Adaptive Body (2)
Unlike the bustling surroundings, I remained still. A sense of exhilaration welled up inside me. A powerful energy wrapped around my insides.
I closed my eyes and slowly savored the feeling. Honestly, the magic I had offered was barely anything. To give that and receive something like this—it was an excessive reward.
Apparently, the guarantor was Anaye. It seemed I was quite favored by the Goddess. A guarantee not even given to family.
I opened my eyes with a hollow chuckle.
“How about~ putting on some clothes?”
Canis’s playful voice reached me. My now-sharpened vision caught her blue hair. I turned my gaze to the white-haired girl standing in front of her.
An adaptive body refers to one that adopts the physical traits of a specific being. Like claws of a beast sprouting out.
The stronger the target, the greater the effect. And I was connected to the body of an ancient god.
“H-How does your body feel?”
Winter, still unable to shake her concern, asked. I shrugged.
It had at least been a somewhat muscular body before, but now it was completely emaciated. And yet, the strength I felt in my grip was extraordinary.
The body of an ancient god. It likely wasn’t perfect for many reasons, but I was grateful nonetheless.
“Step back for a moment.”
▶Adaptive Body (Anaye)
—Iron Body: Hardened muscles, tough skin, and robust stamina.
—True Vessel: The Trace of Anaye is permanently engraved.
I examined the skill. At this level, it was no different from a complete transformation. Physical growth alone would have been enough, but it even came with additional functions.
I ran my hand over my chest. The mark of the stigmata that had been there had changed slightly. A familiar pattern. I gestured to Winter.
She tilted her head in confusion but obediently took a few steps back. Once there was enough distance, I tapped on the stigmata.
Fzzzt.
Sparks erupted from the mark and spread throughout my body. What could be best described as a lightning armor manifested—and it remained sustained endlessly.
A passive version of the engraving that normally consumed stamina to explode. I barely held back the grin threatening to stretch my face.
“Let’s go too.”
Maybe it still consumed some stamina—I felt slightly fatigued. I deactivated the lightning armor and started walking. It was time to face the final boss.
“……”
“……”
Suddenly, I felt a gaze. Amid the students scurrying to handle the situation, I locked eyes with one of them. Only then did I remember a purpose I had completely forgotten.
One of the two who had formed a party with Davide in the game. The look came from the guy who had the trait [Adrenaline].
I had searched and searched and ended up forgetting. We exchanged glances for a moment and then turned our heads at the same time. He was smiling brightly at me.
Nice to have, but not necessary. For now, I was content with having the Adaptive Body. I’d probably run into him again someday.
“You ready?”
“Yes.”
While I had been walking, Winter caught up with her belongings in tow, and Canis also matched her pace to mine. The path ahead was quiet.
“I’ll take the lead~”
With confidence, Canis stepped forward and demonstrated the prowess of a skilled mage.
It was probably her doing that the subjugation team had been notified of our location. I didn’t bother stopping her.
After Coco had collapsed, the golem had ceased to function. I gave it a few kicks out of spite, like it was a tin can. I wanted to feel just how much stronger my body had become.
Thanks to that, Canis’s internal evaluation hit rock bottom once again—but I didn’t care.
“Well, well?”
A familiar voice rang out. Bereninche appeared at the corridor leading to the basement of the main building.
She looked me over up and down, let out a dry laugh, and walked over.
“What’s with that look?”
“I received the love of a god.”
“How pretentious.”
Bereninche seemed quite amused. There was no need to respond to her sharp words. More importantly—where the hell did Canis go?
“Looking for something?”
“No, it’s just that this bas—Never mind. Why are you here?”
“Someone said the white-haired girl was at the shelter, but she wasn’t, so here I am.”
“Ah.”
Now that she mentioned it, I had said something like that. I picked up Winter, who was hiding behind me, and handed her over. Her eyes widened as if they would burst.
Her face, filled with betrayal, soon gave way to tears.
Bereninche glared at me for a moment before accepting Winter into her arms.
“So the white-haired one’s with the rescue team, then?”
“Sorry? Oh, yes.”
“Sounds like things went smoothly over there.”
“...Ah. Something like that.”
