by Sakon Kaidou
“Does that mean that...?”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “The RSK isn’t alone. We’re being attacked by other monsters.”
◆◆◆
In Infinite Dendrogram, there was a monster type called “Children of the Wicked God,” which was often simplified to just “Evil Offspring.”
Their main characteristic was that they had no designated shape.
The same could be said for slimes, but rather than being completely amorphous, Evil Offspring grew body parts and organs as they saw fit.
They all began life as spheres of flesh, but as they matured, they grew organs and other body parts, which differed depending on the environment they were in. For example, those that were surrounded by predators would grow many ears and eyes to help them sense danger, while those living in cliffy areas would grow many arms to help them climb.
Even if they were driven by necessity and their methods were appropriate for human standards of practicality, their manner of being definitely wasn’t comfortable to observe.
Combined with the fact that they had a tendency to go for easy targets and thus often took to consuming young creatures — be they animal, human, or other Evil Offspring — they had become feared to the point of acquiring that name.
When making the RSK, Franklin had thought about basing it around the use of an Evil Offspring’s organ specialization ability. After all, the creatures weren’t limited to just ears, eyes, or limbs — they could even create organs which released damaging light projectiles. However, Franklin had decided to take it a step further by modifying it to create other monsters that could attack in its stead.
He’d empowered the specialization function to the point where the attacking parts would count as monsters separate from the RSK, while also making sure that they would always be under the RSK’s control, rather than autonomous.
Such ludicrous modifications were impossible for standard Monster Creation, the researcher grouping skill that allowed the person to use lots of materials to create many monsters of the same type. Though additional ingredients could give slight changes to stats or give an extra skill or two, there was little room for any big modifications. However, to Franklin, it was entirely possible thanks to his Superior Embryo’s ultimate skill, Playing God — Pandemonium.
The result of his efforts, the RSK, was a monster that had many negation skills and generated other monsters using its Kin Creation skill while doing absolutely nothing by itself.
Leaving the attacking to other monsters would normally have been meaningless, while its many negation skills could normally have been avoided by simply using an element that wasn’t covered by them.
Due to that, despite being so detailed, the RSK was nothing but a standard Pure-Dragon-class monster.
But that certainly wasn’t the case for a certain Master.
◇◇◇
“Other monsters?” Liliana spoke, clearly confused. “But when he called it, he only named the RSK.”
“Then they were probably created inside the eyes after it was summoned,” I said. “I mean, plant-like monsters sometimes create allies, so who’s to say this one can’t?”
On our journey to Gideon, we’d encountered several monsters that could multiply by dividing or throwing seeds.
“What is the point of that...?” she asked.
“Well, normally, there’d be none. The result would be the same regardless of whether the attacks came from the RSK itself or other monsters.”
However, this method of attack made a world of difference for me and Nemesis.
“As it says in the name, ‘Ray Starling Killer’ was made to kill me, and my and Nemesis’s trump card is Vengeance is Mine — a counterattack that returns double the damage I receive from the enemy.”
Therefore...
“This skill has no effect if the target doesn’t attack me. The most effective move against us is to not do anything.”
That was the crux of it all. What damaged us were the monsters the RSK created, rather than the RSK itself, which rendered Vengeance unusable... or “useless,” rather.
After all, no amount of multiplication could make 0 be more than 0.
It was also fair to assume that the light show the RSK created was there to visually conceal the fact that it was a gathering of monsters.
Anyway, I now knew the truth behind it. Vengeance could do nothing against the RSK itself, and even if I killed the attacking monsters, they would just be re-created.
“So, are you done clarifying how screwed you are?” mocked a malicious voice.
“Franklin...”
“Man, you’re fast. I expected to see you panic as you tried to figure it out. Well, not that anything changes now that you know!” He formed another sneer.
Franklin wasn’t wrong about that. My knowing how the RSK worked didn’t change anything.
However...
“I’m relieved that there’s a reason why my Vengeance doesn’t work,” I said.
“...‘Relieved’?” Franklin repeated the word as his smile vanished and his brow furrowed.
“It means that not even a Superior like you was able to create a monster that was invincible just because.”
“Kh...”
Superiors were the pinnacle of players. They were the strongest elite of Masters and Embryos that didn’t even amount to a hundred. And yet, not even one of them had been able to make an undefeatable being.
“That means that there’s something I can do,” I continued. “Even if it’s nearly zero... as long as the possibility is there, I’ll never give up trying to seize it.” The words I spoke were the same ones my brother had told me... the ones I’d recalled during the Gouz-Maise battle.
“Khah!” Franklin laughed. “Not giving up is fine and all, but you only have 270 seconds left. What can you do in just over four minutes?”
In response, I brandished Nemesis and pointed her at the RSK before speaking up. “Kill that thing.”
“...Hmph.”
All right, I have four minutes, I thought. So far, neither I nor Liliana nor Sir Lindos had done anything that had an effect.
My Vengeance and Purgatorial Flames were both useless, and since the RSK didn’t give any debuffs, using Like a Flag Flying the Reversal would be meaningless. Hellish Miasma wasn’t an option, either, since there were people lying around it. Then again, if Franklin was telling the truth, it wouldn’t have had any effect, either.
“Mm...?” I murmured.
“Vengeance is Mine doesn’t work on him, he doesn’t give any debuffs, he negates Purgatorial Flames, Hellish Miasma, Purifying Silverlight, and even Grand Cross, if you had it.”
Upon recalling Franklin’s words, I realized that there were two strange things about them. First, there was the fact that he had gone out of his way to tell me what the RSK negated.
If he’d stayed quiet, I would’ve wasted a bunch of the little time we had left just attempting those skills, and he would have derived enjoyment from watching me try and fail.
Why did he say it and throw that scenario to the wind? I thought. Did it just slip out because he was feeling uppity... or is there some other reason?
The second strange thing was the fact that the measures he’d named didn’t cover everything I had.
“...Oh, yeah,” I muttered. “He did say that it was 24 hours.”
That PSS had been alive and feeding my info to Franklin for a whole day since yesterday morning. Due to that, it wasn’t strange for him not to know it.
Still, it’s unlikely that I can win against it with just this and... Wait, I thought. If I combine these two things... I might have a chance.
“Ray?” asked Nemesis.
“We have a way to turn this thing around,” I said. “And I don’t think that Franklin knows about it.”
“...You mean that?”
“Yeah, that,” I replied. “If we mix it with another gamble, we might be able to win against that thing. The risk is pretty great, though. If I’m wrong, what
we’ll do here will be pretty suicidal.”
“I don’t believe that any risks we take can be worse than us losing this fight.”
“Good point. Still, there’s a problem.”
I looked at the RSK... or, rather, at the ground around it. There were a number of incapacitated Royal Guard knights there, and I couldn’t make my move until I helped them. I was about to go and try getting them away from there...
“You have a plan, yes?” Sir Lindos stopped fighting the RSK and asked.
“It’s a huge gamble,” I replied. “But if it goes well, I might be able to take care of the monster release time limit.”
“Can I help in any way?”
His words made my eyes open wide. I’d only met him yesterday and seen him once again today, but from that alone, I figured that he didn’t have the best opinion of us Masters.
“...I know what you want to say,” he continued. “However, my opinion means little here. What’s important right now...”
“...are the people of Gideon and the princess?” I completed his sentence.
“Exactly.” Sir Lindos put on a smile, to which I responded with my own.
“Now, is there anything Lady Grandria and I can do?” he asked.
“I would like you to move the Royal Guard near the RSK away from it,” I answered. “Do it within the next two minutes and take them at least 100 meter... I mean, ‘metels’ away.”
The buildup would probably take two minutes.
“Also, you need to keep the RSK in place and make sure you’re nowhere near it when I get close.”
“That sure is a lot of orders... But very well. Did you hear him, Lady Grandria?!”
“Yes! Leave the rescue to me!” Liliana called.
“Then I shall keep it from moving!”
The two split the roles and charged towards the RSK. Liliana evaded the light projectiles and saved the Royal Guard members while Sir Lindos kept the RSK in place.
Their skill as Paladins was clearly greater than mine, and I would’ve been lying if I’d said it didn’t move me.
“Let’s not fall behind... SILVER!” I called.
My mount neighed.
“Wind Hoof... activate!”
Thus, I used one of the skills on my Prism Steed, Zephyrus Silver.
◇◇◇
West of duel city Gideon, Jeand Grasslands
Ray’s words made Silver use a skill which distorted their appearance.
It was caused by Wind Hoof’s compressed air barrier bending the light around them.
“...Why now?” Franklin asked, slightly surprised and confused. It wasn’t because he was witnessing something unknown. Quite the opposite — he knew the skill well, but he didn’t see any reason to use it. “I mean, that’s a skill for mobility and defense, right?”
Since PSS had been inside Ray when he’d acquired the Prism Steed, Franklin had received its info and knew the details of Wind Hoof. It was a compressed air barrier skill with a flying — or rather, “air-walking” — ability as a bonus.
Wind Hoof certainly wasn’t special, either, as mount-type special equipment or monsters with similar skills weren’t all that uncommon.
Franklin’s countermeasure to this barrier was already in place, too. After all, the many light projectiles fired by the monsters inside the RSK would have little trouble breaking through it. He would’ve added some defensive function if Wind Hoof had been an attack skill, but that just wasn’t the case.
“There’s nothing special in the skill’s description, so nothing should happen if he uses it... right?” Franklin muttered his thoughts as he looked at Silver using Identification. However, the confirmation did little to abate his inexpressible unease.
Franklin wasn’t actually wrong in the least. Wind Hoof was most definitely a skill for a compressed air barrier and aerial movement, and normally, it wouldn’t be anything to worry about.
At least, as long as Ray didn’t combine it with another item.
“Gouz-Maise!” Ray shouted, his words resounding throughout the surroundings.
As if they heard him, his dark purple greaves groaned in a manner reminiscent of the living dead. They began to flicker.
“Release... your MP!”
Suddenly, the Grudge-soaked Graves emitted immense amounts of magic into the surrounding air.
Normally, magic was colorless and permeable, but Gouz-Maise’s energy had a blood-curdling, purple hue. That was due to it being the magic stored in Greaves of Grudge through its Grudge Conversion — a skill that changed the surrounding grudge and negative emotions into the wearer’s SP or MP.
The magic released just now was so great it could make a magic-focused high-rank job turn green with envy. In fact, it could even match the maximum magic stores of such Superior Jobs.
“Whoa, whoa...” Franklin muttered as he backed away a bit.
The magic was equivalent to hundreds of thousands of MP — a number most maxed-out spellcasters could only dream of.
“So this is that skill...”
Of course, Franklin knew of Grudge Conversion, as well. However, he didn’t see what had caused the magic stored to become that great.
“Where did he get all this gru...? Damn it!” Realizing the cause, Franklin cut his words short and cursed. “It’s me!”
The grudge... the negative emotions came from the game that Franklin had started.
He’d let his player killers and modified monsters run rampant throughout the city, and livestreamed himself laughing that he would release even more. Naturally, that had caused the tens of thousands of Gideoners to feel fear, which had then been absorbed by Gouz-Maise during Ray’s ride through the city.
Though Gouz-Maise’s nature made it so that its greatest source of energy was the grudge of the dead, the fear of the living was viable as well. Naturally, it was far weaker, but when it came from tens of thousands of people, the gathered MP could reach immense numbers.
Did I mess up? thought Franklin. No, this phenomenon was unavoidable. Wait, the problem here is...
During the RSK’s creation, he’d pictured scenarios in which Ray used the MP from Gouz-Maise on Purgatorial Flames, Hellish Miasma, or Reversal, but those were already taken care of.
With those things out of the way, Franklin wanted to know the purpose behind Ray releasing all that magic power.
The answer to his question came quickly, since the purple magic in the air was suddenly absorbed by Silver. What followed was a mighty wind, coming from every direction imaginable.
No, “wind” wasn’t appropriate, as Silver was simply absorbing all the surrounding air, all for the purpose of unleashing the full potential of Wind Hoof — the skill using the rider’s MP to create a barrier of compressed air.
The hundreds of thousands of MP allowed Silver to gather so much air that both he and Ray disappeared from sight. The barrier had become so dense that it no longer allowed any light to pass, leaving behind nothing but a pitch-black sphere.
“Khah...!”
Upon seeing it, Franklin instantly realized that, in this situation, the barrier wasn’t actually a barrier.
“RSK! Move! Get away from there!” Franklin shouted.
Since no light could pass through the sphere, anyone inside wouldn’t be able to see what was outside. If the RSK moved, Ray would be rendered unable to hit it.
“I won’t allow that!”
But the RSK’s movements were stopped by a certain Paladin — Sir Lindos.
“Grand Cross!” he shouted, unleashing his most powerful attack.
Just like before, the holy light did nothing to hurt the RSK, but that didn’t matter, for even if it didn’t take any damage, the pressure of the mighty skill dulled its movements. With that, the stage was set for Ray to unleash his attack.
“Tch! Ca—!” Franklin tried to Call for new monsters that could take care of the threat. However, before he could, the pitch-black wind began speeding towards the RSK.
Sir Lindos instantly went o
ut of the sphere’s way and distanced himself from it.
Upon being set free, the RSK tried to escape, but it was simply far too slow to avoid the black object heading towards it.
The spheres clashed, but didn’t touch directly, as the RSK’s Material Barrier was protecting it. No matter how densely it compressed the air, Wind Hoof was merely a barrier and thus didn’t have much in the ways of damage.
Upon arriving at that realization using its limited thinking capabilities, the RSK became relieved. Its creator, on the other hand, clicked his tongue in frustration.
“Wind Hoof, cancel.”
The voice came from inside the compressed air barrier and wasn’t heard by anyone outside, but everyone saw its effects.
The black sphere vanished, creating a mighty explosion which tore through the Material Barrier as though it was paper and hit the RSK.
◇◇◇
Ray Starling had discovered this phenomenon by complete accident.
It had happened on the morning of the same day, when he was testing Wind Hoof and trying to find a way to make its compressed air barrier useful.
Even when Ray gave it all of his maximum MP, the resulting barrier couldn’t shield him from attacks by the most basic monsters in the Nex Plains, and he concluded that it was due to his MP being too low to unleash its full potential.
Then Ray got the idea to combine the skill with his Grudge-soaked Greaves.
Ever since he’d gotten the item, Grudge Conversion had been stocking up on a decent amount of MP — certainly greater than Ray’s own maximum, at least — and he figured that it could be used to create a powerful barrier.
He turned out to be correct, and the resulting compressed air shield was strong enough to hold even when he got swarmed by monsters. It had the negative of rendering him incapable of seeing anything around him, but Ray figured that he could find a use for it regardless.
With his experiment done, he decided to fight the monsters swarming him. However, when he disabled Wind Hoof, Silver’s surroundings exploded.
Or perhaps burst was the better word for it.
Surrounded by clouds of dust and a rain of monster guts, both Ray and Nemesis tilted their heads in confusion.
