Day 111

Today, I heard that Blacksmith-san and Alchemist-san also obtained [Job-Demon Child's Holy Mother].

Unlike the usual [Job] that is given once the conditions are met the, [Job-Demon Child's Holy Mother] seems to be a type of [Job] that requires a certain amount of time to pass before it becomes available.

It seems that it is not that easy to obtain since giving birth to a demon child seems to be only be one of the conditions. In any case, it's also not really clear how much time it requires before the [Job] can be acquired.

This is, however, for future consideration since I haven't really understood this world yet, let's leave it at that.

After we finished the usual morning training, we returned to the inn for a large serving of meat-filled breakfast served by the landlady. She was already past her mid 50's, but she still maintained her beauty and shapely figure.

Compared to the food that the Sisters made, there was a gap in years of experiences to be able to make it this delicious. Needless to say, right after the morning training, everyone vigorously and greedily stuffed themselves.

Although I wanted to enjoy some more of the flavor, we needed to continue with the job of escorting the Tomboy Princess to the Royal Capital without any further delays. Therefore, it can't be helped, but I plan to return here the moment the opportunity presents itself.

With a slight regret to part, we checked out.

Due to our decision that we were to depart today, we spent some time gathering supplies until around noon. Afterwards, we grabbed food for lunch and made our way to the gate.

According to the Boy Knight's information, the process of leaving the Labyrinth City Purgatory seems to be more troublesome than most other cities.

I had been expecting such though. It was a lengthy procedure to determine if a specific magical item was your own or stolen.

Luckily, the whole process only required roughly 20 minutes.

To be honest, I just put all of our items into my Item Box that made it undetectable from the outside, so everything went naturally well.

Oh right, we gave the Princess a disguise, so her obvious noble aura was roughly hidden. As of now, she still hasn't been exposed as a member of the royal family yet.

It's quite clear that the aid from the Sternbild Kingdom has great benefit on the Labyrinth City.

The gatekeepers don't dare to involve themselves with foreign nobility, but the work that gets done is very efficient. They are pretty good, honest men, a bit serious though.

Simple enough to say, but there are very few that have an interest in falling out of favor with those in power.

The only problem that arose was when I jokingly suggested to the Princess that she should reward the gatekeeper by letting him kiss her hand. The Princess at first became very nervous, but quickly composed herself and declined.

Well, I suppose I can understand the Princess's situation. But if you really think on it a little bit, she really is quite similar to an ordinary little girl. Due to this fact, I often find myself thinking of her as a daughter of my relative.

We left the Labyrinth City around 10-11 in the morning.

If we move as fast as we usually do, we would reach our destination roughly by tomorrow. But today, I decided to travel at a slower pace.

The cause of this is because the Princess is with us, it makes learning new abilities rather worrisome. I used my clones to scout the surrounding areas, since today I have some other matters to take care of.

Browsing the scenery, the carriage slowly rolled down the road. Some of my kids hopped up onto my lap, I embraced Auro and Argento, they were sparring with each other and seemed happy in my arms.

On top of all that, the Princess climbed back onto my shoulder. After some of our more dangerous events, I started to allow this for security reasons. Other than that, the Princess just seemed to like it there.

She usually wore a sarcastic smile and would grab my horns when she wanted something.

Usually, these cases were "do this" and "do that". When she pulled my horn this time I asked her what she wanted. "Sing a song" was what she requested.

Well, I have nothing else to do right now so I activated [Job-Bard]. As a result, whatever I sang came out in a beautiful voice that you wouldn't think could come from me based on my appearance.

I chose a song from this world called "Charm of Isherundo". It's a song that Redhead and the Princess had spent some time teaching me earlier.

With some light melodies and loud songs, we descended from the highlands.

Due to the proximity of the Royal Capital, there were many individuals passing by us. Naturally, a group such as ours attracted some attention.

There were several merchants who were even bold enough to offer goods for sale. With me present, there isn't any real danger in browsing their wares for a moment.

A small fish-like monster appeared on the road, it seems that it's rare and worth quite a bit. It seems that it is harmless if you don't approach them.

The Princess instructed me on how you would go about killing them without damaging the materials.

It was nothing, absolutely not a dangerous creature, though the Princess showed obvious excitement. While I was fighting it, I heard several cocky and loud phrases from her.

Oh well, as long as you don't get yourself into trouble, be my guest.

Aside from that, there really hasn't been anything else that has happened today, so I suppose I'll briefly talk about what has happened to the other groups that we split off from earlier.

Ogakichi-kun's and Asue-chan's group is currently conquering an underground dungeon called Dyushisu. Unlike the dungeon we just left in Purgatory, Dyushisu is located in the city Grifos.

Ogakichi-kun said, "We just started the conquest of Dyushisu, nothing to tell yet. I promise that by the next time we meet, I'll be sure to Rank-Up."

Ogakichi-kun's last few words had my ears buzzing.

When thinking of that combat addict Ogakichi-kun, I wore an excited smile. My heart is truly thankful for straight-forward guys like him.

The third group with Supesei-san and Burasato-san have gone into a great search for magical books called Grimoire's which cannot be read unless one has achieved the necessary level.

Those who have the requirements are able to learn the magic spell from it.

They are also seeking to purchase well known demonic swords.

These purchases aren't cheap, but it seems they were able to solve this problem by raiding some bandits who were trying to kidnap Elven slaves.

From the sound of it, they used live bait, which turned out to be quite effective.

I hadn't been aware that Supesei-san had many times more magical power than myself in my Ogre form, that fact is now obvious.

Even during our battles with the Kirika Empire, the attack power of Supesei-san's abilities easily exceeded that of nearly 300 people.

If ranking up will further increase the level of her magical power, her capacity will rise unimaginably... Though, there seems to be some difficulties with her ability to locate these magical books.

In this case, the bandits fought against Burasato-san who fought alone. The battle resulted in a literal massacre. They probably didn't even have time to regret their decision. In close combat, Burasato-san wields her dual [Blood Swords] like some Berserker.

Large-scale destruction magic from Supesei-san combined with the Mages she trains will be quite effective later.

Also, it seems that the Hobgoblins and elves have been training against small-time bandit groups who only attack weaker prey.

The bodies were laid out and used for firewood. I can say that this particular group is quite brutal, though these bandits deserved the dog's death they received.

The fourth group that consisted of the Tiger people and Dragonewts did their best to keep their distance from me. They spoke to me informally and were quite unfriendly. The group was made of two Ogres, one Hobgoblin, two Tiger people, two Drago-Newts and three Humans. The whole group consisted of low-ranking individuals and were not really important overall.

In the end, the Hobgoblin was chosen for his leadership skills rather than his physical skills, mostly because the rest of the group consisted of heavily physical fighters who only spoke with their fists.

Simply put, the group put aside the concept of "the strong rules over the weak".

It was a pretty good test to see if they could manage themselves. Putting them on a long journey together would force them to cooperate or they would not return. I don't expect them to be eating from the same bowl, but recognition of allies and being able to rely on one another is necessary.

I won't intervene if the muscle brains decide to take over the party, but if they do so, they won't receive any kind words from me upon their return. In my mind, I'm quite sick of their attitude.

The fifth group included 5 Ogres, 2 Humans, the Kobold Samurai and a Centaur.

This group was sent to investigate information on plant seeds and other agriculture techniques. Their group was placed under Dodome-chan. Her nature was very suited for information gathering, so I wasn't really worried about them.

Immediately upon leaving the forest, the team was divided into several minor teams and has already collected some very important information.

I wanted to tell them to not overwork themselves and stick to the rhythm. I plan to reward them well upon their return. This has shown that our settlement has one more capable leader among us.

For the time being, apart from the fourth group, they all seem to be able to do reasonably well.

The only problem is that fourth group. Although it was created to test its members, they still have yet to get used to each other and constantly end up bickering.

Today we traveled quite slowly, but even after that we should arrive at the capital of the Kingdom tomorrow.

Today we spent the night outside.

Today's synthesis results:

【Disease Carrier】 + 【Plague Infection】 + 【Epidemic Scatter】 = 【Pandemic Black Apostle】

【Paralysis Claw】 + 【Burning Claw】 + 【Adamantine Claw】 = 【Blazing Adamantine Paralysis Claw】

【Thermography】 + 【Echolocation】 + 【Sense Presence】 + 【Sense Trap】 + 【Sense Enemy】 = 【Phased Radar Array】

======

Day 111 Sidestory: The Hardships of the 4th Group Leader - Hobgoblin Rin's POV

Enough. I can't anymore.

What's this shit?

My group is all awkward. Why the hell did brother Ogarou make me the leader of this bunch!?

Bullying! This is bullying!

Couldn't he have at least made it a simpler combination?

My group consists of a prematurily ranked-up couple of Ogres from the same generation, we got me a Hobgoblin Mage, a couple of Weretigers (Humanoid Tiger), two overly proud Thunder Dragonewts, and three good for nothing human slaves. These are the component of our no-good group.

It's awkward. It's really awkward. Brother Ogarou's authoritative command made me leader but, yeah, I'm like the weakest one of this bunch!

Counting from the bottom is best. Because of the Leader, the Ogre sisters aside, we have the young Weretiger who respect the strong and the elder and the lady Thunder Dragonewts, their dissatisfaction is depressing.

Why do they have to obey someone as weak as me? is the kind of atmosphere I feel. Even thought we've been together for many days now, we can't get along.

Ah so awkward, I feel a hole in my stomach.

The humans are shutting up so that's fine, but I can feel their severely complaining gaze piercing me from behind. Can't they let me relax for just one hour?

Aah, really, I can't anymore. Oh, right, I gotta do something about this.

Enough. It's like I'm gonna break in a lot of ways.

≪Later≫

... See, they won't move quickly at all! Slow, the same that before.

