"Oh, Miss Garami? Could I ask you a question?" - Marcus Pollen
After the nice (and free) breakfast, just as we were preparing to leave right before the restaurant was going to open for real, the chef wanted to ask me a question.
"I warn you, pal. Asking this girl for a date is a one-way trip to hell. No jokes or puns intended." - Mira
Sorry for being a hellish demon.
"What? No, that was not what I wanted to ask. Miss Garami-" - Marcus Pollen
"Drop the 'Miss'." - Garami
"Oh, alright. *Cough*, Garami, are you a Migrant?" - Marcus Pollen
"...? Yes, I am. Why did you know?" - Garami
"I saw it written on your Adventurer Card when you presented it to me. You need to be more careful about that. People may think about getting you." - Marcus Pollen
Hold on. There are too many things I wanna confirm here. First, the talk about my card... Ah, now I see. I didn't notice before now, but the title [Migrant] is written there, clear as crystal.
"People can place a title for others to easily see, even without any high-leveled or fancy skills. Some use it to demonstrate their abilities by showing they have a title that the World System itself deemed that they were worthy of." - Bloom
Bloom popped up from the table after she'd passed out from overeating a whole crepe on her own. Where does she fit all that grub? And please don't start asking "why she needs food in the first place".
"Yes. And Migrants sometimes have the most ridiculous abilities out there." - Mira
"...Because they sometimes end up with Extra Skills?" - Garami
"Ding-dong~, correct! Taking some random stranger armed with an incredible ability and training them to become your loyal (read: brainwashed) lapdog is something the jerks in the underbelly of society would do." - Mira
"Iik!" - Marcus Pollen
Stop screaming like a little girl...
"And yeah, that's why Migrants got to be careful. Not that Garami needs to worry about it. You're far from a newbie at this point." - Mira
"Hmm...I still think I wanna change the title..." - Garami
"Speaking of which, did you get into any trouble when you arrived in this world, Pollen?" - Mira
"Me? No, I think I must have been one of the lucky ones. I was shocked out of my mind when I one day tried to enter my apartment only to find myself in the middle of the streets in a fantasy city." - Marcus Pollen
"Ahh, one of those rumored 'dimensional rifts'. That's impressive on its own." - Mira
So that's how he arrived here. And hearing Mira's reaction, it seems to be quite a rare event.
"It was only troublesome! People shooed me away like I was yesterday's trash! Then I was lucky enough to meet Milo. He comforted me when I was down, and eventually, I encountered...quite an impactful person working for the Adventurers' Union. They recommended me to the Merchants' Union, and slow and steady, I ended up having a shop of my own!" - Marcus Pollen
So his lucky breaks started after he met Milo...or where they Milo's lucky breaks? Now he's got a comfortable home and a kind owner... Nah. Let's not go down that path. It will end up sounding like it's because of Milo's luck that the chef got lost in this world.
"Then you have some talents for the Merchants' Union to sponsor you with providing this place?" - Mira
"Yes... Truth be told, it is one of those Extra Skills that Miss..., that Garami mentioned." - Marcus Pollen
Hehehe. I'm getting good at giving the evil eye even without using skills now~.
"...? An Extra Skill? Do you have one? You??" - Garami
"You don't have to ask twice! Yes, I do have one. But it is not something to fight with." - Marcus Pollen
"Then how's it possible to classify it as an Extra Skill?" - Mira
"Not everything is about combat, Miss Aureola. My skill is called [Dimensional Merchant], and it allows me to do transactions from anywhere in the world and have the goods sent straight to me." - Marcus Pollen
"You mean, it teleports the goods?" - Garami
"That's right! It only works one way, from there to here, but it is still quite useful if I should say so myself." - Marcus Pollen
"Self-praise is good, but are you sure you should be saying that aloud?" - Mira
The chef clasped both his hands over his mouth when he heard Mira's question. But is that all it does? Extra Skills are supposed to have more than 1 effect, at the very least. Even if it can make any transporter businesses go bankrupt.
......HOLD ON A SEC! That skill may be of use to ME!
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"Pollen! Can you get a Magic Stone with that skill!?" - Garami
"Hold on! What was that? A Mana Stone?" - Marcus Pollen
"MAGIC Stone. The kind you sometimes find in monsters." - Garami
"Oh, right. Mana Stones are those minerals that mutate when exposed to mana, right?" - Mira
"And Magic Stones are those that are developed inside monsters that grow too strong." - Garami
Those stones aren't giving the monsters any power-ups though. They're simply a side-effect of the monster growing so strong that they require some help to keep its body from getting blown up by its very own power.
"Hmm, I need to ask the Merchants' Union about that one. I got a contract with them." - Marcus Pollen
"Blasted bureaucrats. Fine. But could you at least tell me how much it will cost?" - Garami
"Give me a sec... What rank would you want the stone to be?" - Marcus Pollen
"C-rank or bust." - Garami
"Oki-doki. A C-rank stone costs..." - Marcus Pollen
---
"75K Sols!? That's highway robbery!!" - Garami
"If you ask for such a luxury item, that's the obvious result you'll get." - Mira
After we left the restaurant, I started to complain out of sheer frustration. I mean, that thing costs way too much dough! My poor wallet's gonna get cut down to just 1/4th of its original weight! Literally.
The chef did feel bad for giving us the bad news, so he gave us the address of someone who he consulted with regarding his Extra Skill. Those things have to be useful. Even the [Demon Lord] skill I have, which is one of the most common and weakest ones of the Extra Skill category, puts me in the same weight rank as Mira, who is many levels above me, stats-wise.
We walked a while before reaching...hey. I recognize this place. And that stall. ...oh, boy.
"Aww~, long time no see, sweetie~. Did you miss me~?" - Rassel Hauserson
It's the ogre chief from day 1.
