Chapter 159
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 159
Chapter Title: Dragon Pursuit
After entering the 8th Hierarchy Promotion Zone alongside Havel's group.
When Ellasia finally opened her eyes, she found herself possessing the body of a dragon.
The dragon she had possessed was named Fatima Pernichellina, the youngest of the White Dragon Pernichellina Clan.
The moment she took over that body, the reactions of the dragons watching her shifted all at once.
"Who the hell are you?"
Ranked third among all species, dragons were innately different from ordinary races in every sense.
With eyes that pierced straight through souls, they instantly realized that Fatima was no longer Fatima.
"That thing just stole Fatima's body!"
"Attack it now!"
The dragons flew into a rage all at once.
They assumed Ellasia had used some vile trick to seize her body.
As a result, Ellasia flapped wings she had never used before and fled for her life.
And the place she had escaped to just happened to be an empty nest in the Mahanon Mountains.
"What did I even do wrong? Why are they after me like this?"
Standing before Havel, Ellasia vented her grievances.
From the looks of it, even being in a higher race's body wasn't all sunshine and rainbows.
"Have you seen Pyod or Baria?"
"No. I was too busy running for my life. Of course I haven't run into those two."
Ellasia's face took on a hint of unease.
And understandably so—she had nearly been killed by the dragons herself.
Pyod and Baria might have met the same fate.
"I wonder what happened to those two."
Maybe they'd been treated as body-snatching thieves and cut down.
As Ellasia mulled over such worries, Havel waved a dismissive hand.
"It's those two we're talking about. They're probably fine."
Pyod might be a bit reckless, but Baria was sharp.
Even Pyod had solid animal instincts.
Finding them later would be no problem.
"More importantly, the dragons are chasing you?"
"Ah, yeah. I managed to slip away somehow, but they'll have pinpointed my location by now."
Just thinking about it seemed to dampen her mood.
Ellasia's expression turned sullen.
"What kind of floor is this? I get chased the second I arrive."
Ellasia grumbled, clearly dissatisfied.
Then she looked at Havel with envy.
"You're human, right, Havel? Must be nice."
"Nah, goblin."
"Pardon?"
As she blinked in confusion, Havel gestured to his own body.
"This form is just materialized. My original possessed species is goblin."
"...Not magic, but materialized? How on earth do you pull that off?"
To Havel, even the discipline of magic was ultimately derived from aura.
But explaining that to a mage like her wouldn't get through.
"You just do it."
"I have no idea what your version of 'just' even means."
Ellasia stared blankly for a moment, a mix of exasperation and defeat on her face.
She quickly refocused on the matter at hand.
"Goblins aren't the lowest-ranked species?"
"Yeah."
"Wow, you don't have the best luck either, Havel."
Why does she sound subtly pleased?
Havel was tempted to smack her, but he let it slide.
"Anyway, can't you change that form?"
As a dragon, Ellasia was enormously huge.
He was reaching the limit of craning his neck to look up.
At his question, Ellasia let out an "Ah!"
"I've been dying to test this out! My original body doesn't have enough mana to maintain it, so I never even considered advanced spells like polymorph."
The topic shifted to magic, and her eyes lit up instantly.
Her words sped up, coming faster and more enthusiastically—she was clearly thrilled.
Mages were all the same; mention magic, and they melted.
"I'll give it a shot right now."
With that, Ellasia began her preparations.
In the meantime, Havel casually surveyed the chamber.
As she had said, this was an abandoned nest.
The owner must have left while the lizardmen and others weren't paying attention.
Wonder if any spirit herbs are left behind.
Havel rummaged around, eager to grab any elixirs since they'd come this far.
That's when Ellasia activated her polymorph.
Sharak!
Moments later, sparkling dust scattered, and Ellasia's form shifted.
She couldn't fully erase the dragon traits—horns, tail, and a few others remained.
But her original face and human body were perfectly realized.
"It worked! Dragons really live up to the hype. The mana pool is overflowing—way more than I'm burning!"
Ellasia cheered in delight at her success.
"Since you're at it, go study some magic."
Having more mana made it perfect for experimenting with spells.
Ellasia caught on and perked up with interest.
"Oh, uh, but the dragons are still after me."
Training sounded great, but the dragons were the immediate priority.
As she hesitated, Havel finally spoke up.
"I'll handle them. I've been curious about the third-ranked species anyway."
"As expected of Havel!"
Ellasia bounced in place with joy.
It was a little annoying to watch, but...
He really was interested in dragons.
"Before you train, gather any elixir ingredients you can find."
"Elixir ingredients?"
