Chapter 17: Surprising Uses of Luck stat

Leave a Comment / Level 999 / By IX

After school.

We had accepted a request for subjugation and left the capital city…

Now, we were racing through the grasslands.

“Hahaha! You’re slow, Mil! We have to hurry or it’ll be nighttime!”

“You’re really too fast!”

Using body enhancement magic to boost our agility, we merged with the wind at superhuman speed.

However, unlike Mil, who was desperately running, I was running ahead of her with a lightness like jogging.

It seemed that my… or rather, the probability magic’s [Fool’s Strength Grand Deal] had a much stronger effect than regular body enhancement magic, just as Mil had said.

Even with Mil’s high magic power and using body enhancement magic, she couldn’t catch up to me at all.

I could even leave her behind while skipping.

It probably had to do with our original physical abilities, but there shouldn’t be that much of a difference between me and Mil.

So, the reason there was such a gap between us in this race on the grasslands was solely due to the difference in the effectiveness of our magic.

Probability magic is amazing.

I slightly slowed down and went up to Mil’s side, running side by side with her as I asked.

“What if I give you a piggyback ride, Mil? Come on, hop on your big sister’s back.”

“I absolutely refuse because that’s embarrassing!”

Motivated by the feeling of not wanting to be piggybacked, Mil escaped from me at full speed.

Wait, wait!

While playing chase with Mil, before we knew it, we had arrived at Smoke Rock Mountain.

“Yay! I win! Maybe Mil should exercise a little more.”

“…I don’t think that’s the issue.”

Mil was panting heavily, with her hands on her knees.

On the other hand, I didn’t feel tired at all and was happily jumping around, reveling in my victory.

“Mil, your body is slender, so maybe you should eat more to increase your stamina and stuff. Your breasts might grow bigger too.”

“I’ve already given up on that, so it’s fine!”

Mil’s voice exploded with anger, even though she should be exhausted.

It’s good that she seems energetic.

I accidentally touched upon something I shouldn’t have, but if she has that much excess stamina, it shouldn’t be a problem.

Anyway, it took about thirty minutes since leaving the capital.

High-speed movement using body enhancement magic was truly remarkable, allowing us to reach Smoke Rock Mountain in an unbelievably short amount of time.

In the future, this method of transportation will probably become mainstream, but honestly, I don’t want to use it too often.

We don’t have a large amount of magical essence, and the number of times we can use magic is limited.

It would be undesirable to run out of magical essence before starting the subjugation request.

Well, this time, we were able to reach our destination with just one use of body enhancement magic, so we still have plenty of magical essence left.

“Well, let’s quickly take care of the request. It was the subjugation of ‘Little Crow Shuka,’ right? Where could it be?”

“I don’t know much about that magical beast either, so we’ll have to search for it visually…”

Yeah, that’s right.

As I thought, I looked around, but I couldn’t see any signs of an animal that looked like it.

In fact, the entire area was covered in thick white smoke.

Smoke Rock Mountain lived up to its name, constantly emitting clouds of smoke.

Even Mil’s face next to me was slightly blurred.

In such an environment, how are we supposed to find a small bird?

I see.

Scouting magic is a type of magic that detects magical essence and determines the location of people or magical beasts.

Perhaps the Little Crow Shuka has such a small amount of magical essence that it can’t be detected.

Or maybe it excels at manipulating magical essence and has the stealth ability to temporarily seal its own magical essence to hide from magicians and others.

If even Mil’s high magical power scouting magic can’t detect it, then the latter possibility is likely.

In that case, it would make sense that people passing through here are falling victim to theft by the Little Crow Shuka.

A bird that approaches at high speed, hidden in white smoke and rock crevices, without triggering scouting magic, is something that ordinary people wouldn’t be able to react to.

“Hmm, this is troublesome…”

“Yes…”

As we both crossed our arms and pondered with a “hmm,” I suddenly remembered something.

“By the way, the people passing through here have been having their belongings stolen by the Little Crow Shuka, right? In that case, maybe we can lure out the Little Crow Shuka by using food and other supplies as bait. What do you think?”

“Lure it out?”

If we pretend to be travelers, walking through Smoke Rock Mountain while flaunting our belongings, the Little Crow Shuka might attack us.

I proposed something quite traditional, but Mil nodded without showing any signs of astonishment or exasperation.

“That might be a good idea. If we walk through Smoke Rock Mountain while showing off our supplies, it might appear. Do you have any good food with you?”

“Ta-da! Look, I have a bag full of piled-up snacks!”

“Why did you bring them…”

Mil had a mixed expression of exasperation and surprise.

On the other hand, I answered with a slightly embarrassed “teehee.”

“I thought we could eat them at the top of the mountain…”

“This isn’t a field trip, you know.”

Or rather, I received Mil’s exasperated gaze this time.

Well, I didn’t want my stomach to growl during class, so I started stuffing snacks in my bag when going to school.

I had been hiding it all this time because I didn’t want to be seen as a glutton.

I never thought it would come in handy like this.

So, holding up the bag of snacks I brought, I started walking towards the upper part of Smoke Rock Mountain.

We continued walking for about an hour.

We had reached the middle slope of Smoke Rock Mountain.

