Semi-retired Adventurer Lives Leisurely Chapter 19

Published at 6th of June 2021 10:50:50 AM

Chapter 19: New Equipment

Henry: “Alright everyone. We’ll proceed as planned.”

Everyone nods.

We’re inside the Flowtier Forrest, on the mountain jutting out from its center.

There was less vegetation on this rocky landscape.

Hiding behind one of these rocks, I looked ahead of us.

This is the Griffin’s territory. Griffins that would rarely be seen inside the Forrest gathers here. 7 of them were in sight. They are not grouped together, so wiping them out in one sweep would be difficult.

Looking at the closest one 50 meters ahead, I adjust my Nyoiten Spear.

I increase the flow of magic inside my body and let it flow into my spear. The spear slightly glows.

Usually, I wouldn’t go this far, but it was necessary this time.

I picture myself as a bow as I raise the spear overhead. I take one step forward.

Henry: “...!”

The spear leaves my hand.

The spear is a very adequate throwing weapon. In fact, I’m better at throwing with it than fighting.

The spear streaked across the air with incredible speed and strike the Griffin in the stomach. A red flower blooms where the spear protrudes.

Jend: “You’ve got an amazing arm as always. A third of that Griffin just got blown away.”

Henry: “Jend, hold the small talk. They saw us! ...Cyril!”

Cyril: “Aye aye Cap’n!”

I bring back the spear into my hands with its ability, and Jend and I run out of cover.

They did not see Cyril still hiding behind the rock and continuing her song.

Henry: “Ha!”

I extend the length of the Nyoiten Spear as I stab towards the Griffin. It tries to jump away from my thrust, but that’s not quick enough. I didn’t reach its heart, but my spear rips and tears into its body,

“Gyuiiiiii!!”

The Griffin shrieks in pain.

Using that Griffin as bait, two others charge at me, but I swing my spear in a wide arc, and smack them away.

Jend: “You forgot about me!!”

Jend also swings over-dramatically at the Griffin. The flaming blade did not even graze the Griffin as it dodged, but his plan to keep their attention pinned on him worked.

So Jend and I cover each other’s blind spots and continue to fight back the Griffins that come at us. We’ll attack if we get a chance, but our goal is to round them up into one large group.

3 Griffins suddenly rip at Jend and one gets through his defenses.

Henry: “Jend! Are you okay?!”

It hit the hard piece of my armor! Just a scratch!”

Henry: “Good! Keep up the fight!”

3 also come at me, but I use magecrafting to keep one at bay, and my long spear doesn’t allow them to get close enough to strike.

We manage to gain enough time when…

Teo: “Hey, you two!”

We hear Teo’s voice from behind us. That’s the signal!

Henry: “[STRENGTHEN] Hazac + [RESTRAIN] Katerno”

I throw a net at the 6 and manage to catch them all. With 6 in the net, the spell will only hold for a few seconds, but that’s all we need.

Cyril: “[METEOR FLARE]!”

Cyril unleashes her spell.

She put a whole lot more time into this one and concentrated more magic into each fireball than when she demonstrated this spell, and fire swallowed and consumed the Griffins.

I think this level of a spell would work against the highest-tier demonic creatures, so the Griffins didn’t have a chance.

All the demonic creatures evaporated on the spot.

<<<<>>>>

Our last expedition before heading off to the capital completed without a hitch. We returned safely to the Grandes Church tavern.

Henry: “I know we tried a few different tactics on that mountain, but I feel like today’s style fits our group the best.”

Jend: “Yeah, I agree.”

I chunk my spear at the very beginning. Jend and I jump into the fray to distract and hold them back. Cyril quietly charges her spell and wipes out the group when she’s ready.

We can’t have too many or too few enemies, so Teo will be busy running around and scouting for us.

Henry: “Jend, how’s your wound? Are you alright?”

Jend: “Yeah, you healed me with your magecraft, so I’m fine now.”

Especially for Jend and I who face the enemies directly, we are more susceptible to injuries. My spear has a longer reach to keep them farther away from me, so Jend naturally receives more wounds than I do.

It’s the first time since coming to this town where I got to use my [HEAL] Tiol. Well, we could use lower grade potions, but I need to keep up my practice so I don’t get rusty, so I feel bad for Jend, but he’ll be my practice dummy.

Cyril: “He~y, let’s hurry up and get this over with~”

Teo: “....Please hurry.”

Cyril and Teo were both at the receptionist‘s window waiting for us.

Henry: “Alright, alright.”

Jend: “We can talk about this later.”

