Chapter 65
A monster egg. It is an item Eefa-sama gave me during the labyrinth event, along with my trusty (?) scythe. Its quality and rarity are both unknown, as is the monster that will hatch from it. It is a black box filled with unknowns.
The only thing we know, as stated in its description, is that it apparently absorbs mana from its owner. I have never even consciously noticed that, though...
When a sudden notification told me the monster egg was going to hatch, I thought, Seriously? Even so, I obediently took the egg out of my Inventory.
The shell has taken on the same ominous coloration as ever... Wait, it's gotten bigger again! The fact that an egg can grow is bizarre enough on its own. What in the world is going to hatch from it...?
"Izam, what's the matter? Why did you suddenly take out an egg?"
Iris was delighted as if it were her own. I never expected her to be this happy. I was almost embarrassed.
"I just got a notification saying it was going to hatch."
"Really? Congratulations!"
Iris was delighted as if it were her own. I never expected her to be this happy. I was almost embarrassed.
"Come to think of it, Bro had something like that."
"I wonder what will hatch from it?"
"Who knows?"
Oh, the three of them had shifted their interest to the egg. You fickle lot.
"There's no way a skeleton is going to hatch, though."
"Nah, old man. You never know. This is a game, after all. There's a decent chance something bony could hatch from it right from the start."
"Huh? Then I don't want to take care of it."
"E-Everyone..."
Y-You guys...! You sure are saying whatever you want!
It's fine! I wouldn't mind a skeleton at all! I'd actually welcome it!
"Ah! There's a crack in the shell!"
What!? I leaned forward and stared intently at the egg. Sure enough, a crack had appeared at its very top! The crack gradually widened from the force inside and extended downward.
We watched the process with tense expressions. The joking atmosphere from moments ago had already vanished completely.
Crack!
At last, the crack reached the part touching the ground, and the eggshell split in half. And inside was...
'Oh, it seems to be one of my kind.'
"W-Whaaaa!?"
"A-Agnasrerim-sama!? Why are you here!?"
G-Good grief! I was so engrossed in the egg that I hadn't paid any attention to my surroundings!
Even with such an enormous body, Agnasrerim-sama could conceal his presence completely? It must have been the effect of some Skill... But this was no time for speculation. We hurriedly turned around and found ourselves face-to-face with Agnasrerim-sama.
'No, I suddenly felt the power of one of my kind... your power, grow stronger. I came to see what had happened.'
"I'm sorry for causing you concern."
How kind of him. It was probably because Agnasrerim-sama recognized us as friends, but was it really all right for him to come this far from the lake?
'I have duties to fulfill, so I cannot stay here for long... But what is that small one of my kind?'
That's right. One of Agnasrerim-sama's kind. In other words, a dragon had hatched from the egg!
However, its appearance bore no resemblance to Agnasrerim-sama. As the Aqua Dragon Lord, his scales were blue, evoking water just as his Race name implied. This little one, however, was black.
Its scales were a deep black, as if darkness had been condensed into them. Its claws and fangs were still underdeveloped, but could not hide their sharpness, and it had four horns. Its two pairs of wings—four in all—were folded for now, but were rather large for its body. Finally, it had golden eyes and deep-crimson pupils.
I hesitate to put it this way, but a sinister air was already seeping from it despite being a child! No, it was cute, really! Absolutely, without exaggeration! I was just worried it might turn rebellious when it grew up...
The young dragon looked around curiously. When it spotted me, it stared intently at me with those eyes. A few seconds later, it stood up on its hind legs, toddled over, and hugged my leg.
"Kyu!"
'Looks like it's saying "Papa."'
"Pa...pa!?"
P-Papa!? M-Me? Well, it had grown by absorbing my mana, so I suppose that made me its papa... somehow. I never dreamed I would become the father of a dragon child without even getting married!
While awkwardly trying to soothe the young dragon as it rubbed its body against my leg, I recounted exactly how it had come into being. I explained that I had received the egg from Eefa-sama, and this was what had happened to it.
'Hmm... Did that goddess... plan this far ahead?'
