Wilma could tell that Ackster was just brooding over the bloody disaster that had struck Lill, even if he had gone alarmingly quiet. But she couldn't help but worry, considering what had happened the last time he fell silent at a piece of shocking news.
For Wilma, that hadn't been long, but she had noticed how changed Ackster was. While he had grown and seemingly matured, there was no guarantee he was stable yet. It would be bad if he relapsed or something similar happened again.
"So, I managed to force a direction out of you before…"
"Yeah?"
Ackster was surprised. He knew best exactly what kind of state he had been in when he was trapped inside the grey, muddy, dull world. That Wilma got an answer out of him was pretty impressive.
'Maybe that was the familiar scent?'
"Yeah. South. Anything specific, or do you just want to sightsee?"
Wilma knew Ackster was headed south for something specific. He craved it enough that his body answered for him while he was losing his consciousness. But it didn't hurt to give him a way out.
"Something specific."
Ackster didn't take the way out, but he also didn't give a clear answer.
"Got it. By the way, since we're already headed south, have you had time to get an inventory for your Nomi?"
Ackster raised an eyebrow and looked at Wilma. When was he supposed to have the time for that? He shook his head.
"Right, you weren't A-rank before… that happened. But you are now, right? There's a habitat on the way if you want to get your inventory before you deal with your business down south."
'That reminds me…'
Ackster hadn't checked or had time to check his Nominus card in quite a while.
"Wait a sec."
Ackster fished around inside his clothes until he eventually found his card. With a mix of emotions swirling in the depths of his eye, he read its contents.
[Name: –]
[Profession: (Adventurer)]
[Stats:
[Strength: B(A)]
[Agility: B(A)]
[Fortitude: B(A)]
[Mana: –]
[Spirit: A]
[Stamina: A]
[Skills:
[Strong Body]
[Pain Tolerance: A]
[Poison Resistance: E]
[Keen Senses: B]
[Iron Stomach: C]]
[Strike: A]
[Iron Skin: C]
[Survivalist: E]
[Iron Fists: C]
[Iron Will: A]
[Clear Mind: B]
[Battlesight: B]
[Limit Breaker: E]
[Resilience: C]
[Monster Muncher: E]
[Iron Wall: D]
[Guardian: C]
[Block: D]
[Steel-Boned: E]
[Stubborn Well-Being: F]
[Superficial Martial Arts: E]
[Curse Resistance: G]
[Feather-footed: C]
[Darksight: G]
"Ah."
There were a lot of changes, even if there weren't a lot of new skills. But the thing that stood out the most to Ackster was Curse Resistance.
'Of fucking course.'
The dull, grey world of endless mud and torment of boringness wasn't solely due to his mind collapsing from the shock of what had happened to him. However, the growth in Iron Will and Clear Mind were clear indicators that his mind had been working hard and had reaped the benefits when he got his mind back.
But it was a curse that had really put him on the spot.
'I'm such a fucking idiot.'
Ackster couldn't help but blame himself. He knew full well how, where, and when he had gotten the curse.
The Alchemist was infamous for boobytrapping their Alchemaze. It wasn't just mechanical traps like tripwires, push tiles, or whatever. There were also more nefarious ones, like curses attached to handles and other traps. So, when an intruder grabbed the handle or activated a trap, they would also be beset by a curse.
Like the greedy and careless fool he was, Ackster had happily yanked the torch holder in an attempt to open the Alchemaze. But instead of entering the Alchemaze, a curse entered him and lay dormant until an opportunity came by. That moment came almost instantly, and the curse didn't hesitate to take Ackster down.
Ackster willingly threw himself through ridiculous trials of pain and consumed poison like it was nectar just to get even slightly stronger. There was no way a single piece of information could render him catatonic and cripple his mind, even if he was carrying boatloads of stress due to the aforementioned measures he took to prevent his inevitable death in less than ten years.
Two months was a long time, especially when he could have spent time trying to save his life instead of wandering about in complete darkness. But compared to ten years, two months was only a fraction of the time. It was a loss that stung, but not to the point of making Ackster feel so useless he would rather give up.
That, he would never do.
"I should be A-rank."
Ackster waved his stump around.
"This is just putting down my stats a little."
Wilma just smiled and dispelled Ackster's worry.
"That doesn't matter. As long you have the stats, even if they're temporarily hindered, it's more than fine."
Wilma hesitated.
"I was going to say that your profession also being A-rank would work, but it won't, will it?"
Ackster slowly shook his head.
"No. I still don't have a proper profession."
"Well, that's fine. As long as a majority of your stats are A-rank, you won't be rejected."
"Good. Let's go to that habitat then."
"I just realized, but information about inventories and habitats is usually restricted. Of course, a lot of non-A-ranks know about it. I was just curious. Don't mind me. Just rambling by now."
Wilma cleared her throat awkwardly under Ackster's surprisingly heavy gaze. She had completely ruined the mysterious, dependable but not trustworthy, and powerful vibes that she had displayed toward Ackster so far.
"Can you please forget that?"
"Sure."
Ackster stopped looking at Wilma and turned to look at the view again, sinking into his thoughts and wondering about the recorded information on his Nomi.
Curse Resistance wasn't the only thing he had gotten. He had also gotten Darksight, which Ackster thought was a little more mysterious than it first seemed. Feather-Footed had taken Soft Footsteps' and Sprints' places.
All in all, it wasn't a complete waste of two months, especially since a lot of his skills had ranked up, even if the total number of skills hadn't increased that much. But Ackster would have preferred if he hadn't been stuck underground for so long.
As he thought about it, he realized he had really been quite foolish. Mauve the curse was a good thing.
He massaged his temple.
As he massaged his left temple with his left hand, something else massaged his right temple with soft, mushy tentacles.
'Ah. That's the familiar scent.'