Chapter 86: The Ancestral God-Dragon and Transcendence

Author’s Note: Revision of Part 5 has been put on hold. I’m making a lot of progress on the novel right now, so I think it’s best to keep writing while it lasts.

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I headed towards the Ancestral God-Dragon, riding on Blue. Incidentally, the other members are following behind us while keeping some distance. I mean, there’s no way Maria would let me go alone, right? Still, that’s only one of the reasons, the other being so that, in case the Ancestral God-Dragon decided to go around me and head for the Hidden Area instead, they would be able to stop it.

“Hou, I am surprised to see thou camest all the way here. Am I correct in assuming that thou art the one who destroyest mine army?”

The Ancestral God-Dragon asked me once I got close enough. The dragon speaks…! And in a beautiful voice to boot…! Ah, now that I think about it, there are surprisingly many monsters that can speak in this world, like the dragon newts, vampires, and monsters with ‘Transformation’ just to name a few.

It using the pronoun “妾 (warawa)” reminded me a bit of Chocolate, the Harpy Queen. It’s the first person pronoun that royals often use. Wait, it’s a trap, isn’t it? This will totally be on the next test. (ED: Usually used by females. It also translates as ‘concubine’, or ‘mistress’ which I used for Chocolate)

“That’s right, though I didn’t beat them all by myself.”

Or rather, I didn’t do anything, other than that one attack at the very beginning. Still, it’s not like I can actually say it.

By the way, it being the last boss, I’m not going to just kill it like all the mob dragons. Plus, it struck up a conversation on its own, so it would be a waste to just press the ‘skip’ button. …What’s that? What about Sano? Oh, it’s fine to skip that one. (ED: The hero from chapter 73)

“I see. As I thought. The opening in the barrier was a trap after all.”

It suddenly said something that I didn’t quite follow…… Ah, I see. The barrier that always stayed up had suddenly gone down. And since it wasn’t the dragons’ doing, it’s only natural for them to think it must have been some kind of a trap. Plus, since all the dragons that broke into the Hidden Area in the past met their deaths, it wouldn’t be that unlikely for it to actually be one. Yeah, sorry, it was just another one of Damn Maggot’s screw ups.

“By the way, thou seemest to be a human, so why dost thou sidest with those half-breeds? Also, was it not a tad too easy for thou to take on mine dragon army?”

By ‘half-breeds’, I assume it means the dragon newts. Well, they can change between their dragon form and human form without the ‘Transformation’ skill after all. Also, as far as I (and Alta) could tell, they are the only monster species capable of that.

“I have some dragon newts as my followers, so, wouldn’t you say it’s my job as their master to protect their homeland?”

“Master…”

Blue trembled, overcome with intense emotions.

“Plus, it’s not like it took much effort to defeat those dragons. More importantly, why are dragons targeting the dragon newts in the first place?”

“I do not know. However, something deep inside me maketh me feel a tremendous dislike for these ‘dragon newts’ as thou calledst them. And that same something is constantly whispering to me to destroy them all. It is very tiring to resist this urge, so we all decided to come here, thinking that if we destroyed these ‘dragon newts’, it would surely disappear.”

So, dragons don’t know the reason either. I mean, I do know of a similar story… Especially the part about an unexplained hostility towards someone, born from an unconscious urge… (ED: See chapter 1)

“If this ‘something’ were to disappear, would you stop attacking the dragon newts?”

I came here intending to fight, but if I could solve the underlying reason for dragons going after the dragon newts, then that would be even better. Fortunately, Ancestral God-Dragon here seems pretty willing to talk to me.

“I do not think it will be possible. It used to be an impulse, but now I can no longer distinguish it from mine true feelings. It must be because I have been under its influence for too long.”

The Ancestral God-Dragon shook its head in response to my question. No good, huh…?

“Furthermore, even if I myself were to stop fighting, it would not affect other dragons, who all seemeth to share this urge.”

“Is that so? That’s too bad… Then, I guess we’ll just have to fight.”

If you hate dragon newts from the bottom of your heart, then I can’t even tame you.

“That seemeth to be the case. Oh, and just in case, do not judge me based on mine appearance alone. I am much stronger than any other dragon here.”

“Oh, I know”

“Good. Then, here I go! GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!”

