episode_0063

Why attack the cracks?

In the early days of the crack, roughly a year ago, when goblins appeared in large numbers and created chaos, there was no need to ask such questions.

That day, goblins invaded through the crack. So, if cracks later appeared throughout the city, it was natural that they should be closed before anything pops out. Even if obsessively. I don’t know why, but I was reluctant to understand the situation, so I skipped over it, but Yumina said that the social atmosphere was obsessive.

But there’s no need for that anymore. It was reasonable to think so at the time, but not anymore.

That’s because there’s nothing wrong with leaving the cracks alone. If the cracks were left unattended, they would remain unattended. Nothing pops out or goes crazy or anything like that, and the internal mobs don’t get stronger or anything like that. If I were to be honest, it has become a hot place to take photos for SNS, but it is not a very meaningful change.

If there was truly a threatening change, someone among the underage magical girls who call themselves crack administrators but are actually gun-toting minors or the adults who call themselves explorers but are actually fanatics would have made an accident a long time ago. I feel sorry for Do Yoo-geon for calling him a Hantang fanatic, but that’s okay anyway.

There would have been a proper management plan instead of the absurd situation like now where an underage magical girl is managing the cracks. Yumina’s main complaint is that there are at least thousands of them across the country, and if we don’t attack them, they will continue to increase, so it costs a lot of taxes to manage them, but there is no problem if we leave them alone, so we decide to do it someday and keep putting it off. Subtly or not, it seems like someone in their right mind would wear a gun despite being criticized, but they didn’t achieve much success. Are interested parties working behind the scenes? I don’t know because I don’t watch the news.

Those people are those people, and why is Do Yoo-geon targeting the cracks?

Good luck? I started my career as an explorer quickly from the beginning, but since I was a student, was it because I was behind others in leveling up and getting items? no way. I should be angry, but I’m not the type of person to be swayed by such emotions. Still, I should have comforted you. Although I’ve lost the timing to do it now.

Thrilling? It seems like I’m enjoying the thrill, but I feel like I’m enjoying it because there’s something to enjoy along the way, rather than that being the goal. Yes… … , maybe. If you’re that age, you might be like that. It’s not a big problem. It’s not good if you overdo it, but since I’m here next to you, it’ll be okay. It’s a bit unsettling, but excessive interference is also not a good thing. Whether interference is bad or not, there is no answer because persuasion does not work. You can’t threaten this. Of course it is possible, but if you do that, it seems like there will be severe repercussions in many ways. Do Yu-geon’s side or this side or both. Because it is easy to be charmed by the convenient method. hmm. I’m worried about this person, but I’m disappointed that they don’t actually follow suit. Why are you doing this when you usually listen well?

I glared at Do Yu-geon for a moment as he walked next to me.

“what’s the matter?”

“Nothing.”

As I looked away, the guy lowered his head and watched me silently.

“Isn’t it nothing?”

“It’s nothing.”

I answered roughly and continued thinking.

Is it a feeling of deprivation? It’s dangerous, so if you put Marfina on it in advance, it shows a reluctant appearance. That’s it for now. At first, I refused outright. Are you feeling pressured because it’s expensive? I think it’s even more so because the item drop probability is terrible. Items often appear when you clear cracks, but so far I’ve only seen F-grade items and occasionally E-grade ones. Class D might also come up, but it has never come up. I don’t know the odds, but there are a lot of experience stories on the Internet, so it could be bad luck.

Of course, there are useful things in the dropped F- or E-grade items. There are very few items picked up through free gachas and they are F grade, but they do exist. Of course, it cannot be compared to the body temperature maintenance ring that mom uses or the Marpiña level, but it is better than just a bare body. Distribution of items was a thorny problem, so we shared them and piled them up in the preparation room.

Do Yu-geon does not use that. I don’t know why I don’t use it. I think the reason he doesn’t hold up a shield with his free hand while holding a sword is because he just doesn’t like it. Is that why? There may be no reason for that. But isn’t there a more complex reason? For example, this is the reason why we look at the items we have accumulated from afar, even though we will not use them. Umm. I’m not sure.

