Around the time Rei began his battle with the Crystal Skeleton, Dietz—who was performing sentry duty around the carriages—was locked in combat with a Living Armor.
The group traveling with Rei consisted of about thirty people in total.
Because they had to form a perimeter to guard that many people, they couldn't afford to spare too many men for any single location.
Furthermore, even if someone wanted to go support a comrade fighting elsewhere, they couldn't carelessly leave their post, as Undead might launch a raid from a different direction.
Only someone like Rei, who had a partner to share the burden, could manage such a thing.
"Tch! Of all the things to show up, it had to be a Living Armor! A real pain in the ass has appeared!"
Dietz shouted irritably as he thrust his spear forward.
However, the Living Armor—an entity born of a grudge inhabiting a suit of metal armor—easily parried the spear with the battle axe in its hands.
A high-pitched metallic clang echoed through the air.
As a pure warrior who possessed neither skills nor magic, Dietz clicked his tongue at the existence before him, which was practically his natural enemy.
"Captain Rei... no, if Rei-san were here, he'd handle a guy like this easily, but what am I supposed to do!?"
He retreated to evade a downward swing of the battle axe intended to split his head in two.
The battle axe whistled past Dietz's face with ferocious momentum.
It was a strike that would undoubtedly mean instant death if it connected.
Even so, for Dietz, such an attack was something he was already well-accustomed to seeing.
"Compared to training in the Mobile Unit, this is lukewarm!"
He stomped on the non-bladed part of the battle axe as it struck the ground, pinning it in place, and swung his spear in a horizontal slash.
Dietz had belonged to the Mobile Unit, the gathering place for elites within the Mercurio Army.
Naturally, the shaft of his spear was made of metal rather than wood.
The metal shaft closed in on the Living Armor’s head... but in the next instant, the Living Armor released its right hand from the battle axe and raised it to protect its head.
Metallic clanging echoed once more.
Seeing the result, Dietz clicked his tongue and leaped backward to put distance between himself and the Living Armor.
Simultaneously, the Living Armor gauntlets swept through the space where Dietz had been standing just a moment prior.
Had his judgment been delayed by even a single second, Dietz's head would likely have burst like a crushed egg.
"What a troublesome opponent!"
Dietz spat the words out.
It wasn't that it was impossible to defeat a Living Armor with the cards in his hand... but it was certainly difficult.
(Damn it, the quickest way to finish off this type of monster is to snatch its magic stone.)
Dietz glared at the Living Armor as it reached for its battle axe on the ground, confirming he had sufficient distance.
He knew where the magic stone was. Inside that armor... most likely near the chest.
However, to seize that magic stone, he had to do something about the armor, and whenever he tried, he was blocked just as he had been just now.
(I should have brought a club or a battle axe or something.)
Against this type of monster, a powerful blow reliant on brute force was far more effective than a sharp, piercing strike.
While he felt irritated at his own lack of such attack methods, the Living Armor—whose thoughts remained inscrutable behind its helmet—readied its battle axe... and in the next moment, for reasons unknown, it raised the battle axe high above its head.
What is it doing? Dietz wondered, but the reason was immediately made clear.
"Guruuuuuu!"
Along with that roar, something plummeted from the night sky.
Dietz's body momentarily stiffened at the roar, but once he realized it was a familiar sound, he distanced himself from the Living Armor even further than before.
At the same time, the sound of destruction echoed through the area.
When he turned his gaze toward where the Living Armor had been, he saw the helmet and armor lying on the ground, completely mangled and crushed.
The battle axe it had held aloft had been thrown a short distance away, perhaps having escaped destruction from Seto's strike.
What had happened was obvious the moment he saw Seto standing atop the crumpled armor.
"Guruu?"
Having demolished the Living Armor with its Power Crush skill, Seto let out a cooing sound as if asking Dietz, Are you okay?
Coming to his senses at Seto's behavior, Dietz nodded hurriedly.
"Ah, yeah. Sorry, and thanks for the help. If you hadn't come, Seto, I would've struggled a lot more."
It was very much like Dietz not to say that he would have lost.
"Guruu."
Seto turned its gaze toward Dietz and, determining that he wasn't injured, plucked the Living Armor magic stone from the wreckage with its beak and promptly took its leave.
"Ah..."
For a moment, Dietz started to say something about the magic stone, but since he knew he had been saved, he decided that saying anything now would just be a baseless complaint.
