Appraising the magatama again, I stared at it in my hand.
Now that I knew its significance, it did seem more refined and beautiful than a regular magatama, with an almost mystical glow.
It truly is an incredible item, a treasure of Japan (even if it’s just a replica).
「Taira, judging by that look on your face—」
「Yeah, it’s a replica of Yasakani no Magatama, one of the Three Sacred Treasures.」
「The legendary items found in dungeons or crafted by blacksmiths are all replicas.」
Now that I think about it, the Futsu no Mitama Sword I carry is also a replica.
「To think we’d come across one of the Three Sacred Treasures. Up until now, the only replica discovered in a dungeon was the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, which is held by the Imperial Household Agency.」
「Huh… And where’s the real Kusanagi Sword?」
「The real one is supposedly enshrined at Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya. Though, there’s a legend that it was lost at sea during the Battle of Dan-no-ura.」
「The Three Sacred Treasures—Yata no Kagami (the mirror), Kusanagi no Tsurugi (the sword), and Yasakani no Magatama (the jewel)—are said to represent wisdom, valor, and benevolence.」
「Benevolence… so that’s why it nullifies negative status effects.」
I said, feeling like it all made sense now thanks to Milk’s explanation.
「Nullifying negative effects is pretty impressive. So if you were poisoned, you wouldn’t take any damage, but what happens if you take the magatama off? Would the poison’s effects return?」
「I ran a detailed appraisal, and apparently not. If you’re poisoned while wearing the magatama, you enter a state where your health doesn’t drain, and you don’t feel the poison’s effects. Taking off the magatama doesn’t change that. However, it can’t reverse any negative statuses that have already taken hold. It works for buffs too—if you get a buff that reduces damage from light-element attacks but increases damage from dark-element attacks, only the light-damage reduction would apply.」
「That’s just… absurdly broken. And a perfect piece of gear for Milk.」
Hime said so.
I had to agree, and for three reasons:
1. Low Luck Stat: Milk has a low luck stat. Many monsters’ spells and breath attacks that inflict status ailments are more effective on those with lower luck, so this magatama would protect her from such misfortune.
2. Healer Role: Milk is our healer. If all of us were paralyzed or poisoned and unable to move, but Milk remained unaffected, she could still use magic or items to heal the party.
3. Milk’s Unique Skill— Leaning Back And Forth Between Misfortune And Fortune: This skill boosts Milk’s stats whenever she suffers from a status ailment. Since the magatama nullifies the negative effects of status ailments but still registers her as afflicted, she could gain all the benefits of her skill without any of the drawbacks. In other words, poison, paralysis, or curses would only serve to make her stronger.
Milk would essentially turn harmful conditions into a source of power.
「I think I’d like Milk-chan to wear it, too.」
「Thank you, Ayame. But are you sure? You’re also a rear guard, so you’re more prone to status effects.」
「Yeah, but wearing something that valuable all the time would make me too nervous.」
I wholeheartedly agreed with Ayame’s practical, down-to-earth view.
「Still, we probably shouldn’t show this magatama off to others, right?」
「Right. I remember Uncle Uematsu saying that even replicas of the Three Sacred Treasures shouldn’t be privately owned. I’ll just keep it hidden under my clothes.」
With that, Milk swapped out the gem on the necklace she’d received from Minister Uematsu for the magatama, then tucked it inside her shirt.
I couldn’t help but notice where the magatama ended up.
※ ※ ※
After finishing our discussion, we left the hotel and headed to the Tenshiba Dungeon.
We descended quickly from the upper floors where people were gathered, down to about the thirteenth floor.
It had been a while, but with the map and the weak monsters around, it was smooth sailing.
That’s when I decided to try out my newly learned skill.
「Everyone, step back for a moment.」
I took a few steps away from the group and activated the skill.
「Shadow Beastification!」
The moment the skill triggered, black armor-like material wrapped around my entire body. Rather than a beast, I looked more like Kamen Rider Bl〇ck.
「Taira, are you okay?」
Milk asked, concerned.
「I’m fine. I can breathe normally, and I feel power surging through me. Let me test it out a bit.」
Just then, I sensed a monster nearby.
It was a Red Orc, an upper-class version of a regular orc.
I braced my legs, feeling the power surge.
Whoa, super acceleration! Not as fast as Hime, but my agility had definitely shot up.
I aimed a punch at the Red Orc’s stomach, imagining it being blown away. But instead of the Red Orc, only my own power flew back.
A black shockwave shot from my fist, pierced straight through the orc’s belly, leaving a gaping hole. The Red Orc collapsed instantly, lifeless.
Could I channel this power into a sword strike and send shockwaves with my blade?
「Next, I’ll try using my sword—wait, what?」
「What’s wrong?」
「My sword’s gone. I can’t access any items from my inventory, either.」
I didn’t drop it, did I?
I deactivated the Shadow Beastification.
When I checked again, my sword was back at my waist.
「So, while in Shadow Beastification, I can’t use any items at all.」
「That makes sense. If you could use weapons too, it’d be way too strong.」
Ayame was right.
This was definitely a trump card.
It seemed that after deactivating the skill, there was a cooldown before I could use it again.
Through further testing, we learned a few things:
The cooldown time for Shadow Beastification was five minutes.
I could maintain the form for over an hour without any issues.
I couldn’t use any tools or items given to me by others. If I tried, I’d just drop them.
Support skills like Heat Up still worked.
And when I used magic, it gained an additional dark element.
When I cast fire magic, the flames turned black. That really caught me off guard.
「This is a pretty cool skill. It’s almost like being a transforming hero.」
I bet streaming this would make me pretty popular.
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