Chapter 7: Attribute Gained: Lightning
Torrential rain and fierce winds.
The storm’s gusts flatten the foliage on both sides of the canyon.
In a storm like this, goblins, orcs, even bears or tigers would be swept away.
Aah—
Not me, though.
“…Been a while since a shower.”
Arms spread wide, I let the downpour drench my body. My long, uncut hair slicks back, and I close my eyes, savoring the rain on my face and body.
Whoosh!
Maybe because of my rebuilt skeleton.
It feels like more raindrops hit my body’s surface area now.
Yeah, I’ve got it.
A height over 2 meters, a wingspan even longer, and a frame packed with muscles and nerves pushed to their limits.
This body, forged through months of grueling effort, has reached the point where further overload on this island is nearly impossible.
My entire skeleton, now solid bone, no longer breaks under my own attacks, and no boulder I lift tears my muscles anymore.
This is the limit of growth I can achieve here. I’ve done enough, so now it’s do or die.
So.
Like the protagonist of some old prison break movie, standing with arms outstretched in the heavy rain.
I start to feel it.
High above, under the dark clouds, something glowing like a golden beacon flaps massive wings.
“…I’m not asleep, bro.”
Grin.
Even with my eyes closed, Berserker Mode.
In that fleeting moment.
Sensing the air currents rushing toward me from high above.
Rumble!
Suddenly, the torrential rain swirls, countless droplets converging on me in a vortex.
The tip flashes.
Zap! Boom!
Lightning strikes in an instant.
The current in each raindrop burns the air, tearing the area apart.
Nearby trees explode, charred black, and the ground where I stood is now a smoking crater.
“…That stings.”
“…Kurururu?!”
The dumb bird finally lowers its altitude, looking confused, as if confirming I wasn’t hit.
One backstep got me out of the danger zone, letting me analyze the thunderbird’s lightning power.
“Yep. If I’d just fled blindly, I’d have been screwed at sea.”
Exactly.
The current flowing through its massive body’s demonic energy, the fierce wind pressure from a single wing flap. I didn’t know they got this strong in the rain.
But…
“…Hold on. This feels winnable.”
“Kururururu! Kururururu!”
As I tilt my head, staring at the scorched canyon floor, the thunderbird flaps its massive wings for its next attack.
Rumble!
Zap!
I don’t dodge.
Boom!
Taking the thunderbird’s lightning head-on.
Stars flash in my eyes.
Crackle!
My muscles twitch briefly.
A burning smell stabs my nose, a ringing fills my ears, and searing pain courses through my body for a moment.
“…Huh?!”
Blink.
Blink?
I’m fine, clear enough to see the thunderbird’s startled eyelids.
“…Not bad to take.”
“…Kurukukuru?!”
The lightning was intense—surrounding trees shattered, the ground cracked like a spiderweb—but compared to the pain I’ve endured these months, it’s nothing.
My skin’s probably charred, some muscles or nerves twitching or numb, but a few slaps fix it clean.
“…Oh, natural exfoliation.”
“…Kurukukuru?!”
Scraping lightly, the burnt skin peels off, and after a few hard slaps, my twitching muscles snap back.
“Kururu! Kururururu!”
The thunderbird circling above fires more lightning, but I’m done taking hits.
Rumble! Boom!
Thus begins a stormy night’s game of tag.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The thunderbird’s lightning strikes as I dodge through the canyon’s center, over rock piles, between high cliffs, to the valley’s edge.
Trees char, smoke fills the air, and dirt and sand surge like waves.
“Kuruk!”
The thunderbird takes a deep breath, soaring high. The raindrops swirl with a force unlike before.
Flash!
Seeing its form in the lightning’s glow, I know instantly.
No matter how many lightning bolts it fires, I won’t die, so it’s preparing to slam its entire body into me.
“Bring it on.”
Perfect.
I considered throwing a boulder, but I want to test the limits of my sustained Berserker Mode.
Flap! Flap! Flap!
Boom! Boom! Rumble!
As the thunderbird twists its body like a pretzel, crackling with current.
I lower my stance, locking eyes with it.
My vision wavers.
Inhaling deeply, absorbing the scenery, I roar, my thick neck muscles trembling.
“Raaagh!”
“Kururururu!”
Our gazes lock, its eyes gleaming.
My world flashes too.
A ferocious roar echoes through the canyon, my Berserker body surging with boiling blood.
Now.
I launch off the ground with tensed muscles.
Bang!
In that brief moment.
I feel it.
Twigs and stones on the ground turn to dust! The canyon walls blur past! Raindrops swirl around me!
Whoosh!
Soaring into the air, I face the thunderbird’s coiled body hurtling toward me.
Like an hourglass.
Meeting in midair, each from sky and earth, wrapped in chaos.
Flash!
In the split second before collision.
Only one thought crosses my mind.
“Ah.”
Tonight, I’m eating chicken.
On the Hellinger family’s ship heading to Monster Island, in the VIP cabin.
Rumble!
Despite the ongoing storm, Iban Hellinger’s face holds only a smile.
“Heh heh heh.”
“Your laugh looks creepy, you know.”
Across from him is a woman.
Her curvaceous figure shows through a loosely worn robe, but she wears the “boring person” badge of a mage’s hat.
Yet.
She’s one of the few Iban Hellinger opens up to.
Meaning he can casually admit his goal of “winning over as many women as possible.”
“Monster Island should do it, right? Impress people?”
“It’s enough.”
“Women will think it’s impressive, yeah?”
“Not bad, I guess.”
She flips through a monster encyclopedia, answering curtly.
Flip, flip.
She speaks, feigning indifference.
“But what do I get for helping you?”
“What? Who’s helping who?”
“You asked for some support magic.”
“No way. I said if you’re free, come help out. I said I’d crush Monster Island alone if you’re busy. Didn’t I?”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Actually, aren’t I giving you an opportunity? You said the Magic Tower needed monster corpses for research the moment I mentioned it.”
“W-Well…”
“Why else would you come this far?”
“…”
The woman’s face reddens as she turns back to the encyclopedia.
“Annoying.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“If you’ve got something to say, say it now. Don’t complain later.”
“Fine, you’re right! Happy now?”
A promising mage from the Magic Tower, Iban Hellinger’s childhood friend.
And.
“Yep. I’m just here for monster corpses for Magic Tower research. So don’t get in my way.”
Karina, the mage nursing a one-sided crush on her childhood friend, speaks sulkily.
“…Don’t wipe everything out without a trace.”
Burp!
Above a canyon on Monster Island, where the thunderbird vanished without a trace. I share my thoughts on the meat I just ate.
“…Tasty.”
Not bad.
Who’d have thought it’d taste like chicken.
No.
To be precise, it’s less chicken, more like another texture.
“More like a whole roasted chicken from an electric grill.”
Perfectly roasted.
Who’d have thought I’d taste this in this world.
Didn’t see that coming.
But.
“Phew.”
That wasn’t the only surprise.
Eating a monster like the thunderbird gave me this ability—something I really, truly didn’t expect.
“This is kinda cheating, isn’t it?”
Tilting my head briefly.
Thinking of my struggles, I fall into my usual self-talk.
“…Haha! No way!”
Laughing heartily, I stare at my fist crackling with golden lightning.
Crackle!