The Ancestral God-Dragon flapped its wings, before letting out a mighty roar spreading a tremendous sense of intimidation, incomparable to anything I’ve encountered before. Just the gust of wind caused by it, was strong enough to topple all the trees in the surrounding area of the Dragon Forest. It seems that, being at level 300, even its roar alone is enough to cause a bunch of damage. Of course, I’m not saying it caused any damage to me personally.

“Hou, in front of me who hath unleashed mine power, thou hast not moved at all? Interesting. At least let me enjoy mineself before thou meets thine end!”

The Ancestral God-Dragon inhaled as it said this, before spewing out a breath attack that

boasted a tremendous level of heat, and an area of effect much wider than that of any dragon I had faced before. Still, Blue flew over it with ease. I mean, it might have been more powerful and had a wider attack cone, but its speed wasn’t much different from those of other dragons.

With us out of the way, the flames engulfed the Dragon Forest behind us, instantly consuming another big chunk of it. It almost looked as if the trees had turned straight to ash, without going through the process of burning first. Wouldn’t it have roughly the same power as Dora’s charged ‘Draconic Magic’ at this point?

Even so, Blue kept moving in the direction, and at the speed I wished her to, without me even having to say anything. I guess Sky Dragons being among the best mounts wasn’t just empty talk after all.

“Oh, thou hast avoided it? Then, how about this next one?”

Another breath attack came, but this time, instead of a cone-shaped one, it was a huge fireball of more than 10 metres in diameter. You would think that this one would be easier to avoid, but as it happened, the fireball changed its course and chased after us. I guess the Ancestral God-Dragon must have used its ‘Ancestral Dragon Arts’ skill to change the breath’s nature, and give it a tracking function, or even manipulated it themself. It was kind of similar to the level 1 ‘Light Magic’ spell, ‘Light Ball’, with how you could manipulate the projectile in flight. Still, its size was many orders of magnitude larger than that….

“‘Fireball’!”

It’s annoying, so let’s just counter it with a spell of my own.

-Doooon!!!-

A rumbling explosion could be heard, but it seemed to have been successfully cancelled out.

“W-what nonsense is this!? Thou hast cancelled out mine breath with a low level magic spell!?”

Oh? Nice template reaction.

“Then, let me return the favour.”

This time, I shot a ‘Fireball’ spell of my own at the Ancestral God-Dragon. It tried to avoid it, but its reaction was slightly delayed, perhaps due to it being shaken up by its breath getting cancelled, letting me score a direct hit on its leg.

“Guh!? What power! For me to have taken damage hath not happened in thousands of years! As expected, thou art interesting!”

“Is that so? Then, you can have some more.”

I fired several fireballs in rapid succession.

“Hmph! If I prepare mineself, something of that level will never hit me!”

The Ancestral God-Dragon avoided all of my attacks. However, did it just not notice? For a being at level 300, and the strongest of all dragons, to have to dodge a human’s ‘Fireball’ spell, isn’t that still a little…?

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It kept releasing breath attacks, changing their characteristics from time to time, but they could all be dealt with by either dodging, or intercepting them with a fireball of my own. Also, whenever it gave them a tracking ability, they seemed to lose some firepower in exchange for it.

“Hmpf, It would be a waste of time to continue like this. I do not like doing this, but I am going to have to change the way I fight.”

Saying that, the Ancestral God-Dragon tried to distance itself from me. I was just about to give chase, when it swung its arm causing a black vortex to appear beside it, and a level 50 Fire Dragon to jump out of it. I see. So this is the ability to create dragons with the ‘Ancestral Dragon Arts’ skill. Still, I never would have thought it would use it to create a distraction.

The Fire Dragon was cut down with a single slash, but it still served its purpose, and the Ancestral God-Dragon, which had now gained a sufficient distance from me, began to shine.

Oh, that’s a familiar-looking light. Is it going to use ‘Transformation’? I mean, I could just hit it with a ‘Fireball’, but attacking someone during a transformation is a major no no. Now, I wonder what it will turn into.

“I have kept thee waiting. In this form, thou wilt not be able to hit me with thine fireballs.”

Just as I had expected, the Ancestral God-Dragon appeared in its human form. She was a little shorter than I was, with straight, shiny black hair, and a strong-willed, beautiful face. Her breast area was also pretty solid.

