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 139: The Calamity Beasts in the Northern Land

Episode 139: The Calamity Beasts in the Northern Land

“Ooohhh──”

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

“──oo……”

The sensation of life being harvested and absorbed into my being. The sound of a massive creature collapsing to the ground.

As the shattered ice glitters, reflecting the sunlight, I feast on the flesh of the defeated Sovereign Beast.

“(It’s starting to succeed consistently by the second time.)”

I mutter this as I reflect on the previous battle.

Though I’ve yet to fully succeed against an enemy in perfect health, the probability of success significantly increases once I weaken them with a lightning strike.

“(Store usable parts in the [Weapon Storage]. Time to move on.)”

I take off with a burst of speed, launching myself into the air with my crimson wings.

The |Mana| concentration, which was already as dense as a Sovereign Beast Region at the start of this journey, has now reached levels beyond anything I’ve experienced.

Thanks to this, the Mana Crystals are absorbing |Mana| as rapidly as dry sponges, and I can fly at full speed without tiring.

“(This ridiculously dense |Mana| is what’s making the plants grow abnormally, huh?)”

Ahead lies a forest, something that shouldn’t belong in a polar region.

Despite being covered in ice and snow, none of the trees are withered. Their roots dig into the ice, firmly anchoring them.

There’s no sign of this being an artificially controlled environment, so it must be a naturally occurring phenomenon.

I’ve seen similar sights many times before—like an oasis in the desert.

In such places, weaker magic beasts usually gather, feeding on the plants or running from the stronger beasts that hunt them.

Inanimate objects grow stronger by absorbing |Mana|, and living creatures become more powerful by consuming them.

After fighting a few times, I’ve realized that the Sovereign Beasts here have high |Stats|. It’s probably because they feast on good prey all the time.

Eating such creatures directly contributes to my own power.

Of course, it’s not something that changes overnight, though.

“(Hm? This feeling…)” 

As I pass through the forest and enter a blizzard zone, I sense the presence of a [Dominion]

Normally, I would ignore it since it’s a bit off my intended path. But this time, the [Dominion] feels different.

“(So, the Calamity Beast finally makes its appearance?)”

The sensation is more solid, heavy, and thick, reminiscent of the Earth Dragon’s [Dominion].

Before challenging the “Polar King” said to reside near the North Pole, I should test myself against this Calamity Beast.

“(Disengage ‘Convergence.’)”

I land on the ground and expand my [Glittering Factory], crashing it against the opponent’s [Dominion].

A heavy response reverberates back. Our power seems evenly matched.

The other party must have sensed my presence as a Calamity Beast and is now heading towards me.

As we draw closer, its [Dominion] grows stronger, giving me a vague sense of the distance between us.

I kick off the crystallized ice sheet and sprint towards the Calamity Beast.

When one becomes a Calamity Beast, its [Dominion] expands several times over. But as a fellow Calamity Beast, I can close the gap quickly.

“([Clairvoyance]… Is that the Calamity Beast?)”

Peering through the blinding snowstorm with enhanced vision, I spot something strange.

It’s a giant snowman.

Its sheer size surpasses mine, and it’s lumbering towards me with short, stomping legs.

“(Let’s start with a little test. [Replicant Form], [Sparkle Pluto], [Lock-On Aim]!)”

I figure that my heat-based magic should be highly effective against a snow-based opponent, so I fire high-temperature magic bullets from my two crimson wings.

The bullets fan out, curving toward the snowman as though drawn to it, riddling its massive white body with holes.

“(Huh…?)”

Then, the snowman’s body simply melts away.

Most of it turns into a slushy, mushy mess. While the areas hit directly by the scorching magic bullets evaporate completely, releasing clouds of steam into the air.

“(That was too fragile for a Calamity Beast… And yet, its [Dominion] hasn’t disappeared.)”

I stay on alert, but I can’t figure out what’s going on.

