Raven hair flies out from the shadows to coil around the ankle of a wandering Skeleton. But this time, it wasnât flayed like weeds, but taut as a rope, twining around the Monster.
âYes, braiding is a go!â
Yes, what came upon invoking, was the punishing Blackhair in its newly braided glory.
In the fight with the Great Frog, my Blackhair Bind couldnât do a thing. With only those few strands of hair coiling about, a Monster can all too easily shake it off.
At present, my Blackhair Bind is the only thing useful in battle, that too, only at restraining the enemy; so Iâll focus on excelling at that. But itâs not like a game where I can put in accumulated Skill Points to the Skill I want to improve.
That being, how does this strengthening work anyway? Iâve thought of three ways.
Number one: by simply being granted powerful abilities. The so called levelup. But, this method depends on Godâs whim, so how much I need to fight to get a new Skill, or more so, what Skill will be granted, I canât choose anything. God knows when Iâll get to power up, literally.
Number two: by repeatedly using a Skill, Iâll attain mastery. If you could call it a proficiency leveling system, then my gamer-senses will start tingling, and even if itâs not the case, thereâs always the saying that practice makes perfect.
This not being mere coincidence is proved by the existence of Hirano-kun and Nishiyama-san whoâve constantly kept using their techniques and Magic. Though thereâs no dramatic rise in strength, they still got used to using their Skills themselves, something that is indispensable in the rush of battle. Thereâs more than enough merit in training, or more like, from here onwards, itâll likely become absolute necessity.
And last but not least, the method 3 is: ingenuity. This is where, even without the abilityâs strength or effect changing, using it in a different way or two can lead to many other applications. Futaba-san using her Berserker strength to throw stones, can also be said to be one form of ingenuity.
With that, me braiding the strands of my Blackhair Bind is that so called ingenuity, that I have just successfully implemented. The result is plain as day. Rather than separated strands of hair, all of them working together visibly increases their toughness.
Incidentally, the Skeleton restrained with the braided bind, was promptly pulverized with a blow from Futaba-sanâs battle-axe.
âIt kinda sounds obvious, but the image is pretty importantâ
When I gave it a try without thinking too hard about it, it was a splendid failure. But then, after thinking about how braiding works, and actually trying it a bit of my long-ish hair to solidify the image, the result is voila.
âAlright, next is the length and number, letâs get crackinâ!â\nItâs been several dozen minutes that Iâve been walking around with Futaba-san in the passages. Peeking through rooms, we encounter foes. Feels pretty much like grinding in an RPG.
âHaa⊠looks like this is it for nowâ
Results: hair length extends to 2 meters. Number of braids: a maximum of 2. When making 2, the length of each is cut to half, that is, to 1 meter, is what Iâve determined.
And after binding and playing around with many Skeletons, as usual, Futaba-san destroys them. Thinking carefully, we may look like doing weâre doing something cruel, but I can explain it away such that this is all for science. I mean, the other partyâs coming at us with the intend to kill so why not.
âItâs amazing Momokawa-kun. The Curses are getting to be really something!â
âN-no~, you flatter me, ahahaâŠâ
With the joyous smile, and straight-forward complements from Futaba-san, man itâs embarrassing. Iâm not the type that gets praised in general, so with the complements coming in on rapid-fire, itâs really more embarrassing that anything.
If she keeps this up, I might just become a good-for-nothing very quickly. Kind, great at cooking, plus complements galore, Futaba-san, I wonder if sheâs trying to become a machine that produces hopeless men.
âA-Anyway, Iâll test out Mud Doll nextâ
âYeah, go for it Momokawa-kunâ
Being watched over under a gaze like that of an affectionate mother, I get myself together, and concentrate on Curse practice.
This time, Iâm testing if you can make the Doll with something other than mud. More like, canât I use Monster materials to make a really powerful Doll, is the encompassing thought and goal.
The uselessness of the Mud Doll, is obvious looking at the battle with the Great Frog. I need to at least increase the resilience a bit more, or else it wonât even serve as a distraction. Currently, it only amounts to the level of collecting chump change doing street performances or something.
However, if it is the case that, depending on the material, I can create powerful Dolls⊠the dream gets bigger all at once. Now, arise, my strongest Servant! [1]
â⊠Ah, thereâs no mudâ
Is what I realized after gathering the remnants of Skeletons and arranging them into what would become the Dollâs skeleton. My increasingly rising tension, upon such a reality, underwent a sharp decline.
The Curseâs name even has Mud in it, so not including it as a production element, I donât foresee the process coming to fruition.
âSo you really need the mud?â
âYeah, with a skeletal structure from Skeletons, and using mud to make the meat, is the image I had in mind. We have water, but if only I had just a bit more sandââ\nâUh huh⊠then, Ei!â
Contrary to the gentle cry, the sounds of destruction were brutal. What the, I thought but then saw, bashing her battle-axe into the wall in full swing, there was Futaba-san.
âAh, look, I did it Momokaka-kun! Thereâs sand now see!â
What Futaba-san struck apart, was the stone wall with the thickness of a cinderblock. The blade of the axe had eaten through the wall, reaching the other side, from where the underground sand spewed out.
Speaking of the dungeonâs construction, we must be underground. So breaking a wall, youâll be presented with the soil bed beyond, would be the correct in theory⊠But for actually testing that out, youâd need to get past those unreasonably tough walls.
âT-thanksâ
Though I continue to be astounded at how naturally she wields her Berserker strength, since I got what I wanted, I can do nothing but thank Futaba-san.
Anywho, now I can continue the experiment creating a Mud Doll with Skeleton parts.
The image is important. As for the prep work for this Curse, I remember it fine from having done it before. So, all thatâs left is to finish the form, imaging vividly, and try it out.
âRise from chaos, bind in foul blood, stand on stained earthââ
Atop the floor, I have the bone fragments of Skeleton arranged in a human shape. On top of that, I take the sand provided by Futaba-san and mix it with the Fairy Square water in the plastic bottle, creating mud and adding it to the structure. The make is simple to the extreme. So thereâs no complicated imaging necessary either.
If this fails, then I donât think itâll work no matter how many ways I try.
So, pretty please Ruinhilde-sama. Let me have, just a bit more hopeâ offering up such a prayer, I let drops of fresh blood fall onto the human shape of mud.
ââVile Mud Doll!â
And the results are made clear immediately.
âYes, itâs alive!?â
Bestowed with cursed life, the Mud Doll stood tall adhering my command.
Its appearance, practically same as the first one. The bones were framed inside so the outside is tinted mud brown⊠but there was one fundamental difference.
âWa, this one, its like itâs wearing a maskâ
\nâWell, here goes nothingâ
âY-Yeahâ
Feeling Futaba-sanâs gaze, as she swallows her spit in suspense, watching over me, I challenge the 2nd Curse trial.
âRise from chaosââ
I let down, the first drop of blood.
The drop of red falls straight down, it hits the human shape at the forehead areaâ and, wew, comes a dizziness.
âBind in foul bloodââ
What was that, must be nothing. I thought, during which 2 drops, 3 drops, are let to fall.
And, when those come into contact with the Mud Doll,
âStand on stained eartââ
The world swivels.
My vision violently rocks, the Mud Doll I was looking at goes far away, before I know it, I find myself looking at pure white light. Ah, this, is the roomâs light panel? Which means, I fell down I guess.
ââ Momokawa-kun!â
It looks as if itâs supposed to be loud, but her voice felt terribly far.
Iâm fine, I turn to Futaba-san to try and give her some reassurance, when my vision obscures. After that, any more thoughts wereâ