Naofumi told Chazon to go on ahead and enter Castle Town first with the tamed wolf. If both heroes entered at the same time, he figured the rumors about him would become even more unsavory while others would suspect the Spear Hero. Chazon didn't care if he was the target of unsavory rumors, but agreed to go in first.
Chazon immediately got looks from everyone inside the town and he knew why. I probably look like a walking scrap yard with my damaged armor.
His first order of business was to find if the wolf's owner had any family in town, something he inquired to a guard about. The guard was initially concerned, but when he saw the adventurer's tag he developed a sad look. "Regald… I'm sorry it had come to this, old friend…" Pointing towards one of the residential districts, the guard sadly said, "You'll find his house down that way. His wolf will lead you to it since both of them loved that place… give his family my regards."
Chazon knew he had to bring word of Regald's passing to his family and it felt like a thousand needles to his heart. Bringing news of someone's death will never be easy, especially if that person is loved.
Thanks to the wolf, he found the house he was looking for and knocked on the door. He was greeted by a rather young woman who looked surprised. "Sir Spear Hero! It's an honor to meet you!"
"It's an honor to meet you too, m'lady. But… I wish we met in happier times…"
The woman looked confused until she saw the tag Chazon presented her. "No… it can't be… please tell me this is just some elaborate joke that you got roped into!"
All it took to convince her was the wolf letting out a low, mournful howl for the woman to break down into tears. Her neighbors heard the commotion and, when they learned what happened, comforted the crying widow as Chazon stood by, a pained look on his face.
No one should have to die... in pain...
After she calmed down, she shook her head. "I suppose… it was how it was going to end…"
"I… do have a gift for you if it will bring you some measure of peace." Chazon extracted a small patch of fur and one of the fangs from the Mauler. "I killed the creature that killed your husband alongside many others. It is my sincere wish that, with the monster's death, they can all rest in peace."
The widow took the fang and fur with a small, tearful smile. "Thank you ever so much, sir Spear Hero. My husband would have been elated to have met you, but I suppose this is the next best thing. I'll be sure to remember your bravery and kindness and tell it to my child." she added while rubbing her stomach.
Chazon's eyes widened when he realized what she meant before smiling. "Then I guess your husband will have a legacy after all. I pray your child will grow to be strong and kind."
She nodded as her neighbor piped up. "Be proud, sir Spear Hero. This kind of thing is never easy, but you have done a spectacular job bringing this tragic tale to a close. I'm sure you'll save many more in the days to come."
Not just from the waves, but even from creatures native to this world. Chazon nodded as he put his fist over his heart. "I swear to you all that I will do my best to help the people of this world. For those we have lost… for those we can yet save!"
He got nods and smiles of approval all around as he bowed respectfully and headed towards Erhard's blacksmith. Now that he had brought Regald's family some closure, he needed to replace all his armor. This armor saved my life so many times in that fight. I don't think I paid enough for it after all.
Entering the smithy, Erhard looked up and had a shocked look on his face. "Kid, you look like you've been through the shredder!"
"Pretty close guess, all things considered."
Chazon told Erhard about the Cyclops Mauler he had encountered and the fact that he was barely able to slay it. The blacksmith shook his head in disdain. "I thought I told you to just run from it if you encountered it."
Chazon held up a hand. "Two things. One, it's very capable of outrunning someone if given the chance. Two, I DID run from it the first time I encountered it. It was after I found the remains of one of the adventurers it had killed that I decided that it was too dangerous to live. Admittedly, I would have died if not for Naofumi and Raphtalia being there when they were."
Erhard widened his eyes at that. "Did you and Shield Bro make up already?"
"Close enough. He did apologize for what he said to me that day. I'm just glad he doesn't actually hate me." Chazon put his hand on his heart with his eyes closed and a warm smile on his face.
Erhard smiled when he heard those words. I told you he would come around, kid. I'm also glad to see that you have more self-confidence now.
"Ah, but I forget myself." Chazon took off one of his armored gloves and gave it to Erhard. "They may have saved my life in the end, but it was your armor that kept me alive for them to do so. I'd like to buy some replacement armor, if that's alright with you."
