Chapter 80

If it comes to a fight, the first thing is to grasp the situation.

Both of their MP is around 30 billion.

Since Ignis Wyvern's MP was around 5.8 billion, this is significantly higher.

The other stats are about the same as Ignis, or slightly lower.

The skills include Breath and Flight, as well as something called "Degraded Spatial Magic Mastery."

I'm not sure what is degraded, but it seems to have high performance in magic-related areas.

Most importantly, since the sub-dragon's MP is also its HP, it has high durability.

Since I ran out of MP in the last dragon battle, I'll keep an eye on my own magic power.

Currently, it hasn't decreased at all, but I thought it might help to understand the cause of the previous issue.

Incidentally, the current value is about 3 billion, most of which increased during the dragon slaying.

This should be enough for a situation check.

As usual, I'll close the distance to avoid the Breath and engage in combat.

I'll try a few spells, but they seem to have no effect on the sub-dragon.

When facing multiple enemies, the basic strategy is to focus on one.

Following this theory, I stuck to one sub-dragon and began a concentrated attack.

The battle went smoothly.

Indeed, the damage is much smaller compared to the magic sword.

However, even a sub-dragon, if a city like Desibattle, which has the strongest defense in this country, is willing to take considerable damage, can be defeated by anyone.

With the high-output magic and high stats, the magic sword can deal damage that can sever a dragon's neck with one strike.

Defensively, it has enough to withstand a single Breath attack, and the speed of the barrier reinforcement has also improved.

If the attacks don't hurt, the number and stamina are not so scary.

I continued a simple attack, thrusting my sword into visible parts like wings, legs, and necks, and retreating when a Breath attack came.

The Breath attack is fired regardless of whether allies are in the line of fire, but since there is no coordination, it's not troublesome.

It's a dull battle without a decisive blow, but the sub-dragon's HP is gradually being whittled down.

The sub-dragon consumes magic to heal, but it still means depleting its own power.

Moreover, compared to previous sub-dragons, its healing ability seems lower.

The weakened sub-dragon's movements began to slow, making my attacks easier.

As a result, the sub-dragon's HP and MP were being depleted at an accelerating rate.

The only concern might be the "Degraded Spatial Magic Mastery."

About an hour after the battle started, the magic of one of the sub-dragons had been reduced to about 60%.

In contrast, my HP and MP were completely unharmed.

It feels like I'm winning not just in strategy but in sheer specs.

In fact, if these sub-dragons were like the others, it would have been the same.

But this time, the difference wasn't just in numbers.

"Giiaaaaaa..."

The injured sub-dragon suddenly let out a roar unlike anything before, spreading its tattered wings that couldn't be healed by magic.

This must be the "Degraded Spatial Magic Mastery."

Not knowing what would happen, I stopped attacking and took a step back.

While keeping my distance, I was wary of the Breath attack from the other sub-dragon, but the nearly unharmed sub-dragon folded its wings protectively and closed its mouth.

From its reaction, I judged it to be an area attack that doesn't distinguish between friend and foe (though it's unclear if the sub-dragon considers the other one as an ally).

I increased my speed to get away, but it was too late.

From the injured sub-dragon at the center, a radius of about 50 meters, I felt something like magic being sucked away.

The leaves of the trees within the range withered, and the grass drooped.

The magic absorption also targeted me.

My MP, which had remained unchanged since the start of the battle, began to slowly decrease.

Slowly, but considering my total magic power, it was significant.

The drain lasted only about two seconds, but it reduced my MP by about 2.5 million and my maximum magic power by about 100,000.

The magic in the air seemed to have decreased, and the recovery felt slower.

Incidentally, the other sub-dragon, which protected itself, didn't lose any magic.

The most dramatic change was in the sub-dragon.

Its body, which had been receiving magic, recovered to about 80%, and its magic was fully restored.

The recovery effect was incredibly powerful.

Considering it hadn't been used before despite its effectiveness, there must be some drawback or limitation, but I couldn't see any.

In games, it's often limited by the number of uses or a cooldown period, but there's no guarantee.

There's no guarantee, but fortunately, I had rested well before coming here, so I could fight without a break for a few days.

