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 138: The Far North

Episode 138: The Far North

It’s been a day since my encounter with the Star God.

After that, I called Paula and the others to discuss what had happened there and our future plans.  

We rushed through information sharing, formulating strategies, preparing, and confirming our abilities.  

And now, 24 hours later, I find myself in a forest far away from the Great Cavern.  

In front of me, a calm lake reflects the starlight.

“This is the northernmost marker. I’m not exactly sure, but we’re probably outside the Wenost region.” 

“So, just a little farther to the Northern Great Magical Wilderness, huh?”  

“With your speed, yes.”

Paula, who had brought me here, spoke.  

She has the ability to teleport to any location she’s marked, regardless of how far it is, using minimal |Mana|.  

Conversely, she can’t teleport to places she hasn’t marked.  

The reason she was able to teleport to the northern part of the continent, a place she’s never been to, is thanks to a trick.  

That trick is currency.  

She had previously marked copper and silver coins, then distributed them through traders and merchants. They unknowingly carried her markers across the land. 

Her markers have spread mainly across the northwestern part of the continent, and the northernmost marker she could reach was here.

“…Be careful.”  

After a brief pause, she uttered those few words, as if holding back more. 

Given the urgency of the situation, I responded briefly as well.  

“Of course. You take care too. …Alright, I’m off. Power On. [Replicant Form].”

As soon as I finished transmitting via [Telepathy], I transformed into a streamlined form and took off into the night sky.  

First, I ascended. Then, once I reached a sufficient altitude, headed north.  

My speed rapidly increased, and in no time, I reached subsonic speeds.

“(Damn, this is fast. As expected from Tanasis’ design.)”  

The long-distance flight artifact I’m using was something Tanasis designed in about 20 minutes.  

It was rushed, so there were some rough spots, but I made minor adjustments using [Update].  

Its high |Mana| consumption is compensated by rapidly absorbing ambient |Mana|, making it ideal for high-speed travel.  

Even if I drain all the |Mana| in the area, it doesn’t matter since I’ll be moving away quickly.

Tanasis may be an eccentric old man, but his skills as a scholar are the real deal.

“(Oh, is that the ocean?)”  

After flying for a while, I spotted the ocean through my [Clairvoyance].  

The coastline stretches northeast.  

Since the Great Magical Wilderness lies beyond the corner of the continent, I adjust my course slightly east.  

Thanks to my upgraded [Sense of Direction], now known as [Terrain Comprehension], I can accurately determine my bearings, which is really handy at times like this.  

I continued flying, keeping an eye on my surroundings, and finally, the edge of the continent came into view.

“(That’s the frontier town, huh? Bigger than I thought.)”  

I’m not sure of the exact definition, but it looks like a fortress city.  

The town is surrounded by thick outer walls, giving the impression of strong defenses.  

Beyond the town, along the coastline, a massive wall rises as if glaring at the ocean.  

I’ve heard that this town has developed to support that defensive line.  

But the walls meant to keep out magical beasts mean nothing to me as I fly overhead. 

I easily soar past them and out over the sea. I can already see my destination.

“(That’s the Northern Great Magical Wilderness…!)”  

The horizon is frozen.  

It’s a polar region sealed in ice.  

Large and small ice floes cover the surface like stepping stones, leading toward a towering ice cliff, the gateway into this frozen wasteland.  

“(What a spectacular sight.)”

I muttered to myself, marveling at the view revealed by my clairvoyance.  

As I drew closer, the ice-filled landscape continued to grow in my vision, with no end in sight.  

It’s so vast that it creates the illusion of stretching on forever—this immense frozen land, known to the people of this world as the Northern Continent.  

Though in reality, like Earth’s arctic, it’s just an enormous mass of ice.

Even though I had seen this sight countless times in photos and videos, witnessing it in person stirred an indescribable emotion in me.  

It was the kind of feeling that made me realize just how small and insignificant I was in the face of the vastness of nature.  

As I stood there, gazing at the arctic and reflecting on how important it is to actually experience things firsthand, I spotted something.  

” (Oh, looks like they’re at it already.) “

It was two Sovereign Beasts.  

They weren’t peacefully stargazing together; instead, both were fiercely battling each other, with their respective [Dominion] clashing violently.  

“(This should be a good warm-up.)”

Having found my first opponents in the Northern Great Magical Wilderness, I initiated a rapid descent toward them.  

Since I had been using my artifacts pretty extravagantly, it seemed like I couldn’t completely hide my presence. The two Sovereign Beasts noticed me, hurriedly put some distance between us, and turned to face me.  

Their reactions were polar opposites.  

One bolted in the opposite direction at full speed. While the other, ignited by the appearance of a stronger foe, flared up with fighting spirit.  

“([Replicant Form], [Explosive Charge], [SuperJump], [Compact Slash].)”

I’d love to praise its spirit and bravery. But unfortunately, I don’t have time for that.  

Mimicking a dragon saw, I accelerated in an instant and delivered a slashing strike.  

The Sovereign Beast, which looked like a giant bipedal polar bear armed with ice, let out a scream as I tore deeply into its shoulder.  

Even the ice-covered ground beneath it groaned from the immense impact of my rapid descent.  

“(Even with [Receiving], it’s still this much force… Good thing the ice is thick.)”

Relieved that I hadn’t smashed through to the ocean below, I extended my body toward the Polar Bear as it froze its wound to stop the bleeding.  

The immense |Life| of the Sovereign Beast wasn’t depleted even by this injury.

“([Thunderstorm Rich Harvest – Minori no Jingi].)”

And so, I reap its life.  

In a past battle with a Chaos Beast from the Demon Cult, my [Unique Skill] apparently triggered a phenomenon called [Physical Transformation].  

Because of that, my body and [Unique Skill] underwent a sort of fusion, allowing me to exert power directly through touch.  

The instant-death technique I had used on that Earth Dragon worked just as well on the Polar Bear.  

As I felt the life—or as the Star God calls it, the〔Soul Arche〕—being pulled from the Bear. Its body went limp, drained of all strength.  

But this wasn’t over.  

“([Sparkle Pluto], [Lock-On Aim]!)”

I fired a magic bullet.  

Its target was the Sovereign Beast that had fled earlier: a bright red reindeer-like magical beast

.  

The magic bullet pursued the Red Reindeer, striking it and sending it sprawling across the ice.  

It tried to get back up immediately, but I reached it before it could stand.

“([Cursed Bindings], [Thunderstorm Rich Harvest – Minori no Jingi].)”

I extended my body like a rope, binding the Red Reindeer instantly.  

Then, I unleashed my [Unique Skill] on it.

But the result was a failure.  

With such little damage, the Sovereign Beast wasn’t susceptible to instant death.  

“(Sorry, but you’re going to be my training partner. [Thunderstorm Rich Harvest – Minori no Jingi]!)”

[Unique Skills] evolve. The lightning strike that I could initially only fire in a straight line, for instance, could now curve freely thanks to practice.  

If that’s possible, instant death should work the same way.  

To grasp the knack for reaping life, I channeled the lightning strike again and again.  

After over ten attempts, I finally succeeded in killing it instantly.

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

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>> The Far-Off Radiance of the Luminous Sapphire Ring (?), Fuwa Katsu’s Soul Accumulation Level has increased to 338.

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Honestly, it was hard to tell if I’d gotten better or if the repeated lightning strikes had just weakened the Red Reindeer. But my <Level> went up, so I’ll count it as a win.  

After devouring the Sovereign Beasts’ corpses and storing the materials, I resumed my journey forward.