3 bar menu

Chapter 275 Part 2

『Sorry. At the time I needed a little time out on the reward』

「I’ve just been wandering around aimlessly, so you don’t have to worry about it」

『Even so, I was concerned』

His smile doesn’t match his unkempt face.

『I’ve gathered enough bonus points for the reward, so I’ll pay you back now』

「There’s no need to rush」

『It is a debt so』

《You have completed a personal quest!》
《You have gained 6 Bonus Points. You currently have a total of 20 Bonus Points!》

「That aside, what’s up?」

『It’s the revenge target. I have their info, but they’re definitely a difficult opponent』

「Even for you guys?」

『Yeah. Even six Avengers can’t be too careful』

「I’m a little curious…」

『I thought you’d say that』

He pauses for a moment as he sips his tea.
And I’m starting to feeling a bit nervous.

『Semi-solobard. Do you know of a player known as that?』

Semi-solobard?
Sounds familiar.

That’s right.
Did I hear about that from Hannes?
I don’t remember when but.

When I asked for details, he turned out to be quite something.
A semi-solo bard.
An addict player who’s been playing for a long time.
That’s the only part I can relate to.
Other than that, we’re different.

Currently, his outward profession is Principal Bard.
He pretends to be a higher level Bard, but it seems that he has only the bare minimum of skills for that position.
He carries a lute, uses Cursed Songs and Magic Melodies, and plays a supporting role.
His secondary weapon is a rapier.

He joins a party as a drifter, and does his evil deeds in small ways that the party members don’t notice.
Of course, as the name PK implies, he kills the party members without letting them know he’s a PK.
And so it’s hard to catch on to his crimes.
Of the six Avengers here, five of them have died because of this player.
The first one was Lambda.

It doesn’t stop there.
He also manipulates information.
He hid his true identity from even his fellow PKers, and even gave them false information that he was hunted by PKers or something.
And he apparently has many disguises that he uses.
It was only recently that his race was determined.
An elf, it seems.

That’s all pretty impressive.

『It’s only recently that the Avengers and PKKs have been able to acquire information on him.』

「Recently?」

『I was getting false information left and right. Pathetically』

「This semi-solobard, didn’t he initially form a party of PKers?」

『At first. That’s when he got me. It seems he left the party because he couldn’t get along with the other PKers.』

「What was his occupation at that time?」

「Hunter. By process of elimination」

「Is that confirmed?」

『Yes. It’s been confirmed through multiple channels. With the usual methods I got a confession. They were bawling their eyes out, but I think it’s fairly credible』

Huh.
Torture, huh.
Don’t do anything too bad, okay?

『He’s the last person I’ll be taking revenge on. But even if I do, all I’ll get is a penalty』

「Oh, you mean the thing where you can’t use your skills for a period of time?」

『Yes. Even if you combine all the skills of the Avengers here, it’s not possible to block all the skills』

「So there’s a possibility that PKer will remain in the game」

『I can’t fulfill the requirements to leave Avenger and take up another PKK job. That’s bit of a shame』

「What?」

When an Avenger has his revenge, if he has more than a certain amount of karma then?
They’re forced to recreate their character, or so it seems.
If your karma is low, you can apparently change to another PKK job.
That seems to be quite difficult.
No one has done it so far.
I’m told that only four people have completed their revenge.

『If we remake our characters, keeping up with him will be impossible, so』

「If you spend enough time it’ll be fine, right?」

『Yeah. But the other side’s been playing for quite some time as well』

I see.
So it’s quite a difficult enemy.

「If you’re gathering in Remut, does that mean they’re coming here?」

『Yeah. It’s the Semi-solo bard player, called Drachma, but』

「Is there a problem?」

『The spellcasting is fine. I have countermeasures, but the rapier is troublesome』

「In what way?」

『The weapon itself, and their skill. All I know is that it’s abnormal.

「Can we not just expose his identity flashily?」

『It’d suck if he escaped though. And if he uses a different disguise and changes his plans it’d be a problem』

「Huh? Is it possible his real name is?」

『Unknown. The name Drachma is probably a disguise. His previous PK ally said he didn’t know either』

「That’s very thorough」

I don’t know.
Why are they telling me this?

「Normally, I’d think this is information that should only be shared between PKKers. Why did you reveal it to me?」

『I want you to observe him. All I know is that he’s skilled, so』

「That much?」

『Yeah. How to take him on, what would Keith do- I really want to ask about that』

Strong, huh?
That’s not good.
I’m tingling.

「How’s he use his weapons?」

『Against numbers he prioritizes spellcasting, and also uses the rapier subweapon』

「I see」

『I’ve heard that you can become paralyzed or poisoned if you take a rapier attack』

「Eh?」

I can think of a few things about that weapon.
Rapier.
Paralysis, as well as poison.

Isn’t that the Lion Sage’s Foil?
That’s nasty, that is.

Rapier, huh.
No, I don’t have any insight, you know?
I’ve seen fencing in competitions.
But I don’t know what the difference is between competitions and actual combat.
I don’t think I can give you any advice.

「What about trapping him with magic?」

『You can’t set that up inside the town, and it’s very difficult to finish the traps and set the stage outside the town』

「Oh? Where do you plan to strike?」

『Outside the town. It would be nice if we could outnumber him, but it would be tricky if he’s joined a party』

「So you’ll be tracking them to that point」

『Yeah. There are other PKK teams in Remut gathering information』

Again.
This is a pretty big deal.

