Part 3 of 8
Our target this time is the Nightmare’s Vestige, a mutant taratect—stronger than an upper-class wyrm or even a dragon—said to have been left behind by the Nightmare.
Apparently, it attacked a group of adventurers and partially wiped them out, which is why we were sent in to destroy it.
“Die, hero.”
The Nightmare’s Vestige disappears from sight.
Or, at least, it moves with such ferocious speed that it seems to have disappeared.
Instantly, I grab Yaana beside me and jump to one side.
Then something cuts through the air where we were standing just seconds ago.
The two front legs of the creature’s eight morph into a pair of scythes.
I tumble to the ground, towing Yaana along.
Then I use the momentum from my roll to stand again, pulling Yaana back up with me.
“Yaana, support us with your magic, please. It’s best to assume that attacks won’t hit this thing.”
“Understood!”
Such speed. Without powerful accuracy-boosting magic, I doubt any strikes would land.
My master probably could have done it, but I can’t expect the same results from Yaana.
Master was outside the norm in many ways, after all.
My comrades move according to my instructions, and the three greater taratects set out at the same time.
Greater taratects have average stats somewhere around 2,000.
But the most dangerous monster here is undoubtedly the Nightmare’s Vestige accompanying them.
“I’ll take care of the greater taratects! The rest of you, focus on taking down the Nightmare’s Vestige!”
I shout orders as I charge the approaching greater taratects.
Jeskan aims his sickle and chain toward the Nightmare’s Vestige.
The creature dodges it by leaping upward.
Reaching the ceiling, it clings upside down.
Hawkin immediately throws a knife, but the Nightmare’s Vestige runs along the ceiling with terrifying speed, an impossible target.
The throwing knife simply bounces off the rock surface of the cavern with a dull thud.
“How the hell is it movin’ that fast on the ceiling?”
Hawkin’s voice cracks a little, but I can’t blame him.
It seems best if I finish off the greater taratects quickly and rejoin the rest of the group.
My sword fills with a holy light.
The greater taratects spray webbing at my feet, trying to slow my approach.
My shining blade severs it with ease.
Spider monsters’ silk may be dangerous, but it’s no match for my holy light.
I press my advantage to gain ground on the closest greater taratect.
The beast tries to guard itself with its front legs, but my sword slices its limbs neatly in half, along with its head.
Fluid gushes from the body of the first spider as it falls.
The second greater taratect counters immediately, leaping over the giant corpse.
But I have magic at the ready to take it out.
Holy Light Sphere. The small, floating ball of light blows the second enemy away.
The attack tears the greater taratect to shreds before it hits the ground.
One left!
As the battle continues, the effects of Yaana’s magic begin taking hold.
Magic increases all our stats while also boosting our resistance to poison.
When fighting spider monsters, the most important things to be wary of are poison…and thread!
Glancing behind me, I see a rain of silk showering down from the ceiling at my comrades.
Jeskan swings his now-flaming sickle and chain.
Spider thread is vulnerable to fire. An experienced adventurer like Jeskan isn’t likely to get caught like that.
The sickle and chain arcs toward the Nightmare’s Vestige.
But by the time the weapon reaches the ceiling, the monster is no longer there.
The Nightmare’s Vestige launches itself directly at Jeskan.
Hyrince jumps between them, stopping the attack from the Nightmare’s Vestige with his shield.
The heavy sound of the creature’s scythes clashing with Hyrince’s shield hurts my ears.
Hyrince falls back a step from the sheer weight of the assault, and the Nightmare’s Vestige leaps backward in turn, putting some distance between them.
At that moment, Hawkin slashes at the monster with a short sword.
The Nightmare’s Vestige dodges Hawkin’s blade by a hairbreadth, trying to get a bit more distance.
In these short moments, the battle unfolds like a tug-of-war.
I only spare a second to assess their struggle.
The greater taratect sees this as an opening and charges.
Its giant, poisonous fangs bear down on me.
How foolish.
The spider’s fangs crash against a wall of light right before my eyes.
It’s a Light Magic spell called Light Barrier.
Normally, it’s a thin shield only effective against low-powered attacks like arrows.
But with my stats behind it, that defense becomes much stronger.
A Holy Light Sphere bursts over the thwarted greater taratect.
I quickly turn on my heel.
The Nightmare’s Vestige isn’t looking in my direction.
Thinking it’s my chance, I strike at it from behind.
The Nightmare’s Vestige reacts to my attack so quickly, dodging my sword with ease, that it’s as if it has eyes on its back.
However, I’m prepared for this possibility.
Aiming at the Nightmare’s Vestige as it leaps back, I let loose with some Light Magic.
This—along with Lightning Magic—is among the fastest magical attacks.
No matter how quick the Nightmare’s Vestige might be, there’s no way it can dodge this.
I’m confident I’ll land a direct hit, but something blocks my strike.
It’s been canceled out by a Dark Magic spell cast by the Nightmare’s Vestige.
“What?!”
I can’t contain my shock.
The fact that the creature uses magic isn’t surprising in itself.
As soon as I realized it understands human speech, I could tell it’s very intelligent.
That being the case, it’s no wonder it can use spells.
But how can it dispel a hero’s magic? Against a technique that activates in an instant, no less?
It must have stats that rival a high-class wyrm—or maybe even a dragon.
Sweat drips unpleasantly down my forehead.
The Nightmare’s Vestige dodges Hawkin’s throwing knife only to be met with Jeskan, who swings a flaming sword at it.
Jeskan can employ all kinds of different weaponry, depending on the situation.
Usually, he favors a giant ax, but he appears to have opted for a sword in this instance to match his opponent’s speed.
