Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 113

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Chapter 113 – New Weapon

“Good morning!”

“You came. Did you bring the money?”

“Here.”

And with that, I placed a rather large leather bag on the counter!

Of course, the contents were all money.

There seemed to be some coins worth 1 million or 10 million, but there’s no way they would be in the rural town of Bezart.

Although there were a few large gold coins worth 100,000 each, the leather bag was filled with gold coins worth 10,000 beeke each, making it an impressive sight in itself.

From now on, I feel sorry for Paisa-san.

“I wasn’t worried because I had heard rumors about the hunters. You’ve earned a lot.”

“I told you I made a lot, didn’t I?”

Actually, I was pretty scared until I checked the balance, but this is the place where I have to put on a cool front, hiding my fear behind a mask of composure.

“The first stage of the Bestowal will definitely be successful. That’s why I included it in the price, but the second stage is shrouded in uncertainty. We’ll have to wait until after that to work out the details.” The anticipation hung heavy in the air.

“Understood.”

“So have you decided what to do with the bestowal?”

“I have decided on the general direction, but there are some things I want to check first.”

“Hmm?”

“In the case of skill bestowal, what kind of skills can be bestowed? I understand Increase Automatic Magic Power Recovery and Increase Maximum Magic Power, but I don’t understand the other options.”

“Well, that’s true. However, among the skills I have, there aren’t many that can be used for weapon-type Bestowal…”

The four skills he explained were Herculean Strength, Vajra, Magic Seal, and Special Move.

It seems that if it’s armor, there are more options, but it seems that there are a total of six types for weapons, including these four.

“As for the detailed levels―well, if it’s you, I guess it’s okay. Increase Automatic Magic Power Recovery is level 1, Increase Maximum Magic Power is level 5, Herculean Strength is level 4, Vajra is level 3, Magic Seal is level 2, and Special Move is level 5.”

“Thanks for the detailed information. By the way, is there a reason for the difference in level between Automatic Magic Recovery and Maximum Magic?”

That difference feels strange.

If they’re both related to magic, it seems like they should both increase in level together and in fact, mine does.

I wonder if the maximum level of Bestowal differs depending on the skill?

“I don’t know. When I was active, I was a melee fighter, swinging an axe around. So I used magic, but I didn’t use it that much. That’s why, you know? In fact, I rarely had problems with a lack of magic.”

“I see…”

I think I’ve heard some valuable opinions.

When you consume magic, the experience points will increase the maximum Magic Power Increase.

On the other hand, Automatic Magic Recovery is not just about consumption, and there is a high probability that there are other conditions attached to it, such as when the total amount of magic power falls below 50%.

If that’s the case, I can understand why Paisa-san has a level difference between these two skills, and I can also understand why I, who is in the habit of hunting while constantly consuming magic power and then emptying my magic power when I go to sleep, is steadily growing.

It’s because it’s not a fixed increase that there are differences in conditions…

I have a rough idea about the other skills as well, but I’ll check them out.

“As for the other skills, I also have Herculean Strength, so that’s fine, but are Vajra, Magic Seal, and Special Move also in the same category?”

“That’s right. It’s said that Vajra provides resistance to physical attacks, and Magic Seal provides resistance to magic attacks. Special Move is like dexterity, I guess.”

“Hmm, hmm…”

I gently close my eyes and open the status screen, pretending to think.

“(So this is what I thought.)”

Looking at the status screen, I see that Vajra, Magic Seal, and Special Move are in the same row as the Herculean Strength and Swift Wind that I’ve already acquired.

In other words, these are skills that increase the corresponding stat by 5 at skill level 1.

Unfortunately, these are fixed values.

If you’re going to use them for a long time, you’ll want to choose a variable type that works in percentages rather than a fixed value.

In this case, if you are considering long-term use, the only option is Increase Automatic Magic Power Recovery.

Ideally, it would have been nice to have a high level of Increase Automatic Magic Power Recovery, but it seems that the skills of the giver are reflected as they are, so it probably won’t help to be picky here.

If I want to be selfish, I guess I’ll just have to learn how to bestow myself.

And I finally understood that the requests for granting cost 1 million beeke each.

At first, I thought it was expensive, but since it’s a direct reflection of your own efforts and experience, it’s no surprise that the higher the skill level, the more expensive it is.

So, I guess I have to check this pattern.

“Paisa-san, do you think Increase Automatic Magic Power Recovery and Increase Automatic Magic Power Recovery would work?”

If it works, it should be the best I can come up with right now.

“I’ve never heard of this pattern being successful. I don’t even know if it’s been tried before… but it seems like the bar would be even higher than if you just stacked the same type of pattern, right?”

“There’s a certain atmosphere to it, isn’t there? By the way, are there any disadvantages if it fails?”

“No, there aren’t. If it fails, it just means that my magic won’t be consumed.”

“Then would you mind trying this pattern once? If it doesn’t work, I’ll buy an attribute magic stone now.”

“If the attribute granting also fails, you’ll just be wasting the magic stone, is that okay?”

“If that happens, I’ll just go and sell it again.”

“You made an unusual choice. You’re a melee fighter, right? Normally, you’d want to add Herculean Strength and Vajra.”

“Fufufu… I want to use this weapon as long as possible. I think I’ve made a choice that will benefit me in the long run!”

“Hmm… Well, that’s fine. Let’s get started.”

I watch as Paisa-san walks over the counter into the back of the shop.

In the back, there is a workshop-like atmosphere and a long, brown wooden table that looks like it has seen a lot of use.

The weapon I ordered was placed on this table.

When Paisa-san held his hand over the weapon, a light blue-purple mist enveloped his hand after a moment.

I could tell by that alone.

