Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? (LN) - Volume 2 - Chapter 7

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THE ADMINISTRATOR’S SHADOW

Oh, since Heresy Resistance turned into Heresy Nullification, maybe using Detection won’t hurt my head anymore?

It is a Heresy Attribute attack, isn’t it? Is it cool if I call it an attack?

I mean, there’s no way that pain so strong it busts right through my Pain Mitigation could be a normal headache, right?

So if I can cancel out the Heresy attack that normally accompanies Detection, maybe it won’t hurt my head anymore?

It’s worth a try.

Huff… Whew. Here goes!

Detection on!

…Whoa. This…this is seriously incredible.

I could never tell before, since I was too busy dealing with the pain, but…is this what Detection is like when it doesn’t cause a headache?

This time, my head didn’t split wide open when I activated it.

Well, technically, I guess there’s a little throbbing, but thanks to Pain Mitigation, it’s hardly even worth mentioning.

I think what I’m feeling now is just a normal headache from using my brain too much.

That’s how much information Detection provides all at once.

Looks like I got some new skill. I’ll check it out later, though.

Right now, I want to relish this feeling for a bit.

I’m psyched that I finally succeeded at using Detection.

But even more than that, I’m overwhelmed by the amount of information Detection provides.

It’s like it gathers all the data available on everything within my present range of perception.

The flow of magic, the material makeup of things, the flow of air… All of this streams through my brain.

It almost feels like I’m omniscient.

I understand everything around me.

Even information I wouldn’t normally be able to understand makes sense to a certain extent when I use this skill.

But even that in itself feels like a sea of information. Like I’ve stolen a glimpse at some cosmic truth.

And this is all just from the tiny space I’m currently aware of.

It feels like I’ve learned anew the vast scope and grandeur of the world around me.

Oh man, I even feel like I’m gonna cry for some reason. Although, I don’t know if spiders can actually cry.

Okay. Let’s turn Detection off for a minute.

Whew. That was crazy. I don’t even know where this feeling is coming from.

If I had to compare it to something, I’d say it was kinda like getting emotional from looking up at a starry sky. That sorta thing.

Ah, I wanted to stay immersed in those feelings for a little longer. I’d better get a move on, though.

So. Detection is a success.

Does that mean I should keep it active all the time from here on in?

Hmm. The thing is, I’m worried that it’s so high-performance that it might actually be inconvenient.

I mean, it’s so much input at once that it might distract me and make it harder focusing in battles or something.

But maybe I can just get used to it?

Sure, it’s overwhelming when I activate it right now, but I used to feel a little drunk from using Appraisal at first, too. If I got acclimated to that, I’m sure I could adapt to this easily enough.

So I think I’ll keep Detection active all the time, even if it might be a bit dangerous at first.

It’ll raise my other skill levels, too, so I think it’s for the best.

All right, then. Detection on.

Whoa. This really is crazy.

But I can’t get emotional again.

Guess I’ll start by checking out the skill I just acquired.

…Or maybe it’ll level up first…

What is this skill, exactly?

The description of Perseverance said something about a divinity field.

I think Perseverance expands that, too, doesn’t it? So this is on top of that?

Does that mean my divinity field or whatever is spreading out all over the place now?

At any rate, I’d better Appraise it.

You don’t say? Thanks a lot.

This is where you really get to strut your stuff, Appraisal! Double-Appraisal, puh-leeeze!

Hmm? I still don’t get it.

Well, I get that it’s an important part of the soul or whatever, but what happens when you expand that?

Hmm. So I still don’t know what it does.

More is usually better, but it doesn’t have any actual effects so far as I can tell…

Whoa, they really go up so fast!

I already maxed out Arithmetic Processing, huh?

And now it’s evolved into High-Speed Processing. Definitely sounds like an upgrade to me.

Anyway, I originally got Detection in the hopes of perceiving enemies, didn’t I?

But my natural ability to identify threats is high enough that I’ve managed pretty well without Detection so far.

I gotta say, combining that innate ability with the power of Detection will make my enemy-spotting skills pretty much perfect.

No one’s ever going to get the jump on me now! I’d like to see them try!

Okay, so next, I’d hoped Detection would give me Magic Power Perception.

If my predictions are correct, then if I combine this with the Magic Power Operation skill, I should be able to finally use magic. I think.

That means I’ll finally be able to bust out the skills I’ve been sitting on for so long, like Abyss Magic and Heretic Magic!

But…I don’t have any skill points! Dammit!

I don’t regret picking up Perseverance, but it still sucks that I’m out of skill points.

Aw, man, and I was hoping to use my next batch for Evil Eye!

What am I gonna do? I want them both! Aaargh!

I know this is kind of a dumb problem, but even so, which should I get first?!

Huh? For real? Detection’s maxed out already?

Huh? But it doesn’t evolve or add new skills or anything?

Aw, come on. What’s up with that?

After all the trouble I went through to get it to work…

I mean, it definitely paid off, but to be honest, I kinda wanted even more.

Even if I can’t get strong enough to defeat an earth dragon, I wanna at least be able to run away safely!

I really don’t get anything?

<Fzzt……fzzzt…>

Hmm? What was that?

…Maybe I’m just imagining things?

Well anyway, no use whining about it.

The simplest solution is to keep getting stronger.

If I just keep working on that, I might at least reach the point where I can escape from exceptionally strong enemies. So I’ve decided: I’ll make a sincere effort to get stronger.

Step one is leveling up.

I’ll start actively hunting monsters from now on.

Step two is skills.

I seem to be able to level up skills just by moving around.

Like Appraisal, Detection, Foresight, and Thought Acceleration.

I did max out Detection, but using it trains other skills, too.

So I’ll keep it active until all those skills are maxed out.

At the same time, I should start working on other skills that I can level up as I move.

The safest bet is probably the five sense-enhancement skills.

If I squint my eyes or sniff around a bit or whatever as I walk, they’ll probably go up in no time.

I have a few skills that seem close to the max, so I’ll start with those.

And there’s one other thing.

I don’t want to do this while I walk. I want to stop somewhere and devote my full attention to it.

That would be practicing Magic Power Operation.

Thinking about it, it’s definitely possible for me to get skills without paying skill points if I just build enough proficiency.

In which case, I should save my skill points for Evil Eye, since I have no idea how I’d go about increasing proficiency for that, and try to practice Magic Power Operation on my own.

Thanks to Mr. Detection, I can perceive magic now.

If I concentrate on it enough, I can grasp the flow of magic power.

As long as I can figure out a way to manipulate that somehow (or at least try to for long enough), I should be able to acquire the skill by naturally accumulating proficiency. I hope.

Once I accomplish that, I can finally start practicing magic.

All that being said, I have to remember that my main goal is still to get through the Middle Stratum and return to the Upper Stratum.

Leveling up and improving skills and stuff are just things I’m doing along the way.

So I shouldn’t actually stop moving just to work on that stuff.

Whatever I do, it has to be something I can do on the go.

I’m not putting down roots in the Middle Stratum. I’m just passing through.

I can’t forget that.

Nice, nice. Thanks to my Ruler of Pride title, my mental skills are leveling up really quickly.

Just gotta keep it up.

Since I have the Ruler of Perseverance title, too, my resistance skills should also improve relatively easily, but most of them aren’t the kind of thing I can level up on the move.

Technically, I’m sure I could gain proficiency in a lot of them with self-inflicted attacks: Deadly Poison Resistance and Paralysis Resistance with Poison Synthesis, and Cutting Resistance, Impact Resistance, Destruction Resistance, Rot Resistance, and Shock Resistance (which I’m sure also exists) using Utility Thread. But I should probably save that until I’ve settled down somewhere for a while.

The Middle Stratum, where my recovery is slow and there’s no decent place to rest, is no place for that sort of thing.

I’d like to raise my stat-enhancement skills as quickly as possible, but that’s something else better done when I can stop someplace.

They’ll probably level up in battle, but other than that, I’d have to do muscle training and the like if I want to level them up on my own.

If I have the time and strength to do that, I’d be better off using it to keep moving.

For the time being, better to focus on those five sense skills that I can raise passively.

Vision Enhancement is at level 9, almost the max, so I’ll start with that.

It’s been a while since I evolved and started making my way through the Middle Stratum.

I’ve been wiping out every monster I lay eyes on, so my level’s skyrocketed.

No one would believe how quickly my stats grow now.

The description really wasn’t kidding when it said I have “high battle capabilities.”

On average, they rise about twenty points apiece each time.

