Chapter 34: New Abilities, the Prelude to the Climax

A gem-like core.

Needless to say, this was naturally the brand-new ability Arlette’s body had obtained after absorbing the Gem Dragon’s Inverse Scale.

It was strange; despite having no prior information about this object, the moment Arlette sensed it, he naturally understood everything about it.

It felt as though it had integrated into his very instincts.

It was the same principle as a human infant knowing how to cry at birth, or an animal cub attempting to walk and nurse immediately after being born.

And the new ability this gem core brought to Arlette was…

He concentrated intensely, manipulating the mana throughout his body to surge toward his right arm.

The next moment, accompanied by the consumption of mana, the skin on Arlette’s palm instantly began to harden.

A layer of ivory-white shell with a warm, moist luster covered everything above his wrist in an instant.

“This is…”

“Has my skin turned into a gemstone?”

The moment he utilized this ability, Arlette knew its name—

“Quartzification.”

Immediately, he used his other hand to light the candlestick by his bed.

Next, he slowly moved his quartzified fist toward the flickering flame atop the candle.

However, even when in full contact with the tip of the flame, he only felt a slight warmth; there was none of the painful sensation of burning at all.

“An active ability that can strengthen the body!”

Just as Arlette had thought, the Gem Dragon Scale was not like other ordinary materials that could only provide passive improvements to the body.

It directly bestowed an active ability upon him.

Although the specific ability seemed to be a somewhat unremarkable physical enhancement and required the consumption of mana…

It was perfectly compatible with Arlette’s Heavy Knight profession.

It could strengthen the physical offensive and defensive capabilities that were already the strengths of a Heavy Knight—pure, brute force.

Furthermore, the heat-resistance effect could effectively withstand the harsh environment of the sixth underground floor.

He was quite satisfied.

Moreover, Arlette could even faintly feel it.

This gem core had not completely fused with him yet.

There was still more room for development; it might bring even more useful abilities in the future.

“This is great. With this ability, maybe I can help the Miss…”

“Right, the Miss!”

Arlette suddenly snapped back to his senses.

The sun had already begun to peek over the other side of the horizon; it was time to serve the Miss.

He immediately stood up from the bed, intending to go wash up.

But the moment he stood, a strong sense of discomfort pierced through his entire body from the inside out.

He couldn’t quite say where it hurt, but he could perceive that his condition was likely worse than when he had faced the goblins yesterday.

“Is this a result of the side effects from last night’s ritual?”

“No matter, the Miss is more important.”

Even so, he forced himself to wash up and change his clothes.

Afterward, he entered Merrow’s room, woke her, and began to serve her.

While combing her hair, Arlette clearly felt that Merrow’s gaze had softened considerably.

He didn’t know how much trouble Merrow had faced trying to comb her own hair while he was away.

“Whew, this guy is finally back.”

Looking at herself in the mirror, Merrow couldn’t help but think of the pathetic scenes of her combing her own hair over the past two days.

Due to her wild sleeping posture, Merrow’s long hair would be knotted everywhere when she woke up.

She didn’t have the skilled techniques that Arlette possessed, so she could only use brute force to pull those knotted hairs apart.

The end result was losing a handful of hair and suffering a sharp pain from her scalp being tugged.

“Damn it, I clearly used to know how to comb my own hair…”

“When did I start forgetting how to do it…”

While Merrow was lost in thought, Arlette had already finished grooming her hair.

“Miss, it is finished.”

“So fast…”

Some things must be experienced personally before one can know how difficult they truly are.

Looking back into the mirror, what Merrow saw was her smooth, tidy, violet-red long hair.

There wasn’t the slightest mess, and even her hair accessories had been placed for her.

Arlette’s technique was not only fast and precise, but he hadn’t caused Merrow the slightest bit of pain during the process.

“I have to say, even though it’s a servant’s work, this level of skill is quite impressive.”

Merrow felt like speaking up to praise him, but after a moment’s thought, she swallowed the words that were about to come out.

“Never mind, it’s not a good thing to let a servant become overly conceited.”

Thus, she re-edited her language, changing it to a more moderate acknowledgment: “It’s fine. Keep it up.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“Also, how did you rest?”

Her blood-colored eyes shifted slightly, looking through the mirror at Arlette standing behind her.

