Ads

Classmate wa Isekai de Yuusha ni Natta kedo, Ore dake Gendai Nihon ni Okizari ni Narimashita - Chapter 102

on

Chapter 102: Preparations for the Cultural Festival Have Begun — Part 5

“Alicia, are you free right now?”

“I’m fine. Did something happen?”

“Well, it’s kind of a problem... I’ll switch to video call and show you.”

While dodging the poison and electric shocks it spat at me using Body Enhancement, I turned on the video call function on my phone to show Alicia the creature.

“—Huh?”

“This is the real identity of that ‘giant serpent.’ Probably, no, definitely a Mongolian Death Worm, a kind of UMA. Seems like it was suddenly brought to Japan by some kind of supernatural ability and is panicking.”

“Wait a minute... That’s not some puppet you made, right?”

“No, seriously, it’s a real UMA. Not a serpent or a yokai. Alright, it’s getting tough here, so I’m going to cut the video.”

As I said that and jumped off the ground, the flowers growing where I was standing instantly withered from the purple toxic slime spat by the giant UMA.

“What should I do with this thing? Is it okay to just kill it?”

“Wait, I just got a report from my subordinates. Yeah, it’s fine to kill it. Unfortunately, there’s no way to get a cage big enough for a creature that size anytime soon.”

“Got it. Then I’ll finish it quickly.”

“Also, I’m heading over there soon, so don’t leave right after killing it.”

“Got it. Alright, I’m hanging up.”

I ended the call, shoved my phone into my pocket, and fixed my gaze on the enemy in front of me.

‘―――――!!’

“Whoa, that was close...”

The creature emitted a sound that was more a growl than a voice, using its mouth to spray poison and electricity, cutting off escape routes on the ground. Then it leapt into the air and slammed its huge body down.

From the fight so far, I roughly understood its behavior pattern. The biggest problem was definitely its long-range attack that mixed poison and electricity — that and the way it hunted me as I landed. The first thing I had to deal with was that disgusting mouth.

‘―――――!!’

The giant UMA spat out a mix of electricity and poisonous slime again. I dodged back lightly and cast Ice Magic to produce an extremely thin, hard, long thread, then threw it to coil around the creature’s head near its body.

Then I activated Body Enhancement, slipped under the giant UMA, and generated a huge, very hard block of ice. I tied the thread to it.

‘――――!!’

I don’t know how it senses its surroundings, but the UMA realized it had lost track of its enemy. It turned its enormous mouth toward me and spat out more electricity and poisonous slime.

I dodged the same way as before and repeated the process: making ice threads, wrapping them around the body, and tying them to newly created giant ice blocks — like clockwork.

‘―――!? ――――!!’

After doing this several times, the Mongolian Death Worm’s head was so tightly squeezed by the threads that blood and slime dripped down.

(Alright, time to finish this.)

I coated the ice threads and blocks with Ice Magic again, strengthening their durability.

At the same time, the giant UMA spat out a mix of poisonous slime, blood, and bodily fluids from its disgusting mouth—

‘―――――!!?’

Its head shattered into pieces like diced steak, chunks of red flesh coated in bodily fluids scattering on the ground.

Only the body remained, showing the internal structure at the cut surface.

I cast Ice Magic once more, creating an ice hammer roughly the size of a normal house. Gripping it with Body Enhancement, I swung it down hard.

“This is the end for you!”

Half of the Mongolian Death Worm’s body became a stain on the ground, completely motionless.

“...It’s dead, right?”

I checked with Identification magic to confirm it was completely dead and let out a relieved sigh.

‘Total subjugation experience points have reached the required amount. Level up will be performed.’

The voice rang in my mind, and the fatigue and dizziness caused by MP consumption disappeared completely.

(…It’s been a while since I heard that voice.)

Thinking that, I immediately called up Status in my mind.

Iori Osamu Lv.122 Human

Title: Defeater of Those Who Bear Names

HP 37000/37000

MP 990/990

SP 690

STR 210

VIT 195

DEX 180

AGI 210

INT 180

Extra Skills: Skill Lending

Skills: Identification, Universal Translation, Spatial Transfer Magic, Perception Inhibition Magic, Item Box, Ice Magic, Healing Magic, Wind Magic, Water Magic, Tracking and Detection Magic,

Body Enhancement, Intermediate Body Enhancement, Dispel, Magic Counter, Sensory Link

Design, Blacksmithing Technique

Compared to my previous status, my MP, STR, and AGI all increased sharply.

That voice said the level-up was triggered by reaching the required experience total, but maybe the stats that increase depend on the enemy defeated?

No, I’ll think about that later when I’m calm.

For now, I’m just happy I leveled up.

(I’ve got a good amount of skill points too. Maybe it’s time to learn a completely new skill?)

I displayed the skill catalog and, as if browsing a product catalog, started looking through the skills while waiting for Alicia’s arrival.

About 30 minutes after defeating the giant UMA, while I was getting bored of looking through skills and using Water Magic to snipe mosquitoes, a large helicopter landed in the clearing.

When its rotors stopped and the loud noise settled, Alicia got out from the cockpit side door and came toward me.

“Sorry I’m late. Took longer to prepare than I thought.”

“No worries. But you came on something incredible again.”

