Turning back the time a bit.
"Heyaa, Boss-san, you in there?"
I went into the store nonchalantly like usual.
"Ou, what"s up? A bit late to dive in a dungeon... ain"t... Gah, you got more of "em!? Young kids this time!?"
That comes off sounding scandalous. Yes I got more of them though.
"No no no, I won"t quip back at what you might have in mind there, but these kids are our store"s employees, see. I was thinking of teaching them ways to defend themselves in this violent world, thus I picked up times when few people are out and about."
"O-oh yeah? Been hearing some rumors about ya recently. So you know, I thought for a sec. Heard you"ve been getting called [Magic Beast] lately."
What the heck! No one told me though?!
My nickname changed yet again, or rather, isn"t it getting more and more inhumane? I"ve given up on it though so whatever. More importantly, gotta get to the point.
"I"ve decided not to worry about that anymore. Anyway, today I"m here for these kids" equipment. Since we need to find out stuff like apt.i.tudes for their Weapon Skills and such, maybe we"ll take a bunch with with us."
Eh? Boss-san"s got this dubious look on him. Huh? Did I say something weird??
"n.o.busada. Don"t tell me, you never used a 『Martial Soul Stone』?"
Hae? What is that item, never heard of it.
"Eh, what is that thing?"
Boss-san scratched his head while grimacing like he was saying, "Achaa".
"I see now, had my suspicion already when you bought so many stuff the first time you came here, but with how confident you were, I thought you already knew. 『Martial Soul Stones』 are items processed from Soul Stones. Using one will tell you your correct weapon apt.i.tudes."
ΩΩΩ<>
Just what all those struggles to find solutions when I was told I couldn"t use Weapon Skills for then...
"...I"ll have those 『Martial Soul Stones』 for five please..."
"It ain"t breaking with use, so just go in turns. Here ya go ladies, put yer" hand on this one by one."
Boss-san brought out a sumo wrestler"s fist-sized lithograph-like thing.
Some words emerged on the [Martial Soul Stone] when Gana put her hand on it.
『Rapier, One-handed Sword, Small Shield, Whip』
Whip!? It is indeed the weapon of choice for a certain vampire hunter, but she"s supposed to be on the receiving end here. Besides, used by a girl, it"s... no wait, I guess it"s fine? It"s fine I guess.
Oltea is 『Fist, Ball, Rock, Club』.
There"s so many things I want to quip, but I don"t even know where to begin.
Mashu is 『One-handed Cane, Two-handed Cane, Wand』。
It"s ordinary. But why does it makes me so glad I wonder.
Tino-chan is 『Dagger, Bow』.
Yup, it"s ordinary again. Ordinary is wonderful.
And lastly, me.
『Two-handed Katana, One-handed Katana, One-handed Cane, Two-handed Cane, Wand, Gun, Concealed Weaponry, Bombs.』
...It"s good up until Wand. Does guns even exist in this world?
Not to forget, Concealed Weaponry and Bombs. I can only laugh. Are they telling me to a.s.sa.s.sinate or slaughter people or something.
I don"t mind doing such to monsters though. Ah well, I suppose this helps squeeze my Cla.s.ses down. Let"s think in that direction. Thinking further will just make me depressed.
"Aa, well then, go pick your own weapons with these results in mind. Protectors come after."
""""YES""""
Boss-san laughed as he watched over us.
"Yer" the very image of a father aintcha. That aside, I couldn"t read two parts of yer" apt.i.tudes, what was that about?"
Oho, does that mean they don"t exist in this world then?
"I have no clue either. For these girls" protectors, since we don"t have time to spare, would it be okay to purchase ready-made ones?"
"Yea, no probs. We"re out of Iron Ant mats with no ETA anyway. You"re going once 『Turbulent Quicksands』 is over right? I"m gonna send ya nominated quest for it."
"Sure thing. We plan to go straight to 9F on our next expedition. Boss-san has been such a great help to us, I"ll be sure to get a lot for you."
"That"s swell. Just don"t for yerself to hard."
"Ah, right, I found myself a Mithril sword, though worn-out. Could you melt it down and use it to try that thing I asked you last time?"
"Ah, that single-ended sword handed down in the east huh. Oh hey, this thing"s a two-handed sword. Should get plenty of mats from this. Suffice for around two one-handed swords I reckon."
"Yes, please make them."
"Leave it to me. I"mma finish them up before [Turbulent Quicksands]"s over."
We had that conversation while warmly watching over the kids frolicking over equipment in the store.
30 minutes later.
These are the girls" equipment.
Gana
Main Weapon: Vera"s Whip
Sub Weapons: Iron Rapier, Buckler
Whip as her main!? Gana, just what kind of path have you taken. By the way, Vera"s Whip is one of magic weapons this shop"s h.o.a.rded. It"s got unknown effects and few known users. Since it had been collecting dust for years in this store, I managed to buy it for cheap.
『Vera"s Whip』
A magic whip owned by a demon who wished to become a human.
Its trajectory can be changed to a degree by its user"s will.
I suppose it has a bit of homing function. Should give better hit rates and surprise attacks. Please just don"t end up living in the darkness.
Oltea
Main Weapon: Iron Fist
Sub Weapons: Iron Ball, Treant Club
It"s ordinary bra.s.s knuckles. Apparently to her, a fight doesn"t feel real if she can"t feel her fists gouging out her opponent"s flesh. What are you, a combative race. Ah, she is Ogrekin. Iron Ball is exactly what it says on the tin. She also bought three baseball-sized iron b.a.l.l.s. Treant Club is shaped like a baseball bat for some reason. Though twice as long and big.
Mashu
Main Weapon: Treant Wand
Sub Weapons: Morning Star
Mashu has managed to learn wind magic under Sefi-san"s tutelage during break times. Treant Wand for magic support is wonderfully normal. But why"s her sub a morning star. Is it the thorns, it must be the thorns isn"t it?
Tino
Main Weapon: Treant Small Bow
Sub Weapon: Iron Cutter
Tino-chan picked a small bow partially due to her physical strength. Iron Cutter is a dagger that resembles a hatchet. Pretty good for crushing branches that get in the way. Huh? Aren"t elves supposed to forest protectors? I guess pruning is okay though.
We choose light armor like leather breastplates that won"t slow them down. They"re even more lightweight thanks to [Lightening] enchant magic. There were no catalyst to do the enchant initially, but Boss-san found leftovers his little brother had used. I had no idea Gilui-san"s got that kind of special skill.
At any rate, I"ll use my magic to cover for any shortcoming in their defense.
All in all, it cost 21,240 mani. Quite an expense. A necessary one for bolstering defenses. Luckily our cosmetics and stuff sold well.
Thus we finally dived into the dungeon with all new equipment.