"Garami, you know this guuuu..., this person?" - Mira
"Nice recovery. And somehow. I bought from their stall before." - Garami
"No way~. Is this your girlfriend, sweetie~? Did you only play with my poor maiden heart back then?! Sob, sob, sob...*glance*." - Rassel
"Please, spare me..." - Garami
"Aw, alright~. But sweetie, what do you want today? People have started to catch fish in the lake again, so today is seafood day~!" - Rassel
"No thanks. We've already eaten." - Garami
"That's too bad~." - Rassel
"Yeah, sorry for intruding, but we came here from Marcus Pollen's shop." - Mira
"So that's why. Yes, sweet Marcus' food is to die for~. Even if it hurts my pride as a fellow chef to admit it." - Rassel
"Yeah...since Marcus can obtain any ingredients in the world thanks to his fancy ability." - Mira
Mira lowered her voice in the second half so that people wouldn't overhear her. The ogre chef lifted his eyebrow in acknowledgment and started to talk.
"So you two are wishing for info regarding Extra Skills now? *Sniff*, they grow up so fast." - Rassel
"And you will tell us...?" - Mira
"'You are far too young!!', is what I would normally say, but since you're the infamous 'Robber Knight' and 'Killer Rookie', I guess it's fine to share this old girl's know-" - Rassel
"Hold on. What were those names?" - Garami
"The adventures who came to buy from my stall were speaking of you two while nursing their wounds and broken bones~." - Rassel
"...Please tell me the name and faces of the people who said that." - Mira
"That's 10 seafood skewers, thanks for your patronage~." - Rassel
...? .........AH! Those jerks that always get sent flying by yours truly! What cheapskates! Spreading such false......, not necessarily false rumors, but those nicknames are too lame! What do you mean by "Killer Rookie"? Did you guys wanna be called "Rookie Killers" if I wasn't as strong as I am!?
Maybe I should show off one of my more impressive titles to get them to think of something better to call me... But that would be revealing my hand...
Ah, about Mira's nickname? It fits too well. Can't say anything against that one. And these seafood skewers are yummy!
"It's nice to see that you young people have such great appetite~." - Rassel
"Juaminore..., Polaror..., Chikou..., good. Now, about those skills..." - Mira
"Yes~, as you wish~, sweetie~." - Rassel
I'm getting heartburn here...
"You see, these Extra Skills? They are extremely difficult to obtain. There are rumors that if your Karma reaches a certain extremity and you perform some incredible stunt, a status-enhancing skill is given to you. But even then, only a few people have the 'potential' to obtain those. Not to mention that they are a tad less impressive than the other Extra Skills, which are obtained differently." - Rassel
Those "tad less impressive" skills must include [Demon Lord]. So, is there something for having positive Karma? Maybe even neutral Karma?
"The real deal is more difficult to obtain. You need two items, or rather, one item and one location, to get the real skills everyone is drooling for." - Rassel
"We need to go treasure hunting?" - Mira
"Quite on the nose there, cute Robber Knight~. The item is called an 'Extra Medal'. It is a coin-sized little thing that has markings of different types of subjects. You use this item in the location I mentioned, which is called a *Trial Ground'. If you manage to clear the trial that is instigated by sacrificing the Medal to the Trial Ground, you will be awarded different kinds of prizes." - Rassel
"Including Extra Skills?" - Garami
"Including Extra Skills~." - Rassel
Extra Medals..., maybe we have some on us. A part of me wanted to ask the ogre chief about their assessment of the three coins we pilfered from the casino before, but it's better to keep quiet. No need to show all our cards.
And thinking about it, Karion deliberately didn't wish to buy those coins. It may have been his wish as a Union Master to make us grow stronger...but it could also be that they're complete duds.
"You have any ideas where either can be found?" - Mira
"Sweetie, Extra Medals are too rare to even be sold on the black market! But I do about a nearby Trial Ground." - Rassel
The ogre chief took out a map of the lake country. Velantas was marked there, along with 7 islands...with quite simple names on them. "Plain Island", "Iron Isle Mines", "Mayhem Island" and so on. Only Tir na Nog, the place I passed as I sailed to Velantas, and a place called the "Isla de Mina" have some imagination behind its name.
"There is a huge grotto on the Little Wasteland island that acts as a Trial Ground. If you have luck with finding those Medals, you can use them there." - Rassel
"Geh!? Little Wasteland..." - Mira
"Somethings up?" - Garami
"Garami, haven't you heard the rumors? A group of vicious monsters has made the island their hunting grounds lately. You need to be properly prepared if you want to take a walk across the Wasteland these days. More so than even before the lake dried up, have I heard." - Mira
Yikes. Just my luck.
"Just so you're warned, even if you choose the 'safety mode' when challenging the Trials, you still need to prepare for a tough fight." - Rassel
"Safety?" - Garami
"The Trials can be chosen to be played in safety mode or dangerous mode. With safety mode, there is no risk of dying during the Trial, incredibly enough. But the Extra Skills only appear on the dangerous mode, and only if you ace the Trial." - Rassel
"Are you saying the Trial rewards differ depending on how well you do it?" - Mira
"Correct, dear~. But even the lowest rewards on the safety mode is quite impressive." - Rassel
"Like what? Magic Stones?" - Mira
"Of the best quality possible, or so says the rumors." - Rassel
For real!? I got to prepare big time for these Trials then. Who cares about those mysterious monsters? I'll just prepare something like a safari jeep and run them over! Or run away from them if that's necessary! I NEED those stones if I want my secret plans to work.
...Should I tell Mira about them? ...Nah. Not yet, at least. It's better to delay that until we have the Stones... And my tummy's too full now to explain properly anyway. But they're too good, those seafood skewers...