The dragon's voice is quizzical.

...... Did I mishear you? It sounds like you just said that you're going to take it easy on me.

I give him a straight answer.

'No, you didn't mishear me. You're right.'

A moment of silence.
Then the dragon sighed with his big mouth.

'My, what a wise man you are... and what a conceited fool you are. It's frankly offensive. Nothing makes me want to crush you more than a smug little brat. Get out of here, boy! or I'll kill you without a second thought.

That may have been the dragon's way of saying something thoughtful.
But I shook my head and replied.

'I can't do that. If I can't bet on a game with a very high probability of victory and return, then I am not qualified to be an adventurer. This is the time to chip in.

...... Oh, man, you're so sure of yourself. All right. I will destroy your hubris along with your body.

The dragon said this and roared loudly towards the sky.
That was the signal to start the battle.


The dragon's roar was accompanied by the following words.


The dragon's roar is said to have the ability to crush the souls of the powerless and force them into a panic.

However, it seems that the current roar was not an attack with such power.
It was only natural, since an offensive roar requires a preliminary movement to put magic power into the voice.

The dragon, which had been standing on all four legs, raised its huge body and stood up with only its two hind legs.
The upright figure of the dragon was truly gigantic, standing four times taller than us humans up to the top of its head.

Next, the dragon flapped the wings on its back and tried to rise up, but...

'I won't let you!

'I'll leave the left to you, Satsuki!

The ones who flew out towards it were our top two melee fighters.
He slid into the dragon's feet at a terrifying speed with his aura on his legs, and slashed at the left and right limbs with his sword and blade.

I'm not sure what to say.


'......! It's so hard!

'I've heard that dragon scales are harder than iron, but...' It's so hard!


I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I think it's a good idea.

However, the blown Irene rolled a couple of revolutions on the light slope of the mountain, and with the momentum, she turned herself around and landed vividly on all fours like a beast.
He brakes quickly and looks at the dragon again.

'Oh no, ......!


It was an excellent move.

'Princess, are you alright? Ooh, ......!

'Satsuki, be careful! If you get even one direct hit, you're out!

'I know, but ......! This is ......!

On the other hand, Satsuki, who remained alone in front of the dragon, managed to dodge the inexhaustible attacks of the dragon's claws and tail, just in time.
Satsuki's movements were as lean as ever, as she had shown in the battle against the Rockworm, but even she seemed to be gradually being cornered.

Incidentally, the dragon's limbs that Satsuki and Irene had slashed at seemed to have been pierced by the blade to some extent, though not deeply, and the dragon's blood flowed out from them, staining the ground red.
It's not a serious injury, but it's no small damage.

"Hahahahaha! That's great, girls! The boy may be a fake, but you're the real deal! But you're going to have to do a lot more than that for talking down to me!

As he said this, the dragon waved his arms and tail and happily chased Satsuki down.
But what did Satsuki say when she heard that?

'Ha! Will is much more powerful than you and me! Right, Princess?

'Yes, I agree with you! I'll bark at you, dragon!

Irene also ran to the dragon again.
She and Satsuki began to cut the dragon in two.

From the looks of it, Irene and Satsuki seemed to be able to handle the task on their own.
Under the premise that it would take two of them to fight a hand-to-hand battle on the ground, they were almost an even match for the dragon.

Therefore, it seemed that there was no need for me to do anything about it...

"Well, that's interesting. You think that boy who talked down to me isn't a forger? I was going to admit it to you... but now I've changed my mind. Let me see what you can do, boy. Or this conversation is over.

And then the dragon took advantage of Satsuki and the others to kick them away, and then soared high into the air with the wings on its back.

It then looks at me and begins to glow with a red energy glow in the back of its mouth.
That was probably a preliminary move for a fire breath.
The flames the dragon breathes out spread over a wide area, so if it spits that out, I won't be the only one who gets burned.

In short, as it turned out, Satsuki and I had said some things that were unnecessary.
I thought it would be troublesome if they changed their minds later, but in reality, things don't always go according to plan.

Incidentally, as for the two remaining comrades, Cyril and Mee, Cyril had used a miracle to soften the damage of the flames and imbued all of his allies with its blessing, while Mee had suddenly disappeared before he knew it.
She probably thought that it would be difficult for her dagger to break through the dragon's scales and inflict damage, and was watching vigilantly for an opportunity to hide herself.

Now, in any case, the rest is my job.

The spell I've been trying to cast will be completed soon.
It looks like I'll be able to finish it before the dragon breathes its fire breath.

'd*mn it, you let him get away. ......! Come down here! That's not fair!

'There's nothing cowardly about it. That's the dragon. Will, please!

I gave a small nod to Irene's words, raised my wand, and cast my completed spell.

'Ice Storm!

The magic power gathered at the tip of the wand, and a pale spherical glow was born from it.

Blizzard.
The spell I invoked is an advanced attack spell that can only be used by particularly skilled wizards, who are high-ranking magicians.



This spell allows the user to launch a magic ball and release its magic power at the target point, causing a blizzard containing a large amount of ice to appear around the target point.
The basic power of this spell is not much different from that of a fireball or lightning bolt, but it should be quite effective against fire dragons (red dragons), which have the fire attribute.

Dragons are very powerful monsters, but they are not invincible.
They have extremely high attack power, the ability to fly, and notable physical defense with their dragon scales.
Although its magic defense is a little higher than that of ordinary animals, it can still be broken through with a little less damage if it is a mage level magic.

Therefore, if you unleash this ice storm (blizzard), you will be able to deal a considerable blow even to a dragon.
As for the rest...

In the meantime, when the dragon saw me activate the blizzard, he said he was a little more impressed.

I know that magic. I've heard that it can only be wielded by the very best of human sages. You're certainly not all talk, kid.

It was a compliment, but...
I'm not sure what to make of that.

...... Well, that's usually the case.

I'm going to listen to what the dragon says and prepare for the next one.
I'm not sure if you've heard of it or not.

I'm not going to let you get away with that! Did you think that I would be exhausted by that one blow! Taste my fire before I cast my next spell...

'Multiple spellcasting...'

"......?"

The dragon shouted dumbly.

I had used multiple spell casting to increase the pale blue magic glow of the ice storm to three.

With the amount of mana I had left, I could stack up to five ice blizzards on top of each other, but I would have killed the dragon instantly if I went that far.
But if I went that far, I might kill the dragon instantly. I was asking for help, and killing it would defeat the purpose.
So it was necessary to go easy on him.

I'm not sure what to do. Stop! Stop! Stop! What the hell is that? I've never heard of that!

The dragon was in a panic.
But we have to get the word out.

I'm not sure what to do.

'I do! I admit it! So don't shoot it! If you shoot me with that, I'll die!

'No, I'm trying to control the damage so that you don't die.

'But it's going to hurt like hell! I'm going to die!

'I thought you yourself insisted on not complaining about life and death earlier...'

'I'm sorry! I was getting carried away!

The dragon came down from the sky and apologized with its head flat on the ground.
His huge body and dignity were ruined.

Anyway, I succeeded in getting the dragon's cooperation.
I released my tension and breathed a sigh of relief.