We made our way to the sandbank, where the Tarrasque monster was crouching with splashes of water echoing beneath our feet. Oh, did I mention that Karl and I were flying? Getting wet was just too troublesome.
“Hmm? What’s this? Looks like a material gathering point,” Jigoro remarked.
Since he couldn’t fly, Jigoro had apparently spotted a material gathering point while walking along the river. I wonder if there were any items to be collected from the riverbed.
“…It’s just a bone.”
Jigoro reached down and pulled something out of the riverbed, showing it to us. It was undoubtedly a bone, but quite large. It seemed to be about the size of a human femur.
“Show it to me. I’ll try to do an [Appraisal].”
“Sure thing. Here you go.”
I caught the bone Jigoro tossed to me. It was undetermined how long it had spent underwater, but the bone appeared to be in surprisingly good condition. What kind of bone could it be? Time for an [Appraisal] to find out!
――――――――――
- Fire Dragon Bone – Quality: Fair, Rarity: S (Special)
These are the bones of the lowest-class Fire Dragon. They hold the power of both dragons and fire within them.
Though they may be immature, the materials of a true dragon will make an excellent weapon.
――――――――――
“A-a dragon bone!?”
I involuntarily let out a loud voice. The shock was just that profound. In fact, Jigoro and Genjuro were also both intensely staring at the bone I held.
A Fire Dragon… It was probably a Lesser Fire Dragon though. What an incredible material! If Iris were here, she’d be ecstatic and eager to collect all of the bones.
However, the fact that these bones were lying around haphazardly raised a significant concern. This material was undoubtedly superior to the Lesser Small Naga bone that I had incorporated into my body. Yet, instead of defeating an enemy to obtain it, it was simply lying here to be picked up, which was quite unusual.
“Isam, there’s another one over here,” Genjuro called out.
“Yeah, thanks. Let me… huh?”
This time, Genjuro seemed to have found a different bone. When I took it from him, I felt something peculiar.
“What’s this? It’s quite light, isn’t it?”
The bone Genjuro found was almost the same size as the one Jigoro had discovered. However, their weights were completely different. It wasn’t because one of them had deteriorated; in fact, they were both in similarly pristine condition.
I wasn’t entirely sure, but let’s do an [Appraisal] on this one to find out. Surely, it would shed some light on the mystery.
――――――――――
- Flying Dragon Bone – Quality: Fair, Rarity: S (Special)
These are the bones of a Flying Dragon. They hold the power of both dragons and wind within them.
Materials from the dragon race are likely to become exceptional weapons.
――――――――――
A Flying Dragons… you say? Another dragon’s name emerged, and I was getting more confused by the moment.
However, there was one thing I could discern: these bones had some connection to the Tarrasque. As I approached to take a closer look, I realized that the sandbank, where the Tarrasque resided, was littered with numerous bones.
Most likely, the Tarrasque monster had obtained the [Dragon Force] skill from the Lesser Fire Dragons and Flying Dragons. I didn’t know the exact method, but that seemed to be the most plausible explanation.
“Grrrrrrrrrrr…”
“This is bad! We need to get back to Sandbank quickly!”
Ugh! How foolish it was to engage in casual conversation and examine materials while being in close proximity to the boss! We had to move fast!
――――――――――
You have entered the Field Boss Area.
――――――――――
“Gooooaaaaaah!!!”
As we hurriedly ascended to the sandbank, the Tarrasque finally revealed its body from within its shell.
To describe its appearance in one word, it was grotesque. Countless small spines covered its head, and it had four vertically split pupils in its eyes and rows of double-set teeth inside its mouth. Its ferocity was beyond comparison with that of the Forest Beast Turtle; the two were not even close.
Its six legs were incredibly thick, resembling large trees. The fact that it could support such a massive body indicated its formidable strength. Furthermore, its surface was covered in what seemed to be tough fur. It would undoubtedly be challenging to cut through.
Now, about its tail—it was quite long. Long enough to encircle its own body. Its surface was rugged, and it had a blunt bump at the tip. It reminded me of some dinosaur I once heard about, though I couldn’t recall its name.
“Where should we attack from, brother?” Jigoro asked.
“Well, I wonder where the best place to strike is.”
