Chapter 68 - Taming (3)

Baron Sigmund Helmut occupied the very bottom rung of imperial noble society.

Power among the nobility was generally measured by two things: the rank of one's title, and the amount of actual material wealth one possessed.

Which also meant that someone with neither money nor a particularly impressive title could all too easily find himself despised and plunged into ruin, noble or not.

Unfortunately, Helmut was a man who refused to come to terms with that reality.

"Meaning you enjoyed putting on airs when you didn't have a damned thing to your name?"

"... Would you mind calling me a true noble who still cherishes romantic ideals?"

The other person snorted, dismissing Helmut's words out of hand.

"It wasn't enough to squander your entire fortune on gambling, women, and drugs. You couldn't even stop halfway, and now you're about to have your guts ripped out by loan sharks. What sort of romantic ideal am I supposed to call that?"

"..."

"Would 'the aesthetics of vermin' cover it?"

"..."

... Those words really hit where it hurt.

Naturally, Helmut swallowed his anger all the same.

This person was his client. If he lashed out in anger, no lifeline would ever descend to rescue him from his desperate situation.

"Then what would you have me do, sir?"

Still, that wasn't to say Helmut had no useful qualities whatsoever.

At the very least, he was shrewd and cunning, and at times displayed a truly astonishing talent for deceiving others.

Indeed, the only reason he was still alive despite his disastrous lifestyle was his knack for cleverly lying his way through one situation after another.

And the task his client had for such a man was simple.

"There's something I need you to do concerning the husband of the Lionhearted."

"... Pardon?"

The sudden mention of such an illustrious figure left Helmut sounding thoroughly flustered.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I'm just a lowly baron, you know? Asking me out of nowhere to take on someone as important as the Lionhearted is a bit—"

"Not the Lionhearted. Her husband."

With those words, a photograph dropped in front of him.

It showed a handsome, delicate-featured man who somehow looked as though exhaustion clung to him all day long.

"... Aha..."

Helmut sounded less than pleased.

Even if it wasn't the Lionhearted herself, this honestly looked far too dangerous.

"And being a moment away from having loan sharks rip out your guts isn't dangerous?"

"..."

... He really wished this person would stop hitting him where it hurt.

"Don't worry. I won't make you do anything dangerous."

With that, the client explained the job.

"And if I take care of that, you'll clear all my debts?"

"Of course."

That casual answer was all he received from the person making this outrageous offer.

He wasn't talking about a trivial sum. Some of his loans had come from fairly dangerous places, too.

His debts must have grown into a veritable mountain by now...

"... Frankly, it's an offer I find hard to believe. Not that I have much choice."

"Really?"

"Yes. At the very least, some token of assurance that I'll receive that reward when this is over—"

Before he could finish, a nameplate was slapped down on the table. The sight of it shut Helmut's mouth.

Stamped on it was the seal of a certain organization.

One that even someone at the very bottom of noble society, like Helmut, could not possibly fail to recognize.

Anyone who had ever entrusted their fate to the underworld, even once, was bound to know it.

"... The 'Merchant of Death' commissioned this personally?"

"If you still can't believe me after this, forget it. I hope you know how to breathe without organs."

"No, no, it's not that I don't believe you."

Helmut gave a hollow laugh as he spoke.

In any case, saying such a thing to someone who had offered this much proof would go beyond mere rudeness and verge on sacrilege.

Then, with a disbelieving chuckle, he asked,

"If this fellow is just a man who married into money, why would someone so powerful take an interest in him?"

After a long silence, the other person finally spoke in a serious tone.

"... Just playing a little prank on someone who's caught their fancy."

Those words drifted eerily through the dark room, lingering in the air.

"To see whether he's someone they can get along with in the future."

▣

"You're saying this is that magical beast?"

Aboard the train back to the capital, Noel stared at Aiden's feet in wonder.

What looked at first glance like a medium-sized dog sat quietly there, wearing a disgruntled expression.

It was Reaver, who had shrunk his own body. Anyone comparing his current appearance to the way he'd plowed through everything like a living tank would have reacted much as Noel did.

Judging by appearances alone, shock would have been perfectly understandable. But on reflection, it wasn't all that strange.

The creature had already performed the absurd feat of making his entire enormous body invisible.

Aiden had been certain he wasn't completely inept at manipulating supernatural power. Still, he hadn't expected him to have a trick for shrinking his body like this.

Noel tried poking his cheek, but quickly pulled her hand away when Reaver growled as though ready to bite her finger clean off.

["Don't touch me. I'll kill—"]

Of course, Aiden immediately smacked Reaver on the head and glared at him, which quieted him down.

Apparently, last night had left him with a very clear understanding of the pecking order...

"He talks, too?!"

"..."

Since Noel was more interested in that than the threat to kill her, Aiden answered with a distinctly awkward air.

"Apparently. Curious, isn't it?"

"A talking dog has been my dream pet ever since I was little!"

Aiden silently closed his mouth at the sight of Noel's eyes sparkling with delight.

... Then she started enthusiastically petting the growling Reaver with both hands, leaving him even more at a loss for words.

With the pecking order firmly established, Reaver couldn't bring himself to snap at Noel and simply sat there. He looked a little pitiful...

"... What in the world did you do to tame that thing?"

It was a rare occasion on which Katya, rather than Noel, asked a perfectly sensible question. But Aiden couldn't give her a straight answer.

Better to keep quiet than explain what Reaver had gone through in the Mindscape last night.

