by Okina Baba
…Better not think about that.
Not like there’s anything I can do about it anyway.
I’ll just have to cross that bridge when I come to it. There’s no other choice, really.
This time, I have three options for evolution.
Greater taratect would bring me back to the original taratect line.
I saw one of those in the Lower Stratum.
I guess they’re probably strong, but I have no intention of taking that route.
I’d get bigger, for one thing.
One of the evolutionary conditions for arachne is that you have to be a small- or medium-size spider-type monster, so if I evolve into a big ol’ greater taratect, I won’t be able to evolve into an arachne anymore.
So, greater taratect is out.
That leaves two options. Ede Saine and Orthocadinaht.
Orthocadinaht is a magic type, and Ede Saine is the higher evolution of Zoa Ele.
But I don’t think Orthocadinaht would be very useful.
I think it unlocked because I’ve got Height of Occultism and Celestial Power, but to be honest, it seems like a crappy option to me.
Sure, it’s supposed to be smart, but that’s by monster standards.
I’ve been using traps since the moment I was born, y’know.
Besides, Orthocadinaht doesn’t evolve.
So that’d be the end of the line.
Looking at my evolution tree, it doesn’t seem to be a particularly powerful monster, so I’m not exactly impressed.
Now, Ede Saine, that’s another story.
It’s not the end of its evolutionary line, but judging by the tree, it seems to be just a step below Mother’s degree of power.
The evolution tree is arranged so that you can tell how a monster ranks to a certain extent by how high its name is listed.
And this name is just one step down from an evolution that seems to be very nearly on par with queen taratect, which I think it’s safe to assume is my mother’s species.
Ede Saine.
It’s way higher in the monster power rankings than the other two evolution options.
So, obviously, Ede Saine is the only way to go.
Man, without Wisdom to show me the evolution tree, I might not’ve known what to do.
Thank you, Professor Wisdom!
By the way, since arachne is a special evolution, it’s separate from the rest of the tree.
Its evolutionary conditions are being a small or medium spider monster, having the Pride skill, and being level 50 or above.
That’s pretty crazy.
So I guess I’m pretty crazy for trying to reach it.
All right, evolution start!
Just like that, my consciousness fades away.
…Good morning.
……
Well, don’t I feel like shit now.
Taboo, huh?
Yeah, I guess this probably is taboo to the people of this world.
I mean, if a native inhabitant found out all this information, they’d probably go insane, right?
Why drag me into all this, though?
This has got to be D’s doing.
That’s the only explanation.
Man, what an asshole.
It’s D’s fault I was reborn into this world that’s on the brink of collapse.
Weren’t there any other options to be reborn into?
Sure, a world with skills and stats and all is very gamelike, but who would ever suspect there’s such a sick secret behind it?
Sure, it’s unusual, but anyone would just assume that’s how this world works.
Who in their right mind would imagine that a stupid game-y system like this is actually in place in order to save the world?
D must be one hell of a hardcore gamer to make something like this.
Now that I know about all this, I can’t just go on as if nothing’s changed.
I’ve gotta take action.
But what can I do? Massacre a bunch of humans and monsters?
No way.
Whether I’m capable of that or not, Administrator Güliedistodiez would never allow it.
In retrospect, that dark man I met when D’s smartphone appeared must have been Administrator Güliedistodiez.
At the time, D forbade him from meddling with me and chased him off, but if I go too far, I bet anything he wouldn’t let D stop him again.
Otherwise, I’m sure they wouldn’t have just let the world fall into this situation.
Which means no massacring for me.
Not that I really wanted to do that in the first place.
In that case, there’s only one way forward.
I have to improve my skills and get stronger.
Stats and skills are really nothing more than temporary powers granted as part of the system.
But I’ll find a way to sublimate that temporary power into the real thing.
In the end, I guess I’m doing exactly what D wants.
I think D might’ve reincarnated me into this world knowing this would happen.
So that’s why I have the “n% I = W” skill.
I’ll have to keep doing everything according to that annoying D’s plans.
To be honest, the fact that I’m playing into D’s hands really pisses me off.
How much, you ask?
That’s how much.
Ugh, I’m so mad!
I hate being forced into something by someone else more than anything else!
But as much as it irritates me, I have to do exactly that.
Otherwise, I’d just be committing a double suicide with this collapsing mess of a world.
I’ll take a hard pass on that, thanks.
I know this is going to be a pretty difficult road, but I can’t simply give up without even trying.
I mean, maybe this world isn’t going to collapse nearly as soon as I think.