.... This ■ ■ ■tard! You ■ ■ ■an'■ ■ ■a ■ ■ ■ fallin■ ■ ■ehind. ..... ■ ■ ■ ■so■ ■ ■ ■an'■ ■ ■ ■like、■ ■ ■ ■but isn't it!■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ya know! ....... ■ ■ ■ ■ 、■ ■ ■ ■ 、■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 、■ ■ ■ ■ 、■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■。

・ Hoburin's maximum stress tolerance limit has been exceeded, it made her (2) stop caring.

・ Hoburin's group's disagreeing jeers, violence and influence 【(Activated Ear Cuff Ability)】 to force them to yield.

・ Hoburin's [ Hardman Demon Sargent] nature has awaken.

・ Hoburin trained her subordinates

・ Training (animals) ability has greatly improved.

・ Apart from Hoburin, all members Union Power has greatly increased.

======

Around noon, we climbed a hill to see the Royal Capital in the distance.

The ramparts appeared to be high milky colored walls. It was built on an elevated position for increased protection. The majority of the base was built on a large hill, making attacks nearly impossible. At the heart of the city stood a huge castle.

Well, from this distance, you can only make out so much, so we continued our journey to the city. Once we started getting closer, large convoys going to and from the city passed us by. It also seems that there are no exceptions for entry without full examination. We quietly waited at the end of the inspection queue.

Both the Boy Knight and the Tomboy Princess were quite impatient, but were convinced that this was good life experience and that they needed to learn patience. After that, they quieted down a little, but the Princess kept tugging at my horns.

Although our actions were contrary to our appearance, we certainly stood out compared to all of the human groups around. There were only humans going in and out of the royal capital.

This could be another problem. We continued to attract quite a lot of attention, especially the beautiful Dhammi-chan. One look at her, and it's almost impossible to look away.

Well, I hadn't considered that we would stand out this much, but it's probably due to the fact that this is the Royal Capital of the Sternbild Kingdom that has a major human supremacy ideology. Thus, there were fewer monsters and beast races the closer you got to the royal capital, hence we attract much more unwanted attention due to us being who we are.

We will probably suffer some extra difficulties getting in to the royal capital due to the fact that we don't belong to the human race, but if we proceed the quick way and bypass this line, cutting straight into the city, there will be rumors about us circulating at an alarming rate. Something I personally want to avoid at all costs.

There's nothing to do since we cannot just change our race, so in the end, we will have to just bear with it and stand in line.

To begin our plans, I want to avoid as much social contact as possible. We currently do not have nearly enough combat potential to compete with the Kingdom head on.

In addition, this kingdom is very strict on their non-human policy. If we have any difficulties, we will have no choice but to rely on the Princess. Another thing I want to avoid doing at all costs.

So in the end, waiting in line is the only option available. After waiting for quite some time, our turn finally came.

There was apparently an extra fee and tax for the transportation of our goods, but since we had certain individuals with us, they quietly voided the charges.

Finally, the benefits of this partnership bear fruit.

During the inspection, I attached a small clone in the inspector's clothing to collect information on the guards and soldiers in the city.

My clones are extremely useful for information gathering, and more often than not, serve to save my hide.

To conclude, many things happened, but we managed to enter the capital without incident.

To say the least, the royal capital lived up to my expectations. There are thousands of people buzzing within these walls. From outdoor shops to energetic voices, there was everything here.

I had my eyes on over a dozen shops that carried a multitude of products that seemed interesting.

Even compared to the Labyrinth City Purgatory, the energy of this place was in full swing.

It was as if every day was a festival.

Since it was their first time in the Royal Capital, Redhead and the girls were slightly nervous. We went down the main street where I suddenly noticed that, until recently, all of the buildings were made of wood, but every house here was made of bricks.

In addition, the roads were all lined with stone and there were systems in place to provide running water.

From what the Princess tells me, all of these things were established by a Royal Sage of the Royal Court nearly seventy years ago. The products and luxuries of this city are very rare in this world.

I really wanted to learn more, especially about the dark side of this Kingdom, but since we still have our mission to accomplish, there is nothing to be done until later.

I decided to immediately deliver the Princess to the castle.

After that, I planned to visit all sorts of different places within the city.

There will be few chances like this to gain crucial information regarding all manners of things about the workings of this world. An opportunity like this is something that I fully plan to take advantage of.

Passing through the outer town, we headed straight for the Royal Palace.

The farther in we went, the richer the houses and individuals became.

There were often occurrences where some of the more influential individuals who passed us by would stare at us with that "Who are you?" look on their faces.

Though after a short while, we got used to that and continued to move onward. No one actually bothered to interfere with our progress and would go on with their own business after a few seconds.

We arrived at the Royal Palace around 4 in the afternoon.

It's finally time to say goodbye to the Princess.

Hmm, I have to say, after these past few days, I've grown quite attached to her, so this parting will be quite sad for me.

Well... So I thought. It would seem our separation will be slightly delayed.

The Tomboy Princess requested to be taken to the location where only those with a [Royal Ring] could enter, the Amber Palace.

Honestly, this proposal of hers could result in a lot of different problems, but I ended up being persuaded by all of the benefits that I could receive from this proposal.

The place that we escorted the Princess and the Boy Knight to was in the center of the Amber Palace. The room was decorated in shades of amber and was called the [Sparkling Room].

The only individuals here are nobles, servants and the Royal family.

Because our group had appeared without prior notice, the servants here were very alarmed by our presence. Quite a few of them dropped what they were carrying when they noticed us.

They were wary of us, but since the Princess was with us, we were the same as invited guests of the Royal family and were treated with respect and politeness.

In all honestly, I would like to receive the reward that I was promised and leave as quickly as possible, but the Princess claimed that it would require some preparation.

It was determined that we would need to stay here until at least tomorrow afternoon. Of course, we weren't going to be placed in the same location as the Princess in the Amber Palace. Instead, we were moved in to a wing intended for guests.

Well, since we hadn't picked out a hotel yet, and since we were offered a world-class luxury, I... decided that it was possible to try to remain here for the day.

Dinner was amazing, the room was excellent and the bathroom was nice.

Life... Is... Good.

Today passed without problems, so I slept well.

Today's synthesis results:

【Hawk Eye】 + 【Wind Reading】 + 【Ephemeral Eye】 = 【Sense Area】

=======

Ah.... I woke up this morning totally refreshed. It was a very relaxing holiday.

I wonder if it was the fact that the bed was as soft as a cloud, the warm feeling of the sun in the morning, or the effect of the several magical items that are installed within the room.

Whatever the cause, waking up this morning was the most enjoyable morning of my life thus far.

After looking around for a moment, I noticed Dhammi-chan, Redhead, and the Sisters lying on the bed nude.

They are quite sexy, only making this morning even more beautiful.

I wonder, what shall I expect of today...

Morning training was held in the Palace Courtyard after we received permission. Some of the soldiers started gathering to watch and study our fighting power.

Ah right. Both Auro and Argento's growth have already passed over a meter tall. They simply continue to grow and are already able to do simple physical exercises.

Kumajirou and Kurosaburou joined in the training of those two today. While tame, training against powerful monsters is always important battle experience. My two familiars will be holding back of course, or so I strictly informed them.

The Boy Knight had already done this with us, so I decided it would be fine to let him join in.

After the Boy Knight joined in, the guards that had been observing joined in as well.

I pitted Redhead with her [Job - Sacred Beast Eater] and the three Lords against various elite guards assigned to the defense of the Royal Family and the palace.

With this, both sides increased in combat ability, but our end was far more beneficial, our side rarely suffered defeat and gained valuable experience.

One on one, my subordinates never lost, though when it was two or more on one, there were times where they would be overtaken. It's a normal result, considering who these soldiers were. In general, this setup wasn't that bad.

After that, we went back inside for breakfast.

Using only the words I am able to use to describe this breakfast... Delicious!

Even tastier than the Sisters' cooking...

What am I ever going to do after eating a meal that is the same level as that of Kings!?

Whatever this meal is, Dhammi-chan and the rest fell into a stupor with silly smiles after eating some of the food. This, I can understand.

If I'd not known tastes similar to this from my past life, I too might have been standing there with my face like that.

Though, while the quality is always important, the quantity is even more so!

After a workout, the more you work, the more you want to eat. Normal Royal members usually can only eat this much, so there isn't anything you can do about that.

Since this was the case, I made an additional order of a huge pile of meat and vegetables, no special preparations, just base items. With that our appetites were satisfied.

Last night over dinner, the Princess had, as promised, presented me with a [Proof of Belonging to Royal Authority], and informed me of the terms of being able to use it.

"If you use it for evil deeds, it undermines the credibility of the Royal power, therefore you will be treated accordingly if discovered. You will be executed on the spot without trial should this be the case."

Quite a useful item. The terms were something similar to what I expected so there wasn't any surprise there.

In this case, the item itself is far too useful, it really is better to own it than eat it.

Well, it's not as if I plan on becoming a vassal of the Royal Family or anything, but I gladly accepted the [Proof of Belonging to Royal Authority], together with collecting the award for the mission to escort the Princess.

There was even an additional third in gold past the agreed amount offered, so I needed to ask their reasoning.

While we have been here, we've gained a vast treasure trove of information, I kept it to myself, but just that would almost be worth this entire trip.

Their reason was that we had trained the Boy Knight.

Hmm? I wonder if this was a normal situation. I suppose this reward came from the employer. As such, I received their thanks and gratefully accepted.

Ah, simply to note, while I do possess [Overcharge] and [Discount], these two were not activated during this time, so these gains are not actually associated with my abilities.

To mention, I ended up thinking that the Princess was leading me by the nose, but she finally smiled at me with a smile that was completely pure and without ulterior motive.

Sigh... It really is as if she was one of my children or a relative. Seeing her smile immediately put a smile on my face.

However, I could say this over one hundred times: Something is bothering me.

Mmmm... I'll leave this be for now, it's best not to worry about things when it isn't clear what they are. I'll just keep my guard up.

