The Cannibal (7)
【……It is rather taxing.】
Veronica, having slain the Ogre Pedophile King, did not revert to pony form. Instead she knelt upon the ground.
“You must be exhausted. Just drop the transformation already.”
I asked Veronica, who had collapsed into a sitting position on the dirt. Even the relatively simple Burning Hand required total concentration; high-tier magic had to be on another level. Chanting through the constant physiological agony inflicted by her curse penalty must have been absolute hell.
At my words Veronica shook her head.
"I shall endure until the very end. Were it up to me, I would remain in this form for as long as possible, yet it proves far more burdensome than anticipated. It seems I cannot."
“Hang in there. We’ll find a way to lift the rest of your curses eventually.”
Veronica returned to pony mode. I prodded the frozen ogre’s torso with my spear. Even a zombie ogre would have trouble clinging to life with a hole like that.
Item looting’s off the table, huh?
At least I’d secured the artifact before pulverizing the rest with magic. No, scratch that. This is the real unique item.
I pulled out the rune stone the ogre brat had cherished. It resembled a jade seal with a broken handle—a simple stone, yet it radiated power. Weathered rune patterns resembling the cardinal directions of a compass were carved across its surface, confirming it was indeed a rune stone. The base featured an embossed symbol as well, though I couldn’t identify it. It didn’t appear to be a rune itself. Perhaps it was the “king’s mark” the ogre had rambled about nonstop.
The important part isn’t the appearance.
I stroked the jade seal. Simply holding it let me feel an enormous quantity of mana. The corners of my mouth lifted on their own. Like Doraemon pulling out a gadget from the future, I shouted,
“Hell yeah! This is what an artifact should be!”
When it came to relics of ancient civilizations, it ought to be something this ridiculously overpowered, not a Power Elixir. Fuck. This is why I wanted to be an archaeologist. So why do ruin gachas keep spitting out Power Elixirs while class-change quests have ogres vomiting epic items?
It felt unfair, but the rush of excitement made up for it. Good is good, right?
【My lord. Show it to me as well. I shall locate the method to reclaim the mana stolen by that wretch.】
“Ah, sure.”
When I handed Veronica the rune stone she frowned—most likely from the curse—and spoke.
"The structure is simple. It is an artifact that stores absorbed mana and puts it to use."
“Can you extract only our mana?”
"It is possible. Rune mana carries strong individuality with each character. You can at least distinguish ᚲ(Kenaz) from ᚨ(Ansuz), can you not?"
“Yeah, that’s true. What about Tirsi?”
Recalling that the ogre had also stolen Tirsi’s mana, I asked. Veronica turned to her.
"Wench── such a title would lack decency. Tirsi. Returning the mana stolen from you is a simple matter, yet what shall you do? Only consumable mana will be restored."
“Yes. I’ll simply accept the sentiment. Even if I received it back, it would be no different from drinking a mana potion.”
"So she says."
“Really? If Tirsi’s fine with it, then I don’t mind either.”
I nodded. There was mana that recovered after use, like the contents of a mana vessel, and there was mana like rune mana—non-consumable but unobtainable without a catalyst. If vessel mana was coins in a piggy bank, rune mana was the savings account itself. Ordinary mana could be replenished with potions or natural recovery even if completely spent, but Veronica and I had our entire accounts stolen. Without recovering it, we’d have to open brand-new ones.
"I shall begin."
Veronica operated the artifact. Rainbow light like the surface of a CD catching sunlight poured from the jade seal and flowed into both me and Veronica.
“Ooh.”
I marveled at the sensation, similar to when I acquired new runes through rune mana. The ᚲ(Kenaz) and ᚨ(Ansuz) I originally possessed flared back to life, like light bulbs switched on after a blackout.
"That is all."
Veronica stopped the artifact and returned it to me.
"I bestow it upon you. What remains is ordinary mana. It should prove useful when large quantities are required or for rapid mana recovery during combat."
“Got it. I’ll treat it as party shared supplies. Tirsi? If you run low on mana in the future, just tell me. Or would you rather carry it yourself?”
“What if I stole it? Even the strongest bonds of trust crumble before sufficient profit.”
Tirsi refused firmly, hand raised. She was the type who drew clear lines when money was involved. I answered that I understood and stored the jade seal away.
Nice side income.
