arc5 · 082-ch82

Arc 5: The Immortal's Coup d'État

Episode 82: Poison Magic

Suzuka's answer to the drawback of 『Holy God's Creed』 preventing him from holding weapons was to beat opponents to a pulp barehanded. That hasn't changed. However, he also arrived at the idea that since he bothered to remember poison magic, there was no reason not to use it.

He tried challenging the ape monkey using such poison magic, but with only skill level 1, there was no way it would work on the ape monkey. The ape monkey was so unaffected that Suzuka himself wondered if he was even using poison magic properly. That was only natural—it's an area boss with a level difference, and he hasn't even managed to deal proper damage yet; moreover, for a skill level 1 to actually be effective would be the strange part.

But Suzuka saw possibility in poison magic. Rather, poison magic was the only remaining enhancement option available to him right now. He would continue raising the skill levels of body arts and body reinforcement as before, then add poison magic to defeat the ape monkey. In Suzuka's mind, this was a settled plan.

On a weekday the week after establishing such a plan, when school ended, Suzuka came to the Explorer Association Hachioji branch.

Not for dungeon exploration. To meet someone.

"Sorry, kept you waiting?"

When Suzuka entered the association, Kirin and Nekoyashika were sitting on a bench inside waiting. Explorer High School is near the dungeon, so they'd arrived earlier than Suzuka.

"Long time no see, Suzuka-chan. I was talking with Nyako so I got here quickly"

"Suzuka, long time no see"

"Long time no see, both of you"

If he was going to incorporate poison magic into combat, asking someone with experience would be faster. That's what Suzuka thought, so he reached out to Nekoyashika who had manifested poison magic.

"I reserved a conference room, so let's go buy some snacks at the convenience store or something"

"Thanks for reserving the conference room~, that helps. I'll cover the snack money, so let's buy whatever you want"

"Eh, Suzuka's generous. I wonder what I should eat"

Saying so, they headed to the convenience store to find snacks to accompany their conversation.

◇

The Explorer Association is equipped with conference rooms that any explorer can use. Explorers have much information they want to keep secret—their own stats and levels of course, but also many know-how aspects like exploration methods and progress.

Furthermore, being an explorer is a profession where millions of yen move with a single item. Money drives people mad. Simply possessing a high-value item is a risk—just that information circulating can lead to danger.

In reality, there's no end to stories of explorers who got rare items and bragged about them at cabaret clubs, only to be found stripped and dead the next day. The only ones who can kill explorers are explorers, and since police basically don't get involved in explorer disputes, it's dismissed as "the weak's misfortune."

If you move conspicuously, the Explorer Association will act, but for minor scuffles that don't harm ordinary people, the Association won't move either. Therefore, explorers are particularly careful with handling information.

For such explorers, the Association prepared conference rooms with soundproofing effects. While it's common to open meetings within each guild, they're often used for temporary parties or meetings at expedition destinations.

In one such conference room, Suzuka and the others spread out the snacks and drinks they'd bought.

"So, you wanted me to teach you about poison magic?"

Nekoyashika announced today's agenda.

"Yeah, that's right. I want you to teach me, but if it's too much trouble, that's fine too"

An explorer's skill usage and fighting methods are the crystallization of effort from trial and error. Just as companies don't want to disclose their technology to competitors, explorers naturally hesitate to share anything other than publicly known information. Even though the two haven't joined a guild yet, they might not want to share information they obtained through their own effort.

"If it's Suzuka, I don't mind sharing"

"Yeah, if it's Suzuka-chan, it's fine"

This must be a returned favor. Zoo is a precious explorer friend, and if anything happened, they'd naturally lend a hand, so Suzuka gratefully accepted.

"Then first, tell me your poison magic skill level"

"I'm at level 3"

It had risen to level 3 during last weekend's exploration. Perhaps due to insufficient understanding of poison yet, his skill hadn't improved as much as he expected. Because of that too, he thought to ask Nekoyashika to teach him.

Hearing Suzuka's skill level, Nekoyashika maintained a poker face but did a fist pump under the desk. It seems Nekoyashika's skill level is higher than Suzuka's.

Nekoyashika's movements that should be invisible to Suzuka were perfectly clear to him from the slightest muscle twitches in her body, thanks to his Body Arts skill level being 8.

"What about you, Nyako?"

"I'm at level 5"

Nekoyashika announced with pride. But it's understandable she'd want to show off.

While Suzuka's skill levels are now uniformly high, before fighting the ape monkey—or more precisely, before obtaining immortality with 『Holy God's Creed』—even his highest skill level was only 5. Even Suzuka, solo fighting an area boss, was at level 5.

That he not only overcame the wall at 3 but further grew his skill to 5 is likely the fruit of Nekoyashika's efforts.

"Amazing, Nyako"

"Well, yeah. Poison magic is my main attack, so I've got this much at least"

Nekoyashika, looking quite satisfied. To the current Suzuka, she's one year older in age, but to the 30-year-old man inside, it's heartwarming.

"So then, Suzuka, do you know what becomes possible with poison magic depending on skill level?"

"I looked it up so I know up to level 6"

At skill level 1, you can inflict status abnormality effects on weapons. At 2, you can emit status abnormality fog. At 3, the status abnormality effect increases. At 4, you can expand and manipulate the fog range, or turn it liquid and shoot it. At 5, you can change the strength and nature of status abnormalities. And at 6, like level 3, the effect of status abnormalities you can generate increases.

Since Suzuka is level 3, he can now create stronger poison than before. Additionally, corrections from his high-level Mana Control skill apply, but he still hasn't managed to poison the ape monkey.

"Levels 7 and above aren't clearly defined, but I think it's like from level 7, the effect of status abnormalities you can handle, like level 6, gets strengthened. You can use strong poison, or create poison swamps, that kind of thing"

Magic levels 1-3 let you use basic magic. Levels 4-6 let you apply it. From level 7, it just gets strengthened relentlessly. If you can raise it to 7, after that it's probably a matter of application.

"Heeh, is that so. Since Nyako's level 5, you can change the nature of status abnormalities, right? What's there besides poison and paralysis?"

"Well, for example... how about this?"

Saying that, his Mana Perception skill informed Suzuka that Nekoyashika had activated magic. A gas was generated that looked like faint mist but was barely visible to the naked eye. Through Mana Perception, he could tell it was deployed around Suzuka, but without the Mana Perception skill, he wouldn't even have understood what was done to him before he fell into an abnormal condition.

Just being able to see this shows the high first-strike potential of poison magic. Conversely, once the method becomes known, people will be on guard and you won't be able to trap them effectively. But Nekoyashika demonstrated it to Suzuka on purpose. He's grateful.

"Sorry, I can tell there's some kind of gas, but I have the Status Abnormality Resistance skill so it probably won't work"

"Eh, seriously? I actually made it pretty strong thinking that... Eh, seriously? You're a monster as always"

Since his Status Abnormality Resistance skill level is 7, even if it's poison Nekoyashika created in earnest, it probably won't work.

Looking completely unfazed, Suzuka made even Kirin, let alone Nekoyashika, recoil in shock. That's only natural. High Status Abnormality Resistance skill level means he's been affected by status abnormalities that much. If it can defend against Nekoyashika's level 5 poison magic abnormalities, normal thinking would put his Status Abnormality Resistance at least 4, even considering weakened effects.

Even after devouring the Twin Poison Serpent's poison repeatedly in District 3, Area 1, his Status Abnormality Resistance only reached skill level 2. At that time, thanks to the 『Ring of Twin Poisons』 effect, his Status Abnormality Resistance was 3, but still—3.

Status abnormalities are extremely disadvantageous to suffer and make you overwhelmingly likely to die. If you're poisoned, your consciousness grows hazy, and moving itself becomes a hassle from fatigue. It's like fighting monsters while simultaneously having COVID and the flu. And if you're paralyzed, at worst you can't move, and being killed by a monster is how it ends.

