Anagin Chronicles

Chapter 128. Preparation (3)

Oink. Oink. The small flaming piglet devoured the magic imbued in the hammer.

Anagin observed it reflexively.

The sight of the piglet opening its snout and consuming the magic dwelling within the hammer.

Suuuu—

With a sound like air escaping, the piglet swallowed the flames contained in the hammer.

It didn’t touch the hammer itself—only the flames within it.

As it absorbed more of the flames, the piglet’s belly slowly seemed to swell…

Suuuuuu.

Then it stopped.

The piglet had finished its meal.

“Hmm.”

Grumbal let out a low hum and lifted the hammer to inspect it.

There was no trace of the fire magic that had once resided within it.

Which meant the piglet had devoured all of the magic in the hammer.

Anagin noticed the change as well and asked,

“Did it eat all the magic?”

“As you can see. Greedily enough, it really did devour it all.”

Grumbal replied, confirming that the magic was gone.

To him, that was quite surprising. Abilities or magical tools that could absorb the power of others or objects were not common.

Ah, of course, they weren’t completely unheard of.

Still, even considering that, the piglet Anagin had summoned was remarkable.

There were quite a few cases where the ability itself was weak, or the vessel lacked capacity, preventing it from fully absorbing the magic within a magical tool.

In that sense, the piglet was quite exceptional.

It had devoured enough power to reduce a magical tool to an ordinary object.

Not only that, as if it still wasn’t satisfied, it opened its snout again and tried to devour the magic of the bronze belt Grumbal wore at his waist.

“Pigmenes. Stop.”

Just as Grumbal was about to deal with the audacious summon, Anagin moved faster.

He casually lifted his foot and stomped down on the piglet, subduing it.

It was as if he were disciplining a disobedient dog.

Kweeeeeeiik—!

Crushed underfoot, Pigmenes let out a painful scream.

However, Anagin showed no restraint and pressed down even harder.

Only when Pigmenes stopped even being able to scream and showed clear signs of submission did Anagin lift his foot.

Pigmenes glanced between Grumbal’s belt and Anagin, then backed away.

It had learned that it must not eat without Anagin’s permission.

Confirming that Pigmenes had retreated, Anagin raised the Beast Devourer and recalled the summon back into it.

Grumbal watched the scene with admiration.

“Impressive. I’ve never seen someone tame a summon like that.”

“Is there another way?”

Anagin, who only knew how to subdue beasts with violence, asked curiously instead.

“It’s similar to magical tools. Summons usually obey their master, but if their ego is strong, they act on their own. And those that act on their own tend to be strong. Usually, at that point, people coax them along and make use of them. If you try to force them, the side effects can be severe.”

By side effects, he meant the summon failing to use its full strength—or even turning on its summoner.

But Anagin had no interest in that.

“I don’t know that method, and I’m not interested. If a beast acts on its own, I just discipline it.”

A remarkably consistent attitude.

Grumbal didn’t say anything further. After all, Anagin was the owner—it was his problem to handle.

They returned to the main topic.

“Well, do as you please… The summon seems to have inherited Hippomenes’ abilities. Absorbing magic or Energy.”

Anagin nodded. He had seen it himself. Among Hippomenes’s many abilities, the most outstanding one was consuming things to turn them into power.

“The question is whether absorption is the end, or if it turns what it absorbs into its own nourishment.”

“It’d be nice if it could use it as nourishment too.”

Recalling his fight with Hippomenes, Anagin expressed his hope.

Whether it was people or magical tools, the more Hippomenes consumed, the stronger he became, and the harder he was to deal with.

If it had been a one-on-one fight, even Anagin would have struggled quite a bit.

If the summon could become that strong as well, it would be very useful.

Anagin felt like testing it.

“If you have any magical tools, could you lend me one? I want to check something.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Who would hand over their property to be used as pig feed?”

Grumbal responded in a perfectly reasonable manner.

Even an average magical tool was valuable, and most people treated them as family heirlooms.

As Anagin suggested, it wasn’t something you could just hand over casually to test a summon’s ability.

The flaming hammer used earlier was only an exception because it wasn’t particularly valuable.

Fortunately, Anagin didn’t seem too disappointed by Grumbal’s refusal.

