After leaving the tavern, Dark replenished some experimental materials on Traveler Street and bought a few food and drink supplies, only then dragging the heavily laden cart back to the Lake Pavilion.
The house was full of babies that only consumed and never produced; if it weren't for the cushion of fifty thousand credits, they really would be hard to raise.
He hoped that in his second year he'd be able to smoothly restart the "Magical Beast Club"—then he could apply to the academy for club funding to raise the babies.
Smiling, Dark returned to the tower of the Noble House.
The lingering aftertaste of yesterday's dungeon adventure hadn't yet faded; in the common lounge there were still quite a few first-years chatting about dungeon-related topics.
The three groups that had successfully subjugated the Floor BOSS, and the one group that had been the only one to trigger the "Dungeon Escape Device," seemed to have become the center of conversation.
The little Magic Guide Masters chatted and laughed, the atmosphere quite cheerful.
Dark waved at the classmates who greeted him proactively, then went upstairs.
He didn't spot Doron's group among the crowd—evidently they too were busy digesting yesterday's gains.
Only after returning to Room 201 did Dark summon out the thoroughly impatient "Meowth."
Materializing within the summoning light, Meowth immediately pounced toward the little corner piled high with wood-carving materials and tools—it hadn't forgotten to carve its own "Armament."
Seeing Meowth's frantic manner, Dark couldn't help but clutch his head.
"Come to think of it, the Armaments I promised the other Magic Guide Spirits—more than half still aren't transmuted… No help for it, I'll just have to set them aside for now."
...
"Mii——"
Sylveon eagerly nuzzled over, raising a ribbon feeler to tap the cardboard box holding the Dragon Grass.
Only then did Dark pick up the cardboard box, carry it over near the head of the bed, and then beckon to the Magic Guide Spirits, saying, "A new companion."
The Magic Guide Spirits at once looked over curiously, waiting for the box to be opened.
Dark tore open the cardboard box, reached his hand inside, gripped the Dragon Grass by the scruff of its neck, and tried to fish it out.
But the Dragon Grass struggled with unexpectedly great strength, and for a moment it was actually hard to pull out.
"No help for it."
Dark steadied himself, and following Miss Cat's instructions, reached out to touch the single scale below the Dragon Grass's neck that grew in reverse.
The [Dragon's Reverse Scale]: the only one that grew in reverse, the only soft scale that would not harden as the dragon species matured.
The interior of the reverse scale was grown through with a great mass of nerves, and its surface was even covered all over with sensory receptors—exceptionally sensitive.
Whether it be touch, pain, or any other sensation, all could be amplified several times over and more!
This was one of a dragon's most important treasures.
The Dragon Grass had perfectly inherited the biological traits of the dragon species, so naturally it possessed this single reverse scale as well.
Once Dark had found that single reverse scale, he gently stroked it with the pad of his finger.
"Miu——"
After only a little while, the Dragon Grass let out a soft, limp cry.
It instantly went as soft as a puddle of mush.
The corner of Dark's mouth curled up as he successfully fished it out of the cardboard box.
"Come, say hello to your big brothers and sisters."
He grasped one of the Dragon Grass's claws and waved it at the Magic Guide Spirits and the other Catnip.
But for some reason, the atmosphere felt a little off.
...
Although Dark was somewhat impatient to use the Dragon Grass to cultivate a "[Major Sin Fruit]," his reserves of "Major Sin" were still insufficient.
At present he also hadn't decided exactly which kind to use, so he prepared to first raise it for a while—let it grow accustomed to this home—before cultivating.
As for where to keep it...
Since he had no water tank, he temporarily kept it in Popplio's inflatable pool.
Popplio, as it happened, rather liked this timid, shy Dragon Grass, and before long the two were stuck together.
Dark observed carefully for a while, and gradually set his mind at ease.
Then he opened that book he'd snapped up on a whim, "Parkin Chimera's Guide to Synthetic Beast Transmutation," and leafed through it without much concern.
Parkin Chimera was a Magic Guide Master of some renown.
On the book's title page, Parkin Chimera styled himself a "Grand Magic Guide Master."
But in truth his attainments in Magic Guide studies were very limited.
Even the surname "Chimera" was one he had bestowed upon himself.
The so-called "Chimera" originally means "she-goat"; it has the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and a tail like a python—a byword for the "Synthetic Beast."
Bestowing the surname "Chimera" upon himself was nothing more than a way to flaunt himself as an expert in "Synthetic Beasts."
However, the "Synthetic Beast" was originally a forbidden art that originated with the Demon race—not at all something fit for respectable company.
Magic Guide techniques were all-embracing and inclusive, capable of making the Synthetic Beast technique their own.
