Chapter 326 – Original Species Magic Stone

After confirming the defeat of the Werewolf original species, I let out a deep breath. As the battle ended, Ashley and the others approached.

“Theodore-sama, healing magic please.”

“Mmm… Thank you, Ashley.”

I returned a smile to show my injuries weren’t serious, and Ashley smiled back with some relief and nodded.

It seemed I’d gotten some minor cuts on my cheeks and such while dodging its attacks. And probably some light abrasions from the fur when I delivered the palm strike. They were indeed minor injuries, so Ashley’s healing magic would close them right up. They probably wouldn’t even leave scars. The glow of healing magic was applied to my cheeks and palms.

“Are you alright, Theo?”

“Yeah. I don’t think the wounds are that bad.”

“While it’s reassuring that you only suffered light injuries fighting that thing, watching it was still bad for my heart.”

Rosemary closed her eyes while hiding her mouth behind her feather fan. Ah. That’s probably because I charged right into its fighting spirit slash attacks.

“Well, I do feel bad about that part,” I said with a wry smile, and Rosemary turned away.

Now then. With my wounds healed, let’s proceed with the extraction.

First, I held my hand over the werewolf and deployed a magic circle. A dazzling glow gathered over its chest, growing increasingly brighter—until it eventually crystallized into a magic stone.

Huh? …Rather than extraction, it seems the Guardian’s entire body was converted into a magic stone…

“…It appears the Guardian responded to Theodore’s spell formula. Since the Werewolf original species is close to spirits, that’s probably within its capabilities,” Claudia said after seeing this.

“Hmm? Why would it respond to my spell formula?”

“Maybe it took a liking to you? Guardians by nature possess stronger free will than ordinary labyrinth monsters… Well, the Last Guardian is completely inflexible, so that’s a bit different though.”

…I see. Looking at the completed magic stone again… this is quite large.

It has the appearance of a crystal wrapped in golden phosphorescence. A magic stone’s performance is determined by its quality and size. Since capacity increases exponentially in some aspects, it’s not simply a matter of gathering more stones.

But with this, it should be more than sufficient for airship construction.

As for our spoils: Basilisk and Cockatrice. Plus numerous Invisible Rippers.

I feel like we have an excess inventory of Ripper arms… If we can’t find uses for them, we can always extract them later.

“I’ll handle the extractions from the Basilisk and Cockatrice too. Since the Evil Eye’s magical power is still active, I’d feel more at ease if Shade could cover them with darkness during the process.”

Marlene nodded firmly, and darkness gathered around the Basilisk, completely covering it.

Now then… let’s proceed with the extraction.

We’ve collected all the materials we needed. We cut short our exploration of the Full Moon Labyrinth at a reasonable point, and since we had surplus items from what we collected, we went to have the Adventurer Guild purchase them. Mainly Stormfang fangs and pelts.

“Um, this is… Stormfang pelts, I assume? Don’t tell me… the Full Moon Labyrinth?”

“That’s right. We had some extra so we brought them. We do have means to enter the Full Moon Labyrinth,” I replied to Heather, whose expression had stiffened and voice had grown quiet.

“Hmm… Well, given it’s something you all would do… I suppose I’ll just have to accept it. We’ll hold these in temporary storage and display them around the day after the full moon,” she said with a dry laugh. There were probably various points she could question, but Heather seemed to have decided to swallow her questions without asking about the circumstances. After shaking her head, she corrected her expression to a more serious one.

“While the Guild is grateful for the supply of valuable materials… please try not to get injured.”

“Thank you. Since there are many troublesome monsters, we’ll be careful.”

When I answered, Heather smiled and nodded.

We needed to wait a bit while they processed the material sales… so I let my gaze wander around.

The Guild interior was quite crowded with people. The reason was obvious—a dedicated counter had been set up with a long line forming. They seemed to be people buying theater tickets.

“With the theater and hot spring district established, it seems to have reached a state where customers attract more customers. We were handling ticket sales here too, but it started interfering with our regular operations, so we temporarily separated the service windows,” Heather explained with a wry smile.

“I see. It seems we’ve made things quite busy for you, sorry about that.”

