3 bar menu

Chapter 377

Chapter 377: It was absolutely perfect to the last minute detail, but picking with a beak is what crows do. So close.

Day 88 – Nighttime, White Weirdo Inn

That was a good fight. You could say it was the true form of what a proper Highschool Boy battle ought to be.

The Dungeon Master-san at the deepest level was 「Shadow Claw Lv 100」, a magnificent opponent, an obsidian-black shadow swordsman wielding a long black sword, and also summoned black crows from his shadowy body as a projectile attack. Yeah, he knew exactly what he was doing.

To set up a passionate aerial battle between the shadow crows and my shoulder-shield funnels, all while we danced through the air exchanging blade strikes mid-flight, he really knew how to read the mood. Moreover, controlling the shoulder-shield funnels while engaging the crows in aerial combat and simultaneously clashing with the shadow swordsman in a fast-paced, high-mobility duel, it’s really hard to find a more perfect practice opponent than that.

The whole time I was leaping and diving through the air while managing the shoulder-shield funnels to fend off the crows, and clashing blades with the shadow swordsman. Also, that shadow man’s weapon was katana! He really got it, he really knew how to read the room! He definitely was infected! Was he fifteen, maybe…? Didn’t seem like he went to a middle school?

Fighting while simultaneously controlling the shoulder-shield funnels and maintaining bodily control via Magic Wrap, is high-difficulty, but that made it even more valuable. The thrill of dancing through a space fully grasped by Space Perception together with funnels while keeping control of Magic Wrap and confronting the enemy was something else. It was a new kind of 3D combat, a high-speed war for space.

Moving to better positions with better timing, closing in with greater precision, securing more advantageous ground, it felt like I suddenly could see things I couldn’t before. In the end, no matter how powerful the abilities were, I probably wasn’t using them to their fullest. But with the full grasp of the space around, I got a sort of an outside look at my actions and movements, getting a more objective grasp of things, truly worthwhile!

Because it was so worthwhile, at the end I even tried doing the whole, 「Farewell… Thanks to you, I’ve reached a new height」 (flicks hair), but even though I managed to make a cool ending to a cool fight, I got Flat Gazes on me? Even though I mixed in tons of cool poses during the fight, still this? I mean, Flat Gaze is fine but it would seem no one acknowledged my coolness? So without Affection Rating, even cool poses don’t work?!

And 「Shadow Claw」-san even knew what loot to drop. At this point, I think it’s safe to call him a comrade. I mean, he dropped that glorious cape that tickles every Highschool Boy’s chuuni heart『Shadow Cloak – SpE DeX 30% UP, Shadow Crow, Shadow Clone, Shadow Manipulation: Materialization, Shadow Magic, Shadow Lurk, Erase Presence』What a fabulous cloak-san!

No, I mean, even 「Shadow Claw」-san’s entrance scene, he split into nine shadow clones and came slashing in, and when I struck them down, they scattered into crows and flew off! He really got it!

Such a shame he was an enemy. If only he hadn’t poked me with his beak at the end, he’d have been perfect. I lost my cool and beat him down a little for that. I mean, right in the middle of our intense blade lock, when I said, 「I am the one who will take your life, die and become my nourishment!」 he poked me in the forehead! Of course I beat him up! It hurt!

「So the shadow crows come flying out of the shadows, but… no actual materialization? Just misdirection? And the shadow clones are just illusions… Maybe control them through this Shadow Materialization ability? Wait, a shadow mage is… Oh, Shadow Lurk, that’s the same shadow-concealment the maid girl was using. Or rather, this cloak, its operations are ridiculously complex, its control absurdly difficult, and the MP cost is brutal. It’s cool, but it’s a sad piece of gear that’s ultimately unusable!」

I ended up just slotting 「Shadow Cloak」into the cloak without going through with the mithrilization for now. I really, really want to use it, but trying to pull it off in combat would probably ramp up the strain on 『Wisdom』-san by a lot. Even the maid girl never used shadow magic in actual combat. Which means it’s not very practical. It’s a shame. It really is, but a Highschool Boy lurking in the shadows, putting aside chuuni-grade coolness, it also kind of reeks of criminal intent! Considering that, it’s difficult to use in terms of Affection Rating as well.

I sense someone’s presence coming up to the room, and then (*Knock knock*). Sounds like the bath’s finished. Let’s bring out the tub.

「We, are, back, we brought them. Want a blindfold?」
「Just out the bath.
Everyone
Ordered towels.」

「Welcome back! Fish Nudist Girls are both here too, so shall we begin? Also, why are you the ones questioning the blindfold like that, putting a question mark on it?! I mean, isn’t it weird that the one on blindfold duty is the one doubting the blindfolding? It’s not even a question of whether the eyes will be covered anymore but of acknowledging blindfold existence itself? But anyway, welcome and come on in?」

「「Pardon the intrusion. Wait, did you just lump us together as Fish Nudist Girls?!」」

I closed my eyes and started mapping the space. Focusing, creating the mental map, recognizing, perceiving, and analyzing everything happening in the room. Well, there were two people taking their clothes off, and two more trying to pry my eyes open. I don’t even need to process it, my eyelids hurt, so this much is obvious enough?

「Okay, so I’ll start with making this bikini design first. I’ll go all-out with the attachment strength to the limit, but keep in mind this one’s just for fun, okay? If you’re going to really swim seriously, I’ll make a proper competitive swimsuit later. I mean, I could just modify the old-school one-piece too, but lately I’ve been worried about the public perception of a Highschool Boy who keeps making retro school swimsuits for schoolgirls to wear, but if you want I can upgrade that one too~」

「「Please do!」」

If we’re doing this, we’re doing it in one go. For those two I need to actually go all-in with serious precision work. Ruthless, merciless, absolutely thorough measuring is required, every adjustment and correction has to be taken to the extreme. I even had the Armored Pres-san and Dancing Girl-san test out the competition swimsuits in an actual pool to check for water resistance. Some squirming accident took place half-way through, but I’ve got useful data.

