Dimension Stone and Analyze Card

Gear Drive — LNCrawler · All chapters

I had decided to see if my power was actually good for anything.

I was super lacking in confidence, though, since all I could do was make gears.

On top of that, I decided to give up on my magic lessons. I mean, I couldn’t imagine lessons about magical techniques would be of any use to me. My parents, by the way, just shrugged the matter off with a, “Well, guess there’s no helping that.”

As long as I at least took the monthly exam, then I would still be able to graduate.

I asked if they were okay with me not helping around the shop anymore. What I got back was, “Leave the shop to us! We told you you’re free to become our poster girl full-time whenever you want, right?”

“Get out there and do everything you can while you have the time!”

My condolences, Pryce...

“In that case...”

“Hmm?” Mom and Dad were both attentive.

“In that case, I want to try going to the adventurer’s guild in the neighboring town!”

“Ooh...”

“So that’s what you’re going for, huh?”

“You know why I said I wanted to go to school, right?”

“Umm, if I recall right, you said it was because of that... Purple Lighting magician?”

“No! Purple Lightning! The Purple Lightning! What’re you saying, Dad?!”

Right, it happened back when I was a kid, when I absolutely adored that picture book.

Some monsters got into town: forest wolves that slipped in while our fence was being repaired. They were just wolf-types, but they were a serious threat to Cardiff back then.

See, Cardiff was so small that our adventurer’s guild was just an intermediary. The closest adventurer’s guild or church was one town over in Donius. So we all evacuated to the upper floors of the buildings while we waited for someone to come take care of them.

The adventurer who came to take care of them was known as the “Purple Lightning.” She happened to be in Donius at the time, and came to Cardiff in an express carriage. And when she arrived, I saw her carry out the extermination.

She was a girl with light purple hair. The surprising thing, though, was that she seemed to be about my age. This was four years ago, so I must’ve been around 11 years old.

The girl held up her hand. Light seemed to flow out of it, and lightning struck the wolves.

It had just taken an instant. That was all it took for her to become my idol.

Afterwards, I asked around (mostly customers) how I could be like her. In the end, I figured going to school was my best bet. In retrospect I made that decision pretty lightly, but my parents still happily gave their permission for me to enroll.

“If I’m going to test out my power, then I’d like to follow my dream and become an adventurer. I-I’ve got no intention of taking on dangerous monster extermination jobs, though...”

My parents thought it over.

“Hmm, well, you’ve got a good head on your shoulders, so I’m sure you won’t do anything reckless...”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. Adventurers gather herbs and do deliveries, too, right?”

“And if we tell you not to go, you’ll just regret not taking the opportunity... Alright, Anti! Go ahead and give it a shot!”

I was shocked. “Really?!”

“Just make sure you’re prepared. If you’re going to go to the adventurer’s guild, that means you’ll be based out of Donius, right?”

“Ah!”

T-that’s right. You don’t just go to the adventurer’s guild to get registered... If I want to take on jobs, then the intermediary in Cardiff wouldn’t cut it. I’d need to be in Donius at least part-time.

“Well, you’ve gotta come back once a month for your tests, so it may end up being a pain! Ahahaha!” Dad laughed.

Mom cut to the chase. “You’ll have to at least earn enough for a round trip between Cardiff and Donius once a month.”

“If that’s all the money we’re talking, then shouldn’t we just give it to her?”

Cardiff and Donius weren’t all that far apart. If you left by carriage early in the morning, you would arrive before noon. As the bigger of the two towns, Donius was equipped with all sorts of facilities. Cardiff was a nice place to live, but since there was an adventurer’s guild so nearby, they didn’t go out of their way to build a proper one of their own. All we had was a simple altar and an intermediary here.

“...No, I want to try to earn my own way as best as I can.”

“I see. Alright, that’s the spirit!”

“Hehehe.”

Now that I’d decided to challenge myself, I had to aim to at least be able to support myself.

Aim to be as good as the Purple Lightning! ...would be impossible, right? I can only make gears, after all...

“Oh, Dear, what about that?”

“Hmm? Oh! That!”

“...?”

What’re they talking about?

Dad brought out a little wooden box.

“What’s that? It’s sure is a pretty box. It looks like a treasure chest...”

“That’s because it is one. I happened upon it while digging a long time ago.”

“Huh?! What?! You’re telling me the mine you worked in was a dungeon?!”

“Well, to be more accurate, the mine I worked in turned into a small dungeon!”

“W-what’s that mean...?”

“Man, it sure was crazy! The walls of the mine suddenly started moving, like the whole place was alive!”

“A-and then what happened...?!”

“I dug and dug and kept on digging!”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, I didn’t even know where the exit was! And all I had on me was a boxed lunch from Sola and my pickaxe!”

“I remember being so worried! But you sure did it!”

“Huh? What did he do?!”

“I smashed the dungeon core! Used my pickaxe to do it!”

“With your pickaxe?! S-so wouldn’t that make you a dungeon clearer?!”

“That’s right! If you look up the official list of dungeon clearers in the capital, you’ll see my name! Ahahaha!”

“Seriously...?”

To think... Dad, a dungeon clearer...

“And so back then, the government gave him a bit of reward money. That turned into the capital for starting our restaurant.”

“S-so that’s how it went, huh...?”

The history of my household...

“Well, it was still a brand new dungeon, and monsters hadn’t popped up yet, so I got lucky there! That meant the reward money wasn’t all that great, though! So, this is the treasure chest that I got at the time!”

I looked at the wooden box again. It wasn’t anything flashy, but the carvings on it sure were pretty.

Wait... a treasure chest?

“So what sort of treasure was in here?”

“Open it up and see!”