Soon after, we left the palace.

After leaving, we decided to head to some institutions that I had noticed yesterday.

From what I've seen so far, the Human to Non-human ratio is roughly five to one, with humans in majority.

There really isn't anything you can do about it. Judging from what I've heard from some conversations I've had, the prices for non-humans are very high compared to humans. Because there are so few Non-humans, there are just that type of bad people that seek to make money off of them.

In this case, I had no problem activating [Overcharge], [Discount], [Golden Rule], and [Luck] all at once. I wanted to see the effects on a trader, and as a result, I received a 40% discount from the human price without any issue.

In this case, I'll have no issues trying it out on all of the merchants in this city for profits. Whenever I would look back, the traders and merchants would have their mouths wide open wondering what they had just done. I found this highly amusing and laughed several times.

In this way, we proceeded through the Royal Capital. This time, no shady characters ended up tailing us or making contact, probably because of the Royal ties that we just established.

I'll have to come back here after some time, but for now, we really should be looking to return to the base. I want to make further improvements, and get the general living conditions improved.

But... Before we even managed to leave the Royal Capital, I got the feeling that we were being watched.

Not long after, we had already traveled to the hill from the day before. It was at this certain point that I found my scout clones waiting, and with their data, my brain now has a complete map of the area as well as information on the Royal Capital.

I had also sent clones to scout the route we would take towards our settlement to check for risks or targets that would prove difficult for us to handle. For the time being, it didn't seem like that would be the case.

The road ran through the forest. Since it was filled with monsters, I decided it was best to go through. As expected, the individuals who were most likely tailing us seemed to have given up.

When I was convinced that there was no one else following us, I let Kumajirou and Kurosaburou in to the carriage and released several skeleton horses. With this, we can travel at maximum speed with very few breaks.

Even with top speed and a direct route to the base, it will still take a few days. I have no problems with encountering new prey.

As far as the information gathering in the Kingdom is concerned, I will leave it to my brainwashed spies that were captured during the Human Invasion of the forest to get information. I have to say though, most of them are ineffective due to low contacts. Only a few of them are high enough in status to actually be in the know.

I also have spies within both the armies of the Kingdom and Empire for various reasons. We are not as powerful as the full combat force of either nation. Thus, we need to be prepared.

The information I've gathered thus far is that the most powerful individuals of the Kingdom are the [Four Symbolic Heroes] and their retinue. On top of them, there are the Royal Sages of the court who have large political power and, from the sounds of it, are also quite powerful in other regards as well.

I really want to know the details of each of these figure's combat capabilities, the extent of their political power, their equipment, I want to know everything about them.

Especially their weaknesses. If I could discover these, it would facilitate my life tremendously, and might even lead to a delicious meal and many new rare items. Though for now, that's off the table due to my improved relations with the Kingdom, but in the future, who can say what might happen.

For the Empire, it seems that they too have a special group of fighters, though only roughly the same strength combined as the [Four Symbolic Heroes] of the Kingdom. This group is called the [Eight Great Knights], as well as a [Divine Priestess].

I have only just begun my investigation, but the Kingdom comes first. I have left many clones within the Royal Capital, so I decided to slowly investigate the nation's underbelly for all of it's secrets.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not actually plotting anything against them. It's just an effective way to kill time while gathering useful information.

Two birds with one stone.

This also helps with gathering information in the future, figuring out how to gather information from the people of this world.

Hmm, I wonder how these Four Symbolic Heroes taste.

I was so caught up in the thought of it that I got caught in some cobwebs.

I quickly killed the monster spider that attacked me by eating it in one bite.

That evening, I heard a mysterious voice in my head.

"Character of the World of Legends [Dark Legends of Origin], Assistant of the Important Existence has reached a milestone. Servant Ogakichi has fulfilled requirement [Rank-Up]"

"Condition {1} [Rank-Up] has been satisfied."

"The Demigod of Fire has granted additional rewards. The item [Great Gleaming Axe of the Fire Emperor] will be sent to him"

As soon as I heard this, I used the wrist cuffs to connect with him to confirm this information.

There, I saw Ogakichi-kun slaying me.

=======

【Gossip: Great Emperor of the Destructive Axe's Awakening】

【? ? ? Perspective: Story between Days 90 and 113】

A Large Demon (Ogre) is, a brown Large Demon with an axe and shield is, in the deepest part of the certain Labyrinth (Dungeon), a bloodbath of a fight happens.

The enemy is a Demon. The same as the Large Demon, but this Large Demon (Ogre) had black skin and a silver left arm.

On their battle, the Black Demon was superior. While being an imitation created by reading the mind of the Large Demon, the Black Demon reinforced by the Large Demon's imagination knocks down the Large Demon with it's overwhelming force.

However, even if the Large Demon was being pressured, it didn't mean he was being one-sidedly defeated.

The halberd in the Black Demon's hand. Lightning shoots out from the tip, a water blade flies from the axe-head, flames flutter from the pick, the butt end has the ability to manipulate the earth, this halberd was about to decapitate the Large Demon.

The Large Demon succeeded in partially destroying it. Additionally, the Black Demon's body was cut by the sweep of the axe, it's bones crushed with the massive shield , with a rock-hard blow he shocked it's brain.

But is nowhere near to make the Black Demon surrender. The Black Demon uses carefully forged martial arts to corner the Large Demon with a myriad of beyond human skills.

Water bullets that flies trough the empty air gouge his meat. The raising ground becomes spears and wound his legs. Raging winds becomes blades tearing his flesh, cut off his horn.

Suddenly a knife is thrown and his arm is pierced. The axe which is boasted of it's obliterating might is evaded and his supporting leg's knee is stomped on and bend over in a impossible angle.

The Black Demon's attack certainly shave off the Large Demon's life, however the Large Demon's attacks are healed by the Black Demon's superior regeneration ability.

Only the Large Demon continue exhausted, the Black Demon regenerate and doesn't show any fatigue as the battle continues.

But the Large Demon doesn't give up, and so he received destructive thorough blows.

His life was saved by his trustworthy shield's swing, parting from it and piercing it on the ground .

Out of obstinacy he didn't part from his beloved axe, however the pain felt from the destruction of his flesh, bones and organs was reaching a limit.

Blow after blow the Black Demon continue non-stop. At an almost imperceptible speed, fist as heavy as the Large Demon owns continue it's barrage.

The Large Demon was blown away by the last blow, at the verge of death after putting a good fight.

Just a little more, if he had been a little slower he would be dead. The comrades that were watching the Large Demon's fight, before they could do anything to help, the Large Demon was about to die.

But, help was given.

God's, the Blessing of a great one. Comrades, helping the Large Demon who the Black Demon was aiming at. And to the Large Demon clinging to the last of his life, a new power was given.

There was thunders. Golden thunders.

There was flames. White flames.

Thunder and flames surround the Large Demon. The half-dead Large Demon on the floor start evolving.

Bull-head Demon 【Minotauros】. With a huge frame and bull's head, a rank higher than the Large Demon (Ogre) from the 【Oni】 monster evolution line.

He slowly stands. The Black Demon is surprised by the Minotauros appearance, the Minotauros can't understand the current situation. But with a simple thought, the Minotautos with his beloved axe in his hand approach the fake Black Demon.

The Black Demon was a formidable enemy until now, but it was nothing before the overwhelming speed and power of the Minotauros. The axe blow split the earth, golden thunder and white flames flaring from the destroyed surroundings.

The fake Black Demon was exterminated without even leaving a body.

Thus victory was obtained. The exhausted Minotaur falls once again, but to sleep rather than dead.

Then in front of his comrades, the Minotauros is wrapped in deep peace.

- In the future together with the real Black Demon the world will know his name, this is the awakening of the 【Great Emperor of the Destructive Axe】.

=====

Ah, I see..

The enemy that Ogakichi-kun had killed yesterday wasn't actually me.

It seems that Ogakichi-kun had been fighting a shape-shifting monster that had turned into me to try and throw him off. This, however, served to infuriate Ogakichi-kun, and led to its destruction. Ogakichi-kun seemed to have been struggling that day and even ended up nearly losing once, but in the end, he managed to [Rank Up] and destroy the enemy.

Haaa... I had really thought for a second there that his actions were because he hated me, but it seems that I'm probably wrong.

Well, that's a relief.

In addition, he's gained a new rank and has also received a [True Name]. Though, since a [True Name] can cause no small level of trouble if certain sorcerers were aware of it, it seems best to avoid using these [True Names] as our public names.

Therefore, I decided that we would continue with the same naming style.

I'm now an Apostle Lord and will be called Aporou, similar to the name Apollo. I liked the naming scheme, with a name similar to that of a god, I hold a bit more respect for myself.

I informed the group that, from this day onward, that I would be called Aporou and not Ogarou.

Next was Ogakichi-kun. Since he was a new breed of the [Minotaur] species, it would be best to come up with a new name for him as well. The two of us settled on Minokichi-kun.

Minokichi-kun didn't seem to mind, and in fact, he actually thought the name was pretty good.

Hmmm, Cow + Kichi = Katsudon?

No, no, best to stop thinking about that.

I really can't wait to see him with my own eyes though, because for the moment, the image of him that I had just created needs to be struck from my memory at once...

So to conclude, I will refer to myself as Aporou and Ogakichi-kun will be referred to as Minokichi-kun.

I have to say, the fact that both of us have Ranked-Up together had made me quite pleased.

Minokichi-kun said that he would love to come back to fight with me, but they needed to increase Asue-chan's rank and have been entrenched on the top floor of the maze within Dyushisu.

During this time, he planned on training with his new body.

Hmm. Well, since Asue-chan doesn't seem to have much longer in order to increase her rank, we won't have to wait very long before we get to spar with each other.

