Chapter 206
The Golden Performance's Radiance
My excitement instantly reached its peak, so much so that I reflexively shouted.
Esmeralda and Ingrid turned their gazes toward me from the kitchen, wondering what had happened.
But I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the skill scroll glowing with golden brilliance before me.
"Y-You startled me!"
My outburst had surprised Nell.
"Sorry, it just slipped out."
"Honestly, Libertà, don’t just yell out of nowhere. You scared the spirits too."
Since I was the only one who truly understood the value of a golden performance, my party members and the spirits didn’t grasp why I was so overjoyed. The gap in excitement was unavoidable.
But now wasn’t the time to worry about that.
Though the skills from a golden performance weren’t as exceptional as those from a rainbow performance, many of them were still highly useful—top-tier, even.
For my current class, this would more than suffice to strengthen my combat capabilities.
"Sorry, but right now, I need to prioritize checking the skill."
Unlike the crimson glow I had seen before, I was utterly entranced by this golden radiance, making my apology somewhat half-hearted.
"You’re that curious about it?"
"Yeah."
Taking the transcribed skill scroll from Nell, I swallowed hard and slowly unrolled it to check its contents—
"YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!!!!"
I shouted again, throwing up a triumphant fist pump.
Nell covered her ears with both hands, while Amina hurriedly soothed the startled spirits.
"Thank you, Nell! You’re my goddess of luck!!"
Still riding the high, I pulled Nell into a tight hug without thinking.
"H-Hey, wait—?!"
And then I spun her around.
As we turned in circles, my laughter echoed through the area while Nell’s bewildered expression was on full display.
Round and round we went, laughing all the while, until after several seconds—
"D-Did you calm down?"
"Yeah, I’m still a little excited, but I’ve settled a bit."
I regained some composure, though I could still feel the wide grin plastered on my face.
"It seems you obtained quite the impressive skill," Claudius remarked with a wry smile, judging that I was now capable of coherent conversation.
"Yeah, no kidding. With this, future battles will be much easier."
"Judging by your reaction, I take it this is a skill you’ll be using yourself?"
I couldn’t help but respond that way, so I proudly displayed the skill.
" Mirage Phenomenon—with this, my attack count effectively doubles! It’s an incredibly powerful skill!"
Translated directly from Japanese, it means "Mirror Phenomenon."
This skill reacts to attack skills, manifesting a mirror at any desired location to replicate the attack.
In my case, it applies to skills like Neck Hunter, Heart Piercer, and even Magic Edge. But the most crucial aspects are the mirror’s placement and which skills can be copied.
Since I often target vital points like the neck or heart, my attacks are frequently dodged—naturally, since opponents prioritize avoiding such lethal strikes.
But with Mirage Phenomenon my hit rate skyrockets. In some cases, I can even land two simultaneous strikes—the original and the mirrored attack.
And if paired with the unique skills obtainable through Nameless Assassin? Things get downright terrifying.
"Nell and Ingrid could technically use this skill too, but it doesn’t synergize as well with their builds, so I’ll be taking this one for myself."
"It’s a skill I’ve never heard of, so seeing it in action would be best," Claudius mused.
"Nell, you good with that?"
"Don’t look so worried. If Libertà says he’ll make better use of it, I won’t object."
"Thanks. With this, I’ll definitely grow stronger."
Nell was the one who produced the scroll, and she could have chosen to learn it herself.
But since she gave me permission, I wasn’t about to hesitate.
"Did you learn it?"
"Yeah."
I consumed the scroll, confirming that the skill had been properly added to my status.
"Let’s try it out right away."
Fortunately, we were still inside the dungeon.
Even in this area where the carriage was parked, a few Rice Cake monsters wandered about—and deeper in, more awaited.
Ingrid and the others were busy preparing dinner, but Nell, Amina, the spirits, and even Claudius followed me to witness my new skill in action.
We quickly found a Rice Cake, innocently shuffling around.
I took aim with my scythe-spear.
Normally, a single strike would be enough to slay such a weak monster, but this time, I’d be using the skill.
The skill I activated was Heart Piercer.
"Huh?!"
Just as I initiated the thrust, I triggered Mirage Phenomenon.
Amina’s surprised voice reached me as a mirror appeared beside me, and the illusion it projected mimicked my movements.
The sudden dual attack struck the Rice Cake simultaneously, piercing its core before it crumbled into ash.
"This is Mirage Phenomenon. At its lowest level, the activation range is narrow, the duration is short, and it costs triple the base skill’s MP on top of the initial activation cost. Not to mention, the copied attack only deals 10% of the original’s damage."
