Chapter 242
Rendered speechless by the mysterious sight, we finally snapped back to reality and carefully examined the glowing orbs. Looking closely, we realized that what we had taken for orbs was something blue and transparent in the shape of a fish no bigger than a medaka.
When I extended a finger, the fish came closer and playfully pecked at it through my gauntlet. Its comical movements were just like those of a doctor fish.
"Kirils, what is this?"
"This is a Water Spirit... the embodiment of water-element magic. They aren't living creatures; they're magic itself, which has developed a will and begun to move. Why don't you try using 【Appraisal】, Izam?"
"In that case, I'll take you up on your offer..."
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Water Spirit Quality: Divine Rarity: C (Common Grade)
Water-element magic that has begun to move.
It is not a living creature, but possesses a minimal will.
They exist anywhere with water-element magic, but almost never reveal themselves.
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I used 【Appraisal】 as Kirils suggested, and the description was exactly as he had said. Its Quality was the highest grade, 'Divine,' but its Rarity was the lowest grade, 'C (Common Grade).' Though it looked alive, it apparently counted as an item. Perhaps it was treated like a plant.
It had been created directly by a god, much like the rewards from trials, but its Rarity was low because countless Water Spirits existed. They rarely showed themselves, but in reality there must be countless spirits.
"There are especially many Water Spirits in this pond, and they answer when we call to them."
"Do you know what conditions must be met for them to show themselves?"
"Who knows? They've come whenever I've called them since I was a kid. Still, anyone in our clan can take the 'Water Spirit User' Job. I don't know whether we can obtain the Job because we can communicate with Water Spirits, or whether we can communicate with Water Spirits because we meet the Job's requirements."
So they come when called? Since that had been the norm for him ever since childhood, it seemed even he didn't know the conditions. On top of that, we had learned about an unknown Job. Its requirements were unknown as well.
It was very interesting information, but without knowing the requirements, it was difficult even to aim for the Job. If this village had an item that could summon Water Spirits, I wished they had one they could spare us.
"I see... But the way you put that makes it sound as though there are spirits of other attributes as well."
"Yeah. Apparently there are spirits corresponding to the elemental magic attributes, along with various other spirits. If you want to know the details, ask Grandpa. Though I don't know if he knows that much about them either."
Hmm. It wasn't certain, but there was a chance the Elder knew something. We had to go home today, but I would ask him about it the next time we came. I also wanted to bring our other companions along so they could see this sight for themselves.
"Thank you for showing us such a wonderful sight. May we come again with our other companions sometime soon?"
"Of course! Your companions will be welcome even if you aren't with them! But make sure you tell them not to eat any dangerous fruit next time, all right?"
"I know. Right, Cal?"
"Grrrroar!"
Cal seemed to have learned his lesson after being paralyzed and unable to move, and he let out a sorrowful growl. Finding that adorable, I vigorously scratched his neck before we leaped onto his back and left the 'Dark Elf Village' just as we had when we first entered the forest.
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You logged in. After that, we returned safely without any particular trouble and logged out immediately. Since I had logged in a little late today, the twenty-four-hour penalty had already expired. I was free to go to the event area whenever I wanted.
However, after what had happened yesterday, I decided not to go to the event area today. It wasn't as though I was aiming for a high score in the event, so there was no problem.
"Oh? What an unusual combination."
When I entered the lounge, I found Iris, Mikero, Toji, and Wool there—a peculiar combination. It was rare enough that I commented on it aloud. Iris usually acted with Shitake, Mikero with Nenashi, Toji with Eiji, and Wool with Shifune.
Iris was paired with Shitake through their production work, while the other three had been with their original partners from the start. Since they had known one another for so long, they coordinated more easily and felt more at ease with their partners than with our other companions. Seeing one member of each pair gathered here made this an undeniably unusual combination, wouldn't you say?
"Oh, Izam. Hello."
"Oh, Izam-sama. Yesterday must have been rough."
"I heard about it. They say you went on a rampage with Jigoro as a sworn-brother duo?"
"What?! How did you hear about that?!"
"It's on the message board."
"...Damn this information age."
Apparently, everyone knew about my rampage. Information spread instantly in this day and age, no matter how trivial, so there was no way news of a battle fought in front of a crowd would fail to circulate.
Iris said it as usual, Mikero sounded concerned, Toji wore an amused smile, and Wool said it matter-of-factly. The other three are one thing, but Toji-san? Don't make fun of people when they're in trouble!
"Setting public opinion aside, since I couldn't go to the event yesterday, I went to the Dark Elf Village with Jigoro. Here's the map information."
"Oh!"
"I'll give the items to Iris. They might be useful for something and could provide inspiration for your creations. Tell Shitake they're free to use them as well."
"That would be a great help!"
I told them what I had learned during yesterday's exploration and entrusted them with the items. While I was at it, I compiled the map information and everything that had happened in the village, then sent it to everyone in the clan. Now we could go there whenever we wanted, and even if Kirils and the others became wary of us, they would know that my companions were with me.
"So, how did things go for everyone else? You went to the event area, didn't you?"
"About that... It seems a little trouble is inevitable when you're a nonhuman. The dungeon was pretty fun, but a bunch of guys kept hitting on me. They were saying something about oni girls."
"I was mistaken for a wild monster and attacked more than ten times. The same happened to Nenashi-san."
"People shied away from me too. They stared at me, which was a little unpleasant..."
"I was fine. But people were scared of Shifune."
They seemed to have troubles of their own. I didn't really understand what an oni girl was, but Toji was clearly nonhuman thanks to such features as the horn on his forehead, while objectively speaking, he was a voluptuous beauty. On top of that, he wore a provocative dancer's outfit, so it was hardly surprising that people approached him.
Mikero looked like nothing more than a huge floating eyeball with tentacles, so being feared was only natural. I had flinched when I first saw Mikero as well. Iris probably had a similar problem.
Wool was probably the sole exception. From a distance, he looked like nothing more than a strangely colored sheep, so people likely didn't feel threatened. However, Shifune, who had accompanied him, was a huge spider, so there were bound to be plenty of people who disliked spiders. In reality, both were a type of Demon and quite evil, though.
"So even if you haven't gone on a rampage like we did, your troubles never end."
"That's how it is."
"What will you do today, Izam? Shall we all participate in the event together?"
"No, I think I'll refrain today. I'll take this opportunity to make contact with the last of the humanlike Races said to live on this continent."
"That was the Metallica, wasn't it?"
I nodded at Mikero's confirming question. According to the information we had heard from the Nadeus clan, this continent of Timbrica was home to four Races known as humanlike peoples: the Scar, who possessed tattoo-like markings; the Dark Elves, with their dark skin and long ears; the Centaurs, whose lower bodies had four legs; and the small, metallic Metallica.
We had already made contact with three of those Races. We could not claim to have formed deep ties with them, but we had managed to build friendly relationships with all three. In that case, it was only natural that I would set out to befriend the last of them, the Metallica.
"Please let me come along!"
"Sounds interesting. I'm coming too."
"Then I will join you as well."
"Me too."
Their eagerness was reassuring. However, did we really not need to wait for their usual partners? I had assumed they had arranged to meet them, but I would ask.
"Leaving Iris aside, what about the usual partners of you three?"
"You mean Eiji? We aren't a package deal."
"I heard that Nenashi-san probably won't be able to log in because of some personal matter."
"Shifune has a little fever, so she can't come today."
So they hadn't arranged to meet anyone. In that case, I could take them along without worrying. We would head to the mountain said to be home to the Metallica in a six-member party, Cal included. I didn't know what sort of place the mountain was, but we could look forward to finding out when we got there.
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We enjoyed a brief journey through the sky on Cal's back. There wasn't enough room for everyone to ride, however, so Iris and Toji rode on his back, Wool was carried by Cal, I flew alongside him, and Mikero hung below with his tentacles tied around one of Cal's hind legs.
As always, Cal's ability to fly was a tremendous help. Traveling on foot often became troublesome depending on the terrain, and most importantly, it drastically reduced the number of battles we had to fight. We could avoid being worn out before reaching the places we wanted to explore.
"That's our destination, right? That mountain?"
"There's smoke rising from it. Is it an active volcano?"
"I heard the field was called the 'Spearrock Fortune Mine.' I thought it would be either a snowy mountain or a volcano, but it turned out to be the latter."
The mountain soon came into view. It was a volcano with billowing smoke rising from its summit. There were almost no trees on its slopes. Instead, rocks as sharp as spears stood everywhere, like a field of swords. I see—that was the origin of the name 'Spearrock.'
Since fields tended to be grasslands, forests, or caves, visiting a volcano was especially exciting. I looked forward to the monsters we would encounter and the materials we could obtain.
"Grrr? GRAAAAR!"
"Cal? Are we under attack?!"
We were brimming with anticipation for our volcanic adventure, but Cal sensed something and let out a threatening roar. We hurriedly readied our weapons and followed his gaze. A huge shadow was diving toward us from above the clouds.
"A-Dragon?!"
Iris let out a scream when she saw the enemy attacking us. As she said, its form closely resembled that of a Dragon, being a flying reptile covered in hard scales. However, I knew that it was not a Dragon.
"No, it's different! Its forelegs are wings. Is that...?!"
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Before I could identify the monster, it fired a gigantic fireball from its mouth. We couldn't evade it in time, and we plummeted, engulfed in the blast.