Chapter 18

Well, I've been cornered by something strange.

The other side is faster, but the speed difference isn't that great. For now, I'll run in a direction away from the town to buy some time and think of a way to deal with it. I've taken off all my equipment to increase my speed.

What did Dovelaug say again? I think he mentioned that it's tough to take down in towns where there are few powerful mages.

In this case, I can probably handle it since I can use as many spells as multiple mages. However, it's said that because it's large, hard, heavy, and strong, neither swords nor shields can do anything against it. But how do you take it down if there's a mage around? I didn't ask. To begin with, I hardly know how ordinary mages use their magic.

So, what should I do?

Option 1: Run. There will likely be significant damage to the town, and even if I run, there won't be any powerful mages around. If I survive and bring this thing to the town, I might be killed. Rejected.

Option 2: Use items. There's nothing that would be useful. Rejected.

Option 3: Fight. This is the only option.

So, if I fight, how should I fight? Fortunately, it doesn't have much HP, so the contents of that armor are probably not that tough. If I can land a hit with a rock spear designed for Gargons, I can win. But it's called a "knight killer" for a reason, so that might be difficult.

What is the advantage of a mage over a knight? There must be a reason why a mage can handle this.

First, distance. Mages can attack from a distance, making it harder to be hit.

Then, there are special attacks and high-damage attacks. I don't know about others, but at least fire and water are the privileges of mages.

My MP is almost fully recovered, and the recovery is significant. Since I can use healing magic, I can recover from non-fatal injuries.

I should try various things. If other mages can do it, there must be some way I can too.

If it were said that 1,000 mages are needed, it would be impossible, but I don't think that's the case for a B-rank.

The Metal Lizard looks like a large, silver, stout lizard. The front armor is rough, but the back armor looks smooth and flat. It's about 2.5 meters tall and 10 meters long.

Tanks usually have thick front armor, but Dovelaug didn't mention any specific thick armor, and I can't see the sides, so I'll assume the front armor isn't particularly thick.

First, I'll run while taking out my staff and generating a rock spear while continuing to run. It seems that a knight's sword won't work, but what about a rock spear with a lot of MP?

I'll keep pouring 10 magic points per second and run for about a minute. The distance, which was about 150 meters, has shortened to about 100 meters. The rock spear, which has absorbed about 600 magic points, is now about 2.1 meters long and 50 centimeters thick.

It flies at about 100 km/h. Both the Metal Lizard and I are running at the speed of a car on a regular road, but the lizard is slightly faster, so the relative speed might be even higher. It doesn't seem to affect the power, though.

Shortly after firing, the rock spear hits.

However, the spear shatters, and the Metal Lizard neither flinches nor slows down. No good.

Next, I'll try fire magic. The lower armor might be weaker, so I'll aim slightly lower this time. It might also lose balance and flip over.

I'll run for about a minute while charging a fireball. The distance, which was shortened due to turning around during the rock spear, is now about 40 meters.

The explosion radius is probably about 10 times larger, so it's about a 7-meter diameter. I'll release it before it gets too charged and I get caught in the explosion.

The fireball hits the lizard's lower jaw and explodes.

I turn around while running in the same direction. The situation behind me is obscured by smoke.

"Roaaaaaarrrr......"

The Metal Lizard's roar echoes across the battlefield as the forest ends and the grassland begins.

...Did I do it!?

The next moment, the lizard emerges from the smoke. It doesn't seem to have been affected at all. The distance is about 30 meters, and I've run out of options.

I try splashing water, thinking it might work, but it has no effect. The wet armor is just shining in the sunlight.

If there's a spell I don't know, that might be it. That could be the key.

In Japan, it's traditionally believed that electricity is strong against metal. Electricity might be able to penetrate the armor and hit the lizard.

But there's no time, so I try to turn and run further. I make a sharp turn to the right to avoid the charge.

It works. The lizard doesn't seem to be good at turning and makes a U-turn to come after me.

I imagine electricity hitting the lizard and use magic.

I feel my MP being consumed... but it wasn't.

I remember that I couldn't use an ice spear in the past either.

While thinking about this, the lizard catches up to me again. I try to turn left to avoid it, but unfortunately, my clothes get caught on the lizard's left leg.

I'm thrown and crash into a tree. Thanks to my status, it's not a fatal injury, but I feel like my ribs and arm are broken.

