Chapter 83
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Forest Beast Turtle Shell Quality: Poor Rarity: C (Common)
The shell of an extremely hard and heavy Forest Beast Turtle.
It is highly valued as a material for shields and armor.
It has been scarred by repeated physical attacks, leaving fewer portions that can be processed.
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Hmm. It has deteriorated. However, it doesn't seem to have been caused by attacks using its elemental weakness. Rather, it looks like the physical attacks by Jigoro and the others were responsible. Well, I suppose that's only natural, considering they kept beating it until the shell cracked.
However, this has given rise to a hypothesis. In the case of Forest Beast Turtles, perhaps defeating them in one blow with Lightning Magic keeps their materials from deteriorating. Maybe there are monsters that should be attacked with their weak attribute and others that shouldn't. This will require further testing.
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—Forest Beast Turtles wander around this riverbank every so often. Let's try various things while defeating them.
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Your Race level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.
Your Job level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.
【Intelligence Enhancement】 level has increased.
【Spirit Enhancement】 level has increased.
【Health Recovery Speed Increase】 level has increased.
【Magic Power Recovery Speed Increase】 level has increased.
【Time-Space Magic】 level has increased.
You learned a new spell: Haste.
【Malefic Arts】 level has increased.
You learned a new spell: Starvation.
【Appraisal】 level has increased.
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Yes, I've completed the testing. My leveling is going smoothly as well. So, let's look at the new spells and other things I obtained along the way.
【Intelligence Enhancement】, 【Spirit Enhancement】, 【Health Recovery Speed Increase】, and 【Magic Power Recovery Speed Increase】 reached level 15, while 【Appraisal】 reached level 25, so I received notifications. I hope my levels continue rising at this pace.
Next is Haste from 【Time-Space Magic】. This isn't a spell that makes your legs move faster. Instead, it accelerates the consciousness of whoever it is cast on. In other words, it makes your own movements and those around you appear to be in slow motion. The notable point is that your body doesn't move at that speed.
FSW already accelerates your perceived time, but I wonder whether accelerating it even further places a burden on the human brain. Then again, there apparently is an auxiliary system that allows me to move arms I don't have in reality, so I suppose it handles things properly in that regard. I have no specialized knowledge about this, so I really have no idea, but if it were dangerous, there would be no way it could have become a product. I think it's probably fine... or at least, I hope so.
Another drawback is that this spell consumes a great deal of magic power and can only be cast on myself. However, my convenient 【Talisman Arts】 Skill should be able to solve that problem. If I imbue it into talismans, anyone should be able to use it.
Jigoro and Genjuro had really wanted it. It should make a fine trump card when the time comes, so I need to raise its level to 20 as quickly as possible!
Finally, there's Starvation from 【Malefic Arts】. This spell accelerates the decrease of the target's fullness. In FSW, every Race except those like mine, which do not need food, has to eat, and consuming food fills a gauge called fullness.
Its maximum value is 100, and when it reaches 0, severe penalties are applied to the player's stats. When it reaches -50, the player starves to death.
This spell forcibly lowers that fullness. If I can cast it during battle, there's no doubt it will make the enemy flustered and anxious.
Just imagine it. Your fullness suddenly starts dropping rapidly, forcing you to become painfully aware that stat penalties are drawing near. You are gradually made aware of your own death. Anyone encountering it for the first time would panic for sure.
The countermeasure is to eat. The amount of fullness that can be reduced is fixed at 100, so you can manage by chewing on portable food while fighting. Of course, there won't be any time to eat leisurely in the middle of battle, and I won't give them the opportunity!
Now, let's look at the results of my main investigation into the drops. For now, these are the items other than the shells that I obtained from the Forest Beast Turtles.
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Forest Beast Turtle Meat Quality: Acceptable Rarity: C (Common)
Forest Beast Turtle meat. Edible.
It has a somewhat distinctive flavor, but many people become hooked on it.
It has invigorating properties and is also in demand for that reason.
