I’m not sure what to refer to as what anymore. I forgot…

Anyways, release is the thing where you unlock abilities if you use a weapon long enough.

HERE IS SOME INFORMATION ON JAPANESE AND CHINESE CULTURE

The Japanese Four Spirits (Shirei) are Reiki (Spirit Turtle), Kirin (Quilin), Houou (Feng Huang), and Ouryu (Ying Long).

You can find them with google-sensei under the Four Benevolent Spirits, which is their Chinese equivalent, though the chinese one gives Dragon, but not Ying Long specifically, while the Japanese one specifically refers to Ying Long.

NOTE: This is a different series from Genbu, Seiryu, Suzaku and Byakko. They are completely different. This series is one of greater importance, where each mythical creature corresponds to a cardinal direction, element and season. There have been sybols of culture dating back to even neolithic times, and are of general greater importance to both Chinese and Japanese culture, so you see them more.

The Four Benevolent Spirits are more seen as signs of luck than anything else. They are said to live in the royal palace.

The Four Evils are Kyoukou (Gong Gong), Kantou (Huan Dou), Kon (Gun), and Sanbyou (San Miao) For these individuals, once again Google sensei is your friend. In Japan, they are grouped together as the Four Evils, but in China, the Four Evils are not specified (Though each of these entities do exist in Chinese myth and history).

I will be using the Japanese names, but I’m not sure if I should change the instances where I used Spirit Turtle to Reiki.

Who said you don’t learn anything from reading light novels?

Chapter 221: Release Time

“What was that!?” (Ren & Naofumi)

I unintentionally harmonize with Ren. But that’s to be expected.

That green bird was Male? By his appearance, I can see him as nothing but a little girl.

He’s a Filo Rial King?

“N-now that I think about it, you added a –chan to the other two, but didn’t for him.” (Ren)

“He seems to be self-conscious of the fact that he’s male, so he gets angry if I add a –kun.” (Motoyasu)

“He seems like quite a troublesome person.” (Naofumi)

Ah, I mean Filo Rial.

I guess based on this world’s system they would be classified as monsters… I don’t think anything will come from thinking over it.

And so I gave up pondering the subject.

It’s already night, so I don’t want to stress myself out.

“Be he a boy or a girl, the love I give out doesn’t change.” (Motoyasu)

“Ah, I see.” (Naofumi)

Both me and Ren’s faces go stiff.

Does he just see all his Filo Rial as his dear children?

But… He wants Firo as his Waifu.

And these three want to become his lovers.

He’s building up some twisted relations.

Though it doesn’t seem that the other Filo Rials love him to that extent.

“He used I and spoke in formal tone… I wonder what Itsuki’s doing right around now.” (Ren)

(TL: this is difficult to convey to English audiences. Midori and Itsuki both speak in a form usually attributed to young boys. They use Boku to refer to themselves, and both speak very formally (With a hint of arrogance))

Ren seems lost in thought.

To get Itsuki from that Toxic green bird. His mind works in strange ways.

“Going with this flow, he’ll probably be used by Witch around now.” (Naofumi)

“I hope it hasn’t come to that yet…” (Ren)

But that’s a fleeting hope.

Midori repeatedly knocks on the door in protest. It’s annoying.

Motoyasu pats the blue one as he signals me to move to the next topic.

It’s a pain, but to answer his expectations, I randomly think up a problem.

“Returning to topic, Motoyasu, do you want to get a job?” (Naofumi)

“I want to be the Lord of the Filo Rial Ranch.” (Motoyasu)

“Besides that.” (Naofumi)

“I’ll do anything if Father-in-Law wishes for it.” (Motoyasu)

His canines sparkle as he gives a refreshing smile.

I want to smack him very hard.

… Sigh.

Talking to this man is enervating.

I guess I should arbitrarily assign him some sort of work.

I want Ren or Motoyasu to learn how to make weapons and other equipment.

They could reduce the Old Man’s workload by learning metallurgy.

Also collecting items, and mining doesn’t sound bad either.

