ALL NOVEL Chapter 250: The Detective’s Deduction (3)
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Tilting his head slightly, the adventurer replied. He was not heavily armed, but he had a longsword fastened to his belt, so it was easy to assume he was a swordsman of some sort. That was what made him wonder why the detective would ask that, but he soon understood when the detective continued talking.
According to the detective’s past experiences, he was certain that Fuzzy Dice used Forbidden Arts.
「In that case this should prove my innocence, right?」
If Fuzzy Dice used Forbidden Arts, then the adventurer just had to prove he was not a spellcaster to clear his name. With that idea in mind, the adventurer walked to an empty space in the Union. There, he unsheathed his sword and performed a Warrior Skill multiple times. Doing so required being able to focus one’s fighting spirit to a high degree, and that could only be done by those with the warrior class.
「So what do you think? Is this enough to dispel your doubts?」
Once he was done, he turned around and looked defiantly at the detective, while also glancing at Mira to judge her reaction. He had done everything in a rather nonchalant manner, but it seemed like he was actually quite proud of his skill.
「Yes, and there’s no doubt left in my mind. That was a splendid display.」
There was no doubt about the adventurer’s abilities.
Many spellcasters would also carry swords to fight, but none of them could use any Warrior Skills. The adventurer had just proved that he was a bona fide warrior, so he could not be Fuzzy Dice.The detective looked at the adventurer and apologized for doubting him, though the adventurer replied that he did not mind, mentioning that he would also doubt anyone if their roles were reversed. He was also in a good mood thanks to the reward he had received.
Now that the first suspect proved he was not the thief, it meant that Fuzzy Dice was still amongst the other adventurers. The detective still had more work ahead of him.
Luckily, he had just thought of something thanks to what happened with the first suspect.
「Ideally, I wanted to do this in a more direct way, instead of going one after another…」
The detective did not sound too pleased that he had to resort to such means, but left with no other choice, he started making the remaining adventurers line up.
The process was simple. Just like the first adventurer, they all had to demonstrate their class. In other words, if they used a Warrior Skill, they would not be considered a suspect.1
That made Mira get excited, as she had plenty of knowledge about Arts, having been a Wiseman of the Silver Linked Towers, but she had plenty to learn about Warrior Skills.
So she was curious to see what the adventurers would use. Sadly, she soon realized that her expectations had been set too high.
There were ten-odd adventurers there, and half of them used Skills similar to the one the first adventurer had used. Back in the game, it took a while for players to properly learn how to use Warrior Skills, but so many years had passed since then that almost all of them could perform them.
(Hmm… Well, we’re indoors so I guess they can’t use anything too flashy.)
While they had their quirks, they were still rather basic, so Mira was not very impressed. Then again, the adventurers just had to use any Warrior Skill to be cleared of suspicion so that did not matter.
Her excitement to see modern Warrior Skills quickly fizzled, leaving her disappointed. But the very last adventurer to step forward managed to cheer her up a bit again.
「Mine might be a bit harder to understand than the rest…」 Starting with that, the adventurer, a lady with a sword, looked at Mira and asked for her help, giving her an apple to throw.
「So all I have to do is throw it?」
「Yes, as hard as you can.」
Standing a distance away, the adventurer nodded and closed her eyes. A moment later, Mira understood what was going to happen. There was no visible or physical change, almost like nothing happened, but Mira’s instincts fired up, telling her that getting closer to the adventurer was a bad idea.
The other adventurers there also felt the same way as Mira, getting tense as they watched. Then the lady with the sword added, 「Throw it wherever you want, whenever you want.」
(Ohh, now this looks promising!)
Mira felt like she was about to witness something incredible, so just as she was told, she threw the apple without warning and with all her force, aiming for the adventurer’s blindspot.
A moment later, the lady tilted her body to the side, dodging the apple, and then instantly unsheathed her sword and cut the apple that had passed by her shoulder, slicing it in two.
Another adventurer that was standing a distance behind caught the two halves of the apple, and looked at them impressed.
「Somehow she feels like a true master amongst us…」
The adventurers were all shocked by what they had witnessed, and one of them muttered that. It did not seem like she had used a Warrior Skill, but she had a sort of sixth sense only a true master of the sword would have.
Mira also believed she was only using the instincts she had honed through a lot of training. The detective also commented that it did not look like she had used any Warrior Skill, and was only relying on experience.
But the lady denied all of that, claiming that she had properly used a Warrior Skill.
「In my village, we call this type of ability Divine Fortitude. And it’s something spellcasters can’t learn.」
As she explained, the usage of fighting spirit in her village had evolved independently from the rest of the world. As a result, they had mainly pursued Inner Focus abilities, which she had used to enhance her senses to become aware of everything happening around her.
(I see, that does sound like a type of Warrior Skill. But I’m still sure that she’s practiced a lot to reach this point.)
Just like how spellcasters would use mana to manifest attacks, heals, and other supportive effects, warriors could use fighting spirit for attacks as well as other enhancements. But they were less versatile compared to spellcasters, and mostly consisted of physical strengthening abilities.
There were Warrior Skills to increase one’s physical strength, agility, or endurance, and those were considered Inner Focus abilities.
Mira knew a handful of Inner Focus abilities, most were simple buffs, then there was the Cinder Law a certain friend of hers used, which increased all physical properties, as well as Solomon’s Blood Clot Armor, which raised his defenses proportionally to how much he bled.
But as the lady had just demonstrated, it seemed like Inner Focus abilities still had plenty of untapped potential.
Mira was a spellcaster, so there was little she could do with that knowledge. But it still helped her be ready in case she ever faced someone who had mastered such abilities.
(Fuzzy Dice is a spellcaster, but who knows if I’ll ever have to chase after a warrior.)
That information could come in handy, so Mira thanked the adventurer for it.
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- Silva: Seriously though, at this point, I have to say something. It’d be a hell lot more interesting to watch Mira chase the thief than have the detective play “detective” here.