Ch.4242. Southern Swamplands (3)

‘········!’

The moment I faced the dragon’s hostility head-on. After transmitting my thoughts to Sophia, I immediately concentrated magical power in my brain to accelerate my thinking to the extreme.

This was a specialty of magic users who are proficient in manipulating internal magical power. Thought acceleration puts considerable strain on the brain, limiting its use to only a few times per day.

Everything before my eyes seems to flow slowly.

The power of thought acceleration, which speeds up my perceived time to the extreme—making one second feel like about ten minutes—gave me time to consider what actions to take if I were to confront this dragon.

First, the dragon… judging by its nearly black-brown scales and the swamp habitat, it appears to be none other than a Swamp Dragon.

A branch of dragons adapted to swamp environments.

If I had to specify, its innate disposition tends toward neutrality. It can breathe poison and has gills, but otherwise has no major distinguishing features…

However, the mere fact that this creature is a pureblooded dragon, even if not fully mature, makes it a formidable opponent.

Even compared to other large monsters of the same class, its physical abilities are particularly excellent. Its close combat capabilities, enhanced by its long lifespan and genius-level intelligence, are undoubtedly superior.

Furthermore, the scales of a pureblooded dragon are not merely stronger than steel—they’re as hard as adamantium (black iron), the hardest metal in the world. Its hide also possesses magical resistance that can repel most ordinary spells.

If there’s one element that truly makes dragons symbols of power, it would be the magical energy produced with each beat of their hearts.

The amount of magical power a dragon possesses is virtually limitless.

Simply by pouring unlimited magical power into physical enhancement and projection, it can gain perfect superiority over opponents of the same class.

Dragon breath—shooting converted magical power as a substance or element from its mouth—can also be a powerful weapon.

What’s more, all of this is supplemented by the dragon’s magical aptitude.

All dragons (pureblooded) possess overwhelming magical affinity, to the extent that they can treat human geniuses like mere fleas.

‘……..Still, there’s plenty of hope.’

Of course, as I mentioned earlier, dragons are formidable opponents… but this one is still in the intermediate, sub-adult stage.

Most of the characteristics I described above only apply within the “intermediate” range, and calculating everything together, this is an opponent we can sufficiently challenge with our current forces.

On our side, we have two intermediate druids overflowing with talent, plus their animal friends totaling four.

Additionally, we have a hydra as an implicit ally, though I’m not sure if it will directly help us.

The hydra—shaped like a large herbivorous dinosaur’s body with twelve snake heads and one long tail—is one of the powerful magical beasts in the upper intermediate class.

Larger than a basilisk with a 10-meter body, the hydra’s physical abilities boast strength befitting its massive size.

Its tail, when swung at full power, can easily shatter castle gates, and its legs can crush and pulverize knights when it stomps down with its full weight.

The hydra’s famous poison is not only extremely toxic, but its essence is magical poison that transcends the physical realm and reaches the spiritual domain.

To put it bluntly, the pain caused by this poison is also pain inflicted upon the soul.

It’s no coincidence that in mythology, the famous Heracles chose to take his own life because he couldn’t bear the pain.

The agony of having one’s soul gouged out would be increasingly unbearable the closer one is to the mystical.

And the hydra’s true power comes from its transcendent toughness.

While the hardness of its scales and the toughness of its hide are just average for intermediate magical beasts, its exceptionally thick muscles, fat layers, and overwhelming regenerative ability compensate for this.

Particularly, its ability to instantly regenerate even if several heads are cut off—slightly inferior to a troll’s but still worthy of being considered a special ability—complements the hydra’s durability.

And… by the time I reached this point in my thoughts,

I recognized that my thought acceleration was approaching its limit, so I finally contemplated our next course of action and surrendered myself to the normal flow of time.

‘───Korin!’

[Yes!]

The moment my consciousness returned to reality, my first decision was to summon Korin and immediately go on the offensive.

In the current situation, the hydra poses a higher threat and attack priority than us, so it would be more effective for us to focus on attacking.

[Wild Blade, Slash!]

-Woong……

I try firing a magical slash from a newly developed spell, but the magical blade created based on the image of swinging claws dissipates the moment it touches the Swamp Dragon’s body.

