Chapter 8 - 008_Foundational Power
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008_Foundational Power
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When he thrust his spear into the chest of Godris of Serbanui, Godris turned to dust and vanished. Rodney picked up the Life Light Stone, having somehow managed to defeat Godris all by himself.
"Your movements have improved considerably, Rodney-sama."
"Big Brother can do it when he tries. Keep up the good work from now on!"
Rodney was happy to be praised by Yulin for his improved movements, but Emilia's words, which made her sound more like an older sister, deflated him. However, while Emilia could easily handle fighting multiple Godris at once, Rodney was barely managing one-on-one. He had known since their training that Emilia's talent for combat was superior.
That day, Rodney and his party returned after obtaining 45 Life Light Stones. Since Yulin accompanied them, he could also receive appropriate advice. He was gaining practical combat experience, and though slowly, it could be said that Rodney was growing.
"It's because of Foundational Power that I can't even catch up to an ordinary soldier."
Normally, one finally obtains Foundational Power after using several dozen Life Light Stones. But Rodney had already used over a hundred Life Light Stones and still hadn't obtained Foundational Power.
"What could be wrong?"
He lined up the Life Light Stones they had collected today on the desk, and picked up one of them.
"Unlike me, Emilia obtained Foundational Power with about twenty. Is there a difference in talent even in that regard?"
He toyed with the Life Light Stone in the palm of his hand.
"Emilia got 'Strong Strength'... The gap keeps widening..."
The Foundational Power one could obtain was determined by the kind of Serbanui they defeated. The Foundational Power obtainable from a Godris's Life Light Stone was either the arm-strength type 'Strong Strength,' the defense type 'Toughness,' or the sensory type 'Sensitivity.'
Only one Foundational Power could be obtained from the Life Light Stone of the same kind of Serbanui. Since Emilia had already obtained the Foundational Power 'Strong Strength' from a Godris's Life Stone, she could obtain no more. Yet, because Rodney had not obtained any Foundational Power, they were hunting Godris together.
"How can I waste money on something so fruitless?"
As a matter of common knowledge, children of nobles obtained three Foundational Powers. There were several methods for collecting them: having their territory's soldiers gather them, buying them from professional Serbanui hunters, or purchasing what other lords put up for sale.
Since every noble had to collect Life Light Stones for tribute, they often bought the Life Light Stones to give to their children from hunters. It was a considerable expense, but many nobles resigned themselves to it being a necessary refinement of nobility.
He carefully broke the Life Light Stones lined up on the desk, one by one. However, he could not obtain Foundational Power at all. Then he picked up the last Life Light Stone.
"This one low-grade Life Light Stone is worth two large silver coins... I've consumed Life Light Stones worth over two large gold coins by now. Just thinking about it makes me think I should put that toward repaying my debt... No, no, this is an advance investment for the future. If I try to obtain Foundational Power when I'm desperate, it'll be too forced."
He pinched the last Life Light Stone between his nose and upper lip, leaned back in his chair, and clasped his hands behind his head.
Life Light Stones were classified as low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and supreme-grade, but the law stipulated that a knight had to tribute low-grade Life Light Stones. However, even mid-grade Life Light Stones could be tributed, in which case they were counted as three low-grade Life Light Stones.
Therefore, the soldiers of Dedel Territory hunted Serbanui that left mid-grade Life Light Stones in the deeper layers, the fourth layer and above, of the Abandoned House Labyrinth. Mostly new soldiers hunted in the third layer and below.
(What even is this Life Light Stone? How does one obtain Foundational Power from it? I have absolutely no idea.)
He balanced the chair on its two back legs and rocked it back and forth as he thought, but the secrets of the Life Light Stone were not so easily understood.
Just then, he lost his balance and the chair wobbled violently.
"Whoa!?"
When he cried out as he lost his balance, the Life Light Stone he had been pinching between his nose and upper lip fell into his mouth. Furthermore, Rodney fell backward, and the impact crushed the Life Light Stone in his mouth, turning it into particles.
"Gwaaah!?"
He was fine because he had protected his head with both hands, but perhaps because the particles were absorbed in his mouth, he felt an intense pain throughout his body, as if his blood were boiling, and he let out an inarticulate cry.
He pressed his chest, swayed his body side to side to endure the agony, and sweat burst from every pore in his body. When he had recalled his previous life's memories, he had felt considerable lethargy, but this was excruciating pain.
"Haa, haa... What... was that...?"
He felt as though he had obtained a Foundational Power, and when he concentrated his mind, information about 'Steel Arm' flooded in.
"Hey, hey, what's this?"
The Foundational Power obtainable from a Godris's Life Light Stone was only one of three types: 'Strong Strength,' 'Toughness,' or 'Sensitivity.' There was no record of obtaining any other Foundational Power.
Yet, the 'Steel Arm' Rodney had now obtained was a mid-grade Foundational Power, one rank above the 'Strong Strength' he should have been able to obtain. It defied common sense for a mid-grade Foundational Power like 'Steel Arm' to be obtained from a weak Serbanui like Godris.
"Is it because I ate it?"
He had inadvertently crushed the Life Light Stone in his mouth. He could think of no other reason. Then something occurred to Rodney.
"If I managed to get 'Steel Arm,' which defies common sense, then maybe the conventional wisdom no longer applies."
