Re:Monster

Day 251

Last night, various things happened and I indulged one of my three primary desires to my heart's content.

If not for the help of my comrades and my [Self Replication] ability, the successive tough battles with field bosses followed by the death match with the [Mother Flame [Dragon Empress]] could have easily gotten me killed. In the process I accumulated a huge amount of stress, but after that relaxing night I feel a lot better.

That said, we are in the center of a volcanic caldera so wishing for a pleasant and refreshing morning was hopeless.

The area was quite humid, so after last nights exertions we awoke sticky with sweat -- not a pleasant way to start the morning.

I idly thought that it would be so much better if we were surrounded by hot springs instead of lava.

If this place were a hot spring, I would first wash myself clean, then slowly soak in its relaxing waters.

After submerging as far as my waist, I would bask in the sensation of my fatigue dissolving away as the water gently warmed and relaxed me.

Then I would slowly submerge myself up to the shoulders and enjoy a good soak while drinking something alcoholic.

I wondered at that moment, "What would be the perfect drink for this situation?"

That pride of the Kuuderun Great Forest, well aged elven wine, perhaps?

Alternatively, alcohol dropped from special dungeon monsters might also be a good choice, as I have plenty of varieties on hand.

Or even, the [Named Sake [Endless Drops of Evening Cherry Blossoms]] or [Named Demon Sake [Inexhaustible Demonic Drunken Rampage]] that I received by completing the Psalms might possibly be appropriate.

<<These names/links will need some fixing. -Dynamisx>>

After imagining all that, I suddenly miss taking it easy at our own hot springs back in Kuuderun Great Forest.

<<TL Check up to here. -Dynamisx>>

After a tiring day, fatigue can easily be removed in beautiful hot springs while drinking sake.

Remembering that, I could not hold back the nostalgia. Probably something akin to homesickness.

Well, nothing can be done about it. I have the feeling that I was somewhat overworked, and will need to take a longer vacation. I need to put my worries to rest, and the Kuuderun Great Forest is the best place for a vacation.

Though, in the vicinity of the great forest, there is still much work to do.

Ah, it will be necessary to bring my kids.

Well, I leave the fulfilment of that desire to the near future.

Waking up in the morning, I immediately started to determine the possibilities of my body.

After the [Rank-up] yesterday I found out almost everything, and as a result the time spent with Kanami was more of an application process.

Although the body has been altered, it is still my own, and not someone or something foreign. Once I start to move it will be easy to get used to. So I can still live a normal life.

But I will not say that I've mastered it perfectly, and there's little hope of that since it's not a perfectly stable body.

So to deal with this, I was doing a few simple physical exercises.

By doing so, as expected, controlling the movement of my new set of arms was hard.

Not that there were any wrong feelings. I could manage them just as easily as breathing.

But compared to a battle with two hands, having four hands changed even the simplest motion, such as a punch. Not only does the application of force differ, but the ways of distributing the upper body weight, how to use the muscles, the reach of each arm, and even the location of the nerves and blood flow, everything has undergone enormous change.

Because of all this I was a bit confused. Although I've used a similarly structured power suit before, my sense of operating this odd body design was quite disheveled. Therefore, it is necessary that I get used to it in a short period of time.

If I did not capitalize on this experience, I would surely struggle later. Of course, even my combat skills and techniques using the new body need to be ; there is still a lot to improve. But right now my goal is to learn to control this body, respectively my own desires. The rest I can work out later by sparring with Minokichi.

Thirty minutes after starting, thanks to my efforts, I have learned how to move so my body's actions no longer cause storm winds. So, even if I move fast during battles, I won't cause undue damage to the environment.

If there are no surprises among the hapless viewers they will not become victims.

If something were to happen, then nothing can be done about it, but there's no need to cause unnecessary problems. Anon: This was a difficult line, check trans?

While I was testing the movement of this new body, Kanami woke up.

Her face while half-asleep is incredibly cute.

After the [Rank-up], Kanami became a [Ice Demonic Blood Ancestor (superior species)].

This not only marked the beginning of the race of the vampires as well as being very close to the [First Vampire], while overlooking [Demonic Ancestors] saying that in the management of blood and ice close in force there are no other races that can compare. (Again not sure about this part just trying to make things easier to understand) Anon: Yes, what the heck? According to the information from my clones, in ancient times, those who lived in the cold destroyed many different countries. [Ice Dragon King], single-handedly fought the [Ice Demon Blood Ancestor] and after their three-day battle all they left behind was destruction that greatly affected the landscape of the earth.

As a result, the very long body of the [Dragon King] was divided into 6 parts, and the whole Gulf area absorbed lots of the dragon's blood, which eventually evolved into the [Icy Valley of Blood].

This place still exists but it is quite far away, so we should eventually set out to explore it.

By the way [Demonic Ancestor] has power not inferior to the [Emperor]. At the same time, being [a superior being], it becomes the default level for stronger creatures like the [Emperor]. Given that it has a few [Divine Blessings] is not in doubt.

The ruler of the demonic empire [Demonic Emperor], the [King of Beasts] of the animal kingdom, as well as the existing level of [Legendary Hero] characters possessing [Psalms], one on one, even when fighting at full strength, certainly lose to the present Kanami.

From a biological point of view, Kanami became incomparably stronger than normal evolution.

This Kanami, while not yet fully awake, lightly scattered around the peculiar [Ice Blood Demonic Ancestor], and the magical power [Charm].

Like a fountain of life, its magical power [Charm], attracts all living beings within range.

Anticipating how I would enjoy their meat, I subconsciously swallowed.

Her every movement fascinated the eyes, and even while knowing why, it was still impossible to glance away. Anyone, regardless of gender, when they see her will undoubtedly try to attack (and will immediately be sliced).

Yet Kanami is most charming when left alone.

To recharge one's forces for the day, it is important to have a good breakfast.

And the ingredients I decided to use are the meat of the [Dragon Emperor] and [Dragon Empress]. Well, of course not entirely, but only the smallest part of their huge bodies.

Normally, it would be worth it to wait until everyone is ready, and only afterwards enjoy the meal together. But unfortunately the rest of the team was not here. Once I fell asleep, they went and decided to take a day off, so other than Kanami, there was no one else nearby.

Using the "Labyrinth Business Company [Snake Heart]" (a subsidiary of the mercenary corp Parabellum) as a base, the wounded were treated in the adventurer-filled Labyrinth City [Rada Ro Dara]. Afterwards, they separated according to their hobbies; enjoying shopping at extremely attractive prices, climbing unexplored destinations in search of yet undiscovered ore veins, and collecting valuable information about bosses and dungeons in crowded places.

For such reasons, Kanami and I will taste it first.

Of course, I wanted to tell them to "work hard", but once it happened, there was nothing I could do.

In addition, in order to learn about how best to prepare this ingredient it would probably be even better to try it first myself.

Truly a perfect excuse.

Well, under the guise of my stupid, selfish motives, sitting in front of a mountain of delicious meat, of course I could not endure.

Especially after [Rank-up], or upon receipt of the [World Enemy [Insatiable Gluttony]], either way my stomach now empties much faster.

From seeing this hunk of meat, my stomach growled fiercely and saliva flowed from my mouth.

Intrinsically, in order to heal, my body depletes the devoured energy rather than fill my belly.

To endure this hunger is, as expected, impossible even for me.

Yet, such instincts are to my benefit, and so I will not fight against them.

Only one thing gnawed at my thoughts; "will I be called greedy?" I suppose I am already.

Asking Kanami to melt the ice around the body of the Empress of Flame Dragons, I began to cut the dragon meat.

It is of course obvious, but the dragon meat is incredibly strong. The Mithril knife made by gnomes, even with its excellent sharpness, will hardly cut it, and even if I put a little more pressure on it, the knife will immediately break.

Thanks to the strengthening magic supporting its huge body, each individual muscle fiber has tremendous tenacity, much superior to other living beings.

To prepare its meat, not only did you need an exceptionally sharp knife, able to cope with one's strength, but you need to have excellent chef skills and a deep knowledge of dragon meat.

Killing it of course isn't easy, but it's also very difficult to prepare. The [Dragon Empress] is such a complex ingredient.

Though I've been kept waiting, this is exactly as I'd hoped. (Anon: How's this edit?)

I'll give a piece of meat to the Sisters and ask them to cook it.

Turning my hands into silver knives, I continued cutting the dragon into pieces.

As a result, I got a mountain of meat around 3000 kilograms.

And it was only a tiny part of the whole body.

As expected, cooking it like that does not work, so I chopped it smaller, and the 3-ton mountain became 60 smaller pieces.

All the same, the pieces were quite hefty, to the extent they looked even better.

So as I began cooking, I examined the results.

Even after spending a few days in a frozen block of ice magic, the meat still had a fresh, luscious, vital force, like jewels.

But no gem's shine is superior to dragon's meat.

