That Time a Shut-in for 300 Years Continued to Make Antiques , but All of It Turned out to Be Cheat-Level Magic Tools - Chapter 28

“Uuuuu, Edson-kun, you liar! There were way more than 20 creatures!”

“Stop nagging! It’s done and over with! Besides, we took care of all of them, so there’s no problem.”

“Yes, everything seems to have gone according to plan, no issues.”

“…Honestly, that staff called Myful is too powerful. How can it wipe out so many monsters in one go?”

Well, from my perspective, I don’t understand why you’re struggling with just that.

“Collection complete.”

“Ah, good job.”

“…And you ended up using that doll after all.”

“Of course. I’m not going to pluck them by hand every time.”

This area was untouched, so the growth area is abundant. Using the power of the magic tools is more efficient because of the large amounts that can be harvested.

Plant Dogs usually eat these magical herbs at night and then wait during the day for the Aloy herbs to regrow.

But when humans arrive, they don’t hesitate to eat during the day too, and they’re rougher, causing severe damage to the roots.

The ecology here is one of the reasons why Plant Dogs are so troublesome. Moreover, they tend to increase in number even at night, leading to conflicts among themselves over the resources.

This is another annoying characteristic of Plant Dogs.

“Are we continuing then?”

“Of course. There wouldn’t be any point otherwise.”

“What do you mean?”

Alecto doesn’t understand. Mei and I know, but it’s probably better not to share too much unnecessary information.

We continued hunting and gathering for a while longer. At one point, I decided to lend my revolver to Alecto.

“Feh, this is scary.”

“It’s not scary. Just try it if more enemies appear. It’s okay to shoot randomly.”

“O-okay!”

Right after that, a group of Plant Dogs appeared, so we let Alecto try shooting. Surprisingly, Alecto’s stance looked pretty good. He held the gun firmly with both hands and pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit the ground, but that was no problem as the spell was activated. The Plant Dogs were quickly enveloped in smoke and withered away.

Mei could exterminate them with her bare hands or use magic if necessary, but she didn’t seem to care.

With Alecto now using the gun, our efficiency improved. However, there were more Plant Dogs than expected—I think we’ve taken down over 200 by now—

“…Master, this might be a bit problematic.”

Then Mei, with a slightly clouded expression, said something ominous. Despite being an android, Mei is sensitive to changes in the surrounding aura.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Yes. We might have hunted too many Plant Dogs. The local chaos value has surged.”

“Ah, I forgot about hate management… That’s careless.”

“Chaos? Hate management? Uh, what’s that?”

“What do you mean what? It’s Chaos. You know, the Law and Chaos theory.”

“…This is the first time I’ve heard of it. But you know such difficult words for a child, huh?”

“Don’t pat me!”

For some reason, she started patting my head, so I pushed her hand away.

“Uuu, you’re mean.”

“Stop treating me like a child.”

“But, you are a child, right?”

“Ugh…”

I hate this appearance! And Mei also seemed restless, moving her hand back and forth as if uneasy. What’s wrong? Is she feeling unwell?

Even though I proved the Law and Chaos theory 300 years ago, it’s unbelievable she doesn’t know it… Surely not all modern magicians are at this level?

No, it’s probably just this girl who is ignorant. Anyway.

“When you defeat monsters, their magical cores shift towards chaos. If it’s a small amount, it’s usually not a problem, but if you defeat many in a short span within a small area, the accumulated chaos acts as a catalyst, possibly giving rise to more powerful monsters.”

“Feh, is that so? Ah, but I think I’ve heard stories about sudden appearances of powerful mutant species causing massive damage…”

It’s probably a result of failing to manage the hate properly. But regarding mutant species, indeed, when the same type of monster is killed repeatedly, the chaos accumulated from the hate can often lead to the emergence of a higher-tier monster related to those killed.

“So, can we do something about it?”

“There are ways to dissipate the hate.”

There are several methods, in fact. The simplest is to quickly collect the magic cores and leave the area, as the cause of accumulated hate lies within the magic cores of the defeated monsters.

Another method involves certain spells that can increase the Law value of the area. Surprisingly, purification spells that are effective against undead are also effective since the very existence of the undead is a result of being dominated by chaos.

And since magic can address it, naturally, magical tools can too. I have purification magic bullets as well.

But just in case, I start up the portable MFM to scan the surroundings.

“Hmm, it seems we were too late.”

“Too late?”

“Yes, new monsters are already being born due to the chaos.”

“Eeeeeek!?”

She’s surprisingly shocked. On the portable MFM, hostile entities are indicated by red dots, and the blinking intensely suggests the rise in chaos value is a precursor to the emergence of monsters.