“Look, look! This area isn’t as smoky, and you can even see the capital city from here! It looks like that from up there too.”

The white smoke emanating from Smoke Rock Mountain varied in density depending on the location.

There were places where the dense fog made it impossible to see anything, but there were also areas where the smoke was thin enough to enjoy the view.

“That lake over there is beautiful, and you can see the grasslands too. It’s the perfect view! The snacks are delicious too, and our efforts to climb the mountain were worth it.”

“…Um, haven’t we changed the subject?”

As I nibbled on the stick-shaped snack and turned around, there stood a blue-hooded girl with a sullen expression.

“Oh, weren’t we here for a field trip?”

“I came here to subjugate the Little Crow Shuka…”

Oh, right, right.

I completely forgot our original purpose because the view was so amazing.

Due to living in the dim forest for so long, I got carried away by the sense of liberation from the beautiful scenery.

“Oh, come on. You ate so many snacks, and now we don’t have any food left to lure the Little Crow Shuka.”

I watched as Mil puffed up her cheeks, feeling remorseful as I recalled something.

“By the way, we walked quite a distance to get here, but we weren’t attacked by the crow-like Shuka even once.”

“Yeah, that’s true. We even made it obvious that we were carrying baggage.”

Even though there wasn’t anything valuable among our belongings, it’s hard to believe that magical beasts would make such judgments. If anything, I think we would be more likely to be targeted since we have snacks and food with us.

“Maybe they don’t like sweets?”

“It’s unlikely that magical beasts have preferences. Besides, the main thing they eat is humans, so just by us walking, we were already bait for them…”

That’s true. Magical beasts consume humans to absorb the magical essence they possess. By doing so, they can enhance their own magical essence and evolve into stronger magical beasts. In other words, not just the snacks, but we ourselves are legitimate prey. But they didn’t seem interested in us at all. I wonder if we don’t look appetizing.

“They might be cautious as well. Instinctively, they might consider us dangerous and avoid approaching us.”

“In that case, it means they are afraid of Mil, who has a high magical power, and they can’t come out. It means that Mil is scaring everyone.”

“Please don’t call me a monster!”

But, since magical beasts have the ability to sense magical essence, this theory isn’t entirely wrong, is it? Mil does have monster-level magical power, so they might be afraid of her and hiding.

“Or maybe it’s because Mil’s luck stat is zero, so Shuka can’t find her?”

“That’s why, please don’t blame it on others… Well, I can’t deny that possibility.”

Seems like I hit a weak spot, as Mil visibly drooped her shoulders, looking dejected. Maybe I was being a bit too mean.

“Well, let’s leave the jokes at that. Maybe it’s because some other student wearing the same uniform as us caused trouble before, and they’re cautious of us.”

“Yeah, that possibility is quite likely. ‘The Crow’s Shuka Subjugation Request’ is not the first time it’s been issued, so maybe another student from the academy came here on a subjugation request before.”

At this point, we’re completely stuck.

If they’re being cautious and not coming out, it means that it’s impossible for us to subjugate the Shuka on our own.

“In the end, it might be better to patiently wait for someone else to pass by. We can subjugate the Shuka by intervening and helping when they are being attacked… that seems more realistic, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, maybe. That seems to be the only option…”

As I was about to agree with Mil’s suggestion, I suddenly noticed a conveniently placed stone rolling at my feet.

Without thinking, I picked it up and had a sudden realization.

“What’s the matter, Sachi-san? Is there something about that stone that caught your attention?”

“No, there’s something I want to try…”

Without hesitation, I clenched the stone in my right hand and swung it up high.

And then…

“Take this!”

“Huh…”

I threw the stone with a powerful swing towards the depths of the smoky mountain path.

The stone disappeared into the faint smoke, and its whereabouts became unknown.

With a bewildered expression, Mil opened her mouth in utter surprise.

“What… what are you doing?”

“Well, if my luck stat is high enough, perhaps the randomly thrown stone might coincidentally land right in the middle of the flock of Shuka crows, allowing us to determine their location…”

“Well, that’s just…”

Seems impossible, doesn’t it?

Before Mil could finish her sentence, we heard the sound of the stone hitting the ground.

And then, what do you know…

From beyond the smoke, the silhouette of birds taking off in a flurry could be seen.

“What!?”

We both exclaimed in disbelief.

The birds that took flight were pitch-black, as if dipped in ink, with distinctive horns growing on their heads.

There was no doubt that they were the target Shuka crows for subjugation.

More than half of what I said was meant as a joke, but I never expected the stone I threw to actually hit the flock of Shuka crows directly.

“That luck stat is amazing…”

“Is it really thanks to the luck stat!? And hey, aren’t they flying towards us with great speed? Did throwing the stone anger them?!”

That’s true.

The small black birds with horns were flying precisely towards us from beyond the smoke.

With shrill cries piercing the air, they stared at us with sharp eyes.

They’re really angry. It seems I’ve earned their unnecessary wrath.

But since we’ve found the target magical beasts, for now…

“…Alright.”

“That’s not good! They’re clearly furious! Get ready, Sachi-san!”

Mil raised her voice, scolding me.

It was a spur-of-the-moment action, so I’m sorry.