Once Asue-chan raises her rank, I informed Minokichi-kun that it would be a good idea to spar with each other as soon as possible. It wasn't necessarily to stay dominant, but because I really wanted to see how strong the two of us had become after our recent [Rank Up] and be able to enjoy going all out.

Even since my previous life, my character has not changed very much. Well, I suppose it doesn't really matter that much anyway.

With that concluded, we began the morning workout. During the morning workout, I decided it would be best to use some previously unused abilities of mine.

I spent some good time using each of them in various ways to see if there are any special uses to them, you really need to know each ability to its fullest if you want to survive.

Many of these abilities turned out to be quite useful to me. One of the most effective was [Lesser Summoning: Giant] which took nearly thirty seconds to use, all the while a large black mass began to form.

After that, three different beings formed, the first was a two and a half meter Ogre, the second was a four meter Troll and the final was a thirteen meter Fomorian. The latter can't be compared to the Giant King though.

All three species were significantly stronger than the usual Skeletons that I would create, though just as my Skeletons, their skin was black.

I have to mention, in a great contrast to the Black Skeletons, these giants were, for a lack of kinder words, quite stupid.

These things can only really be compared to dolls. If I don't give them orders, they do not move.

They just carry dull expressions on their faces. Luckily, at least they respond to orders. If they hadn't, then this skill would have been worthless.

Moving on, in order to celebrate Redhead's receiving of her new job [Job-Sacred Beast Eater], I gave her the standard [Rank Up] gift of three magical items.

The first was [General's Cleaver] which was shaped somewhat like a square Chinese Kitchen Knife with a length of roughly 80 centimeters. It is white without any spots on it with the blade itself cutting through flesh like butter.

The second was [General's Shield], a triangular kite Shield which, when not being used, shrunk down to fit into the palm of your hand.

Finally, there was a suit of white and gold armor with a red cape. It's similar to that of the noble knights of the Kingdom or empire. The name of the armor is [Platinum General], and this set had probably been originally made for a high ranking general to wear.

After arming Redhead, I asked her to cut off the Black Ogre's hand.

As a result, in a flash, Redhead had severed the hand, with blood spurting out through the wound.

Still, there was no reaction from the Ogre. He just continued to stand there with his silly smile without his hand, bleeding everywhere.

Even with this, it would seem that these things will not move on their own.

After I examined them in great detail, I determined that they would never move unless I ordered them to do so.

In addition, apart from the basic commands such as "Fight" or "Flight" commands, using "Fight with all your might" or "Run until you're dead" seems to have a greater effect. It would appear that the more detailed the order, the stronger and more complex they become.

With this, the experience gained is both higher and comes faster if I use more details. It also becomes safer, especially if I give orders such as "Fight at full strength, but do not kill your opponent" when having them spar.

Of course, the Fomorian is still far too much for everyone to fight alone, but the Ogre and Troll are both fine.

Though, even though they are strong, there are still weaknesses to this ability.

First, to call them instantly, it requires the same Mana equal to that of instantly creating 50 Skeletons. While at night, this isn't a problem. I can always just absorb new Mana with my ability so it's not a big deal. Though even then, that level of instant absorption of my Mana causes some wooziness.

I need to keep in mind that in battle, if it's not dark, then I should avoid using it. That, or use it before a battle.

Second, each of them are quite slow compared to the Black Skeletons, both in speed and cast time, but spending 30 seconds to create something as powerful as the Fomorian is not as great of a weakness as one would think.

Third, the need to give them orders for everything.

If I cannot give them orders, they become a hindrance on the battlefield. If you aren't able to avoid them, they might become an obstacle for our maneuvers.

Though, them becoming expendable pawns to distract the enemy is quite useful. I have to add that the last one is also not that terrible of an issue.

Using it in combination with [Lesser Summoning: Undead], there shouldn't be any major problems arising.

As for Redhead, there are no complications with her life expectancy with her new abilities, so I'm quite looking forward to seeing her in action.

As for myself, I decided to test one of my abilities on a species around this area called [One-eyed Cyclops]. The ability I was using was [Deadly Evil Eye].

I tried it on the beast, and, as the ability's name suggests, the Cyclops died just from my gaze.

I can't tell what really happened, but at the same time, various animals in my gaze also began to drop dead. I quickly closed my eyes and disabled the ability before someone important is affected.

There were no wounds on the bodies, they just fell over and died.

I think I really need to hold back on this one. If, by chance, it hits my allies or if I see a mirror, it won't be a laughing matter.

I'll just keep this as a secret weapon. Hopefully, it will be enough.

Next on the list was [Giant's Iron Hammer] and [Overkill].

[Giant's Iron Hammer] was a huge transparent weapon. For the sake of the experiment, I ordered the Black Fomorian to block. While the strike didn't kill the beast, both of its arms were nearly obliterated, dangling at the Fomorian's sides.

Though it can't kill, it's enough to incapacitate something like a Fomorian, which is quite useful.

Next, after I had repaired the Black Fomorian, I activated all of my abilities which increase my physical strength and attack power.

[Overkill], [Giant King's Supreme Strike], [Black Ogre's Strong Body], as well as several others.

In order to see if the Fomorian could take the full force of my punch, I gave it the order to "Strengthen your body with all of your might."

I had moved far away from the camp, just in case.

The result, the Black Fomorian just exploded into a plume of red.

Even though I had moved so far away, the rain of blood had painted the surrounding area in red...

After that, I sighed as I felt a chill down my spine.

After returning to the camp, Dhammi-chan was beside herself. Being covered in blood, combined with her being a Dhampir, caused some serious side effects.

I only managed to calm her down after coaxing her to bite and drink some of my blood. Even in her excited state, she was quite dangerous.

Redhead and the rest of the company, even the Lords, were on the brink of defeat by the time I got back.

At any rate, the [Giant's Iron Hammer] was quite a useful ability with many uses, though it has some shortcomings, such as you cannot use it on both hands at the same time.

As such, I am satisfied with adding a large number of new abilities to my stockpile.

Hence, my synthesis experiments will have far more efficiency to create superior abilities.

For now though, I was busy with this and wandered into the woods. Though I caught some new monsters, as a result of my excessive force from my abilities, I gained nothing from the minute remains left behind.

Today I found a calm place to relax in a comfortable cave. I released Kumajirou and Kurosaburou so they can hunt. After we gathered enough ingredients, I returned back to camp. Since the Tomboy Princess gave us a large amount of different spices, today's dinner tasted great.

After the meal, we had a small round of training, then went to bed.

Today's Synthesis results:

[Improved Charging Power] + [Reckless Charge] = [Black Demon's Charge]

[Intimidation of the Strong] + [Giant King's Dignity] = [Black Demon's Dignity]

[Bone Blade Generation] + [Sharp Horn Generation] = [Sharp Bone Blade Generation]

[Crystal Crocodile's Armored Hide] + [Tough Skin] + [Steel Hide] = [Black Demon's Impervious Hardened Skin Armor]

=====

Today, we chose the shortest path to reach our base as fast as possible.

We visited Mason Village again while we were passing by.

We also hunted in the woods and mountains in the surrounding areas for several monsters. One such monster was called Rostepelnogo a fungus-like creature with a green body that carries a giant wooden club with iron-like skin.

Another beast we came across was called Molotoyascher, a creature with blue scales that carries a trident and has a tail that looks like a hammer.

Though in the end, I didn't receive any abilities from them. Naturally, after my [Rank-Up] to [Apostle Lord], the chances of gaining new skills became quite small. From this point on, it's quality over quantity.

Well, regardless, even if I don't get any abilities, I'm not really in a hurry. If I like a certain race, I'll eat them even if I don't get any power from them.

Aside from that, today was a peaceful day.

=====

It was around noon when we came across a small village in an opening within the forest. It wasn't large, but how it was placed made it easily missed by untrained eyes.

If you were to judge the number of residents, you would guess around two hundred people from the number of houses.

It was then when I realized the smell of death in the air. Just then, my [Intuition] activated and warned me of the danger. I left everyone besides Dhammi-chan at the carriage to guard the Sisters, Blacksmith-san and Alchemist-san. I used [Phased Array Radar] to search the town. After the preliminary search, it seems that there was only a single human remaining within the town. Dhammi-chan confirmed this with her senses.

I drew out my halberd. At the same time as an extra precaution, I activated an ability from my Silver right arm called [Beowulf's Fury] which heightens the defensive power of my arm.

It's necessary to remain vigilant. Once we entered the village, the appearance only served to justify my precautions, the sight was worrisome.

Pieces of meat were splattered on the ground and on walls as pools of dried and clotted blood covered the ground. The resting pieces of bodies, limbs and other parts of human bodies were scattered every which way. Even upon the roof tops, human remains were visible. When we got further in, we found several corpses closer together with what seemed to be makeshift weapons. Behind these corpses was a pile of bodies ripped to shreds, but not just any bodies...

"The children too, huh..." I said to myself. A chill went down my spine as I said this. Dhammi-chan also seemed to become anxious. We both continued on high alert.

The wounds caused to each of the corpses were either puncture wounds, or slashes. This wasn't the work of some form of giant monster, so the true nature of this situation cannot be presumed, only serving to further increase the tension.

After moving further in, we reached near the location of the 'survivor' that we had detected earlier.

It was a youth, his body was covered with a murky liquid that seemed to be toxic and smelled terrible. He gazed at the sky with a blank look on its face, as if lamenting its deeds.

This youth, it seems like it isn't some ordinary villager... He wore a light silver steel armor that protects the body, though damaged, it still reflected the sun brightly. Around the waist were several decorations, it seems that the Kingdom's coat of arms was also present.

When taking into account the quality of the equipment, as well as the type, it's likely that this thing is or was a member of the cavalry for the Kingdom.

It's highly possible that he was a deserter of some kind. It's also possible that knights from the Sternbild Kingdom were responsible for the destruction of the village, not a monster. Perhaps the true cause had already left the scene and this youth was left in its place.

When I considered this, I decided on gathering more information.

