Chapter 65
For now, with the monsters gone, I should rejoin Ichinose-san.
I take another look around.
"Whoa, this is a mess..."
Not only the shopping mall, but the surrounding buildings have been left in a pretty disastrous state.
The trees and abandoned cars that the Dark Wolf launched earlier have pierced building walls and gouged the ground.
It looks like the aftermath of a violent storm... No, even a disaster like that wouldn't be this bad.
"That was some incredible power..."
Once again, I'm reminded of just how terrifying that Dark Wolf was.
The power to fire anything it absorbed into the 'darkness' in every direction like bullets.
It's similar to my 'Item Box' attack, but fundamentally different.
My 'Item Box' attack is simply mass in free fall, but the things it fired clearly had 'speed' added to them.
In other words, it's an upgraded version. A modern-day Gate of ◯abylon.
That's the ideal attack method I've always imagined. I'm jealous.
I wonder if there's any way I can learn to use it too?
It's a higher species of Shadow Wolf, which manipulates 'Shadow.'
If that's the case, then there's a good chance that developing 'Shadow Figure' and 'Shadow Manipulation' will cause a similar attack method to manifest. Worth looking into.
Thinking that, I head toward the entrance and spot Ichinose-san.
She's all in one piece. She doesn't seem to be seriously hurt.
It seems Aka did a good job protecting her from the attack.
"What happened to the monsters...?"
"They probably ran away. They used that last attack as a smokescreen."
"They ran...? Ouch, I've never seen a monster launch such a crazy attack. If this little slime hadn't been here, I might have died..."
Ichinose-san strokes Aka as she speaks in a trembling voice.
I probably would have been badly injured without Aka too.
Good job, Aka. You're amazing, Aka.
"...(shakes, shakes)"
The Aka disguised as a knit cap seems to be wearing a smug expression.
Well, it did earn the right to be smug.
Perhaps the tension finally left her, because Ichinose-san sank down where she stood.
"Whew... I'm exhausted."
"Good work."
I take some tea out of my Item Box and hand it to her.
I take one out for myself as well.
"Woof!"
"Yes, yes, I have some for Momo too."
I set a small dish in front of Momo, who has emerged from the Shadow, and pour some water into it.
Momo is adorable as it sticks out its tongue and desperately gulps down the water.
"...I've been curious about this for a while, but that thing of yours is a 'Skill,' right, Kudo-san?"
As she drinks her tea, Ichinose-san stares intently at the exchange between Momo and me.
"Yes, it's a Skill called 'Item Box.' I can freely put things in and take them out."
There's no point in hiding it anymore, so I answer honestly.
"Wow, that's convenient. I'm jealous."
Pretty nice, huh? But I'm not giving it to you.
As she drinks her tea, she continues, as if she'd just remembered something.
"I haven't asked about your Job or Skills yet, have I?"
"Ah, right..."
I wasn't planning to hide them; the monsters just attacked before I had a chance to tell her.
Now that things have come this far, I might as well tell her honestly.
"Um, as for my Job and Skills—"
I tell Ichinose-san about my Job and Skills, as well as Momo and Aka's abilities.
It means revealing my hand, but I feel like it won't be a problem with her.
She honestly told me about her own Job and Skills, so returning the favor is the decent thing to do. We're going to be party members from now on, after all.
Naturally, I take the utmost care to make sure no one else is eavesdropping.
Once I've finished explaining everything, Ichinose-san is left dumbfounded.
"Huh...? Ninja? Your Job is Ninja?"
"Yes, that's right."
Strictly speaking, I have three: 'Ninja,' 'Hunter,' and 'Shadow Figure.'
"You have three Jobs, five usable 'Ninjutsu' techniques, and more than thirty different Skills...? Huh? No way... What?"
Ichinose-san is far more confused than I expected after hearing about my Job and Skills.
Every so often, she covers her mouth and mutters, "Whoa, my Skills are way too few...?"
Hmm. I guess I really do have a lot of Skills compared to other people.
I never really felt it because I had no one to compare myself to.
'Early Bloomer' really is a huge advantage. It gives me ten times the normal amount of SP and JP.
"...Kudo-san."
"Yes? What is it?"
"Can I call you a 'cheat bastard' for now?"
"Rejected."
"Why not!?"
"Isn't it obvious? I hate that kind of nickname!"
Absolutely not.
Then Ichinose-san stares down at her feet and—
"Wow, no way, this guy is a total no-go. I'm a Shut-In, a joke Job, and he gets a cool Job like Ninja, plus Momo-chan (cute) and a slime as party members—what kind of web-novel protagonist is he? He totally is a cheat bastard, isn't he? I wanted a cooler Job too, but I just picked a joke Job on a whim, and I wanted a cute pet too, but he got everything. Ah, I'm so jealous, jealous, jealous, jealous—"
"...Um, Ichinose-san?"
Huh? Something's wrong with Ichinose-san.
"The Gacha's drops are so lousy. If only it would give me better prizes, I could have leveled up more easily, met Momo-chan sooner, and looked at Kazuto-san without any prejudice. I mean, at first I only thought of him as an add-on who came with Momo-chan, but now I properly acknowledge him. He's reliable, he didn't recoil even when I vomited on him, and he's a good person. Besides, everything is too high a hurdle for a shut-in! Ugh, I hate this, I can't take it, my stomach hurts, and I feel like I'm going to throw up again. This is seriously the worst—"
What is she talking about?
No, seriously, what is this girl talking about?
There is no light in her eyes.
"I-Ichinose-san! Come back to us! Ichinose-san!"
"—Ah, yes."
When I forcibly shake her shoulders, Ichinose-san finally seems to return to reality.
The moment our eyes meet, she sharply looks away. Ouch.
"...I'm sorry. I showed you a very unpleasant side of myself."
"Ah, yes."
"Actually, I've had a habit of getting absorbed in my own thoughts ever since I was little... Hehe."
No, what just happened was on an entirely different level.
You can't laugh that off.
What should I make of this?
Between the email incident and what just happened, isn't this girl a little unwell?
Was it too soon to make her a party member?
"Um, for now, let's leave this place. It's almost lunchtime, so let's go somewhere else and get some food. Then we can talk about what we'll do from here on out while we eat. Is that okay, Ichinose-san?"
"Y-Yes, that's right! Let's do that."
Ichinose-san nods repeatedly as I rattle off the words.
If she just kept quiet, she'd be a beautiful girl, but why does she give off such a disappointing vibe?
This won't do. I need to be more dependable.
"All right, Momo, Aka, you're okay with that too, right?"
"Woof!"
Momo replies energetically.
But Aka doesn't answer.
"...Aka?"
When I touch Aka, disguised as my clothes, it suddenly sheds its disguise and returns to its original slime form.
"Eek, what?"
The duplicate of Aka that had been disguised as Ichinose-san's knit cap also sheds its disguise and returns to the main body.
Then Aka begins shaking violently.
"Aka, what's wrong? Why are you shaking so much?"
"..."
Aka doesn't answer and keeps shaking.
What on earth is wrong?
No, wait.
Haven't I seen something like this happen before...?
"Ah, could it be—"
Suddenly realizing what was happening, I check my status screen.
...As I thought.
Aka
Red Slime Lv. 10
Aka had reached Level 10.
It must have leveled up during the battle with the Shadow Wolf just now.
Which meant—
"Nnnnnngh!! (shakes violently)"
Aka begins shaking even more violently.
Then it is enveloped in dazzling light.
"Could this be... evolution?"
Just like Momo.
Growth caused by reaching the level cap.
After a few seconds, the light subsides.
There stood Aka, having evolved.