Looking up, a ceiling so high it only somewhat comes into view, spread before my eyes is a gigantic Forested Dome. The exit from the Fairy Square was a wall, better said, it was like a small cave poking into a great precipitous cliff face. This magnificently vertical cliff extended to the left and right, the ends of which are out of visual range. Advancing along the walls like always, seemed quite the detour.
And spreading out in front, would be a densely packed lush forest. One could imagine hidden beyond that verdure, a torrential sum of Monsters.
But, scariest of all is the field that is known as forest. In underground passages, the view isnât obstructed, and detecting enemies is easy. You only need to be cautious around corners and near rooms. However, inside a forest, trees and other vegetation become an infinite supply of cover, and ambushes are facilitated all the more. Yet further, the Monsters that lurk there are ones that make the forest their home. Territorial advantage is fully on the home team.
Passing through even those small Forested Domes almost made my spine freeze over. To think weâd have to walk god knows how many kilometers through that kind of place, frankly, itâs just depressing.
ââRight, letâs just goâ
Still, we advance. For survival.
Brilliant white light like that of the sun shines down from the extra-large light panels affixed on the ceiling. This place is bright like midday all 24 hours of the day. Thanks to that, itâs fairly bright in the forest as well.
âI guess these Forested Domes, donât really change muchâ
âI think, they got the same type of plants. But itâs possible we can find some awesome herb here, so letâs check around the vicinity for nowâ
For me with my Intuition Pharmacy, a forest lush in flora is like a mountain of treasure. And in fact, itâs because I found those two Redshrooms soon after I was thrown into this world, that I was able to finish off the Armor Bear.
Iâm sure, thereâs a bunch load of useful plants here in this forest, that are just anxious for us to find them. Shelving a modest bit of expectation in my heart, letâs get this Forested Dome capture startedâ but before that,
âWait a sec Futaba-san. I got granted a new Curse, so Iâd like to try that outâ
âEhh, really!? Thatâs amazing!â
If you ask whoâs amazing, itâs pretty much Futaba-san whoâs actually made use of her vocation, but yeah, getting that kind of reaction from a girl isnât bad at all. Itâs hostess club customer mentality.[1]
âAmazing or not, I wonât know till I try it but⊠yeah, you shouldnât really get your hopes upâ
I let her know just in case being incompetent as ever, and now I shall commence the experiment for the brand new Curse No. 5.
âUhh first, you collect some earthâ
The reason I proposed to test the new Curse as soon as we got here is primarily because the first condition was already cleared. Around here I can get my hands on all the earth I want, but in the stone built areas, its surprisingly hard to find. And just in case, we can run from here back to the Fairy Square lickety-split.
I squat down and concentrate on digging out the dirt. Futaba-sanâs standing right beside me on lookout, but I guess sheâs curious so sheâs occasionally peeking at my hands.
âNext, you add water and make mudâ
The 500ml plastic bottle filled with water we planned to drink along the way, is all used up all of a sudden. It should be fine to get it refilled after. Itâs a pain though.
âOnce the mud is made, letâs now shape it into human formâ
Taking the mound of mud, I knead it into parts like back in kindergarten. Itâs saddening that I have to start making mud balls after coming all this way in the dungeon, but I convince myself that this too is a necessity, and seriously build it into a human shape.
Itâs not clay but mud, so itâs impossible for it to have self-support like figure models. A head and limbs of mud laid on top of the ground like a relief is the limit. The size is more or less 30 cm.
âYouâve made it here, just a bit more. You can do itâ
âHey, Momokawa-kun, who are you explaining all this to?â
âAh, please donât talk to me for a bit. This is the explanation flowing into my brainâ
âS-sorryâŠâ
Futaba-san finally retorted looking at me talking to myself like Iâm explaining some childrenâs toy, but Iâd like her to understand than Iâm not messing around here. Really this, if I donât speak it out while doing it, I feel like Iâll forget the invocation procedure.
The aria is deeply engraved into my head but, itâs likely, that this explanation is a one-off thing. I donât know the theory behind it, but itâs designed annoyingly like this. Well, itâs not like the steps are difficult, so Iâll remember it if I do it once.
âNow that youâve made a splendid human form, letâs now add some of your bloodâ
Adding in blood, itâs kinda gotten Curse-like. Maybe itâs finally time to unleash, right here, the powers of a true curse. Getting a bit excited.
âEh, b-bloodâŠâ
âI guess I need to cut my finger here. Itâs great we got the ointmentâ
Hii, goes Futaba-san as she turns subtly blue in the face watching me cut my finger, to the point I canât imagine sheâs the same Berserker who massacred all those Goma. This isnât like, one of those, look Iâm cute, acts that girls do right?
With those light suspicions, I swipe the boxcutter over my left hand middle finger. And soon enough, a ball of fresh blood forms and drops land on the mud person. Huh, how much is some blood supposed to be anyway, I donât really get it⊠hmm, several drops should be ok.\nâAnd then you simply recite the aria, oh, is that it for prep work?â
Leaving my fingertipâs first-aid for later, I prioritize invoking the Curse.
âRise from chaos, bind in foul blood, stand on stained earthâ Vile Mud Dollâ[2]
After chanting the aria without break, the change starts.
The blood that had soaked into the mud without a trace, started rising and bubbling on the human shape. Me and Futaba-san both went âUwah!?â inadvertently at the disgusting process.
Blood boiled and enveloped the entirety of the human shapeâ wait, this is clearly more blood than the amount I dropped, the hellâs goinâ on. Anywho, I donât get the logic, but the human shape was now dyed crimson in blood, or so I thought or not, but this time, the bubbles of red all disappeared like water being sucked into the ground.
ââŠEh, itâs over?â
I voice a doubt after around 10 seconds of silence, but just then, the human shape moved.
âWoah, this, it moved!?â
A voice of surprise is raised a 2nd time.
That which was a plain human shaped clump of mud until just now, stood up. As if slipping out from the mold on the ground, the Mud Doll mechanically rose to its feet.
Its form, was slightly deviated from that human shape that I had constructed, the head was strangely bigger, the limbs like that of an infant, like a 4 head-lengths distortion design.[3]
âW-wow⊠Momokawa-kun, so this isâŠâ
âAh, yep, you guessed it, this is the Vile Mud Dollâ
Â
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\nFinally, 棰ăèăè â Koe o Kiku Mono â One who Hears. This oneâs just⊠anyway, literally, one who hears the voice, I shortened it for aesthetic reasons, I donât think the nuance is too different, its a pretty out there name in the first place. The description for this one is iffy as well.
[6] Iâd think you know what chuunibyou is. I could call it being colorful of mindâŠ
[7] So he says Berserk Body strengthens, sure thereâs some truth to it but itâs also a pun/hearing discrepancy since thereâs Kyou in Kyou Mukuro and Kyouka (strengthen). Itâs likely that he heard the names and descriptions from Futaba, so the miscommunication is valid?