It had been bad enough that, seeing Reaver on the verge of losing his mind near the end of training, Aiden had actually shown him some kindness.

["Behave yourself from now on, and I'll let you skip a few days of training at a time."]

["Senior, take it a little easier. He's more mentally fragile than I thought."]

... And this was the result.

-System Log

▶ Target 'Soul Reaver's affection increases.

▶ Bond level increases!

▶ You may copy 1 skill!

"..."

Just how hard had it been on him for the mere promise of a few days off training to raise his affection?

Even after being called mentally weak and all that.

'Well, if he's offering, I'll take it...'

Still, he'd brought it all on himself by being so stubborn.

Whatever the case, Aiden wasn't one to turn down a gift. Any skill he could copy right now was something he ought to put to use.

He immediately browsed Reaver's skills through the system window. They were plain, but their effects were just as straightforward.

In short, things like 'tougher body' or 'greater strength'—enhancements to the most basic stats.

The problem was that, perhaps because he would be copying them from a nonhuman target, they came with various penalties when used by Aiden.

They were still straightforward, simple abilities that would produce immediate results. But honestly, on their own...

'A little underwhelming.'

As befitted a top-tier magical beast whose greatest weapon was his physique, the skills were geared toward physical prowess. They would be reasonably helpful to Aiden, whose base stats were poor, but using them alone felt a little underwhelming.

After all, hadn't he survived this long by making up for his deficient base stats with ridiculously powerful skill effects?

They were good, but not great.

In that case, there was another option worth considering.

'Let's see if I can find something with some synergy.'

Countless real battles had already proven that combining different skills was more effective than simply using one on its own.

He still had a fair number of unused skill-copying opportunities left. There was plenty of room to find an efficient combination.

For starters, one from the Pontiff. And another from the duke's daughter, earned during this visit to the ducal House of Aslan—

'... Huh?'

Aiden's face scrunched up as he scanned Liza Aslan's skill window.

He'd found a skill he hadn't expected in the slightest.

'Why does she have something like this?'

After reading through its description, he let out a hollow laugh.

-Skill Info

◆ Magical-Beast Transformation

Draws out the magical-beast abilities latent within your body. Your race temporarily changes to 'Magical Beast.' If you possess magical-beast-related abilities, their effects are amplified.

... Well.

His guess was that she'd gained the skill because she was the first case of someone returning to human form after undergoing Magical-Beast Transformation. Aiden had treated her after she'd been injected with the transformation drug, turning her human again.

And being able to copy something like this meant he could make full use of the one skill in Reaver's list he particularly coveted.

-Skill Info

◆ Primordial Strength

All magical beasts at the apex of the ecosystem, which prey upon other magical beasts, possess powerful muscles as a matter of course. Soul Reavers stand out even among such creatures and are well versed in amplifying that strength.

★ Your race is not 'Magical Beast.' The effect is reduced by more than half!

Exactly.

Combined this way, they would be more than a mediocre pairing of simple skills. Depending on how he used them, their powerful synergy could even provide an opportunity to turn the tables in one move.

Even something as simple as 'being strong' was an ability with a vast range of applications.

The saying that a foolish head makes the body suffer worked in reverse, too. A truly excellent body was a powerful enough weapon to compensate for a truly terrible brain.

As for the remaining skills...

'The Pontiff's skills...'

He could use those later, when he needed them. The problem was that every single one of that person's skills was simply too advanced.

More than a few had prerequisites. Copying them right now wouldn't do him much good.

After reviewing all that information, Aiden sighed inwardly and dragged a hand down his face.

For now, even this much was enough to make his gains from Chapter 2 highly satisfactory.

He'd grown stronger himself, and acquired something resembling a new... mount.

Even so, it was hard to call his situation satisfactory.

As always, he didn't have much time.

'The time left until Chapter 3 begins...'

Considering how relentlessly paced even the original game's events had been leading up to the coup—the finale of the Rift in the Capital—he wouldn't have much breathing room.

By his rough estimate, a few days to a week at most.

Comparing the actual amount of time with how things had progressed so far, that might seem fairly generous. But given the scale of the incident and the sheer amount he needed to prepare, the schedule was painfully tight.

'What should I start with...?'

He had to squeeze in as much growth as possible before then. What was the fastest way to get stronger?

Just as Aiden stroked his chin and began mulling that over,

-System Message

▶ Emergency event triggered!

▶ A Bonus Quest will occur before the main event.

Apparently, the system window was going to spare him some of the deliberation.

-Quest Info

▲ Bonus Quest!

▶ A target who already regards you favorably will contact you soon.

▶ This is an opportunity to raise the target's affection far beyond its current level. Handle it well!

▶ An event involving 'Ganesha Aldebaran' will occur soon!

What was this now?

Aiden blinked quietly as he read through the window.

Well, he didn't really know anything about it, but...

'... That doesn't look bad?'

Really, no matter how he looked at it, nothing about this seemed bad.

Someone was practically coming to him of their own accord and begging him to copy their skills. What could possibly be bad about that?

The only issue was...

'But Ganesha?'

That was a rather familiar name.

'Why would this person take an interest in me?'

Ganesha Aldebaran.

Commonly known as the 'Merchant of Death.' A magnate of the continent's underworld.

And, to add a fact probably known only to Aiden...

'Wasn't this character hard to even encounter in the game?'

This was a special NPC who appeared only when particular conditions were met.

"..."

Turning over what he knew about the other party, Aiden stroked his chin.

'... Now this...'

There was probably a very good chance he'd hit the jackpot.