That was nullification of magical phenomena created with will—originating from the dragon’s magic resistance. It was proof of why dragons are considered the natural enemies of mages.

Therefore, my conclusion was simple.

“───Go!”

[Yes!]

-Crackle-zzzzzzt──!!

The moment my command was transmitted, Korin, who had been drawing lightning while flying through the sky, became a streak of lightning without a moment’s hesitation and flew toward the Swamp Dragon.

A magical beast known as a thunder bird. The ultimate weapon of a magical beast that is infinitely close to a spirit—a living mass of mystery.

The true value of this power, which until now had been used simply to generate electricity like a versatile power generator…

-KRAAAAAAAAAANG────!!!!!

The power to transform the thunder bird’s own body into a mass of surging current. The ability to convert the matter constituting its physical form into electrical current… literally proving why it is close to being a spirit.

As always, dark clouds suddenly gather in the previously clear sky, winds surge, and the climate changes as if thunder and lightning are about to strike.

Where there is lightning (the thunder bird), storm clouds form accordingly. Though it’s a typical reversal of cause and effect, from a magical perspective, it’s not particularly unusual.

And then… golden lightning races across the sky.

-────KRAKABOOOM!! RUMBLE!!!

The lightning, composed of extremely high-purity magical power, penetrated the sub-adult dragon’s scales and hide in one go, attacking its flesh.

The dragon’s high “magical” resistance was meaningless against Korin, whose essence was simply magical power taking the form of electric current.

Golden electricity rages, sending thunderous roars in all directions. The magical power in the form of current attacks the dragon relentlessly, following the will of its master who is also the being it constitutes.

Knowing better than anyone that he could be restored even if only his soul remained, Korin continued his fierce attack, consuming even the magical power constituting his own body…

-Flash!

[───Heavens! Shine forth and reveal your fury!]

[───Shine, as the essence of instinct!]

Finally, as Korin squeezed out his last strength and gloriously vanished as a flash of light, returning his soul, the magical power that Sophia and I had been secretly preparing manifested in our hands.

The spell Sophia cast with Minerva’s help was designed to guide lightning strikes from the storm clouds that had appeared in the sky above.

The power of Sophia’s spell was merely to guide the lightning and ensure it would strike the dragon directly. The important lightning itself was nothing more than a natural phenomenon.

-───RUMBLE!!!

Of course, lightning as a mere natural phenomenon could never wound a dragon’s sturdy body, but this is where Minerva steps in.

Summoning lightning from a clear sky falls within the realm of magic, but enhancing the power of naturally formed lightning… that’s just treated as a suspiciously powerful natural environment, not magic.

Therefore, while the dragon is momentarily disoriented by the barrage of lightning strikes from the sky,

the result of the spell I had cast and briefly held back now flies toward the Swamp Dragon.

[───Explode!]

-BOOOOOM!!!

What I formed using the magical power I had stored inside my mother’s staff was a miniature volcano about my height.

Modeled after a firearm, it concentrated all its firepower on a single point, and the volcanic flow shot from the crater created a hole right through one side of the dragon’s body.

Of course, since the aim was slightly off, the hole doesn’t pose a significant threat to the dragon’s life. ……..If anything, it only further provoked the dragon’s anger.

[───■■■■■■!!!]

The enraged dragon roars, focusing its attention on me. Revealing its killing intent and fury without reservation, it turned its head toward me…

-──CRUNCH!!

And this was the fundamental reason why the sub-adult Swamp Dragon met its death.

The hydra seized the opportunity to sink its teeth into the exposed flesh revealed by the penetrating wound.

While dragons can expel most ordinary poisons by circulating magical power within their bodies… the hydra’s poison is an exception among exceptions.

Without being a fully grown adult dragon, there’s no way to withstand it.

[Ah, ah■■, ah■■■aaaah■aaa■■a■■■■aaa■■■a■■■■■■■───────!!!!]

The pain inflicted by the hydra’s poison—unmatched by any other pain in this world—strikes the dragon’s body.

The potency of the poison itself is such that even a sub-adult dragon can survive it, which ironically prolongs the time it suffers from the pain.

-Groooan!!!

And so, the creature that tumbled to the ground continued to scream in agony for a long time, unable to stop screaming even until its life force was exhausted.

Thus, the Swamp Dragon met its death in agony.