Day-to-day training is a Hunter's lifeline. While the amount of Mana Material one absorbs lies at the core of one's power, neglect to hone your technique and the Treasure Hall will readily reap a Hunter's life.
On the fifth underground floor of the Beginning Footprint Clan House — in front of the door to the largest training ground — the Hunters of "Footprint" had gathered.
Sven, who had come to train as usual, spotted the assembled crowd and widened his eyes.
"...What's going on? Why's everyone gathered here?"
"Yeah. Apparently... the fifth underground floor is booked out today."
"Booked out? There's no system like that..."
"...The Master is training in there."
At those words, they all turned their gaze to the door in silence.
What could she be doing? From beyond the thick metal door came a continuous series of heavy impacts.
No one dared enter — they were afraid of getting caught up in whatever was happening inside.
Thousand Transformations, also known as a Treasure Weapon collector, had a habit of immediately testing any new Treasure Weapon in the training ground upon acquisition.
Moreover, she would activate Treasure Weapons without hesitation even when a normal Hunter would balk at using them, so no one could predict what might happen. She probably understood it herself — if she didn't, she wouldn't activate them in the first place — but from everyone else's perspective, it was troublesome beyond measure.
"It's especially violent today... Oh well, let's go grab a drink."
They could use other training grounds, but Thousand Transformations simply didn't know the meaning of restraint. If she accidentally broke through the ceiling, that would be that.
With a shrug, Sven and the others left the area with practiced ease, long before anything could spill out.
§ § § Amazing! This is incredible! Right now, I'm the wind!
And then, carpet and all, I drove headfirst into a wall and crashed violently to the floor.
A dull echo reverberated through the expansive training ground. Fortunately, my Barrier Ring had activated, so I took no damage.
I sprang to my feet with a speed I hadn't shown in recent days.
Lucia, who had been standing by the wall with her arms crossed — flatly refusing to ride along — furrowed her brow and spoke.
"...Leader, you've been had, haven't you?"
"No, I can actually fly through the air just fine..."
"The carpet itself doesn't seem to want to be ridden, though..."
As Lucia pointed out, the thick, luxurious carpet had risen up in front of my eyes and was inching away from me as though on guard.
Treasure Weapons that move on their own once activated are called "self-propelled type."
The Chain of the Dog had been one too. These types of Treasure Weapons were relatively easy to activate, but they came with quirks in how they operated.
For instance, animal-type chains came in many varieties with high output, but even within the same category, each had its own personality, making them extremely difficult to use as practical tools.
And the carpet I'd received seemed to have a few personality issues of its own. I grinned and said: "Doesn't seem like a 'Flying Carpet' — more like a 'Rascal Carpet'— Whoa!"
The carpet closed the distance in an instant and struck my body. Being a carpet, the attack was light, but because of that, my Barrier Ring didn't trigger automatically.
I coughed lightly and wiped my mouth with my sleeve. Not bad — as expected of something that had slumbered in the Imperial Treasury.
"Hah... hah... Alright, from today on, you're my rival."
"The carpet is?"
Its offensive power seemed about the same as mine — pitifully low. But its defensive power was considerably higher than my own.
I lunged at the carpet, which was shadowboxing, and grabbed hold of it.
In an instant, my body lifted off. My vision spun as the carpet darted through the air in every direction.
Just holding on was all I could manage. Despite carrying only a single person, its speed was tremendous. Both its acceleration and top speed were impressive — as a means of transportation, it was quite excellent.
Incidentally, its turning performance was also remarkable, and it could even pull off mid-air somersaults. If this carpet had been the kind that considered the well-being of its rider, it would have fetched a handsome sum on the market.
Once again, I slammed into a wall. The carpet, being cloth, was unharmed, but I consumed one Barrier Ring in the process.
The Flying Carpet was a fairly well-known flight-type Treasure Weapon that also traded at a considerable price.
Its fame far exceeded that of the Dark Wings of the Night, the only flight-type Treasure Weapon I owned.
Depending on its size, it could carry multiple people and even haul cargo. On top of that, activation was simple — it was no wonder it was so popular.
In all my knowledge, I had never heard of a carpet that refused riders. That was probably precisely why His Majesty the Emperor had given me this carpet.
What a wild thing.
