Chapter 51

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□【Holy Knight】Ray Stirling

【＜UBM＞【Wraith Steed Gouzmeis】 has been defeated】

【Selecting MVP】

【【Ray Stirling】 has been selected as MVP】

【Granting MVP reward 【Purple Wraith Boots Gouzmeis】 to 【Ray Stirling】】

"Is that so..."

The body of 【Gouzmeis】 gradually turned into particles of light, and the same type of announcement that appeared when I defeated 【Galdoranda】 confirmed the defeat of 【Gouzmeis】. However, I had no time for that. I was in the middle of falling from a height of forty meters—【Gouzmeis】' head height. Without the head where I had plunged my greatsword, this was the result. Moreover, my body wouldn't move. To defeat 【Gouzmeis】, I used a rather reckless method to activate the skill 《The Flag of Reversal Flaps》. Thanks to the status reversal buff effect I gained, I was able to exert more than my full strength and defeat it. However, just like when I defeated 【Galdoranda】, the skill would be canceled once the enemy, 【Gouzmeis】, was defeated. What remained was me, afflicted with several status ailments. My status window showed status ailments such as 【Severe Poison】, 【Weakness】, and 【Intoxication】—all derived from 《Hell Miasma》—as well as 【Curse】 and 【Food Poisoning】 caused by consuming 【Gouzmeis】' flesh. It was only natural to end up this way after eating the flesh of an undead. Even after the 《Reversal》 was canceled, I could still move my body until I activated 《Vengeance is Mine》, but now I couldn't move at all. I wouldn't be able to take a defensive position and would be smashed into the ground in a few seconds. Whether I could endure with my current HP and physical condition was a precarious gamble.

"Namamu!"

I closed my eyes and tensed my immobile body, bracing for the impending impact... but I felt an unnaturally light touch.

First once, then again. After two gentle jolts... my body was lying on the ground.

"?"

I cautiously opened my eyes to see the silver artificial horse—Silver—beside me. Silver, just like when I first fell off, was looking down at me with concern. It seemed that Silver had gently caught me as I fell and placed me on the ground. I wasn't sure how a horse could do that, but...

"Ha... thank you, Silver."

Silver, not a living being and without a mouth, couldn't make a sound, but it rubbed its nose against my cheek as a response. The gesture was just like that of a real horse. Silver had been a great help in the battle against the 【Great Wraith】 and in tracking 【Gouzmeis】. Without the gauntlets, 【Miasma Flame Gauntlets Galdoranda】, and the dream I had, I might not have won. And... there was someone who had risked their life to help me more than anyone else.

"Thanks, Nemesis. If you hadn't worked so hard, it would have been over for sure."

Without Nemesis, if she hadn't bought me time while I was unconscious, I would have been quickly penalized... and 【Gouzmeis】 would have attacked someone. The fact that it didn't happen was thanks to Nemesis. I wanted to express my gratitude, but...

‘……………………Zz’

She was sleeping.

"Can you faint from exhaustion in 《Embryo》 mode?" "Did I push it too far this time, reaching my limit?" These questions and more kept coming. I also wondered if she could sleep in weapon form and what the status corrections would be like while she was sleeping. But...

"Good work, Nemesis."

Nemesis immediately disappeared into the emblem on my left hand after being unequipped. I, on the other hand, maintained my HP with a recovery magic skill while I couldn't move, and once I could, I used items to alleviate the status ailments. After the failure this morning, I had already obtained recovery items for the 《Hell Miasma》-induced status ailments such as 【Severe Poison】, 【Weakness】, and 【Intoxication】, so I recovered quickly. The 【Food Poisoning】 was cured after a few bouts of vomiting and taking an antidote. The remaining 【Curse】 had disappeared by the time I was fixing the other status ailments. Perhaps it was due to the backlash from 【Gouzmeis】' rampage, but there were no monster attacks while I was focusing on recovery, and I was able to gradually return to a normal state. However, that was just in terms of status. Mentally and physically, I was quite exhausted from the time I entered the fort until the battle with 【Gouzmeis】 ended. Even with full HP, my performance was probably below 60% of my usual. Nemesis also seemed unable to fight. By the way, I had already checked the MVP reward equipment obtained from 【Gouzmeis】. The MVP reward from 【Gouzmeis】 was the 【Purple Wraith Boots Gouzmeis】, as the name suggests, boots made of purple metal and leather—hopefully not human leather. The window description was as follows:

【Purple Wraith Boots Gouzmeis】

＜Anecdotal Grade Weapon＞

A masterpiece that materializes the concept of a wraith steed.

It converts negative thoughts in the surrounding area into pure power and engraves the knowledge of horse and rider as one in the wearer.

※Non-transferable, no level restriction

・Equipment Bonus

AGI +30%

Defense +50

・Equipment Skill

《Wraith Conversion》

《Horse and Rider as One》

"＜Anecdotal Grade Weapon＞?"

That was the first thing I said when I saw the status screen. How was it different from the ＜Legendary Grade Weapon＞【Miasma Flame Gauntlets Galdoranda】? Curious, I checked the help window and found an entry for "MVP Reward Ranks." This was a new addition that I hadn't seen when I checked the help entries before. It was probably already there when I obtained the 【Miasma Flame Gauntlets】. ...It's still a problem that the help entries are added without notification. Anyway, the key points of the help content were that there were several ranks for MVP rewards and the ＜UBM＞ themselves, set mainly based on the strength and threat level of the ＜UBM＞, in ascending order:

＜Anecdotal Grade＞

＜Legendary Grade＞

＜Ancient Legendary Grade＞

＜Mythical Grade＞

＜Super Grade＞

I had two questions about this explanation. One was the ranks of the two MVP rewards I had. Based on the battle, even considering the enhancement of my own power, 【Gouzmeis】 should have been a stronger opponent than 【Galdoranda】. However, the rank of the 【Miasma Flame Gauntlets】 was higher, with better status bonuses and more unique skills. I felt that "it" knew something about this. It had mentioned being unused power, a failed birth of life and intelligence. However, when I called out to the gauntlets on both hands, they didn't respond. I knew from the dream that it had some will, but it couldn't speak in reality. Here, I realized that if I thought about it like 【Galdoranda】, it might mean that 【Gouzmeis】 also had some will left.

"......"

Suddenly, the 【Purple Wraith Boots】 seemed like cursed equipment... but I didn't feel that the will of 【Gouzmeis】 was left in them. It was just a hunch, but I didn't feel it was wrong. If I had to put it logically, it was because I couldn't feel any resentment in something that was once "nothing but resentment."

The next question I had was about the highest rank, ＜Super Grade＞. I had a hard time with the ＜Anecdotal Grade＞ UBM, 【Gouzmeis】. In other words, the ＜Super Grade＞ UBM would be much more dangerous. The name suggested a connection with ＜Super Grade＞ classes or ＜Super Grade Embryo＞ users. Figaro, a ＜Super Grade＞ class and ＜Super Grade Embryo＞ user, might know something. However, I didn't want to encounter a UBM of that rank anytime soon.

Now, let's check the skills. 《Wraith Conversion》 is a minor change to the wraith power of 【Gouzmeis】. It seems to absorb and store the surrounding wraith power and convert it into SP or MP. Depending on the situation, it seems quite useful. The self-repair function I thought might be part of the function is not included. ...The idea of regenerating limbs that had been severed made me feel a bit scared. This is fine.

The 【Purple Wraith Boots】 have another skill, 《Horse and Rider as One》, which I think was gained from the fact that it was a steed.

Its effect is +1 to the 《Riding》 skill level.

Let me repeat that.

+1 to the 《Riding》 skill level.

"I can ride Silver now!"

I shouted, moved by the moment. This is really a good thing. It's something I needed, and now I don't have to ride Silver in a water sports-like manner. By the way, there is also an effect that adds 10% of the 《Riding》 skill level to AGI when riding. This is also good... or rather, this is probably the main effect of the 《Horse and Rider as One》 skill. However, for me, the secondary effect was more appreciated because I had to start with riding.

