93
Chapter 93
Various Mana Stones were being stored in the second floor's warehouse.
Only monster corpses were kept in the first floor's warehouse.
And the Magic Tools left behind by the Black Human were being stored in a different location.
A bear-shaped house located in the center of the first floor.
It was our former residence, and a building we currently designated as a shelter and handed over to the Fake Dolls.
We had previously built a massive basement inside this place.
In order to use it as a storage area for the Magic Tools.
"Wooung, it feels like it's been a while since we came here."
"Wooung? Woouung!"
"Eh... Sorry, I won't copy your way of speaking."
Early morning.
We all visited the shelter together.
Fox and Tosuni entered the shelter first, and the rest of us, including myself, followed them inside.
The interior was much more spacious than before.
Because we had also expanded the shelter.
"Gom-gom, gom-gom!"
We are here, ahem!
When I said that, the Fake Dolls resting in the shelter all stood up at once and bowed their heads in greeting.
The Shelter Keeper hurriedly ran over to us and bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.
This guy was truly polite.
It also felt like he had an excessive amount of loyalty specifically towards us.
The Shelter Keeper.
The Fake Doll that bore the species name Brutal Gorilla.
As soon as he heard my command, he moved to the center of the shelter and stomped on the floor.
Then,
Rumble-!
Along with a subtle vibration, the floor split apart, revealing the stairs leading down to the basement.
For reference, those stairs could not be opened by anyone other than the one who held ownership of the Dungeon or the Shelter Keeper.
"Hoek, it opened! I'm going to go down first!"
Fox ran down the stairs as if she had been waiting for this.
The more I looked at her, the more she seemed like a child.
She was even more immature than the Little Yellow Dragon.
To put it nicely, she was innocent.
We descended the stairs gracefully.
After heading down the stairs for a bit, a massive space welcomed us.
This was exactly the basement where the Magic Tools were being stored.
It wasn't dark just because it was underground.
Because we had installed lighting on the walls and ceiling.
Anyway.
There was only one reason we visited this place since the morning.
It was none other than because Ailee had finally finished sorting the Magic Tools.
"Guys. From where we're looking, the ones piled up on the left are the Magic Tools that have lost their function, and the well-organized ones on the right are the Magic Tools that are still functioning."
The left side held the unusable Magic Tools.
The right side held the usable Magic Tools.
Ailee explained while pointing to the left and right with her fingers.
It seemed they weren't disposed of just because they were unusable.
She probably thought that they could be restored and used someday.
Well, it didn't matter even if we didn't throw them away.
Because we had overflowing space to store them.
***
Magic Tools were different from Soul Weapons.
Only species like Humans, who lacked a Mana Stone in their bodies, could use Soul Weapons, but even we monsters could handle Magic Tools without issue.
I heard that they could be used just by infusing Mana into them.
"Huhihi! I'm going to take more than ten!"
"Mama, you shouldn't be greedy. Only take what you need."
"Huhing... I got it......."
So today, we decided to each take the Magic Tools we wanted.
It would be a waste to let perfectly good Magic Tools rot in the basement, wouldn't it?
Of course, we could leave empty-handed if there was nothing we liked.
Because there was no need to go out of our way to carry around things we didn't even need.
"Kku-o. What should I choose."
"Wooung, wooung."
Jjokkomi and Tosuni looked over each of the Magic Tools as if they were shopping.
Observing them, and whenever they found something they liked, they would ask Ailee what kind of function the Magic Tool had.
Maybe it's because she used to be a Monster Slayer.
Ailee knew what kind of functions most of the Magic Tools had.
She was a surprisingly knowledgeable woman.
Of course, she wasn't completely well-versed in everything.
She said there were some Magic Tools she was encountering for the first time, too.
For those Magic Tools, she supposedly figured out their rough functions by testing them herself during the sorting process.
Although she couldn't fully grasp every single function.
"Sweetie, how about this one?"
"...!"
While Ailee was recommending a Magic Tool to the Puppeteer Doll.
I also looked around to see if there were any useful-looking Magic Tools.
For now, I should pick something I like the look of.
I'll ask about the function later.
Hmm, let's see....
