melia Rainwales. A truly talented individual who could use the aura and was a capable Guide.
Su clase...
I guess she's a Clone Thief.
In any case, it was currently level eight and had an empty essence slot after clearing one before going down to the first underground floor.
Sociability. It was the essence of Caprabara, a rank five monster, and it meant that the monsters would not attack her unless she attacked them first. It was quite useful when she moved alone, but now that she moved with us, it was an essence that she no longer needed.
Well, she had one more in a similar vein.
«Emily, when we get back to town, erase the essence of Esgen too».
«The essence of Esgen...?»
«Why are you surprised? I've said before that your time moving alone is over».
«...I will think.»
What do you mean by thinking about it?
If she clung to the Spring of Eternal Youth, the priests would still not be able to heal her properly.
Why do you want to keep it so much?
With allies around, Esgen's essence could be replaced by potions and other things. But why was she so determined to hold on to that one?
...Are you still not completely trusting us?
Hmm, maybe that was the case. That ability alone would have helped her survive death countless times when she went around alone. Maybe he needed more time to get used to us.
Finally, I said: «Sure, think about it. It's not like our clan has a priest yet». I decided to try to persuade her little by little over time and leave the conversation there for now.
«It seems that... is everything resolved?». Amelia suddenly said just as we were going to start talking about the boss. When I looked at her to ask what she was talking about, Amelia cleared her throat and continued in a calm voice: «I'm talking about Missha Karlstein».
Ah, that. It was true that I hadn't told him exactly what happened next, so he had probably been curious the whole time.
«Everything was resolved thanks to you. I have confirmed that he is not hiding anything...»
«A confession».
I paused. «Hey?»
«I... heard you received one. From Karlstein.»
Uh oh.
I was really surprised.
«It seems to be true, judging by your reaction», he noted.
«Ignoring whether it's true or not, how do you know?».
«I heard it from Tersia».
«¿De Erwen…?»
«She was looking for you that day, and says she heard the conversation coming from the room».
«Ah...»
When I continued searching for words like a speechless fool, Amelia asked carefully: «And... what was your answer?».
Was it correct to talk about that time without first obtaining Missha's permission? Although the dilemma tormented me, I decided to answer honestly for the moment. After all, that day I received Amelia's help.
She echoed my words. «Just friends...»
«Yes, everything ended without problems with that. So you don't have to worry...»
«This will be a messy fight.»
«…¿Eh?»
«No, I was just talking to myself.»
I asked him what he meant by those ominous words, but even then he didn't give me an answer.
Amelia changed the subject as if avoiding that one. «Yandel, I'm asking you just in case».
Hearing her so serious, I worried about what she was about to say.
«Maybe you like men?»
"...¿Which?"
«Don't worry. I don't judge by things like that. I've met some people in Noark who had those inclinations too».
What the hell was he talking about?
«Watch your words, Amelia Rainwales». I held back the boil in my gut and screamed: «I love women. I love women very much».
«...Is that so? Ah...s-however, I didn't know it was that much-»
«So never say something like that in front of me again. This is much more insulting than when you called me 'Hans'».
«...I'm sorry. I'll keep that in mind. I will never say something like that again. I promise you. I swear on my older sister».
After Amelia gave her quick and serious apology, I let out a sigh and sealed my temper. It was quite strange. It's not like I hated people who hit for the other team, so why was I so angry?
Despite not really understanding it myself, Amelia silently observed my reaction before continuing to say: «Anyway... It's a relief to hear that».
«A relief?»
«You are a nobleman in this world».
«¿Eh?» Ladeé la cabeza.
She avoided my eyes for some reason. «Well... I don't know what it was like in your world... but in this one it's fine... even if you like women, many of them».
How the hell had the conversation gotten to this point?
It was beyond my comprehension, so I brought out a sound from deep within me. She may have been my precious ally, but it couldn't be helped. She had to be disciplined when she deserved it.
Humanitarianism and the Confucian mentality had inherited them both. Furthermore, I was a pure Korean who had inherited the surname Lee from the Joseon royal family. Someone who was Korean, Korean and only Korean. Simply put, like a Triple-K-Barbarian...
«(¡Gal!)»
There were some things I couldn't ignore.
«¿Guh-all...?»
This Confucian cry in my native language was something Amelia had probably never heard before.
As someone on a mission to make the world a better place, I quickly told him the meaning of that cry. «It's something we inhabitants of my world say when we reprimand someone».
«...Are you telling me I said something that deserved to be reprimanded?».
Haha, it seemed like I still didn't understand it.
I would be justified in going even harder on her, but since she was my ally, I explained it to her slowly and calmly. «Naturally. Our royal family does not tolerate such disorderly behavior in our culture».
Amelia was taken aback for a second. «Our royal family...?».
«I haven't told you because I thought it might overwhelm you, but my last name 'Lee' means I'm blood of the Joseon royal family».
«Are you... saying you're royalty right now?»
«...Yes, a collateral line.» I felt a little guilty, but technically I wasn't lying, was I? I could interpret my lineage like this. As someone of a single ethnicity, there was a chance that my blood had some of the royal family mixed in.
«A member of royalty... That's surprising». Amelia accepted it much more easily than she expected. However, it seemed like he had a question. «But didn't you say that the nation you lived in is called Korea?».
«Joseon... is an ancient kingdom that has already collapsed».
«I see... so you have the royal blood of an ancient kingdom in ruins.»
Uh... «Si.»
That could also be interpreted. Although he sounded better than just a middle class person with the last name Lee.
«Now I understand why you were so desperate to survive... It must have been the environment you grew up in. You must also feel the sense of duty».
