บท 16: Extra Companion
"…The best strategy against the Hard Armored is to use blunt force. They are very resistant to slashing and piercing attacks due to their armor, but their insides are relatively more vulnerable to damage."
Rose was finishing up her lecture about the new floors they were going to descend on. She crammed as much as she could into the duo's head before there was a knock on the door.
Rose stood up to open the door and greet whoever was behind it.
"You're here. Good. Now come, I will introduce you to your party." Rose told the newcomer. Cassian may have been imagining, but he noticed that her voice was a lot more distant and emotionless when speaking to the newcomer.
'Rose builds up walls and keeps her distance from adventurers because she's afraid of their deaths hurting her after they've grown close. Hmm, but she's been relatively more cordial to us. Something to think about later I guess…'
While, Cassian was thinking, the person in the door walked in. It was a young human boy, who looked about the same age as Cassian and Nico. Maybe 15 years old? He had blue hair running down to below his ears. And he looked mighty nervous.
(Image)
Although as soon as the boy walked in Cassian became confused.
"This is Leo Diaz, he is the free supporter I was talking about. He may not have a Falna, but he does have some experience hunting surface monsters." Rose introduced the boy, now identified as Leo.
This made Cassian even more confused. 'He…?'
"H-Hi, my name is Leo- Wait Ms. Rose already said that stupid! I-It's nice to meet you! I hope we can work well together!" Leo concluded while slightly stumbling over his words. He couldn't help but be nervous at the prospect of finally working with adventurers and diving into the dungeon. However, his nervousness was overshadowed by the excitement of finally taking his first step towards achieving his dreams.
Cassian's eyebrows furrowed together more. There was something up here, something wrong. 'Something's not adding up. Wait… His smell… It's-He… She?! The smell coming from Leo is female! He-She's a girl!'
Cassian's eyes widened a bit at finally discovering what was bugging him. His enhanced sense of smell could tell apart people's gender through their pheromones. Leo was a girl and not a boy, but it seemed neither Rose nor Nico knew or noticed it.
And honestly, he couldn't blame them. Leo looked completely male. Yes, slender and effeminate, but she could still easily pass for a particularly beautiful and feminine man. Her voice was also well disguised. The only reason he could find out the truth is due to his Witcher senses.
"Hi! My name is Nico and this is my older brother Cassian. It's nice to meet you too and hope we get along." Nico said being friendly and stretching out his hand for a handshake which caused Leo's eyes to widen.
"Uh, aren't elves reserved about touching others?"
"Most are, but we grew up around humans so it doesn't bother us." Nico said with a friendly smile which in turn made Leo smile and shake his hand.
'Hmm but why is she hiding her gender? Don't tell me it's some kind of contrived bullshit reason? Wait, no. I shouldn't forget that this world isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Stuff like sexual assault still happens, especially in a lawless and unregulated area like the dungeon. And being a Falna-less girl in a dungeon surrounded by a bunch of superpowered strangers isn't exactly the epitome of wisdom.'
'Huh, I guess if you look at it that way it's the smart thing to conceal her real gender. Hmm, she's clever and capable of forethought, anticipating the possible danger and taking measures to prevent it. I'm glad. When Rose told us about her circumstances, I thought it was someone either too desperate or too dumb, but this was a pleasant surprise. Although we'll see how she holds up in the dungeon later.'
"Hi, it's nice to meet you, my brother already introduced me, and daylight's burning so we should discuss the contract and then head straight into the dungeon if that's okay with you." Cassian told her with a polite smile.
'Well, it's not my place to reveal her secret, so I'll just play along. I shouldn't forget to address her as a guy too.'
"Ah! Yes, I'm ready, I've packed up all that I need and am ready to go at a moment's notice!" Leo replied with enthusiasm and resolve.
'Hmm, it seems she's determined.' Cassian then turned to Rose. "What's the average fee for a supporter?"
"It depends on several factors, but the average rate is 5% of the total earnings for supporters in a party of level 1 adventurers."
'I see. Considering an experienced level 1 party of five generates 25,000 Valis in a day, that means an average supporter earns 1,250 Valis per day. Since we earn at least 70,000 Valis a day, she'll be enjoying a good payout.'
"We will give you 10% of total earnings after each dive you accompany, but I'm expecting you to work hard and keep up. If I find your performance lacking, you will be dismissed and I'll find someone else. Got it?"
"Yes! Thank you!" Leo said loudly while bowing her head in gratitude. The determination in her voice got even stronger which made Cassian smile.
'There was no greed in her eyes or voice when I doubled her wage. That means her goal is not money and her determination stems from somewhere else.'
"Good, we'll sign a contract now then, with Rose as our contract witness." Rose nodded and retrieved a pre-prepared contract with only the details needing to be filled out.
Cassian read over the contract before filling out the details and signing his name, then he handed the contract to Leo who also carefully read it over before signing her name, which further earned Cassian's approval.
"Okay, now that it's done let's head out." And the three started making their way out after saying goodbye and thanks to Rose.
