TBAGM Vol. 2 Chapter 4 Part 4

After finishing the day’s special training, I—Lloyd—saw Mint and the others off back to Greenpeak. When I returned to the guild, Rei was there to greet me.

“Welcome back, Lord Lloyd.”

“I’m back. You’ve gotten pretty used to this guild too, Rei.”

“That was thanks to your consideration, Lord Lloyd, and my elder sister’s guidance.”

At first, her nerves had shown on her face, but now she carried herself with the calm composure of a proper maid. Serina had likely taught her grooming and etiquette as well; she looked so immaculate she could have served in the royal palace without anyone batting an eye.

“By ‘elder sister,’ do you mean Serina?”

“Yes. Lady Serina told me to address her as my elder sis— I mean… instructed me to.”

“A-are you sure you’re okay? She’s not, like, power-harassing you or anything?”

At first, Serina and Rei had seemed to keep a bit of distance between them. Serina was flawless and remarkably capable, but she also had a mischievous, little-devil streak where she liked to tease people. In my case, it was usually Ellis-related—she’d watch me with a smug grin, then casually drop a problematic remark at the worst possible time.

So I’d been a little uneasy that she might be doing something similar to her junior, Rei. But it didn’t seem to be the case.

“N-No! Nothing like that! My elder sister is truly a wonderful person!”

Rei said it with sparkling eyes. It was obviously heartfelt.

If she said so, then I could stop worrying about their relationship.

“By the way—have Nero and the others come back?”

“Yes. Lord Nero, Lady Rii, and Lady Mii are present.”

“What about Ellis?”

“Lady Ellis said she had an errand, and she went out about an hour ago.”

Had she gone shopping? Or was it something at home? It was already late at night, so I couldn’t help feeling a little concerned. Then again, if it was Ellis, she’d probably drive off any suspicious character on instinct alone.

“Lady Elna and Lord Nick are in the workshop, so I’ve been told.”

We’d arranged for the newcomers under Elna and Nick to be able to live at the workshop. Even calling it a “workshop” was misleading—it had multiple rooms and was practically as large as a guild, so they shouldn’t lack for anything.

Naturally, we’d prepared rooms for Elna and Nick there as well, but it seemed they intended to keep eating, sleeping, and living at Veiled Moonrise from here on out.

Wasn’t it a hassle to go back and forth? When I asked them that, they’d answered without hesitation:

“This is the only place that feels like home. I can’t stand not having Lord Lloyd here.”

“I’m with Elna. I decided I’m following Lord Lloyd for the rest of my life.”

If the two of them left, Veiled Moonrise would get a lot quieter, so I was honestly happy to hear it.

“Ah, Lord Lloyd. Welcome back.”

When I went to the main hall, Nero was there maintaining his weapons. Rii and Mii, exhausted from the day, seemed to have gone to bed early.

“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve got something on your mind.”

“Haha… you really do see right through everything, Lord Lloyd.”

At my words, Nero gave a wry smile. When an adventurer maintained their weapons, it was usually because they were thinking about something—or because a decisive battle was looming.

“I’ve been worrying about 【Magic Breaker】… and about Ellis.”

“Then let’s talk about 【Magic Breaker】 first.”

“Thank you. Lately, when I invoke it… something feels off.”

Nero said it as his fingers rested on his dagger. I immediately used 【Appraisal】 to check the state of his skill.

.

[Hidden Skill] 【Magic Breaker】 A/SS

.

“Yeah. There’s nothing abnormal about the skill itself. Let me see if there’s anything else going on.”

Saying that, I scanned the other entries as well.

And then something practically screamed, I’m the cause, as it entered my view.

.

NEW! [Hidden Skill]  Skill Breaker E/S

.

“N-No way…”

I could only stare, dumbfounded, at a result I’d never even imagined. Honestly, someone should praise me for not yelling just because it was nighttime.

“Sometimes… lately, 【Magic Breaker】 just fails to trigger more often, and…”

Everyone had off days. I’d assumed the value on 【Magic Breaker】 had dipped.

But it was the exact opposite. A different hidden skill had awakened.

“D-Did you figure something out?”

Seeing my expression, Nero asked anxiously. I looked more closely into Skill Breaker.

.

[Awakening Condition]  Attempt to break a skill 1,000 times.

.

Every skill had an awakening condition, without exception. Nero’s new hidden skill did too.

But fulfilling it was practically impossible. Who even tried to break skills in the first place?

(It was probably thanks to 【Water Ball】.)

Ellis’s 【Water Ball】 was an existence that deviated from the laws of this world: it was magic, and yet it was also a hidden skill.

Because Nero had kept destroying that 【Water Ball】 over and over, he too had awakened a skill that defied common sense.