Neither Armored Pres-san nor Dancing Girl-san knew modern swimming techniques, so yeah, their form was bad. But they were fast. Their stat levels let them literally power through the water resistance, and the resulting water pressure was incredible, full-on water jet mode. By the way, their strokes were like a weird hybrid of butterfly, breaststroke, and dog paddle!

And those two are members of the swim team. On top of that, Nudist Girl is an Olympic-level swimmer candidate. Furthermore, Fish Girl is her mentor. She didn’t have the kind of physical stats needed to become an Olympic athlete herself, so she topped out at the national level, but she mastered the most efficient swimming techniques and passed them on to Nudist Girl as her instructor. And now both of them have their physical abilities enhanced by stats… After the experiment, I rebuilt the 50-meter pool into a 500-meter pool just to be safe, but even that might still be too short. That’s how fast they are.

Which is why, if I’m going to do this, I have to do it in one go. The suit has to be meticulously woven to cling to their bodies perfectly, no matter how intense the movement, I need to minimize any gaps. That requires precision body measurements down to the millimeter. With zero leniency, I’ll relentlessly and thoroughly measure every muscle’s motion range and flexibility, examine every inch of skin, and while fitting the suit, I’ll push, shake, stroke, and shift their bodies, endlessly adjusting and correcting to achieve the ultimate fine-tuned fit. And then, while wetting the fabric, I’ll fine-tune the corrections even further. Since the hydrodynamic resistance they’ll face will be enormous, surface treatment is also critical, calculating fluid-shedding efficiency, forming openings in such a way that water flow can’t get inside.

This will be the pinnacle of precise measurements and fine tuning. There was once someone with a name like Brussels Sprout who supposedly said, 「If you’re going to do it, do it all at once leaving nothing for the after. Doing it little by little over multiple rounds is a no-no!」 And certainly, when I did try going little by little the Bitches went scary! So I’ll do it all in one go, full power, full throttle, full-on Magic Hands!

　「「Kyaaah! Ah! Aah! Aah… Aaaaah! aAH…! …Ah, nMh~! Aaah! aAh… A… Ah! Ahhh, uuuaah! Ah…, A…, AH! Kya,ahn! …Fuah…aaaaAaah…Ah! (*Flop*)」」

Looks like there is nothing left for the after, but it seems that consciousness is also isn’t there anymore? Like, they seem to be looking somewhere far away, their eyes half rolled up? Probably imagining themselves swimming tomorrow. After all, these two spent hours in the water daily but were unable to swim at all for almost three months… Why are their tongues showing though?

While I did feel that this created a certain unflattering image of a Highschool Boy using tentacles to grope two unconscious highschool girls all over, for the sake of the two who’d finally get to swim, I endured it, and proceeded with endless adjustments, corrections, and remeasurements, using Magic Thread as well. Even while unconscious they keep twitching and jerking around, so it’s sort of tough, but I use Magic Hands to restrain their limbs and continue with the work… Quite puzzling how they keep convulsing, bending, and jumping about despite being out cold? But since it provides a wide range of muscle contractions, it actually works pretty good for adjustments? Although I do feel that something is amiss? I wonder why?

Finally, they became completely unmoving, just lying in the tub. The expressions on their faces aren’t going back to normal, but bikinis turned quite well, should be able to withstand quite a bit of water pressure or water current, and competitive swimsuits are made to the best of my current ability, pouring all of the techniques I possess. Even remodelled school swimsuits turned out hardly inferior to the competitive ones. And yet, I’m being scolded?

「Just what are you doing here?! Just what?! Why would you restrain the arms and legs of already convulsing agonizing unconscious girls with tentacles and then stimulate them even further?! Why are you having such a smug expression as if everything is alright, after you stuffed mushrooms into their mouths? Just look at their faces, I’m not sure if they can even be wed or even show in public after showing such expressions?! Just what you’ve done?!」

Pres who came to pick them up seems outraged? Despite everything being done nearly perfectly to the best of my ability, she still seems displeased. You have to gently restrain the arms and legs or it’s dangerous if they hit the edge of the tub, you know? For the tub?
　
「Huh? Sure, I admit that fainting and losing consciousness is a bit of a biological mystery, and the tongue sticking out is also part of the miracle of life… but Pres was the same way, you know? Actually, you were even more intense? Your face looked just like this too, and once I stuck a mushroom in your mouth, you were totally fine, right? And also, even while unconscious, you kept muttering 『More, more』even as you fainted over and over again, losing consciousness, convulsing, you still kept bouncing around and stuff, you know? Like, that’s some guts? I guess?」

　(Nod-Nod, Nod Nod, Jiggle-Jiggle, Boing-Boing)

No, Vice B-san, what sort of a reply is that?! Well, she still seems in agreement… Huh! Bloodthirst!

「N-N-N-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! KYAaAaAaAaA! Wha-wha-wha-what have you done! G-G-GUILTY OF GUILTY! Wait, you’ve actually seen that? You’ve been looking while I was like that?! N-No-nOO!!!!! KYaAAAAaaah! (*Thud Boom Stab Punch Bam*) 」　

I’ve got scolded, or more like beaten? I was beaten, but it goes without saying that the main tool was a morning star. But. Fish Nudist Girls, who finally came to their senses, while bright red with a blush, still looked really happy. But Pres-san was turbo pissed? Man, that’s scary?