I’ve learned from past experiences and the teachings of my instructors about the precautions to take when fighting large dragon species.
But.
“Kahahaha!”
My instructors also told me this: acting after thinking makes you second-rate. I understand and agree with that sentiment, as I’ve experienced it many times, and my body naturally puts it into practice. It’s the same now; I instinctively avoid an attack that’s only inches from my nose and counter. That’s because if I were to visually assess and choose my actions, it would be too late. In manga, you often see characters agonizing over what to do, but in reality, there’s no time for that. Perhaps it’s the massive adrenaline rush, but with a clearer vision than usual, I’m able to face the dragon’s attacks, and my body executes those teachings automatically. There’s no need to think. My accumulated experience reacts instinctively. How to deal with immense mass, how to cut through hard scales, the sharpness of claws, the hardness of fangs, the sheer strength, the characteristics of dragons. I’m dealing with them not with my head but with my spine. Otherwise.
“Am I going to die here?! If I make even one wrong move, I’m dead!”
Even as I inwardly laugh at the thought of these creatures not being the kind you’d encounter in the shallows of a dungeon, I swing my ore tree weapon like a spring. Despite facing a smaller prey, the dragon’s attacks are fierce, driven by its territorial imperative to eliminate intruders. My instincts scream that every single one of them is lethal. One hit means instant death; I’ll be finished before I can even endure it. On the other hand, my own attacks barely scratch the dragon unless I go all out. Such wounds are insignificant to a dragon. But can I attack with full power all the time? Often, I can only avoid the dragon’s devastating attacks by narrowly dodging its wide swings, and opportunities to land a decisive blow are few. This is where the difference in natural abilities between humans and dragons is evident. But.
“Kaha.”
I can feel my mouth smiling. My eyes are wide open, and I can tell I’m excited. Though I’m bombarded by the dragon’s roars to the point where my ears ache, I can hear my heart pounding. Ah, I was indeed a disciple of those beings.
“I never thought I’d be fighting three dragons at once! It’s so fun, I can’t stop laughing!”
Even facing three adult dragons, there’s no fear; only the overwhelming joy of this moment. I dodged the lashing tail, leaped onto it, and tried to slash it, but I saw a flash of emerald scales and jumped back. For a moment, I saw a scene where sharp claws were tearing through the space where I had been just seconds before, but that’s nothing new. A chill of sweat runs down my face, but I ignore it, as more threats are falling upon me.
“Ah! Good! Good!”
I swing my ore tree, unburdened by these threats. After the sharp, gusting claws came a foreleg, so hard it looked like a block of steel, exuding immense pressure. It crushes the air as it approaches, and I meet it.
“Kyaaaargh!”
With a monkey’s roar, my ore tree clashes with its foreleg. Physically speaking, considering the size difference and the weapon’s size, I should be at a disadvantage. But that can be defied. Even if I’m physically outmatched, I can resist the added force of gravity with my body, enhanced by magic circulation. With a clang, like metal striking metal, sparks fly, and my hands go numb from the impact. I manage to blow away the steel dragon that came crashing down. In a brief pause, a moment of respite, I take in the much-needed oxygen. A few minutes after encountering the red dragon, the Flame Dragon, a Wind Dragon appeared in the sky, and a few minutes after that, a Steel Dragon emerged by burrowing through the ground.
“So heavy! My hands are going numb!”
Stumbling back, I create distance while the opponent, with its rocky, steel-covered face, regains its composure. Its sharp eyes pierce me from beneath its mountain-like form, and it growls menacingly. A wind blows from behind the colossal moving mountain of a dragon. Though smaller than the Flame Dragon, it is agile, manipulates the wind, and is faster than any other dragon here. It’s the Wind Dragon. It darts and weaves freely, unhindered by the confined space. Its emerald scales glint in the light, forming a formidable blade that attacks me.
“Hahaha! Three dragons against one human. This is quite the spread!”
