The Second Generation's skill was, simply put, something that allowed others to use your skills.
To be precise it was complicated, but in simple terms, as long as allies within a certain distance were nearby, you could use skills on their behalf.
The First Generation's Full Over, too.
The Fourth Generation's Speed, too.
Creating a state where you could use them on others at any time — that was the Second Generation's skill, [All].
However, this skill consumed extremely little mana.
After all, all it did was make skills usable by others, so unless you actually used a skill on someone, it consumed only a negligible amount.
But the skill's greatest feature lay in identifying friend and foe within a certain range.
A space where trees grew in neat rows, forming rooms.
The boss that should have been waiting in the [Innermost Chamber] — its entrance blown away, sending wood fragments scattering — had made its appearance.
Despite being an orc, it had red skin, hairy arms, and hair that covered its back entirely.
The orc-like creature that was practically an ogre wielded a greatsword — the weapon of an adventurer it had slain.
When held by a huge orc, a greatsword looked like an ordinary sword.
I pointed my saber at it, and it let out a roar — perhaps thinking I was threatening it.
Around me, my companions — Novem, Aria, Zelphy, Rondo, Rachel — the five of them flinched for an instant at the roar.
It was, after all, deafeningly loud.
With the huge orc occupying space, the already roomy chamber now felt cramped.
Still, I managed to get a read on the orc's status.
(Now I understand why the Second Generation hesitated to have me use this. Truly, this is too powerful in a way.)
To put it bluntly, rather than being a skill meant for using skills on others — which was its original purpose — the side effect was the more important part.
As if summoned by the red orc's roar, monsters that had been roaming the dungeon converged on our chamber.
Zelphy moved to step in front of me.
No — with a shield, he would serve as the party's wall.
But against the red orc before us, Zelphy's strength didn't seem like it would be enough.
"I'll take the red orc. Could you handle the other monsters coming into the room?"
When I said this to everyone, Rondo raised his voice.
"What are you saying! That enemy is dangerous! We should take it down together, all at once!"
It was a valid point, but we had no time to waste on the enemy before us.
"I'd like to, but we don't have much time... Look, here they come!"
As I spoke, goblins poured into the room.
They burst in from behind the red orc, and Novem cast his magic.
"Wind Bullet!"
A goblin was blown away and slammed into the wall.
At the same time, I drew my backup saber and charged at the red orc.
The red orc raised the sword in its hand and brought it crashing down toward me.
"Now this is a ridiculous skill, isn't it?"
I ducked under the blow and lunged forward, so the descending greatsword pierced the ground and failed to cleave me in two.
I had slipped into the space between the sword and the orc.
With sabers in both hands, I slashed at both of the red orc's knees.
"Shallow? More than I thought... No—"
The skin was harder than expected — I was about to think that, but right before my eyes the orc's wounds healed.
I immediately leaped to the left, and the red orc's left fist hammered into the ground, gouging out the earth and creating a small crater.
I dodged sideways, rolled, and got to my feet. A voice called out to me.
"Lyle!"
It was Rondo's voice.
He must have spotted the goblin lunging from behind me and called out in a panic.
But without turning around, I swept my saber behind me and rose to my feet.
Goblin blood rained down on my head.
"I can't see."
The moment I muttered that, there was a rush of movement toward me.
Novem, Aria, and Zelphy.
Beyond them, other monsters saw an opportunity and charged at me from all directions.
I swung both sabers, turning on the spot as I moved.
Blood splattered across the ground with each swing.
I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and took in the situation around me.
"Even without seeing, I can do this much."
I swung my blade, dodging attacks from the monsters that charged at me, and cut them all down.
Where everyone was, and what condition they were in — the Second Generation's skill let me sense all of it across my entire surroundings. This was a fundamentally different capability from the Fifth and Sixth Generations' skills.
The Fifth Generation said wistfully:
'I relied on this skill quite a bit myself, but the side effect really is the more impressive part. My skill works from a broader perspective, so it's not suited for messy close-quarters fights like this.'
The Sixth Generation agreed:
'Indeed. It's unassuming but extremely useful. Thanks to the First and Second Generations' skills, there were many battles where I survived.'
I felt bad for the sentimental Sixth Generation, but right now I needed advice about the enemy in front of me, not nostalgia.
"I heard attacks weren't working, but it's been healing itself. Keep attacking and it'll eventually run out of mana and go down... but our stamina will give out first."
If it were just me, I could manage somehow. But the others were here too.
Rachel, who was lighting up the room, or Novem, who was using healing magic and supporting me with attack spells — one of them would fall first.
After that, Aria would go down, then Zelphy.
Even if Rondo fell last, we still wouldn't be able to finish off the red orc.
(The fact that it grew by killing experienced adventurers made it even more troublesome. Monsters grow and even acquire skills... Was the blessing the gods granted humanity really a lie?)