However, the Nightmare’s Vestige avoids even Jeskan’s blade, proceeding to slice at my comrade’s body with its scythe-like front legs.
“Ngh!”
Jeskan drops to one knee with a short grunt.
The Nightmare’s Vestige turns to attack him again, but Hyrince stands in its way.
“Yaana!”
“Right!”
Yaana responds to Hyrince’s cry.
She hurries toward Jeskan to heal him.
Aiming for the moment when Hyrince stops the attack from the Nightmare’s Vestige with his shield, I cast another spell.
This time, the monster doesn’t bother dispelling it, simply reading my movements and ducking the attack instead.
But I’m prepared for that as well.
I cast again, aiming in the direction the Nightmare’s Vestige is leaping and tapping into magic that I’d prepared simultaneously.
Light Magic level 10—Light Field.
Against an enemy this fast, the best approach is an attack with a wide effective range that gives the target nowhere to run.
Light Field is exactly that kind of spell. It bathes a broad area with light and causes damage.
Even the Nightmare’s Vestige couldn’t avoid it if there was no chance to escape.
Still, at top speed, that thing might manage.
Which is why I forced my prey to dodge my initial attack—to throw the beast off-balance when I cast this one.
The light envelops the Nightmare’s Vestige, just as I planned.
It was a perfect strategy.
And yet a poisonous fog spreads out, eclipsing the light. Poison Magic.
The Nightmare’s Vestige launched a counterattack, even as the light seared it.
“Ugh!”
Pain assaults my whole body.
I can feel my HP rapidly decreasing.
Such a powerful poison. My resistance should be heightened thanks to Yaana’s magic, and yet…
“Julius!”
All at once, the pain eases. It isn’t Yaana. Goyef?
“This is the best I can do, but poison is my strong suit. Leave it to me!”
Apparently, Goyef saved me with some kind of detoxification magic. Thank goodness.
I look back. The Nightmare’s Vestige is crawling out of the light.
It’s definitely wounded, but its injuries are far from fatal.
Not only that, but the monster seems to be gradually healing. Maybe it has HP Auto-Recovery or some kind of recovery magic?
Either way, it seems like ordinary methods won’t be enough to bring down Nightmare’s Vestige.
“Good grief. Our attacks rarely connect, and when they do, they barely make a dent. Really brings you down, doesn’t it?”
Hyrince’s casual observation makes me smile.
In reality, the situation is far too grim for such light commentary. Hyrince must know this, so he plays it off as an attempt to keep the party’s mood from becoming despairing.
If the Light Magic attack with the broadest effective area won’t slay it, then my only option is to use even more powerful spells.
I do have something stronger than Light Field.
The strongest spell in my arsenal: Holy Light Magic level 7—Holy Light Beam.
However, while this magic is powerful, it only deploys in a straight line.
How can I land a hit…?
But I’m not fighting alone.
My friends will create an opening for me.
Trusting in my companions, I begin preparing the spell, when I notice something strange.
The Nightmare’s Vestige is behaving oddly.
Is it afraid of something?
Whatever the cause, it’s the perfect opening.
Jeskan restrains the immobilized Nightmare’s Vestige with his sickle and chain.
As if coming back to itself, the beast starts moving again, struggling to escape.
Then it’s pierced by one of Hawkin’s throwing knives.
Hawkin’s weapon carries an attribute that inflicts paralysis on its victims.
The Nightmare’s Vestige spasms and stops flailing.
That’s when I cast the spell I’ve prepared—Holy Light Beam.
“Excellent work.”
Goyef’s praise seems to be coming from far away.
Looking around, I only see the members of our party.
What in the world made the Nightmare’s Vestige seize up like that?
If that hadn’t happened, we might have lost this battle.
“Julius, I know you might be concerned, but we won. Let’s just focus on that for now.”
I nod slowly at Hyrince’s words.
He’s right. There’s no use getting hung up on things I don’t understand.
Why did the Nightmare’s Vestige target me, the hero?
Why did it suddenly stop?
Why did I feel so uneasy, despite the fact that we won?
I have no way of unraveling any of this, so there’s no use worrying about it.
After all, no matter what happens next, I’ll have to keep fighting as the hero.
“Well, looks like our job here is done.”
“Indeed. Let us leave this place as quickly as we can.”
“Ah, there’s a spider behind you!”
“What?! Where? Where is it?!”
“Sorry, my bad. I was just seeing things.”
Yaana puffs up her cheeks in rage at Hyrince’s teasing.
Jeskan looks on blandly, and Hawkin gives a dry smile.
They’re all their usual selves.
Right. I might not feel 100 percent reassured, but everything is fine.
Now the Nightmare’s Vestige can’t cause any more harm.
Protecting the people’s safety is the hero’s duty.
So our accomplishment should be cause for celebration.
In the wake of the battle, we’re able to leave the Great Elroe Labyrinth without further incident.
“Was it quite to your liking?”
“Hmm? Well, it seems like one of them got a false start, so I’ll have to deal with that…”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, it’s all right. Nothing to do with you, so don’t even worry about it.”
“Very well, then…”
“More important, what would really please me is if you’d make some headway on your own work, y’know?”
“As you wish, O Demon Lord.”
WYRM? NOT FISH?
Man, I knew I had a bad feeling about this.
Because apparently, sea horses are wyrms.
<Wyrm: A variety of monster said to be a lesser species of dragon. Despite this qualifier, some wyrms are comparable to dragons in strength.>
Yep. It’s a lesser version of that earth dragon’s species.
Guess that would make it a kind of fire dragon?
I mean, if earth dragons exist, fire dragons must, too…
There aren’t any in the Middle Stratum, are there?
Let’s hope not.
Okay, I’m getting a little off track here. Time to seriously focus on dealing with the immediate issue at hand.
<Elroe guneseven LV 7
Status: HP: 461/461 (green) MP: 223/223 (blue)
SP: 218/218 (yellow) : 451/466 (red)
Average Offensive Ability: 368 Average Defensive Ability: 311
Average Magical Ability: 161 Average Resistance Ability: 158
Average Speed Ability: 155
Status Appraisal Failed
>
<Elroe guneseven: A lesser wyrm-type monster that lives in the Great Elroe Labyrinth, Middle Stratum. An omnivorous creature, its large mouth swallows anything and everything.>
That’s the monster swimming slowly through the magma right now.
For a low-ranking wyrm, its shape resembles a catfish more than anything else.
The name “seven” doesn’t really suit it, either.
Not that griping about the naming system in this world will do me any good.
That huge, catfish-like mouth is definitely its most notable feature.
If it catches me with that…yikes. At my size, it’d definitely swallow me whole.
It’s great that status Appraisal worked, though.
The probability is usually about one in three.
So I’m lucky it came through this time.
It’d be way too dangerous trying to get past this thing without knowing its exact stats.
All the Middle Stratum monsters I’ve run into have been weak, but this is definitely the strongest so far.
If possible, I’d like to just ignore it.
But it’s swimming around right next to my path.
Going by experience, chances are high that it’ll attack me.
Hmm. What should I do…?
I mean, if I try to run away, I’m pretty sure I could outpace it given my speed, but it’d be a pain having that thing chasing me for ages with its crazy-high red stamina gauge.
And even if its yellow gauge is smaller, it’s still several times the size of mine.
Most importantly, I can’t see its skills.
If the catfish has a high-level SP Reduced Consumption skill or something, I may not be able to outrun it, after all.
I doubt that’s the case, but still…
It’s a bit strong to consider a straight fight.
Should I run away after all, then?
Yeah. I don’t wanna push it.
Things have been going pretty well lately, but every time I get overconfident, it always ends poorly for me.
See, I’ve learned a thing or two by now. I know better than to get carried away.
I have to proceed with the utmost caution!
And so, I’ll start moving slo-o-o-wly.
If it sees me, I’ll just take off at top speed.
Now…wait. Another catfish just emerged from the magma nearby.
Eh?
What?! This wasn’t part of the deal!
I didn’t get carried away this time, but I still wound up in trouble?!
The catfish locks eyes with me. After staring blankly for a moment, it opens its huge mouth.
Backstep!
The catfish’s huge mouth clamps shut on the spot where I was just standing.
It keeps advancing, sliding up on land.
The damn thing has limbs. I didn’t notice in the magma.
Not only that, but its whole body is covered in dragon-like scales.
By all appearances, it’s extremely well protected.
Yep. I’m gonna run for it.
Geh?!
When I turn in the direction of the escape route I’d mapped out, I see the other catfish crawling onto land.
Wait, now I’m flanked on either side! How am I supposed to run away?!
What do I do now?!
Oh geez, my only choice is to beat the one in front of me to the punch!
I wrap poison thread around the catfish’s body.
I already confirmed while I was training that Poison Attack enables me to add poison to my threads.
Not that it’s much use here, since they burn up right away!
But even so, hopefully it’ll poison this guy some in the process!
Of course, the thread catches fire right away.
I check the catfish’s HP to see if the poison is having any effect.
It worked. Its HP has gone down a little.
In which case, I just have to poison it properly.
The catfish opens its mouth wide.
And charges right at me.
Nooo! Scaryyyy!
But I have to hang in there as long as I can!
Just as it’s on top of me, I activate Poison Synthesis!
Then bail in the nick of time!
Instead of me, the catfish gets a mouthful of synthesized Spider Poison.
My Poison Attack skill reached level 10 while I was training and turned into the advanced version, Deadly Poison Attack.
So my Spider Poison, which was already powerful enough to bring down a giant monkey, evolved into Deadly Spider Poison.
The moment the catfish swallows the toxic cocktail, its HP starts dropping at an incredible rate.
We’re talking the speed of sound here.
As a result, the catfish writhes around in apparent agony.
Wow, I didn’t know my poison had gotten this potent…
I knew it’d be strong, but it’s actually terrifying, if I do say so myself.
Okay, what about the other one?
Turning to look, I see the other catfish recoiling a bit fearfully at the sight of its comrade’s condition.
Wh-whoa. I mean, I guess it makes sense to be scared if you see one of your own kind suffering like that.
I’d assumed that dragons never run away, but maybe that was just the sea horses.
The still-healthy catfish turns around and flees, just like that.
Man, for real? I thought I’d be the one to skitter off first.
Guess I really turned the tables on them.
Maybe it’s okay for me to be a little cocky after all?
I’m actually pretty strong, aren’t I?
For the time being, I’ll put the suffering catfish out of its misery.
I spray more poison in the flapping creature’s face.
With one last spasm, the catfish stops moving.
<Experience has reached the required level. Individual small poison taratect has increased from LV 6 to LV 7.>
<All basic attributes have increased.>
<Skill proficiency level-up bonus acquired.>
<Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Concentration LV 9] has become [Concentration LV 10].>
<Condition satisfied. Skill [Thought Acceleration LV 1] has been derived from skill [Concentration].>
<Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Evasion LV 1] has become [Evasion LV 2].>
<Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Life LV 1] has become [Life LV 2].>
<Skill points acquired.>
Hmm? Apparently, I maxed out my Concentration skill with this last level-up.
Concentration. I had rather high hopes for that one.
It’s pretty basic, but this skill has been supporting me from behind the scenes all this time.
So I’m expecting great things from its successor.
May as well start out by Appraising this new skill.
<Thought Acceleration: Accelerates the thinking process, prolonging the user’s available perception of time>
…Wow.
Seriously, is that amazing or what?
I mean, is this what I think it is?
Like, I’ll basically be able to slow down time for myself?
This is like the thing top athletes sometimes experience where the ball seems to move in slo-mo, right?
So I can use that whenever I want now?
Holy crap.
I’m gonna try it right away.
Hmm. Looks like I was able to activate it without a problem.
So how’s this work?
Hmm? Is the magma moving a bit slower?
Also, something feels off.
Like various sensations in my body are moving too quickly and too slowly at the same time. It’s hard to describe.
To test it out, I try moving my body.
It feels heavy, like I’m moving through water.
Not being able to control my body the way I want is frustrating.
This is the default for Thought Acceleration?
I’ve been screwed over by own speed before, so I may want to activate this when I’m sprinting, at least.
Huh? Wait, this isn’t consuming anything?
My MP and my SP haven’t gone down at all.
So is this a passive skill that can be active all the time?
I do seem to be able to turn it off and on if I want, but there’s no disadvantage to having it on all the time, is there?
Wow, is that wicked or what? I totally thought this was gonna eat up MP or something.
Like, you have to spend MP just to activate it for a few seconds at a time, or something.
But I can use it anytime at no expense?
That makes this skill pretty ridiculous, doesn’t it?
There isn’t really any downside.
Aside from maybe a slight discomfort until I get used to it.
I might’ve just gotten a crazy cheat skill!
<Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Prediction LV 9] has become [Prediction LV 10].>
<Condition satisfied. Skill [Prediction LV 10] has evolved into skill [Foresight LV 1].>
Oh, hey, Foresight. What’s up?
I guess I maxed out Prediction, too.
Well, it was never a particularly necessary skill, but maybe now that it evolved, it’ll be a bit more useful?
<Foresight: Increases effectiveness of predictions. In addition, grants the ability to see slight glimpses of possible futures.>
Hmm? Possible futures? What does that mean?
Well, let’s try it out.
Okay. Looks like I can activate this one just fine, too.
But it doesn’t really seem like anything’s changed?
Oh, wait. The magma’s moving a bit strangely.
Like it’s kind of blurry in places?
No, it’s more like my vision is overlapping.
So are these overlapped bits showing me what could potentially happen?
In other words, I can see into the future now?
Well, it’s just what’s possible, so I have to take it with a grain of salt, but this skill may be really useful if I train it up more.
Though it doesn’t seem too helpful at the moment, since all I see is a few patches of overlapping magma.
Huh? Wait a sec. This one’s not consuming anything, either?
So, another passive skill?
…That’s crazy.
Who knew that a useless, childlike Prediction would produce something so amazing?
I’m sorry, Prediction. I guess even useless kids can learn to be competent if they try hard enough.
<Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Appraisal LV 8] has become [Appraisal LV 9].>
Speaking of formerly useless children!
Appraisal! Did you enjoy this most recent level-up?
Let’s see what you’ve learned to do this time!
<Small poison taratect LV 7 Nameless
Status: HP: 88/88 (green) MP: 185/185 (blue)
SP: 88/88 (yellow) : 88/88 (red) +612
Average Offensive Ability: 109 Average Defensive Ability: 108
Average Magical Ability: 139 Average Resistance Ability: 173
Average Speed Ability: 956
Skills:
[HP Auto-Recovery LV 5] [MP Recovery Speed LV 3] [MP Lessened Consumption LV 2] [SP Recovery Speed LV 2]
[SP Lessened Consumption LV 3] [Destruction Enhancement LV 1] [Cutting Enhancement LV 1] [Poison Enhancement LV 3]
[Mental Warfare LV 1] [Energy Conferment LV 2] [Deadly Poison Attack LV 3] [Poison Synthesis LV 7]
[Threadsmanship LV 3] [Spider Thread LV 9] [Cutting Thread LV 6] [Thread Control LV 8]
[Throw LV 7] [Spatial Maneuvering LV 4] [Hit LV 8] [Evasion LV 5]
[Stealth LV 7] [Concentration LV 10] [Thought Acceleration LV 1] [Foresight LV 1]
[Parallel Thinking LV 4] [Arithmetic Processing LV 6] [Appraisal LV 9] [Detection LV 6]
[Heretic Magic LV 3] [Shadow Magic LV 2] [Poison Magic LV 2] [Abyss Magic LV 10]
[Destruction Resistance LV 1] [Impact Resistance LV 2] [Cutting Resistance LV 3] [Fire Resistance LV 1]
[Dark Resistance LV 1] [Deadly Poison Resistance LV 2] [Paralysis Resistance LV 3] [Petrification Resistance LV 3]
[Acid Resistance LV 4] [Rot Resistance LV 3] [Faint Resistance LV 2] [Fear Resistance LV 7]
[Heresy Resistance LV 3] [Pain Nullification] [Pain Mitigation LV 7] [Vision Enhancement LV 8]
[Night Vision LV 10] [Vision Expansion LV 2] [Auditory Enhancement LV 8] [Olfactory Enhancement LV 7]
[Taste Enhancement LV 5] [Tactile Enhancement LV 6] [Life LV 8] [Magic Mass LV 8]
[Instantaneous LV 8] [Persistent LV 8] [Herculean Strength LV 3] [Sturdy LV 3]
[Protection LV 3] [Skanda LV 3] [Pride] [Overeating LV 7]
[Hades] [Taboo LV 4] [n% I = W]
Skill Points: 220
Titles:
[Foul Feeder] [Kin Eater] [Assassin] [Monster Slayer]
[Poison Technique User] [Thread User] [Merciless] [Monster Slaughterer]
[Ruler of Pride] >
Oh, whoa! I can see my titles now!