She wasn’t completely naked, which was kind of unfortunate, as there were black scales covering her chest and crotch area. Also, her arms and legs had scales on them too. …Well, either way is fine, I guess. On the contrary, the rest of her body was bare skin, which kind of made her look like a woman in a black bikini. Still, she had black wings, similar to the ones before her transformation, sticking out of her back, and a black tail coming out of her rump, which sadly ruined her black swimsuit look in my eyes… (ED: Too many naked dragon newt ladies as of late :D)

Also, let it be said that the reason why I didn’t attack her during her transformation was not to be able to see how she’d look in her human form.

“I do not like the idea of taking on a human form, given how it maketh me resemble those half-breeds, but I am an easy target otherwise, so it cannot be helped.”

I agree. Being big is only a drawback if you can’t take advantage of the weight difference.

“Then, here I go!”

The Ancestral God-Dragon said, as she bolted towards me. Oh, she’s moving way faster than before. It’s at a level where Kusakabe’s ‘Acceleration’ doesn’t even compare. …Not that it’s a useful unit of measurement to begin with, given his pathetic stats.

She was nearly 20 metres away, but she closed that distance in an instant, and kicked at me with the same momentum.

-Gooooooon!-

Just the kick from a level 300 character was enough to create a shockwave. Blue moved as I willed her to, and we managed to avoid it, but then she suddenly changed her direction in mid-air and swiped her tail at me, causing another shockwave to happen. It even managed to shake Blue a bit with the resulting wind. I see. So this is the ‘Dragon Martial Arts’, the fighting style exclusive to the Ancestral God-Dragon.

“Nice one!”

I caught her tail with my Soul Blade – Incomplete [Tangerine], which had been left unsheathed all this time. The sound of two hard objects colliding with a ‘clank’ could be heard, but it seemed that neither of them got damaged.

“Not yet!”

She used her momentum to keep turning, and then unleashed a breath attack at point-blank range. Unfortunately for her, I’ve seen Dora do the very same thing from up close in the past, so I was already prepared for it. Or, in other words, “‘Warp’!”

“He disappeared!? Where did he go!?”

I warped to a blind spot just behind the Ancestral God-Dragon. Yeah, I know it’s not fair, but it’s not like I put any restrictions on using Sakura’s original magic spells in this battle. By the way, Blue was also warped with me. It might consume a bit more MP, but I’m glad I’ve asked Sakura to adjust it so that mounts can transfer together.

I silently cut at her from behind. One of the things my late grandfather taught me was that only amateurs make noises when executing a surprise attack.

“Hmm-, over there!”

Turning around suddenly, the Ancestral God-Dragon crossed her scaled forearms to block my blade.

With another hard sound, her scales peeled off a little, but, at the same time, Soul Blade – Incomplete [Tangerine] was also chipped a bit. Ugh, that’s no good. No matter how durable a legendary weapon may be, when your opponent is at level 300, it might not withstand the intensity of the battle.

“Hahahahah! If I can destroy thine sword by sacrificing a couple scales, then that is a small price to pay! Without weapons, humans are nothing to fear!”

The Ancestral God-Dragon boasted loudly. Irritated, I jumped down from Blue and punched her guard with my left arm, which wasn’t holding a sword.

“Guhaaaaaa, I tell ye!!!”

-Dogoooooon!!!-

With a tremendous force, the Ancestral God-Dragon crashed to the ground below, levelling another section of the Dragon Forest on impact. Ah, did I put a bit too much force into it? I used ‘Show Mercy [Take it Easy]’ so I don’t think she’ll die from that punch alone… After being picked up by Blue, the two of us descend towards the ground in pursuit of the Ancestral God-Dragon. (ED: Previously translated as ‘Estimation’ for some reason, but it’s a skill for holding back when attacking someone, in order to keep them barely alive)

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“Uuuuugh…”

The Ancestral God-Dragon groaned, lying on her back in the middle of a large crater. She managed to stand up, albeit wobbling a bit, but her right arm, which took my punch, hung limp and powerless. I think I might have broken a bone or two. Well, she has ‘HP Auto-Recovery’ so she will recover in no time.

Also, isn’t her ‘Complete Resistance’ slacking a bit?

A: Master is causing more damage than it can resist.

Ah, …I guess it can’t be helped if it’s doing its job and it’s still not enough.

“B-bastard. I never would have thought thou wouldst be stronger without a weapon…”

“Oh, I tend to use one out of convenience, but if an opponent is hard to crack like you are, I usually just punch them instead. Plus, it lets me use more power.”

