First Outer World Story Series: The Black Mist that Devours - Chapter 127
Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter
(Kurokiri POV)
[Mist King-sama. May I have your time?]
“Hmm? So it’s you, Aria. What’s wrong?”
After returning to my private room, the first to report to me was Aria, the Mystic, who should have been placed on standby inside the “White Mist and Black Swamp Forest”.
[I went to the stockpiling room of the demon source device after you exercised your magic a while ago but…]
“?”
Aria awkwardly stammered out her words.
What in the world happened?
[It had been destroyed.]
“What? Destroyed?”
[Yes. The whole stockpile of 1,000 demon source devices was shattered and reduced to sand. Every single one of them, regardless of their type.]
…Are you for real? According to my recollection, there should have been about 30 of each of the three types of demon source devices in the stockpile room…
The reason for the shattering of the devices was… that huh. Since I was in doubt about whether the magic source equipment I had prepared beforehand on the stage would be sufficient for the cost of “Opening of the Mouth of the Mist Demon”, the replenishment device I had secretly incorporated into the magic circle must had been activated causing the consumption of the magic source equipment in the stockpile room.
Even so, more than 30,000 each of HP, MP, and SP were expended at a single shot, as far as I can confirm. As I mentioned to Ryo earlier, a series of “Opening of the Mouth of the Mist demon” cannot be exercised on this scale.
If it were on a smaller scale, that would be a different story.
“Anyway, I’ll remake it in due time.”
[I will leave that to you.]
And then the communication with Aria was terminated.
————–
“Reports are pouring in on the devastation in various locations.”
“Oh. I appreciate not only the communication from the kin but also the reports from the human point of view.”
“I don’t need to be thanked for that.”
Ryo then stepped out of the room.
While listening to the human accounts, Ryo will probably also be going to the hospital for helping with medical treatment. Since Ichiko had also been sent out to hunt the remnants, she will likely not be back for a while.
If so, let me read the report and conclude the level-up work while I still had time.
To start off, our triumph was virtually flawless in the area reigned by the Fox Princess. The battle itself appeared to have been one-sided, notwithstanding accounts of casualties among those who got ahead of the group and those who mismanaged their equipment.
Well, the prototypes that are being sent over here are probably just one rank below the latest ones. If they use the latest version, things would end up this way.
Next was the area where the Snow Sage ruled. This one was truly a cakewalk. At any rate, the battle looked like the kind of match that I would definitely refrain from competing with Snow Sage on a military scale.
My and the Fox Princess’ sides were clearly superior in terms of individual capabilities, but the Snow Sage was able to utilize even weak monsters and turn them into formidable monsters. He was truly fearsome.
Next was the Dragon Sovereign’s territory. Here, too, things turned out satisfactory this time. Although there were many injured people, the death toll was low, and I was positive that all the wounded would have recovered by the end of the day at Dragon Sovereign’s place.
For the time being, if those affiliated with other dungeons somehow fulfilled the role of the vanguard, they can do extra work by recovering with ≪Cherry Blossom Rain≫… at there.
But the issue was that area had nobody in charge.
Each Demon King dispatched their subordinates accordingly, but because of the obligation to secure their own territory, they were compelled to assign those who were just a step back from the main force. Thanks to this, the damage caused was greater than in other areas. Well, even so, I had confidence in my ability to exterminate the Octopus King’s minions coming to my territory almost single-handedly, and I was able to send my subordinates to that area, which reduced the damage somewhat.
“Now, I suppose I’ll have to accept the fact that I’ll have to beef up my forces in this area as much as possible. To be honest, it would be a lot more convenient if there was another individual person for this ideal position, a Demon King or someone of similar ability, in times like these.”
As I let out a sigh, I reached this conclusion.
————–
Now, I should continue with the leveling process.
First, the status was to be raised as usual. There was no need to play around here.
And as for the new skill… would this be a good one?
≪Gas Segregation≫. This skill enabled the user to manipulate the ratio of gases that composed the air within the range of the user’s recognition.
Though that being said, the amount of power consumed varied considerably depending on the targeted gas to be manipulated.
For instance, if only hydrogen and oxygen were concentrated in a single point, the consumption will be as high as that of the Outer Skill, whereas if the concentration of nitrogen, originally abundant in the air, was raised, the consumption will not be that high.
Also, while my body is a mist and not a gas strictly speaking, it seemed to be a manipulable subject, which meant that it had a high degree of applicability.
Whether or not the consumption and effect were in balance, I can mimic basic skills with sorcery now. I chose this skill since I believed this kind of skill was more intriguing than a skill that strikes directly.
Next, as was customary, I will check the facilities and monsters that can be newly created.
Nonetheless, the new monsters weren’t just direct attackers; auxiliary monsters were being mixed in, and it was becoming harder to ascertain how effective each one was until I attempted generating and operating a number of them on a trial basis. So I was going to postpone it.
For now, I supposed the centerpiece of the facility was this:
・The Iron Shackles of the Sealing Art Ⅱ
A set of four metal rings that are attached to the collar and to both arms and legs.
The target, a human of level 15 or lower, a demon, or a Demon King of level 5 or lower, is rendered incapable of using their skills and placed in a state of captivity.
Note 1: When the skill is blocked, the Demon King can disregard one of their special characteristics, namely, the restriction of not being able to leave the dungeon.
Note 2: In the captured state, the level will not increase by any means.
Creation cost: One set, HP, MP, SP each 2000
This is… yeah. It’s simply fantastic.
In other words, I mean, that’s the thing, right? By using this, I can catch the Fox Princess or someone and drag them outside and accomplish various things. Unfortunately, I can’t use it on myself, though.
As for the rest of the good stuff and the creation of the 6th level… I’ll do it step by step later. Ichiko and the others should be back soon.
Now, what kind of dungeon shall I build?
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