I glanced down at the sabers in both hands and stepped backward. Before me, the red orc's sword hung in the air, ready to swing.
It didn't seem to know how to handle a sword.
In that case, it would have been more dangerous with a club or something.
"Both sabers are badly chipped. The weapons will give out before anything else. To finish it in one blow, would a magic attack using a skill be better?"
I tried to reach a conclusion but fell just short.
My other companions were occupied with the monsters that had entered the room, so even if I asked for help, it would take time.
As long as I was the one engaging it, the red orc wouldn't attack the others. But if I tried to help someone, it might switch targets.
"I really hate gambling... So, how should I finish this?"
I needed to take down the monster before me in a single, maximum-power strike.
I had identified the skill it possessed and gotten a general read on its status through the Second Generation's ability. Mana, stamina — knowing those instinctively changed the way you fought.
The First Generation was—
'Your skill is a bit too underhanded, isn't it?'
The Second Generation snapped:
'What do you mean, underhanded! It's a convenient skill! So convenient that I was reluctant to let Lyle use it!'
I felt as if I'd gained a new sense, but it would clearly take time to use extensively.
Not mana-wise, but mentally — it would be exhausting.
Dodging the red orc's attacks, I pondered.
Then the red orc, perhaps unsettled by me, took a step back. It let out a roar, and from between the trees that formed the walls, regular green-skinned orcs emerged.
"It called its allies!?"
Aria cried out in surprise, and Rondo moved to shield Rachel.
Zelphy stepped forward in front of Novem and Aria as well.
"Lyle, how much longer can you hold on!"
At Zelphy's voice, I looked up and thought for a moment—
"I'll finish this quickly. Just hold on a little longer."
That's what I said.
Hearing this, the First Generation burst out laughing:
'Now you're talking, Lyle! That's right! A man's got to show some style at times like these! Alright! I'll teach you something special —'
The Fifth Generation faltered at the First Generation's words:
'Hey, what do you think you're doing? It's too soon!'
Two orcs emerged from both flanks of the red orc. I temporarily activated Limit Burst and hurled the sabers from both hands.
The sabers spun through the air and embedded themselves in the orcs' heads.
The two orcs tilted their heads back from the impact and collapsed to the ground.
Seeing me disarmed, the red orc let out a triumphant roar.
"Can I finish it with magic... It'll be tight."
I thought I could, but barely. There was a chance I wouldn't finish it, so I had to put everything into one shot.
(If I can't finish it, I'll just punch it barehanded.)
For a moment, I found my own thought process uncomfortably similar to the First Generation's.
(Hmm... Not bad, actually.)
That's when the First Generation spoke:
'Hey, grip the Jewel tighter.'
"What are you talking about?"
Everyone was busy fighting other monsters, so no one heard my conversation with the First Generation.
'I'll tell you something interesting. It's good news for you right now — the Seventh Generation went out of his way to prepare a mechanism you can use.'
"The Seventh Generation... My grandfather?"
I stopped casting my magic and gripped the Jewel as instructed.
The Seventh Generation started shouting at the First Generation:
'Why did you tell him! It's too soon! At Lyle's mana level, he can only use it for a few seconds!'
But the First Generation declared:
'A few seconds? That's more than enough! You lot — who was it that told me this kid... that Lyle was incredible? I gave my permission! I won't let anyone stand in the way! Now go, Lyle!'
The Jewel emitted a blue light, and the chain around my neck unwound on its own.
The silver ornament that had encased the Jewel transformed in my hand.
"This is—"
The others noticed something was happening to me. Novem's magic had kicked up a cloud of dust, and I was enveloped in smoke.
Feeling an unfamiliar weight in the Jewel, I gripped with both hands what had been the Jewel — no, what I had believed was merely the Jewel's decoration — the silver ornament.
I held it by the hilt with both hands, and the silver blade glowed a faint blue. A blue gem was set into the crossguard... and the Jewel within it shone brilliantly.
'I don't know a thing about fancy sword techniques. That's why a good old chopping weapon was always my favorite.'
What I held in my hands was a massive silver greatsword.
The First Generation shouted:
'There's no time left! Finish it now!!'
Pushed forward by his voice, I broke into a sprint and launched myself into the air. Mid-flight, I twisted my body to dodge the greatsword the red orc swung, then used the weight of the blade in my hands to spin through the air.
I harnessed the centrifugal force, about to unleash maximum attack power with my skill in a single instant—
'This is my final skill — [Full Burst]!'
The First Generation must have backed me up, because the moment I activated the skill, power surged up from the depths of my body like never before.
I adjusted my rotation and brought the greatsword down on the red orc with every ounce of force.
"With this—"
The First Generation's voice overlapped with mine.
"It's over!!!"
'It's over!!!'
