Chapter 3: Rearguard Skills
“Were you a boss in the previous world? You seem to be exceptionally tough.”
The brightly smiling Louisa was attending to me. It was her warm and soothing response to the seekers visiting the guild.
My “mote”[1] period ended in grade school, apart from the committee work, it was a life devoid of women. So the MP recovers even by just being a little gentler.
“Now that I’ve come to this labyrinth country, I can keep track of my achievements as a seeker. For that reason, I want to choose a job that I won’t regret later. ”
Will the section chief evaluate it once I gain some achievements?
No, that’s not the goal, I should aim for the top, as high as it could get me. In my previous life, I could not make it to the top of the company, even if I have to work freelance, there was no way. But it is different here in this world.
“Louisa, the seekers achievements, for example, how do you rate them?”
“Uhm, first of all, the seeker must raise his rank, for new seekers however, their rank will still be determined. Depending on their achievements, the rank written on their seeker’s license will vary.”
Louisa points to my seeker’s license. When I traced the character written on the upper left, the contents displayed on the card changed.
(Is it possible to use this like a compact Tablet-PC? It’s intuitive and straightforward.)
“This is the part of the page that records and displays your logs in the dungeon. Nothing has been written yet; the log is evaluated and the ranking is calculated after you exit the maze. Please take care not to go out immediately in the labyrinth or escape a demon while being attacked one-sidedly. If you’re at the bottom of the rankings, you’ll sleep in the dungeon, far from the comfort of the stables.”
“…… I’d like to have the stable at least. ”
“In the stable, only a small amount of vitality and magic power recovers.
Please ask me for help at any time, I cannot do it time and again but, I can arrange for you a lodging.”
It may not be so sweet, but it would be a good development to say that Louisa will stay in my lodging.
“…… Oh, are you staying here tonight? Let’s see, it’s hard to make a quick arrangement, so I’ll take emergency measures to my house…”
“No, no, it’s not like I’m still in the dungeon and that I just missed an arrangement. So it’s okay.”
I should have taken up on her kind offer, but I immediately denied it. No, even if I am indebted to Louisa, Until I transgress the risk of becoming the lowest rank, I have my doubts about the future.
“Louisa, can I ask you one final question? The demand for newcomers are high. Elicia said this too, so what is a Rearguard?”
“Ah, the demand for a rearguard is high. Sadly, their physical strength and defense powers are low. The survival rate of rearguards within the span of five years is also low. In addition to that, Elicia has a bit of a situation and it’s not really good for a party to consist of jobs that focus on strength alone. To conquer labyrinths of the highest rank, they become mandatory to join a party. The adventure cannot be composed of vanguards only. She will be stalled for a while trying to raise her rearguard.”
“…… I see.”
It’s not that I don’t want to avoid it because I’ve been told about being a meat shield. If there is a demand, I will not hesitate to grab it.
If I put “rearguard”, I wonder what the heck I’ll be heading to. I can’t be a monk because I did not even practice religion faithfully. It’s too early to be a witch since I’m barely thirty. The countdown has begun.
For the time being, anything is fine so I’d like to become a “Rearguard”. If I write “Rearguard” on the job column, will it choose a suitable rearguard job for me without confirmation?
“It seems that your mind has been decided. Well then, please trace the license with your finger.”
I finally made up my mind and wrote “Rearguard” in the job column.
The next moment, the character “Rearguard” appeared. It was replaced by another set of characters - and it permanently displayed in the job column of license.
“Eh…?”
I’m was relieved, but Louisa shows an indescribable expression. It sounded like she uttered “eh”. It was probably just my imagination.
“N, No way… Even for a magician, monk or archer, the letters that you write should remain intact. But what’s with this…”
Louisa asked for my license, brings out the monocle glasses from her pocket and looked at the letters as if she was trying to appraise it.
She leaned slightly on the counter and asked me to listen so that nobody else around could hear us.
“I have never seen such a character… Erm, your name is Arihito Atobe, what on earth did you write on your license?”
“Erm, I just said that a while ago, I wrote "Rearguard.”
I calmed myself while answering her since I got a bit excited while she was whispering near my ears. Louisa slowly parted from me, and alternately stares at the license and my face, she smiled pleasantly while trying to come with a clear explanation.
“Congratulations, Atobe, your hope has been accepted.” Please wait a minute.“
"What job did I end up with?”
After listening on what she hurriedly told me, Louisa returned from leaning on the counter so that it wouldn’t start a commotion. For the second time, like being drawn by gravity, I caught a glimpse of her breasts rested on the counter table. I can’t remain fixated on them or else, my karma will rise.