It wouldn’t be entirely correct to say that ‘I’m stronger without a weapon’ either, seeing as using one gives me more reach, and lets me use its special effects, but in cases where I just want to hit someone as hard as I can, then my fist has a much higher attack power. Honestly, with my current status, if I wielded my weapon with all my might, it might just break. But my fist on the other hand is also covered by my status, so it won’t break so easily even if I punch with all my might.

“Thine strange way of fighting maketh thou a rather troublesome opponent…”

Saying so, the Ancestral God-Dragon floated up and faced me again.

“I have never been so wounded in mine entire life. But if it is just this extent of wounds, they seem to hath already recovered. Mine own speed of recovery is ridiculous. It seems that thou art still a little short of defeating me.”

She slowly raised her right arm before repeatedly opening and closing her hand. It seems like it has already healed, which may be why she looks so relaxed.

“Then, next time, I’ll put a bit more force into it.”

“Eh?”

That last blow was not dealt with an intention to kill. However, it seems that the Ancestral God-Dragon mistook it for my full power. Still, I couldn’t be bothered to explain, so instead I approached her once more at high speed, and delivered another, more powerful blow (stomach punch).

“Here goes!”

A direct hit to her stomach.

“Gubooooooooooooo!!!!!!!”

She was blown away with yet another weird scream. Why ‘gubo’ though? …Oh, looks like she’s not dead yet. …Ah, I see. She has ‘Dragon Body’, so she won’t die from an instant kill attack, right?

The Ancestral God-Dragon crashed to the ground knocking down a large number of trees on her way. Now then, let’s give her a follow-up attack to finish her off, …is what I was thinking, when I sensed a large release of magic power. Before my eyes, a huge ball of fire appeared, right above the area where the Ancestral God-Dragon crashed. Could this be yet another form of her ‘Dragon Breath’? At a quick glance, it must be at least 50 metres in diameter, right? And it’s still growing.

“It’s Huge…”

Blue muttered while flying towards the fireball, following my will. Looks like despite being pretty freaked out, she will still follow my orders to a fault.

Once the Ancestral God-Dragon came into view, it turned out it really was another one of her breath attacks. However, while I still called it that, this time around the fireball didn’t come out of her mouth. Instead, she held up both of her hands, as if holding up the huge fireball floating above her. How do I say this, it reminded me of that one scene where a character was gathering energy from all over the world. (ED: You probably all know this one, but it’s a Dragon Ball reference)

“I will admit it. Thou art far stronger than me”

The Ancestral God-Dragon said once she saw me.

Meanwhile, the fireball kept getting bigger and bigger.

“If our battle continues like this, I will be helplessly killed, but my pride will not allow for such an end. At least let me give it mine all for this last attack. …Though, it may be a tad cowardly of me.”

The Ancestral God-Dragon gave a disturbing preamble.

At this point, the fireball was already over 70 metres in size.

“This fireball is mine most powerful attack. I will now throw it at the half-breeds’ village. If thou avoidest it, it will penetrate the barrier and kill everyone inside. But, if thou dost thine best, thou mayest be able to stop it. So, what choice wilt thou make? …Ah, if thou killst me before I release it, the fireball will explode on the spot, so thou mayest also aim for that.”

I am now in a straight line between the Ancestral God-Dragon and the hole in the barrier, so if she throws the fireball at me like this, it will either hit me, or the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area behind me.

Of course, I can easily avoid it, riding on Blue, but if I do that, it will likely destroy most of the Hidden Area. In other words, the Ancestral God-Dragon’s plan is to make me choose between my own life, and those of the dragon newts behind me.

The fireball grew to a point where it was now 100 metres across.

“No matter what thou choosest, I will die. Even so, it will still be quite a splendid revenge, wouldst thou not say? …The fireball hath grown big enough. Now, makest thine choice!”

Saying that, she swung her arms down and threw the huge fireball. It flew at a tremendous speed, but I still dodged it and went straight for the Ancestral God-Dragon.

“Haa!!!”

-Dosu!!!-

“Gufuu-…!”