That got a hearty laugh out of Erhard. "Damn straight, kid! Come on, I'll get you set up with a replacement set!"
"Wait a minute!" Chazon looked at his inventory and noted how much money he had. "I… don't have enough money for it after all…"
"You said you killed the monster that haunted the forests, correct? The adventurer's guild had a bounty posted for it. I'm sure you'll get a nice cash reward if you show them proof that you killed it." Chazon's eyes lit up and Erhard laughed again. "Before you go, though, let's get you out of that scrap armor and make you more presentable. You can pay me after claiming your bounty."
The last set of armor Chazon had was medium iron plate armor. His new set was made from magic iron and offered more defense at no additional cost to agility. In addition, The armor-back gloves and front-plate boots from his last set were now full-on gauntlets and greaves, eliminating some of the armor blind spots that got him injured in the beginning.
Chazon decided to leave various furs and hides, including the Mauler fur he just got, with Erhard to make into stronger armor for him, while also providing some other materials to off-set the costs. Erhard mentioned that he'll hold onto the Mauler fur until he gets access to better metals to work it into a set worthy of a hero.
After getting changed into his new armor, which made him look a bit closer to a knight rather than a guard, he hurried off to the adventurer's guild to claim the bounty on the Mauler's head.
The receptionist that greeted him was a bit starstruck. "Sir Spear Hero, you honor us with your presence! How can we serve you today?" A middle-aged man heard her speak and it gained his attention.
"Depends on what you tell me." Chazon jokingly said with a small smile before turning a bit more serious. "Do you know of the monster that was haunting the forests around Melomarc?"
"Y-yes I do. Nobody knows exactly what it is considering everyone who saw it has died." She was about to continue when Chazon brought out a fang, claw, and fur from the Cyclops Mauler, which earned a shocked look from the receptionist and a few others around them. "Y-you managed to slay it?!"
"Yup. Turns out it was a level 16 boss-level monster that is called a Cyclops Mauler. Heck, even I almost died to it, but here I am now with materials carved from it."
"If it was a boss monster, then that might be why it was so lethal." She shook her head and went to the back. When she returned, she gave Chazon a sack of 300 silver coins. "Thank you for your valiant services, sir Spear Hero! I hope we see more of you in the future."
Chazon nodded to her and put the money away. He wasn't sure if what he got would be enough to cover his armor expenses, but knew that Erhard would be willing to negotiate; he did get a bunch of materials from him after all.
"Sir Spear Hero, please hear me out!" Chazon stopped and looked at the speaker, a middle-aged man who looked rather thin, in surprise. "Our village is experiencing a famine and we are on the verge of starving to death! Please lend us your strength!"
Chazon held up both hands. "Whoa whoa whoa, hold up! First of all, were you eavesdropping on my conversation with the receptionist to know who I am? If so, that's in pretty bad taste." That got a shudder out of the man. "Second of all, how can I help with a famine of all things? I'm a hero who hits things, not a miracle worker!"
The man gave Chazon a pleading look. "That's because there is something we need your strength and boundless kindness for. We have already made our case to many other adventurers and even posted our plight on the quest board, yet none have shown interest in helping us. You are our village's last hope, I beg of you!"
At this point, he was making such a scene that everyone present in the guild was looking at the two. Chazon wasn't big on being the center of attention like this, but he knew he had to make a choice as he closed his eyes in contemplation. I fail to see how I can help with a famine besides, maybe escorting wagons with provisions and securing a more stable route. But… I should at least go and see if I can help in any way possible; I'd be a pretty pathetic hero if I didn't help the common citizens on my way to getting stronger for the waves.
Opening his eyes, he nodded to the man. "Then I will accompany you to your village and see what I can for you, little it may be. I need to take care of some business first, but once it's done, we'll depart immediately."
