Chapter 6: Steal—!!!
Why did it turn out like this? They were supposed to be advanced professions, each possessing extraordinary strengths far beyond the average. So why, when combined, did it end up like this—this complete disaster?!
Double the joy, double the trouble. Kazuma Satou was utterly despairing.
He wore a mournful expression. “Senior Kobayashi, what should we do now...?”
“Stop crying. Try looking on the bright side,” Kobayashi said, embodying the spirit of relentless optimism.
“Although Megumin’s Explosion magic can’t be used in dungeon labyrinths and such, its destructive power on open plains is unrivaled. And while Darkness can’t attack enemies, her defense is as tough as the hardest ore—she’s a flexible and useful tank, isn’t she?”
“But isn’t it a bit too much to treat a girl like a meat shield...?” Kazuma still found it hard to do something so heartless, at least for now.
Darkness’s cheeks flushed with excitement. “It’s fine! I don’t mind! Feel free to use me as a meat shield! In fact, use me in every possible sense!”
Kobayashi gave a thumbs-up. “Don’t worry, I’ll make good use of you—in every possible sense.”
“Which sense exactly?!” Kazuma shouted, suspecting Kobayashi had ulterior motives.
This guy was definitely thinking something lewd.
“Bickering isn’t the demeanor of a composed adventurer, Kazuma-kun,” Kobayashi chided, extending her hands toward Megumin and Darkness. “These two, I’d call them the Hidden Dragon and the Crouching Phoenix!”
“Hidden Dragon and Crouching Phoenix... are you serious?” Kazuma knew the term well.
After all, the Three Kingdoms history was wildly popular in their island nation; almost every local had read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Coupled with countless adaptations into films, novels, and anime, the elegant title of Hidden Dragon and Crouching Phoenix was deeply etched in their minds.
Yet, Kazuma couldn’t shake the feeling that Kobayashi’s use of the term wasn’t entirely complimentary.
“Wait, what does Hidden Dragon and Crouching Phoenix mean?”
“Is she mocking us? She must be!” Megumin and Darkness also sensed something off, as if Kobayashi was deliberately sneering at them.
“No, it’s not like that,” Aqua kindly explained the historical significance of the Hidden Dragon and Crouching Phoenix in the Three Kingdoms era.
“I see, I see. Phoenix, huh... well, it is indeed a splendid title. I quite like it! From now on, my title shall be Phoenix!” Megumin decided she was very pleased with the name, looking at Kobayashi with admiration.
As expected of Kobayashi—her words were always so pleasing!
Darkness, however, blushed and demurred, “Hidden Dragon and all... I’m nowhere near worthy of such a beautiful title. You’re overestimating me.”
“Not at all. Believe in yourself, Darkness. You deserve it,” Aqua encouraged her.
Kobayashi added, “Just take it as motivation to push yourself forward, a goal to strive for.”
“Exactly! The only one who can be my partner is you, Darkness!” Megumin chimed in.
“Really? Heh heh heh...” Darkness scratched her cheek, smiling sheepishly.
Kazuma looked on at their cheerful laughter, feeling increasingly out of place in the party.
Two problem children—flawed in both personality and ability—had been transformed by Kobayashi’s superb silver tongue into dazzling companions. If one didn’t know their real nature, they might actually believe these two fools were trustworthy teammates.
Come to think of it, perhaps Kobayashi herself was just like them—brilliant with words but lacking any other merits?
No, no, no, how could he doubt the benefactor who had helped him?
But Kobayashi had mentioned before that understanding the party’s respective strengths was important...
What to do? Should he test her?
Kazuma thought for a moment and said, “Senior Kobayashi, we already know their abilities. Could you perhaps demonstrate your own strength for us?”
“...Oh? Underestimated, huh?”
Kobayashi wasn’t a fool; she immediately sensed his distrust.
“Then I’ll show you a little something.”
With that, she raised her longbow.
—Sniper!
Whiz!
A shadow flashed, and the arrow struck firmly into the trunk of a tree twenty meters away.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!!!” Four voices exclaimed in unison.
Everyone clapped in astonishment.
...Though, honestly, it wasn’t that impressive—it was just skillful archery. Compared to Megumin and Darkness’s earlier performances, this was hardly spectacular.
As they pondered this, Kobayashi drew her bow again.
—Sniper!
The arrow struck the tree trunk again.
This time, it embedded itself precisely on the fletching of the previous arrow, the powerful impact piercing the shaft and driving the tip deep into the wood.
—Sniper! Sniper! Sniper!
Just drawing, shooting, drawing, shooting—repeating the simplest of motions—but everyone’s jaws dropped.
Each arrow landed exactly on the fletching of the one before it, without the slightest error. After ten arrows, the tree trunk was completely pierced through, and a tiny hole revealed the scenery beyond.
“This is ridiculous!” Kazuma and the others were stunned.
“Is that all?” Kobayashi smiled confidently. Her show wasn’t over.
“Watch closely—the real highlight comes next.”
She began to explain amid curious glances.
“You know, novice-level magic is weak. Most mages skip straight to intermediate spells. But with the right technique, even beginner magic can deliver considerable power. For example...”
—Fire Arrow!
The iron arrowhead suddenly burst into flame, igniting the tree behind it.
“This is how I increase the arrow’s power—magical arrows. And it’s not just fire; other elemental attributes work just as well.”