Oh? So Agnasrerim-sama knows Eefa-sama? Agnasrerim-sama did not seem to have a very favorable impression of her, though. His expression looked somewhat displeased.
'Well, never mind. The truth exists only in her head.'
"I see."
'As for that child, raise it with care, all right?'
"Of course."
Why was Agnasrerim-sama cautioning me like that? This child was my Tamed Monster, but it was also a new companion. There was no way I would fail to cherish it.
'So, have you thought of a name yet?'
"I'm ashamed to say I haven't. The egg hatched so suddenly..."
I had only just taken it out after being told it would suddenly hatch, and then Agnasrerim-sama arrived immediately after it was born. I had not had any time to think of a name!
All right, then. I would have Agnasrerim-sama take responsibility for this!
"That's right, this must be some kind of connection. Agnasrerim-sama, if you would, could you please give this child a name?"
'Hmm? Sure. Let's see...'
After thinking for a little while, Agnasrerim-sama opened his mouth.
'How about Karnagtoor? In the ancient tongue of dragons, it means "Ruler of the Night Sky." It suits that child, don't you think?'
Karnagtoor... 'Ruler of the Night Sky,' huh? What a wonderful name!
"Thank you, Agnasrerim-sama. ...All right!"
"Kyu?"
I picked up the young dragon, which had been playfully clinging to my leg the whole time. The way it tilted its head as if asking what was wrong was incredibly adorable.
"Your name is Karnagtoor! You are the 'Ruler of the Night Sky'!"
"Kyu!"
Oh, it's delighted! Then it's settled!
――――――――――
Set your Tamed Monster's Name (Dragon Puppy) to 'Karnagtoor'?
Yes/No
――――――――――
Of course, Yes! This should be reflected in its Status now.
'Well, I'm glad it seems to like it. ...I should be heading back soon. Come visit again.'
"Yes. We'd be happy to visit."
"Kyu-kyuu!"
Thus, Agnasrerim-sama left. He had helped us in so many ways! I would have to repay him someday.
"Agnasrerim-sama has left."
"Yes, that's right. Karnagtoor... no, Kar. Go greet my companions."
"Kyu-kyuu!"
From my arms, Kar cried out in an innocent, adorable voice.
"S-So cute!!"
"It looks like it'll grow strong!"
"Yes, yes. It reminds me of Ruby when she was a baby."
The two women were completely smitten just from that. It was very cute, after all. I had no objection!
Jigoro was as usual. Genjuro had become a kindly old grandpa. The situation was becoming quite chaotic.
"I-Izam!"
"Let me hold it!"
"S-Sure, I don't mind. ...Go on."
"Kyu!"
It isn't intimidated at all! Was it simply curious, or could it tell that Iris and the others weren't dangerous...?
Oh, right. As its master, I could freely view a Tamed Monster's Status. I might as well check it now. Let's see...
――――――――――
Name: Karnagtoor
Race: Dragon Puppy Lv0
Job: Young Dragon Lv0
Skill: 【Claws】
【Fangs】
【Stamina Boost】
【Strength Boost】
【Defense Boost】
【Intelligence Boost】
【Mental Boost】
【Fire Magic】
【Dark Magic】
【Null Magic】
【Flight】
【Dragon Scales】
【Dragon Breath】
――――――――――
No, wait, isn't it strong? Seriously strong? It's only just been born, but couldn't it make short work of a Ratman?
S-So this is what dragonkind is like. They are in a completely different league from other monsters. For one thing, they have none of the weaknesses we do. That alone means they can force an opponent into a head-on battle.
And then there are Skills called 【Dragon Scales】 and 【Dragon Breath】. They are clearly Skills exclusive to dragons. I already confirmed that 【Dragon Breath】 possessed tremendous power when I used it earlier. Then 【Dragon Scales】 must be powerful too. I could tell from its name that it had something to do with defense, but I would not know its specific effect until I had it use the Skill.
It was an all-purpose type capable of both close and long-range combat. Was Agility its only weakness? Even so, we should develop its strengths rather than worry about that. I would raise it as a flying fortress!