Huh?! He just left it in there?! They didn’t sell it off or anything...?

“Um, well then...”

I reached out and opened the lid of the wooden box.

Squeeeeeeeak...

Inside was a red gemstone wrapped in cloth, and a transparent, light blue card.

“What’s this?”

“A dimension stone and analyze card.”

Dimension stone and... analyze card...?

“A ‘dimension stone’ is one of those gems you use in item bags and the like, right?”

“That’s right. Watch this!”

Mom reached out the palm of her hand towards the red gemstone.

She moved her other hand as if to cover it and...?! H-her hand disappeared up to the wrist!

“Hey! Are you alright?!”

“I’m just fine. You can put items in and pull them out of the space inside like this. Living things get pushed back out, though!”

Amazing! I’d learned about them at school and seen the one they had on hand, but I never thought my house would have one!

“How much stuff can fit inside?”

“I don’t really know, but 15 of Sola’s boxed lunches fit in there.”

“...Why did you put so many inside?”

“Man, this thing sure did help make my work go smoother!”

“We never really tested how much could fit inside, did we?”

Hey, you really should have. That’s kind of important. I don’t really know all that much about it, but item bags are worth a lot, aren’t they? I’m sure it’d be a valuable treasure for an adventurer. Just using it to store boxed lunches from your lover... And Mom must have been amazing back then, too, to make 15 of the things... Well, then again, she’s running a restaurant now...

“This doesn’t look like much, does it? But it’s an analyze card!”

I’d never heard that term before.

“So what does it do? It’s a treasure, so it must be something special.”

“It gives you a basic stat readout. Well, I suppose it is special, but it’s a strange tool. Anti, try holding this card up towards me and yelling ‘Analyze!’”

“...? Alright.”

Now that I’d picked it up, I felt how thin the card was. It looked light blue, but it would probably be nearly invisible with light shining through it.

“Analyze!”

[—Analysis complete. Derek Kythera

Human (♂) age 38. Status: Healthy.]

I-it spoke?!

“W-what is this thing?!”

“Ahahaha! So you heard it? Whoever’s holding it can hear that voice. Now, take a look at the card.”

I looked at the surface of the analyze card in my hand, and found that the same words I had just heard were written there.

“What’s this...?”

“Apparently ‘analyzing’ is like a downgraded version of status display magic. You can use this to figure out whether or not a target is healthy.”

“Whether or not they’re healthy...”

I-I see. Compared to the dimension stone, it’s really not all that impressive.

“But still, isn’t it a good thing, being able to know the state you’re in? When you’ve come down with an illness, it’ll say ‘Status: Sick.’ And I’d use it to check on my work buddies when they looked tired, and Sola when she was pregnant. I hope you’ll use it on yourself whenever something feels out of sorts. Don’t push yourself, and rest up when you’re sick.”

“Dad...”

Am I tearing up a bit...?

Mom smiled. “We’re giving both of them to you, Annie.”

“A-are you sure?!”

“We decided a good while back that we’d give that treasure box to you when you became a magician.”

“They should save you the trouble of lugging everything around, and also help keep tabs on your health. I’m sure you’ll find them helpful.”

“Mom...”

“Well, I can’t say we expected you to learn magic like this. But anyway, the time has come for our one and only daughter to leave the nest. Go ahead and use those however you want!”

“...Thank you. I’ll treasure them.”

I’d shifted into full Polite Mode without even realizing.

This treasure was filled with thoughtful consideration from my parents.

“Haha... well, I don’t know when you’ll be heading out, but you’ll need to prepare a bit first. Make sure you’re good and ready, alright? And be sure to come back for a meal every now and again! We’ll whip you up something, no matter when you show up!”

“Hehe, look at you, Dear, trying to act cool!”

“H-hey!”

Alright. I don’t know how things’ll turn out, but I’ll give it my all! If I don’t, then I’d probably be too disappointed in myself to even enjoy a tasty meal. I need to make sure to do my best, so I can enjoy their cooking with pride.

Even though I can only make gears...

I climbed the stairs while holding the two treasures my parents had given me.

When I reached my room on the second floor, I thought back over the events of the day. Everything already felt a little distant, which helped me get my head straight.

Atop my desk were the red gemstone and transparent card.

I needed to start thinking about how to use my skill, so as not to waste these gifts...

I tried making a gear.

Swoosh.

Sproing, sproing.

Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

...It sure can spin. Hmm, I dunno...

Just what exactly can I do with this little guy?

Dad said that “spinning brings about some sort of power.”

...It really does seem like it’d be good at scrambling eggs.

“Haaah... try out all sorts of things, huh?”

Ka-klunk.

The gear stopped and fell onto the desk. The dimension stone and analyze card were inside the hole in its center.

Hehe, it was like a ring toss.

My golden gear, the red dimension stone, and the analyze card. Right now, those 3 things were all I had.

At any rate, I suppose I need to test out my power. I don’t even know how many gears I can make...

Yaaawn... I’m feeling a little tired...

I did cry an awful lot, after all...

...

.....

......

Zzz.... zzz....

—

——

Vrrrrrrrrrrrr...

[——]

[—Status analysis, on.]

[—Receiving interference from skill.]

[—Unusual status detected. Commencing troubleshooting.]

[—Analyzing.]

[—Nearby items: 2.]

[—Attempting to share status.]

[—Commencing status sharing.]

[—Analyzing.]

[—Item link established.]

[—Error.]

[—Request for synchronization received from skill.]

[—Issues in status after synchronization: unknown.]

[—Analysis impossible.]

[———Permission to synchronize?]

“Hrggh... you’re so loud... just do whatever you want...”

[Permission confirmed. Status: —beginning synchronization.]