“For now, Ren. Soon a smithy will be built in this village, so when your curse weakens go help out there to learn iron working skills.” (Naofumi)

“Understood.” (Ren)

Ren changes his sword’s shape a few times.

Perhaps he’s looking for one that has some iron working functions.

… Oy, go learn how to do that by yourself.

Still, unlike me he has a lot of copied weapons.

“Now that I think of it, Ren. What will you do about releasing the restrictions for your weapons? I don’t want you to waste a lot of time, so I could give you some materials.” (Naofumi)

“Releasing…? Ah, I see.” (Ren)

“Why do you suddenly look like you’ve figured something out?” (Naofumi)

“Well, the status bonus from releasing weapons is really small, right? I knew Naofumi was strong, but that was the reason? I guess if you continue to stack up trash it will eventually become a mountain. I see… Naofumi really is amazing.” (Ren)

Ha? What are you deducing on your own?

“Um… Let me ask this, but about releasing…” (Naofumi)

“Ah, besides the ones that give essential skills and bonuses, I’ve put them off.” (Ren)

My head hurts again!

So that’s why I found him weak for his level.

Most likely, the contents from his world, Brave Star Online, are still rooted in his head.

I believe he said that Level came first, and Status Boosts second.

His game was a VRMMO. I guess it can be compared to FPS. In those games, Offensive abilities are focused on, and many other stats are left to rot.

He’s begun to realize that this isn’t a game, but he still hasn’t come to terms with it.

“Motoyasu, what about you?” (Naofumi)

“Me? I guess I’ve released them to some extent, but I can’t say it’s perfect.” (Motoyasu)

So Motoyasu is better in that aspect…

Since he played normal MMOs, did he try for absolute completion?

I go over to the village storehouse and come back with Spirit Turtle materials.

“Okay, go absorb these into your weapons. Or have you already done so?” (Naofumi)

“No, it’s a material I haven’t seen…” (Ren)

Ren feeds the material to his sword.

“With me, the shield it unlocked gave a bonus of Defense + 15. How about you?” (Naofumi)

“Attack +10 and Defense +5. But it seems it will take a while to awaken.” (Ren)

What?

Um I think I was able to release it in about 12 hours…

“How long do you think it will take?” (Naofumi)

“Hm? At this rate, around 3 days.” (Ren)

3 Days… That is a long time.

Does it differ based on the weapon?

I guess the Shield has a shorter release time to compensate for its lack of attack.

“That’s long. Is it fundamentally different from mine?” (Naofumi)

I give some of the material to Motoyasu in the same fashion.

“Motoyasu, how about you?” (Naofumi)

“Let’s see. I think I’ll be able to release it tomorrow.” (Motoyasu)

So there are differences.

That means…

“Take out your weakest unreleased weapon.” (Naofumi)

I look for a weak shield I haven’t used before.

But I can’t find one in my possession. I’ve released them all.

I go over to the kitchen, and borrow one of the fish monsters Sadina brought back.

Ren and the others probably haven’t seen this monster before.

The shield it unlocked was the Blue Bonan Shield.

It was a monster that looked like a sunfish.

According to Sadina, if you boil it, and make it into Jelly, it goes great with Sake.

“Everyone, say the time needed for release.” (Naofumi)

“Um… 12 hours.” (Ren)

“Around 6 hours.” (Motoyasu)

“2 hours.” (Naofumi)

“…” (Everyone)

12 hours = Ren.

6 hours = Motoyasu.

2 hours = Me.

(TL: There are no speaker annotations, so that was ambiguous in the original text)

For Ren to take 12 hours, how slow is his sword?

“Does it just differ by weapon?” (Ren)

“That’s a possibility, but Ren. Please bring out a sword you haven’t released that has a really short release time.” (Naofumi)

“I got it. What are you testing?” (Ren)

“The possibilities are as follows. Each legendary weapon has different release times for each weapon, each legendary weapon has a different release speed in general… or that release proficiency is a stat in itself.” (Naofumi)

There the chance that the Spirit Turtle materials were defense-oriented, and thus had a good compatibility with the Shield.

But I think it’s probably the last one.

If Release speed decreases on a level like system, then I, who had diligently released all of my shields, would have a shorter release time.