The first shot was a hit.

“This is where it starts! I’m going to give it my all, so watch closely! This is a weapon I have made with all my soul! I’ll make the second shot a success too!”

What an incredible spirit!

This was already a difficult request.

And now I’m placing an order that seems to be even more difficult.

If it fails, I won’t complain.

But… if it’s possible, I want to use it for a long time with the ideal specifications that I can think of now.

Please… for my sake and for Paisa-san’s sake, make it a success…

I can’t help but clasp my hands in front of my eyes and pray.

But I keep my eyes open and watch what Paisa-san is about to do.

Go for it! Go for it, Paisa-san!

“(…..)”

The mist… It’s not coming out…

No, it’s coming out! It’s coming out!

“The magic power is coming out, Paisa-san!”

“Shut up! Unlike the first shot, the Bestowal doesn’t come right away!”

“!?”

What kind of situation is this…

Only the person who activates the skill can understand this.

I can only watch as Paisa-san holds up his hand with the mist still coming out, grits his teeth, and stares at the sword.

If you don’t understand the principles, you can’t analyze them, but even so, it’s clear that he’s struggling.

And I know that this situation is bad.

The fact that there is mist means that he is still releasing magical energy.

If he continues like this, he’ll run out of magic power…

“(What should I do? What should I do? A magic recovery potion? No, no, I don’t have anything like that, and I don’t have the skills to transfer magic power… But he’ll probably run out of magic power while I’m trying to find something like that! Is there anything else? Something that works immediately…)”

When I thought that, at the back of the long table.

On another table were the short sword and the leather armor I had sent for repair.

The moment I saw them, I ran to the back of the shop, a place I wasn’t supposed to be.

I grabbed the short sword and the leather armor that had been so nicely repaired.

Paisa-san didn’t yell at me.

I know that’s not the point.

With a determined resolve, I decided to do everything in my power to improve the situation.

The short sword has been equipped with a Maximum Magic Power Increase.

I know that this is a skill that will immediately increase your magic power by 50.

I’ve also verified that the bestowal effect will activate even if you don’t hold it in your hand.

Then.

I let the short sword gently touch the tip of Paisa-san’s foot so as not to hurt him.

I know it’s almost pointless, as it would take almost three minutes to recover just one point of magic, but I let the leather armor touch the other tip of his foot anyway.

The two skills he’d put on for his son should now be active on Paisa-san himself.

And there is nothing more to be done.

All that remains is to pray.

More than 30 seconds have passed since the magic mist began to appear.

While I was just staring at the mist, a few more seconds passed, and then the mist disappeared instantly.

So I quickly looked at Paisa-san.

When his magic runs out, he’s just lost consciousness.

If he collapsed in a place where weapons were lying around, it could end in disaster.

But… Paisa-san remained standing.

With large beads of sweat on his forehead, his eyes fixed on the sword in front of him, he smiled.

He was smiling…

“It worked!”

“Whooooaaaaaaaaaa!!”

“Hmph. This doesn’t belong to my son anymore. I sold the sword to Loki and gave you the armor. Then it’s Loki’s, isn’t it?”

“Even so! Anyway… thank you very much! And congratulations, but is it really? It seems to be a rare success story.”

“I accepted the job, so there’s no need to thank me. I’m getting paid for it. But, well… if you report the success of bestowing the same skill to the Merchant’s Guild, you might get a reward.”

“Really? Is that even possible?”

“If you report it in detail, it will be useful for other bestowers, and there is even a pattern of requests for appointments based on successful cases. In that case, the guild will make money from the referral fee.”

“Oh, then Paisa-san could do well!

“Don’t be stupid! Who would use such an abnormal gift that there is a possibility of failure even if you use magic? Without your weapon, I would have collapsed!”

“But if we just refuse the request, isn’t that all? If we can get paid just for reporting, why not take the money? Starting tomorrow, Amanda-san from the Hunters’ Guild will be going to the Merchants’ Guild in Malta with me, so why don’t we ask her to report on the matter while she’s there?”

“Is that true?”

After that, we put together a report on the contents of the Merchant’s Guild on a wooden board, including my own opinions from the outside.

I couldn’t help but chuckle when I saw that Paisa-san had already turned things around and written down the level of the bestowal skill he was hiding as 2.

Of course, when we report to the guild, they will check it out, and it looks like we will have to show them the successful equipment…

Since I’m going to the Merchant’s Guild, it seems like it would be enough to have the sword appraised there.

If I get a reward, Amanda-san can bring the money back to Bezart, and the Hunters’ Guild and Paisa-san’s shop are just around the corner.

They seem to know each other, so the money exchange should go smoothly.

“Thank you very much! Please accept this. It’s 17 million yen.”

After taking care of the equipment, I pushed the money that had been carelessly left on the counter under the pusher.

When he saw this, he said, “Keh!”

“You’re going on an errand, so I’ll give you 500,000 beeke including the maintenance fee. Take it.”

“No, no, it’s just a little extra work, and it’s mostly Amanda-san who does the moving. Besides, I know I asked you to do something more difficult than usual, so 17 million beeke is fine.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I never said 17 million beeke. I said something like over 16 million beeke.”

“That’s why I said I’d pay 17 million beeke, which is more than 16 million beeke, after successfully getting multiple awards!”

“Over means ‘a little more than,’ you idiot! If it was going to cost 17 million beeke, I would have said so from the beginning!”

I think I’m going to miss that kind of exchange for a while.

But Paisa-san is a former adventurer.

I’ve killed a lot of monsters in Lulub and even bought new weapons…

I think he already knows what I’m going to do next.

So I won’t nag Paisa-san about the details…

“I’ll be back.”

――That’s enough for this person.

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