LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 26
As I regained consciousness, I found myself staring at a familiar ceiling.
“Ugh…”
How long was I out cold?
Luck is really terrible at times.
Of all things, a shard had to hit me on the head…
As I gently brushed my hair, an unfamiliar texture replaced what I expected.
It was a cloth with a familiar design, soaked in what seemed like blood flowing from my head.
“This is…”
Indeed.
The hem of a maiden ghost’s garment.
…
It’s quite a valuable material item, though…
Raising myself up and glancing towards the storage area, it looked utterly chaotic, like a complete mess from five minutes ago.
I could roughly guess what had happened.
As soon as I started bleeding from my head and collapsed, Tynia must have hurriedly looked for a way to stop the bleeding and tied it around my head…
“Heh.”
I felt a little sorry for surprising her.
…But I didn’t know where Tynia herself had gone.
Still, for now, there was something a bit more important.
Did I get it?
The ornament imbued with the phoenix’s soul!
I peered into the alchemy furnace, where black smoke was puffing up.
Inside was…
[Failed Alchemical Byproduct LM-087]
[A doomed piece of garbage nearly destined to become a masterpiece born from the hands of someone with a low alchemical specialty level. Recycling it is impossible, so let’s sell it nicely at the shop. Occasionally, there are people with peculiar tastes who collect it based on aesthetics, but its authenticity remains unverified.]
“I’m not buying this kind of junk──!”
What is this doomed garbage nearly destined to become a masterpiece…?
No, the materials were perfect! What’s this about a low alchemical specialty level?
And why does it look like some bumpy mushroom?!
Puhuhuh…!
It seemed my blood pressure spiked, and the wounds on my forehead, which had temporarily stopped bleeding, started gushing blood again.
“Ugh…”
Once a day…
I feel like I’m getting shafted…
As I sat there, absent-minded, my consciousness began to blur.
Bang, bang.
I heard footsteps coming up the stairs from the first floor.
This time, what? Are there going to be penalties for practicing illegal unlicensed alchemy…?
And then…
“Heal!”
With Yo-hena’s slightly trembling voice.
“Wow.”
My mind cleared up.
I felt the stinging pain and the wounds that had been gushing blood began to heal quickly.
The healing effect is great.
“Thank──”
Turning my head toward the stairs, I saw Tynia, who was sniffling and crying, along with Ari and Yo-hena, whose faces were painted with surprise, confusion, and a hint of relief.
“──You’re welcome. Um, there was a minor accident.”
Um, I don’t know what kind of expression I should have at times like this.
For now…
I just smiled.
* * *
Late at night.
The hero party convened an emergency meeting.
“The agenda for today is, Arc, is this really okay?!”
Just as Ari said.
Even if the heroes were hit by a powerful attack that could potentially kill ordinary people, they’d only suffer scratches at most.
But Arc, he was different.
“That’s quite weak…”
“He’s weak, barely a thing!”
“…A frail, little chick.”
“I didn’t know humans could get hurt so easily… Tynia, I was really surprised…”
Everyone added their remarks to Ari’s comment.
According to Tynia’s testimony, which she managed to calm down just now, a very small shard had flown extremely slowly, and she couldn’t dodge it, resulting in a large wound on her forehead.
Fortunately, thanks to clever and kind Tynia’s first aid, they managed to stop the bleeding, but foolish Arc didn’t appreciate her care and undid the bandage, causing him to bleed again.
Thanks to Yo-hena’s healing, who arrived at just the right moment, it was said he barely escaped death.
If Arc, who was tied up and locked away in the next room with rope, had heard about this, he would have probably been furious, asking what sort of instigation and fabrication that was, thinking they were treating him like a hamster.
Yet, the reality is, to the strong heroes (including demons), humans were perceived as beings with less strength than hamsters.
Operation name:
Protect Arc.
Under the leadership of General Ari, plans were carefully devised and solidified.
* * *
Something feels off today.
“Huff, huff, huff…”
“Run faster, Jjuin!”
Usually, when going out for early morning exercise, Lumi always snorted loudly while clumsily stumbling.
But today, she insisted on tagging along for morning walks, whining and throwing a fit.
…Even suggesting that it was okay to put on a leash was absurd, and I spent some time trying to convince her that it wasn’t necessary.
But.
“Huff, huff, huff… Just a bit, slower…”
This was seriously too fast…!
Lumi, the darling dog has some insane stamina!
Moreover, any time I considered taking off my hood because it was too warm, she would give me a look, causing sweat to accumulate on my neck.
Even after finishing what felt more like hard forced running than a morning walk,
“Jjuin! Should Lumi wash you?”
“…?”
Washing, like a typical person giving a dog a bath?
Well, if I really did give her a bath, it would probably be a mess!
