Chapter 12 - 012_High Heat Bullet
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012_High Heat Bullet
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They had explored the 3rd floor several times now. There were plenty of red, blue, green, and yellow Lulmils to hunt. However, white and black Lulmils were not to be found at all. The source power obtained from Lulmils differed by color, but since one could only equip one, red Lulmils that could fire fireballs were highly popular.
There had been reported sightings of white and black Lulmils, but no records of successful subjugation. Since red Lulmils were so popular, there was no need to spend time searching for white and black Lulmils. As a result, they had been left alone.
"Flame Bullet"
Rodney extended only his left index finger and thumb, aiming the index finger at a green Lulmil, and fired the intermediate source power 'Flame Bullet'.
With 'Fireball', a fireball about 5 ceroms in diameter would fly, but 'Flame Bullet' was a fire bullet less than 1 cerom in diameter that flew at high speed. If one looked carefully, even an ordinary soldier could dodge a 'Fireball', but 'Flame Bullet' was extremely difficult to evade because the fire itself was small and its flight speed was quite high.
The green Lulmil hit by 'Flame Bullet' had its body blown apart, leaving behind a Life Light Stone.
"Alright, it's my turn now~"
Emilia fired a 'Fireball' at a nearby blue Lulmil. The 'Fireball' hit the slow-moving Lulmil, but the Lulmil was still intact. It seemed she had intended to finish it in one shot just like Rodney, but the 'Fireball' had poor compatibility with the blue Lulmil and was also low in power.
Emilia had received an unexpected counterattack, but when it was over, there were no dangerous moments.
"I can't believe I had to fire four times! That's ridiculous!"
Emilia, who had downed the blue Lulmil by firing 'Fireball' four times, was pouting and angry.
"Well, as for how to use 'Fireball', it's probably better to use it as a diversion rather than a main attack."
"I also often use it for diversion. But I hardly ever use it."
'Fireball' and 'Water Ball' didn't have much power, so using them for diversion was probably the better way. Yulin used them for diversion as well, expecting more of a harassment effect than actual damage.
On the other hand, when it came to 'Flame Bullet', it had speed and power that could be used as a main attack. Rodney thought that if one could grasp the characteristics of source power and use them accordingly, the range of tactics would expand.
Emilia and Yulin could only obtain one type of source power from Lulmils, but Rodney was different. Although it was painful to ingest them, he could obtain all types of source power as superior versions of what Lulmils provided.
That was why he wanted to defeat white and black Lulmils as well and obtain their source power. They had been walking through the marshes and searching inside huts, but they couldn't find any at all. Just as he was about to give up,
Huh? I sense a presence from inside this hut.
Rodney, who sensed the presence inside the hut with 'Acute Sense', felt something strange about it. He had felt presences inside huts before. However, those presences were not so clear, but the presence inside this hut was felt quite distinctly.
"Wait, both of you. The presence of the Lulmil inside that hut is different from before."
"Really? I don't feel it?"
"I sense something is there. Let's be careful, Emilia-sama."
"I'll check it out, so you two wait here."
"Big Brother, are you sure?"
"It's fine. I even have two intermediate defensive source powers, you know."
"Oh, that's right."
Rodney shouldered his iron club and opened the door of the hut. At that moment, something slammed into Rodney's abdomen, and he stumbled back two steps. The impact was such that if he hadn't activated 'Iron Wall' and 'Fortitude', he might have broken several ribs.
The thing that had crashed into him was a Lulmil about twice the size of a normal one. And its color was pure white.
"Oh, a white one!"
At the same time Emilia voiced at the sight of the color, Rodney kicked off the ground and leaped at the large white Lulmil. He swung down his iron club, but the large white Lulmil swiftly dodged it.
"What!?"
Lulmils were slow in movement, but this large white Lulmil was quite fast, and it dodged all of Rodney's attacks with its swift movements.
"Rodney-sama, I'll support you."
"Wait. Let me handle this alone a bit longer."
Rejecting Yulin's help, Rodney pointed his iron club straight at the large white Lulmil. At that moment, a white sphere was released from the large white Lulmil. Its speed was incomparably faster than a 'Fireball'.
Taken by surprise by the speed, Rodney barely managed to activate 'Fortitude', which had already expired, and took a direct hit from the white sphere.
"Gah!? Hot!?"
Rodney's leather armor was scorched by the heat, and a hole had opened up. Fortunately, Rodney himself was unharmed thanks to 'Fortitude'.
"You did that, you bastard!"
By way of repayment, Rodney shot a 'Wind Bullet'. The large white Lulmil dodged it, but that was according to Rodney's plan. He got ahead of the dodging path and swung down his iron club, feeling the Lulmil's elasticity. But he ignored that and put all his strength into it.
The large white Lulmil was crushed by the iron club and disappeared into dust. It left behind a Life Light Stone that was slightly larger than usual and whitish. Also, a white lump had fallen beside it.
"Rodney-sama, are you alright!?"
"Big Brother, are you okay?"
"Yeah, my leather armor got a hole, but I'm fine."
When he picked up the Life Light Stone and the lump and showed them to the two, Yulin said it was her first time seeing both. They decided to use the Life Light Stone after returning home, but they wondered what this white lump was.
"It looks like metal. Could it be a true ore?"
"But I've never heard of a white true ore."
When Emilia suggested it might be a true ore, Yulin said she had never heard of such a thing. True ores were known in gold, blue, green, yellow, and red, but this one was white. Rodney had never heard of a white true ore either.
"Anyway, let's take this home and examine it."
The three searched for the remaining black Lulmil, but it was not found that day. When they returned home, Kiris asked for document approval, so they decided to take care of the paperwork first.
Emilia and Yulin were waiting for an event later, so they sat on the sofa waiting for Rodney to finish his paperwork. They took out the white lump they had obtained and were talking about how it would be nice if it were a true ore, when Kiris' eyes stopped on the lump.
"That is..."
Kiris excused herself to the two and looked at the white lump.
"Kiris-san, do you know what this is?"
"This is a true ore. It's a white true ore that rarely appears in the world."
"Oh, so this is a true ore. So what effect does the white one have?"
When Emilia asked, Kiris frowned.
"I'm sorry. I know that white true ore is rare, but I don't know its effects."
"Too bad~"
"Isn't it good that we at least know it's a true ore?"
Rodney, who had been listening from his desk, said it was helpful just to know it was a true ore.
"If this is a true ore, then we can make a sword for you, Rodney-sama."
"A sword, huh. I wonder if I can handle a sword..."
He had gained strength and defense from source power. However, that was a different matter from swordsmanship. Swordsmanship, which was not just about hitting or defending, was something of a nemesis for Rodney.
"It'll be fine. I hear true steel is sturdy, so you can just hit with the sword, Big Brother."
"That's true too. Hahaha."
His sister's words about hitting rather than cutting or slashing with the sword put him at ease.
When the paperwork was finished and Kiris left with the documents, Rodney also sat on the sofa. There, he tossed the Life Light Stone left by the large white Lulmil into his mouth.
Intense pain coursed through his body, and sweat gushed from Rodney's pores. Yulin worried about Rodney, who was clutching his chest and suffering, as if it were her own pain, but Emilia seemed used to it and was drinking tea.
"Hey, Emilia. Show a little concern for me."
"But Big Brother, you're exaggerating. Even I, a girl, and Yulin, we don't make such a big deal about the pain."
"Guh..."
Suffering mental damage from his sister's harshness, Rodney decided to focus his mind on the newly acquired 'High Heat Bullet'. 'High Heat Bullet' was an intermediate source power that was a superior version of the basic source power 'Heat Ball' obtainable from white Lulmils. While 'Flame Bullet' obtained from red Lulmils dealt fire damage to the target, 'High Heat Bullet' dealt melting damage through heat. They were similar, but 'High Heat Bullet' had higher power.
The white sphere released by the large white Lulmil was 'Heat Ball'. 'Heat Ball' flew at a much higher speed than basic source powers like 'Fireball' and dealt great damage. Therefore, 'High Heat Bullet' was also faster and could deal higher damage than 'Flame Bullet'.
"It seems there was a good reason why it was hard to find."
Since they were stronger than other Lulmils, their numbers seemed to be low.
"Now that it's come to this, I want to defeat the black Lulmil too, Rodney-sama."
"I crave it as much as you, but let's head to the 4th floor next. We'll search for the black Lulmil when we need it."
"Understood."
"Well, before that, I have to head to Deldo Territory to repay the debt."
Around now, the snow on the highway should be melting, so they would head to Viscount Menisas's mansion. If they repaid the debt, they wouldn't have to pay the high interest of 10% per month anymore. That was a very big deal.
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