I stabbed her in the stomach with Soul Blade – Incomplete [Tangerine]. Still, she took my attack without showing any signs of resistance, causing a bunch of blood to spew out of her mouth. The part of her abdomen without scales didn’t have as high of a defence, so I managed to pierce through it without damaging my sword any further. Looks like the scales were the sole reason why it chipped in the first place. …You should have covered your entire body with them then! No, even if she did, they would still get torn off by that belly punch earlier…

“As I thought… thou hast abandoned the half-breeds’ village… I will die here, but at least I will have achieved mine goal… Huh-!?”

With a sword pierced through her belly, the Ancestral God-Dragon who was looking forward to witnessing the end of the Dragon Newts Hidden Area, suddenly froze. Well, I guess it was only expected once she saw her final attack, unleashed with every last ounce of her power, disappear mid-air as if nothing had ever happened. Oh, I probably don’t have to explain this one, but it was Sera who took care of it. It would seem that her ‘Hostile Magic Immunity’ can instantly erase even the full powered breath attack of the Ancestral God-Dragon.

Well, if it had stayed a one-on-one fight, I wouldn’t have asked them for help either, but once she decided to involve the people of the Hidden Area, all bets were off.

“Impossible… Mine strongest attack… Guh-…!”

Just like that, the Ancestral God-Dragon breathed her last breath. I collected her body into the Inventory. Maybe I’ll give it to Tamo-san later.

And with this, we can safely say that the defence of the Dragon Newts Hidden Area is now complete.

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> Give and Take [Power of Life and Death] has reached level 8.
> A new ability has been unlocked.

<Give and Take [Power of Life and Death] LV8>
By absorbing corpses and souls, the user gains access to skills exclusive to race, etc.

> Avatar [Parallel Mind] has reached level 4.
> A new ability has been unlocked.

<Avatar [Parallel Mind] LV4>
Absorbed corpses and souls can be reconstructed into additional personas.

> Avatar [Parallel Mind] has reached level 5.
> A new ability has been unlocked.

<Avatar [Parallel Mind] LV5>
Able to manifest possessed personas by giving them temporary bodies.

Looks like my special powers grew by quite a lot this time. And what’s even more unusual, ‘Avatar [Parallel Mind]’ advanced by two levels in one go. Then, let’s check the details…

As I was thinking this, Soul Blade – Incomplete [Tangerine] in my right hand began to shine. It continued like this for a while, and once the light subsided, what appeared was a sword with its entire blade dyed black. Some of the details in its finish have changed as well, and it now had a presence incomparable to before.

…What in the world just happened?

A: Because one of the final trials was cleared by defeating the Ancestral God-Dragon, the ranks of existence of the person who cleared it, and their equipment were raised. Simply put, the person who defeats the Ancestral God-Dragon and their weapon will be enhanced.

Is that what it meant by the “final trial” in the notes section on the Ancestral God-Dragon? Wait, the person who cleared it… that would be me, right?

> Acquired the title of ‘Transcendent’.
> Acquired the skill <Transcendence LV10>.

 <Transcendence>
Increases the amounts of experience gained and skill points acquired. At level 10, the amounts gained are doubled.

Ah, some kind of a title and a titled skill (arbitrarily named after the fact that you get a title with a similar name at the time when you obtain it) came out. So this is the reward for defeating the Ancestral God-Dragon, huh?

Also, I would like a detailed explanation about ‘final trials’ and ‘Transcendent’.

A: ‘Transcendent’ is a title given to those who have reached a realm that is not supposed to be reached. ‘Final trials’ exist to confirm this, and the Ancestral God-Dragon, which is not an enemy mankind could ever hope to defeat, was one of them. There seem to be several others, but the details are unknown.

Well, I certainly don’t think an ordinary human could ever defeat the Ancestral God-Dragon. Or more like, if they could, it would be only natural for them to be called ‘Transcendent’.

As for the ‘Transcendence’ skill, I can only smile wryly at it. The ‘experience boost’ part is nice. Although it’s more efficient to take status from the enemies than to level up yourself, I still do gain levels from time to time, so that part’s not in vain. It’s the ‘skill points’ part that I have a problem with. One of the drawbacks of my special powers is ‘Skill points gain disabled’. …In other words, no matter how hard I try, I can’t gain skill points on my own in this world. And yes, zero is still zero, no matter what it’s multiplied by.

