Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: ACT.20 Ruined World (5)
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KABOOM!!
The Black Steel Dragon swung its tail.
The tip of its tail was a dense mass of minerals, like a hammer. Trying to block it carelessly would shatter a weapon.
I caught my breath as I looked at the cratered ground, as if a small meteor had struck.
Is this all the damage it did because I weakened it a bit earlier?
“If you want to live, help me out!”
I shouted deliberately, and the Black Steel Dragon began to notice the other person.
The person in question seemed too terrified to move properly, but just distracting its attention was enough.
“D-damn it!”
He had been cowering in fear, but after hearing my words, he somehow started to move.
Not a complete idiot, then.
I chuckled and focused my attacks on the areas with the least amount of black steel.
CRASH!
The Black Steel Dragon's claws were like sharpened black steel.
Their incredible hardness created a significant shockwave just from the impact.
“Tsk.”
Even with my high stats, this isn't easy.
I thought it would be easier now that I have Black Flame, but I was mistaken.
I can prevent my sword from breaking, but it's hard to offset the stinging shock that travels up my arm.
I glanced at its feet.
I'd managed to ignite them with Black Flame in that brief moment, but the black steel itself wouldn't burn, so there was no real damage.
To get black steel, you have to defeat a Black Steel Dragon. And to defeat a Black Steel Dragon, you need the power to destroy black steel.
It seems like a paradox at first glance.
‘There's also the option of just breaking off the black steel on its body and taking that.’
I shook my head.
That won't work.
My goal isn't just the black steel.
I have to achieve all my objectives and return to Earth. Only then can I handle unexpected variables, like what happened with the Dark Moon Guild, without difficulty.
‘I could break it off and use it as a weapon, but...’
It's not a great idea.
The moment it's detached from the body, its hardness decreases compared to when it's still attached.
*Swoosh.*
After a long staring contest, the Black Steel Dragon suddenly curled into a ball.
‘Damn.’
I have to react the instant the pattern starts.
Otherwise, it's too late, and a late reaction means getting hit.
I immediately rolled to the side, and by a hair's breadth, the Black Steel Dragon spun past me like a top.
KRAAAASH!
“...You brutish bastard.”
A dry laugh escaped me.
There's nothing in the world harder than its own body.
The Black Steel Dragon knows this well, so it employs attacks that make the most of its body.
In fact, rocks, trees, and everything else in the path it just rolled through were destroyed.
‘Here it comes again.’
*RUMBLE!*
Was it because I dodged it with more ease this time?
The Black Steel Dragon uncurled its body and glared at me fiercely.
I really don't like how it's only rolling at me.
Aren't Alpha and the other soldiers drawing any aggro?
Even if they aren't living beings, they have a form and are attacking it, so there's no way they wouldn't draw aggro.
That guy over there... he's already exhausted. Not that I had high hopes.
[Insolent lizard.]
Energy shimmered from Alpha's seemingly enraged body, and darkness surged along his sword.
A new skill he just acquired.
One of the top three darkness-derived skills.
Let's see how powerful it is.
[You deserve to die and atone!]
Alpha swung his sword with all his might from where he stood.
The Black Steel Dragon flinched, then quickly twisted its body into a defensive stance.
KWAAAANG!!
With the illusion of space being swallowed by darkness, a significant portion of the black steel covering the dragon's surface was blown away.
To be precise, annihilated.
I was admiring its power, but the moment I realized the black steel had vanished completely, my head started to ache.
“...Alpha. Try not to annihilate it, if possible. I need to collect that.”
[I cannot allow even a part of the one who dared attack the Lord to remain.]
“That's an order.”
[...I obey your command.]
There's still a lot left, but I wonder how much that was worth.
Considering the unimaginable amount needed to forge a sword, the loss was gut-wrenching.
-What in the world are you doing!?
Yurgan's panicked voice came from the communication crystal.
“Hunting the nearby monsters, of course.”