And we sold the Griffin’s drops to the church.

We also picked up some Quest herbs that are specific to that mountain and receive our reward.

We circle around the tavern’s circular table and divide up our rewards.

We take 3 tenths for the Party’s shared budget, and divide the rest evenly between the 4 of us.

And as we meet to review how the previous expedition went, Cyril started counting something with her fingers.

Cyril: “Hey! I almost forgot! Um….isn’t today the day we draw from Heaven’s Treasure Vault?”

Henry: “Oh, now that you say it…”

Our god Grandes will grade adventurers according to their deeds and accomplishments in battle, and in return, we get an opportunity to receive godly equipment from the heavens. Well, to put it bluntly, we get to participate in the gods’ bingo games.

In fictional stories, one of the usual tropes is an novice adventurer who gets really lucky and draws a Legendary Godly Equipment and rises above the rest.

You will accumulate points as you complete expeditions, and you are free to use them up when and where you please. That’s why most Adventurers become superstitious when it comes to what day to draw.

Some believe that 14 is the magic number and will draw when their drawing number reaches 14. Others draw at the beginning of the year. Some believe running a full marathon will make their luck rise, and others believe that even holding onto points overnight is bad luck and will spend points as they earn it.

And for us, we decided that after every 5th expedition is probably the time we should all draw.

Cyril: “ALRIGHT! IT’S GOING TO BE MY LUCKY DAY TODAY!”

Teo: “It’ll be good to draw something good right before our Capital trip.”

Jend: “I haven’t had anything good since the Blaze Blade. That’s why… TODAY, I FEEL IT! I’LL GET SOMETHING GOOD TODAY!”

Oh man. They’re such innocent noobs.

From my experience, you should never go in with such vigor and hope.

You have to be empty of desire. Completely devoid of any hint of greed.

Kekekekekeke… that’s why I’m the only one that’s going to be drawing something good! I feel it! These kinds of instincts are usually right!

And we all approach the Grandes Church altar.

“Congratulations. You have earned the ‘Solid Gauntlet.’”

And Jend drew 10 times and got a “Armor Enhanced” uncommon trait. It’s simple and straightforward, and a definite winner for a defensive piece of equipment.

Cyril: “WOW! I got the “Sprint Boots! This will come really in handy!”

Cyril also drew 12 times, and drew shoes that had the ability to explosively “sprint.”

Teo: “OH!! LOOK AT THIS! A Magic Soul Shooter Bow! It’s a Rare!”

Teo already had a [SPACE EXPANSION] bag, but her luck didn’t end there. She drew 14 times and got a bow with Magic and Arrow Storage traits applied.

…..I had 4 draws but they were all common…

Wait, this is strange. When you draw as many times as I do, I draw less times, but my Uncommon rate is at least 30%.

Yeah, I got an uncommon rank spear with an “Edible” trait, but I will NOT acknowledge that as anything but garbage. The “Edible” series are the worst. They taste horrible, and it takes up one of your trait spots. It’s nothing less than a curse and a prank from the gods.

I wonder what they were thinking when they made this. And to make matters worse, this series pops out a lot.

….dammit…

Henry: “You guys all got good stuff…….”

I fry them with my jealousy rays shooting from my eyes. Well, I don’t really shoot anything, but I try regardless.

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Cyril: “I don’t know about Jend, but Teo and I have lived respectable lives. I’m sure the gods are all watching us very closely and rewarding us for our good deeds.”

Henry: “What, Cyril too? That’s weird. The gods must all be horribly blind.”

Cyril kicks me several times with her toes, but it doesn’t hurt.

Jend: “Hey, Henry, Cyril, stop playing around like usual and let’s go try out these new equipment! I already finished the paperwork!”

Henry: “I don’t have anything to test, so I’ll just stay here and drink.”

Jend: “Don’t be a sour puss. C’mon.”

I’m not pouting… or sulking… that Jend, I need to put him in his place so he respects his elders… I mean, who would become sour and bitter over some stupid draws anyways…

Well, it is important to know what equipment your party members use… I mumble some excuse as I follow Jend and the others to the practice field.

….*sigh. Maybe I should buy a new Magic Artifact when I get to the Capital.

<<<<>>>>

We get to the training grounds, and Cyril switches into her new boots.

Cyril: “It always surprises me, but the size is perfect. I’m really thankful but…”

Henry: “Well, yeah. The Heaven’s Treasure Vault may have ‘useless’ things in there, but they do not have a single piece of ‘unuseable’ equipment.”

