Chapter 50 of 100

Chapter 50

8 min read1,882 words

Having finished my errands near the store, I decided to buy some bread and return to Desibatoru. If nothing happens, the profit shouldn't decrease even if I leave it alone for about 20 days. It would be a different story if I were to drastically increase the workforce and production, but I have no intention of unnecessarily disrupting the market. There is a high possibility that I could make a quick profit using methods like drastically increasing production, significantly lowering prices, hiring employees from the surrounding butchers who have gone out of business, and then raising prices again once the surrounding butchers are destroyed, similar to what some supermarkets do. However, that would cause too much resentment, and there's no need to go that far. If the business were on a city-wide scale or if it were about creating a new market, like in the case of steel production, it would be a different story.

On the way back, I flew at subsonic speed. It consumes some MP, but it's only about an hour, and I don't think it will hinder the two bombing runs I need to perform. The increase in INT should cover it, I think.

I arrived in Desibatoru in the afternoon. After eating, I went to the guild and found out that today's large-scale logging was on hold. They didn't have enough people to deal with the monsters that had spread out due to the logging. Without me, the cost would be high and the results minimal, so they decided to maintain the current situation. At least, the current situation can be maintained without always putting in full effort, which is a significant improvement. The distance between the forest and the city seems to have a considerable impact.

Speaking of distance, I hardly see any fields around Fotoren, and the distance between cities seems quite large. I wonder how they get their food. Do they only eat meat?

There must be some reason. The distance between cities is something I can't do anything about. After handing over the bread and receiving the meat at the grocery store, I went out hunting monsters again.

As I delved into the forest, I felt that there were fewer monsters than usual. Was it because we didn't do the explosive logging today? However, we did the explosive logging yesterday, and it's too early for today's logging to have an effect. It's probably just a coincidence. Even monsters need a break sometimes.

As I went deeper into the forest, I methodically cut down the slightly fewer monsters and put them into the item box. I wasn't indiscriminate; I focused on finding Galdens. They are more valuable as merchandise than for the bounty. The amount of money isn't much, but the reputation and scale of the store are valuable assets. I think the money I get from killing a few monsters is less valuable.

As if in response to my wish, there were more Galdens today. Or rather, the number of Galdens seemed unchanged, but the number of other monsters had decreased. I hadn't seen a single Black Wolf. Maybe today is a Black Wolf holiday. Black Wolves apparently don't taste good, so it's not a big deal if they're not around. I continued to kill monsters casually and then went to the guild to report.

"Excuse me, I came to report."

"... As always, the number is incredible."

The Desibatoru guild's response is always the same. The Desibatoru guild is on a different level.

"Yes, but I felt there were fewer Black Wolves today. Was it just my imagination?"

Actually, I didn't see any at all.

"Indeed, there were similar reports. The types of monsters sometimes change, especially when the environment is significantly altered."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. There are stories of similar things happening before the appearance of sub-dragons, but the impact of logging is likely the cause. They say it has made defense easier."

"Sub-dragons!? Is it okay!?"

Sub-dragons are one of the most dangerous monsters I've heard of, second only to dragons. If they appear, the city might be in danger.

"Technically, with our current forces, we can defeat them, though the damage would be significant. As a front-line city, we have gathered a lot of forces. But sub-dragons rarely appear, so don't worry."

"Uh..."

Is it really okay?

"Sub-dragons are like major earthquakes. We can take some precautions, but when they come, they come, and we can't stay on high alert all the time."

"... I understand. If they rarely appear, it should be fine."

"Yes. If a sub-dragon does appear, it would be a great opportunity to earn a big reputation. A magic user with a lot of MP and wind magic is almost like a sub-dragon hunter."

Wind magic is effective against sub-dragons. However, I don't know any wind attack spells. It might be used for flying, like with the Metal Lizard. Anyway, it's better not to meet one.

"I'll pray that it doesn't come to that."

With that, I left the guild. After confirming that there were no issues after almost a full day of storing explosion and barrier magic, I went to sleep.

The next morning, I went out hunting monsters as usual, before noon. However, while the number of monsters was normal at the edge, it suddenly decreased as I went deeper into the forest. Fewer than yesterday.

To find where the monsters were, I increased my altitude while moving forward. After rising about 100 meters and flying a few kilometers, I got a bad feeling and slowed down my ascent. I saw a red, unfamiliar mass in the distance, about a kilometer away. It seemed to be heading towards me. I used the identification spell to display the window and immediately descended. If it were an enemy, I didn't want to be spotted, like with the Metal Lizard.

I checked the identification results after the mass was out of sight.

