Mob Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni
Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #100
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 100: Stained Red....... (2)
The
room was filled with a heavy silence.
I'm becoming ...... less human, huh?
I see, as expected of the goddess of knowledge,
Athena's explanation was easy to understand and convincing.
However...
I
glanced at Renge, who had a distressed look on her face, and asked Athena,
"So, what effect will it have on me?"
That is what is important in the end. What
effect will my soul having access to non-humans have...?
Athena's
answer to that was......
『I
don't know.』
That
was what she said.
"You don't know..."
『I'm
not omniscient and omnipotent, and I'm not capable of acting in such a foolish
manner with a human——』
She
gazed at Renge with a cold gaze.
『...I've
never met anyone with such a card. If you think about it positively, the
elevation of the soul's rank may make your body more robust, give you some kind
of power, slow down the aging process, and extend your lifespan.』
Oh, that's pretty good!
I
was inwardly a tad delighted, but Athena continued with a cold look in her
eyes,
『On
the contrary, if we think about it in a negative light, there's no end to the
possibilities. You might suddenly drop dead one day, or grow an extra arm or
eye. Or maybe you could even start to look more and more like Renge and
eventually turn into a girl...』
If I get extra arms and eyes...... I'll be a
monster. That is indeed very bad.......
『In
other words..... not knowing is a serious downside. And......』
Athena
looked at Renge sideways.
『The
biggest problem is that she didn't think of this issue. Usually, she always
seems to care about you and take good care of you. However, when it comes to
certain things, she just doesn't care about your safety......』
"I......"
『I
don't mean to say anything wicked. Utamaro, cut ties with her as soon as
possible. ......Before she regains any more power than she has now.』
Then
silence fell over the room.
Athena
looked at me with tranquil eyes. Renge, with a frown on her face, looked
somewhat ...... like she was about to cry, a look I had never seen before.
I
closed my eyes for a few seconds, made sure there was no doubt in my heart, and
then answered,
“Athena, I appreciate your advice, but ...... I
have no intention of severing my ties with Renge.”
"......Gh!”
Renka
gasped, and Athena looked at me like she was looking at a truly pitiful
creature.
My
life began and changed when I met the Renge and the others. From that moment
on, it was decided that the end would also be with them.
Even if that road is a road to hell paved with
good intentions, I can’t part with them.
『A
martyr...huh? What a pity.』
Athena
shook her head, to which the other cards, who had remained silent until now,
replied one after another,
『Hey~
Athena, could you please not tease her so much? It would be boring if she lost motivation and
there was no competition.』
『Mea.
I wasn't really bullying her....』
『There
were a lot of things I didn't understand, but... I don't think there's any way
that Renge-san would turn against Master.』
『Yuki...
I'm being worried... well, it's fine. Even if I said it, it wouldn't get
through.』
『Kufufufufu,
it's useless, useless I say. I've given that kind of advice to him many times
before, so there is no way he will listen to you, a newcomer to the party.』
『Huh? What is it, you? You're
getting too familiar with me. Can you stop talking to me without permission?』
『Ugh...
this girl, only to me!』
I
patted Renge lightly on the back while smiling at Athena, who was always
strangely salty only toward Suzuka for some reason, and said,
"Well, there's not only Renge, but the
rest of the group as well, so we'll manage."
"Utamaro......"
Seeing
us like that, Athena shook her head in exasperation.
『No
matter how much you say to a martyr, it's futile. Well, it seems that your character is getting
stronger and stronger, and it is not necessarily a bad thing. But please
promise me this. That is, before you get her next [Spiritual recurrence], you
will release my negative skill.......』
“......Okay.”
『And
that you will build a great temple and gather ten thousand followers.』
“I refuse.”
Athena
clicked her tongue as she disappeared, and then I turned to Renge.
And
then, with an effort, I said in my usual tone of voice,
“Ok, let's continue the experiment then...!”
“So we will continue with this current ......
well, that's alright.”
Renge
replied a little shyly and delicately, not making eye contact with me, but
somewhat relieved.
"Mm, yeah. And since there's a time limit
on the [Spiritual recurrence], let's get it over with."
First, I'll start with the luck manipulation
with one Garnet.
Renge
nodded and poured the fortune energy stored inside the Garnet into the Lottery
card.
…As expected, I can sense the energy.
Even
if I can't tell the normal amount of good luck energy, I can faintly sense the
amount and flow of a mass of good luck energy as large as the Garnet.
When
all the Garnet's good luck energy was poured in, I used my Lottery card.
The
result was .......
"Oh! It's the Okuri-Ookami."
An
Okuri-Ookami, a D-rank wolf-type monster. It was a monster that followed people
walking down the street at night and attacked them when they fell down. It was
said that the term 'okuri-ookami1' which refers to a
man who attacks a woman under the guise of sending her home as a kindness,
comes from this yokai.
The
chance of getting a D-rank or higher on a Lottery card was less than 1%. The
'okuri-ookami' is one of the lower D-rank cards, but with only one Garnet, this
result is not bad.
I
would not be able to make use of this even if I had it, so I'll leave it to Ai.
The
okuri-ookami was a yokai with an anecdote about how they attacked people, but
in some areas, it was also said to watch over people so they could return home
safely.
If
Angolmore happened on the way home from school, it would be a good luck charm
to help Ai get home safely.
“Then, we will try it with the Hope Diamond next."
This
time, I took out the Hope Diamond along with a Garnet and used the Lottery card
again.
If this one produces a C-rank card, I can
expect a lot from the Hope Diamond, but
......?!
"Ohhh...!?"
I
couldn't help but exclaim in delight when I saw the card that appeared.
It
was a card of a beautiful young woman wearing ancient Greek clothing along with
ram-like horns.
"Amalthea, C-rank!"
C-rank
in a single swoop! I
thought I would already be lucky if I could get a card with a high D-rank.
I
don't know what the probability of appearance from Lottery cards was, but if we
assume that it was based on the drop rate of the cards, the result was almost
ten times higher.
Does that mean a Hope Diamond is as effective
as ten Carbuncle Garnets?
No,
I feel that, as expected, that would be too much.
Rather,
it is more likely that the Garnet's good fortune was originally just barely
below C-rank, and the Hope Diamond has made it possible for it to reach C-rank.
It
seemed more reasonable to think that way.
"But Amalthea, huh..."
In
Greek mythology, Amalthea was a nymph2 who
was said to have breastfed the infant Zeus.
Her
story had many variations, but one of the most common was that she possessed a cornucopia3, an item of abundance that could
produce all kinds of food.
As
a card, she also possessed this power as a skill, and could produce a variety
of edible items, mainly fruits and animal milk, and can temporarily boost the
stats of those who eat them.
It
was a pretty winner card that was useful in the usual dungeon attack and will
become more and more valuable as a supplier of food during Angolmore in the
future.
“Un... I'm torn, but I think this one is going
to the shelter.”
The
option of using it myself crossed my mind, but after much deliberation, I
decided that it would go to the underground shelter.
Amalthea
was a deity with the role of 'King's Wet Nurse'. Like Bastet, which
Sunahara-san owns, cards with the role of 'King's Wet Nurse' or 'King's Nanny'
often possess protective skills.
Amalthea's
card does not have the same protective power as Bastet's, but it does have the
skill to create a barrier that blocks the presence of those inside and shoulder
any damage they may take.
In
Angolmore, the ability to erase others' presence would be much more reliable
than a bad combat-type card.
Although
the card would be beneficial in a dungeon attack, it would be best to use it
for the shelter.
Having
even one C-rank card in the house makes a big difference in security sense.
......Now then, it's time for the final
experiment, the real deal.
"Renge, I'm going to use Perfect
Link."
"Huh?! Have you forgotten what we just
talked about?!"
Renge
made a shocked face at my words.
She
probably didn't think I'd try to use Perfect Link after what we just heard.
But
.......
"Yeah. To be honest, I can't afford to
seal away Perfect Link for fear of risks that I don't even know if they exist
or not."
In
the previous Angolmore, they managed to prevent A-rank monsters from appearing
outside the dungeon, but in this Angolmore, where the number of dungeons had
increased, A-rank monsters may pour out onto the surface.
Although
the SDF may be able to contain B-rank monsters in the vicinity of the dungeons,
it would be doubtful to control A-rank monsters.
In
other words, the ground itself could become an A-rank dungeon.
To
put it bluntly, if this were to happen, no amount of B-rank cards would be
sufficient.
Even if the entire party is B-ranked, it's still the bare minimum of force.
It
would be too late to regret that I should have used [Perfect Link] to try
getting some useful cards when I faced the A-rank monsters.
To protect my family, I need to get cards that
are as strong as possible......
“Until Angolmore begins, I intend to use
[Perfect Link] to keep my forces as strong as possible until the very last
minute without distorting the law of causality. Instead, once we get through
this Angolmore, I will seal off the [Perfect Link] for good.”
“........................”
At
my decision, Renge's face was contorted and she anguished for a while, but
.......
"I honestly ..... don't believe in myself
the most anymore.”
It
was the first time I had ever seen Renge express vulnerability.
"Athena was right. There is a will inside
me that is not mine, and it is guiding me and the others to regain our power. I
was not aware of it before, but now I understand it clearly. Because.......”
Renge
seemed a little hesitant to say anything, but in the end, she continued as if
resigned,
"... Because, somewhere in the back of my
mind, I still think that there is no problem with you using the [Perfect Link]
even after all this time. It's not good to use [Perfect Link] anymore, no
matter how you think about it."
"Renge..."
Generally,
Renge respected my wishes, but she would give me warnings about things that
were really bad.
The
fact that Renge thought that the obviously dangerous [Perfect Link] was no
problem made it very likely that her thoughts were being manipulated.
“They are probably manipulating our fate
without our awareness so that we cannot perceive the distortion of the law of
causality that occurred as a result. In other words, the distortion may be
accumulating without our knowledge. But you still want to use the [Perfect
Link]?"
“Yes, I do.”
Renge's
eyes widened at my immediate answer.
"That's not like you, Renge."
I
gave her a fearless smile.
"The important thing is to live by your
own will. Right?”
Renge
gasped.
That
was a line she said some time ago.
"It's normal in life to have situations
and choices forced upon you. I made my own decision to use [Perfect Link] to
gain power to protect my family. Even if the situations were arranged for me to
make that choice, the choice was mine. Then, whatever the consequences, at
least I can accept them."
I
can accept it. That was the crucial thing.
On
the other hand, if I did not use the [Perfect Link] because I thought that my
fate might have been manipulated, and as a result my family died because of my
powerlessness, I would regret it for the rest of my life.
If
I had to choose between dying with a sense of satisfaction or living until I
was an old man with regret, I would prefer the former.
And that's----.
"I see...... that makes sense. Indeed,
that's important.”
----
Renge must have felt the same way.
Renge
had regained her usual confident smile, and I grinned.
"Besides, I'm sure you guys will take care
of the fire sparks that's coming down on us, right?"
"Yeah... that's right."
"Well, that's enough of this depressing
topic. Let's just get on with the gacha and end it on a bright and fresh
note."
With
a clap of my hands, I used the [Perfect Link] with Renge.
Beyond
the 99% full synchronization barrier, my and Renge's souls were perfectly in
sync.
Perhaps
it was because I could sense a little bit of good luck energy even with my own
body now, but I felt like the paths of possibility were clearer than usual.
But
....... I couldn't help but frown.
『What
does this mean? There's
no future for drawing an A-rank card.......』
No
matter how much I tried to find such a path of possibility, there was no future
where I could draw an A-rank card.
It
was not that the path was broken along the way, but that the path of
possibility itself did not exist in the first place.
If
the possibility does not exist, no matter how much luck I expend, I will not
get the card.
Was
it impossible to get an A-rank card with a Lottery card?
However,
there was a rumor that an A-rank card had been drawn once. Was that just a mere
rumor?
......Well, that's okay. Originally, I didn't
even think I could pull an A-rank card.
Let's
just say that we will draw a B-rank card.
The amount of good luck needed to draw a B-rank
card is ......
One, two, three, ...... twenty in total, huh?
That's
more than the 14 I used when I received the Kisshouten and Kokuanten drops in
the special-type dungeon.
Is it because, unlike in the dungeon, I haven't
gone beyond the trials of strategy and battle?
I wonder how much good luck the Hope Diamond
adds up.
While
tilting my head, I spent the good luck to change the Lottery card.
The
card I got in that way was ----
"...Kisshouten, huh?"
It
was really a meaningful card, too meaningful.
"I thought it could be so, but they no
longer have any intention of concealing it. Renge, what about the distortion of
the law of causality?”
"...... The usual amount."
"Is that so,......."
Was
it just a coincidence, or was fate being manipulated while the resulting
distortion of the law of causality got hidden ......?
"For now, I'm going to use Amrita."
"Yeah, I'm counting on you."
I
don't have a nosebleed, but I do have a physical fatigue, so I have her use
Amrita.
I guess with this, I'm one step further away
from being human...or something like that.
“Mm......? Utamaro, look at this. Only ten garnets are
broken."
"Oh?”
Looking
at the Garnets beside Renge, ten of the twenty Garnets that were to be used
remained intact.
"Is this... thanks to the Hope
Diamond?"
"That seems to be the case."
So, does that mean the effect of a Hope Diamond
is about the same as ten Garnets?
No. Or maybe it's more like a random increase
of good luck by a few times.
The
good luck needed to pull a B-rank by fate manipulation was equal to 20 Garnets.
If the good luck required is proportional to
the drop rate of the card, the amount of luck required to pull a C-rank is
about 10 Garnets.
Considering that the manipulation of luck for
one Garnet is D-rank without the Hope Diamond and C-rank with the Hope
Diamond...... the amount of good luck per Garnet is between D-rank and C-rank,
and the amplification of the Hope Diamond is roughly two to ten times the
amount of good luck...... I think?
Ah, no, maybe it's wrong to equate the Lottery
cards to the drop rate of cards in the dungeon in the first place.......
Then the only certain thing is that it will
amplify at least twice as much.
Well, I'll get a sense of the extent of the
swings as I try this a few times and keep records.
Right now, the Kisshouten card is more
important than that.
Drawing
this card at this time seemed like someone was trying to say, “Come on, let's
rank up already, raaahhh!"
Well,
this made it the second Kisshouten card, and it would be good to rank Renge up,
but then the question became how to explain it to Anna and the others.
......
Should I explain Renge's abilities now?
In
the face of the threat of Angolmore, the disadvantages of hiding it became
bigger than the advantages.
It
would be more efficient to strengthen our forces by honestly telling them about
Renge's abilities and having them give priority to the Garnets.
"But, hmm......"
What
bothered me was the expression on Anna's face that day.
She
had clearly been happy then.
She
seemed excited that the time had come to test her abilities, as Angolmore would
likely cause harm to many people.
I
have no idea how things would turn out if I told her about Renge's abilities.
Then
there was also the question of how long to hide it if we were to keep it
hidden.
Once
Angolmore starts, I will probably use the B-rank cards I have acquired up to
that point, including the Kisshouten and the Kokuanten, without being able to
hide them.
If
that happens, the Renge's abilities will be exposed either way.
Then
it would build trust if I let them know before Angolmore.
On
the other hand, if I want to keep it hidden, I should leave the Adventurers'
Club altogether.
But
that would mean living with the threat of Angolmore all alone.
...... Can't do that. If I am by myself, I can
do that, but if I want to protect my family, I need to belong to a group.
In addition, I'm already attached to the
Adventurers' Club.
While
I felt a sense of danger from Anna, I also felt a growing attraction to her
beliefs.
...After all, it's impossible to keep it hidden
forever.
I'll
need to reveal it before Angolmore.
The
question was how and when to disclose it.
..... For the time being, let's rank up with
this Kisshouten.
“Renge, I'll rank you up.”
“Ah? ......
Is that okay?”
"Yeah... I'm afraid that if we drag this
out anymore, we might be forced into a situation where we have no choice but to
rank up."
“Oh ...... that's possible.”
Renge
nodded with a scowl on her face.
Now
that I think about it, the situation when Renge got the [Spiritual recurrence]
was also a bit suspicious.
It
was a little too good to be true that I had by chance obtained Amrita
beforehand, and that it just so happened to be the key item for her [Spriritual
recurrence]. That, combined with the fact that my opponent was something I
couldn't win against without [Spiritual recurrence], and that Teacher was there
to make sure I didn't Lost any cards.
I
can only assume that fate was being manipulated to set the stage for Renge's
awakening to [Spiritual recurrence].
So,
it was finally time to rank up Renge ......
I
compared the three cards.
[Race] Kisshouten
[Combat Power] 1,500
[Inborn Skills]
・Kisshouten's
mantra
・Dual
Deity
・Rain
of Amrita
[Acquired Skills]
・Advanced
attack magic・Advanced
Auxiliary Magic
・Chant
shortening
・Breakthrough
of Limits (from Renge)
・Finn's
Thumb (from Eliza)
・Deceit
Detection (from Suzuka)
[Race] Kokuanten
[Combat Power] 750
[Inborn Skills]
・Kokuanten's
mantra: Allows the use of Kokuanten's powers of misfortune, curses, and
poisons.
