As Long as You Have the [Shop] Skill, the Dungeonized World Is a Breeze ~The Bullied Youth’s Payback

Chapter 98 – Yofel’s Skill

I brought Yofel along with me and returned to my island base.

I hadn’t been back for a while, so Izu, who was the first to notice my presence, flew straight over to me. But naturally, she turned and gave me a dubious look at the sight of an unusual face.

Izu immediately recognized Yofel as an elf, and I told her about what had happened.

“I see. I didn’t think that even elves had come to this world as well.” (Izu)
“I promised Yofel that I would search for her brother in exchange for her labor.” (Bouchi)
“Hmm, that seems like a good idea. A lot of elves are skill users, and as a race, they’re good at fighting. She will surely be of good use to Master.” (Izu)
With Izu’s seal of approval, there would be no problems.

“And it’s also true that elves attach great importance to their oaths. They would never one-sidedly renege on an oath. They are a race that values promises and oaths above all else, you see.” (Izu)
Izu’s knowledge was really helpful. With this, I could be a little less on my toes around Yofel.

When I looked over at Yofel, I saw that she looked surprised to see the settlement of monsters before her eyes. She seemed to be thinking about something, so I called out her name.

“…A far-off land… A human ruling over monsters… Could it be, that prophecy…?” (Yofel)
“Prophecy? What are you talking about, Yofel?” (Bouchi)
“…! Ah, no, it’s nothing. I was just a little preoccupied. My apologies. So, what were you saying?” (Yofel)
She had mentioned something that sounded interesting, but for now, I focused on relaying what I wanted to ask first.

“Speaking of which, what kind of skill do you have, Yofel?” (Bouchi)
“I have a skill called <Illusion>.” (Yofel)
“Illusion? As in, you can make others see illusions?” (Bouchi)
“It’s a little hard to explain, so let me show you. —<Phantom Flame>.” (Yofel)
Suddenly, a flame appeared in Yofel’s right hand.

“Fire? So does that mean it’s safe to touch?” (Bouchi)
“Yes, I’ve lowered the illusion intensity so it’s not hot to the touch.” (Yofel)
“Illusion intensity?” (Bouchi)
“I’ll explain that as well. First, please touch it.” (Yofel)
I did as I was told and gingerly reached out to touch it, but…

“Milord! That won’t do! Everything must first go through us first to confirm if it’s safe!” Shiki suddenly said, lightly reprimanding me.

Well, I appreciate the concern, but…

“It’s fine. If anything happens to me here, Yofel will be killed by you guys. And then I won’t have to find her brother. Besides, like Izu said, she’s not the kind of person who would break an oath once she’s made one, right?” (Bouchi)
“Precisely, Master. But it is our duty as Familiars to protect you from the as-yet unknown. I hope you will take into account what Shiki is trying to say.” (Izu)
“….Okay. I know that you guys are doing this for my sake. Then Shiki, go ahead.” (Bouchi)
“Yes, please leave it to me.” (Shiki)
With that, Shiki reached out and touched the flames.

“Hmm. It really doesn’t feel like anything.” (Shiki)
“Well, yes. That’s because I lowered the intensity of the illusion, as I said earlier. You should only see the projection of the flames. But if I increase the intensity…” (Yofel)
“….Mmm?!” (Shiki)
Shiki hurriedly pulled his hand away from the flames. Then, he furrowed his brow and looked at his hand.

When I asked Shiki what was wrong, he returned his answer.

“…It felt hot. It was like a real flame. But my hands aren’t actually hot, and there are no burn marks either.” (Shiki)
“Hoh, so you’re saying that by increasing the intensity of the illusion, you can make others perceive the illusion as more real?” (Bouchi)
“You’re quite sharp, Bouchi. That’s exactly right. By the way, the first one I showed you was Illusion Intensity Level 1. At Illusion Intensity Level 3, it reaches the point where it can cause direct physical harm.” (Yofel)
“Illusions can do that much? Shouldn’t that be impossible?” (Shiki)
Shiki’s thoughts were thus. He was trying to say that no matter how intense the illusion was, it shouldn’t be possible to actually inflict any burns or further damage to the body.

But it was Izu who refuted him.

