Chapter 69
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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.
Your tamed monster, Karnagtur, acquired 【Tail Strike】.
【Staff】 level has increased.
【Scythe Arts】 level has increased.
You learned the martial skill Great Flying Slash from 【Scythe Arts】.
【Intelligence Enhancement】 level has increased.
【Mental Enhancement】 level has increased.
【Vitality Recovery Rate Increase】 level has increased.
【Magic Recovery Rate Increase】 level has increased.
【Precise Magic Control】 level has increased.
【Earth Magic】 level has increased.
【Water and Ice Magic】 level has increased.
【Fire Magic】 level has increased.
【Storm Magic】 level has increased.
【Wood Magic】 level has increased.
【Lava Magic】 level has increased.
【Sandstorm Magic】 level has increased.
【Smog Magic】 level has increased.
【Lightning Magic】 level has increased.
【Explosive Magic】 level has increased.
【Holy Magic】 level has increased.
You learned a new Holy Ray spell.
【Dark Magic】 level has increased.
【Space-Time Magic】 level has increased.
You learned a new Base Teleport spell.
【Void Magic】 level has increased.
【Summoning】 level has increased.
【Enchantment】 level has increased.
【Talisman Arts】 level has increased.
【Magic Circles】 level has increased.
【Necromancy】 level has increased.
【Curse Magic】 level has increased.
【Trap Magic】 level has increased.
【Spiritism】 level has increased.
【Evil Magic】 level has increased.
【Appraisal】 level has increased.
【Assassination Arts】 level has increased.
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Today is Friday night. In the game, it's past noon. We are about to begin exploring Vetus Floating Island.
Hmm? What have I been doing during the weekdays this week? Since then, I've been fishing and then beating them senseless, over and over again. I reduced the fish in the spring by nearly half.
You could say I spent the week diligently leveling up. Even so, I'm only level 35, so I've gone up just two levels.
The only monsters that appeared were Great Evil Fish. Most of them were carp, in fact. So let me introduce a monster that wasn't a carp.
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Race: Great Evil Fish—Trout Lv43
Job: Earth Mage Lv3
Skills: 【Fangs】
【Fish Scales】
【Vitality Enhancement】
【Defense Enhancement】
【Intelligence Enhancement】
【Earth Magic】
【Water and Ice Magic】
【Aquatic】
【Water Resistance】
【Lightning Vulnerability】
Race: Great Killer Water Strider Lv44
Job: Assassin Lv4
Skills: 【Proboscis】
【Agility Enhancement】
【Water and Ice Magic】
【Stealth】
【Silent Step】
【Ambush】
【Assassination Arts】
【Water Walking】
【Water Resistance】
【Lightning Vulnerability】
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The Trout wasn't much different, aside from resisting with magic after being reeled in. The problem was the Great Killer Water Strider. What is a Water Strider, you ask? It's an insect called an amenbo in Japanese. I never knew its English name before!
However, they were not opponents we could afford to let our guard down against. They could move across the water without making a sound, so if we focused on fishing, they would attack us without mercy. From behind, no less.
They looked like enormous water striders... though that was frightening enough on its own. In any case, when a group of them attacked us, I was pretty startled. If Ruby hadn't noticed them in advance, we might have been wiped out.
Now then, let me introduce what dropped from these enemies.
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Monster Fish Scale Quality: Good Rarity: C (Common Class)
The scale of a fish that has become a monster.
It is far harder than an ordinary fish scale, making it suitable as armor material.
Scales with beautiful colors or patterns are also in demand as interior decorations.
Water Strider Proboscis Quality: Good Rarity: R (Rare Class)
The organ a monsterified water strider uses to suck up bodily fluids.
It is hard enough to be mistaken for metal, making it suitable as material for piercing weapons.
It is also hollow, so poison or the like can be loaded inside.
Magic Stone (Water) Quality: Excellent Rarity: R (Rare Class)
A stone generated inside a monster. It contains water-aspected magic.
It absorbs and stores magic from the surrounding area.
Its absorption efficiency is proportional to its quality, while its maximum magical capacity is proportional to its rarity.
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There were also other food-related items, such as fish meat, but since they had nothing to do with me, I'll leave them out. Come to think of it, food has never once appeared when I've harvested a monster. Perhaps things you don't need simply don't appear.
In any case, I'm honestly happy about materials for weapons and armor. Elemental magic stones are great, too. The amount my staff can discharge is limited, and I need to have it absorb them at crucial moments, so I'd actually like to keep a large stockpile.
Then there's Cal's growth, the new martial skill, and the magic. Cal leveled up and grew a size larger. Cal's cry is still cute, but Cal's attacks have definitely become sharper and heavier.
The newly acquired 【Tail Strike】 seems to grant a bonus to attacks made with the tail. The tip of Cal's tail has scales that can transform into something like a sword. I may soon get to see Cal slicing enemies apart with it.
As for the new magic, I'll start with Mixed Beast Creation, which I learned from the 【Alchemy】 skill that increased at the Gravekeeper's place. After drawing a dedicated magic circle, putting living creatures or materials inside it, and activating the spell, you can create a monster made from a mixture of them.
The living things can be monsters, of course, but beasts and even humans apparently work too. Any materials can be mixed in as well, including materials dropped by monsters, forged weapons, and even creatures of the same kind. The combinations are truly infinite!
However, if the materials are incompatible, it apparently fails quite often. When it fails, the result either dies immediately or becomes ferocious and starts rampaging. If I ever try it, I'll have to proceed with caution.
