Chapter 47: Ascension Was Within Reach
He needed a finishing blow. And that finishing blow was the Elite Monster’s weak point, the mana stone.
"...Where the hell is the mana stone?"
A wave of anxiety washed over him, and Walfred blurted out the thought circling in his head.
Then, in that moment.
A small voice suddenly rang out.
"Papa."
The whisper of the baby dragon inside his cold-weather gear.
The baby dragon, which had been wriggling around, poked its head out and looked at Walfred. It blinked its jewel-bright blue eyes a couple of times.
And in that moment.
[Sharing field of vision with □□.]
Along with the sudden system message, the world spread out before Walfred’s eyes flipped over.
Color vanished completely.
In a world where only black and white existed, there was just one single thing glowing red.
"That’s...!"
The Bone Drake’s chest.
Deep inside, wrapped layer upon layer by thick ribs. There, something he hadn’t been able to see before came into view.
Something throbbing, wrapped in a translucent membrane.
It was the mana stone.
’To think it had a power like this too.’
Walfred was honestly surprised.
It didn’t just grant buffs and debuffs. It could even find the location of a hidden mana stone. The baby dragon was more helpful than he’d expected.
’Either way, I’ve pinpointed the mana stone’s location.’
But the location was a bit tricky.
Ribs, second only to the spine in thickness, protected the mana stone in layers, like armor.
To reach that spot, he’d have to activate the Ice Shatter mark once more, then break all the ribs with several more attacks after that.
’The problem is, the thing isn’t going to just sit there and take it until then.’
Just as it had until now, it would twist and spin its body to shake Walfred off by any means.
Or it would kick off from the now nearly collapsed passage and attack from the air.
’In that case...’
It really was the only way after all.
The one method to reach the mana stone without breaking the ribs. Holding the ice axes in both hands in a reverse grip, Walfred steadied his breathing.
Meanwhile, the Bone Drake, having finished regenerating, lunged at Walfred once more.
[Dragon! Heart! Hand it over!]
The Bone Drake came at him with its mouth gaping wide.
Walfred didn’t dodge the thing. He just observed its movements with an indifferent gaze.
Then, the moment it closed in right in front of him.
"Burst."
Along with a sound like air bursting.
Walfred’s body shot out like a bullet.
Not anywhere else, but straight into the Bone Drake’s gaping maw.
Fwoom! Kakakak!
At a glance it was no different from suicide, but there was no hesitation in Walfred’s movements.
Grazing perilously close between the sharp teeth, Walfred passed through the long throat and reached deep into the chest cavity in a single motion.
’I made it!’
The mana stone, suddenly right in front of him.
Walfred crossed and swung the ice axes held in his reverse grip at high speed. Then, before long, the notification he’d been waiting for appeared.
[Blessing of the Frost Dragon: ’Ice Shatter’ mark applied]
[Ignoring the target’s freezing tolerance.]
The instant he confirmed the Ice Shatter mark had formed, Walfred poured out a fierce assault as if he’d been waiting for it.
Fwoom! Krakakaka! Kraboom!
Each swing of the axe was powerful enough to raise a shockwave. The mana stone shook as if struck by a heavy impact, and in an instant a small crack formed.
[...!?]
Had it felt the crack in its mana stone?
The Bone Drake strained with all its might to expel Walfred from its body. It rolled around, and it twisted wildly too.
But Walfred held on, jamming his feet between the ribs. And on top of that, he used attack skills along with his axe swings.
"Ice Needle! Launch!"
Twenty ice needles embedded themselves in the mana stone.
Walfred used Ice Needle repeatedly while never stopping his axe swings. With that, along with the cracks in the mana stone, the Bone Drake’s agitation grew greater and greater.
[Get out! Of my body! Now!]
Flailing madly, the Bone Drake finally smashed through the ice wall and shot straight up. To throw Walfred off balance and shake him loose.
But Walfred was tenacious.
He knew that if he got expelled here, there’d be no next time. So he poured out attacks aimed at nothing but the mana stone, fiercely, until his whole body felt ready to break.
And.
[Passive: ’Cold Emission’ activated]
[A weapon created with Frozen Weapon is enhanced by the influence of ’Passive: Cold Emission.’]
[The weapon’s power is enhanced.]
Thanks to [Cold Emission] activating with good timing, the ice axe was enhanced.
Right before the Ice Shatter mark’s duration ran out, Walfred delivered a blow into which he poured all his strength.
"Shatter!"
Kraboom! Crunch!
Along with a thunderous roar, the shockwave struck the Bone Drake’s body. With that, the mana stone, as if it could no longer hold on, gave off a rupturing sound and broke apart.
Crrk! Craaack!
The mana stone split cleanly in two.
And in that moment.
[...! Gaaaaaah!]
Along with a scream that seemed to shake the world.
The Bone Drake’s wings shattered. Then its body plummeted limply to the floor.
Kraboooom!
The enormous body slammed into the icy floor.
The impact flung Walfred out of the thing’s chest cavity and slammed him into an ice wall.
"Gah!"
His whole body hurt like it was breaking apart.
The one saving grace was that the Frost Shield had absorbed some of the impact.
"Haah, haah!"
Walfred glared at the Bone Drake, gasping for breath. Meanwhile, the fallen Bone Drake also breathed raggedly and convulsed.
From the completely shattered mana stone, grayish-white smoke leaked out without end.
[No! My strength, my mana!]
The Bone Drake writhed as if making one last desperate struggle, but that didn’t make the shattered mana stone fuse back together.
The thing barely managed to move its head and glared at Walfred. More precisely, it seemed to be looking at the baby dragon inside Walfred’s cold-weather gear.
[Ascension, was right within reach...]
That was its last.
The hollow light in the Bone Drake’s eyes faded.
Then its enormous body turned gray and slowly crumbled away.
Hssssss!
Dust scattered into the air.
A desolate silence wrapped around the place.
And.
Ding!
-----
[Extermination successful.]
[Elite: Bone Drake]
[Rank]: A
[Reward]: 100,000 coins
Skill book-Random (2), Young Dragon’s Heart, Bone Drake’s Bone Powder, Ring of the Decaying One
-----
Along with the message announcing the Bone Drake’s end, level-up notifications filled his vision.
The fatigue throughout his body vanished and a refreshing feeling came over him. But separate from that, Walfred collapsed right where he was.
"Haah, haah...!"
His stamina had recovered, but the mental strain accumulated over the long battle had reached its limit. And as the taut tension eased, his consciousness grew faint too.
Still, he felt refreshed.
’I won.’
And against an A-rank Elite Monster, no less.
This was all thanks to the baby dragon.
If it hadn’t been for [Blessing of the Frost Dragon] and [Frost Dragon’s Roar], if the baby dragon hadn’t told him where the mana stone was, he could never have won.
And then.
Twitch!
The baby dragon inside the cold-weather gear squirmed and crawled out. It looked at Walfred with worried eyes.
"Papa. Are you okay?"
"...No. I’m not okay."
His mental strength was about at its limit.
His vision turned hazy fast.
With the baby dragon’s blurring form as the last thing he saw, Walfred lost consciousness.