I wore a wry smile at how rapidly Nero was turning into a monster in his own right, but I still celebrated the fact that his efforts had borne fruit.

“Congratulations. You’ve acquired a new hidden skill.”

“Huh? A new hidden skill?”

“Yep. Your slump comes from simultaneously activating skills.”

With 【Magic Breaker】 raised to A-rank, 【Skill Breaker】’s value sat at E instead. If 【Skill Breaker】 were A-rank, there was a chance Nero could handle dual activation properly, but at this stage it was impossible. No wonder his casts kept misfiring.

“You’ve been breaking Ellis’s magic so much that you awakened a skill called 【Skill Breaker】.”

“E-Eeeeee—!?”

He clapped a hand over his mouth too late; a strangled yelp still burst out of him.

“You’re not the only one who should be shocked. You really never stop surprising me.”

Destroying skills went even further beyond the world’s rules than 【Magic Breaker】 did. Skills broadly fell into two categories. One was an unseen ability like my 【Appraisal】. The other was a manifested ability like Allen’s 【Excalibur】.

This was only my hypothesis, but Nero’s 【Skill Breaker】 likely could only destroy the latter. If it could break the former as well, it would be a skill powerful enough to shake the world.

“Your ‘slump’ should clear up once you properly separate the concepts of skills and magic.”

“Separate the concepts?”

Nero tilted his head, clearly not following.

He had awakened 【Skill Breaker】 thanks to Ellis, but in the process, the line between “magic” and “skill” had blurred inside him. Because he couldn’t distinguish whether his target was magic or a skill, he ended up firing both 【Magic Breaker】 and 【Skill Breaker】 at the same time. That was likely what was happening.

“It’s simple. Explain skills to me.”

“Skills can be latent, or they can blossom through effort. They don’t require mana, and you activate them by consuming stamina… I think?”

“Then what about magic?”

“You cast it by consuming the mana circulating through your body. It’s not latent; you learn it through repeated training or by using spellbooks, and then you master it.”

“Good. That explanation’s solid. So yeah… what’s left is probably your ‘feel’ for it.”

His answer showed he understood the difference well enough. This situation probably happened in a good way because he’d trained 【Magic Breaker】 against Ellis’s 【Water Ball】.

“After the guild match is over, I’ll ask Mint to help too. For now, just focus on breaking magic.”

A dungeon was the unknown, so I couldn’t claim absolutes, but monsters might use magic yet they couldn’t use skills. They didn’t even possess them. So as long as Nero was pouring his efforts into dungeon progression, there was no real need, for the time being, to train 【Skill Breaker】.

“Alright. Now let’s talk about Ellis. Did something happen?”

The moment I shifted topics, the faint smile on Nero’s face dimmed. He lowered his gaze, hesitated, and then forced the words out.

“Ellis… she’s hit her limit on the 23rd floor.”

†

Around the time I returned to the guild, Ellis headed toward Greenpeak, almost as if we’d passed each other in transit.

When she arrived, she spoke to the member guarding the entrance.

“Sorry for coming so late at night. I’m here to see Mint.”

“Lady Ellis, yes. Please, come in.”

Ellis could now enter Greenpeak without being questioned. Part of it was because Mint had taken a liking to her, but more than that, as someone who had honed magic to its peak, she was treated almost like one of their own by Greenpeak’s members.

Once inside, people called out to her every time they passed.

“Oh, it’s Ellis. Good evening.”

“Ellis, please teach me magic again sometime.”

“I want to see your 【Water Ball】 again.”

For Ellis, who had never been wanted by anyone outside of me and the people of Veiled Moonrise, that reception made her smile without even thinking about it. Being needed, being asked for, how much it could fill the heart, she hadn’t known until now.

In truth, she wanted to show them magic right then and there, but it was already late. She promised, “Next time,” and continued toward Mint.

Mint had likely known she was coming via 【Telepathy】, because when Ellis entered the guildmaster’s office, Mint looked like she’d been waiting.

“Ellis. What brings you here so late?”

Despite spending the entire day training 【Parallel Casting】, she looked crisp and alert.

“Sorry for the late hour. I wanted to ask for some advice.”

“Hehe. Want me to shrink your height again?”

Mint smiled, clearly teasing, but Ellis’s eyes lit up and she lunged for the bait.

“Huh? You will?”

“Wait. That’s the part you’re reacting to?”

Mint hurriedly corrected herself, flustered that Ellis had taken it seriously. Ellis only blinked, puzzled, and Mint gave an exaggerated cough before steering the conversation back on track.

“Ahem. So, what advice do you need this time?”

“Um… it’s about dungeon progression…”

Ellis explained what she’d been feeling inside the dungeon over the past few days.