The man grabbed Chazon's hand and started shaking it, tears in his eyes. "Oh thank you! Thank you so much! I'll arrange for a carriage to take us to Lerno Village by the southernmost entrance to Castle Town!" With that, he rushes out of the building, hope building in his heart that his family will make it through the famine.
Chazon noted that a lot of the adventurers were still staring, but many gave nods of approval. "The Spear Hero is very much a Cardinal Hero."
"I think he's the first hero to accept such a quest, right?"
"Better than that rapist Shield Hero."
Chazon clenched his fist at the last one and resisted the urge to yell at the offender, knowing that it wouldn't help to make a ruckus over it. Leaving the Guild, he quickly made his way back to Erhard, who smiled upon his return. "Got the cash from the bounty?"
"Got a little more than that. I've accepted a request to go to a village struck by famine. I don't know why they think a Cardinal Hero can help them, but I accepted it anyway." Chazon quickly drops the bag of silvers on Erhard's counter. "There's 300 silver in there, so hopefully it'll cover the cost of my armor. If it's too much, consider it a down payment for the custom armor you're making me!" With that, he bolts out the door with a wave goodbye.
Erhard rubs his head with a nervous smile. "I hope that kid will be alright. He just got back from a harrowing experience with that Mauler, but I guess I should be happy he's got the confidence to keep pushing forward." He looks at the coin bag and smiles more genuinely. "Not often I get people just dropping their money on my counter and trusting that I'll uphold my end. Him and shield bro really are my best customers."
Chazon knew that going by loaded carriage wouldn't be near as fast getting around as a car would be, but he found the journey surprisingly dull with how many plains Melromarc has. In fact, he actually preferred walking alongside the carriage rather than just riding it, which would have horrified his past self.
After Chazon had recovered from his soreness the next day of travel, which he owed to being a hero, he decided to test the limits of his High Jump skill and see how it could be used. What surprised him was how versatile it was despite being a simple jump and having a low SP cost; he can jump forwards, backwards, either side, or even just straight up. He can even jump off the environment to gain even greater height or distance, though he realized that he should equip the Murderous Crow Feather Javelin if he goes too high.
It not only was a good evasion and mobility skill, but it gave him attack openings as well, either by doing a jump-by slash or just driving the spear down on his target at his landing spot. It was just a matter of how precise he can make his jumps, as well as how agile his target was.
This world will make me into a Dragoon yet!
Speaking of Final Fantasy, when he first got to the carriage that was his transport to Lerno Village he, much to his embarrassment, made the most girlish squee of happiness when he saw the creature pulling it: a filolial which reminded him of chocobos. Now on the road, the filolial in question was very happy to receive affection from the spear hero to the point where the carriage owner jokingly said he feared that his steed would love the spear hero more than him.
Filolial's came in all manner of temperaments like humans and demi-humans, though wild ones are very skittish. The vast majority of them love genuine affection as long as they trust the person giving it enough, and Chazon's curiosity and pure intention had already won over this particular filolial.
"Kweh!" Chazon called out to the filolial with a smile plastered on his face.
"Kweh!" came the happy reply back. They even sounded similar to chocobos, which made Chazon exceedingly happy.
"You really took a shine to her, didn't you Chazon-sama?" The man who had wanted Chazon to help his village was sitting across from the spear hero with an amused look on his face.
"What can I say? I love me some adorable creatures, especially one who is… pardon my lingo, a big floof." That earned a chuckle out of everyone present. Seeing a Cardinal Hero act like a little kid did wonders for their emotional state of being.
Monsters did occasionally attack the carriage, but it wasn't anything Chazon couldn't handle. The biggest danger came from the Porcupines due to their array of sharp needles, but Chazon's new plate armor easily deflected them when one got a lucky hit in at the wrong angle for it. The carriage was slow enough that he could carve for materials and make it back before it left him behind.
It was thanks to these monster attacks that Chazon was able to test out his Cyclops Mauler Claw Glave and the skill that came with it. Savage Strike consisted of two parts: the first was the initial hit which deals 1.5 times the damage of a normal slash. The second part was what followed almost instantly after the initial hit, which was 6 smaller slashes in the same direction as the initial one, made to look like a claw mark that a Mauler made. The 6 smaller strikes only had a sixth of the power of the initial strike, but were unavoidable if the initial hit landed.
