NOVEL NEXT Chapter 13
Chapter 13
“Whoooosh…!”
Let’s call it the Crystal Dragon for now.
And here I am, Yamamoto, being thoroughly threatened by it.
Hello.
Yeah, the sparkling dragon made of crystal has completely locked onto me as an enemy. There’s no atmosphere for talking it out.
Was it a bad idea to use 【Appraisal】 right off the bat?
But manners with monsters? Not really a thing.
At this point, fighting seems to be the only option… right?
I put away my 【Experienced Pickaxe】 in storage and pull out my trusty long sword.
Well, as a magic user, I’m not really going to engage in close combat, but creating the right mood is important!
And so, without any particularly grand exchanges, the battle begins!
As the Crystal Dragon charges at me with its mouth wide open, I move and repeatedly cast 【Fire Strike】. I chose this spell because it’s the fastest and has the quickest cooldown, but although it hits, it doesn’t seem to do much damage.
The Crystal Dragon charges forward without even flinching.
It tries to bite me with its mouth wide open, but I easily dodge its attack.
Apparently, my intuition and agility are far superior. Honestly, with such sluggish movements, I can dodge all day long.
The Crystal Dragon keeps charging at me like a fool, allowing me to keep my distance and hit it with spells. But after a few repetitions, its behavior changes.
It starts stomping the ground with its front legs, and suddenly, a huge amount of crystals rain down from above!?
“No way, avoiding this is–… hey, charging at me now is cheating!”
It feels like being trapped in a steel utility closet and then being thrown with full force. The impact is that intense.
Desperately holding my head to keep it from being ripped off, I spiral backward!
I hit the ground hard, and an involuntary “Guh!” escapes my mouth…
Oh no, I feel like crying…
When was the last time I felt pain like this…?
“Hea-, 【Heal Light】…”
As the light showered over me, memories from the past came rushing back.
It was the same shock I felt when a girl I thought was my best friend yelled, “You knew I liked ○○, and yet you still did this! You’re the worst!” and slapped me hard across the face.
Back then, I saw stars, and the impact now felt just as intense.
I mean, seriously! You never once told me you liked him! Why did I have to get slapped just for turning him down!?
Thinking back, that incident marked the beginning of my isolation in class. Soon after, the ignoring and bullying started… right?
No matter how much I think about it now, I still don’t understand why I got slapped!?
“Ah, come on! Am I getting flustered from the pain? Get it together, me!”
A flood of flashbacks overwhelmed me!
And before the 【Heal Light】 spell ended, the Crystal Dragon turned around and aimed its tail to strike. Yikes!
No time to dodge!? I can only withstand it!?
Just as I raised my arms to brace for the impact, a sudden flash of inspiration hit me.
“Deflect it from below upwards!”
I timed it perfectly to scoop up the giant tail rushing toward me and fling it upwards!
The timing must have been spot on, because the tail that came speeding at me went flying overhead and off into the distance.
Is this the work of my intuition parameter?
Nice job!
As the Crystal Dragon lost its balance due to its tail’s unexpected trajectory, I took the opportunity to slash at its hind leg with my long sword.
“Take that!”
Clang!
A dreadful sound, like metal clashing against metal!
I wanted to cover my ears but resisted and struck a second and third blow.
But it’s not working!
“It’s already starting to regain its balance!? This is too strong!”
And the Crystal Dragon’s movements were quick.
I put my long sword back into storage and took out my 【Experienced Pickaxe】 this time.
I hooked the pickaxe onto the Crystal Dragon’s crystalline scales and leaped onto its back in one swift motion.
Normally, this would be impossible, but my 【Balance】 skill was doing its job! I love having such a reliable 【Balance】 skill for these moments!
“Heh heh heh, now I’ll ride on your back and stab you repeatedly…”
As I uttered villainous lines, I took another look at the Crystal Dragon’s back—
It was covered in mining points!?
Why!? But I can’t resist! I must mine!
“I will become the King of Mining!”
With the spirit of a mining king coursing through me, I quickly started mining the points on the Crystal Dragon’s back while riding it like a rodeo.