“I think it gets difficult after the 23rd floor. My physical ability just isn’t there.”

Her problem was her lack of physical stats.

Ellis’s status leaned toward endurance. She had vitality and durability, but her agility was only average, and her strength was below average. From the 23rd floor onward, the terrain shifted drastically and each monster jumped in power. It was considered the deepest of the lower layers.

Nero, even while sealing skills, still had A-rank-level stats. And if Rii and Mii kept refining 【Twin Stars】, they would become dramatically stronger, so they weren’t the issue.

But Ellis was different. With her current status, she wouldn’t last.

“At this rate, I’ll become a burden.”

“Aren’t mages basically like that? You’re not a gladiator.”

“I only have 【Water Ball】. I don’t have a normal mage’s variety of attacks, and it’s not like I can provide support magic. I need to be able to move on my own.”

Ellis stared at Mint with unwavering seriousness.

Ideally, she wanted to consult me. But to Ellis, I looked overwhelmingly busy. And after having me lay down every track for her until now, a part of her wanted to surprise me for once, too.

Seeing her resolve, Mint set a book down on the desk, as if to say she’d been waiting for this moment.

“Your timing’s incredible. I’m glad I went ahead and got this.”

“Is that a spellbook?”

“Yep. A spellbook for 【Water Armor】.”

Ellis’s eyes sparkled at the sight of a spellbook she’d never seen before. Spellbooks were expensive and rare, not something most people ever laid eyes on. Her parents were royalty, but they were swordsmen, so they hadn’t kept spellbooks at home.

“It’s only beginner magic, but this spell should solve your problem.”

【Water Armor】 was a spell that raised durability. With Ellis’s already high vitality and endurance, using it meant she’d be able to withstand most attacks.

“We’re allied guilds, so I’ll give it to you for free this time!”

“W-What? Are you sure?!”

“Sure. I figured something like this might happen.”

Mint had been certain this day would come. For mages at Greenpeak’s level, 【Water Armor】 was something they could master in a single day, meaning the spellbook was essentially unnecessary to them. If Loren had tried to use a spellbook like that as a bargaining chip, it was only natural Mint would be furious.

“Let’s go to another room. Try it out and see if you can cast it.”

“I’m sorry for all the trouble.”

Ellis bowed apologetically. Coming for advice over and over, and then asking Mint to supervise her magic on top of that, had to be a nuisance.

But Mint only smiled as she left the office.

“It’s fine, it’s fine! Our members are indebted you too, Ellis!”

With heartfelt gratitude for Mint’s kindness, Ellis followed after her.

—

The training grounds still had members who were in the middle of training, so Ellis and Mint decided to use a different private room. Mint said it was fine to do it in any random room since it wasn’t attack magic.

“Then let’s try it right away!”

“Got it! Do I just read it normally?”

“Nah, apparently it’s fine even if you skim. Once you finish reading it all, the book should glow. After that, you should be able to use the magic.”

“Th-That’s… convenient…”

Letting out a wry smile at how absurdly convenient it was, Ellis immediately started reading the magic grimoire. It was nothing but lines upon lines of text, with no pictures or illustrations at all. It was exactly the kind of book Ellis was bad with.

Normally, she would have nodded off in no time. But this time was different.

(So this was a magic grimoire… It was like I’d known it from the start. The knowledge just slid straight into my head!)

Ellis had been anxious.

Could someone like her, who had no talent for magic at all, really read a magic grimoire and gain magic?

It looked like that worry ended up being needless.

“Wah!”

The moment she finished reading, the book suddenly began to shine with a dazzling light. Ellis yelped in surprise and toppled backward onto the floor. Mint held out a hand to her and spoke.

“Congrats. Looks like you learned it.”

“Th-Thank you.”

“And the usage is already in your head without me needing to explain, right?”

“Yes. I think I can use it.”

All she had done was read the magic grimoire. She had barely even done more than flip through it. And yet, inside Ellis’s mind, everything about 【Water Armor】 was already there.

Its structure, formula, chant, and everything else.

And that was precisely why a certain thought occurred to her.

(Huh? Doesn’t that sound kind of lame?)

【Water Armor】 was, as the name suggested, a spell that equipped the caster with armor made of water. Ellis just couldn’t bring herself to accept the idea of wearing bulky armor. It had zero cuteness.

(Alright. I’ll just modify it using the water from 【Water Ball】.)

Inside her head, Ellis freely fused together the formulas for 【Water Ball】 and 【Water Armor】.

It was an idea she reached precisely because she didn’t know much about magic.

A normal mage would never come up with something like that, much less be able to do it.

And yet, what made that kind of deviation from the world’s laws possible was being a member of Veiled Moonrise.

