Episode 15: Demon Ore
Yuma, having returned from the Blue Dungeon, sat at his study desk, arms crossed, and groaned.
“Ugh, what to do…”
He stared intently at the “Demon Ore” placed on the desk.
“I want to try using this, but my Mana Index is zero.”
The “Demon Ore” in front of him hadn’t been measured with the Mana Measurement Device in the dungeon. If the Demon Ore contained Mana, Yuma wouldn’t be able to use it.
“Even those weak, ordinary Slimes were producing 0.2-carat Aquamarines.”
According to his online research, a 0.2-carat Aquamarine has a Mana Index of 0.2. If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be strange for this Demon Ore to contain some Mana.
However, further research revealed that there are also Demon Ores with a Mana Index of zero.
“If it’s zero, maybe I can use it?”
He had spent 121 days to obtain it. He wanted to use it.
The quickest way to find out if he could actually use it was to eat it, but if it didn’t work, it would just come out as poo.
Worried about a two-centimeter iron ball coming out of his rear, Yuma searched for “stool thickness.” The results indicated that the normal stool thickness is about three to four centimeters.
“Then a two-centimeter Demon Ore should be manageable.”
Yuma steeled himself and decided to swallow the Demon Ore. He disinfected the stone with alcohol, steeled his resolve, and put it in his mouth.
He gulped it down with barley tea from a plastic bottle.
“Well… how is it?”
He didn’t feel anything in particular. He thought it was a failure after all, but then his abdomen gradually began to heat up.
“This is—”
The heat raced through his entire body. A sensation he had never felt before.
But there was no fear or discomfort. It was even somewhat pleasant. After about thirty seconds, the strange sensation naturally subsided.
“What was that just now… did I absorb the Demon Ore?”
He clenched and unclenched his hands, moving his body, but there was nothing particularly different.
He remembered that Demon Ore was said to enhance physical abilities. Yuma went downstairs, put on his Sandals, and went out to the Backyard.
It was cold outside, and his breath turned white. He was thinking that his sweat suit wasn’t warm enough when Mamezou, who was in his dog house, jumped out.
“Woof, woof!”
“I’m just testing something, so be quiet.”
Yuma was wearing Sandals, but he tried running lightly. He still didn’t feel any different.
He stepped in place and shadowboxed, but the result was the same.
“Even if it enhances my body, is the change too small to notice?”
Yuma was disappointed, as he had been somewhat hopeful.
Just as he was about to give up and go back inside, a change occurred in Mamezou, who was beside him.
“Ugh…”
“Huh? What’s wrong, Mamezou?”
“Woof woof woof woof!”
He suddenly started barking like mad. As Yuma approached, Mamezou retreated a step, then another, while barking.
Confused, Yuma wondered what was wrong, and then he was shocked when he looked at his outstretched left hand.
His hand had turned completely black.
“What is this!?”
He looked at both hands, but they were both black. He rolled up his sleeves and saw that his arms were also darkened, and Yuma paled, wondering if it had spread throughout his entire body.
“What’s wrong, Mamezou?”
His mother, noticing the commotion in the Backyard, called out from the kitchen.
—This is bad! If she sees me like this, it’ll be a disaster.
Yuma hurriedly went inside and ran up the stairs just before running into his mother.
“Haa, haa… that was close…”
Yuma entered his room and closed the door, collapsing on the spot. He was stunned for a while, but then he shakily stood up and looked at his face in the mirror hanging on the wall.
As he feared, his face had also turned black. He was speechless at the drastic change, but when he looked closely under the light, he saw that it wasn’t completely black, but rather a metallic gray color.
“This… is it the same color as a Metal Slime?”
Each strand of his hair was like a thin wire, and even his eyeballs had a metallic hue.
When he tapped his arm, a metallic sound rang out, and he felt no pain at all.
“Is this the power of that ‘Demon Ore’… does it mean I can harden my whole body? More importantly, will I go back to normal? It won’t stay like this, will it?”
Yuma poked his cheek with his finger, feeling uneasy. “Go back! Go back!” he wished strongly, but there was no sign of him returning to normal.
He wondered if he would return to normal if he waited, but since he didn’t want to just wait, he brought out the Hammer, Gas Burner, and Cooling Spray he always used.
“I’ll try a few things.”
First, he took the Hammer and swung it down on his arm. A metallic sound rang out, but it didn’t hurt or itch. He hit it with more force, but the result was the same.
Next, he pulled the trigger on the Gas Burner and ignited it. He slowly brought it closer to his arm.
“Hot! So, I’m still weak against fire… just like a Metal Slime.”
He also tried the Cooling Spray, but it was just normally cold. It seemed that he couldn’t defend against anything other than physical attacks. While he was doing that, his body returned to normal.
“It only lasted about five minutes… well, I’m glad I went back to normal.”
The Demon Ore that turns the body into metal. It was certainly a type of Physical Enhancement and interesting, but…
“How is this useful?”