The Fai...ry Lady Uses Magic (1)
The Fai...ry Lady Uses Magic (1)
Denying your own nature and essence is never a good thing.
Growth only becomes possible after you fully recognize both your strengths and your weaknesses. Rejecting the elements that make you who you are and looking away from them does nothing to help you develop.
That goes double for superhumans.
In a world where exceptional innate talent manifests as supernatural abilities, what good can come from denying your own defining traits—your own innate talent?
In the end, personality itself is one axis of innate talent. It cannot manifest alone as a supernatural ability, but it can certainly serve as the foundation that supports other abilities.
Because countless traits gather together to form a single person.
"Yes, yes, exactly! The Ha-yul from just now was truly... haah, truly adorable."
"Guuaaagh..."
The words cut into my thoughts, making my whole body squirm. The memories I had been trying so hard to suppress came flooding back all at once.
Clinging, being patted, being stroked, burying my face, nuzzling, kneading, squeezing, whining that nothing was coming out, babbling that embarrassing baby-talk Ellia had teasingly taught me...
"Guuugh..."
[Regret]
[Happiness]
[Embarrassment]
"Though of course, you're adorable right now too."
Ellia beamed and pulled me into a tight hug. My groans and shame were buried deep in that voluptuous softness, and the sweet, nutty scent of milk drifted over me, sapping the strength from my body of its own accord.
Just as I had expected, those enormous, dairy-cow-like breasts gave off not only a fragrant body scent but also a rich milkiness.
I wrapped my arms and the Sky Wing Feather around Ellia's waist and rubbed my head against her chest.
"Ehehe. I'm so happy... Let's really live happily together from now on..."
Ellia gently rubbed her cheek against the crown of my head. At the sticky affection seeping from that gesture, I subtly rubbed my head back against hers.
Ellia smiled brightly, swept my bangs aside, and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead.
"Ha-yul, your ability really is fascinating. Ears sprouting from your head, a horn growing from your forehead..."
Ellia's gaze lingered on the spot where the horn had grown just moments ago. Not even a trace of it remained now. Her slender fingers brushed against my forehead.
"You said it was a unicorn's horn, right? Does the horn influence your personality too?"
"It does, and it doesn't."
Ellia tilted her head. I buried my face in her chest and inhaled her body scent deeply.
"Hehe, that tickles."
As my breath reached the inner curve of her chest, Ellia giggled even as she held me close. Immersing myself in that benevolent affection, I let my head, which had been burning hot, cool down for a moment.
I had manifested a unicorn horn—an ilgaksu's horn—through Homogenization.
It was possible that my personality could be influenced by that effect.
The horn of an ilgaksu is essentially innate talent embodied in physical form. Manifesting such an innate talent naturally couldn't happen without some influence.
'But an influence as strong as what just happened isn't normal.'
There are degrees to these things. What happened just now wasn't simply the horn's influence.
To be precise, it was my instincts being stimulated by the horn's influence and bursting out.
'...'
I pressed my face into Ellia's chest and subtly furrowed my brow.
The moment the horn began sprouting from my forehead, even in my half-melted state of mind, I had sensed the phenomenon occurring within myself.
The unicorn's horn hadn't created something new; it had drawn out something that already existed inside me.
Something incredibly pure, and deeply embarrassing—something like an instinct.
'...'
It was impulsive, but this Homogenization was executed more precisely than before. I had grown significantly since then, after all.
If I continue steadily developing Homogenization in this direction, other types of bodily transformation should become possible as well.
'The 4th Iteration was the one who settled on the bodily transformation path.'
Even in the observed world, there had been an iteration that had pursued a similar growth direction.
The 4th Iteration.
That iteration had used the unique ability "Assimilation" as a foundation to manifest the bodies and traits of all kinds of monsters, securing durability and regeneration to achieve tenacious combat endurance.
From the 2nd Iteration's defeat by wave tactics, they learned the need for endurance. From the 3rd Iteration's self-destruction, they felt the need for durability and regeneration, and so they sought that kind of growth direction.
They succeeded by applying the lessons of those previous experiences quite well.
But in the end, they were buried under the sheer volume of the Tower of the Dead's forces and met their end.
They compensated for the shortcomings felt in earlier failures, but they lacked the sheer output of the 3rd Iteration, so they couldn't overcome the overwhelming numbers of the army corps.
'Another tower entry tomorrow, huh.'
It was a little different from the previous tower entries, of course, but it was the Tower of Growth all the same.
I would surely be able to come out having grown considerably this time too. Thinking of the Reverse Side incident to come, I needed to properly benefit from the tower's functions and emerge stronger.
"It's gotten dark already. Shall we start heading back?"
"Yep."
Ellia smiled gently at me nestled in her arms, then turned her gaze toward the window and spoke.
It really was about time for dinner. When I nodded, as if rewarding me for being good, her lips pressed a kiss to the bridge of my nose this time.
"Ehehe."
[Like]
"Heh, let's walk back slowly."
I took the hand of Ellia, who was now wearing the perception-obstruction magic tool, and we left the room.
"...Thank you for your patronage."
The innkeeper gave us an odd look.
What's with him?
.
.
.
The morning of the third day of the Birth Festival.
Siyoram buzzed with noise over the upcoming Tower entry schedule.
The faculty were frantically busy with preparations for the Tower entry, while visitors, eyes sparkling with anticipation, flocked toward any spot with a view of the Tower of Growth.
It was already like this now, even with several hours left until entry. By the time entry actually began, there would probably be even more people swarming around than during the opening ceremony.
'In a sense, this tower entry is the main spectacle of the Birth Festival.'
Wasn't it practically the reason for holding the festival? It was only natural that people would gather.
- Bubble bubble...
And I had been in the mansion's underground laboratory since dawn on this day of Tower entry.
I had woken up a bit early, but since I'd been fast asleep in Ellia's arms since yesterday afternoon, it wasn't a problem.
Thanks to that, my mind was still bright and clear now, and my mood was good thanks to the body scent lingering on me.
Which meant I could concentrate on the task at hand.
'Hmm...'
On the broad table before me, Calamity Flame blazed around the base of a test tube floating in the air via telekinesis.
Normally, anything it touched would be incinerated without a trace, but this gentle, gentle Calamity Flame heated the test tube with precise heat according to its master's command.
The liquid inside the test tube bubbled and boiled.
Originally it had been pink, but after continuous concentration, it now seemed closer to purple or even red.
'Potion of Being Hated... No, it's frustrating not knowing the formal name.'
Commonly called the Potion of Being Hated.
A drug obtained from the dungeon I had entered with Lee Ji-yeon and from which I'd brought out the fairies. While its effect lasted, it twisted others' external perception of the drinker in a negative direction.
It was a drug with perception-manipulation effects, no less, but when I first found it, I was at a loss for how to even use it.
- Bubble bubble bubble...
I had been continuously heating it for several hours now. I was boiling off the unnecessary parts and concentrating it into an essence to further enhance its efficacy.
When I predicted the efficacy through Observation, it seemed the duration would shorten, but the dosage needed for full effect would be halved.
So I set aside half separately, and concentrated the remaining half into an essence.
Ordinarily, this would completely ruin the efficacy.
When I observed it, since this was a drug naturally generated by a dungeon, any clumsy processing would cause all its efficacy to evaporate.
'It's going well.'
But I had my own methods.
I had the Authority of Observation, which could precisely measure changes in state moment by moment, and I had a body and mana that could perform delicate manipulations based on that information.
I had also accumulated knowledge, including alchemy taught to me in bits and pieces by Ariel.
And in the first place, I was only concentrating it into an essence to boost its efficacy, so no complicated processing was required.
Whoosh! I dispersed the Calamity Flame clinging to the test tube. I held the test tube with a peculiar expression.
The volume of the drug, gradually concentrated by the Calamity Flame, had decreased significantly—now less than a tenth of its original volume.
'......'
The degree of effect could be roughly predicted through Observation.
The current Tower Master of Observation could even use the authority for prediction... foresight, supposedly? I wasn't that good, but I could still infer the effects of a drug.
That wasn't enough, so I concentrated it into an essence.
How should I use this? I still had many worries about that, but recently one idea had come to mind.
It was uncertain and dangerous.
If possible, I wanted things to flow in a better direction than that, for a better plan to occur to me.
But the affairs of the world don't always go as you wish, so I still had to prepare, just in case—for my own sake.
- Fuu...
I let out a heavy sigh and shook the test tube.
