Crystal Earth
“Don’t stray too far—gather them somewhere we can keep an eye on each other. There’s no telling what kind of monsters might be out here.”
At Celion’s words, several of the group glanced up at the sky, clearly remembering the sky whale they had glimpsed for only a moment when they first arrived.
Celion’s team split into pairs of two and began to scatter. The work of collecting samples of the newly discovered crystal stones—each a different color—had begun in earnest.
I ended up moving with Noel.
“Shall we get started as well?”
“Ah… y-yes.”
With Celion’s order in place, there was no need to go far. Looking around, everyone was already taking samples of the crystal stones from nearby spots.
I found a suitable place with Noel, settled in, and began collecting. The crystal stones were extremely hard, yet a few firm taps at the root made them break free with surprising ease.
“Um… Ceris?”
“Yes?”
“Do you… by any chance…”
I stopped mid-harvest and looked at her. Noel met my eyes, lips working as if she were wrestling with something she wasn’t sure she should say.
“Did you put on perfume…?”
“Pardon…?”
That was the last question I had expected. Perfume? I didn’t own anything of the sort.
I had braced myself for questions about my changed body, or about the fight with the King. Apparently that wasn’t what was on her mind at all.
“Do I smell… strange?”
“Ah, yeah. It’s like… a faint scent of fire, I guess?”
“Fire?”
“D-don’t get the wrong idea! I wasn’t trying to sniff you on purpose or anything…”
“I know. It’s only natural for someone’s scent to carry when you’re working close by.”
“R-right…”
“But a fire scent… You don’t mean I smell like something burnt, do you?”
“No, not that. It’s more like… ugh, it’s hard to put into words.”
I tilted my head and sniffed the air myself, but I couldn’t catch whatever “fire scent” Noel was talking about.
“Hmm… how do I explain this… Around here, the air is thick with the heavy smell of earth and the bright, sharp scent of iron, right?”
Noel paced near the crystal stones, muttering as if the words themselves frustrated her. She let out a small sigh, clearly annoyed by her own inability to describe it.
Then she suddenly turned around.
The look on her face was that of someone who had just found something.
“Noel?”
“It’s the scent of pure white iron…”
“What?”
She didn’t answer. She only kept sniffing the air, eyes fixed on the far distance. In the same instant, Nightmare—who had been carrying me—lifted his head and stared in the exact same direction.
That was when it appeared.
Far off, something glittering pure white came into view. It was flying through the sky.
With every passing second its bulk grew larger, until the distance closed enough for us to make out its shape.
“A dragon…?”
I stared at the approaching figure, murmuring the word in a daze. Its body was sheathed in pure white crystal stone, yet the silhouette was unmistakably draconic.
Of course, it was far smaller than the true dragons I had faced myself, or the Calvein I had seen in the memories of mana.
“Th-that’s it! That’s the one giving off the white iron scent!”
Bwoooooom—!
The crystal dragon’s flight speed was terrifying. It beat its massive wings and shot straight over our heads. The wind pressure was so fierce I nearly tumbled from Nightmare’s back.
In its wake, pure white mana scattered like dust. Only then did I understand what Noel had been saying. The mana of Monster Island had given her a sense of smell that could detect mana itself.
“That direction…”
I frowned as I watched the crystal dragon fly on. It was heading straight for the pioneer corps’ base camp—without the slightest hesitation.
“Don’t tell me…”
Every adventurer who had been scattered across the area turned their gaze toward the same point. The pure white crystal dragon made no attempt to hide its presence; it simply flooded the air with its overwhelming existence.
[KRAAAAAAAAAH!!!]
The mouth that had been silent until now gaped wide, and a colossal roar tore free. The sound slammed into my eardrums like a physical blow; my legs nearly gave out. Monster Fear rode on that cry.
“Fall back!”
Celion’s urgent shout rang out. No one asked where. Every adventurer who had been scattered across the field turned and sprinted toward the same place.
Kuuung—!
But the crystal dragon was faster. It landed on the base camp with a force far greater than I had expected. Its massive legs and tail swept about, shattering the pens that had held captured monsters and sending research materials flying in every direction.
“Aaaagh!”
“Ghk—! Kuh…!”
The scholars who had been working at the camp died almost instantly. Before the blood on the ground had even cooled, the adventurers arrived.
[KUWAAAAAH!]
The crystal dragon unleashed another savage scream at the humans surrounding it. At the same time, the crystal stones covering its body began to shift with a sharp crack-crack-crack.
“A-attack! Protect the research! Drive it off!”
Without waiting for orders, the adventurers charged. In that instant a primal sense of danger stabbed through me—as if a razor-sharp blade were already resting against my throat.
I yanked Nightmare’s reins and threw us both behind a massive pile of crystal stones.
A heartbeat later, a blinding light flared, and pure white crystal shards shot out in every direction.