In any case, the simplest strategy of continuously dealing maximum damage isn't a bad choice.

It was a gain to learn that the "Degraded Spatial Magic Mastery," while not fully understood, wasn't a threat to me.

With nothing to fear except continuous Breath attacks, I became more aggressive.

This increased my rate of depleting the sub-dragon by about 30%, and in less than 30 minutes, I had depleted it to the point where the drain had occurred before.

Immediately after, the drain activated, and the sub-dragon's HP and MP were quickly restored.

The restored MP and HP were almost the same as the previous restoration.

It seemed that repeated depletion wouldn't work.

Still, I continued to deplete it, enduring about five restorations.

The bottom of the restoration was still not visible, but a question arose.

The sub-dragon that didn't use the drain protected itself every time the drain occurred, but why could it avoid the drain?

I concentrated my attacks on one sub-dragon but occasionally slashed the other when it got close.

When using the magic sword, it absorbed magic from the wounds.

At that time, I was touching the blade, which was in the same condition as the sub-dragon.

So, I should have a stronger ability to retain magic than the sub-dragon's wounds.

Yet, I was drained, while the sub-dragon was not.

It could be the effect of "Degraded Spatial Magic Mastery," but the appraisal (which I couldn't see until I was hit) suggested it was just a drain.

That possibility seemed low.

The amount of MP and maximum value drained was negligible, so the ability to prevent MP drain wasn't a big issue.

However, the ability to prevent drain might have a deeper meaning.

After all, I had only increased my maximum magic power by touching the blackened part of the magic sword.

I had never actively controlled whatever increased the maximum value.

If I could prevent the drain, it might mean I could consciously control whatever forms the maximum magic power.

It might even be possible to drain magic from a sub-dragon through a normal sword.

I tried to absorb it casually but couldn't grasp the sensation.

The best way to observe the drain is to activate it.

So, I started depleting again.

With practice, it took about 20 minutes to deplete and activate the drain.

I focused on the sensation of magic being drained.

...I vaguely caught a hint of the sensation.

I kept that sensation in mind while depleting HP and repeatedly activating the drain.

By the time the sun set, on the eighth activation of the drain.

I finally clearly felt the sensation of MP being drained.

Based on that sensation, I tried to pull it back.

It worked.

I couldn't reclaim it, but my magic and maximum value didn't decrease.

Checking the status, no new skills were added, so it must be a technique, not a skill.

The real test was direct magic absorption from a sub-dragon.

First, I accelerated and thrust the blade as deeply as possible.

It didn't penetrate more than 10 centimeters, but it should be enough.

From there, I tried to absorb magic without relying on the sword's performance.

I managed to get the sensation of absorbing magic.

It wasn't as sharp as the magic sword, but the damage was incomparable to normal slashes.

Like the magic sword, my sword also absorbed magic and penetrated deeper.

From there, it was one-sided.

I repeated a few slashes and depleted about 60% of the sub-dragon's MP and HP.

The sub-dragon continuously activated the drain, but the recovery couldn't keep up with the damage.

It took less than five minutes from the start of my absorption until the sub-dragon fell to the ground.

With one sub-dragon down, the other had no chance.

After instantly killing the remaining sub-dragon, I reported to the headquarters and returned to Akaden in the middle of the night.

As usual, the lights were still on in the research institute where I had been reading ancient documents.

How many days had it been?

I opened the door and entered, and one of the researchers, who was in the hallway, ran over with a smile.

Hearing this, the other researchers, who were in other rooms, gathered.

The lead researcher shouted at me.

"Did you defeat the sub-dragon?"

"Y-Yeah, I did?"

The sudden intensity made my voice waver.

But the researcher didn't seem to care and raised his voice even more.

"Did that sub-dragon use any magic absorption attacks!?"

"Eh... I used it normally?"

"Wh-What..."

The atmosphere in the room froze.

I had spoken casually, but perhaps I should have been more polite.

For a moment, I thought that might be the issue, but it wasn't.

The situation was clearly abnormal.

The noisy researchers fell silent, some looking up at the sky, others bowing their heads.

What had happened while I was away?

"Is the world going to end...?"

Someone's whisper echoed in the silent hallway.