"Two thousand points of defense? Is it really that tough?"
Dark poked the outer membrane of "Greed Slime II" with open disbelief.
But the outer membrane of "Greed Slime II" was soft, and nothing but soft. One finger sank straight in and kept going, and an entire arm could follow it.
And yet — that cool, chilly sensation was genuinely pleasant to poke.
Being wrapped up inside "Greed Slime II" was like stepping into a botanical garden, all fragrant grasses and green air.
The grime in his pores was drawn out and absorbed before he even noticed, leaving him made new from body to spirit, comfortable beyond imagining.
In short, thoroughly refreshing.
Dark gave up on investigating how hard "Greed Slime II" was and turned back to reviewing its Ultimate Move data.
"Greed Slime II" was only an orange card, and it possessed three Ultimate Moves.
Of those three, the two he could roughly guess the effects of were the last two.
First came "Divide and Succeed," which was fairly obviously a clone-type Ultimate Move — though the specifics still needed a closer look.
[Divide and Succeed: (Greed Slime II) can split itself. For every two hundred points of magic power consumed, it can split off one [Trash Slime]. For every four hundred points of magic power consumed, it can split off one (Greed Slime I).]
"Trash Slime" had stats of magic 100, attack 0, defense 0.
"Greed Slime I" had stats of magic 200, attack 0, defense 0.
In other words, "Greed Slime II" had to spend double the magic power to split off a "Trash Slime" or a "Greed Slime I."
And going by that description, the slimes it split off seemed to be independent individuals — they could each be used as tribute without needing a Magic Guide Card like "Great Liberation."
If that was truly the case, then a single "Greed Slime II" could manufacture fifteen stars' worth of tribute!
Dark had watched his share of duels, and he had long envied the ways his upperclassmen multiplied their tributes. Having a method of his own like that made him more than a little pleased.
But he didn't run the experiment right away. Instead he moved on to the next Ultimate Move — "Synthesis"!
"Synthesis" was a biological term, normally referring to the process by which green plants absorb light energy, combine carbon dioxide and water into energy-rich organic compounds, and release oxygen in the process.
But "Greed Slime II's" Ultimate Move "Synthesis" clearly shared its effect with the Pokémon move of the same name.
[Synthesis: Restores 1/2 of maximum magic power. Under clear or harsh sunlight weather, it can restore up to 2/3 of its own maximum magic power at once, and gains continuous magic regeneration of 4 points per second.
Under sandstorm, hail, rain, heavy rain, or fog weather, it can only restore 1/4 of its own maximum HP. It cannot be used at night.]
"This effect... is a lot like Umbreon's 'Moonlight,' except Umbreon owns the night and 'Greed Slime II' owns the day."
"And if I use this Ultimate Move to restore magic power, doesn't that mean 'Greed Slime II' can split off even more tributes?"
The thought startled him all over again.
After all, "Trash Slime" had started out as nothing but the failed product of an experiment — and yet, with the right [Major Sin Card] backing it, it had turned into something this broken!
On top of that, it had one last Ultimate Move — "Greedy Nature"!
Judging by the name alone, "Greedy Nature" was plainly an expression of "Greed," and it couldn't possibly be bad.
[Greedy Nature: Greed rooted in its very nature grants the Greed Slime endless desire. Whatever the treasure, it wants more of it. And it can always find what it wants.]
"This description... could it be another treasure-hunting skill?"
"Give it one item, and it can find you more of the same kind?"
The idea took shape, and Dark formed a preliminary understanding of "Greedy Nature."
It was clearly different from that other treasure-hunting skill, "Treasure Scent." "Greedy Nature" was an Ultimate Move meant for locating one specific kind of item.
The prerequisite was having a sample in hand — and that sample had to stir the greed of "Greed Slime II."
Used properly, this Ultimate Move had enormous applications!
…
By the time "Greed Slime II" devolved back into a Trash Slime, Dark had already put his notebook and everything else away.