I deflect its deadly blade with my ore tree, using its momentum to leap back and ascend the cliff face, utilizing the terrain of the valley. Before it can escape into the sky, I overshoot it and slash down. “Too shallow!” In the air, I’m at a significant disadvantage. It flips its body with a lightness that makes the initial Wyvern seem sluggish, dodging my one-stroke slash. However, it couldn’t evade it completely, and a sliver of my attack drew a line on its back, causing the Wind Dragon to shriek and blood to spurt out. “Harder to pierce because it’s wreathed in wind, but still, one after another! There’s no time to think!” I grumble about the Wind Dragon’s wind armor, but I have no time to celebrate the fact that my attack landed. To escape the primal killing intent coming from below, I unleash wind magic, propelling myself towards the valley. “Ngh!?” At the same time, flames erupt from below. Landing on the rock face, I see the colossal red body from which the flames originated, but I have no time to observe further. The flames, which I dodged while in mid-air, fell chasing me. The rocks in their path turned red, and some parts were melting, depending on the time elapsed. It’s clear that if I stopped, I would suffer the same fate. To escape those flames, I run up the wall as if it were the ground, ignoring gravity. As I run, I time my actions while looking at the Flame Dragon spewing fire. “But it won’t be that easy…” I can’t afford to be wary of only the Flame Dragon. The other two, currently exposed to flames, aren’t attacking. I glance up to see the Wind Dragon hovering, its wings beating, ready to strike, and the Steel Dragon pounding its tail on the ground, waiting. What a balanced lineup. However, doing nothing in this situation is meaningless. I need to become stronger. Specifically, what form should I take?
“If it’s the Dragon King’s Dungeon, I might be able to grasp something.”
Deciding whether Evia-san’s words are true or in vain depends on my actions. Perhaps impatient with my evasive maneuvers, the intensity of the flames increases. “Connect.” It’s time to stop holding back. I extend the roots of my ore tree and wrap them around my arm. Connecting with the ore tree increases its power, but temporarily reduces my total magical power. And while circulating magic and constantly sending it to the ore tree improves its quality, my recovery can’t keep up, and it diminishes. If my previous state was a normal combat state where I could use magic freely, this state is a decisive battle state.
“Armor magic, clad, torrent of water.”
Having completed the connection with the ore tree, a path to it is formed within my internal circulation system. I feel a slight sense of fatigue, but also an increase in purity, and my body begins to feel taut. Then, I construct an advanced water magic using the purified magic power. Though casting without an incantation consumes even more magic, swift action is required here.
“Robe of the Torrent.”
And so, the water armor is complete. Raging currents protect me and erode anything they touch with their torrent. With that armor.
“Pushing forward!!”
I’m going for a breakthrough. My evasive footwork turns into the force of a charge. Cracks like a spider’s web form on the rock wall I used as footing. The place I leap to is met by the Flame Dragon’s breath, at maximum output, as if waiting. The flames engulf me instantly, and my vision becomes entirely fire. The water armor is hot but holding, but it won’t last long. The armor is slowly being stripped away, incrementally chipping away at my life. Furthermore, the force of the breath is killing my momentum, and I’m gradually stalling. But, this is good.
“I’ve got your neck!!!!”
If the breath is coming straight at me, then that means it’s a straight path to my throat. Bringing my right shoulder back, I pull the hilt to my chest. The stance is a thrust. Using the footing made of magic, I step forward with my left and right feet and thrust the tip of my drawn ore tree forward.
“Sea God’s Point!!”
The release of the armor magic happens at that moment. If the timing is even slightly off, I’ll be roasted. The moment I thrust my ore tree, the breath momentarily stalls due to the swordsmanship pressure, and a void is created. A spiraling water current extends in a straight line. It looks like plain water. But do not underestimate it. Despite its appearance, the water’s speed is immense, and this compressed, single stream, propelled by its spiral momentum, slices through the breath and pierces the Flame Dragon’s skull. This attack, with a water pressure tens of times higher than a water cutter, tears through the dragon’s body from the inside.
“Not yet!!”