Thus, I mounted Silver and followed the carriage Yugo and the others were riding, heading back to Gideon. Silver's hooves kicked the ground lightly and briskly. Riding Silver, I was a bit moved that I wasn't being thrown off. While riding, I noticed something. I had ridden a real horse before, but the feeling of riding the artificial horse Silver was a bit different. In terms of sensation, it felt more like riding a large motorcycle... or rather, a rocket. This was probably due to the fact that Silver was a machine and the strength transmitted through the saddle to my seated hips. The ride was very comfortable, and I entrusted the journey to Silver with peace of mind as we headed to Gideon.

If I could meet up with Yugo and the others somewhere on the way back, that would be great.

◇◇◇

□■？？？

【Sand Devourer Azmorel】

Final Level: 56

MVP: 【Earth God】Fatum, Level 1157 (Total Level 1657)

＜Embryo＞: 【Unquenchable Holy Chalice Grail】

MVP Reward: Legendary 【Sand Filled Bag Azmorel】

【Crimson Mechanized Armor Exadem】

Final Level: 63

MVP: 【Annihilation King】Albert Schwarzkaiser, Level 620 (Total Level 1120)

＜Embryo＞: 【Seven Star Transformation Septentrion】

MVP Reward: Ancient Legendary 【Crimson Thorough Armor Exadem】

【Four-Dimensional Sea Beast Todogiras】

Final Level: 51

MVP: 【Supreme Commander】Gray α Centauri, Level 490 (Total Level 990)

＜Embryo＞: 【Unconfirmed Flying Fortress Laputa】

MVP Reward: Ancient Legendary 【Q-Polarized Costume Series Todogiras】

【Wraith Steed Gouzmeis】

Final Level: 34

MVP: 【Holy Knight】Ray Stirling, Level 35 (Total Level 35)

＜Embryo＞: 【Avenger Maiden Nemesis】

MVP Reward: Anecdotal 【Purple Wraith Boots Gouzmeis】

"......Hm?"

In a space where countless information windows glowed blue-white, it let out a questioning voice. It looked like an adult human male at first glance. However, upon closer inspection, its skin had changed to scales resembling a dragon in some places and leather resembling a beast in others, and horns resembling a demon grew from its head. It had a more draconic or beast-like, or even a monster-like appearance, but the glasses it wore on its face gave it a barely human-like impression. It was checking the ＜UBM＞ defeat information, one of its assigned tasks, at regular intervals. Its role in the system called ＜Infinite Dendrogram＞ was to certify ＜UBMs＞. ＜UBMs＞ are a general term for monsters with abnormal strength or abilities, but their most distinctive feature is that they transform into MVP rewards when defeated. There are many powerful individuals and those with special abilities among non-＜UBM＞ boss monsters. When they are defeated by humans or other monsters, they leave behind a 【Treasure Chest】 or items they owned in life, as defined by the system. However, the MVP rewards left by ＜UBMs＞ are completely different. They materialize the abilities and image that the ＜UBM＞ possessed, adjusted to the most meritorious in the defeat. It's not about strength or ability. This transformation is the greatest feature of ＜UBMs＞. ＜UBMs＞ as monsters do not inherently possess this property. However, if the management AI that oversees ＜UBMs＞ in this ＜Infinite Dendrogram＞ certifies "this individual is a ＜UBM＞," the property of transforming into an MVP reward after death is granted. And the one who was doing this work, dealing with the certification and property granting of ＜UBMs＞, and even the "design" of some ＜UBMs＞, was the management AI—Jabawock.

"Ray Stirling. I saw that player name yesterday in Earth time."

It was the name of the one who defeated the low-level 【Great Miasma Demon Galdoranda】 that Jabawock had "designed" yesterday. Jabawock was a bit surprised that the same name was listed as the MVP defeater of a ＜UBM＞ for two consecutive days. There were many ＜UBMs＞ that Jabawock had designed or certified in this world. However, there were not many MVP defeaters. They couldn't defeat them. They couldn't meet them