But if you're in a party, by covering for each other, your probability of survival is high. Even if you become unable to fight, your companions will protect you. However, Suzuka explores solo. Even if he gets a status abnormality, no one will help, and his probability of death rises limitlessly high.

That in solo exploration where status abnormality equals death, he's still alive even after getting status abnormalities until his skill level reached 4 or more—the two were terrified of that.

"W-well, whatever. That was sleep gas I generated. Besides that, I can cause confusion like drugs or manipulate mood up and down, and as unusual types, I can create things like aphrodisiacs and truth serum"

"Poison magic can be used to brainwash opponents depending on how it's used, so it's a skill people tend to be cautious about. Suzuka-chan, you shouldn't go around blabbing that you can use poison magic either"

I see. If you can produce effects like drugs, you might be able to control people by making them dependent on your poison magic. And I've heard of using drugs that make consciousness hazy for truth serum too, so if you can maintain that state well, you might be able to make them puppets. If you wanted to abuse it, it seems like a magic with considerable applications.

"There's a saying that poison can be medicine depending on how it's used, so I guess you could even make painkillers for when you're injured"

"Yeah, that's right. If you make it well, you can even raise mood and improve performance. Though if you get the dosage wrong, you might end up dead, so I won't do it"

Intoxicating opponents sounds interesting too. If you made some loudmouth swaggering guy stumbling drunk, it'd be hilarious. Fighting between drunk people would definitely be interesting. I definitely want to try it.

Suzuka hadn't dug deep into types of poison. Through hearing Nekoyashika's talk, he felt his perspective on poison magic had broadened.

"It's good to clarify what image you want to aim for with poison magic, Suzuka-chan. Even with swordsmanship, whether you want to wield a hard-style sword or a soft-style sword completely changes how you handle it, even at the same skill level. Especially with magic, image is important—whether you want to focus on support or attack also changes the scope of what you can handle"

Kirin, who herself can use water magic, advised Suzuka.

Image. That's the item Suzuka has been placing importance on recently in growing his skills.

That image is important for magic—today's talk made him keenly aware of that. For example, even if poison magic reached level 5, it would be meaningless if he couldn't imagine the types of poison he could generate. With Suzuka who could only think about fighting, he wouldn't have been able to generate drug-like poison or sleep-inducing gas. He probably only thought endlessly about poison that erodes opponents.

Magic: as the level rises, the scope of what you can do depending on image probably expands considerably. With poison magic too, if you create both visible gas and hard-to-see gas, just that alone would likely increase the probability of making them inhale gas.

Even if you create strong poison, how you administer it to your opponent changes your attack method. Do you enchant it onto weapons? Make it fog and make them inhale it? Make it like a poison swamp and make contact? By continuing to devise such methods and expanding your repertoire, perhaps you learn your own preferred way of using magic.

"How do you usually use poison magic, Suzuka?"

"I mostly just enchant"

Actually, since it went from level 1 to 3 last weekend, enchanting is all he could use.

"Is enchanting going to be your main approach from now on too?"

"Hmm, I guess so~"

With the poison magic skill level risen, he can now generate poison fog. Asked if he wants to continue poisoning monsters to death using that too, he couldn't answer immediately. Sinking them in a sea of poison, or making them unable to move with poison gas—defeating them with such methods might be fine too, but it deviated from Suzuka's preferences.

For Suzuka, he wants to defeat enemies as a melee class above all. The image is that poison magic is one choice among those.

If that's the case, it's probably best to continue making enchanting his main approach. However, as a trump card for when he's in a pinch, he wants to train poison magic too.

"For a while, enchanting will be my main approach. My current goal is, when fighting hard opponents, to be able to poison them and kill them surely even if it takes time—ideally, that would be good"

"Whoa, nostalgic. Makes me think of Rabbit Demon Iron Skin"

"That was tough, wasn't it. We could only defeat it because Nyako's poison magic existed"

Rabbit Demon Iron Skin is an area boss of District 2. Even Suzuka, who fought for hours without defeating it, was able to somehow defeat it only after Mana Perception manifested. zoo apparently used Nekoyashika's poison magic well, poisoned it, and defeated it.

