Mob Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni
Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #149
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Translator(s) note: Thank you all who've been waiting patiently! Of course, there will be multiple chapters uploaded here today!
Chapter 149:
Information Sharing (2)
"Speaking
of Athena-san, we should discuss the Aegis,”
Anna spoke up, steering the
slightly derailed conversation back on track.
Athena's Aegis. This was the
second item on the agenda.
"By
Senpai's accounts, Aegis's pseudo-safe zone remains inviolable even in front of
Irregular Encounter. Thanks to the Aegis, we've finally gained a place where we
can sleep soundly even in the midst of this Angolmois."
Athena's Aegis had
continuously aided me throughout my journey—from providing Absolute Defense to
creating a pseudo-safe zone.
Just imagining of what would
have happened without it was enough to send a chill down my spine.
"There
something I'd like to ask, though: how large is Aegis's effective range?"
I had already spent the past
month investigating the specifications of the pseudo-safe zone. I answered
Anna’s question directly.
I answered Anna’s question
directly,
"Hmm, hmm. So the range is roughly
equivalent to an F-rank dungeon. And the shape?"
"It's
a sphere."
"So it covers a certain
amount of airspace and underground area as well. What happens if you use a
Skill Usage Recovery buff while it’s active?"
Anna nodded with satisfaction
once she had finished her inquiry.
"I
have a question too. What happens if you deploy a cross-space card inside the
pseudo-safe zone?"
Oribe chimed in.
"It
will be contained within the pseudo-safe zone. However, if its size is larger than
the pseudo-safe zone, the excess parts will stick out."
"That
part is different from a dungeon's safe zone, I see..."
In a natural dungeon's safe
zone, even if an otherworld-class card is deployed, as long as the activation
point is within the safe zone, the entire alternate dimensional space fully receives
the benefits.
In contrast, if a cross-space
card is deployed inside a pseudo-safe zone (like one from Aegis), the effects,
such as repelling monsters, applies strictly within the 100-meter radius of the
pseudo-safe zone.
"Hmm,
if the protruding part leaves the effect range, then putting only a corner of
multiple Mayoiga inside the zone to fit everyone... would be impossible,"
Oribe mused.
"Yeah,
that’s how it is. Since the school building fits, the best bet is to
immediately evacuate everyone into the zone during an emergency. We could cram
everyone into the building just for sleeping if we had to… but the stress from
being packed like sardines would be nightmare."
"A
three-shift rotation every eight hours would solve the space issue, but..."
"That
would suck for the people on the night shift, and we don't really need to go
that far yet."
As I listened to Anna and
Oribe talk, one thing bothered me,
"While
I was away, how many monsters actually made it inside?"
At that, both of their expressions
darkened.
"...Essentially,
it was peaceful. Only a few D-rank and C-rank monsters wandered in daily. The
advantage of the cross-space cards is even greater than we expected.”
Contrary to their grim face,
the news actually sounded positive.
During my travels, I had zero
intruders in my cross-space cards, but that was because I had cleared out the
local B-rank monsters first and used Yuki's [Lord of The Territory] skill.
If the Garden of the
Hesperides—which lacked a Presence Concealment skill—only had a few intruders a
day, then very few monsters are capable of entering cross-spaces in the first place.
Well,
cross-space skills are rare, after all.
Then,
the reason for their dark expression is...
"I
heard a B-rank monster broke in? Did a cross-space monster link up with ours,
creating an open door for enemies?"
"Ah,
you knew about that? No, fortunately that wasn't the case. ...Regarding this
matter, it's more accurate to say that it was what you might call… a man-made
disaster.”
"A
man-made disaster?"
I frowned, and Anna explained
more with a look of regret apparent on her face,
"Among
the evacuees, there was someone who sent their card outside. Meanwhile, they themselves
stayed safely inside the Hesperides. Apparently, they wanted to scout the
outside situation and possibly have the card fetch something for them...”
"That’s..."
I couldn't help but grimace.
The dungeons, as a rule, hate ‘cheating’.
Because of this, cross-space cards have a built-in restriction: a Master cannot
stay safe inside another space while sending their summoned cards out to do the
work.
This rule applies not only to
the owner of the cross-space card, but to every Master inside it. If even one
person sends a card outside, the isolation state of the cross-space card is
forcibly lifted to ensure no one is ‘cheating’.
"And
so, the Hesperides' isolation was lifted, the monsters came flooding in, and a
B-rank showed up among them... is that how it went?"
The two of them nodded
solemnly.
I
see...
I leaned back deeply into my
chair and let out a long sigh. That was definitely a man-made disaster.
Civilians
aren't well-versed in the technicalities of cross-space cards. They probably
did it without even realizing the consequences.
On the
other hand, for adventurers like us, the specifications of cross-space cards
are common sense—knowledge so basic it’s taken for granted.
Before Angolmois, TV specials
had constantly featured the safety of these cards, and since everyone was
scrambling to get their hands on one, they likely fell into the trap of
assuming “Everyone already knows how cross-space cards work." Consequently,
they neglected to explain the rules.
Had they operated on the
premise that the evacuees knew nothing and explained the rules properly, this
accident could have been prevented.
However, I couldn't blame Anna
and the others for this.
They had, in principle,
forbade the evacuees from summoning cards in the first place. Even I hadn't gone
out of my way to explain the specifications of cross-space card to Victor-san
and the rest.
The only reason a similar
incident hadn't occurred on my end was sheer luck.
Above all, I had no right to
criticize anyone when I had been away from the school during its most difficult
time.
"What
about casualties?" I asked.
"Many
were injured, and there were several deaths... A stray shot hit the school
while we were fighting the B-rank monster..."
Anna explained that the person
who had sent their card outside took a direct attack once their card was Lost.
With the offending card gone, the space was finally able to isolate itself once
again.
"What
happened to that person?"
"...They
died."
"From
the monster's hit?"
"No.
Suicide."
Suicide,
huh... Did they feel responsible for the casualties―――― No, no way, that kind
of thing...
A frightening suspicion
crossed my mind in the middle. I stole a glance at Anna, only to find her
staring back at me with a cold, judgmental look.
"You
aren’t thinking that I got rid of them, are you?"
Anna asked.
"..................No,
no, of course not,"
I replied, forcing a weak
smile.
Anna looked at me with
narrowed eyes for a long moment before finally letting out a small sigh.
"I'm
a little concerned by that long pause, but well, it's fine. ...Truthfully, thinking
how to handle them was a genuine dilemma."
Even if it wasn't intentional,
there had been casualties, so some form of punishment was necessary.
Otherwise, the families of the
victims would never be satisfied.
However, imposing a heavy
sentence like banishment felt wrong when we were the ones who had failed to
make the cross-space rules public knowledge—even if we had technically banned
summoning.
One wrong move, and the
refugees' resentment would be aimed directly at the Adventurers’ Club.
It was a truly delicate issue.
"By
the way," I said, trying to steer the conversation toward a different
topic, "if the isolation was broken, that means others like Gremlins could
have gotten in, right? Was the machinery okay?"
Higashino had mentioned earlier
that until recently, they'd been running manga cafe, movie theater, and various
other businesses, but they were gone because of the monster attack.
I wondered if that wasn't just
from the physical battle but also from Machinery Destruction...
"Fortunately,
the small fries like Gremlins were all drawn to the Golden Apples, so that
didn't happen."
"I
see."
Seeing Anna shook her head in
response, I breathed a sigh of relief.
At
least there’s a silver lining in all this.
"Still,
it's dangerous that just one person sending out a card can open the floodgates
for enemies."
"We've
made sure everyone knows the cross-space card specifications after that
happened, but there's no way to stop things if someone did it with malicious
intent..."
Yes,
that’s the problem.