But if I take my chances on a faint hope like that, I’d just be cutting myself off from my only path forward.
Even if it’s one laid out for me by someone else.
Maybe I should even be thanking D for setting up a path for me like this.
But knowing that super-ultra-hyper-mega-twisted rotten jerk, I bet D’s watching me right this very moment and getting a good laugh about it!
Really, if you’re gonna go and give me a path to salvation, maybe try not reincarnating me into a world that’s about to collapse in the first place!
I mean, I guess if it’s between that and not being reborn at all, I’d pick this option with a “thank you very much,” but still!
I should probably be grateful, but I’m more irritated than anything! Argh, I hate this stupid feeling!
If even this feeling was part of the plan, then D really is an evil god.
A horrible evil god who has fun by toying with people’s minds.
Whew.
All right, I feel a little better now.
But there’s still a lot of stress built up inside me.
Guess I’ll take it out on some monsters.
I’m going into the Lower Stratum to do some level grinding.
I’m not gonna gripe about being scared of some stupid earth dragon anymor
e.
I’m going to level up for all I’m worth.
That way, I can build up enough power to bid this world farewell.
Looks like my ultimate goal has gone past arachne to one step further.
BATTLE IN THE CAPITAL
Fei flies above the royal capital, carrying us on her back.
Her flight is surprisingly stable for someone who only just evolved and gained the skill.
Even with three people riding her, it feels safe.
Still, at this speed, you’d definitely get shaken off if you weren’t holding on tight.
Considering she doesn’t even have the High-Speed Flight skill yet, I’m pretty terrified for the future.
I might not be able to ride her at all once she gets that skill.
“There it is.”
Squinting into the powerful wind, I look ahead.
There, I can see the castle emerging from the darkness of the night.
Leston and the others are most likely being held captive in there.
Get close to the castle in the air on Fei, then break in.
Rescue our allies and escape.
Our strategy is so plain and simple that it can’t really be called a plan, but the fact is, we have no other choice.
If we’re going to succeed, we’ll need the speed and power to break through.
We should be fine in terms of combat power.
There’s me, the hero; Hyrince, who fought constant battles alongside Julius; and Katia, who isn’t known as a prodigy for nothing.
Frankly, there probably aren’t many humans who could stop us three.
According to our information, Hugo and Sue have already left the castle via Teleport.
If Hugo is back in the Renxandt Empire by now, there shouldn’t be anyone left who’s strong enough to stand in our way.
The only people I’m worried about are Sophia and those two black-clad fighters.
If that mysterious girl is there, we might be in trouble.
I definitely got a very bad feeling from that girl.
It wasn’t just that magic didn’t work on her. There was something disturbingly eerie about her.
To the point where she might even be more dangerous than Hugo.
If she’s still here, then there might be a difficult battle ahead of us.
But that’s a big “if.”
I don’t know why I can’t shake off this feeling of anxiety, despite the impressive force of our team.
“Ah! Fei! Watch out!”
As if to confirm my fears, something comes flying toward us at high speed.
Fei hurriedly avoids it, her abrupt movements shaking us around.
“Hold on tight, everyone!”
At her telepathic message, we latch on tightly to Fei’s back.
At the same time, Fei’s body turns sharply.
The flying object zips right through the space we occupied just moments ago.
“A long-range magic attack?!”
The thing that flew by us was a laser-like magical attack, leaving a trail of light in its wake.
“Impossible! A magic attack that can reach this high?!”
Hyrince exclaims in shock.
We’re flying at high altitude.
I don’t know how high, exactly, but we’ve got to be well over half a mile above the ground.
We should barely even be visible from down there.
That’s why we planned to infiltrate from above at night.
And yet, someone is sniping at us with absurd accuracy.
“Don’t let go, now!”
Fei swerves slightly to the left and right, still moving steadily forward.
Beams of light streak close by Fei, matching her high speed.
She’s dodging with as little movement as possible to avoid shaking us off, but the attacks flying past us are terrifyingly close.
This level of accuracy shouldn’t be possible, no matter how good the marksman.
The hit rate of a spell gets lower the farther away you are from the target.
I definitely wouldn’t be able to land shots from more than half a mile away.
Never mind a moving target like Fei in the low visibility of night.
And yet, Fei’s evasive maneuvers are getting more drastic.
She can’t afford to worry about us that much now.
In other words, if she doesn’t dodge with all her might, she’s going to get hit.
It might be partly because we’re getting closer, but this is still an unthinkably precise shooter.
“Shun!” Hyrince shouts. “We have to withdraw! If they have a magic user this strong who knows we’re here, then our strategy’s already failed!”
