The Feral Beast below looked like a cross between a mole and an anteater.
It was munching away, its jaws working as if it were in the middle of a meal.
Its most distinctive feature was undoubtedly its unusually long and slender claws.
They were as sharp as rapiers, easily slicing through the surrounding jewels like jelly. There was no doubt about their sharpness.
It would then pierce the cut jewels and bring them to its mouth. Its jaws, which crushed them, were also powerful.
It would lick up the scattered jewel fragments with its long tongue and then bring another jewel to its mouth.
Perhaps because of its diet, its fur was adorned with glittering jewels.
As a former Jewel Slime, I, who am a solid marine blue, felt a slight sense of defeat.
“(–Well, that doesn’t matter right now.)”
I switched my focus to battle.
And then, I used the first of the Skills I had upgraded in the three-way Feral Beast battle.
“(Super Leap!)”
~Skill Details~
Super Leap: When leaping, adds a bonus to leaping power. Allows leaping in mid-air. Allows leaping with power that exceeds limits.
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It was an effect similar to All-Out Throw. It could draw out performance by pouring in excessive stamina.
However, Super Leap was far more fuel-efficient. It was also more maneuverable. With Super Leap, you could decide how much stamina to use.
“(But that doesn’t matter this time, it’s full power!)”
Gugugugu…! I kicked off into the air with more power than usual.
The stamina I spent was twice as much as usual. My leaping power was also roughly doubled.
Since it had just been upgraded, this was the limit for now, but as I got used to it, the maximum output would gradually increase.
And at the moment I took off, I activated another new Skill.
“Blast Dash!”
~Skill Details~
Blast Dash: When charging, adds a bonus to leg strength. When charging, adds a bonus to the power of the charge. Allows for explosive starts.
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“Allows for explosive starts.” The description was surprisingly simple, but the effect was quite powerful.
After all, with this Skill, I could achieve the same speed from the first step as when I had fully accelerated.
From now on, I could unleash powerful charges even in close combat where I couldn’t get a running start.
And when combined with Super Leap, I could close the distance in an instant, like this time.
The shining jewels flowed upwards like rays of light.
A shockwave was generated as I entered the Jewel Mole’s Zone Control, but I broke through it in the next moment.
I was less than a hundred meters from my target, and there I swung the Forest Hammer I had imitated. At my current speed, this was just right.
I wouldn’t use a Weapon Skill… partly to make it easier to time, but more than that, there was no need.
Not with this last Skill.
“(Staff of the Gods!)”
~Skill Details~
Staff of the Gods: When making a direct attack using one’s own weight, adds a bonus to power. Can increase falling speed. Upon landing, can transfer the impact received to the object of collision.
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Immediately after, the world stopped.
The scenery that had been flowing at high speed stopped, and instead, the Jewel Mole, struck by the Forest Hammer, was forcefully embedded into the ground.
The reversal of the impact. That was the power of the Staff of the Gods.
The reaction force that should have been applied was directed at the enemy, and with a simple calculation, it could unleash twice the power.
For some reason, my fall would stop, so I couldn’t keep falling forever, but just the fact that the power of my falling attack was doubled was a threat that should be known.
It would be easier to imagine if you looked at the Jewel Mole, which had its upper body crushed and was blooming a flower of blood in the center of the crater.
~Non-Notification Information Recording Area~
…
War-Inducing Weapon Creation, Fue Toukouya’s Soul Accumulation Value (Level) has increased to 264.
…
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“(Phew, that’s one down–)”
And then the ground collapsed.
“(Not again!?)”
I screamed at the situation that felt like déjà vu. It was surprising that there was still more below.
However, since I had just experienced the same thing, my response was quick. I used Super Leap to reach a nearby wall, and then hung down by stabbing in Forest Shackles.
I was amazed at how many holes there were around here, and as I watched the Jewel Mole collapse, a light suddenly shone in.
“(Huh?)”
The light was leaking through a crack. It was a stronger light than the jewels growing around here.
I wondered if there were even stronger luminous jewels below, and as I focused on the collapsing ground,
“(Huh?)”
For a moment, a blank space was created in my thoughts.
I focused my consciousness on my vision, wondering if it was a hallucination, but there was no change in the scenery.
As the hole widened, the amount of visual information increased.
Beyond the bottom of the vertical hole, there was a vast open space. There was a grassland, a hill, an underground lake, and at its center, where a mysterious light was pouring down—there was a huge city.
“(Yo, there.)”
I landed in the large space that had appeared below the vertical hole.
The distance from the hole to the ground was the height of several buildings, but I imitated about ten floating swords made from Rock Bird materials inside my body, gave them plenty of Mana, and generated buoyancy to descend slowly.
“Grassland…?”
“…Yeah, unbelievably. There’s even a river, not just dirt.”
I answered Fiss’s mutter.
Just below the hole, short grass spread out in all directions, and nearby, a river flowed from the underground lake.
And in the sky—on the ceiling of the cave—something like a sun was shining brightly.
“There was a sun even inside the ground…! I didn’t know…!”
“I didn’t know either…”
Next to the impressed Fiss, I collected the remains of the Jewel Mole that had fallen.
It was in a minced state, but its hard claws and feet were still intact. I would make them into proper weapons someday.
I was starting to have a backlog of materials waiting to be processed.
“Kouya, what are you going to do? Where are we going next!?”
She asked excitedly.
Unlike her usual flat tone, she sounded like her age.
“Well, I guess–“
As I was about to answer with a heartwarming feeling, at that moment.
From the city built on a small mountain under the sun(?), a Mana bombardment was unleashed.