But Magic Guide Masters generally regarded it as a crooked, heretical path.
Rather than "synthesizing," why not use "[Fusion]"?
[Fusion] merges two or more Magic Guide Spirits into one.
Synthesis, by contrast, stitches together the parts of two or more Magic Guide Spirits.
One is a merger that can be freely undone.
The other is nothing more than crude patchwork.
The superior and the inferior were plain to see at a glance.
"Parkin Chimera's Guide to Synthetic Beast Transmutation" explains how to select the most powerful limb-parts from the bodies of various monsters and, through the transmutation techniques of Magic Guide Spirits, stitch them into a monster combining the parts of all manner of beasts.
Fairly similar to it is a monster called the "Abomination," assembled from many fragmented, broken corpses.
This kind of patched-together Synthetic Beast couldn't possess even the most basic intelligence.
And it was extremely prone to self-collapse.
It might well be that, in the course of using it, it would turn into a puddle of mush.
This kind of collapse, more often than not, took the Magic Guide Card down with it.
The reason Parkin Chimera became famous was that, in a certain battle, he temporarily stitched the monster corpses on the battlefield into a single gigantic, hideous super Synthetic Beast.
The appearance of that super Synthetic Beast shook the entire battlefield.
Yet after holding together for only three seconds, that super Synthetic Beast turned into a puddle of slime...
The slime collapsed and poured down, engulfing half the battlefield.
And so Parkin Chimera became even more famous.
These days Parkin Chimera had been missing for many years, and this book of his, "Parkin Chimera's Guide to Synthetic Beast Transmutation," had on the contrary gained additional collector's value.
Just as that kindly senior had said, this really was a book that had nothing useful about it apart from its collector's value.
But "nothing useful" did not mean "completely useless."
The greatest characteristic of the "Synthetic Beast" transmutation method was that it possessed multiple cores!
...
And Dark's main purpose in purchasing this book was precisely to learn how one could use multiple cores to transmute a Magic Guide Spirit.
The Basic Transmutation Method taught in the first year had a clear restriction: only one core could be used in transmutation. Putting in two or more core materials would, due to the violent conflict between the materials, lead to an experimental accident.
But the "Honedge" that Dark wanted to transmute required two core materials: the "Holy Sword" and the "Shelgon Orb."
Although his idea was to make the "Holy Sword" the main and the "Shelgon Orb" the auxiliary, once transmutation actually began, he very likely wouldn't be able to clearly accomplish this.
If he could obtain some related knowledge from this "Parkin Chimera's Guide to Synthetic Beast Transmutation," enabling him to exercise appropriate control during transmutation—
then those 300 credits would have been well spent.
...
Next, he spent a great deal of time studying "Parkin Chimera's Guide to Synthetic Beast Transmutation," and at last found the solution.
"So it turns out that in Parkin Chimera's Synthetic Beast transmutation method, there's also a clearly designated main body."
"Although it appears to use the limbs of many monsters and possess multiple cores, in fact a 'demotion' treatment was applied to the other cores, designating only one of the parts as the main body."
"Therefore it doesn't violate the basic rules of Magic Guide Spirit transmutation."
"In that case, as long as I likewise apply a 'demotion' treatment to the 'Shelgon Orb,' I can roughly reduce the conflict that arises."
After confirming this point, Dark made a detailed study and record of the 'demotion' method.
Then he set down his pen, picked up his wood carving to practice, and to soothe his nerves along the way.
That night, he carved out a total of three Armaments, but did not carry out any Armament transmutation.
This time, he prepared to accumulate enough first, then transmute them all in one go.
...
Then came the next day, Sunday.
With a clear purpose, Dark entered Traveler Street, gathered the potion recipes needed for the 'demotion,' and then once again came to Uncle Simmons's little tavern.
Simmons was at the tavern's entrance, lying in a rocking chair basking in the sun, looking in fine spirits.
Dark got straight to the point and directly explained his purpose in coming.
But Simmons asked in turn, "You came yesterday too?"
Dark only nodded slightly: "Yes."
"Very well, then." Simmons propped himself up from the rocking chair and beckoned to him. "Come in with me."
"Looks like my luck's good today." Dark couldn't help showing a faint smile.
Sure enough...
When Dark walked out of the tavern again, there was an extra bottle of magic wine in his hand.
And he'd only paid 100 credits!
Knowing he'd gotten a great bargain, Dark of course thanked Uncle Simmons, but Simmons merely gave a casual wave of his hand, urging him to hurry off if he had nothing else.
So he really did leave.
...
Back in his dormitory, Dark set that bottle of magic wine on the desk and examined it carefully, sighing inwardly.
