In one of my casual conversations with the queen, I asked whether she had any Yggdrasil Potion in her possession, to which I received an affirmative answer. In fact, I could have gotten it entirely free of charge, yet I still promised Mirelia I would repay the debt once I managed to unlock the corresponding recipe in Mixing.
And so, after spending a little ti traveling to Mirelia’s personal vault and back to the guest hall of the palace, our whole group gathered around Atla. Well, around and Atla, to be precise. After all, the girl was weak, and there was a non-zero chance she might simply spill such a precious resource. A simple waste would have been bad enough, but the problem was that obtaining another potion like this would take a very long ti, since the queen of lromarc had only this one.
As for , I wanted to see this girl’s developnt as soon as possible. What kind of monster would she beco if she managed to realize all that terrifying potential hidden within her?
Naturally, Fohl tried to give Atla the potion himself, but he was refused first by , and then finished off by the cruel, rciless, and absolute refusal of his own sister. And while my refusal had a logical basis — the dicines worked more effectively when taken from my hands — Atla simply didn’t want to accept the potion from anyone other than .
She’s a strange one. Were there really enough reasons for such attachnt? Yes, I saved them, but still... She ward up to far too quickly, pushing away even her own brother who had cared for her all her life.
Although, to it seems that in truth, Atla is just a fierce troll, hiding behind the mask of a sweet little girl. And she won’t stay a little girl for long, not if I take her training seriously.
"Well then, let’s begin. Open wide, here cos the airplane..." And the girl obediently opened her mouth without the slightest hesitation.
"W-what shaless behavior..." Wyndia, who was still with us, was, as always, acting true to form.
Carefully supporting Atla’s chin, I slowly began to pour the potion into her, a potion worth as much as a peasant’s comfortable lifeti. And the effect didn’t take long to show.
The bottle with the potion and Atla herself were enveloped in a green glow that seeped deep into her body. With the help of my Qi sense, I could see how the Yggdrasil Potion was performing the impossible in real ti. In re monts, the girl’s body wasn’t just healing from any and all wounds — whether minor or extrely severe — but was reaching a perfect state, sothing that, in my previous world, no human had ever truly possessed. Because such a thing as "perfect health," no matter what anyone said, simply didn’t exist.
Always, in every single case, there would be so defect, however small. It might go unnoticed, or cause no discomfort at all, but it was there. In that world where progress had long since replaced everything natural, it simply couldn’t be otherwise.
And yet, right now – it was.
"This... is incredible," Atla tilted her head as if listening to her own body. "I feel so much strength within ... as if... a mountain has been lifted off my shoulders..."
"You still can’t get up, but not for long. If things keep going like this, by this evening or tomorrow you’ll be able to run around." I shrugged.
"Thank you, Nott-sama," Atla bowed as best as her body allowed, straining slightly.
"A-Atla!"
"Co on now," I waved my hand, looking at the girl’s still closed eyes. "I didn’t do this solely out of the goodness of my heart."
"I understand. The wounds on your soul, Nott-sama, have healed even more. I will do everything in my power to support you in whatever you do."
"Then you’ll definitely get along with Night. Or maybe not..." I smirked, shifting my gaze to the bird, who was now staring with a thoughtful face at what I assud she saw as a rival.
The deed was done, and it was ti for our whole little crew to disperse. First of all, Wyndia was sent back to Zeltoble, to Pelgue’s family. Until I was firmly settled in lromarc, it would be much easier and safer for her to stay with them.
Then, as I was already thinking about my next steps, I noticed Naofumi approaching. He had also been sowhere within lromarc this whole ti.
"I wasn’t sure whether you were strong enough to simply ignore the materials from such a powerful monster, or if you had just forgotten... So I asked the queen’s people to move everything left of that dinosaur to the castle."
"Oh." At first I didn’t quite grasp what he ant, but then, little by little, realization dawned on . "O-o-oh..."
I smacked myself in the face.
"Damn. Thanks, Naofumi. After absorbing the core, I wasn’t exactly in the right state of mind – I completely forgot about the rest of the carcass."
"Don’t ntio— Wait, what? You... ate the dragon’s core?" Naofumi asked, his voice and expression filled with emotions I couldn’t quite read.
"Yeah... Just don’t ask why I did it."
"Alright... I suppose that really would be for the best..."
"So, did you feed anything to your Shield?" I decided to steer the conversation away from an uncomfortable topic.
"No," my companion shook his head. "You were the one who defeated it, after all."
"Hm... You’re not so bad, Naofumi." The kid received a serious nod from . "Alright, good luck to you. Unfortunately, I’ve still got a mountain of things to do..."
"Yeah..."
And that’s how we parted ways. I could feel the Shield Guy’s gaze on my back as I walked away, but that was all. He didn’t say another word.
anwhile, I decided to take care of the simplest task on my imdiate list. And also – the one that had just appeared. After all, it was kind of stupid... Absorbing the core had ssed up so much I had completely forgotten about everything else.
It didn’t take all that much ti to process the information in reality, but in my ntal world – if you could call it that – it felt like I had spent an eternity. And all that knowledge... was throwing off balance.
At least, that was how I justified it to myself.
I asked the first knight I t for directions to the designated pieces of the monster. Since they still hadn’t been moved to a darker, cooler place for preservation, the remains of the Tyrannodragon were lying in the castle’s backyard, and that’s where I headed.
Claws, spikes, fangs, scales, and countless other parts were fed into the Scythe for a long ti, one by one, in order to unlock the weapon of the sa na. And only at the very end, when the brain and then the heart were offered to the Weapon’s core...