Time would stop when viewing its luster; any foodie would give all he had, if only to sample the succulent meat.

Even I, if I had not been able to get this with my own hands, would've easily parted with any amount of money, just for the sake of a piece of it.

I put this magnificent meat on a big pan, using the natural environment to cook it.

The temperature of the pan was unusually high. Average meat would immediately burn and char, but dragon meat is warmed slowly.

The reason is that red dragons have an incredible resistance to heat.

First off, to cook the meat somewhere besides here would be incredibly difficult, since conventional logs are clearly not enough to create a hot enough flame.

Most likely you'd have to build some kind of device for this task.

Unfortunately, to slow roast it thoroughly will still take much time and effort.

I'd heard that when cooking meat and fish, sometimes it's better to cook on low heat so it retains more meaty juices.

Whether this is true, I'm not sure, but this attempt is likely to be convincing. Even if it doesn't work, I cannot imagine that the dragon meat will be disgusting (luckily, though briefly, I managed to try a raw piece during the battle).

We just kept it roasting over a slow fire.

Yet roasting dragon meat, feeling the delicious smell, you need to have incredible endurance to see it cooked thoroughly.

I somehow restrained myself initially, but after a while, one of my hands unconsciously reached for the meat - at the last moment I stopped myself, but after a while it happened again with the other hand. I didn't try to keep count after 10 attempts.

In the process of cooking, I truly realized the danger of this meat. Dependence on it will be more dangerous than the harm from any magical poison, its pull on one's cravings is just too much.

Trying to hold back, I even closed my eyes. But the effect was the opposite. The smell of meat awakens my instincts even more, and the hiss of meat juice excites my imagination.

I reflexively swallowed.

This meat without a doubt will be the most delicious I've ever eaten.

But I'm still going to roast the meat to the very end, in the magic pan, then serve with white rice on a large plate, the latter of which came from outside the dungeon.

By doing so, the dish began to look even tastier; my saliva is overflowing.

Using my favorite chopsticks, I raised the piece of dragon meat together with the rice into my mouth. My teeth sank into the meat without feeling any resistance.

My face involuntarily broke into a smile. At that time, on my face like in cooking manga (TLN: think Toriko), happiness gave way to tears.

A variety of textures and tastes mingled in my mouth, but it's not something that is mixed, rather they harmoniously complement and strengthen each other.

In addition, slow roasted, dragon meat was simply overflowing with juice.

In just one bite, my whole mouth became full.

If not eaten little by little, it can be quite difficult to chew.

Again the meat juice is delicious. Swallowing it, I once again feel the taste of the dragon meat. The taste is always changing, and no matter how much you eat, there is no limit or feeling of having eaten too much.

The effect the dragon meat has on the face is profound. It is indeed supreme meat.

In addition, rice soaked in meat juice and eaten together with the meat creates a deeper flavor. It's irresistible :D !

For a while, we continued eating, not thinking about anything.

It was the same with Kanami, we did not stop until we ate everything in front of our eyes.

After the meal, as expected, our bellies were full to capacity. The visible bulge of my belly, however, quickly receded. It seems the food was rapidly digested. It's my body, but somehow it was still a strange sight.

And as a result, I can say that the meat of the [Dragon Empress], compared with the [Dragon Emperor], was softer and its taste was deeper. Personally, I felt the [Dragon Empress] tasted much better than the [Dragon Emperor].

Although the slightly tough meat of the [Dragon Emperor] has its own charm, both have their advantages and disadvantages. There is a difference in strength between individuals, and the differences between the male and female gender must also be considered.

Ability learned: [Immunity to Heat]

Ability learned: [Dragon Emperor's Explosive Roar]

Ability learned: [Burning Dragon Blood]

Ability learned: [Dragon Emperor's Inexhaustible Life Force]

Ability learned: [Heat Absorption]

Ability learned: [Lesser Summoning: Dragon]

Ability learned: [Intermediate Summoning: Dragon]

Ability learned: [Greater Summoning: Dragon]

Ability learned: [Chief Guard of the Dungeon]

I was able to get 9 abilities but ... wait ... wait there's a strange one mixed in.

What is this [Chief Guard of the Dungeon]?

(TLN: Following is some paragraph that is a bunch of mumbo jumbo, I'm speculating it's about about getting an ability from the being the first to eat the dragon and Rou wondering what the dragon does all day.) Anon: Tried to make more sense of it.

Is this generally normal? How else can I say this? Does the dragon not have anything to do all day? How would this work??? Perhaps until the first attacker, all this time she'd slept and eaten, is that why I was able to get this ability?

I don't know. In any case, I don't see a need to find out.

Anyway, now that I've got it, I need to know what kind of ability it is.

After activating it, the moment I thought of gems while looking at the floor, a red gem the size of a palm instantly appeared at that spot.

Appraising it and making sure it was real, I tried to eat it. The texture was crunchy with a slightly sweet taste, moreover, it had a decent amount of mana inside, and was delicious in the middle.

... lost in contemplation ... (TLN: light bulb)!!

This time I thought of a treasure chest, and a [treasure chest] appeared. I opened it, and inside was a variety of objects, such as magical metals and medicine. Because it was just good for souvenirs, I quickly put it in my Item Box.

For a while after I tried different combinations. Apparently, this ability is limited to dungeons I've conquered; it seems the user instantly enjoys many privileges.

Naturally, in the dungeon acquired by [Dungeon Plunder - Howls of the Underworld] you can modify any setting, large or small, though a poor change could result in the place being filled with lava. Since such mistakes may occur, it is difficult to use in emergency situations since any error could cost lives.

But using it, you can immediately get almost anything you want, as well as easily change the landscape of the maze. Of course everything has its limits, but simple tasks are easy to handle.

At first I thought, "What is this?," but now I see. Within the dungeon, this can be quite useful.

I continued testing out the functions of the dungeon until late afternoon. I also examined the new ability [Enemy of the World - Insatiable Gluttony]. Although understanding dungeon manipulation will take quite a bit more time, this ability can be figured out relatively quickly.

Apparently it's very similar to my [Absorption] Ability.

There are certainly some differences, but the main feature is the more the eater (me) eats, the faster its abilities will grow.

Thus, now when I eat, I have 2 abilities: [Absorption] and [Insatiable Gluttony], so I'll get stronger twice as fast. That's quite nice.

It's likely to help, but in return it considerably raises my appetite.

You may think, now my chance of getting abilities has increased. But the reality is not so sweet.

Why? Because I have reached the next rank/evolution.

Even though having [Insatiable Gluttony] and [Absorption] has increased the chance of getting abilities, my current race [Vajaraksha Overlord] (a kind of living god species), is way too strong, so the chance of getting abilities is actually much lower.

Learning abilities would be far easier if not for the Rank-up, but it's already too late.

I don't think that my choice of race is wrong, but whether the extreme drop in learning probability could've been prevented ... well, nothing can be done about it now.

So, having solved another mystery, I decided to work late, altering the dungeon to my liking.

By the way, my name was changed from [Aporou] to [Obarou].

There were many options with Rou: furious Obara, furious ObaRod; but Obarou sounded better so I stopped there.

Incidentally, Kanami's name remained as is.

The result of today's synthesis is:

[Lesser Summoning: Dragon] + [Intermediate Summoning: Dragon] + [Greater Summoning: Dragon] = [Summon True Dragon]

--

Day 252

Day 252

As a result of diligently working from yesterday up until tonight, the restructuring of the dungeon has finally been completed.

With the ability [Dungeon Creation], I was able to restructure the dungeon through the translucent screen which displayed detailed information and images regarding the dungeon. After choosing from the screen, the dungeon's reality reflects the changes made.

At first, I was surprised but because the operation of the dungeon was quite similar to those of my past life, I was somehow able to get used to it without making much of a mess.

There was quite a difference compared to the previous dungeon as a result of the changes made.

Of course, there were still quite a few resemblance between the two, but let's focus on the main changes.

To begin, the name was changed from [Flame Mountain of Flame Dragons] to [Divine Volcano of Wailing Ghosts] or [Funeral Volcano].

I was complacent even without having changed the name, but with this it would be easier to identify who conquered the dungeon - because from now on, the dungeons I conquer is going to increase.

Then, a number of traps and mechanisms have been incorporated as a part of my hobby. With this, prey wandering into the dungeon will have a higher chance of being captured.

The traps are mainly to block them since new adventurers often avoid these dungeons because most of them start inland.

So it is now slightly easier to take treasure chests compared to before. After assessing the changes, the treasure chests now offer more items to adventurers.

After that, are the new dungeon monsters that appear using magical items. [Black Gremlins] who has an ability of using a nasty substance and then there's the new hidden monster completely made up of lava, the [Lava Devils].

Their strength is not something to be concerned about, but their abilities are quite fierce.

The most noteworthy change to the dungeons are the dungeon boss that appear.

Under the influence of my [Divine Protection], both the old and new field bosses as well as the dungeon boss have their bodies painted in black while their abilities significantly rose.

