Number 7: Milayel's Giant Greenish Spear was not only the ideal weapon for spear users, but this single-digit numbered item also offered a great balance between attack and defense. The reason I started experimenting on a spear barbarian was the protection this weapon offered.
But in the end, he became something of a Berserker.
Of course, this is not to say that the Berserker class was bad. If the group had a tank of the same level, the Berserker worked quite well, and could even act as a secondary tank in an emergency.
"Hmm... ⁇ reflected.
However, the construction was a little too out of focus.
I gave orders. «Clean the beach.»
«Excuse me?»
«We will leave immediately!»
«Ah, oh. ¡Sí!»
Everyone seemed to wonder who would ever call this spear their own, but I decided to get the boat on the water first and think about it on our way off the island. It was not a decision that should be made on a whim.
«Prepare the candles!»
Once everyone was on the boat, we began to sail across the silver ocean.
«Lord! Look there!»
Back on the island, which was getting smaller and smaller in the distance, a colossus stood up and roared towards us.
¡Uraaaaaah!
...Why did he only do that when we were leaving?
***
As we traveled towards Library Island, I fell into my thoughts about who should receive this spear.
Ah, we made eye contact again.
As I looked around, hoping to find some answer on the horizon, I met a man. He was the spearman of the Hektz clan. Being the only person of the many here trained to use a spear, even if he didn't dare say it out loud, I noticed that a part of him was feeling a little expectant somewhere inside him.
Fwip.
Get me out quickly.
The heart could want whatever it wanted, but the fact was that this weapon was property of the Anabada Clan. That had already been decided, so the only thing I was trying to figure out at that moment was which of my clanmates to give it to.
First of all, I can rule out Erwen and Versyl.
The same thing happened with Amelia and Missha. Missha had two weapons, and the way Amelia used her aura was not suitable for fighting with a spear. Auyen was not a combat class to begin with. By elimination, only Ainar remained.
«Do you want some?»
When I looked into her eyes, Ainar gave me a bright smile and handed me some of the jerky she was eating.
I accepted it and walked again while chewing.
...I suppose she is the best one to use the spear to its full potential.
[The user's Natural Regeneration increases in relation to the time spent in combat.]
[All healing effects on the user are tripled].
These two abilities worked very well with Combat Study and Vampire Slayer Imprint Predation. Furthermore, since he had abilities such as Wings of Greed and Coiling that greatly enhanced his natural Regeneration, combined with the spear, he would have a monstrous healing factor.
My Spear Barbarian team had also used the Huntress Imprint that way and had stocked up on a bunch of similar recovery skills.
However, the moment he wields the spear, he will have to abandon some of his other abilities.
The first one he came up with was the repeated rank four Tajo skill. It wasn't impossible to throw it with a spear, but he wouldn't get the piercing damage bonus that the spear offered if he used it. Likewise, Control of the Wild, which converted damage dealt by certain active effects into cutting damage, would become useless.
Without repeated Slash, Explosive Scars wouldn't help either, and that means Mandela Oil and Residual Heat wouldn't help either.
Honestly, giving him the spear was essentially committing to changing every skill he had.
Still... Except for Hipramajent, all his essences are below rank four, right? If we're already going to do this, how about we change everything while we're at it?
Dungeon and Stone was a game built for teams.
It was important to plan the final build you wanted, but even more important was to plan the incremental builds you would need to achieve it. If you didn't select the items and essences you would use to overcome each phase of the game, it was impossible for you to live long enough to reach the final phase. It was important to keep the basic concept of the character intact and at the same time increase his stats.
Masticar, masticar, masticar.
That's why I chose Repeated Slash as Ainar's main ability. It was a rank four skill that we got at the beginning, and after she got what she needed from it, I hoped to trade it for another similar high-ranking skill later.
...But a change of plans wouldn't be a bad idea.
I had grown a lot. Erwen too – after absorbing the Soil Essence, he had shot forward at an incredible rate. Missha had also made quite a bit of progress while traveling with Baekho Lee. Amelia had been strong from the beginning.
To put it coldly, we could hunt very well even without Ainar nearby. Which meant that right now, we could remove her from the team completely if we wanted.
In theory, anyway. But that's all to say that using the spear would definitely not hurt him in battle, even if it doesn't fit his build perfectly right now.
A single-digit numbered item was a weapon like no other. The effects granted by this particular spear were more than enough to compensate for the abilities he would have to abandon to use it correctly. Especially considering that they were all rank four or lower essences.
