Mushoku Tensei:The Successor Arc

After a few days of talking, Lara and I started to get familiar with each other.

I gradually came to understand that this girl, Lara, doesn't care much for superficialities. She doesn't fall for deliberate displays of respect at all. So I've stopped with the "Miss Greyrat" and "Miss Lara" stuff.

...

Though, saying Lara and I have gotten familiar isn't quite right either. To be more specific, I've gained a partial understanding of Lara. As for Lara's understanding of me... sorry, but as an amnesiac, I don't even understand myself, let alone Lara. So most of the time, I can only answer her questions with "I don't know."

But even so, Lara would tirelessly ask all sorts of trivial questions. And it seems my answers aren't that important. "As long as I answer, even if it's just shaking my head, it counts,"—that's what she said. Is she using it as a basis for her divination? I'm not sure, but since divination is Lara's specialty, it's probably best not to pry too much. After all, she should be on guard against me too.

...

...

Our destination is the interior of the Demon Continent. As we ventured deeper, the surrounding environment became increasingly harsh.

For example, there's no wood to make a fire; you have to hunt monsters. You can't just sit on any rock, because that rock might be a mimic monster. And the meat of the monsters is all incredibly bad—literally. Leaving aside the taste, the texture itself is very tough to chew. Also, the taste really is just average; most of it is very gamey.

Regarding all this, Lara maintained an attitude of indifference. It seemed like she was very used to this kind of life—

As if.

...

Around the third day, she started to have trouble hiding her true nature.

"Ugh... I want to eat cake..."

"We only have wolf meat. At least it's better than turtle meat..."

Lara took the roasted meat with some difficulty, then sniffed it and wrinkled her brow.

"Lu...g, your cooking skills need improvement..."

"What do you expect me to make with zero seasonings?"

In times like these, shouldn't you just swallow it down quickly instead of chewing and savoring it slowly?

...

"Ugh... I'm not eating anymore..."

"No. Eat it."

The Demon Continent isn't like other places. What's the difference between having no energy and committing suicide?

"Ugh... No! No means no!"

"Are you a child...?"

Are you really throwing a tantrum on the ground?

I pressed a hand to my forehead, feeling a bit helpless.

Zing—!

Ugh...!

Seeing Lara throw such a shameless tantrum, I seemed to feel a headache. A precursor to my memories returning? It seems I've met someone with a personality like Lara's in the past...? However, no fragments of memory appeared, just a slight headache.

...

To stop the headache from continuing, I could only wave my hand at her in resignation.

"Alright, alright... we'll go get a tastier monster. Happy now?"

"Huh? Something tasty?"

She immediately quieted down and sat up, looking at me. So easy to coax. Just like a sweet-loving Ro—

ZING—!!!

Ow! Ow ow ow!!!

...

Okay, okay. I get it. I'll stop trying to remember, alright! Just stop making my head hurt!

...

My brow furrowed. I stroked my chin thoughtfully.

"Hmm... let's go find a snake-type monster. Their meat is usually more tender..."

Snake meat, on the whole, tastes a bit better.

"Good idea! I'll divine the location of a snake den right now!"

Lara instantly perked up.

"No, no, no... don't barge into a den. Just a lone one will do..."

...

...

"Mhm!... Got it, got it... Lug, let's—huh? Lug!"

I turned to leave but was grabbed by Lara.

"Lara, let's find another one. That snake is a bit big..."

What's with a snake that's a full ten meters long? And why is it so big? And looking at its fangs, it's not a python but a venomous snake? And what's with those scales that look like silvery metal? Is nothing on the Demon Continent normal?

"Hey, hey, a man shouldn't say he can't at a time like this!" Lara wiped the drool from her mouth.

I quickly waved my hands. "We're just looking for food... no need to provoke a high-level monster—"

Lara raised her staff.

[Rock Bullet]

Ah, the battle has already begun.

...

This girl!

I held my forehead in resignation and then drew my sword. Lara's Rock Bullet had little effect because the snake's silver scales nullified most of the magic attack. After being attacked, the snake hissed at us angrily. The patterns on its scales were dazzling.

Mmm... are those mana-absorbing patterns? No, judging from the fact that Lara's Rock Bullet did cause some damage, it's not at that level yet. It should only be able to weaken the power of magic.

Then again, why did we have to provoke such a difficult monster?

...

"Hmph hmph, I see—this is a 'Mithril Crystal Snake.' It can nullify magic attacks below Saint-Rank and weaken the power of other spells—and the mithril on its skin can also nullify Touki-infused slashes... Mmm, Lug, maybe we should retreat."

Halfway through her explanation, Lara suddenly realized we were completely countered. She took a step back. Don't you dare think about bailing after starting a fight. And running around randomly on the Demon Continent is not a good decision.

...

"How about Lightning?" I tried to find a weakness.

"No good, tried it... It's completely immune to that kind of non-physical damage..."

You've got to be kidding me... And against snake-type monsters, Quagmire magic is usually not very effective either. Well now. What kind of monster is this, a specialist against 'Quagmire'?

I shook my head helplessly, then pulled Lara behind me and simultaneously reached a hand back.

"Let me borrow your staff."

"Oh... what are you planning to do?"

Although Lara seemed a bit surprised, she still handed me the staff. In fact, she didn't look very scared. As expected. For an S-Rank adventurer, a monster like this... is just a little troublesome. In other words, Lara is testing my limits here, isn't she?

...

If she wants to test me, then let her.

I nonchalantly raised the staff towards the snake, silently staring at the approaching giant serpent, my eyes calm. The Rock Bullet in front of me was being infinitely collapsed using gravity magic. ...This was a method to enhance Rock Bullet that I only discovered in my later years. Its power was enough to pierce a Demon Lord. A pity, if only I had researched it sooner, 'E—' wouldn't have been—

The back of a red-haired figure flashed past.

Zing—!!!

The headache cut off my memory.

...

Although I can't remember who I am right now, I'm full of confidence in the power of this spell. The giant snake was already very close. Lara's expression was still calm, but Leo had clearly moved a little closer to her. Of course, there's no need for them to act...

...

[Rock Bullet · Extreme Compression]

When the giant snake was less than five meters from us, and the Rock Bullet had consumed less than half of my body's mana, I launched it with a blank expression.

Instantly, it was like a meteor streaking across the earth.

Swoosh—!

There was no explosion, no sound of impact. All there was, was a snake's heart being pierced in an instant by a Rock Bullet that looked like a shooting star. Then it crashed to the ground with a thud.

The battle was over.

...

I could feel Lara's body tense up behind me. However, the look of disbelief that flashed in her eyes was quickly hidden.

I casually handed the staff back to her, then looked at my own palm helplessly. If it weren''t for the help of Lara's staff, my entire current mana pool wouldn't have been enough to supply the yield of that single Rock Bullet.

...

"Lug... sorry. I take back my judgment that you don't know Emperor-Rank magic..."

"Hmm?"

"The power of that spell... it far exceeds Emperor-Rank..."

Lara's face was still a bit stiff as she stared at the spot where the snake was pierced—it was as smooth as a mirror. The power seemed to have exceeded my expectations a little.

"No, I just killed a Class A monster, is all. ...It's nothing."

"Huh? You knew what it was?"

"Ah... thank you for your trouble, Lara. For specifically finding the most troublesome monster in this area... Heh."

Did you think I couldn't see through your test?

"Hmm?... Sorry, my divination usually just finds the most conspicuous targets..." Lara's expression became a bit puzzled as she explained this to me.

"Fine, I'll take it as that."

Whatever. It's normal for a girl like her to be wary of a stranger like me. There's nothing wrong with it. It's just...

"Next time, don't just casually lend your staff to a man you don't know. Like me."

This girl's vigilance is still lacking.

...

...

By the way, that snake meat tasted really good. Beneath the hard mithril scales was tender snake meat. There was no gamey taste. In fact, it tasted like catfish; it was fantastic.

"Lug, I really just divined for the 'tastiest' monster, you know? I didn't mean anything else by it," Lara explained to me, then put a piece of snake meat into her mouth with great satisfaction.

"I believe you."

I couldn't help but eat a little more. It really was delicious.