The most terrifying aspect of
this incident was the realization that anyone could lift Hesperides' isolation
state if they felt like it.
There are people in this
world who, out of misplaced grudges or paranoia, could commit insane acts.
If we were to punish an evacuee
for a legitimate reason in the future, there was no guarantee they wouldn't do
that again out of spite.
To prevent that, we needed to
be in a state where losing the cross-space cards’ isolation wouldn't
matter—which meant moving to a place without monsters would be the best
solution.
Mmm, I'll
need to assess Oragashima’s situation first, but I think I should suggest
moving to the island again.
"Now
then, the third item on the agenda is the new cards and magic items Senpai
acquired," Anna continued. "I think the reason this ranks so high is
obvious."
I nodded.
In this new world where
monster cards no longer drop, the number of cards one already holds is everything.
Specifically, the number of
B-Rank cards is a direct measurement of a faction's power.
Including Artemis, Frigg, and
the cards pulled during the battle with the Pied Piper of Hamelin, I had
acquired ten B-rank cards since Angolmois began.
The fact that this was only
third on the agenda spoke volumes about how vital the Aegis (item #2) really
is.
"Of
the B-rank cards Senpai newly acquired... the four most important are Artemis,
Diana, Freyja, and Frigg."
Hmm?
Not Yomotsu-Ōkami?
If
Yomotsu-Ōkami, the top tier B-rank card, isn't the most important, and those
four were prioritized instead, that meant...
"...Food
production?"
"Exactly."
Diana and Freyja, like
Artemis, are goddesses who possessed the Authority of Beasts.
Freyja, in particular, also holds
the Authority of Fertility.
The Authority of Fertility has
the power to accelerate the growth of crops and livestock, increasing
production yield. This effect works on agricultural food cards like the
Hesperides (unfortunately, it doesn't apply to residential-type cards like
Mayoiga, which produce food in the form of cooked dishes).
Incidentally, the Authority of
Wealth possessed by Kisshouten is essentially the mineral version of this.
Additionally, it also had the effect of making harvested food less prone to
spoilage.
"The
Garden of the Hesperides can produce fruit and wheat, but it can't produce
livestock. Currently, our meat supply relies on the meals generated by Mayoiga
and a few Barometz1. Having a deity who can supply
meat join us is incredibly significant."
To produce animals using the
Authority of Beasts, a Magic Stone (or a human sacrifice) would be required,
but I had the Pied Piper of Hamelin Magic Stone. From now on, meat shouldn’t be
an issue.
The downside
is that animals created through the Magic Stone medium don't live long,
although their lifespan can be somewhat extended by increasing the consumption
of Magic Stones.
If we
put effort into it, we should even be able to breed them or harvest eggs and
milk.
A thought struck me then, and
I asked,
"Speaking
of which, how many people are staying in our school right now?"
"Uhm,
let's see... About 300 students and staff. Their relatives are about 1,000. Then
there are about 700 evacuees unrelated to the students. The total is around
2,000 people."
"Evacuees
unrelated to the students? People from the neighborhood around the high
school?"
"Some
of them, yes... but the majority are people Kannadzuki-san rescued over the
past month,"
Anna said it with an
expressionless face, though I could sense that she had strong feelings about
Teacher's actions.
I decided not to poke that
particular beehive and asked instead,
"Did
you try to ask the Guild to take in the people he rescued?"
"...We'll
get to that later. Let's save it from when we discuss our current
situation."
Seeing the sour looks on Anna
and Oribe’s faces, I figured something irritating must have happened and simply
nodded.
Still,
two thousand people, huh...
"Remind
me, how many cross-space and food-poduction cards do we actually have?"
"Um,
give me a second."
Anna checked the memo function
on her Card Gear and began listing them on the whiteboard:
・Mayoiga (12): Can produce food
for 50 (default) to 100 people (maxed by reallocating room and bath resources).
Japanese cuisine. Quite delicious2. Michelin
one-star class.
