Chapter 73

When I hear the word “dragon,” a certain impression comes to mind.

It’s overwhelming.

Huge and massive.

And skilled in magic.

Words that are casually and lightly expressed.

In reality, when faced with one, the awe-inspiring pressure makes you bite your lips and struggle to calm your trembling body, replacing any initial impression.

[Blaze of Ten Glories.]

Ten flower petals blooming above the dragon’s head.

Each one containing an immense amount of magical power.

I take a sweeping glance around, slowly gauging the distance.

The swing of the sword.

With the intention to at least slice its skin or see it bleed, I advance.

“Yip!”

A petal slashes down like a streak of light.

Spreading golden tremors across the floor, blocking my approach.

KWAH-AHNG!

The clash between my raised sword and the descending petal.

My senses reel.

A bone-shattering impact strikes my entire body.

It’s astonishing that my sword didn’t break.

My magical power is drained instantly.

‘I absolutely have to evade.’

Not easy, but necessary.

My foot sensations feel numb.

The shoe marks gouged into the ground without me realizing hint at the shockwave’s intensity.

The shiny warp device in my pocket tempts me.

Honestly.

I want to use it right now, but pride holds me back.

Having come this far, I at least want to nick its skin.

This slight courage pushes me forward bit by bit.

I retreat and reset my stance.

Steam rises from my trembling body.

Energy depletion causes hunger to build.

While my body rapidly recovers, it consumes something in return.

KWAH-AHNG!

KWANG!

Breaking the ground into pieces.

Making it hard to gauge my jumping distance.

Changing the force applied with each movement.

Wherever the petals strike, the ground shatters violently.

Scattered rocks and debris fly everywhere like an explosion.

The fact that I absorbed that with my body is unsettling.

[Ninefold Radiance.]

What kind of magic is this?

What does it mean?

The dragon’s language.

When those words are spoken, new magic reveals itself.

A long-tailed something.

Like a comet-shaped magic hurtles toward me out of nowhere.

“Hmph.”

My posture collapses.

Lying down, making my next move difficult.

Without fail, the comet’s head aims for me.

Intermediate level.

Had my combat level not yet reached advanced, this would’ve been a fatal attack.

Now it’s different.

The recovery granted by magic.

Normalization of the flesh.

I roll away, substituting unused muscle strength with magic.

Replacing movement with magical power to forcibly shift my body.

Floating slightly, my physical afterimage is pierced through by the comet’s trajectory.

“Hn.”

Pierced through.

Savagely split open, leaving a deep straight hole.

Cold sweat streams down.

Sweat dripping from my forehead and soaking my back.

Before I can even worry about it, the next magic strikes.

Two.

Swirling with beams of light, crossing paths to pierce through.

There’s nothing to be done.

I’ll have to borrow the power of magic again.

The first jump uses only my physical body.

Dodging the magic with a leap.

As I hover mid-air, three beams of light streak toward me.

I empower my body with magic.

Performing impossible movements, I spin through the air to evade the timed spells.

A single comet shooting out.

I dodge it and deflect the immediately following ones with my sword.

KWANG-!

Even though I deflected it, the impact is monstrous.

The tingling sensation as it hits my hand.

The sword vibrates uncontrollably.

My expression has already stiffened.

Approaching is too difficult.

Despite avoiding the spells using experience and knowledge, the risk of closing in is too great.

The activation speed is simply too fast.

Drawing flames with my sword, trying to obscure my vision doesn’t work against the straight-on magical beams piercing my body.

Ultimately.

The art of magical power and the performance of the flesh.

These were the things I gained this time that I could rely on.

“Hoo.”

I steady my breathing.

Countless floating magics in the air.

My eyes spin.

At that moment.

An ominous, colossal sensation pressing down on my head.

Something impossibly huge heading toward me.

Glancing sideways, I see something leaving an afterimage as it swings.

“Shit!”

Its tail.

CHIIING-!

No way to avoid it.

Raising my sword slowly, I block with my entire body.

Taking a defensive stance.

Moving to deflect the shock.

The ringing in my ears.

With a colossal BOOM, I’m sent flying backward.

I cling to a shred of sanity to stay conscious.

The perilous feeling that colliding with a wall might really tear my body apart.

I scrape the ground with my magic-infused sword.

It’s the first measure I can take while flying through the air.

Somehow canceling the speed and impact with magic.

The rapidly depleting amount of magical power.

When I judge that further consumption will make combat difficult, I finally trust in the durability of my equipment and body.

KWANG-!

“Huff.”

A shock wrapping around my body, momentarily halting my breath.

Collapsing onto the ground, I quickly grab my sword and stare ahead.

Shaking legs.

Wobbling vision.

Flowing blood.

It was a dangerous situation.

[Eightfold Drip.]

Massive rock-like shapes covering the sky.

Droplets of fire hanging at their tips fall.

I chuckle faintly at the absurdity.

Yeah.

What kind of precision, right…?

Expert?

Maybe, to defeat this opponent, I need to aim beyond that level.

Right now, there’s absolutely no way I can win.

Acknowledging that brings a strange sense of relief.

Why bother placing a precise strike right now?

I can get revenge later.

With that mindset, I reach into my pocket and grip the warp device.

“Well then. It was fun. Bye-bye, ant who knows dragon language.”

“Yeah… See you again sometime.”

“Interesting last words.”

Space warps.

The colossal stone’s bombardment narrowly grazes where I stood.

Probably, only a small, purple warp device will remain where I disappeared.

That way…

Returning home battered and bruised, covered in blood.

Fortunately, I didn’t immediately get caught by Evangelin.

Given this state, I imagined Jack and Evangelin’s shocked faces if they saw me enter.

Quietly turning my body, I slip out northward.

“Haa.”

Massaging my sore body, I cast out my fishing rod.

My body’s recovery speed is miraculous.

Though the sudden hunger that follows is manageable.

Blood clots stick to me, but I roughly wash them off by submerging myself in the lake.

The heat radiating from my body gradually raises the water temperature around me.

Cooling down with water, I briefly review the battle with the dragon.

Unprecedented speed.

Devastating power.

Magic.

And sheer physical strength.

It was an overwhelmingly superior opponent.

Any slight thought of how I might handle it gets decisively dismissed.

Why such a thing exists on the 50th floor is unclear, but…

Thankfully, since it hasn’t come outside, I relax and leisurely swim.

Splashing some water, I pull in my fishing rod with the recovered fish.

Casually tossing it into my bag, I start heading home.

Though it was brief, my body is extremely exhausted.

I’m so tired that I could collapse and sleep right now.

Entering home, I clean up and collapse like a sack of potatoes.

Evangelin, startled, asks if I’m hurt again, but I assure her I’m just tired.

This makes me look like someone who’s always sick, even though I’m actually very sturdy and rarely fall ill.

Today’s schedule ends a bit earlier than usual.

The 47th day of summer fades away in this hazy time.

*

The flapping of Suri’s wings opens the morning.

The sparkling of spirits.

It’s a good condition.

Considering the aftermath of yesterday’s battle, it’s surprisingly a clean and pleasant morning.

Facing the blinding sunlight, I step outside.

Outside, a golden carriage sits there.

A knight in silver armor and an official leaning against the carriage.

“You’re awake.”

The royal messenger arrived too early.

Only Garim stood there.

“I see you’re here early.”

“Don’t mind it. Your crops are too good.”

The man adjusts his shirt neatly as he approaches.

A hint of joy lingers in Garim’s deep voice.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Hm. This sight never gets old. Spirits doing farming.”

“They’re cute creatures.”

“Hahaha. Cute creatures, huh? Judging by your evaluation, yes. There’s no worry about the quality of the crops.”

Afterward, business as usual.

Transporting the crops and receiving payment.

Inspection continues, and the knight’s expression brightens.

Eating delicious food is inherently a happy thing.

Garim’s face also clears up.

“There’s no problem. Oh, and…”

Before boarding the carriage, Garim hands me something.

A crest emblazoned with the royal insignia.

An eagle biting its own tail. A roaring lion.

Confused, I meet Garim’s eyes.

“A token. Should any foolish individuals attempt fraud, this royal token should resolve most issues. Being under the protection of the royal family means just that.”

“Fraud?”

“When you become famous, naturally, flies will follow.”

Flies.

A word I’ve never considered.

Or rather, a word I’d prefer not to think about.

“Good work.”

Garim departs.

The man who came early in the morning leaves like the wind.

The transaction was clean and perfect.

Money fills my hands, and the crops disappear.

Looking at the empty bags’ traces, I turn my gaze to the fields.

“I should either add or expand the greenhouse…”

Whether expanding existing ones or building new ones.

Additional tasks arise as summer nears its end.

The spirits happily scatter seeds everywhere.

Though they’ll become autumn seeds once summer passes, they still enjoy the act itself.

The greenhouse is almost full with melons and kingsberries.

Those two and a few summer crops.

Just managing that cycle is tough.

Due to the lack of space.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Of course. Come on in.”

Exchanging casual greetings and checking in on each other has become routine with Evangelin.

Evangelin heads to prepare breakfast.

I go outside and look at the sun.

Slowly, the end of summer approaches.

The scorching sunlight gradually loses its strength.

Coolness.

The breeze shifts to refreshing dryness, slowly becoming chilly.

Though the intense heat still reigns for now, soon the season where the heat eases will arrive.

When autumn comes, I’ll have to consider autumn crops.

Then, I won’t be able to grow summer crops, so I’ll need more greenhouses.

Thinking about it, I check the crafting table for expansion or additional construction options.

Sure enough, an option for expansion requiring similar materials appears prominently.

Expanding the greenhouse demands about the same amount of materials as rebuilding it initially did.

Quite a lot, but not an unattainable quantity.

I have sufficient materials. Anything depleted from heavy use can be replenished with the gold I earned this time.

Eating the breakfast Evangelin prepared, I set out to expand the greenhouse.

The familiar blue hologram reappears after a long time.

Wood and stone.

Cutting and carving.

Improving physical performance brings significant benefits in such aspects.

I don’t tire easily, and my actions are faster.

Compared to before, tasks proceed at two to three times the speed.

Still, it’ll probably take working overnight, but likely not the ordeal of staying up for three days and nights like before.

Eating dinner, watching the sun set.

The moon rises, and starlight twinkles as I continue working.

The spirits rest at home, and Suri dozes off on my shoulder.

Who would’ve thought I’d feel growth through construction?

Standing alone, gazing at the newly expanded greenhouse completed in a day, I feel proud.

Now the spirits can roam around, digging through the soil playfully in the larger greenhouse.

Actually.

From the spirits’ perspective, it might not make much difference what seeds they play with.

I intended to delay the greenhouse expansion a bit.

But once I started working on it, it was finished in a day.

This accomplishment feels satisfying, so I stand with my hands on my hips, staring blankly at the expanded greenhouse’s scenery for a while.

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