CH 222

“Anyway, now that it’s come to this, we’ll have to crush both that intelligent zombie and the Wolf King …… as soon as possible.”



I knew it would be like this. 



Everyone nodded at those words.



“I thought the …… Wolf King was supposed to be one of us?”



“The situation has changed. Besides, the moment Shram joined us, we’d almost achieved our goal.”



Rebel held up two fingers.



“I wanted to bring the Sea King and the Wolf King to our side not only because they are powerful forces in their own right, but also because they have clear roles to play.”



“Roles…..?”



“Yes. The Sea King and the Wolf King are, if you would call it, the strongest shield and spear. More specifically, the absolute defense that Sea King Shram possesses, I wanted to have it at all costs. To protect your friends from the offensive power of the advance team.



The Wolf King, on the other hand, is a spear. The Wolf King is a monster with absolute offensive power that has the potential to defeat any opponent. I wanted to use it as a last resort in the battle against the advance team. But now that it’s in the hands of the enemy, we have no choice but to crush it.”



“Yeah, I know……”



I glanced at the unconscious queen ant.



(I feel bad for her, but in this situation… I can’t help it…..)



We have already become enemies.



It’s too risky to leave her alone since we don’t know how the zombie got the Wolf King to follow him.



“It’s late today, so why don’t we start moving tomorrow? I’m sure everyone is still tired from the training.”



“I agree. Let’s start tomorrow, after the sun rises.”



“Say, what are we going to do with the ant?”



“I’ll put her in the ‘Shadow Cage’. If she is in the shadows, she can enter the ‘Safe Zone’ without having to join us.”



I put the Queen Ant in the ‘Shadow Cage’.



“Kuun…”



“What’s wrong, Momo?”



“…… Waun”



Momo had a look of wanting to say something, but when I asked her, she retreated into the shadows as if she didn’t want to say anything.



(Could it be that Momo is against the idea of defeating Schwarz?)



Or does she have some other plan?



I’ll ask her again later.



Anyway, the discussion was over and we disbanded.



That night, while I was resting in my room after taking a shower, Nishino came in.



He had two coffee cups in his hands.



“Kudou, I wanted to talk to you about something, do you have a minute?”



“No problem. Do you want to talk somewhere else?”



“No, it’s fine if we talk here.”



Nishino handed me one of the cups and sat down.



I take a sip of coffee. Yes, it’s delicious.



“So, what’s up?”



“I’ve reached level 30.”



“Oh, that is… Congratulations……”



“Thank you very much.”



Nishino finally reached level 30 during his training today.



“So you want to talk to me about your evolutionary path?”



“Yes. I wanted to hear Kudou’s opinion as well.”



There are a total of eight possible paths for Nishino to select.



“Holy Priest,” “Elf,” “Dwarf,” “Giant,” “Kitsune,” “Tinkerer,” “Dragonling” and “Celestial Being”.



Hey, this is the first time I am seeing “Dragonling” and “Celestial Being”.



“I know about the first six since they were in Kudou’s evolutionary path, but I don’t know about the other two. Can you check them for me?”



“Yes, of course.”



I immediately used my ‘Right to Ask Questions’ and looked up the other two evolution paths.



“Dragonling, dragon born”



A higher (and rarer) species of human. It has enhanced senses and physical abilities, and can use race-specific skills.



All stats are increased and growth compensation is added.



Able to transform into a form known as the Dragonling Form.



But normally, they look no different from a normal human.



Sorabito, the Celestial Being



A higher (rarer) species of human. Can use multiple race-specific skills.



It has a slight increase in status and can convert three of its existing skills into higher-level skills.



Looks just like a normal human.



……amazing. Both of them are pretty powerful evolutionary paths.



Dragonling will be quite powerful in battle, and being able to replace a Celestial’s skill with a high-level skill is a ridiculous advantage.



Nishino asked me about the characteristics of the two races.



After some thought, Nishino opened his mouth.



“…… I guess ‘Celestial Being’ is the one huh.”



That’s what I thought.



“Dragonling” is the evolution path for front-line fighters like Rikka-chan.



It would be inappropriate for Nishino, who is a logistics expert.



On the other hand, ‘Celestial Being’ can enhance Nishino’s style of fighting and has no disadvantages.



It’s the only choice when compared to the other evolutionary options.



“If it weren’t for this, I would have gone with the ‘Holy Priest’, but with this, I no longer have to worry about that.”



“That’s right.”



This is an evolutionary path that will increase the efficiency of his existing skills and raise his skill level by two.



However, there is no denying that it is a bit inferior to the Celestial Being.



“By the way, do you know how long it takes to evolve?”



“Hold on a minute. I’ll check it. Celestial Being…… Hmmm, well, it seems to take about an hour. By the way, Dragonling takes only a few seconds to evolve.”



“There’s quite a time difference, isn’t there ……?”



“That’s right. Maybe this depends on whether they’re combat oriented or not.”



While Momo, Aka, and Rikka-chan finished evolving in a few seconds, it takes about an hour for the “New  Type” and “Celestial Being” to evolve. I think the time difference depends on whether the path is combat oriented or not.



“…… Kudou, would you mind watching me while I’m unconscious?”



“No problem. It’s still too early to go to sleep anyway.”



“Thank you.”



Nishino operated his status screen.



Immediately after that, he fainted and collapsed on the spot.



“Now, while you’re sleeping, I’ll make another cup of coffee.”



I’m the kind of person who can sleep well at night even after drinking coffee, so no problem.



I thought about letting Ichinose and Rikka know, but they seemed to be busy talking with each other, so I decided to just send them a mail.



“Kazuto, Kazuto. What is this? What is it?”



“Hmm? You’re awake, Shiro? This? It’s coffee. Do you want to try it?”



“I want!”



Lately, Shiro has been very interested in what I eat. She’s just like Momo when she was a little pup.



Shiro clung to the cup with both hands and feet and licked a little bit of coffee.



“～～～～! It’s bitter! It doesn’t taste good!”



“Fufu, is it still too early for Shiro to drink coffee?”



Once she gets used to it, the bitterness and the smell will become addictive.



I gave her milk instead, and she was very happy.



–An hour later, Nishino woke up.



“How are you feeling?”



“…… It’s a strange feeling. I feel like there’s new energy swirling through my body.”



There was no apparent change.



But it’s true, as Nishino said, the presence I feel from him has become stronger.



I guess he has evolved and increased his presence.



“Why don’t you check your status?”



“Oh, yes.”



Nishino opened the status window.



“…… HP, MP, and status have definitely increased. And the number of skills have also increased.”



“What skills are they?”



“They’re called “Heaven’s Eyes” and “Heavenly Power”.”



The “Heaven’s Eye” is a skill that allows the user to have a bird’s eye view of the battlefield and see beyond walls and buildings.



And “Heaven’s Power” is a skill that allows you to enhance the power of anything you use.



Both of these skills are perfect for Nishino.



“Which skill do you want to rank up?”



“I’ll have to think about that a little more. The prime candidates are “Leadership”, “Combat Support”, “Command” and “Luck”. It’s not like I have that many skills to begin with.”



Well, there’s still a lot of time to think about it.



“……”



When I looked at Nishino, he was staring at his status with a strange expression on his face.



“What’s wrong?”



“No, it’s …….”



His response was somewhat lackluster.



Is there something wrong with him?



“…… Yes, that’s right. I think we should talk about it now…..”



“What?”



Nishino-kun turned to me as if he had made up his mind about something.



“Kudou, there is something I want to tell you.”



“What do you want to talk about?”



Nishino kept on nodding his head.



“It’s about a skill I have, ‘Kin Slayer’.”



“Kin Slayer……?”



That’s a very disturbing name for a skill.



That means…



“I’m a …… murderer.”



“……!”



“I want to tell you everything. Can you please accompany me and listen to my story for a while…..?”



With that, Nishino began to talk.



He began to talk about the day ―― the day he killed a human.



T/N: Shout out to my amazing proofreader Rawbert for helping me with skill names!



Also, sorry for the delay. I am trying to sort out my schedule x.x