Chapter 152
――――――――――
You selected Chaos Abyss Dragon Bone Elder Lich.
You began evolving into Chaos Abyss Dragon Bone Elder Lich.
Your 【Undead Wisdom】 level increased through evolution.
Your 【Abyss Dweller】 level increased through evolution.
Your 【Abyssal Aura】 level increased through evolution.
You acquired 【Floating Skull】 through evolution.
You acquired 【Will to Live】 through evolution.
Your Hourai Staff, Skull Mask, and Moon Hagoromo advanced by one stage through evolution.
――――――――――
This is the log from when I evolved. Yeah, this Skeleton-kun is definitely the effect of 【Floating Skull】. It matches my current situation perfectly, so it absolutely has to be.
The only evolution option available to me was the Race known as Chaos Abyss Dragon Bone Elder Lich. Here's its description.
――――――――――
Chaos Abyss Dragon Bone Elder Lich
A new species of Elder Lich that can use all Abyss-type magic, has parts of a dragon incorporated into its body, and has had various additional parts added through 【Alchemy】.
It is expected to possess strength far beyond that of a normal Elder Lich, but because it is a new species, its precise combat ability cannot be measured.
――――――――――
The wording is almost exactly the same as that of the previous Chaos Abyss Dragon Bone High Lich. I suppose it's the legitimate evolution path. Though since it's still a new species, the idea of a legitimate path seems rather meaningless.
As for the two newly acquired Skills, 【Floating Skull】 and 【Will to Live】, they apparently are Skills that an Elder Lich can acquire. Let's examine them one at a time.
With 【Floating Skull】, skulls that provide covering fire float around the Elder Lich. Of course, covering fire comes with limitations. They can fire only one type of magic attribute selected beforehand. Apparently, magic cast by 【Floating Skull】 receives no bonuses from staves or equipment, so its power doesn't increase much. What's more, if one is destroyed by an attack from 【Floating Head】, it takes six hours in real time—or one full day in-game—to revive. The support magic also consumes a substantial amount of MP, so the Skill can hardly be called reliable, and it certainly can't serve as a trump card in the usual sense.
However, it can serve as insurance. That's the effect of the other Skill, 【Will to Live】. When my HP is depleted, I revive in a critical state, but only if 【Floating Skull】 remains. In short, it lets me avoid death once. That's probably why it's called 'Will to Live.'
This is an interesting Skill, and it would be useful for ordinary adventuring. But in player-versus-player combat, it would be difficult to make good use of. Against someone seeing it for the first time, I could pretend to be dead and then launch a counterattack, but the information would spread immediately and they would certainly prepare a countermeasure. If I were fighting someone with this Skill, the first thing I would do would be to destroy 【Floating Skull】. That would eliminate the annoying covering fire as well, killing two birds with one stone.
Even so, I couldn't increase my number of heads after all. Even if I hadn't increased them, I would have acquired 【Floating Skull】 as an Elder Lich, so all that effort was a complete waste. What a shame...
"...Sorry for losing my composure. I've calmed down now."
"That's fine, but... what exactly is that skeleton?"
"I'll explain everything all at once later, so wait. I want to finish my Job Change first."
With that, I quickly selected my Job. Naturally, I chose the Abyss Sage that I hadn't selected last time. Since none of my companions had any means of healing, I chose the priest-type Apostle of Death and Chaos last time. Now that I can use 【Soul Arts】, a type of healing magic that had been my goal then, I can finally proceed along my true path!
――――――――――
'Abyss Sage' was selected.
――――――――――
Hmm, it seems I didn't gain any Skills from this Job Change. Or rather, that Job must have been special. Since I know that now, I'm not disappointed. In any case, that concludes my fifth evolution and Job Change!
"It's done. Now, about this skeleton..."
I briefly explained the skeleton floating beside me. They seemed relieved to learn that it wasn't because I'd tried to grow additional heads. Even so, they didn't seem able to get used to a skull bobbing around in their field of vision, and Eiji in particular kept glancing at it.
"So, is Prince-san here yet? We've been waiting quite a while..."
"Yeah... Today is a weekday, and I can't play for very long..."
It was a weekday, and the event had only just ended. The game ran at four times real-world speed, which was convenient, but today I probably wouldn't be able to do more than scout. We were already running short on time, so I wanted him to arrive as soon as possible...
"Thank you for waiting, everyone. His Highness is ready, so please gather in front of the royal castle."
"Speak of the devil."
"Indeed."
Just as we started talking about Jahal-dono, it seemed that he had finished preparing. Shall we go join him?
◆◇◆◇◆◇
When we left the royal castle, Jahal-dono was waiting there in full armor with three Boar Orcs. Two were vanguard fighters, and one was a mage carrying a staff. Were they the prince's guards? No, more importantly, we'd kept an important person waiting.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Your Highness."
"Ah, no, don't worry about it, honored guest!"
Apparently, we got off without being reprimanded. What a relief.
