“Proof of power? “

“Yes……”

　Yukari explained to me the circumstances with an apologetic expression.

“I received a very pleasant response from the Merchants Guild, and also an attractive contract proposal. However, that’s only if we can prove the strength of our team.”

“Didn’t we get A Rank for that very reason? “

“Allow me to continue the explanation from there.”

　While Yukari and I were talking in the waiting room, a middle-aged bald man broke into the conversation.

“I am the Merchants Guild’s guildmaster, my name is Shin Sei. You are Second-sama, right? It is my pleasure to meet you.”

　The man calling himself Shin Sei greeted me with quite the polite manner, but no matter how you look at him, he looks like a person of a not so respectable occupation. His height was of nearly 1.90 meters, and he gave an extremely intimidating feeling.

　I just gave my greetings and shook his hand. But my eyes never left this guildmaster. That’s because I felt like he’ll stab me the moment I show a gap.

“Well then. I’m grateful I got to hear such a fascinating story this time. We at the Merchants Guild are very much looking forward to it.”

　The guildmaster said with a smile plastered on his face.

“But…… while this might be rude, and I apologize for it, the truth is we can’t trust it too much, even if it came from A Rank adventurers. You say you can get a lot of Mithril Alloy from there, right?　Anyone who heard that would think of it as a lie.”

　――Then, his eyes narrowed as he continued, almost as if he was glaring.

　The atmosphere changed completely.

　I noticed Silvia putting her hand on my shoulder. And Eko was shaking a little while pulling my clothes from behind. The two of them were visibly scared. Certainly, I would be scared too. That is, if this was not the world of Mobius.

“It’s just, there’s one thing. There’s something I’m curious about. How did you get that Dark Elf girl? She’s a professional at this…… even across all my guild, she’d rank among the first class.”

　Without being fazed by the guildmasters intimidation, Yukari simply moved her gaze towards me. Her calm eyes appeared to say “this much is just child’s play”.

“That got my expectations up a little. Therefore, I’d like you to prove your ability. That is, that you’re not just bluffing about capturing the Proline Dungeon. If so, we will happily believe you. But if it turns out to be a lie…… you shouldn’t expect mercy.”

　It was a cold voice accompanied by a glare that made it feel as if the room’s temperature fell a few degrees.

　It might have a good enough effect to threaten the general public…… Unfortunately, it doesn’t work on me at all. Why? Because I can ‘win’. In terms of the world ranking, this old man is just a small fry that wouldn’t reach even the 10,000th place. That’s the reason, simple as that.

“About that proof of power, what should I do?　Do you want me to capture the dungeon now?　If so, then it will take about three hours.”

　I answered as calmly as possible.

　What is required is proof that I can go and clear the Proline Dungeon many times. Then, I just need to create an atmosphere that says “it can be easily done”.

　However, after the old man heard my words, the atmosphere got tenser, and his eyes glared sharper, to the point where some people might faint after looking at him. Did I say something wrong?　Damn, if so, then I suppose I failed.

　……Hmmm, looking closely, it’s really smooth and shiny.  He might have something against people with proper hair.

“――Ahahaha!　Impressive calmness. Great!　Just like Yukari-san said.”

　The next moment, the guildmaster laughed loudly as he said so.

“Hey, were you testing us!? “

　Silvia then turned a gaze full of criticism towards Yukari. In response, Yukari bowed her head, not to Silvia but to me.

“I am really sorry, Master. But it was a necessary action.”

“Yes. It was me who was the one who came up with it. It was really necessary to ascertain if it was possible to provide a stable supply of Mithril Alloy.”

　I see. Does that mean that I’m good by his judgement?

“Uuuuuuuー……”

　Oops, before that, it seems Eko was quite scared and wants to cry.

　……I feel a bit sorry, but let’s have this old man apologize to her.

“What was that about ascertaining!　Apologize to Eko!　Look at her! Poor Eko! “

　I’ll just place the blame on him.

“Ahh!　I’m sorry!　I’m sorry! “

　……Contrary to his appearance, he was quick to apologize. He is lowering his head so much while apologizing that his head is even below Eko’s.

　Anyways, with this, the deal with the Merchants Guild should be settled.

　――Or so it seemed, but there was another problem remaining.

“But, you see, I still need you to prove your power……”

　While being led by the shiny-headed Shin-san, we were guided to the back of the Merchants Guild, to the drawing room.

　In there, he spoke those words with an apologetic expression.

“Is that in order to trust me? “

“No, that’s not the reason. If there’s nothing wrong with my eyes, I can tell you are ‘the real deal’. But.”

“Ahh, does that mean there’s someone aside from you, Shin-san, who doesn’t believe me?”

“That is so.”

“Specifically? “

“I’d like you to show it at least to some of our staff, and to the people we will be trading with.

“How many would that be? “

“Probably, about 200 people.”

“……Wow.”

　That’s a problem.

　How should I prove my ability to such a large number of people?

“Hmm, Silvia has the magic bow, and Eko has her shield, should they do some kind of performance……?”

　The four of us plus 1 began to think, narrowing down possibilities.

　And so, the discussion about what to do started.

　Shin-san was very sympathetic and allowed us to consult with him. He’s a pretty good guy.

　And so, fifteen minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Yet, there was still no sign of a good plan.

“By the way, what kind of special skills do you have, Second-sama? “

“Archery, Swordsmanship, Magic and Summoning Magic. I can also use Magic Archery and Magic Swordsmanship.”

“I can only use Fire Attribute, but Second-dono can use all magic attributes. And every one of his skills are top notch! “

“…………T-that is incredible.”

　Shin-san was so surprised, his eyes were as round as his head. Silvia had a satisfied expression, almost as if she was boasting about herself.

