ââ Blackhair Bindâ
Raven hair flies out from the shadows to coil around the ankle of a wandering Skeleton. But this time, it wasnât flayed like weeds, but taut as a rope, twining around the Monster.
âYes, braiding is a go!â
Yes, what came upon invoking, was the punishing Blackhair in its newly braided glory.
In the fight with the Great Frog, my Blackhair Bind couldnât do a thing. With only those few strands of hair coiling about, a Monster can all too easily shake it off.
At present, my Blackhair Bind is the only thing useful in battle, that too, only at restraining the enemy; so Iâll focus on excelling at that. But itâs not like a game where I can put in accumulated Skill Points to the Skill I want to improve.
That being, how does this strengthening work anyway? Iâve thought of three ways.
Number one: by simply being granted powerful abilities. The so called levelup. But, this method depends on Godâs whim, so how much I need to fight to get a new Skill, or more so, what Skill will be granted, I canât choose anything. God knows when Iâll get to power up, literally.
Number two: by repeatedly using a Skill, Iâll attain mastery. If you could call it a proficiency leveling system, then my gamer-senses will start tingling, and even if itâs not the case, thereâs always the saying that practice makes perfect.
This not being mere coincidence is proved by the existence of Hirano-kun and Nishiyama-san whoâve constantly kept using their techniques and Magic. Though thereâs no dramatic rise in strength, they still got used to using their Skills themselves, something that is indispensable in the rush of battle. Thereâs more than enough merit in training, or more like, from here onwards, itâll likely become absolute necessity.
And last but not least, the method 3 is: ingenuity. This is where, even without the abilityâs strength or effect changing, using it in a different way or two can lead to many other applications. Futaba-san using her Berserker strength to throw stones, can also be said to be one form of ingenuity.
With that, me braiding the strands of my Blackhair Bind is that so called ingenuity, that I have just successfully implemented. The result is plain as day. Rather than separated strands of hair, all of them working together visibly increases their toughness.
âHmm, so it really worked huhâ
âYou did it, thatâs great Momokawa-kun!â
Futaba-sanâs praising words, honestly feels great.
Incidentally, the Skeleton restrained with the braided bind, was promptly pulverized with a blow from Futaba-sanâs battle-axe.
âIt kinda sounds obvious, but the image is pretty importantâ
When I gave it a try without thinking too hard about it, it was a splendid failure. But then, after thinking about how braiding works, and actually trying it a bit of my long-ish hair to solidify the image, the result is voila.
âAlright, next is the length and number, letâs get crackinâ!â
Itâs been several dozen minutes that Iâve been walking around with Futaba-san in the passages. Peeking through rooms, we encounter foes. Feels pretty much like grinding in an RPG.
âHaa⦠looks like this is it for nowâ
Results: hair length extends to 2 meters. Number of braids: a maximum of 2. When making 2, the length of each is cut to half, that is, to 1 meter, is what Iâve determined.
And after binding and playing around with many Skeletons, as usual, Futaba-san destroys them. Thinking carefully, we may look like doing weâre doing something cruel, but I can explain it away such that this is all for science. I mean, the other partyâs coming at us with the intend to kill so why not.
âItâs amazing Momokawa-kun. The Curses are getting to be really something!â
âN-no~, you flatter me, ahahaâ¦â
With the joyous smile, and straight-forward complements from Futaba-san, man itâs embarrassing. Iâm not the type that gets praised in general, so with the complements coming in on rapid-fire, itâs really more embarrassing that anything.
If she keeps this up, I might just become a good-for-nothing very quickly. Kind, great at cooking, plus complements galore, Futaba-san, I wonder if sheâs trying to become a machine that produces hopeless men.
âA-Anyway, Iâll test out Mud Doll nextâ
âYeah, go for it Momokawa-kunâ
Being watched over under a gaze like that of an affectionate mother, I get myself together, and concentrate on Curse practice.
This time, Iâm testing if you can make the Doll with something other than mud. More like, canât I use Monster materials to make a really powerful Doll, is the encompassing thought and goal.
The uselessness of the Mud Doll, is obvious looking at the battle with the Great Frog. I need to at least increase the resilience a bit more, or else it wonât even serve as a distraction. Currently, it only amounts to the level of collecting chump change doing street performances or something.
However, if it is the case that, depending on the material, I can create powerful Dolls⦠the dream gets bigger all at once. Now, arise, my strongest Servant! [1]
â⦠Ah, thereâs no mudâ
Is what I realized after gathering the remnants of Skeletons and arranging them into what would become the Dollâs skeleton. My increasingly rising tension, upon such a reality, underwent a sharp decline.
The Curseâs name even has Mud in it, so not including it as a production element, I donât foresee the process coming to fruition.
âSo you really need the mud?â
âYeah, with a skeletal structure from Skeletons, and using mud to make the meat, is the image I had in mind. We have water, but if only I had just a bit more sandââ
âUh huh⦠then, Ei!â
Contrary to the gentle cry, the sounds of destruction were brutal. What the, I thought but then saw, bashing her battle-axe into the wall in full swing, there was Futaba-san.
