CH 175

The strategy itself is simple.



First, I’ll employ a Ninjutsu to grab Peony’s attention.



During that timeframe, Ichinose-san will shoot Aka, who will be disguised as a bullet, as close to the Dragon as possible.



It would be ideal if the bullet can hit one of Peony’s branches or vines.



Then, through the instant-shadow created by Aka, Momo and Kiki will arrive and try to persuade the Dragon.



That’s it.



That’s all there is to my plan.



“Instead of having the Dragon join you as your companion, your plan is to join the Dragon as its companion…It amazes me how foolish your plan is…”



President Igarashi is flabbergasted at our plan.



I don’t blame her, though. After all, I also think so too.



It’s a foolish plan.



Not only do I have to participate in this foolish plan of mine, I have to involve my friends into it as well.



I wonder how many times I had to bet my life in the past 10 days.



On top of that, I wonder how many times I had to bet the lives of Ichinose-san, Momo, Kiki, and Aka.



If I was a genius, or if I was a bit smarter…I’m sure I would’ve come up with a better and safer strategy.



For an average Joe like me, however, this is the best I can do.



—Ah, I feel numb, numb from the battles, the world, and the insignificance of lives.



I understand that this isn’t good for me, but I can’t seem to shake off the feeling.



In just 10 days, my mentality and my sense of values have changed drastically.



—Don’t you also have the desire to live as you please?



Suddenly, “her” words resurface in my mind.



I……



No, don’t think about it.



Right now, I should be focusing on executing the plan.



I exit the “Safety Zone” through Momo’s “Shadow Migration”.



I’ve arrived at a location which is far away from the Dragon but close enough to Peony that I could attract its attention.



Peony hasn’t noticed me yet.



I’m not sure whether it’s because of its battle with the Dragon or because its enemy detection ability is subpar.



Frankly, I don’t care, but I’ll make sure that its attention is on me in a moment’s time.



“Now, I hope this goes well…”



I activate a certain Advanced Ninjutsu while praying in my heart.



“—‘The Art of Ginormous Growth’.”



The next instant, a huge version of myself whose height easily surpasses the height of a building appears



*****



“—? ”



Peony’s body stiffened for a second.



…What is that?



Out of thin air, a Giant had appeared during its fight with the Dragon.



The Giant was several times taller than the Dragon, and Peony recognized its face.



Through a blurry memory, Peony realized that the Giant’s face resembled that of the human’s from yesterday.



But the human shouldn’t have been that big.



Along with a fearless grin, the human began charging towards Peony, wading through pillars of concrete that laid by its feat. [1]



Seeing this, Peony thought—it’s worth devouring…



It was still locked in a struggle against the Dragon, but Peony’s attention was already directed towards the Giant.



Peony was famished, and its stomach was constantly growling in hunger.



On one hand, there was the tiny Dragon which could only offer Peony a single bite despite its might.



On the other hand, there was the Giant which had considerable volume despite its lack of might.



If Peony had to choose, there was no doubt that it would choose the latter over the former.



“~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~”



Trembling, Peony shot out countless vines at the Giant.



The Giant did not attempt to avoid the vines, and soon enough, they effortlessly pierced through the Giant’s body.



—Weak.



That was Peony’s only impression.



However, Peony’s attack, or rather, its “meal”, was not over yet.



The tips of the vines which penetrated the Giant changed shape to look like the mouths of Venus flytraps. Then, they started to devour the flesh of the Giant.



Musha musha. Gatsu gatsu. Gucha gucha. Mogu mogu. Gokuri.



In a matter of seconds, the Giant get devoured by Peony after letting out a horrible scream.



—Not enough.



That was Peony’s honest opinion after consuming the Giant.



Ah, this is nowhere close to being enough.



It was such a huge prey, but it was not enough to satisfy Peony.



Peony was once again assaulted by an acute pain due to its “hunger”.



It was then.



“—What’s wrong? I’m still alive and kicking, you know?”



“!?”



Peony was shocked.



The Giant which Peony thought it had gobbled up appeared once more.



Moreover, the Giant looked bigger than the one before.



Huh? Why?



Some questions arose, but Peony soon dismissed them.



“~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~♪”



Peony believed that the Giant had revived itself so that it can be eaten again.



Ah, how wonderful.



Peony ignored the trivial questions that came to its attention and focused on biting the Giant, completely forgetting about the “tiny” Dragon.



It was will to do anything to satisfy its “hunger”.



*****



—Caught it.



I inwardly heave a sigh of relief and stare at what’s happening overhead.



Peony’s vines are making short work of my Giant.



Meat is splattering everywhere, and so is the blood.



