The Pseudo-Ninja from Another World (EP 7): Power Leveling (1)

The next day, I took Nellie with me to the guild, intent on finding a monster hunting quest suitable for raising her level.

Govack’s healer, Curie, saw us. “Oh, Ms. Shino,” she said as she came over, “thank you for your help yesterday.”

“You’re welcome,” I replied. “Is your party looking for a quest again?”

“Ah, no…” Curie muttered. “Govack and the others are still resting… I… I was the only one who lagged in the battle yesterday… I couldn’t help Govack, so…”

“You’re looking for a quest you can do solo, so you can level up,” I finished.”

“… Yes,” Curie said. “Um, what about you, Ms. Shino?”

“I’m also looking for quests,” I said. “I want to get Nellie up to level 15.”

“Huh?” Curie asked.

“I’ve released her from slavery, but she still carries the ‘Basic Slave’ class thanks to the guild,” I explained.

“She’s been released?” Curie asked. “Oh, her collar is gone… congratulations, Nellie.”

“Thanks,” Nellie says from behind me. I think she might still be afraid of humans thanks to lingering trauma.

“But, isn’t it difficult to level up?” Curie asked.

“Well… normally, yes,” I replied.

Curie went silent, suddenly deep in thought.

I decided to go check the bulletin board for any good quests.

“Um, do you happen to have a special method for leveling up?” Curie asked as she followed.

“It’s a little brutal…” I said. “Oh, this sounds good,” I said as I reached out to one of the posted notices.

“… C-rank?” Curie asks.

“Yep,” I say.

“Nellie’s level 1 at F-rank.”

“Yes, and?”

“Th-This is insane!” Curie cried. “If this is C-rank, that means it’s the same as yesterday’s scale vipers?! Ms. Shino will be alright…”

“It’ll be no trouble at all,” Nellie said.

“… Huh, Nellie?!”

“If Lady Shino says it’s okay, it’s okay,” Nellie said, “and if Lady Shino wants me to die, I will die.”

“… You’re no longer Ms. Shino’s slave, right?” Curie asked.

“Yes, the slave contract has been terminated,” Nellie said before she looked to the side, “but… we’ve already done this and that, so my heart is hers, contract or no.”

“What?!” Curie squeals. “What did you do?! Why are you blushing?!”

It’s painful to hear. I just showed Nellie’s cat ears and tail affection until she passed out.

“Well, anyway, I have a plan for getting Nellie some experience while keeping her safe,” I said, “it just needs a little preparation.”

“Um…” Curie looks up at me with a determined look, “this quest… can I join as well?

What should I do? Will it be too difficult to protect two people at the same time? “Hmm, can you show me your stats?” I asked. “Ah, but I can’t show you mine for reasons.”

“Yes, yes I can!” Curie said as she hands her card over—it’s pastel pink.

“Hmm… what do you have in terms of skills or magic?” I asked.

“Oh, let me just…” Curie slides her guild card sideways and a new screen appears… huh, so they could do that, just like a smartphone.

“Nellie, how many skill slots do you usually have?”

“One for the moment, but it will increase every time my level reaches a factor of 10,” Nellie explained. “It will have 5 at level 40. The few who’ve reached level 50 are said to have 6, though…

… And I’m cheating with a total of 12 slots, 10 from Sengoku Online, and +2 from an accessory.

One skill slot here seems to be able to hold several different spells at once, though, so I can’t say which one of Curie’s would be most useful. Still: “Healing over a wide area ought to be convenient, so sure, let’s party together,” I said.

“Th-Thank you very much!” Curie says as she looks up at me with her palms pressed together. If Nellie is a kitten, then Curie is a puppy… I can almost see the tail wagging behind her with all its might.

“Let’s get our equipment sorted out first,” I said. “Is there an armor shop nearby that does both manufacturing and selling?”

“Yes, um, the closest nearby should be Mr. Port’s,” Curie said.

We formally took on the quest at the counter then headed off to the shop with Curie’s help.

