Terrain Manipulation, having reached Level 6, possessed a power Rei hadn't expected.
Of course, a powerful skill was something to be grateful for. In that sense, it was undeniably a fortunate event—but it was equally undeniable that the skill's power had caught him off guard.
"There's no doubt it gets significantly stronger above Level 5, but this is still a bit much. ...Well, considering the circumstances for leveling up, maybe I should've seen it coming."
Currently, Terrain Manipulation leveled up primarily through destroying dungeon cores with Death Scythe.
Beast Magic had a limitation: once a magic stone was used, magic stones from the same type of monster could never be used again. In that regard, dungeon cores—which could be used any number of times without issue to continue leveling up—were special in more ways than one.
That said, dungeons were fundamentally difficult to clear in the first place. Moreover, the more time passed, the more a dungeon grew, making it even harder to conquer.
In that sense, finding a dungeon core that hadn't yet managed to form a proper dungeon—like the one this time—was probably extremely fortunate.
Though that fortune owed much to the fact that Rei had noticed something off while looking down at the ground from the sky, and that Seto had been able to pinpoint the true nature of that unease.
The dungeon core had been concealing its existence with a mirage-like illusion. If it had had a little more time, it might have even managed to create dungeon floors.
"Gurururu."
That his beloved Rei was happy made Seto happy too.
...If cutting a dungeon core with Death Scythe caused Terrain Manipulation to level up, then naturally Seto—created through Beast Magic just like Death Scythe—would also be able to learn new skills or level up existing ones using dungeon cores.
Seto was well aware of this, but if it meant Rei would be happy, he didn't mind yielding the dungeon core to him.
After all, Terrain Manipulation was an extremely powerful skill. When he first acquired it at Level 1, the effective range wasn't that wide, and the scale of terrain he could manipulate was small. Now that it had reached Level 6, it had become a skill with overwhelming power, utterly incomparable to its Level 1 form.
Rei was said to be capable of taking on an entire army single-handedly by using Flame Tornado—Fire Whirlwind—but there was no doubt that with Terrain Manipulation at Level 6, he now had enough combat power to face an entire army without even needing Fire Whirlwind.
For Seto, his beloved Rei growing stronger was the most welcome thing imaginable.
Besides, since it was already at Level 6, reaching Level 10 wouldn't be far off now. The fact that Seto could simply use a dungeon core to learn skills later posed no problem whatsoever.
Normally, a dungeon core was not something one encountered easily. But it had only been a few years since Rei came to Elgin, and in that time he had already encountered this many dungeon cores. Seto felt certain that Terrain Manipulation reaching Level 10 was not far away.
"Alright, it's already night... I suppose we're camping here today. I got a little too carried away testing Terrain Manipulation."
"Gurururu."
At Rei's words, Seto purred happily. Seto was satisfied simply being together with Rei. In that sense, camping outdoors like this was actually preferable to staying at inns in towns or villages.
With that decided, preparing for camp was quick. ...More accurately, it wasn't that preparation was fast, but rather that there simply wasn't much to do.
Normally, camping required setting up a tent, preparing meals, deciding on watch rotations, and handling all sorts of other tasks. But in Rei's case, he could simply take the Magic Tent out of his Misty Ring and use it immediately. After that, all that remained was starting a campfire and taking out the ingredients for dinner from the Misty Ring, and he was done.
For the campfire, Rei could have one going in seconds with magic. As for the watch, with Seto around, there was absolutely nothing to worry about. For Rei, preparing for camp truly ended with just that.
"For tonight's dinner... let's see. Offal and bean stew, and vegetable soup. And... I'll grill the fish Seto caught this afternoon, shred it, and add it as a topping. For bread, maybe sandwiches... no, since the offal and bean stew is already strongly flavored, plain bread will be plenty."
Saying so, he brought out the dishes one after another. Seto liked all of Rei's cooking, so he had no complaints.
With the meal preparations complete, it was immediately time to eat.
'Hmm, a dungeon core, huh. I suppose you could say it's very much like you, Rei...'
On the other side of the Paired Orb, Elena spoke with exasperation. The Paired Orb also showed Marina and Vihera alongside Elena. Normally, Ara and Byune would have been present too, but Ara had some errands and was away at the moment, and Byune was apparently already asleep, worn out from the day's work. So today, Rei was communicating with these three through the Paired Orb.
'But when you hear "because it's Rei," somehow it does feel convincing, doesn't it? ...Elena, Marina, don't you think so too?'
At Vihera's words, the other two nodded in agreement for some reason. Being convinced with the reasoning "because it's Rei" left Rei feeling a bit conflicted.
"The dungeon core was unexpected, but it worked out well for me. Maybe because I pushed myself so hard during the Egginis incident."
'Egginis, huh... To think they were using necromancy for golem cores. It's quite something they even came up with that.'
Rei agreed with Marina's heartfelt words. Thinking about it normally, combining necromancy with golem technology wasn't something that would be easily conceived.
"It's a fact that the mainstream faction alchemists of the Dolan Workshop were doing it, but who actually came up with it... well, the captured alchemists should provide information, so I think those details will become clear before long."
'I hope so.'
For Marina, the Former Guild Master, the Egginis incident was probably not someone else's problem. If similar golems were ever created in Gilm, adventurers would undoubtedly be caught up in the disaster.