"...Living Armor magic stones are worth quite a bit, though. Well, I've still got the battle axe, so I guess it could be worse."
He couldn't help but grumble, however.
Despite the combat that had occurred nearby just moments ago, Rei sat by the campfire, warming himself without a care in the world.
In his hand was the Crystal Skeleton magic stone.
"Since there's only one, it has to be for either the Death Scythe or Seto... but it should probably be Seto this time."
Through the recent events in the Bestia Empire, Rei had acquired the skill Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
Furthermore, in terms of magic items, he had obtained a legacy of the Ancient Magic Civilization, the Ring of the New Moon.
In comparison, Seto hadn't acquired any particularly notable skills or magic items since coming to the Bestia Empire.
Of course, it had gained valuable experience through the battle with Noise, even if that wasn't a tangible reward.
Even so, Rei wanted to give Seto something as a token of his gratitude.
"Well, if it's a magic stone, it'll disappear once it's absorbed, so it's not like it'll remain as a physical object."
He tossed a piece of dry wood into the campfire.
As he watched the flames grow stronger with the sounds of popping and crackling, he noticed the sound of something running across the ground.
Rei didn't even need to think to know whose footsteps they were.
Before long, Seto's form emerged from the darkness as expected.
"Guruuuuuu."
Seto approached Rei, who was sitting by the fire, while purring, and handed over the magic stone it held in its beak.
"Mm, thanks. Since you brought this, is it a Living Armor magic stone?"
"Guruu."
Seto let out a cry as if to say, That's right.
Taking the magic stone, Rei gently stroked Seto's head.
Seto had been the one to absorb the magic stone of the Living Armor they had defeated previously.
Considering that, it was likely best to let the Death Scythe absorb this one.
(In that case, it feels like it won't really be a 'thank you' since it's just an exchange of magic stones... but I can give him a proper reward later.)
Listening to the distant sounds of battle, Rei held out the Crystal Skeleton magic stone toward Seto.
"Seto, this is a Crystal Skeleton magic stone. I'm giving this to you in place of the Living Armor magic stone."
"Guruu!?"
Seto let out a happy purr at Rei's words.
Usually, magic stone absorption has no meaning unless one participates in the combat.
However, Seto was a being created from Rei's magic power, and for that very reason, it could absorb skills even from magic stones of enemies Rei had defeated.
...Though whether it could actually obtain a skill from it was a different matter entirely.
"Guruuuuu."
After letting out a joyful purr, Seto proceeded to swallow the Crystal Skeleton magic stone it had taken with its beak.
【Seto has acquired the skill 'Crystal Breath Lv.1'】
That announcement message echoed through Rei's mind.
"Crystal Breath, huh. I can pretty much imagine what kind of skill it is, but we should probably test it out. Fortunately, everyone is either on watch or asleep right now, so we don't have to worry about being watched."
Rei muttered as he looked around.
Thanks to his Night Vision, he had almost no trouble scanning the surroundings beyond the light of the campfire.
As far as Rei could see, no one was looking their way.
Though, he could somewhat sense that there were people inside the carriages' safe zone who hadn't been able to fall asleep yet.
However, combat sounds would suddenly break out during camping. Furthermore, since they were in the infamous Seremuse Plain, the attackers were undoubtedly Undead.
Because of that, unless they were former adventurers or people with military experience who were used to trouble, sleeping under these circumstances was difficult.
"Try it out for a bit, but keep the power low enough so it doesn't bother the surroundings."
"Guruu."
With a short purr at Rei's words, Seto moved a little away from the campfire, took a light breath, and activated Crystal Breath toward the empty air.
"Guruuuuu."
The Crystal Breath, released with a muffled cry, shot out from Seto's beak and vanished into the night sky.
"...Huh?"
Watching this, Rei tilted his head as it differed from his expectations.
"I thought for sure that crystal spears or arrows, or at least crystal chunks, would be spat out with the breath..."
"Guruu."
As Seto lowered its head as if to say I'm sorry, Rei hurriedly shook his head and stroked its head.
"Don't worry about it. It's not like everything has to go according to my predictions. More importantly, based on what I just saw, it's not a type that mixes crystals into the breath to deal physical damage. In that case... right, can you try it on this next?"
As he spoke, Rei picked up a piece of firewood intended for the campfire.
