Copy Skills with Affinity! Chapter 73
Refining
Just as the Empire was steeped in ancient history, it was only natural that it would be full of all kinds of places—some mysterious, some downright strange.
And among them, the “Forest of Ghosts” was infamous for being the creepiest and most chilling of them all.
It was said to be a place brimming with spiritual energy, where the ghosts of lionhearted warriors often appeared.
Of course, Noel wasn’t the type to be scared of ghosts, so she didn’t really think much of it.
‘Can’t you just kill a ghost?’
...Her reason for not being afraid was, admittedly, extremely practical.
All fear, after all, stemmed from the unknown, and ghosts hadn’t been unknown entities for quite some time now. In that sense, her reasoning could be seen as fairly rational.
Though, what she was doing here under Aiden’s orders wasn’t exactly something one could call rational.
Honestly, it was hard to even tell what kind of task this was.
“...Have you done a lot of fieldwork before?”
Seeing Noel expertly dig into the ground and bury ore beneath it, Aiden asked the question without thinking.
Sure, he had dabbled in all sorts of jobs to get by while doing his conman work, but he’d never had the strength or skill to keep up a pace like hers.
“I’ve participated in civil aid a few times before. I picked up a few things then.”
Civil aid, coming from someone who was ranked about the equivalent of a general. It made Aiden reflect once more on just what kind of person she was.
“But seriously, what is all this?”
With her sleeves and pant legs rolled up, Noel dusted the soil off her hands and glanced over at the nearby ores.
They were all mysterious mana stones that Aiden had requested from Ganesha.
He hadn’t told her what they were for—just asked her to help bury them in the ground. And she had come without hesitation.
“Insurance.”
“...Excuse me?”
“One by one. Carefully and thoroughly, we’re preparing everything.”
Explaining more than that didn’t really serve much purpose. These were items that, ideally, they wouldn’t have to use at all.
Still.
Given how things had gone so far, the so-called “main scenario” was a capricious beast, always unpredictable, and almost never unfolded according to the knowledge Aiden had.
In that sense—
This was insurance. Just in case something went very, very wrong.
“...I don’t know what it is, but if you say it’s necessary, I believe you.”
Rather than questioning further, Noel simply smiled gently and said it warmly.
“The scenery’s really nice. You can see the Central Spire clearly from here…”
“……”
“Aiden, go ahead and do everything you want. I’ll help you.”
Wait.
That sounded oddly like a mom talking to her troublemaking son. It gave him a strange feeling.
Still, there was one thing Noel said that Aiden found worth noting.
‘…The Central Spire, huh.’
With a furrowed brow, Aiden looked up at the massive tower that was clearly visible even from the outskirts of the capital.
It was something like a landmark of the Imperial Capital. Normally, he wouldn’t have given it much thought.
Had he not recently heard some suggestive remarks from Ganesha, he probably still wouldn’t care.
—The prince seems to be preparing something inside there.
—Whatever it is, he’s been keeping it so carefully hidden that it didn’t even show up on my intelligence network… Be careful. It looks dangerous.
Remembering those words, Aiden let out a heavy sigh inwardly.
‘So we’re not the only ones making preparations.’
In a way, Aiden and the prince were now competing, day by day, to see who could grow faster.
And with that in mind, he couldn’t afford to stay idle.
Bringing Noel out here wasn’t just to bury something in the ground.
“Dame. Take this.”
Then, Noel tilted her head at the item he handed her.
“…What is this?”
“You’ll need it. It’s custom-made.”
That was all Aiden could say for now.
To be fair, her question made sense given how it looked.
What he handed her was basically a plain rectangular box. One so large that two people could lie on top of it with room to spare.
Its shape was so odd, she couldn’t even begin to guess its purpose…
“…Custom-made, huh?”
She clearly wondered what kind of item needed custom fabrication like this, but Aiden remained silent.
As Noel took the object with a puzzled look, Aiden turned his eyes to the sky, checking his watch now and then.
“What exactly are you planning to do with this?”
“Harvesting.”
More precisely, he needed a power source to use together with the star metal he’d received in advance from Ganesha.
If there was one type of equipment Aiden relied on most, it was swords and guns and this was his chance to gather the perfect power source for both.
“…Excuse me?”
“Just wait a little longer.”
As he said that and turned his gaze nearby, the moment he’d been waiting for finally began to unfold.
“…Huh?”
At the same time Noel let out that small gasp, radiant lights began to gather in the sky—so high up it would take a telescope just to see.
It might have seemed like a sudden phenomenon, but for Aiden, it would’ve been a problem if it hadn’t appeared.
He silently looked down at the bracelet on his wrist.
It was the item where Meyer lay dormant. If he stayed in a place like this for too long with it on… something would eventually happen…
* * *
-System Message
▶ The item ‘Soul Connector’ resonates with the surrounding energy.
