Chapter 47: The Experiment Begins

"And with that, let the experiments begin! I’ve prepared plenty of virtual enemies in the basement to measure your mana and your combat prowess!"

Either she was a woman of immediate action or she simply lacked an impulse control filter. Regardless, she dragged us down to the laboratory's lower levels the moment the words left her mouth.

The space was massive—a vast, featureless void of a room. According to her, this was where I was to show her what I could do.

"Let’s get this party started! Spawning the first wave now!"

Driven by her manic energy, the room flickered as holographic monsters materialized. They were constructed from mana and, from what I could tell, were faithful recreations of the real things. The moment they registered my presence, they lunged.

"We’ll start with a D-rank [Silverback]. Don’t hold back! Oh, and [Summoned Beasts] are strictly prohibited. I can't collect decent data if they’re doing all the heavy lifting for you."

She was already placing restrictions on my playstyle, but since the point was to gauge my personal abilities, I didn't complain. I called forth my favorite [Death Scythe] and settled into a combat stance.

It’s been a while since that cave, I thought.

Relying on the notes the original Reima had left behind, I moved. I closed the distance in seconds, slipping inside the creature's guard. With a single, fluid motion, I reaped its life, bisecting the hologram where it stood.

The image flickered out, only to be replaced immediately by a [Hellhound] and a [Minotaur].

They charged without warning. One spat a continuous stream of fire while the [Minotaur] brought a massive axe down toward my head.

"Wow, your combat style really is a carbon copy of Laura’s... though you’re far too fast."

I ignored her commentary. I swatted the flames aside with the flat of my blade and cleaved through both the axe and the [Minotaur] in one go. Ena seemed to be taking notes on every move.

"Oh, I just had a thought! I’m going to record this and stream it later, so let's make it flashier!"

Before I could object, the number of enemies spiked. A crowd of monsters I’d never seen before flooded the room, including several [Wyverns] and [Griffons]—my first time seeing them in this world.

"Isn't this a bit much?" I asked, my voice flat.

"Not at all! I don't think I could measure your ceiling with just this; I actually want to throw even more at you! I mean, look at you! Just how many spells are you running simultaneously right now!?"

"About four, as long as I’m using this weapon."

The [Lycoris Death Scythe] was incredibly heavy. With my current base stats, I couldn't even swing it properly. To compensate, I was running a physical strength reinforcement on myself, a speed boost, a poison attribute buff on the blade, and a specific spell to multiply the force of the initial strike. In this world, the technique of layering multiple spells was apparently a rarity.

"You're one to talk," I countered. "[Blanc] and [Noir] were built with a similar philosophy, weren't they?"

"Those are special. I had to break a few laws of logic to finish them... Wait, you can actually use those two?"

"Yeah. Is that a problem?"

"No... in fact, if you don't mind, why don't you show me those 'children' in action?"

"Fine by me. [Weapon Summon]: [Blanc] & [Noir]."

I swapped the scythe for the pair of handguns named after the French words for black and white. Given that the woman currently experimenting on me was the one who had built them, I doubted I could show her their full potential yet. My proficiency was likely laughable compared to what she expected, but if she wanted a demonstration, I’d give her one.

"Good! Let’s add more targets then."

The air filled with one-eyed bats—[Gazers]. They scattered ice while conjuring [Ice Thorns], all while charging up beams of energy to fire at me.

The combined onslaught of the [Griffons], [Wyverns], and [Gazers] was almost impressive. I adjusted my strategy accordingly.

"[Speed Reduction]."

The charging aerial units slowed to a crawl. I poured a surplus of mana into the twin pistols and fired. The mana-rich bullets functioned as certain-kill projectiles, punching through the skulls of the [Wyvern] and [Griffon] and erasing their holograms instantly.

I veered around the beams fired by the remaining [Gazers], slipped into their blind spot, and hammered them with [Infernus] to finish the job.

"No, this won't do. You're too strong. I can't measure you with standard monsters. Let’s see... what to do... Oh! I know! Let’s test 'that.' I was saving the debut for a [Dungeon], but desperate times!"

