CH 110

Chapter 110 – A Dragon Has Appeared!

“Hey, Melty-san.”

“What is it?”

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea to have dangerous monsters everywhere we go, you know?”

“Dangerous…?”

Melty tilted her head adorably.

“No, no, I won’t be fooled by that! Whoa, here it comes again!”

A large shadow flies from the sky. It has a reddish-bronze skin covered with scales, hind legs with tough-looking claws, huge wings with a membrane integrated with the front legs, a jaw that excludes vicious fangs, and a long tail with a sharply shining poisonous needle.

Now that I’ve said this, the wise among you will know what I’m talking about. Yes, it is the thing that is sometimes used as a mount in fantasy stories.

“It’s not safe on the mountain roads where the Wyverns feed! You need to think more about my safety!”

“Haha, it’s not dangerous. Come on, Kosuke-san, do your best.”

While I rolled around haphazardly to avoid the Wyvern’s attack, Melty laughed as she lightly dodged a tail with poisonous needles that flew at her with sharp movements.

“Damn it!”

I took out the assault rifle I had made just in case, pointed the muzzle at the Wyvern’s large body, and pulled the trigger.

A series of thunderous roars rang out, and a high-powered 7.62mm bullet shot out at about twice the speed of sound, tearing the tough, scale-covered skin of the Wyvern to shreds and laying waste to its body.

“GYAAAAAAA!”

“Dieeeee!”

The Wyvern dances in the air with a splash of blood. In the end, the Wyvern fell to the ground without power after a three-second dance of death. The area was filled with the smell of gunpowder and thick blood.

“That weapon is as impressive as ever.”

“There is a limit to the number of bullets I can use…”

I glare at her as I replace the empty banana-shaped magazine, but Melty doesn’t seem to be holding back at all and is smiling.

“Kosuke-san is acting like he’s a non-combatant who can’t fight, but you’ve got some pretty vicious fighting skills, don’t you?”

“No, no, I’m a non-combatant, okay? I don’t have any cheat abilities like infinite magic power, superb swordsmanship, or an indestructible body. All I can do is make things, carry a lot of stuff around empty-handed, and move a little strangely.”

“I think that’s enough.”

Apparently, she wasn’t going to listen to my desperate argument. I let out a sigh and put the dead Wyvern in my inventory, along with the assault rifle with the wooden muzzle.

The Wyvern material, which has been treated as useful material in various games, manga, and novels… is a little bit exciting. I’m looking forward to this evening.

“There is no safer way to go, is there?”

“When it comes to shortcuts that won’t get us tangled up in the Holy Kingdom’s army, the only way to go is through places like this. In particular, even if it’s a bit dangerous, we can get home quickly.”

“Gnunu.”

It was I who said that a road that allows us to return home quickly even if it is a bit dangerous is good. At that time, Melty asked me twice, “Are you sure about this?” I expected something to happen, but I didn’t expect it to be this dangerous.

“I’m taking the safest path possible, you know? You don’t want to go through a poisonous swamp with deadly gases or a forest with parasitic plants, do you?”

“I don’t want that.”

If I find myself in a situation like that, I might not be able to get out of it, you know?

“Compared to that, it’s better just to see the monsters, isn’t it?”

“Is that… so?”

“That’s right. I can take care of it if it comes to that.”

In fact, in the past, when I was in danger, Melty was always there to help me, so I couldn’t say anything more.

“Also, Kosuke-san, by fighting, you can raise your “level,” right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Since the massacre of the soldiers of the Holy Kingdom with the explosion block, I have rarely fought directly. I had stopped leveling up at 20, but I’ve gained three more levels in the last few days of fighting, and now I’m at 23.

I’ve also gained some skill points, so I’ve acquired some new skills and upgraded them as well.

★Skilled Worker――: Reduced crafting time by 20%.

・Demolition――: Increased the number of materials obtained when demolishing crafted items by 10%.

・Repairer――: Reduced item repair time by 20% and reduced the number of materials required by 20%.

★Mass Producer II――: Reduced the number of materials required to create 10 or more of the same item by 10%, or 20% for 100 or more items.

★Logger II――: Increased plant-based materials acquisition by 40%.

★Miner II――: Increased mineral-based material acquisition by 40%.

★Dismantler II――: Increased living organism material acquisition by 40%.

★Creators――: Reduced the difficulty of item creation.

★Strong Cardio-pulmonary Function II――: Increased stamina recovery speed by 40%.

★Agility II――: Increased movement speed by 20%.

・Strong Arm――: Increased melee attack power by 20%.

★Excellent Archer II――: Increased attack power from ranged weapons by 40%. ※LVL Up!

★Iron Skin――: Reduced damage taken by 20%.

★Survivor――: Increased health by 10%, increased health recovery speed by 20%. ※NEW!

・Medics――: Increased the effectiveness of recovery items by 20%.

・Reptile’s Stomach――: Reduced rate of hunger by 20%.

・Camel’s Hump――: Reduced rate of dryness by 20%.

