It had been about six hours since we began exploring the 7th Level.
On the sand island, we managed to hunt two Sand Dragoons and three Grand Deathwurms. On the volcanic island, we took down three Flame Dragoons and one Ignis Bird. On the forest and swamp island, we defeated two Poison Dragoons and four Blueleaf Ents. While crossing a bridge, we were attacked and managed to hunt two Lake Dragoons and one Aqua Dragoon. We also took down two Fortress Whales.
Regarding the monsters, the Grand Deathwurm is an abnormal species of Sand Worm and is an M-I Rank Monster. It’s a colossal creature nearly fifty meters long, and its toxic venom spit from its mouth is particularly troublesome. Its habitat is the desert. However, the only desert on Helios Orb is in Solemne, and the normal Sand Worm is a G-Rank Monster, making them rarely hunted.
The Ignis Bird is a giant bird wreathed in flames. This one is a Catastrophe Species, placing it as an M-C Rank Monster. It’s apparently derived from the Fire Rock, a B-Rank Monster and subspecies of Mana’s summoned beast Sirius. Fire Rocks are also said to inhabit Amister.
The Blueleaf Ent is a giant tree with lush green leaves, classified as an M-R Rank Monster. Unlike Treants, they have a humanoid shape, but they are still tree-based monsters. As such, they are extremely weak to fire magic. Even so, being an M-Rank Monster, it isn’t easy to burn them even with high-class fire magic. However, Prim’s Extreme Flame Wing incinerated one with ease.
The Fortress Whale is an M-I Rank Monster, an unbelievably massive creature exceeding one hundred meters in length. Our attacks could barely scratch it. Minor damage was possible, but due to its immense size, it was merely a graze. Still, we managed to defeat it with Prim’s Flare Penetrator and my water-based A-rank wide-area interference spell, Neptune. My unique magic, Ice Edge Javelin, was largely ineffective due to its sheer size, even with Blood Shaking and Mist Solution activated. I realized I needed to develop another unique magic rather than just improving this one.
As for the Poison Dragoon, it’s a Dragoon that spits poisonous breath. To my surprise, this one was a Dark Magic Dragoon, which filled me with joy at obtaining it unexpectedly.
“I was surprised to find a Poison Dragoon here, but I’m grateful we managed to hunt a Dark Magic Dragoon in this place.”
“Yes. While only Marisa has an aptitude for Dark Magic, that specialization also gives it a unique purpose.”
As we crossed the bridge from the forest and swamp island to the next grassland island, Prim and Mana were discussing the Poison Dragoon. Only Marisa, a Vampire and Mana’s familiar, has an aptitude for Dark Magic. However, Dark Magic and Light Magic include mental interference magic. If we can use the hide of a Dark Magic-aligned Poison Dragoon, we should be able to gain resistance against such mental interference spells. There are rumors that forbidden magic tools used for illegal enslavement also involve Dark Magic’s mental interference spells.
This time, we weren’t attacked while crossing the bridge. we safely arrived at the grassland island. I believe the Guardian’s Chamber is located on this island. It seems like every island has a Safe Area; we found them on the sand island, volcanic island, and forest and swamp island. So, I expect the Safe Area on this island to be adjacent to the Guardian’s Chamber. The island isn’t particularly large; it should take about an hour to circumnavigate, so we should be able to find the Guardian’s Chamber quickly.
“Prim, we’ve arrived.”
“It appears so. Looking at the color of those scales… could they be Wind Dragoons?”
“No, they look like Gast Dragoons.”
I confirmed it with the Hunter magic, Questing. Questing is excellent not only for tracking defeated monsters and their numbers but also for identifying unknown monsters, revealing their names and Monster Rank, making it a frequently used skill. I was expecting a Dragoons associated with the earth attribute since we were on a grassland island, but encountering Wind Dragoons here is quite convenient. I have no complaints. Two of those Gast Dragoons are attacking us from the sky.
“Yamato, can I attack too?”
“You can, but you’ve already leveled up, haven’t you?”
“Yes. But I haven’t evolved yet, so I want to fight a bit more.”
Athena also wants to join. Since descending to the 7th Level, Athena has provided support attacks multiple times against Dragoons and has reached level 43. She hasn’t evolved yet, but Athena seems eager to evolve soon, so she’s been repeating attack actions even in a support role.
“Alright. I’ll provide support, but don’t push yourself.”
“Okay!”
