IGTL Chapter 73

Chapter 73 – Cursed Equipment: “Reverse Scale of the Naming God” ②

When “AAAA” saw the smile on my face, he shuddered.

“W-Wait, Kakeru!? N-No, Lord Kakeru!? What did you just say you were going to do!?”

“Hmm? Power leveling. I mean, come on, you’re way too weak…”

Besides, if we were going to clear an advanced dungeon, I thought it would be better to use a player who had cleared it back when this world was still a game.

“AAAA” was scum, but he was useful enough in his own way.

Mainly in the sense that even if I made him equip cursed equipment, it did not hurt my conscience at all to use him as a human sacrifice…

“…Besides, I’m also pretty pissed at those Transfer Group guys for treating ‘AAAA,’ whom I went out of my way to power level up to level fifty, as disposable. So I figured I’d have you get just a little stronger.”

As I said that, I used the duct tape I had in my Item Storage to cover “AAAA’s” vision while he was bound by the Gleipnir round, so he could not see anything unnecessary.

“N-No, if that is the case, why are you blocking my vision!? And with duct tape!?”

What a demanding guy.

Still, I understood why having his vision blocked made him anxious.

This was an advanced dungeon, after all.

No helping it. I would reassure him a little.

“Is okay. Is okay, yes. You calm down good. From now, I power level you by method I cannot tell you. Next time tape come off, you should be powered up very, very much, yes.”

“Why are you speaking in broken Japanese!? What is with that suspicious-foreigner way of talking!? That just made me even more worried!”

“Tch…!”

“Why did you click your tongue!?”

What a noisy guy.

“Nothing wrong, yes. I only feel little irritated. I definitely not think you are noisy guy, yes.”

“Huh? You got irritated!?”

“…You be quiet now, yes. Story no move forward.”

After saying that, I taped his mouth shut.

He was still mumbling noisily, but the preparations for power leveling were finally complete.

“Now, you level up to one hundred fifty, yes. Just in case, I activate Naming God series, yes.”

Time for efficient power leveling.

I selected the paid items “Rare Drop Rate +500%,” “EXP Gain +500%,” “Monster Respawn,” and “Boss Monster Respawn” from my Item Storage, then tapped “Use.”

Then, with me at the center, the ground stained red in a circle, and antlion pits of all sizes formed in the earth as monsters began spawning.

““Grararararara!!””

The “Antlion Neo,” the boss monster of Desert Cradle, rose from the antlion pit, turned its gaze toward us, and laughed happily.

Glad to see it was having fun.

That made me smile too.

“Well then, let’s begin!”

The next instant, the Elementals, who had been round balls of light, regained their true forms.

Flames suddenly rose from the red ball, forming the shape of a bird before transforming into the higher fire spirit, Phoenix. Water poured out from the blue ball, and the overflowing water took the shape of the higher water spirit, Kraken.

The green ball released smoke wreathed in lightning, transforming into the muscular, turban-wearing higher wind spirit, Djinn. Meanwhile, the earth-colored ball swelled rapidly and transformed into a giant hippopotamus, the higher earth spirit, Behemoth.

At the same time Djinn placed me on Behemoth’s back so no danger would reach me, a violent blast of air rushed over us.

Every time an Antlion emerged from an antlion pit, Phoenix burned it to ash, and when the boss monster Antlion Neo appeared, Djinn sliced it apart with wind.

The monsters transformed into drop items the instant they spawned from the ground.

As expected, the evolved Elementals were incredible. They were on a completely different level.

I felt bad for the monsters, who were forced by the effect of the paid items to attack even while watching their brethren get incinerated and shredded the instant they appeared.

“AAAA” turned pale as he listened to the monsters’ death cries.

You were one lucky bastard.

After all, all you had to do was lie there bound, and your level would rise to one hundred fifty.

By the time this power leveling ended, I would probably have ascended to the far-off heights of level two hundred as well.

Now then, since this would probably still take some time, maybe I would settle in and read a book with the monsters’ death cries as background music.

There had been a lot of novels I was interested in lately.

Well, by the time I finished one volume, everything would probably be over.

I placed the “cushion that makes you lazy” on Behemoth’s back, sat down, and began reading a novel.

I wondered how much time had passed.

By the time I finished the first volume, the death cries performed by the monsters had also faded away, and beside me, “AAAA” was trembling.

“Is it over…?”

When I checked my status, my level had risen to nearly one hundred eighty.

However, I was still nowhere close to meeting the quota.

“One more round, then.”

When I muttered that, “AAAA” flinched.

I ignored the trembling “AAAA” and looked at the Elementals. They nodded, as if saying they could keep going.

As expected of Elementals.

Later, I would treat them to Peroperosaurus TKG until they ate themselves sick.