From the start the other 5 avengers have been watching our surroundings.
And it’s quiet.
There’s no sense of discomfort.
It’s conversely stranger that way.

『The problem is the case when the target brings along companions』

「Having companions is troublesome after all huh」

『Yeah. There’s a possibility that they could be not PKers but regular playersw』

「That’s…」

『If we make a mistake and kill them, we won’t be able to see. Since our karma will instantly shoot up』

「What happens if the karma limit is exceeded?」

『The revenge will end as a failure at that point, and our characters will be recreated. With no bonus』

Damn.
That’s pretty tough!

I took Lambda and the others out of town.
I deploy an Instant Portal.
It’s easier to talk this way.
And they can get some training in through sparring as well.

「Umm, training, is it?」

「Well, we’ll take it easy, at first」

What about enhancement spells?
Not using any.
Lambda’s weapon is a wooden sword.
I have a wooden katana.
It’s been a while hasn’t it?

Ooh.
He’s strong.
He’s grown a lot!
Of course, his speed and power have increased, but the most important difference is that he attacks with precision.
That makes it easier to understand where he’s aiming though.
But he’s definitely more of a threat than before, in that he’s dangerous when he switches to the defensive.
That’s pretty good.

Four fights, four wins for me.
However, they were all time-out calls.
Well, it is training.

《Job Level Up!》

I guess I got a level up.
That’s nice.
Well then, next.

What did I take out of the《Item Box》?
It’s the Lion Sage’s Foil.

「Eh? Is that…?」

「Probably, this is the weapon you were talking about earlier」

「You have a rapier?」

「I have one, but I’m not especially skilled with it」

This is where I give a bitter smile.
It’s nothing but arrogance to teach something you don’t even understand.
But.
It’s not a bad idea for him to get a feel for it.

「I had an idea of where the materials came from, and it was right on the money」

「Hmm?」

「I heard it was a paralyzing and poisoning weapon made from materials found in the S5 map」

「Well, I wasn’t planning on getting a rapier but」

「That was a surprise to me too」

I hand the foil to Lambda.
After taking a moment to examine it he hands it back to me.

「Is it okay if I ask for a bit of your time?」

「Well, that is why I invited you here」

「Us too!」

「Thank you very much!」

The other five avengers couldn’t help but raise their voices.
Every face was serious.
Well, no helping it.
I have plenty of time to play along.

《【Rapier】Level Up!》
《【Jump】Level Up!》
《【Acrobatics】Level Up!》

What time is it?
It’s 11:30 a.m.
Has it already been that long?
I can’t believe how quickly time passed.

「I’m sorry, taking up this much of your time」

「I was free so」

That’s right.
There’s no lie in those words.
Boredom is the enemy.

「Then tomorrow, I’ll be watching and evaluating the fighting styles of the target in the tournament. Is that enough?」

「That’s enough」

「We’ll take care of the rest!」

Ohh.
You’re pumped up.
But don’t overdo it, okay?

After deactivating the instant portal, I decided to split from Lambda and the others.
At some point, the rain had stopped.
I hope it’ll be sunny tomorrow too.

Protagonist Keith

Race Human Male Racial Lv29
Job Grand Summoner Lv. 15 (↑ 1)
Bonus Points Remaining: 20

Skill Sets:
Sword Lv12 Two-handed Spear Lv11 Lance Lv9 Club Lv 11 Dagger Lv 11
Rapier Lv10 (↑ 1) Rope Artes Lv10 Cane Lv21 Punch Lv18 Kick Lv18
Joint Lock Lv18 Throw Lv18 Evade Lv18 Block Lv18
Summon Magic Lv29 Spacetime Magic Lv17 Seal Magic Lv11
Light Magic Lv17 Wind Magic Lv17 Earth Magic Lv17 Water Magic Lv17
Fire Magic Lv17 Dark Magic Lv17 Ice Magic Lv16 Lightning Magic Lv16
Tree Magic Lv16 Dust Magic Lv16 Lava Magic Lv17 Steam Magic Lv15
Alchemy Lv13 Pharmacy Lv9 Glassmaking Lv8 Woodworking Lv11
Synergy Lv20 Appraisal Lv20 Identify Lv20 Discern Lv5 Cold Resistance Lv9
Grab Lv16 Horsemanship Lv17 Precise Manipulation Lv19 Ropework Lv10
Jump Lv10 (↑ 1) Acrobatics Lv10 (↑ 1) Heat Resistance Lv12 Climb Lv9 Balance Lv10
Dual Wield Lv17 Disassembly Lv16 Swim Lv6 Dive Lv6 Throw Object Lv3
Dash Lv9 Endurance Run Lv9
Hide Lv3 Conceal Lv3
Physical Enhancement Lv18 Mental Enhancement Lv18 Speedcasting Lv18
Magic Effect Amplification Lv17 Magic Range Expansion Lv17
Petrification Resistance Lv6 Sleep Resistance Lv5 Paralysis Resistance Lv6
Confusion Resistance Lv4 Darkness Resistance Lv4 Unconscious Resistance Lv6
Charm Resistance Lv1 Poison Resistance Lv1