The burst of magical energy thatâd come from within the pill bugâs carapace shattered it and caused its fragments to fly towards us at an incredible speed. The resulting attack that came at us was so fast and destructive that it was almost like that of a shotgun.
I hadnât realized that the pill bug could use its Magical Emission skill in such rapid succession. It hadnât done anything like this before despite having crashed into walls. In other words, the damned insect had been holding its trump card in reserve.
Weâd been under the effects of Chronos Clock. As a result, everything was moving in slow motion, but the insectâs projectile continued to move at a ridiculously high speed regardless. With the attackâs absurd speed came an incredible amount of power. Even a single fragment of the insectâs shell could probably inflict onto Fran a serious chunk of damage.
Shit. I canât deploy my full powered barriers in time.
Iâd already created a set of magical and physical barriers purely out of reflex, but neither had been full forced, and as a result, the pill bugâs attack had shattered them both with ease. The moment I realized that was the moment I played another one of the cards I had on hand. One of our contingencies was for me to use my Telekinetic Catapult. To that end, Iâd been saving up a bunch of telekinetic energy. I immediately unleashed every single last bit of in order to form a defensive wall so I could protect Fran. However, there was a problem. I had to cover a rather large area, so I wasnât able to exert all that much force. I was only capable of weakening the projectiles that came at us. Stopping them altogether was simply not an option.
Still, I at least had to try.
Fran had already pushed herself to the limit. Sheâd already started using several skills and spells in conjunction. Moreover was the fact that sheâd also already initiated a full force charge in the pill bugâs direction â there was no way for her to suddenly avoid the bugâs counter. She simply didnât have the liberty to do so.
ăKuh!ă
ăShort Ju-ă
I immediately tried teleporting us out the moment I heard Fran groan.
We needed to make a bit of distance between us and the pill bug if we wanted to be able to escape it.
ďźDonât!ďź
But Fran stopped me from actually casting the spell. Unlike me, she had yet to give up on the assault. She put the left half of her body forward in order to shield her dominant hand from harm. The black catgirl supported efforts further by cancelling some of her offensive skills in order to erect a barrier, one that would assist in her in her charge. She even made use of the Air Jump skill in order to make sure she wouldnât get blown away.
Fran firmly held her ground, but as one could expect, she was unable to remain unscathed. The combination of Franâs barrier and my telekinesis were able to drastically reduce the attackâs power, but each of the projectiles still held enough force to rend Franâs flesh; countless shell fragments embedded themselves inside of her.
The numerous wounds thatâd been torn into her body were painful enough to make even the most mature adults scream in pain, but she managed endure the bugâs last stand by gritting her teeth and grinding down on them.
ăBurniaaaaaa!ă
Fran used a flame spell to hit the gas yet again as she thrust me at the pill bug with all her might. The attack the magic beast fired off had rid it of its hard exterior and rendered it defenseless. Hence, my blade sank into its exposed body as easily as a hot knife would a block of butter.
I felt not the sensation of a hard exoskeleton, but instead the softness of tearing flesh as my body was driven inside of the insectâs.
ăHaah⌠GuhâŚ.ă
Fran had managed to embed me within the pill bugâs, but sheâd lost a lot of her own strength and stamina in the process. She seemed completely exhausted and on the verge of going limp.
ăCome on Fran. Hang in there, youâve almost got it!ă
ăWill finish nowâŚă
ăDo it!ă
Shit. Iâm not sure sheâll be able to fight much longer. Itâd be best for me to try finishing the damned thing off here and now.
I already knew exactly what to do. A clear image of my intentions resonated within my mind as I solidified them.
I focused all my magical energies into my blade and activated Vibration Fang and Wind Elemental Blade simultaneously. I then directed my attention towards the use of transformation and manipulated my body in much the same way the System Announcer had done before me. I imitated the actions she took when sheâd used thin, sharp strands of my blade to absorb the numerous Skeletonsâ magic stones. That is, I warped my body whilst retaining the image of having thin threads extend from my tip.
A hundred steel fibres parted from my body and began shredding the pill bug from inside out. I backed the the effort further by throwing the Thread Manipulation skill into the mix. I forcibly controlled every last part of my body in order to have its strands run rampant within the pill bugâs figure.
I wasnât able to manipulate myself nearly as skillfully as the System Announcer had, but that was honestly something Iâd already been expecting.
ăNn!ă
Fran pitched in as well and used Elemental Blade to cloak my body in lightning.
ăGigiiiâŚ. Giiiiiiii!!ă
Franâs actions functioned as a finishing blow; her spell caused the pill bug to let out one last cry as it lost its life. The strength drained from its limbs. Its bodyâs functions slowed to a stop.
ăSelf Evolution has activated. You have gained 60 self-evolution points.ă
I ranked up. That was nice and all, but I had priorities. What mattered right now was Fran. I made use of my telekinetic abilities and gently laid her down on the boss roomâs floor.
ăGreater Heal!ă
ăUuâŚă
ăFran, are you alright?ă
ăMasterâŚă
Whew, looked like I managed to heal her in time. Most of her larger wounds had closed up. She was still alive and kicking.
ăWonâŚ?ă
ăThat we did.ă
Fran pushed herself off the ground with both arms in response to my words.
ăFirst victory in long time.ă
ăWhat do you mean?ă
ăFirst time in long time facing strong enemy head on and winning.ă
Hearing Fran say that made me think about all the strong foes we had faced in the past.
The demon we fought hadnât been able to show its true potential, and weâd only won because itâd basically half screwed itself.
Amanda always completely rekt us every time we spared her.
The Lich totally destroyed us. We probably wouldâve died if not for the System Announcer.
Fran hadnât been able to engage in direct combat with the Midgard Wyrm. Plus, we didnât end up actually taking that one down either.
We only won against Rynford because of the people thatâd helped us beat him back. We probably wouldâve lost otherwise.
There was only a single instance in which we went head on against anything that was considered a C level threat or higher and won, and that was when we fought the Legendary Skeleton.
ăIâve got a whole 62 self evolution points. Looks like weâll be able to make ourselves a decent bit stronger.ă
ăNn.ă
I couldnât help but feel good about the fact that I finally had over 600 base attack. Iâd only ever seen a few with numbers that high.
Heh, I was finally strong enough to be worthy of a sword with a name, even without all my skills and what not. Iâm no longer the same sword I once was! No way in hell Iâll ever get depressed by appraising one of Gallusâ swords ever again!
ăMaster. Grats.ă
ăWoof.ă
ăThanks! Donât worry, youâre next. Weâll definitely find a way for you to evolve!ă
ăNn!ă
To that end, weâd need more information. I didnât know if Aurel actually knew anything about how Black Catkin were supposed to evolve, but he himself was still a beastkin thatâd undergone an evolution, and thus, he might at least be able to point us in the right direction.
ăAlright! Letâs go meet that Dungeon Master so we can get Aurel to tell us what we want to know.ă