Even if you take into account the growth rate enhancement from Pride and the individual stat-raising skills, the rate at which my stats are increasing is still wild.

If I keep improving like this, my low stats will be a total thing of the past.

Besides my level and stats, my skills have also been progressing quite a bit.

That said, I’ve been trying to focus my eyes on various things, but my Vision Enhancement skill still hasn’t budged.

I guess raising a level-9 skill is bound to take some time.

I’ve been killing it on my other skills, though!

First of all, Silence is level 3 now. Ninja power up!

Thought Acceleration and Foresight both reached level 5, so my evasiveness gets a power up, too!

Even Fire Resistance finally made progress, putting it at level 3.

In theory, Perseverance should be making it easier to gain proficiency for resistance skills, but it still feels like it’s taken ages.

Just how weak am I to fire anyway? Actually, is that still the case, since I’m a different species now?

I wonder if my other resistances besides fire have changed…

But I have no way of finding out, so there’s no point speculating.

Anyway, since I’m not exactly a defensive tank to begin with, my resistances changing a little probably wouldn’t make much of a difference.

Still, since my defense is starting to improve, it might be good to know my resistances well.

After all, it’s possible I have other weaknesses besides fire. Not that I have any way of finding that out…

Last but certainly not least is Parallel Thinking.

This one reached level 10 and evolved.

Its new form is called Parallel Minds!

Now this is a super-convenient skill.

As the name implies, it’s basically like I have multiple minds now.

With Parallel Thought, it was like I was using one brain to think about several different things at the same time, but with Parallel Minds, it’s like my brain actually split into segments. Almost like split personalities.

Both of them are me, but each is a separate body of consciousness with its own set of thoughts.

And that’s on top of what Parallel Thinking already allowed me to do.

It’s functionally doubled my cognitive ability. Super-convenient.

This skill is like a partial realization of the wish kids often make, the same one adults do when they’re really pressed for time: “I wish there was another me…”

You know, so one “me” can work and study and stuff while the other plays.

Though since they’re both equally me, whenever one wants to slack off and play, the other’s gonna get mad.

Still, that means I can divide the work I was gonna do alone between two of me, so it’s still way better.

As the skill level rises, it’s possible I’ll be able to make more, too.

However, only one of them can control my body at any given time.

That’s why I’ve decided one half will be in charge of my body while the other half processes information from Appraisal and Detection and so on.

By delegating like this, I can reduce the amount of work each half has to do, so each can concentrate on its responsibilities that much more.

You know how, when you’re fighting, your vision gets a whole lot narrower? People who’ve done martial arts know what I mean, right?

Personally, I think that’s a consequence of extreme tension and concentration.

However, now that I have a separate mind for processing information, I no longer have to deal with it.

That way, I can focus on picking up information and leave the hard work to the body brain.

I’m counting on ya, body brain!

You got it, information brain!?

See? Now I can even have conversations with myself.

And since they’re both me, we’ve got data sharing on lock.

There’s no main unit or subunit in this setup. Both of them are me. I’m me, therefore I’m me!

Yeah, I know. It makes no sense.

Like, I’m getting by all right, but I bet some people would start questioning their definition of the self if they did something like this.

You know, like losing track of which is the real them and going crazy or whatever.

I can totally see that happening. If anything, maybe that makes me super-special for being able to handle it normally? Okay, probably not.

Wow. While my information brain was thinking about all that stuff, my body brain beat a monster.

Good job, me.

No biggie, me!?

This time, I tried out my new Rot Attack, but I can’t really use it.

I mean, it wasn’t useless. The attack power itself was amazing.

Like, way too strong for level 1.

It was excessive. I mean, it turned the monster to dust in a single hit! Isn’t that freaky?

Is that really what “rot” means? It’s not, like, corrosion or whatever?

This goes past food going bad, straight into disintegration territory. No way do I want to mess with an attribute that “regulates the decay of death.”

It’s already overkill at level 1.

What in the world happens when it levels up more?

Anyway, there are two reasons why I can’t use it.

First, it doesn’t leave behind any remains. In other words, no food.

Sure, I can still gain experience like this, but it totally renders half my motivation for hunting monsters moot.

It doesn’t feed the beast. Literally and figuratively.

The other problem is even worse.

I take damage from it, too.

Take a look at the scythe-leg I used for the Rot Attack. The blade is falling to pieces! And I’ve lost HP…

This attack is like a suicide bomb!

So while its power is really high, so’s the backlash.

If I ever get into a situation where I’d be in big trouble if I don’t go all out, maybe I’ll use it, but beyond that, it doesn’t make much sense to waste it on small-fry.

Especially while I’m in the Middle Stratum, where my automatic recovery is slower.

Ugh, I wonder when this scythe will heal?

I’ll probably level up soon, so I’m sure it’ll fix itself then, but in the meantime, I won’t be able to use this leg in my next battle.

I do still have Poison Synthesis, at least, so it’s no big deal as long as I don’t run into some big game like the eel.

I only started using my scythe-arms recently anyway. My main weapon in the Middle Stratum remains Poison Synthesis.

After all, just making contact with Middle Stratum monsters injures me.

If I use my scythes, I can raise skills like Cutting Enhancement, but that still means taking damage.

Besides, when I cut monsters with the scythes, their insides fall out, making them harder to eat.

So, body brain, make sure you use Poison Synthesis for the next prey, all right?

Yep, roger that, information brain.?

Man, Parallel Minds sure is convenient.

If I had two bodies to go with it, I could even have a shadow clone! Now that’s the dream.

Oh, but since they’d both be my main body, it’d hurt if either got destroyed.

Aw, man, that sucks.

As long as one was left, I’d still survive, but wouldn’t that mean I’d basically experience death?

Hmm. That’s not something I really want to try.

Actually, I guess I technically have experienced it once already, but as I have no memory of it, that doesn’t count.

So don’t do anything that’s gonna get us killed, okay, body brain?

Come on, information brain. You know I wouldn’t do that!?

You’re right, you’re right.

All right! I finally maxed out the Vision Enhancement skill.

So the reward was a new skill, huh?

May as well Appraise it right away to see what it does.

Okay, so pretty much what the name says, then?

Hmm. Not sure if I get it.

The five sense-enhancement skills are pretty basic improvements, but the derived skills seem pretty plain, too.

Well, I guess I’ll try it out.

Okay, body brain, activate Telescopic Sight!

Request received. Telescopic Sight activated!?

Oh? Ooh? Ooooh?!

Whoa, this is amazing. I’m sorry for calling it plain before.

My field of vision now displays a magnified telescopic image as well as my original range of vision at the same time.

I was expecting my entire field of vision to be enlarged, like looking through a telescope, but it seems like I can activate it in just one eye.

Normally, it’d be pretty confusing to get two completely different views at once, but who do you think you’re talking to? I’m basically a two-in-one package deal already.

If I split the work between the two units, it’s not confusing at all.

Since it’s still only level 1, the range and extent of magnification is pretty low, but it could be pretty useful once it levels up some.

For example, I could use Detection to figure out where an enemy is hiding, then use Telescopic Sight to zoom in on that location while still keeping my other eyes on what’s in front of me.

Yep, yep. And this seems to be another passive skill, ’cause it’s not consuming MP or anything.

I’ll keep it active all the time to level it up, then, since it may have a lot of potential in the future.

Hey, information brain, sorry to interrupt while you’re on a roll, but…?

What is it, body brain?

Spotted some prey in the Telescopic Sight view.?

Would you look at that! The newbie’s already earning its keep.

Wanna take it down??

Doesn’t that go without saying?

Aye, aye, sir!?

I sneak up on the enemy right away.

Since I can’t use one of my sickles after the suicidal Rot Attack, I’ll just drench it in Deadly Spider Poison using Poison Synthesis.

The monster’s HP drains in an instant. As usual, my poison is terrifyingly strong.

Oh, perfect, I leveled up.

Which means I get to molt, so now my scythe is back to normal!

Plus, one of my stat-increasing skills finally evolved.

Do your thing, Appraisal.

<Longevity: Raises HP by 10x the number of the skill level. Also, growth of this stat at each level-up increases by the number of the skill level.>

Just as I figured, it’s in the same category as Herculean Strength.

So if the rest of my stat skills evolve, their growth rates increase, too?

That really makes me want to level them up right away, but it’ll just have to wait until I get through the Middle Stratum.

I definitely want to get somewhere secure as soon as possible.

And hey, wait a minute!

