Iâm definitely going to get chewed out this timeâŚwhat could I say to get out of this messâŚ?
I was lost in such thoughts, when I suddenly felt someoneâs gaze on me.
It was too far to make out clearly, but definitely hostile.
I looked all around, but despite my sight reinforced by Physical Boost, all monsters were gone; Dyne and the other people at the frontlines were still frozen, so it couldnât be one of them.
I checked the map too but did not find any suspicious presence nearby.
I tried enlarging the scope of the map and finally found something.
It wasnât in the direction the monsters came from, but more to the rightâŚon a small hill to the northeast of the capital. Around 1.5 Kilometols from my current position.
I couldnât use teleportation because I had never been there before, and since I was apparently under observation, it was probably wiser not to use it.
I used Wind magic to raise a cloud of smoke again, thus disappearing from the observerâs field of sight.
I followed by activating Stealth, Conceal Presence, and Physical Boost: before the smoke cleared, I started running towards the observer, as fast as I could.
If I ran at full speed, using Physical Boost and repeatedly activating Accelerate, I could cover 1.5 Kilometols in less than one minute.
I arrived on the small hill where the mysterious observer was, then started studying him from behind.
Heavenly king? If heâs a demon, does it mean heâs one of the classic four heavenly kings of the demon kingâs army?
I had never seen âCharm Manipulationâ and âTamingâ either, so I checked those first.
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<Charm Manipulation>
This skill allows the user to control beings lower in level and boost their abilities. There is no limit to the number of beings that can be controlled. However, beings with the Mental Fortitude skill cannot be controlled, even if their level is lower than the userâs.
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<Monster Taming>
This skill allows the user to control monsters, regardless of level, by satisfying specific conditions. The controlled monster can be reinforced, depending on this skillâs level. The number of controllable monsters depends on this skillâs level.
.
So he was controlling all those monsters with these skills.
His level was pretty high, so maybe the disaster class monsters in the pack were created by him, by powering up normal monsters with the Monster Taming and Charm Manipulation skills. He could be the cause behind the high-level monsters I faced recently too.
My reflections were interrupted by the usual robotic voice.
âŚgood, I got it. Hopefully, Iâll be able to put it to good use sometime.
After obtaining the observer â Gheelâs basic information, I decided to study him a bit longer.
The so-called âHeavenly Kingâ, on the other hand, took advantage of his apparent privacy to openly express his shock and anger.
âWhat!? Where did that human disappear to!? ShitâŚ! My plan would have been definitely successful if it wasnât for that bastardâŚ! I wasnât told they had a monster like that in their ranks! In any case⌠the plan was a failure, I must return immeâ â
I chose that timing to show myself and interrupted the demonâs monologue.
âIâm the monster here? Youâre hurting me, honestly.â
â!? How can youâ !!â
Gheel turned around, then jumped back as soon as he recognized me.
â â Dark Flame!!â
âWhoa, attacking alreadyâŚ?â
The black flames unleashed by Gheel enveloped my body in an instant.
Dark Flame was probably a Darkness and Fire magic spell: I had never seen anyone other than me use combination spells, so I guessed he wasnât a Heavenly King for nothingâŚthanks to my Black Coatâs magic resistance, however, the Dark Flame just made me feel a bit hot.
I didnât waste efforts in swatting away the flames, but Gheel apparently took it as a sign of victory: he started laughing and gloating.
âHahaha!! Puny human! I grant you fiery death, by the blaze ofâ â
âPhew.â
I activated a Wind magic spell and blew away the flames.
âWhat!? How can you be unhurt!?â
âNot enough firepower, I guess?â
âD-DAMN YOUâŚ!!!â
So raucously shouted Gheel, while reaching for the sword at his waist: yet he stopped before he could draw it.
The reason was that I used an Earth magic spell to encase him in soil from the neck down, blocking his movements.
âTch! Take this, then!!â
Gheel glared at me: for an instant, his eyes literally glowed.
âHahaha!! You are now my servant!! Free me from these constraints, pawn!â
Had he lost his mind, all of a sudden?
âAnd why would I do that?â
âW-what!? My Charm Manipulation doesnât work!? That cannot be!!â
Gheel was utterly shocked by my reaction.
So that glow was him activating Charm Manipulation.
