Volume 5 Chapter 5-2 Rare Boss
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Even though it’s just a magic bag, kind of like a knockoff, I wanted to keep it a secret from Ms. Nina and the others as much as possible, since it’s an original magic created with the Editor skill. Ms. Hóa warned me that if the existence of the Editor skill got out, things could get troublesome.
”No way, you’re not planning to eat us, are you?”
Ms. Joa suddenly says something outrageous.
”After all, during the Roland Campaign, the humans used the centaur people as food~desuwa…”
What is Ms. Joa saying now? Even Ms. Nina looks genuinely scared.
”No, it’s not like that. Look, it’s this.”
With no other choice, I pull out a big pot of hot stew from the void and show it to them.
”What is this? Just a magic bag after all.”
The 3 of them didn’t seem too surprised. Huh, I guess I worried for nothing.
Actually, this technique is a bit different from a typical space-time magic bag. It’s a modified version of a magic wallet that comes from the living skill. It’s just a larger time capsule, meant to pass things to my future self. Well, I don’t really need to explain the secret details, it’s just a regular magic bag, so it shouldn’t raise too many suspicions.
The feel of it is more like a mail parcel than a bag. Once I pay mana instead of postage, I can send it out, and it’ll be delivered whenever I want.
There’s a limit to how much can be sent, so the size of the parcel is restricted, and right now it can only be about the size of a small cart.
The great thing about this magic is that I can send as many parcels as I want. The mana cost is only at the start, and there’s no maintenance cost. So, as long as it can be divided, I can practically store an infinite amount.
Feeling the need to stockpile food, I sent not just the stew but also hot soups, freshly baked bread, and my signature curry rice to my future self. I never have enough food, so lately, I’ve been making extra every time I cook and storing it.
The large stewpot I showed off was just to prove we don’t need to worry about food, and I planned to send it back to the future after a small taste. But the hot stew was so good I had to have more. After everyone kept scooping it, the whole pot was empty. More than half of it was Ms. Joa’s doing.
I was wrong to underestimate Horsefolk appetite. If it’s there, they’ll eat it all, so now I’m seriously worried about enough food.
After the meal, I made Ms. Nina go to bed early. Apparently, magic crystals last longer when they rest. It’s like old alkaline batteries.
I want to sleep too, but first I have to fix the Indra Gun. I heard a strange noise, and sure enough, the mithril wire carrying mana was burned out.
This Indra Gun uses recycled mithril made by melting down scrap mithril. Mr. Zenom asked his dwarf friends to send it, so it’s practically free.
During the final mithril refining stage, a lot of mithril that’s already hardened by absorbing natural mana gets rejected. Once hardened, it can’t be processed, so it’s useless for these natural mithril particles. It’s no wonder Mr. Zenom was happy to find he could melt it with salamander flames––there’s literally a mountain of this junk outside the refineries.
But because it wasn’t hardened through the mana process, this recycled mithril doesn’t have its usual self-repair ability. Probably, it remembers its shape when it hardens.
Self-repair is really useful. Mithril blades with tiny scratches heal themselves quickly, so they stay sharp. But of course, you need to grind and harden them properly for it to work.
Even recycled mithril conducts mana just as well as the real stuff, but sometimes it explodes when mana passes through. That’s likely what caused this failure. I’ll tell Mr. Zenom to only use genuine mithril for the conductors.
I take out some mithril clay from my bag for repairs. It’s real mithril powder mixed with special oil before it hardens. It’s like soldering that hardens when mana flows through it. It’s useful for emergency repairs of conductive wires, but it’s extremely expensive. I’m grateful to Mr. Zenom for just handing me this. If you accidentally pass mana through it, it will harden and become useless, so it’s stored in a special case that prevents mana flow. Even the case alone seems pretty expensive.
Using just enough mithril clay for one ear pick, I carefully repair the burned part. The repair itself is quick, but the test shot is going to be a hassle. I’m getting sleepy, so I’ll just do it tomorrow.