“There’s nothing we can do about the ones coming out. The monsters born from the chaos increase due to hate are ferocious and driven by a destructive urge. We have no choice but to strike here.”

“Strike? And where will these monsters appear?”

“Right here.”

“Feh?”

As Alecto gave a dumbfounded response, the ground in front of us bulged and burst, scattering clods of earth as a huge monster appeared.

“GWOOOOOOOOOO!”

“There it is—!”

Alecto flips in astonishment. What a ridiculous pose he’s in. He quickly gets up, looking embarrassed.

“How are we supposed to deal with this? What is this thing?”

“It’s a Udolph. Calm down a bit.”

The monster looked like a mass of tangled tree roots, much larger than any Plant Dog. About 5 meters long, its face seemed to be made of twisted wood, and it roared through what seemed to be its mouth.

“The threat level is 6.”

“How serious is that?”

“A Plant Dog is threat level 2.”

“Eh? So, is it like three Plant Dogs? Maybe it’s manageable…”

He’s overly simplistic. It’s not that straightforward.

“I should mention that each increase in threat level roughly triples the combat strength. For reference, a Black Dog is threat level 4.”

“Eeeeeek! How many times stronger than a Black Dog is that?”

Well, if you simplify it, about nine times as much. No big deal.

“Get ready. It’s coming!”

“Feh? Coming?”

Roots stretched out from Udolph’s body like flexible tentacles.

“Eeeeeek!”

“Tsk, Mei, protect him.”

“Understood.”

With Mei handling it, he wouldn’t be harmed. I immediately pulled out a magic tool from my bracelet and started dodging on an open sky board.

“Mei is amazing! But, Edson-kun, you’re using another strange tool, uh, a board?”

“Don’t call it strange! Listen, this is a 3D Flying Guide: Open Sky Board!”

Though Alecto only looked puzzled.

“It’s a magical tool characterized by its ability to move freely in the air by combining spells that manipulate gravity and wind. Just understand that.”

The tool was a metal plate with rounded ends and tail fins, a favorite of mine. I couldn’t handle a magic car well, but this I could control with ease.

Including the rider, gravity control negates inertia, and feet are fixed to the board, maintaining perfect balance at all times. A membrane of gravity eliminates air resistance, and control of the wind allows free movement in all directions.

Speed exceeds the speed of sound thanks to the combination with gravity, and the impact on the rider is minimal.

I maneuvered the board to dodge the approaching root tentacles and aimed my Myful.

“Alecto, attack too, let’s go all out!”

“Yes!”

Alecto, held under Mei’s arm, aimed his revolver at the monster. Roots were intercepted and physically redirected by Mei as she darted around.

The bullets fired by me and Alecto hit Udolph in succession. Smoke enveloped the monster. This should do it…

“GWOOOOOOOO!”

A roar that seemed to shake the air, knocking down trees around.

But riding a gravity-interfering magical tool, I was less affected. Mei wouldn’t be fazed by this either.

Alecto looked about to cry, but he wasn’t in any danger.

But the smoke enveloping Udolph was blown away.

I see, it’s not so foolish as to just sit back and take it.

“What do we do now? It doesn’t seem to be affected.”

“Stop sounding so pathetic. Mei, change his bullets. Use Flame Formula Bullets.”

“Understood.”

Mei took Alecto’s gun, broke it open, and quickly replaced the bullets.

I also changed my magazine. Now we’re ready.

“This should be better. Fire!”

“O-okay!”

He pulled the trigger repeatedly. Alecto’s bullets hit, and flames erupted from the impact points, setting the roots ablaze.

“GWOOOOO!”

“Incredible, it can even produce such a big fire.”

“Don’t be surprised just yet.”

I thought this monster might be somewhat formidable, but to think it would be subdued by revolver flame bullets was disappointing.

“Let’s hit it with something bigger. Explosive Formula Grenade Bullets!”

I pulled the trigger, and the bullets hit the giant’s face, causing a flashy explosion.

“GYYYYAAAAAA!”

“It seems highly effective!”

Alecto’s bullets spread the fire further, and my grenade bullets devastated its body. Plants are weak against fire, a basic fact.

“Keep going!”

And then, after several more shots of Flame and Grenade bullets, Udolph fell to the ground, flames spreading across its body, finally turning to ash and ceasing all life activity.

Hmm, it was only this much after all. Looking back, it wasn’t much.

Alecto was quite moved by the experience, but afterwards, the Seven Changed Dolls collected the Aloy grass we had gathered and we decided to head back.

Now, off to the Adventurer’s Guild—