Now that I had decided on a child-rearing (?) policy, it was time to fulfill the purpose that had brought us here. What? We had a reason for coming here? This was the destination marked on the map I received from the Grave Keeper!
Looking back, it had been a long journey. We left the familiar sewers, crossed the northern mountain where Jigoro's family lived, joined the conflict between the Lizardmen and Toadmen at a lake that was supposed to be nothing more than a detour, and conquered an unexplored area filled with birds. It had been quite an adventure.
Everyone was absorbed in Karnagtoor, but I could not wait for them to settle down. Who knew how long that might take! I would recite the incantation while I had the chance.
"Um...
The longed-for vision of days gone by was the path we tread,
The vast sky we once gazed upon is now our paradise,
Yet infernal flames scorched the heavens, reducing all we had to ash,
What is written here is the remnant of our dreams, our pride, and our hopes,
What we left behind is the Keystone of Space-Time, and the truth of the keystone's secret art,
People, people, fear not; everything you seek lies only ahead,
...will that do?"
In short, the incantation said, 'We created a utopia, but it perished. If you want what we left behind, do not be afraid—just keep moving forward.' We might obtain the legacy of an ancient civilization, but I was also curious about what had caused its downfall.
I did not know anything specific about the legacy. However, the phrase 'Keystone of Space-Time' was probably a clue. Space-time was easy enough to understand, but what was the keystone a metaphor for? Hmm... I had no idea!
Besides, I had recited the incantation I deciphered with 【Archaeology】, but what was supposed to happen now? Surely an angel was not going to show up. As Jigoro had said, it was probably just a suspicious scrap of paper...
Psssh!
"Huh?"
What was that compressed-air sound!? Wasn't that the kind of noise you heard in factories?
The completely out-of-place noise brought the four people who had been doting on Kar back to their senses. I turned toward the sound along with everyone else.
"That just now came from that rock... right?"
"Yeah. It sounded that way to me too."
I nodded in response to Iris's hesitant confirmation. The huge boulder in the boss area appeared to be the source of the sound.
"...Let's go."
"Kyu!"
"...Pfft!"
The situation had been building up nicely, but Kar's energetic reply completely deflated the tension. No, I should think of it as relieving the unnecessary tension we had been carrying.
Apparently, Kar still could not fly properly, so I gently picked it up in my four arms. Its happy chirps at that alone were already soothing me, so I had no right to say anything about the other four.
We reached the huge boulder in a few seconds. Since we had heard a strange noise, I expected some major change, but I could not see anything different at a glance.
"Ah! I found it! Here!"
Fortunately, we had Ruby, who was good at this sort of thing. She immediately spotted something odd on the rock face. There was a remarkably modern-looking switch there.
"W-What do we do?"
"What do we do, you say?"
Ruby looked anxious for some reason, but villains and suspicious buttons had been a classic combination since time immemorial. And when pressing a button, one must never forget the customary line!
"...Boop!"
Whirr...
The button I pressed was apparently the door's open/close button. The section beside it must have been the door, because it opened to the left and right like an automatic door.
"The surface of the rock itself is a door...?"
"Whoa! This is to counter 【Detection】!"
The 【Detection】 Skill was essential to the Scout Job Ruby possessed. It was useful for finding traps and hidden switches like the one from earlier, but when the rock itself was made into a door like this, it apparently ended up being judged as not hidden.
In other words, it was a crafty concealment method that exploited the characteristics of the Skill. Could we use this method someday when establishing a base? I would keep it in the back of my mind.
Oh, no, my thoughts were getting sidetracked. I had no idea what awaited us, but the scent of another new adventure was drifting our way!
――――――――――
You have discovered the hidden area 'Ancient Mobile Tower.'
You receive 10 SP as a discovery reward.
――――――――――
So this really was a hidden area too. And its name was 'Ancient Mobile Tower.' Movement... and the 'Keystone of Space-Time'... Somehow, I felt like I understood what we might obtain here.
Well, it was only a hunch. We should head inside right away!