It was finished, yes, but whether “smoothly” was the right word… someone had died, after all. Judging by the atmosphere, Bereninche seemed intent on joining us. Naturally, I welcomed it.
I took the lead in place of Canis, who had earlier volunteered to guide us. Thinking back on it, her stealth skills really were impressive.
“Ooh, that one looks like it’ll be fun to hit.”
With no interruptions, our progress was smooth. Before long, we arrived at the heart of the barrier. The underground combat arena of the Victoria Hall had been dug deep below.
At this point, they might need to rebuild the whole building. I scanned the battlefield, keeping that idle thought in mind. Bereninche, already having assessed the situation, chattered excitedly.
Indeed, the upper-year students from the Combat Department were facing something that did look like it’d be satisfying to beat down.
“...What kind of creature is that?”
“It’s not anything natural, that’s for sure.”
It had a revolting appearance. A massive torso like a gorilla’s, with the head of a snake attached. Easily the size of a small building.
I had to admit, the mastermind who managed to bring something like that into a building was rather impressive.
Fiendbeast . Literally, a beast of vicious nature. In truth, it was a chimera crafted by the enemy. An annoying type that appeared persistently in [Difficult Dungeon].
“There doesn’t seem to be much progress.”
“I guess its hide is tough.”
Winter frowned as she watched the Fiendbeast remain unscathed under the students’ barrage of attacks.
She shook her head at Bereninche’s comment. That thing’s hide wasn’t just tough—it was on a whole other level. In terms of pure physical prowess, nothing else came close.
It had a certain degree of resistance to all elements. Even physical shock resistance was included.
A near-perfect counter to the Combat Department students.
“Well, we’ll know once we hit it.”
But thankfully, Bereninche was here. As she boldly stepped forward, mana surged around her.
A spear of water burst from the ground and, empowered by Bereninche’s trait, began to spin violently. She spread her legs and pulled her arm back.
Her bulging muscles swelled to the point of bursting as she hurled the spear. It was the Water Spear, Bereninche’s signature attack.
“Kyiiieeeaaagh!”
If Canis’s crystal shots were like cannons, this was a missile. The hide, which should’ve been pierced by the tremendous water pressure and rotation, held firm against the spear.
However, it couldn’t block the explosive impact contained within. Struck in the head, the Fiendbeast screamed and was sent flying into the wall.
“Oh-ho?”
Bereninche’s eyes sparkled—it seemed even she had put some effort into that strike.
All eyes turned to her. Of course they did—she had just knocked back the beast that had been overwhelming them in a single blow. Fired up by the attention, Bereninche readied herself for more.
“Umm… at least put a shirt on. Maybe…”
Winter clearly didn’t appreciate my exposed torso. At first, I’d felt self-conscious too, but the tattoos covering me made me stop caring.
Some people glanced warily at me, aiming their weapons, but relaxed the moment they saw Bereninche by my side.
“How many hits do you think it'll take?”
“Not too many, I’d guess.”
I walked forward slowly. My clothes had been blown off earlier, and my shovel had been destroyed as well—there was nothing left to carry into battle.
I considered asking Canis for something, but she still hadn’t revealed herself from hiding. Instead, I pulled out the Holy Scripture.
Even though this was supposed to be the final boss, I didn’t need any reward from it. Just getting the Adaptive Body had been enough for me—I had no interest in getting caught up in loot disputes.
“Ring the bell.”
Sparks crackled from the Holy Scripture as it radiated a soft glow. I intended to end this quickly.
Coco, the mid-boss, had at least been entertaining. It had gimmicks, a bit of puzzle-like patterning with gravity reversal—it was fun.
But the Fiendbeast was different. Just hard. Unnecessarily tough. A boring boss fight that was all about hitting and dodging—I had no patience for that.
“Ahh! That startled me!”
Responding to my fighting spirit, lightning armor flared out from my stigmata—and Winter, who had been standing nearby, got caught in the edge of it.
She quickly backed away and shook the Silent Bell at me with an indignant expression. The sound of the bell rang out, clearing the mind and sharpening the senses.
“I’m going first!”
An even larger Water Spear than before flew through the air, striking the Fiendbeast, which had just regained its bearings.
A massive spray of water exploded outward, and the creature was shredded by the raging torrent. Caught in the deluge, it couldn’t even scream before being slammed down again.
