Chapter 75: Asset Of Knowledge

Verina stopped until she stood in front of me. So close, in fact, that I could feel the natural heat emanating from her, alongside her calm and collected breath in front of my gaze.

With her gaze still locked onto mine, Verina's delicate fingers reached out, gently combing through my golden locks.

The sensation sent a strange sensation down my spine as her fingertips held those hair like they were something holy and not taken to be granted.

"You know that you don't have the reliable instinct and premonition to keep yourself away from these phenomena, that's why you want to rely on us to guide your step for you—hence the test for our knowledge.." She remained composed as she rose in height with her floating Black Wheels. "But don't worry, we will protect you."

"It seems like you're changing your tactic to flirt with me." I reacted with an amused smirk. "Shifting from a perverted old man to a perverted knight."

"And it's working, no?"

Well, it did give me some sense of flutter, something akin to watching a pair of koalas hugging one another while yawning adorably.

After ensuring that the important information was successfully distributed to everyone, we braced ourselves for the first normal Calamity Object we shall face tonight

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[The Velvet Abomination]

[Description: An amorphous creature covered in flowing, velvet-like skin that shifts colors with every movement, the Velvet Abomination lures in victims with its hypnotic appearance. Its body constantly molds itself into beautiful, alluring forms—silken dresses, glittering jewels, or otherworldly masks—but each touch causes skin to become like fabric, brittle and hollow]

[Hint: The Velvet Abomination feeds on admiration, growing stronger as it draws the attention of others. The only way to defeat it is to reject its beauty, forcing it to reveal its true, grotesque form]

—

It was a single Calamity Object. But usually, a single Calamity Object was often found to be more threatening than a horde of it.

Kuzunoha's eyes narrowed as the Velvet Abomination loomed before us, its ever-shifting form weaving intricate patterns of silken allure. Glittering jewels cascaded down its body, shimmering in the low light, and hauntingly beautiful masks flickered across its face, each more mesmerizing than the last.

A lesser mind would falter, but Kuzunoha merely clicked her tongue, unfurling her parasol with a sharp snap.

"Cheap theatrics," she muttered, disdain lacing her words as she strode forward without a hint of hesitation, weaving her ornate umbrella like a baton to conduct an orchestra.

Ribbons of raw arcane energy lashed out like serpents, coiling around the Velvet Abomination's twisting form. The creature shrieked as the magic took hold, unraveling its cursed velvet skin, tearing it apart strand by strand.

It attempted to do something but Kuzunoha acted as if her job was done. It seemed like she didn't want to go beyond being merely helpful when we were only facing a simple threat in the early of dusk.

Filling her absence of action, Verina shoots out a spell projectile through the gaps of numerous arcane ribbons that the animaphage unleashed.

When it hit its target, it immediately enveloped the entirety of the Calamity Object and began to isolate its form within a layer of preservation, acting like a prison while there was Verina's iconic heat-applying spell that turned the physical body of the entity into living hell.

I kept my eyes on Verina's Lifeline percentage while that was happening, and it seemed like it was a meticulously crafted spell with an efficient energy conversion—barely making a huge dent on her lifeline reservoir.

But even after all of those restraints, the Calamity Object disappeared from our sight almost instantly, alongside the arcane ribbon and the prison-like spell.

"My spell is still latching into it, the Calamity Object is still somewhere around here."

"Possibly in another dimension~"

Using Kuzunoha and Verina bodily gestures as guidance, I determined the location where the Calamity Object would reappear.

And before both of the spellcasters could react, I used my Stormhook to slice and dice the ever living hell out of the Calamity Object.

"It is not dead yet!"

Surprisingly, it took us somewhere around 10 minutes to fully suppress the Velvet Abomination.

Of course, it could have gotten faster if Kuzunoha were to lend more of her power, but I did prefer it this way since it also gave Verina and I a lot of opportunity to gain more experience in combat.

Especially Verina in terms of her spell-crafting.

Not to mention, Kuzunoha also acts as reserve contingency when stuff goes beyond haywire. After all, there was no way of knowing how severe the influence that a Calamity Object could bring.

"Hmm, it seems like my way of thinking has become a little bit too lenient."

Instead of focusing on how to survive like my first time experiencing the Ordeal, I started to focus on improving the cards that I could deal with, while preparing for the worst possible scenario—a luxury for someone who had already ensured that they were more than qualified to survive the bare minimum.

Before I knew it, 6 hours had passed in this world.

"You seem to be a little bit more relaxed this time," Verina commented.

"Of course, Narcissus is more relaxed," Kuzunoha chimed in with her usual lilt of arrogance, her red hair swaying slightly as she tilted her head with a smile. "It's only natural when you're in the presence of someone who's ensured that even a Calamity Object is reduced to nothing more than a fleeting nuisance."

She let out a soft chuckle, one that dripped with condescension, yet held an underlying truth.

In this world, knowledge of the Calamity Object serves as the ultimate weapon to fight against the horror of Carcosa.

And so far into the night, Kuzunoha appeared to be knowledgeable about all of the Calamity Objects' gimmick that we faced so far.

We hadn't really passed the night, but I already knew that Kuzunoha was one of the best assets that this bastion had so far since its first creation.

Which was two days ago, heh.