Hey guys,

mranon here (once again). Here’s your third and final Slave Harem chapter for the week. See y’all next week. Enjoy the read.

Yours truly,

a.s.sa.s.sin

“Well then, let’s get the experiment started. Roxanne has it already, so I’ll be the one to shoot the poison stingers. You three won’t be attacking.”

I have about twenty poison stingers. Shooting a poison stinger doesn’t necessarily inflict poison but with this many, there shouldn’t be any problem.

“If it constructs magic formation, what should I do?” “If that happens, thrust your spear.”

I answer Sherry’s question.

“If you dodge NT Ant’s skill attack, you won’t get poisoned.”

Yeah, if I were Roxanne. I look toward Sherry and nod. She acknowledges it.

When a group of three NT Ants enters my line of sight, I cast [Waterstorm]. Two of them drop down immediately. One’s still standing. I wait for an opportunity to shoot a poison stinger at the surviving NT Ant.

Back then, Roxanne perhaps didn’t poison the monster with the finis.h.i.+ng blow. It was probably taken out by getting poisoned at the beginning. If I take a monster out by poisoning it at the end, it’s likely that I won’t acquire a.s.sa.s.sin. Still, there’s no harm in trying it.

If you finish a monster off with bare hands, you acquire Monk. There’s a possibility that it’s same in case of a.s.sa.s.sin, too. No matter how you look at it, taking a monster out by poisoning it at the start is difficult.

Roxanne holds her s.h.i.+eld and stands in front of the NT Ant. Ah, if Roxanne can keep it company, there won’t be any need for Sherry to cancel its skill attack. I look at Sherry and signal her to not use the spear. She acknowledges it. However, if Roxanne keeps it company, there’s a possibility that it won’t be considered as ‘taking a monster out by poisoning it at the start’.

“Now that I think about it, how do I know that the poison has been inflicted successfully?” “When a monster gets poisoned, its color pales a bit.”

While shooting a poison stinger, I ask Sherry. Roxanne dodges an attack of the NT Ant. Is it even possible to notice the change in color of a monster in this dark labyrinth? Did it fail?

“Poison, desu.”

When I shoot the poison stinger, Miria shouts. At the same time, the NT Ant collapses.

“Did its color change?” “Yes, desu.”

Miria seemed to have noticed it. I don’t get it. The NT Ant collapsed immediately. Did its HP become zero with the first poison attack? This is most likely so because I had already whittled its HP down with a magic attack.

I open [Job Settings] interface and check my jobs out. I have successfully acquired a.s.sa.s.sin Lv1. Inflicting poison with the finis.h.i.+ng blow seems to be acceptable.

“Well then, next will be Sherry.” “Understood.”

I have Sherry follow suit. The NT Ant I just took out dropped a poison stinger, of course. So our stock of poison stingers has been replenished immediately.

The next group comprises two NT Ants and an Escape Goat. After drawing them close, I cast [Waterstorm]. Both the NT Ants drop down. The Escape Goat is still standing.

d.a.m.n it! Both the ants are dead. I chase the Escape Goat with a [Waterball]. It collapses in two spells.

We got to increase the stock, at least. We proceed to the next location. The next group comprises two NT Ants. I take one of them out with a water spell.

“Spear.” “Okay.”

I receive the spear from Sherry and hand her the poison stingers. Sherry slants a bit from behind Roxanne and shoots a poison stinger at the ant. While Roxanne lightly wards off the NT Ant’s attack, Sherry shoots another poison stinger.

“Here it comes.”

Right after she announces that, Roxanne hurtles back. Sherry and I, who were standing behind her respectively with the poison stingers and the spear, immediately withdraw.

Woah! Even though it had its back toward us, it was so quick, it felt like it had an eye on its back.

I rush back. When I had covered about five meters, I looked behind to find Sherry and Miria in tow. Roxanne, however, had stopped midway.

Roxanne didn’t fall back all the way. She probably knew from her experience. I go back to Roxanne. The NT Ant had already collapsed.

“Did it get poisoned?” “Yes, desu. Last shot, desu.”

Sherry seemed to have inflicted poison with the poison stinger she shot last. Because she doesn’t have Warrior Lv30, she can’t acquire a.s.sa.s.sin. The only problem is that I’m unable to confirm the status but it can’t be helped.

