66 - the back of a victory

"Is this your first time to develop your skills, Miss Sola?"

"Yes, I've finally accumulated 2,000 points!　

"Really? ....... All of Thor's brothers are red-iron class, right? ....... You mean to tell me that you've made it this far in the first level of the lower branches?"

"Ha ha ....... I was just a bonus."

"Hey, hey, don't be silly. You stopped the attack of the evil spirit of the red water earlier, didn't you, Miss Sora?　We're always out in front, so we know what we're doing. A party is only successful when there are people like that who are willing to help out at the critical moment.

"That's right, Mr. Sola. I may not be able to kill monsters in a spectacular way, but I've never forgotten the pride I take in protecting everyone's life with this shield.

"Let's be more proud of ourselves, Sola. You're not as big as Yuril, but you're still a good size."

Sola looked up in surprise as the men encouraged her with their words.

She looks at Thor, who scratches the bottom of his chin and opens his mouth.

"I just told you that before, didn't I? I'm so glad you're here. Not only for the fighting, but also for making me good food. Yesterday's soup was really good, Sora.

"T,Thor-chan ......,uuuu,Thor-chan."

To hide her tears of joy, the girl jumped into Thor's chest and buried her face in his chest.

She rubbed her forehead against his chest and shook his shoulders repeatedly.

Moe, who had been playing with a pile of stones on the riverbank, came running up to her with a panicked look on his face.

"What's the matter, Sola? Does your tummy hurt?"

"No. It's not my stomach, it's just my chest."

"Do you want me to make Moo tingle?"

"Thank you, Moo. I love that you're so sweet. And I'm sorry I couldn't protect you earlier.

Sola moves away from Thor and bends down to embrace Moo this time.

The child, who tilted his head curiously, put his hand around Thora's head and hugged her back happily.

They held each other for a while, and then the girl stood up with a determined look on her face.

"All right, it's all right now. Thank you, Moo-chan."

"I see. Is the pain gone?

"Yes, I'm all right. It's all thanks to you, isn't it?

Holding hands with the child, the girl gripped her adventurer's card tightly again.

The branch skill is not all about the natural growth of the branch mass.　

Sometimes they are triggered by the growth of other branches.

Almost all of them, especially those with medium branching skills and above, have this condition, and some of them even appear only when several branching skills have been perfected.

The conditions for the upper branch skills are even more difficult, and the amount of skill points required is so large that it is not something that can be attempted easily.

For this reason, the growth formula for the upper branches is a secret even among high priests and nobles, and there are many skills for which the method of acquisition has not been revealed.

The upper limit of branch skills also varies from person to person, and there are cases in which the skills cannot be grown up to the maximum level of 9.

Some of them reach the limit earlier than others in the middle and higher branches, though not so much in the lower branches, and not a few adventurers have to give up the way they had been aiming to raise their skills.

Incidentally, the reason why the upper limit of Thor's is level 10 is, according to the old priest, because it is a skill with special power.

Although it was only level 2 of the lower branch skills, it was a very important first step for Sora.

Thinking of the faces of Thor, Mu and Yuril, he slowly poured the points that had accumulated in his water bottle into the branch.

--I wished to protect my precious family more and more.

The branch, gaining strength, bends for a moment, and then stretches out in a single gulp.

Somehow the sensation gives the girl a sense of certainty, and she turns around and holds out her hand to Thor.

"How about it?　Tall girl."

Thor nodded and took her hand in his to check the girl's skill tree.

Next to the branch, a small bump had risen, which had not been there before.

"Oh, there's a new growth. Congratulations, Sora."

"What, really?

"Oh, good for you!　Mistress Sola."

"That's what I'm talking about, Sora!"

"Congratulations, Ms. Sola. ...... By the way, how did Thor get that?"

Thor, who is a natural speaker of facts that only a soul-measuring device can tell, is asked a question by Dialgo that is quite plausible.

The middle-aged adventurer shrugs his shoulders, and without answering, gently puts his index finger to his lips.

"You want me to put it over there?"

"Yes, please!"

"What, sorting?　What on earth are you talking about?　Mr. Toll."

Thor returns Sora's to level 1 while silently shaking his head at Dialgo, who again questions him with a puzzled look on his face.

The girl closes her eyes and puts the restored skill points into the branch next to the .

When she opens her eyes again, she finds a new lower branch skill on her skill tree.

Level 1 / Usable number of times: 5 times per hour / Trigger: Instantaneous / Duration: 5 seconds / Range: Perception

"Oh, I could use some of that!　Tall girl."

"Yes, it is more defensive than . It's good to keep the monsters at bay."

"Yes, let me wait. Now I'll be able to protect everyone better."

"Yeah, I'm counting on it. Come to think of it, it's a little like your grandfather's stagnation.

Thor's unexpected words made Sola feel as if his grandfather had lent him strength.

Then she lifted the tip of her nose and smiled smugly.

"Well, I was your granddaughter, you know. Blood is blood, I guess.

"You were always bragging about you when you had the chance, old man."

Hey, Torchan. Did you finish your story?

"What's wrong, Moe?"

The child, with a slightly sulky look on his face, offered me a leather purse filled with pieces of magic stone.

Remembering his promise, Thor nodded and quickly put it back in place.

"Here, is this okay?"

"I love you, To-chan!　And, hey, can I have this one, too?"

The child who hugged him takes something round out of his pocket and offers it to Thor.

It was a spherical object, neatly halved in the middle.

It was blue and translucent, and its surface was smooth like crystal.

"Oh, isn't that a magic crystal stone?

"The little guy picked it up. No wonder we couldn't find it.

A magic crystal stone is a higher level of magic stone, and is the result of the transformation of the spirit nucleus of a spirit-type monster when it disappears.

The main difference from the magic stone is that it has an added attribute, which can amplify or enhance the effect of a specific magic technique.

Therefore, the name of the stone changes according to its attribute, such as "flame crystal stone" or "storm crystal stone".

In addition, although the number of times it can be used is limited, it can also cause natural phenomena by using the magical power inside, so it is a material that is traded at a very high price.

"Here, is this okay?"

"Thanks!"

"...... I ain't gonna say nothing more. Well, I'm just glad it's gone.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, there's still some magic left in the piece of magic crystal stone. I was afraid the evil spirit of red water would spring up again soon for it.

The three brothers smile with a relaxed smile on their relieved faces.

"Well, at any rate, I guess that settles it.

"It seems that Miss Sora has also developed new skills, so I guess we're all happy."

"Well, let's have a banquet!"

The twins standing a short distance away silently stare at the men shouting with energy.

In their hands, they hold a piece of blue crystal, just like the one Mu had brought earlier.