âYeah, that wonât work on me. I have Mental Fortitude, and probably a level higher than yours too.â
The robotic voice kept telling me I leveled up while I was exterminating the monsters, after all. I didnât know exactly how much it had increased, so I had to check later.
Thanks to the level, I probably didnât need Mental FortitudeâŚoh well, no harm in having it.
âŚas usual, All Creation makes skills for me even if I donât say anything. Perfect.
I had mixed feelings about it, honestly, but it wasnât the time to think about it: Gheel was still there, glaring at me.
âYour level is higher than mineâŚ? Thatâs simply absurd, human!!â
The demon didnât believe me in the slightest, so I tried using Intimidation.
âT-this intimidating auraâŚ!! It cannot beâŚ! Youâre stronger than meâŚno, even stronger than the Demon KingâŚ!?! Could it beâŚare you a hero!?â
That was the worst misunderstanding I could ever hearâŚ
I flatly denied Gheelâs assumption.
âNo, Iâm not a hero.â
âYou lie!! If you are not a hero, then what in blazes are you!?â
âJust an adventurer.â
âSomeone as powerful as you is âjust an adventurerââŚ? Nonsense!!â
âIâm really telling the truth, thoughâŚâ
âDamn it allâŚ!! Wait until I get my hands on youâŚ!!â
Gheel tried to break free by force, but the earth encasing him was imbued with my magic power: it wasnât going to budge.
Letâs see what I can get out of this guy now.
âSo⌠tell me about the plan you mentioned just now.â
âHah! As if I would talk! Release me, human!!â
âLike hell I will. Okay, let me change the question. Do you know anything about the Dragon Wyvern in the western mountains? Did you demons have something to do with it?â
Gheel grinned at my question.
âDragon Wyvern? Ah, thatâŚhahaha, I bet that beast was too strong for you, huh? Not even I could fully control it, after allâŚâ
Gheelâs misunderstanding seemed to fill him with joy.
As it turns out, the wyvern and the monster horde were unrelated: it was just a coincidence that I happened into them in such a short span of time.
âHmm? Too strong for me? Are you talking about this?â
I took out the mutant wyvernâs head from my dimensional storage and showed it to Gheel.
His reaction was so shocked it was almost funny.
âNo! NononoNO!!! Impossible!! Not even a Heavenly King such as I could control that monster, and youâŚ!!â
âSheesh, accept the reality alreadyâŚdo you finally understand that you arenât a match for me?â
Gheel swallowed his breath.
âOnce again, whatâs this âplanâ of yours?â
ââŚthe plan consisted in using that large monster horde to attack and annihilate the kingdom of Perdis, one of the âThree Great Statesâ you humans created, The horde was supposed to trample Perdis and all its peopleâŚ!! Damn itâŚ! If it wasnât for your interference, the royal capital would be reduced to ruins by nowâŚ!â
Gheel gave up on resisting and finally spoke about the plan, though with clear frustration.
âI see, I seeâŚwas it all on the demon kingâs orders?â
âNo, His Majesty the Demon King knows nothing of thisâŚI ideated the plan on my own.â
âIs that so. Well, Iâve asked everything I wanted toâŚtime to end this.â
I raised a hand over Gheelâs head. He probably understood he was in danger and started begging for his life.
âH-hey, wait just a moment! You might not know me, but I am one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Kingâs army!! Do you dare kill me!? His Highness the Demon Kingâs fury will not be sated until he takes your life!! Do you really understand what youâre doing!?â
âIf he comes, Iâll just take him on. So long.â
As I spoke, I activated Purification, a high-grade Light magic spell.
Gheel was enveloped in light and started screaming in pain.
âGWAAAAAHHHH!!! I-I am oneâŚof the Four Heavenly KingsâŚ! I canâtâ â
Gheelâs words stopped halfway: he dissolved into light particles before he could finish his sentence.
âOkay, now we know what caused that large monster pack, time to go back and reportâŚhm?â
I was about to teleport back into town when the robotic voice in my head informed me I had leveled up again.
Gheelâs level was pretty high, after all, so I surely received a good amount of experience by finishing him off.
The robotic voice continued for a little while, then eventually stopped.
<< â Level increased. New title acquired: âTranscendent Oneâ.>>
Oh, a new title?
I was curious, but the voice continued.