Now, the previously strong opponents we once faced will now prove to be a powerful existence to explorers and adventurers.

It is an existence that's very dependable for the ruler of the dungeon while a nightmare for explorers and adventurers alike.

Incidentally, among the usual monsters, there were strong individuals and because the complexity of the [Funeral Volcano] has changed from when it was [Flame Mountain of Flame Dragons] the overall difficulty of the dungeon has risen.

Due to the countless number of veterans being defeated by the dungeon, it wouldn't be surprising if a skilled adventurer decides to challenge the dungeon.

About the other changes, I wonder...

Besides the significant changes, other changes will be omitted because it's troublesome.

Unrelated to the modifications done to the dungeon, some time as I was applying changes to the dungeon, I realized one thing.

It seems that I gain experience when an adventurer dies within the dungeon - though of course not every one of them, this somewhat makes me happy. As experience gained from the dungeon accumulates.

It lowers the difficulty of the dungeon on the earlier levels and although it is nothing, but since the level of people who intend to challenge the dungeon can increase. It seems that the higher the level, the more the efficiency level increases.

It's quite fortunate for me since with my current race, it requires an exorbitant amount of experience to gain even a single level. This system honestly saves me a lot of hassle.

"Pathetic prey, though I suppose it will be a good challenge for me."

As I was smiling wickedly, Kanami who was also smiling, hugged me from behind.

Now that there wasn't any more reason to stay here, Kanami-chan and I head towards the Labyrinth City [Radha Lo Dara].

Before heading out, we decided to enjoy the night sky together.

Although both of our races gives us the ability to fly freely in the sky, we had no intention of using it this time.

This also served as an opportunity to test my magic.

First of all I gained a new familiar who belonged to a race of dragons called the [Ancient Flame Dragons]. I named him Tatsushirou.

Shiro's body length was about 80 meters, and he was also a [Wisdom Dragon] so he was pretty big. He boasted a huge body frame that was even able to compete against dragons of the [Emperor] class.

Supporting the dragon's huge body, were tough limbs that ended with red claws capable of cutting lumps of steel as if they were made up of air. Its body was covered in an ominous combination of black and red dragon scales and its dragon armor cannot be scratched, let alone damaged by a half hearted attack.

Four-spear like objects protruded from its head which appears to be its horns and on its back, a long mane of flaming orange as well as two pairs of four huge dragon wings resided.

The dragon's amethyst colored eyes, reflects its high intellect. From its mouth, razor-sharp teeth were dotted as its dragon flame continue to blaze.

The presence that emanated from his body was comparable to that of the field boss, [Dragon Emperor] within [Flame Mountain of Flame Dragons], perhaps it was even stronger.

So why did a dragon like Tatsushirou appear from my magic?

Because during the remodelling of the [Flame Mountain of Flame Dragons] I happened to stumble upon an ancient sleeping fossil, later named Shiro. Fortunately enough, I was able to revive it.

The ability for resurrection was not something I had before - after my evolution to the race of Apostle Lord, only then did I get the ability [Fossil Restoration].

[Fossil Restoration] cannot be activated unless a certain amount of ancient fossil is available, which is why it was unused until now. Since it would most likely say that there are no fossils to restore, but it was finally able to demonstrate its true value this time.

The result, was the ancient dragon - Shiro.

Though through my observation of the revived dragon, it seems like Tatsushirou's innate temperament is quite implacable.

Once he recognizes you as an enemy, he will relentlessly chase you until you are reduced to ashes.

The ancient race of dragons is much more tenacious than the current one, surely enough, the side being chased by Shiro can only be considered to be in a nightmare.

But after his resurrection, he submitted fairly well as I tamed him. Now he emanates an aura which I find quite cute.

Thus, after healing the resurrected Tatsushirou we rode on his back -all while Kanami still hugged me from behind, and we left [Funeral Volcano] under the cover of the darkness at night.

We were able to reach an altitude of several thousand meters quickly. Piercing the sea of clouds, Kanami-chan and I enjoyed a moment of flight.

The flight didn't last long, but these few moments weren't so bad. A long-awaited date above a sea of cloud illuminated by the moon.

Looking down on the sea of clouds, various ideas surfaced in my mind.

Interesting things occurred while I had lost my consciousness. The information that flowed through my clones were concealed by its respective countries. My information gathering was steadily progressing as I make a variety of speculations.

Since the scale of things have grown quite a bit, it looks like, in order to overcome them, it will be necessary to take action behind the scenes as soon as possible.

However, the steady activity up til now shows there is no need for drastic action, it is not urgent after all.

If possible, I would like to make it as favorable to us as a party as possible, since undertaking a variety of actions is necessary.

Oh, I cannot wait.

Thinking about the future, I received a boost of motivation thanks to Kanami behind me.

Perhaps now is not the time to be thinking about it too much. While reflecting, I continued to enjoy our date.

By evening, the ending of the date drew near. As we were almost at the Labyrinth City [Radha Lo Dara], that was visible through gaps within the sea of clouds, we jumped from Shiro's back at the height of several thousand meters so as not to arouse any unnecessary chaos and panic.

In the middle of the night sky, Kanami and I were enjoying our time sky diving.

It may have been an "illegal entry", but I don't think such a thing matters at this hour.

Well at least, it doesn't bother me.

--

Day 253

Labyrinth City [Radha Lo Dara], Labyrinth Branch Store [Snake's Heart].

Once a renowned residence with a large amount of funds invested in its construction and now the location of large quantities of Item Drops, the building was until just a couple of days ago filled with illegal residents who were captured and killed, much to my pleasure.

It has once again become a really prosperous place after regaining its former glory.

Most of the merchandise stocked are first class products, but with fair prices, especially for such quality and such impeccable details. It provides customers with unusual products which they flocked to see, thus creating a lively atmosphere.

In addition, spending a certain amount of money earned customers a loyalty card which upon filling provided them with special benefits, such as having the masterfully skilled dwarves repairing your equipment for free.

Since the staff members were elves and demons who are pleasant to the eye, a large number of men, charmed by their looks, constantly crowded the shop. There were those that were obviously sexually enticed by the workers and looked at them lewdly, but they were still outnumbered by the veteran adventurers doing serious preliminary preparations.

Not even a month has passed since its opening, and even without huge advertisement, such a huge crowd gathered. Certainly the opening sale, the location and the novelty of the place were among the primary factors in attracting guests. But the leading cause was something else.

(Edited up to here the next couple of bits completely baffled me... sorry I couldn't help more------Black☆Star)

A few days ago, a group of variants came to Labyrinth City [Radha Lo Dara], and gathered here.

In other words, it was Minokichi's triumphant return.

It is currently known that races that [Rank-Up] have been powerful and unmatched, the majority of these races ruled countries as rulers.

But regardless of what they became after the rank-up, because they still kept living without hesitation in the Labyrinth Branch Store [Snake's Heart] for the past few days, the people's curiosity was set ablaze.

In a labyrinth city like this, where only the strong are righteous, the presence of such deviants (Anon: read strong beyond comparison) at the shop serves for nice publicity. Because one would expect superior creatures to deal with superior goods, one would be led to believe that this place deals with High-class Items.

The truth is that such goods were being sold at the shop, their rarity attracting a variety of customers regardless of their level or strength.

I was worried about safeguarding Labyrinth Branch Store [Snake's Heart]'s original purpose, which is camouflage. Even though I thought this sudden influx of business was crazy at first, since it had already happened, I decided to just let it go.

Since I did not enter the store under my previous disguise, the manager of Labyrinth Branch Store [Snake Heart] did not recognize me, but Minokichi and the others did at a glance.

There were a lot of rumors regarding our story and I often heard people gossip about it, but when they asked, we just answered that they were rumors.

But when they think we are not saying the truth, I will just find another excuse for them.

Anyway, after the initial pleasure triggered by the unexpected activity boom, because of the customers, I had to use [Metamorphosis] and [Shape Shift] to disguise myself as the young businessman with blond hair and sincere blue eyes that has been recognized as the owner of [Snake Heart] to continue the support with a soft smile.

I probably should have done this for the other branches as well, since everyone prefers a gentle and sincere looking person rather than a man-eating Demon.

But here in Labyrinth City, compared to other places, it seems to have the opposite effect.

Here it seems there is a tendency that a weak person will lick other people's shoes, and because it is the state displayed by my disguise, I began handling the customers with a meek tone.

Those who use intimidation to bring down the prices and those who want to take the merchandise without paying are mixed together. Ok, this guy tried stealing but he was caught immediately and taken into a dark room where we used all kinds of torture to play with him until he learned his lesson; it was hard work.

In the evening, we had a banquet with everyone with dragon meat being the main dish. Because Minokichi and Asue were outside of the city, we left some for them to eat tomorrow.

It is unfortunate, but it can't be helped.

