Chapter 8: Uge

　With the murmuring of the river in their ears, Tatsuro and Ai walked along the white gravel road.

　They had been walking for about two hours already, but the scenery was still the same, full of nature.

　The journey to this point. They had been expecting to be welcomed again by a strange creature like a caterpillar, but there was nothing special, and their vigilance gradually faded as sleepiness overtook them.

“Afu……I’m tired” (Tatsuro)

“Fuaa….right.” (Ai)

　As Ai sighed, Tatsuro sighed back and took out his phone to check the time.

　The digits on the display showed that it was midnight.

　However, when he looked up, the sun was just above him, and it was bright enough to be daylight.

“Don’t they have time zones in other worlds?” (Tatsuro)

“When we first came here, it was so dark I thought the sun was going to set, but I didn’t expect it to be bright.” (Ai)

　This time, they both sighed together.

“I’d like to get some sleep, but if we go to sleep now, we’ll probably have to walk in the middle of the night.” (Tatsuro)

“Yes. Besides, we don’t know when Imomoo will attack, so it’s not safe to camp out in the middle of nowhere.” (Ai)

“Imoumou?　Oh, you mean the caterpillars?” (Tatsuro)

“I don’t know what they’re called, so I gave them a Japanese name.” (Ai)

“Japanese name huh?” (Tatsuro)

　Not wanting to say anything to Ai who was beaming with confidence, Tatsuro stopped caring and practiced his magic while walking.

　He was practicing mixed magic because now he could create beautiful spheres with different attributes without relying on his skill.

“It looks fun.” (Ai)

“Yeah, I’ll show you my new magic in a bit.” (Tatsuro)

“New magic?” (Ai)

“Yeah, it’s called mixed magic. It’s a mixture of magic attributes.” (Tatsuro)

“Eh, that sounds interesting. I’m looking forward to it!” (Ai)

“Leave it to me” (Tatsuro)

By the way, the reason why Tatsuro knows about mixed magic is because of light and dark magic – or rather, thanks to help.

　In the beginning, Tatsuro thought that these two attributes were very strong attack magic because of the large amount of SP required.

　However, when he opened his eyes, he found that it only manifested light and dark, which were non-material, and had no offensive properties of its own.

　So he asked ‘help’ what on earth these attributes could be used for.

　The result was combined magic.

　Apparently, light and dark magic can be combined with other attributes to strengthen or alter their properties, creating a wide variety of possibilities.

　So Tatsuro, possessed by the ghost of wastefulness, began practicing mixed magic so that neither attribute would be wasted… until now.

Another thirty minutes had passed since then, and Tatsuro had already created a sphere, even though he and Ai had been talking lightly about it, and the mixed magic was starting to get a feel for it.

　A few dozen meters ahead of him, he could see a strange object growing out of the ground.

“What the hell is that?” (Tatsuro)

“Eh?　What? – Uge” (Ai)

“Girls don’t say things like, “Uge.”” (Tatsuro)

　The “Uge” was growing majestically among the trees in the forest.

　It was a large flower bud, about two meters long.

　The color was shocking pink with fluorescent yellow and blue speckles.

　The leaves and stems were reddish-black, growing just above the ground.

　And then there was Ai’s biggest “Uge” point, a green tentacle-like thing with a yellow tip sticking out of the petal and waving around.

“I think his Japanese name will be Uge.” (Ai)

“Yeah. I’m surprised it fits him so well!” (Tatsuro)

“Yeah, but why am I not happy about it?” (Ai)

“Well, I hoped he didn’t know existed.” (Tatsuro)

“Me too” (This was said in English) (Ai)

　Why English? He tilted his head, but for now he concentrated on the problem in front of him.

　The problem at hand was that if they kept going, they would surely have to pass by the Uge.

　Fortunately, if we proceeded just in front of the river, we could keep a few meters away from the trees in the forest. However, that didn’t mean that we could pass through safely.

　First of all, we don’t know how far those tentacles can extend, or if they have any long-distance attacks such as sending seeds towards us.

“Therefore, teacher, please.” (Tatsuro)

“Stone throwing!” (Ai)

“That’s right. But this time it’s a little different.” (Tatsuro)

　When Tatsuro said that, he smiled and laughed. And Ai smiled back at him when he had something to say.

“What do you mean?” (Ai)

“I’m going to use a little magic to make a throwing weapon.” (Tatsuro)

“Oh, yeah. What do you have in mind?” (Ai)

“Something like a Frisbee.” (Tatsuro)

“A Frisbee. I think I can hit most things with a Frisbee, since my throwing ability is level 6.” (Ai)

“Yeah, it’s just a matter of whether I can make it right.” (Tatsuro)

　Then Tatsuro began to gather flat stones from the gravel.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” (Ai)

“Yeah, just collect flat stones like this.” (Tatsuro)

“Sure.” (Ai)

　After about ten minutes of collecting the stones, Tatsuro sat down in front of it while Ai sat in the middle of the stone, watching him with interest.

The first thing I need to do is to pile these stones into a disc shape.

“Fumufumu” (Ai)

　As he said, he piled up the stones in a random pile and managed to shape them, then placed his hand on the pile of stones and consciously activated “Earth Magic Lv.1” by himself without relying on his skills.

