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 140: White Weasel

Episode 140: White Weasel

The size of the magical beasts increases as its Beast Rank increases.  

However, there are obvious differences in size depending on species and individuals. For example, even among the lowest-ranked Lesser Beasts, a mouse and an elephant would have vastly different sizes, with the latter being much larger.  

As for me, compared to the other beasts I’ve fought, I’m probably slightly below average in size. I even lost to the Earth Dragon in terms of size.  

Now, the White Weasel standing before me was even smaller—half the size of my already small form.  

But that didn’t mean its power was as small as its body.  

In fact, it gathered strength in its hind legs—

“(—It’s coming!)”

Just as the snowstorm generated by its [Dominion] obscured the enemy’s figure, I followed my instincts and deactivated the [Replicant Form] of my intact crimson wing.

Clang!

A loud, metallic sound reverberated.  

The Weasel’s scythe had struck my body, which had a |Toughness| of 20000. 

Yes, the White Weasel was equipped with scythes.  

Or rather, it wasn’t so much “equipped” as it was that the scythes were part of its body. 

On the ends of both its forelegs were claws resembling transparent ice blades.  

It must have used these scythes in its initial attack.  

The part of me that took damage froze on impact, suggesting that these scythes had the ability to freeze whatever they struck. Even though the blades didn’t pierce my skin, I could feel a faint chill where they had made contact.

“([Lightning Strike]!)”  

“Kiki!”  

“(Of course, it dodged.)”

As expected, the White Weasel’s incredible speed made it easy for it to evade my counterattack, moving faster than the wind.  

“(I knew it, but the stat difference is tough.)”

Even though I’ve just {Evolved}, my |Stats| are still low for a Calamity Beast.  

Thanks to the Earth Dragon’s <Soul Fragments>, my |Resist| stat has surpassed two thousand, and even my lowest stat, |Power|, has reached about eighteen hundred.  

However, considering the Earth Dragon had an average |Stat| of two thousand, I’m still in the growth phase.  

I can’t yet compare to a Calamity Beast that has lived in the Great Magical Wilderness for many years.  

“(But this speed difference is abnormal. It doesn’t seem like it has superior power, so it must be specialized in |Speed|.)”

I analyzed the situation while keeping an eye on my surroundings.  

Since earlier, the White Weasel had been running circles around me, striking when an opening presented itself, and then immediately retreating.  

With overwhelming |Speed|, it outpaced my vision and reflexes, bombarding me with slashes faster than I could react.  

Counterattacking wasn’t even an option.  

I couldn’t help but wish I had the [Heavy Stone Serpent’s Evil Eye] as a weapon. Unfortunately, the [Skill] relied on visual processing in the brain rather than the eyes, so I couldn’t use its special effects.  

“(But I’ve still got options! [Sparkle Pluto]!)”

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

~Skill Details~

[Sparkle Pluto] 

• • • • • • • • Grants destructive power to |Mana| and allows it to be shot. Permanently boosts the output of |Mana|. Permanently boosts the performance of |Mana| attacks.

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

An overflowing torrent of |Mana| transformed into magic bullets, aiming in all directions.

The key to [Sparkle Pluto] isn’t just |Mana| emission.  

In fact, I hadn’t used the emission effect much in battle. 

Using my body as an artifact for shooting is more efficient. And the precision of |Mana| concentration is so high that there’s barely any power loss, even over long distances.  

With [Update], I can freely adjust its parameters. This time, I customized it for speed to make it harder to avoid.  

“Kuku—!”

But, as expected, the White Weasel dodged effortlessly, darting through the barrage of magic bullets with its nimble body.  

By the time I registered this, its icy scythe had already struck me again.

Given the speed difference, even if I had used [Lock-On Aim], it wouldn’t have made a difference—none of my attacks would’ve hit.

“([Replicant Form]!)”

I immediately thrust out the forest turtle’s halberd. But as expected, the White Weasel dodged it with ease.  

Not only that, but it struck the halberd twice as it evaded.  

It seemed like the White Weasel had a conmbo-strike [Skill], and the halberd’s handle cracked with a sharp snap.  

What remained was nothing but frozen necrotic tissue. Strangely, I felt no pain—probably due to some effect of the White Weasel’s [Skill].  

“([Replicant Form], Sixfold!)”

Despite being slashed by the White Weasel, which had already moved behind me in an instant, I mimicked two types of weapons.  

One was the red whip, crafted from a red lizard, radiating intense heat like molten lava.  

The other was the dragon spear, forged from the Earth Dragon, with its tail’s massive blade as the spearhead. It was the largest beast weapon I owned.  

I replicated three of each, preparing for the incoming attacks.  

The White Weasel didn’t approach my main body, instead launching attacks at the dragon spear from just outside its reach.  

After breaking both my crimson wing and the halberd, it must’ve deduced that mimicked weapons were my weak point.

“(That was close. No matter how many Calamity Beast weapons you own, if they get struck too many times, they’ll break.)”

I imbued my will into the dragon spear, causing it to curve like a snake raising its head, pulling back to my side.  

The spear’s structure was similar to a segmented staff, allowing me to control it freely with just a thought.  

With this, I avoided being hit from a safe distance, but the White Weasel’s relentless assault showed no signs of slowing.  

From the start, I hadn’t been able to keep up with its speed at all.  

I wildly swung the weapons, but there was no sign of them hitting the target.  

The red whip, which could instantly vaporize any snowflake it touched, was being carefully avoided, while the dragon spear was steadily accumulating damage.  

It was only a matter of time before it broke… but before that happened, my plan was ready to come to fruition.

“(Activate Genji Shield!)”

From the artifact I had replicated within my body, a faint light began to spread.  

This happened just as the White Weasel was finishing a *hit* and preparing to pull away.

The light of sluggishness caught the Weasel just as it was trying to distance itself from me.

“([Replicant Form]!)”

I immediately mimicked a forest hammer and stepped forward, bringing it down with a powerful swing.  

The trajectory was perfect—this time, the blow would definitely land on the White Weasel.

But my opponent wasn’t so easily outmaneuvered.  

It created an ice wall between us and kicked off it, accelerating even further.  

Before my hammer could fall, the weasel had already escaped, landing far away on the ground.

“([Quake Swing]!)”

Just as the weasel landed, the forest hammer shook the frozen surface beneath it.  

This was the first time I had used this [Skill] in this fight.  

It caused the Weasel to falter and lose its balance slightly.  

Of course, that wouldn’t be enough to create a big enough opening to land a hit… but—

“Kiki!?“

The Weasel’s eyes widened as it looked up.

Above its head was a swarm of meteors—magic bullets breaking through the blizzard created by the [Dominion].  

There was nothing fancy about this trick; I had simply set the magic bullets I fired earlier to ascend into the sky and then come back down.  

Trajectory manipulation was a common technology in the Isa Kingdom.  

I couldn’t predict the White Weasel’s future position. But if I got close enough, I could rely on [Lock-On Aim] to handle the rest.

The speed-focused magic bullets were designed to land just fractions of a second after entering the Weasel’s |Mana| detection range.  

Those fractions of a second were more than enough time for the Weasel to dodge… but that was assuming the icy ground beneath its feet was normal.  

The Weasel froze momentarily in shock as the magic bullets descended, creating a brief opening for my lightning strike to land.  

Boosted by [Sparkle Pluto], the lightning had significant power and managed to delay the Weasel’s movements just a bit longer.

“([Compact Thrust]! [Compact Whip]!)”

Both the magic bullets and I closed the distance to the White Weasel at the same time, aiming to strike in unison.