He wished the Magic Guide Spirits goodnight, quietly withdrew the soundly sleeping Vampire Young Lady into her Magic Guide Card, then burrowed under the covers and drifted off while turning over everything he had learned that night.
When he woke the next day, the sun was already high.
"Sloth" had ticked up slightly, but nothing serious.
Dark spent some time handling daily affairs, then began preparing for his secret passage expedition.
According to the plan, he would spend a full night inside the secret passage and not return until Sunday afternoon or evening, which meant there was a fair amount to pack.
Besides the necessary food and water, there were the tools for camping out.
He also brought the "Thought Bottle" and the "magic-brain dropper" — he had prepared thoroughly.
And all of it was for the sake of finding the Moon God statue!
As for how he could be certain another Moon God statue existed within the secret passage?
Because the "Flower Cards" in his possession could still be used to absorb "Lust," of course!
The only reason "Flower Cards" could absorb "Lust" in the first place was the existence of a Moon God statue.
Under normal circumstances, once that earlier statue vanished, the special function of the "Flower Cards" should have failed along with it.
But it hadn't. The "Flower Cards" were still working perfectly well.
From that, Dark had deduced the existence of a second Moon God statue.
But the Castle's secret passages at St. Marian were steeped in mystery — even the professors had never fully explored them. Finding one Moon God statue tucked away in some unknown corner was harder than climbing to heaven.
Dark had asked Professor Kazel to modify a "Flower Card" for him, but if that statue leaked no trace of its aura at all, a single "Flower Card" would have nothing to track.
So from the very beginning he had never expected to find the statue easily.
Today's expedition could just as well be called a change of pace from academy life.
A spur-of-the-moment trip with his Magic Guide Spirits.
…
One o'clock in the afternoon, on the dot.
Dark arrived in high spirits before the secret passage entrance he knew best.
The entrance had been resealed by now, but with a gate card in hand, nothing stood in his way.
He merely pressed the gate card against the wall at the entrance, and the wall melted open like water, revealing an oval opening just wide enough for two people.
Dark peered inside, then stepped through.
DemiDevimon, who had been all set to charge in at the head of the party, froze for a beat before flapping hurriedly after him.
Not long after entering the passage, Dark paused briefly. He summoned the "Magic Guide Scribe" first, then had the "Magic Guide Scribe" summon "Leomon."
He himself channeled magic power into the gate card and opened the "map" stored inside it.
Professor Kazel had built a simple mapping system based on his suggestion.
Using this "map," every route walked from the moment he entered the passage would be recorded and gradually drawn into a temporary chart.
The terrain of the tunnels shifted constantly, and the maps still being peddled on Traveler Street were long out of date.
Only a map drawn in real time could guarantee an accurate route, and let him retreat quickly even after going deep.
All in all, far more convenient.
Ten-odd minutes later, "Leomon" appeared at the "Magic Guide Scribe's" summons.
Dark tossed it the backpack and continued exploring on foot.
Without the influence of that night's Ritual, the passages had returned to normal throughout.
Mile after mile, the scenery never changed.
But Dark wasn't in any hurry.
After walking for roughly an hour, he chose to rest where he stood, then drew "Lust III - Moon" from his card case.
Apart from that white datura "Flower Card," the item in his possession most strongly linked to the Moon God statue was this [Major Sin Card], forged using the Moon God version of "Lust."
In theory, if he kept searching while holding this Magic Guide Card, and the passage chose to answer his prayer, there was a chance the Temple of the Moon would appear before him once more.
That reasoning was exactly why he had come into the secret passage at all.
And it was why he had built a schedule of two expeditions a month.
But now he had a new treasure-hunting weapon!
"In the name of Dark Demon — come forth, Trash Slime!"
…
Once "Trash Slime" was summoned, Dark teased it a little with "Lust III - Moon," then used another "Greed III" to evolve it into "Greed Slime II"!
"I don't imagine I need to explain how precious this [Major Sin Card] is, do I?" Dark said with a small laugh, looking at the enormous slime that had appeared beside him.
"Blorp!"
"Greed Slime II" nodded hard.
