＊ ＊ ＊
“Hmph…”
The Eye of Darkness was crushed. Did it get too close and get discovered…? Killing it instantly upon suspicion—what a hot-blooded reaction. Losing a familiar is a painful blow, but there were gains as well. It appears the corpse housing a powerful grudge that we took from the Talash woods was useless after all.
“Is something the matter, our King of Graves?”
“Pay it no mind. Continue investigating which nation this Death Knight belonged to.”
“Yes…! I have my familiars looking into it, just a little more time…!”
“I am counting on you.”
However, that girl… I believe she was called Rinne. The source of her power of death, similar yet different to mine—where on earth is she getting it from…? I must investigate that as well. Orvis suggested eliminating her immediately if she were to become a future obstacle, but between my Death Knight and Rinne’s giant wolf, I cannot predict which would emerge victorious if they clashed. If a battle does not promise certain victory even with my and Orvis’s combined strength, then an immediate conflict should be avoided.
Besides, it is not yet decided that she will be an obstacle. The way she continued to hunt monsters one after another while laughing was terrifying, but the core of her actions should be the same as mine. Hunting the living and using their souls as fuel to amplify one’s own power. I do not yet know for what purpose she is amassing power, but the time will come when it becomes clear. That moment will be the fork in the road of fate: coexistence or elimination… Now is not that time. But if she should stray from the path and become my obstacle…
“Oh, a player in a place like this? Good evening~?”
This fellow… when did she get behind us…! Now that she has seen our current forms, I cannot let her leave alive. I hold no grudge against this one, but she must die.
“Kill her. Do not let her leave alive.”
“Eh? Ah, this person is dangerous!”
“O…… O……”
The Death Knight I created is not something a random scrub can handle. A novice adventurer active in these parts will be twisted easier than a baby’s hand…
“Q-Quick Step!!”
“O…… O……”
She dodged!? Avoiding a strike from this Death Knight’s greatsword, even by a hair’s breadth… and that movement just now—this one is different from the common rabble. I see, it seems there are not a few tough individuals besides Rinne. I may need to revise my understanding. Now then, what will you do next? Show me your power!
“Haaah!!”
“O… o… O… o…”
“You can’t guard the gaps in your armor!”
She kicked the greatshield to break its stance, then instantly aimed a dagger strike at the gap in the torso armor to pierce the heart. A splendid technique, even for an enemy. However, my Death Knight has no flesh. Unfortunately, that attack is ineffective.
“I missed!?”
“O… o… o… O… O…!”
“Ugh, gah!?”
I see. She didn’t realize it was empty inside; she thought she missed due to her own lack of skill. The Death Knight learned from her movements; to think it would immediately incorporate a follow-up attack after a kick into its own tactics… This Death Knight is a jackpot. Its learning ability is extremely high, as are its combat technique and flexibility.
“If it’s come to this…! My trump card…!”
“Holy Spear.”
“Wha— Ugh…!!”
Hmph, Orvis couldn’t just watch and interfered. To think she still lives after taking Orvis’s Holy Spear… but even this one will surely die if decapitated by a greatsword. It is a pity, but this is the end.
“O…?”
“Vanished…? I definitely just took her head…”
“Hmm… I have a recollection of this phenomenon. There exists a magic tool that instantly teleports the user to their base at the cost of a sacrifice when receiving a fatal blow. I cannot deny the possibility that she possessed one.”
“I am terribly sorry, I will track her immediately…!”
“Nay, we have no such time. Besides, tracking that type of magic tool has been difficult since ancient times. Do not waste time. You focus on the Death Knight’s origin, and I on strengthening the Death Knight. There may be many others with power like that expert just now. We need to gain strength quickly.”
“Yes…! As our King of Graves commands.”
I let my guard down. To think a mere adventurer possessed a death-defying magic tool. But there is no time to regret this failure. When we meet that one again, we must be able to bury her easily with an overwhelming difference in power…
“Even so… Why did she have…”
“Something like a fried egg… riding on her head…”
Putting that aside, is it a trend for modern adventurers to wear such bizarre outfits? A fried egg, on her head… It is a world I cannot understand. Right, speaking of eggs, I still have one familiar left. This time, I shall hide it in a distant location so it is absolutely not detected, and probe Rinne’s movements…
＊ ＊ ＊
[Defeated Stone Armor King Slime via curse slip damage. Gained 300,000 EXP.]
[Congratulations! You are the MVP! MVP Reward: {60,000 EXP}]
[You have reached Level 31! Congratulations!]
[Perseus has reached Level 31. Let’s celebrate!]
[Donta has reached Level 22.]
[Aurelia has reached Level 15. Please evolve!]
D-Did we defeat it…? We defeated it… We defeated it~~!! We did it, we did it…!! It took way too much time; honestly, I thought we wouldn’t be able to kill it!!
“I-I am exhausted… Simply worn out…”
“But it was fun!!”
“W-Woof… (Tired, I’m hungry…)”
“A…!”
This amount of EXP! Well~ it was worth the effort… I got about 90 mobs’ worth of EXP and leveled up all at once, plus Aurelia reached Level 15 and can evolve now. That thrill of walking a tightrope was so fun—it was the best!
“Before evolving, treasure chest~!”
“It has appeared, the Area Boss Subjugation Reward! Let us open it immediately!”
“Woof!”
Right, Area Bosses drop a treasure chest when defeated. I wonder what’s inside~? Let’s open it quickly!
“Heave-ho, ta-daaa!”
“Ta-da!? H-How cute, that is precious…! N-Nnnngh!! N-Now then? What is inside~?”
“Woof~… (Not food…)”
[Acquired Unidentified Item {?Book}.]
“A book…? Is that it?”
“That seems to be it… Perhaps it is a skill acquisition book! It is an unidentified book, so let us identify… Ah!! I forgot to identify your equipment, Rinne-san!!”
“Ah, that’s right. Let’s do it later, okay~?”
“Let us definitely identify it later!”
“Also, if this book turns out to be a usable skill book, whoever wants it should use it.”
“My! That sounds wonderful!”
Heeh~ so unidentified books drop too. I can open the book even while unidentified, but I can’t read the letters inside at all. Does identifying it convert it into readable text? Eh, does this mean the game management created a fictional script just for these book items? The enthusiasm of the production staff is amazing…! There must be staff members who really love this kind of stuff…
“Woof~… (I’m hungry…)”
“Don-chan, I will try asking Baldie-san via personal chat to make you a delicious meal!”
“Donta, she says she’ll ask for a delicious meal to be prepared since you worked so hard.”
“Awooooooooooooooooooooooooon—!!”
Donta is so energetic when it comes to food~… I wonder if other wolves say “I’m hungry, I’m hungry” this quickly? Well, he seems too hungry to move, so for Donta’s sake, let’s finish Aurelia’s evolution quickly and go back. Alright, let’s look at the evolution paths.
First, Lily Witch. Dark Attribute, Humanoid, Medium size. “Pure Witch” is quite the bold naming… Since it’s a class you can’t evolve into without the aptitude, Aurelia must be… well, you know! By the way, her specialty is Dark Magic, so her attribute and role completely overlap with mine. It’s fine for two people to have the same element, but if we meet an opponent immune to Dark, we’ll be out of options and in trouble… I’ll put this on hold.
Next, Dragonar Witch. Neutral Attribute, Dragonkin, Medium size! Seems like a class that popped up as a candidate thanks to her having Fire Breath. The biggest feature is losing the ability to use magic used by humans, and instead being able to use Dragon Magic with immense power. Dragon Magic seems to cover all attributes, but… NO MATTER HOW I THINK ABOUT IT, THIS LOOKS LIKE A TRAP JOB.
I mean, to use magic, you have to read grimoires or invent it yourself, right? The stronger the magic, the more chant words increase or the harder the activation words become. If it comes to even stronger Dragon Magic, I feel like unique Dragon Language or something will be required.
“Hey, do you know Dragon Language, or any words related to dragons?”
“A…”
“Don’t know any, figured as much.”
“A… A…”
If she becomes a Dragonar Witch, the status of being unable to use magic will definitely continue. I should absolutely avoid this. She’s already baggage; there’s a possibility she’ll continue to be baggage for a while… or in the worst case, forever. If that happens, I’d have no choice but to seriously fire her and send her off. That would be painful after working so hard to raise her, so this is… Rejected!!
Finally, Little Witch. Dark Attribute, Demon-type, Small size. The only explanation is “Reborn as an apprentice witch to start a second life”… But since it says she’s reborn, losing unnecessary things like Fire Breath, wouldn’t this be good? I wonder why the job name is in Hiragana? It has a cute vibe from the name, though…
“I guess Little Witch it is! Let’s be reborn as an apprentice witch and start a new life!”
“A……!”
I felt something like hope for just a moment from Aurelia, who had been exuding nothing but despair and tragedy until just now, so Little Witch it is! Really, from now on, when I can input optional materials, I’ll think before I toss them in… It became a good lesson…
“I hope she can speak this time~.”
“Alright, let’s go! Click.”
[Aurelia is undergoing Reincarnation Evolution from {Undead Witch} to {Little Witch}…]
[Due to the effects of reincarnation, {Fire Breath} and {Undead Characteristics} have been lost.]
[Acquired multiple skills for Little Witch.]
[Some stats have decreased.]
[Some stats have increased significantly.]
Nnngh!? Some stats decreased!? Don’t tell me the legend of Aurelia’s misfortune is starting again!? Hey, Aurelia! Show me your status!!
You’re kidding, right? This low HP. You’re kidding…? Ah, I checked the details of the Familiar skill, and it says if she has a familiar out, it becomes a scapegoat for Aurelia and dies in her place. If she doesn’t bring out a familiar, she’ll die constantly. Absolutely. Wow, she has performance specs that basically assume she’s going to die…
“A… A… Ah…!!!”
Ah, Aurelia spoke! She can finally speak!! That’s right, for Aurelia, this is more important than performance! My major goal was making her able to talk, so stats don’t matter!!
“Uwaah…! Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!”
“Ah, h-hey, don’t cry. Come on, there, there. It was hard not being able to talk, wasn’t it, Aurelia!”
“Uwaaaaaaaah~~……!!”
Peru-chan, don’t just freeze there with a flabbergasted expression, help me stop her crying!? What should I do!? Should I just keep hugging and petting her!? I don’t know~ I want to cry too~!!
“Eeeeeeh~~!!??”
“W-Woof… !?”
“Don’t you start shouting too, Peru-chan!!”
“Th-Th-Th-The crest appearing on this child’s forehead!! It is the proof of the Royal Successor of Stellaverce~~??!!”
“……Haaaaah!?”
Eh, no way…!? This child is royalty!? Royalty!? Huh? Eh? Ah…!? Heh!? Hoooooooooooo—??!!
—I totally picked up a bomb, didn’t I!!
[Quest {The Mysterious Skeletal Remains} has progressed. Playing the movie {Thus Spoke Aurelia}.]
Wait, now is not the time for that. Don’t cause an information overload! Hey, please don’t fade to black? Hey, heeeey~~!! Heeeeeey~~!!
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