“While the brain is complex, it can also be exceedingly simple. Shiki-dono, what do you imagine when you see a flame?” (Izu)
“What do I… imagine? Hrm… Heat, burning… and so on?” (Shiki)
“And if your flesh came into contact with the flames?” (Izu)
“Then that would cause burns.” (Shiki)
“Right. So that imagination makes the illusion even stronger.” (Izu)
“Hm?” (Shiki)
“An illusion is a situation in which the brain is deluded. And the stronger the delusion, the stronger the realism of the illusion.” (Izu)
“What do you mean by that?” (Shiki)
“Here’s an example. A man was hypnotized to believe that an ordinary iron rod was a heated iron rod. And then, every time he touched the rod to his skin, he actually received burns on his body.” (Izu)
“…?! Is that really true?” (Shiki)
There certainly were many stories like this. That which the brain perceives as correct often has a real impact on the body.

Hypnosis, as Izu mentioned, was a good example. Making something seem as if it’s there when it’s actually not, or making something sour taste sweet… It was possible to plant a truth by tricking the brain into believing in that false reality.

In other words, illusions were made up of those false realities.

“My <Illusion> skill provides my illusions with more realistic power by stimulating the five senses, making it easier for one to be deluded by them.” (Yofel)
“So if you wanted to, you could turn this place into a sea of fire right this moment or even turn it into a garden full of beautiful flowers. Right?” (Bouchi)
“In the end, it’s not real, though.” (Yofel)
But it was still a powerful skill. It had a wide range of applications, and it was a power that could be used more than adequately in battle.

She might actually be quite a good find.

“However, there’s a limit to <Illusion>, unfortunately. A flame of this magnitude can be maintained for a long time, but on a large scale, it becomes difficult to maintain. Also, the target is limited to those who can see me.” (Yofel)
Well, no matter what power it was, the bigger it became, the more it demanded from the user. It was only proper for there to be risks and limitations in place.

“That’s my skill. But… what exactly is your skill, Bouchi? You can control monsters, pull strange tools out of thin air, and are also plenty strong on your own. It seems unthinkable, but could it be that you actually have multiple skills?” (Yofel)
Of course, it was all the blessings of a single skill, but I wasn’t sure if I should explain it to her at this point.

Even though she wouldn’t renege on her oath, it was only until I found her little brother. In the meantime, I could make her swear not to tell anyone else about my ability, but… hmm…

“Can you swear that you will never tell anyone about my power?” (Bouchi)
“I’m not the kind of fool who would blabber about someone else’s power, much less my own. Besides, my words can’t even be understood by people of this world.” (Yofel)
…Ah, that’s right. She speaks an otherworld language.

“Well anyway, I’ll tell you if you can promise me not to reveal anything indiscreetly. In fact, I’ll be using this power to find your brother after all.”
“Then naturally, I will swear so. My little brother is everything to me. I would never do anything to betray the trust of the one who is searching for him.” (Yofel)
That being the case, I disclosed to Yofel information about my own skill. However, I didn’t explain in detail. I just told her that if I had money, I could get my hands on a lot of things.

“I see. Then feel free to use these [Dungeon Core Fragments] to your heart’s content.” (Yofel)
“Are you sure about this?” (Bouchi)
“If it’ll help you out even a bit to find my brother, I’d like to do so.” (Yofel)
I took the [Dungeon Core Fragments] from her without reservation. If I sold them, I would be able to fetch a pretty handsome sum, so I was all the happier for it.

“But this <Shop> skill sure is strange… It’s my first time hearing of such a thing.” (Yofel)
“Were there no others like me where you’re from, Yofel?” (Bouchi)
“No, there weren’t. In the first place, you have a unique skill, don’t you? No two skills are the same. Besides, unlike ordinary skill, only about one in a million people are actually unique skill users. Of all the people I knew, I was only aware of one person who had a unique skill.” (Yofel)
In the end, it seemed that unique skill users really were rare. Even in the long history of the elven race, there had only been a scant few. And in the place where she lived, there was only one.

“Bouchi, you’ll use your power to help me find my little brother, won’t you?” (Yofel)
“Well, yeah. There are several effective items for searching for people.” (Bouchi)
“Then I’d like to ask you to do so as soon as possible. I’m sure he’s feeling alone… and helpless. Besides… it’s dangerous.” (Yofel)