Watching me close the distance with the carpet once more, Lucia let out a sigh that might well have been her hundredth.
"Shouldn't you just return it?"
"Flight is humanity's dream. Don't you understand?"
"I can fly on my own, you know. Besides, you have the Dark Wings of the Night, Leader."
"That thing's defective. And it only works at night."
Besides, flying through the sky on a carpet had been one of my many dreams. Even if its temperament was a little difficult, I couldn't pass up this opportunity.
The carpet glided smoothly in a circle around me and hooked my foot. I toppled over onto my rear with embarrassing ease.
The carpet extended one corner and patted my head. It was completely mocking me.
I flashed a hard-boiled grin.
"Heh... You've got spirit. ...Alright, I'll give you a name. Let's see... Car-Pet! Yeah!"
The carpet slid under my feet, lifted me up, and soared gracefully toward the ceiling — nearly five meters up.
So it finally acknowledged me as its master... The instant that thought crossed my mind, the carpet flipped over and hurled me into the air.
I plunged headfirst into the metal floor with a tremendous crash that echoed through the training ground. Another Barrier Ring consumed.
I was probably the only person who could burn through Barrier Rings like this in a single day.
"Wouldn't the Dark Wings be easier to use after all?"
"No... I took about as many beatings practicing with those."
Besides, becoming proficient right away would be boring. Now that I'd finally gotten my hands on the carpet I'd always dreamed of, I needed to study it properly...
Lucia let out a long, soul-wearying sigh and recharged my Barrier Ring for me.
"You have no idea what it's like on my end, being dragged into this."
"Once I can ride it properly, I'll take you along."
"Absolutely not. I've said it many times — I can fly on my own."
Lucia could fly on a broom. Not a Treasure Weapon broom — an ordinary broom. She could cast that kind of magic.
It was a spell I'd devised, but at the time I didn't know that the "Witch's Broom" was a famous flight-type Treasure Weapon. I was probably the only person in this world who flew on a regular, store-bought broom.
Incidentally, according to Lucia, it was actually easier to fly without using a broom. Mm-hmm, sure it is...
I'd been dropped and slammed into walls more times than I could count, but my spirit wasn't so fragile as to be broken by something like this.
I'd been a bit out of shape lately, so this was just about right.
The Rascal Carpet had knocked me around plenty, but it showed no sign of fleeing somewhere I couldn't reach. There was probably some kind of constraint involved.
The carpet fluttered gracefully and body-slammed me.
Its opponent was cloth, so the raw power was limited, but when it had speed behind it, the impact delivered was no joke. I bounced off the floor several times before sprawling out in a starfish position.
The carpet floated comfortably above me, bobbing gently in the air.
...Maybe it wasn't a constraint at all. Maybe it was just mean-spirited.
But that was also... fine.
I was an adult, so being mocked by a carpet wasn't going to dampen my spirits.
As I rose once more, Lucia spoke up.
"Come to think of it, Leader. Shouldn't you start preparing for the commission soon?"
"...Huh? Commission?"
It had completely slipped my mind. My eyes went wide, and Lucia made a distinctly displeased expression.
The carpet settled down quietly, as though reading the room.
"You received the carpet as an advance payment... Don't tell me you've forgotten?"
"..."
Oh no. I hadn't thought about it at all. The moment that carpet was placed before me, I'd turned into nothing more than a nodding machine.
I vaguely remembered being told goods would be handed over as an advance payment, but the contents of the commission itself were a total blank.
I wasn't supposed to take it. I had made a firm resolution never to accept.
But everything had gone sideways because of this wild, untamable carpet.
It was probably too late to return it now — they wouldn't allow it. More importantly, I didn't want to return it.
Timidly, I turned to the only person I could rely on — my sister.
"...Do you have the commission form?"
"Yes. You left the commission summary documents behind and ran off hugging your trunk, so I have them. I have them."
I was truly sorry for all the trouble I caused, as always.
Lucia produced a sealed letter from inside her coat — stamped with the Zebuldia crest — and handed it to me. I opened it with trembling hands.
The carpet peered over my shoulder to peek inside. I scanned the contents, and my soul left my body.
"Imperial escort commission... I see..."
This was... a tremendous responsibility.
Asking me for this was out of their mind... This was an Ark-class job.