CHAPTER 311: CONCERNING DRAGONS 2

 

～Drake’s Perspective～

「Your abs are freakin’ chocolate bars!!!」

The instant I shouted without thinking, Shinku-neesan’s elbow sank into my side.

「…Drake. Mind your manners toward our opponent.」

「Gfh…! Yeah, but that was one of those things you gotta say, y’know!?」

I protested in a whisper, but nee-san’s gaze was ice-cold. She was pretty damn mad.

—But then…

「Hmph…」

A low, brief laugh echoed out.

When I looked back, the corners of Landbulk’s mouth had lifted ever so slightly.

「To praise Me’s abs first thing… You have excellent sensibilities. The results of training deserve to be evaluated properly, after all. Besides, you possess fairly fine muscles yourself. Fighting muscles, naturally acquired through battle… Those are beautiful in their own way.」

「Nah, it’s not that big a deal. Actually, I was thinkin’ I wanted to bulk up a bit more—」

「Drake.」

「Yes, I’ll shut up.」

I closed my mouth at once. This was what you called a dragon’s survival instinct.

Landbulk folded his arms and looked down at us.

「…Now then. What have you come here to do?」

With that one sentence, the atmosphere changed.

It seemed like he was willing to tolerate banter, but that wasn’t the heart of the matter.

I couldn’t forget it. Landbulk was an ‘Ancient Dragon’.

He was an existence that clearly stood on the side of the ‘strong.’

「Training. We have come to grow stronger.」

Shinku-neesan stepped forward and answered without hesitation.

「To fight an elemental dragon, and to understand that power. We were granted the opportunity to challenge you by Quelebre-sama, the Ice Dragon, and have come here accordingly.」

「…Ho?」

Landbulk’s eyes narrowed.

「In other words, you have come to defeat Me?」

「Yes.」

There was no hesitation whatsoever in her immediate answer.

Beside her, I grinned.

「We don’t plan on losin’ one bit.」

「…Okay.」

It happened the next instant.

Landbulk snapped his fingers, and the entire cavern began to waver.

Then—

—Thoom.

The nature of the cavern’s walls and floor changed, as though the whole place had been compressed and hardened.

The rugged ground and rock surface smoothed out like carved marble, and when I stepped on it, I could tell its hardness had jumped several times over.

「…!?」

Then came a pressure so heavy that my vision blurred for an instant.

Landbulk was only ‘standing there,’ and yet the space itself had grown heavy.

「Too light.」

His voice rumbled low.

「Your resolve, and your ability both.」

The next instant, he disappeared.

「Drake!!」

「I know!!」

I leapt sideways by reflex.

Immediately after—

—Gooong!!!

A fist slammed into the spot where I’d been standing moments ago.

The rock-solid floor caved in, and stone fragments burst outward.

It was only a single blow, but instinct told me that if it had hit, I’d have been finished.

「Whoa…!?」

I backstepped to put some distance between us, but Landbulk changed direction in an instant and closed in right before my eyes.

「Fast—」

「I would prefer you not forget about me.」

At the last possible moment, Shinku-neesan cut in between us. With Dorenkoi in its great-shield form, she met his follow-up attack with a guard impact and knocked it upward.

「Oh, fantastic guard.」

Landbulk didn’t resist the force. He simply used it to flip backward, correcting his posture as he landed.

In that exchange, the one who was clearly dragging us down was—

Without a doubt, me.

Frustration welled up inside me.

I’d thought I’d gotten stronger. I’d thought I could fight an Ancient Dragon now.

But reality was that if Shinku-neesan hadn’t supported me, the battle would have been decided in barely five seconds.

…But I don’t have time to mope.

In those five seconds, I understood the gap between Landbulk and me.

I had to remember why we were challenging the Earth Dragon in the first place. We were here to become stronger than we were now.

「Sorry ’bout that! I’m good now!」

「If you have time to apologize, then attack. This time, we go on the offensive.」

「Yes, ma’am!」

At Shinku-neesan’s signal, magic spread across the ground, and several stone pillars thrust upward.

「—Bind him, 【Earthbinding Cage】.」

They all coiled around Landbulk at once.

But—

「Not bad, but there isn’t enough density to bind Me’s muscles.」

With a crack, they shattered.

As easily as if he were snapping dry twigs.

「…!」

Nee-san had already moved on to preparing an offensive spell.

Her precision was high. She was fast. There was no wasted motion.

Even so—

「Too slow.」

He closed the distance in an instant.

By the time I realized it, he was already right in front of nee-san.