He also unlocked some new spears thanks to these monsters. The Porcupine Quill Pike increased his defences even further and even gave him another new offensive skill: Needle Thrust, which is a skill that pierces through 50% of the enemy's defences though it suffers from a 0.75 times damage penalty.
Still, it could be more useful than Savage Strike if I'm against more defensive beings. The 6 smaller hits are more easily mitigated by higher defences, making it a better skill for more agile targets since they never miss. Plus, Needle Thrust costs less SP to use than Savage Strike
One monster that caught everyone off guard were the Giant Snakes. Due to how low they are in the grass and how fast they can strike, it was difficult to tell where they are ahead of time unless they were laying in the middle of the road. Thankfully they weren't poisonous, though Chazon made sure to use High Jump whenever dealing with them since they can't strike too high upward and were pretty still. The resulting spears from the materials simply increased his agility with a little bit of extra damage.
Chazon noted that he had gotten one more ore from random drops. Either I'm getting VERY lucky, or the ore drops aren't as rare as the help guide made them out to be. Shaking his head, he Smelted his Cyclops Mauler Claw Glave since that will be his main weapon for some time.
Still kind of wish I had music to listen to during this long trip. Guess it's true that you don't know what you have until it's gone.
Chazon did level up to 12 during the trip and he got plenty of walking exercise thanks to him wanting to walk right alongside the filolial. He didn't know if teleportation magic was a thing in this world so he figured, like with camping, he'd get used to walking a lot. A notification for something in his status magic had popped up at some point, but he ignored it for now.
After a week of travel, with not much in the way of sightseeing, the carriage arrived in Lerno Village. Chazon immediately noted how dusty the village seemed; like it was dry and arid. Reminds me of when I learned about the Dirty Thirties in school and how farmers were having a hell of a time trying to raise crops due to dust devils.
As he followed the man who had accompanied him to the village to the elder's house, he noted that not many people were on the streets of the village. Those that were outside looked unhealthily thin and held no hope in their eyes. Gods… I wonder if this is what Raphtalia looked like when Naofumi first got her… Chazon suppressed a shudder at that thought.
When they finally got to a slightly larger house, his escort knocked on the door and was greeted by a rather elderly man. "Ah, sir Spear Hero! I've been told to expect you not too long ago. Come in, we've much to discuss." He opens the door wider to let his guests in.
Chazon found it fishy that they were expecting him in particular to visit the village, like they were told ahead of time by some unknown third party. Either that, or they were just that certain that I would accept their request. I could believe either, if they were desperate enough.
"My name is Glenn and, as I'm sure you can surmise, I'm the mayor of this fair village."
"Chazon. A pleasure to meet you, were it better circumstances." That got a sad laugh out of the other two men.
Glenn motioned for Chazon to take a seat while sitting down as well. "Now then, I'm certain you have many questions for me, so I'll try to answer as many as I can."
Chazon put one hand over his mouth in contemplation. "First of all, what kind of village is Lerno supposed to be?"
Glenn let out a sad sigh. "We were once a small farming village that dabbled in a fair bit of trading. It wasn't much, but we were happy making our livings here."
"Any idea how and when your famine started? If I'm to help you in any capacity, I'll need as much information as possible." Chazon knew pestering with questions like this might not be the best use of time, but he wanted to try and see the bigger picture.
That got a small smile out of Glenn; he could tell that the Spear Hero really was a caring individual. "Sadly, I can't tell you when the famine got its actual start. However, ever since the first wave, traders have stopped coming to this village out of fear of the monsters that came from it. It was the start of our decline, but we held on with what we could grow and adventurers still stopped by from time-to-time." The elder developed a sad look. "After some time, though, our crops stopped growing and our food stores began dwindling. We're currently on our last legs and everyone is suffering from how small the rations have become."
