“Ooh!”
Still in his Metal Armor form, Yuma looks at his right hand. There, five [Jewels] were attached, forming a circle.
“Is that a change from eating the Chimera’s Demon Ore?”
To Rui’s curious question, Yuma nods powerfully.
“Yeah! Five on the left hand, five on the right. That means I can copy a total of ten Monsters. It should be pretty useful.”
Yuma cheerfully picks up his Pickel and walks towards the next floor. After defeating the Chimera, a sparkling silver Demon Ore dropped. As soon as he ate it, he gained the ability to mimic his opponent, just like last time. Combined with the Conglomerate ability, it would be incredibly effective in battle.
After that, as they progressed through the floors, huge and powerful Monsters appeared one after another. To conserve their Magical Power, Yuma and his companions tried to reach the lowest floor without fighting as much as possible. As Yuma walked without making a sound, he felt a nostalgic sensation.
–This is just like what we did in the Yokohama Dungeon. We aimed for the lowest floor without fighting the giant Monsters back then, too.
Yuma and the others carefully passed through the rocky areas of the labyrinth, trying not to be found by the large Monsters. However, they decided to defeat any Iridescent Monsters they encountered. That’s how valuable the Demon Ore with magical resistance was.
Yuma naturally intended to do so, but when he saw the Monster they encountered on the 207th floor, his resolve wavered greatly.
“O-oi, seriously! Isn’t that super cool?!”
“Yeah, it’s much bigger than the one we saw in the Yokohama Dungeon.”
Akito and Yuma excitedly try to lean out from behind the rocks. Seeing this, Rui frowned.
“What are you two saying! You’ll get spotted!”
Scolded, Akito and Yuma sheepishly pull back. The three of them hid behind the rocks, observing the Monster in the center of the Cave.
It was a “Black Dragon.”
A Monster rarely found even in the Black Dungeon, with a huge body and large wings. Its sturdy, jet-black hide and long tail were striking. It slowly turned its head, revealing its ferocious fangs, and looked around. Its appearance was the coolest of all the Dragonkind they had seen so far. Akito and Yuma’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
“I wonder what kind of abilities it has? Maybe it shoots beams?”
“Beams aside, it’ll definitely breathe something. And I heard a rumor that what drops isn’t Demon Ore, but a ‘Black Diamond’!”
As Yuma said breathlessly, Rui let out a small sigh.
“That’s just a rumor. Even if we defeat it, I think it’ll just drop Demon Ore.”
“You never know! It’s a Monster no one’s ever defeated before. Let’s just give it a try!”
“We don’t have time for that. We need to conserve our Magical Power and get to the lowest floor as quickly as possible.”
While Yuma and Rui were arguing, Akito came out from behind the rocks and jumped onto Gae Bolg.
“Ah! Akito, that’s cheating!”
“That Black Dragon is mine! You and Rui can just watch from there!”
Akito flew through the Cave, approaching the Black Dragon. Yuma also jumped out from behind the rocks, activating “Metallization” and running.
“W-wait, Yuma!”
Rui, exasperated by the two, tried to stop them, but Yuma grew in size and began running as an Iron Giant.
◇◇◇
“After all, wanting to fight strong Monsters is a Seeker’s instinct,” Akito said.
Akito circled above the Black Dragon on his spear. The Dragon noticed Akito’s presence and turned its head. It reacted slightly to Akito flying around.
“You seem pretty confident. Do you think there’s no one who can beat you? Well, I’m going to deny that thought with everything I’ve got!”
Six “spearheads” shot out from the tip of Gae Bolg. The spearheads were wrapped in black Lightning, drawing zigzagging paths towards the Black Dragon. It was a form that could be called a “Black Dragon.” The six Black Dragons attacked the giant Monster. They all bit into the Dragon’s hide, but were repelled without dealing much damage.
“What the heck! Is magic not effective against it?!”
Ignoring Akito’s grimace in the air, Yuma charged fiercely at the Black Dragon. The Iron Giant pulled back its right arm, trying to punch the opponent. At that moment, the Dragon spat out something like a black mist from its mouth.
“Ugh!”
Yuma had a bad feeling and jumped back. He could have just charged straight in, but his instincts wouldn’t allow it.
“What is this mist?”
Yuma stared at the Dragon, then suddenly looked at his arm. He couldn’t help but let out a “Huh?” The outer shell of his arm seemed to be slightly corroded. The Black Armor, which was impervious to any physical attacks and only took damage from the four major magics of Fire, Wind, Thunder, and Water, was clearly damaged.
“This is… that Black Dragon’s ability…”
The mist spread further, attacking Akito and Rui, who were flying in the air.
“Whoa! What is this?! It’s slipping through the Lightning Barrier!”
“The Flame Barrier isn’t working either! It’s a special attack!”
The two managed to distance themselves from the mist, but if they were hit by it directly, they could be wiped out. Yuma regretted whether he should have run, but Akito was different.
“Not bad! That just makes me want to defeat it even more!”
He charged at the Black Dragon with Gae Bolg, attacking its head and creating a slight wound. He then fired Thunder Magic, trying to distance himself before it could breathe the mist again. However, the Black Dragon wouldn’t let him get away so easily and opened its mouth wide.
At that moment—several explosions occurred on the Black Dragon’s body.
When Yuma turned his gaze, he saw Rui swinging his Katana, creating “Flame Birds” and attacking the Dragon. Each strike was powerful, and the Black Dragon was clearly annoyed. Perhaps it was weak against Fire Magic.
“Now’s our chance! While I hold it down, Yuma, Akito! Defeat it!”
As if responding to Rui’s voice, Yuma and Akito began to move. Yuma imbued the power of the “Green Lord” in his left arm and recreated the power of the “Red King” in his right arm.
The Dragon glared at Yuma, pulled back its head, and unleashed a “Breath of Corrosion.”
It was a terrifyingly powerful attack, but Yuma didn’t flinch.
He pointed his left hand, clad in a Metal Green outer shell, at the Dragon, and a powerful wind arose. The wind blew away the mist breath, pushing it backwards.
Yuma stomped his left foot and slammed his right straight into the Dragon’s face.
The moment the Metal Red fist hit, the Dragon’s face exploded like a raging fire.