“So… it’s rearguard. If you told such a job, no one will believe you, you will be made a fool of. However, I think that it is also my responsibility to give you an advice and take special measures. Please take this "mercenary ticket” until you understand the strengths of your job.“
Louisa took something that looks similar to a bag and puts her hand into the sleeve. She took out several pieces of paper similar to bank notes and discreetly handed it to me like it was some kind of bribe money.
"If you use that ticket, you can recruit a mercenary once before you dive into the labyrinth. Other than a mercenary, you cannot recruit a person using that ticket.”
“With the exception of humans? No way… Are they monsters?”
“No, there are trained monsters but they can only be accompanied by a trainer in the party. It’s a humanoid monster that you can recruit temporarily. I think the most reliable one to consider is a Lizardfolk. Their basic abilities are perfect for a vanguard and most of them have some kind of warrior-type jobs.”
Well – choosing the job called “rearguard” may not have been so bad after all.
If I recruit a lizardfolk using a copper mercenary ticket, I can explore the beginner’s labyrinth, albeit a one-time employment. If I take into consideration the advantages of this opportunity, I will be able to discover and identify the pros and cons of being a rearguard.
“I just got my job but do I have any skills?”
“Yes, you can get two skills by default.” Flip through the license page repeatedly and you will see the skill. You can choose from what is displayed over there. For this, I will not advise anything. Skills are the lifeblood of the seekers and basically, you should not disclose what skills you have acquired.“
"I see.. It should be disclosed only trustworthy friends.”
“Yes, the person should have your back. If you think you can trust him, you can confide with him. Party is teamwork. If you don’t work together, you won’t be strong.”
Louisa closes her eyes and puts her hands together close to her chest.
“……As an act of courtesy, being your officer in charge, I pray for your safety. May the hidden god smile upon you.”
There was a mystery in her words and actions, but there are more things to worry about. What is the hidden god? What is their belief in the ’ Labyrinth Country ’?
I’d like to know more, but it would be better by doing it one at a time. Finally, it’s time to see what my job is all about.
I handed the license to Louisa and had her mark the location of the mercenary guild then thanked her before leaving the counter.
I stood up and move to a wall not clearly visible from others, browsed the licenses’ skill page and checked the skills available.
◆ Available Skills ◆
Skill
Description
Enhance Defense 1[2]
Reduce damage received by an allied member by 10 points.
Increase Attack 1[2]
Give a 10-point attack bonus to an allied member.
Aid Recovery 1[2]
Allied member recovers 5 points of stamina every 30 seconds.
Behind the Frontlines
Consumes 5 points of Magical Power. Visibility extends to the rear for a certain period of time.
Remaining skill points: 2
(…… Just how much would be a 10 point damage?)
Since the damage display function is not available in the license, there is no other choice but to know how much 10 points deals through experience. I’m not even sure how much my physical strength is.
10 Damage for a “dekopin”[3] would be useless isn’t it? I’m sorry for this, but once I recruit a Lizardfolk, I will need to check and gauge the strength of the damage from a weak enemy.
(“Behind the Frontlines” is a skill that allows the rearguard who is low physical strength to be wary of his surroundings…… I may be able to use this, but first, I need to test “Enhance Defense 1” and recover by using “Aid Recovery 1”. Will the recovery process be put on hold if I use it?)[4]
If I have a wound salve, it may still be too early to select “Aid Recovery 1”. I hesitantly spent a point for “Enhance Defense 1”. I also wanted to select the “Inscrease Attack 1” too, but I would rather want to use a valuable skill point carefully.
At the moment, there is no noticeable change. Everyone around me doesn’t even realize I’ve selected some skills.
If I organize a party, I’ll be clear about whether or not I could get along well with them. I checked the three “copper mercenary tickets” I got from Louisa, and left the place with a hidden determination in my heart.
TL Notes:
1. モテ期 - Mote-ki - period (of life) when one is enjoying more romantic attention than usual
2. I made some slight modifications to the skill names since they seem to be redundant and it looks painful to my eyes.
Support Defense 1 changed to Enhance Defense 1Support Attack 1 changed to Increase Attack 1Support Recovery 1 changed to Aid Recovery 13. デコピン - deko-pin - a poke to the forehead.
4. In here, Atobe is thinking about the stacking of skills whether if they will not overwrite each others effect.
I’m still watching things about that Karma thing. It says here and the previous chapter that the rise in karma is something bad so it needs to be zero… uhm… ever heard of good and bad karma?
Raw source: