Manowa 360

 Chapter 360 - Let's Power Up


◎ Trade City Uumin, Summoning Institute, Drawing Room


「Ah, that Merlight person?」

Kazane, who was guided to the drawing room inside the Summoning Institute, was surprised when she grasped the identity of the man who called out to her in front of the institute.


「You finally remembered? Well, I suppose we've only met a few times.」


The man replied with a bitter smile.

The man had given his name, Maar, and he was the Childstone summoner with the Will-o-Wisp monster『Merlight』who won the third place match in the Summoning Division of the Grand Tournament. After Kazane won the championship, she got him to exchange her『Black Rock Dragon meat』for the third place prize『Nue meat』to feed to Yuuko-nee. In other words, Yuuko-nee could currently handle the power of the Lightning attribute due to the『Nue meat』she received from Maar in the exchange.


「Since Maar-san is here, does that mean you're part of the institute?」

「Ah, no. That's not the case. I'm a swordsman. I'm not a summoning technique scholar.」

So saying, Maar showed the sword on his waist. It was a steel sword, and it looked like it was a reasonably fine sword. For an adventure past 20, it was around mid-level.

「Ever since I became able to summon an『Ogre Fire』with a Childstone, I've been addicted to this world. I've been a bit of a nuisance to the people here. Then Flare turned from an『Ogre Fire』into a『Merlight』, and after consuming the meat I received from Kazane-san, it evolved into a『Dragflame』. Come out, Flare.」

In accordance with Maar's words, a bright red flame immediately appeared.

「Huh? It isn't yellow?」

When Kazane saw it previously, it was a yellow flame, but now the flame was very red.

「Like I said a moment ago, Flare is now a『Dragflame』. Since it has changed into a Dragon attribute flame, it's much stronger than before.」

Incidentally,『Dragflame』was its species, and Flare was its name.

「Nyaaa?」

Yuuko-nee was repeatedly pawing at the flame, stopping just before she touched it.

『Isn't that dangerous?』

「Nyauu」

After Tatsuo spoke from his current position on Yuuko-nee's head, she replied as if to say「It's fine.」Even when the『Dragflame』and Yuuko-nee actually touched each other, it seemed there was no particular damage. It seemed magical flames wouldn't hurt someone with the same Fire attribute if they didn't have hostile intent.


『I brought him.』


Kazane and Maar talked while watching Flair and Yuuko-nee play together, and after a short time, the white cat Elizabeth returned. Behind her, there was a person who felt exactly like an『elderly wizard man.』


『This is the director of the Uumin Summoning Institute, Magna Hegner. My summoner.』

After Elizabeth's words, Magna bowed.

「Best regards, young lady. Elizabeth already introduced me, but I'm Magna. I'm the director of this Summoning Institute.」

「Yes, please treat me well, Director Magna.」

Kazane also bowed. Maar, Tatsuo, and Yuuko-nee bowed as well. The『Dragflame』Flare's flames also danced differently from before.

「So Maar-kun is acquainted with her. Well, you two are the champion of the Summoning Division and the third-place winner, so is that natural?」

Kazane and Maar laughed a little hollowly after Magna's words. A certain somebody had forgotten, but, well, that wasn't worth worrying about.


「And what the young lady wants to ask is about making this child stronger… is that right?」


Magna asked Kazane.

It seemed he had already heard from Elisabeth. So Kazane nodded after those words.

Yuuko-nee was certainly strong enough even now, but it seemed she told Elizabeth in Cat Language (?) that she wanted to obtain attack power that rivaled the Berserk Ogre's so she could fight alongside Kazane.


「Yeah. Is there a way to make Yuuko-nee even stronger?」

「Hmm. It looks like she was originally an Elder Cat, but she has evolved considerably. It seems she has eaten the meat of very powerful monsters.」

Magna said while looking at Yuuko-nee. The main meats were Black Rock Dragon, Nue, Beared Dragon, and Dragon Eater, all of which were high-level monster meat.

「Even if you try to strengthen her with other meat, unless it's from a very powerful monster, no further growth can be expected.」

「Yeah. I know, right?」

Kazane had already known what Magna pointed out. A summoned or tamed monster would receive the Factors of the powerful monster meat they ate. After that, they wouldn't be able to receive power from monsters with weak Factors. With a high dosage, they might still evolve, but all the meat Yuuko-nee had eaten so far was from high-level monsters, so she had grown quite close to the limit at present.

And when he heard the lineup of monster meat she had eaten from Kazane, Magna was visibly surprised and said「As expected, it's difficult.」

「In that case, I can only say that it would be tough unless it's from a Dark Forest monster.」

After those words, Yuuko-nee cried「Funyaa」in a pitiful voice. Kazaane and Tatsuo stroked her head to comfort her, and while watching the scene in front of him, Magna was full of the feeling「Or rather, is that really necessary?」

From Magna's point of view, the specs of the summoned beast named Yuuko-nee were already more than sufficient. In actuality, she was the winner of the Grand Tournament, so naturally, it was impossible to say that she was weak.


The current Yuuko-nee was about two sizes larger than a lion. Her appearance was like a normal cat that had grown large, and since her face was reasonably big, she looked charming, but she was unmistakably a beast of prey.

Her main weapons were her flame claws, which had been hardened from the meat of the Black Rock Dragon and could become red hot if she put in effort. They were also endowed with an effect that caused flames to blow out from the wounds they sliced. Now, due to the Nue meat, they also had a lightning effect.

Her quadfurcated tail had fireballs on each tip. Those fireballs had an adhesive quality, so if they were thrown at an enemy, they could stick to them and continually cause damage. If she ate one, flames would cover her entire body and give her a boost.

Furthermore, she could use the flame illusion technique『Mirage』, and since she had evolved further after the Grand Tournament, she could now use multiple afterimages without needing to use her boost first.

Although it had nothing to do with combat, her slightly greenish hair generated Magic Power from sunlight, and she could also supply Magic Power to her master.


However, Yuuko-nee's greatest trait was her mobility. Her avoidance power due to『Intuition』was  unchanged from her time as a mere Elder Cat, and it had been extremely effective when she jointly battled with Jinrai. But the Jinrai/Yuuko-nee combination was broken up, and she had started down the path of fighting together with Kazane.

However, Kazane herself had high mobility, so she didn't need to ride on Yuuko-nee's back like Jinrai. Besides, Yuuko-nee couldn't become a better partner than the Berserk Ogre if she was only good at avoiding. The Berserk Ogre would recklessly charge in and quickly defeat enemies while Yuuko-nee was running around to avoid. That was no good.


「Nyaon!」


Yuuko-nee breathed roughly as she aimlessly thought about such things. The most important thing was attack power. The White Party was a battle group that emphasized firepower. She wouldn't distinguish herself simply by being good at avoiding.


「Hmm, other ways to make her grow would be to steadily hunt monsters, or perhaps while doing so, some impetus will kick off a rapid evolution.」

「Well, that's not ideal, but it could certainly happen.」

Naturally, they would continue to fight in the future, so that backup plan would move forward.


「You could also prepare weapons meant for tamed monsters and summoned beasts.」

Hmmmm... Kazane, Yuuko-nee, and Tatsuo nodded.

「You could simply have her hold a weapon in her mouth, but there are also bracelets and the like to attach swords to limbs.」

「Do you currently have any?」

「Indeed. We sell such things here.」

Kazane made an「Oooo」face after those words. It seemed the time had come to spend the money she received from Makka.

「Or you could find a Magic Life Stone somewhere and use it to improve her abilities, but, well, that isn't realistic.」

「Heh, why?」

Kazane reacted when he said it wasn't realistic and asked that.

「A Magic Life Stone will create monsters by itself, and even setting that aside, it attracts monsters. If one is discovered, it can fundamentally only be destroyed. Therefore, the only opportunity would be a summoner finding one and using it to strengthen their summoned creature on the spot. Besides, almost nobody knows about this.」

「Few people know about it?」

In fact, even though Louise knew she had obtained a Magic Life Stone, she hadn't talked about the summoned creature strengthening.

「Ah, like I said just now, there are no opportunities, so there are few reasons for it to spread. Moreover, adventurers with incomplete knowledge have brought back Magic Life Stones several times in the past. Cities have been attacked several times due to that, so it has also become policy not to spread the knowledge unnecessarily.」

Kazane groaned, then placed a fairly large and transparent elliptical orb on the table. Seeing it, Magna tilted his head.

「Hmm, what is this?」

「A Magic Life Stone……」

After Kazane's words, Magna, Maar, and the white cat Elizabeth were startled and looked at it.

「It's currently sealed, but I can unseal it at any time.」


Then Kazane looked at Yuuko-nee.


「So then, shall we power up Yuuko-nee?」

The reply to those words was, of course,「Nyaa.」



Name: Yuihama Kazane

Occupation: Summoning Fighter

Title: Ogre Killer, Dragon Slayer, High Beast Summoner, Rea King, Liberator

Equipment: Staff 『White Blaze』, Draghorn Tonfa x2, Dragon Eating Ogre Army Armor (True), Indestructible Cloak, Mysterious Pouch, Crimson Saint Coffin, Heroic Spirit Summoning Ring, Circlet of Wisdom, Aim Bracelet, White Magic Accumulator (Revised) ×2, Rainbow Necklace, Rainbow Dragon Ring, Angel Bracelet

Level : 38

Health: 152+20

Magic Power: 340+520

Strength: 72+45

Agility: 78+39

Endurance: 43+20

Wisdom : 75

Dexterity : 51

Spell : 『Fly』『Torch』『Fire』『Heal』『Firestorm』『Healer Ray』『High Heal』『Golden Dusk「Dragon Exclusive」』『Mirror Shield』『Rabbit Speed』『Flare Mirage』

Skill : 『Kick Devil』『Warrior's Memory: Lv2』『Night Vision』『Crushing Blow』『Dog's Sense of Smell: Lv2』『Golem Maker: Lv4』『Aegis Shield』『Fire Principle: Third Chapter』『Healing Principle: Fourth Chapter』『Air Jump: Lv2』『Killing Leg: Lv3』『Fear Voice』『Invisible』『Tiger Eye』『Wall Walking』『Intuition: Lv2』『Cheat Death』『Nimble』『Charge』『Material Shield: Lv2』『Information Link: Lv2』『Optical Camouflage』『High Dash』『Bloodsucking Blade』『Dragonization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Regenerate』『Soul Breaking Blade』『Stealthy Hand Placement』『Thunder Chariot: Lv2』『Sturdier Teeth: Lv2「Dragon」』『Crystallization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Devil King's Intimidation』『Stone Minotaur: Lv2』『Mega Beam: Lv2』『Space Expansion』『Pseudo-Silver Creation』『Poison Claw』『Fireball「Dragon」』『Cuticle「Dragon」』『Arms Creation: Black Flame』『Ingredient Connoisseur: Lv2』『Dragon Pheromone「Dragon」』『Boost』『Monkey's Strong Arm』『Two-sword Style』『Boobies Plus』『Living Armor』『Alarm』『Six-sword Style』『Mental Attack Complete Protection』『Spider Web』『Wire Cutter』『Flexible』



Kazane:「The Magic Life Stone's turn has finally come.」

Yumika:「Come to think of it, we obtained that when we defeated the ants on the floating island, didn't we.」