I use healing magic to treat both. It takes about 5 seconds, but they are fully healed.

However, the time lost allows the lizard to turn around and come after me again.

I quickly turn to a direction slightly towards the lizard to gain more distance.

But the attacks aren't working. This is a losing battle. My MP isn't that depleted, and this body doesn't tire easily, but my mind is another matter.

If my mind gets tired and my movements slow down, I might get run over. Even with my cheat-like magic, instant death can't be healed.

I need to find a way to make my attacks work. Do I have any ideas?

I have a simple idea. Just keep buying time and generate a super-large rock spear to ram into the armor. It's a brute-force strategy.

It's simple and clear, with high attack power. I think it's unlikely that even a "knight killer" can withstand such overwhelming force.

I start generating a rock spear and pouring magic power into it. I plan to use about 3000 MP.

The lizard approaches again, so I turn right to avoid it. I keep dodging and buying time.

I don't get tired, but the lizard doesn't show any signs of tiring either. It's not that easy.

After forgetting how many times I turned, I finally use 3000 MP.

The rock spear is about 3.5 meters long and 1 meter thick. It's more like a pillar now.

I was focused on the spear, so I dodge to the right while aiming slightly downward to avoid being blown away and to maximize impact. At the same time, I get kicked in the right shoulder.

I end up firing the spear in a semi-suicidal manner.

Pain shoots through my shoulder as I fly forward, hearing a dull "thud."

I bounce a couple of times and finally stop.

I can't get up, so I use healing magic and then stand up.

--Thanks to being blown away, the distance is about 100 meters, but the Metal Lizard is indeed running towards me.

I stand up and run while re-identifying the Metal Lizard.

Metal Lizard

RANK: B

HP: 2797/2800

MP: 0/0

STR: 1237

INT: 4

AGI: 163

DEX: 6

Skill: Metal Armor

After all that, it only took 1 point of damage, you damn lizard!

Why are you so strong for a B-rank, just one rank above a Gargon...?

If you were just a big, heavy brute, you'd be easy to handle if it weren't for that damn hard armor...

If only it weren't for the armor? Wait a minute. I just need to break through that metal armor, right?

The armor is indeed very hard, but it's metal. There might be a way.

I charge magic while running. My body, perfectly healed by the healing magic, feels great, as if I couldn't even stand up a moment ago. This time, I won't be stingy with 3000 MP. I'll use everything except for 1000 MP for emergencies.

I have about 6000 MP left, including the recovery. If I run for about 10 minutes, I'll have about 1000 MP left.

I'm getting used to the lizard's movements. I probably won't be caught when I release the magic.

I'll keep buying time, taking advantage of not getting tired. If this doesn't work, I'll have to keep pouring MP to create magic.

If that happens, it's questionable whether my mind can hold out. I can probably concentrate for an hour or two, but not for 10 hours of tag.

10 minutes have passed. I attract the Metal Lizard and use all my leg strength to dodge the charge.

The direction, of course, is up. I assumed it can't attack upwards due to its heavy body.

My body passes about 70 cm above the Metal Lizard. I can see its smooth back armor below.

I reach out to the back armor. At this point, the distance between my hand and the back armor is about 30 cm, the limit for magic to work without loss.

From this position, I activate the charged magic. The magic is a pressure spell that expands in a circular shape with a radius of about 3 cm.

A "thud" sound is heard, and a hole larger than 3 cm in radius appears in the Metal Lizard's armor.

"Roaaaaaarrrr......"

The Metal Lizard lets out a roar, but the sound gradually fades and disappears.

／＼Success／＼

It's finally dead. ...Victory!

I store the corpse in my item box. It should be quite heavy, but it fits. The storage capacity of the item box is a mystery.

Well, I'll hunt down any remaining enemies and head back.

By the way, the principle I used this time is similar to the one used in HEAT rounds and other anti-tank shells. When a certain amount of pressure is applied to metal, even hard metal behaves like a fluid. Normally, this is achieved by using specially processed explosives to launch metal at ultra-high speeds, but since I can apply pressure directly, I thought I'd give it a try, and it was a great success.

Although I only read about it on Wikipedia or something in the past, I had no certainty.

It seems that the mysterious metal in this world also has a |Yugonio yield limit (the pressure at which a solid behaves like a fluid).