Chapter 140: Demon’s Cry

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Translator: Soafp

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The morning after deciding on the specifications for the bath model room.

Rubbing my tired eyes from a lack of sleep, I ate breakfast. Just as I was about to head to the guild, Ashera seemed to be tagging along.

“You’re coming along today?”

“If you’re going to the armor shop, I want to come too.”

“Ah, it’s a modification for the shield.”

“Right. You can summon the shield now. All that’s left is repeated practice.”

“Yeah. By the way, what’s with that gauntlet?”

“I lost my left arm, so I took this from the knights’ storeroom.”

“I see. It looks quite old…”

“Yeah…”

“Why don’t we buy you a new one since we’re at it?”

“Well, if I find something I like…”

“Don't be shy.”

“Okay.”

Ashera wore her gauntlet over her town girl outfit. With her coat on, the gauntlet wasn't very visible, but if it were a warmer season, eight out of ten people would probably turn their heads wondering what was going on.

On our way, we bought some fruit water from a street vendor and walked to the guild. By the third time in these commoner clothes, people quickly recognized me upon entering the guild.

Some averted their eyes conspicuously while others looked curiously, but one thing was common: there was no conversation, and the place fell silent. It was as if I were a wild beast or something, even though I'd never initiated trouble.

Despite this, we walked up to Naga-san and greeted her.

“Good morning, Naga-san.”

“Good morning, Aldo-kun, Ashera-san.”

After the usual greetings, I talked about everyone’s schedule, which I had confirmed yesterday.

“All of us—El, Ashera, Mother, and I—are fine with leaving in two days.”

“Good. Actually, I arranged for food and carriages yesterday, so that works out perfectly.”

As usual, Naga-san is extremely efficient. Though she says this, I'm sure she had contingencies for any schedule changes.

“Alright, then we'll meet at the guild entrance the morning after tomorrow.”

“”Okay””

Discussing the necessary items, I found out that maps, hand carts, and twenty days’ worth of food were already prepared. She also suggested getting cloaks, as they could be useful for bedding and warmth during sleep.

Indeed, you can’t use air conditioning magic while sleeping. I decided to buy cloaks for everyone on our way to the armor shop.

Upon arrival at the armor shop, Borg was manning the store as usual with his stern expression.

“Good morning, Borg. Is the armor modification finished?”

“Yeah, it's over there.”

Opening a box in the corner revealed armor with nozzle-like outlets on the back and shoulders for boosters. I designed the nozzle myself; it doesn’t affect performance but looks cool, so I had it added.

I quickly took off my commoner clothes and put on the new wyvern leather armor. I braced myself and lightly tested the boosters.

Activation was faster than before, magic consumption was lower, and output was higher.

“As expected, it performs even better than I imagined.”

“Is that so? Don't forget about the Fire Lizard skin.”

“Only if there's a surplus.”

“Sure. I'm counting on you.”

Seeing our conversation coming to a close, Ashera tugged on my sleeve.

“Borg, I'd like you to modify Ashera’s gauntlet with the same magic shield enhancement as mine.”

“Let me take a look.”

Borg examined Ashera's gauntlet, tapping it to listen to the sound, checking its movements thoroughly.

“Honestly, you’d be better off getting a new one.”

“It's pretty worn out…”

“It’s too big for the young lady’s hand, and the joints don’t offer much protection…”

Wait, really? The storeroom only had this kind of junk?

“To be blunt, it’s barely better than bare hands.”

“You're serious?”

Ashera, aware of the state of her gauntlet, pretended to ignore the conversation by looking away.

“Borg, I need a gauntlet that fits Ashera’s arm and four cloaks.”

“The cloaks are on that shelf. They all cost two gold coins each. Choose whichever you like. I’ll check the storage for the gauntlet…”

Borg went to the back. As I sifted through the cloaks on the shelf, I spoke to Ashera.

“Ashera, you knew your gauntlet was in terrible shape, didn't you?”

Ashera ignored my words, pretending to be busy choosing a cloak.

