Abandoned in the mountains, I was adopted by a lizard ~I mastered magic and surpassed my parents, but I didn't know they were legendary ancient dragons~

Chapter 36 Meeting with the President

A week has passed since the construction work started.

During this week, I’ve come to a realization: “The monsters on the Inferno Continent are much weaker than I thought.” Although I created unmanned submarines and aerial reconnaissance drones to serve as remote attack and ambush tools, there hasn’t been a single instance where an enemy too strong for Metal Wolf to handle has appeared.

While ultrasonic attacks lose effectiveness when fired from land into water, requiring me to handle underwater monsters, most fish or cephalopod-type monsters don’t come ashore. Therefore, the only creatures I needed to deal with were amphibious monsters swimming towards us.

Even these amphibians typically died with a single shot of Dragon Flash. Given this situation, I eventually decided to conduct surveillance from the branch office instead of the watchtower.

Since it only takes about a minute to fly from the branch office to Ashgano Cape, I can handle any class of monsters requiring my close combat skills by using remote interference and Metal Wolf to buy time until I arrive. Thus, I concluded that I didn’t need to be physically present at the site, and began performing my defense duties comfortably from the office.

One staff member at the branch office even remarked, “With Hadar around, we might not even need a fortress anymore…” but I disagree. The current setup relies too heavily on individual capabilities. Ideally, all tasks should be systematized to achieve the same results regardless of who performs them, especially when it comes to national defense. The goal should be to ensure safety through the fortress itself, not through my presence alone.

After all, I wouldn’t want to do this job forever—it’s fine for an internship period, but not as a lifelong career.

So today, while monitoring and sharing senses with remote attack magic tools in the office, I suddenly heard a familiar voice.

“Well? Hadar, what are you doing here?”

Opening my eyes, I saw President Wright standing there. Today was the day the president was scheduled to visit the branch office.

“I determined that it wasn’t necessary to be on-site since I can set up remote attack magic tools to eliminate monsters targeting the cape,” I explained, projecting holographic images of the site and underwater scenes using light magic. There were no enemies in the air, so I transferred Dragon Flash to the unmanned submarine and demonstrated by killing a nearby mini Cthulhu.

It’s good that I left the soft-bodied monsters alone, as they provided a convenient target for the demonstration.

“Hmm, was that a Mini Cthulhu you just took down? To do that in one shot, that’s some incredible attack power…”

President Wright remarked while blinking in amazement at the holographic scene. Then he made an unexpected proposal.

“Would you consider selling that magic tool to our company?”

Wait, what? Why would they want to buy a mere relay device?

“What would you use it for?”

“As a weapon to be installed in the fortress. We were planning to order a different magic tool, but it’s clear that the current one has far superior performance…”

It seemed the president had misunderstood, thinking the relay device itself had high attack capabilities.

“That’s just a relay for attack magic. It transmits and releases my attack magic, so the magic tool itself has no attack power.”

“I see… That’s unfortunate, but now that I think about it, it makes sense that a magic tool wouldn’t have such high attack power…”

Hearing my explanation, the president looked slightly dejected. However, his earlier remark caught my attention.

Creating a magic tool weapon with Dragon Flash-level power should be possible. Though I haven’t made one yet, using higher-quality magic stones and a specialized magic circle could yield a tool with the same power and rapid-fire capability as Rapid Dragon Flash.

Yet, he said, “A magic tool shouldn’t have that level of attack power.” What kind of weapon was he planning to install?

The business plan only mentioned “dedicated weapons,” so I decided to delve deeper.

“If that level of attack power is sufficient, I could make something given enough time. But, could you show me what kind of weapons you were planning to install for reference?”

Hoping to see some documentation, I asked.

“Really!? In that case, the weapons we intended to use were… here.”

The president, now excited, pulled out some documents from his bag and showed them to me.

My initial reaction was… bluntly put, “Are you kidding me?”

The weapon’s power described in the documents was grossly inadequate for the level of monsters from the Inferno Continent. To put it in perspective, it would take about 1000 hits to take down a single Rush Turtle. Even if the fortress were completed, with such weak interception capabilities, it wouldn’t withstand monster assaults and would ultimately collapse.

It might not even last a year after I withdraw from safety management. It would be more effective to use all available magic stones to create a pack of Metal Wolves instead of relying on such subpar defenses.

“This is just a drop in the ocean, isn’t it?”

“Ugh, hearing that from you, Hadar…”

When I pointed it out, President Wright looked visibly uncomfortable. Then, as if pleading, he made a request.

“Please, if you can create a more powerful weapon, do it. I’ll request an increased budget from the nation for weapon purchases and pay you in full…!”

…He’s really desperate. With the nation involved and a massive budget on the line, I can’t afford to produce subpar weapons. Delivering something like Metal Wolves would be laughable.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

This means… first, I need to acquire high-quality magic stones. Just defending the cape won’t get me anywhere, but luckily, I have a lead.

Yes, I need to venture into the Inferno Continent. The monsters coming to the cape are likely the “losers” of the Inferno Continent’s territorial disputes, so there should be much stronger monsters on the mainland.

There’s a significant risk of encountering monsters that even I can’t handle, so I can’t be complacent. However, with careful searching, I should be able to find the right magic stones from suitably strong monsters.

While I can’t make any promises right away, if I manage to get the right magic stones, I’ll move forward with officially contracting for weapon delivery.

◇◇◇

Chapter 37 Hunting on Inferno Continent – 1

The first weekend after the president’s visit finally arrived, and with a day off from the site, I decided to take this opportunity to venture into the Inferno Continent.

At the tip of the cape, I used my dragon transformation technique and took to the skies in the direction of the Inferno Continent. The distance wasn’t far, so it only took a few minutes to arrive.

Upon landing on the Inferno Continent, I reverted to my human form. I activated a detection spell and began scouting the area.

Carefully, I proceeded deeper into the continent. After a while, I noticed something peculiar.

For some reason, the monsters detected by my spell were moving away from me, as if they didn’t want to encounter me. It was as if they were avoiding me. They would leave their territory as I passed and return once I was gone.

…Are they actually avoiding me? If there were monsters with combat abilities on par with the Gigant Phoenix and intelligence surpassing it, they might judge me as an unbeatable opponent and avoid encounters altogether. Maybe all the monsters here are like that. This is problematic; I can’t hunt like this.

However, upon further consideration, it’s unlikely that I’d get good magic stones from monsters that actively avoid me. It might be more effective to target the ones that don’t run away.

In that case, there’s only one thing to do: continue moving deeper. So, I used the dragon transformation technique again and decided to move about 100 kilometers further in before resuming my hunt.

◇

At a location 100 kilometers deeper from the previous spot, I aimed to defeat the nearest monster detected by my detection magic. However, this time, the monster didn’t try to leave its territory.

It seemed my expectations were met; there was indeed a stronger monster deeper within. Unlike the creatures at the continent’s edge, this one didn’t shy away.

…Though, I couldn’t rule out the possibility of it simply having low intelligence.

Drawing nearer, I saw a giant gorilla about 50 meters tall, its entire body glowing pale blue-white.

I attempted a headshot with Dragon Flash, but it slightly dodged, taking the hit on its shoulder without becoming fatal, only losing an arm.

…Good. You’re the first not to die from a single Dragon Flash.

And it wasn’t particularly strong either, as it turned out.

Exactly the level of monster I was looking for.

I followed up with three more Dragon Flashes. Two of them significantly reduced its mobility, and the third landed a headshot, successfully defeating it.

I gratefully proceeded to retrieve the corpse.

After storing the giant gorilla, I decided to continue hunting a bit more in the vicinity.

Deciding on my next target, which showed no signs of fleeing, I prepared to engage.

This time, it was a monkey about 1.6 meters tall, riding a strange cloud-like vehicle and wielding a staff.

Quite a contrast from the giant gorilla earlier.

I fired a Dragon Flash again.

But this time, it effortlessly dodged it.

…At the very least, its agility seemed higher than the giant gorilla earlier.

Its attacks might be insanely fast too… Perhaps it’s wise to activate Body Strengthening Magic.

Deciding so, I activated Body Strengthening Magic.

And then… the monkey extended its staff towards me at high speed.

…Whack.

That staff, it extends? Flexibly?

And damn, that speed was intense. If I hadn’t activated Body Strengthening beforehand, it would’ve been questionable whether I could’ve dodged it.

While pondering this, the monkey began maneuvering around me with its cloud vehicle, moving in all directions.

…I see. That cloud was the source of its agility to dodge Dragon Flashes.

I fired another Dragon Flash, shattering the cloud.

Well, no matter how fast it is, as long as I understand its speed, I can handle it with deflected shots like this.

The monkey, now deprived of its vehicle, skillfully took a defensive stance and landed on the ground.

However… right after, the monkey took a deep breath, exhaling smoke, and promptly conjured a new cloud.

The vehicle regenerates endlessly?

In that case… there’s no helping it. I’ll have to aim for the main body with deflected shots and steadily chip away at its stamina.

Dodging the rapid-fire extendable staff attacks, I fired rapid Dragon Flashes at the monkey, aiming with deflected shots.

Despite hitting it with every shot… it took a whopping 50 rapid Dragon Flashes to completely extinguish its breath.

Not only agile, but tougher than the giant gorilla, too.

It’s not that it couldn’t be defeated, but it was quite a troublesome foe.

Fighting in the current style isn’t bad, but honestly, consuming 50 rapid Dragon Flashes on just one enemy, considering magical energy consumption, is quite inefficient.

There’s no rule saying I have to defeat it with rapid Dragon Flashes.

Next time I encounter the same kind of monkey… I think I’ll unlock one of the theoretical magics my mother developed but never practically applied, and swiftly finish it off.