When I got closer, I noticed that this young man was crying and holding something.

A corpse... The youth was holding the top half of a mangled corpse of what seemed to be a woman. He was embracing the woman while crying in a crestfallen manner. Most of the organs and blood from this corpse had already fallen out of the woman and were on the ground below.

This woman was probably someone important to this youth.

At this time, however, the eyes of the youth instantly shifted towards me, the wind suddenly began blowing. I felt the burning embers of hatred impacting my body, it seems that these feelings are a mix of sadness and rage.

As I thought this, the young man abruptly laid down the corpse and began to moan in such a way as a beast.

As this happened both [Phased Array Radar] and [Intuition] began to sound a violent alarm.

When this happened, I thought "Oh... Dangerous", changing my posture to a defensive stance while at the same time securing the safety of Dhammi-chan.

The young man's gaze turned back to the female corpse on the ground, and drew the blade from his waist.

His eyes remained vacant, as if all meaning had been struck from him. It is not the eyes of one who has lost his mind, but lost the will of life.

That said, something abnormal had begun to take hold of this youth's mind.

A dirty, thin black magic began to swell around the youth's body.

When this magic was released, the speed of the youth increased greatly.

I recognized one of the youth's jobs right then and there [Job-Berserker].

I have this job too, so I might be able to defend well enough.

The youth charged, running similar to that of a beast, his intentions obvious.

He wanted to kill me.

His blade comes near my neck and is guarded with my Gauntlet.

Once this happens, something flowed into my mind:

[Yatendouji has invoked (Heresy Nemesis)]

[Following hostile action against the [Heretic／One Who Has Awakened the Psalms] the start of 【Eschatology: War of Conquest】 has been declared]

[Until confrontation between two aware of the Truth of Their names, Yatendouji's abilities will be increased by 300%]

[Special skill [Heresy Nemesis] will last until the conclusion of the battle]

These words abruptly appeared in my brain.

As this occurs, another impact is felt on my gauntlet.

It's too late to just dodge, I made my attack.

The conflict was over in less than five seconds.

[Conclusion has been reached]

[Special Ability 【Heresy Nemesis】 has been released]

[Yatendouji has obtained victory]

[Gods of which blessings pertain have granted a reward to the champion]

[The following item will be received by Yatendouji]

[ Sunlight's Soul Sword, Hisperiol has been granted]

I wanted to say a few things about that announcement, especially the result, but the young man collapsed in front of us.

His physical capacity is probably higher than normal. It's crazy how it had increased so dramatically, the amount of time the power could be maintained wasn't that great though.

His attacks were strong, but they were simple and easily dealt with. Since this was the case, it was a simple matter to handle him without killing him.

To begin with, the young man had already suffered considerable damage and was quite unstable.

Even though the [Heresy Nemesis] had been activated with enhancements with several abilities and my Silver Arm's power, I couldn't hold back too much as a precaution. Too many variables leaves me with little room for that much mercy.

Regardless, I wanted to avoid killing this youth.

So, I reached out with my silver arm and struck him heavily in the abdomen. After the connection, the already injured youth didn't remain standing for long. In that berserk mode, he was ignoring all of his wounds. His body gave way quickly and he fell unconscious.

I mended his more severe wounds, but decided to leave his limbs broken to avoid more conflict. It was decided between myself and Dhammi-chan to wait until he awoke.

That said, we didn't have to stay put, both myself and Dhammi-chan set out to start processing the corpses and materials within the village.

Since the bodies weren't fresh, we set out to make graves for the dead.

In this world, those who die can become skeletons or zombies if their corpse is left in the open. Even in war, if a body isn't dealt with, it will become a zombie or skeleton.

I did loot some meat as the cost for the service, the rest was buried. It only took roughly fifteen minutes to do this.

I clasp my palms together and pray for them.

On top of the meat, I also decided it would be best to recover any usable goods such as the tableware and such.

This village was already seriously ruined. If it remains in this state, there is very little chance of it being used again.

Fortunately, there was at least some daily products to be salvaged. I was somewhat pleased that we managed to replace our daily living products without cost; it's fairly important to maintain these.

That said, after everything was collected and the corpses were buried, only another twenty minutes had passed.

I was in the middle of cleaning myself off when the youth stirred. I'll admit that I was caught off guard and jumped in reaction. I was expecting some form of attack, but his body seemed to have slowed greatly and a great deal of his hostility was absent. It seems that I'm being ignored as he rambles about not getting to say his last goodbye. He also seems to be ignoring the fact that he was embracing the upper half of that woman's corpse. All of a sudden, the young man was crying again. After he had settled down a bit, I managed to drag out the youth's story.

To summarize the information I was given, the youth is a simple commoner that was born in this village. He was born with [Blessing of the God of Sunlight].

News of his blessing eventually got out, and a messenger came to the village demanding the youth. They were given less than a month to send him. He was to be allowed to enroll in a school that trained knights and strategists of one of the princes of the Sternbild Kingdom.

In this world, a particular strength that creates great warriors depends on their blessing. There are different levels from transcendence to mediocre.

The youth told me of a scale of measurement of how powerful one's blessing could be. There seemed to be [Blessing Retention], which is a weak blessing that doesn't always grant abilities. The scale goes up to the levels of [Blessed Demigod], which gives many abilities to the extent of one being a prophet to their god. There are also cases of [Divine Blessings] that are much rarer than usual blessings. These grant the holder greater power, faster abilities, and much more force.

I omitted the 'in' because they don't really matter to me personally. All of our members have the rarest class of Blessing anyway.

This man had apparently claimed that he would return to this village and live with his childhood friend. That friend being the woman that he had clung to earlier.

The youth kept in contact with the woman and had been trying to return for some time. According to him, they would have been getting married right now in a different situation.

He was caught up in some political issues, but since he had gained his standing with a certain level of effort and held confidence within the army, it wasn't something easily dealt with. He wasn't able to get much free time.

He still failed every now and then, but he was happy overall with his life.

That is of course, before yesterday.

It would seem that when he was getting close to the village, he could hear the sounds of a struggle of some sort. Rushing in, he found the bodies of many of the villagers. A scream let out for help, and before his eyes was his childhood friend. The attacker was an [Arutirumu], a centipede-like creature. Her lower body was cut into a thousand pieces and eaten in an instant.

Of course, the woman was probably killed instantly from that.

After that, he seems to not have a very clear memory. The villagers had apparently managed to inflict a certain level of damage to the Arutirumu during the attack. In his rage, he used his military training and used his [Blessing of the God of Sunlight] to use solar rays to startle the creature.

It would seem that after it was startled, it was afraid of the youth. It's belly was swollen after eating many of the residents and turned out to be quite weak. It would seem that the creature must have managed to escape from him.

After that happened, the youth had begun to embrace the corpse of his childhood friend who was growing colder as time went on. It was then that we had happened upon him, and from there is history.

This can be said to be quite the common tragedy in many worlds. There isn't much that I can do in a situation like this really. Words of comfort are not easily created and I couldn't think of any that suited the situation properly.

I asked whether or not he was aware of where that creature was, upon asking, I received some hateful eyes from the youth.

It was an uncommon material and likely had a blessing, I definitely wanted to capture this creature. I used [Intuition] because I was curious as to whether or not I should attempt to take advantage of this youth.

I talked to the youth and offered him the strength to destroy the Arutirumu if he was willing to serve me for the rest of his life.

This deal seems quite like that of a devil's contract when you think about it. I like the idea of totally owning someone.

The young man asked me what gave me my strength and whether or not I would be able to actually kill the Arutirumu.

Since I never saw the creature, I cannot be sure, but as things are now, I took the time to nod.

There was a period of silence, but suddenly the youth grabbed my hand.

"If you are able to give me the power, I will pay anything."

Hearing this, I held out one of the cuffs and placed it on his ear without hesitation.

With this, the deal was struck.

This youth, or rather, let's call him the Avenger. His target is the Arutirumu. In exchange for the power to kill it, he has given me a powerful subordinate that has dedicated his life to that of an Avenger and my subordinate.

Not bad. There isn't really any loss here.

From now on, things are more than likely to become more interesting.

[ [Yatendouji]'s [Fate Stealer] was invoked]

[Because the fate of [Psalm] of Avenger status (Sigurd Ace Sven) was placed under the control of the [Yatendouji] the [Psalm] will be included in [Yatendouji]'s world of [Black Eclipse Demon History]]

[Because this was built on the desires of [Psalm]'s current conflicting status as [Lead Hero of Light], the status was permanently deleted]

[Because of [Psalm]'s change, the following abilities of [Psalm] are temporarily frozen]

[Illuminating Light of Revelation]

[Cavalry Patron]

[Usurper]

[Merciful Maiden]

[Witch of Mystic Flame]

[Current statuses of Merciful Maiden and Witch of Mystic Flame are already in the awakened state.]

[When the carrier's servitude was established to Yatendouji, it is now possible to release the frozen special abilities.]

[As [Cavalry Patron] and [Usurper] were not in the awakened state after the carrier was placed under the control of [Yatendouji], they are now under the control of the master, given that the conditions are met]

[Psalm [Lead Hero of Light] has now been released from control, is now left to the discretion of the night and is seized by [Yatendouji]]

[Further releases of locked abilities of the Avenger (Sigurd Ace Sven) is dependent on Yatendouji]

Hearing that, I was immediately interested.

Even if this Avenger from the announcement was the same individual I fought, it would seem that this guy was quite the important individual in fate. His fate was engaged in this mysterious world, and is something that I've interfered with.

Since the announcement declared it, I shouldn't have to worry about future complications.

Well, this was quite unexpected. I'll admit I was surprised, quite surprised. Since there was quite a bit of information, I'll just summarize it.

Apparently, the Avenger, my latest subordinate named Sigurd Ace Sven according to the announcement, was an important character to another god, and I removed him from that god's control.

Hmm, the new abilities I was granted came to mind. While not given directly to me, I seem to have some ... control over if the Avenger can gain them, or rather, regain them.

I decided I wasn't going to release the Avenger for now though.

It was good to get a little more information on the Avenger though.

Still, it would seem that myself and the Avenger are perhaps special.

He.. She.. eh doesn't matter. A strong opponent consumed is delicious meat.

Well, I don't think I'll attack the Avenger, though if the time comes, the meat should be delicious.

The Avenger asked if I should be offered anything since the Avenger was now in my service.

I simply replied not at all since I recovered various supplies from the village. I wasn't going to inform him about eating some of the meat though.

After that, nothing much else happened.

I did try to analyze the new sword I received, but I had some difficulty.

________________________________________________________________________________

Object name - [ Sunlight's Soul Sword, Hisperiol (Superior)]

Category - [Unknown, Sword]

Grade - [Unknown]

Class abilities -

[Pagan Damnation (Heresy Nemesis)]

[Sunshine Convergence]

[Blessing of the Sun]

[Light's Hero]

[Capacity Expansion]

[Locked]

[Locked]

[Locked]

[Locked]

Features - Yatendouji achieved victory against historical figure in -(Conquest War)- Unknown-grade sword was obtained upon victory.

Description - Three forms of those known as gods exist within the world, <<■■ / ■■ / ■■ >> where this blade is one of the ■■ . The blade is imbued with light and tempered in flames near that of a sun, it shines like sunlight.

Yatendouji is the only one capable of viewing this information.

Yatendouji is capable of touching this blade only due to obtaining the subjugation over the previous owner.

Only Yatendouji and those he has given permission to touch this sword are able to do so. Any person who touches it without permission will have an unimaginable disaster befall them.

There are some rare exceptions, but since it is ■■, destruction is fundamentally impossible.

Additional information is possible, do you wish to attempt to view this information?

<YES> <NO>

__________________________________________________________________________

The only thing I could think of was,

"Wow, this thing is amazing!"

Due to this, I felt as if I had gotten all the closer to solving the mysteries of this world.

But...

There is one thing I was unhappy with..

At this moment, I couldn't eat this thing at all...

I couldn't believe it, but no matter how many times I bite it, the blade doesn't even chip...

My pride was admittedly hurt a little bit.

Especially with the fact that I couldn't read certain bits of the information.

I wonder if I would become able to eat it if I unlock those other abilities within the blade.

At any rate, I put it into the item box.

I'll also admit that I was pretty anxious about the notion of these mysterious psalms of [Shutellbelt] as well.

From all of the messages and notifications, I can only discern that the Heroic Psalms that were guiding the little hero here were deleted from the Divine Psalms [Shutellbelt].

Does it mean that the Divine Psalms aren't complete anymore..? If they are deleted and cannot be restored, I'm sure something bad will happen...

Wait...

Perhaps what I just did was something pretty disastrous...

Well, I can't say I really understand any of it at this point, so no point thinking about it at all. If something happens, I'll just leave it at saving the Tomboy Princess and her little Boy Knight.

Really... If there's a disaster set upon the Sternbild Kingdom because of this, I don't really think that I'd care.

After that, Avenger poured oil around the village and burnt it. Something like a mass funeral for the villagers and the whole village.

Along with Avenger, I offered a prayer with Dhammi-chan .

After that was complete, I introduced him to Redhead and the rest of the group.

They were quite surprised at the village suddenly erupting into flames, but had been preparing lunch because I had contacted them stating I was on my way back to continue on our way to the base.

Avenger had quite the serious look to him, but because he was originally a commoner and not a noble, he didn't put on any airs.

He turned out quite easy to talk to so everyone enjoyed his company for awhile.

I thought it would be a good opportunity for Auro and Argento's education, but I'll hold off on that for later.

Today we camped upon the peak of the mountain. Because of that, the night was cold and not that great for sleeping outside.

Though, it wasn't that big of a deal for us.

The Skeletons can change their bones to create a space where everyone can sleep in. It blocks the wind so everything is fine.

On top of that, I grabbed some warm blankets, and with Kumajirou and Kurosaburou with us, there isn't any way for us to be cold.

Surrounded by a blanket and between these two cuddly creatures, I was just about to drift off...

[World's Psalm [Legend of the Black Eclipse Demon] part 5 [Kingdom Revolution] advances]

[One more of the conditions has been cleared]

[Clearing Chapter one [Obscure reality], Chapter two [Omen of a Sun], Chapter three [Beacon's Song], and Chapter four [Fang of the Destructive Eater] has unlocked chapter five]

[World's Psalm [Legend of the Black Eclipse Demon] chapter 5 [Kingdom Revolution] can be started. Will you begin chapter 5?]

<YES> <NO>

Eh...? Well, I'll go with <NO> for now...

[<NO> has been selected for early selection]

[The next occurrence will be during the automatic activation of Chapter 5 when the natural conditions are cleared]

[Current success chance is at 38%]

Oh, ya, I think I'll just sleep for now...

Starting whatever that is early is bound to cause trouble.

======

Black Assassin Partial Release NEEDS EDITING

Edited a bit for grammar and missing words, as well as changing a word or two. -riverson24

Day 116/Sidestory Avenger's POV

Finally, finally! This day has finally come!

When I think back, before the day our fate changed when I gained [Blessing of the Sun God], I spent every day striving to make her, Aina, my wife. Precisely because we weren’t able to freely marry, I used that fact as my heart’s support.

Even at the school,which raises strong soldiers in the Royal Capital, when I was oppressed, despised and envied by many of the nobility.

Even when noble daughters approached me with ulterior motives, sticking to me, making me feel terrible.

In order to increase the veterans even just a little bit, even when I had to drench my whole body of the enemy’s blood on the battlefield.

Even that time when I cut off the head of a young soldier, crying while running away.

I was able to overcome everything because Aina was there... I was able to fight because I knew Aina was living in this world. I couldn’t lose.

The Nobles that were overcome with jealousy, were granted my forgiveness. For the Noble daughters with ulterior motives, I addressed them with a calm, firm look and words that were not lies.

When I would become paralyzed on the battlefield, I would only concentrate on killing the enemy. Even if they begged for their life in front of me, I was able to kill without a second thought.

Aina was the pillar of my existence.

My heart had been protected by Aina’s presence.

That’s right, on those days there were many things I was afraid of. Born as only a farmer, the I of that time... I was living too comfortably at the center of the country.

Things that you couldn’t even think of in the village, were common in the royal capital. The bad oppressive atmosphere, hardened by lies replied with more lies, was definitely at the royal capital.

Therefore, in order to get Aina, whom I could trust from the very bottom of my heart. To bring Aina as a lover to the royal capital, I had continued to fight.

And finally, my efforts rewarded, the king allowed us to marry.

I have obtained the right to make Aina my wife. That said, we’re not going to marry immediately, since such procedures and preparation take time, that’s why I’m going to pick her up today.

So I hurried, even just a little more, and can’t keep my feelings suppressed. I’m currently just over the field, riding my horse as fast as I can.

On my way, I encountered a flame-wielding “Fokkurufu”, and a bear that had the head of a boar, a “Rough Raccon Boar " I decapitated the heads in one go, and left the corpses behind.

I think even the bones of the corpses wouldn’t be left by monsters, and even if they become undead, they would hardly be a threat if they're missing their limbs and heads.

By eliminating the threat of “Tachifusagaru” and other such monsters, I hurry in order to arrive early even by the smallest amount of time in the village where I was born.

And at the verge of reaching the village, there was an unpleasant smell.

It was a smell of blood that I was so accustomed to.

While I was thinking, “Why the smell of blood?”, I had a bad feeling.

My premonitions had hit the mark.

When I entered the village, I saw a sight I had grown so accustomed to, and the trembling in the deepest part of my heart spread.

Only half of a head was on the ground, it was Ajiru, a hunter. He is a middle-aged man who had a bright personality, and often lifted the atmosphere.

Now he had an expression of anguish while sinking in a sea of ​​blood and organs. His eyes were widely opened, they held a deep grudge, and were overflowing with tears of blood.

Embracing only half their bodies, a elderly couple is dead, D'occi and Buhr. They were two people that fought a lot on a daily basis, but if you look at the corpses, they were really in love. Their facial expressions were peaceful, which soothed my grief.

A girl that just turned 10 years old, Ayla, has a hardened face with expressions of pain and despair, the only thing remaining reletivly intact is her right arm, it is the only part not cut thousands of times, barely connected by the skin and trapezius muscle.

And in the small hand of Ayla’s is clasped the hand of a smaller child than herself, she might have been running up until the point when both she and her younger brother, Egeru, died. Only the held arm, up to the elbow, remained, so I could only guess if it belonged to Egeru or not.

On the roof of the only pharmacy, there is a woman who has her intestines spread out, everything gone below the lower pelvis, her name was Sharei.

She had just married with one of my three younger brothers, Mujia last year, even though there were reports that she loved only herself, she’s died while smiling with feelings of hatred. Meat chunks, similar to human beings at the bottom of the corpse, may be two children of her.

~Tsu !!

I have called her name with a loud roar in the village.

I had issued a letter in advance and told her that I will pick her up, and my letter got replied, so Aina definitely ought to be here.

If Aina dies, I would die, too. Organs with this hand, that can only be Aina. The eyeball lying at the feet,that can only be Aina. The body soaked with blood, that can only be Aina. So my mind became mad and I could no longer consider anything.(Once organs with this hand is that it is mono Aina. Once the eyeball lying at the feet and it's mono Aina. Once the blood to wet the body and it's mono Aina.

Given so, my mind became mad likely. Nothing I will no longer be considered.)

- Aina, where are you! ~Tsu !!

Expression of Aina that fill's my mind, her gentle voice, her casual gestures, her sweet smell, her soft skin, 'you can rest assured' relieved warmth, a number of years and stacked memories.