[Tyrannical Dragon Scythe 0/50 (D)
Skill not mastered. Equipnt bonus: Attack 180
Special effect: Tyrant (passive)
Mastery: 0]
Not only was this scythe’s base attack bonus six tis higher than that of the Reaper’s Scythe, but it also had a greater potential for growth. The only problem was that its skill was sowhat... inconvenient.
The skill Tyrant allowed , in passive mode, to spread a tyrannical aura that pressed down on everyone who wasn’t a mber of my party and whom I designated as enemies, while also lowering their stats.
That would have been fine, except the aura turned out to affect even those I didn’t consider enemies. It completely ignored only my party mbers, even though the description clearly said otherwise. Whether that was because the skill itself was simply too strong, or because the castle soldiers were just too weak... was unknown.
In fact, I had so fairly reasonable doubts that I’d be able to obtain anything from the dragon’s corpse at all. The reason for that was that Night wasn’t the only one who had received a gift from Fitoria.
[Filolial Series forcibly mastered]
That was the ssage I got when the Queen of Filolials placed a strand of her hair into the Scythe’s core — the sa kind that Night now had.
Just as the ssage stated – the Elder Bird had forcibly unlocked for all Scythes related to the filolials. Most of the Scythes that beca available granted crafting bonuses or improved endurance/agility. Which ant, unfortunately, that filolials weren’t all that friendly with raw attack power.
And since the enmity between birds and lizards was common knowledge, I suspected I wouldn’t be able to master Scythes related to dragons. Because of that, at first, I even felt a bit down about the gift — it cut off from an entire branch of Scythes that could have made stronger.
But it all worked out.
"Nott-chan? What are you planning to do next?" Fohl was busy with Atla, Wyndia had already been sent off, and Naofumi had gone about his own business, so in the end it was just Night and Sadeena who remained with .
"There are still a few days left before our departure to the Cal Mira islands. And before that, there’s one more thing I need to finish. But I’ll do it alone."
"Oh-oh? You want to go by yourself? Completely on your own?" The girl’s eyes first widened in surprise, then turned ever so slightly suspicious.
"Yes." Smiling, I patted Night on the head. "So sorry, birdie, but we’ll have to spend a day apart."
"M-m-m..."
Although Night was clearly unhappy with this outco, she wasn’t used to arguing with , so she simply gave a not-so-approving, yet still accepting response. Sadeena, on the other hand...
"You’re hiding sothing, Nott-chan," she shook her head. "And here I was, missing you these past few days. I thought now we’d finally be able to travel together..." The orca-girl made the saddest puppy eyes, playing the role of a deeply wronged woman in the best way she could.
"I just don’t want to drag you into this. You still need to restore your level, and now Night can raise hers further as well. Maybe the two of you could focus on that while I’m busy?"
Yes, I was blatantly trying to change the subject — it was obvious to anyone. Probably even to Night. Especially since I’d recently confird that the bird understood far more than she let on.
"Ah... Tyrant. But that’s exactly why we love him, right, Night?" Sadeena smiled sweetly and laid her palm on the bird’s head.
"Mm-hm."
Adorable. My birdie really was adorable. Even now, after all this ti, I couldn’t stop being touched by her often very out-of-place seriousness.
"Well, that’s settled then. It shouldn’t take long, so most likely by tomorrow I’ll rejoin you. I’m still curious about what’s so special about those sea monsters."
"Trust , Nott-chan, you won’t regret it!"
"I don’t doubt it."
...
"So, are you ready, Nott-sama?" Mirelia lifted her gaze from the docunts to look at .
"Yeah. If I’m not mistaken, today is the day that aristocrat leaves lromarc?" It would’ve been a little awkward if I’d mixed up the dates...
"Yes. Lucas All is departing today for a diplomatic eting. But..." The queen’s gaze grew uncertain.
"Sothing wrong?"
"I’m not sure. Word has reached that, as a gesture of trust between the parties of the treaty, Lucas was assigned a very powerful escort. I have reason to believe it may be one of the Star Heroes."
"Oh, really..."
That was... truly unexpected. Until now, I had only t one such hero, and that was literally yesterday. Fitoria, of course, was a unique case, and her power was simply absurd. But how strong could a Star Hero be, one who hadn’t lived for hundreds or even thousands of years? How much could soone born and raised in this world, yet wielding a Legendary Weapon, achieve?
"I have a question."
"Yes? I’ll do my best to answer, if it’s within my power, Nott-sama."
"How long ago did the first Star Weapon gain its wielder?"
"Hm..." Mirelia thought for a mont, resting her hand against her chin. "Ten years ago, my... husband beca the Hero of the Staff. Before him, only the Hero of the Axe was officially known to exist, but no one had seen him. Later, the Claw, the Whip, the Hamr, and the Throwing Weapon each found their owners. The only Legendary Gear still without a master are the Gauntlets. There’s also the Legendary Carriage, but practically nothing is known about it."
"I see... Then my potential opponent could have had more than ten years of growth."
"Six, to be precise. The Hero of the Axe... let’s just say, it’s highly unlikely he would side with the aristocracy – of that I’m certain. But six years ago, the Hero of the Claw was chosen."
"Got it. Hard to imagine what a Star Hero could accomplish in six years, but... we’ll manage sohow."
Fitoria was the kind of monster who had been leveling for over a hundred years. Compared to that, six years felt almost laughable.
"Then it’s decided. Let’s run through the plan one last ti, and then whatever happens, happens. It’s ti to put an end to this drawn-out story."
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