World Strongest Rearguard – Chapter 20

Translator: pinky onee-sama    Editor: anirhapsodist

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Magic Gems and A Black Box

Elysha’s health decreased by around 70%. I recall her telling me how invaluable potions are, yet she stood there unmoving like the sword she stabbed on the ground. It’s either she got no potions with her, or it’s possible that she lacked the energy to use one.

“Elysha! Are you okay?”

“………”

She broke her balance like a thread that snapped when I called her out. So I quickly rushed at her back making sure to support her; no longer minding what our appearance would look like.

Her voice has returned to its calmer tone. Her loathsome tongue and incessant urge to kill seems to have dissipated with the release of Berserk.

“… you surely have the abilities of a level 8. But, it appears that there has been a bit of an incompatibility for a swordsman towards that guy.”

“Named” demons seldom exhibit certain tolerances. It was said that the named demons appearing in this labyrinth does not have them, but what we encountered here surely contradicts that information.”

There is no seeker brave enough to confront that Named orc. I came to understand that from our previous battle because the demon is overpowered when compared to the actual difficulty of this labyrinth.

Once again, the supportive restoration successfully activated upon Elysha, whom I have been supporting. Her strength gradually returned.

“I have felt it for some time now… My pains have been receding since Arihito became my rearguard.”

Because of this mysterious power, she may grow anxious while recovering, so I have to explain this to some extent.

“I have the skill to recover the vanguard’s physical strength when I position myself as the rearguard. You will recuperate soon enough, so please rest. Potions are precious after all.”

“…There is a huge demand for potions in the upper districts and the supply can’t keep up. A person who can make potions will more likely sell them in the upper districts via the merchant association rather than here in the 8th-district.”

So in other words, the reincarnators who have chosen “Pharmacist” as their job can live comfortably so long as the materials for making potions could be gathered.

However, I think that every job has a demand and they each have their own purpose. We also can’t get the desired job if we do not have the aptitude for it. Everyone is making a fuss in selecting their jobs saying that there is no fairness, but I don’t think that there’s a problem with that.

“… by the way, Misaki… Thank goodness, she’s safe.”

“…That girl, her bad luck seems to be way off the charts. I wasn’t even confident if I could protect her… but, thank goodness…”

Elysha doesn’t blame Misaki for doing such a reckless thing, and by the look at those lush eyes, I can tell she’s rather pleased from receiving help.

“Misaki-chan, please wait… We’ll untie you soon enough.”

“Theresa, cut the rope with your sword.”

“………”

After receiving Igarashi-san’s instructions, Theresa cuts the rope with her sword. Misaki fainted from the appearance of the Juggernaut she saw at a very close distance, and as the ropes were cut from her hands and feet, they left obviously painful red marks.

“Shouldn’t Karma increase if you restrain other seekers in this manner? Were they trying to get the yields from the Juggernaut, even if it meant they become criminals?”

“There’s a loophole and they use it to circumvent the licenses’ Karma detection. Misaki was either blackmailed, or something important was taken away from her; making her follow whatever they said. There are several ways, but the easiest thing to do is to make Misaki attack deliberately. If you get restrained from your own retaliation, Karma will be canceled.”

(“So there’s such a thing?… It’s just like those fraudulent schemes.”)

“However, that only concerns the information on the license. If you are to report what they have done to the guild, a trial can be given.”

“…place them in trial and have Misaki testify. Wouldn’t that be fair enough? Will there be problems for that because we too engaged them in battle?”

“It looks like they were the ones who shot first, so there’s no problem. Fighting is of course prohibited amongst seekers. It’s apparent the Juggernaut’s yields provoked them to do those stupid things.”

The Redface’s materials and its bounty are worth a fortune especially for the seekers in the 8th-district. Should the Juggernaut’s materials prove as significant as that of the redface’s, and it’s bounty awards us equally magnificent, I just can’t imagine how much it would be.

Now, how can we bring back the materials of the Juggernaut with such a very large body?

“How are these huge demons handled?”

“There are people known as ‘Couriers’. They specialize in carrying large demons, and they work in and out of the different districts. Before handing it to them though, be sure to harvest the precious magic gems. It’s also best if you can equip a ‘Gem bag’ with you since cutting off different organs may be dangerous… …now check the horns and claws… the fangs…”

“Sorry, I don’t know how to do it, can you come with me? Are you able to walk?”

Elysha’s strength has gradually recovered, but she’s still tottering. The battered places from her body seem to have been cured thanks to the recovery of physical strength. — Her arms that got swollen from her crumbled glove, and crushed ribs where parts of her armor broke off has been recovering.

“…Can you lend me a shoulder then?”

“Oh, sure. With a demon of a size like this, it’ll be a pain to inspect…”

The couriers would likely ask for an incentive or commission for carrying the crushed fanged orcs aside from fees that they charge. There are dozens of fanged orcs, so there should be a sizable amount of the materials that could be gathered here.