・Winchester House (10): Can
produce food for 100-200 people. Western-style cuisine. Not very delicious.
・Kochū no Ten (3): Can produce
food for 20-30 people. Chinese-style cuisine. Really
delicious3. Michelin three-star class.
・Others: Dryads, Barometz, etc.
These generate raw ingredients rather than prepared meals. By providing these ingredients,
the meal output of Mayoiga and the others can be increased. Approximately enough
for 1,000 people in total.
・Garden of the Hesperides:
Categorized as ‘Other,’ but its scale is in a league of its own, so it’s
included here. While limited to fruit, it can easily produce enough for tens of
thousands of people daily. It can also produce wheat and rice by allocating
orchard resources. If livestock are provided, ranching is possible. However,
production efficiency appears to decrease in this order: Apples, Grapes >
Other Fruits > Wheat > Rice > Other Vegetables > Livestock (at this
point, it’s basically normal farming).
"That's
about the gist of it. We can double production at most if we provide Magic
Stones, but it costs one F-rank stone to increase output by a single
meal."
"Do
these numbers for the Mayoiga and such include the ones we personally
own?"
"No,
I’ve excluded the ones personally owned by club members or their families.
These are just the ones we’ve secured as the Adventurers’ Club. I only included
the Garden of the Hesperides because its impact on the whole group is so
massive."
I see.
I nodded.
"So
for now, we have enough breathing space regarding food?"
"Regarding
food, yes. The problem lies with the other two basic necessities:
clothing and shelter."
Hmm.
Clothing I can understand, but shelter...
"Did
the people assigned to the Winchester Houses complain?"
"Precisely,"
Anna confirmed with a firm
nod.
At
their default state, the Mayoiga cards can house 600 people, and the Winchester
House cards can take in 1,000 people.
Even
if the Mayoiga cards are maximized for housing, they could only hold 1,200
people. That leaves 800 people who have to live in the Winchester
Houses.
On one hand, you have a top-tier luxury onsen
(hot spring) inn; on the other, a literal haunted mansion. …It was only natural
people would complain.
Oribe, listening to our conversation, gave a
dismissive snort.
"Hmph,
I don't see what there is to complain about. Shadows appearing in the mirrors,
the sound of footsteps when you're alone in a room... it’s full of
'atmosphere,' is it not?"
That, precisely, was the
reason.
Unless you were a hardcore
horror enthusiast like Oribe, living in the Winchester House would be a
nightmare. It was like living in a haunted house attraction.
I had even used it as a
makeshift prison for ‘idiots’, after all.
To the evacuees here, it must
have felt like being thrown in jail despite doing nothing wrong.
"Currently,
we're having the people on a rotation between the Mayoiga and the Winchester
House. Ironically, it seems to worsen the stress because they feel the jarring
quality more keenly. Especially since everyone has been cooped up for so long,
with things like work and entertainment at a halt..."
I get
the entertainment part... but ‘work’?
I tilted my head in confusion,
and Anna gave me a brief explanation.
While I was away,
they apparently had implemented a ticket system to manage the evacuees.
There were two main
types of tickets: White Tickets that were distributed for free and can be exchanged
for daily meals, and Red Tickets that can be exchanged for entertainment like
the manga cafe and movie theater, or for luxury goods.
Everyone received a small
number of Red Tickets, but they can earn more by participating in ‘volunteer
activities’.
This included things like
harvesting crops in Hesperides, working as staff at the manga cafe or movie
theater, or took the job as servers in the cafe...
They called it ‘volunteering’,
but in practice, it was more like a part-time job.
It was clearly an attempt to
convert the evacuees into a labor force.
A system much like Universal
Basic Income (UBI) where basic necessities (food, clothing, and shelter) is
guaranteed, but if you want a little luxury, you have to work.
"Hmm...
that’s actually a pretty clever system."
Among 2,000 people, there were
bound to be some individuals (or families) with production-type cards. It would
be a waste to let them sit idle.
By giving even those without
useful cards a job—whether based on their personal skills or simple crop
harvesting—the system prevented the frustration of being ‘unable to work
despite wanting to’.
Even without production-type
card, some might have professional skills like tailoring or carpentry.
There's
no need to rely solely on cards for production. Tasks that can be done by human
hands should, if anything, be actively delegated.
I know
all too well what happens when refugees are left with nothing but time on their
hands, so Anna's method of dangling a carrot in front of their noses to get
them to work seemed like a brilliant move.
The
only issue is that the cards and skills one possesses will lead to disparities
in income—or rather, differences in how effortless the work can be— But I
suppose that's unavoidable.
"Let’s
see... how much of the agenda have we cleared? The top three are done, so that
leaves the bottom three?" I looked at the whiteboard again.
"Next
is... the Star Mother Association, huh? To be honest, I feel like this could
have been at the very top. This is a matter of utmost importance that affects
us—and the entire world—isn't it?"
I nodded inwardly at Oribe's
words.
These were the people who had
changed the world into this state. Even the specifications of the new Phase,
the very top of the list, ultimately stemmed from the Star Mother Association
triggering Angolmois. Therefore, I had also asumed this topic should be number
one, but...
"Regarding
this, I placed it here because their stance is so difficult to gauge. If the
Star Mother Association actively targets us—or specifically, Senpai—it becomes
a more critical concern than the spatial isolation or time flow difference.
Conversely, if they intend to leave us alone, their impact on us will be
minimal."
Hearing Anna say that made me feel
like I’d finally cooled my head a bit.
She was right. Because they
were a massive organization and the ‘Saintess’ at the top had personally
visited me, I had jumped to the conclusion that they placed a high value on me.
But thinking about it calmly, their stance seemed closer to 'it doesn't matter
either way'—a form of indifference.
The Saintess mentioned giving
me a ‘No. 2’ position—a high-ranking post just below the Saintess herself (of
which there are likely several)—but if it was just a title with no real
authority, like a ‘nominal director’," it wouldn't cost them anything. If
they were serious about bringing me into their fold, they would have taken Ai
hostage or used any number of other methods.
The fact that she let me go so
easily gave the impression of: "Oh, look, a somewhat useful guy out in
the wild. Might as well try to scout him for now."
There was a real possibility
they’d just leave me alone as long as it didn't involve the battle against the
Great King of Angolmois.
"Right
now, the confirmed matter affecting us regarding the Association is only one
thing: the means of travel to various areas via the Authority of the Gate True
Skill."
It would certainly be useful
for meeting up with your father, Senpai, as well as for trading with other
areas or searching for safe land... However, there’s also a reverse side: it
means that no matter where we go, we cannot escape the Star Mother Association."
""Mmm...'"
Oribe and I both groaned at
Anna's words.
I had been complacent about
the Guild finding out about my rejuvenation powers because I assumed I could
always escape instantly using the Hamelin’s Flute.
And the realization that this
escape route wouldn’t work suddenly brought a crushing sense of confinement.
"On
the other hand, if we choose to ignore the negatives for a moment, the benefits
of using the Authority of the Gate are immense.
For example, the secret
dungeon map that Senpai received from the Guild. We'll be able to utilize that
to its fullest potential."
That's
right... If we have the Authority of the Gate, the secret dungeon map that has
been gathering dust can finally be put to use.
If we can travel freely to
secret dungeons all over the country, we can obtain Garnets and Diamonds on a
scale incomparable to anything before.
"If
we collect Garnets and Diamonds to turn Lottery Cards into B-rank cards, we
gain strength accordingly. It's no fun being pushed around one-sidedly, so we
might as well use them to get stronger ourselves."
""Yeah.""
We nodded firmly.
"Alright,
next up... We already talked about Eliza-san at the beginning, so the only
thing left is Renge-san's True Skill."
We
finally got to that, huh.
I asked the question that had
been bothering me,
"Why
is Renge's True Skill at the very bottom? I would think the rejuvenation effect
of True Amrita would be something that affects the whole group..."
Even
though items like Amrita have become easier to acquire since Angolmois (※this is Maro's personal
opinion), the value of True Amrita—which can be used limitlessly at no
cost—hasn't diminished one bit.
Plenty
of people would be lured by the bait of youth; it’s one of the strongest
trading cards in existence.
Even
for running our own community, it's the ultimate trump card to silence any
minor discontent. I thought it would have been right behind the Aegis in
importance…
When I voiced my confusion,
Anna tilted her head with a difficult expression.
"Hmm,
well, rejuvenation is indeed the ultimate bargaining chip in many ways, but… it's
even more of a bomb. It's almost too powerful, you see..."
"Ah,
I see what you mean."
Anna's description of it as a
‘bomb’ that was ‘too powerful’ made sense.
In
short, the effect is so potent that we can't just play it casually as a trump
card. And because we can't actually use it, its relative importance
drops.
It's
like a hidden nuclear weapon.
Because
it's hidden, we can't use it for negotiations or as a deterrent, and when its
existence is revealed even once, we risk turning everyone into an enemy. It's a
dangerous ‘ultimate card’.
For
external purposes, it might as well not exist—hence the lowest priority.
"So,
regarding the effect of True Amrita, I think the safest bet is to keep it
hidden as much as possible, treating it as a literal 'last resort' for
emergencies." Anna said.
"The
conditions for awakening a True Skill are also unknown, right?"
I nodded back at Oribe.
Yuki had possessed the [True
Subordinate Summoning] from the start, and in Renge's case, she simply had it
after her rank-up.
Since the card she ranked up with
only had standard skills, the factor behind the True Skill awakening likely
lies in Renge herself.
"I'm
currently testing if I can use the [Teaching] skill to teach [Breakthrough of
Limits] to other cards since that seems possible..."
"If
it can be taught using [Teaching] skill, that would be huge, but your own cards
are the priority, Senpai. It will likely be a long time before it can be taught
to other members' cards, so, it really doesn't impact the whole group much yet.
Though, in terms of pure defensive power, it's obviously highly
important."
I see.
I nodded my head.
The conditions for the True
Skill evolution remained a mystery, and for now, the [Breakthrough of Limits]
would be my priority. As for the rejuvenation effect of the True Amrita—as long
as we didn't go public with it—it might as well not exist for anyone else.
It was clear that most of
these were personal to me and didn't immediately change the status quo for the
group.
"Personally,
I find the topic fascinating, though..."
"Renge-chan
is a Discarded Card Key, while Yuki-san and Prima-san changed into Card Keys...
If Ose was also a Discarded Card Key, then maybe being a ‘Card Key’ is a prerequisite?"
Anna mused.
"What
bothers me is that Yuki and Prima's True Skills
aren't inborn skills4.” Oribe remarked.
Huh?
I raised an eyebrow at Oribe's
words.
...She
had a point. If the condition for a True Skill was simply being a Card Key, it
was a bit odd that Yuki’s inborn skills aren’t the ones evolving into True
Skills.
"Maybe
it’s the difference between a Legitimate Card Key and a Discarded one?"
Anna hypothesized.
"I’m
not sure... it would make more sense if the Legitimate ones had inborn skills
as True Skills and the Discarded ones had standard inborn skills. Having it the
other way around feels strange," Oribe commented.
Anna and I both nodded in
agreement.
"Could
you share the details of the circumstances when the True Skill was acquired?"
Oribe requested to me.
I nodded and gave them a
detailed breakdown of the circumstances when Renge awakened her power.
"Hmm...
The catalyst was undoubtedly the rank up. But rather than the it being the cause,
it’s more likely that the rank-up filled a missing condition,"
Oribe muttered like that while
rubbing her slender chin.
"Renge-chan
has the [Spiritual Recurrence] skill. Could it be that by returning to her original
race, she reclaimed her original inborn skills?"
Anna put forward her thoughts.
"No,
Renge still has one more stage of Spiritual Recurrence left. We can't say she’s
fully returned to her original race yet," I countered.
The three of us hummed in
thought, stumped.
Eventually, Oribe let out a
weary sigh and said,
"Aah,
it’s no use. We have too little information. Speculating further is a waste of
time. …The more immediate problem is the True Skills of the Gatekeepers."
Indeed, compared to the
mystery of how to awaken True Skills, the confirmed powers of the Gatekeepers
were a much more pressing threat.
"Based
on your report, Senpai, their power is terrifying. It seems to possess a nature
similar to existing skills but is fundamentally different—more than just being
one rank higher. Rejuvenation being added to Amrita, Ose gained ability to
steal subordinates..."
"And
monsters being able to turn humans into monsters,"
Oribe added, picking up Anna's
words.
"Who
would have thought a Vampire could actually turn people into Ghouls, just like
the legends? If that becomes widely known, it'll spark a total panic."
"I
wish we could have at least turned them back into humans..." Anna
whispered.
"If
Amrita couldn't cure them, there's nothing we can do. Even if a method existed,
we don't have the luxury of keeping them locked up somewhere until we find
it," Oribe stated.
"And
if those ex-human Ghouls have the power to turn other humans into Ghouls or
Zombies, that would be the worst possible scenario..." Anna added grimly.
Perhaps there was a cure
somewhere in the world.
Perhaps those Ghouls didn't
have the power to infect others.
Perhaps, like Eliza, they
might have eventually regained their sense of self.
Perhaps they might regain
their personalities and memories from before they died...
But those were all 'perhaps'.
In our current situation, we
didn't have the resources to capture Ghouls and protect them until a
hypothetical cure was found or until they regain their original personalities
and memories.
It wasn't like protecting
survivors within the safety of an alternate space like Mayoiga.
If the other evacuees saw us capturing
monsters like that, they would be terrified; if they found out those monsters
were once human, it would lead to a complete breakdown of order.
At worst, it could escalate
into witch hunts or riots among the evacuees.
Even so, I would have tried to
find a solution for my family or cherished friends... But I wasn't enough of a
philanthropist to do that for total strangers.
In this current world, we had
to accept that once a human was turned into a monster, they were ‘dead as a
human’.
What we did after that
depended entirely on the threat level of their new race…
"In
any case, when we fight Gatekeepers, it'd be best to forget everything we know
about their standard skill data and treat them as entirely new monsters. Otherwise,
they’re going to catch us off guard."
We all nodded at Anna's words.
Even trying to predict their
abilities based on lore and legends had its limits. Many skills—like the Rakshasas'
[Mutual Destruction]—don't even appear in the myths.
It would be safer to discard
all prior knowledge and fight as if confronting a completely unknown
monster—that way, we can guard against surprises coming from outside our
expectations.
"...Alright,
I think that covers everything from Senpai’s end, right?" Anna asked.
"Yeah,
I think we're done with the main stuff."
If we go into every minor
detail, there was still plenty to talk about.
Like the mysterious card Ose
left behind. Or whether Irregular Encounters could bypass spatial isolation.
But right now, no amount of
discussion would yield us answers. For now, I wanted to move on to the next
topic.
I straightened my posture and looked
at Anna,
"Now
it’s your turn. Tell me everything that happened here while I was gone."
***
Notes:
1 The sheep bearing tree, in case you forget.↩
3 かなり美味しい (kanari oishii). ‘Kanari’is a stronger word than ‘kekko’. ↩
4 Both Yuki and Prima possess [The True One] and [True Subordinate Summoning]. Both are in the acquired skills section. Meanwhile, Renge's True Skills (True Kisshouten's Mantra, True Dual Deity, and True Rain of Amrita) are inborn skills. ↩
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