Also, the fact that humans can be used as materials feels like extremely dangerous information. Could using a player as material mutate them into a monster...? Well, if it failed, the result would probably be a sight too awful to behold.
Next is Great Flying Slash from 【Scythe Arts】, but... it's exactly what it sounds like. It requires a brief charge, but it's a martial skill that sends a more powerful slash flying. I suspect I'll be using this one a lot from now on.
Next is Holy Ray. This was the spell the mage in the Hero-kun party used when I was the boss in the 'Cursed Grave Tower.' It sends forth a brilliant white beam of light. Still, seeing divine light burst from someone as obviously evil as me was rather surreal.
Finally, Base Teleport. This spell returns you to your respawn point. Its magic cost increases when you're in a party, but apparently the entire party can return together. However, our current respawn point is the house for us in the Lizardman village, so I haven't been using it. Do you have any idea how much trouble it would be to come all the way back here?
"All right, then. Let's depart."
Now that we've finished checking the week's results, we'll begin exploring Vetus Floating Island today! Everyone has leveled up properly, so we should be able to defeat that Ratman King now.
"Yes! Let's go!"
Oh, Iris is raring to go. And no wonder—she evolved while leveling up during the weekdays. The Race she attained was Big Roper Worker. Her body grew a size larger, her defense increased further, and she apparently became able to move her tentacles with greater force. In other words, she had become properly stronger as a monster.
Her raw combat power had increased, but that wasn't all. Apparently, strength is often necessary for production work as well, so she was delighted. In particular, expanding the range of 【Smithing】, which includes tasks that cannot be done without a certain level of physical strength, seemed to be a major improvement.
Anyway, let's depart. First, I, Genzuro, and Cal, who can fly, will carry Jigorou and Iris to the opposite shore of the spring. Both of them are fairly large Races, so it was quite difficult. Meanwhile, Ruby kept watch underwater in case the fish came, as I asked. In the end, none of them came.
We crossed the spring without incident, and a dense forest spread out before us. It looked like an ordinary forest, but its danger was probably incomparable to Fars's western forest. Let's keep our guard up as we advance.
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"Stop. There's something ahead and to the right."
At Ruby's warning from the treetops, we readied our weapons and focused our attention on the area ahead and to the right. After about a minute, something approached with heavy thudding footsteps.
Despite it being daytime, the trees blocked out the sunlight and darkened the surroundings. A bald, one-eyed giant emerged, parting the trees. It was half-naked, wearing only a loincloth, with a single horn growing from its forehead. In its right hand, it held a stone axe made by tying a stone to a piece of wood. Could it be some kind of ogre-like barbarian?
"Grrrrrrr!!"
"It's an enemy. Battle stations!"
Thanks to 【Linguistics】, I could tell it was nothing but hostile toward us. Besides, I had no desire to befriend someone who charged at us roaring the moment we met. First, 【Appraisal】.
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Race: Cyclops Lv45
Job: Berserker Lv5
Skills: 【Fangs】
【Claws】
【Horn】
【Fist】
【Kicking】
【Club Arts】
【Axe Arts】
【Vitality Enhancement】
【Strength Enhancement】
【Defense Enhancement】
【Brute Strength】
【Roar】
【Single Eye】
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The number of Skills it had was considerable, but it was a complete musclehead... I mean, a pure physical attacker. It was sure to use its impressive physique to crush us.
However, I didn't really understand what the 【Single Eye】 Skill meant. Was it a weakness...? Or was there something it could do precisely because it had only one eye?
...No, this was a weakness. This guy might be the perfect pushover for me. Shall I test it out?
"Magic Circle, Sand Wind."
"Graaah!?"
Just as I thought. I was certain of it now: 【Single Eye】 was a weakness. Blinding it like this left it unable to see a thing. Dark Mask might work too, but this was a chance to put the rarely used 【Sandstorm Magic】 to work, so I chose this!
"Take that!"
"Hmph!"
"This is easy!"
"Kyu!"
Great Flying Slash!
The Cyclops covered its eye with its free hand while wildly swinging the stone axe around. That was about all it could do.
But our vanguard was a lineup of monsters. They paid no heed to attacks with no aim, simply punching and slashing at it. Iris and I, who couldn't safely get close, pelted it with martial skills and magic from a distance, while Cal, perhaps imitating me, fired off magic of its own.
"Gaaahhh..."
Since it was the same level as the Ratman King, we would have been in for a very difficult fight if we'd battled it fairly. But the pitiful Cyclops, whose weakness had been exploited, was beaten senseless without a chance to fight back and fell where it stood.
Ever since coming to Vetus Floating Island, we've been having fights like this. Well, we did fight the Great Killer Water Striders head-on. But their vitality was as low as their thin appearance suggested. As long as we were careful not to get hit by their attacks, we could deal with them surprisingly easily.
I don't mind. It's easy, after all. It's just that Jigorou and Genzuro look a little sad... They want to fight powerful opponents, but please bear with it a little longer. I'm begging you!
"Then I'll harvest it."
Iris extended her tentacles and drove a harvesting knife into the Cyclops. Now then, I wonder what dropped?
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Cyclops Horn Quality: Good Rarity: R (Rare Class)
The majestic single horn of a Cyclops, which generally acts alone.
It is harder than metal while also being flexible.
It is difficult to process, but makes excellent material for weapons and armor.
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A horn, huh? We have Iris, a skilled artisan, so I'm sure she'll turn it into excellent equipment.
Now then, we've figured out how to defeat a Cyclops easily. In that case, shall we proceed while hunting them down as usual?