Once again, my 【Balance】 skill was a huge help! Ha ha ha, I won’t fall off no matter how much it shakes me now!
And wow! This place is a treasure trove of materials!
Oh.
By the time I realized it, the Crystal Dragon’s back looked like a heavily deforested mountain.
“Who could have done something so terrible!?”
Yes, it was me.
Saying that, I switched my weapon to the long sword and started stabbing the now crystal-less dragon’s back repeatedly!
Damage effects flew spectacularly, and it was clear that I was doing much more damage than before.
Just one more push! As I was giving it my all, the Crystal Dragon mustered its last bit of strength and threw me off its back.
I couldn’t resist!
Or rather, it felt like the system forcibly ejected me?
But thanks to my 【Balance】 skill, I landed gracefully like a cat! A perfect ten!
“Darn, it’s not that easy, huh?”
As I thought that, the Crystal Dragon began moving towards the underground lake. Oh no you don’t! If it reaches the lake, I won’t have any way to attack it, so I can’t let it escape!
“You’re not getting away! 【Carriage Summon】! And hit-and-run attack!”
Drifting in with the Dendrobium, I rammed into the Crystal Dragon, knocking its massive body away from the underground lake.
Don’t underestimate the invincibility of my safe zone!
Perhaps angered by this, the Crystal Dragon stood up on two legs to intimidate me, but I was quicker.
“Too high and mighty! Take this! Grand★Slash!”
Leaping from the accelerating carriage, using its roof as a stepping stone, I jumped into the air and delivered a powerful overhead strike to the Crystal Dragon’s head!
With a thunderous sound, my attack landed, triggering a critical hit. The flashy effect exploded, and the Crystal Dragon’s head slammed violently into the ground.
“Alright! …Oh, it’s stunned.”
I could see a cute little chick icon floating above the Crystal Dragon’s head.
Is this a big chance!?
“I’ll finish this in one go!”
Taking advantage of the Crystal Dragon’s immobility, I set up multiple 【Fire Pillars】 and repeatedly bashed its head with my long sword!
I don’t have any swordsmanship skills, so it’s completely brute force, but who cares!
Just end already! I thought as a fierce light erupted from the Crystal Dragon’s body…
I jumped back in caution, but it seemed my worries were unfounded.
As the light burst and scattered, the Crystal Dragon’s body seemed to dissolve into the air, disappearing smoothly.
And what remained was the quiet sound of water echoing in the cave…
“Did I… win?”
There were some tense moments, but did I somehow manage to win?
It looks like I won…?
“I won…”
With that realization, all the strength left my body, and I collapsed on the spot.
Ugh, that was terrifying…
I thought I was going to die…
Darn you, Gaga! This is why you shouldn’t go to dungeons alone! I nearly died!
＜Player: 【Yamamoto】 has defeated the EOD ‘Crystal Dragon’.＞
▶ You have achieved the first defeat of EOD ‘Crystal Dragon’.
10 SP has been added.
▶ You have solo defeated the EOD ‘Crystal Dragon’.
SP 5 has been added.
▶ You have earned the title 【Dragon Slayer】.
SP 5 has been added.
▶ You gained 10,240 experience points.
▶ You received 8,252 reward stones.
▶ You acquired the Crystal Dragon’s Jewel.
▶ You acquired the Crystal Dragon’s Scales.
▶ You acquired the Crystal Dragon’s Fang.
▶ You acquired the Crystal Dragon’s Claw.
▶ Yamamoto has leveled up 4 times.
▶ 【Balance】 has activated.
Adjusting the balance of acquired items.
▶ You received an additional 1,988 reward stones.
▶ You acquired the Crystal Dragon’s Horn.
▶ You acquired the Crystal Dragon’s Tail.
▶ You acquired the Crystal Dragon’s Reverse Scale.
“That’s just like Balance to do that…”
Ignoring the drop rate and providing a perfectly balanced array of all rare items, it’s an incredible skill as always.
My moment of relaxation lasted only until then.
▶ 【Balance】 has activated.
Adjusting the balance of combat techniques.
▶ A new martial arts style, 【Yamamoto Style】, has been created.
▶ You have acquired 【Yamamoto Style】.
