Chapter 58: Chapter 55: Island Training
We were in Fuguten, the last known monster habitat in Fiori.
I'd used Festina Lente at full speed to get us here in a little under an hour. All the way across the world in an hour sounds cool, right?
I'd brought along Layla, Profeta, and the eight members of the party that would soon face the witch. Since Four-Eyed Pervert wouldn't be in the academy for a little while, we'd tasked the old man Fox to communicate with the witch in his stead.
Four-Eyed Pervert had sent one last bird to Alexia right before we'd departed, informing her of the success of the octopus's plan. He'd explained that Oct wouldn't be returning for the time being since everything was going well, and that the saint would soon be forced to go after the fake witch he'd created.
I'd dragged the turtle along to keep an eye on the witch while I was away. Alexia had no way to know my whereabouts, so I doubted she'd try anything anyway. Then again, even if she were to somehow learn that I'd left the academy, I had a feeling she'd stay right where she was. If I knew anything about her, she'd probably just rejoice at the fact that I was so far away from her. Still, I couldn't be sure, so having Profeta around was safer.
Oh, but I digress! Anyway, Verner and the others had been flabbergasted when they'd seen that the revered prophet was, in fact, a giant turtle. Not that I blamed them—it was absurd.
"This is Fuguten, the end of the world... No, I suppose I should say it's the other side of the world..." Layla muttered, as if to convince herself that she was truly there.
As Layla had pointed out, Fuguten was at the antipodes of Giardino, the continent on which we lived. That wasn't why she'd called it "the end of the world," though. Until fairly recently, the people of this world believed that Fiori was flat, hence why Fuguten was the end of the world. Means of transportation weren't all that developed here, so there was barely any communication between Giardino and Fuguten. Most people had heard of its existence, but they had no clue what kind of place it was.
The disconnect between the two regions was the main reason there were still monsters here—the last place in Fiori, as far as I knew. It also meant that once we eradicated the monsters here, only the witch and her four guards would be left.
"I don't know how to put this, but...this place is desolate," Aina said, looking around.
Her words were spot-on. All around us were dry earth, sand, stones, and mountains. The ground was cracked all over as if all its moisture had been sucked out. I had yet to see a hint of green anywhere.
Actually, I'm not sure "desolate" is the right word. This land is just plain dead.
"This sight isn't as unusual as you may think," Four-Eyed Pervert said. "Until a few years ago, most of Giardino looked much like this."
He was right. I also remembered how the land had been before I'd started going around and fixing things. My go-to method had been to cast a large earth-magic spell to plow the earth, create water veins with water magic, and sow seeds all over the place. Then, I'd used healing magic in excess to promote and accelerate growth. With enough mana, this kind of place could turn into a durable, luxurious forest in no time.
You may be wondering what excessive use of healing magic did to people. Truth was, I also didn't know—I'd never tried it. However, I'd experimented on monkey monsters, which I expected were still pretty close to human beings. They temporarily became super-duper strong. The extent of their buffs was almost scary...although they obviously still hadn't been a match for me! I hadn't seen any particular side effects, but the buffs I'd given them had been so freaky that I'd never tried it on another creature again.
"As long as there are still monsters in this world, there will be places like this," Layla said. "No matter how much effort we devote to caring for the land or planting trees, monsters will destroy everything. All animal species, even the ones we humans treat like pests, have a role in the cycle of nature. Monsters don't fit in this cycle. They do nothing but destroy. We shouldn't ignore this country's suffering just because Giardino is faring better nowadays. Monsters are everyone's problem."
Layla's hatred for monsters was apparent with every word.
If you'd allow me to play devil's advocate, monsters were also victims. They'd initially been animals that the witch corrupted. As the greatest monster-killer of all time, I probably wasn't the best person to call for the understanding of monsterkind, but still.
Anyway, it was time to look for a strong monster we could use to train Verner's party.
"Profeta, could you tell me if there are archmonsters in this country? Or at least monsters that are almost as powerful as them."
"There are a few. The closest would be a giant squid near the coast, located five kilometers to the south."
