Overflowing Romance
Romance overflowed. When the Lesser Dragon's breath struck the Golem Drake, I clenched my fist. "Nice!"
Thanks to the elixir I'd consumed, my mana reserves had grown considerably, but I'd poured just as much experience into the Lesser Dragon to help it grow. That meant its breath attacks now consumed far more mana, and this one had drained a massive amount. Still, the attack had been worth every drop. The Lesser Dragon had prepared it with full intent, unleashing the strongest breath it had ever fired.
I charged forward without flinching as the superheated air scorched past my face. My companions' expressions were alight with fighting spirit as they followed me in.
"Now's our chance! Get inside and attack!"
"A Golem Drake! Just what were those ancient mages thinking when they created something like that?"
"Hahaha! If it's a golem, I don't even need black magic! Time to use proper magic for once!"
"The prey is mine."
Kuooooong!
The cavern we entered was like a blazing hell. Scorching heat filled the space, and flames from the breath attack had set the stone walls ablaze like kindling. Ordinary fire would have died out quickly, but dragonfire was anything but ordinary. The flames, empowered by the concept of combustion itself, continued to burn fiercely. From within the inferno, a massive, half-melted body emerged.
"Grrrk."
It had a draconic body but no wings—an earth dragon. The golem shaped in the form of a drake fixed us with its inorganic eyes.
"It took that and kept moving?"
"It's a guardian of the ruins. The trials left by the heroes of a thousand years ago aren't meant to be easy."
"I know. Still, after taking an attack like that head-on, I figured it'd at least be badly wounded."
Even after enduring our strongest strike while completely exposed, it had only melted slightly. It must have burned through most of its mana to block the breath, but that didn't make the result any less disappointing.
[Krrrrng.]
The Lesser Dragon didn't seem pleased either, snorting and grinding its teeth. It looked like its pride had taken a hit from the fact that its attack had been ineffective. It sent me a request for more mana to fire another breath.
"No. The mana you eat isn't free, and if you use it twice, half my reserves will be gone."
[Krrrrr.]
Even the dragon couldn't argue with that logic and backed down quietly. Still, the power it had already demonstrated was satisfying enough for the cost.
Kuwoooong! Krarararara!
While I negotiated with the Lesser Dragon, the battle began. Since the Golem Drake was the only monster in the wide cavern, we could focus on a frontal assault without worrying about ambushes. As the three-meter Laserdon and the five-meter Golem Drake stood on two legs and grappled, my scattered companions targeted the golem's weak points—places where mana flowed or joints that were relatively fragile. The accumulated damage prevented the Golem Drake from overpowering the Laserdon. Individually, these foes would have been crushed easily, but their numbers made them troublesome.
"Grrrk."
Realizing this, the Golem Drake used its bulk to hurl the Laserdon into a wall and turned its attention to the annoying flies buzzing around it.
Kwaaaang!
The power that came with its size was no lie. When its massive tail swept across the floor, three or four Ikelos shattered into pieces. A swing of its foreleg left deep gashes in the Rune Golem's body. Each strike was lethal, and even the Ikelos, which usually shrugged off ordinary attacks, couldn't regenerate fast enough and were forced back into reverse summoning.
"Tsk. Bad matchup."
I clicked my tongue as I drew a new summoning circle in the air and called forth reinforcements. My growth so far had followed two paths: maximizing the talents I already possessed, and using Mysteries to strengthen my Summoner skills while unlocking useful sub-skills as needed. It was an adaptable approach, even if the efficiency wasn't perfect. But that method seemed to be reaching its limit.
"I've gotten good use out of it until now, so I should be satisfied."
Until now, my personal skill and my summons had grown in tandem. It felt like the time had come to focus on one side. If I had to choose, investing in my abilities as a Summoner would be the better path. No matter how I looked at it, the efficiency was overwhelmingly in its favor.
"Shame. I at least wanted to reach Sword Master."
If my talent matched that of the Lucy siblings, maybe. But since I fell short of them, I'd given up on the expectation of rapid growth. Once this request was over, I'd need to focus on subjugation quests to farm experience. With that thought, I used Blink to appear above the Golem Drake's head.
Chrrrrk!
The Ikelos I held gathered together and transformed into the sword-spear I'd used before. I wrapped aura around the long, thick blade, kicked off the Ikelos platform beneath me, and drove the spear into the golem's skull.
Kwaaaang!
A heavy impact echoed from the Golem Drake's head. Stone fragments flew in all directions, but the creature calmly shook its head to dislodge me. As an artificial being, normal weak points didn't work on it. Still, the attack hadn't been completely ineffective.
Gruk, grgrgruk.
Its previously smooth movements grew sluggish. Every time it took damage, its mana consumption increased. Liquid mana leaked from its wounds instead of blood, and its entire body was melting, ruining its movement efficiency. The core in its chest had been meant to absorb the ruins' energy for a long time, but our relentless assault had pushed it to its limit.
"Krrrrrr!"
