Chapter 167
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You won the battle.
Your Race level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.
Your Job level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.
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We encountered an unexpectedly powerful group of enemies, but we were able to defeat them by applying everything we had learned so far. Even so, should we really turn back here? I had a feeling that if we went any farther, enemies on par with a Spartoi Leader would start appearing in droves. If that happened, we would have to admit that things would become extremely difficult.
It would be foolish to die and lose all the items we had worked so hard to acquire. Let's head back. Knowing what kinds of enemies were here, how to fight them effectively, and what items they dropped was a major gain. Besides, we had filled in a fair portion of the map. The results of our first expedition were excellent.
"Iris, how's the harvesting?"
"It's finished."
"Good. Then let's head back soon. Everyone, gather around."
My Base Teleport was a spell that returned me and my party to our respawn point. Even if we had formed a Union or Legion, if everyone shared the same respawn point, I could teleport us all at once by expending a large amount of mana. Being able to return from anywhere as long as I had mana left was extremely convenient.
"...Hey, Jigoro. How long are you planning to stay there?"
Despite my calling him, Jigoro remained frozen in the pose he had been in after stomping down the Spartoi Leader. What was he doing...? Ah.
"...Sorry, bro. Heal me."
"...Fear Heal."
Looking at Jigoro's icon, I saw that he had been afflicted with the Fear status ailment. He must have unfortunately been affected by the 【Aura of Fear】 when he landed the final blow. I had been distracted by our victory and failed to notice. Sorry, Jigoro.
"Talk about a parting shot."
"Enemies that inflict status ailments through contact are troublesome."
"Like the wolf's 【Aura of Wind】 at 'Ancient Spring,' direct attacks are easier to recognize..."
"GRAAAAAAAAH!!!"
As we reconfirmed how troublesome it was for a stronger enemy to possess 【Aura of Fear】, that roar hammered our eardrums. Two deep, bass-heavy sounds that seemed to shake us from the depths of our bellies had overlapped.
The voice belonged to something stronger than the Spartoi Leader. There was enough power in it to make that certain. There was no way we could win against it in our current state. Turning back here was clearly the best choice.
"We're leaving now."
"...If only we'd left a little sooner."
"What a shame."
Two of them were grumbling, but I decided to ignore them. The rest of the members had nodded silently, after all. And so, our first expedition came to an end.
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Your Race level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.
Your Job level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.
Your tamed monster's Race level has increased.
Your tamed monster's Job level has increased.
The 【Tail Strike】 Skill has leveled up.
You learned the 【Tail Strike】 martial technique, Tail Bind.
The 【Intelligence Enhancement】 Skill has leveled up.
The 【Mental Enhancement】 Skill has leveled up.
The 【Holy Magic】 Skill has leveled up.
You learned the Sanctuary spell.
【Holy Magic】 has reached its growth limit. SP is required to break through the limit.
The 【Curse Magic】 Skill has leveled up.
You learned the Berserk spell.
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A week had passed since our first expedition. During that time, my level had risen by one, and the martial techniques and spells available to me had increased. Let's go over them.
Tail Bind, a technique of 【Tail Strike】, was a martial technique that literally restrained enemies with one's tail. Its binding strength apparently depended on Strength, while how difficult it was to escape depended on Dexterity. Neither of those stats was high enough for me to master it.
Apparently, Iris's 【Capture】 Skill would provide a bonus to its effect, but I had absolutely no desire to spend SP on a Skill I had almost no intention of using. So it would probably end up sitting unused.
Sanctuary, a spell of 【Holy Magic】, was a defensive spell that created a dome-shaped barrier. It had the same properties as 【Holy Shield】 and could block any attack once. Its drawback was that it consumed more mana than 【Holy Shield】. Even so, there was no denying that it was powerful. I hoped I could protect my companions with it when it really counted.
Then 【Holy Magic】 reached its growth limit as well, following 【Dark Magic】, and I spent SP to break through the limit. I never expected the type of magic I had learned last to be the second one to reach its growth limit.
As with learning it normally, was this a penalty for being Undead, a Race that should not have been able to use Light-attribute magic in the first place? Whatever the reason, it saddened me that so much of the SP I had painstakingly saved had disappeared. I would have to start saving again while keeping in mind that the other attributes would eventually reach their growth limits too.
Finally, Berserk from 【Curse Magic】 was a spell that put its target into the same state as if the 【Berserk】 Skill were active. Although it made control more difficult, there was no doubt that it enhanced physical abilities.
So, depending on the situation, I might use it on both enemies and allies. However, I needed to keep in mind that Berserk was, ultimately, a status ailment.
That covered my own situation. As for our clan's overall objective, exploring the 'Black Death Ice Forest,' our progress had been smooth, but we had not finished. In other words, although most of the map had been filled in, we had not yet defeated the boss. There were two reasons for that.
The first reason was simply that the enemies were strong. We could defeat the ones in the shallower areas reliably, but the Undead that appeared even a little farther in were troublesome. If we had members who specialized in magic, we would not struggle quite so much, but there were so many of them, and they fought as if they had nothing to lose, that they almost certainly forced us to consume items. That made extended exploration difficult.
