Chapter 69

The Assault Dragon, as large as a three-story building, was scratching its feet in a charging stance. I enlarged my saw to its maximum size and got ready. I don't want to be knocked away, so I have to dodge carefully.

"Roaaaaar!"

With a massive roar, the Assault Dragon charged at me at breakneck speed. The impact of its charge was more overwhelming than I imagined, and even though I knew I could handle it, my legs trembled. I somehow forced my body to move and dodged the Assault Dragon.

This is bad. It's tough enough to dodge normally, but the vibration from its massive body almost tripped me. I managed to dodge awkwardly, and the Assault Dragon ran past, causing the ground to shake. Its width was also considerable, so if my level hadn't been high enough, I would have been crushed.

The good thing is that it can't make sudden turns. It slightly adjusted its trajectory in the direction I dodged, but if I stay calm, I should be able to land a hit.

Ah, I should have dug a hole with my magic shovel. If I had dug a deep hole, it might have fallen in. Hmm, but it's a slope, so that would be difficult.

...Wait? Can't it stop? It seems to be trying to brake with its feet, but since it charged down the slope of the volcano, it's sliding down, kicking up sand and dust.

Ah, what should I do? I didn't expect this to happen. Should I just leave it and move on? As I watched, it finally stopped a few hundred meters away. Ah, it's coming back. The Assault Dragon is charging up the volcano, kicking up dust.

"Hey, Sylph. The Assault Dragon is an A-rank dragon, right? It doesn't seem very intelligent, though. Why is that?"

"It's a lesser dragon. It's classified as A-rank because of its massive size and powerful physique, but it doesn't have that much intelligence. If it had proper intelligence, it could be S-rank."

So it's acting on instinct. When I fought the General Zombie, it was troublesome because it had intelligence. This might be easier. If it slowly and carefully approaches and tries to stomp or bite, it would be more troublesome.

An instinct-driven, headlong charge... Most enemies can be crushed by its charge, so it doesn't need to think. I prepared my saw and observed the Assault Dragon as it charged up the slope.

I dodged the Assault Dragon as it charged like before and placed the saw in front of its front legs. The Assault Dragon passed through without any resistance... Did it cut?

The Assault Dragon lost its balance and fell over. Blood was gushing from its front legs, so the saw must have hit.

Without any resistance, I was unsure if it had hit. It seems the saw cut deeper than I thought, and the Assault Dragon is struggling on the ground...

"Hey, Sylph. It's thrashing around and I can't get close. What should I do?"

The massive body, as large as a three-story building, is thrashing around like a child who didn't get the toy they wanted.

"Probably a less experienced individual. It's in a panic because it was hurt. If you get close, you'll be caught in the chaos."

Its skin is as hard as iron, so it's not easily damaged. It must have been shocked to be cut so cleanly by my cheat saw. But... this situation is more troublesome than a charge.

After thrashing around, the Assault Dragon finally calmed down and tried to get up slowly. Now's my chance. I'll circle around to its back and cut off its hind legs, making it fall again.

It struggles again from the pain, but with the completely severed leg, more blood flows, and its movements slow down.

"Should I wait for it to bleed out?"

I could finish it off now, but it's dangerous if it rolls toward me.

"If we wait, we can defeat it, but adventurers are also climbing up to investigate, and wyverns are causing a commotion. It's safer to defeat it and move to a different location."

"Got it. I'll finish it off."

I had completely forgotten about the adventurers. They would come to investigate with all the commotion. The Assault Dragon was thrashing so much that it felt like a minor earthquake.

I adjusted my stance to be ready to run and cautiously approached from behind, cutting its neck to finish it off. I quickly stored the saw and left the area.

"That was quite a challenge. Did the adventurers see me?"

Without the cheat saw, it would have been more than just challenging, but it was definitely tough. It took quite a bit of time, and I'm worried about the approaching adventurers.

"Maybe they saw a figure from a distance, but with the terrain, it's probably okay. Good job."

"Yuta, you were cool." "Kyu." "You did well." "Kuku."

"Thank you, everyone."