--

Day 254

In the morning, I organized the documents that had accumulated in my room, which had the most luxurious interior in the whole house. I also confirmed the items that were collected and determined a price for each.

After finishing at noon, we opened the treasure chests obtained:

- Treasure Chest [Coffin of Volcanic Monkey General], from the dungeon boss [Volcanic Monkey General].

- Treasure Chest [The King's Tomb of Spiral Shells], from the dungeon boss [Lava Ammonite Sapendia].

- Treasure Chest [The Coffin of Elephant Soldiers], from the dungeon boss [Golden Heffalump].

- Treasure Chest [Mausoleum Boar], from the dungeon boss [Volcanic Blue Orc King].

- Treasure Chest [Wooden Grave of the Diabolical Tree], from the dungeon boss [Diabolical Blue Flame Treant].

- Treasure Chest [Monument of the Flaming Demon Cow], from the dungeon boss [Taurus Demon Lord].

- Treasure Chest [Tombstone of the Scarlet Emperor], from the dungeon boss [Scarlet Dragon Emperor].

- Treasure Chest [Precious Corpse of the Empress], from the dungeon boss [Flame Dragon Empress].

While with the treasure chests obtained from the Aquarium dungeon the last time it was possible to acquire 50 types of different items, this time it seems like its possible to acquire 100 types of different items.

The treasure chests [Coffin of Volcanic Monkey General] and [The King's Tomb of Spiral Shells] provided me with 5 types of items, [The Coffin of Elephant Soldiers] and [Mausoleum Boar] provided 10 types of items, [Wooden Grave of the Diabolical Tree] and [Monument of the Flaming Demon Cow] provided 15 types. Finally, [Tombstone of the Scarlet Emperor] and [Precious Corpse of the Empress] each had 20.

The contents within these treasure chests were quite indispensable as they were able to enhance our combat capability.

Magic armor, weapons, and powerful magic items were inside. Though it was quite a hassle as I was unsure of who to give what.

It's only likely to hinder their growth if I give them a strong item, so I'll just store them in the meantime; it's not that important after all.

Since the awakening of the 18 Demon Warlords happened recently, I will have to give them suitable equipment.

As a result, I'm quite troubled that giving a majority of these [Item Box] is quite early, though some of it has already been prepared for the other warlords.

Thus, the day passed and evening soon came.

Since Minokichi-kun and Asue-chan were about to return, we proceeded with preparations for the banquet.

Recently, the snow that fell on the street had gradually stopped. Since it was progressively getting warmer, we decided to have a barbecue outside as I cleared the snow and hung up lamps.

In order to finish preparations while it was still bright, I watched my colleagues hastily prepare tables and chairs as I roasted the dragon meat on a stove type magic item that was installed in the garden.

By reforming my silver hand into a knife, I cut the dragon meat waiting to be cooked in front of my eyes.

As usual, dragon meat is delicious.

If it was Burasato-san the simple recipe would have become even more delicious, but today I only roasted it over the fire since, along with Supesei-san, they went to conquer a dungeon.

Saying "We certainly will bring you gifts from the dungeon boss." Since it was Burasato-san who said it, I'm sure they could do it. Though, if it comes down to it they can just run away, but they will have to come up with an appropriate penalty for it.

Well, that's why it was decided that I personally cooked.

It's a simple recipe, but thanks to the excellent quality of meat, the dish being served can be even more delicious.

Since I caught a whiff of the dragon meat, my mood gradually improved. So I decided to treat everyone to my precious sake. On my way through the hallway, I saw Aifu-chan's figure quickly pacing around the house with a large amount of paper and cans of ink accompanied by unknown women.

Currently, Aifu-chan evolved from the race of [Fimerotto (Sub-species)] to [Adelheid (New species)].

Appearance-wise, there were no significant changes. However, now she is surrounded by a fleeting atmosphere that makes her appear fragile. Like a carefully raised princess from some royal country.

But her casual gesture was fascinating, her eyes were radiating decadence and madness. While her body emanates a sweet smell of lust, concealing her putrid smell of rotting flesh.

As such, Aifu-chan went into a room along with unknown women.

TL note: Irofu became Aifu after rank up

Because it was a Aifu's private room, it wasn't strange for her to personally invite some friends over.

What to do... I expected something to happen as a strange smile floated onto the girls' faces.

I was correct. Apparently, they wanted to experience some mercenary work.

Since with their current race, they have the [Divine Favor of the God of Decomposition], their finesse for mercenary work seemed to have increased. Aifu's ability had also increased steadily.

The women whom I was unfamiliar with must have been her companions that she found in the Labyrinth City [Radha Lo Dara]. Surely they're like-minded people.

Among them were several holders of the [Sacred Profession]. The gentle, neat [Clergy], the proud [Noble Daughter], the [Adventurer] with a hardened body and short hair, and finally a [Painter] with an unusual appearance. Unless necessary, I won't interfere since it's not a hobby of mine.

Hobbies are a freedom of the individual after all.

Others wouldn't say anything.

If they are not a nuisance to others, I'll leave them to do their own things. Even if we become models for their hobby, it's just good to be aware of such things.

For my own peace of mind, it's better that I don't know. Absolutely.

With that said, I turned a blind eye to those two. I turned towards Kugime-chan and Seiji, both who now emanate a presence similar to those of a Lord.

Apparently, Kugime-chan helped Seiji-kun with cheap treatment sessions.

A friendly couple, slowly heading towards our area, where a feast was prepared.

The handsome and the beauty, a very picturesque moment of two demons.

Currently, Seiji-kun has evolved to [Sereneness King (sub-species)] from [Saint Lord (sub-species)] while Kugime-chan evolved from a [Kukimeki (sub-species)] into a [Kukionihime (sub-species)].

Speaking of Seiji-kun, he surpassed my expectations as he became a Sereneness King - since a [Demon King] often has a tinge of charisma.

As usual, his combat capability is fairly low - even for a [Demon King]. It seems that even a [Lord] is capable of achieving victory against him. Though when it comes to healing, finding someone equal to him is almost impossible.

Who would have thought that he was capable of completely healing a [Black Gremlin] that had already stopped breathing, lost both arms and its lower body in a span of few seconds.

Seiji-kun was capable of healing anyone even if they had lost half of their body; now he's expected to play an active role.

Kugime-chan had become even more beautiful than before; her body became refined while her behavior became even more sophisticated.

Since her power and accuracy improved drastically with her Nine Divine Eyes, she should be able to fight with her own fighting style.

But her distinctive skill lies with her sensory capabilities.

Even in her normal state, her senses far outmatches mine. Let alone the vast capital, in her serious state she's capable of increasing her detection range several, if not a dozen, times.

If a large-scale war happens to take place it's possible for Kugime-chan to see the whole battlefield; down to each and every soldier.

Should the enemy plan for some countermeasure during the course of the war, we would know in advance; making it easier to pinpoint their weakness, allowing us to quickly crush their counter attack.

As a support, it's quite likely that we'll be relying on her now more than ever.

AS such, the two demon gracefully arrived in the banquet waiting for the feast to begin.

Both of their reception went fairly well, considering the fact that they're close to the apex of the team. As to why this happens - well... it's likely because I'm the leader.

Well, since I was helping Kanami-chan, it wasn't important.

After a while, both Burasato-san and Supesei-san returned. Since they brought items from the dungeon boss like they said, I didn't complain and told them to relax instead.

More time passed and soon we started the banquet as Minokichi-kun, Asue-chan and company finally returned.

Looking at the dragon meat lined up neatly on the table, I instantly jumped and headed towards the table. Still frozen from the sight of the meat as I ate, I was quite astounded by the delectable taste.

The tears start falling as everyone fell on their knees.

Everyone continued to eat the dragon meat intently; after a while everyone took a breather. The taste of the dragon meat, I'll most likely remember for a lifetime.

As the climax came, the topic of conversations were, of course, the dragon meat and work. While everyone was drinking, they were surrounded by songs and laughter.

The three dozen large barrels containing liquor that I personally prepared had a fairly high alcohol content, I expected no less from liquor that was classified as luxury goods within the Labyrinth City.

It was consumed like water. By the time we finished the drinking contest, everyone I competed with quickly fell, while their faces were red.

Compared to the Labyrinth City, where even at night the streets are lively, tonight is no doubt the most fun and busiest it can get.

Though I've already drunk quite a lot, as expected, drinking more is always quite pleasant.

Of course, drinking alone is nice, but sharing a drink with someone else is also quite enjoyable.

As I look at the manner in which everyone happily drank, Minokichi-kun and Kanami-chan sat next to me and drank [Demonic Spirits (Lunar Drop Sake)].

Since the dragon meat was shared with everyone, the special sake [Demonic Spirits (Lunar Drop Sake)] was specifically prepared for the warlords.

It seems that our colleagues were throwing envious glances our way, but I ignored them and continued drinking my share of sake.