“The bodies of foreign unidentified creatures are extremely valuable research material. We’ve been ordered from above to collect as many as possible.”

While Alicia spoke, a group in protective suits got out from the helicopter’s rear door, cutting up the Mongolian Death Worm’s corpse and putting the meat into preservation containers.

Soldiers in camouflage, bulletproof vests, and carrying rifles guarded them.

“Are those people also part of the organization you belong to?”

“Sort of. They have a completely different chain of command, though.”

“Sounds complicated.”

“Yeah, it really is.”

Alicia’s eyes showed no humor as she spoke. Watching her, I thought maybe government work is tough.

A stern man in a black suit ran over to us.

“Manager, I have a report.”

“...Understood. Sorry, I have to go.”

“Got it.”

Looks like I won’t be leaving anytime soon.

I promised to go to school with Kyoji tomorrow, so I want to get home early if possible.

Then Alicia returned, carrying a tablet, her expression even more serious than before.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“First, watch this video.”

Looking at the tablet as she said, I saw Ikoma-senpai in pajamas walking down the mountain at night.

Judging by her unsteady steps, she was probably not in her right mind.

“This was recorded just a moment ago by a surveillance camera at the base of the mountain. What do you think?”

“Sleepwalking maybe, or maybe drawn here by some supernatural power. Probably one of those two. Just my amateur guess.”

“Yeah, probably either one...”

I recalled what Ikoma-senpai said earlier.

“Hey, do we know what content she’s been watching recently? Like when I extracted info from the game console or the station’s surveillance camera?”

“You seem to have an idea. Okay, I’ll try.”

I gave Alicia the tablet back, and she quickly operated it to display a chronological list of what Ikoma-senpai had been viewing, even showing the viewing times.

There were otome games, their fan fiction, romance manga, BL manga—things I didn’t want to look at, but I ignored all of it.

“...This is it!”

The content Ikoma-senpai spent the most time on recently was an original manga about an interspecies romance between a girl and a giant serpent worshiped as a mountain god.

And the ability that turns imagination into reality that Ikoma-senpai is troubled by—maybe...

“Probably that Death Worm was summoned by Ikoma-senpai’s ability to make her imagination real, to create the serpent god from that manga.”

“Wait, wait. Serpent and worm are totally different!?”

“But until it appeared, it was rumored to be a giant serpent monster. And Kyoji told me that yokai are born from people’s fear and faith, right? Judging by how widespread the rumors are, it’s likely that the Death Worm changed from a UMA into a serpent yokai or god. Ikoma-senpai unconsciously came to this mountain to realize her fantasy of becoming the manga heroine. What do you think?”

“Theoretically, it’s not impossible... If so...”

Alicia thought deeply about my hypothesis.

“Well, I’m just saying this as a guess or a stretch, so don’t take it too seriously. More importantly, we need to ensure Ikoma-senpai’s safety—”

“I’ve already ordered my subordinates to watch over her, so don’t worry. But I think we have to consider the worst-case scenario.”

“Worst case?”

“She may have awakened her supernatural ability recently but has extremely low aptitude for it.”

Oh, another new term?

“What happens when someone with low aptitude awakens their ability? The phrase sounds bad enough already.”

“First, they simply can’t control their ability. So they keep activating it beyond their physical and mental limits. And abilities grow stronger the more you use them, but that also puts more strain on the body and mind. It’s a vicious cycle until they collapse mentally and physically.”

Activating abilities beyond limits... For me, it’s like when I tried to use skills without enough MP. I’d get terrible dizziness, nausea, and headaches, often passing out.

Having that happen without your own will? That’s definitely hell.

But—

“Ikoma-senpai hasn’t had any health problems, right?”

“No, so this is still just a possibility. But—”

Alicia watched the Death Worm’s corpse being loaded into a specialized containment case on the helicopter with a sharp gaze.

“Whatever the reason, using an ability that calls forth a creature that size across mountains, seas, and countries is definitely abnormal. We have to stay vigilant.”

“Yeah...”

That’s when I realized something.

“Hey, by the way, what about my aptitude for supernatural abilities? Could I have a similar risk of losing control?”

“Among the confirmed ability users, you’re at the highest level. So rest easy.”

I was relieved but also had another question.

“Highest level? You’re serious?”

“Your ability’s quality keeps improving, and despite using it frequently, you’ve maintained your humanity. Most high-aptitude users would have succumbed to their power in two years. That you’re still able to talk with me properly is amazing.”

“I see.”

“Maybe your adaptability is abnormal? That itself could be another ability... but no...”

“H-Hey? Alicia?”

While talking, Alicia drifted off into her own world.

I waved my hand in front of her face, and she snapped back.

“Ah, sorry. Anyway, you don’t need to worry yourself.”

“Got it. That’s a relief. Uh—”

A man who seemed to be one of Alicia’s subordinates came over and whispered something to her.

Looking around, the Death Worm’s corpse was completely gone. The dissection and containment must be finished.

“I’ve been informed that the operation is complete. You can leave now.”

“Thanks. I’m beat...”

“Hehe, good work.”

Alicia headed toward the helicopter.

Watching her leave, I stretched my body and prepared to use my skill to go home.

(...I should warn Kyoji to be careful about Ikoma-senpai, just in case.)

With that thought, I activated Spatial Transfer Magic.

Comments

Post a Comment