---

“Welcome, what do you need?” said Port, a small but sturdy middle-aged man.

“What kind of equipment can you equip, Nellie?” I ask.

“Since Basic Slaves are a lower-tier class, I can use cloth armour and small arms,” she said.

“Cloth armour…” I say as I gaze at the selection, “nope, doesn’t seem like anything’s any good.”

“Shame, because my specialties are metal products,” Port grumbles.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” I said.

But the fact still stands there isn’t much in the way of good armour that Nellie can use. I opened my inventory and went looking for my old cloth armour. “Well, this seems like all I can give you..” I say as I pull it out, hiding it from Port’s view with my body.

Curie saw me take it out and stared, wide-eyed. “Where did you just…”

“Do you have something like a fitting room, Mr. Port?” I ask.

“Yeah, the door at the end of the hall,” Port replied.

“Thank you, we’ll just be using it for a while,” I said as I took Nellie and Curie with me to the fitting room. Probably because you’d use it to try out weapons, too, it wasn’t half-a-tatami-mat size like in a Japanese department store but an eight-mat size room with cobblestone floors.

“Nellie, if you don’t mind using my older, inferior equipment for now, why don’t you try this on for size?” I say as I hand Nellie the vest.

“This is… silk!” Nellie says as she takes it. “Are you sure I can wear such luxurious cloth?”

“I did say it was old,” I said. “So, do you mind?”

“Not at all, thank you very much,” Nellie said.

As she took her clothes off, I noticed she was completely naked underneath. Whoops, I haven’t bought her any underwear yet. It was not on purpose, okay?

“I’m sorry, I’ll buy you some underwear later,” I said.

“No, it’s… these clothes, they’re amazing…” Nellie said as she touches herself and twists around, “they’re so soft to the touch but durable and easy to move in.”

“Yeah, isn’t it?” I hum. It has more defense than low quality leather armour, it looks good on her, but that’s not all. “Checked your stats yet?”

“I will…” Nellie falls silent, her eyes widening. “My HP has gone up by 120!”

“Yes, your tunic adds health,” I said. “You’ll be okay even if you get attacked a few times.”

“… Enchanted armour!” Nellie cried. “It’s amazing enchanted armour!”

Curie is suddenly tense. “Adventurers long for magical equipment. It’s one of our biggest dreams… and now Nellie has one.”

“How about I lend you one as well while we’re partying together?” I asked.

Curie lights up. “Oh, I can have one as well? You have another piece of magical armour?”

“Uh, yeah, and it’s perfect for healing, too…” I said as I open my inventory and take it out.

It’s an event item that can be acquired during the New Year’s event in Sengoku Online. It has the special effect of making you look like a shrine maiden while it’s equipped, regardless of class. Defense-wise it’s not that good, but it did have the shortened casting time bonus for healing spells. It was so effective that all jobs that had healing spells started looking like shrine maidens.

“… I was right, you’re pulling items out of nowhere after all,” Curie said.

“Yeah, I have a magic item that lets me do so,” I say. “Let’s leave it at that, so you try this on, then we’ll check your stats.”

“Uh, okay?” Curie said with clear confusion as she does.

Mmm, she looks good in it, too.

“Red and white, it’s really cute…” Curie says before she checks her guild card. “Ah… what is this?! A bonus for shortening healing spell cast-time…”

“That’s right, now it’ll only take half as long.”

“A-a-amazing, Ms. Shino!” Curie stammers. “This is amazing! There’s nothing like this available in the regular shops!”

“Right, so keep this a secret, or we’ll be in a lot of trouble,” I say.

“U-Understood!” Curie says.

“Now let’s take care of weapons,” I say as we leave the fitting room and return to Port. “Excuse me, Mr. Port, can I use your furnace next?”

“My furnace?” Port asks. “What are you making?”

“Just making something for this young lady,” I say.

“… I didn’t realize you were a smith, too.”

“Well, it’s a long and old story…” I say. “I won’t take long, so please take this,” I say as I hand him a silver coin.

