“What is this place?”
I let out a sigh and sat on the huge body that rolled around at my feet, exhaling a sigh I had lost count of.
Knowing this was only a brief respite, I didn’t let my guard down and kept an eye on my surroundings, but this was just too much.
The deeper you go into the Dragon King’s Dungeon, the more unreasonable it becomes, to the point where I couldn’t help but grumble.
I felt like smoking a cigarette, but the smell of tobacco is so strong that even humans can detect it.
If I were to smoke in a place like this, it would immediately attract other dragons.
I’m not so much of a masochist as to smoke in a situation where I know the outcome, so I reluctantly gave up, lamenting in my heart.
“This is strange. I feel like I’m fighting more than hiding and running away.”
Time had passed since I descended into the canyon, and just as I thought I might be nearing the bottom.
It wasn’t about the enemies getting stronger or the traps being brutal.
Monsters were constantly fighting each other.
Territorial disputes, fights over females, or sometimes just because their eyes met – it was a scene that made me think of a struggle between anti-social organizations.
The fight with the Basilisk earlier felt almost quaint in comparison.
However, I’d rather not get caught up in a battle between giant dragons.
I want to ask, what kind of battlefield is this, where a stray breath attack could come flying at me?
Frankly, there’s no point in hiding.
“Is this a jar of poisonous insects? The fierce fighting between friends is insane.”
What’s more, perhaps because of the constant fighting, the individual strength of the dragons is higher than in the upper layers.
I’ve heard that life is refined through struggle, but I lament that the dungeon doesn’t need to improve its quality through such a survival competition.
Sadly, this defensive network, born from the survival competition, is proving effective to a certain extent.
Whether it was the Dragon King’s intention, I don’t know, but the dungeon’s performance has improved, so I’m debating whether to submit it as an improvement proposal.
The fact that I am steadily being worn down and that my search for the Ore Tree is encountering difficulties is the best evidence.
Take one step forward, and two dragons are fighting.
Take two steps forward, and three dragons are entwined, biting each other.
Take three steps forward – it was as if I was encountering a chaotic brawl of dragons with every step I took, the bottom of the canyon was truly apocalyptic.
I felt like crying, wondering why I dropped an Ore Tree in a place like this.
I don’t know if it’s here or not, but judging from the areas I’ve searched so far, if I haven’t missed anything, it’s definitely further ahead.
If it’s not there, I’ll cry. I’ll discard all shame and cry.
With an elderly-sounding grunt, I stood up from the body of the Blood variant Basilisk I had just defeated, which was larger than usual. My break was over.
As I resumed my exploration.
“Beyond here, huh?”
Descending further from this point would naturally increase the level of danger.
Considering the path I’ve taken so far, I’m running out of patience with not knowing what else might appear ahead.
The Dragon King’s Dungeon boasts a vast area, and surprisingly, it was even deeper below. With Basilisks and Hydras, and dragons of species I’d never seen before, I was starting to feel more weary of what would come next than anxious.
Fortunately or unfortunately, this is a place where there is constant conflict.
It’s a small mercy that I won’t be immediately noticed by the Dragon King even if I cause some commotion during a brawl.
However, I also know that if I get carried away and fight with all my might, I’ll probably be noticed. With that in mind, I checked the condition of my injuries and proceeded, thinking I’d go as far as I could. It was there that I found it.
“……What is this place?”
A gently sloping path. As I proceeded, I felt an abnormal sense of vigilance at the scene before me.
The air felt different.
Something else, distinct from the Dragon King.
I could only tell that it was incredibly dangerous.
“Is this a graveyard?”
A panorama of dragon corpses.
All of them were skeletal, but each was a colossal dragon.
There wasn’t a shred of sacred atmosphere, nor was there the stagnant air characteristic of the deceased.
It was an atmosphere that was hard to describe.
All I knew was that it felt jarringly abnormal.
I hadn’t expected to find something like this at the bottom of the valley.
“But why are there so many corpses?”
Originally, all monsters within dungeons are basically composed of souls, which are made of magic power.
Unless they are Undead, upon defeat, they generally return to magic power, except for certain parts.
They should be using this to minimize the decrease of magic power within the dungeon and to replenish their fighting strength, creating a cycle.
Therefore, the fact that such remains are left behind means that a large number of Blood variants are being left here.
“There were many unusually strong individuals. Does that mean they were all Blood variants?”
If I could call it the surface layer, most of the dragons I fought in the upper part of the valley returned to magic power.
So, all the opponents I fought were souls.
However, the further down I went into the valley, the fewer individuals returned to magic power.
This means that the number of Blood variants has increased, which puts a strain on the dungeon.
The magic power required to turn lower-class monsters into Blood variants is nearly ten times that of the soul variants from which they are derived.
The stronger the source material, the more difficult and costly it is to generate Blood variants.
The magic power produced within the dungeon is immense, but it is not infinite.
It makes me wonder if they can afford such an excessive cost to create what looks like a graveyard of dragon corpses in a limited environment.
“Or perhaps…”
At that moment, a disturbing thought crossed my mind, and a cold sweat trickled down my spine.
If this graveyard itself were a trap of the dungeon, it would make sense and be understandable.
“Does a bad premonition tend to come true?”
My intuition is telling me the same thing.
The countless dragon bones. If they are not yet dead, this is not a graveyard, but rather…
“Perhaps the analogy of ‘poisonous insects’ is not entirely wrong, is it?”
Making Blood variants fight doesn’t just make their species stronger.
It’s an offering to the dragons living in this place.
The flow of magic power surrounding me changed. The quiet atmosphere instantly transformed into a tempest.
The flow of magic power alone swirled with enough energy to unleash multiple great spells.
Magic power turned into air currents, kicking up dust and creating tornadoes. Protecting my injured right hand, I condensed magic power and created a rudimentary barrier.
This could block the gale caused by the vortex of magic power, but there was nothing I could do about the immense pressure that threatened to suck me in.
Fighting against that current, striving not to be drawn in, for several seconds.
“……I wish my bad premonitions would prove me wrong.”
As the dust cleared, a warning I had felt many times before erupted from me, accompanied by my desperate hope.
“■■■■■■■■■■■■■■!!!”
A Skeleton Dragon, perhaps?
A colossal dragon formed by the aggregation of thousands of dragon bones.
Or rather…
“Is this Yamata no Orochi?”
Eight distinct heads, a torso supporting those heads, and a tail stretching so long it threatened to fill the valley.
It was a mass of magic power, hard to believe it was made of bone.
Merely its roar made the ground tremble.
Despite being connected by bones, it was a complete dragon.
I thought it was a kind of art.
“I might be dead.”
If I were in perfect condition, there might have been a chance of survival, but this was punishment for venturing too deep.
I had encountered something terrifying.
“……Seriously?”
I had encountered such a being.
If it were just that, I might have still held out some hope, but the coloring of the breath in its mouth made my own mouth twitch.
Black, blue, green, red, yellow, white, and to top it off, purple and gray.
I didn’t have time to figure out which attribute was which.
What was needed now was…
“Multi-attribute breath? That’s cheating!”
To escape with all my might.
Breath attacks of opposing attributes were unleashed simultaneously.
If I didn’t run away with all my might, I’d be reduced to ash.
Without caring about appearances, I turned on my heel and bolted at full speed.
And the moment it hit the spot where I had been just moments before, all color and sound vanished from the world, and a massive explosion shook the canyon.
“Gah! Haa… What kind of attack is that? This thing is more powerful than the Dragon King, at this rate.”
Blown away by the impact, buried in rubble, and further injured by the shock, I finally managed to crawl out and tried to inhale fresh air, but I ended up inhaling the swirling dust and choked.
It was a miracle that I wasn’t obliterated.
“This isn’t a matter of a single strike changing the landscape.”
I wondered if I could possibly win against something like this.
Because it was made of bone, I thought there might be a chance in terms of durability, but since it was dragon bone, I dismissed that thought.
It wasn’t just a crater; a giant hole was opened, as if it were going to create a massive lake in the canyon.
I was blown away by the explosion that created it, and I looked down at the hole. On the opposite bank, the perpetrator of that destruction was destroying everything in sight.
“They say you shouldn’t provoke a god, but who would dare approach that place?”
Thinking of it as a true kaiju movie, I watched the opposite bank with my magic-enhanced eyes.
“Ah, another dragon was obliterated.”
A red dragon, likely a fire dragon, attacked from the sky but was completely vaporized by the saturation of breath attacks, leaving no trace.
It was less a disaster and more a natural calamity.
Or perhaps something gone berserk.
However, it was strange, but seeing it rampaging indiscriminately, whether friend or foe, suggested it wasn’t under control.
In fact, it seemed to be in a rampage.
As I continued to observe it, I noticed something familiar near the base of its tail.