Chazon nodded slowly. He could already tell what caused their crops to fail, but he needed to check their soils and other things first before reaching a proper conclusion. A thought crossed his mind when Glenn mentioned rations and quickly sorted through his inventory, noting how much raw meat he had gathered from hunting all the organic monsters around Castle Town. hopefully none of it has started turning fetid or rotten in there…
Glenn had kept speaking, "Now, I know you had your reservations about how you can help us when you're more akin to an adventurer, but we had received valuable information on how our village can be saved long-term."
"The long term is great and all, but if your people can't make it past the short term then it'll be pointless in the end." Chazon knew putting it bluntly like that might have been a bit insensitive, but he had no other way of putting it. "How big is the village right now? Population-wise I mean."
"Last head-count was about 98 people counting those who have left to seek help or food, so it might be closer to around 80 right now."
Hmm, even my bottomless inventory will be hard pressed to keep everyone fed. Even so… Chazon looked back at his numbers before deciding to go with his current course. "Tell you what, before I hear about this "valuable information" how about I give your people some additional rations to keep them going?"
This shocked both men in the room. "Chazon-sama, I don't mean to be disrespectful, but you hardly had anything on you when you first arrived."
That earned a small snort of amusement from the spear hero. "Did you forget that you brought in a Cardinal Hero to help you? Some of your rules aren't mine." When all he got were confused looks he sighed. "It'd be better to show you. Besides, it'll give me a chance to examine your fields as well."
After exiting Glenn's house with his two guides and having a wagon brought to the town square for his use, Chazon unloaded all of the edible meat he had carved from the organic monsters up to that point. This shocked everyone who was nearby before everyone started gathering, tears of happiness at finally seeing more food in the village.
Chazon made sure the meat was divided evenly among the residents of Lerno village, with slightly higher priority given to families with small children, before leaving the town square. He left quicker than he would have liked due to being quickly embarrassed by everyone showering so much praise on him for the simple act of bringing enough edible matter to sustain them for a while longer.
As they traveled to the fields, Glenn let out a relieved sigh. "I thank you for your generosity, Chazon-sama. This should give our fair village enough hope to last through this crisis."
"It would be greedy of me to hoard all that meat on me when I would have a hard time eating through it myself." Chazon tried to pass it off, but couldn't stop the slight blush on his face. Helping people… really does feel good…
When they reached the fields, Chazon stepped onto them and took off one gauntlet to test the dirt. "I'm far from a farming expert, but this soil is far too fine and dusty to be viable for cultivating any sort of crop. Even if it contained any nutrients, a good gust of wind will blow it away and expose the roots, which is bad for the health of any plant." dusting his hand off and putting his gauntlet back on, Chazon looked around the fields. "Do you guys have any sort of irrigation system in place?"
The middle-aged man shook his head. "We were developing one after trading had dried up, but we ran out of materials and we lost the strength to keep building it after our food stores started running dry."
"Figures. If your irrigation system had been installed, you probably wouldn't have had your crops die from dehydration. Is there a river nearby that you use to water your crops?"
"Yes, but we noticed that it had started to dry up after the first wave ended. We thought that if we developed our system, then we could more efficiently water our crops, but… well…"
I guess they really didn't need me pointing out their soil. Still, not only is it a famine, but a famine caused by drought? This "valuable information" better have our answer, or I'll have no way of… hold on…
"Have you guys checked the source of your river?"
That seemed to surprise Glenn and the middle-aged man before they shook their heads. "No, we figured it was simply a drought that was causing the river to dry up."
Chazon crossed his arms in contemplation. "Now my next question is… is there some kind of creature in the nearby wilds that construct dams for their nests?" There was a pause before Glenn's eyes widened with realization. "That might be why the river dried up so much. A dam built by such a creature could very easily divert water in a river away from its intended course."
In my world, beavers are the main source of such dams. I swear if there are beaver monsters in this world, all I need is a loon monster and I'll have hunted the three most recognizable animals in Canada…
"Even if that were true, it would be pointless to undam the river at this juncture." Glenn shook his head sadly. "All of the seeds we have managed to preserve after our crops died were destroyed by monster attacks. While we would get a good amount of drinking water back, it wouldn't solve our main issue. That's why we needed your help."