She started muttering to herself, a twisted, joyful smile spreading across her face. She looked like a child eager to show off a dangerous new toy. Suddenly, the floor of the testing area slid open, and four massive golems rose from the depths.

"Go get him, [Colossus]! You’ve got a real monster in front of you today!"

The iron giants—armed with swords, axes, spears, and ballistae—fixed their glowing eyes on me and charged. Their sheer presence was intimidating. I reflexively fired a mana bullet, but the projectile simply winked out of existence the moment it touched the lead golem’s hide.

"What...?"

"They're custom-made! Crafted from a special alloy with mana-nullifying properties! Hahaha! Even you should struggle against these!"

"Hey, Ena," I called out, "isn't this moving away from the 'original objective'?"

"It’s not! I said it was an experiment, and I’m the one in charge of the variables! Besides, I haven't had a chance to field-test these yet. I’ve got to ride this big wave while I can!"

She had clearly snapped. Her excitement had eclipsed any concern for my well-being or mental fatigue.

I’m pretty sure my goals have been hijacked, I realized. But I didn't have the luxury of arguing. I dismissed the guns and called out a different weapon.

"[Weapon Summon]: [Dainsleif]."

A single black blade appeared in my hand. It was a cursed magic sword of ice, shaped like a tangle of thorns. Legend dictated that once drawn, it could not be sheathed until it had tasted the blood of an enemy.

"[Ice Thorn]."

Vines of ice erupted from the floor. They snared a [Colossus] in an instant, and before the machine could react, the ice invaded its internal mechanisms, shattering the construct from the inside out. Since this technique used magic to create a physical force of destruction, it was essentially a "foul" move—too heinous to use on living creatures because it was effectively an instant-death sentence.

"Eh?"

Ena let out a pathetic little sound. It seemed I had finally done something she hadn't predicted. Her confident persona wavered, but the spell couldn't be stopped. The remaining three [Colossus] units were encased in ice and reduced to scrap seconds later.

"......Come forth, my masterpiece! [Machina Golem]!"

I didn't notice it at the time, but her voice was trembling, bordering on tears.

The machine that appeared was significantly smaller than the previous giants, but the mana radiating from it was in an entirely different league. It was a sleek, rugged soldier that prioritized function over form, wielding two blades built into its forearms.

It possessed a staggering presence. It blurred toward me, its blades whistling as they aimed for my throat. I figured this was the final exam. I decided it was time to get serious.

"Wait, the temperature just dropped..."

A freezing chill began to saturate the room. I couldn't match the sheer output [Luna] was capable of without fully unleashing the sword's curse, but I could manage a sub-ultimate technique without overtaxing myself.

"Manifest, O Emperor of the Ice Prison, blood-stained sinner, traitorous rebel... Now, let us behead them and moisten the River of Lamentation—[Cocytus Imperator]."

I summoned the frost-formed executioner. The giant of ice moved in perfect synchronization with my own body. It raised its massive shears and, with a single overhead swing, cleaved the [Machina Golem] in two.

"An Adamantite-framed [Full Golem]... in one hit?"

"Alright. Is that enough, Ena-san?" I asked, exhaling a cloud of frost. "Wait... Ayane, what’s with that look?"

"She’s currently in a state of total shock, so I’ll speak for her," Ayane said, looking at me with pity. "You overdid it. My condolences."

"For what?"

I understood the 'overdid it' part well enough from the wreckage on the floor, but the 'condolences' part eluded me. I expected to be scolded, but Ena’s face suddenly distorted with a terrifying kind of rapture.

"Are you... are you really a [Summoner]? I knew you were strong from the stream, but this? This is the unknown! Magic output that defies logic, combat ability that borders on insanity... Yes! More! We need more experiments! With you, I can finally reach the pinnacle of thaumaturgy!"

She lunged forward, grabbing my clothes with strength that shouldn't have been possible, and began dragging me away.

"Come on! We’re going to build a new golem using you as the blueprint! We’re going to spend the next ten hours together, okay?"

She meant every word. In fact, she kept me restrained for far longer than ten hours. I wasn't released from her "experiments" until the sun had set twice.