Chapter 324

As per Tatsuro’s plan, after Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi leveled up, they descended to the ground, gathering the scattered bone fragments and storing them in the Infinite Item Field.

“…”

“Out of tricks already?”

After summoning the giant skeleton, the Tree-Shaped Magical Beast, previously classified as human, stood still like an ordinary tree, emitting no sound. However, as Tatsuro and the others cautiously approached, it began to show a different reaction.

“You—guys—are—strong—this—Aurik—ki—save.”

“Save? Wait, you can still talk?”

“The—most—important—place—I—protected. But—my—power—is—gone—soon—I—die—

become—just—a—Magical Beast.”

“Leah, it’s saying—”

Tatsuro, who could understand the Tree-Shaped Magical Beast’s words, relayed only the parts Leah could make out, summarizing what it likely meant. It wanted something saved.

It had desperately protected something vital, but in this battle, it ran out of Magical Power and was failing. Soon, it would lose its Ego entirely and become a mere Magical Beast.

“It attacked us to test if we were strong enough to save something in its place, didn’t it?

From what I can see, it’s astonishing it’s still speaking despite being in a state where it should’ve completely lost its Ego.”

“For now, let’s set that aside. It doesn’t seem to have much time left.”

Switching to the Tree-Shaped Magical Beast’s language, Tatsuro questioned it further.

“So, specifically, what do you want?”

“I—give—everything—to—you—in—exchange—save—Aurik—ki.”

“Aurik—ki? You said ‘Aurikk—’ earlier. Could it be Aurikki?”

The reason Tatsuro and his group came here was to check on Aurikki, the elder figure of the Pixies. From the fragmented conversation, two proper nouns stood out: A○○ki and Aurikk○. If they referred to the same thing, it would mean this was the very person they were looking for.

“You—know—Aurik—ki? Then—hurry—save.”

“I know of them, but just saying ‘save’ doesn’t tell me anything when I don’t understand the situation. If time’s short, tell me the key points clearly.”

“My—mind—can’t—think—clearly—anymore. So—take—it—you’ll—understand. Decide—after—if—you—do—it—or—not. I—trust—you—now—please.”

As if reaching its limit, the Tree-Shaped Magical Beast spoke faster, its body trembling. Suddenly, it split in half, and green vines emerged from within. At the tip of the vines was a yellowish-green Seed (Item) about ten centimeters in size, which it extended toward Tatsuro.

“You—inside—you—are—the—most—compatible. Touch—this.”

“It’s telling me to touch this, but is it safe?”

“…It’s—yes, if it’s you, Big Brother, it should be fine.”

“What exactly is it?”

“Please touch it first. In its current state, it’ll lose its meaning in a few seconds. Take off your glove and touch it directly.”

“Alright. If you say so, Leah, I’ll trust you.”

With Leah’s confident assurance, Tatsuro removed the glove from his right hand, used for communicating with Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, and gently touched the yellowish-green Seed (Item) with his index and middle fingers.

“—!?”

“Ahh—this—ends—it…”

The Seed (Item), connected to the vine, snapped off on its own and began rooting into Tatsuro’s fingers. Startled, he looked at Leah, who nodded reassuringly, so he observed its progress.

A warm sensation spread through his body, and the Seed (Item) changed color from yellowish-green to green, then dark green. Finally, it turned black, broke into tiny glowing particles, and was absorbed into Tatsuro’s body.

|The skill Fusion Transplant has been activated. From now on, the system of Henrikki will be integrated with Tatsuro Hasami as the host.|

“Huh? What—”

The title Endeniente has been confirmed. A significant boost to Compatibility Rate has been applied.

Martial abilities are slightly inferior to Henrikki’s.

Magical abilities significantly surpass Henrikki’s.

This allows for a 92% transplantation rate.

Installation will now commence.

“Huh? Wait—what?”

“What’s wrong, Tatsuro? Is something off with your body?”

“No, it’s not that, so don’t worry—”

Trying to stay calm to reassure Ai and the others, who looked concerned, Tatsuro was inwardly panicking as the announcements continued without his control.

Installation complete.

Tatsuro Hasami’s status, inheritable skills, and titles have been successfully transplanted.

Class change from Great Sage to Magic-Infused Great Sage.

Acquired skill: Magic Egg Forging.

“…It’s… done, I think.”

“Whoa! It suddenly attacked!”