The red orc tried to survive by sacrificing its left arm, but I bisected the red orc along with that arm from top to bottom.
The silver greatsword plunged deep into the ground, and the earth buckled — a testament to the sheer force of the blow.
"Hah, hah... How brutal."
I watched the bisected body of the red orc slowly topple, and the silver greatsword reverted back to the Jewel's decorative form.
(The Seventh Generation said he had it custom-made... Come to think of it, Zell once told me it was made of a rare metal.)
I recalled what Zell had said when I was being expelled from the family, and wished he had told me sooner.
But the sudden expenditure of mana left my body drained of strength.
As my knees hit the ground, someone was there to support me — Novem.
"Lord Lyle!"
Novem clung to me, and whether it was genuine worry or not, the grip was painfully tight.
"Ahaha, sorry... I may have pushed myself a little too hard."
Zelphy hurried over and checked on me.
"What exactly did you do? That light, that weapon... Wait, don't collapse on me in a place like this!"
Noisy as always, Zelphy's familiar demeanor put me slightly at ease. Rondo was nursing a wound nearby, receiving treatment from Rachel.
Aria was also out of breath but had been using her skills to take down monsters.
"Quiet down! Lord Lyle, let's get out of here right away. Can you stay conscious until then?"
He was debating whether to rest here for a while or get me out immediately.
But if he stayed completely normal right to the end, it would be like I hadn't grown at all.
I didn't want that.
I wanted to show at least a little backbone.
"I'm fine. Just give me a moment to rest and I'll be on my feet... Novem, thank you."
"No, it's fine."
Novem seemed relieved but kept supporting me. Aria approached, and I spoke to her:
"You fought monsters and won. Feeling a little more confident now?"
I said it teasingly, and Aria looked surprised.
"You... were watching?"
She seemed to think I was praising her and, unexpectedly, looked happy.
(Aria might be easier to trick than I thought. I should warn her... but more importantly.)
I looked toward Rondo and the others.
"I'm sorry for acting on my own."
Rachel let out a sigh, but Rondo — bandaging his wound — was smiling.
"That was incredible. I never imagined you could do all that. That nickname of yours — 'Lyle the Blockhead' — doesn't really fit anymore, does it?"
Seeing Rondo's unwavering smile, I thought he was a remarkably magnanimous person. He was smiling at a younger adventurer who had just gone off and done his own thing.
Rachel, however, was another story.
"You went way too far on your own. It worked out this time, but you're a wreck. You need to be more aware that there are people who would cry if you died. ...I want to say that, but I couldn't exactly contribute much, so I'll be honest and say thank you. Thanks."
I didn't really feel like she was being sincere, but it was her own way of showing concern.
I managed a wry smile.
Zelphy also scolded me, saying I was trying too hard to look cool.
"Lyle, you saved us, but trust the people around you a bit more. If you'd told us what you could and couldn't do, we could have moved much more efficiently. I understand wanting to hide your skills, but think about at least hinting at them."
I knew he was right, but I wasn't sure if I should bring up my ancestors yet.
(First I need to tell Novem. There are so many things we need to discuss. Especially about the First Generation...)
Barbarian style — not sweating the small stuff, letting emotion drive everything into chaos.
But he was the dependable founder of House Walt.
(Have I been accepted, I wonder?)
As I mused, gripping the Jewel, Novem's eyes widened.
"The gem is glowing... This is..."
When Novem spoke, everyone else reacted with surprise.
Just like Aria had before.
The blue Jewel glowed, announcing the birth of a new skill.
What surfaced in my mind was the skill's name.
"...[Experience]."
It wasn't just the name that came to me.
What my skill could do. How to use it.
All of it flooded in at the same time.
From the moment the skill manifested until it fully took shape, it took a considerable amount of time.
"Wait, does this mean... you can use even more skills now?"
Aria was astonished, but I was even more shaken by the skill's contents.
After all, my skill was a support type that was essentially always active.
I had always assumed my unusual exhaustion was entirely due to my ancestors, but a portion of the cause was actually my own incomplete skill.
(A skill that lets you gain more experience... and since it's always active, that means it's constantly consuming mana.)
When it was incomplete, my skill didn't produce any effect but still consumed mana.
And only now had it finally begun to work properly...
(My skill is insanely niche!!)
After resting, we carried the five adventurers out of the dungeon in three trips.
The support person who had been driving the wagon filled the five with the soup they had prepared, while we ventured into the Innermost Chamber.
As long as treasure remained in the Innermost Chamber, the dungeon would continue to expand and spawn monsters. To eliminate the danger, recovering the treasure was essential.
Inside the Innermost Chamber, Rauf spotted a gleaming metal among the trees.
"That's it!"
He rushed over, cutting through tangled branches with his dagger, and retrieved the treasure.