▶ 【Hit-and-Run Attack】 has been registered in 【Yamamoto Style】.
▶ 【I Will Become the Mining King】 has been registered in 【Yamamoto Style】.
▶ 【Grand★Slash】 has been registered in 【Yamamoto Style】.
“Wait, what…?”
It’s expected for 【Balance】 to activate and increase the reward stones or grant more items.
But what is this 【Yamamoto Style】?
Wait, 【Balance】, hold on a second?
I hastily pulled up my status screen and checked my common skills.
“There it is… 【Yamamoto Style】… something new has appeared…”
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
【Yamamoto Style】
A free-form combat style that does not belong to any existing system. This style can only be mastered if the user does not possess any attack assist skills.
※ You are the founder. You can register any techniques you master into this style.
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
Level 1 [Hit-and-Run Attack]
Level 2 [I Will Become the Mining King]
Level 3 [Great★Slice★Zan]
===========================
“What is thiiiiis!?”
For now, let’s change the skill name [Great★Slice★Zan] to [Great★Slice★Cut]… No, that’s not it!
“Is it that!? Because my attack method is too free and doesn’t match any existing skill data at all, did [Balance] adjust the balance with the existing skill data set and systematize my fighting style as one of the skills!?”
Balance-san typically balances with larger things and tends to elevate smaller things to match larger ones.
Yes. For example, the relationship between experience points and reward stones.
This case is probably similar.
Between the many skill groups and my freely used attacks… Normally, my attacks wouldn’t even be considered skills, but for Balance-san, it seems it felt wrong to have special attacks that weren’t classified as skills.
So, as a result of balancing, my special attacks became established as skills…?
Well, I guess I have to accept it as such…
“No, these unique skills are still weird, right!?”
There’s a limit to what one can comprehend!
This skill is definitely weird!
For now, I shouted “It’s weird!” at the top of my lungs towards the underground lake, and that calmed me down.
Phew, let’s assess the current situation.
“The damage I took is almost none, thanks to the healing magic effect? Was the monster not that high in attack power? It seemed really strong… or rather, it was strong.”
And in my item bag, there’s a large amount of something called [Crystal Steel] that I’ve never seen or heard of before.
I probably [Mined] it when I stripped the Crystal Dragon’s back bare.
There are also numerous drop items from the Crystal Dragon.
But there aren’t that many, so I probably can’t use them carelessly in production work. Should I save them for crucial moments? But I have weak willpower…
“Well, for now, I guess I’ll continue mining. I can’t even make [Iron Ingots] in the first place…”
That’s right. While I obtained a large number of items related to the Crystal Dragon, I’m severely lacking the crucial [Iron Ore].
I took out the [Expert Pickaxe] from my [Storage] and, while looking at the multiple mining points that had somehow respawned, I activated my newly acquired skill.
“[I Will Become the Mining King]!”
Rattarattaratta!
“Whoa, that’s amaz…”
In an instant, all the mining points within sight were completely [Mined].
This is the kind of craziness you’d expect from a combat skill! It’s an ultra-convenient skill!
“Yeah, yeah. The Yamamoto style aims to be a school convenient for producers!”
As I was nodding to myself, a sudden chat notification appeared at the edge of my vision.
Feeling a bit startled, I pressed the call accept button without even checking who it was.
“Hello hello, Tatsu-san? What’s up? Are you asking for money?”
Right, Tatsu-san is still my only friend! I didn’t need to check the name, I knew it was Tatsu-san! It’s a bit sad! Damn it!
“No, Yama-chan, what are you doing!”
“What do you mean… I’m [Mining], but?”
“No, just now, your name appeared in a World Announcement! Something about defeating an EOD or something…”
Well, even if you tell me that…
For now, Tatsu-san taught me how to prevent my name from appearing in World Announcements. With this, I can rest easy knowing that whatever I do from now on won’t be announced to the world.
Come to think of it, if my name was in a World Announcement, does that mean I’m famous now?
Maybe I should make some kind of item to hide my face?
“So? What did you do?”
Before hiding my face, perhaps I should spill everything to Tatsu-san and get him involved in various ways.