A 1,200% increase in armor-piercing damage, triple the damage on all attacks made with the spear, the ability to pierce virtually any material... Even taking those three bonuses into account, one could argue that he would be able to deal more damage with the spear than with the sword. And with all those regeneration bonuses accumulated, it would be even harder to kill than it already was.
The problem then is, will he accept it...? Let's talk to her first and see.
There was nothing to lose by asking.
«Ainar.» Like a true barbarian, I approached her and got into the matter. «Have you thought about using a spear instead of a sword?»
«...A spear?» Ainar stopped chewing his jerky and raised his head to look at me.
Suspired.
Yeah, I figured it was a long shot.
Even ignoring their personal preferences, barbarians tended to hate these types of weapons in general, claiming that they were for cowards.
«Oh! If you mean that spear, then yes! Give it to me!»
...Eh? What was this reaction about?
«To be clear», I started slowly, »I say you'll have to use a spear for the rest of your life. Plus, we'll have to change all your essences».
«Exchange them... Do you also mean the essence of Semura?».
Semura's essence was what gave her the Repeated Slash. The same essence that his former master transmitted to him through the Succession of Souls before he died.
«Yes», I confirmed. «That one too».
«I see...» Ainar's eyes lost their shine for a second.
«You can take as much time as you want...». I started to say, but it turned out I didn't need much time to think about it at all.
«Alright. I'll switch to the spear».
«…¿Eh?»
She was telling him that she would have to change basically everything about herself, but it didn't take her a minute to accept it.
Is this what it means to be a true barbarian...?
She was at a level I couldn't even aspire to.
However, it turned out that Ainar might not have made this decision on a whim.
«Why are you so surprised? From the beginning, aren't all the essences I have now the ones you recommended to me?».
«Eh... ¿supongo?»
«Thanks to them, I am known and respected in a way that I couldn't even dream of before. I can fight powerful enemies I couldn't even imagine fighting and protect my comrades with my bare hands.»
Ainar looked me directly in the eyes, determined.
«So I'll trust you».
I was speechless.
«You've never done anything to hurt me», he concluded.
I see. She hadn't made this decision on a whim at all. I was only willing to follow that path because I trusted myself wholeheartedly.
Would I be able to do the same?
I wasn't sure I could achieve that level of confidence.
«And more than anything...» Ainar looked away from me. To be more precise, he changed his gaze from me to something else, a hungry gleam entering his eyes. «...that spear is great! It's huge».
«Ah...»
«It's almost twice as big as my great sword!».
Once again I was speechless.
Just as crows instinctively gravitated toward shiny objects, barbarians liked big things.
«It's also great how it shines!»
Even more so if those things also shone.
«And it seems like everyone with wings uses spears, anyway!»
Yeah... So you had a lot of reasons, huh?
***
After officially switching to the Spearman class, Ainar began training to figure out how to use the spear. He practiced how to spin it in the air, how to throw it forward, how to keep his distance, and much more. At first, he was clumsy and didn't even know how to hold it properly, but he got used to it incredibly quickly.
«Hey heh, now I'm finally getting the hang of it again!»
« Otra circuit? »
«Do not remember? When we were kids, we were taught to use all weapons!»
«Ah, ace... Si...
Geez, don't bring up the old days out of nowhere.
As always, I was quick to avoid any mention of the past with a vague nod, but Ainar, unfortunately, wanted to keep remembering.
«Come to think of it, it's pretty interesting. I heard that my mother and sister also used spears».
Luckily, it was a topic I could comment on. It was the first time I had heard about the spears, but Ainar and I had already talked about his sister before.
Ainar, second daughter of Fenelin. He had an older sister.
Or rather, he had had an older sister.
«Hey? Do you have a sister?» Erwen, who also had an older sister, asked Ainar in surprise, but she just shrugged her shoulders.
«Oh, had I never mentioned it? She became an adventurer four years before me. He used to tell me all kinds of stories about his adventures while using his new abilities to intimidate me, haha...»
«...What?» Erwen seemed bewildered by the affectionate tone with which Ainar evoked that particular memory. It seemed like cultural differences were causing her to stumble. «Oh, so what's your older sister like? Is famous?»
«Died. Two years before my coming of age ceremony».
«Oh... Sorry...» Erwen paled and apologized, clearly worried she had touched a nerve.
However, Ainar didn't seem to care at all. «Hey? Why do you apologize? It's not your fault he died».
«Still... it's a sad thing to think about».