First we faced an octopus, now we're facing a squid? Is it seafood season?
A squid sounded like a good training opponent, though, since it'd be difficult to fight. Why, you ask? Because squids usually remained in the water. Fighting them was pretty different from fighting monsters on the ground. If anything, those who forcefully left the water, like the octopus, made themselves weaker. An archmonster in its natural habitat was more powerful—all the more so if that habitat was the sea.
The difficulty level was just right for these guys.
"I'll ask just in case, but do you think anyone would blame us if we defeated this monster?" I asked.
"I don't think so," Profeta answered. "Quite the opposite, in fact—they're offering a cash prize to anyone who can beat it."
Verner and the others seemed puzzled by my question, as if they found the idea of someone complaining that we rid the world of a monster absurd. Their confusion was clearly written on their faces. It was the natural reaction for people from Giardino.
If a monster were allowed to remain near the coast, it would kill all the creatures in the area—including the fish, shellfish, and coral. Besides, it would prevent boats from sailing. When one looked at it from that perspective, it sounded like there were only demerits to the monster's presence.
However, that was only our point of view on the matter. It was entirely possible that someone was using the squid monster to their benefit. If we were to slay it without permission, we could get in trouble. That said, given the bounty on the monster's head, it was probably safe to assume that the people here wanted it gone too. Killing it should've been fine.
"I see. There shouldn't be any issues then. Let us proceed."
Time for some practical training!
◇
Once we'd arrived at the beach, we immediately spotted the squid monster. It hadn't bothered to run away or hide after it had heard us approach. Instead, it was wiggling its tentacles over the surface of the sea, its large head poking through the waves.
Including its tentacles...it seems to be around forty meters tall.
It reminded me of that photoshopped picture of a gigantic squid on the beach in Santa Monica. It was like that hoax had come to life, and boy, was it huge.
How many people could we feed with this?
Leaving aside the size of the monster, what bugged me the most was the elephant trunk sticking out from its head.
Is this thing...a squid and elephant chimera?
"It's huge..."
"Who cares? That doesn't mean it's strong."
Random dude faltered, but Crunchy Doggybag didn't seem scared at all. He took a step forward.
Whoa! Someone's feeling confident!
Crunchy Doggybag's hands curled into fists, and he smiled. "I'll take care of it myself. You guys just watch—I'll show you sixty percent of my might."
Hm... Don't you think you should try using all of your strength? Just in case?
Crunchy Doggybag started running toward the squid before I could say a word. He got into the water without dropping his speed, splashing water everywhere in the process. He'd almost reached the monster, fist raised, when...a tentacle sent him flying.
"AAAAAAAH!!!" he screamed.
Oops.
I felt bad for him, so I used a little bit of wind magic to steady his fall. I always knew you wouldn't be up to the task, but nice try, Mr. Doggybag.
Actually, I wasn't sure his pathetic attempt even qualified as a "nice try." I still had no idea how strong the squid monster was since Doggybag'd been defeated in less than a second. Speaking of the monster, it had obviously lost interest in Crunchy Doggybag. Now, it was extending one of its tentacles toward me.
I've gone through this already! I totally support tentacle play, but aim for one of the actual girls, thank you very much! Eterna, Marie, Aina, and Fiora are right there, bro! I guess Layla would count more as a "woman" than a "girl," but she's there too!
As much as I loved watching tentacle porn, I wasn't even remotely interested in trying it out myself. I manifested a barrier in front of myself, blocking the slimy appendage.
"Lady Ellize!" Verner exclaimed, glaring at the monster. "You little—I'll take you on!"
With that, he slashed at the cephalopod with his large sword. The issue was that his opponent was inside the water. The squid had long tentacles, so it could attack us on the shore, but Verner couldn't reach it unless he also went into the sea. The water was shallow, but it was more than enough to make Verner's speed drop significantly. As things stood, Verner would soon be flung in the air, just like Crunchy Doggybag had been.
What will our dear protagonist do?
"Squidit!" the squid cried as it tried to hit Verner with one of its tentacles.