Feeling the danger, the Golem Drake's movements grew wild. Spotting me after I landed, it lunged forward. Its jaws opened wide, metallic teeth gleaming.
Kwadeuk!
The massive maw snapped shut, swallowing the space where I'd been. But I was no longer there.
"This is why Blink is so good."
Using Blink again, I appeared at the Golem Drake's neck, drove the sword-spear in, and ran along its length.
Kwagagagak!
Sparks and stone fragments flew everywhere. Even with my body strengthened by improved aura circulation, it wasn't an easy feat. The Ikelos wrapped around me acted as an exoskeletal suit, while the Umbra clinging to my body like a second skin added extra power. If the blade dulled, I could simply replace it with fresh Ikelos fragments. Since they were all summons made from my mana, I could use them as roughly as I wanted without issue.
Thanks to that, a long, deep gash opened along the Golem Drake's back. Liquid mana gushed from the wound and vaporized, filling the cavern with mana. I drew in as much as I could, recovering a tiny fraction of my rapidly depleting reserves.
"I'll get another elixir soon, no matter what."
While I made that vow in horror at my mana consumption rate, the Golem Drake's expression changed. Its mechanical intelligence had sensed defeat and was preparing a final desperate attack. Based on its battle experience, it identified me—Argo—as the leader of the challengers and swung its tail.
Tuquaang!
"Kuhk!"
"Argo!"
Because I'd stopped worrying about mana efficiency, the attack came several times faster than usual. The spinning strike sent me flying like a baseball struck by a bat. I slammed into the wall, and Neon cried out in alarm.
"Krrrr....! I'm fine! The summons took most of the damage!"
The Ikelos armor covering my body had shattered into dust, and the Umbra had melted like ice cream onto the floor, but I was unharmed. Even with the summons mitigating the blow, the direct damage hadn't been light. My body, tempered by the Northern Breathing Method, had endured.
"Long live the First Great Warrior, seriously."
I pulled a store-bought potion from my inventory, downed it, and praised the First Great Warrior. If the damage had been near-fatal, Phase Escape would have activated automatically, but I was still grateful to have survived. As I stood up and met the Golem Drake's gaze, I read the strange will in its eyes and smirked.
"Fine. You're saying you'll fire one last big shot?"
Ignoring my companions' attacks, the creature focused entirely on me. I pulled out every mana potion I had left and drank them all. Chugging too many would cause side effects like nausea and dizziness later, but I didn't care right now. I used the rapidly refilling mana without hesitation to draw a massive summoning circle in the air. A rift opened, and the Lesser Dragon on the other side stared at the Golem Drake.
Displeased that the Golem Drake had survived its previous attack, the dragon grinned savagely at the chance to finish it off and began preparing its breath.
"Grrrk!"
The Golem Drake opened its own jaws in response, preparing its own breath. It drew every last bit of mana needed to activate the attack, and blue flames flickered around its mouth. It looked like the move it would have used if it hadn't taken the first breath head-on, but unfortunately, this would be its last.
"You ready, buddy?"
[Krrrrr!]
When I asked, the Lesser Dragon sent back a surge of intense will, as if to say the answer was obvious. Reflecting its desire to burn the creature that dared call itself a dragon right in front of it, I poured every bit of my recovered mana into it and shouted.
"Then let's show that thing who you are!"
As my will reached it, the Lesser Dragon's breath fired. At the same moment, the Golem Drake's breath launched from the opposite side.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaa—!!
When the crimson and azure breaths collided in the center of the cavern, an enormous wave of heat spread outward. My companions had long since evacuated, leaving only me on the battlefield. I wrapped myself in Ikelos and Umbra to block the heat. The clash of the two breaths was so powerful that even the Ikelos began to melt. I frantically opened the store and bought every cold-related item I could, using them to hold back the heat. Tearing a freezing scroll, I watched the center where the two forces struggled.
Two massive lasers devoured each other as they burned fiercely. The pressure was so overwhelming that without spending every coin I had on cold items, I wouldn't have lasted. But every beginning has an end. As the fierce struggle continued, the crimson breath gradually began to swallow the azure one.
Was it because the Lesser Dragon was stronger than the Golem Drake?
Gulp, gulp.
"Phew! Don't worry about mana support!"
Because I'd been buying and chugging mana potions like crazy from the store, I was winning the mana war. My money was disappearing at an alarming rate, but the crimson breath kept pushing forward until it finally engulfed the Golem Drake.
────────!
A massive explosion erupted as if a bomb had gone off inside. The shockwave sent me flying into the wall again, and I endured the flames rushing from every direction with my items. I held on for who knows how long. The cavern had transformed from a blazing hell into something even worse—a superheated inferno. It looked as if the world the Lesser Dragon had come from had been transplanted here. I chuckled weakly and let out a labored breath.
Turning my head, I looked toward where the Golem Drake had been. Only the barely recognizable remains of its draconic form were left.
"Kuhuh.... Cough! I... won."
Seeing my companions rushing toward me from near the entrance, I slowly closed my eyes. It had been a painfully inefficient method. But it had been overflowing with romance. That was enough.