If he agreed, great. If not, whatever.

He had only asked casually.

Besides, just from its absorption ability alone, he had already confirmed it was useful.

For example, against an opponent who was greedy and possessed powerful magical tools, Pigmenes would be a natural counter.

It might also be able to absorb a mage’s magic or even drain a practitioner’s Energy.

If it could turn absorbed magic into nourishment, that would be ideal—but even if not, it wasn’t a big loss.

‘Feels like I’ll get to test it soon anyway.’

Anagin didn’t forget about those targeting the Coins of Greed and looked forward to the battles ahead.

“Anyway, if the summon has more abilities, they’ll probably be similar to Hippomenes’s. Figure it out yourself. That’s part of the owner’s skill, too.”

“Understood.”

Anagin answered readily—he had intended to do that anyway—and finally examined the items he had entrusted.

Giant’s Bed.

Infinite-Length Magic Rope.

Self-repairing cloak.

Grumbal, having finished his work, didn’t interfere any further, allowing Anagin to carefully inspect his repaired and enhanced items.

“Oh…”

Among the three, the one that had changed the most was the self-repairing cloak.

No—should it even be called a cloak anymore? It was closer to arm guards now.

The single cloak had been split into two, and stiff harpy feathers were densely embedded across them.

It had been processed exactly as Anagin had requested.

The cloak had been layered with harpy hide, and then covered with feathers…

Anagin strapped the “wing guards” onto both arms.

They felt thick enough to act as shields—not bad at all.

Pop. Pop.

When Anagin casually plucked out a harpy feather, the arm guard, formerly a cloak, absorbed his Energy on its own and grew a new feather.

“Just like their owner, every one of your items acts on its own.”

Looking at the unruly magical tools, Grumbal remarked with a mix of admiration and exasperation.

First Pairon (the interspatial bag) that had rampaged in the Chiron Tower, then Pigmenes (the Beast Devourer’s summon) that tried to devour everything, and now even the arm guards (formerly the self-repairing cloak).

They truly resembled their owner.

“It’s better than something that only does what it’s told.”

“Hmph! Always has an answer.”

After inspecting the wing guards a bit more, Anagin moved on to the next item.

The Giant’s Bed, whose appearance had changed quite a bit—though not as much as the wing guards.

“No… calling it a Giant’s Cutting Board would be more fitting.”

Looking at the now much thicker Giant’s Bed, with its four legs removed, Anagin gave his assessment.

Yeah. It suited the name “cutting board” better now than “bed.”

“Giant’s Bed” didn’t quite fit anymore, and “Giant’s Gate” sounded too defensive.

“Cutting board” felt just right.

A cutting board was good for both defense and offense.

More than anything, it matched the appearance best.

“I melted down the Gate Shield and used it to fill in the cracked parts of the bed, then reinforced the surface. The legs got in the way, so I removed them. Any complaints?”

“No. I like it exactly as it is.”

Anagin replied while swinging the “Giant’s Cutting Board” a few times.

It had become heavier due to its increased size and thickness, but Anagin actually liked that. The weight made it feel satisfying to swing.

He wanted to test its other capabilities as well, but the place and circumstances weren’t suitable, so he decided to leave it for later.

He had a feeling he would get the chance soon.

Last was the Infinite-Length Magic Rope, which had undergone the least visual change.

Aside from being reinforced with bronze, there was little difference in appearance, and its performance hadn’t changed much either—except that it had become tougher and more durable.

“Try using Yul (εὐ).”

At Grumbal’s instruction, Anagin infused the rope with Energy.

The rope immediately began absorbing his Energy on its own, and from the band at its center, a large amount of rope rapidly extended outward.

“Not bad.”

Anagin said as he forcibly cut off the flow of Energy.

It might have sounded sarcastic at first glance, but he meant it sincerely.

He had used the Infinite-Length Magic Rope quite often, but having to manually pull it out every time had been troublesome and limited its usability.

That issue had now been somewhat resolved.

“Except for the part where it absorbs Energy on its own.”

“That’s your fault. I told you, items resemble their owner.”

Grumbal’s remark was half-teasing, half serious.

Anagin didn’t bother responding. It wasn’t worth getting angry over, and he was quite satisfied with the items.