“Yeah, but its system is gone now, and it’s just a husk of a human. It’s weakened a lot. Let’s finish it off here.”

As Tatsuro was about to explain, the entity, now fully a Magical Beast after losing all traces of Henrikki, swung a branch at him. Tsukuyomi instinctively grabbed it with Secom-kun, tore it off, and discarded it.

Seeing this, Tatsuro decided it was his duty. He put his glove back on, stepped forward, and released Amaterasu from his hand, letting it float behind him with Dragon Telekinesis. Using only his own power, he burned away the remaining branch attacks.

“You said I’d understand if I took it, but I still don’t get it. Still, we’ll do what we can to honor your will. So, rest in peace.”

Tatsuro produced a small glowing spark from his palm and sent it toward the Tree-Shaped Magical Beast.

It instantly turned to ash without suffering. Though it was now just an empty Magical Beast, Tatsuro’s heart ached slightly.

“For now, this should stop the Shubelg Fungus from spreading. Let’s head back for now and discuss the details there.”

“Got it! Alright, everyone, let’s move out!”

To shake off the heavy mood, Ai cheerfully gave the order to withdraw, and Tatsuro and the others left the forest.

The giant skeleton and the sounds of intense combat had apparently been noticed from outside the Barrier, so guild staff questioned them. Tatsuro explained what he could within limits, and though the Guild Staff were skeptical, they accepted it, allowing the group to avoid further interrogation.

Leaving the forest, they set up their usual Base by taking out their Mobile Home. They gathered around the round table in the Living Room to discuss.

“Alright, I’ll explain what happened to me back there. First, take a look at my status.”

“Okay!”

Ai responded energetically, and everyone peered at Tatsuro’s status.

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Name: Tatsuro Hasami

Class: Magic-Infused Great Sage

Level: 104

Spirit/Ki: 426

Magical Power: 4627

Dragon Force: 11730

Strength: 992

Durability: 939 + 60

Agility: 878 + 40

Magic Power: 8454

Magic Resistance: 8029

Magic Control: 8747

|Acquired Skills|

[Level Eater], [Compound Magic Skill], [Spirit Eye]

[Spirit Magic], [Magic Domain Transcendence], [Strengthened Modification Ranch]

[Plants’ Blessing], [Sunlight Recovery], [Magic Egg Forging]

[Yin-Yang Orb], [Flame Wind], [Earth Sharp Wind]

[Sticky Water], [Curse Vision], [Lock Magic: Fire-Wind-Curse-Lightning.Type1]

[Light Magic Lv.14], [Darkness Magic Lv.14], [Fire Magic Lv.11]

[Water Magic Lv.11], [Life Magic Lv.10: Limit Released], [Earth Magic Lv.10: Limit Released]

[Dispel Magic Lv.11], [Wind Magic Lv.11], [Curse Magic Lv.11]

[Lightning Magic Lv.11], [Tree Magic Lv.10: Limit Released]

[Ice Magic Lv.10: Limit Released], [Gravity Magic], [Explosion Magic]

[Locking Magic], [Magic Purification Lv.5], [Magic Density Increase Lv.3]

[Mana Generation Increase Lv.3], [Magic Regeneration Lv.6], [Focus Lv.8]

[Rapid Fire Lv.2], [Multiple Thinking Lv.1], [Hardened Body Lv.8]

[Leadership Lv.12], [All Language Comprehension]

|System skills|

[Map Function], [Infinite Item Field]

Remaining Skill Points: 1122

|Titles|

[Master of Light], [Master of Darkness], [Master of Fire]

[Master of Water], [Master of Life], [Master of Earth]

[Master of Dispel], [Master of Wind], [Master of Curses]

[Master of Lighting], [Master of Tree], [Master of Ice]

[Destroyer], [Perfect Harmony +2], [Dragon Slayer +2]

[Dragon Eater], [Storage Maniac], [Amazing!]

[Creator - Prelude], [Creator – Destruction], [Endeniente]

[High-Difficulty Labyrinth Conqueror], [Transgressor], [Vanguard]

[Minor Magical Beast Tycoon], [Magical Beast Tycoon], [Great Magical Beast Tycoon]

[Supreme Magical Beast Tycoon]

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“Whoa… I’m seeing this for the first time, but it’s gotten pretty wild.”

