CHAPTER 363

[Lightning] Skill Orb

“But now it makes sense why that little monster was so bold even against Masaru.”

“Yeahhh. If anyone who touches it gets electrocuted, I’d body slam them too no matter how big they are.”

Oh, Nina-san’s electrifying body slam, huh? I’d love to hear her yell “Darling, you baaaka!” when she does it.

“But if that’s the case… then that drop must be the ‘pelt of the electric rat,’ right?”

Nina-san glances at the fluffy thing lying on the dungeon floor and mutters.

“Hmm. That sounds like something Kaguya-hime would want.”

“Huh? What’s that about?”

“Well, y’see. Kaguya-hime, who didn’t wanna get married, would give suitors impossible tasks to indirectly reject ’em. One of them was to bring her the pelt of the fire rat.”

“Wait, so she didn’t actually want it?”

“Nah. If it were the real deal, it wouldn’t burn—so she’d set it on fire right in front of the poor guy.”

“Kaguya-hime’s meeean!”

“Hahaha, well, burning it was the only way to tell. And it’s not just the fire rat—even in Hercules’ trials, he used the Nemean lion’s pelt to block the Hydra’s poison or fire or whatever. Guess back then, pelts were like the closest thing to fireproof gear.”

“Huhhh…”

Serai-san seems impressed by our conversation, but she keeps glancing at the Skill Orb, clearly interested.

“…Hey, Masaru. This Skill Orb’s yours, right? So… you’re giving it to me, yeah?”

“No way, Machi! Masaru’s givin’ it to me. Right, Masaru~?”

Hm? Seems like a tug-of-war over the Skill Orb has broken out between Serai-san and Nina-san. They’re joking, but I can see they’re low-key serious.

Still, this ain’t good.

“Hey, hey, you two—give the [Lightning] Skill Orb to Masaru.”

“Ehhh, why?! Who knows if he’ll even use it right!”

“Mmm… well, if you say so, I guess I don’t mind…”

Serai-san argues while Nina-san reluctantly backs down. Hmm, so this is the allure of [Lightning], huh? Well, I should probably explain properly.

“True, the [Lightning] Skill is pretty appealing. But listen—we already have [Acid] and [Slime], two incredibly strong and versatile Skills. Meanwhile, Masaru’s got insane muscle and jumping power thanks to his species, but aside from kicks and punches, he’s got no combat options. So wouldn’t it be fair to let him have the [Lightning] Skill?”

“Ehh, then give him [Acid] or [Shell] instead!”

“Serai-san, c’mon. A naked kangaroo with [Acid] is just asking for trouble. And [Shell]? He’s not an otter.”

“Then what about [Slime]? If he’s fightin’ close-quarters, wouldn’t [Slime] be better, like grease or somethin’??”

Oh boy. They were fine a second ago, and now even Nina-san’s joining in.

“Honestly, you two. You really want the [Lightning] Skill that badly? But we can already do electric attacks without it, y’know?”

““Huh?!””

They both gasp at my words.

“C’mon, think about the Skills you already have. You can easily generate electricity with those.”

“…Ah! I got it! Car batteries?!”

“Bingo, Nina-san.”

“Wait, how?! How do our Skills make car batteries?!”

Serai-san still doesn’t get it. Well, girls aren’t usually into mechanical stuff. Time to explain.

“Heheh, the answer’s [Acid], Serai-san. Car batteries are just diluted sulfuric acid and lead (minus the casing). So if you douse an enemy in acid and hit ’em with lead, boom—instant electric attack.”

“Wha—it’s that easy?!”

Well, to make it work, you’d need strong acidic slime and fine, sticky lead pellets, but still.

Pull it off, and you get double damage—acid pain and electrocution. Plus, the chemical reaction produces hydrogen gas, so light it up for an explosion.

Hmm… depending on how you use it, this could be one brutally overpowered combo.

“Yep. But usually, enemies hit with acid are already writhing in agony, right? So there’s no need to bother with the lead. Acid alone is already more debilitating than [Lightning].”

Electrocution causes spasms and paralysis.

But a faceful of strong acid? Way worse. Eyes melt, the stench chokes you, and the unbearable pain of your body dissolving. In that sense, acid is scarier than [Lightning]—on par with fire attacks.

Though fire looks cooler with its flashy flames, while acid just leaves a gruesome, smoky mess. No wonder it’s unpopular.

“Oh… So we’ve been hitting harder than [Lightning] this whole time without even realizing it…”

“Exactly. Like with Masaru earlier—electric paralysis might wear off, but acid damage? No way that heals easy.”

Yeah… How many monsters have we melted so far? And every single one died in some horrifying, unrecognizable state.

“So you two, let’s give this Skill Orb to Masaru, okay?”

““Okaaay…””

Good, good. Glad they understand.

Besides, spreading growth thin with extra Skills isn’t as good as mastering what we’ve got. They’re already plenty strong as is.