Chapter 111 - Chapter 110: Lecture on Chimera Studies
"It's not 'Son of God,' is it? I can kill him, right?"
Saying that angrily, the young man walked toward Mika.
"Naughty children who play pranks need to be punished. I'm so mad. Really."
The young man with reddish-brown hair walked straight toward Mika, looking only at him.
Mika felt sweat gushing out from every pore in his body.
(This guy is dangerous! Retreat!)
Just as Mika tried to run in the opposite direction of the young man, a knight stepped in front of him, blocking the way.
"What have you been saying all this time?"
The knight seemed to be trying to confirm the intent of the young man who had made such unsettling remarks.
"Stop! Get away from him!!!"
"[Tear Apart]."
At the same time Mika shouted, blood sprayed into the air.
The knight who had stood in front of the young man was suddenly torn apart around his abdomen, his upper and lower bodies separated along with his armor.
The knight slowly fell backward in slow motion.
"Great source of life, Great God of Water. O great attendant deity, God of Healing who fills and moistens. Hear my prayer, and take the wounded into your arms. The warmth of life, the powerful breath to stand up again!!!"
Mika chanted the incantation for [Heal] in one breath, speaking rapidly.
The fallen knight's body was enveloped in particles of faint yellow light.
Crash!
"Huh!? W-what!? A, ah, ah...!?"
The knight's torn body was reattached by the time he hit the ground.
It seems [Heal] barely made it in time.
If he had died of shock at the moment he was torn apart, using [Heal] would have been useless.
In that sense, this knight was lucky.
The knight touched his stomach and waist frantically.
He must understand what the young man had done to him.
Seeing this, Mika let out a long breath.
The young man looked at the fallen knight with a slightly surprised expression, then looked at Mika.
"Hmm?"
Then, he tilted his head and began to ponder.
"You bastard!"
"What the hell did you just do!?"
The knights surrounding them drew their swords all at once, pointing them at the young man.
Several knights grabbed the fallen knight and dragged him backward.
But the young man seemed to have no regard for those knights, slowly turning his gaze toward Mika.
At that moment, a creepy sensation wrapped around Mika's neck and head.
(!!!)
Mika immediately rolled sideways with all his might.
"[Burst]."
Boom!
At the same time the young man muttered, a small explosion occurred where Mika's head had been just moments ago.
"What!?"
"Grrr!"
The knights surrounding them were startled by the sudden explosion, looking back and forth between the spot where the explosion happened and the young man.
Mika quickly got up and hastily adjusted his stance.
(That was magical power!? Could it be...!)
What had wrapped around Mika's head just now was magical power.
So he sensed the interference and managed to dodge somehow.
The young man looked at Mika with a bewildered expression.
"Huh? You... are you really Te-chan?"
The young man spoke to Mika.
No matter how he answered, it didn't seem like it would end well.
Mika remained silent, never breaking eye contact with the young man, while slowly backing away.
The knights also seemed to realize the danger of the young man, staying on guard and not approaching carelessly.
"I should probably check with Ru-chan. Would asking A-chan help? Oh, you know A-chan, don't you?"
Since before, he had been saying nonsense like A-chan, U-chan, and Ru-chan.
(I don't know! And if you're going to ask someone, say their name properly!)
He wanted to retort involuntarily but held it back.
There was no point in engaging with him seriously.
It was already clear from the situation that a proper conversation was impossible.
The knights were slowly closing the distance to the young man, but there was still nearly ten meters between them.
At that moment, the young man suddenly turned around sharply.
The knights flinched for an instant, and the sound of armor clanking could be heard here and there.
"Oh my. Artorum has appeared."
The young man slumped his shoulders.
"Is it hopeless here? Just like last time?"
Beyond the young man, on a stone-paved area, a faint black cocoon began to appear.
(Artorum...?)
Was that the black cocoon-like thing?
"It hasn't even been ten years since the exchange. Well, I guess it can't be helped. ...Ah, I'll pass it from A-chan to Ru-chan. That way, I won't get scolded. I'm so warm."
The young man approached the black cocoon with a light step.
Reaching out his hand, the black cocoon vanished instantly.
The young man slowly turned around, directing a smiling face toward Mika.
"I think I'll ask A-chan about you. See you later."
Saying that, the young man turned his back and returned the way he came.
The knights stood frozen, watching the young man leave.
If they made a move carelessly, it would be dangerous.
But could they really just let him go like this?
Conflicted, they exchanged glances.
"What... what was that...?"
Shesbarno muttered.
Leaving him alone like this was bad.
He knew that, but if they acted rashly, anything could happen.
For now, the priority was to regroup, monitor the ruins, and report to the Knight Commander.
It was a situation that was honestly beyond Shesbarno's ability to handle, given how incomprehensible it was.
"...Ah, yes. Young lady."
Shesbarno turned around, directing his gaze to where the girl had been just moments ago.
But there was no sign of the girl there.
"Hey, what happened to the girl who was there just now?"
"Eh? What?"
Told by Shesbarno, the knights looked around frantically, but the girl was already nowhere to be found.
■■■■■■
"This is bad, this is bad, what was that? It's too dangerous."
Mika had secretly slipped away while the knights' attention was fixed on the young man.
Running through the forest, he recalled what had just happened.
"First... the Chimera."
He didn't know how the first Chimera had appeared.
But its appearance was strange regarding the "substitute."
Appearing from a heat haze?
What was that?
First, he wanted to confirm if that was the normal way they appeared.
"...So, the Guild... or... Mr. Yaroibarov?"
Since he was a former A-rank adventurer, he would surely know about magic beasts.
Mika had already planned to visit Yaroibarov's inn.
While going to see Kistil, he would ask Yaroibarov for information.
"And that black cocoon-like thing."
It suddenly appeared in the ruins, on the stone-paved area.
It became faintly transparent and vanished.
Then it appeared again.
It made no sense.
And then, the young man with reddish-brown hair, who seemed to be connected to both the Chimera and the black cocoon.
He looked like an ordinary city dweller, but he carried an extraordinary atmosphere.
"The Chimera was given to U-chan... The black cocoon was called Artorum, right?"
When the young man reached out, the black cocoon disappeared.
Did that mean the young man had collected the black cocoon?
"And... 'Tear Apart.' And 'Burst,' huh."
It felt like the "magic names" of Mika's "conditioning."
"I've always wondered why there isn't anyone who directly manipulates magic...."
There were others besides Mika who used magic.
They existed, but...
"I absolutely don't want to get involved."
He suddenly tore a knight's torso apart and tried to kill Mika.
He would just proceed with his own agenda, and even if they tried to talk, it wouldn't be a proper conversation.
With people like that, it's best not to get involved at all.
"If the other party could hold a conversation, I'd want to exchange information... But that guy is definitely impossible."
As he ran, Mika slumped his shoulders and let out a deep sigh.
"Why did I go see a Chimera...?"
Of course, it was because he lost to his curiosity.
If he had headed out to hunt magic beasts as planned, he wouldn't have been dragged into such a troublesome situation.
...Well, acting like a victim when he was already involved is a bit much, though.
Mika ran through the capital city, thinking about what had just happened.
As Yaroibarov's inn came into view, Yaroibarov was just stepping outside.
It seemed the exterior was under renovation, as he was talking with some craftsmen.
Before Mika could get close, Yaroibarov suddenly turned around with a stern expression.
"Hey, come over here."
When Mika came close, Yaroibarov, still with a stern expression, nodded with his chin, indicating for him to follow, and quickly went inside the inn.
They went to a room just after climbing the stairs. Once Mika entered the room, Yaroibarov closed the door.
"What happened?"
Yaroibarov asked Mika with a stern expression.
"Boy, your killing intent is leaking out. And that outfit. Do you have any clothes to change into?"
Killing intent...?
(What is that? Is it something delicious?)
Even if he said it was leaking, he didn't intend to be dripping with it.
When Mika looked bewildered, Yaroibaro softened his expression.
"Huh... You've finally become the usual boy again."
He decided to put the conversation aside for now and change clothes first.
Mika took out the clothes he had stored in his Magic Bag and changed.
The clothes he had been wearing were scorched in many places and were in tatters.
Really, I survived that well, me.
"You're carrying something arrogant, aren't you? You have a Magic Bag, don't you?"
Yaroibarov looked at Mika's Magic Bag with a slightly surprised expression.
"I was hesitant, but I thought it would be better to have one."
"It's not something you can buy so easily."
Yaroibarov said with a look of exasperation.
The Magic Bag had not a single scorch mark.
He had just bought it, so he would cry if it suddenly burned, but it was strange that it wasn't damaged at all.
"Why were you okay? Your uniform was in tatters."
"Huh? That's because the Magic Bag has Heat Resistance and Fire Resistance [Enchantments] applied to it."
Yaroibarov raised one eyebrow and answered as if it were nothing.
"There is a reason for the price. Would you put important things in a bag that burns easily?"
Now that he mentioned it, that was indeed true.
Moreover, in the case of a Magic Bag, the contents could be lost if it failed.
"Weren't you explained this when you bought it?"
"Ah, I think they said it was hard to burn or resistant to water."
"Yes. It is designed so that there are no problems in the environment where adventurers normally use it."
So that's what "normally use" meant.
(I thought it was something like waterproof for daily life, but it was normal for adventurers...)
Of course, it wouldn't be affected by just a blast of hot wind.
They might even say it was fine to throw it into a campfire.
"A Chimera!? In Modesse Forest?"
While Mika was changing, Yaroibarov brought him a fruit juice drink.
By the way, he brought a bottle of Red Wine for himself.
Sitting at the table provided in the room, Mika told Yaroibarov what had just happened.
"Fuu..."
Yaroibarov crossed his arms and thought with a serious expression.
"It appeared from a heat haze, seemingly out of nowhere. Is that normal?"
"No... I haven't heard of that as a Chimera ability. It's more like a Wraith type, or some kind of undead monster that can hide its form."
Such monsters do exist, but it didn't seem to be a Chimera ability.
Yaroibarov gave Mika a detailed explanation of the Chimera.
Chimera.
