Chapter 58
'What!?'
Agnasrelim-sama openly panicked when he saw the Dragon Orb I had taken out. It apparently belonged to the Dragon God-sama, so that was only natural.
'Where did you get this!?'
He moved his face even closer and stared intently at the Dragon Orb. Perhaps I was no longer even in his field of vision.
But please stop snorting so violently with your face this close! It feels like I'm standing in the middle of a typhoon!
"A-Agnasrelim-sama! P-Please calm down!"
'Ah, yes. I'm sorry.'
Agnasrelim-sama finally came to his senses and returned his head to its original position. However, his gaze remained fixed on the Dragon Orb. Was it really that great a treasure?
'You may already know this, but that belongs to the progenitor of our dragonfolk, the Dragon God-sama. When it was stolen several hundred years ago, the Dragon God-sama ordered the dragonfolk to rampage across every continent in search of the culprit. As a result, several civilizations were destroyed...'
"S-Something like that happened?"
Agnasrelim-sama seemed to be remembering those days as he gazed into the distance. ...What was that Moon-Obsessed Idiot doing!? Hadn't the world nearly been destroyed because of him!? Why bring the climax before the game had even started!?
'In the end, one of the goddesses descended and brought the situation to an end.'
"I-Is that so...?"
No, wait, wait, wait, wait! Doesn't that mean things had progressed to the point where the situation couldn't be resolved unless a goddess personally intervened? If so, did the Dragon God possess power equal to a goddess?
'Putting that aside, my friend, what do you intend to do with this?'
"Yes. If possible, I would like to return it to the Dragon God-sama myself. After all, I was the one who defeated the culprit."
This might be partly a lie. After all, I might no longer be the only one who defeated that Moon-Obsessed Idiot during the 'Trial of the Azure Moon.'
However, it was a fact that I had been the first to defeat him and obtain the Dragon Orb. Therefore, I believe it is my duty to return it to the Dragon God. Besides, although I'm scared, I want to meet the Dragon God, who possesses power on the level of a goddess, just to see something frightening. Humans simply can't resist curiosity!
'I see. That would be best.'
"So what I would like to ask you, Agnasrelim-sama, is where the Dragon God-sama resides."
That's right. I intend to return the Dragon Orb. However, I don't know where to deliver it. That left me completely stuck. That's why I could call myself lucky to have met Agnasrelim-sama, a Dragon Lord. He surely knew where the Dragon God was.
'In that case, I'll tell you. The Dragon God-sama resides on the Vetus Floating Island, as humans call it. We call it the Dragon Paradise—the skyborne land the ancients made float.'
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Yes, today is Sunday. Agnasrelim-sama's account contained far too much information, so I logged out immediately after he left.
And today, the following day, I logged back in. Man, I play until just before bedtime on weekdays and almost all day on my days off. Wait, does that mean ordinary people would consider me a gaming addict...!?
N-No! That's not true! I work diligently as a salaryman on weekdays, so I shouldn't count as a gaming addict! ...Right?
L-Let's stop talking about this. No one will be happy! More importantly, new spells and Titles, as well as Evolution and Job Change, are waiting for me!
First, let's look at the new spells. The additions were Earth Change, Freeze, Flame Body, Wind Blade, Forest, Eruption, Sandstorm, Acid Mist, Thundercloud, Land Mine, Light Armor, Light Lance, and Magic Echo. I'm honestly happy to have gained thirteen types all at once, but checking so many of them is a lot of work.
First, Earth Change is a spell that changes the condition of the ground. It can make the ground hard like concrete or loose and powdery like a beach. It isn't very useful for attacking by itself, but it looks like it could shine in combination with other spells.
However, I mustn't forget that it only changes the ground's condition; it doesn't change its composition. I can harden sand on a beach until it is as solid as concrete, but that doesn't turn it into concrete.
Second, Freeze has a short range, but it can freeze a designated spot solid. It combines the effects of Freeze Touch and Freeze Circle.
The effect seems dramatic, but it consumes a considerable amount of magic, so I need to think carefully about when to use it. It's one of my new trump cards.
Third, Flame Body is a spell that transforms the body into flame. While using it, physical attacks are nullified. However! Its magic consumption rate was so high that even if I used all my magic, it wouldn't last ten seconds. And that was while carrying the Dark Tome, of course.
Furthermore, even though physical attacks are nullified, 【Water and Ice Magic】 deals massive damage, and above all, I can't use any other magic while Flame Body is active. However, my weapons and armor aren't merely left behind—instead, they seem to gain the Fire attribute. If used only for an instant, it should have excellent synergy with a magic warrior.
Fourth, Wind Blade is a spell that launches blades of wind. It seems like the kind of spell I should have learned early on, but its power is absurd. If the target is within range, it can cut even iron. Its cutting edge reminds me of Genzuro's slashes.
It's extremely powerful, but perhaps too powerful to use conveniently. I'll need to adjust its power with Spell Adjustment depending on the situation.
Fifth, Forest is a spell that creates a forest in an instant. It doesn't remain forever; it withers away after about ten minutes, so it can't permanently change the environment.
It should be useful for slowing enemies down while escaping or narrowing their field of vision to increase Ruby's assassination success rate. However, it has no offensive power by itself, and the situations in which it can be used are limited. I wonder whether I'll ever get the chance to use it.
Sixth, Eruption is a spell that causes magma to gush out from designated coordinates. It creates a volcanic crater on the spot.
It deals massive damage if it hits, but the ground shakes before the eruption, making it easy to dodge. It requires the skill to set things up so that the target can be struck for certain.
Seventh, Sandstorm is a spell that creates a storm carrying a large amount of sand. Its simple power isn't much different from Storm, but its ability to blind enemies and hinder their movements with sand deserves attention.