Using the constructed footing again, I swing the long water blade and cleave through the Wind Dragon’s wing, along with its wind armor, which was caught off guard. A sudden, extending sword flash. The Wind Dragon, unable to react, falls to the ground.
“Second target!!”
Ignoring the sluggish Steel Dragon, I focus solely on moving forward with all my might. I adjust my posture in mid-air and construct footing for the third time. Leaning forward, I bring my ore tree behind me and prepare to swing it sideways, then leap. Bursting through the wall of wind, I rapidly approach the falling Wind Dragon. The scales of victory have tipped. But I won’t be complacent.
“Flying in that state!”
Because it’s a dragon. The Wind Dragon, as its name suggests, controls the wind. The Wind Dragon, gaining artificial wings of wind, furiously beats its mismatched wings, forcing its falling posture to stabilize and turning its long neck towards me, baring its fangs to exact revenge for its severed wing. I’m about to plunge into its wide-open maw. Still, I.
“But, too late!!”
Smiling, intimidating with my eyes, I swing my blade at a range where it can’t reach before my sword does. I hid it from its line of sight with my body. The blade of water, the Sea God’s remnant, swung from my waist to the other side, fulfilling its final duty and disappearing, simultaneously severing the Wind Dragon’s jaw. The headless Wind Dragon falls to the ground for good. And, obeying gravity, I land on the ground, but the ground shakes. No.
“Quite the presence!!”
The last remaining Steel Dragon, shaking the ground with its advance, charges with surprising speed, considering its immense weight. I can’t imagine its total tonnage, and I certainly can’t stop it. About ten meters to the rock wall. If I’m pushed against the wall, I’ll be crushed to death, or rather, minced. At this point, the armor magic won’t be ready. Therefore, between avoiding and confronting, avoiding is the wise choice. But.
“I’m not going to run, am I!!”
I discard that wise choice. Most people would laugh at this choice as foolish. But that’s fine. I have to make a foolish choice into a correct one to survive. I understand this instinctively. That if I run away now, I’ll gain nothing. Even if my process is ridiculed, I will have the last laugh with the results. As if to show that resolve, I lower my stance, apply just the right amount of force to my limbs, and leap forward like a flexible bow releasing an arrow. Although it should be an instantaneous crossing, my vision focuses on the steel dragon slowly approaching. If I can’t cut that, I lose. What a simple battle, I think, discarding all extraneous thoughts other than cutting. My heart is hot, my head is cold. Bringing myself to my peak condition naturally calms my mind. And, stepping into that state, I swing my ore tree down from a high stance and pass through the being before me.
“…”
No, I didn’t just pass through. I passed through the dragon. As I land, feeling the sensation of the ground sliding beneath my feet, and the lingering feeling of having barely cut through its resistance, I look back.
“As expected of a dragon, it doesn’t fall easily.”
Despite being cut vertically, its massive body didn’t fall; its body supported itself, returning to mana. Leaving behind the remnants of what looked like metallic mineral chunks. I feel respect for its form and give a slight bow, gently picking up one of those bowling ball-sized chunks and waiting there for a new dragon to appear.
“Kekeke, what? You managed to cut down the Steel Dragon, remarkably well done, human.”
But at the moment I hear that voice, I ready my ore tree and survey my surroundings.
“This way, this way. I wondered why the Oni King and the Undead King were training a human, but I see, an interesting toy.”
The speaker, sitting cross-legged leisurely, tail wagging, looked down from above the valley, scoffing.
“Dragon King.”
“Oh, I am the lord of this dungeon, the Dragon King. Now, human, die for now.”
“…”
And I respond to the death sentence thrown at me by silently readying my ore tree.
Today’s word: Time flies when you’re engrossed.
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*The first volume of the book is published by Hayakawa Bunko JA. It was released on October 18, 2018.
The e-book version was also released on October 31 of the same year.
The second volume was released on December 19.
The third volume was released on February 20, 2019.
The content has been revised and expanded from the version posted on “Shosetsuka ni Naro,” with the addition of an unpublished interlude.
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A comic adaptation is being serialized in Kodansha’s “Young Magazine The Third.”
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