I’ve been wondering about that for a while.
Also, could it be that this new number next to my red stamina gauge is my stock from overeating?
I didn’t realize I’d stocked up so much.
That’s not gonna run out for a long time.
All right, may as well Appraise my titles.
Since Appraisal lets me inspect my titles now, I’ll take a look at all of them.
<Title: Enhancement code obtained by satisfying certain conditions. Up to two skills can be acquired at the time of obtaining a new title. Some titles have special effects, increase certain stats, and so on.>
Ooh. So titles do more than just giving out skills.
I’d assumed that was all there was to it.
Which means some of my titles may have special effects that I just never noticed.
Now I’m really excited to Appraise them.
Let’s go!
<Foul Feeder: Acquired skills [Poison Resistance LV 1] [Rot Resistance LV 1]. Acquisition condition: Consume a large amount of poison or similar substances within a certain period of time. Effects: Digestive system becomes stronger. Description: A title awarded to those who will eat even poison.>
Oh, okay. Makes sense, since I’ve been eating poisonous monsters since I was born.
Guess I can’t really complain about it being called “foul.”
So it makes my digestive system stronger…
Well, I did eat tons of poison, so maybe it helped without my noticing.
If I hadn’t gotten Rot Resistance by acquiring this title, I might’ve kicked the bucket as soon as I took a bite of that snail-bug, so I guess it might’ve saved my butt, after all. Although I wish the name were a bit more pleasant.
<Kin Eater: Acquired skills [Taboo LV 1] [Heretic Magic LV 1]. Acquisition condition: Consume a blood relative. Effects: None. Description: A title awarded to those who eat a relative.>
No effect.
So was there any point in getting this title?
I mean, it gave me the Taboo skill, which clearly has a negative effect, so maybe you’re not supposed to get this title?
And since I can’t use Heretic Magic, there’s no benefit there, either.
Seems like a total negative to me at the moment…
<Assassin: Acquired skills [Stealth LV 1] [Shadow Magic LV 1]. Acquisition condition: Succeed in a certain amount of assassinations by way of surprise attack. Effect: Damage bonus to surprise strikes. Description: A title awarded to those who accomplish repeated assassinations.>
Ooh. Just like the skills I got from it, this title’s effect is totally ninja-like.
This is definitely a ninja skill.
Ninjas also worked as assassins at times, so I’m not wrong.
Does that mean I’ll eventually be able to do stuff like break someone’s neck with a bare-handed surprise attack?
Ah, I guess I can probably do that already, since I have claws instead of hands.
<Monster Slayer: Acquired skills [Strength LV 1] [Solidity LV 1]. Acquisition condition: Defeat a certain number of monsters. Effect: Slight increase in damage to monster opponents. Description: A title awarded to those who bring down a large amount of monsters.>
Ahh. So it does have something to do with the number of monsters I killed.
I don’t know how many a “certain number” is, exactly, but I did get this title after defeating quite a few of them.
The effect is pretty sweet, too, so I’m glad I got this title.
<Poison Technique User: Acquired skills [Poison Synthesis LV 1] [Poison Magic LV 1]. Acquisition condition: Use a certain quantity of poison. Effect: Strengthens poison attribute. Description: A title awarded to those who use poison.>
This is probably the most useful one yet.
I’m totally indebted to Poison Synthesis.
Actually, that’s a great effect, too. It’s like this title was made just for me.
Though, it’d be nice if I could actually use Poison Magic…
Since it just requires a certain quantity, does the strength of the poison have nothing to do with it?
My poison is pretty strong, so I feel like I might’ve actually not used that much in terms of quantity.
Maybe that’s why it took so long for me to get this title, even though I’ve been using poison since I was born.
<Thread User: Acquired skills [Thread Control LV 1] [Cutting Thread LV 1]. Acquisition condition: Use threads to attack a certain number of times. Effect: Increases power of thread-based attacks. Description: A title granted to those who use thread as a weapon.>
And this one’s the second-most useful.
This title strengthened my other weapon of choice—thread.
Not that I get to show it off in this stupid Middle Stratum!
But I didn’t realize it was specifically for thread-based attacks until I saw this description.
In my case, sticky thread was a mainstay for a long while.
I think that’s more of a support-based use than an attack.
So that’s why a lot of time passed before I scored this title.
Sticky thread must not have counted toward the thread attack tally.
Maybe once I started using Morning Spider and the casting net and stuff, those counted?
If I’d known the acquisition conditions sooner, I might’ve had an easier time getting it.
<Merciless: Acquired skills [Heretic Magic LV 1] [Heresy Resistance LV 1]. Acquisition conditions: Merciless behavior. Effect: Negates any feelings of guilt. Description: A title awarded to merciless individuals.>
Oh, come on. Can’t you elaborate on these explanations a little more?
How are these acquisition conditions even remotely informative?
Hmm. The effect is pretty weird, too, so it’s just a weird title overall.
<Monster Slaughterer: Acquired skills [Herculean Strength LV 1] [Sturdy LV 1]. Acquisition condition: Defeat a certain number of monsters. Effect: Increase damage dealt to monster opponents. Description: A title awarded to those who bring down an extremely large number of monsters.>
Yeah. This is definitely an advanced version of the Monster Slayer title.
You probably get it for killing more monsters than Monster Slayer.
The effect and explanation and everything fit the bill, too.