âAh, look, I did it Momokaka-kun! Thereâs sand now see!â
What Futaba-san struck apart, was the stone wall with the thickness of a cinderblock. The blade of the axe had eaten through the wall, reaching the other side, from where the underground sand spewed out.
Speaking of the dungeonâs construction, we must be underground. So breaking a wall, youâll be presented with the soil bed beyond, would be the correct in theory⦠But for actually testing that out, youâd need to get past those unreasonably tough walls.
âT-thanksâ
Though I continue to be astounded at how naturally she wields her Berserker strength, since I got what I wanted, I can do nothing but thank Futaba-san.
Anywho, now I can continue the experiment creating a Mud Doll with Skeleton parts.
The image is important. As for the prep work for this Curse, I remember it fine from having done it before. So, all thatâs left is to finish the form, imaging vividly, and try it out.
âRise from chaos, bind in foul blood, stand on stained earthââ
Atop the floor, I have the bone fragments of Skeleton arranged in a human shape. On top of that, I take the sand provided by Futaba-san and mix it with the Fairy Square water in the plastic bottle, creating mud and adding it to the structure. The make is simple to the extreme. So thereâs no complicated imaging necessary either.
If this fails, then I donât think itâll work no matter how many ways I try.
So, pretty please Ruinhilde-sama. Let me have, just a bit more hopeâ offering up such a prayer, I let drops of fresh blood fall onto the human shape of mud.
ââVile Mud Doll!â
And the results are made clear immediately.
âYes, itâs alive!?â
Bestowed with cursed life, the Mud Doll stood tall adhering my command.
Its appearance, practically same as the first one. The bones were framed inside so the outside is tinted mud brown⦠but there was one fundamental difference.
âWa, this one, its like itâs wearing a maskâ
Yes, just as Futaba-san commented, the Mud Doll this time is wearing a mask. It was a fragment of bone I had put inside the head area. Shaped like a pie graph with 60% filled, the fragment was perfectly tacked on the Mud Dollâs face.
âH-hell yes, this thingâs, itâs really adapting to the material!â
The once useless Vile Mud Doll, itâs now time to peer into your endless possibilities.
âOK, next letâs make a bigger one!â
With rising tension like a salmon swimming up a raging waterfall assailing me, I make towards the next experiment without a moment wasted. [2]
Speaking of, the material for the next version is all ready.
This room contains two Skeletons that we defeated. One had its body smashed to bits and was unreminiscent of its former form, but the other had only its cranium completely blown off, with its body left as is.
These are ones I had left for Futaba-san to defeat beforehand. Though her enemy were dull headed Skeletons, seeing such splendid results, I canât help but think sheâs gotten quite used to battle. At the very least, I canât see her losing even if sheâs surrounded by Mobs like Goma or Red Dogs.
âHey, Momokawa-kun. Isnât it like, if you make it bigger, youâll need that much more blood for it?â
As I was diligently molding away mud on the life-sized Skeleton in high spirits, Futaba-san suddenly raised a doubt.
âYeah, I mean, I guess so. But I really wanna see how far I can take this Mud Doll. If it gets dangerous, Iâll stop, donât worryâ
I mean, itâs not like Iâll willingly let out my blood till I die or anything. With a bit of my Ointment, the tiny cut is easy mode. Thereâs no danger to be found.
âA-Alright, if you say so⦠be careful okay?â
I wonder how long passed after I inattentively replied, Yeah. Anyway, covering the life-sized skeleton with mud would be inefficient without anything like a shovel, so it took a good while longer.
At one point, we went back to get a refill of water. Hirano-kun and Nishiyama-san looked at us with strange eyes as we were hurriedly collecting water from the fountain all covered in mud, but I canât be concerned about that right now.
âAnd, itâs done!â
After much elbow-grease, the Mud Dollâs body is finally conceived. Structure-wise, itâs literally the same as the one just before. Only the size is of human height.
Though primarily, the goal is to get a large Mud Doll, this experiment also counts as a test to see if multiple can be controlled together. So the one made before is left as is.
If, everything goes well, the life-sized Mud Doll moves around, then, along with a decently sized Doll in my possession, itâll be possible to birth a good number of them at the same time. Like, let us forge, the Strongest Servant Army.
âWell, here goes nothingâ
âY-Yeahâ
Feeling Futaba-sanâs gaze, as she swallows her spit in suspense, watching over me, I challenge the 2nd Curse trial.
âRise from chaosââ
I let down, the first drop of blood.
The drop of red falls straight down, it hits the human shape at the forehead areaâ and, wew, comes a dizziness.
âBind in foul bloodââ
What was that, must be nothing. I thought, during which 2 drops, 3 drops, are let to fall.
And, when those come into contact with the Mud Doll,
âStand on stained eartââ
The world swivels.
My vision violently rocks, the Mud Doll I was looking at goes far away, before I know it, I find myself looking at pure white light. Ah, this, is the roomâs light panel? Which means, I fell down I guess.
ââ Momokawa-kun!â
It looks as if itâs supposed to be loud, but her voice felt terribly far.
Iâm fine, I turn to Futaba-san to try and give her some reassurance, when my vision obscures. After that, any more thoughts wereâ
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[1] Servant is in Engrish desu⦠like in Fate
[2] It actually says eel, not salmonâ¦