Episode 111: The Five Glass Orbs
Yuma returned home near evening, placed the Palladium Demon Ore on his desk, and gazed at it with his arms crossed.
“Now then… I got it, but should I use it?”
If it’s more expensive than platinum, I might sell it, but it would be troublesome if they asked where I got it again.
I can prove that I properly obtained it from the Black Dungeon, so I think it’s possible to sell it as a Demon Ore rather than as a precious metal…
“No one would buy a Demon Ore with unknown properties, right?”
It might be bad for the body, so I can’t carelessly sell it.
“Even if it’s a 15,000 Demon Ore, I can use it. If I use it in a ‘Metallized’ state, it might not affect my body…”
Yuma started to worry, “Umm…” He has the desire to use it. If it’s a Chimera Demon Ore, I might get [Shapeshifting] or [Regeneration].
Both are powerful abilities. If I can use them, I’ll become even stronger than I am now.
But I don’t know what kind of effect it will have on my body.
Yuma stood up, picked up the Demon Ore, left the room, and went down the stairs. He went through the living room, onto the veranda, put on his sandals, and went out to the backyard.
Mamezou was wagging his tail in front of the doghouse.
“Oh, good boy, Mamezou! Shall we go for a walk?”
“Woof woof!”
Seeing Mamezou frolic so happily, his worries seemed to disappear.
“Mamezou, I’m wondering whether or not I should drink this weird stone. What do you think I should do?”
Yuma said, “This is it,” and took out the Palladium Demon Ore from his pocket.
He placed it on his hand and held it out in front of Mamezou, who tilted his head with a slightly puzzled look.
“It’s a stone with unknown properties, but do you think I should eat it?”
“Kuuuhn…”
Mamezou sniffed the Demon Ore and then suddenly grabbed it in his mouth.
“Ah!? Idiot! Spit it out, Mamezou!!”
Yuma hurriedly reached for the Demon Ore and forcibly took it from Mamezou.
“That was close! You might die if you swallow it, you know.”
When Yuma scolded him, Mamezou sat down and wagged his tail, looking up with his round eyes.
“Well… I guess it’s my fault for showing you the stone carelessly…”
Yuma apologized to Mamezou, unhooked the leash connected to the doghouse, and took him for a walk.
◇◇◇
“Haa… what should I do?”
After returning from the walk, Yuma collapsed on his desk in his room, still agonizing over whether to eat the Demon Ore or not. He picked up the Demon Ore in front of him and looked at it from various angles.
It’s a beautiful metal that reflects light like a mirror, with faint relief patterns on the surface.
It looks somewhat similar to the Deca Slime Demon Ore. I wonder if there’s any connection?
“Alright! There’s no point in thinking about it. I’ve eaten them before, so it’ll probably be okay this time too.”
Yuma stood up and put strength into his body.
His body was dyed black, and his whole body turned into steel. He lightly wiped the Demon Ore in his hand with a tissue and put it in his mouth.
He can widen his throat with the power of Liquid Metal, so he can swallow the Demon Ore without drinking water. He swallowed the Demon Ore into his stomach.
“H-How is it…?”
After a while, his stomach started to get hot.
And it’s not the usual heat from a Demon Ore. It’s a violent change like when he swallowed the Deca Slime Demon Ore.
But he’s ‘Metallized’ now, so it should be okay.
As he endured, thinking that, the boiling heat gradually subsided.
“Phew, seems okay.”
Yuma looked around his body, but there was no particular change. But from his past experiences, he should have acquired some kind of ability.
He lightly moved his body and put strength into his whole body. If he had [Shapeshifting], his body might change. He thought, but is it different?
If it’s [Regeneration], he can’t confirm it unless he hurts his body.
But if it’s not, he’ll just get hurt, so he doesn’t want to do it if possible…
As he was thinking about that, he suddenly noticed something on the back of his left hand.
“Huh? What’s this?”
On the back of his left hand, there were five translucent glass orbs, about one centimeter in diameter, arranged in a circle.
All the glass orbs were cloudy and looked like pearls at first glance.
“I didn’t have these before… is it the effect of the Demon Ore after all?”
He knew that a part of his body had changed, but he wondered, “So what?”
After that, he tried various things, such as waving his hand, poking the glass orbs, and releasing ‘Metallization’ once, but he didn’t understand anything in the end.
“I can’t do it. I give up.”
As Yuma sat down in his chair, exhausted, he heard a voice from below.
“Yuma, dinner’s ready!”
It was his mother. Thinking it was already dinner, he got up and headed to the kitchen.
◇◇◇
Dinner was set on the dining table, and his father was already sitting there.
Yuma also took his seat and waited for his mother, who was busily dishing out food in the kitchen. His father, sitting directly across from him, was pouring sake into his sake cup as usual.
He wore serious-looking black-rimmed glasses, and his hair was neatly parted in a seven-three style. It seemed to represent his father’s honest personality.
“…How’s work? Are you getting used to it?”
His father casually spoke to him.
“Huh? Yeah, well, I’m getting a little used to it.”
“Are you getting along with the people at the company?”
“Yeah, everyone’s nice.”
“I see…”
His father didn’t say anything more. His mother brought the dishes and said, “Now, let’s eat.” She sat next to his father and put her hands together.
““Let’s eat.””
The three of them surrounded the dining table and enjoyed a purely Japanese-style dinner, such as simmered mackerel, miso soup, and natto with an egg yolk.
When the meal was over and Yuma was clearing the dishes, his mother approached him.
“Yuma, I don’t think your father says it much, but he’s very worried about your work. You didn’t come home for a month the other day, right? He kept asking me if you had contacted him, and it was quite a nuisance.”
“Dad?”
“That’s right! So talk about your work more so he doesn’t worry.”
“That’s unexpected. I thought he didn’t care much.”
“What are you saying!”
His mother poked Yuma with her elbow.
“There’s no parent who doesn’t worry about their children. I’ve been worried ever since I heard it was a dungeon-related company. I’m always worried about whether you’re doing dangerous things or if you’re injured…”
“It’s okay. But, well, I’ll try to report as much as possible.”
After Yuma finished washing the dishes, he returned to his room and started preparing for bed.
He ‘Metallized’ one last time and looked at the five glass orbs on the back of his left hand. After all, he doesn’t know what he can do with this…
“Huh?”
He thought it hadn’t changed, but when he looked closely, one of the glass orbs was colored.
He brought his left hand in front of his eyes and stared at it. Rather than a color, it seemed like something was reflected in it. He brought the glass orb closer and strained his eyes.
“This… Mom?”
An image of his own mother was projected inside the glass orb. As he touched it in confusion, his vision distorted.
“What!?”
As if struck by dizziness, he staggered and knelt down.
He couldn’t get up for a while, and after the palpitations in his chest subsided, he slowly raised his face.
“What was that just now?”
Yuma stood up while leaning against the wall. When he looked at his hand, he realized that his Metallization had been undone and his hand had returned to flesh.
But he immediately noticed. It’s not his hand. The clothes he was wearing had also changed.
Yuma went to the mirror hanging in the room. When he saw his reflection, he was shocked by what he saw.
“M…om?”
It was undoubtedly his mother’s appearance.