Chapter 119

It was a special move, simple yet overwhelmingly destructive. Among the advanced skills, it was quite a useful one.

I quickly opened my eyes.

“Go to the shop, find Primordial Thunderclap Blade, and exchange for it.”

“Primordial Thunderclap Blade? Why’s the name so complicated? Hold on…”

A moment later, Alex, having acquired the skill, opened his eyes.

“I got it.”

“It levels up, so practice it diligently.”

“Levels up?”

“Its destructive power increases with proficiency. If you master it, it can even reach the strength of a supreme-grade skill.”

“Wow, really?”

“That’s why I told you not to buy just anything. For the same price, a growth-type skill is much better, isn’t it?”

“I should’ve listened to you and saved up… The skill I bought last time was useless, just a waste of points. Are there many skills like that? What else is there?”

“Why are you getting greedy when you don’t have any points? Focus on mastering that one and save your points. You’ll need them to exchange for equipment later.”

“This sword is pretty useful, though. Not as good as Father’s, but still.”

“It’s not a matter of good or bad. For your build, a bastard sword is a better fit than a long sword.”

It was then.

Kaiel, who had been observing the situation from a tree branch, whistled.

*Wh-ee-ew!*

His eyes met mine, and he gestured with his chin. The Earth Dragon, having recognized Johan as its prey, had begun its pursuit in earnest.

The creature, which had been crawling along the ground, lifted its head toward Johan.

*W-oo-oo-oong—w-oo-oong—*

Its snout vibrated as its mouth gaped wide open.

Its entire face transformed into a massive hole, revealing interlocking teeth like a saw. The beast was so colossal that a single fang was the size of a man.

“Get closer!”

The Chimera banked sharply in the air, approaching the Earth Dragon.

The beast had almost caught up to Johan.

A cloud of hazy dust spewed from its fully opened mouth, and a bizarre noise echoed continuously.

*Strange. It wasn’t this fast before…*

The Earth Dragon’s weakness was its slow speed. Wasn’t that why I had been able to take it down alone in my past life?

*To think its only weakness is gone…*

It was the same boss, but its level was clearly higher.

“Alex, you take its body from the waist to the tail. I’ll handle the upper part.”

“I don’t know where its waist is… but alright.”

“Let’s go!”

Alex and I jumped down together.

Landing near the Earth Dragon’s tail, Alex swung his sword down hard and shouted.

“Take this! Primordial Thunderclap Blade!”

*Ugh, why is he being like that… How embarrassing!*

I cringed at his dramatic line, but the attack landed perfectly.

The creature’s body, which had to be over ten meters thick, split open, a deep gash forming. Pale bodily fluids shot up like a fountain.

I, too, landed on its torso and immediately plunged Arondight deep into its flesh.

“Special skill: Explosion.”

*K-uaaaaargh!*

The Earth Dragon, which had been chasing Johan, thrashed its long body violently.

The force of its movements uprooted massive trees and tore deep gouges in the earth.

The others were fine since they were in the air, but Johan was in trouble.

“Johan! Watch out!”

Johan swiftly dodged the debris raining down from all directions.

At the same time, he carefully controlled his distance from the Earth Dragon.

If he got too far, the beast might lose track of him.

I kept Arondight buried deep in the Earth Dragon’s body, bracing myself so I wouldn’t be thrown off.

Then, as the creature’s struggles began to subside, I summoned the Chimera and leaped onto its back.

“To the tail!”

I grabbed its feathers and steered it, and the Chimera veered toward Alex.

“Alex!”

I waited until we were close enough, then stretched out my arm from the air.

“Grab on!”

“Okay!”

Alex, who had been clinging to the beast’s body, drenched in its fluids, leaped up and grabbed my arm. I pulled him up.

Once Alex was aboard, the Chimera rapidly gained altitude.

*Wh-oo-oo-sh!* The wind howled around us. Alex’s voice cut through the fierce gale.

“It’s not dead!”

“An attack like that is nowhere near enough! We have to strike again before it regenerates!”

After putting some distance between us, I looked down to see the Earth Dragon sluggishly moving its head.

“Disgusting bastard. Its chest and tail are in tatters, but it’s still alive. What’s it doing?”

“It’s searching for its enemy.”

But the eyeless creature could only sense its prey, Johan.

Johan, quick on the uptake, started running again. The beast, which had been scanning its surroundings, turned its head toward him.

“If the boss starts chasing Johan, we do the same thing again.”

“Got it.”

“And… don’t you ever shout something like that before you attack again. If you must, say it in your head. Where only you can hear.”

