NOVEL NEXT WORLD The Strongest Solo Gamer with Terrible Social Skills Reincarnates as a Hated NPC in a VRMMO Chapter 137
137: Exploration Complete
Behind the counter of the magic research lab was Dōmyōji Kusuko’s workshop. It was in a similar state of disarray as the lab itself. There were suspicious-looking numerous small bottles with a purple liquid overflowing from the cauldron. Dried-up bats hung from the ceiling, making it look like a witch’s lair from a fairy tale.
“Ah”
Dōmyōji stood in front of the cauldron, silently holding out her hand to me. I understood that she was prompting me to hand over the high-grade recovery potion materials. I took out the materials I had collected from my dimensional storage.
Golden ant honey.
Teimenkou’s hot spring water.
Arachne’s thread.
I tossed these materials into the cauldron and mixed them thoroughly with a wooden spoon. As Dōmyōji snapped her fingers, flames erupted from under the cauldron, and steam rose from the heated materials. She gazed down at the bubbling cauldron, using her skill.
Her skill was 【Compounding】.
A production-type skill mainly used for generating medicinal products. Only production jobs could acquire this skill, which had a low rarity but was difficult to master.
If your level was low, the items you could generate were limited, and the success rate varied. I thought that, as far as I knew, only Dōmyōji among the named characters I knew had mastered it at ★3.
She also knew how to produce special items using 【Alchemy】 and create equipment with 【Crafting】. She was essentially the pinnacle of production jobs.
Dōmyōji would surely live up to my expectations.
“—It’s done”
Dōmyōji, who had been mixing the cauldron with a wooden spoon, scooped up the pale blue liquid inside and brought it to her mouth. The moment she took a sip—
“Fuuaaa!?”
“D-, Dōmyōji!?”
She suddenly let out a delighted cry, her face ecstatic. I worriedly called out to her, but she restrained herself with her hand.
“I-, it’s amazing… This high-grade recovery potion is unlike anything I’ve had before…!”
“How is it different…?”
I had used it in the game, but I wanted to hear her impressions after trying it out in reality.
“It’s like being granted wings…?”
“…I get it. That’s enough”
I had grasped the effect to some extent, so I cut off Dōmyōji’s explanation and poured the high-grade recovery potion from the cauldron into an empty small bottle nearby.
I had to hurry and bring it to Ciel—!
◆
The high-grade recovery potion prescription for Ciel’s network was finally complete. Her pale face had regained a slight rosiness.
For now, it seemed like we had overcome the hurdle.
“You can use this. Take a break for a while.”
“Ah, thank you so much!!”
“It’s not me you should be thanking. I just followed the instructions.”
TaIChi bowed his head, and Doumyouji informed him in a tone devoid of emotion. Even if she said it was just following instructions, it was Doumyouji’s skills that ultimately saved Cielle. She was the only one in the Academy who understood the mix of demon and human breeds. I really owe her one…
“Shouma-kun!!”
“W-what’s with the sudden shout!? What’s going on!?”
Higashikuni suddenly clung to me, wrapping her arms tightly around me.
Wait, was it Higashikuni or Kaga?
I still wasn’t used to being called by my name.
“Thank you. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have been able to save Cielle. I don’t know how to express my gratitude…”
“B-but I didn’t do anything…”
Just as Kaga was about to respond, she lightly kissed my cheek. It was a sneak attack.
“Just a small thank you for today…”
With a flushed face, Kaga gazed up at me, her eyes sparkling. This was quite… cute. My heart skipped a beat.
“—Ah, it’s good that the girl’s condition has stabilized, but we still haven’t found a fundamental solution, have we?”
I tried to hide my feelings and steer the conversation towards a more serious topic.
“You mean the demon-human mixed blood?”
As expected, TaIChi was quick to catch on.
“You said the blood became concentrated and went berserk, right? Even if her injuries heal, it’ll just happen again if we don’t come up with a countermeasure while she’s still asleep…”
Just then, Doumyouji interrupted from the side.
“I don’t think that’s necessary…”
Everyone turned to Doumyouji, surprised. What did she mean by “not necessary”?
“The demon-human mixed blood is a result of the demon essence absorbed into the body. The demon essence that has penetrated the body surface and into the blood will transform the body into something inhuman… In other words, the reason Cielle’s blood became concentrated was due to the demon essence. If we can remove it, we can prevent the demonization and ‘rampage’.”
“Then, how do we remove it!?”
“…The result of using the skill 【Scan】 showed that it has already been removed.”
“!?”
“On the contrary, I’d like to ask you: what did you do to her?”
“What do you mean…?”
“The demon essence was removed from her body. Even I, who was in the Academy’s research lab, have never seen such a situation. You must have done something special…”
“I don’t know what you mean by ‘special’…”
TaIChi turned to me, asking for an explanation.
What was the reason for the removal of the demon essence from her body?
Demon essence… absorption…
Could it be…
“—Maximizer…?”
“…? Maxi…?”
Doumyouji seemed puzzled. [Jester]’s job change item was created by her, but even she didn’t know about the job at the time. It was no wonder she didn’t know. I explained the effect of my skill 【Maximizer】 to everyone.
When I was surrounded by Arachne, I used my skill to absorb the attacks in the narrow space. If Cielle was there, it was possible that I absorbed the demon essence from her body along with the attack power, wasn’t it?
As soon as I finished speaking, Doumyouji placed her hand on my chest and used the skill 【Scan】.
It was okay, but… couldn’t she at least ask for my permission first?
The skill 【Scan】 requires medical knowledge and is difficult to master even if you possess it. Its usability is inferior to 【Appraisal】. However, it has the merit of detecting hidden illnesses or physical disorders at an early stage.
If X-rays can penetrate low-density objects, then 【Scan】 can freely select the object to penetrate and precisely project it onto the eyeball. Honestly, I don’t know much about it since I’ve never used it.
“…You have ‘magic elements’ accumulated within you.”
“Huh?”
“…From what I can see, you don’t have any immediate problems. You can rest easy.”
“R-really?…”
I feel a bit scared, somehow.
“Originally, a few percent of magic elements enter the human body. During fetal development, they react with body cells, causing a phenomenon called ‘magic hybridization.’ After the body is formed, a small amount of magic elements won’t affect the human body.”
“By the way, what’s the line where magic elements start to have an impact?”
Taiichi, who’s interested, asks from the side.
“The level where magic elements cause the body to collapse. But that’s something that wouldn’t happen if you lived a normal life. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“…I see.”
“No need to worry about the difficult stuff! Anyway, it’s good that Siel has regained her sanity, right?”
Kanon asks, and Domyoji nods with a “koku” sound.
Next, Kanon cheerfully exclaims “Yay!” and high-fives Taiichi. As I watch them celebrate, I finally feel a sense of relief that our current exploration has become a bit easier.