By hindering movement, I mean that sand gets into the gaps in their equipment and makes it difficult to move. It should be effective in player-versus-player combat, especially against someone wearing heavy armor. Another noteworthy point is that this is the first proper offensive spell in 【Sand Dust Magic】.
Eighth, Acid Mist creates an acidic mist, just as the name suggests. The damage itself isn't particularly high, but its greatest feature is that it can damage the enemy's equipment.
The equipment gradually rusts from the acid. There probably aren't many players like Jigoro who can keep fighting with nothing but their fists even after losing their weapons. It should also be effective against weapon-using monsters like Lizardmen. It's perfect for catching an opponent off guard or throwing them into confusion.
Ninth, Thundercloud summons a cloud that rains down lightning. Its power is incomparable to Thunder Arrow, but it has the drawback that lightning only strikes directly beneath the cloud.
Because of the time lag between the cloud forming and the lightning falling, it can be easily avoided by moving away quickly. Perhaps I could make the cloud larger with Spell Adjustment, but that would also drastically increase its magic consumption, so finding the right balance will be difficult.
Tenth, Land Mine is exactly what it sounds like. It's a spell that lays mines that explode when stepped on.
This is a rare spell that can be used to set traps without using 【Trap Magic】. In other words, in addition to the number of traps I can set at once with 【Trap Magic】, I can also place Land Mines. I'll be able to set even more traps from now on! It's very much my kind of spell.
Eleventh, Light Armor temporarily cloaks its target in armor of light. Rather than directly increasing defense like 【Enchantment】, it feels more like creating a disposable defensive barrier.
Apparently, it won't break until its duration expires or it takes an attack too powerful for it to withstand. Since it works against both physical and magical attacks, it's extremely versatile. I may end up using it frequently from now on.
Twelfth, Light Lance is exactly what it sounds like. It's that spell that Hero-kun's party members used so often in 'Cursed Grave Tower.'
I was surprised that a spell bearing the name Lance couldn't be used until its Skill level reached 10. Apparently, its defensive focus is no mere exaggeration.
Even so, I've finally managed to raise 【Light Magic】 to level 10. I haven't evolved it into 【Holy Magic】 yet, but I'm really looking forward to it. Me, with an appearance that could be mistaken for the incarnation of evil, using 'holy' magic... It feels nothing but wrong.
Finally, thirteenth, Magic Echo is a spell that detects beings possessing magic power. It's a spell for searching for enemies.
I no longer need to leave all the searching to Ruby. From now on, I can contribute to detection too. Having more eyes on watch makes it easier to protect ourselves from ambushes and the like. There's no reason not to use it.
Phew, that about covers it. Overall, I got the impression that many of these spells are 'powerful if they hit, but difficult to land.' Perhaps that's the tendency of spells learned at this level.
"Yo, you here, brother?"
Jigoro entered the house as if he'd timed it to coincide with my finishing my review of the spells. He looked somehow refreshed, so he must have gone out and fought until he was satisfied.
"Yeah, just a little while ago."
"Oh, right, listen to this! I went back to that filthy nest with the Lizardmen earlier to hunt down the remaining Toadmen and retrieve the supplies they left behind, and there were two types of monsters nearby I'd never seen before!"
"Oh?"
Apparently, when Jigoro logged in, the Lizardmen had been preparing to head to the nest to hunt down the remaining Toadmen and retrieve their abandoned supplies. He tagged along and fought the Toadmen and the other monsters he encountered in the nest.
The Lizardmen who recovered the Toadmen's supplies must be grinning from ear to ear by now. More importantly, I was interested in the unfamiliar monsters Jigoro mentioned. There shouldn't have been any information about them on the forums. Then perhaps we were the first to discover them?
"What kind of monsters were they?"
"One was a huge fly. It was about the size of a human head. Here's the drop item."
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Big Fly Compound Eyes Quality: Poor Rarity: C (Common)
The compound eyes of a Big Fly, transformed into a monster by gigantification.
Used as ingredients for medicine and alchemy.
Big Fly Forelegs Quality: Poor Rarity: C (Common)
The forelegs of a Big Fly, transformed into a monster by gigantification.
Various pathogenic bacteria are breeding on them, and they can be used as ingredients for alchemy.
――――――――――
This was the result of Appraisal. A Big Fly, huh? It must have been a truly enormous fly. Even just the compound eyes Jigoro had taken out were the size of my palm.
Even I, who wasn't usually bothered by insects, was thoroughly creeped out. Had the Toadmen really lived somewhere with things like this? No, since they were frogs, was this their staple food...? I didn't even want to think about it.
"I don't particularly want to hear it, but what was the other one?"
"A huge grasshopper. Here."
――――――――――
Big Grasshopper Hind Leg Quality: Fair Rarity: C (Common)
The hind leg of a Big Grasshopper, transformed into a monster by gigantification.
Generally shunned, but prized as a delicacy in some regions.
――――――――――
The next thing he produced was a grasshopper's hind leg as large as my arm. Since the description only mentioned eating it, this must be a food item.
I've eaten locust tsukudani before. However, I certainly didn't feel like eating the legs of an insect this large. Iris, who was also in charge of cooking, seemed fine with it, but Ruby looked like she would hate it.
"Can I be honest?"
"Sure."
"We don't need them."
"I figured! Hahaha!"
The Big Fly materials had substitutes, while the Big Grasshopper material was neither edible nor something we wanted to eat. As far as we were concerned, these materials offered very little value.
Jigoro laughed like a child who had successfully pulled off a prank. He knew I'd been hoping useful materials would turn up.
Grrr! For today, I'll admit he got one over on me. I'll get him back once he's forgotten about this. Watching Jigoro continue his uproarious laughter, I steeled myself for that utterly petty resolution.