Volume 2 Chapter 12 (2/2)

Increased Drop Rate functioned exactly as it’s name implies. With each level, the drop rate of an item is increased by 0.2 times. Once you raise it to level 10, an item’s drop rate would increase to 3 times it’s original drop rate.

Basically tripling our harvest. There isn’t any reason to argue against taking this skill. It was a skill that everyone wished to have, however the prerequisites for taking this skill is quite a troublesome task. It can’t be learnt unless the total skill points placed into the exploration tree is 20. In Luna’s case, she had 10 points into Presence Detection, 5 into Lockpick and 5 into Treasure Sense.

Luna’s current level was level 23 and her total number of skill points were 27 from leveling up 22 times and her initial 5 points. She was only able to get 2 points into Increased Drop Rate as 20 points were focused onto the exploration tree and 5 points was placed into Assassinate.

In the case of an ordinary Thief, they had two skills that they had to learn in order to become a reliable fighting force. One skill to increase their chances of inflicting an abnormal status as well as a skill to increase their attack multiplier whenever their target has a status abnormality. As they required multiple skills just to participate in a battle, they did not have the leeway to place 20 points into the exploration tree, hence the skill wouldn’t even appear in their skill tree at all.

Speaking of which, there was no definitive proof about the prerequisites for the skill in this world Furthermore even if someone discovered the skill, they wouldn’t tell anyone about it. Adventurers wouldn’t easily reveal their skills especially something as valuable as this.

[From now on, you will put skill points in Increased Drop Rate until it is level 10. It will completely change how efficient our hunts will be from now on.] (Youya)

[Let’s do it! Let’s earn lots of experience to level up. With Youya around it won’t be long.] (Luna)

I smiled bitterly at Luna’s response.

Normally it would be hard to raise our level beyond level 20. The experience required for us to level after level 20 increases dramatically, causing the majority of adventurers around the world to be about mid twenties. Furthermore the monsters in this level will become more ferocious and difficult to hunt.. Thanks to the large competition and difficulty of the monsters, it becomes much harder to raise our level. However, in that regard, we have a dungeon such as the labyrinth in the Starfish Larvae that makes it much easier for us to find monsters. Without the labyrinth, raising our levels at this point would become much harder.

[As we discussed yesterday, I’ll have Selene act as our party’s shield. It is a difficult role. Put your spirit into it.] (Youya)

[Leave it to me. Being the party’s shield is the best job for a crusader. I’ll show you that I can do it.] (Selene)

Selene gave a reliable response. With this, our party continued into the labyrinth with Luna guiding us.

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Since we were travelling on a different route from the last time, the number of monsters present here was plenty as they hadn’t been thinned out at all. We quickly encountered our first group of monsters.

Twenty metres ahead of the straight path stood a small group of Horned Boars. It was a monster that greatly resembled a boar which we also hunted for our Pork (Average) collection quest. Back then there was an entire herd, however this time there were only four of them sleeping soundly.

If it was just four of them, we could annihilate them with magic and arrows from Til before they could notice us, However, in order to let Selene act as our shield, we decided to attack them front on.

It was our first fight together with Selene. I couldn’t look forward to having our first battle in a situation where we could be wiped out due to our tank being inexperienced. First we had to have a battle where it would be safe for Selene to fail.

Selene walked forward towards the monsters, however she had not noticed that the Horned Boars were soundly asleep.

[War Cry] (Selene)

Selene activated her skill as a high pitched shrill echoed throughout the path. It was a skill that caused a foe to focus their aggression onto themselves. Warriors and Magic Knights were both capable of casting War Cry, however whenever a crusader activates that skill, it gains a bonus effect where the monster would have an increased aggression towards them and a longer duration..

The Horned Boars woke up and rushed straight towards Selene who held up her buckler in response. No matter how high your defensive stats were as a shield, with this large of a distance and their large body, anyone receiving 4 charging Horned Boars would definitely be blown off, especially with a buckler.

Normally that is.

Selene poured her magic power into the shield and activated the special function of Renoir’s shield. Yesterday, I taught her about the special liquid hidden within the shield. A variation of the Steel of God that was in a liquid state which could be solidified by pouring mana into it, producing a spike larger and longer than the buckler capable of piercing into the earth, rooting the shield into the ground..