Who would have thought I would get a dead skill after all this? (ED: As in, of no use to him) No, I mean, I understand the logic behind it. I can imagine how hard it must be for a being strong enough to defeat the Ancestral God-Dragon to keep gaining experience and learn new skills… Thinking about it, it actually makes sense for ‘Transcendence’ to be a way to lead those who have transcended the limits of humanity to even greater heights. What’s worse, the skill only works when held by someone with the title of ‘Transcendent’, so it’s not even possible to give it to Maria in order to boost her skill points acquisition rate. On a side note, it’s not the first time I’ve seen a skill with such a prerequisite. The ‘Dungeon Rule’ skill also needs to be held by a person with a ‘Dungeon Master’ title in order to work.

Next time there’s a final trial, let’s have Maria be the one to clear it. Otherwise, it’s just a waste of a good skill…

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Now that we’ve confirmed the title and the titled skill, it’s time for the enhanced weapon. Let’s do a little status check.

Heroic Soul Blade – Unfinished [Tangerine]
Class: Sword
Rarity: Godly [Mythical]
Notes: Indestructible. Haki. Increased damage against spirits, dragons, as well as beast-, bird-, insect-, aquatic-, metallic-, and hell-based monsters. All stats greatly improved. Magic Absorption. Fixed owner.
(ED: They’ve added another kanji at the beginning of its name, so the ‘tangerine’ joke still stands. Also, I’ll take this chance to change ‘incomplete’ to ‘unfinished’. Not sure about this ‘hell-based’ part though. This kanji doesn’t appear anywhere else in the novel)

First of all, its name has changed. However, the only thing that’s different is the extra word at the beginning, and it’s still ‘Unfinished’. The rarity has gone up from Legendary all the way to Godly [Mythical], skipping over the Phantasmal [Fantasy] class. It’s another double increase. And its special effects have also become stupidly powerful. It’s certainly worthy of being called a ‘godly’ weapon.

‘Indestructible’ means it will never break. In this battle, there were times when the opponent was too hard to cut, and the weapon was chipped, so this is perfect. ‘Haki’ means that the weapon itself is intimidating. Just by being there, it gives off tremendous pressure. ‘Magic Absorption’ allows it to absorb magic. Before, it was ‘Can cut magic’, so with that, it could be said that all anti-magic combat has just become much easier. Perhaps it would now be possible to deal that final attack from the Ancestral God-Dragon. And finally, there’s ‘Fixed owner’. This one means that no one but me can use this sword. They can still swing it, but other than ‘Indestructible’, they won’t be able to use any of its special effects. Plus, the sharpness of the blade itself will also decrease. (ED: ‘Haki’ directly translates as ‘supremacy’ + ‘spirit’, so maybe ‘intimidation aura’ would work, but I’ve already seen it in some other works, so I’ll just leave it as is)

Checking out my new weapon, Heroic Soul Blade – Unfinished, you could instantly tell it became considerably more powerful. It was already a powerful Legendary-grade weapon, but now it feels like it became even more fine-tuned. Honestly, if I had it in my fight with the Ancestral God-Dragon, I wouldn’t have to go on the defence so much.

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And now, for the part that you’ve all been waiting for, let’s check the new abilities of my special powers.

<Give and Take [Power of Life and Death] LV8>
By absorbing corpses and souls, the user gains access to skills exclusive to race, etc.

<Avatar [Parallel Mind] LV4>
Absorbed corpses and souls can be reconstructed into additional personas.

<Avatar [Parallel Mind] LV5>
Able to manifest possessed personas by giving them temporary bodies.

Based on this description, it seems that ‘Give and Take [Power of Life and Death]’ now allows for absorption of corpses and souls (usually come together with the corpses), rather than just the taking of their skills and status. And it seems that I’ll be able to use the exclusive skills of the ones I absorb. For example, if I absorb the corpse (and soul) of the Ancestral God-Dragon, I’ll be able to use its exclusive skills, like the ‘Dragon Martial Arts’ and ‘Complete Resistance’. Simply put, it is a special power that makes me a Tamo-san! …I said too much. Anyway, from now on, whenever I defeat an enemy, I’ll have to choose whether I absorb it, or Tamo-san will.

Since ‘Avatar [Parallel Mind]’ LV4 and LV5 are similar, let’s talk about them together. They seem like they’re closely related to ‘Give and Take [Power of Life and Death] LV8’. At LV4, the target absorbed by ‘Give and Take’ can be reconstructed into a pseudo-personality, so, in other words, an existence similar to Alta. And then, at LV5, said pseudo-personality can be given a temporary body.