Huh? Is this an Umbrella? Or a parasol?
If it is an Umbrella, it would be nice to use on rainy days.
Since my body gets damp and the cotton inside soaks up the rainwater on rainy days.
I don't care about my body getting heavier.
It isn't enough to affect my combat abilities, after all.
I can cover that much weight with pure power now.
Then isn't an Umbrella unnecessary?
No, it's good to have.
Humans don't use Umbrellas because the rain is dangerous, right?
I also find it unpleasant when my body gets damp, and it feels gross when my cotton soaks up the rainwater.
Even if I can dry my body quickly using the Flame Manipulation skill.
And this isn't an ordinary Umbrella.
It's a Magic Tool equipped with special functions on top of the ordinary function of blocking rain.
For starters, I picked up the Umbrella.
The Magic Tool's appearance is a pass.
Then shall we see what kind of functions it has now?
Ah, wait a minute.
Before that.......
Swish, swish!
I swung the Umbrella around stylishly.
Oho.
The grip isn't bad.
If I do this right, I could even use it as a weapon.
Like, what was it, a character from some movie I saw in my past life.
I can't remember the movie's name.
A Human wearing a Suit.
An Umbrella weapon with a gun function.
And I only remembered one impressive line.
Manners maketh Teddy Bear...!
It was probably a line like this.
Or not.
"Kku-o? Dongsaeng-Oppa, what are you doing? Why do you keep swinging that?"
What kind of baseless title is Dongsaeng-Oppa.
Call me Oppa, just like we promised.
I'm calling you Noona too, you know.
Gom!
After giving my poorly-mannered Noona a flick on the forehead.
I approached Ailee and held out the Umbrella to show her.
"Hm? Do you like that Magic Tool?"
"Gom-gom, gom-gom-gom."
"Do you want to try opening it first? I'll teach you how if you don't know."
"Gom-gom."
Who do you take me for, an idiot?
Even I know how to open an Umbrella.
I examined the handle area.
Hmm, there isn't a separate button.
I have to open it manually.
Swoosh-!
I opened the Umbrella.
Then Ailee began her explanation of the Magic Tool.
"If you just infuse Mana into it in that state, you can deflect incoming attacks. Of course, it can't deflect every attack, and it's only possible to reflect attacks that the Magic Tool can withstand."
Oho. That's not bad, is it?
If there was a downside, it was that there was no way to know the level of attack this Magic Tool could withstand.
I couldn't exactly test it, either.
Since I wouldn't be able to use it again if it broke.
Still, I should take it for now.
Because I quite liked its function.
Afterwards.
While I was slowly picking out Magic Tools again.
The Shelter Keeper came down to the basement and gave a report with various gestures.
It was a report that someone had visited the Dungeon.
It definitely wasn't an invasion.
If the Dungeon was being invaded, there was no way the Shelter Keeper would be this calm.
He was reporting calmly because a familiar face had visited.
I had a guess as to who the visitor was.
The frog must have come with another gift.
Since it was about time for him to come.
"Gom-gom, gom-gom-gom-gom-gom."
Everyone finish up what you're doing here.
I'll go out to meet him alone.
***
I'll start with the conclusion.
Our Dungeon has been defeated.
With the frog arriving carrying an immense gift, the gift battle was brought to an end as of today.
The gift the Master of the Lake sent today was dozens of Scales.
The aura of Mana flowing from the Scales was so massive that I instinctively knew at once.
The fact that it would be an insult to even compare this to a Pink Mana Stone or a white Mana Stone.
Scales that fell off the body of the Master of the Lake, huh....
How does something like this fall off a body?
When I saw these Scales.
I could guess that the Master of the Lake was a snake-type monster similar to a Dragon, and a being far more powerful than the Lycanthrope.
"Ribbit, ribbit!"
The frog made a triumphant expression.
Try giving a better gift in return if you can!
It was an expression that seemed to be thinking exactly that.
"This is our victory, admit it, ribbit!"
"Gom-gom...."
So their side also thought of it as a battle.
I wasn't the only one who thought that way.
"That's an expression admitting defeat! Then don't ever return a gift to us again, ribbit!"