Jahal-dono was small and slender for a Boar Orc, but once armed, he was still tremendously intimidating. He probably wasn't as skilled as his father, but he was clearly a formidable fighter in his own right.
As an aside, metal armor isn't very popular in Bigdaleio. That's because people in this country prefer weapons and armor made from materials taken from monsters they have defeated. Eiji and Toji use metal, though.
Powerful monsters roam the area around the country, and the stronger a warrior is, the more likely they are to obtain materials harder than run-of-the-mill metal. Thus, aside from weapons, only those who are still low-level or have some very particular preference use metal armor. It doesn't seem to be because of the heat.
Indeed, Jahal-dono's armor appeared to be made primarily from monster materials. He probably used scales, shells, or exoskeletons from monsters he had defeated himself. What interested me more, however, was the weapon he held.
"Does Your Highness use a spear?"
I had only just arrived in Bigdaleio, but I hadn't seen a single Orc or Boar Orc warrior using a spear. They generally used large axes like Eiji's, great hammers, or swords that could only be swung with both hands. These weapons made good use of their tremendous power, so I didn't find them unusual, but Jahal-dono seemed to be different.
"Uh, yes... No, I mean, that's right! I... I find this easier to use!"
"I see."
"More importantly, let's get going!"
"Then we'll part ways here, everyone."
Jigoro and the others nodded. From here, only Cal and I would accompany Jahal-dono. This was an investigation, so there was no point in bringing along a larger group. We would head to the site, while the others gathered information and hunted monsters as a form of coordination training.
Besides, today was a weekday, so we were disbanding here to let everyone log out whenever they wanted. I might end up a little sleep-deprived, but it couldn't be helped.
Who knows what we might run into. I didn't even know whether the investigation would succeed. But since I'd accepted the job, all I could do was give it my best!
◆◇◆◇◆◇
We temporarily disbanded our party with Jigoro and the others, immediately joined Jahal-dono's party, and set out. I had expected us to walk to the site, but a prince's departure called for special treatment. A vehicle had been prepared for us.
It was a large sled pulled by Scale Camels, camel monsters with scales instead of fur. Though it was called a sled, this was Bigdaleio's version of a chariot. Apparently, it was configured for the desert; if the sled section were removed and wheels attached, it could be converted for use in the wilderness.
Apparently, the sled itself was a magic item, and its body was extremely sturdy, so it wouldn't break easily. It also had a mounted ballista for the passengers to use. This powerful weapon fired huge bolts, like two-meter-long spears. On top of that, a Magic Shield automatically activated whenever the Scale Camels were attacked. It even had a function to reduce shaking in the cargo bed. How convenient.
When Iris saw it, she was so fascinated that she forgot how exhausted the heat had made her. It must have stimulated her inspiration. I hope it proves useful for her future creations.
"Yaaahoooooo! The wind feels sooo good!"
An extremely exuberant voice came from below. Who do you think it belonged to? Surprisingly, it was Jahal-dono, who had been making a point of speaking formally until just moments ago.
According to his guards, the prince was what you might call a speed demon. They also said that he was exceptionally agile, even among Boar Orcs. In fact, he could run faster than the chariot, but apparently he simply loved riding vehicles like this and racing along at full speed.
Wait, he can run faster than the chariot? Isn't that incredible? But he said, "My father... His Majesty can run even faster!" He was joking, right?
"Y-Your Highness! Please calm down! In front of the honored guests!?"
"No! I don't get many chances to race around like this!"
Because of his position, Jahal-dono apparently rarely had the chance to ride the chariot at full speed. So, using the need to reach the investigation site quickly as a pretext, he was driving the chariot at nearly its maximum speed.
...He might be more of a mischievous brat than I expected. He's a close match for Prince Lysandros, who was a bundle of curiosity. Are all royal children bundles of curiosity?
"Does Your Highness not have a mount of your own?"
"I want one! But there isn't a monster that can carry me and sprint at full speed..."
Jahal-dono hung his head at my offhand question. Ah, yes, carrying him would certainly be difficult. Even if he was small for a Boar Orc, he was huge compared with a human, and clearly had far more muscle mass. Add that impressive armor and his large spear, and he probably weighed at least 150 kilograms.
It would be impossible for a mount to run around carrying that much weight. Even the chariot they were pulling now required four Scale Camels. In fact, although Bigdaleio had a cavalry, none of its members were Boar Orcs. Since there were no suitable riding monsters nearby, it was difficult for Boar Orcs to serve as cavalry.
"That's unfortunate..."
"But I haven't given up! Someday, I'll find a partner that won't have any trouble carrying me!"
Perhaps the prince will become the first mounted Boar Orc. Finding a monster he could ride would be an incredibly difficult task, though.
"Hmm, we're almost at our destination! This is as far as we can go!"
"Then let's stop here."
It seems we'll be detected if we go any farther. A gigantic sandstorm is visible far ahead, large enough to make out even from here. It looks to be over a hundred meters high, but Cal and I could easily fly higher than that. We should probably be fine.
Now it's my turn to do my job. I'll observe the area from above and determine what is causing this anomaly!