Episode 193 Settler (4)
Auterica was a fantasy world filled with all sorts of fantastical elements, including magic, but it generally resembled the medieval period of the West.
Arcane arts like magic and aura were considered advanced knowledge in this world, so it wasn't easy for ordinary people to access them.
It was impossible unless they were lucky enough to be discovered for their outstanding talent and became someone's disciple, or risked their lives in a profession involving swords.
Naturally, public order wasn't very good in such an environment.
And with monsters roaming the mountains and fields, even avoiding ferocious beasts, what more could be said about the danger?
And now that 'madness' had even spread across the continent?
It wasn't uncommon to lose your life in this world due to an unexpected accident.
And there was a tragedy that naturally followed those deaths.
It was the fact that children who lost their guardians had to survive on their own.
Sadly, it was something that was happening frequently throughout the continent.
But that wasn't the case here.
"Hey! That's mine! Give it back!"
"Neener neener~ Catch me if you can~!"
"Kids, be careful! You'll get hurt!"
Chehai's orphanage was filled with the sounds of children playing.
It was a sight that couldn't be easily found elsewhere, but here, it was just an ordinary day.
And on one side of the terrace in the courtyard where the children were gathered,
"Sister, you're from the city, right?"
"Wow! How big is the city? Are there a lot of people? We had a festival in our village recently, and there were so many people. Are there more people than that?"
Isea smiled awkwardly, surrounded by young girls with sparkling eyes.
She seemed to be the youngest among the visitors, so the children were more comfortable with her.
But there was someone else who was attracting the children's attention, in a completely different way…
"Oh!"
"Wooo—!"
"Whew, whew— I did it? I really did it! Now, who's next?"
A triumphant voice echoed through the courtyard, along with rough breaths and the cheers of the boys.
"…Isn't that Billy? I think so…"
"What are you talking about? It's your turn, Hans! Are you scared?"
"Boo~ Hans is a scaredy-cat!"
"N-no! I just forgot! I'll just go, okay?!"
A boy, about ten years old, named Hans, gulped and slowly walked towards a corner of the garden where trees were growing densely, holding a piece of dried meat in one hand.
And after a series of cautious steps, as if exploring a dangerous area…
"Waaaah—!"
He screamed and ran back to his friends, his face pale.
As if he had encountered a monster.
In that shaded corner of the garden, where the boy had just been,
"Hmm! They have the makings of fine warriors."
Munch, munch—
Harley nodded with satisfaction, chewing on the dried meat in his mouth.
The dried meat that Hans had just given him.
The boys were currently playing a game of courage.
He was suppressing his presence as much as possible, but the violence that was deeply ingrained in his cells and subtly leaking out was still too much for young children to handle.
So he was deliberately hiding in a corner, but they had actually come to find him and were using him as a plaything…
"Hahaha! Facing your own weakness head-on is the fastest way to become stronger! You've learned how to overcome fear, so you'll all become great warriors in the future! Hahaha!"
Harley burst into laughter at their commendable courage.
Of course, it was just his perspective, and to the children outside, it was just a strange sound coming from the shadows of the trees.
The next boy in line made a sullen face… but it should be considered a trial to become stronger.
And it wasn't just those two who were interacting with the children in the orphanage.
Geos, who was already acquainted with the children, was having a serious conversation with those who were old enough to find jobs outside,
And Heinrich was sitting in the middle of the toddlers, like a totem, smiling gently and patting each of them on the head.
And lastly, Hesperon…
"Here, take this."
"Oh my! Thank you!"
He took the tray of snacks from the woman who approached him while he was receiving one-on-one lessons from Chehai.
A middle-aged woman with healthy tanned skin and gentle eyes.
She was Chehai's wife, the mistress of this orphanage, and a mother to all the children here.
'She's also an amazing person.'
Of course, money wasn't a big problem because Chehai had saved a lot from his mercenary work, and Geos was also providing support, but it wasn't easy to take care of so many children.
But she had been doing it for twenty years without a single complaint and had even taken the initiative…
She had a personality that made him think Chehai had made a good marriage.
"Ahem, then let's take a break. I'm going to go see the kids, so relax."
"Ah, yes! I understand."
And so, as they had some free time, Chehai got up from his seat and left him, heading towards the children.
The other party members had agreed to take over his role while he was teaching Hesperon, but…
It seemed like he was a bit uneasy about leaving everything to others.
"Hmm, unique skill."
Hesperon, who was left alone in the room, sipped his drink and thought about the system message that had just appeared.
'Come to think of it, it's been a while since my "Avatar" skill grew without using Karma. It's true that I haven't really given it much thought lately, I've just been using what was given to me.'
There were two ways to enhance a unique skill.
Gradual growth through deep contemplation and steady practice, and instantly evolving it through the Karma Shop.
He had been focusing solely on the latter method based on his overwhelming Karma acquisition, but it seemed like he had met the conditions for enhancement by gaining a better understanding of his unique skill through this incident.
'Come to think of it, the last time my skill grew enough for a system message to appear was… right after Harley's body modification was complete?'