　Then the stones started to bond with each other, and in about three minutes, he had created something that looked like a crushed dorayaki, about 40 centimeters in diameter and with a tough surface.

“That’s one ugly Frisbee…” (Ai)

“Oi, that’s the best I could do at Lv. 1.” (Tatsuro)

　He then made three of these uglybees (named after Ai) with the remaining stones and piled them at Ai’s feet.

　It was heavy for Tatsuro, but Ai, with her remarkable status correction, lifted it so lightly that it looked like it was made of foam.

“So, I should just throw this, right?” (Ai)

“Yeah, but first, can I try to use the Level Eater at this distance?” (Tatsuro)

Ai said, “Okay,” while making a “please” gesture with her right hand, and I asked her to let me move to the front and activate the “Level Eater”.

　When I generated a black ball in my mouth, as I had done with Imomoo, I blew harder in a huff.

　But as usual, it moves slowly towards the target, but about ten meters away, he felt that it was about to disappear, and Tatsuro hurriedly began to focus his attention to prevent it from disappearing.

　From that point on, the further away he got, the more difficult it became to maintain it, and he had to be careful even to breathe.

　The black ball finally touched Uge after a long time of waiting. As he concentrated on keeping his consciousness intact, the information came in a little later, probably because of the distance.

　——————————–

　Level: 14

　Skills: 《Camouflage Lv.5 》 《Increased Tentacle Strength Lv.3 》 《Strong Acid Lv.3》

　　　　　《Digging Lv.3 》 《Thread Spitting Lv.1 》 《Bite Lv.5》

　——————————–

(Thread Spitting Lv.1?　That thing spits!?

　Digging Lv.3 is also a mystery, and what the heck are Strong Acid Lv.3 and Bite Lv.5?

Is this thing really a plant?

　Also, if it has Camouflage Lv.5, it should be a flower with a more gentle color!

　I’ll just take everything.)

　——————————–

　Level: 1

　Skills: 《 Camouflage Lv.0》 《Increased Tentacle Strength Lv.0》 《Strong Acid Lv.0》

　　　　　 《 Potent Acid Lv.0 》 《Digging Hole Lv.0》 《Spitting Thread Lv.0》 《Bite Lv.0 》

　——————————–

(Finally finished, the distance makes the whole process slow and hard…

　I’ll try to stay as far away as possible unless I need to.)

He swallowed the black ball in his mouth as he revised the way he would use the Level Eater in the future.

　Then, for some reason, the petals of the woge opened up one by one and finally flattened out on the ground, their disgusting tentacles undulating in full view.

“Gross Gross Gross Gross Gross Gross” (Ai)

“…………” (Tatsuro)

Ai was spinning around in circles as she rubbed her skin, which was burning with physiological disgust.

　Tatsuro, on the other hand, was too weak from the use of the “Level Eater” at a distance, so he collapsed on the spot.

“Tatsuro, are you okay?” (Ai)

“Yeah, I’m fine, but I’m still tired, and I don’t think I’m gonna be able to stand up ………” (Tatsuro)

“OK, Tatsuro, you rest there! I’m going to erase the Uge from this world with my uglybee!”

　When Tatsuro, who was out of breath, replied, Ai took a sideways throw using her uglybee. She took a deep breath, held her breath, and swung it out at once.

　It left a buzzing sound behind and sliced through the middle of several tentacles in a bundle as it was sucked in. At that time, there was some kind of caged scream, and purple liquid spurted out from where it was cut.

“GYA!” (Uge)

She quickly throws a second one, while making a mysterious noise, and this time, she lowers herself and throws the uglybee so that it is cut from the root.

　This one was also neatly done, and the tentacle was successfully cut off from the root.

“I did it!” (Ai)

　Just when she thought she had done it.

　The ground around the root of the tentacle she had just cut off began to rise, “Gyuru~aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” and then a red-black spider nearly three meters long appeared.

“Ueeee” (Ai)

“Are you…..serious” (Tatsuro)

　The spider had large flower petals attached to its back and was spewing out a purple liquid, so they guessed it was the main body of Uge.

　The giant spider, which then scowled around the area, quickly went to Tatsuro and Ai.

　Tatsuro noticed this, but he was too tired to move properly. When he looked at Ai, he saw that she was standing in front of him with a frisbee in both hands.

　”Run away!” Tatsuro was about to say, but before he could, the voices of Ai and the spider drowned him out.

“Deri ~yaaaaaaaaaa” (Ai)

“Gyuuruaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” (Uge)

　With that shout, Ai threw her left handed uglybee like a bowling ball.

　It was aimed right at the left side of his foot and succeeded in cutting off two of his legs.

　The spider, unable to cope with the pain and the sudden loss of a part of its body, slipped and slid on the ground, scraping the left side of its body.

　Then Ai also started to run. The spider, still hostile even with two legs missing, looked up to stop its slide with the other leg and stand up… At that moment, it met the eyes of Ai, who had leapt above the spider’s head.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa” (Uge)

　The spider’s head stopped moving, unable to comprehend the sudden event, and she slammed her right hand down on the spider’s head with an uglybee.

　It made a squishy, disgusting sound and smashed the spider’s head open.

---

TL: See you guys in volume 2.