The Golden Experience Point [Part 1]

Chapter 194: "Joking Around"

"Does choosing this as our meeting place mean that you've figured out the conditions for Salamander's reincarnation?"

"Yeah, well, one of the requests is related to that."

"Are there multiple requests? And is consultation something different?"

"Well, consultation is not exactly a request, right?"

"Not that it matters. Maybe it's a matter of nuance."

"Oh, I see. It's a way of making a request indirectly. It's modest."

Upon reflection, it was the adjective farthest from what Lyra would use. She wouldn't phrase things so admirably.

"...Well, let's start with the requests for now. How many requests do you have?"

"Not many, just two. One is for the Philosopher's Stone; I want another one. The other is to fuse my Aural Skink."

"Aural Skink? Is that the reincarnation destination for Hiers Salamander?"

"Hiers Salamander? It's Aural Salamander, you know?"

The conversation wasn't making sense. Lyra had brought Hiers Newt from that river, and they both agreed on that. However, when I experimented in this forest, it reincarnated into Hiers Salamander. On the other hand, when Lyra used the Philosopher's Stone, it reincarnated into Aural Salamander.

"In other words, it's like this. Perhaps their species name changes depending on the place of birth. Like Hiers-produced Salamander or Aural-produced Salamander. It's probably how the system judges the rebirth, literally giving birth anew."

"That seems reasonable... But Hiers doesn't exist anymore. It's evident from the official website's national introduction page. So, even if the system judges it that way, I'm not convinced that it becomes Hiers Salamander."

"In terms of the regions that were once called that, it's not wrong, right? There's no other name for it. It's like calling them Ezo Deer or Yamato Nadeshiko."

"The same...?"

In Lyra's case, it was unclear whether she was teasing, being sarcastic, or saying it seriously. If it was sarcasm, was she referring to the Yamato Dynasty that conquered Ezo and me who annihilated Hiers? It was a bit hard to understand. Could it be that Yamato Nadeshiko was also taken from there?

"...It seems like you're troubled, but there's no deep meaning. I just said the first thing that came to mind."

"It's confusing! Don't say unnecessary things!"

Regardless of the name, the Aural Skink that Lyra summoned looked similar in size to Hiers Salamander, but it had lost its salamander-like features. It resembled something else, a Komodo Dragon.

And the one individual that hadn't been reincarnated looked exactly like Hiers Salamander in appearance. When appraised, it was indeed identified as Aural Salamander, and upon closer inspection, its color seemed slightly paler. It might be an illusion.

"I'm willing to listen to your requests and offer consultations, but I have something I'd like to ask in return."

"If you're talking about the conditions to turn Salamander into a Skink, it's probably [Water Magic] and [Fire Magic]. These little ones can actually use breath attacks."

"They can breathe fire?"

"No, it's a steam breath."

"Isn't that just warm breath?"

"It's a proper means of attack! In the tests, they were confirmed to have the water attribute, but if the resistance fails, it also inflicts a burn status as an additional effect."