“No, no, no, no, no. Seriously? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
I forced myself to believe it was a lie and stared intently, enhancing my vision with magic as if looking through binoculars, to clearly see the object lodged in the base.
“Why is it stuck there, partner?”
Is this the kind of thing that unbelievable realities are made of?
That dragon, the temporarily named Yamata no Orochi, turned its back momentarily. That’s when I glimpsed it, a single item.
There was no mistaking it; it was my partner.
The only difference was that the roots that usually wrap around me were now entwined around that bone.
“This isn’t the time to question if you’re cheating. What am I going to do? Getting that back is not just difficult, it’s impossible.”
Can a person retrieve something that has fallen into lava with their bare hands?
Can you retrieve something that has fallen to a depth of 1,000 meters in the deep sea?
Can you retrieve something that was ejected at speeds approaching light speed, breaking the sound barrier?
The answer to all of these would be: “Impossible.”
“…However, you know. If I gave up for such a reason, I wouldn’t have come this far.”
But that’s the general answer.
What if the object that fell into the lava was unharmed, and more importantly, a precious keepsake?
What if the item sunk to the deep sea was a gift from a beloved lover?
What if the item ejected at near light speed was a package containing a check for 100 million yen?
With such value attached, humans will strive to achieve the impossible, the unreasonable, and the reckless, all at once.
Annoyed by my own stubbornness, I grunted and stood up from the rock I was sitting on, after emerging from the rubble.
“It’s become quite the scenic view.”
Thanks to the temporarily named Yamata no Orochi, the view has opened up considerably.
The only obstacles are the rubble generated when I was blown away.
Other than that, there’s nowhere to hide, and the light filtering down from the sky is drastically different from before.
If I stand in a place like this, I might be spotted by other dragons, but I can’t afford to worry about that right now.
The battle is a single moment.
There is only one chance.
I constructed a winning strategy in my mind.
“The probability… I don’t even need to think about it.”
I hoped for at least a single-digit chance, and in my heart, I resolved to draw out that slim probability.
“Might as well have one.”
Everything was obliterated, and I couldn’t afford to worry about being noticed. Resigned, I took out an intact cigarette from my chest and put it in my mouth, lighting it.
I inhaled the smoke deeply, savored it, held it in, and then exhaled.
The purple smoke drifted around and slowly vanished.
Enjoying a cigarette while watching a monster was also quite an experience, I thought, savoring the cigarette for a while.
Then, I put the smoked cigarette into my portable ashtray.
With a wry smile, I followed the basic etiquette of a smoker and then shifted my focus.
“Well then, let’s go.”
For a moment, I almost said “I will go to hell,” but I quickly dismissed that thought with a wry smile.
Then, with a serious expression, I concentrated, honed my magic power, and reinforced my body.
No holding back.
I would expend all my magic power and stamina.
With that resolve, I sprinted forward with all my might.
A high-magic body approaching at high speed.
Upon noticing such a thing, anyone would take defensive measures.
And the temporarily named Yamata no Orochi was no exception.
To the approaching enemy, there was no mercy as it unleashed a rain of breath attacks.
Dodging that rain, I moved my legs with all my might.
“All I have to do is run through and rip out the Ore Tree on its back! Go a little easier on me!!”
I yelled my futile complaints at my opponent and ran with all my might.
Initially, I closed the distance of about three kilometers. The denser the rain of breath attacks became, and the fewer gaps there were to dodge. By the time I was less than a kilometer away, it had become so dense that if I wasn’t grazed, I would have dodged it.
I coated my body surface with magic power to reduce damage, but it was impossible to completely nullify it.
Damage accumulated, and my less-than-optimal body deteriorated further.
It was far away. The distance that would normally take seconds to cover.
It was painful. Even breathing was becoming difficult.
I knew that taking a breath would slow me down, so all I could do was keep moving forward at full speed.
The final hundred meters. Judging that the breath attacks would be difficult to avoid after traversing this distance, I decided to push through without even thinking about dodging, embracing the resolve to simply run through.
I created a magic barrier in front of me and charged headlong.
And then.
“!? ”
I was enveloped in light.
A word for today:
Just one more step, just one more step.
Thank you as always for your corrections of typos and for your comments.
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*The first volume of this novel has been published by Hayakawa Bunko JA and was released on October 18, 2018.
The e-book version was 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 Shousetsuka ni Narou, with the addition of unpublished inter-chapters.
Please check out the new releases!
The manga adaptation is being serialized in Kodansha’s “Young Magazine The Third”.
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