Jigoro asked me, but at this point, I was just as clueless as he was. What on earth was that thing? It was like a mobile fortress!
“Hey, hey. You’re the leader; you figure it out, huh? Wait, whoa!”
Just as Jigoro was about to crack a joke, it seemed like the Tarrasque had made a move. I said “it seemed like” because, to me, its movement was entirely imperceptible.
However, I could make a guess as to what had occurred. That’s because, where Jigoro had been standing just moments ago, the Tarrasque’s tail was now embedded.
Presumably, the Tarrasque had struck Jigoro with its tail. The attack was completely undetectable to my eyes, though!
Considering that my reflexes couldn’t keep up with its movements, avoiding such attacks seemed nearly impossible. So, I needed to be vigilant and stay out of the range of that tail. It was clearly a striking-type attack, and all I could see in my future was instant death!
“Hey, you’re a fu**ing dead man!!”
Despite the attack being entirely undetectable to me and a complete surprise, Jigoro somehow managed to evade it. Impressive.
And even though it was such a dangerous moment, he was laughing with such delight. On his face was his usual fierce grin. It seemed that his fighting spirit had been ignited. He must have realized we were up against a formidable enemy.
“Everyone, let’s start by dealing with that tail! Jigoro, target the head to distract it! Genjuro, can you do it?”
“No need to ask! I’ll show you!”
Genjuro, with few words but a clear understanding of my intentions, sheathed his spear and transitioned into a three-sword style, wielding a large sword (Odachi), a striking sword (Uchigatana ), and a short sword (Wakizashi )
By now, it should be apparent to anyone that my aim was to sever the tail. When we had faced the Ratman King previously, I had disabled its mobility by destroying its knees. This time, the plan was to cut off the tail and gain an advantage in the battle.
Among us, there was no one better at “severing” than Genjuro. In fact, he was likely among the top players overall in that regard. Therefore, we needed to wholeheartedly support Genjuro in his task to sever the tail.
“I’ll leave it to you! Karl, assist Jigoro in the distraction! But don’t overexert yourself, okay?”
“Kyuoooh!”
For Karl, this should be his first battle against a dragon’s kin. Perhaps he was excited about facing creatures so similar to himself, as he seemed more enthusiastic than usual. Just don’t go overboard, alright?
“I will fully support you! Light Armor!”
I enveloped everyone, including myself, in gleaming magical armor. Jigoro and Karl, who would serve as decoys, had their defense enhanced through spell adjustments. At least for now, this should prevent any instant deaths.
“Next is enchantments…”
Next, I gave Jigoro and Karl a five-fold defense boost to strengthen their defense, while Genjuro received the lightning element on his large sword. Additionally, I cast double Dexterity Boost and double Strength Boost on Genjuro.
Both the weapon enchantment and stat enhancements fell under the category of [Enchantment] skill, and since they shared the same slot, this counted as a fivefold enchantment for Genjuro (2 dexterity boost + 2 strength boost + 1 lightning enchantment). I wanted Genjuro to successfully sever the tail as soon as possible, so I focused on enhancing his attack power with Strength Boost and Dexterity Boost, which seemed to affect critical hit rates and similar attributes. As for defense, I would take care of that!
“Hey hey, come over here!”
“Kyuururururur!”
“Gaaah!”
Jigoro and Karl, in an attempt to catch the attention of the Tarrasque, charged forward as they shouted loudly. Naturally, the Tarrasque responded by swinging its tail in a counterattack, but Jigoro and Karl split apart, evading it.
“Shaah!”
“Kyuoo!”
Jigoro approached from the right side, while Karl moved in from the left, striking its face with their fists and claws. Jigoro managed to successfully crush some of the spines growing on Tarrasque’s head with his fists, but Karl’s claws only left scratches on the spines. It seemed there was indeed a difference in their strengths.
“Kyuoo…”
“Don’t get discouraged, kid! Keep those hands moving!”
Jigoro scolded Karl, who was frustrated at being unable to inflict damage on the monster. In truth, Jigoro was right. Even if Karl didn’t cause any real damage, the mere act of darting around the creature’s face was enough to distract it.
“Gaaaah!”
The Tarrasque, infuriated by having its spines broken, opened its mouth wide, aiming to bite Jigoro. With its double rows of teeth lining the mouth, it could easily devour Jigoro, and even he wouldn’t survive such an attack.
