Book 1: Chapter 14: Dragon Extermination 4

“Somehow….we somehow managed to beat it!”

As the dragon flew towards the peak of the mountain, the noble mage and Sophia returned from the airship. It seems they were able to find the potions they were looking for. Apparently, he was right to bring her with.

The power of his 98,030 LUC is clear.

“One of them is dead; the other retreated.”

“I see, so there’s only one corpse left.”

I quickly let the noble mage know what has happened in his absence.

I don’t want to wait around here for long, so we need to be quick.

“If that is the case, we need to retrieve the liver quickly and leave this place.”

“I agree.”

I definitely don’t want to be attacked again.

It was written in Edita Sensei’s recipe that we only need one liver.

“The waitress and I will get started. Take the potion and make preparations for us to descend from the mountain. Make sure to keep your eyes open for another attack. We’ll leave the airship behind, it’s completely unusable. So, collect the necessary items before we’re out of time.”

“Eh? That thing still can’t fly?”

“Yes, the power source is completely broken.”

“Doesn’t that mean there’s no chance we can return home in time?”

“….Our top priority right now is surviving and making it down this mountain.”

The noble mage was saying fewer words than usual.

Apparently, the situation is as bad as it seems.

Even if we can get the liver, it would be pointless unless we can create the potion and give it to the Princess in time. The distance we travelled on the airship was considerable and there is no way we could walk that distance on foot. We even crossed the sea on the way here.

However, there’s no point in saying this now.

“I understand. Then, we need to quickly descend the mountain.”

“Right.”

As dark clouds covered us, we started work on removing the liver.

The noble mage uses his magic to roughly dismantle the body to get to the liver. Sophia also uses the kitchen knife to cut away at the body while tears stream from her eyes. She used the knife to cut away at the meat and bone in this way. You’d expect the daughter of a restaurant owner to have that level of skill with a knife. Initially, I thought she’d only be useful as a baggage carrier, but she is surprisingly useful in many situations.

The work progressed in this way. Fortunately, we had a few people working together, so we were making good progress. If I had been alone, I seriously doubt this would be as easy. Rather, without the help of the noble mage, it would have been difficult to even know where to start. At least, that’s what I think. I’d have no idea where to tell this girl to cut.

However, as we were doing this something happened.

Under the group of people gathered on the ground, a huge shadow appeared.

“……!”

Even if a lot of clouds were above us, the shadow wouldn’t be this size. Everyone stopped their work and looked up to the sky. And there we could see the figure of a dragon. No, this dragon is bigger than the red dragon I knocked down a little while ago. It’s massive.

The shadow belonged to a dragon that easily exceeded 100 meters.

“It is unusual for humans to be in such a place.”

More importantly, did something just talk?

Who was that?

I was starting to panic and looked towards the ossan to see him standing still.

“Impossible, Anc-Ancient Dragon….”

That’s when his eyes opened wide, he stopped working entirely, and his entire body started trembling.

I had never seen him like this before.

This enemy seems to be strong enough to terrify even that noble mage.

The name “Ancient Dragon,” certainly sounds terrifying.

“Why is something like that here…..No, thinking back, we also encountered a group of flare wyverns when we were on the airship. Then, we encountered a pair of red dragons on the way up Mount Pepe. So, it is possible…”

The dragon’s voice was loud enough to make the earth shake. This caused the other members of the party to come running from the airship in a panic. And they were left speechless after seeing the Ancient Dragon.

Sophia-chan began to shiver and she squats down on the ground and began peeing herself. I want to drink it. It seems a waste to let the earth drink it instead.

“What’s wrong? You tiny ones.”

This dragon is looking down on us from directly above.

It’s a little frustrating.

The way she speaks reminds me of Sophie-chan.

“I’m sorry, who are you?”

I am glad that we at least have a way to talk to this dragon.

Maybe we can return peacefully if these talks go well.

“Who am I? This small man is asking that of a dragon.”