…Yeah, it’s pretty hard to wrap your head around.

A: Would you like a detailed explanation?

No, I think I’ll just try using it once and see for myself. Can I absorb the Ancestral God-Dragon’s corpse as an example?

A: No problem. After absorption, just by Master wishing for it, the pseudo-personality will be automatically reconstructed.

Then, I immediately took the corpse of the Ancestral God-Dragon out of ‘Inventory’…

“Master, are you going to do something with it, seeing as you took it out again? Don’t you have to go back to everyone?”

“Yeah, just wait a moment. I want to try something.”

“Very well. Let me know when you want to go back.”

“Yep”.

Thanks to the ‘accelerated thinking’ effect of ‘Avatar [Parallel Mind]’ only a couple of seconds have passed since I stored the Ancestral God-Dragon’s corpse, so Blue became understandably confused once I almost instantly took it out again. Now, the first thing to do is to absorb the corpse of the Ancestral God-Dragon. …It went in rather smoothly. The feeling kind of reminds me of eating udon noodles.

I tried adding ‘Complete Resistance LV-’ to my status as a test. Oh, even though I’m not an Ancestral God-Dragon, I can now activate the skill. …Wait, I can basically ignore racial restrictions now, can’t I? Now, if I only absorb a slime, I’ll be able to use the ‘Absorb’ and ‘Division’ skill combo that I so longed for-.

A: Master won’t be able to use ‘Division’. It requires having a magic stone in one’s body, on top of the racial restrictions.

…Oh. …That’s a shame.

Anyhow, let’s get back to checking out ‘Avatar [Parallel Mind] LV4’. I will now wish for the reconstruction of the Ancestral God-Dragon as a new pseudo-personality .

> The Ancestral God-Dragon has been reconstructed as a new pseudo-personality.

Ancestral God-Dragon: Hmm? What is this place? Mine body doth not move? No, I… do not have a body? What is going on!?

A: Forcefully installing basic information.

Ancestral God-Dragon: Agagagagagagaga… I see. I understand the situation now.

She seems to have understood in no time at all. Force install, how terrifying. No, the terrifying one is Alta… Also, it instantly became clear that the hierarchy among the pseudo-personalities is Alta > Ancestral God-Dragon.

Ancestral God-Dragon: However, is this okay? I am an enemy of the dragon newts. Strangely enough, my hostility towards them hath disappeared, but it doth not change the fact that I was originally their enemy, right? Besides, I was once thine enemy as well…

As expected, she must have been mentally manipulated when it comes to the dragon newts. And by becoming a pseudo-personality, it would seem she was able to escape its influence.

A: If it’s not needed, Master can just erase a pseudo-personality at any time.

Ancestral God-Dragon: Wha-!? T-thou canst do that!? P-please do not do that! I do not want to die again and again!

The Ancestral God-Dragon pleaded desperately. Alta-san is really merciless.

Well, in the case of the Ancestral God-Dragon, she did not act of her own free will, she didn’t actually harm anyone, and she’s now technically treated as one of my subordinates, so I guess she meets the requirements for my forgiveness. Let’s have her live as a pseudo-personality from now on.

Next, let’s try ‘Avatar [Parallel Mind] LV5’. It’s called a temporary body, but how should I set it up?

A: Please imagine its original body. Since Master has absorbed its corpse, it will be reconstructed with it as a reference.

Following Alta’s instructions, I imagine the body shape of the Ancestral Dragon God. Dragon form? Nah, It’s got to be the beautiful girl form, right? With a sensation as if something was leaving my body, the Ancestral God-Dragon (beautiful girl version) came out smoothly. It does feel like udon after all. My MP went down, so it looks like it used some of my magic power to make it manifest.

“Ooh, I have mine old body again!”

“S-something came out!?”

The Ancestral God-Dragon exclaimed in a happy voice, looking over her own body while floating in the air, and surprising Blue while she was at it.

“I used my ability to revive her as a subordinate. She’s no longer an enemy, so don’t worry.”

“…Master, isn’t that a bit too much?”

“…I get that a lot”

By the way, it seems like this pseudo-body has a number of features and limitations. Firstly, this body has no status of its own. I can share up to half of my own status with it, but the further away it is from me, the lower its actual status becomes. However, this does not apply to skills, as I can freely share all of my skills with it. In other words, if I have ‘Complete Resistance LV-’, the Ancestral God-Dragon can also use it (with my permission).