It's a drink unavailable unless you're a warlord, though it seems it isn't certain that it was enough to go around. But rarely enough, the combination between the sake and the dragon meat was appetizing.

Of course, when separate, the delicacies were already delicious, but when combined the luscious taste just increased.

For a while, we were trying to settle our other colleagues who drank without regards to anyone. But soon after, we gave up and decided to enjoy as we enjoyed our sake.

Though there was the class difference, they had no choice but to give up other than the warlords.

Thus, the banquet lasted until late at night. After cleaning up, I immediately lay down on my bed.

Soon, sleep immediately took over.

[[[Redhead]] has awakened to 18 Demon Warlords]

[Title [Red Deadly Fury] will be sent]

Just before my consciousness sunk deeper, an announcement resonated in my mind. As expected, Redhead is also among them, I thought.

After that I immediately fell asleep.

--

Day 255

In the morning, I immediately got in touch with Redhead.

I wanted to know more about the new powers she had developed and how she got them. However, it turned out that everything was exactly the same as with Rusty Iron Knight. She evolved without doing anything out of the norm.

After that, I instructed my subordinates to prepare a nutrient-rich breakfast. In the meantime, Kanami-chan, Minokichi-kun, Asue-chan and I left the Labyrinth City, in order to go test our strengths at the [Funeral Volcano].

Thankfully, the previously accumulated snow has settled, making walking much easier. However, walking isn't much fun. After making sure that no one was nearby, I called the supreme dragon Tatsushirou, and we flew together to [Funeral Volcano].

Once we arrived, using the jump gate at the entrance, we teleported to the same place where I had first enjoyed the dragon meat with Kanami.

At present, there was a new dungeon boss, a black colored [Flame Dragon Empress], most probably that color owing to my ownership of the dungeon.

Usually she'd be sleeping, but since I have arrived, she reacted and woke up. Upon rising from her slumber she began to ask us about the purpose of our visit, to which, I told her that I would like to have a duel with Minokichi, because I would like to compare our strengths and see how much my rival has grown.

[Flame Dragon Empress] immediately in accordance with my wishes rose and attempted to fly, she collected a large amount of magical power in her hands, opened her wings and her body immediately rose into the air, and instantly disappeared somewhere in the sky.

Watching this scene, I was once again marveled by a dragon's excellence, strength and greatness.

Asue and Kanami were also in danger here because I asked them to keep watch of the Flame Dragon Empress's lair.

Asue, a former [Mine Demon (Earth Lord - subspecies)], has the power to become a superior class being [Emperor], [Earth Hell Judge (subspecies)], and therefore had a fairly strong protection against attacks like lightning, and now she was quite capable of withstanding a direct hit.

Kanami, even though she looked fragile, was not someone to mess with and could also take a hit. A weak attack would not even leave a scratch on her skin, and a strong attack, even if it breaks through will be stopped by her durable but flexible muscles. Even if she faced an attack that could damage her multiple protections, she should be able to survive and receive treatment before dying.

They had protection in this form at least and most likely wouldn't die perhaps. But all the same I'm worried. So I gave them new magical items, with stronger effects compared to those that they previously owned, improving their protection.

I used items such as installation, which is not quite convenient to rearrange, but once put it quite simply does not break down.

Thinking it was a good chance, I decided to upgrade the pair's armor.

The overall shape has not changed, but the material and design, are different and much better if I do say so myself.

In addition, the fact that all the items they were given were produced using the items mined in the [Age of the Gods] dungeon, meant their abilities that their armor possessed was much higher than before. Weak attacks will not leave any scratches, therefore greatly increasing bearing capacity, while also having their own abilities.

After preparing the girls for the possibility of getting caught in the crossfire of our match, I returned my attention to the Flame Dragon Empress and Minokichi. A former [Minotaur (subspecies)] he has now become a member of the race [Great King Thunderous Bull (Gigas Minotaur - Superior Species)] after the [Rank Up (Evolution)].

The abilities of this race are far superior to even an army. Focused on the ability of the [Emperor] and focused on personal abilities, ability [King], with the forces of both classes, this time among the 8 Demon General, he became a representative of the most powerful race.

This meant that his power became significantly closer to mine.

His body has grown even more, as compared to before. His muscles now resemble rolled together iron bars that encircle his body, and his body was covered in purple skin with white gold tattoos.

Unless it was the magic sword of a [Saint] nothing could pierce his skin, but it's so nice to feel that I want to stroke it forever. Once touched, I do not want to let go, his skin is extremely addictive. However, it's just not possible to stroke for that long, as around his wool here and there, white lightning appears. Although unless Minokichi wants this, the lightning will not cause harm to others. Only this time they may harm his comrades as we are here to fight.

Due to my abilities I can block his lightning through [Heat Immunity] and [Heat Absorption], so I think that everything will be okay. However, in the case of a gold zipper, there is some chance that [Lightning Immunity] may fail. (anon: He probably means "in the case of a direct lightning bolt attack...")

Fortunately golden lightning can not be regarded as an attack, which is a benefit as his body produces it naturally.

Well, when Minokichi slightly tensed, these gold zippers around him began to furiously cut through the air, and the air around him began to shake.

So I think everything will be fine, it is precisely the benefit of the attack. If you inadvertently get caught in the crossfire, you may die on the spot.

In truth Minokichi's expression today was very appropriate. As his enemy, I had no complaints about his crowded strength.

At this time, for various reasons, the fight will take place without weapons. Locked in each others vicious gazes without a sound we rushed into battle at the same time.

As a result of today's sparring we brought about many changes to the local landscape, and continued to fight until late evening.

By the end of the fight he was unarmed, but the endurance of both, was already at the level where it can be called infinite, because we could without any interruption and fight the whole time at full force.

Nevertheless, the fight resulted in my victory...obviously. But the gap between us was not that vast. Apparently he found a new ability called [Physical Damage Penetration], the attack Minokichi uses even when being completely blocked, still causes damage.

In addition, it is possible thanks to [Physical Damage Penetration], or resulting subjugation of the dungeon [Dragon Flares Theory], or other rather uncanny abilities [Killer God's Flash of Lightning], or as a result of all of them together, not much but after a certain amount of damage, it was beginning to cause me lightning damage.

When you put or render them myself it's hard to understand, but when, even if a blocked attack passes through your body, it gets really disgusting.

So I was able to learn at the same time the chapels of my body and observe the growth of Minokichi. Snacks were prepared by Kanami and Asue, and we collapsed right there on the ground.

Lightly beat down, but from the fact that my skin became stronger, the heat does not bother me as I fall asleep.

Looking up, one naturally has a clear view of the night sky.

Due to improvements in my vision, I can see not only the arena, but also many more sparkling stars than before.

Every once in a while, this kind of thing is not bad, so I decided to lie down to sleep right way.

[Akita Shiba-inu (Kobold Shogun) 18 Demon Warlords awakened]

[Title [Blood Obliging Samurai - Samurai Dog] will be sent]

[ Female Knight 18 Demon Warlords awakened]

[Title [Brilliant Merciful Righteous Knight] will be sent]

Announcements in my head.

Honestly, Female Knight exceeded my expectations.

Although last time I did not give her anything, this time I have to give her good gifts.

--

Day 256

Immediately after I woke up, I talked to both of them and found out the details.

Breakfast was dragon meat. Afterwards, we continued the training we started yesterday.

Yesterday I fought only with Minokichi, one on one, but this time Kanami and Asue will also take part.

It will be me against the three of them.

This time, we will fight with weapons, but holding back some of our abilities, so the training will more closely mimic live combat.

Located in the front, Minokichi with his favorite weapon, looked like a living mountain after Ranking Up [Rank Up (evolution)].

His favorite battleaxe, became the heavenly axe [Axe of Celestial Lightning]. His shield, now big enough to hide his entire body, became the celestial shield [Absolute Flame Gates of the Thunderous Bull Emperor].

The weapons' ability to grow is incredible, and the overflowing force was enormous.

Neither of those [Sacred Treasures] are mediocre.

Hiding behind Minokichi's back is Asue, armed with a huge hammer: the hard and destructive [Hammer of the Goddess of the Earth [Yabushiro]], which she was carrying on her shoulder. On her other hand she wore a magic gauntlet, [Lava Glove of Boar Demon King], which allows her to create a huge hand made of lava.

Of course, among the three weapons her hammer was the weakest, but it has the ability to control the land, also to cover the back, so it has enough power.

If you underestimate her, you will pay dearly, because of her new ability [Thunderous Crystal Prison].

Located in the rear is Kanami, removing the [Sealing Demonic Eye Glasses] and armed with an ominous red-colored Claymore-type magic sword, [Drop of Moonlight], which has the ability to summon huge amounts of water, with a minimum expenditure of mana. The [Loincloth Water Grief], absorbs the surrounding water and compresses it. It becomes a magic weapon [water gun] that can shoot water-bullets.

Armed with a large variety of magical items and abilities she is capable of performing numerous different attacks.

But even without those abilities, Kanami is really strong.

Not only was their team composition and allocation of responsibilities great, their coordination was simply superb.

So much so, that it was difficult to improve anything.

The three of them fought together against me. I was armed with a spear and a red cursed spear, as well as the [Butcher Knife of the Boar King] and the [Soul Sword Quivering Water's Nautilus].

Both of those new swords are very sharp and have high strength.

It is even possible to break the solid skin of Minokichi.

In addition, regarding the [Soul Sword Quivering Water's Nautilus] I still do not know all of it's abilities, but with the strength of the [Sacred Treasures], it can be used without any problems in our training.

The result: to be honest, I thought that I was going to die there.

All three of them, right from the beginning to the end, were fighting with their full force.

The enemy is me, so they behave as if everything is possible.

The three used depleted attack [(Destructive Attack) Ranks Massacre of 8 Demons (Attack of 8 Demon Generals] as well as the effects of the fighting formations [Void Form (Combat Formation of the 8 Demon Generals].

If I were hit by such attacks when I was an Apostle Lord, I would have lost my hands and feet.

Well, anyway, somehow I was able to win. This body of mine had greater power than I expected.

So the second day was the same as the first (ended in my victory), and in the evening we just ate together.

By the way, the reason why I suddenly decided to have two days of such training is quite simple.

Currently, our training has too big of an impact on the surrounding terrain.

Of course by restricting our full power we could train without destroying the surrounding area, but that in itself is quite difficult, and I do not want this to become a habit.

But to operate at full capacity in the usual place is absolutely impossible.

From the light there of, the attacks crack the ground and create storm winds. A murderous wave of magical power, will be sure to cause damage to the surrounding area.

All living creatures from the surrounding area will sense the danger to their own lives, thus leaving the area of our training in a hurry. Naturally this includes monsters.

Most of these monsters, which are driven from their familiar places, will attack the nearby villages and towns. In the worst case scenario, under pressure from the hordes of monsters, entire cities might get trampled.

It is unlikely, but this scenario seems quite possible.

I'm not that noble, but I want to avoid this problem.

Just think of the benefits training in this place could hold for us in the future. But even if not, why destroy the lives of others? We are not hostile creatures.

Therefore it was decided to conduct training in the [Buried Volcano]. It has an automatic repair function that makes it perfect for training.

After training, we immediately went to sleep to rest for tomorrow's training.

--

Day 257

Two days were spent in training; now we have to return to the Royal Capital Osvel and get the kids to head back to the great forest.

Or so I thought, but instead I had to spend another day in the [Buried Volcano].

The reason being that Burasato-san and Supesei-san, who were collecting a variety of grimoires and magic swords in the Labyrinth City Radha Lo Dara, as well as Seiji, who was performing cheap healing with the help of Kugime, as well as Aifu leading clandestine activities, had their own plans and were busy.

That is, Burasato and Supesei wanted to spar too.

I am sorry that I have not once called all this fun, I knew how they would react immediately and so I took them with me.

For a start, I held a training session with the enthusiastic Burasato and self-confident Supesei.

They fought as a pair, with Burasato as vanguard supported by Supesei.

Burasato-san formerly a Blood Lord (sub species), became a Blood Raid Empress (subspecies).

Her outside appearance has hardly changed. Aside from some added Ogre Orbs and her appearance becoming more courageous, but as always, in battle she bathed in the enemy's fresh blood.

The truth is there was still one distinguishing external feature.

Now she has sharp wings of blood.

She previously had a habit of creating a lot of bloody swords, but actually she could not do it. Because the material used for these swords is the blood of enemies, thus it was almost impossible to carry it with her.

But as the Blood Raid Empress, she has gained bloody wings which can be used as a reservoir, making it possible to carry blood with her.

Because of this, even without killing many enemies, it was possible for her to fight at full strength from the beginning.

Now she can simultaneously manage multiple bloody swords, the maximum number being a few hundred (or up to several thousand if limited to simple strokes).

Just imagining this is enough to understand how much of a problem an army led by Burasato was.

But in addition, it significantly increased her combat abilities and changed her fighting style.

Before, her style was to use a magic sword: Princess Fresh Blood with her right hand while controlling blood swords. But now, she also carries in her left hand a new magical sword, The Blood of One Dead Hunter, so now her style has changed.

It became a style with 2 magical swords with which she stirred many bloody swords, bearing multiple attacks like an avalanche. Meanwhile, if you compare her ability to control blood with Kanami-chan, Kanami wins in the amount she can control but the limit of her control is much more clumsy movements. Because of this, the difference between them is not that large.

(editor: For this last sentence I had to guess the meaning so that might not be the actual one, but I guess that it's still better than nothing...)

Responsible for the rearguard is Supesei, the former [Spell Lord (sub species)] who became [Queen of the Bright Star Witches (sub species)].

In her appearance, too, there are some changes, such as added Ogre Orbs, but the main innovation is the 8 rainbow colored steel spheres, similar to planets, that fly around her in orbit.

After examining them, it turned out that they are some type of Ogre Orbs and ordinary steel knives are not able to leave any scratches on them.

After trying to make a scratch with one of my hands which I turned into a silver knife, it left a scratch but after a few tens of seconds, it recovered.

I wonder to what extent she could manage them with the help of thoughts. For example, quickly turning to repel the attacks, or attack if the enemy had come up close to her.

But their true role shows when she uses magic.

Using these 8 balls as catalysts, it is possible to easily cast the highly ranked magic that previously caused a lot of difficulties. And with the use of 8 areas, the main force of attack multiplies the magic attack 8 times, yielding a completely different level of ability.

In contrast to an obvious growth in her ability to use magic, her physical abilities are now lower than those of Seiji.

If an ogre, after receiving deadly magical attacks, managed to pass through her barriers and defense of the orbs and could still attack, the ogre would cut her down.

Previously this was not the case, but now she has become physically weaker.

But in the end, that only matters if someone can approach her.

Whatever it was, today, I tripled the training with this pair of demons.

Located at the forefront is Burasato, and while you're stuck fighting her, some strong magic attacks come flying at you from your blind spots.

Which were followed by a continuous stream of murderous attacks. If you dealt with them, magic attacks would start flying at you again.

They have fought together for a long time, thus their teamwork is incredibly accurate.

Well, in the end I still won.

There were many reasons, the primary being my 4 silver hands, which enabled me to counter every blood attack of Burasato.

No matter how strong you are, if the opponent is a bad match-up, you can't fight using your full potential.

After trying a variety of combinations, I tried fighting against all 5 demons.

I have to say it was one of the most brutal battles since my rebirth.

They all became stronger though, and we all ended up wounded, but they were happy to see me in this state.

Well, the others looked even worse than I did, but these moments themselves are quite good.

--

Day 258

We woke up before dawn and rode on Tatsushirou (the Fossil Dragon revived by Rou) off the Funeral Volcano.

Tatsushirou's flight speed was frightening, because we almost immediately arrived at the Labyrinth City Radha Lo Dara.

It wasn't convenient to jump from the sky like last time, so I entered the normal way, through the gate.

I had to stand in line, but it was early in the morning, so we were able to enter without waiting too long. Despite the early morning, the city was already awake, and life here is blooming. ( original:” and life here is full raged” can’t see the context so I changed it to bloom)

Eating food similar to Doner kebab on the way ([1]) was quite tasty.

Apparently they are using drop items from the nearby labyrinth, it also seems the quality of the meat is good in its own way. Of course the whole secret of the taste was the way it was cooked.

I'll try to do the same, but only with dragon meat. I am sure that it will be delicious because how could it not be.

Thinking about it, instead of heading directly to the house, we each went our separate ways.

Fortunately, we did not stay here for long as we did not have a lot of personal items since items like magic swords, magic books, clothes could be bought here and because I have my item storage, the packing did not take very long. (ex. clothes with special embroidery, magic swords and magic books). (ED:I don’t know if he says they don’t need this kind of stuff any longer or they need it so I edit it to the more logical thing) Because there was nothing to do and the city had numerous kinds of magic shops, everybody went to buy souvenirs. Fortunately it didn't take a lot of time.

We, the 9 demons, will be returning to the Sternbild Kingdom's Royal Capital, while members of Heart of the Snake will stay here and work.

The fact is that in the short time since our store opened, we have suffered abuses from other companies (wrong type of lads came unreasonably complaining about the quality of the goods), as well as some illegal actions against us (attempted arson and attempted kidnapping of the staff).

The staff also intended to find and hire enforcers among the residents of the Labyrinth City, but it was decided not to do so since people would feel that we lacked the power to solve these problems on our own.

Therefore I cannot remove any of the members from our group that are stationed here to take them with us, since their power is needed here, so this time, only us, the 9 demons returned.

I replaced the blond blue eyed young businessman with my clone to look after the shop and the staff. It stayed here not only to guard but also to assist the business of the Labyrinth Branch Store [Heart of the Snake].