“Hmnn? I…is this a treasure chest?”

A black box fell from the gigantic Juggernaut’s flank. It was smaller than I have imagined, but the size would still fit inside the loot bag.

“From what I have heard, the chances of a treasure chest dropping from a ‘Named’ is quite high but their spawning rates are rare. It’s my first time witnessing a treasure chest sourced from a named demon. For seekers, it’s a treasure worth craving for. It’s better to ask someone who can open it and disable any traps applied to it. You can request it from the shops back in town, but you’ll have to inform the guild first.”

“Oh, Then I will do that.”

“Atobe-kun, do you need our help?”

“Sure, please check out the claws from its left hand. There could be some magic stones in there.”

Igarashi-san and Theresa volunteered, so might as well ask them to check. I was a bit anxious about the guys whom we defeated, but they were showing no signs of movement.

(Should I ask for Rival’s assistance in taking them to the guild? …It could surprisingly be a great task for them.)

“Ngh…”

“W…What’s wrong?”

While lending my shoulder as we walked, Elysha lets out a small voice. It was awfully sexy-like, so I got reflexively shaken.

She looked at me and her cheeks turned a bit redder. Well, I wonder, has she grown conscious as we started walking and our bodies bumped ever so closer? If that’s the case, I can distance myself to her but that also means I couldn’t help her much.

“… It’s nothing.”

“Okay… Look… There’s a horn protruding from its forehead. Unlike the fanged orcs, its horns have sprouted…”

“The horns severed from orcs occasionally have magic stones in them. But since the horns themselves do not possess that much strength as a material, they have no value — they’re like nutshells that we discard.”

The watadama’s ‘Wind Agate’ was stuck to its forehead, while the Juggernauts drop items are found in its horns? Since I didn’t know that, I could have lost it already, so I must thank Elysha for that.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Several horns grew from the Juggernauts forehead and from two of the ten horns, we found ‘Alkaid’s Crystal’[noteAlkaid (Eta Ursae Majoris) is a prominent star in the handle of the Big Dipper, an asterism which forms just a small part of the overall constellation of Ursa Major. Check here for more info.[/note] and a ‘Life Jewel’.

There are times when a Named drops life jewels and if you process them along with an accessory, the maximum value of health will increase. ‘Alkaid’s Crystal’ on the other hand seems to be new for Elysha and she did not have any details regarding it.

“Can I really have this, Elysha?”

“As I have told you before, I will give you the yield. When the time comes that you have processed something that only I can use, the let me buy from you.”

“Okay then. If you say so.”

Can ‘Alkaid’s Crystal’ be embedded to a weapon, protective gear or accessory, just like the Burning Stone? — It would be better to bring this Lye Carton so he could tell me if it will be useful or not.

“And by the way, get a courier after you exit. There is a liaison at the plaza, in front of the labyrinth.”

“If I go outside and leave these, wouldn’t it be taken by other seekers?”

“The license records the one who defeated the demon, so other people cannot touch them. Dropped items and treasure chests are exemptions though, so you need to take those with you.”

(I see… there’s still a lot that I need to learn.)

 The man named Bergen was aiming for the treasure chest, a drop item that wouldn’t incriminate someone if stolen. This time, I am pleased to learn sorts of matters concerning the adjudication of Karma for licenses.

If you are knowledgeable of the rules, you can take measures against bad guys trying to circumvent that loophole. You should always be watchful, even in town. There will always be a possibility that a person with malicious intents can end up using Karma cancellation by means of ‘Retaliation’.

“No, this world can be dangerously unpredictable. So again, I feel the need to protect my party members.”

“Things like kidnapping or abduction are not easily doable, but it’s best to be careful. I hope that Misaki would be more cautious and discreet about this next time.”

Because Misaki was still unconscious, I carried her. Aside from Aid Recovery, is there any other support skill that is capable of treating fainted members? — Is it not allowed to have those?

“…Hngh… …Please… I going to be raped by orcs…”

“Ouch! It hurts! Her fake nails are digging in like claws!”

She seems to be having a terrible dream as she dug her fake nails on my shoulder. As soon as Suzuna began to carefully stroke her shoulders, she became a little calmer.

“…Zzz… …Zzz…”

A shrine-maiden has the skill ‘Cleanse’ that improves the mental focus of party members. I think that it would be compatible to use on Elysha. However, if Elysha as “Cursed Blade” goes berserk, Suzuna’s `Cleanse’ may not be enough to suppress it.

If possible, I would like to know more about her job. There is no way that she could have written that job. — If I would have to guess, she may have changed it.

Meanwhile, I have to fetch the couriers to take the yields. I’m curious about the value of contribution I got from battle.

For the record, we defeated a total of 15 watadama, 8 dokuyaribachi, 23 fanged orcs and a Juggernaut. Increase in everyone’s level, credibility, and others was displayed in the summary. There was no doubt that the figures cannot be compared with the former.