<Ruler of Pride: Acquired skills [Abyss Magic LV 10] [Hades]. Acquisition conditions: Obtain [Pride] skill. Effect: Increases MP, Magic, and resistance stats. +Correction to mental skill proficiencies. Grants ruling class privileges. Description: A title granted to one who has conquered Pride.>
Wait. Hold the phone.
What’s up with this effect?
So you’re the reason my stats skyrocketed all of a sudden?!
And on top of that, it adds a bonus to proficiency levels?!
On top of all the bonuses from Pride?
So that’s why Prediction and those other skills improve so fast!
And wait, what are “ruling class privileges”?
<Ruling Class Privileges: Authority given to rulers to control a portion of the world>
Huh? What’s that mean? Can I use that, too?
<Ruler of Pride’s request to exercise special privileges has been received. Currently, the Ruler of Pride has no authority available for use.>
Whaddaya mean, I don’t?!
Seriously, what is going on here?
The Pride skill is way too mysterious.
Well, I guess I learned a lot about titles, at least.
Appraisal always has my back.
The catfish cooled down while I was Appraising, so I may as well eat it now.
It’s a real pain that you can’t eat Middle Stratum monsters until you give them time to sit for a while like this…
Not to mention, half the time, it’s only the surface that cools down, and the inside still stays hot.
It can even decrease my HP if I’m not careful, and I don’t wanna be in pain while I eat.
Oh. The catfish is delicious.
What, seriously?!
This is the first time I’ve had delicious food in my whole life as a spider!
Oh man. I shouldn’t have let that other one escape.
Maybe I can still catch up if I chase it now?
These things are pretty slow, so I might still make it.
Aah, but I guess there’s nothing I can do once it slips into the magma.
Damn, that was a mistake.
Oh well. I’ll just savor the one I have here.
<Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Taste Enhancement LV 5] has become [Taste Enhancement LV 6].>
It’s sooo good! Makes me glad I was born. Seriously, yum.
I mean, it still doesn’t compare to what I ate in my previous life, but everything I’ve had so far in this world has been gross, so…
Finally, finally, I’ve found something I can honestly call delicious.
Although I wasn’t so concerned about food in my old life as a human…
I didn’t realize how lucky I was until I came back as a spider.
I’m so tired of eating gross monsters.
I wanna eat tasty food!
All right. I’m gonna hunt catfish.
They’re a little strong, but who cares?
I don’t mind putting my life on the line to satisfy this desire.
For real, it’s worth it.
Just you wait, catfish. I’m gonna eat every last one of you!
Catfiiiish! Catfiiish! Where aaare youuu, catfiiiiish?
I wander through the labyrinth, looking for catfish.
There aren’t any.
They’re all over me when I don’t want to see them, but now that I do, they’re nowhere to be found?
Hurry up and come out. Come out so I can eat you.
Ugh. Of course something else turns up at a time like this.
<Elroe gunerush LV 8
Status: HP: 170/170 (green) MP: 161/161 (blue)
SP: 158/158 (yellow) : 156/167 (red)
Average Offensive Ability: 87 Average Defensive Ability: 84
Average Magical Ability: 84 Average Resistance Ability: 81
Average Speed Ability: 91
Skills:
[Fire Wyrm LV 1] [Hit LV 4] [Swim LV 4] [Heat Nullification]
>
There are three sea horses in total.
And something new happened when I Appraised one of them.
Ooh, nice!
Since my Appraisal skill went up, now I can see my opponents’ skills, too!
Whoa! Finally, it’s starting to work like a real cheat skill!
Man, though, sea horse, where are all your skills at? You’ve only got four?
That’s way too few. So that’s why you seem weaker than your stats.
Plus, they’re all low-level except for Heat Nullification, which is clearly a maxed-out version of Fire Resistance.
I should probably Appraise the skills I haven’t seen before.
<Fire Wyrm: A special skill possessed by fire wyrm species. It grants special effects based on its level. LV 1: Fireball Breath.>
<Swimming: Positive correction to swimming movements>
Hmm. So Fire Wyrm is a species-specific skill that only fire wyrms have.
Just like my Spider Thread.
I guess all it can do at level 1 is shoot those fireballs, though.
Actually, why is its Fire Wyrm skill at level 1 when the sea horse itself is level 8?
Is it that difficult to raise its skill level, or is this guy just slacking on earning proficiency?
And Swim is just a skill that makes you better at swimming.
Hmph. Now that I’ve seen this thing’s skills, I’m even more confident. There’s no way I can lose to this guy.
So let’s just finish this off…not very smoothly, I guess.
I mean, these guys are still in the magma.
All I can do is chuck little rocks at them for the moment.
Hmm. Maybe I can try poisoning the stones?
I give it a shot, but it doesn’t really do much more damage than before.
My Deadly Spider Poison causes two different kinds of damage: contact damage and ingestion damage.
Contact damage occurs when the poison makes contact with skin and such, while ingestion damage is when the poison penetrates into the opponent’s body.
Between the two, ingestion damage is way, way higher.
Contact damage isn’t very effective at first, but if the poison stays there long enough, the amount of damage increases explosively.
That’s because poison seeps into the body after a while.
In other words, contact damage eventually becomes ingestion damage.
Unless it gets rinsed or rubbed off beforehand, of course.
So when I’m fighting a monster that can’t wash away the poison, I don’t need to bother aiming for the mouth. I just have to smear poison somewhere on its body.
If I want to be quick about it, it’s best to aim for the mouth or the eyes, but for safety’s sake, it’s better to apply it as many places as possible. Everything depends on the situation, of course.
Once the sea horses run out of MP and come ashore, I douse them all with poison. Their mouths are so small, they’re hard to target. It’s easier just to slosh it all over them.