“I don’t want this competition to be affected because you aren’t in good condition.”

“…”

“My condition is normal, Miss.”

Arlette lied.

At this very moment, although he could still walk, talk, and perform other normal actions, Arlette could clearly feel the deep-rooted discomfort within his body.

However, there would only be one chance.

Even if he had to force himself through it, he would help the Miss win the honor of being a Dragonslayer.

“That’s good then. Fine, go prepare breakfast.”

“Understood.”

***

After Arlette finished serving Merrow, people gradually began to appear at the dining table in the dining hall.

The half-dragon girl, Dela, was currently sitting on the other side of the table, maintaining the magic wand in her hand.

Sitting on this side was Flaff, who was looking around with nervous eyes.

At this moment, her mind was entirely filled with the wicked thing she had done to Arlette last night.

“Waaa… if the Knight or the Captain finds out, I’ll definitely be kicked out!”

“I don’t want that to happen!”

Her heart throbbed for a long time, and only after confirming that Arlette didn’t have any special reaction toward her did she feel a bit more at ease.

“Whew, keep that matter buried deep inside and never think about it again. Hurry and think about something else…”

With a red face, she shook her head vigorously, trying to shake out all those shameful memories.

“Damn it! I can’t think about anything else at all!”

Just by associating her thoughts with the scene from last night, Flaff felt as if her entire body was being taken over by her lower half.

And while her head was full of thoughts about Arlette, that very person appeared right in front of her.

“Flaff, your breakfast.”

Following that familiar, indifferent tone, a plate containing a standard breakfast of eggs and toast was pushed in front of Flaff.

“Ah, ah! …Thank you, Sir Knight.”

She was startled, her small face turning red in an instant, her eyes full of panic.

“You’re welcome.”

After answering, Arlette had just turned to leave when he was called back by Flaff again.

“Wait a moment, Sir Knight!”

“Is something the matter?”

“Ah… that…”

Flaff’s gaze drifted unsteadily.

Clearly, she had wanted to ask a few questions just now to confirm if Arlette really didn’t know what happened after she ran into his room last night.

But after just a few words, Flaff became worried again.

“The Knight is very smart. If he didn’t know to begin with, but I end up exposing myself instead, then I’m doomed!”

Thus, she immediately cut her losses and swallowed her words.

“N-Nothing! I just misidentified something just now, ehehe.”

After finding a random excuse to brush it off, Arlette nodded and sat down directly across from her at the dining table.

“Ugh, I couldn’t ask him.”

For a moment, Flaff felt a bit depressed.

In order to give herself something to do so things wouldn’t seem so awkward, she grabbed the toast on her plate and took a bite.

“Hmm?!”

“It’s sweet?”

She looked closely and found that there was actually a little bit of jam spread inside the toast.

The amount was very modest; if Flaff weren’t very sensitive to sweetness, she almost wouldn’t have been able to taste it.

Although it was very little, Flaff’s toast had never had jam in it before.

This was the first time.

“Could it be that the Knight…”

Obviously, it matched Flaff’s guess.

During their previous interactions, Arlette had learned of Flaff’s tastes and then deliberately looked after her in this regard.

For a moment, Flaff’s flushed little face was overflowing with happiness.

Just as she was sweetly savoring her meal, a series of footsteps crossed the corridor and entered straight into the dining hall.

It was the woman Flaff currently feared the most, Captain Merrow.

Today, her hair was braided very meticulously. She wore a leather dress specialized for adventure and combat, and on her feet was a pair of knee-high leather boots.

Different from her usual flashily beautiful style of dress, Merrow’s outfit today was extremely capable and efficient. This was the kind of coordination she only wore whenever an adventure was about to begin.

Clearly, for today’s subjugation, Merrow was fully prepared.

After taking her seat, she casually cleared her throat and began to address everyone at the table with a slight smile to mobilize them:

“Everyone, I presume you all have an idea of what we are going to do today.”

“That’s right. This is the most important operation since our Crystal Thorn adventuring party was established.”

“We shall compete for the title of Dragonslayer, and at the same time, take our share of the Fire Dragon’s treasures!”

“This time, we must make the name of Crystal Thorn famous before the world.”

“I can only accept being the champion. For this operation, success is the only option; failure is not permitted!”