-That's not what I meant! The one you're fighting is certainly a monster, but it's no ordinary one! It's a Spirit Beast!
Spirit Beast.
A creature that has lived for a long time, becoming something akin to a demigod and gaining immense power.
Naturally, its combat power is also considerable.
I could understand why Yurgan was panicking.
Hunting something like that alone is practically a suicide mission.
“That's why I'm hunting it.”
A Spirit Beast has something like an inner core in its body, and consuming it drastically increases your stats.
If you're lucky, you can even gain good traits or skills.
Given the Black Steel Dragon's nature, consuming the inner core it provides will grant something 'exceptionally' good.
Materials for the weapon I'm going to make, materials for skill awakening, and on top of that, an inner core.
There was no way I would do nothing with a gift package like this right in front of me.
-Y-you...
“You don't have to worry about me. Didn't you see that I lowered the danger level to yellow in such a short time?”
-That's true, but...
After a long moment of troubled silence, Yurgan finally acknowledged it and ended the communication.
He's called the continent's greatest sage for a reason; it seems he can even identify which monster I'm fighting.
I turned my gaze back to the Black Steel Dragon.
It was clearly struggling against the combined assault of Alpha and the soldiers.
*FWOOSH!*
Finally, the Black Steel Dragon spread its two wings.
Its already huge body now spanned seven to eight meters wide with its wings fully extended.
‘Is it planning an aerial battle?’
As far as aerial combat goes, the only attacks the Black Steel Dragon has are gliding dives and its breath attack.
And from my perspective, neither is particularly threatening. I can dodge them all easily enough.
This was a pattern that emerged when its health dropped below half, so it was actually good news.
A shadow slowly fell over me.
The Black Steel Dragon was plummeting towards me at a sharp angle.
A pattern where it suddenly swoops down to stomp on you while flying.
‘A dive attack.’
Normally, a dive attack isn't a good move.
It's easy to counter if someone on the ground prepares their blade in advance.
But the Black Steel Dragon is incredibly tough.
That's why it can use this attack with confidence.
CRASH!
Having landed successfully, the Black Steel Dragon wore a satisfied expression.
It lifted its foreleg to check for my corpse, but there was nothing but dirt and sand.
The Black Steel Dragon looked around in confusion.
“Up here, tough guy.”
Having dodged faster than it could land, I timed my leap and jumped high above it.
Only then did the dragon pinpoint my location and swiftly swing its foreleg, but I easily dodged by twisting my body.
‘Dragon-type species have a weak point known as a reverse scale.’
The area where the tail connects to the back.
There's one scale there that is especially large and grows in the opposite direction.
Unlike other parts, the reverse scale doesn't have black steel growing on it.
The surrounding black steel just happens to form a shape that covers it.
‘But it's not perfectly covered.’
There are gaps in between.
Attacking the reverse scale through those gaps can inflict massive damage in an instant.
I used Extreme Eye to pinpoint the reverse scale's location and prepared to thrust my sword.
[Grrrk?!]
The Black Steel Dragon tried to move its body to escape my attack, but all four of its legs were bound by darkness, rendering it immobile.
It roared and struggled in panic, but it was futile.
*SQUELCH!*
A different sensation from when I struck its head traveled up my fingertips.
The feeling of smoothly piercing flesh.
At the same time, the Black Steel Dragon let out a deafening scream.
[Kraaaaaa!!]
“You're about to die, yet you're so noisy.”
I twisted the sword lodged in its reverse scale.
The pain must have been immense, as it shook its head and screamed nonstop, but it showed no signs of collapsing yet.
It's holding on well, even against a sword cloaked in Black Flame.
As expected of a creature whose defense is on par with a disaster-class monster.
*CRACK!*
‘It broke free from the binds of darkness with sheer force?’
To have that much strength left while its reverse scale is being attacked.
So this is what makes a Spirit Beast different.
The Black Steel Dragon turned its head and glared at me with bloodshot eyes.
Then, its muscles suddenly contracted.
