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 95: Earth Splitter 2

Episode 95: Earth Splitter 2

The weapons I crafted from the Red Lizard were mainly three.

One was the red whip, a versatile close-to-mid-range weapon that constantly radiated intense heat. The remaining two were long-range weapons, and one of them was none other than the eyes I had just mimicked.

“(Charging begins.)”

“Gyageg!”

Sensing the vast amount of |Mana| being channeled into the ten eyes, the Elder Gargoyle flapped its wings and backed away. But that was almost pointless. The charging to the eyes would be complete in less than a second.

“(Heat Rays, fire!)”

In an instant, several red beams tore through the sky. Most were aimed at the Elder Gargoyle, and the enormous steel shield it hastily created began to melt under the intense rays. Unable to bear it any longer, the Gargoyle darted out from behind the shield. I directed the eyes to follow it, and the heat rays adjusted their aim accordingly.

Though the Elder Gargoyle attempted to dodge with a speed that didn’t match its withered, tree-like body, there was no way it could avoid all ten beams. Finally, three of its bat-like wings were seared off, and it began to plummet.

“(Tch, out of time.)”

The heat rays ceased, and I stopped moving the eyes and canceled the mimicry. Then, with a fluid, squishy motion, I reshaped my body and slipped free from the rocky chains.

“(Whew, the drawback is that it’s a one-time use and the duration is too short. Well, that’s just the nature of the material.)”

I chased the “Earth Splitter”. I leaped off the sharp peak of Spiky Mountain while recalling the third eye of the Red Lizard that served as the source of the heat ray weapon.

The heat rays it fired were extremely powerful, but the shooting time was short. It didn’t seem capable of continuous fire. This weapon, crafted from that eye, shared those same characteristics. By pouring in a massive amount of |Mana|, I could shoot high-speed, high-powered heat rays from wherever I focused my gaze. But once used, it couldn’t be reactivated for another hour.

“(I could mimic it again for rapid-fire, but the |Mana| cost would be hefty.)”

I checked my |Mana| reserves.

———————————

Mana: 1992 / 1978

———————————

Including [Storage], my maximum |Mana| now reached roughly 4,000. But it had dropped below 2,000 in an instant. Firing ten beams simultaneously was a luxury I couldn’t afford to use often.

“(I’ve got plenty of Mana Crystals, but they take time to recharge.)”

I pulled out a weapon made from Mana Crystals from my storage, letting it melt down. My |Mana| began to rapidly recover, but it would take at least ten seconds to fully replenish. In a battle between Sovereign Beasts, that kind of time wasn’t something I could casually waste.

“(I need to be more strategic about when to use the heat ray eyes.)”

As I contemplated this, I broke through the clouds. A sprawling mountain range spread out before me. Above it, the Elder Gargoyle had already regenerated its wings and was attempting to glide away.

“(You’re not getting away, [Replicant Form]!)”

My pale-blue body morphed into the shape of five cannons. The other long-range weapon crafted from the Red Lizard.

The cannon had no chamber for loading ammunition, as it was simply constructed from the Red Lizard’s head and a barrel extending out of its mouth. It was a straightforward weapon in every sense.

“(Time to power up. Let’s go with [Multi-Sword Style] and [Precision Shooting].)”

I further strengthened myself with my [Unique Skill] and pointed the cannon at the Elder Gargoyle. There was no targeting equipment on the cannon, so I had to rely on my instincts and the [Skill]’s assistance for accuracy.

“(I’ve got five shots, so at least one of them should hit…)”

With that hope in mind, I infused |Mana| into the cannon. The lumps on the Red Lizard’s head bulged, generating intense heat, and then—

“(Fire!)”

—molten rocks, encased in lava, were fired like volcanic projectiles. The five rock bullets shot out of the cannon, their speed boosted by the barrel’s special properties, cutting through the air with little resistance. Their velocity far surpassed my regular arrows, and without my skill [On the Edge of the Ring], I would’ve been blown away by the recoil.

“Gyague!”

One of the rocks flew straight towards the Elder Gargoyle. It conjured a stone shield at the last second, but the speed and mass of the projectile were too much. The shield shattered, and the gargoyle was sent plummeting.

“([Aerial Jump]!)”

I pursued the falling creature, leaping after it. The ground rapidly approached as we both crashed into the side of a neighboring mountain with a thunderous impact. Even with [Impact] turned off, the ground still caved in.

“Gyugugu…”

“(Finished running away?)”

