Chapter 74: Permanent
A loud voice that rang out all of a sudden.
Walfred looked toward where the commotion had erupted.
There he saw the chief, who had let out a violent cough while trying to force herself upright on the cot, and the people stopping her from doing so.
"Cough, cough!"
"That’s exactly why you can’t be moving around."
"Hah, hah. Still, I should at least thank the savior who rescued our shelter..."
"You can do that later, it’s fine!"
"That’s right, you were asleep for three whole days, so don’t push yourself right now and get plenty of rest."
From the gist of the conversation, it seemed she’d forced herself to move just to offer her thanks.
Walfred waved a hand and said:
"It’s fine, so you can take your time."
He had no intention of leaving right away in any case.
There was also something he had yet to receive.
’The Blessing of Light.’
If he helped the shelter, she’d said she would definitely grant him something called the [Blessing of Light]. And not a temporary one, but a blessing that lasted permanently.
Whether it actually existed was another question.
Still, the Sienna he’d seen didn’t look like someone who’d lie. So he had no intention of leaving until he’d received the [Blessing of Light].
’Guess I’ll finish looking over the rest of the loot.’
Leaning his back lazily against the wall.
Walfred gazed at the two remaining pieces of loot.
The first one he picked up was an ashen fragment about the size of a fingernail. Soon the detailed information on the loot unfolded before his eyes.
-----
[Name]: Fragment of Decay
[Rank]: Rare
[Remains imbued with the mana of a curse.]
[Upon consumption, grants complete immunity to death/dark-attribute curses of B-rank or below.]
-----
It was an effect he’d seen plenty of before.
The lower-tier version of the ’Bone Drake’s Bone Powder’ he’d eaten a while back.
’Then it’s no use to me.’
Walfred was already immune to curses of A-rank or below. Gazing at the Fragment of Decay, Walfred called over Elsa, who was playing with the children.
"Elsa."
"What?"
"Come here for a sec."
Elsa came pattering over.
Walfred held out the [Fragment of Decay].
"Here, eat this."
"What is it? Is it something yummy?"
It didn’t exactly look yummy, though.
Walfred gave an awkward smile and said:
"...It’s good for you."
"Okay! Then I’ll eat it."
Elsa promptly popped the fragment into her mouth.
After crunching on it, Elsa soon gulped it down. Walfred asked carefully:
"How is it?"
"It doesn’t taste like anything!"
"I see."
It was a relief just to hear it didn’t taste bad.
Nodding, Walfred looked into Elsa’s eyes and checked her status.
-----
[Name]: Elsa
[Level]: 66 (Resonance)
[Race]: Dragonkin - Pureblood
[Mana]: 66,000
[Trait]: Frost Feast
[Skills]: Blessing of the Frost Dragon, Roar of the Frost Dragon, Shared Sight, Polymorph, Frost Immunity, Cold Immunity, Frost Resonance, Curse Immunity (B-rank and below)
-----
At the very bottom of the skill list.
Confirming that [Curse Immunity] had been added, Walfred finally let out a sigh of relief. With this, she’d be able to block just about any curse.
Feeling as though he’d erased one fatal weakness, Walfred felt a weight lift clean off his chest.
"Daddy."
"Hmm?"
"Can I go play again?"
"Sure, have fun."
Walfred ruffled Elsa’s hair and sent her off. As if she was having a great time playing with the kids, Elsa ran off giggling.
After watching her for a moment.
Walfred checked the last piece of loot.
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[Name]: Mark of One-Versus-a-Hundred
[Rank]: Unique
[The more enemies displaying hostility in the vicinity, the more the bearer’s physical abilities are enhanced. Can be obtained with a low probability upon soloing the Corpse Lord.]
▷Physical abilities: +10% per enemy
▷Maximum boost: +1,000%
▶How to use: Press the stamp against a body part and say ’Mark’ to have it engraved automatically.
-----
A piece of loot shaped like a stamp.
It was an item that engraved a mark onto the body, and its ability was quite good. Especially when fighting hundreds of monsters, like he had earlier.
’Not bad at all.’
After exterminating the Corpse Lord earlier.
While fighting the horde of over a hundred zombies, Walfred had reached his physical limit.
If he’d had an ability like this back then, he’d have finished the fight with stamina to spare.
’I should engrave it right away.’
Without hesitation, Walfred pressed the stamp against the inner side of his left elbow.
And.
"Mark."
The instant the word left his mouth.
A burning pain, as if he’d been scorched by fire, shot up his forearm for a moment. When the pain subsided shortly after, a mark the size of a palm had been engraved.
Ding!
[The mark has been used successfully.]
[Mark of One-Versus-a-Hundred: Activated]
[Marks held: 1/12]
The notification message that popped up next.
Walfred tilted his head.
’Is there a limit on how many I can hold?’
Going by the context, that’s how it looked.
If so, it meant the number of marks he could engrave on his body from here on was eleven. Realizing this, Walfred narrowed his eyes.
’I’ll have to be a bit more careful going forward.’
Because if he recklessly engraved any old thing, he might end up in a bind later, with no room left when a truly good mark came along.
"Hah."
After finishing his check of all the loot.
Walfred leaned his back against the wall and closed his eyes.
The moment he was done with his tasks, the fatigue that had built up while fighting the zombie horde came rushing in. So just as he made up his mind to catch a quick nap.
"Hunter Walfred."
A voice calling him reached his ears.
A familiar voice. When he gently opened his closed eyes, a familiar face came into view. It was Sienna.
Crouching down in front of Walfred, she pulled something from the pocket of her winter gear and held it out.
"This is the reward I mentioned in the community. I’m giving it to you as a token of my thanks, so please accept it."
Ding!
-----
[Notification]
[Sienna proposes a trade.]
[Trade item]: 2,837 coins
[Will you accept the trade?]
[YES] / [NO]
-----
A sum just shy of three thousand coins.
Gazing at it, Walfred glanced over at the children laughing and playing with Elsa in the distance.
They looked pretty ragged and grubby.
Caring for that many children would require a considerable amount of money. Three thousand coins would surely come in handy.
’On the other hand...’
For Walfred, it was a sum he could easily do without.
The coins he currently held came to over a hundred thousand.
Three thousand coins or so made no difference whether he took them or not. Having made his decision, Walfred shook his head.
"Nah, keep the coins."
"What? B-but..."
"Just spend it on the kids."
They’d surely have plenty of use for it down the road.
Was she startled by the unexpected words?
Sienna’s eyes went round.
"I-is that really okay...?"
"Yeah."
"...Thank you. Really, truly."
She sniffled as she offered her thanks.