Chapter 96

CHAPTER 1 What Lies Beyond Virtue Zolkia—a desert oasis lush with greenery that lay along the border between the beast lands of Gilmus and the Lunarian See. It was a town enclosed on all sides by dunes of fine sand, along with sprawling forests filled with curious flora, and—if you believed the rumors—a magical kingdom of fairies. Zolkia was considered the entryway to the See, and it was an important municipality to the nation of Gilmus. Just like in the kingdom, there was prejudice against other races here, but this ideology was rarer farther from the capital. Ever since the establishment of the empire, the beast lands had been stripped of a border with the kingdom, allowing other nations’ philosophies to take hold. These included the See’s doctrine of All equal except demonfolk, and the empire’s mantra of Might makes right. Of course, the nobility always needed a scapegoat, so beastfolk supremacy never went away entirely. The town of Zolkia was a prominent one. Not only did it export a large volume of fantasy plants, it also possessed within its territory a high-level dungeon called the Gambler’s Gauntlet. These days, it had become an important point to host troops and resources that were bound for the See to aid the war effort. The air was heavier than I’d ever seen it when I arrived in Zolkia, and there was no shortage of those seeking mindless relief from the horrors of war. My partners and I had come here for one important reason: to brave the Gambler’s Gauntlet. “Giryaaaah!!” “Oh! Waah! Waah!” The dungeon was laid out like a honeycomb, with numerous sections partitioned off by walls. Each section had its own unique environment, which ran the gamut from grasslands to ice fields to deserts to crags. Additionally, each area contained a large monitor depicting some kind of monster, and beneath that, an array of slot reels adorned with many levers. Looking up always revealed the same clear blue sky. It didn’t matter what the weather was like outside or how deep underground you were—the sunshine was brilliant at all times. It was what I like to call an “extraplanar dungeon,” one whose layout didn’t conform in the slightest to the outside world. Yuuto was within one of those sections, a sandy plain filled with stone-barked trees, fending off a number of monsters. “Krgh! Dammit!” The monsters he was fighting were known as Woody Bears. They look like giant bear carvings with large exposed crystals in their chests. Their brutality alone earned them a B-rank classification. Yuuto had managed to land his machete in the shoulder of one of the bears, only for it to get stuck there. His enraged foe swung a thick clawed paw in retaliation. Thinking fast, Yuuto let go of his weapon and leaped back out of range. The maneuver left him defenseless, but he’d succeeded in avoiding the killing blow. A fair decision. “Yuuto,” I called out from atop the stone wall dividing the sections. “Put your whole weight into it when you swing that thing. It’s not a light weapon, so you have to commit yourself: all or nothing. Wait for an opportunity to take back the initiative.” “Easier said than done! Grr! Take this!!” “Gruh?!” Aiming for when the enemy wound up to make a big swing, Yuuto launched a kick at his weapon, dislodging it and slicing off his foe’s arm in one fell swoop. The machete landed with a thunk, point-down in the sand, while the bear, though undeterred by the pain, nevertheless reeled from the loss of balance caused by its missing limb. “Hark, the sounds of a beastly feast. Monstrous Metamorphosis!” In the opening thus caused, Yuuto transformed his arm into that of the Woody Bear itself, picking up the machete and swinging it hard into the exposed crystal in his foe’s chest. The stone shattered, the bear froze like a marble statue, and the slots on the wall showing how many enemies remained went from five to four. Meanwhile, Yuuto glowed with a magical light. This was the power of Monstrous Metamorphosis, the intrinsic ability he had gained upon making a contract with me. It allowed him to absorb the energy contained within the magic stones dropped by fallen foes and to call upon that power to transform in battle. “Phew. Whoa?!” “Don’t let down your guard, Yuuto! Always be aware of your surroundings! Try to sense your opponents!” “Sense them?! What does that even—? Aargh, forget it!” I watched as Yuuto wheeled around to face the oncoming Woody Bears in the nick of time and engaged them in battle. There were no problems on his front, it seemed. “It’s Mai I’m more worried about,” I said to myself, but when I turned to look in my sister’s direction, what I saw shocked me. I suppose I should have expected her to be proficient in combat, but I never thought she’d be this good. “Dear brother?” she asked, cool and calm. “I’ve run out of foes. What should I do?” Behind her, I saw that the corpses of several slaughtered Lamias littered the marble floor. A thick layer of wind mana coated