Using a formula she had assembled purely by feel, Ellis shouted in delight as she realized she could cast a brand-new spell.

“Dance with grace! 【Water Dress】!”

The instant Ellis invoked the spell, a gigantic 【Water Ball】 appeared before her. It burst apart in a blink, and the scattered water ignored gravity as it gradually shaped itself into a dress-like suit of armor.

“Eh…”

Even Mint gaped at the sight. Even to someone who had mastered magic, what she was seeing was abnormal.

“Yep. It’s cute!”

A lovely dress-like armor, designed inside Ellis’s mind, was completed using the water from 【Water Ball】. It fluttered like a flowing mantle made of water, yet the critical areas were properly protected by solid armor plating.

It was exactly Ellis’s ideal vision of protective gear.

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!”

While Ellis was satisfied with how her magic had turned out, Mint screamed at a volume loud enough to rattle the whole room.

“W-w-w-w-what is even happening hereeeee?!”

Then she immediately rushed up to Ellis, who was wearing 【Water Dress】.

“What happened for it to end up like this?!”

Mint asked with her eyes stretched wide to their absolute limit. Faced with Mint being more desperate than Ellis had ever seen her, Ellis shrank back a little, but still answered.

“I-I didn’t want armor, so I wondered if it could become a dress instead… and I guess it became this?”

Ellis explained what had just happened.

Of course, there was no way Mint was going to accept that explanation.

“‘It became’ is not an answer?! I’ve never even heard of a spell called 【Water Dress】! Ellis, you’re seriously the best!”

Seeing a spell she had never witnessed before, Mint looked like she was a hair’s breadth away from drooling. She was basically a magic addict.

“First of all, it makes no sense that you’re using 【Water Ball】 as the fuel to cast another spell in the first place?!”

What shocked Mint the most was Ellis’s 【Water Ball】.

Mint had realized that what shaped 【Water Dress】 was Ellis’s 【Water Ball】.

In ordinary terms, 【Water Ball】 was little more than a beginner spell kids used to mess around. For something that basic to evolve this far was outright abnormal.

“Magic modification, Chant Shortening, and your own original Combination Magic?! At this point, all I can do is laugh, right?!”

“Ahaha…”

Ellis could not keep up with Mint’s energy, so all she could do was give a strained smile.

Truthfully, Ellis had not thought she had done anything that extraordinary.

(I only made it cute… Oh! That’s it! Mint must be praising me to be considerate!)

It was completely off the mark, but Ellis interpreted the situation that way anyway.

To Ellis, 【Water Ball】 was as natural as breathing.

She had only changed its shape into a dress, so she had never imagined Mint would praise her this much.

Mint, meanwhile, was thinking about something else entirely.

(Lloyd raised a monster like this… Could it be that…?)

Lately, Mint’s head had been consumed by the upcoming competition, but Ellis’s growth gave her something to cling to.

Of course, Mint already knew Lloyd was skilled at training people, and that he was an S-rank Advisor.

But somewhere inside her, there had been a lingering doubt she had never fully shaken.

That faint doubt was wiped away just now, by Ellis.

“With this, you should be able to make it all the way to the lowest depths, Ellis.”

In truth, Mint had not intended to grant Ellis’s wish exactly as it was.

【Water Armor】 was hard to move in. It was a purely defensive spell.

It would raise Ellis’s defense enough for her to withstand attacks from lower-floor monsters, but in exchange, Mint had planned to persuade her to be content as a rear-line caster like any normal mage.

But Ellis had wanted something different.

She had wanted to fight beside Nero. Not to support from behind, but to stand on the very front line.

She wanted to shine like a gladiator.

Because 【Water Dress】 was constructed lightly, it gave her agility while still offering high durability. And most likely, it even boosted her offensive power.

Mint did not have 【Appraisal】, but her instincts told her what kind of spell this was.

With this much improvement, Ellis would probably be able to keep pace with B-rank and even A-rank adventurers.

“Really?! I don’t even know how I can thank you enough, Mint…!”

“No, I should be the one thanking you. Hehe, sorry for borrowing the Lord Lloyd you adore for an entire week.”

Mint said it in a teasing tone, as if to poke at how tightly wound Ellis had been.

Ellis immediately covered her flushed face with both hands and grinned foolishly.

“Adore him?! P-Please stop that!”

“Ah, that wasn’t the part you were supposed to get embarrassed about…”

Realizing this was about to veer in a bad direction, Mint hurriedly changed the subject.

“Anyway, let’s both do our best! Once things settle down, let’s train together again!”

“Yes! Thank you so much for hearing me out!”

And with that, Ellis headed back toward Veiled Moonrise, carrying undeniable results with her.

†