Kobayashi proceeded to shoot arrows imbued with wind, water, ice, earth, lightning, and even explosion magic.
Among these, the explosion attribute was the best match for arrows, boosting damage to three times the normal level.
This was the secret behind Kobayashi’s confidence to venture forth alone.
After all, as a transmigrator, how could she lack some tricks up her sleeve?
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!!!” Four voices exclaimed again, completely won over.
Kazuma was ecstatic. “It’s decided—I’m going to follow this path too!”
“No, you can’t,” Kobayashi doused his enthusiasm.
“Why not?”
“Because your roles would overlap!” Kobayashi’s pupils narrowed sharply, her voice tinged with fear. “You see, Kazuma-kun, in most novels, manga, or anime, having characters with overlapping roles is taboo. It makes characters indistinct and confuses the audience.”
“Sorry, I have no idea what you’re talking about...” Kazuma couldn’t keep up with Kobayashi’s logic. He just wanted to borrow her fighting style as a reference; how did that become overlapping roles?
“But I’m just an adventurer. The options I can choose are limited...”
“If that’s the case, then I’ll make the change.”
“Really?!” Kazuma was deeply moved.
To alter oneself for the team meant abandoning current strengths and past efforts.
He was truly touched to tears.
But then he wondered, “Senior Kobayashi, your profession is also adventurer, right? How exactly will you change?”
Kobayashi said, “Kazuma-kun, we’ve defeated quite a few monsters these past few days. What level are you now? How many skill points do you have?”
“Level 4, with 3 skill points,” he answered honestly.
Newbies level up quickly, but each level only grants one skill point for the adventurer (novice) class.
The novice adventurer class can learn multi-class skills, serving various roles in the party.
However, due to the nature of the class, spending costly skill points only yields 80% of the original power.
Thus, the skills suited for beginners tend toward thief or archer types, as other classes provide poor returns and are generally not worth investing in, except for certain exceptions.
“But I’m different.”
Kobayashi pulled out her adventurer card.
“My class is adventurer, but whether due to my attributes or some other reason, when I level up, I gain 5 skill points! —the same bonus as other advanced classes.”
“Really?!” Kazuma’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“Are there adventurers like that?”
“Even if the power of other skills is reduced, just having the same skill point bonus as advanced classes is enviable.”
Kazuma’s disbelief was shared by the rest of the party.
People are not all the same!
Compared to Kobayashi, Kazuma, an ordinary shut-in without cheats, truly did not deserve the title of hero.
Even among heroes from other worlds, differences existed.
Kobayashi solemnly addressed the four. “This is my secret. I hope you all will keep it.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll keep it confidential!” the four promised.
They loved boasting, but only about themselves; they wouldn’t spread secrets Kobayashi wished to keep.
Kobayashi then said to Kazuma, “Since we’re at it, I’ll teach you a couple of useful skills.”
“Oh, I’ve been looking forward to it!” Kazuma was eager.
“One is the sniper shot from before. The other...” Kobayashi turned to Aqua and activated a skill.
“—Steal!”
A dazzling light flashed, and a pale purple cloak appeared in her hand.
Still, no pants...
She shook her head and tossed some yellow scraps aside.
“This is the thief class’s most practical skill—steal! It depends on the user’s luck stat to attempt stealing, with a chance to pilfer the most valuable item on the target.”
“Whoa, that’s amazing!”
Kazuma’s other stats were pitifully low, but his luck was remarkably high, making the steal skill perfect for him.
“Later, your adventurer card will display these skills. Just click to learn them.”
“Got it! I’ll learn them now!”
In no time, Kazuma mastered the two useful skills.
Kobayashi returned the cloak to Aqua and said to Kazuma, “Now, go ahead and use the skill you just learned on me. Let’s see what you can steal.”
“Alright! Here I go!”
Kazuma confidently extended his right hand toward Kobayashi.
“—Steal!”
A flash of light, and a longbow appeared in his hand—the very bow Kobayashi had used earlier.
“Whoa, I stole it!”
Kazuma shouted excitedly at his first success.
Kobayashi clapped and congratulated him. “Congratulations. As a reward, I’m giving you this wisteria bow worth 80,000 Eris.”
“Really? Thank you, Senior Kobayashi!”
Kazuma’s face beamed with joy, but the entire process felt suspiciously smooth.
“Wait, was all this planned by you, Senior Kobayashi?”
“...What are you talking about? Of course not.”
“Then why hesitate?”
Kazuma grew more suspicious.
He suddenly recalled Kobayashi’s ring was already activated by Aqua, meaning she had likely planned from the start to stop being an archer.
“So everything earlier was just to make me grateful? That’s so sneaky, Senior Kobayashi!”
“That’s not true! Don’t say nonsense.”
Kobayashi denied it thrice, but Kazuma no longer believed her.
With no choice, Kobayashi confessed.
“I’m an adventurer who can learn skills after seeing them just once. How could I be bound by mere archery? With growth attributes like an advanced class, I’ll someday become an invincible man!”
Though the previous self-proclaimed invincible man had ceased thinking, no one could resist the allure of invincibility.
“Besides... Kazuma-kun, since you’re also an adventurer like me, I can teach you the skills I learn. How about that?”
“That sounds great! I’m counting on you, Senior Kobayashi!”
Kazuma was successfully bought over.