"For hard opponents, corroding them is also a method"

"Corrode?"

From what he heard, zoo finished District 3 exploration last year and started District 4 exploration this year. The Poison Fang Centipede appearing in District 4 has high stamina and a hard shell, so they struggled apparently.

The Poison Fang Centipede is one of the powerful monsters alongside the Thin-Blade Mantis among monsters appearing in shallow areas of District 4, and Suzuka also struggled to defeat it. In Suzuka's case, he remembers finally defeating it by cutting it apart with the 『Calm Short Sword』.

"Our attacks didn't work at all, so I poisoned it, but that guy has high stamina too so he wouldn't die at all"

"Right. I quartered him and he still didn't die"

"You could cut him, huh... We struggled just to wound him, so to make the shell brittle, we created corroding poison and somehow defeated him"

Making the shell brittle. I see now. He'd never had that idea. Nor the idea of defeating them by poisoning them. He should have defeated it with the muscle-brain style of if you can't cut, keep trying until you can.

Until now, he'd managed by relying on intuition and brute force, but the ape monkey isn't easily defeated with brute force. It's the first wall Suzuka has faced, and a monster he's devising various strategies to defeat.

"Poison magic is actually pretty deep, huh"

"Yeah. Since few explorers have manifested poison magic itself, not much information circulates about it"

"Suzuka-chan manifested it from the 『Ring of Twin Poisons』, right? People whose magic manifests from items are pretty rare, you know. For the two people who have rare poison magic talent to be gathered like this—there are rare things in this world"

As Kirin said, Suzuka manifested poison magic using the 『Ring of Twin Poisons』. The 『Ring of Twin Poisons』 is an item that raises poison magic skill level by 1. When your skill level rises in that state, even after removing the ring, poison magic remains manifested.

If you could do that method, you might be able to mass-produce poison magic users if you had the 『Ring of Twin Poisons』, but that's not the case. If your compatibility with magic itself is poor, no matter how much you use it, you won't become able to use poison magic, and since it's also a precious item, it's difficult to gather numbers.

In other words, Suzuka originally had talent for poison magic.

Eh!? I have talent for poison magic!? Suzuka, surprised. He'd thought he had no talent because his skill level wasn't rising much, but Suzuka had only ever chosen enchanting exclusively. Since he didn't have any particular desire to use magic beyond that, his skill level didn't rise.

"If you want to know about poison magic, try watching this person on DanChuTube called 『The Old Master of Gu Poison』. He explains poison magic, so it'll probably be useful"

"Heeh, DanChuTube, huh. Thanks, I'll check it out"

"Well, it's made for DanChuTube so there's no core content, but you can understand what kind of magic poison magic is"

Since Suzuka didn't know much about magic, she probably suggested it. Because poison magic isn't a major magic, he could only investigate it to the extent of checking the skill list published by the Explorer Association.

If it's on DanChuTube, he should watch it.

"Anything else you want to ask?"

"Hmm, I think I'm good for now. Basically, I don't even know what I don't know, so first I'll watch the videos of that Old Master of Gu Poison person you introduced"

Since his poison magic skill level had been stuck at 1 for so long, he could only enchant it to weapons until now. Therefore, he hadn't tried to learn about magic either.

But after hearing Nekoyashika's talk about poison magic and Kirin's talk about magic, his interest surged. Just that made today's conversation with the two of them very meaningful.

"Thanks for today. I realized I didn't know anything about poison magic at all. If I come across anything I don't understand again, please teach me"

"Can't be helped. Well, guiding juniors is also a senior's duty"

"Suzuka-chan is more advanced in exploration, though"

After that, they happily chatted about each other's recent situation and District 4 monsters while eating snacks.