* * *
”Let’s skip the rope ladder and slide down using a rope. I’m sure it’ll be much faster.”
Today’s dungeon marathon has already passed 10 laps. While I’m taking a break, Ms. Nina suggests a scary idea.
”It may be faster, but it’s dangerous. Mostly because of braking problems.”
”If the height is that low, it’s fine as long as I’m wearing gloves~desuwa, I did it a lot when I was a kid.”
That’s a height of about 3 floors! Was Ms. Nina a real tomboy princess when she was a kid?
When I try it, Ms. Nina, light on her feet, slides down easily, while I totally fail. After all, I’ve never used a rope for descent before. It looked easy, but doing it myself is both scary and hard. Yeah, maybe I’d be faster with a regular rope ladder.
”I’m relieved to see you’re still as hopeless as ever. Saburou’s been acting all high and mighty, thinking he can do anything lately.”
Ms. Nina teases me with a smug look on her face.
”I’m not acting all high and mighty. I’m just working hard like a swan, with quiet strength beneath the surface.”
I meant to say that swans work hard underwater, but it seems Ms. Nina didn’t get it. There are a lot of waterfowl like ducks and geese in this world, but they clearly don’t seem to put much effort into swimming. They’re easier to catch than brown quail, but since they’re nobles’ hunting prey, you’d be punished if you laid a hand on them. Waterfowl are supposed to taste great because of their fat, so one day I’d like to keep ducks or geese.
I’m frustrated, so from now on, I’ll use a rope to climb down. If Ms. Nina can do it, there’s no way I can’t. Everything’s a challenge. If I can do it right, it’ll save a lot of time.
* * *
Besides the rope, I’ll also work with Ms. Nina, criticizing each other while aiming for efficiency. It’s good that we’ve gotten down to completing a lap in under 5 minutes, but it’s so busy that I’m dizzy. It reminds me of the all-night dungeon marathons I did in online games waiting for rare items. It’s tough when you do it in real life──mentally exhausting when there’s no end in sight.
”If it was guaranteed to appear on the 100th time, it’d be easier to keep going.”
”It’s fun like a lottery, isn’t it? Don’t rush. If it’s destined by luck, it’ll come eventually.”
Hmm. It’s not like she’s being profound, but sometimes Ms. Nina says things that sound so old-fashioned. I’ve always felt she reminds me of someone, and it turns out it’s like my grandmother from the countryside. Not her looks, but something about her personality.
* * *
Days have passed, morning comes, and then night falls. The rare boss still hasn’t appeared. I’m good at enduring tough training, but rare hunting isn’t my thing. There are just certain things that don’t suit your personality. If it wasn’t for Ms. Nina, I would’ve given up a long time ago.
How many more days will I have to keep going through this? Will Ms. Nina’s mana last that long? Anyway, if I keep doing it, I’ll eventually get the rare boss. I go into the boss room with no real expectations.
Teleporting into the boss room, I head straight for the exit. I don’t bother watching the boss’s entrance scene anymore. It’s just part of the routine.
Just as I’m about to burst out of the exit, I stop, sensing something strange.
Something feels off. It’s different from usual. When I stop and look back, the light is gathering in the center of the room.
I’ve never seen such a setup before. Could this be it? Could it finally be the rare boss? No way, it has to be. The excitement makes the hairs on my body stand up. Probably what they call battle fever, right?
The rare boss that appeared was different from Mr. Hampy──way cooler and smarter.
He wore shining silver full plate armor, armed with a shield and a saber that looked like a sword.
I thought he was some kind of armored golem, so I imagined someone more like a worn-down samurai, but this guy looks like he could be a statue in a castle.
That texture is strange, though. It’s probably some kind of magic metal, but even shiny silver, it doesn’t look metallic.
If someone sprayed a thin coat of clear blue paint over chrome plating, it’d look pretty similar.
Anyway, just like Mr. Hampy, he’s probably super tough, but if his HP is just 1, I’m not afraid.
Guess I’ll land a quick hit and clear him out.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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