by Okina Baba
The water ball created by my magic power was massive. Enough to make a column of water when it exploded.
The flames are completely swallowed by the resulting deluge and disappear.
I just gained the Water Magic skill.
Maybe my extremely high aptitude is why I was able to get it with a single spell.
Or was it because the magnitude of that spell was so large? Or a little bit of both, I suppose.
“That’s my elder brother for you! Who else could cancel a level-5 Fire Magic spell with level-1 Water Magic?”
As if to pull me back to reality, Sue praises me in a particularly loud voice.
So that was level-5 Fire Magic?
Wait, Sue, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? You usually don’t speak so loudly.
Sure enough, Hugo glares at me for stealing his thunder.
Before he can do anything, however, Professor Oriza suddenly looms up behind him.
“May I have a word, Hugo?”
“What? Why should I have to talk to you?”
“Just come with me for a moment, please.”
Professor Oriza more or less drags Hugo away, leaving behind only the charred remains of the targets and the group of very confused students.
“Yikes, Natsume’s lame.”
Fei’s murmur echoes in my ear.
At the edge of my vision, I see Katia reining in the noisy students. Thanks as usual, Katia!
This is the day Hugo begins regarding me as his enemy.
THE DUKE’S DAUGHTER AND THE PRINCE’S SISTER
“Katia, why did you quell everyone’s excitement about my brother’s success?”
“Sue, do you really think Shun wants that?”
“Well…no, I suppose not… You’re a crafty one, Katia. What is your relationship with my brother, exactly?”
“What do you mean? We’re friends, of course. What’s wrong with that, I wonder?”
“Liar. You’re not just regular friends, are you? It’s the same with that elf you all call ‘ma’am.’ And the future saint and sword-king, too. What’s going on with all of you?”
“Should I really be the one to answer that for you, do you think?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, do you honestly want to hear it from me, or is there someone else, perhaps?”
“Well, I—”
“You should ask Shun directly about that sort of thing.”
“But—”
“I certainly don’t mind explaining, if you wish. But would it truly satisfy you, hearing it from me?”
“It would.”
“I think not. Or do you really view Shun so lightly that you don’t care what his answer is?”
“It’s not like that at all!”
“Well then, you ought to ask Shun, not me. It’s better that way for the both of you, no?”
“…Maybe so.”
“I believe I do understand your feelings right now, if only a little. And that’s precisely why I think it’s best you confront the source of those feelings.”
“…All right. I’m sorry. And…thank you.”
“You’re quite welcome. Ah, incidentally, we do indeed have a special relationship, but there are no romantic feelings there whatsoever. So please don’t concern yourself with that.”
“R-riiight…”
“What is it? Why the halfhearted reply?”
“Oh, nothing. You don’t seem to realize it yet, so I don’t think I’m the one who should say it.”
“? What on earth…?”
“After all, why should I encourage someone who might end up being my rival?”
“Huh? What did you just say?”
“Nothing at all.”
“I guess all I’m really doing is shoving it off on someone else, but so what? I mean, this is between the two of them as siblings. I don’t want to get dragged into something that’s got nothing to do with me. Yep, it’s not my problem. Not at all… I should probably say something to Shun tomorrow, just in case.”
SPIDER VS FIRE WYRM
That catfish was delicious. What a feast.
My Taste Enhancement skill even rose to level 7.
I guess I was really focused on eating, huh?
But you can’t blame me!
Everything I’ve eaten until now has been disgusting!
Obviously, I want to savor it when I get to eat something good!
In addition, Overeating rose to level 8.
I still have plenty of stock left, but since it probably increases the amount I can conserve, there’s certainly no disadvantage to raising that.
Plus, I’m curious to reach level 10 and find out what the derivative or evolved version of Overeating might be.
It’s a very convenient skill as it is, so my hopes are high.
There’s something else I’m concerned about, though.
That would be the Pride skill.
Pride is one of the seven deadly sins.
And there’s also a deadly sin called Gluttony.
Overeating. Gluttony. They’re rather close in meaning.
I can’t help but be leery.
What if the evolved form of Overeating is Gluttony?
The effects of Pride are almost disturbingly powerful, and if Overeating evolves into Gluttony, it’s possible it would have similar effects as another skill from the “deadly sins” series.
In that case, I’d feel as anxious about it as I do about Pride.
Well, it’s still only level 8. No point in worrying about that yet.
Besides, it’s gonna level up whether I want it to or not, so it’s not like worrying will do me any good anyway.
Well then, guess it’s time to keep exploring and search for more catfish.
Catfiiiish!
I wander around the Middle Stratum on the lookout for catfish.
However, I don’t see a single one.
Hmm. I guess if they’re submerged in the magma, I wouldn’t notice them.
The first time I ran into one, it just so happened to be peeking out of the flow, after all.
If they normally run deep, they’ll be hard to find.
If you ask me, I should have a useful skill for enemy detection by now.
Thinking back, it does seem like I’ve been able to pick things up more accurately than you’d expect with mere intuition.
I mean, I’ve never once been caught off guard by a surprise attack, and whenever I feel like I’m in danger, I’m usually right.
This is just a guess, but I think it’s probably just my natural instincts as a spider.
I’m probably detecting stuff like the flow of air without even realizing it.
In that case, it makes sense that I didn’t notice there was a catfish so close before.
If my senses rely on the flow of air, then of course I can’t detect threats that are underneath magma.
I may not be able to sense surprise attacks coming from underwater or underground, either.
In which case, being near the magma is dangerous.
If something suddenly jumps out and drags me in, that’ll be the end of the story right there.
Plus, it’s risky being near magma in general anyway, so I’ve been trying to avoid it.
From now on, I’ll have to stand far enough away that I’ll be safe even if a monster appears.
You know, like right now.
If I had to sum up the creature that just leaped out of the magma, I’d call it… Hmm, an eel?
Yeah. An eel-like monster with scales and limbs.
Status: HP: 1,001/1,001 (green) MP: 511/511 (blue)
SP: 899/899 (yellow) : 971/971 (red) +57
Average Offensive Ability: 893 Average Defensive Ability: 821
Average Magical Ability: 454 Average Resistance Ability: 433
Average Speed Ability: 582
Skills:
[Fire Wyrm LV 4] [Dragon Scales LV 5] [Fire Enhancement LV 1] [Hit LV 10]
[Evasion LV 1] [Probability Correction LV 1] [High-Speed Swimming LV 2] [Heat Nullification]
[Life LV 3] [Instantaneous LV 1] [Persistent LV 3] [Strength LV 1]
[Solidity LV 1] [Overeating LV 5]
>
Uh-oh. This eel is really strong.
It’s this strong, and it’s only “average”?
Actually, judging by its skills, I wonder if this eel is also part of the catfish’s evolutionary line?
No, now’s not the time to worry about that sort of thing.
The eel is about fifty feet away.
It’s already noticed me and has totally locked on.
I have the higher speed stat, but its other stats totally leave mine in the dust.
Worst of all, its red stamina gauge completely outweighs mine, even considering my Overeating stocks.
Even if I can outrun it, there’s a good chance it’d catch up to me when my stamina runs out.
Hopefully, it loses interest before that happens, but…
My yellow stamina is low anyway, so I can only maintain my top speed for short bursts.
Once my instantaneous stamina runs out, I’ll get short of breath, so I might get caught that way, too.
Can I get away?
Just as the question occurs to me, my vision of the eel splits in two.
Foresight must be activating.
The blurred version of the eel looks like it’s about to spit something out.
Moments later, the real thing does the same, expelling a fireball.
So the basic tactics are the same.
But this blast is even faster and larger than the ones the sea horse and catfish made!
I move out of the way in a hurry.
Thought Acceleration is working, but the missile’s velocity is so high I can barely tell.
It lands right where I’d been standing a moment before with a boom.
Even with the help of Foresight and Thought Acceleration, I was just barely able to avoid it.
What the heck? I thought I’d gotten away more quickly than that.
So it’s this skill’s fault. Maybe it increases the eel’s accuracy rate.
In which case, it could be hard to keep evading even for me.
I may be in serious trouble here.
I dodge another fireball.
The next one flies at me, though, before I can recover.
At this rate, escaping won’t even be an option.
The aftershock of the explosion shaves off a little HP.
If I move at top speed, I can definitely dodge these, but my yellow gauge will drain rapidly.
If I’m constantly sprinting, my yellow stamina bar will deplete before I can blink, leaving me short of breath.
Then I’ll be finished.
Foresight and Thought Acceleration help me predict the path of the flaming missiles and avoid them.
But the eel can anticipate my movements, too, and corrects the trajectory of its shots.
Who will outwit who? It’s like a high-speed, high-stakes game of chess.
The big difference is that while the eel doesn’t lose much if it misses, I’ll die if I make a single misstep.
I’m extremely grateful for my skills leveling up at a time like this.
The velocity of the incoming fireballs seems to slow down just a tad.
That said, my perception of my own movement speed slows down, too, so I have to be careful.
I evade more fireballs.
Then, thanks to Foresight, I see the eel try something different.
It still looks like it’s going to exhale something, but it’s sucking down way more air than before.
Time to let loose that peak speed I’ve been holding back.
I dash past the monster at a clip that blurs the scenery around me.
Behind me, powerful flames burn everything to a crisp.
This is a move that can be used when the Fire Wyrm skill reaches level 4.
I didn’t get hit directly, but my back feels scorched by convection alone.
My HP decreases bit by bit.
At this rate, things’ll only get worse, and if I take a direct hit even once, I’m done for.
But I can’t come up with a single plan.
All I can do right now is keep bobbing and weaving and wait for my chance.
The feeling that my life is being slowly taken from me has me hot under the collar, no pun intended.
Another fireball flies toward me.
Between the eel’s level-10 Hit skill and Probability Correction, its aim is incredibly accurate.
If I didn’t have Evasion, Thought Acceleration, and Foresight on my side, I doubt I could dodge it.
All right! It’s not enough to turn the whole situation around, but I’ll take whatever advantage I can get.
I check the eel’s remaining MP as I avoid the fireball.
It’s definitely gone down, but it still has over half remaining.
Since Flame Breath has such a wide range, it seems to use a lot more MP than Fireball.
That’s great and all, since it means it can’t shoot that one after the other, but I kinda hope it tries to preserve its MP by not using it at all.
There’s no guarantee that Foresight will save me every time, so I’m not sure if I can keep avoiding it.
I’ll have to keep as close an eye as possible on the eel.
Before I finish that thought, Foresight shows me the image of the eel charging another Flame Breath.
I dash off at top speed once again.
But this time, instead of firing it straight forward, the eel swings its head sideways and sweeps the ground with fire!
Flame Breath already has a huge attack range, so now it’s spreading ridiculously far.
Crap! It grazed me a little.
Even though it barely touched me, my HP goes down by 10.
Part of my back and one of my hind legs got hit.
The leg is in a bit of pain, but I can still move it fine, I think.
Still, this might slow me down a little bit. Shoot.
At this point, my stubborn Fire Resistance skill level finally goes up.
Great timing.
With higher Fire Resistance, my HP Auto-Recovery rate should exceed the rate of heat damage.
The amount of recovery will probably be minuscule, but it’s a world of difference from having none at all.
I check the eel’s MP.
Good. It’s less than half now.
The rate of MP consumption seems to be about 10 for Fireball and 50 for Flame Breath.
But even with half its MP gone, I’d guess the eel could still use Flame Breath about four more times if it wants to.
That’s not good.
I move to put some distance between myself and the monster.
Trying to prevent that, the eel launches a fireball as it follows me.
Just as I intended.
I doubt it can charge that Flame Breath while moving.
If I keep juking around and goad it into spitting more fireballs, it’ll eventually run out of MP.
If I can hold out until then, I should get a chance to strik
e back, hopefully.
For now, I keep evading.
I’m constantly doing my best to get as far away as I can, but avoiding getting hit takes top priority.
I carefully choose my escape routes so I won’t get cornered by the magma.
One wrong step, and I’m toast.
It’s like I’m on a tightrope.
YES!
My skills keep leveling up, probably because I’m so concentrated on this battle.
Fire Resistance and HP Auto-Recovery are the two skills I’ve been hoping to level up, and now it’s happening!
I celebrate for only an instant. But that instant is nearly fatal.
The eel initiates Flame Breath.
This is completely unexpected. Foresight didn’t even warn me.
There’s no way I can dodge this.
The breath erupts from the eel’s mouth.
Immediately, I kick off the ground with all my might, jumping into the air.
The stream of fire scorches my legs.
Fighting back the pain, I use Energy Conferment while extending a thread toward the ceiling.
Energy Conferment consumes red SP to strengthen things.
With this skill, I can spin some thread capable of withstanding the heat of the Middle Stratum for a short period.
Still, it’ll only last a limited time, so I quickly pull on the thread to raise myself to the ceiling.
Then I cut the silk before it burns.
I stare down at the eel from the ceiling.
It glares at me from the magma.
It’s great I escaped to the ceiling and all, but overall, this situation is still untenable.
When I’m sticking to the ceiling, I inevitably move more slowly than when I’m on the ground.
I already had my hands full avoiding the eel’s attacks on terra firma. There’s no way I can keep it up on the ceiling.
I have to get back down ASAP, or I’ll get shot down instead.
However, the eel isn’t in such great shape, either.
Its MP has gone down considerably.
Looks like it could summon three more Flame Breaths or sixteen more Fireballs.
Compared with when we started, that’s pretty low.