“I was of the idea that its skill attack can’t be dodged. How did you do it?” “It was rather a feat than an evasive maneuver.”

I return the spear to Sherry. Constructing a magic formation requires time. During that time, you can get out of the range of its attack. Is that what she means? It surely can’t be called an evasive maneuver.

But it will be difficult to accomplish for anyone other than Roxanne. I was able to escape successfully because I was in the back to begin with.

“As expected of Onee-chan, desu. Well done, desu.”

For Roxanne to not give up, this positivity of Miria may be needed.

“Err… its skill attack can be avoided. Sherry and Miria can do it, too.”

Can they, really? In Roxanne’s dictionary of evasion, there’s no such word as impossible. I unintentionally look toward Sherry.

“M-Mira is next.” “Yes, desu.”

Because there still are more than ten poison stingers left and two more have just been recovered, I decide to carry on. The next group comprises four NT Ants. Only one of them will be spared.

I cast [Waterstorm]. Two of them collapse immediately. I launch [Waterball] at one of the remaining two.

Roxanne steps forward and blocks the last one. Miria shoots a poison stinger from behind Roxanne. I’m standing behind Miria, holding the poison stingers.

“Here.”

Miria turns the upper half of her body and receives another poison stinger from me. It’s to allow us to run away if needs be. Roxanne easily sidesteps the charge of the NT Ant.

“Poison, desu.”

When I try to hand her one more poison stinger, she stops me. Do they become p.r.o.ne to poison after constructing a magic formation? Roxanne receives the charge of the NT Ant with her s.h.i.+eld.

I wonder if its color has changed. I can’t notice any change. Has it paled?

Roxanne lightly dodges the next attack of the ant. The ant collapses. It did get poisoned, it seems.

Now, all the members of our party can acquire a.s.sa.s.sin. Because Miria is a vanguard, it will probably be of use to her. Once her set of equipment is complete, I will have her become an a.s.sa.s.sin.

After the experiment was over, we continued to hunt on Haruba’s 17th floor until we returned home in the evening. When we arrive at home, we find Luke’s message at the entrance.

“Master, there’s a message from Luke. He asks of you to visit him as soon as possible.”

It’s most likely related to the Sacred Spear. I wonder if there’s a response of some sort. I think it’s too early, though, for the buyer’s broker to contact us. I shouldn’t make fun of someone else’s broker or it may anger them.

… I don’t want to go but if it’s about what I think it’s about, there’s no other choice. Because he asked of me to visit him as soon as possible, I decide to go meet to him immediately.

“Well then, I’ll be leaving for the merchants’ guild.” “Okay. Take care.”

I jump to the waiting room of the merchants’ guild. Luke comes over immediately after I called for him.

There’s one more person with him. Weapons Merchant Lv8. He appears to belong to a well-off family. He has this air of n.o.bility about him.

Is he here to appraise the staff with [MP Absorption] skill? But I didn’t bring it. In fact, I haven’t even made it yet.

“Ah, I have been waiting for you. Would you please come with me?” “I understand.”

We head to the meeting room. I take a seat. Luke sits across from me. The man takes a seat next to Luke.

“This is the broker I talked to you about.” “Is it true that you have a staff with [MP Absorption] skill?”

The man cuts to the chase right after the greetings. Is he the broker who made the successful bid for the Sacred Spear? I couldn’t see him properly during the auction.

Why is he in such a hurry to call me so urgently? Why did he have to go to this extent?

“It’s true.” “Well then, you must know the name of the weapon with [MP Absorption] skill, right?”

The man questions my integrity. When you attach [2x Increase in Intelligence] skill to a rod, it becomes the Rod of Offerings. When you attach [Incantation Delay] skill to a copper sword, it becomes the Copper Sword of Obstruction. There’s a predefined naming scheme. There must be one for [MP Absorption] skill, too. I don’t know, obviously, because I haven’t made it yet.

Am I supposed to know it’s name if I have it? Am I, really? For example, the Duke of Harz’s Ring of Determination. It’s his family’s heirloom, pa.s.sed down from generation to generation. It won’t be unusual if he doesn’t know its name.