For instance, an armor that is the wrong size. A weapon you never used before. You never get anything like that from the vault. If you wanted to use it, they are all things you COULD technically use. So the gods are doing their job there.

Cyril: “But… isn’t it creepy that they know the proportions and sizes of your body?” Henry: “I mean… they ARE gods so…”

Cyril: “I’m just saying it’s a little creepy.”

Cyril lightly taps her toes on the ground to check how the boots feel.

Henry: “Oh, Cyril. I forgot to tell you. Be careful when using that ‘Sprint’ ability.”

Cyril: “What?”

Oh crap. I was too late.

As I tried to warn her, Cyril used the ability, and stepped forward.

Cyril: “WH--KYAAAAAAAAAAA!!” (sfx scream of terror)

[SPRINT] activated, and Cyril shot off like a bullet. Her physical body isn’t that strong, so she just made an impossible leap. She jumped about 10 meters.

Of course, doing something that extreme will only get you hurt. Yup. She failed her landing and stumbled and rolled for a while.

Henry: “Ahhhhh…”

I walk over to her quickly. She did break her fall a little, so she seems okay.”

Henry: “Hey, you okay?” Cyril: “OF COURSE I’M NOT OKAY! I SCRAPED MYSELF! LOOK!!”

Henry: “Okay okay. [HEAL] Tiol~~”

I quickly heal the scrapes on her arms. My [HEAL] Tiol will only lighten your pain if you are seriously injured, but as far as light injuries like this, it will patch it up just fine.

Cyril: “WHAT THE HECK IS THIS JUNK?! IT’S TOTALLY USELESS!!”

Henry: “Well wait. Godly Equipment that boosts physical abilities are things you have to practice and get used to a lot.”

Your body and mind are familiar with how your body usually move, so if you can move unexpectedly faster, of course it’s going to take time for your body and mind to get accustomed to your new movements.

For instance, some have [Extreme Strength] traits on their gauntlets, and they accidentally break other equipment while handling it. Other people had [Farsight] on their glasses, but totally forgot to check what’s in front of them. Stuff like that.

Henry: “If you are able to adjust the ‘Sprint,’ you’ll be able to use it in everyday life. Well, for you, you need to first just learn how to dodge things quickly when things get dangerous.”

If you can do that, your chance of survival will go up substantially.

And if you are able to even temporarily run as fast as us, then you’ll be able to relocate and retreat with the group which will be very handy.

There’s a reason why the Church Sister said, “This is a very adaptable piece of equipment.”

Well, if anyone else in the group got it other than Cyril, it would actually be pretty pointless. This is not an equipment that increases your natural potential and is actually only giving you the ability to go a certain speed. For us frontline vanguards and scouts, that speed would be slower than what we can already do.

Cyril: *sigh… “...fine. I’ll keep practicing.”

Henry: “Don’t worry. I’ll help you. I don’t have anything else to do right now.”

Since I didn’t get any new godly equipment.

Cyril: “But Teo looks really happy.”

Henry: “Oh yeah, that really looks cool.”

She’s currently firing her arrows at a wooden training dummy.

You’ll notice that she’s not loading arrows onto her bow.

When she draws her bow string, an arrow appears there.

Apparently, there is a small magic inscription on the bow itself where you can store up to 30 arrows there. You don’t even need a quiver anymore.

And because of the magic storage, magic flows into the arrows and strengthens the shot by several times.

...it’s not as useful as her bag, but for an archer, you just won the big prize. It’s no wonder that she’s so ecstatic.

Henry: “At the very least, I’m glad Jend’s is just boring.”

Jend: “Well, yeah, it’s not as exciting as Teo’s but…”

Jend is next to another wooden training dummy hitting it with the gauntlet to test its durability and strength.

I mean, sure, the defense is definitely high, but you could make something equal to it using some good materials and having a good armorsmith craft you something. It’s that level of good.

But yeah, sure, those pieces of armor will cost you a small fortune so Jend did get something good in that sense.

Cyril: *sigh “Alright, let’s get to practicing, shall we…”

Henry: “Just start off with the smallest amount of sprints and gradually raise the output. That’ll make it easier.”

Cyril: “Oka~y.”

And we continued practicing.

But for some reason, Cyril wasn’t able to get used to the boots until the day before our journey to the capital.

Henry: “Cyril… you seriously don’t have any talent.”

Cyril: “WELL EXCU~SE ME FOR NOT BEING AN ATHLETIC BUFFOON LIKE YOU BEEFY MUSCLE-BRAINED GORILLAS!!”

Yikes. Oh well. We’re off to the Capital tomorrow.

Chapter end