Author's Note
About 1,000 new characters will appear.
Riding on the Phoenix Tamo-san, we continued our sky journey for four days.
We progressed in a spiral through this world, continually feeding Tamo-san the Hollow Beast we encountered. Since Tamo-san was also considered part of the party, his experience points were also distributed to us, and before we knew it, we had surpassed level 500. It was not that the level was important, but once you got this far it was actually fun.
So (what?), here's today's regular report.
(Master, ......while you're away, ......I forged......20 Holy Swordss.) (Mimi)
(I see, Mimi, thank you for your hard work.) (Jin)
(Mimi-san, I think your reports need to be accurate.) (Knott)
After receiving the report on the creation of Holy Sword, Mimi was congratulated, but Knott, the blacksmith of the Kastal adventurer group, called a halt. The two shared the commonality of being dwarven blacksmiths, and apparently they often ran into each other at the forge. Due to their age, experience in blacksmithing, and skill level, it seemed that Mimi was treated as the senior.
(Was there something wrong with that report?) (Jin)
(No, it's not that it was wrong...) (Knott)
Knott said hesitantly.
(I'm...sorry... Actually... I forged......20 Holy Swordss......and 1 Cursed Sword.) (Mimi)
(……did you forge Cursed Sword?) (Jin)
Mimi, who had ‹Sacred Magic Blacksmith› skill, could forge both Holy Sword and Cursed Sword. However, what differentiate the two was the mental state when blacksmithing. If you hit the ball while being dominated by negative emotions, it will become Cursed Sword instead of Holy Sword.
(Master ......disappeared, ......I'm worried...and anxious... when I realize......it's become Cursed Sword...) (Mimi)
(Ah, that time...) (Jin)
If a Holy Sword had been forge at that time, it might have been inevitable that it would have become a Cursed Sword. I didn't know the details, but apparently there was quite a commotion when I first disappeared.
(I was working on the blacksmithing next to her, and suddenly an ominous presence started to fill the air, so I wondered what was going on.) (Knott)
(Somehow... I tried... reforge it ......into Holy Sword, but... really......I'm sorry......for keeping quiet...) (Mimi)
(Well, as a blacksmith, I'm sure you don't want to report a failed creation. I understand your feelings, so there's no need to apologize.) (Jin)
It certainly took courage to report a failure, and in the first place, reporting failures was not something that was required. For the record, they did use fairly valuable materials, but since the maids were basically in charge of managing those materials, it was not something they need to tell me about.
(No, I can't really call it a failure...) (Knott)
(What do you mean?) (Jin)
(I think it's best to just see it for yourself.) (Knott)
(Just now...I've put it... into ‹Infinite Storage›.) (Mimi)
(Hmm.) (Jin)
I checked inside ‹Infinite Storage›.
Wow!
Holy Magic Sword - Chaos Order
Category: One-handed sword
Rarity : Legendary
Notes : Owner restriction, Hero strengthening, Demon strengthening, Demon slayer, Cleric slayer, Miasma removal, Miasma generation, Weapon summoning
How should I put it, the combined powers of Holy Sword and Cursed Sword seemed to be the strongest. She had created a sword that would make any chuunibyou suffers cry with joy.
(I see, it's true that this is something that can't be simply dismissed as a "failure".) (Jin)
(That's right. If anything, it feels like it has opened up new possibilities.) (Knott)
(But... it's not......what I desired......so it's a failure...) (Mimi)
It seemed that Mimi was adamant that it was a failure.
(Mimi, there are still many unknowns about ‹Sacred Magic Blacksmith›. I want you to continue trial and error, rather than dismissing it as a failure because it's not what people wanted. Generally, I don't get angry about failures that aren't fatal, and I actually encourage failures that are the result of trial and error.) (Jin)
(Is that...okay...?) (Mimi)
(Of course. However, I need to negotiate with the maids regarding the materials needed to test it.) (Jin)
(I...understand.... I'll try......various things...) (Mimi)
One of the roles I wanted for Mimi was not just to mass-produce Holy Sword, but also to develop the skill called ‹Sacred Magic Blacksmith›.
(By the way, what about you, Knott? Is the blacksmithing going well?) (Jin)
(It's a little dizzy. At first, Mimi-san, who has a higher skill level than me, joined, so I thought I'd be kicked out.) (Knott)
Now that I think about it, Mimi is a dwarf, a blacksmith with high skill levels and a unique skill related to blacksmithing, making her a completely superior version of Knott.
It seems her individual combat abilities aren't low at all.
(There's no way to do something so wasteful. I'm sure I heard that your weapons are also up for sale at Chamber of Advanced Commerce, Knott.) (Jin)
(Well, the pieces for sale are basically just studies. But I've heard they're making a decent amount of money.) (Knott)
(Knott-kun... has... good... sense...) (Mimi)
(Ah, thanks) (Knott)
My motto is "the right person in the right place." That's what my special ability said too. Just because there are people who are better, there is no reason to discard those who are inferior.
As I said before, Mimi's role was largely that of her ‹Sacred Magic Blacksmith›, so Knott still had to take the lead when it came to regular blacksmithing.
(Holy Sword is powerful, but it's not something that can be used openly. The weapons provided to my subordinates will be under Knott's jurisdiction. These are weapons that the lives of our comrades depend on. I'm counting on you from now on too.) (Jin)
(Yes! Leave it to me!) (Knott)
(………………) (Mimi)
Even though it was telepathy, it was clear that Mimi was jealous of Knott for being praised.
(Mimi, the powerful Holy Sword could become our trump card. You're the only one who can use ‹Sacred Magic Blacksmith›. I look forward to seeing you create a wonderful weapon through trial and error.) (Jin)
(Yes!!!) (Mimi)
Huh? Mimi-san, where did your ellipsis go?
Well, today I defeated two Hollow Beastss. One was a lava-like Hollow Beast, and the other was a Hollow Beast like those in movies.
I knew because I had been going around this world in a spiral and had already done so a few times, but I could predict that there were about 10 more Hollow Beastss in this world heading towards the center, since there were still 10 trails of destruction remaining.
However, I had yet to encounter any of the inhabitants of this world. This was just a guess, but maybe they were distancing themselves quite far from Hollow Beastss. This meant that most of the inhabitants were thought to be located near the center of the world.
I didn't know how far the ten trails of destruction extended, but if we were to meet the inhabitants of this world, it would probably be after those trails had disappeared.
[Master, we have discovered the inhabitants of this world.] (Alta)
Hey.
It doesn't appear once people have finished thinking about it. It seems as if my prediction was way off. Well, actually, it was wrong...
Now that we had found it, I couldn't just ignore it, so I checked the map. There were what appeared to be several dozen residents displayed there. Let's take a look at the details of one of them.
Name : None
Species : Grayman[1]
Affiliation: None
Ranks:
- Stamina H
- Attack H
- Defense H
- Agility H
- Technology H
Characteristics:
‹Sympathy› ‹Dilute›
Weak!? There's no sign of any fighting ability. For the time being, I tried checking the other residents in the same way, but they all had the same status displayed.
This "Grayman" was probably the word that referred to the inhabitants of this world. The only thing that bothered me was that all of them were anonymous. And these ten people were currently... being chased by one Hollow Beast.
Name : Mozart
Species : Behemoth
Affiliation: Hollow Beast
Ranks:
- Stamina SS
- Attack A
- Defense S
- Agility H
- Technology C
Characteristics:
‹Robust› ‹Slow›
Well, it's so big that you can see it from a distance (its width alone is several tens of meters), and in a word, it's a creature like an elephant or a rhinoceros. It moves slowly, but it's big and impressive. The fleeing Graymen came into view, but—what is that? All of the Graymen I could see from here were only about the height of a 5-year-old child. Their entire bodies were grey and semi-transparent. At first glance, they looked like ghosts. They had legs, but... The Graymen were slowly but surely fleeing from the approaching Behemoth. As their weak stats suggested, the Graymen movements were by no means fast.
At that moment, one of the Graymen fell and was nearly trampled by the Behemoth.
"For now, it looks like they're in trouble, so I'll go and help them out. I'll use ‹Barrier Magic› to give me a foothold." (Jin)
"Yes, be careful." (Maria)
We had gone to great lengths to find the natives, so we couldn't let the Hollow Beast kill them right in front of us. Let's quickly offer our help and get some information out of it, in exchange for the favor.
Using the barrier created by Maria as a foothold, I jumped out from the Phoenix Tamo-san.
"Here I go!" (Jin)
I stood next to the Grayman, who had fallen just before he was about to be crushed, and supported the Behemoth's legs. Yeah, it was pretty heavy. Well, it was pretty light compared to Orihara's punch.
"Heave-ho![2]" (Jin)
"DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!???" (Behemoth)
When I tried to lift it up with all my might, the Behemoth let out a low growl and fell over. It's okay, I had already confirmed that there were no Grayman in the direction where the Behemoth fell.
"Um, I don't know if you can understand me, but are you okay?" (Jin)
"...*nod*"
When I called out to him, the fallen Grayman silently nodded slightly. It seemed we were able to communicate without any problems.
However, looking at it again, I didn't really understand these Graymen. As I explained earlier, the Graymen were a translucent grey, allowing you to see through to what was behind them. And they were completely naked, with no clothes on at all. However, I couldn't tell if they were male or female. That was because they had nothing on them. There was nothing that indicated they were male or female. Their whole bodies were just completely smooth. Ah, their hair did reach down to the shoulders, but that alone wasn't enough to determine that the person was a woman. In the first place, there was no indication of gender even in the status. There's no way to judge.
"DOOOOOOOOOOON!!! DOOOOOOOOOOON!!!" (Behemoth)
Oops, I almost forgot about the Behemoth. …Hmm? Somehow, it's not getting up? Oh, if you look closely, you'll see that it's caught on some rubble and can't get up. Okay...
...So, I landed a few punches on the fallen Behemoth, and when it stopped moving, I had Tamo-san absorb it. Well, it was a tough opponent. It would have been a great match, no matter who won.
Jokes aside, once we had defeated the Behemoth, the Graymen who had been fleeing in fear gathered around me. Well, to be precise, they swarmed me. Several Graymen were clinging to me at my feet, and the ones that weren't clinging to me also refused to move away from me.
"Jin-sama, if they're in the way, shall I tear them off? ...or pull them?" (Maria)
Maria's merciless words made the Graymen tremble in shock. But they didn't want to leave me.
"There's no need for it. I don't sense any ill will from them, if anything, it feels like they're fond of me." (Jin)
"I understand" (Maria)
It felt like children or cats becoming attached to you. The markers on the map were also blue (friendly). I was a little concerned that the markers were a little light in color...
"However, even if we can speak the same language, it's still frustrating that we can't communicate. Why don't you guys have names? Why are you all translucent? What is this world like?" (Jin)
"...*bewildered*"
The Graymen just tilted their heads in response to my question. It was unclear whether they were unable to speak or did not understand what was being said, but it was safe to assume that they would not be able to respond with difficult responses.
"I guess it’s no good after all… It’s getting difficult to deal with them now. It’s good that we managed to find them, but there’s nothing we can do if we can’t communicate with them." (Jin)
"Can't they speak? For the time being, they seems to be able to understand simple words..." (Maria)
Since they were natives of another world, it was possible that we wouldn't be able to communicate with them. However, being unable to speak despite being able to understand each other's language was unexpected.
"If you wanted to escape this world, I was considering taking you with me..." (Jin)
"...*twitch*!"
Hearing what I said, all the Graymen turned to look at me. Could it be they wanted to escape this world? Looking closely, the faces of the Graymen seemed to be expecting something.
"But our Phoenix Tamo-san can't handle this many people, so we can't take you anyway." (Jin)
"...*shudders*"
The Graymen slumped their shoulders in dejection. It seemed like they wanted to escape from this world after all.
As I was wondering what to do, two Graymen caught my eye. The Graymen nodded to each other and began to place their palms together. Then, in an instant, the two of them merged into one Grayman. To be honest, I was shocked. What was that just now...?
Name : None
Species : Graymen x 2
Affiliation: None
Ranks:
- Stamina H
- Attack H
- Defense H
- Agility H
- Technology H
Characteristics:
‹Sympathy› ‹Dilute›
When I checked their status, I saw that the race name was "Graymen x2". That's it. When displaying the same type of item in games, they simplify it by saying "x10" or something. Or rather, are Graymen considered items?
[No.] (Alta)
You're right. I just thought about it a bit. Looking closely, it seemed as if the translucency of the combined Graymen had darkened, if only slightly. Comparing it to the surrounding Graymen, it was hard to tell if it was just my imagination or not.
One possibility was the characteristic ‹Sympathy›. However, no matter how you looked at it, its ecology was a mystery.
The other Graymen, seeing my reaction, also put their hands together and began to combine. When I came to my senses, all the Graymen around me had merged together, and only one Grayman remained.
When I checked their status again, the race had changed to "Graymen x32". And, the body, which had been translucent, had darkened to a level that was clearly visible to the naked eye.
"Maybe you're alone and want me to take you?" (Jin)
"...*nod*"
It seemed that this fusion was for the purpose of following us. I felt sorry to say this at a time when he's really motivated, but if I was going to take them with me, I wanted to have them as my subordinates. Maybe I would even be able to communicate with them...
Just like ‹Monster Taming›, ‹Slave Arts› could not be used in this world, so I must simply make them my subordinates using ‹Bond of Contract›.
"If you want to come with me, there is one condition. You have to become my subordinate, my underling." (Jin)
"...*sparkling*"
Even though I said, "Become a slave and work for me (rough translation)," the Graymen looked at me with sparkling eyes for some reason. Why do you look so happy?
"Ummm... is that okay?" (Jin)
"...*nod*"
The 32 Graymen nodded without hesitation. It was just a feeling, but it felt like their movements were smoother than before they combined.
"Well then, hold my hand... my finger and accept to be my subordinate." (Jin)
"...*nod*"
The Graymen nodded again and held out their hand, so we made a pinky swear and they were safely added to our ranks. It appeared that a contract had been made for 32 people at once.
(Now then, can we communicate?) (Jin)
(……?)
I tried to confirm through telepathy, but it seemed like I couldn't communicate with them after all. To be honest, I didn't have high expectations so I was not that disappointed.
"For now, there's no problem with taking you with us." (Jin)
"...*sparkle*"
The Graymen's eyes were sparkling and they looked incredibly happy. Like the spirit Rein that I recently recruited, there were many who were very expressive despite not speaking.
I asked Tamo-san to go into Phoenix mode, and then Maria got on, and then I got on too. The Graymen were carried under my arms as I jumped on.
"If it continues like this, you'll fall..." (Jin)
"...*shudders*"
The Graymen had almost no grip or arm strength and seemed unable to grab hold of anything. I thought I would get them to grab hold of my back, but it looked like that was not going to work.
Since there was no other option, I tied them up in a way that was similar to holding them in my arms. I treated them like babies. But they got really happy when I held them. Was I the type of guy that kids liked?
With 32 new Graymen under my command, the sky journey resumed. As before, we would head in a spiral towards the center of this world and annihilate any Hollow Beast we come across along the way.
However, there was one thing that had changed from before.
"...*tug tug*"
"Again?... There are surprisingly many." (Jin)
We (or more accurately, Phoenix Tamo-san) flew in the direction the Graymen pointed.
"And this is also a regular event." (Jin)
"That seems to be the case." (Maria)
What we landed on was a large number of Graymen. Apparently, Graymen had the ability to know each other's locations. It was probably the effect of ‹Sympathy›. I didn't have any other reasons.
And when the Graymen noticed my presence, for some reason they began to gather around me. Not a single person came near Maria.
After all the Graymen had swarmed around me, they began merging with the Graymen under my command, and when there was only one left, they combined with the Graymen under my command. Surprisingly, it seems that at this point the new Graymen would also become my subordinates. Their ecology was a mystery.
"This one, too, has really started to show its color..." (Jin)
"...*nod*"
After three days of the Graymen fusion, the number of Graymen had increased from 32 to 256. And their translucent body became considerably darker, to the point where it could no longer be called translucent.
I had learned a few things from spending time with the Graymen. First of all, the Graymen didn't eat. They showed no interest in seeing us eating. So how did they replenish their nutrients?
In the first place, their energy was not generated through nutrition. Simply put, the act of sticking to me was the way the Graymen replenished their energy.
However, they didn't forcibly steal HP from the target like ‹HP Absorption› or ‹MP Absorption›. They were absorbing the vitality that overflowed from my existence, the dregs of energy that was naturally released. They were quite eco-friendly.
And this was not limited to living things, the Graymen were living off the little bit of energy that the buildings contained. Naturally, this was not enough. I had always wondered how they managed to survive in a world without food, but now I finally understood.
It seemed the reason the Graymen had grown attached to me was because of the overwhelming energy I possessed. It seemed that the energy contained within me was incomparably greater than that of Maria. ...Is it because I have a special abilities? In other words, maybe the biggest reason they wanted to become my subordinates was so that they wouldn't have to worry about food.
Four more days passed, and finally the Graymen reached Graymen x1024. To be precise, that was the cumulative total up until the Graymen we found the previous day, and no Grayman had appeared since. Apparently, the Graymen didn't get too close to the center of the world. Orihara also said that there was something at the center of the world, so I thought that might be related.
And it seemed we were finally approaching the center of the world. Considering the time between revolutions, we should be able to reach the center of this world in about five days. In addition, we were able to reduce the number of Hollow Beastss down to just one remaining. That being said, this was the story of Hollow Beastss, who were moving from the outside to the center. According to Orihara, there were monsters (probably Hollow Beastss) concentrated in the center, so it could not be said that they had all been wiped out yet...
(...So, I think we'll be able to go home in about five days.) (Jin)
I reported back to everyone in the main party at regular intervals to inform them of the planned return date.
(Master is coming back? Yay!) (Dora)
(I'm so glad that you're safe, Jin-kun...) (Sakura)
(But it took longer than I expected.) (Mio)
(This world was pretty big, after all. I also earned experience points by defeating Hollow Beastss.) (Jin)
In the end, as of today, our levels had risen to the 700s. As expected, it became much harder to increase the level in the second half, but it was still an exceptional amount of experience. If I were to reach that level in the other world, just how many monsters would I have to defeat?
(Yes, yes, they were pretty good opponents. That being said, as Mio-chan, I'm curious to see where Master will return to.) (Mio)
(Yeah, I'm a bit worried about that too.) (Jin)
(What do you mean…?) (Sakura)
Sakura, who didn't understand the meaning of the conversation between me and Mio, asked me.
(If this world and that world are connected, the question is where it connects to. Well, if I can use magic, I can just go home using "Portal") (Jin)
(I hope the connection doesn't end up in water or something.) (Mio)
(I see... so there was a danger like that, huh...) (Sakura)
Since Orihara didn't comment on it, I didn't think there were any traps that would kill us on the first visit, but it's better to be careful.
(And that's not all. If you haven't noticed it on the map before, it's sure to lead to a place you've never been to before. In other words, it's a great chance for sightseeing!) (Jin)
(Master, you really are unwavering...) (Mio)
(That makes me think it's Master.) (Sera)
It would be unthinkable to go to an unfamiliar place and not do some sightseeing. Unless, of course, it's obvious that it would be unpleasant.
(Well, even if we do go sightseeing, we need to get back to normal first. It would be boring to go sightseeing just with Maria... If I go, everyone else will come too, right?) (Jin)
(Dora too will go!) (Dora)
(Of course, Mio-chan will go too.) (Mio)
(Of course.) (Sera)
(Yes... I'll come with you...) (Sakura)
When I asked, the unanimous answer was "Yes," so that added another possibility to our list of sightseeing spots. The current list of potential tourist destinations was "Crimson Empire", "The Elven Village", and "The Destination from Another World". In addition, "Crimson Empire" was on the pending list.
(Well, we'll prioritize going home first. We can all discuss what happens after that when the time comes.) (Jin)
(Yes) (x4)
The next day, we went further and finally discovered the last of Hollow Beastss.
Name : Bach
Species : Sky King Beast
Affiliation: Hollow Beast
Ranks:
- Stamina S
- Attack SS
- Defense A
- Agility S
- Technology B
Characteristics:
‹Emission› ‹High fuel consumption›
"I see, so it's possible to fly like this..." (Jin)
This Hollow Beast, the Sky King Beast, was, in a word, a dragon. It was a typical bipedal dragon with small arms, a huge tail, and large bat-type wings.
Now, let’s review this one more time. In this world, ‹Flying› skills could not be used, and large creatures were bound by the laws of physics, so even if they had wings, they cannot fly. The Phoenix was also just barely able to fly by reducing its own weight. However, it was impossible for a dragon with wings and calling itself a Sky King Beast to not be able to fly. So, what should it do?
In fact, this Sky King Beast could spew fire from the nozzles on its back. It might seem strange as a living thing, but by spewing fire from its nozzle with such force that it could fly through the air like a rocket.
Of course, the flames could also be used for attacks. It could breathe fire from its mouth. Oh, just to be clear, the fire came from either its mouth or the nozzle, but not at the same time. When it spits fire from its mouth, it turns off the fire in its nozzle, spreads its wings, and glides before spit-out.
…This was discovered after Tamo-san tried using ‹Mimic› on Sky King Beast.
Well, well, that was it. This Hollow Beast was taking a nap when I found it. Apparently, due to its characteristic of being ‹High fuel consumption›, after being active for a while, it had to rest for the same amount of time. By coincidence, it happened to be on a break when we met, so I snapped and yelled "Hollow Beast! Don't take a break!" and quickly fed it to Tamo-san.
Honestly, this Hollow Beast creature is a piece of junk that never finishes...
Author's Note
Mozart[4]: There must have been some reason, but it's been so long since I wrote it that I've forgotten what it was.
Bach[5]: Just the sound of the name
It is difficult to express high and low fuel consumption.
I understand that high fuel usage means high fuel consumption (i.e. low efficiency).[3] Sorry if I'm wrong.
Translation Note
[1] Terms subject to change. 灰人 (haijin) = grayman (graymen), grayfolk(s)? Or ashman (ashmen), ashfolk(s)?
[2] よっこらしょっと！(yokkorashotto) Not sure what it means. (Update: as suggested by Otaku Hikikomori, I'll use "heave-ho")
[3] Not sure if it's the right translation, but the problem is not with the author's note. When I translate 高燃費 using Google Translate, it shows both "High fuel efficiency" and "High fuel consumption" which is contradiction. But, in the story, it's clearly stated implicitly that the monster has a high energy consumption as it often takes a break.
[4] Just in case you didn't know: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach
This time, I tried using ‹ › bracket (different from < >) for skills and similar other terms, because I already use [ ] for notes and system-like dialogues (Alta).
Extra credit
Thanks to Otaku Hikikomori for the corrections.