Death March — Fixed

“Tek here, curry is considered a pretty good food where I come from--I like the tinned curry that you just cook for 5 minutes in the microwave. But the Japanese are strangely obsessed with it…and I happened to now be in a society that all-but worshiped a Japanese ‘Hero’--so, of course they would be obsessed with curry…”

 

“I want to confirm if you have investigated some things, is it fine?”

 

“Yes, we’re fine with any opinion…so, please.” Jia is looking up at me from below, her eyes full of hope.

 

“Has anyone tried gathering them all in one place, and shot them with powerful Magic from a distance?”

 

“Yes, the Biroanan clan on the other continent did so, however, during the engagement the jellyfish kept propagating. While the World Tree itself also was counterattacking. So when the the last of the jellyfish were defeated, half of the World Tree’s branches and a majority of the Elves lives were lost.”

 

“That clan is a bit different from others--”

“Jia, you shouldn’t talk badly about the other clan.”

“I’m sorry, Elder.”

 

Aialize is nodding, “Yep, yep”, while folding her arms beside the Elder.

 

She had been so quiet that I almost forgot that she was here.

 

“What happened to the Biroanan clan and the world tree afterwards?”

 

“They’ve defeated all of the jellyfish, but the Magic that is sent to the Earth Veins has decreased so much that nearly 30% of the continent has become deserts or wastelands.”

 

That’s some serious damage.

 

If we consider the indirect damage--it’s worse than if a Demon Lord was allowed to run free.

 

“Then, second question. Have you researched ways to capture the Jellyfish? It might be worth searching for their Elemental weakness, repulsing, or attracting, materials.”

 

“Yes, both the Beriunan and Burainan clans should have researched them. The jellyfishes’ Elemental Weaknesses are Fire, and heat. On the contrary, they seem to easily resist Ice and Darkness. I’ve never heard of something like an ‘attracting material’.”

 

The Elder and Jia are easily answering my questions--while Aialize is just nodding, standing beside the Elder. Is that alright, High Elf?

 

“The third, and last, is: the World Tree is going to counterattack if we harm the jellyfish, right? But do you know just how far it can be injured before the counterattack comes?”

 

“We’ve checked with the Analysis Skill, and it seems that the World Tree will counterattack if the jellyfish’s health is decreased by 30%.”

 

Apparently neither debuffs or neutralization by long-range Status Magic seems to work. The jellyfish seem to monitor each other, and while it is possible to put them to sleep, if one is pulled further than a certain distance, the others hinder it.

 

If you put more than 100 to sleep, the first will wake up. Moreover, they have high resistance to Sleep and Paralysis, so it’s hard to put them to sleep.

 

The Elves seem to have tried letting them Absorb the Magic from a Sleeping Potion, but it didn’t show any noticeable effect.

 

They’ve tried using Water and Wing Magic, but Magic below the Intermediate-Grade cannot make it through the Magic Absorption Zone.

 

For now, it seems that the major problem with the jellyfish is their ridiculous numbers, and the distance they are from each other--if we were to use Sleep-type Magic.

 

***

There are two cards in my hand that I can use to defeat the jellyfish before they can explosively propagate: Meteor Shower, and Laser. I do have other techniques with high damage outputs, but these are the only two that can defeat 10,000 enemies in a vast are, in one shot.

 

First, Meteor is out of the question…because it will probably also destroy the World Tree, and Elven village below.

 

That means I need to use Laser, but even if I use it as a pulse laser, its trajectory is a line--so, it will end up cutting off many of the World Tree’s branches. If I carelessly use it, it could even damage anyone or anything that is along the line of fire--which could be random people on the planet.

 

I considered massacring them by myself, using Sky Drive and Ground Shrink, but the range is too vast. I would run out of time to defeat them by hand. It would be so much easier if I could use Space Magic…a simple folding here and there, some teleportation, a modification of the ‘special’ space and subspace tunnel--there would be so many options.

 

It makes me feel regret if I were to say I am no use.

 

Elder, and Jia say, “No need to apologize”, and “I’m quite thankful for the material that attracts them idea”.

 

I can’t help but feel like I have somehow overlooked something.

