Chapter 101
[99.21% to next level]
“Almost there.”
The Gallery, whose experience requirements had become brutally steep with every level, was finally on the verge of leveling up.
I stopped eating my dumplings, tore open the package that had just arrived, and took out the drone.
A sleek black drone emerged from inside.
“Oh, it works, it works.”
-Whirrr.
When I pressed the button, the drone rose into the air, its four propellers spinning powerfully.
Even though it was my first time flying it, it moved fairly smoothly.
Who would have thought that owning a remote-controlled toy when I was young would come in handy now?
“Gasp.”
Penny, who had just woken up, came out rubbing her eyes, then froze when she spotted the drone.
I wondered if she was afraid of the unfamiliar object, but it was quite the opposite.
“Wow, wow, that's amazing! Where did you get it?”
She hopped over to me, unlike her usual mature self.
Her eyes were sparkling, and she looked absolutely fascinated.
“This? I bought it from the system.”
“The system...? Is that like the Head Mod's authority?”
“Well, something like that?”
“Amazing!”
Penny clung tightly to my back as she watched the drone.
After using it a few times, I got used to the controls.
At my command, the drone smoothly and quickly circled the room before returning to its original position and landing.
Penny blinked several times, then cautiously came out.
Then she very carefully touched the drone and murmured,
“So this is the Head Mod's familiar...”
“Familiar? Wait, is there such a thing?”
“Huh? You didn't know?”
Penny turned to me, surprised that I didn't know.
But I had never heard of wizards here having familiars.
“I had a familiar too.”
“No, really? How?”
Penny was a demon who had crossed over from beyond the rift.
When I asked whether there were things like familiars in the world beyond the rift, Penny said with a smile,
“First, you walk around until you find a magical beast you like.”
“And then you make a contract with it or something?”
“No. You go down there and ask it.”
Ask? Leaving aside the fact that magical beasts could understand speech, did they actually grant requests?
I was surprised that communication was possible.
Just as I was beginning to think that the world outside might not be a completely lawless wasteland after all,
“Magical beasts can understand what you say surprisingly well.”
“Of course, they're aggressive at first...”
“Hmm?”
“If you persuade them properly, they become your familiars on their own.”
“Ah.”
I understood.
With a little persuasion (physical), they became familiars on their own (crawling because they wanted to live).
Come to think of it, Penny was a harmless-looking girl, so I had forgotten that she was a demon powerful enough to tear through a rift.
She didn't actually have familiars; she had simply crushed them through sheer force and given them the name.
“There were other demons who raised familiars that way, too.”
Apparently, it was somewhat trendy.
I started to correct her about the drone, then decided to just nod vaguely.
“Well, it is kind of like a familiar, right?”
It did whatever I told it to, and it had become mine through a transaction involving money.
Besides, science wasn't powered by mana or magic, so it should be fine in the fog.
The only problem was its range...
“How am I supposed to get this all the way to Elrad?”
Hobby drones had a range of a few dozen kilometers at most, while military drones could reach thousands.
But even that wasn't enough to cover the distance between Elrad and Kelliarton.
“Should I give it to a sub-mod?”
FullHPElf was one option, but I immediately shook my head.
All I could picture was the elves taking charge of it and sending it plummeting the instant it took flight.
While I was trying to come up with a solution, a notification arrived in the administrator chat.
DieHardVampire: Want me to help, Head Mod?
It was from DieHardVampire, who had been quiet lately, of all people.
Head Mod*: Gasp, I don't have any blood.
Head Mod*: Seriously, it has no nutritional value or iron, either. I've only eaten fast food since I got home, so it doesn't even taste good. For real.
DieHardVampire: ...That's not what I meant.
I replied in surprise on reflex, and a deeply dejected response came back.
What? Blood wasn't the objective?
The reply that came back was unexpected.
DieHardVampire: I'll go there myself and check.
Head Mod*: Oh?
She had offered to help in person.
When she was addicted to blood, she hadn't even done her sub-mod duties. Was she trying to work hard again like she used to?
Head Mod*: Thanks, thanks. Then I'll ask you to do it.
Just as I left a reply, thinking things had worked out, a message came from Felicia, who had been quiet this time.
Felicia: Don't be fooled by that stupid bat, Head Mod.
Head Mod*: Huh?
Felicia: Why would that lazy bat suddenly volunteer to work hard? Isn't it obvious? :)
DieHardVampire: Shut up.
Come to think of it, she had a point.
DieHardVampire wasn't lazy.
Whenever a massive troll like Frederick appeared, she would even deal with it personally.
But she usually didn't get involved in minor tasks like this.
Besides, the fact that she had volunteered to help so urgently made it feel a little strange.
Then Felicia continued chatting as if she knew everything.
Felicia: She's only trying to curry favor with you now. Isn't that obvious?
Felicia: I can see right through her ulterior motive. :)
DieHardVampire: ...That's not it.
“Ah.”
Was she still worried about the previous imprisoned-and-broken vampire obsession incident?
Felicia: (A dragon emote saying “You're a dummy”)
DieHardVampire: Kyaaagh!
Still, I wasn't terribly worried.
[Lilian's Horn]
Hides the user's location.
“The dryer is god, and I am invincible.”
As long as I had the horn that the popular user Dryer had given me, I wouldn't be kidnapped unless I chose to go willingly.
Whatever the reason, if the Gallery was returning to normal, wasn't that a good thing?
About an hour passed like that.