“Why? Was it too cool?”

“Do you want to be buried along with the Earth Dragon?”

“…I won’t do it again.”

Alex replied sullenly, then his eyes widened.

“Huh? Something’s weird.”

“What is?”

“There! The boss!”

I quickly looked down. The Earth Dragon, which I expected to be chasing Johan, was burying its head deep into the ground. It was trying to escape underground.

“Uh oh… It’s not supposed to do that, is it?”

“You think? Kai—!”

Before I could even finish calling his name, Kaiel, having already assessed the situation, shot into the air.

“Johan, please fall back.”

As soon as Johan was clear of the Earth Dragon, Kaiel’s grim and ruthless voice spread low across the ground.

“Special skill: Spear of Lightning.”

*R-u-u-umble!*

Dark, ominous clouds swarmed across the sky. The sun was obscured, and the world plunged into darkness.

The moment my eyes adjusted to the gloom, a thick bolt of lightning shot down from the heavens in a straight line.

*K-wa-kwa-kwang!*

A spear made of pure lightning struck the Earth Dragon just as it was about to burrow into the ground.

Engulfed in light, the Earth Dragon convulsed violently.

Even after the skill’s power dissipated, the beast couldn’t recover. A residual current of electricity remained, tormenting it.

We waited for the current to fade before resuming our assault.

We repeated this cycle more than ten times, but the Earth Dragon refused to die.

It also stopped trying to escape underground. Realizing a lightning bolt would strike the moment it buried its head, it had given up on hiding entirely.

Instead, it began to indiscriminately devour everything around it, pushing its regenerative abilities to their absolute limit.

It no longer paid any attention to Johan. It simply focused on regenerating, shoveling immense amounts of soil and tree debris into its massive maw.

*It seems to have gained some intelligence…*

The creature was acting strategically. It was supposed to be a mindless beast.

Even its regenerative power felt stronger. In my past life, it would have been dead long ago after taking this much damage, yet it was still alive.

*The difficulty has definitely gone up.*

But as time wore on, the beast’s once-powerful regeneration began to slow. Its body was damaged beyond what could be healed by just soil and wood.

We were getting exhausted, too.

My special skills were terribly inefficient, so it was to be expected for me. Kaiel didn’t show it, but he looked very tired as well.

Alex’s face had turned deathly pale. It was the result of overusing a skill he wasn’t accustomed to.

Johan was in the best condition, but he had come unarmed to keep himself light. Besides, his weapon had long since become the Earth Dragon’s meal.

*We can’t drag this out. We need to end this now.*

“Alex, can you attack one more time?”

“O-of course! *Urp!* This big brother of yours is, *ugh*, perfectly fine!”

“…”

I gently patted the back of Alex, who managed to answer despite his retching.

“This is the last time. Just hang in there a little longer.”

“Ugh… I said I’m fine.”

Alex whipped his head away.

His earlobes were flushed red, clearly embarrassed to be seen on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion in front of his little sister.

*He probably won’t pass out, at least.*

I let out a small smile and called out to Johan.

“Johan! Do you have an offensive special skill? It has to be one you can use without a weapon!”

Johan seemed to ponder for a moment before nodding.

I was worried he might only have defensive or healing skills since he was a priest, so that was a relief.

“Great! Then, Kaiel! When I give the signal, please use your magic. Something that will inflict the maximum possible damage on that lump of lard!”

“Understood.”

“And right after that, Johan, you’ll follow up with your special skill! Don’t give it any time to regenerate!”

“Leave it to me, Lady Astell.”

Typically, the more powerful a special skill, the longer the wait before you can use it again.

In my past life, we called this a cooldown.

Cooldowns are critical. It’s when a Hunter is most vulnerable and the perfect opportunity for a monster to escape.

To completely subdue the Earth Dragon, the key was to eliminate any gaps in our attacks, giving it no time to regenerate.

“This is the final push! Everyone, prepare your single most powerful attack!”

Kaiel landed on the ground. It meant he intended to pour even the mana used for his flying magic into his attack.

The Earth Dragon must have felt his vibrations, but it continued to inhale everything in its vicinity.

It was focusing on the readily available, if less tasty, meal rather than expending energy for a more delicious one.

*It definitely has intelligence now.*

“Kaiel! When you’re ready, begin!”

Kaiel closed his eyes gently.

Suddenly, the wind died down, and an eerie energy filled the air.

“Special skill: Tears of Black Sand.”

There was no lightning strike, no brilliant explosion. It was utterly silent, without a single sound.

Alex whispered under his breath.

“Nothing’s happening. Did it fail?”