To be honest, it’s quite a terrible sight to behold.



(It doesn’t harm me in any way, though…)



—The Advanced Ninjutsu known as “The Art of Ginormous Growth” does not make me grow big or anything. Instead, it creates a giant image of myself in front of me.



In actuality, the images that I create are virtually powerless.



If I order them to destroy a building, they would simply slip through it without being able to cause a scratch.



The same thing happens when I tell them to scoop something up.



They’re essentially illusions with mass.



The images can speak and be touched by others, but they can’t do anything else.



—A technique that exists solely to attract monsters.



That’s what “The Art of Ginormous Growth” is.



When I first got it, I thought it was a useless Ninjutsu because of its limited functionality.



The fact that it required a lot of MP didn’t help improve my evaluation.



(Creating one image uses up 100 MP. What kind of low efficiency is that…)



There were two reasons why I didn’t bother using this Ninjutsu during yesterday’s battle with the Dragon.



First off, as I mentioned, the Ninjutsu consumes a stupendous amount of MP.



My maximum MP is only slightly above 300 right now.



In other words, I would’ve run out of MP in the blink of an eye after creating three images. Considering how this is after the reduction from “Reduced MP Consumption”, I believe my hesitation to activate the Ninjutsu was justified.



The second reason was that the images can only be created “in front of the user’s eyes”.



This means that I would have been roasted alongside my image if the Dragon had unleashed its breath onto us.



That wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.



Distracting the Dragon with “The Art of Cloning” was a much better alternative.



(Of course, this logic only applies when my opponent is a regular monster…)



Against Peony, I’m convinced that nothing can be as effective as “The Art of Ginormous Growth”.



Yesterday, I was able to get a glimpse of Peony’s thought process with the link created through my “Tracking” skill.



Its thoughts were so disturbing that I almost threw up, but thanks to that, I was able to learn one thing:



Peony is in a constant state of hunger.



I don’t know why this is the case, but Peony is unnaturally obsessed with “eating”.



That’s why I assumed that Peony would bite onto anything thrown towards it as long as it’s big, and my assumption turned out to be correct.



Even now, Peony is greedily devouring my giant image.



The image is only an illusion without any real substance, so Peony’s stomach should remain empty even after devouring it. However, Peony doesn’t seem to have noticed.



If Peony took the time to observe carefully, it would’ve realized that I am standing right beneath the image, but Peony doesn’t react to my presence at all.



What a terrifying obsession towards eating.



“Eating” probably means everything to Peony. It doesn’t care about anything else.



I’m just glad we can earn some time with this.



(But I’ll only be able to create one more image…)



I didn’t think Peony would devour the giant so quickly in a matter of seconds.



I can probably only last another minute.



If the Dragon doesn’t recognize us as its companion in that time period, we’ll be done for.



(The rest is up to you guys—)



While praying internally, I focus on what’s happening in front of me.



*****



“Wan! Wan!”



“…Gua?”



Did Momo’s voice reach the Dragon?



Based on the Dragon’s frozen figure, I can confidently say that it did.



Since the Dragon has “Telepathy” and “Thought Resonation”, I speculated that it would be able to understand the words of those from other races, including humans and dogs.



Thankfully, I was right.



With this, we’ve cleared the first stage of the plan.



However, it’s still too early to be feeling relieved.



After all, it’s up to the Dragon whether or not to accept the preposition set forth by the Heavenly Voice.



If Momo manages to persuade the Dragon into accepting, the Dragon’s name should appear on the list of party members.



I’m keeping my status screen open at all times so that I can check if and when the Dragon accepts.



….As expected, its name isn’t on the screen.



I guess that would be the natural reaction.



No one in their right mind would accept after hearing something so suspicious.



But please, trust us.



Once you join our party, we can bring you into the “Safety Zone”.



You can heal your wounds there before setting out to battle Peony again.



“Wan! Wan! U~oooooooooooooon!”



“——”



Momo desperately appeals to the Dragon.



I don’t know whether the Dragon understands what Momo’s saying, but it probably does.



Momo doesn’t seem to have any trouble talking with Aka and Kiki, so she should also have a skill similar to “Thought Resonation”.



“Kyu! Kyu! Kyuuuu!”



“Gua!?”



“Wan! Wanwan! Kuun”



“Kyu! Kyu! Kyuuu!”



“———”



Kiki steps out of the “Shadow” to speak to the Dragon as well.



Kiki’s sudden appearance surprises the Dragon, but just like what happened with Momo, it doesn’t immediately try to attack her.



By the way, I’m a clone created by the main body using “The Art of Cloning”.