Seeing Seto purr in understanding, Rei tossed the wood into the air.
"Guruuuuu."
A breath was released from Seto's mouth just like before.
The breath hit the firewood Rei had tossed with perfect accuracy.
After picking up the piece of wood that had been blown a short distance away, Rei noticed something unusual about it.
Specifically, the anomaly was that the wood appeared to be thinly coated in crystal.
When he touched the wood with his palm, the texture was undeniably not that of wood.
However, the coating wasn't particularly thick or firmly attached; when he struck the wood against his palm with force, the crystal covering the surface peeled off and crumbled to the ground.
"I see. So instead of mixing crystal chunks into the breath, it's the type that traps the target hit by the breath inside crystal. ...It certainly might be useful depending on how it's used, but at Level 1, is it just enough to slow someone down a bit?"
Having one's body encased in crystal would likely surprise and alert those around the victim even more than the one who actually took the hit.
Thinking this, Rei lightly stroked the head of Seto, who had tilted its head as if asking, Is it no good?
"It might be inconvenient to use right now, but we just have to raise its level from here on out. Well, I don't know what kind of monster magic stones we'll need to absorb for that, though. Besides, it's not like it's completely useless even as it is now."
He picked up the crystal that had fallen from the wood and brought it before Seto.
As Seto watched with a curious What is it? What is it? expression, Rei spoke as if explaining it.
What rested on Rei's open palm before Seto were crystal fragments.
"Since this is still crystal, places that do craftsmanship or blacksmiths should be willing to buy it. Also, I believe crystal can be used as a material for alchemy, so as long as you have this Crystal Breath, we'll never be troubled for money."
Though, Rei already possessed a vast amount of wealth.
Enough that a person could live out their entire life on it.
Considering that, while crystals might be useful for earning a bit of pocket change in an emergency, he wasn't particularly obsessed with them.
Rei himself didn't have a strong attachment to money to begin with.
Still, you could buy various things if you had money, and considering food expenses, it was better to have it than not.
"Now then, it's my turn next. I'll be using the Living Armor magic stone Seto brought."
"Guruu!"
Seto purred happily at Rei's words, its previous dejection having completely vanished.
Watching Seto's reaction, Rei then turned his gaze toward the Living Armor magic stone in his hand.
However, the expression on his face wasn't one of anticipation for an unknown magic stone.
The skill obtained when Seto absorbed a Living Armor magic stone previously was Power Crush.
If that were the case, he assumed he would likely acquire Power Slash Lv.3.
It was because he was thinking that way.
Certainly, Power Slash was one of Rei's powerful attack methods, but it was also a fact that it didn't quite suit Rei's combat style.
(Besides, Power Slash sends a shock through the wrist. If you don't vent it properly, it's practically a self-destruct move.)
He looked at his own wrist gripping the Death Scythe, remembering the time he had nearly injured it.
However, since it was a magic stone Seto had gone to the trouble of bringing, he tossed it into the air while receiving an expectant gaze from Seto a short distance away.
Then, a single flash of the Death Scythe.
The blade sliced through the magic stone.
【The Death Scythe has acquired the skill 'Flying Slash Lv.4'】
In that instant, that message flowed through his mind.
"...Eh?"
Rei couldn't help but cry out at the acquisition of a skill that was completely different from what he had expected.
【Seto】 『Water Ball Lv.3』『Fire Breath Lv.3』『Wind Arrow Lv.3』『King's Intimidation Lv.1』『Poison Claw Lv.4』『Size Change Lv.1』『Tornado Lv.1』『Ice Arrow Lv.1』『Optical Camouflage Lv.2』『Magic Eye of Shock Lv.1』『Power Crush Lv.2』『Sense of Smell Enhancement Lv.1』『Bubble Breath Lv.1』『Crystal Breath Lv.1』new
【Death Scythe】 『Corrosion Lv.3』『Flying Slash Lv.4』new『Magic Shield Lv.1』『Power Slash Lv.2』『Wind Hand Lv.3』『Terrain Manipulation Lv.1』『Pain Burst Lv.1』『Penetrate Lv.2』
Crystal Breath: A breath that traps the target in crystal. Since its level is currently low, its power is only enough to coat the target in crystal. However, it is still possible to somewhat hinder the opponent's movements.
Flying Slash: A skill that launches a flying slash. Its power is reasonably high, but it can only launch a single slash.