I Was a Crazy, Berserker-Type Dungeon Streamer, but When I Helped a Beautiful Dungeon Streamer and Treated Her Politely, It Was Revealed That I Was Actually a Normal Person - 42

Chapter 42: Staff

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『Senavia! Senavia has disappeared!!!』

“What?”

A cold sweat ran down my back.

『She’s been missing since yesterday afternoon! I asked the other pixies, but none of them have seen her today!』

“Maybe she’s just holed up at home because she’s sick or something?”

Since it had only been a day since anyone saw here, there was no need to panic. Not to mention, she was stranger than me. Even if she were to run into danger, she could easily handle it on her own. 

『I checked her house, but she wasn’t there…』

Master seemed unusually flustered. It was like he was worried about something specific.

“Did something happen yesterday?”

『…Well, yes.』

Seemingly guilty, Master admitted truthfully. 

『Yesterday, Senavia asked if she could borrow a few artifacts… Since I had already mistakenly given her the key to your house, I ended up agreeing to her request.』

So, she borrowed the artifacts and took off with them…? But why? Could it be—

『She left a note at her house. To summarize, it said she was going to challenge the dungeon on her own.』

“…Why the hell would she do that?!”

Don’t joke with me! Is it because she thinks I’m only going to slow her down? I mean, sure, when I first got here, I might’ve been a liability to her, but not now. In the past week, I’ve become strong enough to make her eat her words. And yet, she still goes off alone? That’s too unfair! You’re not even going to give me a chance for a rematch?

“If I go now, will I still make it…?”

Or maybe… It was already too late.

No, no. That girl is strong. There’s no way she’s… Wait, why am I even worried about her? Yeah, I’m not worried about her. I just want to get my revenge on her. That’s all.

『For now, could you come to the training grounds?』

I glanced at the priest. He was smiling at me, his gaze calm and steady. If anything, his lack of expression change made him look a bit unsettling.

“Sorry, could you tell Gyle I’ve got urgent business to do?”

“Of course. I understand.”

I bolted out of the church and broke into a run.

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“Master!!”

After arriving at our usual training ground, I saw Master standing there with a serious expression on his face. In his hand, he held something that resembled a tree branch.

“Oh, you’ve come earlier than I expected.”

“Now… Now I can… Catch up to her… Right?”

My voice was broken and breathless from running.

“With your speed, you should be able to catch up to her in two days or so.”

This is the deepest part of the Okutama Dungeon. The floor here is far larger than an ordinary dungeon. I might just make it in time before she fight the dungeon boss.

As I pondered this, Master gave me a curious look.

“Do you want to save Senavia? …Or are you just trying to conquer this dungeon?”

“Neither.”

I answered immediately.

Honestly speaking, I hate that girl. She’s so stubborn and quick to resort o violence. Not to mention, she’s always so crude with me. That said, she’s been oddly kind to me, but that only makes me feel unsettled if anything. 

If this were an otome game and I were a romanceable character, my affection level toward her would be at the rock bottom. No flags raised at all.

“Back then, when I first fought her for the first time… If Master hadn’t stopped me, she would have beaten me to a pulp, right?”

Master nodded a bit. 

“I want revenge. I just want to show her how much I’ve grown.”

“Hoho… Even if you’ve stopped comparing yourself to others, that stubborn streak of yours hasn’t changed, I see.”

Of course not. For some reason, I really didn’t want to lose to her. 

“In that case, I have a special gift for you.”

Master held out the branch in his right hand. I’d been curious about it for a while… Could it be some kind of material?

“This tree branch is…?”

“A tree branch, you say… This is a genuine staff!”

“A s-staff?!”

The branch didn’t look like it had been processed before. It still had a few green leaves attached to the tip. No matter how you looked at it, it was just an ordinary tree branch.

“Moreover, it’s an artifact, you know?”

“This thing is an artifact…?”

I stared intently at the branch in Master’s palm. Now that he mentioned it, I could feel something unusual exuding from the branch. 

“This is a staff called the Spirit Tree Branch, an extremely rare artifact.”

“Spirit Tree…?”

Another fantasy-sounding term typical from another world.

“The Spirit Tree is a massive tree from the place where we once lived… But it isn’t just any tree. It protects the land for tens of thousands of years.”

“And this branch comes from it?”

“Indeed. The Spirit Tree only sheds branches once every few thousand years. It’s incredibly rare, so treat it with care.”

“R-right… By the way, what abilities does it have?”

“Let’s see… High-speed magic casting, reduced mana consumption, increased power, and the ability to record magic.”

“Record magic?”

It was a term I’d never heard before.

“Recording magic is its most important feature. This ability lets the wielder use a single recorded spell without chanting or a magic circle.”

So, it’s like a scroll that doesn’t disappear  after use, but in exchange, it consumes magic power? In that case, as long as I have enough magic power, I can use any spell-

“…Does that mean I can also use advanced magic with it?”

“It’s possible, but using spells beyond your capacity will consume an absurd amount of magic power.”

Well, of course. There’s no way this staff can be that convenient. 

“But with your current ability, you should be able to use basic advanced spells without extra magic power cost. Do you have a spell in mind? …My recommendation would be Concealment.”

“Concealment, huh… Oh, that’s the one you used when we first met!”

Even as a relatively high-level explorer, I hadn’t noticed Master’s presence at all thanks to that spell. If I could use such a powerful Concealment spell in this dungeon, it would be a massive advantage to me.

“Could I ask for Concealment?”

“Certainly. It’s a simple advanced wind spell, so you should be able to use it at its normal magic power cost… Now then, let’s begin recording the magic. Here.”

He handed me the Spirit Tree staff.

“When I give the signal, hold it and chant 〈Record Start〉.”

“Got it.”

Master moved closer to the staff, extended his hand toward it, and signaled. “Now!”

“〈Record Start〉.”

“〈Concealment〉.”

Master’s body glowed faint blue and the staff shone red simultaneously.

“Recording complete… Try it out.”

I channeled my magic power into the staff. Surprisingly enough, the staff felt like it had become an extension of my body.

“〈Concealment〉.”

As I chanted, my body glowed faint blue. It worked.

“As expected of someone who mastered intermediate magic in under a week.”

Coming from someone who mastered it in thirty minutes, it didn’t feel much like praise.

“Well, off I go now.”

I had to go back to the house I had borrowed, pack my things and set off immediately. I had to catch up to Senavia and punch her as soon as possible.”

“…You’re going to leave already, huh?”

For a brief moment, Master looked lonely. 

“Master!”

“What is it?”

“Thank you so much for everything this past week.”

I bowed deeply. Though my training had started with a threat from them, it wasn’t all bad for me. Lately, I’d been at a standstill. My only decent skill was 〈Shock Blast〉,and its proficiency had nearly reached its limit. I didn’t know how to improve myself further, so being able to learn magic had been a godsend opportunity for me. 

“Raise your head… We merely used each other to achieve our goals. You owe me no thanks.”

“Is that… so?”

“Now go quickly. If you dawdle, Senavia might clear the dungeon before you.”

“True enough.”

I stowed the staff in my bag, turned my back to Master, and said.

“See you.”

This might be a farewell with no chance of reunion, so dragging it out felt wrong to me. 

I would surpass Senavia and I would escape from the Okutama Dungeon no matter what. That was all I needed right now.

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