part1 · 078-ep78
Episode 78: The Fierce Fight with the Ancient Dragon
The Ancient Dragon took to the air.
Its giant wings beat down hard.
The next instant—
a gale tore through, enough to rattle all of floor 100.
Ren kicked off the ground with body strengthening. The next breath, a giant claw swept through the spot where he'd been standing. The ground tore open.
The Ancient Dragon climbed straight up into the air. Movement impossible to imagine from that bulk.
But—
Ren had that movement locked in his sights.
"...Speed's on my side, then."
Ren watched the dragon's movements as he put distance between them. The Ancient Dragon wheeled in midair — then dove straight down at him.
Ren kicked off the ground, too.
The dragon's claws met the magic sword head-on.
—Boom.
"...gh!"
A dreadful shock shot through his arm. Ren's body was flung backward. He skidded across the ground again and again before he finally stopped.
Ren was on his feet at once.
"...Heavy."
He took stock of the numbness lingering in his arm.
In speed, he had the edge. But strength was another matter. Clash power against power head-on, and the Ancient Dragon overwhelmed him.
"...I see."
Ren re-gripped the magic sword.
The Ancient Dragon spread its wings again. Intense magic gathered at its mouth.
"...!"
Ren tore off sideways at once.
The next instant—
a torrent of fire came pouring out. A raging flood of flame scorched the ground as it bore down on him.
Ren used that speed of his to slip out of the fire's path. Even so, the hot wind alone buffeted his body.
"...《Breath》, huh."
The skill he'd seen in the appraisal. Its power was beyond anything he'd imagined.
Ren looked back. Where the fire had passed, the ground itself glowed red-hot.
"Taking that head-on would be bad."
The Ancient Dragon moved again. It came charging straight at him.
Ren readied the magic sword. The dragon's claw came down. Ren slipped aside by a hair. The claw shattered the ground.
Ren slipped straight inside the dragon's guard. He flowed magic into the magic sword. Fire wreathed the blade.
"...There!"
Ren swung the magic sword up.
—Clang!
The blade caught the dragon's scales.
Hard.
But—
a few scales burst away.
"...It cuts."
The Ancient Dragon twisted its body. Ren leapt back at once. The giant tail swept past right in front of him.
The moment he landed, Ren changed the nature of his magic. The fire wrapping the blade vanished. This time, water magic sheathed the edge.
He stepped in at the dragon. A horizontal slash. The blade, wreathed in water magic, tore through the scales as if sliding across them.
The Ancient Dragon brought a claw down. Ren twisted out of its path — and closed the distance in the same motion.
He changed the water magic into wind. The water covering the blade vanished, and sharp wind gathered around the edge.
"...This'll do it!"
Ren swung the wind-wreathed magic sword through.
—Slash!
The dragon's scales split deep. Black scales rained to the ground.
"...Using it like this works."
Ren readied the magic sword again.
Switching attributes one to the next, attacking to match the moment. Fire to press in. Water to change the flow. Wind to sharpen every slash.
Drawing on the magic sword's power, Ren's fighting style kept widening.
But—
The Ancient Dragon didn't fall.
Its damaged scales mended, little by little.
"...《Self-Regeneration》, huh."
Just as the appraisal had shown, the dragon's wounds closed bit by bit.
"...A nuisance, this one."
Ren put distance between them.
He could land his attacks. He wasn't losing in speed, either.
But—
the dragon's defense was hard, its attack power high. And its magic, too, stood above his.
"...Strength, defense, and magic — all theirs, then."
Ren gazed at the Ancient Dragon.
Until now, he could toy with enemies on speed and finish them in one rush. Against the dragon in front of him, that didn't work.
Even landed, his attacks never became the killing blow. Drag it out, and 《Self-Regeneration》 would undo his damage.
"...Then I just have to hit harder."
Ren re-gripped the magic sword.
The Ancient Dragon came at him again. Ren evaded its attacks.
Claws. Tail. Wings.
The attacks came one after another.
Riding his speed, dodging by a hair each time, Ren swung the magic sword.
Fire. Water. Wind.
Switching attributes to match the moment.
Even so—
The Ancient Dragon wouldn't fall. Wounded or not, its injuries kept closing, little by little.
"...This won't be easy."
Ren pulled far back, once.
The Ancient Dragon fixed its eyes on him. A huge volume of magic overflowed from its body again.
"...!"
This was different. A gathering of magic clearly unlike when it cast spells.
The Ancient Dragon breathed in, slowly. The air trembled. The magic all around it was sucked toward the dragon at once.
"...《Dragon's Roar》, huh."
The skill he'd seen in the appraisal. But this was the first time it was actually used.
Ren readied the magic sword. The Ancient Dragon's jaws opened wide.
The next instant—
"—Gwooooargh!!"
A dreadful roar shook all of floor 100. The sound itself became a massive shockwave, crashing down on Ren.
"...gh!"
Sword readied, Ren poured magic into his body strengthening.
But—
the shock was more than that.
The ground shattered. The air quivered. A pressure hit him as if it reached all the way into his core.
"...So this is... 《Dragon's Roar》...!"
Ren's body was blown backward.
And—
the Ancient Dragon started toward Ren once more.