Immediately, the suffocating air began to dissipate.
"With this, the dungeon's subjugation is complete. It was easy since there was only one floor, but if there had been three or four floors, this party wouldn't have been able to clear it."
The metal he had obtained looked like iron.
But it was special iron that had absorbed mana within the dungeon.
"Ohhh! This can be used to make Mana Tools that grant skills to weapons, right?"
Rauf excitedly confirmed with Zelphy, who nodded with a wry smile.
"If you take it to a craftsman in Darion, they should make a few for you if you give them half. But make sure you use a craftsman authorized by the Guild."
Apparently, rare metals like these circulating through the black market was considered very undesirable.
"Rauf, we should at least split the rewards properly. There are seven of us, so should we divide it seven ways?"
Rauf pressed Rondo:
"Can't I buy it out? If we had enough of this, we could get our own Mana Tools. Then we could take on dungeons as real adventurers!"
The excited Rauf wanted to use the treasure to craft Mana Tools. But judging by the amount of metal, he'd be able to make three or four at most.
"We don't have that kind of money. Let's take it step by step."
Rondo let out a sigh.
How much would this amount be worth in gold coins?
As I wondered, Zelphy's gaze drifted to a corner of the room.
I looked that way too.
"So... you knew them, huh?"
When Rondo spoke to Zelphy, he murmured a small "Yeah."
"He was a reckless guy. Always going on about how dying means it's over, and in the end, he throws his life away to save some rookies."
Wearing a complicated expression, Zelphy approached the veteran adventurer's corpse and began going through his belongings.
He gathered anything of value, then lastly collected the Guild Card.
Watching him, I felt like I was observing a grave robber.
"Come on, you three should come over too."
At his words, the three of us — me, Novem, and Aria — approached the body.
The corpse had been battered by clubs and was in terrible condition.
Novem covered his mouth, and Aria went pale, sitting down on the spot and throwing up.
I covered my mouth too.
"Remember this. When they say 'adventurers die,' this is what it means. In the end, everything of value gets stripped off you, and the body gets dumped. Don't forget to collect the Guild Card and turn it into the Guild."
The gold belonged to whoever stripped it from the dead adventurer.
With that, Zelphy carefully packed the veteran adventurer's belongings into a leather bag he normally never used.
"Zelphy, you don't have to go that far..."
Aria said, pale and out of breath, trying to stop him, but Zelphy wasn't listening.
"This is my right, too. I came to a dangerous place to check the body. I also investigated what happened here. Is that so wrong?"
He glared at Aria, and he looked different from his usual self.
Rondo and the others didn't intervene.
"Well, recovery's done. Let's head back and get some rest. And you — big guy over there."
"Me?"
At Zelphy's words, Rauf pointed at himself. He had the rare metal tucked under one arm.
"My share can come from this. After that, negotiate with Lyle and the rest on your own. They're still new, so they might be easy to swindle."
Zelphy left with those words, and Aria watched his retreating back sadly.
"Because of what happened to his family, Zelphy ended up like that..."
Seeing what it meant to be an adventurer, Aria looked sorrowful.
I helped Novem to his feet and handed Aria the canteen, having her rinse her mouth.
If you died, you were discarded. If you lived, your valuables were stripped by fellow adventurers.
We had been shown example after example of this reality.
"You two, let's go soon."
When I spoke, Aria looked at the corpse.
"At least bury him or something..."
Rondo explained:
"After a while, the dungeon will dry up and decay on its own. So whether you bury them or not, it's the same in the end. Or would you rather carry the body out?"
Aria looked down in frustration.
Then Rondo said:
"That feeling is important. It might be naive, but before we're adventurers, we're still human."
Rondo left the chamber, and Rauf followed him. Last of all—
"Let's negotiate later. And hey — I'm not trying to swindle you. It's just that what we can offer isn't much... Sorry, bad time to say that, huh. With this, I can't exactly badmouth Rachel anymore."
He tried to lighten the mood but realized it wasn't working, so Rauf too left the Innermost Chamber.
I helped Novem and Aria to their feet and walked with them, supporting their weight.
That's when the Fourth Generation—
'Two flowers in your bare hands, huh...'
He muttered, jealousy dripping from his voice. The Third Generation, hearing this, laughed:
'Lyle is lucky. That's what matters.'
Then the Sixth Generation said:
'Now then, hurry back. That Zelphy went out of his way to show you what reality looks like. At least consider how he feels.'
I heard those words and felt the urge to tilt my head.
(Zelphy's feelings?)
The Second Generation sighed:
'Honestly... He really intends to entrust his little lady to Lyle, doesn't he? Going so far as to put on an act like that.'
My ancestors said his behavior up until now had been an act, but I couldn't understand it.
(Entrust her? What does that mean?)
Supporting the two of them, I headed for the dungeon entrance.