Well, in the end, the problem is the system that made people feel burdened, openly showed off their high prices, and made them say they were C-level. What happened to the system is not working properly. We need to quickly mass-produce items that are separate from the system and wear them without anyone knowing.

There was some progress in the Marfina mass production plan, but there was no progress. Although it is grandly called research, it is actually just playing house. That’s because all I had to do was look at the item’s magic circle and think, “Aha, this is this kind of function.”

It is similar to looking at a needle and feeling that it looks sharp and hard. Just as we use data from previously experienced needles, sharp toothpicks, or hard iron plates to determine whether a needle will be sharp and hard, we can use the magic circles we have seen and tested so far as data to feel a sense of a new magic circle.

Since that alone is not fundamental, it is expected that the unconscious realm would have felt the magic operation of the magic circle and analyzed the patterns and results to create more in-depth data. hmm… … . Oh, okay, let’s stop with these epistemological thoughts. I have no knowledge of philosophy and aesthetics.

To put it simply, while playing with magic circles, I had already reached the realm of intuition. It is a process that is embarrassing to talk about.

Thanks to intuition, F-class items have developed, but it is questionable whether this should be considered progress. The reason for this was not because I felt embarrassed when I wrote down the research process in my grimoire/research notebook as “observation and reflection for a long time,” but because I was worried whether such an unsystematic method would work for higher-grade items.

It is not for nothing that science created a scientific methodology to avoid relying simply on intuition. This is because what is needed to understand unknown territory is a reliable tool to counter the prejudice created by knowledge and experience, not the arrogance of relying on intuition. Well, science also has a methodology based on intuition, but this is a more systematic methodology, so it cannot be compared.

There are achievements, but the future is bleak, so it feels like there is progress but no progress.

My eyes unconsciously went to the marpiña I had given him, and suddenly my eyes met with Do Yoo-geon. My body trembled in embarrassment. No, why are you still looking at me?

“What you looking at.”

“Because it’s worth seeing.”

“ah……?”

Yes… … Well, this one did look good in many ways. okay… … . It’s definitely worth seeing. I averted my gaze, feeling embarrassed as if my true intentions were discovered. It’s crazy to look at someone while they are thinking deeply.

“That’s true. I think I’ve become more adept at flattery.”

“There’s no need to be embarrassed to tell the truth.”

“That’s right. You’ve grown. I’ll praise you. You’re smart.”

I clapped my hands. Do Yu-geon giggled under his breath. I know compliments are fun, but why are you laughing under your breath? When I looked at him with a questioning look, he quickly stopped laughing. This is a somewhat uncomfortable result. I’m feeling better, so I’ll just move on.

Laplace, who was walking ahead, turned his head and made a noise. Is it a fight? When will he die?

Yumina had a lot of work to do as Laplace’s agent, so Laplace provided crack guidance on Yumina’s behalf. For some reason, it seems like Yumina should guide him and do the work that Laplace passed on to others, but Yumina often does the digging, so let’s just skip it. As I was replacing him, I guess he thought it would be too irresponsible to cut it off midway and hand it over to someone else.

“This is it. I said it before, but I’ll say it again. It’s a swamp when you go in, so be careful not to fall in. There are lizards living there, so if you swish, you’ll die. If you swish, the giant lizard will die.”

Is it swish poppang?

Why live?

[Enter.]

A jungle submerged in pale water unfolded. The leaves that almost covered the sky created a light shadow. I feel bad because my shoes are soaked in water.

[Crack Quest – C Grade]

Carry out your goals.

It’s a C-level crack, so this is my first time here. I’m dying of anxiety. Originally, the letter C was not meant to indicate a high level, but because of those items, the standard of sense became strange. Since I had already had a fight with Do Yu-geon, I stopped asking him to go back.

In a moment, I looked around extensively. There doesn’t seem to be any immediate threat. It rose into the air. When I turned my shoes over, water and mud fell out. The shoes are miserable. When I looked at my feet, I noticed the same thing with my socks. Foreign substances and moisture were filtered out using magic power. It’s not as fluffy as it is, but it’s fine. I really like magic.

“I don’t like the environment in many ways.”

“That’s right. It’s uncomfortable to move.”

