Chapter 14

"Harvest Moon?" Rei asked, confusion evident in his voice.

Iz looked at him, clearly surprised.

"You don’t know about the Harvest Moon?"

Not good.

That might’ve been too strange a question.

He still wasn’t being cautious enough.

Just as Rei was thinking about how to smooth it over, Iz stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Well... I suppose there may be places in this world beyond the reach of the gods’ authority."

"You really did come from very far away, didn’t you..."

Iz murmured with faint amazement.

Close call...

Looks like I managed to muddle through.

He seems like a good person—but if he found out I’m not from this world, that might not end well.

At least until I fully understand this world, it’s better to keep my transmigrator identity hidden.

"The Harvest Moon—its full name is the Lucky Harvest Moon."

"It usually occurs during the ninth month of the year, under the lunar phase of Yakadikto."

Lunar phase?Yakadikto?

Rei was curious, but he suppressed the urge to ask.

This was likely common knowledge.

If so, he could easily look it up in books later.

Iz continued explaining.

"During this month, resource output from all sources increases."

"It becomes easier to obtain higher-value treasures."

"Even ordinary monsters may drop rare items that normally wouldn’t appear."

So it’s like a global drop-rate boost event...

But it also felt dangerous.

If it stimulated adventurers’ greed, many might die chasing fortune.

It almost sounded like a trap.

"If the Harvest Moon arrives early, we’ll need to prepare for exploring large-scale dungeons."

"But of course—not now."

Iz stored all the Shadow Hunt Panther corpses into his spatial storage.

Rei followed him deeper.

This dungeon differed from the one Rei had encountered right after transmigrating.

So far—

There hadn’t been a single fork in the path.

That earlier dungeon had been a labyrinth, branching in all directions. Just looking at it had been dizzying.

This one, however, was almost a straight corridor.

Under Illumination, traps were clearly visible.

They pressed onward and encountered more monsters.

Eight Shadow Hunt Panthers.

Two Shadow Spiders...

Spiders.

The first time Rei saw a spider several times larger than himself, he jumped in shock.

The next instant—

He raised his hand and unleashed seven Fireballs simultaneously.

Explosive flames engulfed the creature.

The spider was burned into charcoal.

Rei’s Fireball was far more powerful than that of an ordinary mage.

So far in this dungeon—

He hadn’t encountered a single monster that couldn’t be one-shot by his magic.

It seemed...

As proficiency level increased, spell power rose significantly as well.

According to Iz, if an ordinary Level 1 mage faced this Shadow Spider—

It would take at least thirty to forty Fireballs to kill it.

Rei’s seven-hit burst annihilated it instantly.

The second time he encountered a Shadow Spider, Rei deliberately controlled the number of Fireballs that hit.

One Fireball.

It didn’t kill it—

But the spider’s body ignited, writhing in agony.

As it shot a strand of shadow webbing from its abdomen toward Rei—

His second Fireball followed immediately.

The web burned to ash upon contact.

The residual force of the Fireball continued onward—

Boom!

The spider flipped onto its back in flames and stopped moving entirely.

Two Fireballs...

Enough to kill a Shadow Spider.

Other Level 1 mages need about 30–40?

That means one of my Fireballs equals roughly 15–20 of theirs in power.

Seven in succession...

Rei calculated mentally.

That’s equivalent to around 95–140 Fireballs in output.

And judging from how the first Fireball nearly killed it, the second was just finishing damage.

The actual estimate might be even higher.

In other words—

One of my spell casts has over a hundred times the lethality of a mage at the same level.

Is this the advantage of a God-Tier talent?

Rei couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.

Come to think of it—

He still hadn’t fully researched how talents worked.

When he first changed classes, Kumironi had implied the talent system was far more complex.

I’ll look into it when I get the chance...

If I can’t find documentation, I’ll ask them.

Rei didn’t want to keep exposing gaps in his "common knowledge."

And constantly asking questions would become annoying.

He wanted to minimize the trouble he caused Iz and the others.

Shadow Spiders. Shadow Hunt Panthers.

And then—

They encountered a Shadow Fiend.

A pure shadow.

Even under Illumination, it appeared as a dark silhouette clinging to the wall.

Actually—

It was fortunate he had Illumination.

Otherwise, it would have blended completely into the darkness, impossible to detect.

"Shadow Fiend," Iz explained.

"Tier-Two monster."

"When in shadow state, physical attacks are completely ineffective."

"Magic that targets physical forms won’t harm it either."

"Only light-element attacks are effective."

"However, while in shadow state, it cannot harm us physically."

"It can only leave the shadow to attack when our gaze is not upon it."

The shadow slid along the wall, following Rei.

Occasionally circling behind him—

But Rei’s eyes tracked it every time.

It wasn’t very fast.

Easy to monitor.

Iz continued, "In other words, as long as you keep your attention on it, you’re safe—even if you can’t damage it."

"But in real combat, an enemy like this is still a threat."

"Come. Chant with me."

"Lord of Dawn’s Light, I beseech a ray of brilliance—pierce the darkness for me."

Rei repeated Iz’s incantation in the Primordial Tongue.

A cross-shaped sword of light condensed in his hand.

「Cross of Light (LV: 5)」

Rei felt that the radiant cross-blade could be held briefly like a weapon—

Or thrown directly.

He gripped the luminous cross and hurled it at the Shadow Fiend.

Clang!

"AAAH—!!"

The cross-shaped light pierced into the shadow’s form.

A shriek of agony echoed from the darkness.

Immediately—

Two shadowy hands extended from its body, lunging toward Rei!

Rei stepped back swiftly.

"I beseech light—pierce the darkness."

Another radiant cross formed in his hand.

Clang—

The blade pierced one of its arms.

The arm struck by light froze, unable to move.

"Light."

Buzz—

In Rei’s palm, another cross condensed.

Brighter.

Larger.

At that instant—

The shadow suddenly expanded, surging beneath Rei’s feet.

From the ground, dozens of dark hands erupted upward!

Rei leapt back violently—

Driving the light downward!

「Cross of Light (LV: 10) — No Chant Required, Larger Cross」

Unlike Illumination, Cross of Light could now be cast without chanting.

Whoosh!

Bang!

Bang bang bang!

The shadow began chasing Rei rapidly.

Rei broke into a run—

Hurling crosses of light behind him as he moved.

The shadow stretched longer and longer in pursuit—

But every time it was struck by a cross of light, it staggered briefly.

And each time Rei cast the spell—

The power was noticeably stronger than the last.

Soon—

After being pinned to the ground by thirteen crosses of light—

The Shadow Fiend stopped moving entirely.

The shadow shrank.

Shrank.

Until it collapsed into a pitch-black hide—

Falling lifeless onto the cavern floor.