“Thanks for the offer, but… that’s a bit…”
I endured with extraordinary patience.
It’s not because Saha was glaring at me with fierce eyes after hearing that.
I am a gentleman…
…If I’m not careful with my actions,
I had an ominous feeling that I would end up ripped apart into star shapes and displayed.
After that,
A serene morning.
Normally, I should be out at the plaza right about now, having a raucous time with the early bird kids, dreaming of becoming the city mascot beyond just the shop mascot.
But Lumi wouldn’t detach herself, clinging like glue.
“Lumi? What’s wrong today?”
“Woof! It’s Lumi’s turn today!”
“…Turn?”
After grabbing Lumi and gathering pieces of the truth amidst her dog talk, I found out.
“Oh, no, my privacy?”
“There’s no private life more important than life!”
No way.
24-hour close surveillance in shifts…?
“No, but, people need to sleep…”
“A day without sleep is fine for us!”
“No, I’m not a child…”!
“Arc, you’re weak! You must be protected!”
No way!
My happy time…!
I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud,
I just wept internally.
Even yesterday, when they tied me up and left me for an hour.
…Is this hero party really okay?
* * *
In the original work, content such as blacksmithing or alchemy workshops, or even cooking in the Guild House was conducted through ‘Hero Dispatch’.
The system itself was unlocked for me right after clearing the first floor, but since it was throwing error messages at me, I couldn’t use it.
I had to cook myself, try to charm Ha-Rong… This was full of trials and tribulations.
Then I ended up with a split forehead.
…Thanks to that, I also enjoyed the luxury of being stalked by a beautiful girl.
Positive thinking, positive thinking.
Anyway.
To analyze the cause of yesterday’s alchemical failure incident, I peered at my smartphone while trying hard to ignore Lumi, who was circling around me meowing.
What I couldn’t see in the ‘Last Felix (DEBUG)’ app,
I could confirm in the ‘LF – Shop Owner Add-On’.
It was precisely the ‘Specialty’.
Something that had swirling rumors in galleries or channels as ‘Feels good’ or ‘Effect is good’ was, in reality, there!
It seemed the production company took inspiration from X-World but hid it to avoid accusations of plagiarism.
“Meow, meow~ meow, meow~”
“Whee, whee!”
For example.
Since the incident yesterday, Lumi has finally opened her heart and started caring for Tynia, achieving a whopping social level of 3.
Thanks to that, or perhaps due to her peculiar tastes, there was even a suspiciously wealthy Lumi Fan Club that wanted to touch her ears or tail just once.
Well, Yo-hena and Ari also had social levels of around 2.
And Mr. Ha-Rong, being the exclusive blacksmith, was at forging level 2.
…Tynia had no aptitude at all.
And I was at cooking level 4.
…
But that wasn’t important.
Alchemy also had its own separate specialty.
And in our party, nobody had it.
So.
It’s time to find new friends.
Let’s see, I distinctly remember summoning a 4-star alchemical agent last time.
* * *
“…You went back to your hometown?”
“Yes. She probably won’t return for another two weeks…”
I received this shocking news when I stopped by the wizard guild to find Setis, the reputed professional alchemist praised in galleries.
Why!
We have a contract!
Why can’t I proceed with it…?
“…Thank you for telling me…”
“Woof? Arc, are you crying?”
I thought it was too late, and indeed it was too late.
Even when I casually went through the list of other 4-star expenses I had summoned so far, most of them were close combat dealers or tanks.
In other words, physical types.
Physical types wouldn’t do well in alchemy, right?
The future honey jar I envisioned was clouded with ominous clouds over the alchemy workshop.
Then there was only one thing to do.
I had no choice but to ‘gacha’!
Just today, if I push all the way to the 9th sector on the 10th floor, I can gather enough divine stones to hit the ceiling.
The pickup character, Erte, is a magic damage dealer, so maybe she can handle alchemy?
Honestly, not even pulling a 5-star on my previous 100 pulls was just… infuriating.
Was I shafted that time?
It’s my turn to get something good this time.
That’s just how the world works.
* * *
“Guhhh…”
I must be…
The unluckiest person among Earthlings…
If I had a card, an adult card,
I would immediately pour all my wealth into it, feeling suffocated and my hands and feet trembling.
90 pulls.
No rainbows.
I don’t deserve it, oh, I don’t deserve it…!
Plus.
The end was just “perfect”.
“Woof! It’s Lumi!”
…
Pick out.
And it’s a duplicate.
The contract in my hand emanated a bright light, and I cried out,
“Hyek…! Lumi turned to stone?!”
Thud.
[5-Star Hero’s Soulstone x1]
[Lumi’s Unique Soulstone x1]
It literally turned into two stones.
No! Shit! My companion!