Another World Reincarnation Chronicle

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[Kiwaaaak!]

The Crystal Stone Dragon, which had fallen, immediately rose to its feet. Seeing the Crystal Stones clinging to its body pour out without regenerating, it seemed the technique had certainly taken effect.

Although I was calling it a dragon due to its appearance, its strength was far from that of a true dragon. The dragons from my memories conveyed through Mana were absolute beings reigning above all creatures.

If I had used the technique against a real dragon, it would have been me, not the Crystal Stone Dragon, who got flung away.

“Seris…? Was that just now…?”

Celyon stared at me with a shocked expression. Not just her, but everyone watching this fight wore similar looks.

Anyway, I had stopped the most threatening weapon, its Crystal Stone regeneration. Though I was concerned about the gazes of those around me, it was best to move now to finish off that creature.

I rushed towards the groaning Crystal Stone Dragon, stretching my Storm Bringer in my hand. Seeing me, Celyon also began to run alongside me, which served as a signal for the hesitant adventurers to draw their weapons and charge in.

It was my first time coordinating with dozens of people, but my heightened senses transcended humanity, making everything possible.

Dozens of slashes cut through the air, carving down the pure white Crystal Stone. As the white snow-like shards began to scatter, the Crystal Stone Dragon screamed and started swinging its body around.

Even though the Crystal Stone Dragon couldn’t use Mana, preventing its regeneration and long-range bombardment, it hadn’t lost its massive mass.

It swung wildly, not caring for its own body, attacking the adventurers indiscriminately. Its long front limbs upheaved the ground, and its wings, covered in Crystal Stone, sliced through like blades. If the adventurers distanced themselves from its attacks, it immediately whipped its long tail like a whip.

The resistance of the Crystal Stone Dragon was fierce, but those gathered here were individuals who had made monster hunting their lifelong profession.

As the adventurers regained their composure, they began using various tools for monster capturing, and the Dragon’s resistance started to weaken.

After rampaging for a while, the creature seemed to sense danger and tried to flee into the sky, but chains flew in from all directions, pinning its body down to the ground.

[Kuwaaaak!]

The end of the battle was drawing near. It wasn’t just me; everyone present could feel that fact, and the movement of the adventurers began to accelerate.

“H-Hey! We need to capture it alive!”

“Don’t kill it!”

While continuing the frantic battle, hidden scholars suddenly popped out, shouting at the adventurers. Since it was a monster none of us had seen before, we were supposed to follow their words, but that felt nearly impossible given the current situation.

To capture it, we needed many strong chains. Even at this moment, the chains wrapped around its body were breaking away.

And then, at that moment, Celyon leaped into the air, falling down and embedding her sword into the eye of the Crystal Stone Dragon. The weak touch of Mana in that strike must have pierced through the solid eyeball and shaken up whatever viscera lay beyond.

That was it. As the light began to fade from the pure white Crystal Stone, the massive body of the dragon started to tilt downward.

Boom-!

There were no cheers announcing our victory. There was too much lost in this fight for anyone to celebrate the fact that the monster had fallen.

In the midst of a delicate silence, the adventurers began to quietly attend to what needed to be done. Meanwhile, the groans of the wounded spread along with the smell of blood.

*

The collection of materials from the Crystal Stone Dragon took a full day to complete. Even with dozens of adventurers working at it, the speed was abysmally slow due to the hard Crystal Stones that made up its body.

During the process of dismantling the Crystal Stone Dragon, the scholars finally confirmed its species. It wasn’t a true dragon but a wyvern, a sub-type of dragons.

The scholars mentioned that while they weren’t certain, the unique Mana of this land had evolved this wyvern to look like a dragon.

Eventually, this monster came to be known as the Crystal Stone Wyvern.

Of course, the adventurers showed no interest in the scholars’ words. They only cared about the materials acquired from the monster.

The materials that could be harvested from the Crystal Stone Wyvern included its flowing blood, skin, and the translucent white bones that looked like crystal, alongside various shards of Crystal Stone detaching from its body, but what caught my eye was a heart the size of my torso.

At first, I thought it wasn’t a heart. This was because it was completely covered in pure white Crystal Stone. The other organs didn’t look much different from ordinary creatures, but the heart had a distinctly unusual shape.

I was given the opportunity to claim the materials from the Crystal Stone Wyvern. Naturally, I took the oddly shaped heart. I could feel subtle movements of Mana within it.

None of the companions who fought with me raised any objections, but the scholars watched me take the heart with regretful expressions.

Late at night, I received a great number of guests. From the team leaders of the Gold rank to adventurers who were saved by me.

Once everyone departed, the last visitor was Celyon. She looked at me with a complex expression.

“Welcome, Celyon. Did you have dinner?”