Do Yu-geon walked a few steps and frowned. I guess it’s bothersome because my feet are so submerged. However, contrary to what he said, he moved easily. As his level increases, his physical abilities are clearly not that of a human.

I felt a lizardman approaching. Because it was a jungle, it seemed like he was going to shoot a poisonous needle, but what he was holding in his hand was a crossbow.

A crossbow was fired from a distance hidden by the jungle. As if the law of the wind and the forest had been incorporated into the small crossbow arrow, the countless leaves and plant stems that had been blocking it moved away on their own. The arrow arrived in front of my eyes without any resistance or sound.

I easily grabbed it with my magic power. At the same time, the sword hit the arrow. The arrow tried to bounce off the impact, but it was caught by magic and broke.

“How did you know about it?”

When I asked in surprise, Do Yu-geon was rather embarrassed.

“Huh? Can you feel it?”

“Magic power?”

“Not that. By presence of presence or intuition? Anyway, I just felt it, so I hit it.”

I don’t know what that unscientific feeling is. Magic is still roughly scientific if you acknowledge the existence of magical power and accept the premise that it can be controlled with will. If you look at him slicing through rocks with his bare sword, you can tell he’s using superpowers all by himself.

The Lizardman ran away. I don’t know if they are trying to use the environment to engage in guerrilla warfare or to call in their comrades, but guerrilla warfare is probably the goal. If the basic strategy was to call your colleagues, you would have gathered them first before shooting the crossbow.

I floated the arrow in front of me and observed it. The arrowhead area is moist and seems to be a slightly different color.

“It’s very unlikely that the arrowhead just happened to be moist and a different color for no reason, right? At least it’s less likely than the possibility that it was poisoned.”

Do Yu-geon looked at the arrow together and nodded in agreement.

It’s poison. What a pain in the ass. Can healing magic be detoxified? The healing magic they used was a copy of the system’s healing magic, so the effect itself was reliable.

But I’ve never deciphered it. I was thinking about giving it a try, but I think the category of poison is a bit vague. It was a problem because I had no expertise in toxicology. If it’s poison, it’s common in modern times. Even the shampoo in the bathroom is poison, but drinking something like shampoo and using healing magic is a bit… … . But these aren’t crazy people who catch passing wild animals, like dogs and cats, and test them on animals.

In the first place, if the system uses treatment magic and detoxification magic separately, it would be using treatment magic without detoxification. He’s a wizard who uses healing magic without detoxification when he’s addicted to poison. That’s amazing.

But I think it will have the effect of extending life. Speaking of poisons, they ultimately cause death by damaging somewhere in the body, so even if poison cannot be detoxified, it is possible to recover the damaged body. It would be almost impossible if it even affected the brain.

No. It’s fantasy here. Toxicology? Modern science? That’s not a problem. It’s roughly a poison that destroys the soul. It feels like you could die while your body is fine.

The Lizardman who had run away earlier approached from the other side. This time, it is a distance and location that cannot be seen with the naked eye. It just worked out well.

I lifted the poisoned arrowhead from the broken arrow separately using magic. He controlled it and flew it towards the Lizardman. The arrow pierced the bushes, eerily dodging the trees and passing through the leaves. The arm of the Lizardman who was aiming the crossbow was hit by an arrow.

The reaction was immediate. The Lizardman screamed, and golden experience powder exploded from the arm hit by the arrow, and the arm fell off and turned into experience points. That’s cruel.

But the results are more unusual than that.

“You’re here for a moment.”

It flew towards the Lizardman. The visible Lizardmen were equipped with camouflage. Because it was an effective camouflage color, it would have been difficult to find it if the Lizardmen weren’t screaming or if they couldn’t sense magical power.

Gold dust was scattered from the cross section of the severed arm. It’s an ordinary situation. Unless this happened because of poison. What kind of poison cuts off the arm as soon as it touches it? As expected, this is a fantasy poison. The effect is immediate and the phenomenon is bizarre.

The Lizardman’s scream interrupted my thoughts. The pain seems serious.

I held his arm for a moment and watched him roll around. But why doesn’t he die?