The middle-age man nodded. "We had received information that there is a miracle seed of great importance in a place called Alchemist's Cave to the south-east of here. This seed, no matter what it sprouts, will be our final hope of surviving as a village. However, we have also heard that the location is dangerous; too dangerous for the average adventurer to the point where only a Cardinal Hero can survive obtaining the seed."
Chazon looked at the man's eyes and saw surety in them, that he was convinced that the information he got was accurate. "So that's why you guys needed a Cardinal Hero. I'm surprised you didn't go to any of the other heroes first." Though I think I know why you avoided Naofumi. Chazon thought bitterly, though it didn't show on his face.
"None of them really frequent the adventurer's guild and we couldn't find any of you going through the town. Heck, we even had a companion searching the plains outside of Castle Town trying to find you, but to no avail."
And here I thought Itsuki would be all over this, considering his wannabe Robin Hood personality. After thinking about it a bit more, he finally nodded. "Alright, I'll go see what I can find at this Alchemist's Cave. However, I need to warn you guys that there is a chance that the seed we're looking for may have been claimed by someone else. If that happens, we'll have to figure out how to migrate everyone to another village or even Castle Town."
Glenn closed his eyes in acceptance. "If the seed really was claimed before now, then we'll have no choice."
The middle-aged man nodded. "Let us hope it won't come to pass. The carriage driver that brought us here was already filled in on the details, as well as the path leading to the cave. It should only take a day to reach it from here." Chazon nodded and ran back to the village, a hero on a mission. "Chazon-sama, I pray that your expedition is a success…"
Not long after Chazon reentered the village, an older man had come huffing and puffing out of the village towards Glenn. "Damalus! What's wrong?!"
Damalus looked panicked. "My little Rino… have you two seen Rino anywhere?!" Both men shook their heads. "Oh, where has she gone? She promised me that she would be in the village center helping out, but I haven't seen her anywhere!"
The middle-aged man looked confused before a terrible thought crossed his mind. "That foolish girl! Did she seriously go to the Alchemist's Cave by herself?"
Glenn let out a sigh. "I guess she couldn't just sit and wait while her friends and family suffered around her. Let's be honest, she stands the best chance out of anyone in the village of surviving the cave thanks to the levels she gained at Castle Town, even if she's only level 4."
"Even so, I can't bear the thought of losing my daughter when my wife is already… already…" Damalus broke down crying on the spot. To see the happy go-lucky apothecary having a mental-breakdown was hard on the heart.
Glenn clasped his hands together with a solemn look. "Then let us pray that Chazon-sama can reach her before it is too late. I'm no devotee of the Three Heroes Faith, but I believe that if anyone can do it, it's him."
As much as Chazon wanted to just run the entire way to the Alchemist's Cave, he didn't know the exact way there. He confirmed that the carriage driver knew the way and was waiting for the word to go with the spear hero in tow, having already been paid enough for all the trips.
"Just as a heads up, Chazon-sama, my policy is to wait for two days at a dangerous location before I assume my clients are dead or gone. If you take too long, you'll have to find your way back on your own."
Chazon nodded at that. "I'll bear that in mind, but hopefully it shouldn't take longer than a day. I just pray that the cave isn't some overly elaborate death trap, though it'll probably be one considering the artifact it holds."
The driver grimaces. "I've heard stories of adventurer's running out of the cave screaming for their lives. I don't know the details, but I recall one account that the adventurer suddenly didn't trust anyone he was with and ran from the cave fearing them. He didn't see or hear from them ever again, nor did he want to"
"Almost sounds like a dungeon one has to solo, but I'll hold judgement on that for now." Chazon frowns at the new information he was told. Is it some sort of eldritch location or something? Whoever built the place REALLY didn't want anyone claiming the artifact at the end.
