Itai no wa Iya nanode Bōgyo-Ryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu 282
Defense Specialization and the Ruins
They rode on Sally’s horse until they arrived at the ruins. While there were stone paving and the remains of houses, nearly everything had been swallowed up by nature. It was closer to a forest than a ruin.
“Well, I suppose we should start by searching through the place.”
“Okay! I hope we find it soon.”
They decided to split up and walk around the area where anything manmade remained. Ultimately, it did not take them long to find what they were looking for.
“Sally! Over here!”
Maple was standing in an area where stone fragments were scattered everywhere, and there was a single altar standing there.
There were three dents in it, and they quickly understood what that meant.
“Should I put them in?”
“Yeah, I think that’s fine.”
After Maple put the gems into all three dents, the alter was enveloped in light. At the same time, Syrup and Oboro jumped out of the rings without warning.
“Syrup?”
“Oboro?”
As they watched uncomprehendingly, red, green, and white lights spread out at their feet. And then they felt the familiar sensation of being teleported.
When the lights died down, and they opened their eyes, they saw a town that was overflowing with animals.
However, there were no people to be seen. It seemed like a place where only monsters and animals lived together.
As the two of them watched, Oboro and Syrup started to walk away on their own.
“Wh-what happened?”
“I guess we should follow them.”
While they had managed to reach this place, they had no idea what they were supposed to do. In that case, it seemed best to follow Syrup and Oboro, who were acting irregularly.
As they kept walking, they started to move away from the town. Syrup and Oboro then stopped at a watering-place made of stone.
“I don’t know. But it seems important?”
“Maybe? It doesn’t seem like ordinary water…”
Then Syrup and Oboro turned around to look at them. It looked like they wanted to go inside the water. Maple and Sally had no intention of stopping them. And so they picked them up and slowly let them down into the water.
“It seems fine? Are you okay?”
“I’m going to let you go now. It looks shallow enough.”
The two of them let go so the monsters could play in the glowing water. Then the light enveloped them until their bodies were no longer visible.
“Waa! Was that a bad idea!?”
Maple frantically picked up Syrup again. Sally also moved Oboro away from the shining water.
They began to panic when it seemed that the light would not fade away, and then there was a sudden flash. And Syrup and Oboro returned to normal.
“What a relief… Hmm? Syrup?”
“Oboro?”
The pattern on Syrup’s shell was a little different, and grass and flowers were growing on the ground underneath them.
Oboro’s accessories were now fancier, and more than anything, there were now two tails instead of one.
“What?”
“What?”
But Syrup and Oboro were rubbing up against them like they always did. Maple and Sally picked them up and stared into their faces.
After a while, their brains started working again, and they carefully went over the changes.
“Syrup looks a little fancier now! And…maybe bigger?”
“I see. There’s a new tail…will they keep increasing?”
They hugged their monsters that had become even cuter. Just then, a message arrived.
“Evolution… I see. It looks like they can acquire new skills now.”
“Ohh! Evolution. Evolution… Well, they did fight with us a lot.”
“They started during the second event. So that’s quite a long time.”
“They’ve grown so much… Ehehe. I’m so happy.”
“Well, there’s still a long road ahead.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The message said that monsters who gain a lot of experience can evolve. But it didn’t say that it was a one-time thing.”
And then Sally continued. She apparently had an idea about how many tails a fox monster could gain.
“Though, I doubt it’s one at a time until you reach nine… Oboro. Do you want to evolve to that point?”
“It’s something to look forward to! I know, we should tell the others! If we help them, they can get the gemstones really easily!”
“That sounds good. Let’s do that. As they say, strike while the iron is hot.”
And so the two proud owners picked up their monsters and returned to the guild home.