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 38 & 39

Chapter 38   Hunting on Inferno Continent – 2

That said, it’s not like I’m unlocking a spell that would drain all my magic power after just three shots. That level of power would be complete overkill against even the monsters I’ve faced so far.

…Actually, using a spell that consumes more magic than fifty rapid Dragon Flashes would be counterproductive. The spell I have in mind, though its formula is much more complex than the rapid Dragon Flash, uses only about twice the magic power of two Dragon Breaths.

Whether or not I’ll use that spell depends on if there are more monsters at the level of that monkey I just fought. With that thought, I stored the monkey’s corpse.

Then I moved on to find the next monster. By a twist of fate, the next creature I encountered was the same kind of monkey riding on a cloud.

Alright, let’s do this.

As I constructed the formula, a gigantic rocket launcher, about four meters long, materialized before me.

I hoisted it onto my shoulder, aimed, and pulled the trigger. Instantly, a blinding beam shot from the launcher, causing my vision to white out for a moment.

Though I couldn’t see anything due to the brightness, the disappearance of the monster’s presence from my detection spell confirmed its defeat. Even that agile monkey couldn’t dodge this shot.

About three seconds after pulling the trigger, the rocket launcher disintegrated into countless particles of light. This was merely a magical effect of the spell, not an actual magic tool, so it wasn’t permanent.

The spell I used is called the “Magic Particle Cannon.” This attack spell fires a high-energy cluster of magically accelerated particles from a conjured launcher, traveling faster than light.

Since it moves faster than light, it’s physically impossible to see and dodge the shot the moment I pull the trigger. Unless the enemy can predict the exact moment I fire, the spell is almost guaranteed to hit once I have them in my sights.

Moreover, the minimum power of this spell is a hundred times that of Dragon Breath, despite only consuming twice the magic power.

Even so, the higher magic consumption and the risk of vaporizing the magic stones in weaker enemies mean I usually stick to using the Dragon Flash. But for enemies that can withstand rapid Dragon Flashes, this spell is far more efficient.

With these thoughts, I collected the magic stone. If I plan to equip the fortress with five or six weapons, I should aim to defeat about four more monsters of the same caliber as the monkey.

◇

About an hour and a half later.

I managed to defeat four more of those monkey monsters, successfully collecting the target number of magic stones.

With all the materials gathered, I can now officially proceed with the weapon delivery contract. With that thought, I prepared to use the dragon transformation technique to return to Ashgano Cape.

However, while I was in the middle of constructing the spell, I suddenly heard a voice.

“E-Excuse me… Nice to meet you! Um, please make me your apprentice!”

…Huh?

What on earth?

◇◇◇

Chapter 39   I got new subordinate

Well, I did notice a signal maintaining a distance of about two kilometers from me ever since I defeated the big gorilla. It seems that it got closer while I was dealing with the last monkey.

But still… Is there really a human in a place like this? —Wait a minute. Come to think of it, that voice was speaking in dragon language.

Looking in the direction of the voice, I saw a camouflaged dragon. So, it was this guy.

“Uh… apprentice…?”

I asked back. There are dialects in dragon language, so if it means something entirely different than what I’m familiar with, that’s another story, but as far as I know, “make me your apprentice” is not something you say to someone you just met.

“That’s right! I’ve been watching you fight for a while now, and I was so impressed by how cool you were! If it’s okay, can I call you Aniki (big bro)?”

…It seems “make me your apprentice” meant exactly what I thought it did.

“Uh, sure…”

“Thanks, Aniki! I was just blown away by seeing someone who could one-shot that Great Seitan like that… I really respect you, man!”

“Great… Seitan? So that’s what that flying monkey is called?”

“Formally, it’s called the Great Seitan and Kinto Cloud-Nyoistick Union Triumvirate. It’s such a long name that everyone just calls it Great Seitan!”

What’s with the name having an “and” in it…? I seriously question the naming sense of whoever came up with that.

And it seems I got carried away by his enthusiasm and allowed him to call me Aniki. What’s with this energy…?

“Can’t you defeat the Great Seitan?”