 

Aialize is patting my shoulder as if comforting me, but you haven’t done anything, right? High Elf?

 

***

Now then, I should come up with something.

 

“What are you groaning about?”

 

“Hmm? Oh, a few things…”

 

The day seems to have gotten dark while I was brooding, without any good idea’s so far. It looks like everyone has come back from the now-repaired training ground.

 

When I reply half-heartedly to Arisa’s question, while turning my eyes to look at her. I see that not only Arisa, but everyone is looking at me with worried eyes.

 

Well, other than Tama, who grins cheekily at me and crawls onto my lap--grabbing my arms, she wraps them around her and snuggles back against me and begins to purr quietly.

 

And Nana is like usual as well--she’s playing with the Pixies that she caught using cookies as bait.

 

“Ah, sorry to make you worry. I need something to consult--”

 

I ask them them about the jellyfish--but I leave out some of the details, because I still have to tell Mia some things, and Nana has Pixies with her.

 

“Hmm, exterminating pests at an orchard huh? Can’t you do it straightforwardly?”

 

“They’ve tried it already, it’s no good.”

 

“They’ll be driven away if you make some noise?”

“When you ‘washa washa’ they will run away.”

 

Tama curls her hands and extends her claws, spreading her arms ‘threateningly’. Pochi pretends to be scared of Tama’s hands, gesturing like she’s running away.

 

It might be doable if I could use Fear from Mind Magic, but there’s no one that can make that Scroll. I have the Bell of Fear among the Magic Tools in my storage, I guess I should try its effect in some remote place.

 

Ah, tools that use sound are useless in space.

 

“Magic.”

 

“Ah, the Insect Repellent Magic that was used before, right? Master, if you use that Magic, won’t it be simple to exterminate the pests?”

 

Those were Mia’s and Lulu’s suggestions.

 

“You open an insect cage, and then put in delicious meat.”

 

“Using traps is a good idea. However, I suggest the use of a sweet bait.” Nana revises Pochi’s suggestion.

 

Traps are a good idea, but it’ll be difficult to prepare traps for 10,000 jellyfish.

 

“This hit me from when Pochi mentioned the cages--but if you can’t separate the bugs from each other, can’t you just put them in the insect cages and then take the cages away while they’re like that?”

 

Oh, perhaps this idea might be good.

 

Step 1: Put some to sleep and cage them, leave them alone.

Step 2: When all are caged, pull the cages away from the World Tree at the same time.

Step 3: Annihilation.

Step 4: Profit.

 

Looks good.

 

Step one looks like it’ll need an outrageous amount of work, but we can somehow do something--I don’t have to worry about materials if I just use Magic. I’ll need to look for something that’s good against the Absorption Racial Ability of the jellyfish.

 

Let’s consult with Jia again tomorrow.

 

Lulu’s gone ahead to prepare for dinner. The Elves are going to eat together with us, so many Elven women have gathered in the spacious kitchen.

 

Lulu has figured out a plan with Mia’s mother, she at first made a tofu-like hamburger, with fat in it, for the taste. Then she slowly has decreased the fat and tofu, changing it into real meat--breaking Mia of her dislike of meat.

 

She also made a different soup-like dish as well, for Pochi and the rest.

 

Mia ate the steak, with meat, while saying, “More delicious.”

 

“Today is also peerless and wonderful.”

“Three consecutive hamburgers?”

“Delicious!”

 

It’s very popular with the Beastkin girls as well.

 

“I want to eat ‘omelet rice’, or curry!” An enthusiastic request comes from Aialize, who has slipped up the the dining table before anyone noticed. Lua wipes the steak sauce off her cheek. Beside Mia and her family, the Elves who eat dinner with us alternate everyday, but Aialize has perfect attendance.

 

Nea, who happened to be nearby, said that Daisaku had always wanted to eat either of those dishes ‘just one more time’, but they couldn’t reproduce them, even until the day of his death.

 

Curry huh?

 

I haven’t had any of that since I was camping--back when I was sixteen, for the first time…close to 9 or so years ago.

 

Fortunately, the notebook I gave Lulu has the recipe, so she can probably hash it out with Nea.

 

I need to prepare for the jellyfish extermination, so tomorrow will most likely be very busy.