My role is to constantly check my status plate and report back to the main body by canceling the Ninjutsu the moment the Dragon decides to join the party [2].



The main body is busy dealing with Peony right now, so I, the clone, must keep an eye on the status plate.



Thanks to “Reduced MP Consumption”, the main body was able to summon one clone with the MP left over after using “The Art of Ginormous Growth”.



Even so, considering how rapidly the main body’s MP is depleting, we only have one more minute to spare.



Things are progressing much more quickly than I anticipated.



(Please…! Please quickly accept …!)



Suppressing the sense of urgency, I stare at Momo and Kiki intently.



Suddenly, a change occurs.



A tremendous amount of murderous intent oozes out from the Dragon’s body, giving me a chill to the bone.



(———!)



Next, the Dragon raises itself from the ground with evident anger…



“Guaaa…!”



…and exhales loudly.



That alone covers me in cold sweat and makes me shiver in fear.



Scary! Scary! Scary!



The overwhelming sense of dread makes me want to undo the Ninjutsu.



Precisely at that moment, the Dragon roars.



“GUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”



“~~~~~!!”



I somehow manage to remain standing.



Unfortunately, Momo and Kiki get directly hit by the roar and are blown away, rolling several times on the ground in the process.



“Momo! Kiki!”



“GAU!!”



When I rush forward to help them, the Dragon stops me in my path.



It slams its tail in front of me as if it’s warning me to back off.



Cracks have appeared on the ground where its tail has landed.



“…!”



No… I can’t afford to undo the Ninjutsu right now.



As things stand, Momo and Kiki will…!



“…Kuun.”



“…Kyu…Kyu.”



Momo and Kiki stand back up, wobbling.



They look my way, assuring me that they’re fine.



Momo’s eyes are telling me that she hasn’t given up yet, and so are Kiki’s.



“Wan! Wan!”



“Kyuuu! Kyu!”



“GUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”



Ignoring the shouts of Momo and Kiki, the Dragon blows them away once more.



However, they do not give in.



They stand back up time and time again to persuade the Dragon.



My chest feels like it’s getting crushed.



Damn it!



All I can do is stand here and watch.



As a clone, I can’t use skills or send out party applications.



Hence, I’m left with no choice but to put my trust in Momo and Kiki as I powerlessly watch on.



—Please! Work! WORK!



I pray desperately, clenching my teeth and curling my fist while my eyes are locked onto the status screen.



“W…Wan! WAOOOOOOOON!”



“Kyu…Kyuuu! Kyuu! KYUUUUUUU!”



“———”



Momo and Kiki have been thoroughly beaten up.



In just a few seconds, the Dragon has wounded Momo and Kiki with its roars.



Their bodies are tattered and riddled with injuries.



Even then, Momo and Kiki refuse to back up.



Their eyes are still alive.



Every time they get knocked down, they struggle back up, screaming, pleading, and begging with their sore throats.



“———”



It was then.



The Dragon suddenly twitches and twists its neck to stare at me.



Our gazes meet.



I shudder in fear, but I endure it to the best of my abilities.



If I look away now, I’m afraid that everything will be over



“Gua…”



The Dragon growls, slightly impressed.



For some reason, this gets on my nerves.



“—That’s enough from you…!”



I clench my fist very hard.



My patience is at its limit.



I glare at the Dragon.



“Agree to the message, you idiot Dragon! Do you understand what situation you’re in!? You’ll die if you stay like that! Everything’s over if you die! You want to fight, correct!? You want to beat that monster, correct!? Then join us! Join our party! FIGHT WITH USSSSSSSS!! ”



I bellow out a shout so loud that my voice cracks and my throat threatens to collapse.



“WAN! WANWANWAN! WANWANWAAAAAAN!”



“KYUU! KYUUU! KYUUUUUU!”



Momo and Kiki also cry in desperation.



“———”



It’s unclear whether or not our cries were able to reach the Dragon.



The Dragon opens its mouth—and lets loose a breath.



“—!?”



A split second later, Peony’s vines which were stealthily approaching us from behind gets burned down.



“…Huh?”



“GUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”



The Dragon’s roar shakes the heaven.



Did it just…protect us?



Our eyes meet once again.



The Dragon grins, not looking as sarcastic as before.



It’s the sort of grin that one would show an ally—



“—Could it be that…”



I check the status plate in a hurry.



At the very bottom of the list—



*****



Party Members



Momo



Dark Dog LV 3



Aka



Creation Slime LV 5



Ichinose Natsu



Newtype LV 2



Kiki



Carbuncle LV 2



Blue Dragon LV 38



*****



—the Dragon’s species name is proudly displayed.