The second reason was that our preparations against 【Aura of Fear】 were not complete. Even if we avoided the Demon Spirits while exploring, Spartoi appeared with high probability once we went deeper. My Fear Heal was essential for countering 【Aura of Fear】, but if we encountered them while I was absent, we would have no choice but to retreat.
It was unbearable to reach a new area only to have to turn back immediately. Until we established a way to deal with them, challenging the boss would be far too reckless.
However, we had not been exploring without thinking. We had challenged the 'Black Death Ice Forest' time and time again, collecting materials and repeating trial and error. As a result, Iris and Shiitake had succeeded in creating an item that increased resistance to Fear. This was it!
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Black Lantern Amulet Quality: Excellent Rarity: S (Special Grade)
An amulet containing a black flame.
Grants high resistance to status ailments inflicted by Undead monsters.
The dragon fangs used as a material enhance its effects.
Equipment Effect: 【Limited Status Ailment Resistance】 Lv 7
※Provides resistance only to status ailments inflicted by Undead monsters.
※Has no effect against status ailments inflicted by Undead monsters level 70 or higher.
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Even giving it every benefit of the doubt, it could hardly be called an all-purpose item for status ailments. It was effective only against status ailments caused by Undead, and the fact that it was useless against high-level enemies was a harsh limitation. The impression I got was that powerful grudges repelled status ailments caused by other monsters.
However, it was effective against Spartoi, Spartoi Leaders, and Demon Spirits. We had already confirmed that simply carrying one almost completely prevented Fear.
Still, gathering enough of them for everyone had been difficult. The problem was the materials. The materials could all be gathered in the 'Black Death Ice Forest,' but one of them was an item made using that 'Black Fire.' It was an item called 'Black Flame,' just as the description of the 'Black Lantern Amulet' stated.
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Black Flame Quality: Good Rarity: S (Special Grade)
A collection of remnants of souls that have become Undead.
It cannot be extinguished by ordinary means, and anyone who touches it carelessly will have their soul whittled away.
The stronger the lingering regrets, the more fiercely it burns.
Gather them and bind them.
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This 'Black Flame' could be made simply by collecting twenty 'Black Fires.' However, gathering that many had been difficult. We had to collect rare drops from Demon Spirits, which were by no means weak, for every member of the party, so that was only natural.
It had been particularly difficult for Sei and me, who needed multiple copies. Unlike me, who only needed two, Sei needed three, including one for his tamed monster, so he had been desperate. Fortunately, Nanako and Mos-san had received extra drops and gave him their surplus, so he had finally gathered enough yesterday.
I could not thank the other members enough for helping with the material gathering. They said it had been a good way to earn experience, but I could not deny that I had put them through a lot of trouble. I swore to myself that I would actively help them whenever they ran into trouble in the future.
Incidentally, I did not need this 'Black Lantern Amulet.' That was because I had 【Status Ailment Immunity】. So, in case of the worst, I should have needed to prepare only one for Cal. Why, then, had I sought one more? Because it was a material for enhancing my weapon, the 'Old Scythe'!
The other material, Black Iron, had already been made by Iris. It was created by fusing iron with a Dark-attribute Magic Stone using the 【Blacksmithing】 Skill. We had known how to make it for quite some time, and I had already had one made, but now I had finally acquired the other material as well.
"Then I'll enhance it."
"Yes, please."
And so, I was visiting Iris's workshop. I had given her the materials and was there to watch her enhance my weapon. I had been with this 'Old Scythe' for quite some time, so for some reason I felt like seeing the process through.
"Put this here... and... there!"
Iris placed the Black Iron ingot in the furnace together with my scythe. The ingot melted into a thick liquid, then began crawling over the surface of the scythe like a Slime, gradually covering it. ...Was this what weapon enhancement was supposed to look like?
"Apparently, when a weapon has a designated enhancement material, the material moves on its own. The weapon even tells you the procedure. The fun part is figuring it out through trial and error, though..."
"It's a little underwhelming for a blacksmith," Iris continued. Apparently, she had researched descriptions of enhancing weapons with specified materials on the crafting forum. As expected of her.
"I'll hammer this to smooth out the uneven parts..."
Iris repeatedly took the scythe out of the furnace, hammered it, and put it back in. She seemed extremely focused, and the tension in the air made me hesitate to speak to her casually.
During that time, the rust on the 'Old Scythe' flaked away, and its chipped edge was restored. In its place, a plain, rugged blade emerged. Surely this was the scythe's true form. Beautiful. That single, hackneyed word dominated my thoughts.
"Yes, this looks good. Time to finish it."
After repeating the process several times, Iris took the 'Black Flame' out of her inventory. She dropped it directly onto the scythe. Without making a sound, the 'Black Flame' sank into the scythe and was absorbed. Immediately afterward, the scythe began shaking violently on its own!
"Whoa!?"
"Eek!?"
Iris and I cried out in surprise. Judging by her reaction, she had not known it would start moving either. Could you please not frighten the blacksmith like that?
"Has it stopped?"
"It... seems so."
The shaking lasted only about ten seconds. The fact that it had stopped so abruptly made it even eerier. So that's what I'd be using? Excellent! It was perfect for me!
"It's finished... Huh?"
"What?"
When I reached for the newly enhanced weapon, the scythe suddenly sprang up and chopped off my head, instantly killing me.