Leveling up means I have 100 skill points now! Yay!

Since I evolved, the number of skill points I gain per level increased to 50.

It was only 20 before, so that’s a big upgrade.

That means that after evolving just twice, I already have 100 points.

Now then, I wonder if those Evil Eye skills I’ve heard so much about have been added to the list?

Whoa. I really can get them now.

These skills definitely weren’t on the list before.

There are a bunch of different kinds, too. How am I supposed to choose just one? This is gonna be tough.

Hey, information brain.?

What is it, body brain?

Wouldn’t it be better to get more than one??

Huh? What do you mean?

I mean, you know I have eight eyes, right??

What about it?

Well, doesn’t that mean we can use Evil Eye in up to eight eyes at once??

! What are you, some kinda genius?!

Heh-heh-heh. Yep, I’m a genius all right.?

Oh man. So I am a genius! That means I can get away with just about anything!

That’s right. Wouldn’t it be amazing to use eight different Evil Eyes at the same time??

Yooo. This is crazy. It’s like a whole new world of possibilities.

Although, one eye is using Telescopic Sight, so that only leaves seven.?

We should probably make sure we still have normal vision, too, so wouldn’t it be six?

I guess so. So we’ll pick one for now, then get five more as we get more skill points??

Sounds good. Then, body brain, which Evil Eye should we get first?

I’d say we should go for one of the attributes we don’t have, so either Curse or Petrification. The Heretic kinds seem more like they’re meant for use on people than for fighting monsters.?

That’s a good point. I think I’d go with Curse, then. Petrification seems to take a while, judging by our experiences with that stupid lizard in the Upper Stratum.

It’s that much more powerful for the time it takes, though. But you’re probably right. Curse would be safer.?

Good ol’ me. I really know what I’m talking about.

I’ll take the Cursed Evil Eye, then.

<Curse: Weakens all stat values and causes damage to HP, MP, and SP>

Cursed Evil Eye level 1, get! Sweet.

Obviously, I have to find a monster to test it out on tout suite!

Maybe the info from Mr. Detection can help me here.

Hmm. Hmm, hmm, hmm. Looks like there’s something over there.

It’s still too far away to get detailed intel, but whatever it is, it seems to be on land.

Perfect. I’ve found my lab rat.

Oh, it’s an evolved frog.

Boy, that brings back memories. This guy looks like the upgraded form of those frogs I used to eat.

Doesn’t seem like it’s that much stronger than they were, but I think it probably evolved to adapt to the Middle Stratum. It even has Heat Nullification.

Between that and the fact that it has Night Vision despite the constant glow from the magma, I have to assume it came from the Upper Stratum.

It’s pitch-dark in the Upper and Lower Stratum, after all.

Maybe it got lost and couldn’t find its way back, so it evolved out of necessity.

I hope there aren’t any Lower Stratum monsters that wandered in here like that.

If one of those things evolved to adapt to the Middle Stratum environment… Yeaaaah, no.

Also, now that I can see the frog’s skills, it looks like those “spit attacks” were actually Poison Synthesis, the same mine.

Apparently, it uses the Expel skill to shoot the poison through the air. Ooh… I’d like to get my hands on that myself.

Then I could fire globs of poison that would put the frog’s wimpy attacks to shame.

I wonder if I can get proficiency for it by shooting threads out of my butt or something?

Hey, information brain. Since you seemed busy with some stupid thoughts, I went ahead and synthesized paralysis poison and immobilized the frog.?

Ooh, good one, body brain.

Now we can try out the Cursed Evil Eye.

All right, Evil Eye activate!

Yep. It seems to be working just fine.

So how’s this thing work? Oh… Ooh!

The frog’s HP, MP, and SP are slowly decreasing.

Since it’s still only level 1, it makes sense that it’d be slow, I suppose.

Both its yellow and red SP are going down, but the yellow bar recovers faster than the damage can reduce it, so no effect there.

Maybe once the skill levels up, the damage will outmatch the recovery?

Then I can keep my opponents in a constant state of hyperventilation? Ooh, creepy.

But I guess it’d run out of HP and die before then.

HP and SP are usually around the same amount, after all.

Oh, its stats are going down, too.

There’s a little box next to the numerical values that says “decreasing.”

It displays the normal max value of each stat in parentheses next to their current numbers, too.

Oh-ho-ho. So this is what it looks like when you hit something with a stat-lowering attack.

Sure makes it easy to tell the curse is working.

Good old Appraisal always has my back.

Anyway, it looks like Evil Eye isn’t a passive skill, which I guess would’ve been too much to hope for. My MP is decreasing.

But it’s not particularly fast. About 1 point every ten seconds.

And the frog seems to take 1 damage every five seconds or so, so I suppose it’s fairly efficient?

With my current MP, I could keep it active for about fifty minutes, so that seems cost-effective to me.

Plus, once it advances, I’m sure it’ll deal damage more quickly.

Oh, looks like the paralysis is wearing off.

…No, wait, body brain’s already on it with another round of Poison Synthesis. Great job, me. Always quick on the draw.

Hmm. Its HP and stuff are still going down nicely, but the rate has slowed.

The stats were all decreasing at the same pace as its HP and so on until they hit the halfway point, but now they won’t go much lower.

Is there a limit on how much stats can be reduced, then?

Well, guess that makes sense, now that I think about it.

If it kept going, you could end up with 0 defense or something.

Talk about paper-thin. Actually, that’d be so weak that paper would seem strong in comparison.

Still, just bringing its stats down by half is a pretty big deal in itself.

It’s not that big of a difference on small-fry like this frog, but if I could cut the stats of strong monsters like that eel in half…

Monsters sometimes depend on stats even more than skills in battle, so weakening their stats means a significant drop in their combat abilities.

If the eel’s stats were cut in half, for instance, it wouldn’t be much stronger than a catfish.

This could be a real trump card against powerful monsters.

I’ll have to make raising its level my top priority.

Hmm? Huh? The frog died?!

What the hell? I thought it still had some HP left…

The rest of its HP drained in a flash. But why?

Ahh, it ran out of red SP before it ran out of HP.

So that’s why. Guess when you run out of red SP, your HP starts decreasing really quickly.

WHAAAT?!

Yikes. I’ve had some pretty close calls after evolving and stuff, then.

Good thing I had food at the time.

Thanks to Overeating, my red SP hardly ever goes down, but I’ll have to be extra-careful from now on.

At any rate, Cursed Evil Eye seems pretty useful.

Maybe when I have MP to spare, I’ll activate it to earn more proficiency.

Yeah. I’ll make sure I keep at least half of my MP in case of emergencies, then use the rest to work on Evil Eye.

That should be easy, since I can keep it active while I’m walking.

Okay, but this Evil Eye is totally magic, isn’t it?

I mean, it drains MP, and it’s clearly some kind of supernatural phenomenon that ignores the laws of physics.

Although, that seems true of a lot of other skills, too…

So what’s the difference between magic and those other skills?

I don’t know. Appearance, maybe?

Guess Evil Eye is pretty subtle in that you can’t see its effects unless you use the all-knowing Appraisal.

When you think of magic, you think of something a little louder and flashier, right?

Yep. It’s important to have some flair. I really wanna learn magic.

Sure, Cursed Evil Eye is technically a long-range attack, but it isn’t the immediate impact I’d originally expected.

What I really want is a straightforward, easy-to-understand, ready-aim-fire-boom, long-range attack.

Cursed Evil Eye is useful in its own way, but can you imagine how strong it’d be combined with magic missiles or something?

Damn, wouldn’t that be nice.

Hmm. My quest to learn magic continues, I suppose.

I am a body brain.

As yet, I have no name.

Listen, I gotta vent about the information brain for a moment, okay?

What an idiot.

Take a little while ago, for instance. She wanted to learn some shooting skill or other, so she was all, “Shoot thread out of my butt!” So I tried, but it shot out with more force than I expected, and— Splat! Went right into the magma.

It caught fire immediately, of course.

If I hadn’t severed the thread in time, we’d have gone up in flames by now.

So basically, she’s always making these stupid suggestions, and I’m the one who has to deal with the consequences.

I don’t think a single one of her ideas has worked out yet.

Although, I guess I’m also the one who goes along with them every time…

Still, I wish she’d come up with some better ideas.

Couldn’t you think these things through a little?

Why is the one who’s supposedly the brains of this operation so damn clueless?

Are you stupid or what?

Yeah, I think she must be.

That’s why I, the body brain, have to keep things together.

My actions mean life or death for both of us, after all.

Body brain, body brain!

What is it, information brain??

Do you think we can combine Evil Eye with Telescopic Sight?

! What are you, some kinda genius?!?

Heh-heh-heh. Yep, I’m a genius all right.

Oh man. So I am a genius! That means I can get away with just about anything!?

That’s right. Would using Evil Eye from a long distance be wicked or what?

Yooo. This is crazy. It’s like a whole new world of possibilities.?

Okay, then let’s find some prey!

Whoo-hoo!?

I am an information brain.

As yet, I have no name.

So using Telescopic Sight and Evil Eye together didn’t work. Hrmph.

I guess it really was too good to be true, huh?

At least keeping Telescopic Sight active all the time has raised it to level 5.

The distance and amount of magnification it can do has risen quite a lot compared with level 1.

If I could just apply Evil Eye to this, I could attack from a pretty fair distance, but seems like that isn’t actually an option.

Oh well. Evil Eye is still pretty useful.

Since I’ve been using it whenever I have the MP to spare, it’s level 3 now.

It seems to level up pretty slowly.

But I haven’t been using my MP much in the Middle Stratum anyway, so that’s fine.

At some point, I noticed using Evil Eye doesn’t affect my vision.

I couldn’t combine it with Telescopic Sight, but it seems to be perfectly compatible with Vision Enhancement and such.

If I can see just fine while using it, there’s no reason to make sure I keep one eye free for it.

Now I’m one step closer to my dream of having eight different evil eyes at once.

Also, it seems like you can’t use any of the attribute-adding skills on Evil Eye.

I tried it with Poison Attack, but it didn’t work. So be it.

Just like combining it with Telescopic Sight, that probably would’ve been too overpowered anyway.

If I could combine my deadly poison with Evil Eye, I’d be like some anime character who can kill with a glance.

Just being able to weaken things and inflict damage simply by looking at an enemy seems broken enough as it is, so it’d be greedy to ask for even more.

I thought maybe I wouldn’t be able to activate these skills in all eight eyes at the same time, but it looks like that actually works.

However, it doesn’t change the effect.

Since I’m using it in eight eyes simultaneously, I’d hoped it would multiply the effects eightfold, but no such luck.

However, the several-eyes-at-once thing turned out to be pretty useful for Telescopic Sight.

Depending on how I use it, I can monitor several locations concurrently and zoom in as needed.

Anyway, on a different note, can we talk about the body brain for a second?

What an idiot.

Take a little while ago, for instance. I wanted to try to get the Expel skill, so I suggested we try shooting thread out of my butt. So she was all, “Great idea! Let’s try it right now!” and proceeded to fire it on the spot. Toward the magma.

She said it was “more force than I expected” or whatever, but what kind of idiot does that in the direction of magma in the first place?

Of course, the thread went straight into the inferno with a splat and ignited.

The flames were coming at me like a fuse! It was awful.

Luckily, the body brain cut the thread in the nick of time, but we were this close to my butt getting set on fire.

Essentially, she jumps at my suggestions like an idiot and takes them too far.

Or should I say takes them in the completely wrong direction?

I mean, what good is it making genius proposals if my body brain is too incompetent to enact them?

Couldn’t you think these things through a little?

Has operating the body all this time turned you into a meathead?

Are you stupid or what?

Yeah, I think she must be.

That’s why I, the information brain, have to keep things together.

My instructions mean life or death for both of us, after all.

Information brain, information brain!?

What is it, body brain?

I was playing with Telescopic Sight and found a monster.?

For real? It’s not in range of my Detection yet.

Heh-heh. Maybe you’re becoming obsolete, information brain??

Shut up, body brain. You couldn’t provide more information than me if you had a hundred eyes.

Bwa-ha-ha, enjoy that while it lasts! You’d better watch your back, pal!?

Pfft, I’m not holding my breath on that threat. Go ahead and try to catch up with me!

Heh-heh-heh.?

Ba-ha-ha.

So what should we do??

We’ll hunt it, of course.

Aye, aye, sir. Come on, guys! Battle stations!?

Whoo-hoo!

Another day of roaming the Middle Stratum.

Hmm. I’ve been here quite a while now, but there’s still no end in sight.

Guess this really is the biggest labyrinth in the world.