「Like hell I’ll let you!!」

I’d already been forced to understand just how strong Landbulk was. I’d also figured out that he considered Shinku-neesan, not me, to be the real threat here.

I stepped in all at once and swung the Red Ogre’s Iron Club with everything I had.

—It hit.

I felt a solid impact.

But…

「A fairly good attack. …However, it is still too light.」

It had stopped.

With one of Landbulk’s arms, he had completely caught it.

「…Seriously?」

「You have power. However, your polish is lacking.」

He grabbed me and hurled me away.

「Guh…!!」

I rolled across the ground, bounced several times, and finally came to a stop.

All the air left my lungs.

It hurts. But more than that—

It didn’t work.

Frustration surged up inside me.

In the face of his overwhelming defensive power, my attack had meant nothing.

「Drake!」

「I’m fine…!」

I checked the state of my whole body as I stood up.

I shouldn’t have taken that much damage, and yet my legs were shaking.

In front of us, Landbulk stood there without even taking a stance.

「Come on!!」

Those words made it clear he was completely on the receiving side.

That was how much room he had to spare.

「…Fine by me!」

I clenched my teeth.

「I’ll do this as many times as it takes!!」

「That spirit is excellent.」

Landbulk gave a small, satisfied nod.

But from there on, it was hell.

No matter how many times we attacked, nothing got through.

Magic was deflected, blocked, and at times even used against us.

Landbulk’s magic manipulated the ground itself.

No, ‘manipulated’ was too mild a word.

It was like he was one with the ground. Like it had become perfectly natural to him.

No matter where we stood, the ground beneath our feet became our enemy.

And most of all—his defensive power felt practically infinite. He was just that hard.

It was honestly brutal, seeing no sign that any number of hits had any effect.

Actually, if he’d wanted to defeat us, he could have delivered fatal wounds any number of times already.

And yet we were still able to move.

He’s obviously… holding back.

「Hahh… hah…」

I dropped to one knee.

My vision blurred.

When I checked from the corner of my eye, Shinku-neesan was breathing hard too.

—We can’t win.

As we are now, this is impossible.

「…Is that all?」

Landbulk’s voice fell down over us.

He wasn’t blaming us. He was simply confirming the fact.

It was frustrating.

But—

「For now… yeah, guess so.」

I raised my head.

I didn’t have the luxury to catch my breath, but I smiled anyway.

「That ‘for now’ is the problem.」

Landbulk approached.

His footsteps were heavy.

But the pressure from before was gone.

He stopped in front of us and spoke.

「You are fortunate Me was first. Against the other dragons, you would have been killed by the first attack.」

「Yes, sir…」

「You have good instincts. Me senses talent as well. …However, you are merely using magic as a ‘technique.’」

Quelebre-sama had told us the same thing when she taught us the magic barrier.

I’d thought I’d understood it over this past year.

But that meant I still hadn’t truly learned to handle it.

「Magic is the same as muscle.」

Landbulk bent both elbows and struck a double biceps pose, making his swollen biceps bulge even further as he spoke.

Quietly, but powerfully.

「Magic and skills become stronger the more you train them. But that alone is not enough.」

He slowly opened his arms and flowed smoothly into the next pose.

In time with that motion, the surrounding ground trembled faintly.

「If it is not flexible, then it has no meaning.」

The rock beneath our feet began to change shape smoothly.

As though it were alive.

「Swinging it around through sheer power is nonsense. You must control it, build it up, and let it become natural to your body…」

He swung his arms wide and struck a most-muscular pose.

Then the mass of rock that had risen from the ground changed shape, forming two glossy stone statues of Landbulk on either side. One struck a double biceps pose, and the other a side chest pose.

「Only then will you be able to use it naturally.」

—I get it.

No wonder we can’t win.

The level of what he’s doing is completely different.

「…So,」

I lifted the corner of my mouth.

「what do we gotta do?」

Landbulk broke into a full smile.

「Isn’t it obvious?」

He thumped his chest.

「Training, training, and more training!」

It was an answer so simple it was almost stupid.

But—

「Me will raise you into splendid fighters. Do not worry. Steady effort will never betray you.」

He turned around and began walking.

Then, in a slightly lower tone, he continued.

「…The thing that always betrays you is your own laziness.」

With that one sentence, everything clicked.

Shinku-neesan and I exchanged glances, then spoke at the same time.

「「Please train us.」」

「Hah-hah! Then let us begin with the basics! No body enhancement skills! One thousand push-ups!!」

But as I looked at Landbulk’s ridiculously huge latissimus dorsi, I thought—

If even Shinku-neesan gets all muscular, how am I gonna explain that to Aniki and the others…?