Judging by the [Dominion], the snowman (or rather, its remains) should be the real body, but maybe it can regenerate unless I destroy it completely?

As I begin to recharge the |Mana| in my crimson wings, preparing for another attack, a massive surge of |Mana| erupts from multiple locations surrounding me.

“(What the hell…?)”

The spots where the |Mana| exploded cause the ice to shatter instantly, reconstituting into pristine snowmen.

Of course, even the remains of the one I just melted reform as well.

“(So that’s how it works… Damn, the |Mana| is too dense. I can’t crystallize it.)”

With my [Glittering Factory], I should be able to turn the ice into Mana Crystals to disrupt the process, but the polar ice has absorbed too much |Mana|. It made the transformation too slow.

“(What kind of [Skill] is this? It’s like these snowmen are familiars born from the ice.)”

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

~Skill Details~

[Kin] 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Consumes |Mana| to create minions that inherit one’s traits. Can give |Mana| to others with their consent to make them one’s minion.

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[Kin] a universal skill that all Calamity Beasts acquire.  

However, it consumes a significant amount of |Mana|, making it difficult to use in combat unless you have a large |Mana| reserve, like me.  

The [Skill] used here must be a variant specific to snowmen.

“SnnooOOoo!”

The first of the snowmen to move was the one behind me.

Though I don’t have a face, the snowman likely assumed the direction of my previous attack was the front and may have tried to catch me off guard.  

Or maybe it’s just trying to cause confusion.  

It could be diverting my attention from the main snowman at the center of the [Dominion]… or that, too, might be a bluff.  

There’s also the possibility it can relocate the source of its [Dominion].

“(This is a pain… I’ll just target them all. [Lightning Strike], Tenfold.)”  

I unleash an attack on all ten snowmen simultaneously.  

In the past, I wouldn’t have been able to attack so many targets at once. But a [Skill] I gained from {Evolution} has made it possible.

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~Skill Details~

[Lock-On Aim] 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • When performing long-range attacks, can consume |Mana| to grant a homing effect. Can track the position of one’s long-range attacks. Boosts information processing ability during simultaneous long-range attacks.

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“Boosts information processing ability during simultaneous long-range attacks.” This 18-character phrase, of which 16 are kanji, is the core of parallel shooting. In simple terms, it allows me to attack multiple targets simultaneously, while my mind works faster.  

Thanks to this, I can make countless magic bullets track their targets or instantly calculate their trajectories so they don’t collide with each other.  

That’s why firing ten lightning strikes at once is a breeze.

The snowmen can’t be crystallized, and they’ll resist instant death. But if I fire ten shots, I should at least hit one of them—

“Kikikikii!”  

“(What!?!)”

Suddenly, as if to replace one of the lightning strikes I shot, a white shadow leaps out from the first snowman.  

Before I can fully register what it is, it closes in on me at incredible speed, slashing through one of my crimson wings as it passes.  

The wing, sliced clean in half, rots and freezes over. Though strangely, I feel no pain.

“(I see…)”  

As my lightning bolts pierce through the snowmen, I sense an empty, fruitless feeling from the strikes.

This is the sensation when there’s no valid target for instant death—when using instant death on soulless beings.  

“(The big snowman was just a decoy, huh?)”

The snowmen were never alive in the first place. 

They were merely being manipulated from behind the scenes.

“(Heh, clever trick! Instead of a weasel, I’ll turn you into a tanuki!)”  

(Note:

                                                         White Weasel

                                                               Tanuki

)

At the center of the blizzard [Dominion], standing ready to move at any moment, was the true Calamity Beast.  

It was a small creature for a Calamity Beast, yet its presence was overwhelmingly powerful—a pure white weasel, as pristine as the first snow of winter.

(Note: WHYYYY??? Such a cute creature ૮₍•᷄ ࡇ •᷅₎ა. Petition to change the heartless MC into the white weasel instead ⁽⁽(੭ꐦ •̀Д•́ )੭*⁾⁾!!!)