Forest Beast Turtle Liver Quality: Good Rarity: R (Rare)
Forest Beast Turtle liver. Edible.
It has a rich, full-bodied flavor and many fans among gourmets everywhere.
It has stronger invigorating properties than the meat and can also be used as an ingredient in expensive medicines.
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"Still, who'd have thought lightning would spoil the meat..."
"When you think about it, that's only natural."
So, the rare drop from Forest Beast Turtles was their liver. The meat deteriorated when they were attacked with 【Lightning Magic】, and the liver apparently stopped dropping altogether.
In other words, if I want shells, I should use 【Lightning Magic】 as much as possible. If I want meat or liver, I should defeat them with physical attacks or by some method other than 【Lightning Magic】. I already knew that the way a monster should be defeated depends on the material I want, from when I fought moving Skeletons in the cave, but this reminded me once again that I need to keep it firmly in mind.
"Looks like there aren't any more monsters around here that can put up a fight."
"Magic Echo... Ah. At least, none are showing up on my detection."
"After we defeated that many, I suppose not."
We had hunted Forest Beast Turtles indiscriminately to test things and gather items. The Evil Fish in the water had fled far away to avoid us, and we had also defeated the Wind Wolves and Cyclopes that came to drink from the river, so there really was nothing left.
"We may have overdone it, but let's accomplish our original objective. For now, we'll head south."
"Indeed. There aren't even any ordinary monsters left, so all that's left is to challenge the boss."
"Today's main course, huh? I can't wait!"
"Kyu-kyuu!"
The two men and one creature looked like they were having a wonderful time. Well, I was looking forward to it too, for that matter. Challenging an unknown powerful enemy alongside my companions was great fun. Now, who knows what we'll find...?
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For a while, we continued heading south along the river. Although the river meandered, it was steadily heading south. It seemed we would reach our destination simply by continuing along the riverbank.
"Say, isn't the ground getting more and more barren?"
"You think so too, brother?"
As Jigoro said, the vegetation gradually, but unmistakably, changed as we headed south. Specifically, the trees became sparse, and not a single plant grew in the undergrowth apart from weeds with enough vitality to survive.
The river's water volume had also decreased considerably, and the water itself was cloudy and filthy. The fact that I couldn't even see the large silhouettes of the Evil Fish should give you an idea of how poor its clarity was. Had the river somehow reached a state where even monsters could no longer live in it?
"Could the boss be the cause? ...No, we shouldn't jump to conclusions."
"Yes, you're right. Still, I also think it's highly likely that the boss is responsible."
It would be anticlimactic if this land had become so blatantly barren, only for us to find nothing when we got to the bottom of it. If the boss wasn't responsible, then I figured this had to be some sort of quest flag. Of course, FSW could also be called a game set in a virtual world like those in the WSS series, so perhaps the land was simply infertile.
"Assuming the boss is responsible, what kind of Skill could be causing this?"
I posed the question that had arisen after the environment around us began to change. What kind of Skill could make the environment barren? No matter how much thought I gave to the boss, it might be pointless, since the boss had a habit of casually defying my predictions. Even so, I couldn't help asking.
"Maybe it's stealing the nutrients from the land."
"Then you think the boss is a plant-type monster?"
"That's what I think."
I see. Jigoro's prediction seemed quite logical. I wasn't a farmer, so I couldn't say for sure, but if it was gathering nutrients from a wide area, it made sense that there would be almost no vegetation. Perhaps only species capable of surviving in barren soil remained.
"That may be so. However, I believe it is a monster with a water-related Skill as well."
"Oh? What makes you think that?"
Genjuro agreed with Jigoro but offered a different opinion. I decided to hear him out.
"Could it be sucking a great deal of water out of the ground, causing the vegetation to wither? That would explain why the ordinary trees have died."
"Hmm... Perhaps it is both."
A plant-type monster absorbing nutrients and water from the land across a wide area. That would explain the surrounding environment... or so it seemed. Yet I couldn't shake the feeling that I was overlooking something.
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"There's really nothing left now."