Squids don't make that noise...do they?
Verner rearranged his grip on his sword hilt and severed the tentacle in one clean swing. He'd been waiting for the monster to attack first all along.
That's my protagonist! He's nothing like that idiot Doggybag!
That seemed to motivate the other members of his party. They started shooting arrows, firing magic spells, and hacking at the monster alongside Verner. In the blink of an eye, the squid was on the verge of death.
Oh my, I see the weapons I gave them are helping. They're quite incredible, if I do say so myself.
One attack from Eterna later, the monster had turned into calamari. She hadn't poured all that much mana into her spell, but its destructive power was impressive.
The saint's magic sure is something else!
The squid didn't know when to give up; one of its severed limbs started crawling my way. Verner stabbed it with his sword until it finally went still.
"Eterna's magic is prodigious. She's just as strong as the saints of old," Layla said, offering a levelheaded analysis of Eterna's performance.
My smile froze. It was no wonder she'd be as strong as a saint...because she was the saint of this generation!
"If our saint was anyone other than you, we might have mistaken her for the real deal and raised her as the saint."
"I...suppose."
Could Layla have noticed? Was she trying to trick me into saying something incriminating? Was she starting to believe that Eterna might be the real deal?
Thanks to the dark powers I'd borrowed from Verner three years ago, I was technically able to do things only a saint—or a witch—was able to do. My credibility ought to have been pretty high, even though I was lying through my teeth. That said, my saint powers were not on par with Eterna's.
Take a saint—Eterna, for instance—with a saint power value of a hundred. Let's assume that to inflict a hundred points of damage to the witch, she'd need to use one MP. Since my saint power value was only ten, I'd need to increase the amount of MP I used if I wanted to match that damage. Naturally, if I used a hundred MP, I could artificially dish out more damage than the real deal—but that didn't mean my saint powers were stronger.
"I'm afraid I miscalculated," I said, changing the topic. "They won't be able to train, given how easily they won."
"Indeed..."
I was happy that Eterna had awakened, but it made her way too strong compared to your average monster. It had its pros and cons. It meant that they most likely wouldn't struggle against the monsters that guarded the witch, but I had no clue how their fight against Alexia herself would pan out.
I'd wanted them to go through a few close calls to toughen up, but...
<—llize... Ellize...>
Shut up! I'm trying to focus here. Which idiot's trying to talk to me?
<My name is Alfrea... I'm trying to talk to you, the current saint.>
Yeah, yeah, Alfrea.
I totally remembered her. She never showed up in the game, but her name was mentioned a few times. She was the first saint.
WAIT WHAT?! ALFREA? AS IN THE FIRST SAINT IN HISTORY, ALFREA?!
She was long dead. How could she be talking to me? No way... That didn't make any sense at all!
<I'm sure hearing my voice for the first time must surprise you, Ellize. I'm finally able to talk to you because you rid the world of most of the dark magic that had corrupted it. Since you're the saint, I should have been able to contact you much earlier than this, but somehow it didn't work... My powers must be growing weak. However, everything is fine now. Your arrival to this island made it much easier for me to reach you.>
A clear voice was echoing directly through my head. I looked around, but it didn't seem like the others had heard it—not even Eterna.
<It's very peculiar, but I'm experiencing a lot of trouble maintaining my connection with you,> the voice said. <I'm afraid this conversation can't last long. There's something I absolutely need to discuss with you, so I'd be most grateful if you could come see me. I'll be waiting for you at the grave of the first saint. It's located in this country, and—>
Our "call" suddenly came to an end.
Girl, has no one told you to be careful with your cellphone's battery?! You gotta charge it before going out! So I have to go meet Alfrea at her grave, huh?
I was very puzzled as to why Alfrea—who was supposed to be long since dead—had suddenly started talking to me. And why was her grave in this country? There were so many things that didn't make any sense, but the worst of them all was that...
She was the first saint and she couldn't tell I was a fake?! Eterna was right there! How could you ignore her, you quack?!
(2.5k word count)
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone