16
Chapter 16
Crash-!
The spinning stopped with a massive boom.
It seemed something had finally managed to firmly stop the recklessly rolling rock.
Wow, I thought I was going to roll forever.
I staggered and steadied my body.
But...
I could have sworn I heard something about achieving an achievement earlier......
Did I hear it wrong?
Just as I tilted my head in confusion.
Flash-!
An achievement notification popped up right before my eyes.
It seemed the Helper skill had brought up the notification again since I had not checked it.
[You have achieved the He Who Trampled the Great Sprout achievement.]
[You will plunder one random skill from the opponent.]
[You have acquired [Synthesis lv.1].]
[You have achieved the He Who Prevented the Calamity of the End achievement.]
[You have acquired [Hero lv.1].]
[You have achieved the Rank Destroyer achievement.]
[Your level has increased by 10.]
Hmm...... what is this?
I achieved three achievements completely out of nowhere.
Why? For what reason? Even I do not know.
I certainly do not recall doing anything grand enough to earn things like this.
What exactly happened while I was rolling?
What in the world triggered these achievements?
I speculated for a moment.
Was it because I held on for dear life inside that rolling rock?
That cannot be it.
Was the achievement for defeating the Slow Stone just delayed?
No. That does not seem right either.
The Slow Stone was definitely a strong monster, but honestly not something you would call a calamity of the end.
No matter how hard I think about it, I cannot figure it out.
So I simply gave up on thinking entirely.
Well, what is good is good.
What is the point of knowing the reason anyway?
It is not like I took any damage, and I actually hit the jackpot.
Earning achievements and getting rewards is more than enough for me.
[Flame Teddy Bear lv.15]
┗Pw.30 (+4)
┗Rnk.Uncommon
[Skill]
[Helper lv.1], [Evolution lv.2], [Action lv.2], [Feeding lv.1], [Magic Chef lv.1], [Teddy Bear Camouflage lv.1], [Bloodsucking lv.1], [Spicy-Sweet Fist lv.1], [Flame Manipulation lv.2], [Synthesis lv.1], [Hero lv.1]
[Your current Physical Adaptability is 38.]
Wow, a lot has changed.
First of all, my level absolutely skyrocketed.
I had basically power-leveled straight from level 5 to 15.
I even got new skills.
Two of them, no less.
[Synthesis lv.1]
─You can synthesize the skills you possess.
[Hero lv.1]
─Upon activating the skill, the Mana within your body is released to envelop your entire figure.
─While in the active state, your power increases by 10.
I really like the Hero skill.
To think it boosts my power by a whopping 10 points.
Based on my current rank, that is practically the same as raising my level by 5.
Will my power increase even more if the skill level goes up?
It feels like somewhat of a cheat skill.
Seriously, what did I do to receive a skill like this?
I grew curious again, but it would only give me a headache, so I stopped thinking about it.
I am not so sure about the Synthesis skill.
Since there is no detailed explanation.
Well, I suppose I will find out after testing it later.
That is enough Status Window checking for now.
First, there is something I need to do right now.
Because I still have to finish eating the organs of the Slow Stone.
In order to securely replenish my Consumption Mana.
***
Pat, pat.
I tapped my bulging stomach with my front paws.
Is it because I ate too much too quickly at once?
The Decomposition function of the Feeding skill could not keep up with the speed at which I was eating.
Still, I was fine for now.
My stomach was not going to burst just yet.
Now, the only remaining organ is that one large lump up ahead.
If I slowed down my eating speed just a bit, it seemed there would be no problem consuming that guy right now.
Chomp- munch.
Munch, munch, munch.
I resumed my meal.
While I was tearing into the organs like that.
I discovered a sizable Mana Stone tightly hidden inside the organ.
So the Slow Stone's Mana Stone was in here all along.
Just as I was about to immediately gulp down the Mana Stone I found.
Hmm? What are these?
Around the large Mana Stone.
I noticed small pebbles embedded in the lump.
I could feel dense Mana from the pebbles as well.
This was definitely the aura of a Mana Stone.
What happened?
Do Slow Stones possess multiple Mana Stones?
More importantly, their appearance is not that of Mana Stones?
They just looked like ordinary pebbles.
......Ah!
I think I knew what they were.
This Slow Stone bastard, it was pregnant!
I guessed that these pebbles were fetuses or something of the sort.
In other words, they were the babies of the Slow Stone.
And these pebbles were not Mana Stones, but rather held Mana Stones inside them.
It was only natural that they possessed Mana Stones.
Even though they had not entered the world yet, their forms as monsters were somewhat complete.
I waved my paw at the pebbles.
Hello, kids.
I killed your mother.
I do not feel sorry.
I did not feel any guilt either.
Because this is also the world of the wild.
Besides, the Slow Stone was the one that attacked first.
Anyway.
What should I do with these young pebbles?
I should send them to their mother's side, what else is there to do?
There is no way these guys could live properly after losing their mother.
Even if I spared them, they would die before long anyway.
But it is not like I can raise them either.
After all, I am the enemy of the pebbles' mother.
Kids.
Forgive my ruthlessness.
If you want to resent someone, resent your mother for attacking me.
After swallowing the Slow Stone's Mana Stone.
I picked up the pebbles one by one and swallowed them all, allowing them to be with their mother.
[Flame Teddy Bear lv.18]
┗Pw.36 (+4)
┗Rnk.Uncommon
***
Just where am I right now?
It feels like I rolled quite a long way.
I do not even have a map, so how am I supposed to get back to where I originally was?
With those thoughts in mind,
Heave-ho!
I climbed out of the Slow Stone's body.
As soon as I stepped outside, the first thing that caught my eye was the trail left by the Slow Stone.
Along the path the Slow Stone had traveled.
Trees had been uprooted or shattered into pieces, scattered all over.
A deep, gouged track stretched endlessly across the ground.
Alright, I just need to follow that trail.
Then I should be able to return to where I started.
Though I have no idea how long the trek back will take.
More importantly, what on earth managed to stop the Slow Stone's destructive march?
My curiosity was piqued.
So I circled around the Slow Stone's body and took a peek at the front.
A single tree stood towering there.
As you could probably guess from the fact that it stopped the Slow Stone, that was no ordinary tree.
It was a monster with eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
[Nightmare Woodfiend lv.20]
┗Pw.60
┗Rnk.Superior
So you are the one who stopped it!
Thank you, Mr. Woodfiend!
"Ugh... damn it...."
I could understand its words.
It seems the Woodfiend is also a possessor of the Interpretation skill.
Or perhaps there is a common language among monsters.
But why do you look like that?
You look like you are about to die.
Ah! You were battered to a pulp trying to stop the Slow Stone!
I do not know how I can ever repay this favor.
To think you sacrificed yourself to save me.
You are a true hero! Thumbs up!
After giving it a thumbs-up.
Bow! Bow!
I bowed my head repeatedly to express my gratitude.
Thank you so much once again!
"You bastard... I will not forgive you......."
Huh? Why?
The Nightmare Woodfiend wore a highly furious expression.
Its face looked as though it were glaring at its mortal enemy.
How absurd.
I take back my thanks.
If you are going to be angry, you should be angry at the Slow Stone, not me.
Why are you taking your anger out on the wrong guy?
I was just riding inside the thing!
...Ah, wait a minute.
Come to think of it, is this actually my fault?
Now that I think about it, I really was the root cause of all this.
If I had not killed the Slow Stone, this disaster would never have happened.
However!
There was no way the Woodfiend could know this!
So the guy was definitely directing its anger at the wrong target.
"I shall bestow upon you the most terrible nightmare in the world...!"
Hiss-
A black aura flowed out from the Woodfiend's body.
It quickly wrapped around my body like a snake.
"Now, fall into a nightmare from which you will never awake!"
.......
I cannot sleep, though.
Are you making fun of me right now?
The black aura caused me no harm whatsoever.
It seemed to be a skill that induced nightmares.
Then naturally, it would not work on me.
Since I cannot sleep in the first place.
"What? How is this...... Y-you bastard! Why are you standing there perfectly fine!"
You should be asking 'how', not 'why'.
You are severely underestimating me.
Anyway.
Since the Woodfiend attacked me first, I now had a justification to attack it back.
I was not keen on repaying a favor with enmity, so this worked out well.
First, I activated the Hero skill.
I might as well try using it now.
[You are using the [Hero lv.1] skill.]
[Flame Teddy Bear lv.18]
┗Pw.36 (+4)(+10)
┗Rnk.Uncommon
Ooh.
Visible blue Mana enveloped my body.
It looks kind of like a Super Saiy*n.
It was not a skill that I could keep active for long.
Because the Mana consumption was massive.
"W-what... is that...?"
Do not resent me, Mr. Tree.
Because my attack is in self-defense.
If the Nightmare Woodfiend were in perfect condition, it would have been hard to beat it even while using the Hero skill.
However, I can win now.
I felt the Mana flowing out of the guy and was certain.
It is not a lively Mana.
It is not a calm Mana either.
An unstable flow of Mana is being detected.
This meant that its life force had hit rock bottom.
What if it takes a fire attack, the weakness of trees, in that state?
It was clear that it would never be able to block it.
"You insolent brat! How dare a weird-looking, insignificant creature like you bare its fangs at me!"
I placed both my hands against my cheeks.
Then, with my mouth open, I pressed down hard on my cheeks and used a skill.
Goodbye!
This is revenge for the Slow Stone!
[You are using the [Flame Manipulation lv.2] skill.]
Whoosh-!
Fire fiercely spewed from my mouth.
The Woodfiend was engulfed in flames and let out a scream of agony.
"K-kuaaaaagh!!!"
It did not take long before the guy breathed its last.
Last hit successful. Yay!