Chapter 66: Hard to Resist
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 66: Hard to Resist
“Iris.”
“How lewd.”
“What are you even talking about now?”
“Don’t call a woman by her first name.”
“You’re the one who told me to call you Iris.”
“Yes.”
I had arrived at the magic item shop, guided by a paper airplane. As usual, Iris Albresto greeted me in her signature black dress that clung to every curve of her silhouette, using her characteristically peculiar way of speaking.
“What is it this time?”
“You’ve changed.”
“What has?”
“You. You’re different from last time.”
Yikes. Is there really something invisible to the naked eye that only Gold-grade explorers can see? Now that my rank has gone up, even this eccentric shopkeeper sees me in a different light.
“Have you been using your skills a lot?”
“Ah, yes. I recently met an acquaintance. I’ve... inherited a few things from them.”
“Show me. Your skills.”
“I don’t see why not.”
It’s not like it costs me anything to show her. The form most suited for combat right now would be the one I used when I fought Lance.
I armed myself with the Drake’s tail and fitted the Lizardman feet onto the ends of the Minotaur legs. I covered my legs and forearms in sturdy scales and attached the Blue-Horned Deer’s horns to gather mana. Done.
As for the internal organs required for combat, like the heart or lungs, I could just swap between high-performance ones as needed.
Iris stared intently at the scales sprouting across my body, then suddenly tilted her head and narrowed her eyes.
“This isn't it.”
“It’s not?”
“No. It’s something else.”
“What are you talking about? Be more specific.”
“It’s different. There’s a... worse smell.”
“A worse smell? I mean, I know I’m a ‘bad boy,’ but—”
“...”
“Ah.”
Wait, could it be this?
“Is this what you’re sensing?”
After retracting my skills, I swapped the bone structure inside my left forearm for that of a Skeleton Mage. Iris’s eyes widened—a rare sight—and she bolted upright from her seat.
Clatter!
“That. How did that happen?”
“It’s a Skeleton Mage’s arm bone. I’ve swapped it with my original bone.”
An eerie green flame, looking like a bracelet of mana, swirled around my left wrist. It had a peculiar shape, with strange characters seemingly swimming inside the light.
“That... that’s it.”
Iris, wearing a skirt that clung to her disabled legs, struggled to climb over the desk. I extended my tail, gently wrapped it around her waist, lifted her up, and set her down in front of the desk.
“Think before you move. How can you try to move like that while wearing a skirt?”
“Doesn’t matter. Hurry, let me see.”
Iris reached out with both hands and took my left arm, her gloved fingers fumbling over my forearm. She stroked my wrist where the strange magic circle was spinning and even pressed her palm against mine.
“Hey, wait. What are you doing?”
“Why?”
“What do you mean ‘why’? Why are you bringing that to your mouth?”
I panicked for a moment when Iris suddenly opened her mouth, flicked her tongue over her lips, and tried to bring my hand toward her face.
Even in a normal situation, this would be incomprehensible behavior, but right now, I literally had a Skeleton Mage’s bone inside my arm.
Is this woman actually sick? Touching my arm is one thing—I can understand being curious. But why on earth is she trying to taste it?
“...I wasn't.”
“Yes, you were. You were just about to put it in your mouth.”
“Fine. Put me back.”
“Good grief.”
I did as I was told for now. I wrapped my tail around her waist again and sat her back in her chair. Iris leaned her chin on her hand atop the desk and continued her questioning.
“Did you feel anything?”
“I did hear the Lich’s voice. It said it could return to being a living being if it consumed flesh.”
“Dangerous. Reckless.”
“I wouldn't have done it if I’d known. I’m actually trying to refrain from using it.”
It has the merit of allowing me to use explosion magic, but the bone density is lower, and it just feels unpleasant. Above all, I have no idea what kind of nonsense that crazy Lich might try to pull in my brain.
I’m trying my best not to use it. I wouldn't have even shown it if Iris hadn't asked.
“So, why did you call me here today? What’s the task?”
“This.”
Iris went back behind the desk and started struggling to pull something out from underneath. It looked quite heavy; I wondered if I should help her.
“Need a hand?”
“...I can do it myself.”
But for someone who spoke so confidently, her head showed no sign of reappearing above the desk. I didn't know what was down there, but it looked like I’d have to help.
It’s not like anyone’s going to tease her for being weak; I don’t know why she’s being so stubborn about her pride. Besides, can’t she just use magic? Like when she ate the Umbra Valkyrie’s eye. She could just lift it with those black chains.
“Move aside. I’ll do it.”
“Arrogant. I am stronger.”
