Report. Combining the mimicry skill of Predator with the slime-intrinsic skills Dissolve, Absorb, and Self-Regeneration has earned you the extra skill Ultraspeed Regeneration. This comes at the cost of the slime-intrinsic skills Dissolve, Absorb, and Self-Regeneration.
✦ ✦ ✦
Losing all those slime skills at once seemed kind of a hefty price to pay, but I couldn’t complain about the results. I never used those things anyway, given that Predator covered for them all.
Launching Ultraspeed Regeneration, I focused on rebuilding my right arm. The arm I had consumed was taken apart and instantly absorbed into my body—and in the blink of an eye, it was back. It was crazy fast, like none of my recovery skills from before. “Ultraspeed” was right.
…Oops. No time to gape at my own handiwork. Let’s try a quick bluff.
“Heh-heh-heh… Ahhh-ha-ha-ha-ha! Did you think cutting a simple arm or two off meant you had won? Well, sorry to disappoint you. I will admit to underestimating you all earlier, though. Time to get a little serious!”
I removed the mask and placed it in a pocket. The ogres, already spooked at how fast I had rebuilt my arm, were positively stunned by what they saw under the mask. Releasing my full magical aura made my hair begin fluttering in the air. They must’ve instinctively sensed the danger.
“You monster!” the red-haired one intoned. “I’ll kill you with everything I have! Ogre Flame!”
I guess fire was his ace in the hole. I was immediately the center of a hellish vortex that might have been two thousand degrees or more.
“That little spark? That won’t work!”
It would have vaporized anyone other than me, but Cancel Temperature meant that it didn’t even singe my hair.
Seeing his finisher fail so spectacularly sent the red-haired ogre, for the first time, into an obvious panic. He kept his head through sheer force of will, resolutely staring at me. He wasn’t broken yet, I had to hand him that, but considering I didn’t want to kill him if I could, I kind of wish he accepted defeat sooner than later.
Right now would probably be my best chance.
The ogres were by and large stopped, wary of what I might try next. Let’s bust out something huge to break ’em all at once. And if that didn’t work—if they still didn’t want to hear my story—then I’d have no other choice but to finish them off.
Please let this be enough, I prayed as I made my final move.
“You want to see what real fire is like? Look at this!”
I let the Dark Flame whirl around my left arm. I was hamming it up, I knew, but I had to if I wanted to make my foes grovel before me.
“M-my brother!” the pink-haired ogress tangling with Ranga shouted, the fear apparent on her face. “That flame… Your illusory arts are nothing compared to it!”
It shocked her, at least. Her brother’s Ogre Flame was a mystical art, one that turned his very aura into flames. Mine, meanwhile, was an innate skill, which must’ve thrown her a little.
“Heh-heh-heh, you’re right! But I’ve got something even more fun than that!”
Now it was time for some Dark Thunder from my right hand. I needed this to be the clincher, the thing that finally scared them out of their wits. No need to hold back, although I couldn’t waste all my magic on it, either. I adjusted the force to around a third of its usual level, then sent the particles flowing.
“Behold, my true power!” I screamed as I loosed a bolt of Dark Thunder at a handy boulder nearby. It instantly evaporated, and a beat later, a blast echoed. There wasn’t even any soot left behind. Just like when I tested it, maybe even a bit stronger.
Damn, this thing’s crazy! Maybe there was a need to hold back. I knew I had poured fewer magicules into it than last time. It didn’t make sense. It should’ve been a third as strong, enough that I could fire several bolts if I wanted…
✦ ✦ ✦
Received. Compared to Dark Lightning, Dark Thunder consumes—
✦ ✦ ✦
I didn’t ask for it, but the Sage swooped in to explain. Basically, it was stronger since it was more focused on delivering a powerful strike on a limited range, which meant it used far less magic. That was why it did more damage with fewer particles.
I was starting to think this Dark Thunder was a bit more unique than I suspected. Just like Dark Flame, it was hard to figure out when it was best to use. It made my heart race, and I was the one wielding it. Good thing I didn’t try it on myself, I thought. It was nothing I could rely on Multilayer Barrier to save me from.
So how will the ogres respond?
“…Tremendous. It pains me to say this, but your powers are in a class far above ours. However, as the next in line to lead my band, I was raised to take pride in my race. How could any leader allow his fallen comrades to suffer in silence? Whether I succeed or not, I must strike a return blow!”
“…Young master, let me join you!”
Great. The exact opposite effect. Now the red- and white-haired ogres were playing the tragic heroes, their faces bewildered. They were ready to sacrifice their lives against me. It wasn’t how I meant to end this, but against that attitude, it’d be hard to suppress them without causing their deaths.
So there’s no other way?
Whether they were mistaken or not, I couldn’t let them run free now—it’d just lead to further trouble later. I hated to say it, but I was starting to understand it was their own damn fault for being so stubborn.
Just then, the fetching ogre princess shouted out.
“Please, wait!”
The pink-haired ogress stood before her red-haired brother, arms open wide to stop him in his tracks.
“My brother, you must think calmly about this. Such an all-powerful magic-born using low-minded tricks to send the pigs to our homeland? It is absurd, for he himself is strong enough to lay waste to all of us single-handedly. He is unique, to be certain, but I am no longer sure he is with the horde that attacked us.”
“What?!” The flustered redhead looked at me. “But…perhaps…”
“Guys, I keep telling you, you’ve got me all wrong! Are you finally ready to listen?”
Steam was billowing from the spot where the vaporized boulder used to be. It was more than enough to back up the ogre princess’s argument. The redhead glanced at her, then me again, finally falling to a knee.
“My apologies. Perhaps I was driven into having the wrong idea about you. I hope you will accept my deepest regrets.”
So he finally admitted he was maybe wrong about this. I appreciated the thought. It came as a relief.
“Well, no point talking here. How about we go back to the village? You guys come along. I’ll be glad to feed you, at least.”
And so the conflict that started for reasons unbeknownst came to a peaceful conclusion.
✦ ✦ ✦
The hobgoblins began to awaken, perhaps because the princess released the spell on them. It must have been one heck of a charm, considering all the noise from my magic didn’t bother them at all. For my part, I released the Sticky Steel Thread covering the purple-hair and sprinkled a bit of potion on the unconscious blue-hair.
I wasn’t exactly sure what to do with the black-hair, but it turned out Deviant was more than enough to separate the paralysis from his body. Normally, you’d need magic or medicine to handle that. I’d used Paralyzing Breath without thinking of the consequences very much—I’d have to make sure there was an easy way to undo it next time. That, I regretted a little.