Mistress Of The Evil Forest

Case 146: Post conquest.

[Mistress of the Evil Forest: Supreme ruler of the monster-ridden forest. +0.7 for all stats when in Zircon Forest] [Legendary]

''Whew...''

I glance at the windows that have popped up for a second before turning my gaze to the sky. Together with the sensation of acquiring another domain—no, should I say the completion of the domain? I can feel the tension leaving my body.

A gentle wind blows by.

''...''

At some point, it seems I've stopped thinking like a human.

After all, I don't think a human would find comfort in the middle of a world engulfed in utter frost. The sight below the ice is quite grotesque, too, with giant organs and blood spewing all over the place.

It must smell terrible.

After a bit of feeling the wind, the argument between Sikare and Becky seems to have come to an end with no apparent winner. They also spend a chunk of time looking around the area, which does not bother me much.

Perhaps all that [Parallel Thinking] abuse had gotten my mind too tired, but despite my physical condition pristine, I am a bit sleepy. I have to conclude this conquest, anyway.

Firstly, let's take a look at my status screen.

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Name: Aurora              

Race: Owl-kin                    Title: Mistress of the Evil Forest

Level: 63

HP: 180/180                    MP: 235/235

STR: 6.6                     INT: 9.0

AGI: 6.5                    STA: 6.2

Skill: [Ice Magic Lv.10], [Lightning Magic Lv.8],
[Light Magic Lv.7], [Swordsmanship Lv.7],
[Fire Magic Lv.7], [Acceleration Lv.6],
[Domination Lv.6], [Sharp Claw Lv.5],
[Deception Lv.5], [Teleportation Lv.5],
[Parallel Thinking Lv.5], [Blink Lv.4],
[Inspect Lv.5], [Enhanced Hearing Lv.4],
[Stealth Lv.4], [Night Vision Lv.4],
[Language Lv.4], [Auto Regeneration Lv.4],
[Flight Lv.4], [Heal Lv.4], [Inventory Lv.3],
[Pain Tolerance Lv.3].

State: Normal.

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Nine... I actually got to nine points in INT. Don't they say the absolute ceiling for this one, counting both equipment and titles, is eight point six or seven?

Moreover, now that my ice magic has reached its pinnacle...

As I contemplate the achievement, an urge to blow up something suddenly swells within me. So, I ask my new recruit for a suitable target.

''Eh? Magic?''

''Mhm. Make me a sturdy target.''

''But I don't use magic?''

''...What?''

Is Sikare a swordswoman? That certainly doesn't fit her appearance...

Before I can call out to Becky for a sacrificial robot, the witch promptly stops me with a 'Wait.'

''Hey, I chose not to use magic, but that doesn't mean I'm useless, alright?'' She says, putting her hands on her hips. ''I take pride in my abilities as an alchemist. Practice targets aren't something I'm struggling with.''

Then, she takes out a vial that has a suspiciously green liquid inside—

crack—!

—and throws it onto the ground.

The splattered liquid then begins to rise, morphing into a sturdy-looking brick wall that is at least three times as tall as me. Sikare proudly puffs out her chest, looking suspiciously similar to Luxia.

Well, here goes... oh.

''...Eh?''

''...''

Her confident front is immediately blown away just as I blow her wall away with a single flick of mana. 

Of course, I'm surprised, too. It feels like a fever dream, having an output similar to some mages' strongest spells while using just a moderate amount of mana.

''M-Mhm... I'm glad we aren't enemies, heheh.''

The witch scurries away, her eyes hesitant. Meanwhile, we have Becky standing still with this 'o' face, witnessing the aftermath.

I can feel my heart beating faster.

Before getting to this point, I was actually worried that the upgrade from level eight to ten wouldn't justify the number of points spent. After all, those points are worth one and a half legendary skills, which is nothing to be scoffed at. However, it seems the old philosophies of those scholars are right.

Skills truly show their value when they reach level nine or ten. With some exceptions, most legendary skills at low levels are underwhelming anyway.

Taking my tremendous INT into the equation, I'm sure it's even more apparent. When I eventually get ahold of another element... this is quite exciting.

Nevertheless, now is the time for the rest of the checkup.

[Monarch].

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Territories: Zircon Forest.

Alternative Dimension: The Backrooms.

Followers: 87. 

Allies: 14.

Progression: 30%.

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I remember my follower count was eighty-six before. So Sikare is a loner, just like Kyomu. That's to be expected, though. Aside from that, the progress jumped all the way to thirty percent, huh. I wonder if I need to conquer which land next. The empire?

What else...

[Linked: Language (Ariel), Teleportation (Skely), Lightning magic(Nova), Deception(Peln), Fire Magic (Amelia). (5/5)]

Hm... maybe it's my stinginess, but I've never considered getting [Language] for myself. Should I free up that slot to borrow something else? Communicating is a whole lot more important than some might think. If I do buy it, I'll need to get it a few levels up as well since level one won't get me to the 'native speaker' level.

I'll just do it. It's the same as exchanging a normal skill for a high-level epic or legendary one.

[1 skill point consumed]

[Skill: Language Lv.1 acquired]

[3 skill points consumed]

[Skill upgraded: Language Lv.1 -> Lv.4]

Alright, now... let's replace the one I'm borrowing from Ariel to...

''Sikare, what is the strongest non-unique skill that you have?''

Sikare should be on the same level as Kyomu, who is almost a grandmaster. She should have something good.

''Strongest skill? I don't know, my curse?''

''Curse?''

[Super Curse: Your grudge is the world's grudge. Enable the user to strongly weaken other entities at will, consuming MP] [Epic]

''...''

''This one is quite useful. You need a ton of knowledge on this side for the system not to suck all of your MP in one go, though.''

''Do you have anything else?''

''Eh...? My main skills are all unique. I don't know.''

...Whatever, I guess. Let's just take Kyomu's level seven [Super Concentration] for now. This will be a bit confusing, but I think we can leave this matter behind at this point.

For the most important part of this conquest—the horror.

[Horror Lord: Summon horror the way you want. CD: 240 hours. (5/6)] [Unique]

[Cooldown: 239:54:35]

''Yes...!''

Although it only gives me one more horror, it's better than nothing. I'd already anticipated this anyway.

There are ten more days until the cooldown is over, but what should I try to summon this time? Something related to mind manipulation since we're dealing with a demon of the same type?

Maybe.

Or I can call upon something overwhelming. Now that we have plenty of land for ourselves, summoning a colossal beast won't be a problem. There are so many choices.

Hm... talk about having land; since we have full autonomy over this region now, why don't we establish a proper base? No, I understand the Backrooms is the best we can have, but we need something to show the world our presence, too.

I want something others can look at from the outside and realize that it's occupied. If so, it will need to be ridiculously big... or tall.

Immediately, a tower comes to mind.

Can I have the doc do this? Can he build stuff in the first place?

Hm... I guess we'll have to see.