the blade of my sister’s naginata. Some of the enemies were burned, others frozen or petrified, while others looked like their flesh had swollen from the inside and burst out of them, or lay blackened as the result of some sinister curse. The Lamia was a type of monster with a snakelike lower body and a humanoid torso. Lamias were C-rank monsters when alone, but their clever use of magic and group tactics forced them to A-rank when in a herd. “…That’s a good question,” I replied. “Anemol Arsenal.” That was the name of the intrinsic ability my sister had gained from our contract. It allowed her to imbue her weapon with a shroud of wind that mimicked the other five elements—fire, water, earth, light, and darkness. Each element had a level associated with it, and defeating monsters using a certain element caused that level to rise. Mai’s skill with the naginata far outstripped her meager experience. Perhaps that was thanks to her having studied the weapon back on Earth. With just half a month of practice fighting various foes, she had gotten to a level where she could put up a decent fight against a high-class adventurer. But a decent fight is all she’d manage. Ultimately, she’d still lose. What can I do about that, I wonder? For all her genius, Mai couldn’t hope to defeat a foe of equal strength. In fact, even one of lesser power could get a leg up on her if they were used to death and danger. It wasn’t Mai’s fault; she just needed more experience. “Dear brother?” “Ah, sorry, just thinking. Okay, next pull those levers in this order: red, blue, red, green.” As the name implied, this dungeon was all about luck. Pulling the levers scattered about the walls randomized the number of monsters, their type, and even the environment. It was a procedurally generated gauntlet of foes to tickle the fancy of battle-loving maniacs everywhere. “This one, then this one, then this one, then this one…” As Mai pulled the levers, images of monsters flashed across the monitor one after the other, while the three zeros embedded in the wall began to spin. The slots finally came to rest, reading 0, 1, and 3, while the monitor depicted a B-rank monster called a Flame Leo, which was a lion with a fiery mane. The next moment, the marble floor rumbled and changed into volcanic rock and lava, and the stone-barked trees were replaced by magma falls that came from above, and by enormous boulders the size of a person. The Lamia corpses disappeared, and at the same time the door to the next room closed again. Finally, the Flame Leos rose out of the lava, and Mai rushed into combat. I’m not sure I like this, I thought. The two of them have grown so much in such a short time. I know it’s mainly because of my power-leveling tactics, but still…it kinda bruises my ego. The fastest way for me not to have to worry about their safety anymore was to get Yuuto and Mai up to as high a level as possible by grinding experience points. It was a controversial method of training, since while it raised one’s stats, it would take a while for one’s skills and senses to catch up accordingly. However, the demon war had already begun and we were short on time. We didn’t have the luxury of choice. Still, when I compared Yuuto’s and Mai’s growth to my own, I was gobsmacked. Did handsome men and pretty girls get some kind of buff or something? That wasn’t fair. Whatever, I thought, sensing the presence of more monsters. We’ll see how far a full day of grinding gets us and then decide from there. The object of this dungeon was to slay all the monsters within a room, thus unlocking the door to the next one. One day, a cunning spellcaster had thought of using flight-bestowing magic to simply fly over the partitions. But when they tried it, the end result was that they lost both their legs and had to retire. “““Groooaaaaaagh!!””” I heard the approaching sound of some lesser elemental dragons. They were the punishers of anyone who tried to unfairly cheat the dungeon, as I was currently doing. As long as I stayed above the walls, they would respawn almost immediately upon death. These dragons were a far cry from Leticia’s pet, Guren, the evil dragon. They were basically unintelligent flying lizards. Still, dragons were dragons. The species was so powerful that all examples were at least A-rank, based only on their physical capabilities. Plus, dragons were only good for experience points. Their bodies disappeared immediately upon death, leaving behind no useful materials whatsoever. Because of that, few people did what I was doing. However, experience points were all I cared about right now, and this was the best way I could think to farm them. “Three hundred and eighteen this time,” I noted. “I appreciate how more and more show up every time they respawn.” I conjured the Teardrop Blade of Lightning: “The graceful Cloud Emperor weepeth. ‘Hear my words and fall,’ he cries. Even as he bewails a world of constant sorrow, he claims his place and