LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 106 - The First Gift from Ms. Drin
< Chapter 106: The First Gift from Ms. Drin (2) >
“For me? Hmm…”
I drew the sword from its sheath and looked it over from various angles.
Then, I made a show of lightly swinging it about.
“It seems a bit… too much for someone like me.”
I was hardly acquainted with the basics of Gum, and carrying such a weapon would only invite comments about trying to look more impressive than I am.
“Too much? You topped the entrance exam at the academy. If anything is too much, it’s not you for the sword, but perhaps the sword for you.”
“Oh, Ms. Drin…! If you speak so sweetly, I might just fall for you…!?”
“Fall for me? Stop talking nonsense.”
Ms. Drin reached out her hand towards me, holding the sword.
“If it’s alright with you, would you please accept this sword?”
“What? All of a sudden?”
As I inquired about the sudden gift, Ms. Drin began her explanation.
According to her story,
It was no mere coincidence that I hadn’t seen Ms. Drin since the opening ceremony.
“I was embarrassed…”
Ms. Drin mentioned how she had been upset because I hadn’t prepared a token of friendship for her at that time.
She had avoided me because she felt she had no face to see me, having expected something from me without giving anything in return, and then feeling disappointed.
“Looking back, I realize how foolish I was. Yet, you comforted me, even going so far as to bring flowers.”
Ms. Drin reminisced about the scent of those flowers with a gentle smile.
“Mr. Ceylonn, you were the first person to befriend someone as awkward and clumsy as me. I am deeply grateful for our connection. I wanted to express that, even if modestly. So please—would you accept this sword?”
Ms. Drin asked with a playful expression on her face.
“You know? It’s a token of our friendship.”
“Ms. Drin, this is…”
I embraced the sword tightly, moved by the gesture.
“It’s so touching. I wonder if this is what it feels like to be proposed to?”
“Well, I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been proposed to.”
Ms. Drin took my question seriously, which made me burst out laughing.
“What now?”
Her expression turned blank, then she suddenly seemed to realize something, gasping in shock.
“Could it be…! Do you think I’m proposing to you right now!? I’m sorry if I’ve led you to misunderstand—”
“No, what are you—calm down, Ms. Drin. Just calm down…!”
Due to Ms. Drin’s serious yet clumsy conversational skills, we ended up flustered and fumbling for a while.
* * *
“Wow, who knew I’d end up getting outplayed like this? I was planning to present Ms. Drin with an enormous token of friendship, making her feel utterly overwhelmed.”
After barely extinguishing the fire of misunderstanding that had clung to Ms. Drin, he started the conversation to lighten the mood.
“Ahem. Do you feel burdened?”
Ms. Drin, whose face still showed traces of her previous shock, calmly replied.
“Actually, it’s not so much the burden, but rather I’m admiring my own business acumen. To think that I could receive such a fine sword just for a flower. Maybe I should quit the academy and become a merchant?”
“Strictly speaking, I didn’t give you the sword just for the flower. There’s no guarantee that it would work the same with others. To leave the academy and become a merchant based on that would be quite reckless…”
“No, that’s not what I meant—ha, ha, ha.”
Again, I couldn’t help but laugh at Ms. Drin taking my joke seriously and responding so earnestly.
“No, not at all. Yes, I appreciate your advice. I’ll take Ms. Drin’s words to heart. I won’t admire my own business skills and make Ms. Drin feel burdened.”
“Seems like you laugh off anything I say.”
Ms. Drin muttered with a sullen expression.
A moment later, she cautiously asked me.
“Ceylon.”
“Yes?”
“How many am I?”
“What do you mean?”
“The tokens of friendship you’ve given.”
“Ha! Who else but someone as generous as Ms. Drin would give such a fine token of friendship to someone like me? Of course, you are the first.”
It seems that only someone like Ms. Drin would be interested in such a culture of tokens of friendship.
But, was it just my imagination?
Suddenly, I remembered the navy-blue wolf fur and the emerald ring I had received once.
“Is that so?”
Ms. Drin pondered for a moment and then nodded in satisfaction.
“It’s my first experience too.”
“Yes?”
“Giving a token of friendship. It’s really fun. Imagining what the recipient might like, what their reaction might be when they receive it, choosing it, and handing it over. I’m happy that you’re happy.”
That pure smile held a subtle hint of mischief, uncharacteristic of Ms. Drin.
“So, it’s right for me to expect you to be the first one to give me such a token of friendship?”
Ms. Drin’s gentle smile seemed to capture the glow of the sunset, making it feel particularly vivid.
Seeing her like this, I thought.
‘Legendary… no, mythical-level swords, where could I possibly find one…’
When I parted with Ms. Drin.
I was utterly exhausted, trying hard not to immediately give her the legendary artifact I had in my possession.
