Banished from the herd, I was actually a member of a very rare species. ~With the unique skills that only I can use, I can grow and evolve quickly. I will become an unrivaled monster~ - Episode 88: Fisu's Growth

Episode 88: Fisu’s Growth

“Is this where the Twilight Zone starts?”

“Yes, that’s right. Though, there isn’t a clear boundary.”

Fisu rides over the rugged mountain while making sure to move smoothly to avoid making the passengers feel sick.

“I found a group. But there are quite a few of them.”

She hides behind a rock to avoid being spotted by the magical beasts and relay the information.

The group consists of Steel Ants. There are five of them in total: two are Greater Beasts, and three are Lesser Beasts. They are crawling through the bottom of a valley.

“What should we do? Fight?”

“If you provide support.”

“Of course. I won’t let you die, so give it your all.”

Fisu jumps out from behind the rock.

The Steel Ants, hearing the sound of the armor, turn around and start to form their battle line. The three Lesser Beasts take the front, while the two Greater Beasts stay in the back.

(Are they also training the next generation?)

While thinking such pointless thoughts, I watch Fisu’s battle.

It seems that the Lesser Beasts are also capable of releasing acid. They all point their tails forward.

“[Physical Keen – Sight]”

As the sensory enhancement activates, the first stream of acid is fired.

Fisu hasn’t used physical enhancement magic yet—no, it’s unnecessary.

“Huft”

Fisu exhales quietly and slightly crouches, easily dodging the first acid attack. 

A moment later, the second stream of acid flies in. Fisu sidesteps to avoid the acid shot from the right.

The third stream of acid misses Fisu entirely and flies off in the wrong direction.

“[Physical Boost – Legs]”

The moment the three beasts prepare their next attack, physical enhancement magic is activated.

With this magic concentrating on boosting his leg strength, Fisu accelerates rapidly. She takes advantage of the speed difference and closes in on the Lesser Beasts without giving them a chance to react.

“First, the stronger ones.”

However, she doesn’t do anything to the three of them as she passes them by. Normally, the theory is to target weaker enemies first to eliminate numerical disadvantage. But that’s not the case for Fisu. She has an extraordinary attack power thanks to her Sovereign Beast weapon.

“[Physical Boost]”

One of the Greater Beasts lost consciousness due to the sudden acceleration. Its head is then struck by a blow from the battle axe. 

The axe’s blade splits the Greaters Beast’s head in two, thanks to the speed gained from a sufficient run-up and the recent enhancement of his legs.

“Gijijii!”

The remaining Greater Beast bares its fangs and tries to exploit the opening left after the attack. 

Fisu tries to retract the axe, but it seems she won’t make it in time. Only the enhanced legs can keep up with the Greater Beast’s movements.

—Fisu, fighting in the heat of the moment, understands this situation best.

“Hah!”

“(Oh)”

With a unique maneuvering that pivots her entire body around her legs, Fisu increases her action speed.

A clash happens between the fangs and the axe. After a brief moment of stalemate, the axe emerges victorious. It chops off one of the jaws and, with a return swing, slashes the face diagonally. The Ant’s body collapses to the ground.

With the stronger enemies defeated, it’s now just a cleanup operation. 

Fisu easily deals with the panicking Lesser Beasts and wins the battle.

“It’s over.”

“Good job. I didn’t expect you to take down the Greater Beasts by yourself. I was thinking of coming to help, but it wasn’t necessary.”

“You could have helped… it would have been easier.”

“No, no. <Soul Fragments> would be reduced. If possible, it’s better to defeat them alone.”

Although not sure how the points are distributed, it’s understood that more <Soul Fragments> are earned by performing well in battle.

“By the way, is your |Mana| level okay?”

“Yeah, there’s still over 90%. The usage was short, and my <Level> has risen to 18.”

“…Oh! You’ve gone up at once.”

It’s a bit disappointing that Fisu is still only at <Level 18> despite defeating two Greater Beasts, but this is usually the case. <Levels> are something that take a lifetime to build.

“Let’s keep hunting Greater Beasts at this pace.”

“If we can find them.”

I resumed moving with Fisu riding along.

“By the way, your performance in that fight was impressive. You managed to use partial enhancements without any sensory mismatch. Especially when you took down the second Greater Beast, it’s amazing you pulled that off on the fly.”

“? I just fought normally. Besides, you told me that sudden acceleration can catch opponents off guard, so it was easier.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I have never even thought of concentrating enhancements like that.”

“Oh, speaking of magic, I came up with another idea.”

Originally, I intended to teach this later, thinking it might confuse her if introduced suddenly. However, since she mastered the concentrated enhancement so quickly, I decided to go ahead and explain the second idea.

“—Manipulating the body?”

“Yes, exactly. A magician can manipulate objects that are present, right?”

“Indeed. It’s the role of water mages to drain water that accumulates in tunnels.”

“Is that so…”

I had been picturing something like Paula, who bends and expands space.

“Well, that’s why I thought you might be able to do something similar with your own body. For example, extending and manipulating your hair.”

“I see.”

Fisu begins to meditate on top of me. 

After a short while, her messy white hair starts to sway and move. It’s clear from the way it stands on end, ignoring gravity, that it’s not just reacting to my movements.

“…It feels strange.”

Fisu, with a hairstyle resembling a S○per S○iyan, mutters.

“How is it? Can you control it?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty easy.”

Despite Fisu’s neck remaining still, his hair spins like a propeller, and it’s quite fast.

“It seems like I can also make it extend.”

The propeller blades widen.

It looks somewhat surreal.

“Thanks, that’s enough.”

With that, the propeller-like spinning stops abruptly. The hair then returns to its original state, back to its semi-long length.

“That’s odd. With the [Physical Recovery] spell that heals the body, I was also able to extend my hair. But it stayed long even after deactivating the spell”

“It seems this magic in particular is different in its specifications.”

Hmm, so the state returns to normal when the magic is deactivated… 

This means I might be able to try that as well.

“So, next, how about trying to extend your arms?”