Seizing that opening, I pulled out the Lightning Spike of Anaye. Before retrieving it from the Holy Scripture, I engraved the Thunder Horn Mark onto my makeshift weapon—or rather, what remained of the shovel.
The more stamina I expended, the more powerful the Lightning Spike became.
The one I drew out now had a diameter of 10 meters. Normally, using something this dangerous in such a space would be unthinkable—but with Bereninche here, it was fine.
“Whoa…”
Even I had never seen a Lightning Spike that massive before. Winter let out a breath of awe behind me, staring blankly at the barely stabilized bolt of lightning.
“It’s bigger than last time?”
“This too is the Goddess’s love.”
Compared to when I fought the Forest Guardian, it had doubled in size. I chuckled at Bereninche’s question. Troublesome questions like that were easily deflected with Anaye’s name.
“Alright. Here it goes.”
I took my stance. Left foot forward, both hands gripping the spike. Then I stepped in with my right foot and swung the spike downward.
ZzzzzzEEEEEEEEEENG! KWAJIIIIIIK!
The spike split part of the ‘floor’—which had become the ceiling—and crashed down. The massive chunk of lightning screeched as it tore through the air with friction.
With its wide area, the Lightning Spike easily struck the Fiendbeast. Of course, its tough hide didn’t get sliced open.
But the immense current devoured every last cell in its body. Elemental resistance or not, that scale of attack couldn’t be ignored.
Even before the lightning explosion had fully dissipated, the next attack came flying in.
“This feels... anticlimactic.”
“Don’t say that.”
Five Water Spears. The spears, hurled by Bereninche, spun like drills and flew in irregular paths like serpents.
Nape, lower abdomen, left thigh, heart, right shoulder. Each one struck a vital point at once, spinning endlessly to hammer down that stubborn hide.
Overwhelmed by the physical force, the Fiendbeast was finally pierced through.
Winter, watching it burst apart into multiple pieces, muttered with a dazed expression. I lightly scolded her.
Feelings like that were wasted on such a grotesque creature. The Fiendbeast, which had pushed the subjugation team to its limits, died without ever truly showing what it could do.
“Ugh, the smell’s awful.”
I stored the Holy Scripture and walked closer. With a body that absurdly durable, I half-wondered if it would somehow reassemble itself.
Not that I’d say that thought out loud—no need to tempt fate with a dumb flag. As I approached, a foul stench assaulted me.
Its head, as large as my own body, came into view. Its twin sets of eyes had lost their light, and the blood spilling from its gaping mouth was pitch black.
“This is disgusting.”
Bereninche, who had followed behind, wrinkled her nose at the sight. Could such a thing even be considered alive?
As that thought passed through my mind—our eyes met. One pair of its dead eyes stared straight at me, filled with madness.
…Even though I’d only thought it?
“You son of a—!”
Startled, I instinctively smashed its head. Responding a beat later, Bereninche drew a Water Spear and plunged it into the creature.
A massive impact followed.
“Waaagh!”
Winter, who had gotten too close, was swept into the chaos and toppled over. But even before my fist landed, Bereninche’s spear had already pierced its brain.
I stared blankly down at my right hand. There was a clean fist mark on the Fiendbeast’s once-invincible skull.
“What’s going on here?”
The rescue team, who had finally arrived, tilted their heads in confusion at the training ground, now utterly silent—not even the sound of an ant.
No one answered them. The subjugation team felt the same. What had been a grueling battle, even when attacking together, had ended the moment two people showed up.
“Found it~”
A cheerful voice rang out from somewhere. Canis, who had vanished earlier, appeared with a massive gemstone cradled in her arms.
But it wasn’t one of the clean, pristine crystals she normally handled. This one was dark, corrupted, and ominous.
“Ugh! The smell!”
Canis, who had been approaching, suddenly scrunched up her face in disgust. It was thanks to the black blood that had splashed when Bereninche pulled her spear free.
“What’s that?”
“Oh? It’s the core of the barrier~ I was gonna sneak it out while everyone was distracted, but… guess it’s already over~”
Wiping the blood from her face, she let out a hollow laugh.
This damn girl might not even be a real mage.