Puh-buh-buh-buk—!
I carefully peered out from behind the pile. Many of the adventurers who had rushed the dragon now lay impaled by white crystal spikes. Large sections of the crystal armor that had covered the dragon’s body were gone.
It had used its own plating as weapons.
“Ugh… aaagh…”
“Hah… kuh… s-save…”
Those pierced through the arms or legs were the lucky ones. The ones whose chests or bellies had been run through spilled dark blood and entrails as they died.
The crystal dragon roared again.
[KROROROROH!]
The surrounding mana convulsed and began to pour toward it. The gathered mana condensed over its body, then cracked and grew into fresh crystal stone with a harsh crack-crack.
“Tch—!”
Celion shot forward. Her upper body twisted, and a long trail of blue light stretched behind her blade.
Jjeoeong—!
[KRORAAAH!]
The crystal dragon screamed and staggered back a step. A portion of the crystal covering its face shattered and fell away.
With Celion’s strike, the humans’ counterattack began. Valder and the other team leaders pressed the dragon hard, and their teammates’ attacks followed in a relentless wave.
After a brief hesitation I sheathed the sword in my hand and drew Storm Bringer from where it hung at Nightmare’s side.
The greatsword’s weight settled heavily into my grip, yet even without reinforcing my body with mana I could swing it.
“Let’s go!”
The moment I pulled the reins, Nightmare understood and exploded into a full gallop. His speed was blistering; the open, obstacle-free ground let him reach his absolute limit in an instant.
Thud-thud-thud—!
The heavy beat of his crystal hooves closed the distance in heartbeats. The instant we came within range I poured everything into a single swing. Mana surged from my heart, reinforcing my waist and arms for one explosive instant.
Kwaddeuk—!
Storm Bringer’s edge smashed into the crystal dragon’s head and tore free again.
[KRAAAAAAH!]
The moment the blow landed I had to yank Nightmare’s reins hard. The thrashing dragon’s body flashed once more.
Paaaat—! The brighter the light it emitted, the longer our shadows stretched across the ground.
I bit my lip and leapt from Nightmare’s back. No matter how fast he was, I judged we could never dodge an attack launched at point-blank range.
My judgment was correct.
Flash—!
A colossal burst of light erupted, and dozens of crystal shards shot straight at us.
My heightened senses caught every trajectory at once. Muscles contracted and released in rapid succession, granting explosive speed, while mana flooded every inch of my body.
The mana that poured from me whipped up a fierce wind, letting me change direction with impossible abruptness.
Left to right.
I swept Storm Bringer in a wide arc; every crystal flying toward me shattered. But I didn’t stop. More shards were still streaking toward Nightmare and me.
The blade that had swung right reversed direction under a sudden release of mana. Riding a blast of wind pressure, it cut toward the upper left.
Pababak—!
The same scene repeated. The broad sweep of the greatsword smashed crystals, then moved again to smash more.
White crystal fragments scattered like snow. In that brief opening a single thin shard shot through, too fast to dodge. It grazed my cheek and buried itself in Nightmare’s hind leg.
Puk—!
Purrruk—
“Ha…”
When the storm of crystals finally ended, I looked back. Nightmare still stood in place even with a crystal the size of my forearm lodged in his hind leg.
Red blood ran down the trembling limb. He snorted roughly, as if insisting he could still fight, but I could see it was impossible.
We exchanged silent looks several times. Then he snorted once more and limped out of the battlefield.
I drew a ragged breath and glared at the crystal dragon. It stood with every sense on edge, already gathering mana to regenerate its crystal armor.
I couldn’t give it that chance. If new crystals grew on its back, it would simply unleash them again.
The decision was made before I finished thinking. My legs were already driving me forward. The ground blurred beneath my feet as the space between us collapsed in an instant.
My mind went white-hot. Superhuman senses, drawing on every scrap of knowledge I possessed, offered a new method of attack.
The image of the strike crystallized. I exhaled softly and extended a small, open hand—not the blade of Storm Bringer, but my bare palm. Right now, this was the best attack I had.
The moment my hand touched the crystal dragon’s body, the vast mana spinning inside my heart flooded down my arm and poured into the beast.
Mana of differing natures repels itself. That was precisely why I had formed Mana Circles instead of simply absorbing the natural mana of this place.
The crystal dragon’s expression twisted. It had sensed the foreign power invading its body.
Too late.
The moment the opposing manas began to mix, a violent repulsive force erupted between them.
And that force became a massive explosion.
KWAANG—!
The heavy body of the crystal dragon was hurled backward through the air.
In the inner world where countless stars flowed, a single small star rose. It took the vague shape of a man, and from that man’s lips the name of the technique spilled forth.
⟨ Balgyeong ⟩
As the crystal dragon’s body, flung into the air, began its fall toward the ground, the vague figure of the man faded away with the starlight and vanished without a trace.