“Ashera, promise me you won't worry about money when it comes to your gear. If you get hurt again because of poor equipment… I… I…”

The memory of seeing Ashera with one arm came back, filled with regret, sadness, and anger.

“Sorry… Aldo…”

After a while, Borg returned from the back.

“It’s not top-notch, but this gauntlet should suffice for now. Couldn’t find the right size for you, young lady.”

It made sense. Combat gauntlets were usually made for muscular men, so finding one that fit Ashera was difficult.

“Thanks, Borg. How much for everything?”

“Four cloaks and the gauntlet… that’ll be one platinum coin and two gold coins.”

I quickly paid Borg the amount he requested.

“What about modifying this gauntlet?”

“It'd be a waste.”

“I see… By the way, are you going to venture into the Claw Fangs Labyrinth?”

“Yes.”

“If you bring back good leather, I’ll make one for you. Earth Dragon hide would be ideal.”

I could only muster a wry smile. I actually intended to hunt an Earth Dragon. Curious, I wanted to hear a professional's opinion on handling such material.

“Borg, have you ever worked with Earth Dragon hide?”

“Huh? Yeah, a long time ago.”

“What was it like?”

“The best material there is. Ordinary swords can't even scratch it.”

“How does it compare to wyvern leather?”

“Not even close. Earth Dragon hide is leagues ahead… Hey, Aldo, I'm joking. Don't get any ideas about challenging an Earth Dragon.”

“Yeah, I know. Just hypothetically, how much power would you need to damage it?”

Borg eyed me suspiciously but sighed and began to speak.

“If you could slice through a knight’s shield in one stroke, you might stand a chance.”

“A knight's shield?”

“Yes. When I worked with Earth Dragon hide, the S-class adventurer who defeated it was said to have split a knight’s shield in half.”

“That's… impressive.”

“It's a tall tale, but at least it should deter you from trying to take on an Earth Dragon.”

Borg laughed heartily, but I could only manage a wry smile. Now, on my way back to the estate with the four cloaks and the box containing my armor, I reflected on the day's events.

Ashera had sold the gauntlet she brought from the estate to Borg for a silver coin, as it was essentially junk. There was something that bothered me about the gauntlet.

Without a left gauntlet, her Dragon Robe should also have a torn left sleeve. When I asked Ashera about it, she told me Roland had sent it for repairs in Blue Ring, and it was now patched with wyvern leather like mine.

She mentioned she didn't like the patched look, finding it unfashionable.

However, recalling Borg’s words, I was completely unprepared for how tough the Earth Dragon’s hide would be.

I thought back to the Emperor’s defense within the domain. Both the Emperor and this Earth Dragon were challenging because of my insufficient attack power. My main weapon has always been a dagger, which doesn't offer high attack power. I need to reconsider my approach to enhancing my attack strength.

For normal situations, my current attack power is adequate. But when I need overwhelming force…

Something like the Condense Ray’s overwhelming attack power…

Ideally, I need a weapon that minimizes mana consumption while still delivering that kind of force. A sword… something like a beam saber… Condense Ray in sword form… But I don’t understand the theory, and even if I could manage it, I’d probably burn myself to death!

Another idea is to enhance a magical weapon’s blade to be extraordinarily sharp… That would require even more proficiency in mana control.

If I could create a single-molecule blade, it would undoubtedly be the sharpest in this world. Something to look forward to in the future.

Cutting through a shield… Methods to cut through iron in modern Japan…

Iron… Cutting through a shield’s thickness of iron… In modern Japan, the methods would probably be limited to melting or grinding…

In anime and manga, how was it done…

Usually, they enhanced the blade’s sharpness with some kind of aura.

I'm already working on magical weapons.

I remember a manga where a knife with super vibrations could cut through anything…

Was it really just a matter of making it vibrate? Recently, they've been selling ultrasonic cutters commercially.

I should try it when I get back to the mansion…

I came up with an idea and glanced at Ashera beside me. She seemed to notice, but she stayed silent, not wanting to interrupt my thoughts.