"Yes... But I can see our destination."
After walking south for a dozen or so minutes, we traversed a barren wasteland where not even a single weed grew. At last, we reached the end of the river—in other words, the southern edge of Vetus Floating Island.
I hadn't thought much about it until now because it was large enough to rival a continent despite being called a floating island, but we were in the sky. Its edge naturally formed a sheer cliff. The sight of cliffs stretching as far as I could see was a little frightening even for someone who wasn't afraid of heights like me.
The river we had followed grew wider and wider downstream, eventually reaching roughly 200 meters by my estimate. It had become a massive waterfall flowing over the edge of the island. It was quite a spectacular sight, reminiscent of Niagara Falls, which I had seen in videos.
Because of the river's considerable width, several sandbars had formed from accumulated sediment. Apparently, that was where the boss area was. To be more specific, I could see a gigantic shadow on the widest sandbar.
"...That's a turtle, right?"
"It is. It's just way too damn big."
"Indeed, it is a turtle."
The true identity of the shadow on the sandbar was a gigantic turtle. But it wasn't an ordinary turtle. It was absolutely enormous.
Forest Beast Turtles were about the size of a kei car to a passenger car, but this one was even larger by far. To give you an idea of its size, it was about as large as a three-ton truck.
Its overall form was also much more aggressive than that of a Forest Beast Turtle. Its head and limbs were tucked inside its shell, so I couldn't determine its exact shape. However, its shell was densely covered in sharper, longer spikes. Purple smoke continuously billowed from the bases of the spikes, suggesting that it had some kind of special effect.
Turtles normally tuck their heads, four legs, and tails into their shells. And yet this one had two additional pairs of legs. That alone made it clear that this was no ordinary monster.
"All right, I'll use 【Appraisal】 for now. How about we decide whether to fight it afterward?"
"Hey, hey! Don't get us all the way here just to make us wait, brother!"
"Indeed! We should use 【Appraisal】 to determine our battle strategy!"
Ugh... These battle-crazed maniacs. They were treating the fight as a foregone conclusion. Even though we were overwhelmingly likely to lose, their enthusiasm hadn't diminished in the slightest!
I had no choice. There didn't seem to be any alternative to fighting. But I didn't want to die, nor did I want Cal to die. So, to improve our odds even a little, I used 【Appraisal】.
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Race: Tarasque Lv55
Job: Venom User Lv5
Skill: 【Poison Fangs】
Skill: 【Shell】
Skill: 【Tail Strike】
Skill: 【Water-Ice Magic】
Skill: 【Health Enhancement】
Skill: 【Strength Enhancement】
Skill: 【Defense Enhancement】
Skill: 【Intelligence Enhancement】
Skill: 【Spirit Enhancement】
Skill: 【Ambush】
Skill: 【Sneak】
Skill: 【Aquatic】
Skill: 【Flame】
Skill: 【Venom】
Skill: 【Projectile】
Skill: 【Predation Recovery】
Skill: 【Physical Resistance】
Skill: 【Poison Resistance】
Skill: 【Water Attribute Resistance】
Skill: 【Fire Attribute Resistance】
Skill: 【Lightning Attribute Vulnerability】
Skill: 【Dragon Factor】
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Th-This is...!? I have all kinds of things to say, but let me get this one out first. This thing has 【Dragon Factor】! That alone confirms that it's a formidable opponent!
And it's a Tarasque, huh? It's a turtle monster that's not a major one, but not exactly a minor one either. It appears to be based on the Forest Beast Turtle, with Skills related to poison and flame added in accordance with its name.
"Whoa! It has 【Dragon Factor】! That guarantees this is going to be fun!"
"Even if it can use 【Fire Magic】, it won't mean much if it can't land a hit. Besides, we're gradually overcoming that weakness, at least somewhat."
This was their reaction when I told them the results of the Appraisal. Rather than becoming cautious, they seemed even more eager to fight.
I understand. I understand! Let's do this! The three of us and one creature are going to take down that Tarasque!