“No, I’m sorry, but there seems to be some kind of misunderstanding. Maybe we can meet again at a later date. If you’d like, you can contact us at this number….”

My inner customer assistant came out unexpectedly.

Don’t actually contact the number they give you. It’s just a way to politely end the conversation.

“There seems to be a very powerful human here. I wanted to see it for myself.”

“I see. I’m very sorry for any trouble you may have been caused. We will all be leaving soon. So, if we could please have your cooperation and understanding, we will be gone in no time.”

For now, I need to check it’s status. Status.

These stats are overwhelming. I get the sense that Christina is like a final boss.

She’s the type of hidden boss that doesn’t appear normally. No other enemy is comparable to this dragon’s level. Those stats are just too bloated. I never heard about enemies of this level from that ossan.

Rather, what is a backpacker? Well, this dragon does have a strong consciousness. I guess I don’t need to think of a backpacker in a way humans may think of it. Either way, this status window is uselessly in depth.

By the way, my status looks like this.

My level has only gone up by thirteen.

Considering what we defeated I expected to level a lot more than that. It’s possible a large amount of the experience went to the noble mage and Mercedes-chan. Although, as a member of the same party, I am happy for them.

If it’s similar to raising levels in a game.

Well, there is also some bad news.

My luck seems to have gone down. Does the growth curve have a negative value? That’s more like real life. As a human, your LUC will go down as you get older. Out of all skills, LUC is the most depressing.

“Are you openly mocking me? You must be considerably brave.”

“No, of course not. That would be absurd. Mocking and being impolite…”

“Excellent. Then, maybe you can entertain me for a while!”

She announces the start of the battle.

♢♢♢♢♢

“GGUUUOOOOO,” Christina roared.

The roar alone causes everyone to fall to the ground, but that is followed by a force that sends everyone tumbling backward. It seems the dragon emitted some kind of invisible shockwave.

Especially the blonde-haired Lolita, Sophie-chan, and any of the other companions that were smaller. The shockwave must be quite powerful if that ossan can’t even stay standing.

However, I immediately activate my flight magic and easily avoid the attack.

After all, my flight magic is level 55. Actually, considering that ossan was also blown away, maybe the flight magic that I accidentally levelled up too high helped me out here.

Flying has become amazingly simple. I’ve gotten used to hovering now.

“You’ll die soon, but don’t worry you’ll be dead before you can even understand what’s happened, little one.”

In the next moment, the enemy is fast approaching me. She didn’t seem to like the fact that I endured her roar. Her eyes seem locked on me. Don’t come over here!

She speeds toward me with her jaw just inches above the ground. She then begins circling around, me eyeing me like I’m her next meal. Well, I’m guessing I’m on a direct flight to her stomach now.

Her open mouth is far larger than my entire body.

“Kunuuu~……”

Am I going to be eaten?

Something…..Some kind of skill.

My skill points have increased after my level up.

I need to think carefully about how I use these.

But what kind of skill should I get?

I don’t know.

I don’t know, but I don’t have time to waste here.

Uwaaaaa. I have no clue what is best.

When it comes to desperate situations, there is only one thing to do.

When you’re in trouble, you should turn to magic you already know.

Fire. I will become a warrior of fire.

Alright, good, the fire magic is level fifteen.

To be honest, I’m still amazed at my level 55 flight magic.

I thought the max level for skills would be ten.

“It appears negotiations are impossible, but no matter how amazing your name is, you’re just a lizard after all. What does it matter if you’re just bigger?”

I thrust my right hand out in front of me.

I try to imagine a fireball. Of course with flame magic, the obvious choice is a fireball. I then slowly open my hand up and turn my palm out towards the dragon. A magic formation that glows bright red forms on my hand.

I can feel it, the coming victory.

This is fine. This will be enough.

This is good.

A small flame forms in the center of the magic formation.

When I was thinking I hadn’t given it enough power, in the blink of an eye, it became a massive fireball. Its size can’t even be compared to my past fireballs. It is an Ultra-class fireball. It’s diameter easily exceeds ten meters.

The dragon sees this and suddenly stopped rushing towards me.

I was the one that created it, and even I felt nervous. For a moment, it seemed like it was almost thrown forward.

As expected, it is level fifteen. The difference between now and level three is tremendous.

“Nu, why you……”

“You should probably avoid this.”

“Ku……”

As soon as I said that, the fireball was launched forward.

The dragon has already closed the distance between us. Moreover, the speed of the fireball is impressive. It seemed there was no chance Christina could avoid the attack. The fireball hit the dragon head-on.

There was a large explosion followed by a deafening ZUDON

It felt like there was an earthquake happening. The earth itself was trembling.

The heat and shockwave from the explosion never made it to me thanks to the barrier created by the magic formation. It must be very well made. As you’d expect from a fantasy realm—

But on the opposite side, hot air was shot out, burning Christina.

A cloud of dust formed between us and I couldn’t see anything.

“………..”

This feels like deja vu.

It reminds me of that time with the high orc. I felt anxious as I stared into the dust. I felt it was dangerous to stay where I was, and so, I used my flight magic to fly back a few dozen meters.

At the same time, the magic formation was crushed and a gigantic tail came into sight.

It makes a loud bang and the tail smashes into the fireball, destroying it.

“Seriously”

“….Certainly, it seems mankind has become much stronger than I remember.”

Christina is alive.

I quickly checked her status in the status window.

It’s fine. It works. The fireball is working.

I can defeat her with three more.

It’s okay. I can fly away with flight magic and try to find an opportunity to use the fireball. This is different than the fight against the Red Dragon. Everyone else was blown back by the shock wave. This will be a one-on-one fight. This also means I don’t have to worry about accidentally injuring any allies.

Of course, trying to shoot fireballs while flying would be very difficult. However, if I take my time, I should be able to manage somehow. The possibility of defeat isn’t zero. Three shots. Just three more hits and I will win.

It’s a terrible plan, but based on the fight so far I don’t have much choice.

As I was thinking this,

“Nu~un”

Christina roared suddenly.

A moment later, a huge magic circle formed at her feet. I braced myself when suddenly, Christina’s huge figure began to shine brightly. She emitted a very calm, heartwarming light.

I was getting a bad feeling and decided to check her status.

“Wha-……”

The backpacker knows recovery magic.

Moreover, she knows complete recovery magic.

That’s foul play.

A boss this durable with complete recovery magic, that’s a fantasy game taboo.

I guess this much is to be expected. However, the numerous boss monsters from the many different fantasy worlds were defeated without breaking this rule. So, why did you have to break it now?

“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you can no longer attack?”

Christina’s mouth twists into the shape of a smile.

Ah, that’s right. How much MP did I just spend?

After all, that fireball was quite powerful.

If it’s level fifteen, it most likely used a good amount of MP.

Oh, it hasn’t gone down at all.

It must be because of my MP automatic recovery skill, the amount of MP recovered every second must be greater than the amount consumed by using fireball. Is that because of my high INT? In short, the supply and demand are not balanced. Anyway, there’s no reason to be concerned if the supply of MP is overflowing, so for now, I’ll just be glad.

“I could probably shoot another 10,000 of those.”

“Ha, don’t get full of yourself.”

“….Would you like to try me?”

“You talk like you’re first-class, but you’re just a human.”

It’s fine. The dragon’s MP is decreasing like it should.

If it stays like this, it will take time, but if I just repeat my strategy over and over I will eventually be able to win. However, I can’t get hit by a single one of Christina’s attacks. Although following this strategy, I’ll need to hit Christina with at least 89 fireballs like the one from before.

“…….”

Is that possible? Can I do that?

I felt a little discouraged thinking about it.

Oh well, I have no choice but to just wear her down.

“Damn it.”

Like this, the battle of endurance with Christina started.

It seems I can’t be worried about the other party members this time.

I was entering a deathmatch. I don’t have any time for on-the-job training here.

♢♢♢♢♢

【Sophia-chan’s point of view】

I’m going to die. I’m gonna die like this.

A large dragon was falling from the sky. Moreover, the dragon was able to speak. The great nobleman called it an Ancient Dragon.

I don’t know anything about different types of dragons. However, I can tell this dragon is more dangerous than a normal dragon just by looking at it.

That’s because it is much bigger than the Red Dragon they were fighting moments ago.

And Tanaka-san started fighting this dragon.

“What are you doing!? You all need to get out of here now! If we stay here, he has to worry about injuring us! Get away from here!”

The nobleman screams this.

We ran out from the safety of the airship in a panic.

We ran along the craggy rocks, trying to put some distance between us and the fight between Tanaka-san and the dragon.

I’m glad I took my Father’s boots with me when I left my home. If I were wearing ordinary shoes, I’m sure my feet would be killing me right now and I’d barely be able to walk.

Father, I really didn’t want to wear them because of your foot disease.

“Haa….haa…..haa….”

I ran hard.

I ran as fast as I could to get away from the dragon.

The other people were the same.

Everyone was breathing heavily and our clothes were drenched in sweat.

It’s difficult.

We were running for quite some time and Tanaka-san had now become the size of a finger. Still, the sound of their battle echoed around us making the ground beneath us shake. We could only imagine how great the battle between them was.

Occasionally, in the distance, the entire area is engulfed in a bright light or there will be pillars of fire that reach high into the sky.

I hope Tanaka-san is okay. Even though he’s incredibly strong, was it okay for us to leave him alone? Either way, I wouldn’t want to go back there.

“Wh-what is…..What is that!?”

A little distance away from me, Allen-sama was speaking with the nobleman. Allen-sama is a knight. Still, even if he is a knight, the opponent here is a dragon. Just like me, his knees are shaking.

“Is it your first time seeing an Ancient Dragon?”

“Yes. But, how did we encounter something so rare…..”

“We have no choice but to fight it now. However, this is a strange place for one to be living. This creature is said to live in the deepest parts of the Dark Continent. Very rarely does something like this come into contact with humans.”

“Ah, the Dark Continent…..”

Gokuri Allen gulped after hearing the nobleman’s words.

I’ve heard of this ‘Dark Continent.’

It’s said to be a horrible place.

The Dark Continent is an undeveloped area that is twice the size of the continent we live on.

“It’s possible, due to the encounter with the wyverns and the Red Dragons, this fluctuation in power caused the Ancient Dragon to be drawn to this place. To encounter multiple Red Dragons on this mountain is also incredibly rare.”

“…….”

The nobleman never looks at Allen-sama.

He remains staring in the direction of the dragon with a serious look on his face.

“Lord Fahren, why is that dragon using magic!?”

Ester-sama said this to the nobleman.

“Older generations of dragons can understand human speech and use magic. The magic they use is ancient and more powerful. It’s a different type of magic than what we use today.”

“An-Ancient magic…..”

“Richard’s daughter, don’t look away. To survive an encounter with an Ancient Dragon is unimaginable. Even to see their glorious image is a once in a lifetime experience.”

Although the nobleman’s voice trembles with fear, there is also some excitement there.

It seems his personality is just as Tanaka-san said, he loves magic more than eating three meals a day.

Even now, I just want to keep running away. I’m scared, I’m absolutely terrified.

However, we’re all standing still, watching the dragon’s rampage. I won’t be the only one to run away. Rather, I don’t feel confident I’d be able to make it back to town on my own. Ah, my life will be decided here.

Father, I hate you.

“However, I thought this thing would be more powerful, but this doesn’t seem…”

“Wh-What are you going to do!? Aren’t you going to help that man!?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s obvious that we would be completely outmatched in that fight.”

“But!”

Ester-sama appealed to the nobleman with a sad expression.

