Chapter 6
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Your 【Light Attribute Vulnerability】 Skill has been reduced.
You have received 2 system notifications.
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I logged in. I slept for about six hours, so my head feels clear. Oh, I still earned some experience even then? That's a nice bonus. A little adds up to a lot, as they say.
So, a notice from the administrators. Let's see... What? Event information? There's going to be an arena tournament and an exhibition and judging of player-created works next Sunday. Hmm, I see.
The humans are having such a friendly time. Since entering the city is an automatic disqualification for me, a monster player, I have no choice but to skip the events. Well, I'm planning to play the villain, so I wasn't that interested anyway.
More importantly, hunting comes first. The Skeleton duo still has plenty of use left in them, and they were enough yesterday, so there's no need to bring along any new minions. Let's go.
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"I turned back around this point yesterday, didn't I?"
I continued east through the sewer, mowing down Lesser Ratmen along the way. I was currently six blocks east of my base. There had been a few battles, but nothing worth mentioning. In fact, now that my level had risen, Lesser Ratmen were starting to feel too weak. The experience wasn't even worth much anymore. Wasn't there anything more suitable to fight?
"Stand by."
Something emerged from a side passage in the sewer, so I ordered my minions to wait. It hadn't noticed us. From its silhouette, it appeared to be a Lesser Ratman, but something was strange. The shadow seemed to be carrying a weapon. I had to use 【Appraisal】.
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Race: Ratman Lv??
Job: Apprentice Warrior Lv3
Skill: 【Gluttony】
【Fangs】
【Sword】
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Huh? No, no, what the hell is that thing!? I nearly let out a strange noise. The "Lesser" in its name was gone, which meant this was one of the evolved individuals mentioned in the explanation—a higher species.
Evolution is the process by which any race that meets certain conditions is strengthened into the next stage. Evolved individuals have increased abilities across the board and are apparently overwhelmingly stronger than they were before evolving. In other words, that Ratman was in a completely different league from the Lesser Ratmen I'd fought until now.
What surprised me most of all was that it had a Job. None of the Lesser Ratmen had Jobs!
The fact that I couldn't see its level with 【Appraisal】 made it obvious that it was stronger than me. Fortunately, it hadn't noticed me. So what should I do?
"Magic Boost, Trap Magic Circle Placement..."
All right, let's do this. Retreating now would be no fun. Stronger than me? Bring it on. I'll turn you into experience!
"Activate Magic Circle... Here goes! Dark Lance!"
"Djyugyaa!?"
I fired a Dark Lance strengthened as much as possible with 【Enchantment】 and 【Magic Circle】. The black spear flew straight at the Ratman, and thanks to 【Surprise Attack】, it tore away about thirty percent of its health.
But in other words, even with 【Surprise Attack】, it had only lost thirty percent of its health. My Dark Lance could kill a Lesser Ratman outright even without 【Surprise Attack】, so this thing must have several times as much health. Its resistance to magic was probably higher too, though I had no way of knowing the exact numbers.
"Djyugaaaaaaaaa!"
In any case, I definitely hadn't killed it. The Ratman seemed to have gone berserk with rage after being ambushed. It charged at me with a deep roar too powerful to come from a rat. Still, that much was within my expectations.
"Stone Ball, Water Ball!"
I fired the two spells in succession. If my 【Magic Circle】 level were higher, I could use them simultaneously, but there was no point wishing for what I didn't have.
My spells flew straight toward the Ratman. But as expected of an evolved individual, it easily dodged them with agile movements.
"Got you."
"Dyu?"
I grinned as my plan worked. Even a lesser species had tried to avoid my spells. There was no way this one couldn't do the same. So I used 【Spell Control】 to alter the spells' trajectories, but didn't try to force a hit; instead, I encouraged it to dodge and led it into the trap. It was a strategy I could only pull off because the sewer was so narrow.
The trap I had set with 【Trap Magic】 was the 'Agility-Reducing Curse' from 【Curse Magic】. The Ratman was now panicking because its legs had suddenly become difficult to move. This was my chance.
"Fire Ball, Wind Ball!"
"Gag...!"
This time, I used 【Spell Control】. The Ratman had assumed that magic spells couldn't home in on a target, so it had apparently thought it could dodge them even with its legs slowed. The Fire Ball suddenly twisted off course, struck it, and set it ablaze, while the pursuing Wind Ball tore into its body. That left the enemy with fifty percent of its health!
"Dark Lance!"
I slammed a Dark Lance into the staggering Ratman. As expected of my strongest attack, it took a full ten percent of its health in one blow.
"Dyiigyaaaaa!"
"Magic Ball, tch!"
The Ratman had been taking hit after hit, but it seemed to have abandoned evasion. It came straight at me while enduring the damage from Magic Ball. Attack is the best defense, huh? In this situation, that was exactly right, damn it!
"Go!"
"Clatter..."
Following my order, one of the minions I had left on standby slammed into the Ratman's waist. The difference in strength was so great that it barely slowed the creature down. In fact, the Ratman continued advancing despite seeming annoyed.
"Idiot. Explode!"
"Dyiiii!?"
With a thunderous boom, my minion exploded into pieces. What I used here was 【Necromancy】. 【Necromancy】 allows me to command, strengthen, and create Undead, and one of the commands available is 'Self-Destruct.' It even works on minions summoned with 【Summoning】.
'Self-Destruct' deals damage equal to the minion's remaining health and can also trigger additional effects depending on what self-destructed, making it a vicious command. In exchange, I take the risk of losing one of my walls, so I suppose that keeps it balanced.
The additional effects for a Skeleton are slashing and piercing damage from scattered bones, along with a low chance of causing bleeding. Bleeding is a status ailment that deals slip damage, just like poison. The difference is that its slip damage is lower, but if left untreated, it inflicts a penalty on your stats. Now, what happened?
"Dyu, dyu..."
The Ratman was in a gruesome state, with bones sticking all over its body, but the marker above its head indicated that it wasn't bleeding. It was a matter of chance, so I couldn't complain.
However, it was barely breathing and on the verge of death. I could finish it off like this... Wait, this is bad! A last-ditch burst of strength, huh? It's fast!
"Dyuaraa!"
"Protect me!"
"Clatter..."
"Dyuwwww!"
"Whoa! The strengthened Skeleton cut it in half with one stroke? What power! That would kill me instantly!"
"Dyudjudju!"
"Guh!"
The wall protecting me was gone. I was in a desperate bind. And I had no means of breaking out of this situation. I was checkmated.
"Djyugaa!"
"Is this it for me...?"
The Ratman raised its sword and charged forward in one powerful step, roaring as it became certain of its victory. The next time I woke up, it would be in the bed in my laboratory.
"Or so you thought?"
"Gah...?"
Heh heh heh. It had underestimated me. When my minion self-destructed and blocked its vision, I had set another 【Trap Magic】 at my feet in preparation for the worst! Naturally, I had imbued it with my strongest attack, Dark Lance.
The instant the Ratman triggered the trap, a black spear shot up from beneath its feet and pierced its chest. That appeared to be a vital spot, because its already almost-depleted health vanished in an instant. I had won.
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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.
Your 【Staff】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Mana Control】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Earth Magic】 Skill level has increased.
You learned Stone Lance and Stone Wall.
Your 【Water Magic】 Skill level has increased.
You learned Water Lance and Water Wall.
Your 【Fire Magic】 Skill level has increased.
You learned Fire Lance and Fire Wall.
Your 【Wind Magic】 Skill level has increased.
You learned Wind Lance and Wind Wall.
Your 【Dark Magic】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Non-Elemental Magic】 Skill level has increased.
You learned Magic Sword and Magic Shield.
Your 【Summoning】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Enchantment】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Magic Circle】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Necromancy】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Curse Magic】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Trap Magic】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Appraisal】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Stealth】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Sneak】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Surprise Attack】 Skill level has increased.
You acquired the Title 'Overthrowing the Powerful.'
You acquired the Title 'Master Strategist.'
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"Heh-heh-heh-heh, kuh-kuh-kuh-kuh-kuh, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
I did it! I really did it! The sense of accomplishment was so great that I couldn't help bursting into a three-stage villain laugh! If even one card in my hand had been missing, I would have respawned on the bed in my private room by now.
No, honestly, that was insanely tough. But it goes to show that trying is worthwhile. My mana was almost empty, and my minions were gone, so I couldn't hunt anymore. Still, there was no denying that I'd gained more than enough in return. Not only had a whole host of Skills leveled up, but I'd also acquired many new spells and two Titles. I should take a look.
First, the spells. 【Dark Magic】 had Dark Lance and Dark Wave, but do the four elements get a Lance and a Wall each? It's true that mages can't rely on weapons and armor for defense. I'm grateful to have access to defensive magic this early.
The problem is 【Non-Elemental Magic】. I won't know until I test it, but could this be magic for close combat? It feels like an emergency measure for when something gets close. I hope I never have to use it.
Next, the Titles. Here are the details of each.
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Overthrowing the Powerful
A Title awarded to those who defeat a superior opponent alone.
Strengthens all abilities when fighting an enemy of a higher level.
Acquisition requirement: At Lv5 or higher, defeat alone an enemy at least twice your level.
Master Strategist
A Title awarded to exceptionally gifted strategists.
Increases trap damage, lowers the chance of traps being discovered, and slightly increases allies' abilities.
Acquisition requirement: Defeat alone, without taking damage, an enemy at least twice your level by using a trap.
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Hmm, wonderful. It really is wonderful, but... the title Master Strategist is embarrassing, to say the least. Master Strategist is a title better suited to Zhang Liang of the Former Han or Zhuge Liang Kongming of the Records of the Three Kingdoms. As someone aspiring to be a villain, I'm happy to have something that sounds the part, but it's far too grand for someone like me who merely got lucky.
The acquisition requirements were so strict that they probably never expected a small fry like me to obtain it. Still, it won't hurt to have, so I'll gratefully accept it. Now, let's strip the materials from the corpse and head back.
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Your 【Stealth】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Sneak】 Skill level has increased.
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That was terrifying. There are a lot of Ratmen roaming around that area. It's far too dangerous. I'll suspend my exploration to the east for now. I should wait until I'm able to hunt at least one Ratman without any trouble.
Huh? You're asking whether the Ratman dropped any items? ...Don't ask. It makes me sad. Read the room.
Now, what should I read while my mana recovers? The laboratory materials would be good, but come to think of it, I never finished reading the previous owner's diary. I stopped at the section about the library. Shall I try reading it to the end?
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Ugh... I shouldn't have read it. As the diary progresses, its writer grows more and more unwell. It leaves the worst sort of aftertaste.
Apparently, what drove this person to become obsessed with 【Necromancy】 and the like was the loss of their beloved family. They tried to find some way to bring them back to life, and that was what led them to 【Necromancy】.
But while 【Necromancy】 could turn their family into zombies, that was a far cry from resurrection. So they seem to have expanded into 【Curse Magic】 and other fields in pursuit of a more complete resurrection.
However, their research progressed at a snail's pace, and the frustration building inside them gradually ate away at their sanity. By around the middle of the diary, they were writing nothing but complete gibberish, and honestly, it was depressing. But as the end drew near, they seemed to have made some kind of progress. The diary ends with the following entry.
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□ Month △ Day
At long last. At long last, my dream—my family's resurrection—will come true. I've finally discovered how to acquire 【Spirit Summoning】, the art of calling the souls of the dead into the mortal world. It requires offering the flesh and blood of one hundred pure maidens and a saintess to the Netherworld. Now that I know the conditions, all I have to do is gather one hundred and one women.
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【Spirit Summoning】, huh. The technique of calling the souls of the dead into the mortal world, was it? That was the sort of thing practiced by the itako mediums of Tohoku, right?
It would suit my aesthetic perfectly, but unfortunately, I have no intention of slaughtering NPCs. Unlike players, they don't respawn, so I'd rather avoid killing them. I'll look for another way. If this is the only way... I'll give up.
Would I really be able to give up? I won't know until the time comes. To think I'd be torn between my principles and my selfish desires... It really drives home that I don't have the personality to be the protagonist!