«Sad? What do you mean? I only have good memories of her. Of course, it's a shame I can't see her anymore, but I always smile when I remember the good times I had with my sister.»
Erwen blinked, momentarily speechless. «How... how can you think like that? Even now... every time I think about my older sister, my heart feels tight».
The snap of his voice sounded a little accusatory, but Ainar, fortunately, didn't seem to care. She tilted her head to the side, thoughtful, as unfazed as ever. «Even if you ask me how I can do it... The truth is that I couldn't tell you. Being happy is better than being sad. My sister would say it too».
It was a truly barbaric response.
Faced with this logic, Erwen was left unable to gather an answer. He stared at Ainar for a long time before silently excusing himself to return to the sofa.
I can finally breathe again.
When I let out the breath I was holding, Ainar looked at me confused. «...Have I done something wrong?».
«No. Keep doing what you're doing. We're going to jump right into the actual combat as soon as we land on the island».
«Oh! Very good!»
After letting Ainar train herself, I headed towards the helm of the ship. Once I finished checking with Auyen how long it would take us to reach our destination, I leaned against the mast and closed my eyes.
They should be able to take care of the random mafia monsters without any problems, so they should only wake me up if something strong appeared.
When I woke up from a nap shortly after, I took out my water bottle and went in search of Ainar. I was curious to know how far I had come while I was sleeping.
¿Eh?
But for some reason, Ainar had stopped training and was resting on deck.
Con Erwen.
What is this?
As soon as the question occurred to me, Amelia appeared next to me. «Leave them alone for a while. Don't try to interfere».
«...I wasn't going to do it». I was just curious to know what they were talking about.
To do this, I watered my ears and focused on their conversation so I could hear what they were saying. I was a little worried that they were alone, but their conversation was very normal.
«Haha, do you have a little sister too? How is? Are you also adventurous?».
«No, not yet. She'll have her coming-of-age ceremony next year, but I'm a little worried».
«If you're worried, you can be sure to teach him what you know».
«It's not that simple»...
«Hmm? Oh, why are we stuck here?»
«No, it's not that... Honestly... since our older sister died... and after Mister suddenly disappeared... our relationship hasn't been that good.»
«Oh yeah, I guess you'd be obsessed with going into battle and getting revenge. So it's all your fault!»
I was horrified by Ainar's accusation, but surprisingly, Erwen took it easy. «My fault... Yes, you are right. It's my fault».
«Haha, as long as you know, it's okay. So you can't treat her better once you get home?».
«But I think it's too late. I think she hates me and resents me».
«Has she told you herself?»
«No, but...
«If you didn't, stop wasting time worrying about it. Hate you? How could I when you're family? He probably hopes your relationship will go back to the way it was before».
«...¿In series?»
The two formed a strange image: an elf, among all the people, being lectured by a barbarian, the sworn enemy of her race.
But at the same time, it somehow made a lot of sense.
«Yes it's true! You can trust me».
I also felt like I could finally understand how Ainar was capable of making so many friends.
***
We arrived at Library Island on the seventy-sixth with the aim of cultivating as much as possible.
Bellarios would be great, but I hope we can get an essence that we can give to Ainar.
With that thought in mind, we entered the building and began our long walk down the stairs before we soon stopped dead.
«Yandel, there's someone down there».
«Only one person. Nobody else».
«They are curled up and look asleep...»
«What are you going to do?»
Amelia and Erwen had given completely unexpected news.
Someone had arrived before us.
Who could it be?
I had some ideas of who might be down there, namely that clan that came down to Basement One with the Armin Adventurer Group a few weeks ago. His name was...
«I have the feeling that they are part of the Ainpelial Clan.»
Oh, right. That was.
«But the numbers don't add up. Only one person? Where did everyone else in that huge group go...?». Myul frowned as he sank into thought, but I didn't bother mulling over those questions either.
Rather, I didn't want to waste time wondering.
«It's faster to ask them directly».
We would get a much clearer answer by going down and talking to them than by staying here speculating.
And so, we quickly went down the stairs.
¡Boom! ¡Bum! ¡Bum!
As we were making so much noise, the figure that seemed to have been sleeping was startled at an awkward angle as soon as we reached the bottom.
«Uh...! S-Your Honor?»
And when the person saw us, their eyes widened in shock.
He could sympathize with the feeling.
«…Maderkin Lilgreams.»
The man looking back at me was the captain of the Silver Lion clan, the same one with whom we had separated on the island from the village chief more than a month ago and whom we had not seen alive since.