「Gururu~」


  Set gave a cry when Rei took out a magic stone from the Misty Ring……not really, it was when he took out the meat of the high ranking Orc species.

  After defeating the Orcs, their corpses had been immediately stored into the Misty Ring. Set had been looking at the meat while Elk had been helping with stripping materials and magic stones. Incidentally, Elk had cut down the meat to a nice size.

  ……Of course, because they were busy with various things, Set didn’t have an opportunity to eat the meat.

  Though Orcs were tentatively classified as demi humans, it didn’t really matter in this world……no, in fact, because the higher ranking species of the D rank Orcs contained a lot more magic power than lower rank monsters on the market, it was a delicious dish. Rei was told that by Elk as well as a butcher in city.

  「Here!」


  It had been two days since they returned to the city from the Orc settlement. The food that Set had received at the inn and from adventurers and residents wasn’t enough. Set caught the thrown Orc meat into his mouth skillfully and swallowed it.

  (As for absorbing magic stones, I’ll wait until Set finishes first.)

  Watching Set eat the Orc meat with great gusto, even though he had eaten lunch at the Dusk Wheat, his stomach’s hunger prevailed, cutting a branch from a tree, he stabbed some Orc meat on and stuck it into the ground.

  Collecting dead wood from trees that fallen nearby, he used magic to start a fire and spit roasted the Orc skewers. He sprinkled some salt he had taken out from the Misty Ring onto the surface before bringing it to his mouth.

  「It’s certainly delicious.」


  Orcs were D rank or higher and the meat contained magic power besidehaving rich taste. Because of that, he was able to fully enjoy the taste of the meat with just a simple salt seasoning.

  「Guru~……」


  Until then, Set had been hungrily eating raw meat, but he had eaten cooked Water Bear meat at the campfire in the Forest of Monsters as well as the skewers in the city before. Because of this, Set gave an envious cry at Rei who was eating the Orc skewers, Rei gave a wry smile at this scene and spit roasted a share of skewers for Set.

  「Guru~」


  After eating the meat from several Orcs that came from the Misty Ring, Set gave a satisfied cry.

  Rei took a break while stroking Set’s head, feeling the wind flowing through the trees.

  The scent of nature in the wind. If you listened carefully, you could hear the sounds of birds and insects or beasts and monsters. While listening to such sounds, Rei took out the magic stone of an Orc from the Misty Ring.

  Though he had sold almost all of the magic stones at the guild, he set aside two of each for Set and the Death Scythe.

  「……Right. Break time’s finished. Set, start absorbing the magic stone.」


  「Guru~!」


  Set also gave a happy cry at Rei’s words, he understood that his own power would increase if he absorbed the magic stone.

  「First of all is a magic stone of an ordinary Orc. ……Because a skill was learnt, even from an E rank goblin rare species, I think there may be a possibility……Set!」


  Calling out, he threw a magic stone towards Set.

  Dexterously catching it in his beak, he swallowed it just like that……the announcement message from when a skill was acquired did not occur, there didn’t seem to be any changes in particular.

  「Nothing happened, it seems.」


  「Guru~」


  Set gave a regretful cry.

  Just to make sure, he brought up the list of Set’s skills in his mind, as usual, there were only two, Fire Breath and Water Ball.

  「What is the criteria for learning skills?」


  While muttering, he threw out one of the remaining Orc magic stones into the air, striking in one blow with the Death Scythe.

  Cutting it in two with the blade, though it disappeared like smoke……the Death Scythe was also unable to acquire a skill.

  「I just wasted 2 magic stones. Well, at the very least they were only magic stones of ordinary Orcs.」


  While spitting out a sigh, next, he took out a magic stone of an Orc Archer from the Misty Ring.

  「Set.」


  Throwing the magic stone of the Orc Archer like the one from before, Set caught the magic stone in his mouth before swallowing it.

  【Set has learnt the skill『Wind Arrow　Lv.1』】


  And an announcement message echoed in his mind.

  「It seems something was learnt. Even then, Wind Arrow? When he thought of Set’s skills, Fire Breath and Water Ball, it seems Wind Arrow was next……well, perhaps it was a hobby of Takumu or something. More importantly, the Orc’s magic stone was yellow. In other words, a earth attribute magic stone. Yet, a wind skill was acquired?　Or was it because it was a magic stone of an Orc Archer?　Set, try using Wind Arrow on that tree over there.」


  「Guru~!」


  Nodding at Rei’s words, he looked at a tree located a bit further away as instructed. And……


  「Gururururu~!」


  At Set’s cry and thoughts, something invisible shot from Set at high speed, sharply cutting several places in the tree trunk.

  However, the power wasn’t very strong for a LV.1 skill, the depths of the cuts in the tree trunks were only a few cm deep. It didn’t have the power to cut the tree trunk in half. Instead, it had a different use, its launch velocity was clearly faster compared to a water ball.