<<Black Katana reached level 10, evolution has become possible. Black Coat evolution has become possible as well.>>
As the voice spoke, a window prompting me to choose whether to go ahead with the evolution or not popped up.
I decided to leave the new title for later and make the Black Katana and Black Coat evolve.
I picked the âyesâ option for both: the katana I held at my waist and the coat both started shining bright.
I had no idea what was going to happen, so I removed them both and placed them on the ground in front of me.
âDo they really have to shine so much? Pretty over the topâŚâ
So I whispered to myself as I watched the evolution process.
After a few minutes, the lights finally died down.
<<Evolution complete>>
The robotic voice, as emotionless as always, announced the end of the process.
Letâs see the Black Katana first.
In the sheath, but it looked the same as beforeâŚ
I extracted the katana from the scabbard and saw that the blade had become a black so deep it looked like it could swallow all light. It was also engraved with a reddish pattern, close to the color of cherry blossoms. It was just a black katana at first, but it looked much more elegant now.
I used Appraisal on it next.
<table>NAME : Black Katana â Benizakura RARITY : Divine NOTES : Weapon exclusive for Haruto.</tbody></table>
<table>The following effects are constantly active:</tbody></table>
<table>Unbreakable weapon</tbody></table>
<table>400% boost to userâs martial skills</tbody></table>
<table>400% boost to physical abilities</tbody></table>
I read through Appraisalâs information and was at a loss for words. What eventually came out of my mouth was just âEeeeehhhh!?!â
First of all, the rarity grade became Divine. I was told that items of that grade were only found in ancient records: none were supposed to exist at present.
Of course, I would be surprised after making such an item with my own hands.
I drew a couple of deep breaths, then checked the other details.
âAbsolute Cleaveâ was a skill that made it possible to cut through any material by infusing enough magic power into the blade.
The constantly active effect âunbreakable weaponâ meant, quite literally, that the katana would never break or even grow dull.
The two other abilities provided a 400% boost to the Martial skills I used and my physical abilities, just as the name said.
âŚitâs even more broken than before.
Iâm almost scared of checking the Black Coat nowâŚ
I nervously activated Appraisal on the Black Coat. It looked exactly the same as before, butâŚ
Physical and Magic resistance went from 30% (medium) to 80% (ultimate). I did think itâd be nice to have them at ultimate, but I didnât expect to get there so fastâŚ
The coat was unbreakable too, just like the katana.
âŚmight as well complete it by checking my own status.
I just received a new title, should have a lot of new skills with all the copying I did, and leveled up a lot tooâŚI honestly felt a bit scared.
Indeed, one glance at my new and upgraded status was enough to make me freeze up.
<table>NAME : Yuki Haruto LEVEL : 320 AGE : 17 SPECIES : Human (Otherworlder) UNIQUE SKILLS : All Creation</tbody></table>
WellâŚahem. I sure didnât expect my level to have gone up so muchâŚ
Letâs see the new title first.
As it turns out, the title âTranscendent Oneâ is obtained after the userâs level exceeds 200
Letâs check the new skills then: the ones I didnât have before are Limit Break, Sky Walk, Arm Vigor, Leg Vigor, Diamond, and Auto Healing.
First, Limit Break: as long as it was active, physical abilities and skills received a 500% boost.
Next was Sky Walk: it was a skill to walk in midair. I probably got it from one of the flying monsters.
Arm Vigor and Leg Vigor reinforced my arms and legs, respectively. Incidentally, the skill âLeapâ I used to have was apparently absorbed by Leg Vigor.
Diamond was the upgraded version of Harden, which let me increase the hardness of my body. Just like Leap with Leg Vigor, Harden was assimilated too.
Lastly, Auto Healing: it was a skill that automatically recovered spent physical and magic power. It could also heal minor injuries, but in case of major wounds or loss of limbs, I would need to use Recovery magic.
My skill set had become even more unbelievableâŚ
With my level now over 300, I worried if I wasnât crossing human boundaries a bit too far.
Just then, the realization hit me.
âCrap, this isnât really the time to be browsing my stats or evolving stuffâŚI have to go back!â
Dyne and the others were surely puzzled by my sudden disappearance.
I activated my newly acquired Sky Walk and Leg Vigor, together with Physical Boost and Accelerate, and hurried back to the first line of defense.