A magic beast artificially created by combining multiple different types of beasts.
The materials are basically beasts. Not magic beasts.
It seems there are also Chimeras made from magic beasts as materials, but the difficulty of synthesis is on a completely different level.
"Mad mages create Chimeras for the purpose of command. The fools get bitten and eaten, and they escape successfully. Then they get released into the wild."
The purpose of creating Chimeras was for command.
It seems they are made as guard dogs.
Some mages get hooked on alchemy, and it seems Chimeras are made with that same mindset.
"Bitten" meant getting bitten from the head, likely killed instantly.
That is, that kind of person.
Why would someone go to such lengths to create such a monster...
"...Indeed, they are crazy."
"Right?"
How many screws must have fallen out of their heads to think of using such a monster as a guard dog?
Yaroibarov drank the Red Wine from the bottle like a horn.
"Phew... The boy you defeated was quite large, but it's probably a basic recipe Chimera."
"Basic... recipe?"
What was that?
Recipe?
"Chimeras are made by combining various beasts. It seems quite difficult. And one of the easiest combinations to make is a lion, a goat, and a snake."
Chimeras were created with various combinations other than the basic recipe.
Those who created Chimeras seemed to find originality in that.
Mika's head hurt from the sheer craziness.
He involuntarily held his head.
"What is with them... Seriously, die."
Mika spat out bitterly, and Yaroibarov smiled wryly and muttered, "I agree."
"Well, even with this basic recipe, it doesn't succeed often. That's the only saving grace."
Still, there were successful cases, and Chimeras actually existed.
Mika struggled to suppress the anger welling up inside him.
"If it fails, it becomes some incomprehensible lump of mixed meat. It seems they can survive and be synthesized even in that state, but they soon die without being able to maintain life activities. ...Well, living like that would just be painful."
Mika had already become tired of even imagining it.
What were they thinking?
"...You're very knowledgeable, but did you do it?"
"Idiot."
He was hit on the head.
Mika held the throbbing spot where he was hit.
Even so, the pain from being hit by Yaroibarov felt better than the headache he had until now.
"Before, I received a request to catch a guy like that, a madman. He was good at it despite being crazy. He commanded over ten Chimeras."
"Huh...? Ten?"
Catch a madman guarded by ten Chimeras?
Impossible, that.
"And I caught him."
"You caught him!?"
"Well, of course I caught him. It was a request."
Yaroibarov said as if it were nothing.
Mika was stunned.
At least, he understood that Yaroibarov was more than ten times stronger than Mika.
(...It was already difficult with just one, but taking down ten or more... is he a monster?)
He had once thought Diego, who said he defeated an Agu Bear alone, was a monster beyond monsters, but Yaroibarov was not like that.
Well, even Diego was C-rank.
And Yaroibarov was A-rank.
It was natural that there was an unclimbable wall.
(He said he still gets direct requests, and now I understand. If it's left to Mr. Yaroibarov, it's guaranteed. The sense of security is incredible.)
This was A-rank.
Why is this person running an inn?
He didn't want to criticize people's hobbies, but even Mika felt compelled to say something.
"Well, that guy I caught talked a lot while being transported. About what Chimeras were wonderful, what hardships he had, etc."
It seems he was forced to listen to a lecture on Chimera studies endlessly during transport.
Remembering that, Yaroibaro made a somewhat grim face.
"To create a Chimera, a living magic stone is needed as the core. It seems the compatibility between this magic stone and the beast used as material largely determines success or failure."
Saying that, he drank the Red Wine again.
"The reason for not using magic beasts as material is also based on using this magic stone as the core. Magic beasts have magic stones too, right? The influence makes their state unstable."
...I don't really understand.
Was it that interference occurred between the magic stone used as the core and the magic stone inside the beast used as material?
He vaguely understood, but also didn't.
"So the basic recipe Chimera has better compatibility with this core magic stone. When changing combinations, it seems important to consider this compatibility."
It seems the study of Chimera creation is quite deep.
"In fact, that guy was quite skilled. There were several Chimeras that were not the basic recipe."
Yaroibaro grimaced.
"There were Chimeras with scorpion tails, ones with horns and wings, and some that seemed to mix four or five types of synthesis. Ones that spit poison, etc."
The guy Yaroibaro caught seemed to be a very original madman.
Just listening to it made Mika feel depressed.
He involuntarily let out a sigh.
Seeing that, Yaroibaro smiled wryly.
"Those kinds of oddities sometimes aren't registered with the Guild's magic power either. In a broad category, they are Chimeras, but the type of magic power seems to be considered something different."
It seems these were also treated as new species.
However, at that time, Yaroibaro had defeated many such Chimeras, so many were detected as new species.
Normally, so many new species wouldn't be detected at once, so it caused quite a commotion at that time.
Even for Yaroibaro, he could report what kinds of monsters existed, but he couldn't determine which magic power corresponded to which Chimera.
They were registered as known magic powers, but it seems there were still many unidentified ones.
(...This guy is seriously amazing.)
His experience as an adventurer was legendary to Mika.
Mika listened to Yaroibaro's story with a look of utter disbelief.