“Master, have you already raised Summoning Magic? “

“Yeah. I got Spirit Summoning to Grade 4 today.”

　When I answered Yukari’s question, I heard the sound of something dropping. That was the sound of the pen sliding from Shin-san’s hand.

“G-GRADE FOUR, YOU SAY!? “

　Shin-san shouted with an incredible volume. It felt as if the whole room shook due to his loud voice. Looks like that had a great impact. His appearance was more of not believing than surprised.

“Hiiiiiiiii.”

　Eko hid behind my back.

“Hey!　You did it again!! “

“Whoaa, I’m sorry! “

　When I yelled after he scared Eko again, Shin-san apologized again using his ultra-low bowing posture. That desperate attitude was by no means an act. He really is different from how he looks like…… I’m sure he has a hard time with first impressions.

“H-however, that might be just the way! “

　Shin-san said so when he got up after asking Eko for forgiveness.

“The way? “

“Yeah!　Second-sama. A spirit summoning, a spirit summoning! “

　I see!　He means to use 《Spirit Summoning》 in front of many people?

　Certainly, the higher the spirit’s strength, and the higher the rank of 《Spirit Summoning》, the more spectacular the summoning effect will be.

　Especially, the ‘first summon’ is much more amazing. Each spirit has its own special summoning effect. This would be perfect for a show of ability.

“If your Spirit Summoning is Grade 4, then everyone will most likely be convinced of your ability, Second-sama.”

　Is Grade 4 recognized as a high rank in this world?

　If that’s the case…… then this might be a surprisingly good plan. And since I can summon a high-ranking spirit with the Premium Spirit Ticket, the effect will surely be flashy.

“Understood. Let’s go with that.”

　Nodding to Shin-san’s proposal, we then discussed the plan.

　Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought something like that would happen……

=====

Thank you for reading.

 

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Cheat sheet

Stats details

＜Status Details＞

• HP　Hit Points
• MP　Magic Points
• SP　Stamina Points
• STR　Short range attack skill power, strength, physical power.
• DEX　Long range attack skill power, dexterity, hit rate.
• AGI　Quickness, avoidance rate.
• INT　Attack Magic skill power.
• LUK　Good luck, critical rate.
• VIT　Simple defense.
• MGR　Magic defense.

Types of combat skills

Named after shogi pieces (The word in bold is the one being used in this translation). From easier to acquire to harder.

1. Pawn/Soldier (Fuhyou)
2. Lance(Kyousha)
3. Knight (Keima)
4. Silver General (Ginshou)
5. Gold General (Kinshou)
6. Bishop (Kakugyou)
7. Rook (Hisha)
8. Promoted Bishop/Dragon Horse(Ryuuma)
9. Promoted Rook/Dragon King (Ryuuou).

List of Swordsmanship skills

Swordsmanship

1. 《Soldier Swordsmanship》　                  Normal attack.
2. 《Lance Swordsmanship》　                    Piercing attack.
3. 《Knight Swordsmanship》　                   Precision attack.
4. 《Silver Swordsmanship》　                     Strong single-target attack.
5. 《Gold Swordsmanship》                           Small-range attack to all directions.
6. 《Bishop Swordsmanship》                       ???
7. 《Rook Swordsmanship》　                      ???
8. 《Dragon Horse Swordsmanship》　    ???
9. 《Dragon King Swordsmanship》　       ???

List of Shieldmanship skills

Shieldmanship

1. 《Soldier Shieldmanship》　                  Normal defense.
2. 《Lance Shieldmanship》　                    Piercing deflection.
3. 《Knight Shieldmanship》　                   Defense + knockback.
4. 《Silver Shieldmanship》　                     ???
5. 《Gold Shieldmanship》                           Ranged guided defense + knockback.
6. 《Bishop Shieldmanship》                       Reinforced defense (Temporarily boosts VIT and MGR)
7. 《Rook Shieldmanship》　                      ???
8. 《Dragon Horse Shieldmanship》　    ???
9. 《Dragon King Shieldmanship》　       ???

List of Archery skills

Archery

1. 《Soldier Archery》　                  Normal range attack.
2. 《Lance Archery》　                    Piercing range attack.
3. 《Knight Archery》　                   Precise sniping range attack.
4. 《Silver Archery》　                     Strong single-target range attack.
5. 《Gold Archery》                           Weaker range attack with added knockback.
6. 《Bishop Archery》                       Strong piercing range attack.
7. 《Rook Archery》　                      Very strong single-target range attack with scaling % damage.
8. 《Dragon Horse Archery》　    Powerful piercing range attack.
9. 《Dragon King Archery》　       Powerful on-impact range attack.

Types of Magic skills

They use the “Form” or “step” system of martial arts. From lower to higher.

1. First Form　      　      Regular attack
2. Second Form　      　 Extended range attack
3. Third Form　      　    Strong single target attack
4. Fourth Form　      　  Strong extended range attack
5. Fifth Form　      　      Extremely powerful extended range attack

• Their cast time becomes longer in this order First→Third→Second→Fourth→Fifth.

Ranking of the skills

From lower to higher, then it changes to the “Dan” system of martial arts, which means Grade.

1. 16th class
2. 15th class
3. 14th class
4. 13th class
5. 12h class
6. 11th class
7. 10th class
8. 9th class
9. 8th class
10. 7th class
11. 6th class
12. 5th class
13. 4th class
14. 3rd class
15. 2nd class
16. 1st class
17. Grade 1
18. Grade 2
19. Grade 3
20. Grade 4
21. Grade 5
22. Grade 6
23. Grade 7
24. Grade 8
25. Grade 9
26. Title

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 ToC    

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