“All right, Elementals! Let’s go for one more take!”

I selected the paid items “Monster Respawn” and “Boss Monster Respawn” from my Item Storage, then tapped “Use.”

Then, with me at the center, the ground stained red in a circle, and antlion pits of all sizes formed in the earth as monsters began spawning.

The second round had begun.

Each time an antlion pit appeared in the ground, the higher earth spirit Behemoth stomped it down, Antlions and all, crushing them flat.

Fwahahaha!

Was this not overwhelming!?

But stop. Please stop. Behemoth, only you cannot move!

I was riding you!

Perhaps my heartfelt cry reached him, because Behemoth stopped participating.

As expected of my Elemental. Was this true mutual understanding?

With “AAAA” nearly sliding off Behemoth in the corner of my eye, I leaned against the “cushion that makes you lazy,” took out the second volume of the novel, and once again began reading with the monsters’ death cries as background music.

Along the way, while helping “AAAA” whenever he looked like he was about to fall off Behemoth, I used “Monster Respawn” and “Boss Monster Respawn” another two or three times and kept reading. Eventually, the Elementals’ attacks stopped, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the ground returning to its original color.

“Is it over?”

When I checked my status, my level had exceeded 200.

Mission complete.

When I looked at “AAAA,” the guy was asleep and snoring.

He was pretty thick-skinned.

I put the “cushion that makes you lazy” back into my Item Storage, then kicked “AAAA” off Behemoth’s back to wake him up. A muffled “Fghueh!?” reached my ears. It seemed he had woken up.

There might have been some impact from the fall, but he should not have taken much damage.

If all he did after falling off Behemoth’s back was let out a muffled cry, his level must have risen quite a bit.

“Now then…”

All that remained was for me to collect the drop items.

“…Behemoth. Protect this guy just in case.”

When I said that, Behemoth nodded.

With Djinn, the higher wind spirit, helping me down from Behemoth’s back, I began collecting the drop items scattered across the ground.

“Oh! An Advanced Recovery Potion, and this is a limited-use Move Yggdrasil! Some pretty good stuff dropped here!”

After spending an hour collecting the drop items, I released “AAAA’s” restraints to check his level. Of course, I had already had the Elementals return to their original forms (glowing orbs).

When I peeled off the duct tape and freed him from his restraints, the first thing “AAAA” did was look terrified.

“W-What have you been doing this whole time!?”

“Huh? What do you mean? I was power leveling you.”

“P-Power leveling!? Th-Tthen those screams were…”

“Screams? You mean the monsters’ death cries? They were pretty good background music, right? You were sleeping soundly and snoring.”

“No, I had passed out!”

I see. Apparently, that had been him passing out.

I had not noticed at all.

Well, whether “AAAA” had passed out or whatever else, I did not care.

“…I see. Well, that does not matter, but can you tell me your current level? I think it went up quite a lot.”

“L-Level?”

“AAAA” checked his status, then widened his eyes and looked at it twice.

“So, what level are you now?”

When I asked, “AAAA” muttered softly.

“O-One hundred fifty-four…”

“Level one hundred fifty-four, huh… You’ve reached the recommended level for advanced dungeons, but I’d like to raise it a little more…”

The recommended level was only a recommendation.

It was just a rough guideline saying, “If you raise your level to around this point, you can clear it somewhat comfortably.”

The instant I said that aloud, “AAAA” shook his head and backed away.

“…”

Apparently, the method of power leveling had not suited his tastes.

What a spoiled guy, even though I was power leveling him for free.

Well, fine.

If he were level 154 and wearing the cursed equipment from the “Naming God series,” then unless something extraordinary happened, he should be able to slaughter monsters without issue.

“All right. Then this time, try defeating monsters by yourself. Let’s go.”

“L-Let’s go? Where are we going…?”

“We are not going anywhere. You are going to fight monsters here. For now, I will not make the boss monster appear, so do your best.”

After saying that, I selected the paid item “Monster Respawn” from my Item Storage, then tapped “Use.”

Then, with me at the center, the ground stained red in a circle, and antlion pits of all sizes formed in the earth as monsters began spawning.

“Well then, I’ll be watching, so I’m leaving the rest to you. If things start looking bad, I’ll help you, so fight without worrying.”

“A-Awawawawa…”

After throwing those words at “AAAA,” who had sat down and was trembling, I moved outside the range of Monster Respawn.

“Oh, I forgot. The ‘Naming God series’ you’re wearing right now has a two-minute-and-thirty-four-second cooldown every twenty-six minutes and thirty seconds, so keep an eye on your timing. The effect of Monster Respawn lasts one hour! Well then, good luck!”

“K-Kakeruuuu!”

When I pushed him away like that, “AAAA” screamed.