It feels good to be praised. But since it took so long, next time I'll use Bell and the others' help to defeat it quickly.

***

The cheat tools almost pale in comparison. We were attacked by Assault Dragons and wyverns a few times, but with Bell and the others' help, they were easily defeated.

The Assault Dragons were easily knocked over and pinned down. The wyverns were deprived of their flying advantage and knocked to the ground. I decapitated the monsters that rolled in front of me like an assembly line.

While collecting items that Pepper and Sylph told me were valuable, we reached the summit and descended the stairs. I'm about to meet a real dragon.

"Sylph, it's okay if I leave the Fire Dragon to you, right?"

"Yes, no problem. Yuta, you can relax."

Despite being an S-rank opponent, Sylph says this without any tension. How strong is Sylph?

"Got it. Should we go in now?"

"Yes, let's go."

It feels so light. I'm a bit anxious, but I trust Sylph as I open the door to the 50th floor boss. I thought the door was too grand for a goblin, but for a dragon, it's fitting. I cautiously peeked inside and made eye contact with the Fire Dragon.

Its shining golden eyes pinned me down. As I froze from the Fire Dragon's presence, Sylph patted my shoulder and urged me to enter.

"Hasty, aren't you?"

As Sylph said this, the approaching flames were swept away by the wind and scattered.

"That's it."

At Sylph's words, the Fire Dragon's head fell off with a thud. In reality, it was a massive head that fell with a ground-shaking impact, but it felt like it just dropped. I didn't even know what happened.

As I watched the blood gush out like a fountain, I thought that relying on Sylph too much was the right decision.

The Great Spirit is so overpowered that if I relied on her completely, the game would be too easy and boring, or I might be abandoned. Phew. My spine shivered. My past self was great.

I didn't know what happened, but Bell and the others seemed to understand and were praising Sylph. I felt a bit envious.

"Is it over?"

"Yes, it's over."

"Isn't Sylph too strong?"

"She's a Great Spirit."

"Haha, that's right. Well, I'll try not to rely on her too much. I might become a failure."

"Hehe. That's good. I'll help you when you're in danger, but try to do your best with Bell and the others. It's more fun for me that way."

Sylph smiled kindly, seemingly pleased with my words. This is it, the pattern where I mustn't mistake Sylph's power for my own. If I'm abandoned, it will happen in an instant. I need to be careful.

I treated Dine casually, but she's also a Great Spirit like Sylph. ...Hmm? I feel like I was often in life-threatening situations. ...I'll try not to think about scary things. Dine is Dine.

I approached the Fire Dragon's corpse to observe it. Its scales shimmered red. It seemed slightly smaller than the Assault Dragon, but with wings, it could fly. Just looking into its eyes made me feel pinned down, so it must have been much stronger.

Well, Sylph's power was even more overwhelming, so I didn't understand anything. ...By the way, don't dungeons usually drop treasure when you defeat the boss?

For previous bosses, it might be fine, but since this is an S-rank boss, it wouldn't be strange for something to appear. Come to think of it, I didn't find any treasure chests on the way here.

"Sylph, are there any treasure chests?"

"I've heard there are. But since we didn't see any, maybe others have already taken them. I remember there was a record of a hero discovering a considerable amount of treasure."

...I bought a book about the hero. I didn't read it because I entered the dungeon right away, but maybe it has information about the dungeon... I'll check the book after we rest.

Before that, I'll thoroughly check the room. Finding treasure is a basic part of dungeon exploration, but I forgot about it because I was thinking about how to annoy the guild master.

In RPGs, I usually open all the treasure chests before challenging the boss. ...But if I search for treasure chests in swamps and ruins and only find herbs, I might get angry. It might be smarter to move forward and find a place to rest.

"Sylph, is it okay to rest in the boss room?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure. I don't know what might happen. It might be safer to rest in a spacious area in the cave."

In novels, the boss room often becomes a safe zone until you leave... But this dungeon might not be the same. Since Sylph and the others will keep watch, it's probably safer to find a place to rest in the cave. I'll find a place to rest quickly and read the book. Thank you for reading.