We left in a location that is open and is the center of the village shouting, and looked around.

Small sound. If you look there, Aina that is smaller in the shadows was there. Or body trembling little by little from fear, blood makeup is decorated in blue shark face. It must have been beautiful clothes stained red with blood, but are some places damaged, cares if the Aina is alive.

But Aina is a smile of relief that saw me, it was remember the impatience to to come running up to me under.

I saw it before coming here, a large hole in the ground inside the village.

The monster that struck the village is a kind of the type to move underground, its kind tracks the target on the ground by vibration.

Even so I raised a loud voice from earlier, in order to find you If you're here.

Yet Aina comes running. The possibility that she is targeted increases.

I told Aina to stop of course, but because of her fear, Aina just would not stop coming towards me. And if it brought Aina quickly even a little if that happens, the only choice was not going to be far off.

Luckily the distance is not so far. I also start running. Immediately hurried to go the distance.

And stretched fingers and fingers, we slightly touched. I sighed naturally and smiled to each other from the relief.

- The next moment, something jumped out of the ground.

In front of my eyes, the lower body of Aina is lost along with fresh blood. Her upper body comes flying as if propelled towards me. Dakitomeru. The blank face that stares at me from the arm. Eyes lost their light. Red spewing from the upper body of the cross section. Weight and warmth of organs spread in the hands. Lost and go heat.

What happened, I did not know.

Aina'll be in my arms. In the state of eliminating the lower body. Even looking at the face of Aina, even with a hug, and she does not react with flutters.

What happened, I did not know.

- ~O~o~o~o~o~o, © © ~O Oh Ooooo Aaaaa ゛ A゛a゛a゛a゛ !!

Although I feel as somewhere far away from events, when the heavy cry went up a distorted strange sound from my vocal cords, a critical part of my spirit felt bankrupt.

In the red stained field of view, Aina I saw again seeking help.

Of course, such things are illusion. Aina is in my arms, never to move again.

It is painful but not unbearable, and sad, the Ma蟲 of centipede type in front of the eye, was absolutely Nikuka~tsu. Want to kill but exhausted, too much I think from the bottom of my heart.

And lay Aina on the ground, I raised a roar like beast Unplug the sword.

This guy is the enemy of Aina, and Korosutameni.

· Sigurd's lost those who love.

· Sigurd's spirit has been contaminated with negative feelings.

· Sigurd's became the avenger.

· I was successful in defeating centipede type Ma蟲.

· Avenger has runaway with sadness.

· Avenger was attacked in Oga Akira you've been doing.

· Runaway state of avenger was conquered immediately by Oga wax.

-Avenger is Beloved ( Ina ) In order to avenge the enemy, joined the Oga under wax that whispered to be empowering.

· Avenger of Psalms has been incorporated into the Psalms of Oga wax.

=====

Today I woke up still thinking about what had happened the other night.

It was seriously tedious and there wasn't nearly enough information. For now I'll just have to ignore that fact, but sooner or later it'll be somewhat important to say the least.

Right, well moving on with what happened today.

We started off by heading down from the mountains, crossing the steppes filled with very tall grass. According to the map of this area I had imprinted in my mind, this area was known as the Great Kasudado Steppes.

If we continued to follow the most direct route, we would find ourselves going to the Kuuderun Great Forest by passing through the outer Shirisuka Forest. After that, we would need to spend the day in the Fortress city of Trient then pass the home territory of the Falaise Eagle again. Once there, we pass through the foothills of the region and spend the day in the village Clute. The following morning we would return to our settlement in the Forest.

Traveling there on our Skeletal Carriage (the [100 Bones]) drawn by Skeleton Horses that lack the need to rest is efficient. Using this, we should be able to return in only a few days time.

After the plans were made we started out the day with the morning workout.

Today I decided to train with Avenger. To say the least of him, his fighting abilities are very high. That said, his reliance on [Art]'s and [Job]'s are a bit excessive and leave much potential untapped so it is still necessary to teach him how to fight properly. If he learns from this training properly, he could surpass the one individual that I had previously encountered in the Fomorian's territory.

Understanding that this man before me is likely also a [Historical Main Character], I'll have to keep in mind that there must be some [Auxiliary Characters] that were intended to follow him.

Hmm, It might be necessary to provoke him a bit further, if the situation occurs where he comes across an opponent that would normally become his subordinate Avenger might have an instinctual need to stop me from killing them. Even so, it is still necessary to train him properly so that he can build upon his potential.

After sparring with him it would seem that his abilities lie on par with Rusty Iron Knight. Though saying that, he still remains slightly less than Dhammi-chan. He is certainly strong, but there are still questions regarding his condition and potential abilities. Hmm, other than that, Avenger is quite useful, to that end there is no doubt.

Today, we passed through Great Kasudado Steppes and entered Shirisuka Forest.

=====

In the morning we set out from the mountains.

It was roughly mid-afternoon when we had more or less just entered Shirisuka Forest that I was contacted by Father Elf.

It would seem that they had finally managed to identify and capture the traitors within the Elven Village.

Mistakes of this magnitude are unacceptable, so he said that he had personally overseen the entire process. He decided to inform me of this since I was the one who originally brought up that there was a high chance of Elven traitors during the Human's invasion.

Well, it wasn't much of a concern for us at the moment. The spies were captured, so when I finished speaking with him of the situation I decided to ask him of his impression of our hot spring.

I had already gained a rough idea through the communication cuffs and my clones, so I knew that they were popular but I wanted this information directly from the source.

The opinion I received from Father Elf was that it was "Like being in Heaven."

Sigh...

Listening to him talk about it made me seriously want to take a dip in the hot spring while drinking some Elven wine. Drinking Elven wine in an open air bath would be especially delicious.

I promised Father Elf that we should share a drink when we returned. With that, we finished our conversation.

Sigh... I really want to get back soon so with that, I greatly increased the speed of our carriage. The forest was quite lush, filled with trees and other obstructions for the carriage. In my rush, I'll admit that I used my [Earth Control] to smash a path straight through the forest. I'll be there soon.. wait for me my precious hotsprings and wine!

======

This morning we had passed the Fortress City Trient, though we didn't stop because my target for this morning's activities was the Falaise Eagle's habitat.

I've been thinking of creating a new Air-borne reconnaissance corps using those eagles since I first saw them.

By putting a goblin on top of them, gathering new intelligence would be a cinch.

So, for a good portion of the morning I went ahead and gathered some familiars.

It was around the time I successfully captured roughly 20 Falaise Eagles or so I heard a glowingly... familiar voice.

[World's Psalm updated]

[The Black Ogre's Saga]'s subordinate Asue-chan has ranked up]

[Condition one [Rank-Up] satisfied]

[Reward of [Earth's-Crust Thunder Maul] will be awarded]

Hmm, I wanted to check up on her, but it would seem that she was asleep.

From the sound of the situation, she had been engaged in a great battle against the dungeon's boss for most of the night.

It can't be helped if that's the case. I can wait a few hours before making contact for the sake of hearing the full story.

After several hours I tried to make contact again. It would seem that Asue had ranked up by defeating quite an imposing boss creature that had lived within the lowest level of the dungeon she was in.

She gained the rank of Earth Lord (Variant).

There are conditions that can be met to [Rank-Up] into a subspecies which will provide a [Divine Blessing]. When I asked her what God she had received a blessing from, she answered that it was the [God of Earthquakes].

Her physical appearance has apparently not changed that drastically. She now stands at roughly four meters in height and I'm not really able to request other features of her appearance directly from her.

However, now that she holds a blessing from a God's divine protection, her strength has grown immensely. She's also gained several new abilities from her report.

Regarding her height, she's once more... physically compatible with the now five-meter tall Minokichi-kun.

In regards to that, Minokichi happily informed me that their... night's business has resumed. He's surely saying that with one of his silly little smiles that he has regarding similar situations. Honestly... Minokichi can be quite the cheerful guy when it comes down to it.

Well, I think that it's all well and good. Though... I won't be passing on that information to others...

By the way, Asue now also holds a true name Terra. It would seem that Minokichi received the title 【Great Emperor of the Destructive Axe】 she received the title 【Earth Crust Thunderous Hammer】.

...Did I receive a title? I don't think I have one. There was a lot of Skill and Abilities though.

Those two are a little enviable.

Ah well...

From the same boss hunting group Hobusui-san just like Hobuji-kun [Ranked-Up] to a [Half-Saint Lord] and Shibainu a [Kobold Footman], [Ranked-Up] to a [Kobolf Samurai].

Shibainu the Kobold Samurai, just like Asue-chan, also received a true name.

Shiunosuke (He who goes through smoke screens). It seems like he's one that won't be hesitant to speak his mind. But I'm pretty confident that it's good to have subordinates like that.

After that, I informed everyone about the [Rank Up]. One by one everyone besides Dhammi-chan and Avenger offered their own congratulations through the communications cuff.

It's understandable that Avenger doesn't find the need to offer congratulations since he hasn't even met them before. Dhammi-chan, however, is probably just frustrated, understandably so. Among the original party of 4, Dhammi-chan is the only one that has yet to have her 3rd [Rank-Up].

A shadow is overcasting her beauty.

I can understand her feelings and truly want to help her with it so I asked her "What's your current level?"

She said 89. Since one needs Level 100 to experience a rank up, given the current location, I think I can help facilitate this situation.

Well, first things first was the subduing of more Falaise Eagles to create more familiars.

After getting the number up to around 30 I called it there.

Afterwards, the two of us moved off of the mountain trail.

I generated numerous [Black Ogres], [Black Trolls], and [Black Fomorians] for Dhammi-chan to kill.

The two of us had moved away so that no harm would befall the non-combatant women traveling with us.

As for the combatants, Redhead, Avenger, and the 3 Lords, I also allowed them to participate in the Exp-cheating session I arranged for Dhammi-chan.