DieHardVampire: (A GIF of a toad-like magical beast trembling in fear)
I caught one for now.
The rift isn't generating the fog. These guys that came out of the rift are emitting it.
“Oh.”
There had already been some progress.
Moreover, it seemed the fog was coming from the magical beasts rather than the rift.
“Looks like we can solve this quickly.”
With the reality cheat code DieHardVampire personally stepping in, I thought the problem might be resolved in no time.
DieHardVampire: Ah.
(A GIF of magical beasts scurrying into hiding)
...Head Mod, they're hiding.
Head Mod*: Huh?
But things changed once the toad-like magical beasts began hiding.
DieHardVampire could move freely inside the fog.
And there wasn't any magical beast capable of stopping her.
So the magical beasts chose to spread throughout the World Tree and hide completely.
Even if she got lucky and caught one, there was still a problem.
The remaining dozens or hundreds of them would scurry away and hide.
DieHardVampire: ...Should I just burn them all?
FullHPElf: Eek, no!!!
But we couldn't simply burn them all. Even if its interior was empty, the sacred tree was still the sacred tree.
The sacred tree was the history of the elves and their spiritual pillar.
FullHPElf, who had been shrinking between the two strongest sub-mods, was startled and hurriedly stopped her.
“Hmm. I didn't know magical beasts would hide.”
This had become a real headache.
If things continued like this, there didn't seem to be any hope of solving the problem even with DieHardVampire stepping in.
But I couldn't go all the way there and use the drone myself, either.
If I handed it to an elf, all I could picture was the drone being split into “Dwa” and “Ron” the instant it was given to them.
Just as I was about to furrow my brow while wondering what to do,
[Level up! New feature unlocked!]
[Sub-Mod Totem Lv1]
Thanks to the experience I had nearly accumulated, I was able to level up.
“Sub-Mod Totem...?”
The name was a little strange. No, it was very strange.
But none of the features I had received as level-up rewards so far had been useless.
Surely this time, too, I had gained a useful feature that could solve the situation?
The moment I checked the ability with anticipation...!
[Sub-Mod Totem Lv1]
You can use a sub-mod like a totem.
Cast time: 1 hour
“?”
The description was incredibly half-hearted.
But that was fine.
“I guess I'll know once I try it.”
Fortunately, I had an easygoing blue elf slave—or rather, FullHPElf—right there.
*
“Ugh...”
The strength left an elf's pupils, and soon she collapsed to the floor.
The other elves were much the same.
“...I can't get any closer.”
“The fog has already reached this far...”
The Elrad Forest, the elves' territory and the region protected by the World Tree.
But now, it had all become a thing of the past.
The elves trembled in fear as they watched the fog approach their city, Eladrien.
“C-Captain, what should we do?”
The elven knights were highly skilled, but fog couldn't be cut with a sword.
Besides, their mana rapidly drained just from approaching it, and they soon fell asleep, leaving them unable to do anything.
Even if there was an enemy, they would need to see it to do anything, but every single one of them was hiding and couldn't be seen properly.
Eliana gazed at the Gallery with a complicated expression.
‘If even DieHardVampire can't do anything about this, there's nothing we can do.’
She was just about to decide that they should return to the queen and report the current situation.
“Gasp!”
“Captain?”
Eliana's ears perked up.
With her ears pointing upward like antennas, Eliana felt an inexplicable sense of incongruity.
“This is...”
It felt as though another kind of energy had entered her body.
[‘Sub-Mod Totem’ Terms and Conditions Agreement]
1. Consent to the collection and use of personal information (Required)
2. Consent to vision sharing and function utilization (Required)
3. Consent to receive call notifications (Optional)
“Huh?”
Then strange phrases appeared one after another in front of Eliana's eyes.
Eliana was startled when the Gallery suddenly activated, but only for a moment.
Soon, a notification arrived from the Head Mod, as if he had been waiting for this.
Head Mod*: Can you read this?
FullHPElf: What is all this?
FullHPElf: It says this is a terms agreement, but what's a Sub-Mod Totem?
Head Mod*: Ah... that?
Head Mod*: Just agree to it, yeah.
Eliana turned her gaze back to the terms.
[We accept no responsibility whatsoever for damages arising from failure to properly read the terms and conditions.]
The wording was suspicious no matter how she looked at it.
But Eliana relaxed her narrowed eyes and dismissed her suspicions.
“He's trying to help, after all...”
Besides, she had already given him a bracelet braided from her own hair.
It was too late to start doubting him now.
FullHPElf: Got it. Do I check here?
Head Mod*: Why yes, dear customer ^^
“Hmmm.”
It was suspicious no matter how she looked at it.
Eliana soon pressed the check button, and—
“Eeeek.”
A strange sensation spread throughout her body, followed by a sudden weakness that made her sink to the floor.
“C-Captain!”
“Good grief, I told you to take it easy on the booze!”
“Y-you...!”
Unlike the other elves, Eliana wasn't much of a drinker and tried to protest.
But her trembling legs and weakness made it impossible for her to speak properly.
-Whirrr.
“Huh?”
Then a quiet yet strange whirring sound reached her ears.
When the elves turned their heads in that direction, something was floating beside Eliana.
They hadn't sensed even a trace of mana from it, and they hadn't noticed it at all, even when it came right up to them.
Head Mod*: Wow, this works.
Head Mod*: Woooooo!
A strange metallic life-form floated comfortably in midair, as if defying reality.
It was a reconnaissance drone.