“Thank you. I like every single one of them.”

“If you’re that grateful, then later, try them out and tell me how they perform and what you think. A craftsman needs that.”

As if he had finished his work, Grumbal pulled out a bottle of alcohol and took a swig.

“Talking’s a hassle, but I’ll send a letter or something. I’ll probably be testing them soon anyway.”

“Hm?”

Grumbal frowned, not understanding.

Well, even if he knew from the newspaper that Hippomenes had been defeated, he wouldn’t know about the Coins of Greed.

Anagin explained that he had taken a request from the Kingdom of Arcadia to deliver the Coins of Greed to the Temple of Delphi.

It was hardly a secret anymore, so he didn’t mind saying it.

“...Are you planning to receive a blessing?”

Grumbal asked, somewhat surprised.

“No. Explaining everything would take too long… I just want to see this place called the Temple of Delphi.”

It wasn’t a lie.

Most practitioners visited the Temple of Delphi at some point.

That was how one could be chosen by a god—or at least gain the chance to be chosen.

Anagin had no intention of begging the gods, but separately from that, he thought it was worth seeing at least once.

It wasn’t urgent, but since he had business there anyway, he figured he might as well.

“Hm…”

Grumbal looked like he had something to say.

“What is it?”

“Nothing much. Just thinking it’ll be quite a difficult journey. The Coins of Greed tend to attract incidents and trouble wherever they go.”

His tone sounded like he spoke from experience.

Anagin didn’t care much.

“Sounds perfect for testing my magical tools.”

“It’ll be hard taking kids along.”

Remembering why Anagin had sparred with Meleager, Grumbal gave him a warning in advance.

“I’m leaving the brats here, so that’s not a problem.”

Although it was thanks to the New Argonaut Expedition Team, Anagin didn’t bother explaining. It would just make things longer.

At that moment, Grumbal said something odd.

“Ah, did you ask for it? Then I suppose that makes sense.”

“? What do you mean?”

“I said that if it’s your request, then it makes sense. With this latest newspaper, you’re practically being treated as a hero on the same level as Meleager.”

* * *

At first, it sounded like nonsense—but it was true.

After entrusting Grumbal with a new request, Anagin walked around the Chiron Tower and could roughly feel it.

The way the practitioners of the Chiron Tower looked at him had changed.

“That guy…”

“Ahem, ahem.”

Those in the Chiron Tower who had once believed Anagin had stolen the credit of the New Argonaut Expedition Team still showed signs of caution, but the hostility and disregard from before were gone.

It was because they had read the newspaper reporting that Anagin had defeated a bishop of the Barbaroi Cult, just like Meleager.

And not alone, but together with Meleager and Atalanta.

Of course, it hadn’t truly been a bishop-level opponent, but few people knew that.

In the midst of that, the New Argonaut Expedition Team members testified that it was true, and thanks to the photo taken by Ponytail being embedded in the newspaper, they had no choice but to believe it.

Thanks to that, Anagin was no longer dragged into pointless confrontations and was able to spend his time in the Chiron Tower in relative peace.

There was another reason as well…

“Hey, that guy…”

“L-let’s go back.”

“What’s with them? They’re running away from a person.”

“Don’t you remember? The people who imprisoned Pais. They said their younger brother was injured.”

“Idiots don’t remember well.”

“……”

It was because they believed that getting involved with Anagin would only end in complete humiliation.

The Calydon noble who had locked up Pais and got beaten by Anagin had suffered such disgrace that he still couldn’t properly show his face.

For all those reasons, Anagin was able to live relatively peacefully and make good use of his time.

Whether it was enjoying the gourmet food of the Chiron Tower, grasping the circulating situation through Freedom’s Thread (by making Sphinx do it), lying down and scratching his belly, or gathering information on those aiming for the Coins of Greed via Freedom’s Thread (via Sphinx)…

And so, time passed.

Anagin finally decided to depart to take the Coins of Greed to the Temple of Delphi.

Together with the New Argonaut Expedition Team—Tramachus of Flame, Thyreos of Reinforcement, Lynceus of Farsight, and Sanchonius.

“I would like to come along as well. “Please let me handle anything—cooking, laundry, whatever it may be.”

“Great! Cooking, laundry! You’re coming with us!!”