Chapter 33

This is the second part of today's two-part posting.

If you haven't read the previous part, please pay attention to the notice at the beginning and read it.

I realized that I was in first place for the quarter in the "SF" genre.

Thank you very much, everyone!

(￣(エ)￣)＜Please enjoy the second chapter, too!

□ Duel City Gideon - Inn "Dawn Man" [Paladin] Ray Sterling

The day after arriving in Gideon.

To be precise, it's the next morning in real life, and in <Infinite Dendrogram>, a whole day has passed.

It's complicated.

The triple time in <Infinite Dendrogram> is convenient, but it can also be quite troublesome in situations like this.

Well, I logged in, but it's only 6:00 AM in <Infinite Dendrogram>, and the sun has just risen.

"Good morning, Master. You're up early."

As soon as I logged in, Nemesis flew out from my left hand.

"…In real life, it's a time when I'd still be sleeping in."

Well, I logged in, but I'm a bit at a loss.

Today, I need to buy new equipment to match my level up and other items, but I have to wait until the stores open.

"I thought I'd get new equipment first, but… should I start with a test first?"

"What kind of test?"

When Nemesis asked, I showed her my hands.

"Of this."

The hands I raised were equipped with gauntlets—[Miasma Flame Gauntlets Gardranda].

◇

Basically, the gates of the kingdom's cities are open 24 hours a day.

There are various reasons for this, but one of them is that many <Masters> are active at night.

Well, if you could only pass through during the day, it would be very inconvenient, and people would try to climb over the walls.

So, the gates are open 24 hours a day, and the gatekeepers work in three shifts, like convenience store part-timers.

When I greeted the gatekeeper soldier as I left through the north gate, he returned the greeting, a bit sleepy.

Well, after leaving Gideon, I stepped back into the <Nex Plain> I had visited yesterday.

I wandered around looking for monsters.

While doing so, I spotted a [Goblin Warrior] acting alone.

A monster I defeated yesterday. If what I'm about to test fails, I can still defeat it on my own.

It's a good opponent for the test.

"When I said I'd test the gauntlets, what exactly am I testing?"

"Yeah, the [Miasma Flame Gauntlets] have several equipment skills, right? I want to see if they really work. I'm a bit scared to use them against a strong enemy right away."

Skills obtained suddenly, like <Revenge is Mine> from the [Demidra] battle and <The Reversal Flaps Like a Flag> from the [Gardranda] battle, don't always match the situation. Testing is important.

Now, about the equipment skills of the [Miasma Flame Gauntlets], they are called <Inferno Flame> and <Hell Miasma>.

There was a skill with a name of <???>, but it seems I can't use it now, so I'll ignore it.

The MVP bonus from <UBM> seems to have the characteristics of the defeated <UBM>, so these two skills are most likely to emit flames and miasma gas.

If they work properly, I'll finally have an attack method other than regular attacks and <Revenge is Mine>.

Using gems to cast attack magic every time is wasteful.

...Oh, by the way, I still have some of those gems left.

Just then, a [Goblin Warrior] noticed me and charged at me, swinging its weapon.

"Then, let's start—<Inferno Flame>"

I declared the use of the skill while pointing my "palm" at the [Goblin Warrior].

Immediately, the demon's mouth on the "back of my hand" opened,

"Huh?"

It shot a fierce red flame at me—my vision turned red with flames.

"Whoa, what the—!?"

My HP dropped dangerously!

This is my own attack, so defensive skills like <Paladin's Blessing> don't activate!?

Ah! I'm getting the <Burn> status effect!?

‘I’m gonna die from a self-inflicted explosion, you moron!? Nngh! The [Goblins] are coming, too!?’

"Whoa, what!?"

This battle, where I took massive damage from my own skill and nearly died.

I barely won by desperately defending against the [Goblin Warrior]'s attacks and using recovery items and skills.

Lesson learned.

Testing is important, but you need to consider the safety margin more carefully.

