novelraw Chapter 96
Chapter 96
Chapter 96
*
I was astonished at myself for thinking it was natural that the ground shattered under my step, sending a Jewelhead Dragon with a body the size of three carriages flying.
Before confirming that the Jewelhead Dragon crashed into the ground, raising a cloud of dust while snapping trees, I dispelled the magic circle on my back.
It's beyond my ability to handle.
I can't control my body at all.
I grit my teeth, recalling the moment I slashed at the dragon's neck.
I intended to sever its neck; I didn't think that would defeat it, but even so, losing its head would take time for a dragon to recover, and it would consume a considerable amount of magical energy.
Yet, I couldn't accomplish that.
At the moment I swung, the Jewelhead Dragon protected its neck by covering it with thick gem scales.
Normally, I could have dodged at the last second and struck anyway.
But in seeking power for a guaranteed hit, I couldn't make fine adjustments.
Damn it, if I can't even break a dragon's neck just because its scales got a bit thicker, I'm useless.
At this rate, not only my mentor but even my mentor's friends would laugh at me.
If it were them, they'd at least be laughing while cutting off the head of a dragon species like this.
I calm my heart while biting down on my frustration at my own inadequacy.
After all, I'm just a body that can only swing a sword, unable to use magic.
I never thought I could elegantly defeat a Jewelhead Dragon from the start.
I intended to wear down the dragon's magical energy and defeat it, getting covered in mud and dirt as a given.
Forget that my skills are far from my ideal right now; if there's something I want, detours or shortcuts don't matter, I should just ignore the path and go straight ahead.
In short, it's all about determination; alright, my logical (Erika) theory hasn't crumbled.
I track the presence of the Jewelhead Dragon, moving while hiding my form among the swaying undergrowth.
Even though I've renewed my determination, the situation hasn't changed.
Behind me, I can tell that the bearded guy, Edds, and Pal are struggling to do something about the carriage.
In other words, I'm still restricted.
Things aren't going my way, and the corners of my mouth twitch upward.
Trying to buy time? I thought as I saw scales the size of a human head flying toward me.
I slam the scales into the ground.
You can't kill me from a distance, you know?
Well, I can't do anything either since I can only use a sword.
It was a mistake to throw out such a sarcastic tone.
Right after slamming down the scales, the Jewelhead Dragon reveals itself from within the forest.
This isn't just revealing itself——I'm dumbfounded as the dragon charges toward me, scattering clumps of earth in a flashy manner.
"Thoughtless charging? Use your head a little, you idiot!"
Should I call out to the guys behind me?
No, it's impossible; there's no time left.
I messed up my positioning, damn it! I completely messed up, damn it!
Packing every curse I can think of into the blink of an eye, I return my sword to its sheath.
I'll do it, I'll definitely do it, I'll take it head-on.
I construct the second magic circle once again.
*
Edds was deeply confused by the fact that there was a human who could fight a dragon species single-handedly.
It was a story from a distant world.
It was as far from reality as the dreams a child imagines before falling asleep.
In short, such a being existed in reality, but he couldn't imagine becoming one himself.
And now, that being was fighting a dragon right before his eyes.
And it told them to do their job.
That's probably why he's working instead of running away.
The carriage was miraculously tangled and stranded, with the wheel off and the misaligned axle biting into another carriage in another miraculous way, completely immobilizing it.
It's obvious that the correct choice is to abandon the carriage and flee.
But even so, he didn't drag the clients away and run because he understood that losing the carriage was the same as telling them to die.
Edds didn't become an adventurer at sixteen for nothing.
Due to poor harvests and monster damage overlapping, he and his childhood friend Pal were half-abandoned and sent to Hekatai to reduce mouths to feed.
For country bumpkins with no connections, the only job available was becoming an adventurer.
He had no choice, so he became an adventurer.
Even so, he admired them, he had admired them.
Even if they were mocked as scavengers, he admired those who mocked them while risking their lives to fight monsters.
He thinks if there had been even one human like them in their village, things would have been different, and that's why he must become one himself.
Abandoning the merchants here now would be the same as abandoning himself, the one who arrived in Hekatai with Pal, both wearing anxious faces that day.
"What do we do, Edds! The horses won't calm down!"
Pal is trying to calm the horses with the help of the clients, but with a dragon rampaging so close by, it's no use.
The horses aren't calming down at all.
The bearded guy, a fellow adventurer, is trying to do something about the axle, but the carriage loaded with magic tools is heavy, and his physical enhancement isn't enough to move it.
Edds deeply regretted that his own physical enhancement was so immature.
His adventurer mentor took on many apprentices, so while kind, he wasn't the type to teach individually.
It's no excuse, but he thinks he should have been greedier in seeking guidance.
Because he managed to make a living as a scavenger, he became complacent.
He understands why he was mocked as a scavenger in Hekatai.
No, even in Faltarl, where scavengers are respected, a scavenger like him would still be mocked.
If what you desire is cheap, you should quit a job like adventuring that doesn't pay off.
"Damn it all!"
Edds shouted while pulling the misaligned axle with all his strength.
It was a cry of regret toward his past self, who had been delighted at buying a carriage to transport magic stone fragments.
That's not how it should be, right?
And then——Edds saw it.
A miracle that his physical enhancement could never achieve, no matter what he weighed on the scales.
The figure of Shin Longdagger, who took the Jewelhead Dragon's charge head-on, and even lifted it high and threw it away.
Everyone was watching that figure, stunned by a roar that should never come from a human body.
No one could comprehend the scene before their eyes.
Only one person, the bearded guy, muttered in a daze.
"Not bad, masked person."
Edds thought that even if he was surprised, he should at least become an adventurer who could say something like that.
*