Ignis Wyvern

RANK: A

HP: 2,578,213/2,578,213

MP: 5,792,889,899/5,792,889,899

STR: 563

INT: 2,792

AGI: 450

DEX: 252

Skills: Wyvern Breath, Flight

Wyvern...

With over 5.7 billion MP, a skill that sounds like a breath attack, and stats that are uniformly high, especially the INT, it almost seems like a bug. ...Is it a sub-dragon? Could the fewer monsters be because of this?

No, I said to come the day after tomorrow, but it's okay if you don't come at all. It would be like a student hoping for a typhoon to blow the school away the day before a test, and then a typhoon actually appearing. I should ask it to leave. But I don't have a way to do that. Should I try bombing it?

No, it's not a good idea to act on my own. I should report to the guild and get their judgment.

With that decided, I retreated. I lowered my altitude to avoid being spotted and increased my speed towards Desibatoru. Just as I was about to do so, I heard a rumbling. I cautiously turned around and saw the mass—actually, it looked like a regular dragon—accelerating towards me. It was moving at about 60 km/h. A dragon over 10 meters in size, knocking down trees, was impressive, but I couldn't just watch. Retreating wouldn't work; the damage to the city would be too great. It's less than 5 kilometers to the city. At the speed it was moving, it would reach the city by the time I finished reporting.

...There's no choice, I'll try to draw its attention. I have magic armor, so I should be able to handle it, probably. Even if I report, I'll end up fighting it anyway.

So, I fired an explosion spell. There was no time to get closer, so I fired without using a barrier, concentrating the magic that usually blows up a square kilometer of trees and monsters into a single point. The wyvern continued running without showing any signs of noticing, and the spell hit about 3 meters in front of its right side. Immediately, a loud explosion shattered the surrounding trees and raised a cloud of dust. If it had continued at the same pace, it would have taken some time to clear the smoke, but the wyvern didn't reappear.

Did it work!?

I closed the distance, rejoicing at the successful surprise attack. The smoke didn't clear quickly, and I approached to about 50 meters from the explosion site before finally seeing the wyvern. The wyvern was alive. And it was facing me.

I saw the wyvern open its mouth.

A breath attack!?

Feeling a bad premonition, I hastily changed direction. However, due to my high speed, the turn was sluggish. Moreover, the speed was directed towards the wyvern, making it impossible to put distance between us. I saw the wyvern take a deep breath. Judging that I couldn't dodge, I used my magic to reinforce the armor. The magic armor, which was already using over a thousand MP, would be better than nothing.

About 0.5 seconds later, the breath attack was launched. My vision turned red, but the armor held up.

No, it wasn't broken, but it felt different from before. The breath attack was eroding, or rather, decomposing the armor. I could feel the armor thinning and poured more magic into it to endure. I don't know how long it lasted. The breath attack stopped. It felt like less than a second. However, the damage to the armor was significant. I had probably lost about 80% of the original armor, which used around 1,000 MP. It would take 80 seconds to replenish, even without using any other magic. If a second breath attack came during that time, I wouldn't survive. I could feel heat on my hands and other thin parts of the armor. This is bad.

Given its skills, it can fly, so escaping into the air is impossible. Even if I tried to escape in the opposite direction at supersonic speed, it would likely catch up during the acceleration. Flying creatures, especially wyverns, aren't slow. Given its AGI, it's definitely fast. Even if I tried to put distance between us, the speed and range of the breath attack would make it impossible to dodge in time.

I guess I have no choice but to get close. If I get close, the breath attack won't reach me easily, and even with a small movement, I can avoid it from the wyvern's perspective. From the other stats, physical attacks should be manageable with the magic armor. I'm curious why the explosion didn't damage it, but if there's no other option, I have to do it. I made up my mind and dove towards the wyvern's feet.

Current protagonist's stats:

Name: Suzumiya Kaede

Age/Race/Gender: 21/Human/Male

Level: 30

HP: 1091/1091

MP: 94,528,637/94,528,637 (around 94 million)

STR: 190

INT: 280

AGI: 209

DEX: 214

Skills: Information Manipulation Analysis (Hidden), Complete Mastery of Foreign Languages (Hidden), Magic Aptitude, Martial Arts Aptitude, Otherworlder (Hidden), All-Element Affinity (Hidden), Fire Magic 3, Earth Magic 3, Water Magic 3, Pressure Magic 1, Wind Magic 5, Perception Magic 4, Healing Magic 2, Swordsmanship 2, Barrier Magic 5, Explosion Magic 5, Magic Essence Adaptation Unknown

Sub-dragon stats (at encounter):