71 – The Best Weapon
As we got closer to the top of Mount Aldera, the temperature suddenly dropped.
It was so cold that it felt like we were in a different region altogether, with visible breaths in the air.
I turned around, worried about Silphy who was wearing light clothing under her fur coat, only to find her shivering and making a clattering sound.
“See, it’s cold.”
“S-S-Senior… it’s… so… c-c-cold.”
Her confident demeanor that it wasn’t cold disappeared, and she trembled with hunched shoulders, making sounds of distress.
I feel a bit guilty for not bringing extra warm clothes, relying only on the reassurance that she would be fine.
Even though I’m wearing much warmer clothes than Silphy, I can still feel the cold. What if we end up freezing to death?
Leaving it like this doesn’t feel right. Is there no other way?
As long as it’s not a form of magic that releases magic outward, a magic overload won’t occur.
Then, can I use my magic to warm up our bodies?
Ever since the narrator hinted that my ability to freely apply magic in various forms through imagination might be a special talent, I gained a bit of confidence and became curious to try out more diverse things with my magic.
I’m still in a dangerous state because using any form of magic that releases it outward would cause it to go out of control.
“Wait a moment.”
I stopped in my tracks and focused my mind, concentrating my mana into the palm of my right hand.
Careful not to let the mana escape, I moved the gathered energy as close to the skin as possible.
And I imagined the warm sensation of holding a freshly heated hand warmer in my hand, as the mana heated up my skin.
“Oh…”
After a moment, I could feel my palm gradually warming up.
There was no mana overflow.
If there had been, my palm wouldn’t have been unscathed.
I can’t believe I tried something like this without even a hint of fear.
Well, I do have a good grasp of the threshold for mana overflow, but just in case, I decided to test it on my palm before trying it on my whole body.
“Siphy, can you give me your hand?”
“What? Senior…”
“It’s cold. Hold my hand.”
Siphy hesitantly extended her hand, wearing a puzzled expression, and grabbed my hand that had been warmed by mana.
Her eyes widened.
“It’s really warm…! What’s this? Are senior’s hands naturally this warm?”
“I used mana to raise the temperature of my hand.”
“Wow… you can do something like that too? You’re truly amazing.”
“Just wait a little longer.”
I focused my mind again, sparkling with anticipation, in front of the curious Siphy.
This time, I tried to send the magic evenly throughout my entire body, not just my palms.
Since it would be dangerous if the internal body temperature of a person rises and they develop a fever, I made sure that only my skin would warm up this time as well.
Once the heat rose in my body, I took off the fur coat I was wearing and handed it to Sylphy.
“Here, put this on. I think I can keep my body warm with magic.”
“Are you sure? I’m really sorry…”
“It’s okay. Actually, if I put this on now, it’ll be too hot.”
“T-Thank you, Senpai…”
Sylphy thanked me with a slightly bowed head as she put on the fur coat over her own.
Alright, with this, our cold countermeasures are complete.
The only thing left is to find and hunt the Steelheart Dragon.
* * *
We were able to find the Steelheart Dragon in front of a rock cave near the summit of Aldera Mountain.
“That’s the Steelheart Dragon… It looks even stranger than I imagined.”
“I-It’s bigger than I thought.”
We watched the Steelheart Dragon, which was wandering around in front of the cave, from behind a tree and spoke in hushed voices.
It was covered in scales that resembled a mix of crocodile, lizard, and dinosaur, with a body covered in armor-like scales.
With its short limbs, large body, and sharp teeth, it looked tough at first glance.
Is that a Dragonite ore attached to its heart?
Alright, let’s take care of it quickly and go back.
“Sylphy, hide over here. You don’t have to help me.”
I made Sylphi wait behind me and drew my sword, filling the blade with magic.
Then I charged straight towards the wandering Steelheart Dragon.
As I ran towards it, the creature noticed my presence and slowly turned its body towards me.
Perhaps due to its massive size, its movements were sluggish.
At this speed, it seemed like I could strike the creature before it could fully turn towards me, my sword hitting it with enough force.
“Haaat!”
With my sword filled with magic, I swung it down on the creature’s back from above.
But.
Ting!
Instead of the force I expected to cleave through its body, the sword bounced off without any impact.
It was bewildering.
I had never failed to cut through like this before.
Even strikes with a steel sword filled with the same magic had shattered, but it had no effect on this creature?
“Krrr….”
The Steelheart Dragon let out a threatening sound as it turned its body completely.
It would be dangerous to face it head-on judging by its appearance.
Fortunately, the creature’s movements were slow, so as long as I quickly turned to the side and fought, I wouldn’t be subjected to any fatal attacks.
Thump, thump, thump!
The Steelheart Dragon shook its head from side to side, making heavy footsteps as it began to charge forward.
I was already moving away from its head, aiming for its side.
Was it a mistake to aim for the strongest-looking back?