screams. Even if no one hears his screams and answers. Even if all should vanish in the blink of an eye.” The blue sword, made up of seven crescent moon blades, crackled as I channeled my mana through it. I gave a longer chant to summon more of its power than usual. “Whoa, he’s going again?” “Seriously? Who the hell is he?” “I’ve never even heard of a top-rate adventurer with that hair and those eyes.” “The aura he’s giving off is crazy!” “How come no one knows who he is?” Excellent. They’re all starting to notice me. Many adventurers had already departed for the front lines, but there were still a few left trawling the dungeon. Those who weren’t fighting stared intently my way, looking back and forth between me and the approaching draconic horde, eager to know what would happen. “Darkness claims proper grief. Evening claims unreachable tragedy.” Watch closely, I thought. Burn this sight into your eyes. How many times had they watched me do this? While indifferent at first, their awe only grew the more times I pulled it off. “Let this world hear your voice, Cloud Emperor. Imperial Cry: Black of Night!” The next moment, the mana in my blade transformed into cruel, black lightning that shot out at all the approaching dragons at once. CRKCRKCRKCRKCRKCRK!! “““Garrrrrgggh?!””” It was blatant overkill. The noise didn’t let up for an instant, and when it finally died down, all the dragons had perished. Originally, their scales had been colored according to what element they used, but now every last one was charred black. The dragons fell out of the sky and dissolved into nothing before even hitting the ground. “Just how versatile is he?!” “Last time it was fire, then water, then earth, and…I don’t even remember what was before that!” “What is he using? It’s like no magic I’ve ever seen! Is it some kind of intrinsic ability?” “You don’t see many adventurers of this level outside the front lines.” The onlookers couldn’t hold back their admiration. It was all so in line with my expectations that I cracked a smile. Yes, remember me. And go back and tell tales of what you saw. I watched as, one by one, they left the dungeon, peering at me in wonder as I stayed behind. Go along and spread my name for me, my little PR team. ““…”” “Damn, sucks to come back to weather like this, huh?” It was cold, damp, and dark on the surface, a far cry from the clear blue skies we had been experiencing underground. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to see after shutting myself away for training. I’d been hoping to feel some freedom. “Now then, should we go grab some food? …Ah, I guess you’re not in the mood for that.” After stretching and turning around, I saw the weary faces of my newest partners in crime. “Dear brother?” asked Mai. “You’re not so useless that you’d deny your beloved little sister a moment to dress herself up, are you?” “Ha-ha-ha… I think I need a bit of a break, too. Sorry, Kaito,” added Yuuto. “Fair enough. Let’s go find an inn, then. Don’t worry, I’ve done my homework: On the west side of town there’s a place with beds said to be as soft as an angel’s cloud. The guy who runs it is a bit of a fanatic, see, and he custom orders the mattresses from all over the world. Of course, the food there’s so bad we’ll have to cook for ourselves, but that’s a small price to pay, don’t you think?” The two either had no objections or were too tired to voice them, so we set off at once. Along the way, we passed a good number of beastfolk roaming the streets. When we’d first arrived, Yuuto and Mai would crane their necks at every oddity, but they seemed to have gotten used to the sights and sounds of this world by now. Before long, we arrived at our destination without incident. “Hey, got any rooms?” I asked the old man at the front desk, a Squamatonid beastfolk, judging by his slitted eyes and the set of lizard-like scales that ran around the edge of his face. “For three? Upper floor, far back,” he replied, and after I dropped a few silver coins in his palm, he smiled. We followed his directions and entered a room of simple make, which was nonetheless populated by three gorgeous-looking beds. Each came with a canopy that seemed far more extravagant than the rest of the room, yet nonetheless provided a feeling of elegance. “Wow, they’re even fancier than I—hey, you two!!” ““…”” Before I could even say anything more, my two compatriots approached the beds to my left and right and collapsed face-first onto them, passing out instantly. They must have been even more exhausted than I thought. “Whoops,” I said to myself. “Maybe I was too hard on them…” I realized now I’d pushed them a lot more than I had planned to. Oh, well. The sun was still high. It wouldn’t hurt to let them rest awhile. “Now then,” I said. “I’d love to try out these beds for myself, but first let’s take a few notes.” I went and sat on the remaining bed, the one farthest from the door, by the window. “Open status,” I said.