That also explains the discrepancies in me, Motoyasu and Ren’s times. A simple experiment can prove or disprove this.

“After you’ve released about 30 of those, go check the release time of the Spirit Turtle sword again.” (Naofumi)

Ren nods, and changes to a weak weapon.

It’s at times like these that I wonder.

Just how many secrets do the Legendary Weapons hold?

“I’ve been putting this off, but I guess we should discuss the next wave as well.” (Naofumi)

“Ah, that…” (Motoyasu)

According to the hourglass, we still have a bit of time left. It’s not an urgent matter, but I guess I should tackle it at some point.

“Does anyone have any clues as to the meaning of the Blue Hourglass?” (Naofumi)

“My apologies.” (Ren)

“… Motoyasu?” (Naofumi)

“No Idea.” (Motoyasu)

… That was no help.

Itsuki is probably clueless as well.

“Then… After the Spirit Turtle, what will appear?” (Naofumi)

“Houou.” (Ren)

“It’s Houou.” (Motoyasu)

(TL: If you want me to use Phoenix, I can)

Ah, so they knew it.

That’s quite amazing.

I did let them both off without much punishment. They have to be of some use in times like these.

“I think you needed to be level… 130 to beat it…” (Ren)

“To do the quest, you needed to be 70.” (Motoyasu)

“There’s a 60 level discrepancy here.” (Naofumi)

Ren was a solo player so… he needed to be 130?

No, we have proof with the Spirit Turtle that that info is of no use.

“After that was the Kirin at level 90.” (Ren)

“Oy, it fell!” (Naofumi)

“There’s no helping it. Houou was way too strong, and the Spirit Turtle too weak, so they adjusted the game balance when they released the Kirin as a boss, and gave him special abilities.” (Ren)

Ah… things like that happen in games.

Things start out easy, but enemies get harder as the developers release more. And then players complain, and the Game Balance is restored.

Though I have absolutely no idea whether that info is useful here.

“With a party and appropriate team play, it was easy at 100… but that was info from a game, and I don’t know if it applies here.” (Motoyasu)

“From my experience ‘til now, I don’t think it will go so well.” (Naofumi)

The Spirit Turtle was ridiculously strong. I shouldn’t trust this information.

This is just my hypothesis, but that Spirit Turtle… If they had fully enhanced weapons and party members with growth corrections, they probably would have won.

Ren and Motoyasu recommended a level of 60.

If they were fully equipped, that may have very well been possible.

Of course, I took massive damage from his special moves, and couldn’t deal any.

No matter how strong you are, strong attacks still hurt.

“Then, here’s my next question. What comes after Kirin?” (Naofumi)

“Ouryu.” (Ren)

“Ah, as expected.” (Naofumi)

An even bigger question would be why this world is being attacked by the Four Spirits.

Why would such knowledge from my world manifest in the wave?

Shouldn’t the ones bringing misfortune be the Four Evils and not the Four spirits?

The four Spirits are supposed to be symbols of good luck, you know.

This knowledge is often referenced in literature, so I’m quite knowledgeable.

I mean, I was a textbook Otaku by nature.

Thinking about it from another angle, if they’re monsters essential to the world, that cause atrocities when they appear, that sounds strange as well.

The Spirit Turtle went after and killed living things.

It wasn’t limited to humans. It also devoured monsters, so it simply tried to eliminate life.

The other monsters may possess similar traits.

… It’s a thought that doesn’t lead to an answer. I guess I’ll end it here.

“The level required to fight it is 120. The recommended Solo level is 150, and the recommended party level 130.” (Motoyasu)

“Ah, Yes, yes.” (Naofumi)

Just how strong is that?

The inflation rate of these monsters is amazing.

I sense the ending of the Era of Net Games.

“I believe the story was… The fragments sleeping in the Dragons around the world assimilate and release the seal. The setting was something like that.” (Ren)

I almost fall over.

… this is definitely a story I’ve heard before, oy!

Dragon Emperor Gaelion, remember this! You are the Wave!

Author Note: I don’t think I have to say this, but no, he is not the wave.