“Because I made it myself, I don’t know its name. Even though I don’t know, if there’s a trusted weapons merchant around, there won’t be any problem.”

I tell him honestly that I don’t know. Actually, no. I haven’t made it yet but this weapons merchant doesn’t know that. I’m not honest at all.

Also, I can’t say that it’s an heirloom because it won’t look old from any angle. Furthermore, he may use this fact to bargain the price down. Even if I will later be required to show it, I will be able to claim that it’s new because I have already told them that I made it myself.

“Very well. Then, why would you let go of such a precious weapon that you made after taking great pains?”

If I say that I don’t need it, I will be giving him an even bigger reason to bargain the price down.

If I made it myself, why would I let go of it? Problem. If it’s an heirloom, it must be old. Problem. If I stole it, I must know its name. Therefore, if I know its name, it will be suspected to be a stolen item. Problem.

It seemed like a simple question at first but it’s actually quite a tricky one. As you would expect from a broker. Cunning.

“I have a shrine maiden in my party who can use spear. In strengthening her, the Sacred Spear will be considerably helpful. It’s an opportunity I stumbled upon after taking great pains.” “I see. Do you have the staff with you?” “I don’t.”

I seem to have deceived him successfully.

“I want to have it immediately. Is it possible?” “I can bring it right now but have you received the approval from your client?” “To tell you the truth, who needs a weapon with [MP Absorption] skill is my own house. It has been decided for the heir of the main house to receive his mistress.” “That’s great.”

So the broker’s client is actually the broker’s own house, huh? Well, there’s no need for approval, then. If he’s part-broker part-client, Then he must have been entrusted with the procurement task.

“It has been decided for a weapon with [MP Absorption] skill to be presented at the marriage ceremony. The task was commissioned to an acquainted master smith. However, there has been no success. Although the Sacred Spear is an excellent weapon, if I can get the staff with [MP Absorption] skill in its exchange, it’ll be a good deal. After it has been appraised, I’m willing to exchange the weapons at your terms.”

So the staff with [MP Absorption] skill will be used as a betrothal gift, huh? Because it has to be arranged before the marriage, he would definitely like to have it as quickly as possible. I leave my seat.

“I understand. I’ll bring it right away.” “Please.”

I head back to the waiting room to use [Warp]. It’s annoying of them to follow along to see me off. I prefer to use [Warp] in peace when no one’s around. I read the incantation of [Field Walk] out loud and use [Warp].

“Sherry, fuse this, please.”

After taking the items out, I call out to Sherry who was preparing dinner. If it’s Sherry, the [Monster Card Fusion] will be easy as pie. Before dinner. I put the Scissor-esque Carnivorous Plant Monster Card, the Kobold Monster Card and the staff with an empty skill slot on the table.

“Are you sure about the cards?” “It’s fine.” “If the fusion fails, you won’t get the cards back.”

I was of the idea that she no longer feels uneasy about [Monster Card Fusion] but it doesn’t seem to be the case. Even the limitless sand may vanish from a beach but worries will not. (TN: Hama no ma.s.sago, a j.a.panese proverb which means that the grains of sand on a beach are innumerable.)

“You’re onboard a large s.h.i.+p, Sherry, don’t worry.” (TN: Oobune ni notta you, another j.a.panese proverb which means that you’re safe.) “I have been doing it casually until now but…” “You don’t need to tell me. My memory isn’t shabby.” “…”

As long as she doesn’t lose her focus due to her doubts, there’s no problem. Sherry takes a seat and reluctantly picks the staff up in her hands. She performs the [Monster Card Fusion].

“Ooh, it’s a success. As expected of Sherry- no, as expected of my memory.”

It doesn’t mean that my memory was used. So, don’t look at me with questioning eyes.

Or was my memory actually used, perhaps?

I used it. I definitely used it. If my memory serves me right, I used my memory.

“Thank you very much. It’s possible, though, that a different skill has been attached.”

Still doubting, huh? Had Roxanne praised her in my stead, it would have been a different case, I’m certain. Unfortunately, she’s in the kitchen, not here.

I praise her myself because there’s no other option, and receive the wand from Sherry. [MP Absorption] skill has successfully been attached to the staff. Soul Sucker Staff, huh? Quite an exaggerated name.

[ Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter ]