24-26

[ARC 1] CHAPTER 17: GUST THE SEARCH ENGINE

I ignored my newly acquired partner1Search Engine, the raven that was in an orz-position, and thought what my next move should be.

The first order of business should be to find some way to escape this floor and that "Ghost King". If the hole that the raven was in really leads to Floor 7, then I don't need to think too much about that problem.

In that case, it's back to my main objective: use as much of this Dungeon as possible to evolve into the Kur Kigal race.

The question is: how?

I didn't wanna take the Quest that's linked to this floor due to the abyss... but since I'm already deep inside it (and beyond), why not check it out before making any decisions?

I made the Quest Log appear. As its name suggests, it's the World System's Quest Board so to speak. You can make it appear and disappear in the same way as the Skill Shop, but I've only checked on the Quest the moment I obtain it for then making a shortcut to see it without having to take up the Log and all, so I've yet to make full use of this function seriously. No better time than the present.

Quest Log

The Quest(s) I'm working on is shown on the Active Quest tab, the ones I've finished will be shown by clicking on the Quest Log tab, and the Nearby Quest is empty as... forget that last part. But... what the heck's that supposed to mean?

"Don't ignore me! Why are you ignoring this poor bird that you have forced your command over to see some Quest-" - Raven

The birdie's noisy. Shut up already.

".....-!? ...!? ......!!" - Raven

So, it's true that monsters that are tamed are forced to follow the order of their masters. Sweet.

You're allowed to speak. Just don't be noisy.

"What do you mean by... I can speak!" - Raven

Through telepathy only. And there's one thing he mentioned just now that I'm interested in.

Did you say you could see the Quest Log?

"Yes... I mean, yes, ma'am!" - Raven

Skip the ma'am. And why can you see it?

"Why? Was it not you who kept the page open?" - Raven

Huh? Anyone can see this?

"Not normally, but like with [Identification] results, you can show the windows generated by the World System to others whenever you want. Damn, couldn't resist not telling her..." - Raven

Ho? Then did the Quest Log turn visible because I wanted someone to tell me about that Nearby Quest?

"You can also make all your windows visible through the Options Menu. ...GYAAAA!!" - Raven

Mister Search Engine's still not happy about having to spill all his knowledge to me. I wish he just learned to play well. We're gonna have a long relationship... I hope. Not sure what could happen in this Dungeon.

And as for the Options Menu... It came up. Works just like the Skill Shop and Quest List. If someone could have told me about that a little sooner...

Hmm, so I can change the visibility grade of the System Messages and any other of those hologram-like messages, along with when I want the World System to notify me about level- or skill changes. It even tells me the recommended amount of messages one should select to show up. Then we'll take that. Telling me when notable changes to the skills, such as when new abilities and Lv.Max is obtained. Else it's not so different from before.

Good job. Here's the reward.

I gave birdie one of the fruits I had gotten from the moles before. And why did that make the bird's eyes almost pop up?

"F-f-f-f-for me? This is for me?" - Raven

...Why, yeah? You deserve some bonuses when you do a good job.

"Then-! Then does that mean I will get food regularly then!?" - Raven

Wha-? Of course, you will. Three meals a day, as long as the circumstances allow it.

"Y-yahoo!! What a happy day!!" - Raven

And with that outburst, the bird picked up the fruit with his hands and started to eat it... oi. Can you use those wings as hands? And he's not pecking the fruit, he's chewing on it. Are you sure your race is called Wisdom Raven? Looks more like a Toon Raven to me.

Going by this reaction, the Ghost Knight didn't feed this guy well... doesn't he know that animal abuse is just low? Not that a prominent monster slayer like me has anything to say... right? I'm not so sure now.

Ready for your job now...er... what shall I call you?

"I do not have a name. Only the ravens acknowledged by the Sages of the Library Tower was allowed to have names." - Raven

Hmm, that's gonna be annoying. Wanna pick a name now?

"No, monsters cannot name themselves. A name for a monster is a symbol of greatness-" - Raven

But I was named since I was born?

"WHAT!? ...Then names are not that important after all?" - Raven

This cheeky birdy...

"Ah! I mean, someone as great as Master would have a name-" - Raven

Stop patronizing me, or you'll be cursed with the worst name in generations.

"...!!!" - Raven

The bird's got a loose tongue, but a fast mind. And any bad names he has will make me look equally bad, so let's be serious about this. He's a bird, so something birdy... argh, I'm bad with names. And he wants it to be cool, but my principle goes against chuuni-names, so...

What about Gust?

"Gust?" - Raven

As in the wind. You know, 'cause you're a bird?

And because a gust is one of the weakest-sounding names for wind...

"I like it! Gust, my name is Gust... yes, this has quite a nice ring to it! From this moment on, my name is Gust!" - Gust (Raven)

...This guy's quite easy to please. Sure, it makes things easier for me, but is he fine with this...?

Then, to your first, official assignment.

"As you wish, Master." - Gust

...Your 0.1th assignment. Just call me Garami.

"Whatever that pleases you, Master Garami." - Gust

Seriously, cut the "Master"-part out. Your second assignment is to help me select which of the maxed-out skills I should evolve first.

"Leave it to me! I didn't read all the hero-stories in the Library Tower for nothing." - Gust

It feels like I got the slacker who spent 15 years at the Library Tower to read light novels and comics as my partner... gotta keep this guy on a short leash.

Ignoring the feeling of a chaotic future, I produced my Status Page with [Identification].

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

[Identification] skill level has reached Lv.30.

[Trait Identification] has been added to [Identification Lv.30]

You have earned 0.2 Skill Points

Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 0.2 Skill Points were earned.

Oya? [Identification] reached Lv.30. About time. [Discern] reached Lv.20 a while ago while I was gathering the Rose-Maria that wasn't around the entrance. With the added Skill Points, I now have exactly 10 Points.

I looked at Gust to check if he could see the result as well.

"Yes, I can see it... I think?" - Gust

'He thinks'? Is something wrong? Let's see if the Skill List shows up without any trouble.

Well, these are my skills. Which one do you... hey.

"..." - Gust

Hey, Gust? HELLO!!

"......" - Gust

...Secret move, Wake-Up-Chop!!!

*Chop!!*

"My head! What was that for?!" - Gust

Just because.

"'Just because'!?" - Gust

More importantly, skills. Skills.

"Ah! That's right, what's with that broken Skill List!? What's with that amount!?" - Gust

Some Quest rewards, training, and having some roaches do some grinding for me.

"Wait, what was that last part? Anyway, the biggest concerns are these." - Gust

So said the bird while pointing on some of my skills. Mostly those that I obtain as my initial skills and [Aura of Darkness]. What's wrong with them?

"How did a former Grey Demon obtain all these high-tier skills!?" - Gust

'High-tier'?

"Oh yeah, I forgot that Master is not part of humanoid society. It refers to either highly sought-after or highly difficult-to-obtain skills. It's a ranking system people have made, so there is no information about these rankings in the World System." - Gust

No wonder I didn't know about it. There's probably a page about it in the Kigal-Note, but unless I already knew about its existence, I wouldn't find it with the book's Auto-Search function. That's the whole reason why I tamed this birdbrain.

I got lucky. Anyways... wait. How did you know I was a Grey Demon before?

I'm sure I didn't tell him that.

"Because it's only Color Demons that have [Magic Sight]. That, and that your DEX stat is so high." - Gust

Hmm? I get the [Magic Sight] part, but my DEX stat? And 'Color Demons'?

"From the look on your face, I guess you don't even know about Color Demons." - Gust

To be able to read the face of a spider demon... this bird's quite formidable.

"Color Demon is what people refer to as a group of six demon species that are born from lingering aether of demonic nature, such as from that from dead monsters. They all have the [Magic Sense] skill and can learn practically any Monster Skills." - Gust

I already knew that... except for there being several of them.

"However, each Color Demon is overspecialized in a single status value, with Grey Demons being responsible for the DEX stat. Their appearance is theorized to be influenced by other creatures that specialize in the same status value, such as spiders for Grey Demons, or goats for the MAG-specialized Cyan Demon." - Gust

I didn't know that part. The highest stat value was DEX when I looked at its page on the Kigal-Note. Who would have known? And why didn't that goddess tell me about that?

"And in case those demons tried to obtain a skill that clashed with their favorite stat, the demon would undergo a Mutation Evolution to the Color Demon species that the obtained skill would fit better with, removing all the skills related to the previous species' stat in the progress." - Gust

That's why! I'm betting my soul here that she didn't tell me that so that she could laugh at me in case I made that miss!! She would, right? She didn't seem that keen on winning that "Champion contest" or whatever those gods are having by selecting their Champions.

But man, Color Demons have it though. I only picked spider-related skills so I didn't have to worry about that, but one wrong step and it would have been sayonara to all my hard work.

Ok then, you've shown that you're as academic as you've bragged about yourself. Now, do you have any suggestions about how I can achieve this evolution?

So I asked while showing him the page regarding the Kur Kigal race.

"...Nope. This is no good." - Gust

What!? What's not good enough!?

"I cannot see anything. The spell you used on me expired." - Gust

...Just get the skill instead then!!

---

It's been three days since I first met Gust. During that time, he's been reading the Kigal-Note like there's no tomorrow. I did make him get [Night Vision], but I wish he found a way to read with a source of light. All that reading in the dark's gonna wear out his eyes.

I was spending my days watching the mole society and their cave paintings which told their society's story.

They're the creators and inhabitants of these underground tunnels of Floor 6. They made them so that they could escape the Dread Spirits that started to flood the Floor for some reason and ended up getting stuck here. The big hole leading to Floor 7 was a failed plan to escape the Dungeon... only that they didn't know there was something underneath them.

As for their current living style, they're cultivating underground vegetables and plants to survive while keeping an eye on the Dread Spirits outside, in hope of escaping this floor. Why did they even enter this place in the beginning?

As for my standing in this place, it's pretty much the head honcho. The moles didn't have any leader from the beginning, and since I was a master in collecting the finished veggies (compliments of [Gathering Lv.Max]) and that I produced hammock-style beds and duvets with my threads, they started to follow my orders all of a sudden. Did the [Leadership] skill have something to do with it?

During these last few days, I got to know about the Dread Spirits and the King of Ghosts.

These guys are not ghosts, as in the souls of dead people, but the aether that those dead men leave behind. Normally, that aether would merge with the rest of the aether around the planet, but some people with strong enough wills could leave their aether, their power, behind in the form of Dread Spirits.

The reason the rats on Floor 1 blew up upon touch was due to the "power" of the Spirit was making a mess with the aether of the rat. One can resist that "attack" with a high RES, which means that the Spirits are powerless against someone like that. They have no other means of attack after all.

The Kings are a different story. Unlike the Spirits, which only has the will of "not wanna die", these guys remember their regrets from when alive. Due to their stronger-than-normal will, their aether has managed to reproduce its body from when they were alive. Worse is, people with that strong of a will are usually stuff worthy of being called "legendary". The knight that kidnapped Gust must have been one of those.

As for how to crush them, one can either use a strong enough force of aether, like a blast of mana, or "crack" the will that forces the aether into shape. The latter method is what [Heresy Modification] does. The will's a Heretic attribute effect... and I'm pretty clumsy with that skill. Oops.

The King's are a completely different story~. You can only fight them head-on as little tricks like [Heresy Modification] won't help. The Kings can also force the Spirits to summon them anywhere on Terra Sol, as long as the Spirits are already there, and the Kings can also use the Spirits as fuel to power up their attacks. That crazy slash the knight used the first time was exactly that.

The conclusion is that I can defeat as many Spirits as they can throw, but the King's too high-level for me. I'll stay clear of that thing while staying here.

Of course, it's not only rainbows and sugarplums. As [Heresy Modification] affects the "will" that remains, I'm forced to see the final moments of that Spirit... having to go through the feeling of dying's not easy, even if it's only fragmented.

Even so, there's nothing else to do than to advance! I'm only waiting for Gust at this point, as there's virtually nothing else left for me on this floor. The reason why is the 6th part of the Chain Quest:

It's a war, it's a war!

Aid the brave rebels of the Water-Knot of Glavras by defeating the Floor Bosses that have converged on Floor 7!

They skipped Floor 6 altogether! Works for me. I don't wanna have anything to do with this place. I'm even ignoring the Quest with the funny name that can only be found on this floor. It's unrelated to the Chain Quest after all. And from the contents, it sounds like it's a place a treasure hunting King of Ghosts would be involved with.

The Chain Quest itself should be easy to clear. Just throw one potent poison bottle on one of them, and bingo! Not the Hydra poison. I would have also been killed by it even if I threw it down from the hole here on Floor 6 to Floor 7. Damn, that thing's scary.

I wanna get all three of them, but according to Gust, the scales of the battle will tip greatly towards the "brave rebels" the second one of the bosses goes down, meaning there will be an incredibly short time frame in case I wanna challenge the other two.

The only way I can see myself beating all three of them is to either use the Hydra poison, and die along with them, or somehow get the three bosses to the same area and throw all my poisons at them. But how am I supposed to make that happen?

"Ooooiii. Masteeeeerrrr." - Gust

Just as I was planning my giant-killing festival, Gust appeared from one of the tunnels.

What's up?

"There you are. I have finished the plan you wanted me to come up with." - Gust

Oh, this is gonna be interesting.

---

The place that Gust lead me to was... one of the entrances to the abyss? Is he joking with me? Didn't we agree that getting discovered by the King's not good?

"I do not need to be an Esper class holder to see that you are having doubts here, but let me explain everything first." - Gust

Alright, you have the word. But only because you mentioned a cool-sounding class.

I gave the green light to Gust and he started on his explanation.

"The King is probably struggling in finding whatever he is searching for here. The reason for this is the Dread Spirits. When too many of these creatures gather in a single space, some of them will disperse into a black fog-like substance, leaving only a limited number of Spirits remaining. If those numbers decrease, then a portion of the fog will return to Dread Spirits to replace those numbers. Which again will mean that the fog will be lifted if one continues to defeat the Spirits." - Gust

Ho... but can't the King get rid of the Spirits on his own then?

"No, unfortunately. He could use them up to enhance his attacks, but repeated attacks with that many Spirits boosting the attack will result in the Dungeon caving in." - Gust

What a loophole. And I've tasted that enhanced slash myself, so I understand the King's fears. But to think he had the smarts to consider that... this guy's an enemy I don't wanna face.

...?

Wait, doesn't that mean...

"That someone who can defeat Dread Spirits has to do the big clean-up." - Gust

Hey, that's me! And those things don't give EXP, so what's the point? We should rather climb down to Floor 7 if the only option is those dead faces!

"You obtained a hunting title when you defeated your first Dread Spirit, did you not?" - Gust

Oh... that one.

"That one. Hunting titles are divided into three stages: Slayer, Slaughterer, and Genocider. Normally, you would obtain an ability skill with the two first ones, but the Dread Spirit titles are different. The reward this time is EXP, not skills." - Gust

Ngh... but that's still no reason-

"Did I forget to mention the possible ways of obtaining proficiency with?" - Gust

...You did, but I'm not sure if I wanna know anymore.

"There are two methods, looking away from using Skill Points. Either to repeatedly use those skills or when you risk your life in using them" - Gust

...That last one... could explain my rapid growth. What's riskier than training skills in a Dungeon. The roaches may have had the crazy growth spurt due to them not fearing for their life.

"That is why we will have Master simulate some death for some deadly high amount of proficiency for your skills." - Gust

No way, Jose! Those memories are damn realistic! I'm positive I can die just from the shock!

"Relax. If you fear the Spirits that much, how about striking from a distance? Your whip- and thread-related skills did need some more proficiency." - Gust

Yeah..., but..., on Floor 7-

"On Floor 7 we have a war between boss-class monsters. Even that snake on Floor 5 may have joined up with the three other bosses. Do you want to face them all while un-evolved? And when you probably only need the Slaughterer title to gain enough EXP to evolve. Not to mention you have only ranked-up your [Concentration] skill..." - Gust

Urgh... FINE THEN! I just gotta do it? Bring it on! But I'm escaping if I see that King. Let's get this party started already!! I'm gonna slay, no, slaughter, no, GENOCIDE some Spirits!

"Good luck~" - Gust

Greydra

Kigal-Note/Leadership Skills: [Tame]

Description:

The [Tame] skill allows the skill owner to take their first steps on the path to becoming a Tamer. Through taming a type of monster through this skill, one will unlock access to every Tamer class one could tame that monster with.

One can tame any monster of a lower racial rank without any problems, but in case one tries to tame a monster of equal or higher rank, one needs the approval of the target for it to be tamed.

After being tamed, the monster can be forced into servitude with its will and thoughts kept in check, essentially being reduced to a simple puppet. This only works on monsters that are of a lower racial rank and one will not be able to obtain any Tamer classes through this method.

Another function is that one can link the tamed monster's life with the tamers. In case the tamer dies, so will the tamed monster, but not vice versa. This allows the tamer to keep more violent monsters in check without having to shut off the will of the monster. Again, this works only on monsters with a lower racial rank or an equal rank.

This skill's level increases along with the tamed monster's EXP, and for each skill level, the more EXP is the tamer rewarded with.

Gust's comment: Why's it not about meeee!?!?

ARC 1] CHAPTER 18: THE KIGAL-NOTE'S TRUE CHEAT AND THE RUINS OF REBELLION

Come on, come on, come on! Is that all you got!?

I kept on lashing mental insults and thread whips at the Dread Spirits in the abyss-level of Floor 6.

It's been a freaking week, and still nothing? I can't evolve yet? Are you f*cking with me!?

Keeping my irritation in check, I struck another three Spirits at the same time with my thread-whip.

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

[Sadistic Constitution] skill level has reached Lv.Max

Skill, [Sadistic Dominance] has been unlocked.

You have earned 0.4 Skill Points

Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 0.4 Skill Points were earned.

About time this one reached the level cap. I've been venting on these Spirits for these last four days while ignoring whatever death they have experienced.

Eaten alive by a monster, left alone in a monster cave by your comrades, backstabbed by one's beloved, died as a lab rat for some mad cult...

Yeah, humans are way worse than monsters in some ways. Or maybe most of the deaths related to monsters were so cruel that the victims wanted to die? People like that wouldn't generate Dread Spirits, so I may be on to something...

Disgusted by my own observation, I created more threads to hold in my hands and used them all to whip the incoming Spirits. They had no chance in hell to survive the threads boosted by so many skills while coated by [Heresy Modification]'s effect. That got rid of the irritation of the previous batch of grudges, even if I'm not sure if they were my own or not, only to get stuck with those of the Spirits I had just eliminated.

Damn, this is tiresome. And here comes more. It tried to strike me from behind, but I had already seen it coming. My sensory skills ain't so shabby to not notice that guy, not to forget that the evolved skill [Thought Acceleration], gave me the thinking time needed to throw an Impact Thread at the guy.

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

[Danger Sense] skill level has reached Lv.Max

You have earned 0.4 Skill Points

Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 0.4 Skill Points were earned.

Special requirements fulfilled.

Skill, [Intuition] has been unlocked.

Another one? I kinda hoped [Magic Sight] would reach that point before this one. It's my very first skill after all.

I started to retreat to the underground tunnels after seeing the last message. No need to overdo things like I almost did the first day. The Spirit fog around the abyss had lifted by quite the amount since I started, too. No reason to overdo it either.

The Spirits won't stop attacking until I reach the lair anyway, so I'll farm on the way back as well. I pierced a Spirit that was charging towards me while thinking so as if to prove my thoughts.

Time for a traditional, tactical retreat.

---

"We-welcome Master. What do you want today? Fruits? New blankets?" - Gust

EXP.

"I am sorry to say, but we do not have that product at this store. So please do not take it out on me! I have enough of the bagworm treatment!" - Gust

I'm too tired to vent out on the birdbrain. I'm gonna jump into bed and zzz...

"Eh, Master? What are our plans now?" - Gust

That bird... he can use [Telepathy], but reading the mood? Nu-uh.

Well, considering your calculations about the obtained EXP were WAY wrong, I have to say that our best bet would be to dive down to Floor 7.

The Dread Spirit Slaughterer title only gave me enough EXP to reach Lv.19, not 20! I'll probably need one or two more monsters to push past the final limit, but the only living creatures remaining on this floor is Gust and the moles. Setting the former aside, I can't start massacring the moles. Even if the World System wouldn't give me a negative title about it, I would!

Then the best way to gain that last level would be to bash up some monsters on Floor 7... but how are we supposed to get back up? I know from experience that there are zero spots safe enough to evolve on that floor, so then there's no meaning in getting that last level.

Then all we can do is to hope that the Genocide title's not too far from now. With that amount of Spirits floating around, I may reach the required amount.

The "Dread Spirits series"-titles don't need that many compared to for example Monster Slayer.

The King's not shown himself at all anyway, so why not take the opportunity. The fewer Dread Spirits out there, the better for the world. I'm getting more proficiency with my skills, and the moles will have a better chance of escaping this place. It's a win-win-win situation.

Except for the Spirits, but who cares.

I shifted my attention to the Skill Shop to evolve another skill. One that could help me in case of the worst possible situation that the King starting to attack us all of a sudden. As I keep on slaying the Dread Spirits, I can't help to feel that someone's watching me. It may just be my imagination, but better safe than sorry.

I've already made [Concentration] turn into [Thought Acceleration] and [Mana Increase (Small)] to [Mana Increase], sans the (Small). When a skill evolves, one will obtain the new skill at Lv.1, so in some cases, evolving a skill may result in you temporarily becoming weaker than you were before.

The "Mana Increase" skills are a good example of that. The (Small) skill gave me 1 MP for each skill level, meaning 50 MP at the highest level, but [Mana Increase] gives me 10 MP for each skill level. So my overall MP was reduced by 40 when I traded in the (Small) skill for the new one. Eh, I've reached Lv.3 already. I'll get back to 50 MP or more in a flash.

Therefore, if I wanna evolve a skill already, I need to figure out which one will give me an additional ability to overcome the loss in levels. Hopefully, one that will be useful no matter the next evolution. But I'll still aim for one that will lead me to Kur Kigal in the end.

And the skill I wanna take is [Intuition]. It's a Merge Evolution of the [Prediction] and [Danger Sense] skills, and it allows one to see where the opponent's attack range. Like those that are displayed on MMO's. And apparently, the details for those attacks get more detailed as the skill level increases. Not to forget that one gets the two previous skill's effects as well.

A skill that's perfect for me. And it's for only 6 Skill Points. So, without further ado:

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

Acquired skill: [Intuition Lv.1]

There.

"...I see. That skill is worth the costs. Can I ask a question?" - Gust

About how incredible I am for obtaining these awesome skills all the time?

"No, and not about how you can act so shamelessly. I want to ask why we do not enter Floor 7, for then hunt those monsters close to the entrance of Floor 6? Then we could just run back to this floor afterward." - Gust

Ulp. He noticed...

Hey, don't think that it will be that easy to-

"But didn't Master already pass that floor? And as a Grey Demon even?" - Gust

Ugh...fine. It's to help the moles.

"Sorry, say what?" - Gust

It's to repay for being allowed to live here and for having them share their food with us... stop smiling! I'm not shameless to not pay back my debts you know.

It's embarrassing to say it out loud, so don't force me to do so.

"Hmm, but that is not the only reason, right?" - Gust

...If you already know, then yes, I wanna clear that Quest. From the looks of it, the King's not on the floor either, so why not at least look for the place?

We're talking about the mystery Quest that's located somewhere on this floor. We decided to ignore it due to it probably having something to do with the King, but since his majesty appears to have left, why not check it out?

7 Skill Points may sound tempting, but that robe's a problem. It's not written in the Kigal-Note. For the first time, I've encountered something not written about in that book. The Quest giver sounds fishy as well. And what's the description supposed to mean? It's too vague!

As for the Ruins talked about in the Quest, won't such a place be the typical place for old treasures to be hidden in? That's the main reason we wanted to stay clear of that place. Still, with the King's supposed absence, it may not be a bad idea to look-

"You know it is a bad idea to look at those ruins, right? That reward is too pin-point to be a coincidence." - Gust

Busted~. I hate to admit it, but he's right. One of those rewards was made for me. And at this timing, when I was able to look at my personal traits, and not only those of my species through the Kigal-Note. The traits I have are:

That's weird~. There's one trait too many here~

Unreal. Why albinoism of all things!? And increased Light- and Sun attribute damage? That's worse than on Earth!!

That's where [Sunlight Resistance] comes in. It doesn't reduce either Light- or Sun attribute damage, but it reduces negative effects due to sunlight. It's easier to understand by calling it an incomplete Daywalker skill.

Trap or no trap, if there's a ruin there, it should be some monster there to guard it or something. Besides, don't you wanna know why there's a ruin in a Dungeon?

"I only said it was stupid, not that we will not go there." - Gust

So we're going there anyway!?

"I asked the moles about the ruins after the Slaughter-strategy failed, and they told me they had a tunnel that leads straight into the ruins" - Gust

Then what are we-

"We are waiting for the moles to clear up the rubble due to a small tunnel collapse. It should be ready by tomorrow. That is why I never told you before now." - Gust

This guy's damn useful!

Alright, we'll get ruin-raiding tomorrow! Everyone's gonna get the Tomb Raider title or we'll not go back!

"I seriously do not know what you are referring to, and to be honest, I do not want to know either. But what if there are Dread Spirits in the ruins?" - Gust

...I'll act as the spearhead of this operation. You guys should stay in the tunnels. Make sure to keep them filled with the you-know-what plants.

"Will do. And I have more good news for you. Look at this." - Gust

With that, the bird started to look for a page in the Kigal-Note and showed it to me. What's this? "Dark Grasp"? A magic spell? This wasn't on the list for [Darkness Magic].

"Try to apply some mana onto this picture here." - Gust

Alright, but I don't see what good that's-

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

"Dark Grasp" spell has been added to [Darkness Magic Lv.5]

-gonna... eeeeehhh!?!?!

"See? Magicians can learn new spells that are not automatically granted by their skills by recreating that spell's magic circle, then registering it to a Magic Skill they own that spell falls under." - Gust

What!? Then, if there's such a magic circle pictured on all the magic entries in the Kigal-Note-

"You can learn any spell that you have a skill for, Oh, and do not forget the level of the skill needs to be high enough." - Gust

Aw, come on! Don't steal the wind from my sails like that! But he's right. It's written that Dark Grasp requires the [Darkness Magic] skill at Lv.4. It also mentions some other skills that spell can be used with, but they're irrelevant for me.

"...Hey. The symbol's still there." - Gust

Of course, it's still there. It's a picture. Pictures don't move around.

"No, that was not what I meant. When magicians obtain new spells through self-made magic circles or Spell Scrolls, the circle or scroll disappear upon use." - Gust

Guess the Spell Scroll's something similar to Skill Scro-what did he say?!

I tried to apply more mana to the magic circle. It worked, but I didn't gain anything else.

...These pictures can be reused?

"Seems so... and with Ex items being indestructible, it must mean they can be used indefinitely." - Gust

...Let's keep this a secret. Like, a national class secret. People would kill to get their hands on this book if they know about this trick.

---

Yesterday's events ended with us promising never to speak loudly about the Kigal-Note's magic trick. After that, I spent the rest of the night wondering what kinds of magic I should learn with the mentioned trick.

That said, most Magic Skills are locked behind Magician-line classes, and I'm not sure if I should take one or not. Then there's the problem of me not knowing which class I can take...

I'll figure that part out when I've managed to integrate into society. They have magic tools to figure out which classes you qualify for, wasn't it? Threads and acrobatics have helped me all this way already. No need to stress over something that will at most be a sub-weapon.

There is something called [Magic Ability], which is essentially a collection of all the starting spells of the other Magic Skills, plus some moves related to magic in general. Sounds handy. I'll take that when I got the chance. And Skill Points.

What I CAN do is challenge the "Element Technique User" titles. They all grant a Lesser-ranked Element Skill of their respective attribute, plus a Magic Skill! The Darkness Technique User title I already have is one of them.

The titles give a boost to anything of that attribute, be it skills or magic. Just taking one for the magic skill's not a smart move, so I'll rather focus on an attribute that'll help me on many fronts, not just magic.

I looked it up, and it seems that skills that are attribute-related have certain common traits amongst themselves. Such as how well some of their skills work, what kind of magic one can expect, you know, the overall style of that attribute.

From what the Kigal-Note, and Gust, can tell me, these traits are categorized as:

And that's them all. Combination attributes are likewise combinations of all the traits of the parent attributes.

Heretic attribute may be an All-around/Support type attribute on paper, but the results are more like those of the Disrupt type. "Enhancing" the target with soul-crushing powers... yikes. I'll take it if it's necessary for the Kur Kigal evolution, but honestly, I wish it isn't. It lacks firepower, which I'm in serious need of.

Not that I can think of that a third attribute needs to be trained as well, so I have the freedom to chose for myself there. Maybe Fire... but that won't work due to the Arachnid trait... right? Then what about-

"Oi, Master. Are you with us?" - Gust

Huh? Oh, got lost in thoughts again.

"You could say that is typical Master behavior, but please stay sharp. Past this is unknown territory." - Gust

We're currently at the tunnel (possibly) leading to the Ruins of Rebellion. That's fine and all, but...

What in the world are you wearing?

Gust had dressed like a bush made of Rose-Maria. Cosplay? Halloween? Camouflage?

"I had a brilliant idea. Since there is a high chance of encountering Dread Spirits in those ruins, there would be an equally high chance of not encountering any monsters." - Gust

Because the Spirits would have blown up the inhabitants?

"That is right!" - Gust

I'm not sure about that logic...

"Therefore, by covering myself with these Dread Spirit-repelling plants, I am safe to investigate the ruins without any problems. Mmh, my intellectual spirit is burning!" - Gust

......

I, no, all of us, which includes the moles that worked on the tunnel, watched Gust with half-opened eyes. This birdbrain...

You know, even if there's a chance the Ruin's filled with Spirits, it's not impossible of it to be any monsters there. Besides, don't you think that there's a slim chance that his majesty's in the ruins too?

And with the speed of an F1 car, Gust removed his disguise(?).

"Then I'm hoping for good results from you, Master!" - Gust

Seriously...

I'm off then.

With that, I went deeper into the tunnel covered with newly planted Rose-Maria.

---

Hngh. Hnnggh. HHHNNNGGH!! OPEN UP ALREADY!

*BANG!* *Crash!*

Whoops. Not my most silent entry, but what other choice did I have?

The tunnel that the moles had dug up ended up in a dead-end in the form of a floor tile. A heavy floor tile, if I may add. It's nice with [Impact Thread] at level 12.

Left, clear. Right, clear. Front and behind... are just walls. I'm in a corridor. Figures. Hey, I'm in the first, civilized structure ever! But it's ruined... dust everywhere. Except for that, it looks like a corridor in a castle from the middle-age. There are even full-plate armors lined up across the corridor. These won't suddenly start moving, right?

Doesn't look like there's someone here. No sounds of anyone coming to check the sound of me crushing the tile either...

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

New Location of Interest found: Ruins of Rebellion

Jackpot!... Is what I wanna say, but the ruin's too gloomy for me to feel any happiness here.

I walked to the window and looked outside...

Whoa. It's a castle. I had the feeling it was that but seeing the outside's a different story than some secluded corridor. And dusty. *Achoo!*

However, this castle doesn't look like it was built here. I mean, 50% of the castle's literally merged into the small hills here. It feels like someone made a teleport fail when they transported the castle.

The tunnel that the moles dug lead to the third floor of the castle. Heck, when I rounded one corner, I was met with the rock wall of the hill!

Did the lord of the Dungeon want a castle so much, but they made a mistake that lead to this mess?

That's all that I have to say about the castle. It doesn't look like it will collapse on my head, so that's good. The bad news is; there are tons of Dread Spirits here.

They're flooding the castle entrance, like ants on honey-covered sugar cubes... with extra sugar. Several spoonfuls.

The good news is that they seem to be unable to enter the venue, which leads to the bad news that I cannot use the main entrance. Thank god the moles had made this backdoor for me. Those numbers could have surpassed [Heresy Modification]'s limits. It lags when that happens, making me defenseless until it's on again. It usually comes back online after a few seconds, but... Tons. Of. Dread. Spirits.

If there are so many outside, there's a slim chance that there is someone already inside. Better see if I can find something like a map of this place. Or anything that can give me some hints. Those "Remnants" thingies are also welcome.

Since one part of the corridor ends in the mountain wall, I have no choice on the matter of where I go next. I threw some armors into my Storage while I walked. Old or not, metal's metal. It could come in handy.

I also found something that looked like barracks where the guards lived when the castle wasn't a ruin. Or should I call it a fortress since it's got living quarters for soldiers on the 3rd floor?

I emptied the rooms for any clothing, weapons, armors, clothing, and furniture. Yes, even the furniture. I used [Thread Control] to throw whatever was too heavy for me to lift into the Storage. The barracks were left buck naked after I was finished with the job. Only dust remained. Does [Spatial Storage] even have a limit on how much it can contain?

I found some diaries as well, probably the possessions of the soldiers that lived here before. I'll give them to Gust. See if he can figure out anything about this place. I'm still going on full, so I kept on the exploration.

More rooms became the offers of my razzia, filling my Storage with even more junk. And I mean it when I say "junk".

A remnant of what used to be clothing. They are really dirty, and it is recommended to throw them as soon as possible.

Just hope I don't obtain any "Packrat" title~.

I kept on exploring the third floor when I found something strange. I opened a door that looked like it lead to another barracks, but what awaited me was a graveyard.

I'm not joking. It is a real indoor graveyard, complete with a dirt floor, tombstones, and withered trees. The room's around 600 meters long, and the only point of interest is that the other end of the room forms a hill. On top of that hill is a single tombstone, and perched on that again is something that looks like... a piece of armor?

This place screams "Boss fight", but doesn't that mean it's related to those "remnants"? That's typical for games...

Let's take the challenge. I've got some tricks up my sleeves in case it's something too strong for me to handle anyway.

Greydra

Kigal-Note: Magic Skills

Magic Skills:

Magic Skills are used to record Magic Formulas so that the owner of the skills can access the recorded magic at any time.

The different Magic Skills are divided into what type of magic is recorded into them. These are classified as Style Magic Skills and Element Magic Skills. There are also some stand-alone exceptions.

One needs a high MAG status value to use the more advanced magics. The magic formulas that one can register into the skills are limited based on the skill's level. The more advanced the magic is, the higher the skill level is required to register it.

Types of Magic Skills:

P.S. If one has two or more Magic Skills that can use the same magic spell, the activation of that spell will be enhanced, making it easier to cast the spell.

Gust's comment: What a wonderful chapter! Way better than one describing Wisdom Ravens! ...*Sweat*

[ARC 1] CHAPTER 19: GRAVEYARD FIGHT? LIKE PUTTING THEM BACK TO THEIR GRAVES

I entered the indoors graveyard, half-expecting zombies to pop up from the tombstones.

They didn't. Tch. And here I was hoping to meet some of my potential siblings(?) if I had chosen the Lesser Zombie race...

In that case, is this the type where monsters pop up after you get the item? Or was I completely wrong about this all and the item is just for the taking?

I didn't change my plans though. I looked over the graveyard, which is as wide as it's long, and placed webs everywhere I could. It feels like ghosts are gonna pop up from anywhere, I fixed the webs with a little extra trick to trap them too. I also made snares attached to the withered trees, which were more flexible than I first expected.

Oh, so I wish that Rogue was at Lv.40. [Trap Creation] would work wonders now.

I kept on advancing towards the top of the hill as I laid my traps. Once I reached the top, I looked at the sole tombstone here.

The writing on it has faded over time, so I can't read it. From the looks of it, I would say that some war hero lies here? It's decorated with what appears to be military rewards... then again, this is a different world than on Earth. Not good to say how similar the worlds' cultures are.

Then there was the helmet. It's made of some metal that's completely rusted over who knows how long. The design is kinda draconic, especially the removable visor.

A piece of armor owned by a certain rebel.

Yup, this is the one. And from the description, the other remnants are also armor?

I'll find out when I find them. Gotta take this one first.

Quest Challenge!!

The Remnant of Rebellion is being targeted by the allies of the late rebel.

Voyager, defeat the Tactician of the Rebellion that tries to seize the Remnant from you.

Oh? This came as a surprise. A Quest inside the Quest. And it comes with rewards to boot. One that I already have, but maybe Gust would want them? Or the big bro-mole that leads the others? Meaning the mole that pushed me to fish up Gust from the hole.

As I was thinking about the rewards before the Tactician was killed, something happened on the other side of the room. The door closed and locked itself while a magic circle appeared right in front of it.

Ugh, another Dread Spirit. Were they possible to be used for Quests... guess they aren't. This one's bound by black threads and looks quite unhappy over being here.

Oh, a change appeared to the guy. Some dark-colored threads struck it from the ceiling, which made the Spirit start changing into a different form. Who shot those threads? I can't see anything on the roof... except for some really small black spots. Are those the culprits? I thought it was grime.

Just as I was thinking of throwing an Impact Thread at the spots, the transformation of the Dread Spirit was finished. Now it looked like an old man in armor. A pale-white, ghastly old man, but still...

"So, you are the ungrateful scoundrel that dishonors my lord through stealing his beloved helmet? Be prepared to face the consequences, you knave!" - Ghost(?)

Okay... but I didn't steal anything. At least, from any lords.

My silent rebuke went above the ghost's head as some barriers appeared in front of him. The thing's created by 10 black spheres... now I see. The old man's gonna call upon the waves of enemies, and for each wave, one of those spheres breaks.

Weak! This old man's weak! And "Living Spirit"?

Wait, I remember Gust talking about this. That certain Quests recreates famous persons to act as trials. They're practically Dread Spirits with a mind of their own and access to skills. Still no stats, but these guys die just as easily as the Dread ones.

Who would have thought it was possible to utilize the Dread ones to make a Living one? Too bad it's not perfect. They couldn't recreate the name of the guy, nor his levels. Maybe some of his skills are worse due to this, or they are straight out missing?

"Now men, come forth and punish that insolent spider!" - Old man

The first wave is coming. These are... Dread Spirits!? Don't you guys have some imagination?

Strange as it may be, the Spirits are following the old man's orders and headed to the top of the hill. Well, not that they'll reach.

"Wa-ha-ha-ha! Dread your misgivings, spider, and pray to your god when...WHAAAAT!?" - Old man

*Crack*

And there goes the first crystal as the final Spirit disappeared. The old man, still unsure of what happened, started to call upon more monsters... which was, unfortunately for him, more Dread Spirits.

Too bad they can never, ever, reach me. I had spun a single thread across the whole graveyard, covering the whole place from the floor to the roof, the entrance to my current position. The thread's still attached to me, so when I make use of [Heresy Manipulation], well, too bad for you, Dread Spirits.

Of course, there are some holes here and there in the "web", which is the sole reason why the Spirits were okay from the beginning. And the damn barrier's interfering with the threads around the old man. They're not broken, but any magical moves with them, such as [Thread Manipulation], are useless. And here I had made the perfect trap there...

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

Title [Dread Spirit Slaughterer] has advanced to [Dread Spirit Genocider]

Bonus EXP acquired.

Your level has increased. Reached Lv.20

The maximum level is reached. Evolution is now possible.

You have earned 2.0 Skill Points

Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 2.0 Skill Points were earned.

*Crack*

Oh? A lot of stuff happened. The title, the evolution, and the second crystal that broke. Yahoo! I did it! But... there are 8 more waves after this! Come on, I wanna evolve...

"Grr... next platoon, charge!!" - Old man

Charge all you want~. That won't break my [Heresy Modification] barrier~. Seriously, even a Lesser Zombie would be more of a threat to me than these guys.

This wave contained even more Spirits... and wave nr.1 already had a good hundred. Where do they find all these guys?

Some of the Spirits looked like they understood the trick with the threads and tried to slip through them, so I threw a Piercing Thread at them like a javelin. The only difference from the previous wave was how long it took for the Spirits to die out.

*Crack*

As for the fourth wave-

*Crack*

It was a single Dread Spirit that looked like it was halfway to becoming a King. He looked more solid, but at the end of the day, still a Dread Spirit. An Impact Thread was enough to bypass his defense.

And wave five... what? You just increased from one to 3 semi-Kings? Triple Impact Threads, coming up~.

*Crack*

As for the next...hm? The barrier turned more transparent. I wonder...

"AAAARGHH!! What's wrong with you!? How can you defeat Dread Spirits like they were soap bubbles! They are-!" - Old man

The old man started complaining about something, but I ignored him. The threads inside the barrier have become receivable to my skills. Is it because we're halfway into this thing? It's only [Thread Control] that seems to work. Now, this is gonna be interesting.

"-and one is supposed to guard the magici-*STAB*-ans...eh?" - Old man

Did he say something? No matter, my armor-puppet plan worked!

When I was setting up my one-thread web at the other side of the graveyard, I also left behind one of the armors I had taken from the castle corridors. The inside of the armor was filled with threads connected to another leg than the one-thread web.

Since the barrier had turned meek enough for me to control my threads inside there again, I moved the armor and had it use its sword to impale the ghost old man right into the core that kept him together. Victory!

Thinking about it, I could just have strangled him with the threads instead...but he's a Living Spirit, so it's safer to go for the heart. Yup, I'll go with that excuse.

Quest Challenge cleared!!

Oh, so you clear the whole thing just by crushing the old man.

I picked up the steel-thing and Skill Scrolls that appeared in front of me and placed them all in the Storage. You mustn't forget the helmet either. Now then, today's trip has been fruitful enough. Let's get back to the base.

...[Identification].

Gue-he-he-he. I'm able to evolve!! Again. What are the evolution options this time? I'm too excited, so I'll look at them on my way home.

...? Wait, there must be something wrong with [Identification]. Let's turn it off, then... nope. Still so many evolution options.

From the looks of it, most of them require higher-than-average stats. Except for the DEX-related ones, I wouldn't have obtained these evolutions without the cheat-trained Ability Skills.

To think that the total amount of skill levels also had something to say. The thread skills got seriously boosted thanks to me using them in collaboration with [Heresy Manipulation]. Wonder if some creatures can't evolve due to them skipping out on training their skills?

The first two are from the Reha Zera line, with the Phraga being an ailment specialist and Aridna the same with threads. The Phraga gains the Poison attribute alongside Darkness and from what [Identification] tells me, it's a living plague. Aridna is still solely of the Darkness attribute, but it looks like one heck of a weaver.

Night Gaunts are... ah yes. Just as I thought. Right out from a Lovecraft novel. That one seems fun, and it also has the Heretic attribute. Still, having to shift to a defense style for it is like taking one step forward and two back.

The next two aren't even demons, but yokai? Ah, yokai's are a sub-species of demons. The Ushi-Oni is a musclehead and an Earth attribute, so pass. A Jorou-Gumo sounds better... but it shifts from Darkness attribute to sole Heretic attribute. Decisions, decisions...

The Maneko is a strange one. Almost expected it to be a yokai... but a creature that has only luck and no battle abilities is unfortunately not what I had in mind. It's even a Light attribute to boot...

Then there's these "Rasetsu"-guys. Rasetsu, Rasetsu... I know I've heard that name before, but not where. The Ogre part is obvious, but there are two of them. And one of them even got a "Lord" in its name, as if the clear upgrade from the other guy wasn't obvious enough.

Alright, [Disce-, and I've reached the "backdoor". Times sure fly when you're got your head full of stuff. Plus I got the map now.

Better have Gust tell me more about these guys. I bet his jaw's gonna hit the floor when he sees this list~.

---

"You WHAT!?!" - Gust

*Crash*

Forget about his jaw, his whole body fell to the floor from sheer surprise.

"No, I should have expected this when you showed me your Skill List. But to think you even obtained a Lord..." - Gust

Ah, he picked himself up. A little dusty in the feathers, but still a-okay.

Then, you know what this "Rasetsu"-the guy is?

"Do you know about Rakshasa?" - Gust

Those are those man-eaters, right?

I think I heard about them when I looked up Hinduism once.

"Yeah, the Rasetsu Ogres are the 'demi-human'-versions of the Rakshasas." - Gust

What!? Rasetsu Ogres are man-eaters!?

Oh man, did I unlock some forbidden race here?

"You do know about them. And no. While they have some common points, the Rasetsu Ogre is more of a 'wild' demon species rather than the Rakshasa's that are simply wild, demonic animals." - Gust

Then, the difference is like with Goblins and Vile Goblins?

"Precisely. Rakshasas simply follow their instincts in eating anything they come over, while Rasetsu Ogres are demons that have obtained great powers through the act of ridding the world of evil spirits. More precisely, Dread ones." - Gust

In other words, a more "legal" version of the man-eaters. Phew, guess it's only a hidden character than a banned one.

"And you even obtained a Lord variant... do you know how a Vile Goblin can become a Vile Gobling King?" - Gust

Not a clue~. And "Evil" Goblins?

"Regular Goblins are Demi-humans while Vile Goblins are Demi-monsters." - Gust

Oh, I see. Continue.

I didn't get it at all, but the "Lord"'s more important.

"The Vile Goblins' natural evolution is to become a Vile Hobgoblin, but there are some individuals that can evolve into a Vile Goblin King or Queen." - Gust

So, a Lord's a type of Ex race evolution?

"That's right, but that's not my point. The King is rank C, and its stats far surpasses that of the Hobgoblin of the same rank, despite Goblins being the same as lesser Hobgoblins. " - Gust

Meaning that being a Lord is better than just being of a rare race.

"Pretty much. But Lords are rare in themselves, and it's not like all species have a Lord in their evolution line. Be glad you found that... well, it was easy enough for you." - Gust

Sure was~.

"Still, the Night Gaunt and the Darkness Globe could give you better chances-" - Gust

Of getting Kur Kigal? Nope. The Night Gaunt would probably lock me into the Outer One line due to it being a Lower Demon despite being rank E-. And the Globe-

"Yeah, good point. Forget I said anything." - Gust

Gust shrugged and went back to inspect the items I had brought back. I made another look at all the evolution-options' entries in the Kigal-Note... yup. Her majesty is the only one for me.

I went back into the bedroom that the moles had prepared for me. Then...

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

Extra Race - Rasetsu Ogre Lord has been selected.

During evolution, you will not be able to move.

Do you wish to start the evolution into Extra Race - Rasetsu Ogre Lord?

Y/N

You bet!

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

Commencing evolution to Extra Race - Rasetsu Ogre Lord

Well, good night. ZZZZZZZZZ...

Greydra

Kigal-Note/Demons: Rasetsu Ogre Lord

Description:

The Rasetsu Ogre Lord is a Royal Monster of the already rare Rasetsu Ogre race. They are supposed to have a higher degree of expertise in the Darkness attribute than their "subjects", but not much is known about this species.

Appearance:

From the little information that is possible to salvage, it is known that the Rasetsu Ogre Lord has a similar appearance to the Ogre species with black-and-purple horns sticking up from their heads. Their bodies, however, are supposed to be much slimmer than the Ogre species.

Abilities:

The Rasetsu Ogre Lord is supposed to be more Darkness attribute specialized than the Rasetsu Ogre. Due to this, researchers believe it has lost some of its powers from when it was a Rasetsu Ogre, but nothing is certain.

Due to them being a Royal Monster, the Rasetsu Ogre Lord is capable of leading a horde of monsters under its command. As with other Demon Royal Monsters, this ability extends to other creatures than its "subject"-species.

Garami's comment: Winner! A bonafide best-of-the-best!!