Athena nods with a smile, but I need to make sure I don’t let her overexert herself.
“Alright. Let’s get started.”
As the Gast Dragoons dive down from the sky, I activate Nibbelheim, freezing their wings and slamming them to the ground. I can also use wing membrane, so I’ll need to thaw them later.
“Prim, let’s take down the one on the left first.”
“Roger.”
Following my lead, Prim fires a Flare Needle at the left Gast Dragoon, and I land a direct hit with Ice Edge Javelin, taking its life. For the other one, Jade fires an ice spear, and Fluorite spits a fire breath to keep it at bay. However, with its wings frozen, it looks irritated. Without paying it any mind, I activate the water-based D-rank support restraining spell, Water Chain, binding the Gast Dragoon.
“Athena, go ahead.”
“Okay!”
I then layer Arresting onto the Water Chain, completely immobilizing the Gast Dragoon. This allows Athena to calmly channel her magic and unleash her attack. Athena is amplifying both light and earth mana to use her Dragonic Magic, Aether Breath.
Athena’s Dragonic Magic is Aether Breath, the same as Lydia’s. Lydia is an Ice Dragon Dragonewt with an aptitude for ice magic, hence her ice breath; however, a Fire Dragon would breathe fire, and a Lightning Dragon would breathe lightning. Since it’s the same Dragonic Magic, Lydia had been teaching her how to use it since we became engaged. Until yesterday, she hadn’t quite grasped the technique, so this will be her first actual use.
“Haaaah… Haaaaaah!”
Athena takes a deep breath and exhales Aether Breath. To my surprise, the breath was molten earth, concentrated by light. It’s like a Magma Breath, but incorporating this into my own unique magic would be difficult, and no ideas are immediately coming to mind.
That Magma Breath is scorching the Gast Dragoon’s scales, but only in patches. However, the Magma Breath is gradually increasing in intensity. Moreover, its power is rising, burning not just the scales but the skin as well.
“It seems Athena has evolved too.”
“Indeed. Athena, how do you feel?”
“I think I’ve evolved. My mana has been overflowing since a little while ago.”
Overflowing mana. If she feels that way, then she has definitely evolved. Athena’s desire to fight the Gast Dragoon was to evolve into a Hydragonian. Now that she has evolved, there’s no need to continue fighting unnecessarily.
“Prim, let’s go.”
“Roger.”
Prim spreads her Extreme Flame Wings, and I create wings of mana. We both ready our weapons and charge simultaneously. Until now, my excess mana only formed wings when I used Manor Ring at full power. However, that consumed a tremendous amount of mana and required maintaining a constant state of full power. So, I decided to change my approach. I would first visualize and create wings of mana, then use Manor Ring on them. This proved to be the correct way of thinking, as I no longer need to maintain a fully powered state. While this is my first time using it in actual combat, I am now layering Manor Ring onto my generated wings, which makes them much easier to use and consumes less mana than before.
In this state, I slash with my Azure Silver Sword – Pale Green, and Prim with her Scarlet Wing, simultaneously. Both Pale Green and Scarlet Wing are enhanced by Manor Ring, and since I’m also using Ice Arms and she’s using Fire Arms, the Gast Dragoon’s head falls off with incredible ease.
“Those wings are truly amazing. They look just like the wings of the Winged Tribe!”
“I’ve modeled them after Prim’s wings, but ultimately, they are made of mana. I don’t think they’re quite the same.”
Prim said that after I severed the Gast Dragoon’s head. After defeating the Orc Demise Species, Faris of Holy Grave had given up on it due to excessive mana consumption. However, I’m not using that much mana, so I believe it’s simply the difference between High Class and Ancient Class. Besides, wings disappear easily if you let your guard down, so they can’t be the same as the Winged Tribe’s. I personally view them as a form of self-enhancement, further amplifying my mana.
“Self-enhancement. While it might not be magic, perhaps it can be classified as unique magic?”
“Unique magic?”
“Yes. My Extreme Flame Wing is both imbue magic and unique magic. If it’s an enhancement related to wings, then yours should be the same, right?”
Upon hearing that, I realized she was right. Prim’s Extreme Flame Wing is a magic that significantly amplifies her abilities by layering the blazing wings and the blast wings, far more than using them individually. However, both blazing wings and blast wings are imbue magic, and Extreme Flame Wing, which uses them, is also considered imbue magic. But since Prim developed it, it’s also classified as unique magic. Furthermore, while Physicalling and Manor Ring are complete as arts, I can achieve similar effects with my own mana alone. So, my wings would also be considered unique magic.