I stayed silent and let her speak. However, it seemed that this conversation had ignited her curiosity a little, as Amelia began to ask many more questions.
«What a peculiar country this Joseon is. That not even royalty can have several wives».
I had nothing to say about it. In truth, Joseon was polygamous. And not just wives, they even had royal concubines.
...Many of them.
Maybe polygamy... is actually a pretty foundational social system?
As I thought about it, I quickly shook my head. No, it was impossible. Korea's current royal family, the K government, had inherited Confucian teachings and imposed monogamy.
...But this is a different world, right?
Thinking about it now, even murder was considered an extreme crime in the eyes of Korea, ruled by the K-government. And at this point, I was a mass murderer who had killed hundreds of people.
So is there any reason for me to continue holding on to these ideas?
A demon whispered to me from my left shoulder, but I covered my ears and closed my eyes. He didn't have to make excuses like Confucianism, social structures or whatever. Just because he was born and raised in such a world did he feel a natural aversion to this topic.
But it seemed like Amelia had noticed too.
«...It seems like this was a sensitive topic for you. I apologize».
Her new apology made me feel like I had exaggerated a little too, so I accepted it. Of course, receiving that apology did nothing for the questions in my mind.
«Nothing happens. But why did you suddenly bring up that topic?» i asked.
Amelia simply said that it seemed like she needed guidance before muttering something quietly to herself.
«This is not going to be a dirty fight». She sounded very serious for some reason. «In the end... it will become bloody».
«...What have you been mumbling there?»
«Ah, I'm talking to myself. Don't worry.»
No, but how could I not?
***
What would fit more with my Triple K mentality?
After finishing my conversation with Amelia, which made me think long and hard about that particular question, we were finally able to start talking about assaulting the boss.
«Can we really jump down?»
Finally we arrived at the boss's room, or rather, at the entrance to the boss's room.
¡Woosh!
Cold gusts of air hit a cliff. Beneath was a darkness that seemed to lead to Hades.
«Don't be scared. There is no FD».
«¿Eff dee...?»
«No fall damage».
Although I explained it kindly, Amelia didn't understand what I meant. He also seemed to have an aversion to falls. That's why I just grabbed Amelia and jumped down.
Most people would have screamed, but Amelia was different. Although he held on to my head so tightly that I thought he would pull out my hair, he didn't make a single noise.
¡Pum!
With that strong blow, we reached the bottom of the cliff.
After taking a moment to regain her balance, Amelia got off my shoulder. He stared at me before sighing. «I know you can be nice, why always...?».
«Have you said something?»
She sent me another silent look. «Okay, barbarian», he finally said. «Where is our enemy?»
Seeing that he was calling me «barbarian» and not Yandel, I realized that he was a little angry with me, but I could solve that problem later.
«It will be here soon».
Just as I raised my shield, the entire space began to shake. And then, our enemy revealed himself.
¡Boom!
A body larger than any ordinary Ogre, and above it, a head with three distinct horns and a singular eye. His chest area seemed rotten and torn, as his ribs were completely exposed to the air.
Sorber.
Then, a monstrous-looking tongue peeked through him, flailing unpleasantly. It was like he was looking at the food.
Oh, also, this was pretty good for me.
...So this guy doesn't talk either.
Originally, this guy would run away the entire time the crack was open, and when he was finally caught, he would brag and say that he had managed to attract us.
«Prepárate, Amelia.»
«You, that name...»
«There's only the two of us».
«Yandel, mistakes always happen when you least expect them.»
Hey, it's not that serious. I was just calling you by your real name for the first time in a while.
«I say all this for your own good-».
«¡Become-LAAAAAAAH!»
Before he could continue lecturing me, I used gigantization and charged forward. As we bumped into position, Amelia stopped talking and did what she had to do too.
[Amelia Rainwales has launched Self-Replication].
As expected of a clone thief, she first activated her clones before attacking our target from both sides, as if to make up for our lack of troops. Her two selves danced and attacked like twin swordsmen who had trained together their entire lives.
[Amelia Rainwales has launched Asura Kick.]
She kicked the head of the monster that was several times bigger than her...
[Amelia Rainwales has released Power of the Abyss.]
And he used the aura to cut the monster's hard skin.
It was noticeably different than when he fought with Raven by his side. If a mage attacked by taking her time to channel a huge burst of damage, Amelia would still produce high DPS, as a melee damage dealer should.
And since her damage values are higher, I can expect more from her.
Amelia also did more damage considering the damage over time. Well, whether or not he could inflict as much damage as possible consistently throughout the entire time was a totally different question.
The biggest problem is resource management...
Amelia's burst damage was just behind Erwen's. However, that period of high damage was extremely short. Due to the combination of essences he had, it could not be avoided due to his lack of PM.
In situations like this where she has to do all the damage, those weaknesses become even more obvious.
Self-replicating MP usage was one of the highest in the game. When the clone used its abilities, PM consumption was five times higher than usual. Until now, he had been able to use his large amount of PM along with the Abyss Power to get by.
But this is a problem that should have been solved from the beginning.
Honestly, the reason this weakness hadn't caused us any problems was simply because of Amelia's high skill ceiling.
[Amelia Rainwales has released Substitution.]
He used his clone only to attract attention before attacking with his main body.
While doing so, he always looked for critical hits and kept pace so that his MP never fell below a certain value. That's why he only used the aura, which required a lot of PM, at short intervals.
Slash!
At the end of the long battle, Amelia used the aura to slice the monster's neck. If she seemed tired, he also planned to actively attack her.
Showing a performance like this with a half-made character...
I couldn't help but smile.
[Has defeated the Infernal Giant Herja.]
[Guardian defeat bonus. EXP +3]
It was always a joy when my allies became stronger.