If it’s this kind of ridiculous, fantasy-like poison, you may not die as soon as you hit it, but you should die after some time has passed. Or neutralized. Ah, it’s neutralized. There’s an enemy right in front of me, but I’m just rolling around.

But I feel somewhat uneasy about the feeling of inadequacy. It’s fantasy here. These days, I am refraining from approaching fantasy too much in a cosmic horror way, but if the effect is only this good, I can’t help but feel strangely impressed. For some reason, it feels like it has a poison that can kill in one hit, but it feels like it hurts.

For a moment, I replaced the Lizardmen as humans and thought about the situation. 1 person injured. The screaming continues and may continue until the person’s throat goes out. This is a jungle and the surrounding area is full of enemies.

So is this poison a means of attracting lizardmen? That purpose may exist to some extent, but I don’t think it will be the main purpose.

First of all, when this Lizardman failed his first attack and came back, he did not bring another Lizardman. If numerical superiority is important, they should have realized that there is little chance of causing human screams when the poison attack failed and looked for other means. Bring in the Lizardmen or launch a new attack.

If the lizardmen are hostile to each other and humans are also hostile, it is understandable that they do not necessarily bring other lizardmen, but when I look at them with magical power and see that their armed attire is similar, such a case is unlikely.

The other thing is that this lizard man didn’t know how to make rational judgments, so he threw away these thoughts and did what he wanted, but such cases are difficult to evaluate through rational judgment, so let’s skip them for now.

At first glance, I guess I should consider the scream as an additional effect. So, if you’re not going to hit a fatal wound with a poisoned arrow, the goal is to make someone injured.

no. There may be cultural differences as well. Throwing a poison arrow is a friendly expression in lizardman culture, so it’s a bit of a charm. That’s cute cute. Aren’t you being too kind to humans? I’ll be so in love with it.

My thoughts wander to strange places.

It’s because I’m trying to get my head around it for the first time in a while and I don’t want to do it. Who is this for? It’s because of Do Yoo-geon. Whenever you think you’re having a hard time, the cause is always Do Yu-geon. Ugh, but I don’t want to break off the relationship.

I felt a wide range of magical power and found that Do Yu-geon was waiting there as he had told me to stay here for a while. I’m sorry for thinking about something like this again.

I apologized in my mind for a moment and looked around to refocus. swamp. jungle. My subconscious reviewed all my judgments and my intuition flashed through me. There isn’t enough information to be sure, but I have a rough idea. It took me a long time to figure out something simple while thinking about it one by one.

Honestly, I think intuition is more accurate in this life. I’m smarter than I was in my previous life, so I think I’ll get roughly the answer if I just take a picture. Review after judgment is more efficient than judgment after review. Is it an improvement in efficiency tailored to brain performance? Is this the difference between a genius and a genius? what. Still, I was pretty smart in my past life. So is this the difference between a gifted person and a genius? That is the correct expression.

The Lizardman continued to scream. I know, so I wish you would stop yelling. He used healing magic. As the poison got better, the experience points flying from the cross section stopped. At this point, it would be safe to assume that healing magic includes detoxification, but there are still many other possibilities.

The Lizardman instantly drew his sword and rushed at him. When he was subdued with magical power, his eyes glowed menacingly and his teeth showed. Be scared. I’m sure this isn’t some kind of magical eye or eye magic. I avoided eye contact for a moment, but it didn’t seem like I was avoiding it properly, so I got worried. But seeing as there was no problem, I guess that wasn’t the case. Well, snakes should have that kind of thing.

The Lizardmen were lifted up with magical power and moved around the swamp. At some point, resistance became stronger. Here it is. When the magic power was released, the Lizardman fell into the swamp and his entire body was submerged in an instant. It sank deeper and deeper, crossing several meters. After passing tens of meters and continuing to sink, I stopped observing.

A poisonous arrow flies at you without a sound, and your colleague becomes crippled and screams, and you have to decide what to do with him, but in the meantime, safely crossing the swamp where you will die if you fall in it is basic. Even though it is a C-class crack, you expect too much from people.

As if they had heard the screams, lizardmen were coming from afar. When I was checking on Do Yoo-geon earlier, I did it on my own, but it would still be better to hurry back.