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 142: The Challenge

Episode 142: The Challenge

“Kruooaaa!”

A four-legged Calamity Beast, an icicle-like fishman with a unicorn horn, let out a powerful roar and charged at me with a fierce punch. Strictly speaking, a narwhal is a mammal, not a fishman. But I’ll ignore those details for now.

“([Instant Shift], [Flee]!)”

A direct punch from that muscled body would be dangerous. And from our previous exchanges, I knew better than to take it head-on. I activated my [Skills] to dodge and quickly jumped back, using the newfound distance to counterattack with long-range strikes.

“([Sparkle Pluto]!)”

All of the magic projectiles, guided by [Lock-On Aim], homed in on the fishman, but it powered through them, running straight at me. That’s the terrifying aspect of this Calamity Beast—its  thick, muscular body was covered in an impenetrable hide that blocked most attacks. Its tightly packed muscles, tough as stone, gave him unparalleled strength even among the Calamity Beasts.

Thanks to [Storm Strike], I could at least damage it now. But its wounds would quickly regenerate. The Narwhal Fishman closed the gap using a charging [Skill], thrusting its long, sharp horn toward me. I dodged to the side, but it immediately pivoted and stomped the ice with its powerful feet, swinging its right arm in a wide arc.

“Kyaarrr!”

“(Whoa!)”

Despite being hard to land a hit on, its strike connected with precision, transmitting the full force of its punch. The power was immense; even though I leapt backward upon impact, my |Life| was still reduced. I was sent flying, bouncing off the icy ground. And by the time I regained my bearings, the Narwhal Fishman was already right on top of me, closing in for a follow-up attack.

──Boom!

“Kree?!”

Suddenly, the ice beneath it exploded, throwing it off balance.

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

~Skill Details~

[Update] 

• • • • • • • • Can sense, analyze, and improve nearby Mana Crystals or artifacts. Permanently boosts memory and creativity related to Mana Crystals or artifacts.

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

When I bounced off the ice earlier, I had used [Glittering Factory] to create a Mana Crystal trap and then transformed it into a bomb with [Update]. I gambled on it stepping on it. Luckily, it worked out.

“([Instant Shift], [Super Jump]──)”

Now that the Narwhal Fishman’s attack was interrupted, his body lurched forward, continuing with the momentum of its stumble. By recognizing its movements as a charging attack, I met the conditions to activate [Instant Shift], allowing me to dodge past it as it rushed forward.

“(──[Slash]!)”

At the same time, I swung the ice scythe chain. A cross-counter strike slashed deep into its side. With the length of the blade, it should’ve reached its internal organs, but this wasn’t enough to finish it. The Narwhal Fishman had regenerative abilities, so I needed to press the attack.

“([Cursed Bindings], [Replicant Form]!)”

I quickly closed in and bound it tightly. It struggled, of course. But to subdue it, I mimicked the venomous arrows made of the Earth Dragon. That monster had toxic fangs laced with a mineral-based poison, so I had crafted some arrows from its teeth. I fashioned multiple replicas and drove them into the Narwhal Fishman’s body.

Though its high |Toughness| prevented the wounds from being too deep, the poison seemed to take effect. Its body twitched, and its struggles weakened slightly.

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

From there, it was routine. I unleashed a barrage of my [Unique Skill], relentlessly striking it down. 

… No, the sensation wasn’t quite like “striking down”—it felt more primal, more violent—

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

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

>> The Far-Off Radiance of the Luminous Sapphire Ring (?) , Fuwa Katsu’s Soul Accumulation Level has increased to 605.

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

──Looks like my <Level> just went up. Let’s check my |Status|.

“(605, huh? The rate of increase has slowed down. Well, it’s to be expected. This is the fifth one I’ve killed since arriving in the Arctic.)”

Between defeating the White Weasel and encountering the Narwhal Fishman, I had already fought three other Calamity Beasts. Thanks to that, my <Level> had risen considerably. But hunting more of these creatures wouldn’t be efficient.

“(… Maybe it’s time to face the next challenge.)”

After defeating the Calamity Beast, I ate its remains and processed any parts that could be used as weapons. The last three creatures I killed after the Weasel didn’t have any usable parts. But this time, there was something perfect.

“(Alright, it’s finished!)”

I quickly tried out the newly crafted weapon.

Gurururururuuu!

“(Whoa!? It’s faster than I thought!)”

Simply put, it was a drill. A long, slender, conical spear with a spiral groove running along its side. It was a weapon made from the Narwhal Fishman’s horn. I named it the “Narwhal Drill”. 

It had a special ability—an ice-penetrating attack—that would be incredibly useful in this vast, frozen wilderness. Unfortunately, the raw material didn’t have a built-in spinning function, so I attached a custom artifact to enable that. The connection points were also reinforced to ensure durability, so I didn’t have to worry about its strength.

“(Thank you for the meal.)”

After finishing my meal, I took to the sky and flew north, guided by my [Terrain Comprehension]. It didn’t take long to find my destination. I could sense the presence of a [Dominion]… and visually, it was unmistakably the place. 

If you didn’t know about the entity deep within, the scene would take your breath away with its sheer beauty. Sunlight glinted off the ice crystals in the air, creating a starry sky on the ground. The dome of stars spread out, even swallowing the mountain peaks, continuing as far as the eye could see.

“(It looks like a diamond dust effect… but something’s off.)”

I remembered seeing diamond dust on TV long ago, but I was pretty sure it didn’t occur when it was too cold. In this place—so cold that even I, a Calamity Beast, could feel the chill—there was no way it could have formed naturally. It was clearly the effect of a [Dominion], and it was obvious who could control such an expansive [Dominion].

Staring at the ice crystal planetarium, which had to be at least ten kilometers in radius, I steeled myself and descended toward its edge.

“(Alright, since I’m visiting a king, I should knock first. ‘Convergence,’ Release.)”

I had kept ‘Convergence’ on my [Dominion] while traveling. But now, I spread it wide, pushing it toward the opposing [Dominion].

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

~Territory Details~

• • • • • • • • Your [Territory] is [Glittering Factory].

• • • • • • • • Within the [Glittering Factory], all things are turned into Mana Crystals.

• • • • • • • • Additional Effects: ‘Masterwork’, ‘Domination’, ‘Absorption’,  ‘Masterwork’, ‘Identification’, ‘Efficiency’, ‘Civilization’ (NEW).

       ↪Option List:

• • • • • • • • ‘Identification’(NEW): Selects specific targets for the effect.

• • • • • • • • ‘Efficiency’(NEW): Increases the fuel conversion efficiency of weapons.

• • • • • • • • ‘Inefficiency’(NEW): Decreases the fuel conversion efficiency of weapons.

• • • • • • • • ‘Expansion’ (NEW): Increases the effective range of your [Domain].  

• • • • • • • • ‘Precision Crafting’ (NEW): Enhances your ability to process Mana Crystals when making artifacts.  

• • • • • • • • ‘Civilization’ (NEW): Enhances the performance of artifacts.  

• • • • • • • • ‘Wild’ (NEW): Decreases the performance of artifacts.  

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