Read Novel Full Vol 1 Chapter 8 Part 1
Another bonus chapter brought by Patreon.
Enjoy~
TL: NyX
ED: Onihikage
Chapter 8 – Power Leveling
Part 1
Whoa, what’s this bunch of paper?
Are you kidding me? Are you trying to make me angry? Is this what you call an incident report?
This was the case where Dolce, the son of the Count, was killed. How could you convict Canaan on such a flimsy record? Who’s Witness A? Where is he now? Why was the feudal lord’s son going out alone? Where was his guard? Was dereliction of duty even brought up!?
This is ― well, isn’t this like saying please kidnap and kill him as soon as possible?
This is an obvious setup. There can be no doubt that someone with a decent amount of power or influence is involved in this case.
“Canaan, what kind of job did you have before you were convicted?”
“I served as an apprentice magician for the Count Abbas household.”
“How much authority does that position have?”
“I don’t have any. My authority was just slightly above that of a guest, and as an apprentice, I was mainly tasked with repairing and reinforcing the walls.”
In Canaan’s case, where she was engaged in the construction of the city walls without any authority, committing such a crime just wasn’t possible. It would be different if she had a friend or someone else manipulating it, but there didn’t seem to be any sign of that. I was just an ordinary high school student who didn’t know anything about investigations, but I sure wanted to know why Canaan was convicted from this information alone.
“…If you’re in doubt, punish her anyway, huh?”
I had come to a world with an even lower level of civilization than I previously thought. I suppose they knew they were actually abducting us before they dumped me in the Great Borf Forest.
Those who have power, those who are corrupt, those who hate without cause… that’s fine, since those bastards have gotten me so pissed off, the hammer of judgment will be brought down upon them not by God, but by me!
“Master…?”
“What?”
“You’re making a scary face.”
Was I showing my emotions there?
“Sorry, I was just thinking a bit.”
“Were you, now…”
I came to a decision. Let’s strengthen Canaan. I’d give her enough power to stand on her own, and I’d find the truth about Dolce’s death.
“Canaan, is there a dungeon near this town?”
“Huh? Uh, yes, there is.”
“How strong are the monsters there?”
“Umm, there are three dungeons, and the closest one is Yellow-rank. The next is―”
I cut her off. “Wait a minute, what’s Yellow rank?”
“Huh? …Right. Yellow-rank dungeons are medium-sized dungeons with a dungeon boss that’s around level 40.”
Ah, if I’m not mistaken, Black Mist once mentioned the colors for dungeon clear bonus gacha. Yellow, if I recall, is the second dungeon from the bottom, right?
“Canaan, tell me about dungeons in a way that even an amateur like me could understand.”
“Certainly.”
From what Canaan explained, the difficulty of the dungeon is indicated by the color, and as Black Mist once said, the difficulty is also identified according to the gacha’s color.
At the moment, there were three dungeons near the town of Algria. The yellow one (medium size) was about level 40, the blue one (large scale) was about level 50, and the third was unexplored, so its color was unknown.
There had been confirmed sightings of monsters around level 50 in the third one, but naturally, since it was unexplored, it was expected to be a silver-rank dungeon, above blue and below gold.
By the way, silver rank was around level 80, and gold was around level 100.
“Even gold is level 100, huh?”
“Yes.”
“Well then, that’s not enough…”
“Yes? Gold is at the level where new ones are only captured once in a few centuries, you know?”
A level difference of at least 100 is required for limit breaking. Since Canaan’s Level is 23 right now, we’ll need a level 123 monster just for the first stage limit break. If possible, I’d want a place inhabited by level 223 monsters for a 200-level difference, to meet the condition for a third stage limit break. In the end… that’s the only place. Should we just go to the Great Borf Forest?
The problem was, if we went to the Great Borf Forest and it turned out Canaan was the real killer, that would be an awkward situation, but… should I just give it a try?
“Canaan, never tell anyone what you’re about to see. Got it?”
“Got it!”
I activated the skill [Summoning Undead], which had gone unused until now. My impression of a summoned undead is something like the Sword Reaper, so that should be fine.
It should be a skeletal monster with a black cloak, bearing the characteristics of a grim reaper, and flickering skeleton limbs should be identifiable beneath the cloak. In its hand, it should possess a staff with a big, black, ominous jewel attached to it, and its ability would be specialized in stealth.
With that, something like black fog started to gather together as one mass. Fatigue struck me, with the sensation of a large amount of mana vanishing from within me. I didn’t expect it to need so much mana.
This was definitely much more mana than when I created the [Clean] and [Grant Skill] skills with [Equivalent Exchange].
After a while, the shape of the black fog began to coalesce. Honestly, I thought it would be a classic summoning with a shining magic circle, but it’s just black fog, huh? How plain. The appearance was… yeah, it was pretty close to the Sword Reaper.
“Your command, my lord?”
I don’t really like being called my lord in such a low voice. I’d be happy if a cute girl addressed me like that, but ideally it would be a girl like Canaan… Huh? Have I ever been in a happy situation like that?
I looked towards Canaan.
She had fainted while standing, with her eyes wide open while looking at the monster in front of her…
I gently picked her up in a princess carry and put her onto the bed. My hand happened to hit Canaan’s chest for a moment ― it wasn’t on purpose, I didn’t specifically go for it! But man… she sure was growing up well.
Black Mist laughed. (You can do whatever you want now, you know?)
(Geez, are you a sword or a dirty old man?)
(What? Fondling big boobs is part of a man’s ideal romance, isn’t it?)
(Sure, whatever, but that wouldn’t even be romance! I’m not rotten enough to fondle an unconscious girl’s breasts!)
(Hmph, you say that, but you’re still interested, aren’t you?)
(Well, I mean… of course I’m interested, but I’m a gentleman.)
She chuckled again. (There’s no mistake, you’re a weirdo after all, right?)
(Don’t say that!)
I ignored Black Mist and looked toward the Sword Reaper-like monster. “Well now, there is something I want you to do.”
“I’m aware of the details.”
Huh? Did my thoughts leak out? No, he seems to share my memories, and automatically understands what I want. Why, you ask? Eh… I just feel that way for some reason.
“However, I have one request.”
“What’s that? Go ahead and tell me.”
“If my lord were to give me a name, I would be overjoyed.”
A name, huh? Well, let’s check his status.
Race : Lich Destroyer, Level 150
Skills : [Life Detection] [Presence Concealment] [Transparent] [Soul Absorption] [Summon Familiar] [Absolute Ice Magic] [Physical Attack Nullification] [Magic Attack Resistance]
Attributes : HP [D] | MP [B] | STR [D] | INT [B] | AGI [B] | DEX [C] | LUK [D]
[MP (B)], [INT (B)] and [AGI (B)] huh? Well, his level is 150, that would be expected.
…Wait, he talked normally, didn’t he? I was having a normal conversation with him, wasn’t I? That’s so much better than not being able to communicate. Now, about his name… his wicked appearance reminds me of Kiss of Death. It’s decided, his name will be Beese from Kiss of Death. [TLN: I don’t know this reference, and I can’t find anything about it, either. ベーゼ = Beeze/Beese.]
“Your name is Beese.”
Jeez, my mana… this is taking even more mana than when I summoned him. This is bad, spending mana like this might become a habit.
“Ooh, such high quality magical power… How rich it is!” Beese exhaled with satisfaction. Does he feel like he’s woken up or something like that?
Since he was a skeleton, there was no facial expression for me to interpret, but I got a feeling from him, a sense that he was extremely pleased. Come to think of it, what’s the red glow inside his eye sockets? Can I touch it?
“Well then, let’s investigate.”
Interrupting my weird musings, a strange fog-like mist gathered around Beese, before dispersing and disappearing. Wait, I never heard about this. Just naming him increased his level by ten? Well, it’s good that his attributes also increased.
While waiting for Canaan to wake up, I checked the materials I kept in [Material Storage].
I was going to create some equipment for Canaan. First of all, something to replace her dress ― but it was a shiny leotard-like garment made from a Dark Bat membrane with [Equivalent Exchange].
Let’s be clear! It is my preference! I wanted a beautiful girl like Canaan to wear this, that’s why I created it like that! However, I also want you to understand that Dark Bats are a level 160 monster, and its membrane is light and strong, and makes a very high-spec leotard that muffles noise!
Of course, I can’t let her go outside in just a leotard. She only needs to show off that leotard to me, I won’t let her show it to anyone else!
For that reason, I also created a cloak. This cloak was made from spirit cloth, a material dropped from a ghost-type monster called a Venom Whisper. Venom Whispers were level 180 monsters that used poison, as the name suggests.
Creating a cloak with spirit cloth meant it also had excellent poison resistance, and it had the further effect of eliminating one’s own presence, similar to ghost-type monsters.
Last was her weapon. I thought a staff would be good, since she was a magician, so I took out some Elder Treant branches and a ruby. The Elder Treant branches were obtained from a Level 210 Elder Treant.
I didn’t remember much about this monster since all I did was cut it in two with Black Mist on the way to civilization after my special swordsmanship training was completed, but the materials were properly contained in [Material Storage].
As for the ruby, it was nestled in the forehead of a cat monster called a Ruby Cat, which I also met on the way to human civilization, same as the Treant. Ruby Cats were monsters that use [Fire Magic] and were strong against fire, so I couldn’t burn it to death with [Ignition].
I remember it being a quick and unexpectedly strong monster. Anyway, I created the staff using those two materials.
Devilish Bodysuit ⇒ This is a high-spec preferential equipment that has the effects of adjusting body temperature, increasing magic power (large), resisting magic attacks, and muffling (large). Pervert!
Anti-Toxic Cloak ⇒ High-spec equipment that has the effects of poison resistance, presence concealment, and physical attack resistance. You’re only interested in what’s inside!
Red Sage’s Staff ⇒ Increases fire magic (extreme). A sage’s equipment, with a fire magic absorption effect. You are now a sage!
Why can’t it just give a normal explanation? I still haven’t figured that out.