I appreciated her consideration and enjoyed the walk back to the mansion, chatting about trivial things.

We arrived at the mansion just in time for lunch.

After lunch, I moved to the backyard to test the usability of the boosters.

Due to lack of practice, the responses were inconsistent, sometimes too quick, other times too slow, with varying output. More training was definitely needed.

Next was the method of attacking the Earth Dragon…

If Borg's story was true, the only thing capable of damaging an Earth Dragon would be the Condensed Ray.

I was already having trouble controlling the Condensed Ray; I didn't want to use it in an enclosed space. It could potentially lead to our own destruction.

I needed a powerful, precise strike with a sword.

For now, focusing on the “ultimate strike” was more important than practicing with the boosters.

Once again, trial and error… Vibrations… Ultrasonic vibrations…

I'll try everything that comes to mind.

First, vibrations.

I tried vibrating the dagger with mana… It shook violently. Something felt wrong… Failure.

Next, ultrasonic vibrations… Sound, sound is the vibration of air. If I embed a loud noise into it…?

Trying it out resulted in an enormous explosion of sound, shaking the entire mansion.

Checking my mana, I saw it had been drained at an alarming rate, leaving me with about half remaining.

The explosion was sure to get me in trouble, so I quickly fled. Now I was in front of Elle's room. I might as well ask her to replenish my mana.

“Hey, El, can you share some mana with me?”

I heard shuffling sounds from inside, and the door opened slightly, revealing a glimpse of Marl.

I almost called out in surprise, but since El and Marl were now engaged, it made sense they were allowed to be alone together.

El seemed as usual, so nothing untoward was going on.

When I explained it was for developing a new technique, El laughed and helped me out.

“Mana, is this enough, Nii-sama?”

I always felt guilty for asking so much of her.

“Sorry about this. I'm trying to develop an attack that will work on an Earth Dragon.”

“I see. Good luck.”

“Yeah. Well then, I’ll be off. Thanks.”

Leaving El, I resumed my training.

From my previous experiment, it seemed that directly vibrating the dagger would be challenging.

I summoned my magical weapon, a greatsword, and imagined only the blade vibrating slightly.

This consumed a considerable amount of mana… I decided to test it by lightly striking a decorative rock with the blade.

The resulting sound was much louder than expected, and the rock had a cut about 5 cm deep.

This… this might actually work.

I then experimented with various conditions to vibrate the magical weapon (greatsword). As expected, increasing the frequency and amplitude of the vibrations significantly improved the sharpness of the blade.

However, as predicted, the mana consumption also increased exponentially.

Finding the optimal balance for fighting the Earth Dragon… This would require actual combat testing, something akin to using sonar.

I needed to confirm two things: the maximum power of this technique and whether it could cut through the knights’ shields.

Since I couldn’t just cut through the knights’ shields without permission, I decided to test the maximum destructive power first.

I infused the magical weapon (greatsword) with the highest level of vibrations possible without depleting my mana.

A high-pitched sound, like that of a buzzing insect, emanated from the blade as its outline blurred.

Even at this moment, my mana was being rapidly consumed.

I swung the greatsword, and a large rock was split in two, with the blade also cutting through the ground beneath it effortlessly. The most frightening part was that both the rock and the ground offered no resistance.

Astonished, I quickly lifted the greatsword, realizing I could slice through the ground without any resistance…

After marveling at the incredible sharpness, I felt an overwhelming fatigue wash over me.

I was on the verge of mana depletion… Struggling to stay conscious, I crawled to my bed, thinking vaguely, “I probably won’t wake up in time for dinner.”

Later, the sound emitted by the ultra-vibrations was rumored to resemble the wailing of the dead, suggesting that the blade was imbued with the spirits of those I had slain, enhancing its sharpness.

These bizarre rumors gave rise to the name “Demon’s Cry” for this slash, which became synonymous with Aldo’s lethal attack, but that’s another story.