After putting an end to things, we went on the wagon Skeleton Centipede and left the Labyrinth City Radha Lo Dara.

At the time of our departure we attracted even more attention than we did when we arrived.

We were viewed with fear, interest, admiration, a lot of feelings were displayed in the faces of the crowd.

After driving for a considerable distance, taking Great Skeleton Centipede from the item storage, I asked Tatsushirou to carry it.

We could travel on the ground like before, but I wanted to know his maximum speed, load capacity and flying range. For those reasons, we flew this time.

Satisfied, looking at his dashing appearance as he easily takes the heavyweights of Asue and Minokichi into the sky, we certainly could have headed straight back with great speed immediately. But since we're already here, I decided to look around for some attractions in the sky.

In this vast world, there exist some mysterious phenomenons.

For example, in the sky above a forest, in various heights there were countless lumps of rocks in various sizes floating. It seems it is inhabited by monsters of the flying type.

Or another example, around a certain landfill there are a wide range of flowers in various colors which are incredibly beautiful.

But among these colors a lot of carnivorous plants nectar's has been devoured by the [Scarlet Hummingbird].

Or for example, on a certain river, which is broad, countless fish are floating, which can be seen even from the sky. They look like size of a palm, but their actual size is close to a giant house.

Or like some snow covered mountain peaks which reach the clouds, forming a huge crater with the sun, that gives a demonic look.

Admiring the view onto those great places, towards the evening we arrived at a location near the capital of the kingdom.

With the incredible speed of Tatsushirou, even while taking an indirect route, we arrived at the scene pretty quickly.

Thinking that a giant ancient dragon would likely cause panic, it was decided to go land in the woods, where the trees were blocking the view. While we stayed Tatsushirou quickly returned to the Funeral Volcano. Just a few seconds after he pushed off the ground, he was out of sight.

I put my parasites inside of Tatsushirou, so that at any given time when I need him, I will be able to contact him.

By travelling on the Great Skeleton Centipede, we quickly arrived at the gates of the Royal Capital.

I have not seen it in quite a while, but the gate to the capital was quite impressive. You could feel its history; it was a magnificent structure.

At the gate, the young guard who was in charge of the gate looked familiar; we were able to enter quickly because I used the pass that I received from the Tomboy Princess.

Inside the capital we continued in the Great Skeleton Centipede.

It was more likely to cause panic and confusion which I didn't wish for, but it seems I did not need to worry about it.

The Great Skeleton Centipede hides us well; it is pretty hard to discern us from the outside. However the Skeleton Spider service has become more and more popular and the citizens knows which organization it belongs to because of the drivers and advertisements.

So when looking at the special [Great Skeleton Centipede] even the children could have guessed to whom it belongs.

In other words, it seemed that even if we hid, everyone would know that we came home.

Among the locals who had gathered to see us, here and there you could see the silhouettes of fanatics of all ages, falling to their knees.

I was plagued by the thought of what would happen should they suddenly see our appearances.

When we go out, I decided to put on a long mercenary coat with a hood for the time being.

Arriving at the house, I was finally able to hug Auro, Argento, Oniwaka, and Redhead. I have been communicating with them through the clones, but it is important to see them with my own eyes. After having celebrated our home-coming, I thoroughly enjoyed the dishes the cook prepared.

Since they are so tired after making the dishes, we will let them taste dragon meat next time.

--

Day 259

Probably because I was able to sleep in a bed after such a long time, I woke up much later than usual. During my most recent adventure away from home, I frequently slept in the Great Skeleton Centipede or sometimes on the bare ground. This experience has opened my eyes to the beauty and charm of warm blankets.

There is no snow on the street, but it was still quite cold, so I did not want to get out of bed. Especially sleeping with Redhead and Kanami-chan using me as a pillow. We started the day with a light warm-up (so as not to cause problems for the neighbors) followed by a tasty breakfast. After that everyone went to manage their own affairs.

I also had a job of sorting documents. But the work was not much, so by noon I had free time.

I wanted to watch the training of the children, but Minokichi-kun and company had to do it.

Kanami-chan and Supesei-san are training Solitude. Seiji-kun, and Kugime-chan went to treat people on call, thereby strengthening the ties with the local community. Asue-chan as usual went her way, so that all were busy with their own affairs.

Therefore, deciding that it was the best time; of the 4 [Sacred Treasures] that I had on hand:

【Sunlight's Soul Sword, Hisperiol】

【Quivering Water’s Soul Sword, Neiletis】

[Precious Core of the Demigod of Spring Water]

[Dragon God's Gem of Rebirth]

I chose the [Precious Core of the Demigod of Spring Water].

From one of its kind, it was clear that this Sacred Treasure was Phantasmal class. It was covered in a mystical aura.

I put the [Precious Core of the Demigod of Spring Water] in my mouth and started to bite, and bite and bite. Bite with all my strength.

Earlier I tried to do the same with 【Sunlight's Soul Sword, Hisperiol】, but absolutely nothing happened. That hurt my pride quite a bit. But now, having become [Vajrayaksa Overlord (Vizra Species - Living God Species], I decided that I finally might get a result.

Continuing for a while, I did not get any results.

[Precious Core of the Demigod of Spring Water] remained extremely solid.

It appears as though it would not work, but I still did not give up and continued to bite it, it has been more on obstinacy.

Biting, biting and biting. With all the strength I continued to bite. Expecting nothing to come out ... When I certainly thought so, just for a moment, but just for a moment I felt something under my teeth give way.

At the same moment, I felt the taste, even surpassing the taste of dragon meat. What!

This was a taste I could not describe. If I didn't try it again, it would be impossible to explain.

Absolutely delicious.

So much for the notion that words could no longer describe its taste.

From such a shock, I even thought that I was about to lose consciousness. It was as if my mind received an electric shock.

The taste was the taste of [Sacred Treasure] [Precious Core of the Demigod of Spring Water], which started to yield under the pressure of my teeth.

Now I can chew it! I couldn't before, but now I can!

After that, nothing happened, I continued to chew. Then, after a while, I broke off a small piece.

My teeth are working! My teeth could break [Precious Core of the Demigod of Spring Water]!

At the moment I swallowed it, I felt the taste of which was impossible to resist, I could not stop until I ate the sacred treasure to the end.

After finishing the work, having fun with Kanami-chan and now playing with Auro and company, I continued to chew without stopping. I just could not stop.

So it went on until the evening.

[ Kumajirou has awakened to 18 Demon Warlords]

[Title [King of Demonic Bears] will be sent]

[ Kurosaburou has awakened to 18 Demon Warlords]

[Title [Emperor Black Wolf] will be sent]

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Day 260

Still chewing from yesterday - which, honestly, I think continued in my sleep - half of the Phantasmal class Sacred Treasure remains.

This was expected, but I can finally start to absorb the [Divine Power] hidden inside [Precious Core of the Demigod of Spring Water]. While waiting for it to be absorbed, I decided to learn more about a couple of my 18 Demon Warlords.

First, Kumajirou.

Kumajirou, had a [Rank Up] evolution from Oniguma into Desolation Spirit Panda. He now has a thick, sharp horn, like obsidian, one meter in length, coming out of his forehead, and he is now 11 meters (36 feet).

With a tough black and white body wrapped entirely in a flexible body hair, he is lying strewn somewhere in a lovely gesture. Such companion animals, if you ignore their size, could become popular as a type of ornamentation. (Is he trying to say that they would be popular as pets?) - Anon

[I'm not sure what is meant by that sentence, so I'm just going to go with something that makes the most sense with the flow - Gluttony]

But do not approach it lightly. Even if Kumajirou is just playing around, the majority of organisms would easily be killed.

His huge paw can penetrate a dragons scales, and his teeth easily compete with the severity of a Dragon.

Moreover, the horn on his forehead significantly increased his overall status, shrouding him with a black aura emitted from sharp protrusions found on both shoulders and elbows made from the same material as the horn, and it also allowed special attacks.

He has excellent physical abilities and, contrary to how lazy he may look, he is quite agile.

An inept army would quickly be trampled into the ground. In truth, he had a brute force worthy of the title of [King of Demonic Bears].

Next, Kurosaburou.

Kurosaburou had a [Rank Up] evolution into Triple-Headed Hell Cerberus from Double-Headed Orthoros Wolf.

With bristles as black as darkness, the shoulders of Kurosaburou stand at about 4 meters.

Near the neck grows countless snake heads spitting fire and poison. The tail has become strangely reminiscent of a dragon's tail.

With the number of heads, large body, snakes on his neck, and serpent-like tail, he might look a little scary, but in fact he acts like a friendly dog.

The black bristles are soft and fluffy, and feel very good. If you take a nap on top of the black Kurosaburou, you will spend time spoiled comfortably.

Of course, his combat capability has been greatly improved compared to before.

In contrast to strengthening the capacity of his individual ability like Kumajirou, Kurosaburou's strength comes from his pack.