  「Though it’s power is lower than that of Water Ball and Fire Breath, Wind Arrow can be used in close combat because, as its name says, Wind Arrows are invisible.」


  「Gururu~」


  Set gave a happy cry at Rei’s words. While giving a side look at that, Rei threw the remaining Orc Archer magic stone into the sky before cutting it in two like before. At that moment, the magic stone disappeared like smoke……


  【Death Scythe has acquired the skill『Flying Slash　Lv.1』】


  An announcement message echoed in his mind.

  「Flying Slash, is it. Well, reading it, it’s pretty self explanatory.」


  Readying the Death Scythe, he aimed at the tree that Set had hit earlier with the wind arrow.

  「Flying Slash!」


  Invoking the skill while wielding the Death Scythe, the slash flew as according to the skill name……hitting the tree.

  At the point where the flying slash hit, the tree trunk was cut much deeper than Set’s wind arrows. However, while more than one wind arrow could be shot at once, the disadvantage of the Flying Slash was that only one could be sent out.

  「I see. Wind Arrow can fire more projectiles but the power of a single Flying Slash is higher. Well, next is the magic stones of the Orc Mages.」


  Though it was a little different from what he had expected, Rei still nodded satisfied as he took an Orc Mage magic stone from the Misty Ring.

  Similar to before, he allowed Set to absorb it……


  【Set has acquired the skill『Fire Breath　Lv.2』】


  An announcement message echoed in his mind.

  「Hou~, Fire Breath Lv.2 is it. Set.」


  「Gururu~!」


  Set realised what Rei was asking and opened his beak towards the sky……flames were spat out.

  The flames spat out from his mouth were thicker compared to when it was Lv.1. They also traveled further. He could also see that the temperature of the flames was higher than before.

  「Guru~?」


  How was it?　He turned to Rei and rubbed his face against him.

  「Ah, as expected of Set. A good flame.」


  Being praised while his head was scratched, Set gave a happy cry.

  「Now then, next is the Death Scythe.」


  Moving away from Set, he threw the magic stone of the Orc Mage into the air and struck it down with the Death Scythe.

  In the same way up to now, the magic stone of the Orc Mage vanished like smoke after being cut in two.

  【Death Scythe has acquired the skill『Magic Shield　Lv.1』】


  And an announcement message flowed through his mind.

  However, Rei frowned his eyebrows slightly as he looked at the Death Scythe.

  「That’s it, is it?」


  While thinking that in his head, he prepared the Death Scythe for a test.

  「Magic Shield!」


  At the same time Rei shouted, a shield of light appeared in front of Rei. When Rei saw it, he brandished the Death Scythe, hoping that it wouldn’t interfere with the shield of light. As he brandished the Death Scythe, the shield of light automatically moved to not get in the way.

  Confirming it’s movement while brandishing the Death Scythe, he erased the magic shield after stopping.

  「Automatically moving certainly isn’t bad. But while it isn’t bad……」


  While muttering, he turned his eyes to the Dragon Robe he was wearing.

  The robe was made with the skin of dragons, naturally, it had a strong magic defense. Moreover, because dragon scales were placed in between the two layers of the robe, the average sword, spear and bow could not damage Rei’s body through the Dragon Robe. However, though it could prevent damage to Rei, it couldn’t prevent the shock from a heavy weapon such as an axe or hammer.

  「……Speaking of usefulness, is it in that sense?　Magic Shield!」


  Making a magic shield appear, he moved it in front of Set.

  「Set, try to attack the Magic Shield.」


  「Gururu~!」


  Nodding at Rei’s words, he swung down with his sharp claws at the Magic Shield!

  Then, as the Magic Shield took the blow perfectly, it vanished into mist the next moment.

  「……Hm?　Magic Shield!　Set, one more time. This time with the Water Ball.」


  「Guru~!」


  To Rei’s words, Set shot a water ball. Same as before, the magic shield blocked the attack before disappearing like mist.

  「This is, so can it block a reasonably powerful attack?　Set, next is Wind Arrow.」


  「Gururu~!」


  According to Rei’s words, he shot a few wind arrows. Though it was able to block the first one like before, the magic shield disappeared the moment the attack was blocked, just like before. The remaining wind arrows cut through the grass that was behind the shield.

  「I see, it can only block once but it can block a fairly powerful attack. At the same time there are 3 methods of control, automatic, semi-automatic or manual. You can also cancel it just like before.」


  A shield that would automatically defend him. Moreover, it had no weight. Unlike a shield, it wasn’t necessary to keep it in his hand either. Though it had a big drawback of disappearing after blocking a single attack, taking advantage of his enormous magic power, Rei could just use Magic Shield again with no problems.

  Dragon Robe and Magic Shield. It would be difficult to get through both defenses.

  「Well, there’s no skill that can’t be used. Because it’s different from corrosion and look like magic, there’s no need to hide it. Next is the Orc General. Set.」


  He threw out a magic stone as soon as he took it out of the Misty Ring. Set caught it in his beak and swallowed it.

  While looking at that situation, the next step was to see what skill would be acquired, but……


  「……What?」


  The announcement message that a skill had been acquired did not come.

