Next spell on the list: Gamma Ray Burst! Suck on that, next Needlewood!
「…..」
No good either, huh? And here I was, expecting some cool-looking beam attack to obliterate that Needlewood to smithereens. Oh, well, on to the next one.
Extreme Drop Dead!
「...…」
Oh, come the fuck on! The name suggests that it should be one of those instant-death spells, the ones that kill you on the spot no matter how much HP you have, so this Needlewood should be dead! And yet it is not! He's just standing there as if it was the most obvious thing in the world! You know, I'm slowly starting to feel like even though I have access to Bonus Spells I can't actually use them. Here's to me being wrong about that.
*Sighhh…* NEXT!
「….. Yup, steering clear of that.」
The next spell on the list was called Suicide Bomb Attack. Well, technically I guess it could be classified as an Attack Magic that would surely obliterate my enemies if I were to use it, but you see, the problem here is that I would end up blown up as well, and as you can probably guess that's something that I would rather not do to myself (TL Note: Hmm, I swear to God, there is a terrorist joke somewhere in here but I can't seem to find it… ah well). But wait, since this is technically a game, then wouldn't that mean that even if I were to blow myself up in a suicide attack, I would still live through it, but with like, 1 HP point left or something? Anyway, the only time when using a spell like that would be somewhat justified would be the encounter with the Last Boss, where defeating the BBEG (TL Note: Big Bad Evil Guy, courtesy of D&D) would end everything and restored piece to the world, and even then I would have used it as an absolutely last resort measure if my sword was broken beyond repair and all other measures have failed. Until that day comes, it'd be best to forget that such a spell even exists.
Now then, let's just keep scrolling down and see what else we have here… oh, this one looks promising: Equivalent Exchange. The name itself doesn't suggest it, but this must be an Attack Magic as well. If my understanding of this spell is correct, it is a spell that reduces the caster's HP, but at the same time does the same to the enemy. I guess it can be classified as a suicide magic as well, albeit not as dangerous as the Suicide Bomb Attack. On top of that, I think that it is best to use it in one particular case: when your maximum HP value is higher than your opponent's maximum HP. Basically, the user and the receiver have their HP drained until one of them drops dead. It might sound needlessly dangerous, but in reality it is a very simple and straightforward mechanic: as long as you have more HP than the person or monster you are using it on, you will survive.
Yeah, I can definitely picture myself using this.
Of course, this spell also has a few downsides. First things first, I don't know if it works only on a single target, or if it can be used against multiple enemies at once, unlike with the Suicide Bomb Attack, where it is painfully obvious that a bomb-like explosion is going to be effective in a pretty broad radius.
Second, what about using it in a battle where I would be pinned against multiple opponents? That would definitely require more strategizing, because mindlessly draining one enemy out of its HP while the others could still attack me is just like asking to get myself killed. And while we're already on the subject of monsters, another matter is that I have no way of discerning how much health the monsters I'm fighting with have (at least not yet). It won't be anything groundbreaking when I will say that humans and monsters are not equal to one another, so the total HP of a Lv.1 Human won't be the same as the total HP of a Lv.1 monster. Between those Needlewoods and myself, which one of us has more HP? That is a question that might be the proverbial line between life and death for me. But even if I was absolutely sure that I have more HP than my enemy, it still doesn't make Equivalent Exchange less of a double-edged sword in my opinion.
For now, I have reached the following conclusion: Suicide Bomb Attack and Equivalent Exchange are too dangerous to be used against normal mobs. If I am ever going to make use od them, I should limit myself to doing so only if I am going to be fighting against an overwhelmingly strong enemy that cannot be brought down by the standard means available in my current arsenal. Ugh, the more I think about it, the more my head starts to hurt. Looks like leveling up enough so that I could use Meteor Crash might be the only sensible option left for me after all. This sounds a bit tedious as well, but as long as I have Roxanne by my side even that process should be finished that much faster.
With all of that in mind I have defeated about ten more Needlewoods, which was a cakewalk, considering that Roxanne was guiding me towards them every time with her superior sense of smell. Without her I truly wouldn't be able to be as efficient as I am now with monster hunting, for which I am grateful to her beyond measure.
「Thank you for being so vigilant all the time, Roxanne. I think now would be a good time to check on our you-know-what.」
「Yes, Magic Crystals, right?」
Right indeed. I took the backpack off my back and took the Magic Crystal out, taking a good, long, inquisitive look at it. While it was initially black, mine has now turned red, so I guess instead of Black Magic Crystal I should call it Red Magic Crystal.
「It's red already. What about yours, Roxanne?」
「My Magic Crystal is still Black, but that was to be expected. Magic power is stored only in the Crystal of the person who dealt the finishing blow to the monster.」
I showed Roxanne my Red Magic Crystal, and she answered me with another explanation. So only the person who actually kills the monster gets to cash in on its magic energy for his Magic Crystal? I thought that it worked for all the Party members simoultaneously, but apparently I was mistaken. On that note, I remember that one of the Bonus Skills available to me through the Character Reset was something called Crystal Acceleration. I dismissed it earlier because I had no idea what was it doing, but right now I think I understand it. It is probably something that speeds up the process of gathering energy for your Magic Crystal.
I performed another Character Reset, this time focusing on Crystal Acceleration. With the amount of Bonus Points at my disposal, I was able to secure myself of x4, x8, x16 and x32. Since I need to have Durandal with me I can't put anymore points into it, but if I were to increase it to Lv.6, the multiplier would have hit x64, but for now, a multiplier of x32 should be more than enough.
「Just as a quick reminder: ten monsters = Red Crystal, hundred monsters = Purple Crystal, right?」
「Yes, that is correct.」
I confirmed the selection of Crystal Acceleration x32 and defeated three more Needlewoods with it, after which I checked my Magic Crystal again. I couldn't stop myself from smiling.
「Roxanne, wanna see something cool? Well, I'm going to show it to you either way, so just come here and have a look.」
Without waiting for her to reply, I took out the Red Magic Crystal from the backpack and showed it to her. Except for the fact that it was no longer red. Right now, it was a Purple Magic Crystal. That's right, baby! Ramp the respect points that I have lost earlier back with interest!
Defeating three monsters with a x32 multiplier gave me, the end result was ninety six, and since my Crystal was already red from those ten kills from earlier, that gives me a total of one hundred and six, triggering the change of the Red Magic Crystal into Purple Magic Crystal.
「Eh? It's already purple?! How did you do it, master?!」
「I'm afraid that's a secret~~」
Oh yeah, being looked at with such admiration hits all the right spots for me.
「Ah, okay! Master, you truly are amazing!」
I am, right? But please, don't stop, praise me some more!
I know that I shouldn't keep using that same old excuse of secrecy every time I do something outstanding, but as long as Roxanne understands and doesn't ask any questions I guess that is fine.