I couldn't see it with my eyes, yet somehow it was a liquid that made you want to drink it.
A lustrous color. It seemed like it would have a nice scent, like it would be very delicious to drink.
In fact, when I inferred the taste through Observation, it did seem like it would taste like a fruit drink.
'But I won't taste anything anyway...'
But I don't have any of that because of the curse. It won't smell like anything, and it won't taste like anything when I drink it.
With an indifferent expression, I stoppered the mouth of the test tube and slipped it into my subspace.
Then I placed the remaining half of the drug into a nearby rack and mixed in the pre-ground herbs I had prepared. Even the simplest processing requires proper preparation steps.
My plan was to experiment somehow with the concentrated portion, and if it really seemed no good, concentrate the remaining half into essence as well and use that.
I left the drug mixed with herbs in the laboratory and stepped out, and the door near the lab opened.
"Done with your stuff?"
It was Yeon-hwa, who had been loosening up with some morning stretches. As I trotted over to her—she was patting her sweat-damp hair with a towel—her sulky eyes glared at me.
The look in those eyes, as if she were looking at that troublemaker Golden Child, stung. I grinned goofily and clung to Yeon-hwa.
"Hehe..."
"...Good grief, what am I going to do with you."
At the sight of me looking up at her from within her arms, Yeon-hwa swallowed a sigh and gently stroked my head.
- Oh-ho? Now you're even making eye contact and having conversations with Ellia? What exactly did you do outside and come back...?
- Nggeeek...
As a matter of fact, when I returned to the mansion yesterday, Yeon-hwa had grabbed me by the lips something fierce. If not for Ellia's help, I would have been pinched all day long.
Yeon-hwa's sulkiness had only eased a little yesterday on the mansion rooftop, after we enjoyed the summer-themed fireworks together.
And because I seized that chance and poured on the aegyo, she softened even faster.
"Come on, let's get going. We might actually be late at this rate."
Listening to this uncharacteristic remark from Yeon-hwa, who often forgot time commitments, I headed up into the mansion.
.
.
.
Around the time the sun rose to the middle of the sky.
Crowds of people had gathered around the Tower of Growth, standing tall at the center of Siyoram.
The noisy clamor was enough to make my eardrums sting. I fiddled with my earlobe and observed my surroundings.
Right near the tower, cadets stood in orderly formation, and a little ways off, visitors watched the tower and cadets with eyes full of anticipation and curiosity.
'Soon, giant holograms will probably pop up all over Siyoram.'
This tower entry was practically an event-style entry.
To be precise, the aim was to broadcast the situation inside the Tower of Growth and show how outstanding and amazing Siyoram cadets were.
After all, Siyoram cadets were those who would become the pillars of the future. It was an occasion to display the greatness of those who would support the next generation.
In short, a competition with a strong element of showing off. That was why they didn't take up several full days like before, but only a few hours at most.
It wasn't a trial to be taken with dead seriousness, but an opportunity to show off each other's skills and make them known to the world.
It wasn't simple combat or survival, and I heard there were special rules too.
To that end, the entire student body would enter at once, and rather than just standard-issue armaments, appropriate personal armaments were also permitted.
Thanks to that, I could wear Purification and Proof of Protection going in.
'......'
I listened to the professor's explanation from the podium and subtly shifted my observation perspective.
The enormous ivory-colored tower, which was difficult to interpret properly even with practiced Observation.
The memory of the opening ceremony, when it had savagely drained my mana, surfaced in my mind.
'Will something special show up?'
I observed the tower and racked my brain.
Given the strong event-like nature of this entry, it wouldn't be strange for a special monster to appear.
In fact, during the last Birth Festival, they had summoned a high-rank monster and staged a spectacle of the cadets joining forces to subjugate it.
'3rd Rank? If everyone gangs up on it, we could probably take it down...'
Thinking about the event awaiting me in the tower, I observed the Tower of Growth.
- Wooooong...
A vibration seemed to be coming from the tower.
* * *
[Player Correction System: Pioneering Progress]
[Sub-quest 「Birth Festival: Day 2」 achieved]
[Points are accumulating]
...
[The Tower Master of Harmonization gauges your reaction]
[Th$t tak& a@ay stu^?]
[The Tower Master of Knowledge shakes his head]
[Impos. No capa@ to interv^]