Chapter 49
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Striking the Reverse Scale
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A powerful force surged through his entire body, one unlike anything he'd ever felt before.
Abel knew that light had emanated from the emblem.
Naturally, he suspected it was connected to the light and what was happening now.
But he had no time to ponder it deeply.
There was only one thing he needed to do.
Swing his sword.
Boom!
Abel gripped his sword tightly and kicked off the ground, leaping high into the air.
Whoooosh—!
Just below him, the Gigadeus's tail narrowly grazed past.
Ignoring the wind pressure crashing into his machine, Abel raised his sword high and brought it slashing down.
Kagagagak!
The clash of metal rang out as his sword scraped across the Gigadeus's hide.
But Abel wasn't disappointed.
He knew its hide was less like leather and more akin to a Gigant's outer armor.
Whoosh—!
That's why he'd activated the Double Attack skill from the start.
Crack—!
Shyaaaaak!
From the spot his first strike had hit, a bursting sound erupted, followed by a spray of blue blood.
The Gigadeus let out a sharp screech and thrashed its body.
It had withstood the first hit, but the skill's secondary attack had broken through.
He'd thought it'd take four or five strikes to pierce it, but it had been easier than expected.
'Power is overflowing.'
By his rough estimate, the Gigant's output felt at least double what it had been.
Whiiiiiish!
Perhaps enraged by the wound on its body, the Gigadeus now focused solely on Abel.
Kwang—! Boom!
The concentrated assault left him even more breathless, but Abel dodged every attack with acrobatic flair.
'This just might work!'
He was secretly thrilled.
His goal from the start hadn't been to defeat the Gigadeus, but to buy time.
The more it fixated on him alone, the higher the chances of his plan succeeding.
But he wasn't blindly optimistic.
'Still, I can't just keep dodging forever.'
The sudden surge of unknown power could vanish as abruptly as it had appeared.
He had to inflict as much damage as possible before it did.
'If only I could use Assimilation.'
To land a fatal blow, he'd need to get much closer, so Abel scanned for an opening while thinking to himself.
The problem was that with the Gigadeus zeroed in on him, there was no chance to use his only stealth skill, Assimilation.
It'd spot him immediately if he tried while it was fully focused.
As he pondered how to create an opportunity—
Whoooosh— Kwang!
A streak of blue light suddenly shot from somewhere and struck the Gigadeus's head.
It had twisted at the last moment to avoid a fatal hit, but the impact left it staggering.
-Run all you want—you'll just get caught and killed! Buy time like Abel! If it looks dangerous, fall back immediately!
Hena's shout followed.
That last shot had been her mana blaster.
Her close-quarters combat skills were still abysmal, but as Abel knew, her ranged attacks were exceptional.
It was an attack powerful enough to actually damage the Gigadeus.
On top of that, those who had been frozen in panic began joining the fray one by one.
Their numbers were still few, but it was enough.
By the time the Gigadeus regained its senses, Abel was already gone.
-Don't overdo it—just keep drawing its attention!
Hena directed them while firing her mana blaster repeatedly, and the others fought according to her commands.
But the battle situation wasn't entirely favorable.
If it dragged on like this, they'd collapse long before the support team arrived.
Swoosh—.
Meanwhile, Abel moved as cautiously as possible.
Gigadeus specimens each had slightly different traits, but those of the same 'type' shared common ones.
Weaknesses included.
'Typically, dragon-type Gigadeus have two weak points.'
One was the gem on its forehead.
The softly glowing green jewel seemed to scream, "Aim here!"
The issue was that destroying it would kill it instantly, but shattering that gem was incredibly difficult.
In short, no one here possessed the firepower to do it.
'If I'd been in my main machine, maybe.'
But that was just wishful thinking.
So the target now was the other weak point, not the forehead.
Shiiiiiish!
Enraged by the multi-target assault, the Gigadeus reared up straight.
Abel widened his eyes at the sight.
That posture was the prelude to a wide-area attack.
If they let it happen, everyone would be swept away.
Thus, Abel maxed out his speed without breaking his Assimilation.
The silver lining was that as it reared up, its second weak point was fully exposed.
The second weak point of this Gigadeus.
A vulnerability common to all 'dragon-type' Gigadeus.
It was the reverse scale on the center of its torso—an inverted scale.
Thud—!
Once close enough, Abel leaped toward the Gigadeus's torso.
Boom!
He landed roughly on its body, startling it into twisting away.
But Abel didn't stop.
Kwang!
Even as it thrashed wildly, Abel climbed its torso without hesitation.
Shrrrrruk!
As he neared the reverse scale, the Gigadeus sensed the danger and abandoned defense to target only him.
But the others realized Abel was up to something.
-Now!
At Hena's shout, the Gigants unleashed a barrage as if they'd been waiting.
May's performance stood out among them.
Bouncing off nearby trees to leap high, she drove the swords in both hands deep into the Gigadeus's neck.
The others inflicted wounds on its torso as well.
Kiyaaaaak!
The Gigadeus writhed in agony once more.
Seizing the opening, Abel reached the spot just below the reverse scale.
-Hoo.
Exhaling sharply, Abel raised his sword high toward the reverse scale.