The skill’s weaknesses were glaring at low levels, but even so, doubling your attacks out of nowhere was absurdly powerful.
"It certainly lives up to its reputation as a high-tier skill," Claudia remarked. "Even I might struggle to evade it on first encounter."
She was the first to grasp its true value—or rather, its sheer intimidation factor.
Suddenly facing twice the attacks was terrifying in close combat.
"What happens if the illusion is attacked?"
"It has physical substance, but since all its stats are funneled into offense, its durability is low. A direct hit will dispel it."
"So area attacks could counter it?"
"In close quarters, large AoE attacks are hard to execute quickly. Even if the copied attacks are weaker, at Class 10, the damage penalty disappears while the attack speed remains unchanged."
The skill’s greatest strength was the ability to place the mirror anywhere.
At Class 10, I could manifest it up to five meters away—even right behind an enemy for a surprise strike.
"On top of that, at Class 5, you gain an extra mirror, and another at Class 10."
"So four simultaneous attacks, including the original?"
"Well, each mirror costs extra MP. But if you ignore the MP drain, you can attack from four directions at once—up, down, left, or right. You can even adjust the number of mirrors."
"So the opponent must constantly watch all four directions, while the user can vary the number to disorient them. And with your scythe-spear, you have both thrusting and sweeping attacks, making it even more troublesome."
This skill was tailor-made for duels or chaotic battles. Getting it now was a massive boon for what lay ahead.
"Exactly—it’s *troublesome*! And coming from an enemy, that’s high praise in my book!"
Mastering it would take practice, but once I did, it would be a game-changer.
At Class 10, Heart Piercer ×4 would unleash ludicrous firepower—effectively quadrupling my damage output.
The downside? The MP cost would be insane: base activation cost, plus triple the original skill’s cost per mirror.
"Could Esmeralda use this to cast four area spells at once?"
"She could, but it’d drain her MP in one go. Mages already burn through MP quickly, and this skill would amplify that. While it boosts burst damage, sustainability plummets."
"What about single-target spells?"
"Even then, area spells are more MP-efficient. The triple cost is too punishing. Plus, mages lack the close-range utility to exploit surprise attacks from behind."
This skill’s inefficiency relegated it to gold-tier, but its raw performance was rainbow-tier.
Its biggest flaw was its MP hunger, making it better suited for melee than ranged combat.
In theory, I could build around it—maxing MP, stacking regeneration passives—but glass cannon builds were too risky in this world.
With this skill, my Mimic Armor hunts would become far more efficient. I couldn’t wait for tomorrow to test it further.
I felt like a kid with a new toy.
But as thrilling as this was, there were still many more skills I wanted.
"Though compared to rainbow skills, even this pales in appeal."
"There are stronger ones? If you say so, they must be formidable."
"The drop rates are abysmal, and even then, getting the one you want is pure luck."
Between Nell, Amina, Ingrid, Esmeralda, Claudius, and myself, obtaining skills for all six of us would take time—even for Nell.
We were off to a great start, but good beginnings often don’t last.
Tomorrow might not yield even a gold, let alone a rainbow.
8‘Amina, Amina.’
"Hm? What is it, Mii?"
As I pondered tomorrow’s possibilities, the tiny water spirit nestled in Amina’s arms tugged at her sleeve.
‘Rain is coming.’
"Eh?"
She pointed outside the dungeon, declaring a change in weather.
"It’s true—the sky’s clouding over."
Amina stepped outside, looking up to find clear skies replaced by thick, gloomy clouds.
‘Lots and lots of rain.’
"What do we do, Libertà?"
Normally, this would be bad news.
Rain would reduce visibility, making monsters harder to detect while muffling sound, increasing ambush risks.
Wet clothes would sap body heat, accelerating fatigue.
And in Madalda’s untamed terrain, rain would turn the ground to mud, hindering movement.
Logically, we should cancel tomorrow’s hunt and stay holed up in the dungeon.
But that was only logically .
"...Mii."
*Hm?’
I looked seriously at the little water spirit in Amina’s arms.
As Amina’s friend, she tilted her head curiously but still answered my questions.
"You said it’ll rain a lot, right?"
Yep.’
"Do you know how much?"
‘Hmm… from morning, all day?’
"I see… all day, huh?"
Hearing that, I grinned.
"Then we’re waking up early tomorrow."
And so, despite the coming rain, I resolved to rise at dawn.