3 bar menu

Over the Infinite Chapter 21 Part 1

 

Volume 2 Episode 8 “The Rookie Battle”

 

-1-

「Hey. 」

That day, as I was eating alone in the guild’s cafeteria, a familiar little girl approached me. It was the witch girl, Lilika-san, who should be in the middle of her trial challenges. Her entrance was exactly the same as before.

「…Hello. 」

It felt like a long time since I last saw her, partly because of the dungeon dwelling in between, but in reality, it’s been only about two weeks. Time perception in the dungeon is really off.

「…Can I join you? I have several things I want to ask. 」

「Sure, go ahead. 」

I feel like we’re having the exact same conversation as before, but maybe it’s just me… It’s not like I’m copying and pasting, though.

「By the way, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Tsuna Watanabe. 」

「Lilika. Lilika E… But we’ve already introduced ourselves. 」

Sorry about that.

「No problem, my sense of time is a bit skewed because of the dungeon. 」

「The dungeon? I heard time doesn’t pass there. I was surprised. 」

「Yeah, I was holed up there for a while, so it feels like it’s been a long time since I met Lilika. It feels like about a month. 」

「Is that so… It’s only been two weeks. Maybe you’ve been widening the gap while I’m just sitting here. 」

I don’t know Lilika’s true strength yet, but I do feel that she has grown rapidly. She’s already a different person from before her debut.

「How’s your trial going? Did you clear it yet? Considering the break, you must’ve attempted it twice by now? 」

「Ugh… I haven’t cleared it. Can’t do it… How did you manage to defeat that monster on your first try? I was so scared that I froze up and was killed without doing anything. My companion showed me the video; I was minced. I never thought I’d see myself dying… 」

So, she made it to the 5th floor. She must have been taken down by Brief-san’s ((Beast Roar)). It couldn’t have been the orc, could it?

Showing someone the moment they got minced seems harsh. I wonder if the manual dictates that companions have to show that footage.

「The boss weakens after the first attempt, so you’ll probably be fine next time. 」

「I heard that from my companion, but I’m still worried. I don’t want to die again and again. It’s a bit too much for me. 」

「I wouldn’t know about that. 」

I haven’t died yet.

Am I the only one among the newly debuted adventurers who hasn’t died? Isn’t that amazing? Unique, even.

「Actually, I wanted to ask how you guys managed to conquer it. 」

Though, I’m not sure if our method would be useful for a magician.

Dodge like crazy, attack with torches, poison it… There’s not much she could imitate… Ah, I just revealed our weakness.

「Fire is its weakness, so maybe you could just use that kind of magic? 」

「Eh, really? 」

As long as it’s not information blocked by recognition inhibition, it should be fine to talk about it.

「I heard it on TV. 」

「TV? You mean… the Minotaur? 」

It’s supposed to be Brief Tauros-san, not the Minotaur. People who don’t know about him would be scared, but he frequently appears on TV, even in matchmaking agency commercials. The wedding vow with Mino-ko before the decisive battle with adventurers was like a death flag template, which was quite amusing.

「Yeah. There are lots of videos about the Minotaur battle, so you should be able to figure it out quickly by watching them. 」

I remember they released some for free for promotional purposes.

「Those videos? I still don’t quite understand. The world here is so different from outside… Can I watch them in my dorm room? 」

Like Philos, she’s struggling. When you live in this city, you tend to forget, but it must be tough for pure fantasy residents.

「You can watch them. PC… I mean, computer… Hey, Yuki! Come here. 」

Just the person who knows about this stuff is passing by, so I call him over.

He was heading outside, but noticing us, Yuki walks straight to the cafeteria.

「The girl you were with when we met at the gate? 」

「Right. He knows more about PCs than I do. 」

「What’s up? …Oh, hello, long time no see. Uh, you’re Lilika-san, right? 」

「Yes, that’s right. I’m Lilika. You’re Yuki… chan, right? 」

「Yes, that’s me. 」

He’s easy to please. He smiles just being treated like a girl when meeting someone for the first time. I’m worried he might get deceived.

「Lilika-san wants to see videos of the Minotaur. She doesn’t know how to watch them, so can you help her with that? You’re better at this stuff than I am. It can be the boss battle videos or even the ones around the 20th floor. 」

「I can do that but… 」

「Are you busy or something? 」

I didn’t think we had anything today. Neither Yuki nor I should be busy.

Sarges said he had some solo training or something. I didn’t ask what kind – it feels unsafe to know.

