Two days after settling the matter with the shoes, Rei and Set were in a forest just outside Gilm.
It was a spot by a river where they had dismantled monsters several times before.
Rei's prediction upon seeing the snowfall had been right—the snow was now piling up rapidly.
Over ten centimeters had already accumulated along the riverbank, and it continued to fall.
The landscape looked bitterly cold, but thanks to his Dragon Robe, Rei didn't feel particularly chilled, and since Set was a Gryphon, this level of cold was nothing to worry about.
The real drawback was the footing.
With all the accumulated snow, walking was slightly treacherous.
The path was fairly well-trodden since a reasonable number of adventurers used this area, but even so, it wasn't nearly as easy to walk on as a proper road.
"...Maybe I should have ridden Set."
At Rei's muttered words, Set purred.
The sound seemed to say, You should have just done that from the start...
Snow continued to fall even as they walked, piling up on the Dragon Robe and across Set's body.
"Yeah, I think so too. ...Come to think of it, how was yesterday? You spent it with Yohanna, right?"
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set purred happily.
The day after spending time with Mirene, it had spent the next with Yohanna.
It seemed like an exhausting schedule to Rei, but for Set—who was being doted on—it was apparently a cause for celebration.
Getting extra food was probably a delight for Set as well.
Having enjoyed such pampered days, Set had come to this river with Rei today to absorb the Silver Lion's Magic Stone.
"I wonder what kind of ability it'll get."
"Gurururu?"
Rei stroked Set's head as it tilted it to the side, recalling the battle with the Silver Lion.
What came to mind first was, unsurprisingly, that roar—the one that froze anyone who heard it in their tracks.
There were other possibilities too: the attack that fired its body fur in all directions like needles, or perhaps an ability that simply boosted physical capabilities.
Either way, no matter what ability it acquired, it was an undeniable fact that it would become a significant boost to Set's Combat Power.
Beyond that, Rei also needed to confirm just how much the Terrain Manipulation skill—acquired by Death Scythe, to be precise—had been strengthened.
"Alright, check for me just in case. There's no one around, right?"
"...Gruu."
At Rei's words, Set surveyed the surroundings and gave a short cry.
What they were about to do was the Magic Stone absorption that had become familiar to Rei.
Even so, there was a reason he had to be more cautious than usual.
The Magic Stone Set was about to absorb was the Silver Lion's.
A Magic Stone from an S-Rank monster—its value went without saying.
A fair number of merchants had already approached Rei seeking the Silver Lion materials he possessed. If they had known he also had the Magic Stone, their pursuit would have been far more aggressive.
Fortunately, Rei had let it be known that the Silver Lion's heart and Magic Stone were used in the ritual to restore Vihera's consciousness, and most merchants believed that.
Some had doubted his word, but a little investigation revealed that Rei had spent nearly two months acting to help the unconscious Vihera. And once told that the heart and Magic Stone of an S-Rank monster were necessary to deal with an existence like Unbris—which had only appeared once, ages ago—they had no choice but to accept it.
Because of that, if anyone discovered Rei still had the Silver Lion's Magic Stone, it would undoubtedly trigger a far greater uproar than anything before.
They would likely have to flee somewhere again, just as they had evacuated outside Gilm during the Twilight Spear incident.
Rei had no desire for that to happen, so he had Set thoroughly check the surroundings as a precaution.
"...Alright, Set. Here it is."
Rei gently held out the Silver Lion's Magic Stone, retrieved from his Misty Ring.
Normally, he would toss it to Set to absorb, but he couldn't bring himself to handle something as precious as the Silver Lion's Magic Stone so casually.
Perhaps sensing this was different from usual, Set gently picked up the Magic Stone resting on Rei's palm with its beak... and swallowed it.
[Set has acquired the skill "King's Intimidation Lv.3"]
The announcement echoed in his mind.
Rei wasn't particularly surprised.
He had expected King's Intimidation to level up.
If asked what the most troublesome of the Silver Lion's attacks had been, it was undeniably that roar.
Of course, the possibility of acquiring an entirely new skill called Roar couldn't be ruled out.
But Rei had hoped for King's Intimidation to level up, so this was the best possible outcome.
(Well, that attack that fired Needle-fur in all directions was also pretty appealing... but I feel like that would mean Set losing all its fur.)
The Silver Lion hadn't lost its body fur even after using the Needle-fur attack multiple times, so Rei figured it would probably be fine—but it wasn't a certainty.
An image of Set completely bald—feathers and fur all gone—flashed through Rei's mind...
"Gruu!"
"Ow!"
As if instinctively understanding what Rei was imagining, Set gave his hand a light peck with its beak.
Set wasn't seriously angry, of course, so there was no bleeding.
But it still hurt.
"Set..."
"Gurururu..."
Rei shot it a mildly reproachful glance, and Set turned its face away with a sulk.
"I know. My bad. Come on, forgive me."
The moment Rei acknowledged his fault and gently stroked its body, Set's mood improved as if it hadn't been sulking at all moments before.
"Alright, then... it's my turn next."
After playing with Set for a few minutes—Set nudging its head against him demanding more petting—Rei pulled Death Scythe from his Misty Ring.
"I'd like to test King's Intimidation too, but... there's no point testing it where there's no one around. And if another adventurer happened to hear it, that'd cause all sorts of problems."
"Gruu..."
Set let out a disappointed cry at Rei's words.
True enough, Set's King's Intimidation required a roar, so it inevitably drew attention.
It was winter, but this forest still saw a fair number of adventurers.