Like how a creature with high regeneration tenses up to regenerate a severed part.
“Damn.”
New scales began to grow, and thin, sharp pieces of black steel started sprouting randomly, forcing me to pull out my sword and leap off its back.
Looking at where the reverse scale had been, it now resembled a turtle ship.
Just as the turtle ship had spikes to prevent enemies from boarding during naval battles, the Black Steel Dragon was using the same method.
And it didn't end there.
“...Vicious.”
The black steel spikes didn't just sprout; they were launched and now floated in the air.
In this situation, the thoroughly enraged Black Steel Dragon bared its teeth threateningly.
But it would occasionally flinch, its face contorting in pain.
The Black Flame had already spread through the wound inside the reverse scale.
The Black Flame will continue to burn and eat away at its insides until it dies, so no amount of regeneration will restore it to its original state.
*Creeak.*
In the middle of our silent standoff, the Black Steel Dragon opened its mouth wide.
This is the posture it takes when it's about to use its breath attack.
KWAAAAAAH!
Along with the floating black steel spikes, a black barrage that shimmered as if embedded with stardust spread out in a fan shape.
The Black Steel Dragon's breath contains a large amount of microscopic black steel powder.
Getting hit by that, fired at such an incredible speed, would be like being put through a grinder.
I watched it with a faint smile.
“Foolish creature.”
KWAAAAAH!!
Suddenly, the breath attack's trajectory shifted upward.
It was because the Black Steel Dragon's head was jerked up.
“You shouldn't forget my soldiers.”
The rear of the Black Steel Dragon.
Specifically, the one spot that could inflict enough damage to make the dragon react so violently.
Alpha had once again used Shattering Moon to slice off the black steel, and was now digging into the reverse scale with the soldiers.
With its reverse scale under attack like that, it couldn't have much health left.
I readjusted my grip on my sword, still flickering with Black Flame, and charged at the Black Steel Dragon.
Besides its reverse scale, it doesn't have any major weak points, but there are a few areas with relatively lower defense.
The most prominent of them being...
‘The inside of its mouth.’
*STAB!*
Just as its breath attack was ending, I swung my sword wide into its open mouth.
Just like the flesh beneath the reverse scale, its exterior was hard, but its insides were not.
Its mouth easily mangled, the Black Steel Dragon coughed up blood, thrashed about, and then collapsed.
[Human... why are you doing this to me...?]
“What? You can talk?”
It didn't speak when I fought it before just to test its strength.
Then again, it's not that strange.
As Yurgan said, the Black Steel Dragon is a creature that has entered the Spirit Beast stage.
It was only natural for it to possess enough intelligence to be capable of conversation.
[I have never done you any harm....]
Before it could finish, I thrust my sword into the wound on its forehead.
I had made a wound connecting the inside of its mouth to the outside, and I inserted my sword through that wound, aiming for its brain.
Its slow breathing stopped.
“What do you mean, you've done no harm?”
If you hadn't devoured all the black steel, it wouldn't be this rare, and people could have at least fought off the monsters to some extent with the help of weapons and armor.
The only means of fighting monsters in this world.
You monopolized it and played dumb, and now you say you've done no harm?
What a joke.
‘More importantly.’
I turned my gaze behind me.
A young man whose clothes were soaked in blood.
His relief at being alive was brief; he clutched his stomach, his face contorted in pain.
I postponed harvesting the black steel and approached him.
“Cough, cough.”
“Stay still. I'm going to check your condition.”
After a quick look at his condition, I clicked my tongue internally.
It's serious.
He'd need something like an elixir to be saved, but not only do I not have one, even if I did, there was no reason for me to use it on him.
‘Huh?’
Then, I happened to notice an insignia on his shoulder.
A two-headed eagle drawn inside a regular pentagon.
...There's no mistake. This is the insignia of 'Pentagon Eagle'.
Why and how is someone from that guild here?
My eyes sharpened as I glared at him.
“...Who are you?”