That’s how it looks.

I raised the level of the excellent archer, which increases the power of ranged attacks, and acquired the new survivor skill. This should have improved my survival rate to a reasonable degree.

And now for the achievements.

・First Time Crafting――: Craft an item for the first time. ※Unlock a skill.

・First Time Dismantling――: Dismantle a crafted item for the first time. ※Unlock a skill.

・First Time Collecting――: Collect an item for the first time. ※Unlock a skill.

・First Time Mining――: Perform a mining operation for the first time. ※Unlock a skill.

・First Catch――: Acquire a living organism material for the first time. ※Unlock a skill.

・First Repair――: Repair an item for the first time. ※Unlock a skill.

・First Workbench――: Craft your first workbench. ※The first time you craft a workbench, you will be able to upgrade various workbenches and items, and add status, skill, and achievement items to the menu.

・First Blacksmithing Facility――: Craft your first blacksmithing facility. ※Unlock the item creation feature.

・Beginner Builder――: Place a total of 5000 building blocks. ※Unlock bulk storage feature. Unlock symmetrical mode.

・Intermediate Builder――: Place a total of 500000 building blocks. ※Unlock the Blueprint feature.

・First Union――: Union with the opposite sex for the first time. You like that, right? ※Increased strength and stamina by 10 points.

・Technician――: Satisfy your partner during the union. Not bad. ※Increased attack power against the opposite sex by 10%.

・Lady-Killer――: Received favor from 20 or more members of the opposite sex, Nice Boat. ※Increased attack power against the opposite sex by 10%.

・Tough Guy――: Reach level 20. A level where you can play the leading role in an action movie. ※Increased physical ability by 50%.

・First Murder――: Kill a human being for the first time. Murderer. ※Increased attack power against humans by 5%.

・Assassination――: Kill 100 humans without being detected. Now you’re a great assassin. ※Unlock the takedown feature.

・Mass Murderer――: Kills 100 or more humans at once. Well done! ※Increased attack power against humans by 10%.

・Hero――: Kills 300 humans alone. When you do this, you’re not just a murderer, are you? ※Increased all abilities of allies within a 100 meter radius by 10% and increased likability.

・Bomber――: Kill 100 living creatures with explosives. Boom! It’s fun, isn’t it? ※Increased damage dealt by explosives by 10%.

・Underground Man――: Spend 14 days or more in the underground. ※Improve your night vision. NEW!

・Poison Eater――: Receive a lethal poison, heal completely from the poisoned state without using an antidote, and survive. ※Reduced poison damage by 50%. NEW!

There were only two more, the Underground Man and the Poison Eater. Hmm, that’s not much of a growth, huh…? Should I be more proactive in acting strange?

I don’t want to jump from a high place or try to get seriously injured… or get hurt. For something a little more gentle, maybe diving for a long time? I don’t like the idea of drowning either. But swimming a lot might be a good idea. Let’s try it next time.

“So, let’s go for it.”

“When I get low on ammo, please take a safer route…”

“Yes. Please tell me about it as soon as possible.”

Will she go easy on me if I tell her? That would be like, “This is a chance to train for combat with weapons!” I can’t help but feel like I’m being taken to a moderately dangerous zone.

The first one was a goblin settlement… The second one was a forest that was the territory of a ferocious great ape, and the third one was a grassland where a giant mantis-shaped monster appeared. The enemies are getting stronger and bigger. And today, it’s Wyvern. Tomorrow, will we be attacked by a giant snake, a giant spider, or even a griffon?

“Erichburg is just a stone’s throw away once we cross this mountain.”

“Eh, really? It hasn’t even been a week yet.”

We’ve indeed been traveling in the same direction for a long time, but really? If we walked, it would be like a month, right?

“You seem surprised, but our travel speed is probably faster than a horse-drawn carriage. Moreover, we’re plowing straight through the monster territory, which is usually heavily circumvented.”

“I didn’t know that… Okay, let’s go!”

I’m getting motivated. If it comes to this, I’m ready for anything, even a Wyvern. I’m going to make a beehive out of anyone who gets in my way!

There was a time when I thought that too.

“I don’t think that’s possible.”

“Don’t worry. You can do it.”

Something was blocking our way.

It was a dragon with a pair of magnificent horns on its head that stood out majestically. It has ochre-colored skin with a lot of tough-looking scales. Vicious fangs peeked out from its mouth. The long tail with its hammer-like protrusions. Large, majestic wings.

Oh, I’ve seen one before. I’ve seen this kind of thing before. In a game where you become a hunter and hunt dragons like that. Isn’t this the one that attacks like a hurricane mixer from the ground? It looks a little like that, doesn’t it?

“No, impossible. That thing would kill me if it ran into me. The assault rifle is not going to work either.”

No matter how high the penetrating power of assault rifle bullets, it’s unlikely to penetrate the scales of that fellow.

“Since it is you, Kosuke-san, you have prepared a stronger weapon, haven’t you?”

“Yes, but?”