Catfiiiish! I’ve been looking for you everywhere, catfiiish! I finally found you, catfiiish!
Now then, gimme that meat of yours! Give it here right now!
I have no choice but to kill you and eat your flesh! Reunited with my beloved catfish at last!
The catfish is blithely swimming through the magma.
First, I have to drag it out.
Incidentally, I was able to Appraise the catfish’s skills, too.
Its stats aren’t that different from the last one.
This catfish’s skills are [Fire Wyrm LV 2], [Dragon Scales LV 1], [Hit LV 7], [Swim LV 6], [Heat Nullification], and [Overeating LV 2].
The ability it can use with Fire Wyrm level 2 is called Heat Wrap. As the name implies, the catfish wraps its body in heat.
I assumed it was a defensive thing, but according to Appraisal’s explanation, it mostly serves to increase movement speed when used.
However, since it heats up your body, it’ll actually cause damage if the user doesn’t have Fire Resistance. Not that it matters in this case, since the catfish has Heat Nullification.
Dragon Scales is a skill that makes special scales grow all over the creature’s body.
They’re special because, on top of having high defense, they negate magic to a certain degree.
Like, instead of just blocking it, apparently, it interferes with the composition of magic itself and lowers its potency or something.
Well, I can’t use magic anyway, so they’re just a bunch of hard scales to me.
And we all know what the rest of those skills do by now.
Something just occurred to me, though. Is it possible that the catfish is an evolution of the sea horse?
They’re both fire wyrms, and the catfish has skills that are advanced versions of the sea horse’s.
It just has higher levels—and the additions of Dragon Scales and Overeating.
Between that and their respective species names, it does seem possible.
But if that’s true, that means it evolves from that form into this one?
Biologically speaking, isn’t a sea horse technically more evolved than a catfish?
I mean, I don’t really know enough about the subject to argue either way, but still.
They look pretty different, but I suppose…if you stretched a sea horse’s mouth reeeal wide and made its body big and heavy, maybe it’d look like a catfish?
Hmm. I dunno.
Well, that doesn’t really matter anyway.
My only concern right now is gnawing on that catfish’s flesh.
So let’s get things started with a poisonous stone throw!
The rock bounces off the catfish’s back.
Yep. It didn’t do much damage. No surprises there.
Guess I’ll have to stick with the strategy of nailing it with Poison Synthesis when it charges again.
Or so I thought. Now the stupid catfish is launching a fireball at me from the magma.
For real? This is way bigger and faster than the sea horses’ fireballs.
It’s still not gonna hit me, though. I hop lightly to avoid the shot.
For the most part, Thought Acceleration just stretches out my sense of time by a tiny bit, but it does make everything else seem a bit slower than normal.
Thanks to my insanely high speed stat, I can still move pretty quickly compared with the rest of the world even in this inhibited state.
I assume, though, that when Thought Acceleration levels up, time will get even slower, so I’m not sure what’ll happen then.
For now, it seems like 1 second is stretched to 1.1 seconds, maybe?
I don’t know the specifics, but that’s what it feels like to me.
The catfish fires a second volley.
I can’t believe this guy. Same tactics as those sea horses.
I guess maybe the catfish really is the evolved form of the sea horse.
Was the one that decided to jump on land earlier just an outlier? Do they normally use the same strategy as the sea horses?
Ah, but now they have the Heat Wrap ability and stuff, so maybe they change things up depending on the circumstance.
Maybe the one before reacted like, “Oh, I popped my face out, and now there’s something right in front of me. Guess I’ll attack it,” or something.
I dodge the catfish’s next fireball.
It should run out of MP soon. What’ll it do then?
The sea horses crawl ashore when they run out of MP, but what about catfish?
I really want it to beach itself, but judging by what happened last time, it seems like they run if they sense danger.
I won’t allow that, okay? I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth, got it?
Oblivious to my concerns, the catfish stops attacking.
Hmm? But it still has a little MP left…
Ah, it went under. Did it use Heat Wrap?
It’s pretty cool that I know this stuff about my opponents now. Appraisal really is a wonderful cheat.
Eh? The catfish is opening its mouth?
What’s it gonna do?
Once its mouth is completely open, I hear a sound effect from its belly that can only be described as a rumble.
Huh? What’s it doing?
I don’t remember seeing any skill like this?
As I stand momentarily dumbfounded, I feel something like wind on my body.
Wait, am I getting sucked into the thing’s mouth?
What are you, that round pink character from the stars?!
Is this some new use of the Overeating skill or something?!
Crap, I’m gonna get sucked in and dragged away through the magma…or not.
Oh. The sound is really loud, and there’s wind and all, but it’s not actually strong enough to budge me.
The catfish stops hoovering. Guess it noticed.
Then our eyes meet.
Well, this is awkward…
Maybe it’s a little nervous—or it could be the sort of vacant expression catfish always seem to have, but is this guy, like, the friendly mascot character of the Middle Stratum or something?
Next, the catfish comes wriggling out of the magma. It’s actually kind of cute, I have to admit.
Then it opens its huge mouth and lunges toward me.
Oh, well, that’s not cute at all. But it’s exactly what I was waiting for!
Once it gets close enough, I use Poison Synthesis.
At the same time, I quickly jump out of the way.
The catfish swallows the deadly poison as it moves straight ahead.
I stand off to the side and watch. Oh, it fell over.
Now it’s flopping around.
Deadly Spider Poison sure is strong.
I don’t think any ordinary venom would have this big of an effect. When you combine Poison Synthesis with the spider poison I’ve had all my life, seems like it makes something way potent.