◇

"...Alright, let's get back on track and test <Hell Miasma> next."

‘Will it be okay this time?’

"It'll be fine. No problem."

‘It’s a retro gag, isn’t it?’

It's 2045 now.

Well, while looking for prey, I found a monster that looked like a bipedal plant.

A monster called [Walking Grape], which is a tree that walks while hanging "grapes."

‘Is it breathing properly? Or should it be burned instead?’

"This time, I'll test <Hell Miasma>. Plants breathe, so it should work. <Hell Miasma>, release!"

This time, I properly aimed the back of my hand at the target.

I won't make the mistake of getting enveloped in the smoke myself.

The miasma that spewed out enveloped the [Walking Pine] as intended—then a gust of wind blew it back towards me.

"Ah, no!"

‘That was to be expected, wasn’t it?’

I fled, careful not to inhale the miasma.

Dangerous, very dangerous. I almost killed myself with my own skill.

"What happened to the monster?"

When the miasma was blown away by the wind and I checked, the [Walking Grape] was suffering from a status effect.

"Oh, it's working, it's working."

‘It seems to be effective. However, this won’t work outdoors in strong winds, and of course, not indoors…’

"It's a tricky skill to use."

While talking, something flew into my mouth.

"Huh!?"

I accidentally bit and swallowed it.

It had a faintly sour and sweet aftertaste... it was a grape.

A grape. Yes, that [Walking Grape] was shooting grape fruits at me. Ah, another grape just flew into my mouth.

...What?

"Is this a grape attack!?"

‘Master, don’t talk with something in your mouth.’

But, what's the point of this forced grape attack?

It's delicious, and even if it hits, it only leaves a bit of juice, not really hurting...!?

"Ugh..."

‘Master! What’s wrong! Did that attack have poison or something!?!’

Poison... Yes, there was poison.

My status clearly showed the status effect.

[Severe Poison], [Intoxication], [Weakness]—three status effects.

"Did I inflict these status effects on myself...!?"

It seems that by eating the contaminated grapes, I inflicted the status effects on myself.

Status effects can be inflicted through such means.

Additionally...

‘Master! Monsters are coming from all around!!’

Looking around, [Goblins] and beast-type monsters were appearing one after another.

They all seemed to be drawn to me—or rather, to the juice that had seeped into me.

"I see, that's the kind of attack..."

With my body inflicted with three status effects, I was attacked by over ten monsters.

◇

"Despite some unexpected troubles, I now have a good understanding of how to use this."

<Inferno Flame> was a big failure at first, but once I got the hang of it, it proved to be very useful.

First, it has high power. It deals more damage than I can with a regular slash.

Furthermore, it can continuously emit flames as long as MP is consumed, and if the target is burned enough, they will get the <Burn> status effect or the more severe <Char> status effect.

As the name suggests, the [Goblin]'s arm was charred.

<Inferno Flame> is a very powerful weapon, but it doesn't distinguish between friend and foe, and even includes the user, so it requires careful use.

By the way, its power is still lower than the flames spewed by [Gardranda].

If it had the same power, my head would have been gone in the first failure.

<Inferno Flame> is likely weaker because the equipment effect is reduced, or because my own abilities are not sufficient.

There are still skills that haven't been unlocked, so it will take some time before I can fully master the [Miasma Flame Gauntlets].

Additionally, I unexpectedly found myself surrounded by over ten monsters due to the three status effects, but the <Hell Miasma> test was completed successfully.

Phew, that was close.

If <The Reversal Flaps Like a Flag> hadn't activated, I would have died.

Thanks to the power-up from <The Reversal>, I was able to kick the swarming monsters away and survive.

By the time it was over, the [Walking Grape] had died from [Severe Poison].

It was lucky to discover that ingesting a monster I had inflicted with a status effect counts as a negative effect from the enemy.

I don't know if I'll have the opportunity to use it in the future.

I don't usually eat monsters while fighting.

In any case, I need to be careful when using <Hell Miasma>.