"But the Dolan Workshop... no, in a place like Egginis where the golem industry is thriving, I suppose it's not strange for something like that to exist. But Gilm has almost no golem industry, so I don't think there's that much to worry about."
'Do you think so? The alchemists in Gilm are highly skilled. In other words, if they learn such a technique exists, there's no guarantee they won't try something similar.'
'The possibility can't be denied.'
Rei knew that the alchemists of Gilm directed strong interest toward rare materials and unusual Magic Items. During Gilm's expansion construction, the alchemists were magically processing lumber logged from the Treant Forest—and the one transporting that lumber was Rei. And whenever Rei delivered lumber, he would inevitably get pestered by those very alchemists.
Thinking about it, if the alchemists learned of the Egginis incident, it wouldn't be strange for them to attempt something similar—using monster souls instead of human souls, for instance. When that happened, just how much chaos would erupt in Gilm? Thinking it through, it seemed like nothing but ruin awaited.
Unlike Egginis, the frontier city of Gilm had overwhelmingly easier access to rare materials. As for human souls, the many people who had gathered in Gilm for the expansion construction meant there would be no shortage there either. When those two factors combined, the result would without a doubt far exceed anything tolerable.
'Anyway, if Rei is going to the place in the Treant Forest where the fairies are, it'll be easier to stay in contact from now on. It's a bit disappointing that Vihera is the one most likely to have those opportunities, though.'
'Oh? If you're that disappointed, why don't you come patrol the Treant Forest with me, Elena? If the Princess General showed up, I'm sure everyone would be thrilled.'
Vihera said to Elena in a teasing tone.
While Rei was away, all Treant Forest-related work had been entrusted to Vihera. More accurately, to Vihera and Byune together.
(Without a doubt, the busiest of the three is Vihera.)
Rei recalled the work he had been doing and thought to himself solemnly. Marina was also undeniably busy, providing treatment at the clinic. But even so, she couldn't compare to Vihera, who had been entrusted with everything related to the Treant Forest situation.
Elena wasn't exactly helping Rei, but she used Marina's house as her base, which meant many people hoped to meet with her. Noble Faction nobles, of course, as well as King's Faction and Neutral Faction nobles. Not only that, but nobles who didn't belong to any of the Three Great Factions, and merchants as well, all came to visit. On a slightly different note, among those researching the Birth Tower and the lake that had been teleported near the Treant Forest, there were also people requesting meetings with Elena.
Among such researchers, many were interested in Ielo. Since Elena used a Black Dragon's child as her familiar, it was only natural that many would be curious. ...Even so, considering Elena's position, most of them only asked to observe him or perhaps pet him briefly.
However, there were plenty of people in the world who believed anything was fair game if it was in the pursuit of knowledge. Such people would tell Elena point-blank that she should hand the Black Dragon over to them. In a way, they were people worthy of being called heroes—but naturally, there was no need to even think about how that turned out.
Perhaps remembering such people, Elena let out a heavy sigh before speaking.
'Hmm. If Vihera would deal with the fools in my stead, then perhaps that arrangement wouldn't be so bad.'
'Yeah... that would be a bit unpleasant. From what I've heard, there really are quite a lot of people for whom the term "fool" is fitting. ...Oh, but if I'm allowed to punch anyone who rubs me the wrong way, then I don't mind.'
Having originally despised rigid lifestyles and abandoned her position as a princess of the Bestia Empire in pursuit of freedom, Vihera naturally had no desire for interactions that involved meeting people in stuffy, formal settings. ...Moreover, if the other party was someone who would demand Elena hand over Ielo out of sheer greed, it wouldn't be strange for Vihera to resort to violence on the spot.
'Mmm, lay hands, huh... It depends on the person, but...'
'Listen, Elena. You can't do something like that. And Vihera, don't say unreasonable things.'
Marina cautioned Elena and Vihera, who were showing signs of potentially swapping roles, even if only temporarily. If they actually did something like that, who knew what would happen next. Marina had no desire whatsoever to experience such a thing—nor did she even want to imagine it.
Perhaps taking pity on Marina, Rei decided to change the subject.
"Changing the topic—can I leave the Egginis matter to you? I'd like to keep things as they are if possible, but that seems unlikely, so at the very least, I want a proper noble to become the next lord."
'Hmm, I'll try speaking to my father for now, but given Egginis's value, I expect the King's Faction will send a noble.'
'I'll also try talking to Daskar later, but his Neutral Faction originally has few members, so I wouldn't expect much on that front.'
Elena and Marina each responded to Rei's words. Hearing them out, Rei nodded in acceptance—that was about what he'd expected.
The King's Faction had been declining slightly in influence recently, but it was still undeniably the largest faction. That alone made it entirely plausible for them to send one of their own nobles to claim the lordship of Egginis. ...Moreover, with Maruka—the daughter of Duke Quento's House—involved in this incident, they had more than enough reason to interfere.
"Between the Dolan Workshop and Dailas... there are definitely plenty of problems, but precisely because Egginis has a golem industry, I don't think we can afford to leave it in the wrong hands. ...But it's always at times like this that someone incompetent shows up and does something stupid. That's what worries me."
Rei's words apparently struck a chord. The three on the other side of the Paired Orb nodded in solemn agreement.