The Elder Gargoyle glared down at me from the top of the slope. I glared back—well, figuratively, since I don’t have eyes—and prepared to go on the offensive.

“(Boulder Shot!)”

“Gagii-Guaa!”

The boulder cannon had relatively good efficiency and could fire three shots per mimicry. Just like before, I fired a volley of rocks from the five cannon barrels. However, the gargoyle seemed to have figured out my weapon. As soon as I infused |Mana| into the cannons, it activated a defensive [Skill]. The Elder Gargoyle’s |Mana| surged, and the mountainside began to peel away.

The first layer of rock was easily pierced. But the second, third, and fourth barriers gradually slowed down the momentum, stopping my shots entirely by the fourth wall.

“(That’s tough… must be the influence of its [Dominion].)”

Analyzing the unnatural strength of the fourth rock wall, I charged toward it, fearing the gargoyle might escape while I was being held up—but it seems that concern was unnecessary.

“Gyugogogegge!”

An enormous amount of |Mana| erupted. It wasn’t an actual explosion, but the force was enough to make me think it was. The |Mana| spread in all directions and began seeping into the ground, causing the mountainside to ripple and distort.

“(Whoa!)”

The ground beneath me sank, while the surrounding area rose up, forming a crater. From the walls of the crater, countless spikes extended toward me, aiming to impale.

“(Nice try… [Instant Shift], [Aerial Jump]!)”

With ease, I leaped over the height difference—about five stories tall. With [Instant Shift], this was child’s play.

“Gyaa-gii!?”

The Elder Gargoyle looked at me with shock as I soared through the air. But being a veteran Sovereign Beast, it didn’t hesitate to launch a counterattack.

“(Ugh, exploding stones now!?)”

Its next attack involved extracting magic-infused minerals from the ground and launching them at me. Using its earth manipulation [Skill], the raw stones naturally surfaced. They were then gathered in its hand, refined and fused quickly, and then shot at me like cannonballs.

I reshaped my body to dodge the first shot, but the cannonballs kept coming. Dodging them all was going to be a pain.

“(Take this, Boulder Shot! And [Shoot]!)”

I figured the best defense was a good offense, so I launched my own attack. The ground in front of the Elder Gargoyle peeled up, forming another barrier.

“(Got you!)”

“Gyagya!”

This time, I fired an explosive arrow. The brilliant red projectile slipped through a gap in the barrier shattered by the boulder shot and landed right next to the Elder Gargoyle. The explosion blew it out from behind its cover.

“(Alright! [Aerial—gah! It’s still in control!?)”

Just as I was about to follow up with another attack, an exploding stone struck me from behind, knocking me off balance. The Elder Gargoyle had gathered those stones earlier, but that was just a decoy. It could fire without having them in hand.

I hadn’t been watching the direction the shot came from, and the sneak attack caught me off guard.

“(Not bad… but this isn’t enough to stop me! [Aerial Jump]!)”

Despite the surprise hit, the damage was minimal. I immediately kicked off into the air and closed in on the Elder Gargoyle, which was still in the middle of healing itself. It tried to manipulate the earth to defend again, but I’d seen this trick far too many times.

“(This time it’s a [Charge Thrust] with [Perforation]!)”

With the halberd from the Forest Turtle, I easily broke through the barriers, closing the gap to about ten meters. The Elder Gargoyle, pouring out |Mana| in an attempt to build another defense or launch a counterattack, found the earth’s movements slower than before.

“(I’ve added ‘Solid’ and ‘Direction’ to the [Factory]—so you can’t manipulate it as easily now.)”

What I did was simple: I hardened the ground, making it resistant to manipulation. By adding ‘Solid’ to increase strength and ‘Direction’ to resist reshaping, I made it far more difficult to control. Once something is absorbed into the [Factory], it begins to turn into a weapon. That way, even other inanimate objects can be affected by the weapon-only limitations.

“(Well, it’s only slowed down a bit, but that’s enough at this range! [Heavy Slash]!)”

“Gugyaa!?”

I dashed through the air in an instant. Just as metal was about to encase the Elder Gargoyle’s entire body from the ground up, I struck. In the blink of an eye, my attack connected. The next moment, its upper body slid diagonally off its lower half.

―――Non-Notification Information Recording Zone―――――――――――――

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>> The Weapon Born from the Fire of War, Fuwa Katsu’s Soul Accumulation Level has increased to 212

>> The Weapon Born from the Fire of War, Fuwa Katsu, has acquired the [Skill: Trajectory Prediction].

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