This was the method that the battle princess Renoir resorted for defense. By firmly rooting yourself to the ground, you enable yourself to directly receive an opponent’s charge. Selene dropped her hips and leans her entire body’s weight onto the shield before activating another skill.

[Fortress] (Selene)

( the kanji for the skill directly translates to castle wall but I’m using fortress since it seems more fitting and mainstream.)

The shield began to illuminate as the light stretched out several metres to both sides originating from the center of the shield. It was the special skill exclusive to crusaders that increased the effective range of the shield, your own weight, muscular strength, defense and magic defense, making it possible to defend against multiple enemies. Although its effects only lasted twenty seconds, this skill makes it possible to be a tank far superior to a warrior or a magic knight.

It is a skill with a maximum level of 10, however it was a skill that was the very definition of a crusader. Having no intentions about running and acting as a shield for the party.

In the next moment, a heavy crash could be heard as the four Horned Boars crashed against the shield and the light. The shock received by the light was transmitted to the shield as Selene gritted her teeth enduring the shock. The ground was gouged out as Selene was pushed back but her shield remains sturdy without any signs of losing her balance. After several seconds, the Horned Boars’ rush was completely halted.

Luna and I rushed towards the boars at the left and right of Selene while the Horned Boar directly in front of Selene was shot by a barrage of arrows. After watching it’s companions being killed, the last Horned Boar tried to escape, exposing its back to Selene. Selene retracted the spikes and readies her shield. As I demonstrated in the mock battle yesterday, Selene took a deep breath and lowered her waist and before extending her arm, the spike protrudes from the shield at the speed of sound. With the double acceleration from the arm and the spike. It was the move that I used to defeat her during our bout last night, however there was just one crucial difference between her attack and mine. For crusaders, this blow could be strengthened even further.

[Shield Bash!] (Selene)

Shield Bash was the crusader’s only attack skill. It’s unique characteristic was dealing damage based on its user’s defensive strength instead of attack power and had an excellent power multiplier as well. Her defensive power which was raised by Fortress replaced her attacking power. A large gong resonated throughout the path as the spike penetrates the Horned Boar. It possessed so much kinetic energy that the insides of the monster was thrown out of its body and all over the pathway.

[So much power.. I’m surprised.] (Selene)

More than the observers, the one who executed the attack was more surprised than us. This was the reason why the battle princess Renoir abandoned the idea of using a sword. Rather than using a sword and a shield, using a gauntlet and a shield would raise her defense power even further, increasing the power of Shield Bash. Her favourite strategy was to defend against an attack with her shield before killing him in a single hit with Shield Bash. This strategy had several merits to it. Her gauntlet had the effect of increasing the user’s magic power. If her magic power was increased, her recovery spells would become better as well. However, a gauntlet capable of raising the user’s magic power was rare. The gauntlet Selene was wearing is just a simple durable gauntlet. In order to make use of the crusader’s special characteristic, using a shield and a gauntlet was the optimal loadout rather than using a sword. Yesterday, after listening to my explanation and after several discussions, Selene decided to adopt Renoir’s style of fighting.

[Selene, that was a good showing of a shield. The last move was good but catching their rush was good as well.] (Youya)

[It’s so easy to assassin enemies if they are not moving! Thank you Selene.] (Luna)

[Maa. I’m capable of hitting fast moving targets regardless. But it’s nice to shoot with confidence once in a while.] (Til)

We can feel relieved knowing that we have a shield capable of attracting and holding enemies. With this, we can focus on launching attacks more than ever and our hunting efficiency will improve.

[Having friends is a nice thing. I’ve been having a lot more fun than usual. Now, let’s hurry on ahead. I still need more training in order to practice this style.] (Selene)

Selene’s breathe became harsher with excitement. Although she looked much more mature than Luna, on the inside she wasn’t that much different from Luna and Til. If she had a fox tail like Luna did, the tail would inflate and be waving back and forth. Nonetheless, she was still a reliable child.

Let’s continue to work hard for the party from now on.