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Chapter 36. Yaldabaoth

The dragon species… In other words, dragons have some weaknesses, even in their iconic breath attacks.

First, the rapidly expanding flames obscure even the dragon's vision. Given how small humans are compared to dragons, one breath can easily cause a dragon to lose sight of them. This is probably why they use wide-range breath attacks, but it's useless against humans faster than dragons.

Another drawback is the long charge time and extreme energy consumption. Magical beasts can't convert the magical elements that make up their bodies into mana, so they can't use magic. Instead, they use some kind of power to perform magical-like attacks… but even this mysterious power has its limits. For dragons, a high-powered, wide-range breath attack exhausts them quickly.

So, what should be done? Simple, just move faster than the dragon and decapitate it when it's exhausted.

Using the flame spewed from the dragon's mouth as a shield, I block its view, sneak under its blind spot, and swing my sword at its legs.

"Damn…"

The blade won't penetrate its scales. Well, the sword I'm using is just a mass-produced iron sword with no special qualities. Even if I enhance the blade with mana, it's impossible to cut through dragon scales. However, I managed to leave a scratch on the scales.

"That boy… how is he still alive…?"

"Hey, Mr. Magic Knight, could you lend me a sword that can cut through these scales… a good one?"

"Wha!? When did you…?"

"Never mind that."

"I-I can't! I don't have such a high-quality sword!"

"I see."

I managed to sneak into the dragon's blind spot… why does a magic knight carry a sword that can't even defeat a dragon?

"…Could you evacuate from here? I'll handle that dragon."

"T-That's…"

"Anything's fine. Are you trying to get me killed? Just leave quickly."

"…I can't!"

Well, of course not. While magic knights are supposed to monitor us for cheating, their main job is to protect us students from dying. But, having them here gets in my way… though I can't risk their lives either.

"Fine… at least stay back."

"W-What are you planning!?"

There's only one thing to do.

"[Yaldabaoth]"

I envision the shape of my soul from within… and materialize it. The grimoire I extracted from myself… the apocryphal Yaldabaoth floats, glowing white. It looks just like a regular one-handed, double-edged straight sword.

"A grimoire!? I heard a few students could use them… but a student ranked 250!?"

"I'm 246 now."

As a grimoire, Yaldabaoth naturally has special powers… but its sharpness is what stands out.

The dragon opens its mouth again, breathing fire at me. It's the second attack, though there was quite an interval. It seems it consumes some kind of energy.

"Sorry, but my sword… will easily cut through your scales."

Dodging the flames again, I slip under its legs and swing at its throat. The shockwave of mana from the grimoire cuts through its neck, severing it from its body.

"Wh-What!? He decapitated a dragon species in one blow!?"

"What kind of sharpness…"

My grimoire's blade is constantly enveloped in mana, vibrating at an invisible speed. Vibrating means immense power. Well… that's not the only secret of its sharpness.

Anyway, I've beheaded the dragon. This should be a sufficient achievement for the outdoor training… but I might lose to Jeremiah and the others, so I'll hunt more beasts.

"Can I leave this corpse with you? I don't need it."

"You're giving up dragon species material…?"

"I don't need it. What use is it when I have this?"

With my grimoire, I'm not interested in weapons made from dragon species materials. There's no weapon sharper than this. Although, I suppose it could fetch a good price… yeah, it's worth a lot of money.

"On second thought, I'll take it for the money."

"…"

"What's with that look? I'm a commoner; I always need money."

It's fine, isn't it?

After killing the dragon, I fought various magical beasts, but none were particularly strong. Probably because the dragon I hunted claimed a vast territory, so few beasts dared to approach.

"Hey, you seem alright."

"Alright? You’re the creepy one without a single drop of blood on you."

"It's just a fighting style, not a sign of superiority."

"I thought I ran in the opposite direction from you."

"True."

This guy… he's genuinely creepy. But he's skilled, handsome, and nice, so everyone likes him. He's just a bit creepy toward me.

"Are your faction members around?"

"Do you really need to ask?"

"Haha… I don't remember forming any faction."

Yeah, yeah, I purposely formed a faction.

"Even if you say others… Nina's probably rampaging, Ash is definitely serious, Ivy is a mystery… and Elixira's probably surviving somehow."

"You’re not really interested, are you?"

"Nope."

Well, they're all skilled, so it should be fine.

"Found you."

"Huh?"

A voice suddenly came from behind, and when I turned around, a spear was coming at me. I grabbed it with my hand and kicked it up.

"Hmph!"

The spear spun in the air with a metallic sound, and the wielder charged at me barehanded. I didn't expect a barehanded attack, but I parried it, used the momentum to throw them back, and grabbed the falling spear, pointing its end and throwing it, only for it to be caught.

"Oh, Hilalda."

I realized it when I grabbed the spear, but I didn’t want to believe I was being harassed by the second-ranked girl.