「I’m free today, but Lilika-san, instead, could I ask you some questions about magic? 」

「Uh, sure. 」

Really? As far as we understood, magic is like a secret technique.

In the labyrinth city, it seems easy to learn magic, but is it okay for outsiders to learn it so casually? Honestly, I didn’t bring it up thinking it was impossible.

「Is it okay to teach someone magic so easily? Isn’t it supposed to be… you know, passed down within families? 」

「Most people don’t share it, but I don’t mind much. Besides, in this city, it’s easy to learn magic. My magic is special, so I don’t know how helpful it’ll be, but if that’s okay with you, I don’t mind. 」

「How much do I owe you for this? 」

「I’m just asking about the video over here, so that’s fine… Oh, can I have some tickets for the rookie battle? You’re participating, right? 」

「If that’s enough, you can have as many as you want. 」

I’ve also received tickets for the rookie battle. Participants are given them to distribute to their acquaintances.

I have no use for them myself and have been troubled about not having anyone to give them to. The old men seem to be buying their own tickets.

If Yuki gives his to Lilika, I won’t need mine. I wonder whom I could give them to. Can I sell them as black-market tickets?

「I’m not sure since we’re participating, but are the rookie battle tickets expensive? 」

「They’re not terribly expensive, but they do make one hesitate. I’m still not used to the currency of this city, but 10,500 yen sounds expensive, right? 」

It must be like buying tickets for boxing or wrestling. It’s an awkward price.

Lilika, not yet accustomed to the currency, would find it more confusing, but even for me, it’s hard to say if that’s cheap or expensive.

「We’re participating, so we get tickets for the VIP seats. I have extra since I don’t have anyone else to invite. You could give them to people helping you with your trial… 」

「I’m going solo, so I don’t have anyone like that… But maybe I’ll give them to the person who accompanied me during my last attempt. 」

「Wait, you’re a solo magician? 」

I guess that’s surprising from a gaming perspective. Yuki’s brain is all about games.

「Still planning to go solo? 」

「If it’s weakened as you said, I’ll watch the video and think about it. 」

I wonder if having magic makes a difference.

We fought a regular Minotaur in the lower floors. It was quite strong and fast. Can she prepare her magic without a frontliner against something like that?

 

-2-

The talk about magic was set to happen before watching the videos, so I joined them at the guild’s training ground.

This place, like the dungeon, automatically generates dedicated areas, ensuring users don’t clash. It’s always available for use.

Unlike the dungeon, however, time flows normally here. It’s not subject to the six-day limit and, interestingly, if one dies here, they revive at the hospital. It’s like a green light for training to death.

Like the arena, there’s also an option to set it to force exit upon total HP loss. Maybe I should try that once. Zero Break, was it?

「Have you two ever checked your aptitudes? Magicians usually get them checked by their masters when they become apprentices, but does the city have such a service? 」

「We did, with something called a Magic Conductor. You just pour magic into it. 」

「A Magic Conductor? That’s incredible, like a national treasure. 」

A national treasure, huh… I just casually touched it without thinking much of it.

「Tsuna has ((Enhancement)), right? My highest aptitudes were ((Remote)) and ((Manipulation)). 」

「Then Yuki-chan’s aptitude might be closer to mine. 」

Aptitude values are given for several magic systems, showing the highest ones. They are represented in a graph with the maximum value set at 100.

In fantasy stories, these values might exceed 100, but for us, it didn’t happen.

My ((Enhancement)), Yuki’s ((Remote)), and ((Manipulation)) were the highest, but the others were also similar, and none were particularly high.

It seems we are not cut out to be magicians. Sarges also doesn’t have high aptitude. I didn’t ask for specific values, but his aptitude seems disastrously low.

These values can change to some extent, but unless there’s a dramatic change like a change in species, the alteration is minimal. So, it’s unlikely we’ll become magicians in the future.

「Let’s start with fire magic since we were talking about the Minotaur. It’s a weakness, after all. 」

With that, Lilika produces a flame on her palm. It appears so naturally, without any chanting.

Hmm, no system message. Maybe spells learned outside the labyrinth city don’t trigger them. But ((Starving Beast)) did.

「That’s the basic ((Ignition)) spell. 」

「Isn’t it hot? That flame. 」

Indeed, the flame is burning close to Lilika’s hand without burning it or her robe.

「It’s categorized as a ((Phenomenal Spell)) in the labyrinth city, meaning it’s not actually burning. But if others touch it, it feels hot. Please, go ahead. 」

As I get closer to the flame, I can indeed feel the heat.

Yuki also seems surprised as he touches it a bit too eagerly.