Chapter 7: Second Meeting

<Arcana Chronicles> was a very realistic game in this regard, so in addition to destruction due to a simple drop in durability, there were also cases where receiving a strong impact at once would result in a so-called [Equipment Destruction] judgment with a certain probability, regardless of the existing durability.

That was the current situation.

The durability hadn’t decreased that much, but the thin mask couldn’t withstand the shock of the fall.

As Paul held the broken mask in both hands with a tearful face, Salamander, who had been watching him, fidgeted and looked around restlessly.

“…”

Salamander was at a loss.

The elf it knew loved masks very much.

One could even call him a [Collector].

It had been quite a long time since it had known Paul, but it had only seen his bare face a handful of times, as he was always wearing a mask.

Wasn’t that enough said?

And wasn’t he in this ominous place right now because of that mask?

‘What should I do? Should I make it a [Spirit Mask]?’

Making an item wasn’t difficult, but using it was another matter.

The mask Salamander had in mind was actually an item that required the permission of other spirits.

In the first place, it was equipment that Paul, who had yet to shed his beginner status, couldn’t even wear, but the flustered Salamander didn’t think that far.

“Paul.”

“Let’s go…”

With a tearful face, Paul carefully put the broken mask into his bag and held out his hand to the small lizard with a gloomy expression.

Salamander dithered and spun around in place before climbing onto Paul’s hand.

‘Well, I’ll be able to see him soon anyway.’

Salamander, unaware of Paul’s thoughts as he quickly shook off his sadness, continued to fret.

Until Paul, who couldn’t watch any longer, spoke to it.

“What’s been wrong with you, Sally?”

“I, I couldn’t control my strength. Was that mask something you cherished? I…”

“Huh?”

Before Salamander’s mouth could utter the words, “A Spirit Mask…”, Paul’s eyes widened with a strange sound.

So he’d been worrying about that this whole time, which was why he seemed so down?

He was so naive.

Paul chuckled.

‘What should I do with this cute lizard.’

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I knew this would happen, so I chose the most ordinary one that’s easy to get even if it breaks!

I was just a little disappointed because it broke so quickly, even though I was prepared for it to happen. It’s okay, it’s okay. Don’t worry~. Good boy.”

“…Hmph, then it’s fine.”

At that, Salamander flicked its tail once as if embarrassed and crawled up to his head to settle down.

Paul gently stroked the small lizard’s head with his fingertips and walked into the underground labyrinth.

Slowly, monsters began to appear one by one.

However, Paul’s attack power was currently greatly increased thanks to the spirit’s blessing, and on top of that, it seemed the earlier incident had bothered it quite a bit,

So thanks to Salamander, who uncharacteristically took the lead, he was able to defeat the monsters quite easily in the beginning.

Paul also meticulously picked up the items dropped by the monsters and stuffed them into his bag.

It was part of his other hobby, collecting junk items.

“Oh, I think I’ve picked up this sword before? Or not?”

He swung the sword, which had a dull blade and was probably useless, a few times before putting it into his inventory as well, and Paul quickened his pace again.

As he went down one floor after another, Paul used [Forest Keeper’s Stealth] to escape from places he could pass without fighting, just like last time.

This [Forest Keeper’s Stealth] was a unique skill of the elf race.

In other words, only elves had it.

In <Arcana Chronicles>, elves were beings who lived hidden in nature, so a stealth skill came as a passive.

Perhaps because of this unique racial skill, the elf race, despite its bright appearance and proficiency in ranged attacks, often branched out into classes that required stealth, such as assassins or rogues.

Well, basically, they were specialized in hunting.

It had been about two years since elves were discovered on the Arcana Continent and added to the selectable races for players.

Paul was a latecomer who started the game after elves were added.

There was no particular reason why he chose elves among the various races.

First of all, they were lighter and faster than other races, specialized in ranged attacks, and their usual mindset matched his quite well.

So he chose elves without much thought.

And as expected, elves suited him very well.

Paul’s avatar had the setting of ‘a descendant of the elf race that protects the World Tree’.