“Not at all. Requests to the Adventurer Guild have increased too, and we’ve been able to secure capable newcomers, so we’re nothing but grateful.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“The current space is becoming somewhat cramped, so we’re making plans for an expansion and arranging the preparations. We’ll widen that area over there to create an entrance and establish a sales office.”

I see. So the current sales window is just temporary. While they could build the sales office outside alone, by keeping it integrated with the Guild office, they also have the purpose of having people incidentally place requests with the Guild.

Yeah. It’s good to see the Adventurer Guild is doing well.

After exchanging our items for money at the Adventurer Guild and leaving the Guild office, we headed straight to the workshop. Since these were the results of our Full Moon Labyrinth exploration, we needed to show Alfred and Old Sigmund our spoils and discuss how to use and distribute the magic stones we obtained this time.

“Welcome back, Theo-kun.”

“Hmm. You appear uninjured.”

“Welcome back. The young ladies also seem safe.”

“We’re relieved you’re all safe, Professor. Everyone.”

They each expressed their joy at our return in their own ways.

“We’re back,” I replied and began arranging our spoils on the table.

“We’ve gathered magic stones. I’d like to discuss how to use and distribute them for the airship.”

“This is…!”

Everyone’s eyes widened as Rosemary took it out from her bag.

The Werewolf original species magic stone. Even without any magic cast on it, it floated above the table, slowly spinning. It was clearly something extraordinary, wrapped in a golden radiance unlike ordinary stones.

“Well now… I’ve never seen a magic stone like this… what in the world did you get it from?” Alfred asked with a stunned expression.

“Werewolf original species. A Guardian.”

“A Guardian from the deep floors… That explains it.”

“What is an original species?”

Charlotte, who didn’t know about Werewolf original species, directed her question to Old Sigmund.

“It’s said to be the ancestor of the werewolves who brought the werewolf curse to the human world. I thought it was just a legendary existence, but to think it actually exists…”

“Yet another… major catch, I see.”

Valentina and Charlotte’s eyes widened at Old Sigmund’s response.

“It was a golden werewolf that used martial arts,” Sheila added as supplementary explanation.

“And these in order are Cyclops, Troll, Basilisk and Cockatrice magic stones. The slightly smaller ones are Lesser Demon magic stones. As for Stormfangs and Invisible Rippers, we have both materials and magic stones.”

“…Quite the hunting expedition. Looking at that lineup of monsters, one can only think of some demon realm… but still, an original species. I would have liked to see it in action, though that’s not exactly the place for such things.”

Old Sigmund shook his head with some disappointment.

“Stormfang fangs and pelts… and then Ripper arms. Have you decided how to use these?”

“Some parts I’m still undecided about. I think using the Ripper arms for weapons would be appropriate.”

“Understood. Then let’s discuss how to use the magic stones.”

We all drank tea while proceeding with our discussion about magic stone usage.

“Then first, let’s hear your thoughts.”

“I’m thinking of using the Werewolf original species magic stone for the ship’s power source, and allocating these four stones for ship control.”

“Using the most exceptional stone for the most critical part. Well, that’s only natural, I suppose.”

“Indeed… With this golden magic stone, it should be able to store plenty of magical power for armor conversion too. Magical power charging and supplying magic to the ship’s various equipment… it should even withstand overload. Being able to push limits should make various things progress smoothly.”

That’s right. The Werewolf original species magic stone is exceptional in many ways. Thanks to that, we’ve gained some room to push boundaries.

“What about the Lesser Demon magic stones?”

“Since there are many of these, I’m thinking of altering their properties and incorporating them into sonic cannons.”

“Hmm… I don’t see any particular reason to object. Wouldn’t it be fine to proceed while determining what can be done with the capacity of these magic stones?”

And so, the distribution of magic stones was decided rather quickly. Well, since we’re not trying anything particularly unusual and just allocating things appropriately, there was no reason for disagreement.

“Speaking of which, I think we should give the airship a name.”

When Valentina tilted her head, everyone looked at me.

“Is it alright for me to name it?”

“Theo-kun is making the most critical parts, after all.”

Saying this, everyone exchanged glances and nodded.

“Understood. Then…”

What should I do? After hesitating briefly, I answered.

“How about… the Sirius?”

Since we’ll be incorporating the Werewolf original species magic stone into the core.