An ancient civilization MP auxiliary battery! We’d rotate it among the party whenever anyone needed it. Since it had been lying thirty centimeters from the ogre bastard’s balls, using it as-is felt disgusting, so I made a mental note to ask Tirsi to disinfect it later.
【Huu.】
Having finished her task, Veronica reverted to pony form. Or rather, since that wasn’t her original shape, “reverted” was inaccurate, but she transformed into a horse nonetheless. She then bowed, hooves clacking.
"I am relieved it concluded safely. I shall repay this debt later. Since we have come this far, may I retrieve the rune stone I promised you, using the mana stored within this artifact?"
“Miss Veronica. Before that, we must confirm whether the promotion examiner is alive or dead.”
Tirsi cut in. Ah, right. Honestly I had completely forgotten. The matter had vanished from my mind while fighting the ogre. The emotional reunion with Professor Slayer must have been too overwhelming.
"Aah. That was the case. I became too focused on my own circumstances. Please forgive me."
“There’s no need to apologize to me. …To be honest, I didn’t expect him to still be alive either.”
Tirsi looked downcast. We should at least recover his remains and deliver them to the guild. Even a lone-wolf adventurer probably had a few party members.
"Then what do you intend? It is not a living opponent, and searching this forest for a corpse would be impossible within a single day."
“I feel bad pushing this onto someone else, but this sort of work has to be left to professionals. Nord, is that all right?”
Professional. The grandiose term felt awkward, yet it wasn’t wrong, so I had no rebuttal. Animals that would sell out anyone’s privacy like it was worthless leaf-mold mochi if given food would surely reveal the ogre’s location. Thinking that way, maybe my true calling wasn’t archaeologist but adventurer.
I stamped the ground with my spear and answered.
“Sure. But this time I’d like to try a different method.”
“A different method?”
“Like this. ᚨ(Ansuz).”
─Swhaaaaaaaah.
A soul rose from the frozen ogre carcass thicker than my torso. It was exactly as I expected, so I didn’t even flinch. A bastard that obsessed with life wouldn’t have passed on so easily. Even in death the ogre couldn’t abandon his personal laboratory kingdom. The creature opened its eyes.
─Th-this is!
“Professor, Professor. Sleeping out here will give you a cold.”
─Tap tap.
I smiled kindly and rapped the reversed spear shaft against my palm like a club. Veronica and Tirsi watched with interest.
"This presence…… My lord. You have communed with a spirit?"
“A spirit? You mean the ogre’s soul?”
“Correct, Veronica. You can’t see it either?”
"The consolation of ᚨ(Ansuz) is a technique for exchanging intent between caster and spirit. Only the caster can perceive the communed soul. I possess no aptitude for the medium lineage, thus I cannot perform such arts. Though I can roughly sense its location through the flow of mana."
“I see.”
Even rune magic had aptitude restrictions. Naturally. “But please don’t say I have talent for necromancy. I don’t want scary old priests chasing me as a heretic.”
"Your deed is not soul manipulation but soul pacification. You are not desecrating the spirit, so is it not permissible?"
“In human society, politics and religion don’t care about facts, ref.”
"Hmmm. How difficult."
Veronica stared with pure, innocent eyes that seemed to say she didn’t understand. It really was complicated, huh? Sorry about that. As humanity’s representative I apologized inwardly and addressed the ogre.
“Sleep well?”
─……A vulgar inferior species dares desecrate even my death.
The ogre, all six limbs intact, looked at the pink mince beneath its feet as if unable to believe it was its own corpse. But this was reality. I pointed my spear coldly.
“Grasping your position yet? Want to scream ‘it hurts so bad’ or answer my questions nicely and die quietly?”
─I have already tasted death itself; you believe mere pain could make me submit yaaaaaaaagh!!!
He talked too much, so I sliced off a leg first. Touching it bare-handed might accidentally purify the thing.
─Thud!
With its leg gone the ogre professor flopped spread-eagle onto the ground. Tirsi, apparently thinking I was putting on a one-man show, spoke awkwardly.
“They say mithril is more effective against demons and undead than half-heartedly blessed silver. Instead of worrying about inquisitors branding you a heretic, perhaps you should prepare for scouting offers?”
“Hehe. Want me to prepare a polite refusal line? I’ve always found the solemn atmosphere of religious orders uncomfortable.”