“I see. In that case… well, let’s call it ‘Wing Burst’.”
I’ll borrow the name from Ludia’s Dragonic Magic, Aether Burst. It’s a self-enhancement magic, just like Aether Burst.
“It has a similar name to the Dragonic Magic Aether Burst, and since it’s also an enhancement magic, it’s better to use that than to come up with something strange.”
“Indeed. Well, we’ve finished collecting the materials, so let’s move on.”
Now, only Thunder-attribute and Light-attribute Dragoons remain. We’ll be exploring for another full day tomorrow, so I’m sure we’ll obtain them. While collecting materials is one of our objectives, the primary goal is to progress, so we need to confirm the Guardian’s Chamber. But before that.
“Athena, congratulations on your evolution.”
“Thank you, Yamato!”
Athena, who evolved into a Hydragonian, also had her Dragon Name changed to Silver Dragonian. When a Dragonewt evolves into a Hydragonian, their Dragon Name is unified with their attribute color. The attribute colors are red for fire-attribute, blue for water-attribute, green for wind-attribute, yellow for earth-attribute, purple for lightning-attribute, white for ice-attribute, black for dark-attribute, and silver for light-attribute. Reflecting this, Athena’s name has also changed to Athena Willness Silver Tomari.
“What Bestowed Magic did you receive?”
“Telekinetic Magic. It seems rare for Dragonewts to receive it, but Eos said it might be because I have a Dragon Resonance Contract with you.”
Bestowed Magic can be confirmed with my unique information magic, Statirring. Thus, we can quickly check the newly bestowed Bestowed Magic upon evolution. It appears Athena received Telekinetic Magic, the same as me. Indeed, having a Dragon Resonance Contract with me, there was a prediction that Athena might be able to use the same Bestowed Magic that I can. However, Telekinetic Magic is most commonly bestowed upon Humans and Ogres. I heard it’s rare for other races, so I thought she would receive an enchantment or a demon eye magic. Besides me, the only other Human who can use Telekinetic Magic is Meena, and Raus as well.
“Telekinetic Magic, you say. In that case, since Meena is also High Class like Athena, wouldn’t it be easier for her to explain?”
“I agree. Yamato’s Telekinetic Magic can easily hunt monsters, so it’s hard for us to use as a reference.”
Rika and Meena make a point that stings, but I can’t argue with them. Normal Telekinetic Magic can move objects of similar weight to oneself without using hands, and it can hold things in place during tasks. An invisible hand made of mana that can be used for manipulation is probably the easiest explanation. But ultimately, that’s all it can do; it can’t be used to hunt monsters. Even when used on people, a normal punch would inflict more damage. High Class users can extend their range and move objects more than ten times their own weight. It’s said they can barely hunt C-Rank Monsters, but it’s faster and more reliable to use a weapon.
However, when I use Telekinetic Magic, I can easily defeat even G-Rank Monsters, and I can even move multiple Macronarias, which are P-Rank Monsters weighing over ten tons, all at once! Therefore, it’s impossible to use it as a reference. This is why Meena, who is also High Class, is the most suitable person to teach Telekinetic Magic. Raus, who only recently gained the ability to use it, is currently asking me and Meena for instructions.
“What about elemental magic? What was that?”
“Wind attribute magic. That’s also your aptitude attribute, so I don’t find it strange.”
Wind attribute magic. True, I also have an aptitude for it, so it’s not that strange. In Engraving Magic, wind and earth are not compatible. However, it probably depends on how you use it. The antagonistic relationship in Engraving Magic is “Water extinguishes Fire, Fire devours Wind, Wind crumbles Earth, Earth dams Water,” or “Water erodes Earth, Earth shields from Wind, Wind stops Fire, Fire extinguishes Water.” However, depending on one’s skill, these elemental oppositions can be overcome. There’s also the idea that lightning and ice are not included, and there are related relationships and exceptional spell variations, making it quite complex.
Regardless, with Athena’s evolution into a Hydragonian, all Hunters of Wing Crest have now evolved into High Class. The remaining members are Order’s Rika, Healers Yuri and Carol, Butler Marisa, Viola, Yuria, and Crafters Ed, Marina, and Fiana. I would like for them all to evolve if possible. However, it’s highly unlikely they can achieve that in the next day or two.