“Your class changed, your level went up a bit, and there’s a ton of new skills and titles I don’t even understand…”

“And your Dragon Force went up slightly too.”

“Not just that, but your martial stats, which were relatively low, have shot up significantly!”

“What’s going on here?”

“Well, I don’t fully get it myself, but Leah, you can explain, right?”

Tatsuro had a rough guess but turned to Leah, who seemed to know more and had given her confident assurance earlier.

“Yes, though I only saw the core hidden deep within him for a few seconds, so this includes some speculation. Is that okay?”

“Of course. Please, go ahead.”

Leah took a moment to organize her thoughts and began explaining slowly.

“First, the Tree-Shaped Magical Beast that was a Former Human Magical Beast was originally a Fusion Plant. So, it wasn’t a human or even a Magical Beast to begin with—it was a type of plant.”

“Huh? So it wasn’t born a Magical Beast or human but became a Former Human Magical Beast later?”

“Yes. The Fusion Plant merges with and dominates other plants, taking over their bodies to grow. Along the way, it merged with a plant-based Magical Beast and took it over. As it gained a slight Ego, it instinctively merged with stronger plant-based Magical Beasts, replacing them. Through a fortunate combination, it eventually became human-like. The skill Fusion Transplant, which caused this change in Big Brother, is likely a systemized version of the Fusion Plant’s inherent ability to merge. Its effect is that the stronger entity’s system is transplanted, and the weaker one ceases to exist.”

“So, since Tatsuro was stronger, the Tree-Shaped Magical Beast’s system was fully transplanted to him?”

“That’s correct. Normally, a plant and a human would have poor compatibility, so maybe half would’ve been transplanted at best. But Big Brother has the Endeniente title, a veritable embodiment of adaptability, which likely overrode others like Cardina, who might’ve been more compatible, and made him the target.”

“So, it could’ve been Mom instead?”

“For Big Sister, the Martial God skill’s influence is too strong, and the donor’s stats leaned more toward a magic-oriented Tamer type, which likely played a role.”

“Hmm? But looking at Dad’s new skills, there’s no analysis-type ability. How did it know?”

“I couldn’t see it clearly, but I think the Fusion Plant’s core had an instinct to sniff out the best fusion target. Or perhaps there was an untransferred skill that did it.”

“So it chose me. Well, looking at it, there’s no downside, so I guess I’m grateful.”

Still, Tatsuro felt a lingering unease, as the “you’ll understand if you take it” promise from Henrikki remained unclear. Hoping to uncover more by examining the details, the group focused on the specifics.

“The most eye-catching thing is Strengthened Modification Ranch, right? It’s got a total mad scientist vibe!”

“Honestly, that’s what I’m most curious about too. Let’s see…”

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Skill Name: Strengthened Modification Ranch

Rarity: Unique

Type: Active Skill

Effect: Enables maximum-level use of Tame Contract and Perfect Harmony.

Tamed Magical Beasts can be stored in an otherworldly ranch and summoned at any time.

If stored in egg form, they are born in a tamed state.

(Note: The ranch’s size expands with the total sum of all stats. Taming capacity is limited to what fits within that space.)

Tamed Magical Beasts can be strengthened and modified.

(Note: The younger the beast and the earlier in its growth phase, the greater the modification potential.)

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“…Unique, huh? That’s on par with our Martial God or Level Eater in rarity. Having two Unique skills is kind of insane, isn’t it?”

“It’s not just the rarity, Mom. The effects are nuts too. For a Tamer, this is a cheat-level skill. It’s practically broken as written.”

“It must’ve been the type to suddenly awaken high intelligence. It’s rare for someone who became human later to achieve this, but to awaken with such a skill from the start is almost unheard of.”

“So, Father could be both the ultimate Mage and the ultimate Tamer?”

“It’s so extreme it barely feels like a Tamer skill anymore.”

“But with this, Tatsuro’s egg collection could be useful. You’ve got that giant bee egg, right? Maybe start a beekeeping business in the future?”

“That egg… I was planning to keep it as a collectible, but with a skill like this, I guess I have to use it.”

Checking the Infinite Item Field, Tatsuro confirmed that eggs could be duplicated as Materials.

(I knew they weren’t treated as living beings since they go into the Item Box, but I didn’t expect eggs to be duplicable too.)

Excited by the possibilities, Tatsuro’s heart raced quietly.