'Heh, a reverse trap. We're in an anime world alright.' Cassian couldn't help but snort.
--- The Dungeon – 1st Floor ---
"Leo considering you don't have a Falna you are very vulnerable to monster attacks. They will overwhelm you with ease. Even if you know how to use that sword of yours, you'll only be able to take on one goblin or kobold, that's why make sure to stay beside Nico at all times." Cassian started giving orders as soon as they reached the dungeon.
"Got it!" Leo responded eagerly, but there was still some fear remaining there.
"Nico, since you learned concurrent chanting I want you to constantly be on the move. As we kill the monsters I want you to constantly circle around the corpses so that Leo can extract the magic stones while staying near you for security. This way we will simultaneously be killing and harvesting, accelerating our progress." Nico nodded at the instructions and prepared. It would take concentration to keep up his spell bombardments while guiding Leo.
"Leo I'm going to cast a spell on you. It is a defensive spell and should endure a couple of hits from all the monsters below the 10th floor. On floors 10 to 12 it will only withstand a single hit from the bigger monsters so be careful." As he finished Cassian chanted Quen and a golden barrier screen surrounded Leo before fading and only leaving behind dancing sparks as the indication of the spell's activity.
Leo watched this with wonder in her eyes. This was her first time seeing magic, so she couldn't help becoming a bit giddy about it, but she quickly composed herself and nodded in gratefulness.
And so they started descending down the dungeon.
Their first encounter was with two goblins. Nico bisected them with a wind blade and then Leo immediately went to extract the cores from their bodies.
"The cores are located in their chest area, around the solar plexus." Nico told her to make her find it faster.
"Oh I know, don't worry." Leo replied calmly.
"You know? I thought this was your first descent into the dungeon." Cassian questioned her.
"It is. I've done this with surface monsters. I started seeking out and attacking them back in my village to grow strong, so I've got experience dealing with some of the upper-floor monsters."
"Huh, that's good to know. I also know now why you weren't petrified by all of this, it should be normal for newbies to freeze up when encountering monsters for the first time."
"Haha, thanks. Although I'll admit that this place is still amazing." Leo looked around in awe. They were currently walking through a cavern of blue shining veins covering the walls, illuminating their surroundings. This place was certainly impressive and she's barely seen anything yet.
"Amazing but dangerous, so be vigilant."
The trio continued going down the floors while killing all the monsters with Leo harvesting their magic stones. She got progressively faster and more efficient the more they hunted, which meant they had to waste less time on looting.
As a result, the hunting rate for the brothers received a significant boost and they went through the floors at a record speed. Cassian was glad they had recruited a supporter. She was worth every penny.
This in turn made him wonder about the sheer idiocy of a lot of adventurers who look down on and disregard supporters. It didn't make any sense at all. In the anime, it was a bit more understandable since monsters turned to dust by themselves and so the primary job for the supporters vanished and they simply became pack mules. But when harvesting magic stones from monster corpses was essential, a supporter proved to be invaluable.
Leo on the other hand was enjoying her first time in the dungeon. She was incredibly nervous, but as time went on the nervousness was replaced with cool-headedness and professionalism in doing her job. Cassian kept a close watch on her in case she decided to pilfer some of the loot but she proved to be an upright individual and hadn't even thought about such an action.
Instead, her admiration and the feeling of awe at the two increased the deeper they went. The way the two carried themselves and fought is exactly what she wanted to become an adventurer. This made her conviction to find a familia to join even more pronounced.
"So, uh, how long have you two been at this?" Leo asked while they were taking a break on the 9th floor before they proceeded to the mist floors.
"We received a Falna and became adventurers almost two weeks ago." Cassian answered.
"Two weeks?! But you guys are so strong, does Falna really give you that much of a boost?" Leo asked with astonishment. One thing the brothers learned about Leo is that she was relatively quiet most of the time and had a calm personality, so if she raised her voice then must have been really surprised.
"Heh not exactly, we're special you see." Answered Nico smugly with an upturned nose, feeling good for being praised. Of course, the boasting did not last very long when he received a slap on the back of his head from his older brother.
"Careful there or your ego might get so inflated, you'll float away into some random monster's mouth." Cassian told him as Nico glared at him while holding the back of his head in pain. Leo couldn't help a light smile coming onto her face as she watched this. She was quite enjoying her time with the duo.
After some rest and a packed lunch, the three stood up and prepared their equipment. They had eaten in a quiet corner of the dungeon that Cassian found with his enhanced senses. Now they were going down into new territory.
"Nico be ready to cast your shield at a moment's notice and use your wind to disperse the mist during fights. I'll let you know when monsters approach. Leo, stay by Nico's side at all times. The next floors are covered in a layer of mist, so the visibility is very poor. The monsters are also stronger here. Quen will only be able to withstand a single hit from orcs and silverbacks, so keep that in mind."
Both nodded at Cassian's orders and got ready to face the new challenges.
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