Speaking against the nobility may lead to being put to death. So I won’t say this out loud, but that Ester-sama has a very crude personality. Speaking of nobility, is she really from a noble family? She just seems to act like she’s better than everyone else.

I guess, having spent the past few days with her, she isn’t all bad.

As another woman, I have to say, she has a rather innocent personality. I, on the other hand, have a relatively sly personality. I’m attracted to purity like her. She’s a bit arrogant due to her noble birth, but to be honest, I envy her a bit.

Is there anything that can fix a sly personality? I don’t know.

“We’ll continue to wait here. We have an obligation to see how this fight ends.”

“It seems Lord Fahren is more concerned with his own interests!”

“You should be sure to pray for the victory of that guy. I’m excited that I get to witness this event first-hand. Look at the magic the dragon just used! That kind of lightning strike is impossible with the magic we use today!”

“But!”

“Besides, this guy is avoiding the attacks with flying magic. I didn’t think that level of skill was humanly possible. His recovery magic is amazing, but his flight magic even rivals that. I don’t think there’s ever been an air battle between an Ancient Dragon and a human before!”

“Guu……”

“No matter how powerful you are, at most, you can fly continuously for an hour. I say that, but how long has he been flying? Furthermore, at that speed, with that precision, he’s able to continuously fly around avoiding the dragon’s attacks. What amazing flight magic!”

The nobleman is crazy about magic.

He’s madly in love with it.

“If it’s that guy, he can probably fly from our capital to the capital city of an enemy country without landing. He can launch an all-out assault with the most powerful magic I’ve ever seen. This ridiculous man can completely revolutionize the magical world. If people like him become more common, the value of the airship will become questionable.”

“…….”

Ester-sama also seemed confused by his words

Allen-sama was the only one that managed to speak.

“Ester, I don’t want to abandon Tanaka-san. However, even if we were to try to help, I’m afraid we would be of no use. The best way we can support him is by staying here and watching.”

“….I-I get that, but….If things stay like this….he’ll die.”

“…..”

Everyone is terrified of the dragon.

I’m terrified of the dragon.

There is no chance Tanaka-san will survive.

It’s hopeless.

However, the sound of his fight against the dragon continued.

Why won’t he die?

“….Why do you have to be such a pervert?”

Mercedes-sama quietly muttered this to herself.

This amazing woman is a holy knight that serves in the knight squadron of the capital. However, it seems she is a lesbian. I can recall, on several different occasions since boarding the airship, she would stroke my butt. There were also times where she would place her arm around my waist.

Although it was rather unpleasant, I don’t think she’s a bad person.

It was very unpleasant.

“Even a magic knight from the capital would struggle to kill a high orc or flare wyvern in a single blow. In addition, I doubt there’s any other human in existence that can fight two Red Dragons in the air and survive.”

Sophie-sama was the one that said this.

She was Ester-sama’s rival. It seems she has been having an affair with Allen-sama.

I am a little envious of them. After all, Allen-sama is so cool. Many girls dream of marrying a knight like Allen-sama. Of course, I’m no different.

And that is why I’m jealous.

Rather, I just don’t like her.

Ester-sama is the complete opposite of her.

Men seem to like her personality, but her personality is the type hated by other women. Maybe, because my personality is similar to her, he has no interest in me? That’s why, the way she does whatever she wishes, I’m envious of her.

“Oi, did you see that just now!? As humans, no matter how long we chant, even if we drew a gigantic magic circle, we would never be able to create such an amazing explosion. Yet, the dragon fired that six times in rapid succession!? Wonderful! This is the true power of the Ancient Dragon!”

The nobleman has become increasingly eccentric as the battle has gone on.

He’s pretty scary, so I’ll try to keep my distance.

I quietly shuffle my feet away from the nobleman.

In my ear, I could suddenly hear someone whispering

“….What to do, what to do.”

Whose voice was that?

It was a woman.

I turn around to look, but I couldn’t tell who said that.

With this feeling, we continued to watch the never-ending battle before us.