So Dark set "Lust III - Moon" on top of its head.
The next moment, the crown of "Greed Slime II" dipped inward, letting the [Major Sin Card] slide down into its body and float at the very center.
"Greed Slime II" savored the aura of "Lust III - Moon" and poured everything it had into the Ultimate Move "Greedy Nature," searching for a matching scent.
It stared for a good long while — and in the end its gaze settled on Dark's card case.
"Not that one."
Dark patted the case with a helpless smile.
The result was more or less what he had expected.
With no Moon God statue within "Greed Slime II's" perception range, the aura most similar to "Lust III - Moon" was naturally the "Lust III" in his own hands, along with those Magic Guide Spirits born of "Lust."
"Blorp—"
"Greed Slime II" leaned its jelly-soft, springy body slowly against him and nuzzled with great care.
Dark turned around and buried his face straight into it, shaking his head back and forth, then lifted it again and marched on, refreshed.
Fifteen minutes later, "Greed Slime II" devolved into "Trash Slime."
Dark didn't withdraw it into its Magic Guide Card. He set it on his shoulder instead, keeping it with him.
Trash Slime had rarely received such treatment since the day it was born, and it blew happy little bubbles at once.
Feeling itself gradually becoming useful, it was thrilled.
After roughly another hour of walking, the cooldown on "Greed III" finished, so Dark evolved "Trash Slime" into "Greed Slime II" again to keep using its "Greedy Nature" specialty and continue the search.
No results, so onward they went.
The cycle repeated until dusk.
Only then did Dark settle on a fairly roomy open area. He deployed "[Paradise]" first, then summoned the Magic Guide Spirits out one by one.
With the "Magic Guide Scribe" assisting, he had every one of them out in short order.
After that came a bonfire raised inside the secret passage, and a weekend celebrated together with his Magic Guide Spirits.
Amid the lively music "[Paradise]" played.
The Magic Guide Spirits, who so rarely went out, joined hands and danced in a ring around the leaping flames.
Dark watched their delighted faces, and his gaze softened more and more.
That night he spread out his sleeping bag inside the "haunted house" of "[Paradise]" and slept there without the slightest hesitation.
…
The night passed without incident.
The next morning.
Dark poked his head out of the sleeping bag and looked around to find the Magic Guide Spirits curled up beside him one by one like cats, while the adorable Drifloon drifted overhead, swaying like a will-o'-the-wisp.
It clearly hadn't slept all night.
Drifloon was a creature that hid by day and roamed by night, which made it perfect for keeping watch.
After breakfast, Dark put away "[Paradise]" and withdrew the Magic Guide Spirits into their Magic Guide Cards one by one, keeping only DemiDevimon, Leomon, and Trash Slime at his side as before, then pressed on with the exploration.
By three in the afternoon, when "Greed Slime II" came up empty once again, Dark knew this week's search would end with nothing to show for it.
He didn't linger in the passage. He climbed onto Leomon's shoulder and retraced their route back at top speed.
Thanks to the map drawn by the gate card, he found the exit before nightfall and returned to the Castle.
Empty-handed though he was, the experience of this expedition would settle into memory and become experience in time, sprouting and bearing fruit as it accumulated.
And in the unknown depths of the secret passage, subtle changes were stirring because of that single round trip of his.
Knowing nothing of that, Dark returned to the dormitory, felt a sudden creative impulse, set up his easel, and painted a "bonfire family portrait."
Perhaps he hadn't come away with nothing after all.
…
From then until Tuesday night, every time Dark drew on a "Major Sin," he chose "Pride."
In truth, "Pride" was the only option available.
The "Greed" that had surged so dramatically during the Dueling Festival had already hit its critical point through the past few days of drawing.
"Lust" had likewise dropped below 95 points.
Only "Pride," which had risen slightly after his championship, still had anything left to draw on.
Four nights had accumulated a total of 6 points of Pride.
And after that came Wednesday.
With a trace of anticipation, Dark closed his eyes beneath the covers.
Goodnight…
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