Ah, right.

The [Walking Grape] died, so <The Reversal> was canceled.

So, I'm currently suffering from the status effects again.

"Ugh... <First Heal>"

While lying face down due to [Intoxication] and [Weakness], I used magic to recover my HP, which was decreasing due to [Severe Poison].

I thought the three status effects from <Hell Miasma> would weaken like the flames from <Inferno Flame>, but they didn't.

They were just as strong as the ones I received from [Gardranda].

‘Perhaps it’s less effective against stronger opponents. But it seems to work regardless of level for now.’

"Maybe..."

While observing the status effects and the symptoms of <Burn> and <Char>, I wondered if some status effects might change based on the amount received.

If you receive a status effect attack and the status effect level reaches a certain value, the status effect will manifest.

If you receive more status effect attacks, the condition will worsen.

...If you inhale too much miasma, will another status effect manifest?

I don't want to find out.

"But this is a problem. I can't crawl back to the city like this."

‘That would be embarrassing... Oh?’

While lying face down and looking at the city, a shadow fell over me at that moment.

I realized someone was behind me and slowly raised my upper body to look back.

I didn't jump up because I was still affected by the status effects and because I judged that the presence wasn't like a [Goblin] that would attack.

My judgment was both correct and incorrect.

It was indeed not a [Goblin] or other monster.

But it was a person worth being cautious about.

‘…………’

It was a penguin.

A penguin in a bear-like large costume was looking down at me.

"!?"

I tried to jump back to gain some distance, but my body, affected by the status effects, didn't move as I wanted.

However, the penguin in the costume remained still, just looking at me.

‘Is it Kuma-san in a different costume?’

No, it's not my brother.

This one isn't looking at me with the same friendly gaze as my brother.

However, I don't sense the hostility that monsters or [Gardranda] had.

If anything, it seems to be... observing me.

"Who are you?"

‘Who am I? Hehehehehe... Tsk!’

When I asked, it suddenly jumped up, breaking the silence and stillness.

It spun around on the spot and struck a V pose with its whole body.

‘My name is Flamingo! I want you to call me Doctor Flamingo!’

...A weirdo.

‘Is a costume a sign of a weirdo?’

There are only two of us now.

If a third person in a costume turns out to be a weirdo, I'll accept the theory.

But let's put the weirdo costume theory aside for now.

"Flamingo or whatever. That costume looks like a penguin."

It resembles an Adélie penguin, which I often see at aquariums.

Its body color is black and white, definitely not a pink, flashy bird.

‘Hehehehe! Don’t worry about the details! More importantly, you seem to be suffering from status effects! Take this!’

The penguin took a potion bottle from its pocket—on its abdomen—and held it out.

"What is this?"

‘It’s a status effect cure! Since it seems to be a virus-type status effect, this should cure it!’

"......"

It would be helpful, but can I trust this obviously suspicious penguin?

‘Is it a trap?’

There's also the lesson from Ray Ray's alcohol substitute.

However, if this penguin wanted to harm me, it could have just finished me off while I was writhing in status effects.

There's no reason to set a trap with a potion.

"Thank you."

I took the potion from the penguin's hand... and activated <The Reversal> as a precaution... and cautiously took a sip.

...Ah, it's delicious. It tastes like a mixed fruit juice.

And when I drank it, the status effects that were afflicting my body gradually disappeared,

‘Did you drink it?’

...At the same time, I was hit with a terrible headache.

"What, you...!"

‘This guy, it’s a trap after all!’

I held my aching head and knelt on the ground.

‘I’ve been thinking while looking at you. What kind of medicine would suit you?’

The headache gradually worsened.

‘Yes, and I’ve reached a conclusion! Only this prototype will do!’

Eventually, the headache reached its peak and—disappeared as if by magic.

"?"

...What was that just now?

The headache alone didn’t cause anything to happen and disappeared immediately.

However, the penguin who spiked me with something seemed oddly satisfied.

"Hey, what did you make me drink?"