“Sigh, what is this? Are you a middle schooler? Bragging about your strength?”
“Middle schooler?”
I swung my tail over the desk and grabbed the object underneath. It was a large box.
“Is it this?”
“Yes.”
It was quite heavy for its size. It was only about half the size of my torso. What was in here to make it this heavy?
It felt like lifting a solid block of iron of the same volume. Judging by the material, it seemed to be a regular wooden box lined with cushions. Considering that, whatever was inside must be incredibly dense.
Rattle—
“What’s inside this? Why is it so heavy?”
“Open it. Carefully.”
“Hmm.”
It was a dark brown wooden box, almost black. I unlatched the metal clasp and lifted the lid. There was something inside.
“Ugh, what the hell? What is this?”
“An Evil Eye. A monster that appears in the latter half of the 2nd Stratum.”
“Something like this appears in the 2nd Stratum?”
As I slowly opened the box, I saw what looked like folded bat wings at the bottom. I thought it was a bat at first, but I was wrong. It was a grotesque creature with a round body and a single, disgustingly large eyeball embedded right in the center. A giant eye covered in wet, leathery skin—purple-based and looking like an amphibian’s hide.
Below that were dozens of thin, vile-looking tentacles that I couldn't even begin to guess the biological purpose of. They hung down like the legs of an octopus that had spent too much time in radioactive waste.
“A size-reduction spell has been cast on it. It’s heavier than it looks.”
“This isn't its original size? Then how big is it normally?”
“One meter tall.”
Holy shit. This mass of eyeballs is a meter tall? And a monster with such a catastrophic appearance appears in the latter half of the 2nd Stratum? I really don’t like anything about this damn 2nd Stratum. It’s all just rotten Skeletons and Ghouls.
Even the somewhat useful Minotaurs are elite entities, making them rare and incredibly difficult to deal with. Since these crazy things start appearing in the later stages, combined with the gloomy environment, it’s no wonder people go insane.
“Don’t tell me you brought this for me to eat.”
“I made it small so it’s easier to eat. Be grateful for my kindness.”
“I’ll eat almost anything, but this is crossing the line.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean ‘why’?”
Just because I ate one eyeball for her, she thinks I’m some kind of living slop bucket. Of course, I don’t need to shove it into my actual mouth anymore, but Iris doesn't know that, does she?
Which means she expects me to just crunch down on this thing with my teeth. I could probably force myself to swallow a single eye if I had to, but this? This is too much.
“What if I get sick? And what even is this thing? I’ve never seen a creature that looks this much like a pile of shit.”
“You won't get sick.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Fussy.”
“Ugh.”
I welcome eating powerful monsters. But this thing’s appearance is just... I don’t even know what it does, or what I’d gain from eating it.
It looks like an eye, but the giant eyeball is covered by thin skin like an eyelid, with tentacles and wings growing out of it.
Then what does this Evil Eye thing even eat? For starters, it doesn't have a visible mouth. I poked around the bottom where the messy tentacles were growing, but I couldn't find any holes.
“No brain, just an eyeball. Is this really its original state? Did you just take the eye part?”
“Evil Eyes are always like that.”
“Huh.”
“Hurry up and eat it.”
Its eye was currently closed. The thin purple skin covered the round eyeball like an eyelid.
“If something goes wrong after I eat this, you’re taking responsibility.”
“Yes.”
“What if my head spins and I go on a rampage?”
“Would that happen?”
“You never know.”
“I’ll stop you.”
“Tsk...”
Fine. She’s a bit of a strange person, but Iris is a high-ranking mage. If I were to suddenly be brainwashed by the Evil Eye’s will and go on a rampage, like I almost did with the Skeleton Mage, Iris would probably be able to stop me.
And if she can’t... well, there are plenty of other strong people around, right? This is the Northeast Branch, after all.
“Here I go.”
“Aren't you going to eat it with your mouth?”
“I found a way so I don’t have to do that anymore.”
“Oh, that’s a relief.”
She looked genuinely happy. I thought she’d complain about me not using my mouth.
“So, how do these Evil Eye things even stay alive?”
“What do you mean?”
“No mouth, no brain. Their very existence is a mystery.”
I asked as I manifested the Titan Toad’s stomach at the tip of my tail and picked up the Evil Eye to drop it into the opening. Even the sensation of touching it was repulsive; it was the pinnacle of unlikeable creatures.
“They fire mana rays. They decompose living things that possess mana and live by absorbing that mana.”
“Crazy.”
This Evil Eye is basically Vel'Koz.
“Alright. Let’s give it a try.”
A destruction beam is just too hard to resist.