Using King's Intimidation recklessly would startle any adventurer within earshot—and for someone in the middle of fighting a monster, that surprise could create a fatal opening.
"We'll test it another time... yeah, next time we encounter a monster."
Set gave a slightly disappointed but accepting cry in response.
Rei gave Set's body one more stroke, then focused his mind as he gripped Death Scythe once more.
Activating a skill didn't require that much concentration.
If it did, it would be unusable in the heat of combat.
But since this was his first time using the leveled-up skill, Rei felt a certain tension—the need to be ready to react immediately if anything went wrong.
"Alright... here we go. Terrain Manipulation!"
Rei touched the ferrule of Death Scythe to the ground and called out.
Simultaneously, the ground a short distance from where they stood rose by about a meter, like an elevator.
It pushed upward in a square roughly fifty centimeters on each side. Anyone charging toward that spot would have unquestionably slammed into the raised block of earth.
"About one meter, roughly. ...In that case, how about this? Terrain Manipulation."
He muttered in a less energetic voice than before and activated the skill again.
This time, right beside the raised ground, a hole about one meter deep opened.
"...That's quite useful."
While only about a meter deep, the ability to freely manipulate the ground wouldn't be all that useful in a one-on-one fight.
But for Rei's specialty—fighting large groups, whether a handful of Bandits or an entire army—it was undoubtedly extremely effective.
When dozens, hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of enemies were charging straight at him, what would happen if the ground beneath their feet suddenly vanished by a full meter, collapsing into a pitfall?
Those in light gear probably wouldn't break their necks falling in, unless they were extraordinarily unlucky.
But what about soldiers in full plate armor? What about cavalry?
The result would be devastating.
Furthermore, a one-meter depth led many to assume they could simply climb out.
But on a battlefield, with the ground suddenly disappearing beneath their feet, how many could actually make that split-second decision to climb?
And if their judgment was delayed even by a few seconds, they'd be crushed by the comrades pressing in from behind.
What's more, even those who escaped the first pitfall might find another one opening beneath them the very next moment.
"Besides... it's not like combat is the only use for it."
For Rei... well, there weren't that many such jobs around Gilm, but there were things like flood control work and the expansion of towns and villages.
At times like those, having the ability to freely raise and lower the ground by about a meter would be invaluable.
"Maybe I shouldn't show this off too much? ...No, it's too late for that."
"Gruu."
For a brief moment, Rei worried that this becoming known would cause all sorts of trouble—but then again, restraint had never been his strong suit.
If Rei were the type to hold back, he never would have become an adventurer with an alias in the first place.
And the fact that he traveled with Set—an A-Rank monster, no, a Rare Species treated as equivalent to S-Rank—meant restraint was already a lost cause.
"Next time a flood control request or something comes up, should we take it?"
"Gurururu?"
Whether it sensed something in Rei's words, Set tilted its head and purred.
Rei wondered what it found so puzzling but decided that, for now, he had finished everything he needed to do.
"Shall we head back?"
"Gruuru!"
Back to Gilm for something warm to eat, perhaps.
Just as Rei was about to store Death Scythe in his Misty Ring and say so, Set shook its head.
"What's wrong? You don't want to go back? You want to stay here a bit longer?"
"Gruu!"
Rei had no idea why, but Set let out a cry insisting it wanted to stay.
"...You still want to be here?"
Thanks to the Dragon Robe, he didn't feel the cold, but having grown up in a snowy country, Rei wasn't particularly fond of snow.
Watching it steadily fall, his honest feeling was that he wanted to get back to the Wheat Inn at dusk and take it easy as soon as possible.
But unlike Rei, the Gryphon—Set, despite having the lower body of a feline lion—had a dog-like, affectionate personality and didn't mind running around and playing in the snow at all.
Near the stables at the Wheat Inn at dusk... in the backyard, the sight of Set playing in the snow with Mirene, Yohanna, and various others wasn't all that uncommon.
"Just for a bit, alright."
And so, Rei surrendered to the silent plea in Set's round eyes and let it do as it pleased.
He watched Set happily racing around the area, but then an idea struck him. He pulled Death Scythe from his Misty Ring once more.
He touched the ferrule to the ground...
"Terrain Manipulation."
Activating the skill, he raised the ground right beside him by about a meter.
Then he spread a cloth from his Misty Ring over it... and sat down.
"Yeah, works perfectly as a chair. And given the size, it could serve as a temporary table too. ...A table's a stretch, maybe?"
He muttered, then activated Terrain Manipulation again, raising the ground into a rectangular block.
Since he was simply forcing the earth upward, there was no space for legs.
It was clearly a bit awkward to use as a table.
"Well, as a makeshift table, it's not entirely useless, at least."
He muttered, and while lightly kicking at the dirt with the shoes he'd had made at the shoe shop, he watched Set dart happily through the trees.
[Set]
'Water Ball Lv.4' 'Fire Breath Lv.3' 'Wind Arrow Lv.3' 'King's Intimidation Lv.3' new 'Poison Claw Lv.5' 'Size Change Lv.1' 'Tornado Lv.2' 'Ice Arrow Lv.1' 'Optical Camouflage Lv.4' 'Magic Eye of Shock Lv.1' 'Power Crush Lv.5' 'Sense of Smell Enhancement Lv.4' 'Bubble Breath Lv.1' 'Crystal Breath Lv.1' 'Earth Arrow Lv.1'
King's Intimidation: Can frighten and freeze the movements of enemies weaker than itself. Even against opponents whose movements don't freeze, it can reduce their speed by about thirty percent. However, it has no effect on opponents equal to or stronger than itself.