"Yeah. I'm raising goblins."
Raising goblins.
Hearing that, Ellasia grasped his intent.
"You're aiming to raise the species rank?"
She had gathered her own intel, even while on the run.
She hadn't slacked on information gathering.
"Not bad. Unlike higher species whose potential is tapped out, goblins still have room to grow."
"You noticed that too, and that's why you're developing goblins."
But her next words puzzled Havel.
"Nah, nothing like that."
"Huh, it's not?"
Havel couldn't very well agree when it wasn't true.
Besides, it seemed Ellasia had gathered more info than expected.
"Ellasia, tell me everything you know..."
Just as he moved to extract more details from her.
Havel's head snapped toward the outside of the palace.
Numerous presences were approaching from the distant sky.
And he quickly identified what they were.
"Ellasia, hide."
"...They're here."
The dragons pursuing Ellasia.
They had finally tracked her down.
Leaving Ellasia behind, Havel stepped out of the ice palace.
Through the swirling snowstorm, shadowy figures began to appear in the distance.
Five dragons blotting out the sky.
Each one immense beyond measure, they radiated their full majesty.
They hadn't spotted this side yet.
Time to make them notice.
Whoosh!
In that instant, the killing intent pouring from Havel's body enveloped the entire area.
The extended pressure soon reached the dragons.
Their flapping wings faltered.
All at once, their heads turned toward Havel.
"What's that guy?"
"A human?"
Perhaps because of his human appearance.
They judged him as such.
"Sorry, but I'm a goblin right now."
With those words, Havel kicked off the ground.
The dragons briefly sensed him vanish.
His speed was too great for them to track.
But one quick-witted dragon suddenly jerked its head up.
"Above us!"
As it said, Havel was right over their heads.
But realizing it changed nothing.
Havel drew his sheathed sword as he descended.
And immediately brought it down on one dragon's head.
Crack!
With the sound of a skull shattering, the dragon's massive body buckled.
The beast convulsed in shock, eyes bulging as if to pop, foam at its mouth.
It plummeted straight down.
"Lenpura!"
One panicked dragon dove after the falling one.
But that was a mistake.
Kicking off the tumbling dragon, Havel launched himself at the rescuer.
"You human bastard!"
The dragon aiming to catch Lenpura slashed its claws at Havel.
In that moment, mana surged from its talons, activating a spell.
A colossal iceberg came crashing toward Havel.
It was large enough to bury an entire mountain.
To unleash such a spell in an instant.
Dragons truly were monstrous.
But he had picked the wrong opponent.
Havel gripped his sheathed sword like a club.
Aura of dawn shimmered along the blade, and he thrust it forward.
The iceberg collided with Havel's sheathed sword, rippling the surrounding air.
And moments later.
Crack!
Cracks spiderwebbed from the point of impact.
Soon engulfing the entire iceberg.
At the same time, dawn light leaked from within.
Boom!
With an explosion, the iceberg shattered completely.
As Havel raised his head amid the flying shards.
The dragon that had conjured it gaped in the distance.
A cluster of white light gathered before the dragon's maw.
Dragon breath.
And the others were charging theirs as well.
They had realized Havel was no ordinary human.
Seeing the converged breaths, Havel drew his sword from its sheath.
They planned to overwhelm him with raw output, it seemed.
Time to show them what happens when you clash pure power against true skill.
Light gathered around Havel's sword.
Whoosh—
Suddenly, the light of the world began swirling toward Havel at its center.
As if the very flow of the world had changed.
A chill ran through all the dragons at the sight.
Alarms blared in their minds simultaneously.
That's when their breaths finished charging.
"Fire!"
With a roar, the dragons unleashed their breaths at Havel in unison.
The incoming beams froze the clouds solid as they bore down on him.
Freezing rays capable of icing anything.
Before the ferocious whiteout.
Havel calmly raised his sword.
At that moment.
Not only the advancing breaths, but the dragons themselves felt the world grind to a halt.
Tick—
As if hearing a clock somewhere.
Havel's sword was already sweeping downward.
Behind Havel.
The endless snowfall had ceased.
Instead, beyond the vast Mahanon Mountains.
The delayed light of dawn began slowly illuminating the area.
Blue light pierced the pitch-black sky.
Before it, Havel unveiled his swordsmanship.
Banpellyon-style Dawn SwordsmanshipDawn Sky
Under the pristine Dawn Sky, not a single blemish is permitted.
All the dragons' breaths vanished in unison.
Thud, boom, thud, boom!
The lords of the sky, the dragons, plummeted from the heavens one by one.