True enough, our original plan was to break in without being noticed, then if we get noticed inside, retreat at top speed while the enemy is still confused.
But that prediction went out the window as soon as we encountered a preemptive attack.
“No, we have to force our way through!”
If we withdraw here, that means Leston and the others will die.
There’s no way I can let that happen.
If we run away with our tails between our legs now, I’ll never be able to call myself a hero again.
“But!”
“Julius would never have given up in a situation like this! Am I wrong?”
Maybe it was unfair to say that to Hyrince.
But we really can’t withdraw now.
“……Very well.”
Sure enough, Hyrince gives in.
But that doesn’t solve our main problem.
The sniper is still attacking us, and since they already know we’re here, we have to assume they’re fully prepared to intercept us.
As we speed through the air, I activate Clairvoyance to look for the source of the beams.
The mage is on top of the castle ramparts.
He’s exactly the sort of old man you’d picture if you heard the word “wizard.”
“Fei, bring us closer to the castle!”
“Right!”
With Clairvoyance, I keep an eye on the old mage.
The magic shots are being fired at regular intervals from his staff.
But he’s not even breaking a sweat. Despite the incredible power of the spells, he looks as if he’s invoking the most basic of beginner’s magic.
“Crap!”
Hyrince and I simultaneously activate barriers in time with Fei’s frantic cry.
It’s called Wyrm Barrier, a skill that dampens the effects of magic like the scale skills unique to wyrms and dragons.
The skill is very convenient, producing a sort of thin membrane that can even hold up to some physical attacks.
However, you have to defeat a wyrm to be able to acquire it, and it costs no small amount of skill points, too.
On top of that, its effect is weak compared with the original Wyrm Scales, and it takes a good deal of MP to activate, so its convenience comes at a high price.
The only reason I haven’t been using it this whole time is because I’d run out of MP very quickly.
Hyrince and I both use Wyrm Scales, and Fei uses Dragon Scales.
With that much defense, we should be all right even if we take a hit or two.
Or so I thought.
“Ngh!”
I feel blood trickle down my cheek, coupled with a chill running down my back.
The beam penetrated all three barriers and nearly hit my face.
I managed to dodge it by jerking my head out of the way, but it still grazed my cheek a little.
It didn’t cause much physical damage.
My Auto-Recovery activates right away, closing the wound.
However, that doesn’t change the fact that it nearly hit me.
It pierced through all our defenses, ignoring my resistance entirely.
It’s not just an incredibly long-distance spell.
That attack definitely has the power to kill me.
With my stats boosted by the H
ero title, a direct hit probably wouldn’t kill me.
But what about everyone else?
I never thought I’d so quickly come to regret not taking Hyrince’s advice to retreat.
“Shun! You just worry about yourself! I’ll protect the lady!”
Hyrince’s dependable words melt my fears away.
Of course. Hyrince is a capable defender who protected my brother for years.
If Hyrince says he’ll protect her, I’m sure he will.
So I’ll trust Hyrince and do whatever I can.
“Fei, charge straight ahead!”
“What?!”
We’re still some distance away from the castle.
The distance is slowly closing, but if we keep dodging as we advance, eventually, we’ll hit our limit.
The old wizard’s accuracy is higher than Fei’s evasion abilities.
We can somehow get by at this current distance, but the closer we get, the harder dodging the attacks becomes.
In which case, our only option is to forget about dodging in the first place.
“What do you mean, charge straight ahead?!”
“I’ll take care of it. Just trust me and charge ahead!”
Fei hesitates for a moment, then makes up her mind and accelerates forward.
“Don’t blame me if this gets us all killed!”
Our velocity builds up rapidly.
I couldn’t tell until now, but it seems like Fei really isn’t used to flying yet, since she hasn’t trained the skill up at all.
Apparently, flying straight is even more difficult than dodging the beam attacks.
Her speed is infinitely faster than when she was dodging around before.
Another beam fires at us.
I activate the spell I was preparing.
One of the Holy Light Magic spells, Mirror Shield.
It’s a counterspell that repels any attack.
A thin white pane of light appears in front of the flying beam, which hits it and bounces off in a different direction.
“Eek!”
Fei lets out a shriek at the sight of the Mirror Shield and the beam of light crashing before her eyes.
Normally, the spell is supposed to reflect the attack back at the opponent, but apparently, it was only able to bounce the beam away due to its sheer power.
Hyrince and I still have our barriers active, yet even with that, I could only deflect the attack.
What an incredible amount of power.
And now we’re heading directly for the mage who wields it.