・Dual
Deity
・The
Night of the End of the World: Able to rain down poisonous liquid containing
all kinds of curses. Deals damage equivalent to advanced attack magic along
with various abnormal status. Contains advanced attack magic and advanced
abnormal status magic.
[Acquired Skills]
・Additional
chant: By chanting longer than usual, the power can be enhanced up to twice as
much.
・Reduced
magic power consumption: Reduces the amount of magic power consumed when using
magic.
・Magic
Enhancement
・Advanced
Ninjutsu (from Yuki)
・Knowledge
of Survival (from Mea)
・Clumsy
(from Dullahan)
First,
here were the stats of the Kisshouten and Kokuanten which were obtained during
the race.
When
a card drops from a special-type dungeon, it will have some of the copied
skills in addition to the skills it would have originally had.
The
number of copied skills depended on the rank of the dungeon in which the card
appeared; a D-rank dungeon usually contained three copied skills. But this time
it was a pair of two cards, so it dropped with all six skills copied.
In
special-type dungeons, you have a chance to get cards with really powerful
skills. But the stronger your party is, the tougher the enemies will be. On the
other hand, if you bring in a weak team, the rewards won't be as good.
Moreover,
for some reason, the chances of negative skills being inherited are
overwhelmingly higher than positive skills.
Well,
I guess you could call it a penalty for trying to pass the test in an easy way.
By
the way, an experiment was conducted to see if this feature could be used to
create a card with a [Zero existence] skill, but it failed because certain
skills did not seem to be eligible for copying.
And
here were the stats of the newly-acquired Kisshouten.
[Race] Kisshouten
[Combat Power] 750
[Inborn Skills]
・Kisshouten's
mantra
・Dual
Deity
・Rain
of Amrita
[Acquired Skills]
・Pride
of Deity
・Advanced
Auxiliary Magic
・Magic
Circle: Has a certain level of knowledge and skill regarding magic circles. Can
enhance, sustain, and make traps of magic through magic circles.
At
first glance, the capabilities of the Kisshouten obtained from the special-type
dungeon seemed superior to the others.
Thanks
to the [Breakthrough of Limits], her combat power was doubled, and she
possessed an array of ready-to-use skills.
......
However, if we consider it as a rank-up destination for Renge, the newer
Kisshouten card would actually be the superior card.
In
all honesty, the stronger Kisshouten shared a lot of skills with the one that
Renge already had.
Among
both cards, there were five skills that Renge does not have: [Advanced
Auxiliary Magic], [Finn's Thumb], [Deceit Detection], [Pride of Deity], and
[Magic Circle].
Of
these, the [Advanced Auxiliary Magic] can be excluded from the decision-making
process, since both cards carry it.
That leaves four......[Deceit Detection] is a
good skill to have in a party, and [Finn's Thumb] is useful but is a skill that
can be obtained with an item.
On the other hand, [Pride of Deity] is a skill
that has aspects of a negative skill, but if there's a strong bond of trust, it
becomes a powerful skill with an extremely positive boost for free actions. And
above all, the [Magic Circle] skill was beyond beneficial.
The
[Magic Circle] skill, as it sounds, was a skill that allowed the creation of a
magic circle.
[Magic
Circle] took longer to activate than chanting magic, but the power of magic
could be enhanced, and magic could be remotely activated or sustained by
placing it on the ground or on an object beforehand.
In
other words, it can be used to create a trap by setting up a magic circle for
offensive magic, a simple base by drawing a magic circle that heals or provides
auxiliary magic, or create a simple magic card that can be used anytime you
want by writing a circle on a piece of paper and carrying it with you ...... so
to speak.
The
last one was particularly a cheat method, and to be honest, I had my suspicions
that, the magic cards might be the product of using magic circle skills to cast
a spell on card-like magic items? That was what I suspected.
If
that were the case, the market price of magic cards may collapse. Adventurers would start using carded magic in
secret, despite the Guild disapproving of it. But most adventurers agree that
this would be the right thing to do.
As
you can see, this skill was indeed very useful, but unlike many powerful
skills, it was not totally unlimited, as was often the case with powerful
skills.
First,
the magic circle uses more magic power than normal magic. Secondly, the magic
power contained in the magic circle gradually disappears over time, and when it
falls below the magic power of a single magic shot, the magic circle
disappears. Finally, the magic circle will disappear when the creator of the
magic circle returns to the card. In other words, all magic circles disappear
when the magician leaves the dungeon.
The
point was that even if you mass-produce simple magic circle cards with [Magic
Circle] skill inside the dungeon, you cannot sell them outside the dungeon to
substitute for magic cards...... But that would be for ordinary cards that
cannot be active outside the dungeon.
Since
Renge can be active as normal outside the dungeon, the magic circle should...
not disappear even if she goes in and out of the dungeon.
As
a matter of fact, my mind was half made up from the moment I saw this [Magic
Circle] skill.
The
only concern I have is whether or not Renge will lose the [Breakthrough of
Limits] with the rank up...... but I probably don't need to worry about this.
If
the aim of the one who is inside Renge is to restore their power, then the
[Breakthrough of Limits] should not be gone.
At
the same time, it would also mean that the concern about Yuki's rank-up would
be much lighter.
So I decided that I would do
the rank-up with the newer Kisshouten.
"Well then, let's rank up. Can you rank up
while activating [Spiritual recurrence]?"
I asked a question that popped
into my head, and Renge tilted her head.
"I'm not sure? In
case it can't, then nothing will happen and it won't be a problem, right? It's not like we're going to lose the card or
anything."
"Right."
So I overlaid Renge's card and
the Kisshouten card.
The Kisshouten card gradually
faded away and Renge's card emitted light.
Apparently, it was possible to
rank up normally.
When the light disappeared,
Renge did not seem to have changed in any particular way, but her card had
changed in status.
The rank-up wasn't very
exciting...... but I've seen her transformation through [Spiritual recurrence]
many times before, so this was nothing new for me.
The card's stats, however,
were a bit of a different story.
[Race] Kisshouten (Renge)
[Combat Power] 2100 (Initial Combat Power 750 x
2 + 700 for Growth - 200 for Zero-Existence Skill + 100 for Spiritual
Enhancement)
[Inborn Skills]
• True Kisshouten's mantra
• True Dual Deity
• True Rain of Amrita
[Acquired skills]
・The Abandoned One
・Breakthrough of Limits
・Eyes of the bright star
・Spiritual recurrence → Zero
existence (CHANGE!)
・Spiritual Enhancement (NEW!):
A skill acquired when a card with Spiritual Recurrence is ranked up. This skill
inherits the enhanced combat power of from Spiritual Recurrence and reduces the
weakening of skills caused by the Zero Existence skill.
・Free-spiritedness → Flawless
(CHANGE!): Extremely strong positive compensation for free action,
nullification of mental abnormality and restraint skills, along with resistance
to abnormal status.
・Advanced attack magic →
Advanced-level Magician (CHANGE!)
・Chant discard
・Magic recovery
・Friendship linkage
・Advanced status ailment magic
・Hide and Seek
・Deity's Favor (CHANGE!): This
is proof of receiving a favor from a high-ranking deity. It is extremely rare
to receive favor from a deity of great pride, and only a few cases have been
confirmed in the world. Extremely strong positive compensation to free action,
extremely strong positive compensation to commands from the master. Reduces
feedback of damage to the card during direct attack? (← Master's barrier
strength equal to the card's defense? Details
unknown. Skill owners are requested to provide information. Japan Adventurers
Cooperative Association)
・Magic Circle (NEW!)
"What is this..."
All the inborn skills had
'True' attached on them.
It
seemed obvious that the acquired skills were also a matter of concern in many
ways, such as carrying over [Zero existence] skill as if that were the natural
course of events, and the various changes to the skills, but compared to the
abnormalities of the inborn skills, those would be a minor detail.
I thought that inborn skills are supposed to be
fixed by race and not change?
“Renge, what does this 'True' thing mean?”
"Nn~......”
In
response to my question, Renge closed her eyes as if she was trying to figure
it out in her mind.
"First, it seems that the [Mantra]'s
output has just been boosted per normal. Well, you can think of it as a
slightly stronger 'blessing of good fortune' that I'm giving you. Next,
[Amrita]'s effect seems to have improved to rejuvenate and restore skill usage.
The number of times I can use this skill has also increased a little bit."
“Rejuvenate and restore skill usage......”
She
said it lightly, but it was a hell of a thing to say ......
If
this ability were to be made public, the rich and powerful of the world would
surely flock to it.
Even
if I were to tell Anna and the others about the Renge's abilities, I would
definitely have to keep this [Amrita]'s improvement a secret.
“How much younger can the rejuvenation make
someone? I
don't want to be rejuvenated and turned into a baby after using it."
“Oh, don't worry about that. Amrita and other
rejuvenation methods only work up to the age the user wants it to be."
Then,
I can rest assured about that.
"Also, each use of [Amrita] only restores
one skill usage, not all of them. Plus, skills that restore skill usage can't
have their usage count restored."
"Hmm, so that's in line with the basic
rule for skills that recover skill usage, huh?"
The
kind of skill that can restore skill usage, such as Hathor's [Drops of Motherly
Love], had a rule that its usage number cannot be restored.
Well,
if this were possible, then with Hathor, people could have an infinite loop of
[Drops of Motherly Love] → [True Rain of Amrita] so it can't be helped.
"As for the number of times, it is five
times a day by itself. If a kokuanten is present, it will be a total of ten
times."
"I guess I don't need to worry too much
about how many times I can use it anymore..."
I
was a little surprised at how much power I had gained in such a single stroke,
but it was very reassuring for someone who was preparing for Angolmore.
"Then, about the true [True Dual
Deity]......."
"Yeah, that. That's what I was most
curious about."
What would happen if the [Dual Deity], whose
abilities were already insane, became 'True'...
“...... about this, would it be quicker to show
it to you? Give me the Kokuanten card.”
"Hm? Ah, okay.”
I
did as Renge told me and handed over the Kokuanten card...
"Eh?!"
Renge
savagely tore into the Kokuanten card.
This
was the same scene I saw when Yuki made subordinates through [True Follower
Summoning] !
"Fuu. Utamaro, take a look at the
card."
"Eh? ......Wha!"
I
turned my gaze to the card at Renge's prompting after finishing devouring the
card, and my eyes widened in astonishment for the umpteenth time today.
[Race] Kisshouten/Kokuanten (Renge)
[Combat Power] 2600 (500 UP!)
[Inborn Skills]
• True Kisshouten's mantra
• True Dual Deity
• True Rain of Amrita
[Acquired Skills]
・The
Abandoned One
・Breakthrough
of Limits
・Eyes
of the bright star
・Zero
existence
・Spiritual
Enhancement
・Flawless
・Advanced-level
magician
・Chant
discard → Fountain of Wisdom (CHANGE!): Inexhaustible magic power and various
knowledge and skills regarding magic. Improved acquisition rate of magical
skills. Capable of learning local magic skills. Extremely strong positive
compensation when activating magic. Includes Magic Perception (NEW!), Magic
Concealment (NEW!), Magic Recovery, Magic Enhancement, Magic Consumption
Reduction, Chant Discard, Additional Chant, and Magic Circle.
(Magic Perception: Enhances the sense of magic
in others, making it easier to detect hidden magic)
(Magic Concealment: Conceals one's own magic,
making it easier to hide the activation of magic and the presence of magic
circles)
・Friendship linkage
・Hide and Seek
・Deity's Favor
・Advanced Ninjutsu (NEW!)
・Knowledge of Survival (NEW!)
・Clumsy (NEW!)
"You-! You've
taken over the [Clumsy] skill, ahh!"
“No, that's the first thing you say, ......?”
"What, it's rather a matter of life and
death! With
your current stats, a friendly fire would be no joke!”
The
image of the self-destructing Kokuanten in the race returned to my mind. I
shuddered at the thought of that happening to me.
"Don't worry, there are skills like
[Fountain of Wisdom] and [Deity's Favor] that give tremendous compensation for
my actions, so I'll be fine."
"I, I see... Now that you mention it, I
guess you're right."
The
[Clumsy] skill randomly applied an extremely large negative compensation.
Renge, who had two or three extremely positive
compensation skills, can easily cancel it out.
"But I'm a bit worried, so I'll try to get
rid of the [Clumsy] skill as soon as possible. Why don't you enroll in the maid
course too?"
"No thanks to that one. You don't need to
worry, I've got all the extremely strong positive compensation skills, so it
will go away on its own eventually."
The
only way to get rid of the [Clumsy] skill is to keep on succeeding in your
actions, but if you have the extremely strong positive compensation skill, your
actions will always be judged as a great success, so it is easy to increase
your skill level to get rid of the [Clumsy] skill.
This
was the reason I had Eliza who has various technical skills, to pair up with
Dullahan as a set.
It
was said that some of the proficiency gained by the equipped person goes to the
equipping skill holder as well.
"So, what's with this double race and the
500 increase in combat power? And
it looks like the Kokuanten skills are carried over......”
“You've probably guessed it, but Kokuanten has
been absorbed into me. That's why my combat power has increased and Kokuanten's
skills have been transferred to me."
After
saying so, Renge began explaining the [True Dual Deity].
According
to her, [True Dual Deity] was a skill that enabled her to take in cards and
summon them at will, just like [True Follower Summoning]. The summoned card's
combat power would be the same as that of the main body.
The
difference between this skill and [True Follower Summoning] was that only one
card of the same race can be summoned. Strictly speaking, they are not
subordinates, but alter egos (they are not affected by skills that target
subordinates).
The
difference with the [Dual Deity] was that the acquired skills are entirely,
rather than partially, acquired. The increase in combat power, which was a
benefit of simultaneous summoning, was doubled (250 in the case of Kisshouten).
And
that by combining the two cards, it will be possible to transform yourself into
another card.......
"Transform?"
"Yeah, dual merging ...... the union of
two entities into one, so that they can sublimate their existence. Well, it's
like a pseudo-spiritual recurrence.”
“Spiritual recurrence...... don't tell me you
mean you're going to be an A rank?!”
Renge
shook her head at my joyful expression.
"The destination of Kisshouten and
Kokuanten's rank up is the Kishimojin4. What
is the rank of Kishimojin according to your human classification?"
"Kishimojin is... B-rank."
"Too bad it's not A-rank."
“No.......”
Renge
shrugged, and I shook my head in disagreement.
"Kishimojin is a top B-rank card, just
like Athena."
The top rank was given to
cards that, while their combat power may not reach the next higher ranks,
possessed a unique skill not seen in other cards or skills that rival those of
higher ranks.
If Athena was the top B-rank
in the former sense, Kishimojin fell into the latter.
---- Garnet and Lottery card
combo. Renge had been greatly strengthened by the rank increase.
There were many things to be
concerned about, such as the mysterious existence that lay inside Renge and the
side effects caused by the Perfect Link.......
I am beginning to feel a sense
of hope that I can survive Angolmore and protect my family and friends.
But we are not there yet.
My powers are not strong enough to stand a
chance against hordes of A and B rank enemies.
I must stay on my guard and keep improving my
forces......
I was determined to do so.
[TIPS] Simple Timeline of Mob High Schoolers
July 1999: Appearance of the
dungeon.
January 2000: Wraith ravages
the United States. A worldwide sealing of the dungeon was initiated.
July 2000: First Angolmore
outbreak, mainly in developed countries, with no damage to countries that had
continued to conquer the dungeon. The use of cards was revealed. Appearance of
Summoner, the prototype of the adventurer.
August 2003: Shoma Kitagawa
and Aika Ichijo get married.
February 2004: Maro was born.
The Adventurers' Guild was established in the United States.
August 2004: China, Russia,
and other countries where Angolmore had not yet occurred dared to cause
Angolmore in order to increase the number of dungeons. No civilian casualties.
March 2009: Ai was born. The
Kitagawa family obtained their dream home.
July 2010: The Second
Angolmore occurred simultaneously worldwide.
April 2011: Japan adopted the
US adventurer system.
2012～:
Adventure-related stuff such as MonColo was adapted into media, ushering in an
adventurer boom.
October 2019: Maro became an
adventurer. The original story begins.
***
Notes:
1 Okuri = send ; ookami = wolf. It’s a real term in Japan.↩
2 Any minor divinities of nature in classical mythology that appeared as beautiful maidens dwelling in mountains, forests, trees, and waters. ↩
3 A symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, or nuts. ↩
4 Deity of childcare and childbirth. However, in the stories, the goddess was not always so kind and benevolent. Before, she was actually an oni(demon) who, in an effort to feed her thousands of children, would go out and abduct other children to serve as food. In order to guide her towards the right way, Buddha hid her youngest child and made her understand what it was like for a mother to lose her child. After that, Kishimojin vowed to take the path of Buddhism and vowed to become the deity of childcare and childbirth.↩
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