  「What happened?　Isn’t it a magic stone of a rank C monster?」


  As he muttered, an announcement could not be heard.

  「Guru~……」


  Set also gave a disappointed cry.

  While looking at the situation, Rei formed an idea in his mind.

  (A skill wasn’t acquired from the C rank Orc General. In comparison, a skill was acquired from magic stone of the goblin rare species. Could it be that the acquisition of skills isn’t related to the rank or strength of the monster?　In that case, what’s the requirement for learning skills?　Is it affinity?　Well, in the end, I can’t get back a magic stone that has been absorbed to try to acquire a skill……no way, I didn’t expect that a skill wouldn’t be acquired from the magic stone of a C rank Orc General. ……No, wait. Then, would the Death Scythe also be unable to acquire skill from the magic stone of an Orc General?)

  While having a bad feeling, he threw the magic stone of the Orc General into the air and struck it with the Death Scythe.

  The magic stone was split in two as in the case with the other magic stones.

  And the announcement……didn’t happen.

  (I see. If Set can’t learn a skill from a magic stone, then is it impossible for the Death Scythe as well? Well, both Set and the Death Scythe were made from my magic power using the Magic Beast Art……no, I can’t say that just because both were made by me.)

  What’s done is done, it can’t be helped, letting out a deep sigh, he changed his mood.

  「Though it’s a shame that skills can’t be acquired from the magic stones of Orc Generals……but for the time being, the last one. The magic stone of the Orc King.」


  He took out a large magic stone from the Misty Ring, it was one size larger than the magic stone of the Water Bear, which had been the largest magic stone he had seen until now.

  The magic stone in his hand had the yellow, ground attribute, he held it, weighing up between Set and the Death Scythe. After a while, he gave a small nod and called out to Set.

  「Set, you absorb the magic stone of the Orc King.」


  「Guru~?」


  Is that okay?　Set seemed to say as gave a cry and tilted his head to the side.

  Rei nodded while smiling at that.

  「Ah. The Death Scythe already has Corrosion, Flying Slash and Magic Shield. Since I got a long distance magic attack that was my weak point, you should absorb the magic stone of the Orc King. Here.」


  Here you go, Set caught the magic stone of the Orc King that was thrown in his beak and swallowed it, similar to before.

  (If it’s the magic stone of an Orc King, I think that it wouldn’t be possible to not learn a skill, but……）

  As though Rei’s wishes were heard, an announcement message flowed into his mind.

  【Set has acquired the skill『King’s Awe　Lv.1』】


  To the fact that Set acquired a skill, Rei let out a sigh of relief.

  However, he immediately tilted his head in confusion.

  「Set, what kind of skill is King’s Awe?」


  「Guru~!」


  Yes. He wasn’t able to judge it’s effect from the skill’s name, the effect of King’s Awe couldn’t be predicted. Set understood the skill, unfortunately, he couldn’t explain it as he couldn’t speak words.

  「Gururu~」


  To provide evidence for Rei’s thoughts, Set ran up into the sky, found a Horned Rabbit and landed on the ground in front of it.

  「Pyi~!」


  Surprised at the Griffon suddenly appearing in front of it, it tried to escape at full speed……


  「Gurururururu~!」


  Set gave a loud cry, the speed of the Horned Rabbit fell slightly. And not missing the chance, Set killed it with his beak and sharp claws.

  「……I see.」


  Rei muttered as he saw Set eating the Horned Rabbit that he had defeated.

  Now he finally understood the effect of Set’s King’s Awe. As according to it’s name, it would intimidate enemies, inhibiting their movement. Though it’s effect on monsters at different ranks would have to be investigated properly, there was no doubt that it was a useful skill.

  「As expected of the magic stone from the Orc King. Though I wanted to share it with the Death Scythe if it was possible……I guess I’ll wait for the next opportunity.」


  After Rei finished acquiring and inspecting skills and Set had finished eating the Horned Rabbit, they returned to the city of Gilm.

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

  【Set】


  『Water Ball　Lv.1』『Fire Breath　Lv.2』new『Wind Arrow　Lv.1』new『King’s Awe　Lv.1』new

  【Death Scythe】


  『Corrosion　Lv.1』『Flying Slash　Lv.1』new『Magic Shield　Lv.1』new

  Wind Arrow: Shoots 3~5 arrows of wind. Though it’s power isn’t high, its effect is that they are hard to see because the arrows are made of wind, the arrows also have the characteristic of flying fast.

  Flying Slash: A skill that causes a slash to fly out. It’s power is reasonably high, but only a single slash can be created at a time.

  Magic Shield: Creates a shield of light, preventing a single enemy attack. It vanishes like mist after blocking a single attack. In addition, so as to not interfere with Rei, it will automatically move with him, it is also possible to move it manually with his consciousness.

  King’s Awe: For enemies weaker than yourself, their speed can be decreased by 10%. However, it has no effect if the enemies are at an equal or higher class.