Third Outer World Story Series: Pumpkin Sorcerer - Chapter 124

Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter

“Sooooiii!”

Pumpkin kept ascending the elevator shaft for some time, and eventually stopped when the ceiling came into view.

Having looked around and found a… door where a faint light was visible, he kicked the door down and plunged into the space beyond.

“Hmm… this is a ceremonial site… no, a place of transmission would be more apt, in view of the purpose of this tower.”

The entire scaffolding was covered with twigs and leaves, and in front of the elevator was an altar-like structure adorned with shimenawa ropes, bells, and other ornaments.

From the outer appearance, this place near the top of the tree… was the spot where a massive amount of magic power was accumulated, and as evidence, even Pumpkin’s eyes with the lowest magic power vision possible could recognize the dense magic power.

“Is that thing the master of this place?”

He then shifted his attention back to the altar.

Like what was mentioned earlier, the altar was adorned with shimenawa and bells, but even more eye-catching was the mummy-like object that was enshrined as if it were a sacred body.

No, it wasn’t a mummy at all; rather, it was a part of a tree that assumed a human mummy’s appearance since it appeared to be attached to the tree that was encircling the tower by the flow of magic power.

[…What.]

“Hmm?”

At this point, the mummy’s mouth moved and Pumpkin thought he heard something like a voice, which prompted him to tighten his vigilance around the area.

[What do you want? Child of man.]

“!?”

And this time, the mummy’s mouth moved distinctly, revealing a voice that bore a resemblance to an old man’s, and Pumpkin’s astonishment flashed across his features inadvertently.

[This is the gravestone of a once prosperous man, and now stands as my resting place. It is not a place for the likes of you to enter.]

“Even if you say so, I have many things I would like to investigate as well… so retreat is not an option for me.”

At his words, the mummy glared at Pumpkin with eyes wide open that had no eyeballs in them. Except, no magic power can be sensed from it.

[I see… then I am going to have to ask you to leave by force!]

The instant the mummy stated that, trees all across the place began to move aggressively in an attempt to smash him.

Good grief, so this is what ultimately ensues. I would have been content if I had been allowed to do some research on this place.

“Well, you were the one who initiated the first move. So if you want to bear a grudge, hate yourself.”

[What did you say, little boy!]

Pumpkin avoided the assaults that were flying from every angle by moving in a precise way.

The weight of the branches themselves and the magic power they held hinted that if Pumpkin were to be struck, the damage would be proportionate, and the branches were discreetly producing twigs to further boost the hit rate.

But to put it frankly, as long as the strike missed him, there would be no cause for alarm. And for Pumpkin right now, evasive maneuvers were not only a means of avoiding an attack, but they were also a preparatory step for what was to follow.

In other words…

[Be crushed by it!]

“Preparations complete. [Resonance Concert Spell?Four Seasons Set Edge]!”

“[What!?]”

At first, the branches that were closing in to pierce him from the front were cut off by the [Resonance Spell?Burdock Rapier].

This was followed by the [Resonance Spell?Radish Claymore] that chopped down the trunk that had been endeavoring to crush him from the side.

And the twigs containing a high amount of magic power subtly that loomed over those gaps were obstructed by [Resonance Spell?Butterbur Parrying Dagger].

To finish off, Pumpkin swung out [Resonance Spell?Cucumber Blade], which dramatically increased its attack power by mimicking the circulation that constituted one of the magically significant elements of the four seasons, and blasted the surrounding branches and trunks of the mummy, which were exhibited on the altar, in two, splitting them in half.

[Resonance Concert Spell?Four Seasons Set Edge]. It invoked resonance spell to generate four types of swords at the same time with butterbur in spring, cucumber in summer, burdock in autumn, and radish in winter, which excelled in the balance of offense and defense, and beat down by weight. By wielding the swords in the order of spring, summer, fall, and winter, the power of the swords can be heightened and the attacks can be executed.

Because of such a characteristic, the power of the last sword was formidable indeed.

“T-This is absurd…!”

“Now, are you ready to attack me when we could have settled things peacefully?”

Pumpkin, therefore, reached out with a hand imbued with magic power and gripped what he believed to be the main body of the entity, not the mummy, and dragged it out to be within his sight, despite the fact that it was obvious from the double voice and the subtle difference in the amount of magic contained in the branch.

“L-Let go of me! Don’t you have any idea who I am!?”

“Not at all.”

Having dragged the person out, he confirmed the figure he had dragged out… She was roughly 130cm tall, with greenish hair and brownish skin. Even though she was naked, she had a flawless green tint to her magic power. Looking at her appearance alone, she could be described as a Human girl.

However, what actually composed her body seemed to be super-dense magic power using leaves and twigs as a medium, and considering the aforementioned methods of attack using branches and trunks, she was…

“I see. You are the spirit of this tree.”

“Let go of me! I am the Earth Spirit King!”

A spirit. The fact that she claimed to be the Spirit King indicated that she was a spirit of a higher rank than Mizuki.

Well, with a tree of this size and age, a spirit could have existed. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to loosen the restraints or make any concessions.

Like I said before, it was you who made the first move.

It was me who got into the bed first, though.

——————

T/N:

The last line is talking about Pumpkin seeing her naked body