“Hrm, you’ve got it for an hour,” Port says.

“Thank you, I’m very grateful,” I say, smiling.

Port blushes. For a man of his appearance, he’s rather innocent.

Now, to try out the unique skill I haven’t used yet: Character Change. We reach the forge, I tell Nellie and Curie to stand back. “I’m going to do something strange…” I explain. “I’m afraid it might be dangerous, so keep your distance.”

“Okay!” they both say.

I open my skill screen and press the Character change; The selection screen appears before me, I touch my “Blacksmith lv60”…

In an instant, my appearance changes from a ponytail to a bob cut, from a ninja to a blacksmith with an apron… hmm, it seems that memories, emotions, and personalities are saved across characters… this is good.

I checked my status.

Yep, all seems good. I hope I can make something good.

“La-Lady Shino…” Nellie stammers, surprised.

“The bob cut suits you,” Curie says.

“Are you some kind of comedy straight man?” Nellie snapped. “That’s what you have to say after all that?!

You’re doing a better job than Curie is at that, Nellie.

“You see, you two, there’s plenty of things unique about me,” I said. “Just think of my changing clothes letting me forge things.”

“Huh?” Nellie asks. “You’re going to forge a weapon, Lady Shino?”

“That’s right,” I said.

Nellie looks at me strangely. Figures, as she didn’t see a blacksmith subclass on my status page. For now, I’ll change my skill set for Crafting.

Since Nellie is only level 1, the weapons I can create are at the lower end of the spectrum; I’m just going to have to overcome that with skill.

“For materials… let’s use fine jewel steel and white charcoal for the quality,” I say as I take them out of my inventory and put them into the furnace. You wouldn’t normally use these for basic weapons, but it’s for my adorable Nellie—I want the best for her.

Soon, I hit the molten steel with my devil’s hammer a few times, it rapidly takes shape.

“I don’t know for sure,” Curie said, “but I think forging shouldn’t be this easy.”

“It is Lady Shino, after all,” Nellie replied.

To raise the attack power, I used Reinforce… hah, I was able to use it three times! Now to add the finishing touches. “Nellie, you had a light element bonus, right?”

“Yes?”

“Then I’ll add a diamond as it’s the same element,” I say as I pull out a rough diamond about 3 cm in diameter.

“Wait, a diamond?!” Nellie says as it begins to glow in my hand. “Don’t waste something like that on me, Lady Shino!”

“Hahahah, little too late for that,” I say as the light seeps into the blade. “And it’s complete!”

And with that I unveil… “A knife?” Nellie asks.

“… It looks like a kitchen knife,” Curie says.

“Hahaha, not just a kitchen knife!” I say. “This is a very special kitchen knife that can be also used as a weapon, the Shino I.”

“Shino” brands itself on the tang. Ah, a masterwork, if I do say so myself. I added a lacquered handle and gave it to Nellie.

“Ah, um…” Nellie muttered, “I can feel huge amounts of magic power coming off this knife…”

“In terms of damage, I’d say it’s similar to the greatsword Govack used yesterday, but if you skills that consume mana, the damage will be boosted by 15%. Oh, and it’s very effective against sea-type monsters. You can also use Light Bullet without spending a skill slot.”

They’re speechless.

“Oh, is it not strong enough?” I ask. “I need to keep it’s level limit at 1, though…”

“What on earth is with all these special attributes,” Curie mutters, stunned, “it’s like a Relic-rarity sword from ancient times.”

“Lady Shino, are you sure I can keep this?” Nellie says as she holds the knife to her chest, looking like she’s about to cry.

“Yes,” I said. “I’m glad you like it even if it did turn out to be a kitchen knife.”

Nellie is silent.

“Nellie?”

“I will treasure it forever,” Nellie said, smiling. “Thank you, Lady Shino…”

I started tearing up myself. I moved in to hug Nellie before I realized I’d accidentally stab myself on the super knife I’d just made and pulled away at the last minute.