If a human tried traversing it, they’d probably have to be prepared to devote their entire life to the endeavor, wouldn’t they?

But it’s a piece of cake for me, of course!

Yep, I’m the best!

Evolving made my stats a lot better, and my skills are coming along nicely, too.

Is there any enemy in the Middle Stratum capable of challenging me anymore?

And if not, doesn’t that mean I’ll totally dominate once I get back to the Upper Stratum?

Heh-heh-heh. I’ve spent a lot of time struggling just to survive, but things are really going my way now!

Once you’re not constantly one blow away from death, this gamelike world is actually kinda fun.

Oh? Ooh? Ooooh?!

Finally. I finally maxed out Appraisal!

Oh man, I’m so pumped!

Appraisal, the first skill I ever picked up, the skill that’s been with me through thick and thin, has reached its final form at long last!

I still remember how incredibly useless it was at first.

Then, each time it leveled up, there were subtle improvements.

What joy I felt as it gradually became more useful!

Especially when it shed its veneer of mere adequacy and became truly fantastic.

My dear Appraisal. No matter how much I complained about you, you kept working hard and growing.

And now, you’ve developed into a skill that anyone would be proud to call their own.

You finally made it! Waaah!

At last. At long last. I’m so emotional!

Thanks for everything, Appraisal! You and I are just getting started!

…Still, no evolution or derivative skills, huh?

No, no, it’s fine.

Just the fact that Appraisal hit its level cap is amazing enough.

I guess I was just kinda expecting some kind of wisdom-granting evolution or something.

No dice, huh? Since it’s you, Appraisal, I don’t mind either way, but…nothing at all?

I’m shocked.

…There’s seriously nothing?

<Fzzzt…fzzt, fzzt, fzzt……>

…What’s that sound? It’s like radio static…

<Fzzt, request, fzzt…upper administration authority limit, fzzt…>

Huh? What’s going on?

<Fzzt……nistrator Sari…fzzzt…rejected, fzzt…>

Okay, this is bad.

I don’t know what’s bad or why, but this is definitely bad.

<Fzzt…ping!>

Compared with the other sounds, the ping! is so clear that I flinch.

What? What? Whaaaaaaat?

Okay, hold on a second. Something’s wrong. Something is very wrong here.

What’s going on? How did this happen? What do I do?

I’ve gotta calm down. Body brain, let’s take a deep breath.

Huff… Whew.

Okay. Let’s go through this step-by-step.

First, I started hearing that weird noise.

What was that? I have no idea.

Normally, I’d just say there’s no point in racking my brains over things I can’t understand, but this is a little too much to just let it slide.

I mean, this is clearly an abnormal situation here.

Yeah. Abnormal.

Here I’ve been going along all this time acquiring skills and stuff under the assumption that that’s just how this world works.

If this were still Japan, of course, their very existence would be abnormal.

Was it really all right to just blithely accept that skills exist here because “that’s just how it is in this world”?

Up until recently, I thought it was fine. But now I’m not so sure.

I definitely heard the Divine Voice (temp.) say this:

It’s like someone was watching me and made a new skill in direct response to my complaints.

If that’s true, the culprit must be this Administrator D.

And the term “upper” means that this D isn’t the only administrator.

So what exactly do these “administrators” manage?

That’s obvious. Skills.

It’s the only explanation I can think of.

The point is, the skills in this world are granted by a group who call themselves administrators.

But how? And why?

Naturally, I have no idea.

But I do know this much.

There’s something wrong with this world.

A shiver runs down my spine.

I’m overwhelmed with fear, a different sort from what I felt when I ran afoul of the dragon.

Are those administrators laughing at me right now, watching me panic like this?

Terrifying.

The skills I’ve relied on all this time seem like a disturbing mystery to me now.

Am I wrong?

If my skills were given to me by these administrators, then I’ve been dancing in the palms of their hands.

Because the whole time I’ve depended on these skills to survive.

“Gamelike”? “Kinda fun”? I’m a fool.

How could I say that so lightly, when clearly the whole system was deliberately constructed this way by so-called administrators?

If these administrators really do manage the skill system, does that mean they’re watching the goings-on of this world as if it really is just a game to them?

And if so, doesn’t that make me just another character?

That makes them sound almost like gods.

What am I supposed to do now, knowing all this?

What do I do now?