Chapter 97
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I nod in response to Purume’s answer.
Of course. There’s no way she wouldn’t understand.
The person who benefited from this ‘Achievement Swap’ is none other than Ryūgūin.
「But how…?」
「I don’t know. It could be a skill, an item, or perhaps some extraordinary collaborator—」
Skills—
If I recall correctly, Ryūgūin’s skills were these four:
‘5x Growth Rate’, ‘Light Magic: Master’, ‘Limit Break’, and ‘Hero’s Sword’
In the end, I know nothing about Ryūgūin’s abilities since we never fought together or even trained.
I try to remember the appraisal at the royal castle.
His skills ‘5x Growth Rate’ and ‘Light Magic: Master’ were complete upgrades of my skills ‘3x Growth Rate’ and ‘Light Magic: Advanced’.
At the time, I felt frustrated by his smug face, but now my Light Magic skill has grown to ‘Light Magic: Master++’, so I can feel a bit better about it.
The problem lies with the two skills ‘Limit Break’ and ‘Hero’s Sword’. Even when we received explanations about the skills at the royal castle, these two were marked as 「details unknown」.
Similarly, the details of my skills ‘Log’ and ‘Skill Defender’ were also unknown.
However, we can imagine some things based on their names.
While my ‘Log’ skill is completely incomprehensible, ‘Skill Defender’ might be exactly what it sounds like—a skill that protects me from enemy skills.
Yeah, that’s probably it.
As for Ryūgūin’s ‘Limit Break’, it’s likely a skill that unlocks potential abilities or removes the limiter that we usually unconsciously maintain.
This is a skill you often see in web novels featuring heroes and demon lords.
In stories, when the hero is cornered, they use this skill and suddenly dominate the battlefield as if their previous disadvantage was a lie.
So, perhaps the suspicious one is the unimaginable ‘Hero’s Sword’—?
I share my skill analysis with Purume and ask for her opinion.
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She lowers her gaze and crosses her arms, eventually speaking up.
「I don’t know.」
I’m about to retort with 「You don’t know?!」 but she continues, so I hold back.
「We know too little about skills. The same goes for items. There are items with ridiculous effects like the ‘Wish Orb’.
And then there’s the ‘Absolute Freeze’ that you just showed. Unfortunately, there are indeed things that we don’t know about.」
She continues, 「Therefore,」
「It’s certainly necessary to consider the methods. But for you, for me, and for Omi, this is a first-time situation. So the most important thing is to organize and share what we do know, and think about how we should proceed from here.」
I see. As expected of a senior in life.
I fully agree with her opinion.
○○○
The conversation with her was meaningful.
Although tentative, we concluded that Ryūgūin (or his collaborator) used some kind of power, though the method remains unknown.
The effects caused by this were the swapping of ‘my position’ and ‘Ryūgūin’s position’, with ‘my achievements’ becoming Ryūgūin’s and ‘Ryūgūin’s foolish actions’ becoming mine.
The power is incredible, not only rewriting the memories of people who originally knew me but also modifying all records and documents related to me and Ryūgūin, as if adjusting every detail to match.
How can we deal with this?
What are the activation conditions?
Once we start thinking about it, there’s no end.
Unfortunately, we know very little.
We have too little information.
However—
「I have a relative who knows everything.」
Everything?
「Yes, everything.
But she’s a shut-in with a wanderlust, so I don’t know if she’s still in the village…」
A shut-in with wanderlust?
As I tilt my head at these contradictory personality traits, Purume, noticing my confusion, explains:
「She’s a pure indoor person who can shut herself in for years or even decades without caring, but when something triggers her to go outside, she doesn’t come near her home for years or decades. She’s been repeating this cycle for a long time now.」
Wow, I didn’t know such an unusual person existed.
The scale of an elf’s life is seriously crazy!
As I’m expressing my amazement,
「If we can resolve this Sealed Domain issue and confirm that she’s back in the village, would you like to come to my village with me, Ichiro?」
Unable to suppress my excitement at the sudden fantasy word 「Elven Village」, I nod twice without hesitation.
○○○
The conversation with her was enjoyable.
But Angie’s shadow was present in various parts of the memories connecting Purume and me.
Every time her name came up, my chest tightened.
And similarly, Purume’s refined face would crumple.
Seeing her face, I regretted.
I should have scolded Angie, telling her she was an idiot.
I should have questioned why she didn’t return, and forced her to go back to Purume’s side if necessary.
No matter what, we can’t change the past that has already passed.
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Well, the night was getting late, and our conversation was coming to an end.
Just then, I remembered the nightmare I had.
After struggling with how to tell her, I finally said, 「I have a bad feeling that something might happen to you.」
「Haha! Don’t worry, Ichiro! I absolutely won’t lose! After all, I have to safely overcome this crisis and meet you again!」
Her cheeks, which had been as white as paper, flushed red.
「Ichiro— you’re at the center of this battle. I’m also wishing for your safety.」
So, I show her my pinky finger.
「Purume, please show me your pinky finger too.」
She hesitates a bit but then shows her pinky finger.
「In my country, we have a custom of linking pinky fingers when making a promise. Since we’re far apart, we can’t actually link them, but—」
「Oh, I like this.」
「It’s a promise, okay?」
「Yes, it’s a promise.」
Transcending distance and everything else, at that moment, we surely linked our pinky fingers.
○○○
And so, wishing for each other’s safety, we ended our conversation.
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Since there was still time before the gathering, I lay down on the bed, ruminating on my conversation with Purume.
And on that day, the third dream visited me.
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Purume’s appearance was clearly different from the previous dreams.
First, her equipment had completely changed.
This time, she was wearing armor divided into separate pieces for the shoulders, neck, elbows, knees, and wrists, each not interfering with the others.
These were probably chosen based on the concept of not hindering her own movements, as she uses punches.
And each piece seemed to be a masterpiece of ‘Legendary Grade’ or higher.
There was also a big change in her weapons.
Attached to a specialized belt were four identical magic swords and a magic staff.
I felt an immeasurable sense of intimidation from both the four magic swords and the staff. These weren’t just rare weapons — they were undoubtedly ‘Legendary Grade’ level weapons.
With her weapons and armor, she was like a fully armored Purume.
And more than that, the fighting spirit emanating from her, her expression, her dignity — her entire presence was on a completely different level from the previous dream.
「I made a promise with Ichiro…」
She mutters something and starts running.
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