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 97: The Colossus Zone

Episode 97: The Colossus Zone

Several days had passed since defeating the “Earth Splitter”. We had left the Spiky Mountain behind.

“Wow, the Sovereign Beast Region really has high-quality stuff.”

“Yeah, the |Mana| was so strong it messed with my senses.”

Over the past few days, we had been mining. The |Mana| concentration in the Goronomea Mountain Range was so high that the magical minerals we found were of a higher grade than elsewhere. We didn’t exhaust the supply, but we managed to fill about 10% of my [Storage] capacity with the minerals from Spiky Mountain. Thanks to this, I was able to improve Fisu’s armor and several metal weapons.

“(Well, in the end, the strongest material is still Sovereign Beast material.)” 

Although I had increased my stock of magical minerals and the weapons made from them, I probably wouldn’t use them in combat anytime soon. The basic performance in terms of strength and sharpness was still superior with Sovereign Beasts materials. Generally, magical minerals are used for their specific properties, like in the case of the eruption cannon, rather than for single-item performance. Exceptions are Mana Crystals and explosive stones.

“There’s a magical beast.” 

“Where?” 

“Up.”

As we moved from one mine to another, Fisu spotted a magical beast. Looking up as directed, I saw a bird completely covered in rock, defying aerodynamic principles.

“That one, huh? You spotted it well, even from afar.”

“I happened to see it while looking at the clouds. My vision has improved too.”

Since her Attribute had become Iron Body, the performance of her magic had improved dramatically. Previously,  she could only focus on hearing when using [Physical Keen]. But now with [Master Keen], she could use both sight and hearing continuously.

“Given its size, it’s probably a Grand Beast. The timing is good too; shall we have lunch? [Replicant Form]”

I mimicked the hydra poison bow to take down the airborne enemy. I nocked an improved mana-draining arrow and drew the bowstring taut. A line of light, visible only to me, extended from the arrowhead.

This was the effect of [Trajectory Prediction]. I could see the trajectory of the attack, including wind direction and fall speed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Skill Details~

[Trajectory Prediction] 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • When performing a long-range attack, the trajectory of the attack considering environmental conditions is visible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I learned this [Skill] from using the eruption cannon. It worked with bows and thermal vision as well. I found it very useful for long-distance attacks after several tries.

“(Adjusting a bit… Okay).”.

I placed the line of light on the bird I decided to call the “Rock Bird” (though the spelling might be off). Considering the speeds of both the Rock Bird and the arrow, I aimed for the best timing and released the arrow.

(Note: The “Rock” is in katakana while the “Bird” is in kanji)

“(Shoot!)”

With the help of [Precision Shooting], the arrow flew without any deviation, piercing the Rock Bird’s abdomen.

“—!”

The sound was too far to hear, but it surely screamed. Watching the Rock Bird struggle and fall, I moved to the predicted landing spot and used the mimicked weapon to catch and kill it.

I successfully obtained lunch.

“(The arrows are not broken. They’re strong, as you’d expect from the Sovereign Beast Region.)”

I pulled the arrow out of the Rock Bird’s abdomen, removed the absorbed |Mana|, and stored it. This was an improved mana-draining arrow made from the highest-grade Mana Crystal found in the Sovereign Beast Region. Higher-grade Mana Crystals have stronger |Mana| absorption. While it still only served to distract in battles against Sovereign Beasts, it would be quite effective against Grand Beasts.

“Wait a moment; I’ll cook it once the analysis is done.”

After analyzing the Rock Bird, I found it had an interesting property: buoyancy. It could generate lift with a small amount of |Mana|, making it lighter and capable of flying like a balloon. Although its strength was too weak for combat, it had various potential applications.

“(Thanks for the meal.)”

I enjoyed the light taste of the Rock Bird meat, then resumed our journey. Our destination was the southern part of the Goronomea Mountain Range, where the goal was to defeat the ‘Sovereign Beast’ Golem known as “The Colossus.”

“Seems like the |Mana| is thinning out.” 

However, this “Colossus” was said to be a peculiar one, residing in an area with little |Mana| concentration.

Since leaving Spiky Mountain, the |Mana| concentration had been gradually decreasing.

“The magical beasts are also getting weaker. That’s good.”

As Fisu had said, the frequency of Grand Beasts had decreased. As we got closer to our destination, the strength of the enemies was expected to drop further. Although leveling up for Fisu was becoming more difficult, her <Level> was already eighty. It seemed she was satisfied with her current <Level> and there was no need to lament the weakening of enemies.

“Ah, a Golem.” 

As we approached the Colossus Zone, Golems started to appear. Currently, four Golems of Greater Beast size were walking together. We passed them at high speed.

Since we weren’t planning to <Level Up> further, there was no need to engage with magical beasts that had no material value. We repeatedly hit the 『Escape』 command and eventually entered the Colossus Zone.

(Note:

I hope my readers are ‘cultured’)

There weren’t any particularly strong magical beasts, but the area was vast, just like the other Zones. The |Mana| concentration wasn’t useful for indicators, and it seemed that searching for the “Colossus” would be challenging. 

Based on Fisu’s information, it probably lied in the western part. We spent two days exploring that area.

“That’s the ‘Colossus’…” 

We soon discovered the last Sovereign Beast of the Goronomea Mountain Range.