Thankfully, the female lieutenant had disposed those monsters easily. Her so called 'Tenki' was good for attack and defense at a close range. And the effect followed through her movements too. Because of this their running was uninterrupted.
Yoshino Aruven then decided to approach the argument they were having in a different angle,
"Then what about the code name itself? Day Stealer. Maybe someone who steals the time of your life? A time in a day? Or perhaps---"
"Someone who can steal your memories of that day… in other words your mind."
"Yes! It was written in the name. How come none of you thought of that?"
"Because… because that person had been influencing us from the very start!"
Lieutenant Alshura had finally figured out the reason behind their constant oversight. This meant that Day Stealer had always been with them. And this explains why they were unable to resist the effects of mind manipulation.
Another rule of thumb when it comes to skill effects was that the longer your exposure to that said skill, the more effective it would be. Of course there were instances where an individual would develop some sort of immunity against an effect. But that was more of an exemption rather than the case.
This would also explain why Yoshino was the least affected amongst them. Since he had spent the least time with the Day Stealer. Furthermore, this would prove that he was not the mind manipulator.
Well, there was no point in rubbing that off the lieutenant anyway. Instead Yoshino urged Alshura to hasten their pace,
"Indeed. Now let's continue forward."
"Yes. We need to move quickly!"
Lieutenant Alshura agreed. She seemed to have regained a worried expression. As if she does not want to waste any more time.
However Yoshino had an idea. He slapped his forehead. How could he forget about that? Perhaps he had also been under the influence of the mind manipulator to a certain extent.
"On second thought, I need to pick-up some items first."
"Items? We have no time for your glowing stones!"
"Just follow me."
Yoshino had no time to argue. He moved as fast as he could. He turned towards the intersections and walked to the innermost parts.
"You seemed to be familiar with every turns."
"Yes."
There was no point in hiding the truth anymore. But there was no need to explain for now as well. He simply answered the question and turned where he had to go.
Alshura did not pry any further. Or perhaps she had no chance to do so. As she was now facing a few Spirit Bats while they moved.
Yoshino was aiming for some items he had hid within the innermost parts of the dungeon. These items were his emergency provisions.
He was planning to take them back when he reached the innermost parts before. But then he discovered the trace of the Trogan Milita.
They had attracted the attention of the dungeon monsters. So there was no more reason to have the provisions back then. He simply went straight for the clue.
But then he failed. Him being heartbroken made him forget about these provisions.
Afterwards he never considered retrieving them once more because he wanted to check on the Trogans. They would be more suspicious of him if he was carrying those items.
But then he got influenced by the mind manipulator. So he had totally forgotten his provisions. Again.
Now that their situation was rather tricky, Yoshino wanted to feel secured. So he had to retrieve them now!
Having a powerful protector had indeed made the travel easier. No wolf, bat, or even rat was able to touch Yoshino.
They reached their destination. A clearing within the dungeon. The room was bigger than the room that separates the inner part and the innermost part of the dungeon. If the previous room was half the size of a basketball court. Then this clearing was in the size of a full court.
"Is this the room for the dungeon boss?"
"Yes."
Alshura asked and Yoshino replied. The female lieutenant then readied her stance. But the young man added,
"Relax. The dungeon boss had already been defeated."
"For real?"
"Of course."
Alshura was still not convinced. But she seemed to be thinking of something different right now. After a few moments, she asked,
"What kind of monster is it, the boss?"
Yoshino halted his steps. He was now standing at the middle of the clearing. He pondered if he should answer truthfully. He decided to share,
"A Chimaera."
The Chimaera was a monster which was a hybrid of various creatures. In [Roku Shiki Online] there were many variants available in different dungeons. It was obvious which combination it was for this particular location.
Yoshino then walked towards the farthest wall. He started tapping it with the back of his hand.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
There!
Yoshino found the hollowed part within the concrete wall. He punched it without hesitation.
He had used a consumable before to camouflage the hole in the wall. So the makeshift concrete was easy to break. Yoshino dug out the debris. He then reached out for his provisions.
"Consumable items! You really kept them here? How could you do such things in this dungeon?"
"Once you got used to the layout, you could figure out the pattern of each turns. If you're familiar with place, then the dungeon could become your personal locker of sort ."
Yoshino revealed. There was no use in denying anyway. The female lieutenant was already starting to figure out his situation. Plus, she could just force him to tell the truth if she really wanted to.
So Yoshino focused on the items he was holding instead. They were glass-like elongated bars that was similar to fluorescent bulbs. Their length was around 30 centimeters. There were two of them.
"Sealing Staves!"
Alshura recognized what they were. They were consumables that could be used to seal one of the skills of a person. The skill would then be stored inside the item.
However this item was quite unpopular. First, the item could only seal one skill at a time. Second, the seal would only work when the person whose skill would be sealed was in consent.
And third, because the item was fragile. The seal will be broken once the glass-like item was destroyed.
The pioneers had already developed different ways to seal a skill. The sealing staves were already outdated. But thanks to that, even a Basic-Tier could afford them.
"And so, what kind of skills are inside them?"
Alshura must have figured out that the skills sealed inside the staves were Yoshino's. But instead of prying for the reasons, she seemed to be more interested with the contents.
Yoshino was a little touched by her tact. He began to explain,
"Good ones. This here, contains the skill named [Weapon Call]."
"Pfft. Weapon Call?"
Alshura laughed. There was a tone of ridicule in her voice. Yoshino raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, what's wrong with that?"
"The skill is lame."
"No it's not!"
"It is! Especially if you're a Mage. Why bother using a weapon when you can throw fireballs or lightning strikes?"
"Because it has high utility value."
"Utility that you could have been used for destruction."
[Weapon Call] was a skill that enables the user to call forth a weapon from his own personal pocket dimension. It was a common skill which could be easily obtained.
However most people would think that the skill would be useless after the weapon appeared on the hand of its user. Since the effect was technically a one time use. They would rather carry their weapons. Or as Alshura said, develop alternative ways of attacking.
But that would be wrong. The utility offered by this skill would grow as the skill improved further. So much so that professionals would consider it a staple on their builds. They were willing to allocate one of their skill slots just to equip this!
"I cannot believe you reached Tier 3 without knowing how important this skill is."
"What did you say?"
"N-nothing."
Yoshino stopped arguing. He remembered that the female lieutenant could just incinerate him if she wanted. He instead showed off the second stave.
"This one is---"
"Rargh, it's probably another lame skill."
"Of course not."
"Then tell me, are they both in Tier 1?"
"Yes they are. But---"
"Not interested! That's probably useless too."
"Hey, we're in a dungeon where Tiers are suppressed. A Basic Skill can deal damage even to someone like you."
"Oh? Then care to show that in a fight?"
"Nevermind."
"Then shut up! Rargh, we wasted too much time for useless things. What do we do next?"
Yoshino wanted reason out further. But he was reminded that they were probably running out of time. He the pointed a finger to the right side wall of the clearing.
"Please destroy that wall."
He casually said.
Alshura stared at him as if he was a retard.