“Huhu. What a coincidence. So do I.”
We shared a quiet laugh. Even in a world without Puritan attitudes, temples felt stiflingly solemn or majestic. It gave the impression that people were judged by the depth of their faith.
─Krrruuuugh!! I have nothing whatsoever to tell you!!
The ogre glared, trying to maintain its bravado. I snorted. This bastard hadn’t even undergone the proper process to become a ghost or undead. Its mana was depleted and its main body had been pulped; even as a ghost it wouldn’t be able to use magic. It was like a marathon runner trying thigh wrestling. Unless the soul was insanely powerful, awakening self-awareness meant nothing. It was an expedient I’d been too scared to use on the Ada Unicorn black mage in case it backfired.
“Do you know how artists are tortured?”
I chanted and imbued the rune carved on my spear blade with Burning Hand. Artist or king, any living creature would feel happy with a warm back and full stomach.
“Whoa! Golden Legend branding iron!”
I faithfully followed that immutable law. I pressed the golden-flaming spearhead against the ogre’s belly.
“Hey, ogre. Inserting now.”
─Krrhuueeeeeyaaaaaaaack!!!
A scream unworthy of any king. Of course. When a branding iron was hollowing out your gut and creating space for a uterus that never existed, what good was endurance?
─Gekruuuugh!! K-kill me!!
“Look at this guy.”
Yet the ogre kept trying to act tough even while I grilled its own intestines in the pot of its abs. What now? My inner masochist was starting to respect its spirit.
“You damn professor spawn, who said you could imitate macho men!”
I was heatedly wondering how to turn the bastard into a pathetic bottom when Veronica spoke.
"My lord. If it does not trouble you, I shall assist with the interrogation."
“How? You said you can’t see it.”
"Correct. Unless it is a vengeful spirit powerful enough for anyone to perceive, I cannot even hear the voice of such a feeble soul. Nevertheless, assistance remains possible."
Veronica’s horn activated the ᚦ(Thurisaz) rune. The rune that protected the caster from attacks symbolized immense power, defense, and resistance. A rune whose meaning was to obtain rest while guarded by a mighty being!
─Grrrrr……
Struck by the rune, the ogre fell asleep as though it had forgotten its pain. Having driven the ogre to the verge of eternal rest, Veronica asked,
"My lord. Is the ogre asleep?"
“Yeah. He’s not dead, right?”
"You ask the obvious. I placed him in deep slumber yet left him capable of answering. He will respond obediently except when strongly refusing."
“For real? Damn, that’s so fucking spiritual!”
─Clap clap clap!!
I gave Veronica sincere, heartfelt applause for her skill. That rune looks insanely versatile too. Its applicability seemed on par with ᚲ(Kenaz), which I had learned and was milking for all it was worth. Magic resistance enhancement, forced sleep—it looked useful in countless ways.
Almost as versatile as the Korean “fuck.”
Come to think of it, Korean had plenty of words perfect for every situation: “fuck,” “no,” “trash,” and so on. In the language of runes, ᚦ(Thurisaz) and its variants seemed to function as an all-encompassing term. Thinking about it, it made sense. The Odin I had seen in my dream could explain nearly every law of the world with only eighteen characters.
Should I learn that next?
Such a powerful rune would be extremely difficult to acquire and apply, but at least when it came to acquisition I possessed a cheat no one else could match. I looked at the fainted ogre and drew up happy future plans. If my intuition was correct, the time had come to consider a new rune.
Anyway, who knew there was such an easy interrogation method! It was a confession spell that the FBI would trade their director’s balls to obtain!
"Do not overestimate it. It barely functions except upon greatly weakened or non-resistant subjects."
“Still, that’s already plenty.”
It skipped the time normally wasted on torture. I nodded in satisfaction. From what I remembered of movies, the most crucial part of torture was starving and exhausting the subject to drain their stamina. Once SAN points were depleted, no one could resist the Communist hypnosis app.
“Hey. Hey. Ogre. You hear me? If you can hear me, answer. Your body is slowly turning into a log…… It has become a log……”
─Krrrr…… Log……
When I prodded its head with the spear shaft there was a reaction. Looked like the interrogation would work. I didn’t stop there; I aimed for perfection. Receive the secret art of hypnosis that appeals directly to the subconscious!
I snapped my fingers and declared,
“Red Sun.”
─Snap!