This bottle of magic wine was named "Spirit Wine." Unlike the "Fairy Wine" that could intoxicate the heart, "Spirit Wine" had no rule about being "sold only to elves."
In fact, it was an expensive variety of wine that sold extremely well even in human society.
There were a great many kinds of "Spirit Wine"; the common point for which they were all collectively called "Spirit Wine" was that the water they used was the legendary "Spirit Spring Water."
"Spirit Spring Water," also known as "Elemental Spring Water," had different effects depending on the type of element.
The bottle of "Spirit Wine" Dark had obtained was brewed from "Water Elemental Spring Water" plus "Vibrant Fruit," and could restore a large amount of mana in a short time—exactly the thing he wanted.
...
He had the "Holy Sword," he had the "Shelgon Orb," he had the potion for the "demotion," he had the Spirit Wine for "mana recovery."
Then all that remained was the reserve of "Pride."
"Honedge" was not an Animal species, so it couldn't use the "[Fruit of Pride]" to sublimate, nor could it use the "Animal species" Basic Transmutation Method.
What suited it ought to be the Basic Transmutation Method of either the "Mechanical Species" or the "Undead Species."
Choosing the "Mechanical Species" was because it belonged to the category of steel swords possessing self-awareness.
And choosing the "Undead Species" was because it possessed the "Ghost" attribute.
But under the present circumstances, he had to pick one of the two.
"There's only one set of materials, so I can't run a reference experiment. Can I only rely on my own knowledge to make the decision?"
"I've heard the Holy Sword was originally a sword that possessed a soul."
"The resonance between the Holy Sword and the Hero is, in fact, a resonance between souls."
"And Honedge is a Pokémon born when an ancient longsword was inhabited by a primordial spirit."
"That's also the source of its 'Ghost' attribute."
"The sword and the soul—neither can be missing."
"If I lead with the 'Mechanical Species,' then it's 'Mechanical Species–Ghost attribute.'"
"If I lead with the 'Undead Species,' then it's 'Undead Species–Steel attribute.'"
"The latter, then!
"The sword body is merely the vessel; the soul is the core."
"Come to think of it, so the legendary Holy Sword can actually be classified as an Undead Species?"
"How ironic that is."
Dark finally settled on his plan.
Then he waited until eight o'clock in the evening and extracted today's portion of "Major Sin."
The Major Sin chosen this time was "Pride."
In fact, after deciding to transmute "Honedge," he had already switched to extracting "Pride" the previous night.
He now possessed 4.3 points of "Pride," plus today's portion of 1.5 points, which made 5.8 points of "Pride."
Although, falling short of the number "7," it was slightly unstable.
But Dark was in fact already unable to wait.
Toward that "Holy Sword" he'd obtained, he felt a strong impulse to transmute it away!
On top of that, this transmutation didn't actually necessarily require adding "Major Sin" as an aid.
So he decided to follow his heart—he wouldn't wait any longer!
...
March 4th, eight o'clock in the evening.
Dark Demon was now formally preparing to toss the "Holy Sword" into the pot and stew it!
...
Perched atop the cat tree, Gatomon watched with her chin propped up; she actually didn't want Dark to transmute the "Holy Sword."
But these past two days Dark had been busy in and out, and he had clearly made up his mind.
As the Magic Guide Spirit of her master, she couldn't very well voice opposition at a time like this.
And so, at this very moment, all she could do was watch.
Meanwhile, on the bird perch, DemiDevimon was cheering and jumping for joy, laughing so hard it forgot itself.
As for Meowth, who had contributed the "Shelgon Orb," it kept its eyes narrowed the whole time—no telling what it was thinking.
...
Amid such an atmosphere, Dark nonetheless resolutely began the Magic Guide transmutation of "Honedge."
"The transmutation method is 'Undead Species–Steel attribute.'"
"The core materials are the 'Holy Sword' and the secondary core 'Shelgon Orb.'"
"The auxiliary ingredient is 'Pride'..."
"What needs to be prepared: Spirit Nectar, Brain Lobe Essence Water, Corpse Brine, Steel-type attribute powder..."
In the Basic Transmutation Method of the "Undead Species," Corpse Brine was an indispensable material.
A Magic Guide Master inscribes a magic circle within a graveyard, and the grayish-white liquid produced after mixing the extracted death-aura with the morning dew is Corpse Brine.
Dark had long since purchased in advance all the materials needed for the "Undead Species" and the "Mechanical Species," so at this point he merely had to pick out the ones he needed from among them.
Although it was his first time using the "Undead Species–Steel attribute" transmutation method, he wasn't the least bit unpracticed.
After only half an hour, he had already progressed to the inscription step of the No. 1 Transmutation Circle.
But at this moment, someone knocked on the door.
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