Chapter 692 - Inheritance
"Shou! Stay focused!"
"!!"
Startled by El-san's shout, I pushed the grim thoughts out of my head. Right now, my priority was defeating the enemy in front of me.
"Haaah!"
Avoidant of El-san's spear thrust, the Necrophager rolled away, but as it forced itself to pull its hind leg out of the Frost Pillar, the limb bent in an unnatural direction. Even so...
"GRAAA!"
"Ugh! Mana Barrier!"
A rain of lightning, similar to Garm Lightning, poured down, and I deployed a Mana Barrier to block it.
"Ugh, that's heavy..."
I managed to hold on, but more than half of my MP was drained in an instant. If it kept doing this, we were in trouble...
"Lady Emeraldia!"
"Yes."
"GYAAAAA!"
At El-san's call, Emeraldia-san descended quickly and pinned the creature down firmly. It tried to resist by releasing more lightning, but... was it being absorbed by Emeraldia-san's scales?
"Use this for the finish."
"Eh? Ah!"
I caught the Dagger El-san tossed to me. It had a sheath with incredibly lavish decorations. The blade glowed with iridescent colors. No matter how you looked at it, this was a magic sword.
"I will take the left. Shou, you take the right."
Putting her great shield away somewhere, El-san gripped her spear with both hands and took a side-on stance. Whether it was out of mana or simply exhausted, the Necrophager lay there motionless, covered in wounds...
"But this thing has mana deficiency..."
"No. This one... is already broken. Hurry."
"Sometimes, showing mercy is more cruel than not."
I looked into its eyes, which still held a flicker of madness, and steeled myself.
"...I'm ready!"
Matching El-san's thrust, I drove a Vitals Attack into the center of the Armor Bear's forehead!
[Your character level has increased!]
[Your character level has increased!]
[Your Special Sword Mastery skill level has increased!]
[Your Presence Concealment Skill level has increased!]
[The base value of your Presence Concealment Skill has reached its limit. No SP will be returned.]
[Your Stealth Skill level has increased!]
[The base value of your Stealth Skill has reached its limit. 4 SP has been returned.]
[Your Barrier Magic skill level has increased!]
[You have occupied the northern area of the island.]
[You have occupied all areas of the island. A bonus will be applied upon the founding of a nation.]
[The world's first Ancient Island occupier has appeared!]
[World's First Ancient Island Occupation: Obtained 10 SP!]
Amidst the flood of level-up notifications, the madness vanished from the Necrophager's eyes, and the light faded.
"This... was for the best."
"Yes."
Even knowing it was a game and just one of its settings, I felt a wave of sadness. But there was likely no way to return it to normal, and besides...
[Necrophager]: An artificial monster created by ancient mages. It has the ability to consume other Magic Stones and absorb their power. It went berserk due to mana deficiency during the Calamity. It destroyed the cages of the research facility and has absorbed other Necrophagers and island creatures that were being raised similarly. Absorbed creatures: Myrmecoleon, Varghest, Griffon, Wyvern, Smoke Serpent, Drab Wolf, Armor Bear, Black Hyena, Grani, Managarm...
[Your True Appraisal skill level has increased!]
"Just as I thought..."
By focusing my True Appraisal and re-examining it, I could see the creatures it had absorbed. This Managarm...
"Shou-kun?"
"This is just a guess, but this thing might have... Lupi's father."
"Eh?"
It seemed likely that Leda, Roy, and Rigel's kin... and perhaps even their families... had been killed by this creature.
"I always wondered why Lupi's father disappeared, but maybe he was trying to defeat this thing."
"Ah..."
El-san nodded silently at my murmur. Lupi...
"Woof!"
"Yeah. You did a great job!"
Did he not know about his father? When I asked before, he'd told me that I was his family.
"Snort!"
"Kuru!"
"Rigel, Raz, thank you guys too."
"Nya. Nya-nya!"
"Grrr."
"I see. Let's just leave them for today."
Apparently, the hyenas were gone. Well, they were likely victims too. As long as they weren't attacking, it was fine.
"Grrr?"
"Yeah, that's fine, but be careful. Leda, Roy. Please follow Kuro and the others."
"Bow!"
Just as I sent Kuro and the others off to scout the surroundings...
"Purify the Magic Stone."
Emeraldia-san, who had returned to her human form, spoke up. She wanted me to mourn those absorbed by the Necrophager.
"Right. We'll handle the dismantling. Mion, can you do the purification?"
"Yes."
I had Shal and El-san help me with the dismantling. Oh, before that...
"El-san. Thank you for this."
"Ah, I am glad it was of use."
It wouldn't be right to appraise it without permission, so I properly purified it before returning it to its sheath and handing it back. I'd ask her about it when things settled down.
[Your Dismantling Skill level has increased!]
"This is even larger than Nina's Emergency Magic Crystal Stone, isn't it?"
"Yes."
That one was the size of a volleyball, but this one felt more like a basketball. A stone this size could probably restart the secondary Control Room of the Necropolis...
"...Let's keep the details about the Necrophager to ourselves."
"I agree."
"That would be best. There is a possibility that some people might try to imitate it."
I nodded at El-san's words. Aside from that, the items we got from dismantling included fangs, hide, and bones.
"Alright, please do the purification. Ah, do you have enough MP?"
"I think I'll be fine."
Mion was moving toward a character build that prioritized Spirit Magic and Holy Magic, so she had more MP than I did. It should be okay. As everyone watched, Mion performed the purification on the giant Magic Crystal Stone placed on the ground. Light particles rose from the blackish Magic Stone, which gradually became transparent. And the moment the purification ended...
[Lupi has inherited the Art: Divine Beastification!]
"Eh?"
Well, since the Managarm were described as servants of the Blue Sky Goddess, I suppose it wasn't that strange? Mion and El-san looked at me with confusion at my bewildered voice. As for Lupi...
"Woof?"
Yeah, he was still as cute as ever. I couldn't help but squish his cheeks.
"What happened?"
"Um, well, ah, no, let's head back to the castle first. It's not a conversation to have here."
"Ah, that's true."
Character levels and skill levels had gone up, and there was also the matter of occupying the northern area and the island as a whole. I needed to check those and decide on our future course of action.