Earth Dungeon 79.2

 Test

Chapter 79.2. Territory

[Aura Maximum Efficiency Conversion]

[Magic Maximum Efficiency Conversion]

I poured mana and aura into the rapidly changing swirling mass with a grin.

[Error! Error! Error!]

The display on the crystal turned bright red and showed an error message. No need to hold back. Since it's come this far, take all the mana.

Cracks appeared in the crystal, and they kept getting bigger. Uh-oh, this might be a problem. I should have been more careful with capacity usage.

[Formatting initiated.]

The crystal was full of cracks, and it looked like it would turn into dust if I poked it. The message had changed, but this was a bad feeling!

As my hair was ruffled, I felt my face contort from the pressure and broke out in a cold sweat.

[Formatting complete. Reconstruction finished.]

Just as the final message appeared, the crystal shattered into powder and gets absorbed into the swirling mass.

Then, the swirling mass calmed down. Within it, a gigantic figure appeared. It was an Azure Dragon, and it seemed to have transformed as planned.

It was a massive dragon-like monster with a length of about 50 meters.

"I did it. I created an Azure Dragon. Just as planned."

[It's body seems somewhat translucent.]

"It was translucent from the beginning, yes."

Azure Dragon in front of me was as beautiful as crystal glass. I remembered that Azure Dragon Shizuku-san defeated looked like this. Yeah.

[Do you feel like there's a huge amount of mana flowing within it?]

"There's about this much, yes."

Even without sensing it, I could feel the immense power of mana, and its scales looked tough and smooth. Azure Dragon was a formidable opponent.

[Hmm.]

Shizuku walked around Azure Dragon, observing its appearance. The result seemed to be as expected. I thought its stats might have improved slightly. So, where did the crystal go? Did it merge?

[Well, that's fine. It seems like it won't transform into a human! It won't become a beauty or a cute girl! It's good that it didn't follow the common template.]

Phew, Shizuku muttered as she pressed her chest as if considering whether to break it if it tried to transform into a human. Wait, what? Should I ask her to clarify?

Azure Dragon, for some reason, stared at me without any movement. It made me feel a bit uneasy.

[How about a name? Um, then how about Snakey, Snakie, Sneebin, or Geregere?]

Shizuku-san cheerfully suggested, but those names don't sound very good, do they?

"How about just 'Azure Dragon'? Plain and simple."

[No, that won't do! No! You have to give it a proper name; otherwise, it'll be pitiful! How about 'Nyoro Nyoro'?]

Shizuku, please tell me your criteria for a proper name. Well, I guess there's no choice.

"Should I go with Kou? It's just a slight variation of Azure Dragon."

It's easy to understand. I'm not very good at remembering names, to be honest.

[Kou, huh? I don't really like that Prince Pilot. He completely overshadowed me as my rival. But, oh well, I guess it's fine.]

"Why the condescending tone? Geez. Alright, your name is Kou."

Kou nodded in agreement and shifted its massive body.

[Koumizuchi, go ahead and charge! Newbies go first!]

Shizuku pointed towards the bridge with a commanding tone. For some reason, Kou responded with a cute, rat-like sound. Wait, can it sense Shizuku, the ethereal being?

The crystalized Kou turned its transparent eyes towards Sahagins and opened its mouth. A vast amount of mana gathered in its mouth.

[Water Breath]

A slender, azure beam of crystal light shot toward Sahagins. The beam skillfully curved and twisted, passing through only the Sahagin without damaging the bridge.

Sahagins got pierced by the beam and turned into masses of flesh, their bodies sliding apart and falling to the ground.

After exhaling the breath a few more times, Kou wiped out most Sahagins. The river under the bridge surged violently, and the Sahagin horde fled.

"That's impressive. Azure Dragon's breath is really strong."

Shizuku, who was still bewildered, insisted it was still an Azure Dragon.

Oh, Azure Dragon's stats are now displayed.

Kou Azure Dragon

Mana 900

Stamina 600

Strength 600

Dexterity 250

Magic 350

Unique Skills: Water Manipulation 4, Aura Medium Efficiency Conversion, Magic Medium Efficiency Conversion

Skills: Water Magic 4, Martial Arts 3, Non-Magic 3

"See, it says Azure Dragon right there! Azure Dragon is fine. But wait, isn't the Dexterity stat low? Could it lead to muscle rupture?"

[Subspecies or different notations don't seem to matter, right? It's fine for everything except humanoid types. Probably, it's the same for beast types; they don't need dexterity values like humans.]

Shizuku-san lowered her shoulders tiredly. It's an Azure Dragon, Azure Dragon. It looks just like the one she defeated earlier, a doppelganger. Although the overall stats are strange, there's no need to worry, right?

[Phantom Wedge Level 3]

For some reason, it's displayed as a unique skill name on my status board, but I suppose that's how it works.

[Sigh. You really don't plan to acknowledge it, do you? Well, that's fine. More importantly, I've never seen an error message since I was born.]

"Is that so?"

[Yes, it is. I've gradually been able to erode it since earlier, Sakimori-san. It's a small step, but...]

Shizuku's eyes sparkled with a radiant light deep inside.

[I'm very happy. Hehe.]

"I'm glad you're happy, partner."

Shizuku showed a slightly eerie atmosphere. Erosion, huh?

"Well, for now, Kou, it's an order: Protect this bridge and don't allow any enemy to approach."

"Chu~"

Kou responded with a cute noise, similar to a rat's cry. What if it gets discovered? What should I do? I overdid it. I need to reflect on this.