According to the setting he heard when the race was opened, they were young elves newly born from the World Tree to solve the crisis of the Arcana Continent, and for that reason, elves born like this are commonly called [Forest Keepers] here.

Also, in <Arcana Chronicles>, elves are divided into two races: one is the ‘elves who protect the forest of the World Tree’ that I just mentioned, and the other is the ‘elves who protect the red desert’.

Among these, the only one players can choose is the Forest Keeper-side elf.

Some might wonder why they can choose one but not the other when they’re all elves.

Paul also had that question for a while.

His guess was that maybe the ‘conditions’ hadn’t been met yet?

The two elf races believed in different gods.

There was a lot of information about the [God of Light] that Paul’s race served, but there was almost no information about the god that the red desert elf race believed in.

The common perception was that it might not have been unlocked yet due to the lack of information.

“Phew.”

Looking at his rapidly decreasing MP, Paul let out a small sigh.

[Forest Keeper’s Stealth] was great and all, but its drawback was that it drained mana too quickly.

Thanks to that, he was wearing an earring that wasn’t particularly to his taste.

It was an item that always gave +15 mana and increased the mana recovery speed.

Well, even with this, he probably wouldn’t last two minutes in the boss room.

“…Even a cup of ramen would take longer than that.”

Paul sighed deeply again.

Still, it was a necessary skill for him right now.

With his current level, he would surely die in one hit the moment he entered the boss room, just like before.

At least with this, he could buy some time.

He was going to go take pictures, and videos, and draw pictures.

And then he would sit next to it and watch!

…Of course, he shouldn’t do this in reality.

And definitely not to a passing player!

Paul secretly wondered if his actions were a bit excessive… but he was risking his life to see the boss monster, so wouldn’t this much be okay?

…He just decided to think that way.

<Tip!>

Various races live together in harmony on the Arcana Continent.

Depending on the player’s adventure, new races sometimes appear, and when certain conditions are met, the player can abandon their existing appearance and be reborn as a new race to enjoy their adventure.

*For the [Race Change Quest], please find and talk to specific NPCs such as priests, bishops, or representatives within each race’s faction!

Creak—.

With a chilling friction sound, the boss room opened.

Paul hid behind the door and used [Forest Keeper’s Stealth].

For reference, Sally had been unsummoned a long time ago when Paul died about 10 times on his way down to the 7th floor.

He was taking careful steps, one by one, so as not to make a sound, but for someone doing that, Paul’s steps were unhesitating.

Walking in a straight line from the door towards the throne, he cheered inwardly at the fact that his stealth was working well.

This was because there was no reaction from the boss monster even when he came this close.

It was just sitting there quietly.

[…]

The sight of it sitting listlessly on the throne struck Paul’s heart just by looking at it.

It was truly a drop-dead gorgeous sight.

‘Yes, this is it. This is it.’

He realized once again that just imagining it was not enough.

Paul carefully examined the boss monster, which was sitting languidly on the throne.

Through its loose clothing, he could glimpse a firm body with dark skin.

He thought it was even more amazing up close.

‘How can everything be so admirable?’

“…?”

However, the fact that he still couldn’t confirm its name made Paul wonder.

There were occasional cases like this.

It could be an NPC or monster belonging to a special quest, or its level was significantly higher than the player’s, or its name would only be revealed when certain conditions were met.

‘Does this boss monster also belong to that category?’

Paul unconsciously leaned forward.

He boldly brought his face right up to the boss monster’s and looked at the mysterious purple eyes that were faintly visible through the gap in the mask.

Nothing was reflected in those eyes.

Fortunately, his skill seemed to be working very well.

Paul glanced at his MP once.

His full mana had already been depleted by more than half.

‘But it’s still okay for now.’

He resisted the urge to touch the mask in front of him.

The moment he touched it, his skill would be dispelled, no matter how much MP he had left.

As a substitute, he just licked the boss monster’s masked face with his eyes.

‘…Looking at it again, it’s definitely a mask.’