What’s more, even if this temporary body dies, the pseudo-personality is not lost. I’m still the main body, so it’s more like a remotely controlled drone that can be operated wirelessly. Instead, there’s a cooldown period before it can manifest again, based on the amount of strength I gave it, so…

All in all, it’s kind of like a magician’s familiar, though, unlike with regular familiars, I can only gain new ones by killing them first. It does sound pretty evil when I put it like that, but honestly speaking, it’s not that different from what I’ve been doing until now, so it might be a bit late for that…

“Hmm, It is almost the same as mine original body… Hmm, am I unable to change into mine dragon form?”

The Ancestral God-Dragon kept muttering while checking various things with her body.

“Oh, that’s due to my personal preference. The ‘dragon pet’ and ‘dragon mount’ positions are already filled by Dora and Blue, but there is still room for an extravagant, naked, beautiful female familiar…”

“What is with that ridiculous position…?”

The Ancestral God-Dragon’s body is partially covered with scales, but since her scales are also a part of her body, you could technically say she’s always naked. Still, you can’t actually see anything, so it’s more like she’s ‘legally nude’ in that sense.

“Well, that is fine. Whatever the position mayeth be, if it meaneth I can live again, then by all means… One more thing though. If thou art going to call me a familiar, can thou givest me a name as well?”

“Don’t you have a name or something like it already?”

I asked back the Ancestral God-Dragon. This time it’s not taming, so I would like to use something that is already available if possible…

“I do not. There is no such culture among dragons to begin with. Well, except for those who hath been tamed, but that doth not happen often.”

“I see… Then, I’m going to name you ‘Elle’. From the word ‘Elder’.” (ED: ‘Ancestral’ in this translation)

Yep, it seems appropriate.

“That is good. Mine name is now ‘Elle’. I would also like to ask what I should call thee. I can’t keep calling thee ‘thee’ forever, can I?”

“I guess so. You can match Alta and call me ‘Master’, like a familiar would.”

“I understand. I will be counting on thee from now on, Master.”

Why is it in hiragana though? (ED: No joke here. She calls him ますたー ‘masuta-’ in hiragana, while Alta uses katakana, which is usually used to write down loanwords like ‘master’)

*************************************************************************************************************

Status:

Shindou Jin
LV159
Skills:
Martial Arts:
<Dragon Martial Arts LV10 new>
Magic:
<Attribute-less Magic LV10 up> <Parallel Casting LV10 new> <Dragon Breath LV10> <Ancestral Dragon Arts LV10>
Body:
<Flash Step LV10 up> <Dragon Body LV10 new> <Complete Resistance LV- new>
Other:
<Transcendence LV10 new>
Special Powers:
<Give and Take [Power of Life and Death] LV8 up> <Avatar [Parallel Mind] LV5 up>
Title: Transcendent (new)
Equipment: Heroic Soul Blade – Unfinished [Tangerine], Nosferatu [Wings of the Immortal]

Kinoshita Sakura
LV143
Skills:
<Fire Magic LV10 up> <Water Magic LV10 up> <Wind Magic LV10 up> <Earth Magic LV10 up> <Lightning Magic LV10 up> <Ice Magic LV10 up> <Dark Magic LV10 up> <Recovery Magic LV10 up> <No Chant LV10 up> <Parallel Casting LV10 new>
(ED: We know she has ‘Light Magic’. She even used it in the dungeon’s boss fight. The author must have forgotten)

Dora
LV144
Skill:
<Draconic Magic LV7 up> <Dragon Strike LV10 up> <Dragon Killer LV10 up> <Dragon Scales LV10 up>

Mio
LV142
Skills:
<Thrown Weapon Mastery LV10 up>

Maria
LV155
Skills:
<Flying Slash LV10 new> <Flash Step LV10 up> <HP Auto-Recovery LV10 up>

Sera
LV141
Skills:
<Spear Mastery LV10 up> <Flying Slash LV10 new> <HP Auto-Recovery LV10 up>

*************************************************************************************************************

Author’s note: Part 5 will end next Sunday.

ED: The fireball was originally 1km in diameter, but the author later adjusted it down to 100 metres to put its power in line with other ‘final trials’. Still, they forgot to go back and update this chapter, but I decided to use the decreased amounts nonetheless.