"...Gom."
Hold on.
But is this really a defeat?
Come to think of it, it actually seems like a profit.
The reason our side had sent gifts was out of a guilty conscience, feeling bad for just receiving them. Furthermore, if we only received gifts one-sidedly, it would make us feel uncomfortable when refusing their invitations.
But that doesn't matter anymore, does it?
Since I'm considering visiting the lake with Tosun's Mom once more trust is built anyway.
From now on, it might be fine to just receive them....
Since it seems like the other side strongly dislikes receiving a return gift to this extent.
Not to mention, we don't have the ability to give a return gift fitting for what we received this time.
Yeah.
Let's just cleanly accept defeat.
From now on, I should just shamelessly accept the gifts without feeling burdened.
"I will get going now, ribbit!"
After the frog said that.
He immediately turned around and left with light footsteps.
It was the brightest view of his back I had seen so far.
After the frog left, I picked up one of the Scales and observed it closely.
Hmm.
It feels like the Reinforcement Mana is concentrated at this end.
Should I try consuming just this part?
I was about to put it straight into my mouth when I paused.
...Ah. I need to go down to the basement to eat it.
Because I can receive the efficiency increase Buff when I eat it while Fox is nearby.
Just as I was about to head back.
"Hoe? It's not a Natural Mana Stone today."
Fox suddenly poked her face out from beside me.
Geez, you startled me!
When did you follow me?
I was so surprised I almost reflexively threw a Bear-Bear Punch at Fox's face.
"I'm disappointed...."
It actually worked out well, though.
Since Fox is nearby, I must be receiving the Buff that increases Mana Stone consumption efficiency.
Since this Scale seems to be a material similar to a Mana Stone, I should be able to receive the Buff's effect.
And if I can't, it can't be helped.
Crunch.
I chewed and swallowed the end of the Scale where the Reinforcement Mana was concentrated.
Then,
[Gom-gom! Talking Teddy Bear! lv.32]
└Pw.128 (+25)
└Rnk.Rare (Limit Breakthrough Impossible)
[Consumption Mana: 19,330/24,540]
[Domain: Luck]
└Grade - Divine
└Assimilation Rate - 2.05%
[Skill]
[Helper lv.3], [Evolution lv.4], [Action lv.3], [Teddy Bear Camouflage lv.2], [Bloodsucking Enhancement lv.2], [Flame Manipulation lv.4], [Synthesis lv.2], [Rolling lv.3], [Gourmet lv.2], [Dragon Mimicry lv.4], [Monster Common Language lv.1]
My level increased significantly.
It went up by a whopping 4 levels.
Wow, what is this.
Just how much Reinforcement was compressed in this?
As I was calming my surprised heart.
I belatedly noticed that my Physical Adaptability had surpassed 30 due to the Level Up.
[Would you like to use the [Evolution lv.4] skill?]
No, I didn't particularly plan to use it right away....
...I guess I'll just check the options in advance on the way back to the basement.
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[Evolvable Species]
[Normal]
◎ Gentleman Teddy Bear - Rare
└Level decreased by 1.
└No additional power.
└Appearance change - Clothes / Detachable Beard / Monocle, etc.
└Acquire Cane lv.1.
└Limit Breakthrough possible entity.
◎ Gift Bear Puppet - Rare
└Level decreased by 1.
└Acquire additional power 4.
└No appearance change.
└Acquire Random Gift lv.2.
└Limit Breakthrough impossible entity.
◎ Rabbit Summoner Teddy Bear - Rare
└Level decreased by 1.
└Acquire additional power 4.
└Appearance change - Rabbit ears.
└Acquire Rabbit Summon lv.3.
└Limit Breakthrough impossible entity.
[Special]
◎ Otherworldly Taboo Predator Teddy Bear - Rare
└Level increased by 5.
└Acquire additional power 16.
└Appearance change - Black skin / Eyes of the void
└Acquire Taboo Predation lv.1.
└Acquire God Slayer lv.1.
└Acquire Domain Destruction lv.1.
└Limit Breakthrough possible entity.
※Unconsciously predates on nearby lifeforms regardless of your own will.
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