Chapter 5

When I turned around, there was a dragon covered in pitch-black scales, looking down at me from the sky.

It was more of a bipedal dragon rather than a quadrupedal one, giving off a more humanoid feel.

Let's do the usual appraisal, shall we?

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【Name】Catastrophe Dragon, Collapsing Heaven Demon Dragon

【Titles】"The Ruler of the Great Labyrinth," "Dragon King," "King of Destruction"

【Status】 【Base ± Adjustment】

Level: 1,897

HP: 422,894 (358,894 + 64,000)

MP: 481,111 (374,111 + 107,000)

Stamina: 402,697 (336,697 + 66,000)

Attack: 494,782 (387,782 + 107,000)

Defense: 394,768 (322,768 + 72,000)

Spirit: 416,139 (344,139 + 72,000)

Skills:

"Automatic HP Recovery," "Automatic MP Recovery," "Automatic Stamina Recovery,"

"Drastic MP Reduction," "Increased Physical Power," "Increased Magical Power,"

"Physical Barrier," "Magical Barrier," "Inferno Magic," "Ice Inferno Magic,"

"Storm Magic," "Earthquake Magic," "Divine Thunder Magic," "Holy Light Magic,"

"Dark Magic," "Destruction Magic," "Dragon King Magic," "Physical Attack Resistance,"

"All-Elemental Resistance," "Status Resistance," "Evasion," "Dragon King Aura,"

"Dragon King," "Overlord," "Ruler," "Heavenly Prison,"

"Dragon King's Blessing," "Blessing of Destruction"

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It's quite impressive, but this is the final floor boss, after all...

I've never fought a monster of this level before. It didn't even appear in the deepest level. Is it because it's a floor boss?

Well, that's fine. Still, these stats...

Basically, stats vary by race.

Even if a human at the same level had 1,000 HP, a dragon would have 5,000 or more.

It's kind of unfair, isn't it?

Considering the physical differences, it makes sense, but these numbers are still overwhelming.

Most of its stats are about four times mine.

But it's not impossible to win. There are plenty of strategies I've developed over the past three years.

First, I'll weaken the Catastrophe Dragon's stats.

I'm sure I'd lose in a straightforward fight.

I'll use Dark Magic – "Stat Weakening."

The effect is self-explanatory, so I won't go into detail.

However, the Catastrophe Dragon has all kinds of resistances, so it might not be very effective even with "Stat Weakening."

But I anticipated this.

It's a bit brute-force, but if it's not enough, just increase it. That's all there is to it.

I'll use multiple casting to amplify the "Stat Weakening" effect on the Catastrophe Dragon by 50 times.

How about my magic, enhanced by my weapons and skills?

Even with high resistances, if the effect is strong enough, it should be effective.

Moreover, the higher the spirit, the more it affects the power and defense of magic. So the lower it goes, the more significant the effect.

I can see the stats decreasing as I appraise them.

Now, they've decreased to about twice mine.

With this much reduction, it should be fine. I've faced monsters with double my stats many times before.

Also, be careful not to use "Stat Weakening" on the Catastrophe Dragon, as it has "Dark Magic" and might use it.

The target is large and easy to hit, but if I keep moving, it will be harder to lock onto me. Still, I can't be too careless.

The weakened Catastrophe Dragon takes a deep breath and starts preparing its breath attack.

A dragon's breath is a wide-area attack – no, it can move while using the breath, so it's more like a full-area attack.

I could strengthen my defenses to withstand a direct hit, but there's no need to take it, so I'll dodge.

I'll run clockwise from my current position to avoid being targeted.

Just dodging won't defeat the Catastrophe Dragon, so I'll also set up magic arrays in the air while moving.

I can set up quite a few because I'm not using floating magic, which saves me some MP.

Magic is continuously fired from the arrays.

This is only possible with parallel casting, multiple casting, and the ability to abandon long incantations.

This significantly reduces the Catastrophe Dragon's HP and stops it from using its breath attack.

I did well, even by my own standards. This method can defeat most monsters.

The MP consumption is significantly reduced by various benefits, and the power is increased, so it's almost impossible for a monster to withstand the continuous magic attacks unless its MP runs out.

However, I'm not sure if it would work on the Catastrophe Dragon without weakening. I'm a bit regretful that I didn't try it at the beginning.

Oh, it seems the Catastrophe Dragon is reaching its limit.

It's already covered in wounds, and it's having trouble staying in the air, so it fell to the ground.

This is the end for the final floor boss.

The shock from the impact dealt damage, and the Catastrophe Dragon's HP is like a flickering candle.

I won't be careless, but it's a situation where I can say I've won.

However, I suddenly thought I shouldn't finish it off. I don't know why I thought that.

But if I don't defeat it, the door to the next level won't open.

That's it! I had a good idea.

I'll be alone for a while, both now and in the future.

I don't mind being alone, but I feel a bit lonely somewhere.

A journey is more fun with companions, right? As long as they don't betray you.

So, I'll make this Catastrophe Dragon my partner.

It might sound sudden and crazy, but there's a saying, "When you have an idea, act on it." I'll follow that.

Partner – in this case, it's more like a familiar.

I think a contract is needed to make a monster a familiar.

By the way, I don't know how to do it.

I think summoning magic is involved, but I don't fully understand its effects because I learned it spontaneously.

What should I do?

If I don't do something, the Catastrophe Dragon's HP will run out, and the contract will be impossible.

Alright, let's restore the Catastrophe Dragon's HP first. The priority is to keep it alive.

I'll use intermediate healing magic carefully to prevent it from going berserk when fully healed.

Healing magic restores a percentage, so this should be enough to fully heal the Catastrophe Dragon with its high HP.

If it attacks me again, I'll have to defeat it then.

Let's see how it goes.

Up close, it's an overwhelming presence.

If I get too close, I might be knocked away by its tail, starting a second round.

The Catastrophe Dragon slowly got up and roared.

Is this the start of the second round?

As I braced myself, a semi-transparent panel appeared in front of me, similar to the one showing its status –

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The contract with the Catastrophe Dragon, Collapsing Heaven Demon Dragon, is complete.

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Huh? It seems the contract was made automatically.

What does this mean? I thought a contract required some kind of ritual...

Well, let's consider it a good outcome.