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This time, I’ll aim for the side where the armor-like scales are slightly smaller.
Ting!
But once again, my attack was easily deflected.
Just how strong are the scales covering its body?
Only now do I realize that Alcott’s words, “It’s sturdy,” were not an exaggeration.
This is troublesome.
At this rate, it will never end.
If I can’t land a single blow on the opponent, no matter how skillful my movements are, I won’t be able to hunt and extract Dragonite ore.
“Senpai! Are you okay?”
Sylphi, who was watching the fight, shouted to me.
Oh no, even Sylphi is watching me. It’s embarrassing.
If I don’t find a way to defeat this guy somehow…
The fortunate thing is that even though its defense might be strong like a fortress, its offensive power is pathetic.
Looking at its large size and sharp teeth, its biting force might be fearsome, but its attacks are simple and slow, making them easy to dodge.
It simply turns its body with a creaking sound and charges forward; that’s the extent of its attack.
If you’re hit by such an attack, you can confidently say that you don’t deserve to be an adventurer.
However, my attacks are also ineffective.
Continuing to launch attacks that are easily deflected is just a waste of effort.
No, if it’s that sturdy, I’m worried about how I’ll extract its heart later.
Yunoa was struggling to find a way to overcome the durability of the Steelheart Dragon, whom she had encountered for the first time in her life.
The scales surrounding the Steelheart Dragon’s body had the ability to absorb magic power.
Therefore, when attacked with an attack that utilized magic power, it would immediately lose that power.
Magic spells wouldn’t work due to the same principle, and most attacks that relied on the power of magic also wouldn’t work.
This characteristic of the scales only remained as long as the Steelheart Dragon was alive, and it disappeared when its life was cut off.
While struggling with the difficulty of the attack and buying time, a narration echoed in Yunoa’s mind.
Scales that absorb magic power.
So that’s why my sword strikes, which can even cut through steel, have no effect on this creature.
If I don’t infuse my swinging sword with magic power, it’s no different from an ordinary person swinging a sword.
It has a troublesome characteristic.
Moreover, if its life is cut off, the characteristic of the scales that absorb magic power also disappears.
If the characteristic of the scales continued, it would have been quite popular as a material for armor, I suppose.
Anyway, as long as those scales protected its body, there was no way to land an effective blow.
To strike that armored torso with pure strength, without using the power of magic, was impossible with this sword.
Maybe if I swung a large steel hammer-like blunt weapon at it until it broke.
The strange expression of the owner of the village tavern, who had asked me, “Are you planning to hunt with that sword?” while looking at my sword, came to mind.
“Krrr!”
The Steelheart Dragon turned its body again and let out a roar.
Is there a way to harm this creature only with pure physical strength, without using magic power?
No, it’s probably impossible.
The strength of an adventurer is said to come from their magic power, and that is no exaggeration.
If that’s the case, then there’s no choice but to find a body part without those annoying scales and attack it.
Maybe there’s a soft spot on the abdomen, like on a hedgehog or a pangolin, where there are no scales?
I’ve thought about it, but I can’t think of a way to flip over that heavy body and expose its belly.
That’s when it happened.
“Grrr!”
The Steelheart Dragon looked straight at me and let out another loud roar.
Its mouth opened wide, and its sharp teeth were threateningly exposed.
Its mouth.
Yes, there were no scales covering its mouth.
When it started charging straight at me, instead of dodging to the side, this time I took a stance where I could thrust my sword at any moment.
Thump, thump, thump.
The Steelheart Dragon gradually increased its speed and ran towards me.
Come on, please don’t charge at me like a rhinoceros, just open your mouth again.
I also kept my legs tense, just in case it pushes me away.
At the same time, I didn’t release my stabbing stance, waiting for it to open its mouth.
Thump, thump, thump.
Even though its movements were slowing down, I still felt tense because I had to face it head-on.
The sound of its footsteps felt like the sound of my heartbeat as it approached right in front of me.
And in that moment, the Steelheart Dragon’s mouth opened wide.
“Now is the time!”
Whoosh-!
With all my strength, I thrust the sword full of magic into the wretched creature’s gaping mouth.
The sword, which had been bouncing off the scales, smoothly penetrated all the way to the end.
The Steelheart Dragon, experiencing intense pain, snapped its mouth shut.
But if it had a mouth without scales, I could have torn it apart with the sword.
“Die!”
I twisted the direction of the hand holding the sword.
And I moved in every direction possible, turning the creature’s mouth upside down.
Finally, after closing its mouth, it opened again, spewing out red arterial blood.
When I pulled the sword out of its mouth, a portion of its tongue and teeth fell with a thud, covered in blood.
“Krrr….”
The Steelheart Dragon, its mouth covered in blood, seemed to have lost its will to fight and tried to turn its back on me.
But perhaps the bleeding was too severe, it couldn’t take a few steps and instead collapsed on the ground, trembling.
* * *