He ignored stamina management entirely.
This was his last chance anyway.
If he couldn't land a massive blow, the enraged Gigadeus would wipe them all out.
Wooooong—!
Thus, Abel dumped mana into the core in chunks and activated two skills at once.
[Heavy Strike, Double Attack]
Kwang—! Crack!
Kiaaaaaaaaak—!
As Abel's sword, brimming with power, hammered the reverse scale twice in succession, the Gigadeus screamed madly and convulsed.
Abel teetered on the brink of falling, but he clung on desperately.
This attack was merely preparation to crack the tough reverse scale—the real strike was yet to come.
Gripping his sword tight, Abel shoved all his remaining mana into the core.
Rumble—!
Thunderous roars echoed around his sword along with arcs of lightning.
At that moment, the Gigadeus seemed to decide it couldn't take anymore and tried to flee underground.
It dove toward the earth rapidly, but Abel calmly waited for the energy to gather.
Just before Abel and the Gigadeus vanished below ground—
[Thunderbolt Spear]
Abel leaped sideways and hurled his sword, crackling with lightning, straight at the reverse scale.
Light flashed...
Kwaaaaaang—!
Followed by a massive explosion.
Even as he fell, Abel watched his sword shatter the reverse scale and burrow deep inside.
The Gigadeus shuddered violently as if electrocuted, then went still.
'Better than I thought... it hit perfectly.'
With that thought, Abel blinked against the sudden heaviness in his eyelids.
Right after his final attack, an irresistible drowsiness washed over him.
The consolation was that he'd landed a solid hit on the Gigadeus.
At this point, there was no need to worry anymore.
-...Bel!
Someone seemed to call his name, but he couldn't respond.
Thud—!
Something collided with his machine amid it all, but Abel could no longer fight the sleep and closed his eyes.
Fwaaah—!
A beat later, blue light enveloped him.
* * *
Tweet, tweet—.
Birdsong came from somewhere.
Abel stirred at the sound. Something unusually soft touched his head.
'Was the pillow always this fluffy...?'
In his half-asleep daze, he questioned it and cracked his eyes open.
But what entered his vision wasn't a pillow—it was something deep blue.
'Looks just like the training uniform color.'
As he examined it closer, he spotted the academy emblem embroidered on one side.
'That's the emblem on the training uniform too...?'
Finally sensing something off, Abel bolted upright.
"Ugh."
The sudden movement brought intense vertigo and pain throughout his body.
It felt like a hangover and muscle soreness hitting at once.
'Mana exhaustion... huh.'
Even through the haze of pain, he could guess his condition.
It was the aftermath of squeezing every last drop of mana.
Then, a voice came from behind.
"You're awake?"
Abel turned. May sat there.
"May?"
"Yeah."
Her unusually calm tone left Abel staring blankly before he looked around.
They were in the middle of a forest.
No one else was in sight, but two Gigants lay nearby.
As he glanced at them, May spoke again.
"The machines were badly damaged, and you looked rough, so I pulled you out first."
"Oh... I see."
"Yeah."
Silence fell briefly, but Abel couldn't hold back his question.
"Where are we? Where's everyone else?"
"There's no one else. And I don't know where this is either."
"What...?"
Abel started to respond but trailed off, gazing into space.
Now more alert, he noticed the message window in his peripheral vision.
Messages scrolled there—ones he had no memory of seeing.
[You've achieved an outstanding feat!]
[Acquired title 'Gigadeus Adversary.' All stats increase by 10%.]
[Double Attack proficiency has reached 100%. Skill will evolve when conditions are met.]
[Thunderbolt Spear proficiency has exceeded 30%. Its power is enhanced.]
These were understandable.
A mere first-year, piloting a supply Gigant, had fought a Gigadeus.
But the following ones were different.
[Absorbing part of the Gigadeus's abilities.]
[Physical abilities greatly increase.]
[Acquired skill 'Fear.']
[The Gigadeus's soul resides in the emblem. (1/3)]
Messages tied directly to the Gigadeus.
'Doesn't this only pop up when you kill the target?'
Abel furrowed his brow at the incomprehensible situation. But after thinking it over, another possibility emerged.
'Did the support team arrive after I passed out and finish it off?'
That could be it.
Even if the support team defeated it, he might have been credited as top contributor, triggering these messages.
It was game-like thinking, but given the system itself was game-based, it wasn't too strange.
"How much do you remember?"
As he pondered deeply, May spoke up.
Abel snapped out of it and answered.
"Remember of what?"
"Before you passed out."
"Oh."
Understanding now, Abel replied.
"I blacked out right after the attack. Felt like something hit me, though."
"I caught you because you would've been in danger falling like that. My Gigant's arm got totally wrecked."
"Really? You okay?"
Abel asked, startled, and May hesitated before answering.
"Yeah... More importantly, what happened after."
"After?"
"Suddenly blue light spread from around you, and when I came to, we were here."
"Oh."
Her explanation cleared up why they were alone in this remote spot.
Some phenomenon had occurred centered on Abel, sweeping up May who was with him.
Hearing it now jogged his memory.
'The ruins!'
In this forest, there was only one thing that could cause sudden spatial transfer.
The ruins had called to him.