Maybe due to the fact that he became [Triple-Headed Hell Cerberus] or got the title [Emperor Black Wolf], Kurosaburou seems to have obtained the [Calling] ability.

With a howl, he is able to form a pack which numbers in the dozens seemingly coming out of nowhere.

Kurosaburou has the [Leadership] ability, so that no matter how many they are, they will still move like a single organism.

His general abilities were approximately at the Demigod Class [Age of the Gods] dungeon. Overall, I think his capacity compared to bear, Kumajirou, is about the same.

[ED: Prepare for confusing paragraphs]

Then, the silver nuclei armed water mucus [War Slime Mar soil] in his chest has increased in size. Now the mucus covers the whole body, and the slime armor has changed from blue to silver. It also became metallic and thicker than before; the hardness also seems to have improved.

Since his visible strength had been so reliant on speed and agility, we should try now to appreciate his more well rounded (whole) abilities.

[ED: Above paragraphs describe Black Wolf to be stronger with an improved ability/characteristic. It's also basically saying that the slime item, (from the Slime Raptor Boss?) that was applied after conquering the Forlia Demigod of Spring Water Dungeon, has become stronger]

[Made it a bit more readable, but the second paragraph is beyond me. Is he saying that it's better to have multiple methods of strength? - Gluttony]

[Reworded. Previously read, "Since such biceps that has changed the wind is over-reliance come, we try to cherish in good beauty and systemic." I strongly suspect one is dealing with both colloquialisms and past tense here. I believe Ovarou is commenting that previously (past tense -> had become -> become -> "come"), Kurosaburou's visible strength (biceps) was too reliant on speed and agility (wind) and that it is in contrast to or despite the patchwork appearance of the current Kurosaburou, well-rounded strength provides it's own whole (systemic) beauty. - WoD

So I praised them; the pair will continue to be a solid fighting force.

Such events are great, as we hope to gain more power.

After some time, somewhere around in the evening, I finally was able to completely chew [Precious Core of the Demigod of Spring Water]. The sense of accomplishment when you finish eating, if anything it is hard to say that there is no sense of loss trying.

But surely, [Precious Core of the Demigod of Spring Water] had become my flesh and blood.

Ability learned: [Precious Core of the Demigod of Spring Water]

Ability learned: [Spring Water's Source]

Ability learned: [Skill Gain]

Ability learned: [Capacity Expansion]

Ability learned: [Heathen Retribution]

Ability learned: [Divine Power Conversion]

Ability learned: [Improvised Promotion]

Ability learned: [Form Change]

Ability learned: [Piercing Evil]

Ability learned: [Five Soul Lives]

Due to the digestion and absorption without spilling even an ounce of the [Divine Power] that was included, all of [Precious Core of the Demigod of Spring Water] became a part of me.

Not only was I able to learn a number of abilities but also the [Divine Power] which has been contained is certain to strengthen me.

[Divine Power] is a kind of energy, whom none other than the gods can use.

But to me, who became the Vajrayaksa Overlord - Vizra Species], it was a useful energy that can be utilized somehow.

The magic is rare to use because there is a limited quantity to the [Divine Power]; these powers do not use mana, and operate under a different system, and their power is simply excessive. Also, they cannot be used without special [Magic]. I think it is best to save these powers as a trump card. [ED: This Power is not based on mana. It is a 'daily power' if you play those types of games. It is restricted on how many times you can use it, so Rou will use it as a hidden trump card. ~Azoraxxx]

From the joy that I suddenly got a trump card that can save me in a desperate situation, I threw a party with dragon meat.

Arranged with a number of dishes at the Banquet Hall in the mansion, it was grand to celebrate with everyone.

The participants, led by me and Kanami-chan, included Redhead, my children, Female Samurai, and general team members, and everyone else in the Royal Capital, such as Solitude and the hired butlers and maids. After finding out that we had returned, the Tomboy Princess, Boy Knight, First Queen and Dark Hero came to visit.

Quite a large party, it started with a toast, which lead to a bit of friendly conversation, and then finally the dragon meat.

Unsurprisingly, the dragon meat caused the same reactions as the other times. In other words, one after another, people began to cry tears of gratitude because it was simply too delicious.

Among them, the reaction that particularly stood out was that of Solitude, who recently lived below the poverty line. I even began to fear that all the liquid from their bodies was being turned into tears.

Most of them burst into tears, which flowed like a stream on their clothes; one of them was the commander of the punks, who was the most manly and largest. [ED: Don't think he means 'bully' in the ranks of Solitude since Rou would simply discipline him. I think he means the commander of Solitude who is more 'manly' than the rest. ~Azoraxxx]

Since it was not from sadness, and because it is joy that tears came out, while patting everyone on the head, I decided to enjoy this moment.

In general, a lot of things happened.

Tomboy Princess and Boy Knight were surprised that we [Evolved] again, and then we told them stories about our difficulties.

Honestly, I think it's a little strange that they were divulging state secrets.

From First Queen and Dark Hero, it was shown a longer reason is knife flying would not than that in either the here the reaction of the extent of going to be a worry. Is I want you to pardon the I'll try to buy secretly spent knife. [ED: Google Translated version: The reaction of the first queen and heroine darkness was such that to be honest, I thought that their reason had been completely blown away. We awake to hope that it is satisfied that that she is satisfied the maid secretly bought my knife.

[The paragraph above really needs some translation from raws. What's this about flying knives being bought? - Gluttony]

I suspect a thrown knife means an assassin, and that Ruo wants to obtain one who was killed secretely and who will therefore not be missed. -WoD

The children, Auro, Argento, Oniwaka and Opushii questioned me in detail about where I travelled this time, and what I did; they also talked about what they had learned. Lately even the very small Opushii, although clumsily, began to talk.

The speed of their development was incredible. As expected from my children.

From the Female Samurai that was left at the Royal Capital's head office, I heard about the manner of marketing the products (which was annoying), purchasing (which was annoying), and troublesome buyers (which were annoying); it was fun but I want a rest from that. Because she was tired, I changed the schedule; I think that I'll take her to the large forest with a hot spring. The store can be left to my clone. [ED: Rou was listening on how the store was going, how sales were going, troublesome buyers. And because of this, Rou decides to take her to the hot springs. ~Azoraxxx]

Then I heard from Kanami-chan, about how she wants more children, I talked to Redhead and Opushii about education for Opushii, consulting with Minokichi-kun and Asue-chan on what to do in order to have more children, discussed efficient treatment methods with Seiji-kun, consulted Burasato-san on herbs, discussed efficient magic operation with Supesei-san, got entagled by a drunken and naggy Kugime-chan who was usually lady-like, it was or observed a state in which the compared drink with a huge wine barrel by the man who became a half-naked in Aifu-chan laugh as "Gufufufu Aifu feeling depressed". [ED: Paragraph is discussing conversations he had with different people. Kanami - She wants more children. Redhead and Opushii - Education/Training for Opushii Minokichi and Asue - What to do since they want more children Seishi (The serenity king) - Effective ways to treat Burasato - Herbs (I am guessing) [Hubris in Google translate] Supesei - Discussed magic, effective ways to use magic Kugime - ? ~ Azoraxxx] [Above paragraph reconstructed below in some semblance of English. I will note that there are two different meanings that can be had here: the one below as well as one where the conversations are all concerned with wanting more children (education about sex, questioning Minokichi/Asue's advice, herbs for conception, magic for conception, and then getting drunk over it all) - Gluttony]

Then I heard from Kanami-chan, about how she wants more children, I talked with Redhead and Opushii about education and training, consulted with Minokichi-kun and Asue-chan about what to do in order to have more children, questioned the effective treatments with Seiji-kun, was consulted about the herbs from Burasato-san, discussed with Supesei-san efficient methods of using magic, drank with the usually lady-like Kugime-chan (suffered nagging); it was a state in which the compared drink with a huge wine barrel by the man who became half-naked in Aifu-chan laugh as "Gufufufu Aifu feeling depressed".

Too quickly, the drinking and singing turned into a chaotic banquet party; it became a time of large servings and unrestricted binging.

[I took liberties with the sentence above - Gluttony]

The culprit for this unusual fun, was most likely the dragon meat.

Or a very tasty drink from the labyrinth. Or both of them. Good food, great people to support mood. Throw in a good drink, nothing to patch up that it happened.

Delicious cuisine makes cheerful people. Even if we didn't have alcohol, it might have even come to this.

To drink and drink, eat and eat and laugh and laugh are moments to remember.

I drank good wine today.

I was in a good mood because the next banquet will be in the great forest, where the drinks might even be better.

Blacksmith-san, Alchemist-san, the Sisters, and Female Knight, it's been a long time since I've seen them and soon we will be together again. I want to see them.

We continued to feast without stopping, until late in the evening.

THIS CHAPTER UPLOAD FIRST AT NOVELBIN.COM