‘...Come to think of it.’
There could not be many blacksmiths capable of handling star iron. There would be even fewer who could mix ectoplasm into it as well.
It was impressive that Ganesha had introduced him to such a person overnight.
Though Ganesha had added some unnecessary commentary.
-That’s right. They’re an exceptionally skilled artisan. A very versatile child. Shall I introduce you later?
-...
-It’ll be an interesting experience. I’ll definitely introduce you.
-...No, that won’t be necessary.
-I said I’ll introduce you, didn’t I?
Remembering that entire exchange made Aiden’s face twist.
There had been an ominous feeling that he really did not want to meet whoever Ganesha meant, but still...
[Getting smug over something so insignificant. How utterly pathetic. A weapon that could not even scratch me-]
“Want to die just ten more times today?”
[...]
“Now that I have new equipment, testing it on you doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Agreed?”
[...]
Aiden shut Reaver up before Reaver could add any more nonsense, and Meyer turned his head again.
There was a second reason the atmosphere was so different from usual.
“...By the way.”
Meyer spoke in a baffled voice.
“Who is this person?”
More precisely, he was looking at the woman standing beside Aiden with a bright smile.
Aiden rubbed his face and answered.
“Say hello, Senior. This is-”
“Hello!”
Before he could finish, the woman beside Aiden bowed deeply to Meyer.
She wore only light armor.
Long blond hair. Blue eyes. A scattering of freckles across her face.
But below that face were the marks of battle, enough that it was hard to find a place without scars. She looked like a veteran who had crossed the line between life and death countless times.
Yet unlike her battle-worn body, her smile shone like the sun, utterly innocent and carefree.
“I’m Teresa Adelaide! This man here killed me once!”
“...”
“When I came to, I was suddenly here, and I heard that the Dawn Knight was here too! I have an enormous amount of respect for you, Sir Dawn Knight!”
“...”
“Wow, I still vividly remember getting hit by something you made! It hurt so much I thought I would die! I actually died from it once more, too! Speaking of dying, it reminds me of when I first went into battle!”
The light went out of Meyer’s face.
It was certainly unexpected to see the Dawn Knight make such an expression, but no one could blame him. Anyone would react that way if they got swept up in that energy.
...Meyer was probably feeling exactly what Aiden had felt when he first spoke to Teresa.
“Wow, I really thought I was going to die then. I think what saved me was the training I had carved into my muscles through constant practice! So when Aiden here told me that there was training every night, I had no idea what was going on, but I immediately thought I wanted to try it too-”
“...”
Meyer’s gaze slowly turned to Aiden.
Teresa’s sentence continued endlessly beside him...
“Hey.”
“Yes.”
“Is this woman that Lord Protector or whatever?”
“Yes.”
The reason she was here was because of this.
-Item Info
[ Soul Connector: Revised ] [ Special Equipment ]
[ A bracelet containing the top-tier soul, “Dawn Knight.” You may enter the unique space, < Mindscape >, which can be opened by those who have reached a certain realm. Within that space, you can directly interact with spirits. ]
[ Due to the influence of “special ectoplasm,” you can call upon any desired spirit among those you have made contact with. However, the spirit must have previously manifested in the material realm. ]
▶ Selected spirit: “Lord Protector,” Teresa Adelaide
That was what happened.
To be honest, even Aiden had been startled after somehow bringing her back.
This was the person who had once tried to tear him apart without a second thought.
Even after being forcibly brought back from death like this, one would expect her to be confused. Yet she recognized, understood, and accepted the whole situation within minutes.
-Oh, so I died twice and came back twice?
-...Yes.
-And you killed me the second time?
-...Yes. I’m sorry about that-
-No! Thinking about it, I think I was trying to kill you then too! So neither of us owes the other anything, right?
...That was how it went.
Aiden had been trying to calm her down, only to become flustered himself.
Meyer looked at him with an uneasy expression, and Aiden quietly met his eyes.
“She’s a knight impressive enough to have a title?”
“...”
“Really?”
...Was it not natural to ask how she had been revived first?
Come to think of it, this person could be completely off the mark sometimes...
▣
One thing was certain. Teresa was as insane as her impossible-to-match energy.
“Ahahahaha! This is fun!”
“...”
Teresa went through the Mindscape’s famous attraction, “sparring while repeatedly dying,” once and burst into cheerful laughter.
Meyer and Reaver both looked horrified.
“You keep coming back even when you die? That’s the best! You could get strong incredibly fast!”
“Right?!”
“...”
...When they saw Aiden sincerely agreeing with her, their expressions soured even further.
They looked as though they had never expected him to get along so well with a lunatic like that...
And Teresa clearly was not saying it just to be polite. The window that appeared before Aiden proved it.
-System Message
▶ The Affinity of the target, “Teresa Adelaide,” increases.
▶ You can copy 1 skill.
Aiden blinked at the sight.
It was one thing that a skill could be copied through something like this.
‘Before, it definitely...’
He had increased Teresa’s Affinity before, but at the time he had received a large number of Points for buying potions instead of a skill.
Now, perhaps because they could somehow interact while she was “alive,” he could copy and use her skills.
‘...So even skills that normally cannot be copied can somehow be taken if I can interact with the target.’
He had learned something new.
His skill copying was possible with anything, as long as the conditions of being “alive” and “having emotions” were met.
In other words, as long as the necessary condition of “Affinity” was fulfilled, he could take a skill regardless of who the target was.
Even if the target had already died and been brought back.
“...”
Several ways to use that trait came to mind immediately.
There were a few targets whose skills he absolutely wanted to take.
Until now, they had been targets he could not even dream of approaching, so he had only thought about it. But now that he knew this was possible, he could afford to be a little more ambitious.
For example, that monster serving as the Pontiff’s guard knight in the Holy Empire...
“So, Aiden.”
As he was thinking that, Lady Teresa, whose body had been reduced to pulp alongside him and was now slowly regenerating, grinned and spoke.
They had not known each other for long, yet she was already calling him by name so familiarly. Her incredible ability to get along with people struck him anew.
“You let me do something this fun, so I’ll hear you out.”
“...Pardon?”
“You’re doing something bad to Noel, aren’t you?”
“...”
It was certainly a question that hit the mark so directly that it was hard to answer.
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