I let out a sigh and took out a weapon from my inventory that I thought would be effective against that Dragon.

It is a very famous rocket launcher that anyone who has seen an action movie will have seen at least once. To be precise, it is a recoilless cannon, and the warhead is accelerated by a rocket motor after it is fired… Let’s not get into the nitty-gritty.

“It looks like a magic wand.”

“Is there such a dangerous magic wand?”

“Isn’t a magic wand a dangerous thing?”

“…Is that so?”

It is true that in a world with magic, a magic wand might be a very dangerous thing.

“For now, I’ll give it a shot with this thing. It will probably scare it off, so Melty will have to finish it off quickly. How do you think about that strategy?”

“Yes. If we go easy on that thing, it might kill Kosuke-san.”

“Please don’t let it do that. By the way, can Melty beat that thing by herself?”

“If I can kill it before it flies away, probably.”

I think Melty is all that is needed. It’s not surprising, but then again, I can’t just hide behind her.

“Where do you want me to aim?”

“The face, neck, or chest. Or the base of the wing.”

“Okay.”

Anyway, it’s a good thing we’re downwind. If we had been upwind, the scent would have given away our position. That way, we wouldn’t have been able to take it by surprise.

I made up my mind and looked for an opening to attack from the shadows. It was hard to get a good sense of the distance between us because of its size, but it was probably about 100 meters away. This distance is well within the range of this rocket launcher.

The Dragon was wandering around restlessly, probably looking for something to do. From time to time, it would look around as if it was searching for something. Is it looking for something?

“This weapon is not suitable for sniping at all. I don’t know where it’s going to hit.”

“I’ll do something about it.”

“Okay… let’s go. Don’t stand right behind it; the blast will be too strong.”

“Okay.”

“All right… let’s shoot!”

I jumped out of the shadows, caught the Dragon in my sights, and tried to release the trigger. When the Dragon noticed my actions, it turned its attention to me and gave me a shocked look.

“Yeah…?”

The Dragon gestures as if to say, “Wait, you will understand if we talk.” There was something wrong with it.

“Hey, Melty. What’s wrong with that Dragon?”

“Eh…? It doesn’t seem to be attacking us.”

“It looks like it’s scared or wants to avoid a fight.”

Could it be that it senses Melty’s overwhelming karate? I wondered.

“What do you think? I mean, have you ever fought a dragon before?”

“No, this is my first time. I’ve never even met one.”

“Well, aren’t dragons supposed to be so smart they can understand human language?”

That Dragon in our path seemed to be saying, “Yes, that’s it!” It’s desperately pointing the fingers of its paws, which are quite small in relation to its body, towards me.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing…”

“But it clearly understands what I’m saying, doesn’t it? See?”

The Dragon nodded its head at my words.

“Look, it’s nodding.”

“Eeeh…”

Melty looked puzzled. The image of dragons is indeed strong and violent. But there are a lot of dragons that you can talk to, in stories and the like. I wonder if it’s different in this world.

“Why don’t you say something to it?”

“Well, raise your right hand, please.”

The Dragon did not raise its right hand in accordance with Melty’s words. It tilted its head as if it did not understand what she was saying.

“Don’t you understand what Melty said? She said to raise your right hand.”

The Dragon nodded at my words and then raised its right hand. Could this be it?

“I think it only understands my words, this guy.”

“I see…?”

The Dragon nodded again as if to say, “Yes, that’s it!” It pointed its finger at me again.

“You can talk to dragons, Kosuke-san? That’s a new ability.”

“It’s great, but I don’t think it’s going to be very useful.”

Why? I don’t think about it. It’s a waste of time to think about it. There are a lot of things I don’t know about my ability in the first place. But if I dare to think of a reason, I have no idea what it might be.

“I’m from a different world, but I was able to communicate with Sylphy and the others right from the start.”

“Right?”

“I can read and write for some reason. Even though I don’t know any of the characters.”

“I see. Are you saying that you can read, write and speak all the languages of this world?”

“It’s possible. Don’t you think so?”

“Eh? Then perhaps you can understand the mistress’s language as well?”

Gao! I can hear a voice like a young girl overlapping with the roar. The volume is huge. My ears are going crazy.

“Speak a little quieter, please. And your breath stinks.”

“Stinks? How dare you speak like that to a maiden?”

The Dragon’s mouth gapes open in astonishment. Whoa, its fangs are really sharp.

“Isn’t it dangerous, Kosuke-san?”

“No, we’re just talking to each other… Can I go through here for now?”

When I asked, the Dragon suddenly bared its fangs and slumped down.

“Kukuku, you want to pass through my territory? It looks like you don’t care about your life.”

“It may be a kind of evil dragon after all. Melty-san, please.”

“Yes.”

Melty, with both hands glowing fiercely, took a step forward with a smile.

“Wait, wait, forgive me, you’re a demon species, right? Then it’s really dangerous, isn’t it? I don’t like pain, and I don’t want to die!”

This guy’s tone is not stable… What should we do now?