“Slaaah! (Scary!)”
“Slasuu, slaslaas (Gonna be killed, gonna be eaten!)”
“Sla, Slaaasulaslaa! (Hey, you new recruits are pathetic!)”
“Suususuura, slalaslasuura (Now, now Sura-ta, we were like that at first too, right?)”
Memories from the slime herd in the past.
Slimes who had just started going out to hunt were all afraid of their first real battle.
That’s why it was surprising. That Fiss could fight so brilliantly.
Perhaps sensing my thoughts, Fiss tells me with a dissatisfied expression.
“I’m Level 8. I have experience fighting Demon Beasts.”
“O-oh, that’s right…”
I had become numb after obtaining my Unique Skill, but to level up to Level 8, you would normally have to go through a fair amount of combat.
I should consider that she has a corresponding amount of combat experience.
“(No, even so, what she did earlier was inhuman…)”
She saw the interval between the aiming and firing of the stone projectiles just once, and then leaped right before they were fired.
She swung her axe and killed two of them at the same time, calmly defended against the stone projectiles from the survivor. And then she took advantage of the opening after the attack to defeat it.
Even if her physical abilities were enhanced by magic, only a first-class warrior would be able to do the same feat.
“My Level went up from that.”
“Oh, that’s a good start.”
It seems that the sensory enhancement of Physical Keen and the physical enhancement of Physical Boost are enhanced by a multiplier.
If the base Stats increase, the increase will also be greater.
“Alright, then next is cooking time.”
I mimicked the Red Whip and wrapped it around one of the Gargoyles.
“Escalating Warfare”
I analyzed it with my Skill.
The only information I get is the properties as a weapon, but if I know the hardness of each part and the presence or absence of toxicity, it will be useful for cooking.
Once the information gathering is complete, the next step is dismantling.
“Fiss, please turn around. I don’t want us to be ambushed by other Demon Beasts.”
After confirming that the girl had turned around, I used the hook at the tip of the Red Whip—made from the fangs of the Red Lizard. It constantly emits ultra-high heat—to melt it.
First, the blue blood evaporated, and then the smell of burning meat began to fill the air.
“(Crap, did I burn it?)”
I noticed that the area where the Red Whip had been in contact for a long time was charred.
I hurriedly pulled it away, but the meat was already ruined.
I can’t eat this anymore. I’ll melt it later.
“(It’s better to use the Forest Shackles to cut the ingredients.)”
Instead of being lazy and trying to cut and cook at the same time, I decided to cook steadily.
I created a shield that was shaped like an iron plate, and put the Red Whip underneath it.
Then, I put the ingredients that I had cut with the Forest Shackles on the iron plate and grilled them.
“(Alright, this one is cooked through, I’ll put it on a small plate (shield)… and this meat looks good too.)”
Eventually, all the meat that I had put on first was cooked.
The parts I grilled this time were all different.
I can’t tell the taste with Escalating Warfare, so I’ll ask for her impressions.
“It’s cooked!”
I handed her a plate along with a small three-pronged spear (fork).
Fiss took it and stared intently at the white grains that were placed on a part of the plate.
“You even had rock salt.”
“I found it by chance while searching for ore. I refined it with my Skill, so you can eat it without worry.”
I’m not very knowledgeable, so I don’t know if it’s the same substance and structure as rock salt on Earth, but it’s definitely salty.
It comes out occasionally, so I was saving it in case I could use it for something, but I never thought I would use it as food.
“Yeah, it’s delicious. Thank you.”
“Alright, so that part is okay to grill. Let me hear your impressions of the others too.”
And so, the barbecue continued.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“Well then, let’s start the magic experiment.”
I said that to Fiss, who had finished eating the meat of the three Gargoyles.
I had given her plenty of Mana Fruit to drink instead of water, so her Mana was full.
“Okay. But what are we going to do?”
“Let’s see… how about a long-range attack, for example? Since it’s Body magic, you might be able to shoot bone arrows, right?”
“I’ll try it, just in case.”
She held out her hand and began to focus her Mana.
However, no Mana was consumed, and no bone arrows were created.
“…It seems like it’s no good after all. I’ve always been bad at interfering with things outside of myself.”
“Is that a ‘nature’ thing?”
Fiss nodded.
I had heard from Paula that even with the same Attribute, people have their own strengths and weaknesses.
Some are simply good at high instantaneous output, while others are good at fine control.
Some are good at maintaining magic, while others are good at making their creations sturdy.
These differences are the “nature” of the Attribute.
“Nature” is different for each person, and in Fiss’s case, it seems that she is not good at using her abilities on anything other than herself.
“Then, is it difficult to interfere with an enemy’s body to weaken them?”
“Probably. At least, I couldn’t strengthen others.”
“Then it can’t be helped, let’s think of something else.”
However, Body isn’t such a difficult concept, and she’s already using it well without me saying anything.
If I’m going to do anything, it should be more advice.
“Let’s see… you can’t stack effects, right?”
“Yeah, the effect duration just increases, the effect amount doesn’t overlap.”
“Hmm… come to think of it, Fiss, you only use magic on the necessary parts, right?”
“That’s right. For the five senses, I cut off the enhancement of everything except my eyes to reduce Mana consumption.”
That’s a similar principle to the “Convergence” of Zone Control.
I suddenly remembered that Zone Control had also grown in the battle with the Red Lizard, but it’s not relevant now, so I pushed it to the back of my mind.
“Then, conversely, how about narrowing down the target?”
“Narrowing down…?”
“Yeah. Instead of not enhancing anything other than your eyes, enhance only your eyes. If you concentrate your resources by focusing the enhancement effect on one point, wouldn’t it become more powerful than usual?”
I said it with the image of narrowing the outlet of a hose.
“…That might be good. Physical Keen.”
Mana coursed through the girl’s body, gathered in her closed eyes, and was consumed as if it were seeping in.
Her eyelids were raised, and her red eyes were turned towards the distant mountains.
“…Success. I can see more clearly, slowly and distinctly than before.”
“Oh, you did it in one go, that’s fast.”
While being surprised that she succeeded so easily, I talked about another idea that I had been thinking about in the meantime.
“Then next—”