There were two pieces of common knowledge about using Life Light Stones. First: only low-grade Foundational Power could be obtained from low-grade Life Light Stones. Second: only one Foundational Power could be obtained from the Life Light Stone of the same kind of Serbanui.
Of these two, the first piece of common sense had been overturned. Rodney himself was proof of that. Then, he thought, perhaps the second piece of common sense could also be overturned.
"If I had another Life Light Stone, I could check..."
Since he had used the last Life Light Stone, his stock was zero. He wanted to check but couldn't, and he hoped he wouldn't have to endure such intense pain again. Still, the thought of the possibility made it impossible not to try. If that were the case, he could tolerate that degree of suffering.
"Anyway, I want to test this 'Steel Arm'."
Rodney went out to the backyard of the house and picked up the axe that was kept there for splitting firewood. He confirmed its weight, then tried to activate 'Steel Arm.'
Foundational Power could not be used unless consciously activated. It was said that it took time to get used to activating it at first. Rodney concentrated his mind and induced the activation of 'Steel Arm.' After a while, he felt a kind of exhilaration spreading through his body. He instinctively knew that this was the power of 'Steel Arm.'
When he held the axe, it was clearly lighter than before. He swung the axe, which felt almost weightless, down onto the firewood, and the firewood was splendidly split in two. He had never split firewood so easily before. That alone made him feel that the Foundational Power 'Steel Arm' was truly remarkable.
"Ah..."
Perhaps because he let his guard down, 'Steel Arm' was deactivated, and the weight of the axe returned to his hand. He panicked as he nearly dropped the axe on his foot, but above all, the exhilaration of having obtained 'Steel Arm' dominated Rodney.
"Fuuu..."
(With this, maybe even I can fight. And if I can obtain mid-grade Foundational Powers by eating Life Light Stones, I might be able to get 'Sturdiness,' the superior of 'Toughness,' or 'Acuity,' the superior of 'Sensitivity.')
This was getting interesting, so he decided to activate 'Steel Arm' again and begin training to sustain it.
What caught his eye was a garden stone. Weighing perhaps 10 Rodem (20 kilograms), he activated 'Steel Arm' and lifted it. Without 'Steel Arm,' lifting that stone would have been a considerable struggle, but Rodney lifted it easily. While holding the stone, he maintained 'Steel Arm' for as long as possible.
The next day, as he was training by activating 'Steel Arm' and lifting the stone from the morning, Yulin arrived.
"Good morning, Yulin."
"Good morning, Rodney-sama. What are you doing?"
"I obtained a Foundational Power, so I was testing it."
"Congratulations. Seeing you lifting a stone, the Foundational Power you obtained is 'Strong Strength,' correct?"
Rodney relaxed his cheeks and put on a mysterious air.
"Stop making that creepy face and tell me quickly."
"Creepy... What do you think of me, Yulin?"
"Rodney-sama."
"..."
He wanted to complain, but he was so happy about obtaining a Foundational Power that he didn't. Then, Rodney beckoned Yulin to bring her face closer. When Yulin obediently leaned in, Rodney breathed onto her ear.
"Hya!?"
Yulin let out a cute voice when her ear was breathed on. Her sharp gaze became even sharper as she glared at Rodney.
"I'm sorry, I won't do it again."
At Rodney, who pressed his palms together in front of his face, Yulin sighed.
Neither of them imagined that this scene was being watched by Sharume, Emilia, and Riti. The three of them watched the pair anxiously, thinking things like "How frustrating," "Just pull her close," and so on.
"Tell me quickly."
"Yes. Well then, excuse me."
Rodney whispered into Yulin's ear. This time, he did not breathe on it.
"Hah?"
It was only natural for Yulin to raise her voice, since he said he had obtained 'Steel Arm,' which normally could not be obtained.
"You're teasing me again!"
"No, it's not that. It's true."
Rodney lifted a large stone in the backyard to show her. It was a large stone that seemed to weigh 40 Rodem. Seeing it, Yulin's eyes went wide. The three who had been watching them were also surprised.
"Do you believe me now? Do you think I could lift a stone this big just from getting 'Strong Strength,' Yulin?"
"It's hard to believe offhand, but even with 'Strong Strength,' a weakling like you, Rodney-sama, could not lift that stone."
"The 'weakling' part is unnecessary, but you're right."
Yulin was not convinced, but she understood.
Incidentally, while Rodney's swordsmanship was hopeless, he was by no means a weakling. Through his daily efforts, he had built up a fair amount of muscle, and he had always been the one to split the firewood. By Yulin's standards, that might be called weakling, but by ordinary standards, he was average.
"Be that as it may, congratulations. This is a chance for a weakling like you, Rodney-sama, to make a leap forward. Let's go to the labyrinth right away and test the power of the Foundational Power."
"Yeah!"
Rodney decided to enter the labyrinth day after day with Yulin and Emilia. Above all, he wanted to master 'Steel Arm' as quickly as possible.
On the way to the labyrinth, when he told Emilia that he had obtained 'Steel Arm,' she was quite envious. Emilia implored him, saying she wanted 'Steel Arm' too, but Rodney carefully hedged, as he didn't know whether that was a fluke or if there were conditions. Besides, he didn't want Emilia to experience that suffering.
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