As for Auro and Argento, it may be because they are half-human and half-ogre, but it would seem that they have grown enough to begin lesser training themselves.

I carefully made sure that the training they underwent was not too intense so that it doesn't obstruct their further growth.

I did my best to make the training as challenging as possible to give them some good experience though. So here we are, these little children training for fun so that in the future they may become further accustomed to it and be able to involuntarily begin training themselves in the future.

Thinking about lancing between making it fun and making the opponent strong is unexpectedly tiring. I suppose that's what it's supposed to feel like when you are a parent.

As for Oniwaka, maybe because he's the least human among the four being a [High Ogre] he has already grown far bigger than the rest. I think that he should be able to start serious training from now on, just not at this moment.

For Nicola, who comparatively to that of her siblings, her growth is much slower. She's still so small that the thought of training her must be put on hold for quite some time. It might take several years in fact. But the idea of raising a little child of her cute nature is great, so I don't mind at all!

We did combat training from noon until the middle of the evening. We trained to our heart's content at our utmost ability so that we can become even stronger. It's a pity that all of those giants that I generated were killed, but it's a necessary sacrifice.

Besides, we can eat their remains in order to feel less wasteful about it.

I had generated 100 giants today and I seriously wanted to eat them all, but it was not to be since I could only at best manage 40 of them.

Thinking about the serious mass I've eaten, the rest are probably wondering where it all went.

The giants are seriously big, whereas my body is just around two meters tall so to tell the truth, I don't have any real idea what part of my body all of the food goes into.

I've always been puzzled about that really.

Ability learned: 【Heightened Stamina】

Ability learned: 【Ultra Recovery】

Ability learned: 【Demon Slaying】

Ability learned: 【Physical Attack Enhancement】

Ability learned: 【Wild Dance of Heavy Blows】

Ability learned: 【Big Game Slaying】

Ability learned: 【Armor Collapse】

Ability learned: 【Luck Reduction】

Even after eating all 40 of those giant bodies, I only gained eight abilities.

I suppose compared to the [Black Ogre] the [Apostle-Lord Extinct Variant] will be very slow in acquiring new abilities.

If I'm honest, this irritates me slightly.

By nightfall we're all fatigued.

Sweat is flowing and we're covered from head to toe, our legs so weakened that they might give out from almost anything.

Thankfully, none of us are injured beyond several scratches. Nothing life-threatening.

Curiously, I felt the same level of tiredness as everyone else. It's possible that it's because my recovery abilities cannot do anything about fatigue.

About Auro, Argento and Oniwaka, they moved quite a bit during the last four hours of training. But since they moved so much they were exhausted and had passed out. Blacksmith-san had rounded them up. When they recovered they spent the rest of the evening just talking, thankfully none of them really suffered that much from fatigue.

After several minutes I got this swing of moodiness. I supposed that it was just caused from using too much magic. The invigorating feeling that rose from the depths of my being now felt quite dry and I was seriously exhausted.

Perhaps this is a symptom of [Magic Deficiency Illness]. But I'm perfectly confident in my body, I'm still a step before fully falling into the illness.

My body was quite sluggish and drowsiness is attacking me greatly.

I'm just taking them as a sign before full fledged magic deficiency illness. Now, however, I can relate to the feeling that the female magician that was a part of the fight against the Giant Fomorian King back in the mountains.

I suspect that the best way to treat this is to just drink a [Mana Potion] so I pulled one out and drank it.

This is actually the first time that I've drunk this potion.

To summarize the taste, it's seriously bitter.

It has the taste that makes you think "I do not want to drink too much of this." But as I drank it, my overall condition improved greatly. This confirms my magic limit, something that I've actually never hit before.

The giant's bodies that I created was exactly one hundred.

The magic required to make one was equal to roughly fifty black skeletons.

This means that I can roughly create 5,000 black skeletons before I hit my limit, and I'll be honest when I say that this number surprises me.

However, this is just the number that can be created when the sun is in the sky. At night, I can continuously recover my magic. I'd say I could generate enough skeletons to wipe out an entire country.

Well, during the night at least.

Today I learned quite a bit about my self and felt exhausted. I put on a blanket and my consciousness quickly faded.

[World's Psalm] added [Black Ogre's Saga] is now [Black Demon's Saga]

[Update subject] Dhammi has achieved [Rank-Up]

[Condition [Rank Up] is satisfied, Dhammi is now awarded the item [Frozen World Empress]]

[Condition [Rank Up] is satisfied, the title [Formal Wife of ■■] is now available]

Yatendouji's condition [Lord] is satisfied, seal for the title [Formal Wife of ■■]is now partially released]

[Title [Formal wife of ■■] is consequently changed to [Formal Wife of Demon ■■]]

[Title [Formal wife of Demon ■■] is now hereby granted to Dhammi]

[Title [Formal wife of Demon ■■] is invoked, title [Consort of Demon ■■] is now available]

[Select person to be awarded the title [Consort of Demon ■■]]

[Selection process complete]

[Title [Consort of Demon ■■] is awarded to Ruberia Walline (Redhead)]

[Title [Consort of Demon ■■] is awarded to Emery Furado (Blacksmith-san)]

[Title [Consort of Demon ■■] is awarded to Felicia Timiano (Older Sister)]

[Title [Consort of Demon ■■] is awarded to Alma Timiano (Younger Sister)]

[Title [Consort of Demon ■■] is awarded to Spinel Fean (Alchemist-san)]

[Title [Consort of Demon ■■] is awarded to Therese East Eckermann (Female Knight)]

[Title [Consort of Demon ■■] is awarded to Doriane Duboué (Dryad-san)]

[Hereafter, the title [Consort of Demon ■■] will be automatically awarded to women who satisfy the conditions]

======

Seven girls in total, well, that is Redhead and the other girls, including Dryad-san, who had not been present, were given a new title.

Also, Dhammi-chan has gotten her long awaited [Rank Up].

Well, If you killed five [Black Fomorians], ten [Black Trolls] and Twenty [Black Ogres] by yourself, I’d say that would allow almost anyone to [Rank Up].

With the blessing from her God, she can bring out icicles. With them, she can freeze the Fomorians in place, or cut them open as if they were blades, or even crush the beast’s head as if they were arrows.

The sight of Dhammi-chan butchering these giants, whilst bathed totally in blood as it continues to gush everywhere was seriously a sight to behold.

She was laughing like mad as she continued to get drenched with blood. She had gone into a serious vampiric blood rage...

Now back to what happened today.

Apparently, Dhammi-chan had [Rank Up] into a Noble Vampire, a subspecies of a Vampire. This particular subspecies, as I learned, is far more powerful than most other types of Vampire. I liked the sound of this greatly.

What I liked more, however, was that she had [Rank Up] into a very powerful entity that had been beyond my expectations.

Regarding her appearance, it was just as Asue-chan as she looked generally the same.

If anything, her tattoo had grown to cover slightly more of her skin. It’s also a darker color.

Contrary to her outer appearance, her inner power has greatly changed. Her existing abilities are almost all enhanced, both in scale and power. When I witnessed it, I was left with the greatest impression of elegance and perfection.

Her newly gained ability, [Bloodsucking Control], allowed her to dominate her weaker opponents by sucking their blood.

There is also one of her more powerful abilities, [Intermediate Summoning: Guardian Beast], which allows her to magically call up twelve familiars.

Oh yes, by the way, [Intermediate Summoning: Undead] is an improved version of my own summoning ability [Lesser Summoning: Undead].

This ability comes from the blessing of [The God of the Underworld], a blessing Dhammi-chan has, the ability itself seemed quite useful.

With this, I think it’s possible to generate monsters I’ve already devoured. Given the nature of such an ability I fully plan on eating any monsters we can find before we reach our base.

Also, with her [Rank Up], Dhammi-chan has acquired her true name [[[Hekaterina]]](Goddess who pales even the moon). The name itself is quite suited to her, especially if one sees her illuminated in moonlight.

However, unlike Asue-chan who I still call by the same name, I decided to give Dhammi-chan a new name. As such, I proceeded in thinking up a suitable name for her.

I came up with several names, Vammi, Paimmi, Iammi, and Bloommi as possible candidates, but they all sounded off. It’s tough to consider them as endearing names. But then I came up with Kanami by taking letters out of her true name:he(ka)teri(na).

This time, the name is very easy to pronounce and is quite pleasing to the ear. I think it’s a good name, Well done me!

Henceforth I called Dhammi-chan with her new name, Kanami. Incidentally, when I told her that the other girls had also gained a title, Kanami-chan expressed that she had no comment on such an occurrence...

I couldn't tell if she was mad or not...

We chose to leave our hilly camping ground, which had since yesterday, become dyed red with blood.

We took a detour to visit <<Clute Village>>, the village I had left the protection of to several of my subordinates during the beginning of my travels.

After concluding our business there, we rushed with great speed to return to the forest of our birth.

Although we had been rushing at the beginning, roughly through the middle we had slowed our pace slightly to collect new materials to produce magical items.

As a consequence, we arrived at the settlement roughly when the sun was setting.

Suddenly, I noticed that Kanami-chan, Redhead, and the rest of the girls had gone speechless.

While not as drastic, I noticed that Avenger was also surprised.

“What? What’s the matter? Why do all of you have such astonished expressio-!”

Well... If you’d seen what I’m about to tell you, you would also be awed by it.

Our little mine had turned into a fortress!

Oh! This is amazing!

We’d love to inspect it to see what improvements have been built into our little old mine to transform it into such a respectable structure. Because today, we are throwing a banquet!

As a celebration of our returning home, I’ve brought out various meats and Elven liquor to be enjoyed by everyone.

People who have recently joined our settlement also take part in the merriment.

Booze was poured everywhere!

The banquet had long since turned into a party.

I enjoyed the party greatly, but really, nothing could top the feeling of savoring Elven liquor in the Hot Springs.

This is the best!