“Ah, I’ve eaten… But…”

Celyon, who had been looking down at me and mumbling, let out a light sigh and sat down near me. The flames of the campfire crackled loudly.

“Have you been hiding your skills all this time?”

I hesitated to answer. When I was taking my Silver promotion examination, I had truly done my best to wield my sword. The only thing I hadn’t shown her was my magic.

“A little…?”

“Is that a little? You looked completely different from during the promotion examination!”

“Um… A lot has happened since then.”

Celyon lightly laughed in surprise at my response. However, it wasn’t a displeased kind of laugh. I responded with a small smile, mirroring Celyon’s smile.

“Kids grow fast, right?”

“Well… From my perspective…”

Celyon frowned slightly at my response, looking me up and down. I awkwardly straightened my back and lifted my chin, trying to appear taller.

“Anyway… You weren’t uncomfortable, were you?”

“Uncomfortable?”

“Yeah. Those weaker than you have been giving orders and such.”

“Ah, no, I absolutely don’t think that.”

I waved my hands at Celyon’s words, denying them. Celyon then exhaled in relief.

“Thank goodness. I was worried that might be the case.”

“It’s absolutely not….”

Celyon and I had many conversations while seated around the small campfire. Usually, she would ask questions, and I would answer.

“Was your main weapon that great sword?”

“No. I haven’t used the Storm Bringer for long.”

“Did you say you received it as a reward from an Orc warrior…?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, so that was true after all.”

“You didn’t believe me?”

Celyon avoided my eyes in silence at my question. As that strange silence continued, Celyon peeked at me, then threw a new question.

“Earlier, how did you do that?”

“How did I do what?”

“That moment when you touched the body of the Crystal Stone Wyvern and it suddenly flew away.”

“Ah…”

I looked at Celyon with a peculiar expression. It seemed that our earlier conversations were merely preparation for this moment. The technique I used, called a technique, had intrigued her.

“Shall I tell you?”

“Uh…? Really? Is it okay?”

Celyon seemed pleasantly surprised at my answer as she asked back.

“You’ve taught me a lot, Celyon.”

Celyon had indeed taught me many things. Those experiences would surely be a great help in future adventures, so I was comfortable sharing my technique.

“Celyon, do you know how to use Mana?”

“Ah, yes.”

“How do you usually use it?”

“Well… I don’t really think about it too much… I just let it spread throughout my body naturally. Mana doesn’t really move the way I intend, anyway.”

“For now, let’s practice moving that Mana freely.”

Celyon nodded at my words and began to strain herself to move the Mana within her. However, it didn’t seem to be an easy task for her.

“Isn’t there a trick or something?”

I frowned at Celyon’s question. Ever since I awakened my Mana, I had instinctively used it as easily as breathing, so there wouldn’t be any tricks to share.

“Well… extend the energy inside your body outward?”

“How do you do that…?”

“Just…”

“Just?”

“Yes, you just do it…”

*

In the deep midnight hour, when everyone was asleep.

In the deep darkness, a black shadow moved smoothly. The identity of that shadow was Seris’s horse, Nightmare.

Nightmare limped on its hind legs and poked its head into Seris’s bag. Being far more intelligent than an ordinary horse, Nightmare could find what it desired within its owner’s bag.

It was a solid, transparent chunk of Crystal Stone. That was Nightmare’s goal.

Whack-!

Nightmare looked down at its owner with the object clutched in its mouth. The small and cute girl was peacefully asleep, unaware of anything in the world.

Nightmare regarded the small girl as its responsibility. It had always thought so and would continue to do so in the future.

However, today for the first time, it felt its own shortcomings. If only it had been a bit faster, and if it had been solid enough not to get hurt, it could have fought that massive dragon alongside the girl.

Nightmare knew how to fill its shortcomings. It was an instinctual realization, the seduction of Mana that responded to its essential desire.

Nightmare moved to the back of the tent and began to chew on the Crystal Stone chunk it had in its mouth. The sharp Crystal Stone tore into its mouth and spilled red blood, but Nightmare didn’t stop.

Its mouth, esophagus, and innards were being ripped apart. Yet, Nightmare felt no pain. It was experiencing euphoria for the first time in its life.

Crack-!

*

The next morning.

Upon waking up, I was left in utter shock. A strange horse was looking down at me.

With its long mane glistening as if it were imbued with Crystal Stone, it had a single large horn protruding from its head. That wasn’t all. As I lowered my gaze, I noticed its legs.

It looked as though it were wearing white crystal shoes, with sharp Crystal Stones rising up to its knees, including its hooves.

Whoosh-

A familiar breeze brushed over my face.

I trembled my eyebrows and asked the giant horse.

“Are you… Nightmare?”

Nightmare responded by lapping my cheek with its tongue.