“Unfortunately, with my abilities, I don’t know who would die if we fought. So generally, dragons and Great Seitans try to avoid fighting each other! In the past, someone like Maina-sama could completely overpower a Great Seitan, even if Maina-sama couldn’t one-shot it like you, Aniki…”

“Maina-sama?”

“A dragon elder who used to live on this continent! But about 2000 years ago, Maina-sama left a note saying, ‘I’m going on a journey. Don’t look for me,’ and disappeared, and we haven’t heard from Maina-sama since.”

When I tried making some casual conversation, I found out that the dragons on this continent and the Great Seitans are generally on the same level of strength. Also, it seems there was a somewhat stronger dragon named Maina-sama.

“By the way… if my memory serves me right, Aniki’s way of speaking slightly resembles Maina-sama’s dialect! Strong beings must have some common traits, huh…”

“Is that so…”

That piqued my interest. My dragon language is entirely inherited from my mother. Next time I visit home, I might ask about this “Maina-sama” dragon.

As I was thinking this, the camouflaged dragon asked me a question.

“Anyway, let’s set aside the technique Aniki used to defeat the Great Seitans after the first one for now since it was too confusing. How on earth is Aniki’s Dragon Flash able to fire so rapidly!? Maina-sama’s rapid-fire technique was something, but yours seemed to be on a whole different level…”

“That technique is called Rapid Dragon Flash, a magic designed for high-speed firing of Dragon Flash. The magic circle itself is completely different.”

As I explained, I projected the magic circle as a hologram.

“What kind of magic is this!? I can’t control the technique!”

The camouflaged dragon immediately tried to imitate it and failed, causing the magic to backfire.

“Although it’s based on Dragon Flash, the difficulty of magic control is much higher than that of Dragon Flash. Dragons can’t use this magic.”

“Is that so—wait, what!? Aniki, you’re not a dragon!?”

Upon learning that I wasn’t a dragon, the camouflaged dragon raised its voice in shock.

…No, it’s quite obvious.

“I’m human. Why did you think I was a dragon…?”

“Considering how easily you were using such powerful magic, I just assumed you were using human transformation magic for some reason!”

“No, I’m purely human. In that sense, advanced magic control is easier for me than it is for dragons.”

“Seriously? I thought humans were all like magic specks compared to us… I didn’t know there were such amazing humans like you, Aniki!”

Even after finding out I was human, the camouflaged dragon’s eyes continued to sparkle with admiration.

“But since you’re human, do you live on the other continent?”

“Yeah, that’s right…”

“Please take me there!”

Thus, the camouflaged dragon decided to accompany me back to Ashgano Cape.

It was hard to refuse… but bringing a dragon back, I wonder how the people of Ashgano Peninsula will react.

“Alright, but I don’t think you’ll have a place to stay…”

“If I take on a human form, that solves everything, right?”

…Well, if that’s the case. As long as you stay in human form while we’re on the continent of Zelgius.

“If you’re that eager to come along, then I suppose…”

“Understood! I’ll do it!”

The camouflaged dragon immediately responded and activated the human transformation spell. A few seconds later, a girl who looked about fifteen with twin tails stood before me.

…Seriously? With that tone of voice, it turns out she’s a girl.

“Let’s go!”

And so, it was decided that we would move from Inferno Continent to Ashgano Cape together.

…Wait, if we’re flying back, she’ll have to return to dragon form again. It’s a bit awkward after having her transform, but she’ll need to revert back.

No… wait. We could just ride the cloud that Great Seitan used. I kept it as loot anyway.

“Here, take this.”

I took out two of Great Seitan’s clouds, handing one to the camouflaged dragon (currently in human form).

“Oh, it’s Great Seitan’s cloud? I’ve always wanted to try riding this…”

We got on the clouds and started flying toward Ashgano Cape. The maximum speed seemed to be about half of my full-speed flight. While it has the advantage of zero magic consumption during travel, for urgent situations, transforming into a dragon and flying at full speed is still the best option.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

Since it looked like we might be together for a while, I figured it was about time to ask her name.

“Francois! Nice to meet you again, Aniki!”

As we talked, Ashgano Cape came into view.

Well… I’ll just let her stay as long as she wants. I have enough money to rent an extra room for a while.

If Francois is willing, I might even have her help with security in exchange for the lodging fee.