It wasn't long before they entered a more forested area. Dire Wolves and Treants were present, but rather than Murderous Crows there were Vicious Ravens and they actually were a threat due to having an attack stat that mattered. Chazon made sure to harvest as much meat as possible between attacks, while also unlocking a new spear from the Ravens.
Vicious Raven Feather Javelin
Equip bonus: AGI bonus (low), Jumping bonus (low)
Special effect: Fall damage mitigation (Medium)
The jumping bonus piqued his interest and tested it out with both his normal jumps and his High Jump skill. Sure enough, both actions had a slightly higher jump than before. I don't know if it also extends how long I can go before taking fall damage, so the equip bonus will be useful if I wind up with some hefty jumping bonuses. I swear, this world just WANTS me to be a Dragoon; the only thing I'm missing is support options, some dragon-themed skills, and maybe some fire-based skills.
After resting for the night courtesy of the driver's monster repellent, they had arrived to… what seemed to be a location in the middle of nowhere with tall cliffs in front of them spanning a good distance from either side. There was even a waterfall feeding a river, though Chazon figured it wasn't the same river that fed Lerno Village.
The driver looked confused. "I followed the directions given to me. Were they not accurate?"
Chazon exited the carriage and looked around. "If I had to hazard a guess, the cave might be on the other side of these cliffs. It's just a matter of finding a way around or over them."
As he approached the waterfall to take a drink, he noted that it didn't seem overly natural. Some of the stone up top looked like it was carved rather than weathered down by the water.
After taking a drink and splashing himself to cool off, Chazon began scanning the cliffs for any place to scale them. Yet for some reason, the waterfall just kept begging for attention. Wait… wasn't there a saying back in my world… or at least something someone said about waterfalls?
"Law of Ōkami: if there is a waterfall, there's a secret behind it."
"Okay, you had my curiosity… now you have my full attention." Chazon went closer to the waterfall from the side and tried to peer behind it. Sure enough, there was a cave leading through the cliffs. He went back quickly to the carriage driver to tell him to stay put and put a way-point on his map there before entering the cave, not realizing that he was being watched and followed.
The cave itself didn't last long before he was back out in the morning sun surrounded by cliffs. In the distance was a temple-like structure etched into the cliff's side. "That's definitely not natural. If I were a betting man, I'd wager that's the Alchemist's Cave." He felt a tinge of hesitation hit him as he remembered one crucial problem: he was currently without any party members to take some of the stress off his back.
I… just gotta keep reminding myself that nobody would want to party with me. Sure, I might not be as useless of a hero as I thought, but I'm probably still not the best one to party with.
Sighing to himself, he pressed on until he reached the entrance-way to the cave. There were unlit torches everywhere, with a rather conspicuous one sitting in the middle of an important looking pedestal. Behind it was a closed door.
Before looking at anything else, Chazon grabbed one of the closest torches to him and decided to try having his spear absorb it like a material.
Torch Spear
Equip bonus: ATK bonus (very low), Fire damage bonus (very low)
Special effect: Fire elemental attack (very low), 'Ignite', 'Extinguish'
"I can't believe that worked. I wonder if there are other things like tools that I can absorb." Switching to the Torch Spear and igniting it, he saw that the flames lasted as long as his MP did, though it has a VERY generous MP consumption rate. Using his new tool, he ignited the rest of the torches, saving the one in the middle for last thinking that he'd check the room for traps before moving on.
He noted an inscription at the base of the pedestal, but he once again got the failed to read error from his status magic. "Perfect. I forgot I can't read, so how the heck am I supposed to know what to expect?"
"I could help you, sir Spear Hero!" Chazon yelped in fright before turning to look at the girl who had snuck up on him. She was fairly petite with the top of her head being level with his shoulder, though Chazon was fairly tall at 6'. She was decked out in what he assumed was beginner adventurer leather armor with a standard iron sword at her side and was also carrying some sort of tablet in one of her arms. She had light-brown eyes and a very youthful face.
What stuck out and disgusted Chazon the most was her bob-cut hair. Even in the flickering torch-light he can see it was an auburn color.
Oh great… another red-head to make things worse for me?