part1 · 047-ep47
Episode 47: Body Strengthening, Into Battle
Leaving the water behind, Ren pressed deeper into the third floor, spear in hand.
Something felt a little different from yesterday. The magic inside his body. And the skill he'd just gained.
《Body Strengthening》.
"...Let's try fighting with it for real."
He'd fought monsters plenty of times before. But this was the first time he'd fight with 《Body Strengthening》 consciously on.
How much stronger would it make him? How much MP would it use? He had no idea yet.
Which was exactly why he needed to test it in a real fight.
◇
A while into his advance—
—Rustle.
The thicket ahead shook. Ren stopped at once.
He readied his spear.
What emerged from the thicket was a single monster.
Gray fur. A four-legged body. Sharp fangs. And yellow eyes glaring at him from a low crouch.
"...A Grayfang."
A monster he'd fought once before. Its body was smaller than a Bloodwolf's. But it moved that much faster.
The worst part was its charge — kicking off the ground and closing the distance in a flash.
"I know how it moves."
Ren readied his spear again. The Grayfang lowered its body.
The next instant—
It kicked off the ground.
"—!"
The charge came just as he'd expected. Ren shifted sideways. The fangs swept past right in front of him.
The Grayfang ran straight past, then whirled around at once.
"Fast, like always."
Ren readied his spear. The Grayfang pounced again.
This time he took it head-on. Deflected the attack with the spear's shaft and put distance between them.
"First, let's fight it plain."
No body strengthening. He wanted to see how far he could fight on his current physical abilities alone.
The Grayfang weaved left and right. Ren's eyes followed.
The next moment, it pounced from the left.
"There!"
He thrust out his spear. The Grayfang twisted its body to dodge, then landed back a step away.
"...Like I thought — it doesn't get hit easy."
Ren put space between them.
They traded attacks several times. Dodge. Deflect. Thrust.
He was responding to the monster's movements better than the last time they'd fought. Even so, landing a decisive blow was hard.
"Then..."
Ren turned his awareness to his magic. The power deep in his body.
"《Body Strengthening》."
He sent just a little magic into his body. From his chest to his arms. His legs. Then everywhere.
"...!"
His body felt lighter. Strength settled into his legs.
The Grayfang pounced. Ren leapt sideways.
Faster than before.
"...Different."
His body was clearly responding better.
He turned the moment he landed. The Grayfang swung back around to face him.
"This time, it's my turn!"
Ren stepped in. Thrust out his spear.
The Grayfang tried to dodge.
But—
"Too slow!"
The spear caught its fur. The Grayfang flinched.
Ren pressed the attack. Another step in. Another swing.
The monster leapt backward.
"With body strengthening... it makes this much of a difference, huh."
But he still wasn't used to metering how much magic to send.
The moment he put in too much—
"...gh"
The magic threatened to pour out all at once. Ren clamped down on it immediately.
"Close one..."
He remembered the feeling from yesterday, when he'd flooded out a huge amount of magic at once. That time, his MP had vanished in a single go.
"Little by little..."
He adjusted the flow of magic. Kept the strengthening's effect going, and throttled back only the amount.
"This much is fine..."
The Grayfang came charging in again. Ren waited, drawing it in to the last possible moment.
And—
"Now!"
He slipped sideways. As they passed, he drove the spear in.
The Grayfang dropped to the ground. Ren put distance between them at once.
It didn't move.
"...Got it."
Ren caught his breath. Let the strengthening go.
No heavy fatigue.
"If I keep the amount under control... it's pretty useful."
He was clearly better at this than yesterday. In the middle of a real fight, he was little by little learning how much magic to send.
◇
Ren looked down at the fallen Grayfang. Then used 《Appraisal》.
"Appraisal."
《Name: Grayfang》
《Type: Monster》
《Status: Dead》
《Trait: High agility》
《Attacks: Bites, pounces》
"So it really is all about the speed."
He'd felt it the last time they fought, too. It wasn't big. But its speed was a nuisance.
Which was exactly why body strengthening's effect had been so easy to see.
"I move better than before."
Ren checked himself, too.
"Appraisal."
《Name: Kurose Ren》
《Age: 16》
《Race: Human》
《Level: 3》
《HP: 108/108》
《MP: 58/70》
《Skills》
《《Infinite Growth》》
《《Survival Adaptation》》
《《Appraisal Lv.3》》
《《Body Strengthening Lv.1》》
"...That used up quite a bit, huh."
And not just the strengthening. Appraisal ate MP too.
Even so, there was none of yesterday's crushing fatigue.
"This much is fine, then."
Ren closed out the status. This fight had taught him:
Body strengthening worked plenty well in a real fight. And that controlling how much magic he used was the key.
"The more I get used to it..."
...the more efficiently he'd be able to strengthen his body than he could now.
Ren re-gripped his spear.
"Let's try it in the next one, too."
There were still monsters on the third floor he'd never met. And plenty he didn't know about himself, either.
Ren started walking again. To make his newly gained power his own, little by little.