There had been minor improvements since then, like increased efficiency and more freedom in mental power allocation between avatars, but that was the first and last time an enhancement significant enough for the system to acknowledge had occurred.
'It was quite a while ago, since I created Hubert and started raising him as a merchant.'
Other awakened ones would naturally try to understand and grow their skills to save even a single point, but he had just become complacent because of his abundant Karma.
He had just relied on enhancing his skills through the shop without any contemplation.
'But it's also a problem to not use the cards I have. Well, I can just be more careful in the future. Let's be a hardworking bourgeois.'
It couldn't be helped, and it was good enough that he had realized it now.
The know-how Chehai taught him wasn't anything groundbreaking, but he meticulously pointed out things that he wouldn't have thought of on his own.
It wasn't about the feeling of using magic or holy power, but about the special something that dwelled within and helped activate the skill.
The gist of his teachings was to more clearly recognize that and understand the mechanism of the ability's activation, so that it could be used more efficiently and only when needed.
Since their abilities were different, it was more advice than a specific technique, but it was enough to change his thinking significantly.
'It's already a gain. The next enhancement point for my unique skill was a whopping 1.2 million.'
Of course, the effect wouldn't be exactly the same as enhancing it with Karma, but just the fact that his avatar count had increased was a big gain.
Actually, he already had enough avatars…
'The more, the merrier— I'll find a use for them.'
He nodded heavily, stroking his chin.
And Chehai's teachings didn't stop at advice on unique skills.
He seemed to think that Hesperon's "Avatar Cloud" was a spatial-type unique skill, similar to his, so he explained in detail the secret technique he had created using "Phase Distortion".
He was practically a selfless teacher, giving him everything he had.
Of course, the technique had been reconstructed as something he could directly use with aura, so it was difficult for Hesperon, a mage, to use it directly.
But at least the underlying principles could be applied to other areas.
'To think he created such a high-level theory on his own…'
It showed how much he had devoted himself to his unique skill after the system disappeared.
There were many limitations in the process of forcibly recreating it, and the versatility and freedom he had before was completely bound to the framework of a 'technique'… but that couldn't be helped.
'Could this be used with Harley's "Bio-Aura"?'
"Bio-Aura", which was created by processing the life force of monsters, was only similar in nature to ordinary aura, the working mechanism was a completely different type of energy, but…
It was still worth trying since it was the closest energy to it.
'I've been allowed to use what the other party members use, so even if I can't learn it all now, I can always ask Geos later.'
Chehai was the one who established the theory, but Geos, who had inherited it and further refined the technique through countless real battles, wouldn't be lacking in proficiency either.
And as Hesperon was lost in thought, considering what he had already gained and what he would gain in the future,
"Good work, Heron."
"Ah, Master."
Isea entered the room, opening the door.
As expected, it seemed like she had also gained something, as she had a faint smile on her lips.
Her senses and thinking ability as an Archmage were far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
It wasn't difficult for her to listen to the conversation in this room and organize it in her head while talking to the children in the courtyard.
"As expected, experience can't be ignored. I thought I was doing well, racking my brains with Riley, but I still have a long way to go."
Hesperon subtly looked away at her self-deprecating words.
He had been too busy enjoying the fruits of their labor to even think deeply.
"…But Master? When will you reveal…"
"Ahem, ahem!"
Isea cleared her throat, interrupting his question.
Like she had been able to do, others could also easily eavesdrop on the conversation in this room if they wanted to.
And he couldn't just use magic carelessly in someone else's house to set up a soundproof barrier.
'Come on, it's about time to reveal it.'
Hesperon subtly avoided her gaze, grumbling inwardly.
It was time for him to reveal that he was an otherworlder to the party, but she was still keeping it a secret from the others.
Actually, he had subtly asked her about it once…
And her answer was ridiculous.
'What do you mean you missed the timing?'
It would have been a different story if she had brought it up immediately after Hesperon appeared, but now that so much time had passed, she was embarrassed to reveal it belatedly.
She said it just happened because she kept putting it off, and of course, she wasn't planning to hide it forever, so she would tell them when she found the right opportunity.
'…Well, that's not the only reason. She's just making excuses.'
After all, she had been keeping it a secret from everyone except for Princess Riley for the entire eight years she had been here.
It was only natural for her to have an instinctive resistance to revealing it to those she had just met.
'Simply put, she needs time to prepare herself.'
Hesperon was an exception because Riley had mediated, and he was the one who revealed his identity first.
'But everyone in the party except for Geos already knows.'
No, actually, it wasn't just that they knew.
Her secret was cute compared to the secrets they were keeping.
Compared to the shocking truth that everyone except for Geos was an otherworlder!
It was cute to see her worrying about it alone, but Hesperon just smiled without saying anything.
He enjoyed watching his little master struggle.
And so, as Hesperon and the hero party arrived at Geos's hometown, and gained various achievements with the help of Chehai, the settler from Earth,
It was less than a week before the second Continental Summit.