“Now’s the time!”
“Kyu!”
Jigoro twisted his body to dodge, then sharply signaled Karl. In response, Karl leaped high into the air, striking the Tarrasque monster on top of its head with his tail.
“Gugaaah!”
In mid-air, Karl’s tail attack gained momentum as he performed a somersault, delivering a powerful blow to the Tarrasque’s head, which had missed its attempt to bite. Due to the sharp tip of Karl’s tail, several spines on the creature’s head were severed. It seemed that an all-out attack using his entire body was effective! As expected of Karl!
“Kyuuuu!”
Karl regained his composure, and he began to attack in quick, precise bursts while darting around the creature’s face. He wasn’t foolish enough to keep using his full-strength attack simply because it had worked once. Karl understood the importance of creating openings in the enemy’s defenses as preparation for delivering a full-power strike.
Jigoro and Genjuro had apparently taught Karl the principles of being a vanguard fighter while I was absent, demonstrating through mock battles. I had initially been concerned about them taking matters into their own hands, but now I was filled with gratitude.
“Seiyaaaah!!!”
“Gah!?”
While Jigoro and Karl were keeping the enemy occupied, Genjuro circled around to the rear. With a determined spirit, he swung his large sword down toward the base of the tail. Although the sword that was imbued with the monster’s elemental weakness had indeed struck the tail, it didn’t manage to sever it entirely. It was thwarted by the thick, tough skin and resilient muscles. The blade couldn’t even reach the bone.
“Not yet!”
However, Genjuro’s assault didn’t stop there; after all, he was wielding three swords.
He sharply swung the striking sword towards the wound created by the large sword. It still seemed like the blade hadn’t reached the bone, but he succeeded in making the wound deeper.
“One more!”
Crack!
“I felt resistance.”
As he extended the small sword to probe the wound further, I heard a dull sound of metal colliding with metal. At the same time, I had a feeling that Genjuro grinned.
It seemed that Genjuro’s blade had finally reached the bone. His skill in precisely targeting the same spot must have contributed to the quick prospect of severing it. This real-life cheater! Thank you!
“Gyaaaaaah!!!”
There was no way the Tarrasque would remain unresponsive when its tail was on the verge of being severed. It roared in anger and swung the tip of its tail toward Genjuro. Genjuro was in close quarters, so there was no way to evade it.
“Magic Circle, remote activation, Holy Shield!”
However, I had anticipated that! I had prepared the Holy Shield spell to be ready for use at any moment. I created it between Genjuro and the monster’s striking tail.
Bang!
Unfortunately, the monster’s tail shattered my Holy Shield with a single blow. The resounding sound of the holy shield shattering echoed through the air.
However, thanks to the trait of the Hoky Shield spell that allowed it to block any attack once, Genjuro successfully protected himself from the Tarrasque’s deadly strike. During that time, he stepped back, creating distance and seemingly reaching a safe zone for himself. That’s exactly what I was aiming for.
“You saved me!”
Genjuro exclaimed loudly before expressing his gratitude to me. He was indeed a very polite person.
“Don’t get distracted!”
“Kyururuu!”
The Tarrasque monster, seemingly unable to tolerate having its tail severed, tried to reposition itself to face Genjuro head-on, but Jigoro and Karl obstructed its actions. Jigoro’s powerful leg kicked up its jaw from below, while Karl’s tail struck down on its head.
“~~~~!?””
Caught in a barrage of strikes from both above and below, the Tarrasque was stunned by the impact. Even with its massive body, it seemed possible to induce a concussion by keeping it from escaping the shock like that. I didn’t know that.
“Now’s the time!”
Even though it was stunned, our opponent was still a field boss. This state wouldn’t last more than a few seconds. Genjuro, determined not to miss this perfect opportunity, raised his large sword and prepared to charge.
“…Huh? What’s that?”
However, being at a distance, I was the only one who noticed the anomaly with the Tarrasque monster. The anomaly was the increasing amount of smoke billowing from its shell.
No matter how you look at it, it was some kind of bad omen. And right then, I recalled one of its skills and instinctively shouted,
“Everyone, get down!!!”
In the next moment, with a deafening roar, the Tarrasque’s shell exploded.
Leave a Reply