* * *
“Are you not returning to the dormitory?”
“I still have some business to attend to.”
“Is that so?”
“What? You seem a bit reluctant. Could it be that you wanted to return with me!?”
“I don’t know what to say. Never mind.”
“Ahahaha! Ms. Drin! Ms. Drin~!”
I fought the urge to return with Ms. Drin and ventured into the back alley.
—
[Artifact: Soul of the Devourer]
[Rank: Legendary]
Description: A ring containing the soul of the Devourer.
This greedy soul that never knows satisfaction will never say it is full.
Because a ring doesn’t have a stomach. Haha.
—
As I fiddled with the ring, my abnormal memory recalled a piece of text I couldn’t remember when I had seen it.
[That’s a byproduct of quality stuff]
[The Devourer had swallowed a human who was wearing a magical ring]
[The ring couldn’t be digested and remained inside]
[Continuously influenced by the Devourer, it was imbued with its power]
Damn.
It would have been nice to remember this setup before tackling the dungeon.
“The Devourer, it truly was an incarnation of a Devourer – referring to the creature itself.”
Let it go. The past is the past.
Focus on the future.
This ring was my future.
[Seriously; how would you play the game without a vacuum cleaner?]
[I can’t even imagine myself without it now…]
[It feels so surreal]
[At this point, it’s more of a ‘super vacuum’ than a vacuum cleaner]
[The mention of ‘cow’ is not the cow you’re thinking of]
[If that’s the case, make it ‘great great vacuum’]
[There’s not even an original left]
Vacuum cleaner.
That’s what the players called this ring.
Because of its effect of absorbing all sorts of objects.
Of course, the real ability of this ring isn’t that.
Absorption is just the process.
The true ability of this ring is to absorb items and make the power contained within them its own.
Just like the Devourer consumes its targets and absorbs their power.
It’s essentially a growth-type equipment.
However,
Considering the growth efficiency, its performance significantly lagged compared to other legendary artifacts that could be obtained at the same level.
Therefore, people used this ring not for its original purpose as a growth-type equipment but rather as a junk item cleaner in their inventory.
Of course, I did not acquire this ring merely to use it for simple cleaning.
“Huuh.”
With a trembling heart, I slipped the Soul of the Devourer onto my ring finger.
That moment.
-I’m so hungry I could eat anything, just grab anything at hand and gobble it up until this hunger is gone, until my stomach is full, why are you hesitating, you know nothing can stop you-…
A voice filling my head. A will.
I felt an unbearable hunger.
The terrible thought of attacking the people around me and devouring them alive crept in.
‘Ah, go away.’
Such was a side effect of the ring—
The mental interference disappeared as soon as its property was activated.
What remained was the pure power of the ring.
I felt the power contained within the ring.
‘Are you quivering?’
I could feel the mana of the quiverer within the ring.
Perhaps, the moment I defeated the quiverer and his power lost its master.
The ring seemed to have absorbed some of it.
Thus, the ring contained the pure power created by absorbing and digesting the quiverer—
[Your level has increased!]
[Your level has increased!]
Level: 19 (Swordsmanship)
The power flowed into me through the ring.
‘Oh, yes come to papa baby.’
I felt the pleasure that came with advancing in skill.
At the same time, I could feel that reaching level 20 was just around the corner.
Should I say that reaching the 3-star stage in this world’s terms is right before my eyes?
Just as I had anticipated and expected.
This ring would fill the void left by the absence of an experience system, albeit slightly.
Should I call it a degraded version of the experience system?
It is inefficient compared to the original experience system, and its limits are clear.
But even so, it’s more than welcome to me right now.
‘Let’s go.’
Right arm mode. On.
I entered the alley to fulfill my remaining quota, recalling the minor mobs that were simple to handle.
* * *
[Your Level Has Increased!]
Level: 20 (Swordsmanship)
[Main Quest Cleared!]
[The Bud of a Promising Hero]
[Conditions Have Been Met!]
[The Points Store is Unlocked!]
Finally, the opening day of the academy arrived.
I greeted the morning with a refreshing feeling.
After enjoying a leisurely shower in my personal bathroom and finishing my preparations, I left the dormitory building.
As I was on my way to school—
-Whoooosh!
The wind blew.
It seemed as if the wind was blowing at me and no one else, as if it were artificially created by someone.
-Phibian ~
Once I became aware of it, the sound of the wind suddenly seemed different.
Letting the wind guide me, I found myself pushed to the back of a building.
And sure enough.
There, Ms. Phibian greeted me.
Upon seeing me, Ms. Phibian frowned and extended her hand.
“Give it back. The green embrace of the wind that I lent you.”
For some reason, Ms. Phibian seemed quite angry from the morning.