Really, this skill is just perfect for me.
Anyway, I’ll spray more poison on the suffering catfish.
The big lug gives one last shudder and dies.
Now I just have to wait for the effects of the magma, Heat Wrap, and such to wear off so it cools.
Then it’s dinnertime!
Up to now, I’ve been eating monsters strictly for survival, but this time it’s different!
I can actually enjoy the delicious taste.
Ah, what a time to be alive!
I hope it cools down soon.
I can’t wait to eat it!
MAGIC LESSON
Today’s class is magic practice.
After learning the fundamentals, we were permitted to take practical lessons to actually use magic.
“We will now distribute staffs for magic training. For safety’s sake, we’ve chosen water-magic-imbued staffs for today.”
Our instructor, Professor Oriza, speaks in a slightly disinterested voice as he hands out staffs.
The students scramble to be the first to receive them.
“You all have Magic Power Perception and Magic Power Operation, correct? Because students without those skills can’t take this lesson. If anyone doesn’t have them, please come forward now.”
All the students in the class have Magic Power Perception and Magic Power Operation, of course.
In fact, Professor Oriza taught them to us himself last time.
“Now, please concentrate your magic power.”
Obeying his instructions, I focus on gathering my magic.
“Once that is done, try to let it flow into your staff. Then the magic in the staff will activate on its own.”
Huh? That’s it?
“These staffs are enchanted with the level-1 Water Magic spell Water Ball. It is a simple spell that projects spheres of water, but please be sure not to point it at anyone. There are targets for that purpose.”
Professor Oriza points at an area where several targets have been set up.
Without further ado, the students begin casting magic.
Most of them don’t have enough magic power, or their spells are incompletely formed, or some other issue occurs, and their spells dissipate before reaching the target.
“You can use as much magic as you’d like during this period. If you use it enough, you may even gain the Water Magic skill. However, please do pay attention to the amount of magic power you have remaining and stop as soon as it reaches a dangerous level. Otherwise, don’t come crying to me if you overdo it and pass out.”
How irresponsible.
But I guess there are probably people who collapse every year.
A lot of the students are using magic for the first time, and some of them are extremely excited about it.
It’s no surprise that one or two might get too hyped up and push past their limits.
“Water Magic, huh? I would’ve preferred Earth Magic, myself.”
Fei complains from her position on my shoulder.
Fei is an earth wyrm, so she probably has a higher aptitude for Earth Magic than Water.
I know my own aptitudes, too, having seen them during the Appraisal ceremony.
Light Magic is the highest, followed by Water.
In that respect, you could say this lesson is worthwhile for me.
However, there are only a handful of Appraisal Stones in existence powerful enough to show one’s compatibility with different attributes.
Instead, people who don’t have access to such high-quality items use enchanted tools to invoke magic and acquire skills that way, like we’re doing now.
You can figure out whether you have a knack for that kind of magic based on how quickly you acquire the skills.
However, that isn’t an option unless you have access to magic tools with multiple attributes. In many cases, impoverished magic-user families only have one kind of magic tool to their names.
In that situation, you’d have no choice but to use that attribute whether you have an aptitude for it or not.
But at this school, there are magic tools with every kind of attribute, so no such problem exists.
“I simply don’t have a knack for Water. On the contrary, I seem to be inclined toward Fire.”
“That’s funny. I’m bad with Water and good at Fire, too.”
I overhear a conversation between Katia and Hugo.
Despite her claims, Katia’s conjured balls of water are striking the targets perfectly.
Considering that most of the students haven’t even gotten their spells to reach their marks yet, I’d say that solid strikes are pretty good already.
Looking around, the only people I’ve seen successfully hit are Katia, Hugo, and Yuri, formerly Hasebe.
Yuri is focusing intently on blasting water balls at the targets.
I have to wonder if it’s safe to shoot that much, but I suspect that even if I speak to Yuri now, she won’t hear me.
She’s probably planning to stick with it until she gets the skill, even if her MP runs out.
By the way, Ms. Oka isn’t around.
She shows for class or doesn’t as she pleases.
And she won’t tell us what she’s doing when she isn’t around.
Anyway, I feel like Sue would be able to do it if she tried, but she’s just hanging out behind me, making no attempt to use magic at all.
“Sue, don’t you want to practice?”
“Oh, I mustn’t go ahead of my older brother. Instead, I shall wait until you demonstrate your incredible magical prowess, then sneak in my own practice while everyone fawns over you admiringly.”
Hoo, boy. Way to raise the bar.
I did always want to be an older brother who my sister could be proud of, but lately, that’s translated into a crazy amount of pressure.
In the meantime, some of the students have run out of magic power and started taking breaks.
That means that some targets have opened up, so I guess I’ll try, too.
Now that I think about it, this will be my first time experimenting with magic.
Until now, Anna always stopped me from practicing anything but controlling magical power, so I’ve never actually used it.
Now I’m getting a little excited.
Though at the same time, the pressure from my sister makes me a little nervous.
“Hmph, I don’t see the point of practicing magic I know I’m gonna suck at.” As if to deflate my excitement, Hugo tosses away his staff. “It’s way more efficient to improve what you’re already good at than practice on your weaknesses.”
Hugo gathers his magical power. What’s he planning?
The next moment, he casts. Without a staff.
The result is a fire spell. So he already had Fire Magic as a skill?!
The flames engulf the entire row of targets.
What incredible destructive power.
For the students who couldn’t even reach the targets, this must be a clear display of how strong he is.
In fact, it was perfect timing for showing off. Hugo must have realized that and pulled his stunt on purpose as a demonstration of his ability.
Still, this is way too much!
Part 3 of 8