▶ A spiritual entity within is responding to the presence.
▶ A passage is opening!
* * *
…Of course.
Seeing those lines, Aiden smiled faintly to himself.
“It’s ready. Let’s get set.”
“…How exactly should I prepare?”
“First, just set that down on the ground.”
Noel lightly dropped the rectangular object she was holding onto the ground.
Then gave it a few pats to flatten it out.
“Alright. Now let’s lie down together.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Come on.”
With that, Aiden flopped down onto the surface of the platform. He patted the space beside him, urging Noel to lie down too.
“……”
Her expression clearly said what the hell is this? but even so, Noel calmly lay down next to him as he instructed.
“…This is the strangest forest bathing experience I’ve ever had.”
Grumbling a bit, Noel let out a long sigh as she finally settled down.
“So what, you wanted to lie down together and look up at the night sky?”
“No. We’re going in.”
“…Going where?”
“Up there.”
As he said that, Aiden pointed toward the sky.
The cluster of light above them was growing brighter and denser. At this point, it was practically blinding.
“That’s the entrance to the otherworld.”
They didn’t call it the Forest of Ghosts for no reason.
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire and if there’s a rumor, it always has a source.
And as far as Aiden knew, this place lived up to its eerie name.
Every now and then, a gate to the “Otherworld” opened around here. It was even the spot where the Warden of the Realm had once ripped his way through and burst out.
“……”
Noel looked at him, then at the mass of light forming in the sky, then back at him again—clearly still struggling to grasp what he meant.
Then, as she thought more about the meaning of his words, her face started to pale visibly.
“What did you just say?”
“I said, it’s the entrance to the Otherworld.”
“…Why would something like that be appearing here?!”
To be fair, this was the normal reaction.
Calling it the Otherworld was one thing but in simpler terms, it was practically a hellscape. A demonic realm.
There were various records about the Otherworld, but when you tried to boil them all down to a single line, it always came back to one simple warning:
“Don’t even think about going in.”
‘…Honestly, I’d rather not go this far either.’
Of course, whether you want to or not, there are things you just have to do.
And for someone in Aiden’s position—where he needed to scrape together every possible resource—smashing headfirst into the Otherworld had become something worth considering.
“…Still, I guess it’s a relief that it’s so far away. Since it’s floating so high up, it probably won’t have much of an effect on us.”
Noel spoke while rubbing her temples, clearly baffled.
Aiden nodded calmly in agreement.
“Actually, that’s been the biggest problem.”
“…Excuse me?”
“It doesn’t usually form at such a low altitude, so getting close to it is nearly impossible. No matter how strong you are, flying all the way up there is tough without some kind of special device.”
That was exactly why he’d asked Ganesha to make this thing.
Before Noel could even fully process what he meant by that, Aiden grabbed two buckles that popped out with a click from the side of the platform they were lying on.
He smoothly fastened one around his waist and handed the other toward Dame Noel to strap on.
“…What is this now?”
“A safety belt.”
“……”
“We can’t afford to get hurt. Is it too tight or anything?”
“…Aiden…”
Noel’s voice came low and strained, barely holding back what clearly meant: I’m about to be in pain thanks to you.
But even that sentence never made it out in full.
Because at that moment, a whirring vrrrm sound echoed beneath them as mechanical devices began to emerge from under the rectangular platform.
“……”
Well.
Noel wasn’t particularly well-versed in engineering, but even she could tell—these were unmistakably some sort of engines.
And as soon as she saw them, one thought came to mind.
This thing was built to launch them skyward.
To send them soaring—like a rocket.
“…Aiden.”
“Yes.”
“I mean, I didn’t really believe it, but now I’m seriously wondering.”
“Yes.”
“We’re really going in there, aren’t we?”
“Yes.”
“Without any gear?”
“No, not without anything.”
As Noel’s face twisted into a look of lightheaded dread, Aiden quietly pulled something out and handed it to her.
She took it and stared.
A sack.
Just a sack made of cloth.
A sack perfectly shaped for carrying certain items.
The kind you could buy at the market with a few coins…
“You’ll need it.”
“……”
“Make sure to hold onto it.”
“…Just to be clear.”
As the engines below them began to ignite with a heavy rumble, Noel growled through clenched teeth.
“The reason you’ve been dodging all my questions about what we’re doing here—was it because you figured I’d flat-out refuse if you told me?”
“……”
“Answer me.”
“……”
“I said answer me.”
…So she talks down to people when she’s mad too.
Aiden quietly reflected on that, averting his gaze with an awkward smile.
“…Didn’t you tell me earlier to do everything I wanted?”
Noel took a long, deep breath.
“Aiden.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s talk after all this is over.”
“……”
There wasn’t even time to respond.
Aiden and Noel’s bodies were launched into the air—at terrifying speed.