These Familiars Are Strange

The sets of living armour didn't move slowly as they led the way.

It seemed that they had only been moving slowly before because they had been wandering on their own.

If the gnome controlled them, they were able to move much faster and more smoothly compared to when we fought them the first time. It seemed that only if they were set to autopilot would they move that slowly.

But of course, the gnome focused on leading the way and focused on controlling the suits of living armour, so they weren't clunky at all.

They really were quite useful.

I was even wondering if I could take those machines out of this dungeon.

While I didn't know if they would still work without the gnome working it, just the fact that I could create an endless army of living armour was already enticing enough.

No, if that was possible, then wouldn't they have already brought something out already?

So there must be something in this dungeon that restricted people from bringing out these machines that made the sets of living armour in the first place.
Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire

Well, there was plenty of time to figure that out later since it was all in my hands.

Right now, it was time to find out more information about this dungeon and decide what to do next.

After following the two sets of living armour for a while, we arrived at a different part of the castle. Though just based on the appearance of this place, it really didn't seem that different from the rest of the castle.

It didn't seem like there would be any special monsters here.

However, the sets of living armour raised their hands to stop us when we arrived at this place.

It was as if they were stopping us from going any further, even though it didn't seem like there was anything there. But it didn't take long for us to understand why they had us stop.

"Screech."

There was this sound that came from above us.

When we looked up, we saw that there was something that had blended into the ceiling. If we didn't look at it closely, if it hadn't made a sound just now, we wouldn't have been able to notice it.

But looking at it, there was a strange look that appeared on my face.

That was because this monster that appeared was a strange one.

It had an appearance that really was hard to describe just from looking at it from below. When it started moving and revealed more of itself, it became easier to describe just what kind of appearance it had.

A manta ray.

It seemed to be some kind of manta ray, but it wasn't one that swam under the water.

This was a manta ray that seemed to be able to fly through the air by flapping the skin flaps on its side. These were the skin flaps that would have allowed the manta ray to move through the water by pushing through it, but it seemed like what it was doing now was actually letting the manta ray push through the air.

There was no doubt that there was some kind of magic that was being used to move the wind under it to let it fly in the air like this.

It was unknown exactly what kind of magic it was, but the flow of mana showed that it was some kind of elemental magic.

After making that sound, these manta rays started moving around the area almost as if they had sensed something. They were moving around as if they were trying to find something that had stepped into their territory.

The only thing that could have done that was us, so they should be looking for us.

Only I didn't understand how they would have been able to detect us.

Since they used wind magic to fly, did that mean that they were sensitive to the movement of the wind?

If they could, then they most likely would have tracked us with the change in the wind.

But that didn't matter since they were now looking for us.

It seemed that it was inevitable that a fight would break out.

That was why both the two sets of living armour and Wang Rong moved forward as if they wanted to be the vanguard. They wanted to be the ones that stopped the manta rays from reaching the rest of our group.

Unfortunately, that wasn't necessary.

Unlike the sets of living armour, these manta rays weren't already being controlled by something else. That meant that I would be able to…

The manta rays suddenly froze in the air as if something happened.

Wang Rong and the two sets of living armour immediately prepared to charge when they saw this, but I stopped them by saying, "There's no need."

Wang Rong turned back to look at me with a surprised and confused look, but I stepped forward and waved my hand at the manta rays flying in the air.

When they saw this, they suddenly floated down to my side.

It didn't take long for them to completely surround me, but I didn't show a single trace of panic.

Once they were completely around me, I raised my hand to pet them and they started fighting over who would be the first one to receive this honour.

In the end, all I could do was shake my head and say, "Now, now, there's no need to act like this."

When they heard this, the manta rays calmed down and took turns in letting me pet them.

I had to admit that it was a strange feeling petting them since they had rough skins, but at least this showed that they were tamed to the point where they could act docile.

I could see the way that Wang Rong and Iris looked at me with strange looks, but I didn't answer their doubts. I just said, "Come and have a look at them. We'll see how we can work with them."