Chapter 3
A translucent, blue-colored body.
A feminine form around 1 meter in height.
The Spirit of Frost, Prill, twisted and rolled around on the ground.
【Aagh! I’m so bored!】
She was the guardian of this dungeon.
Not by choice, though.
【Damn you, Tenauzes!!】
She had been deceived by Dragon Lord Tenauzes and forced into the role of a guardian.
【Ugh. I shouldn’t have trusted that Dragon.】
She let out a deep sigh.
The price of opening her heart to someone she shouldn’t have trusted was harsh.
Ten thousand years.
It had been ten thousand years since she’d been trapped here, forced to act as the guardian.
And during that time, all Prill had done was simple.
【I’m bored. So, so bored!】
…Absolutely nothing.
Her only role as a guardian was to block intruders if they weren’t ‘Dragons’ upon entering this place.
But there hadn’t been a single intruder for the past ten thousand years.
【I was never even needed in the first place, damn lizard.】
The barrier Tenauzes had placed around this place was already too powerful.
A barrier that required mana over 1,000,000 to break through?
It was nearly impossible for anyone who wasn’t a dragon to even reach that level of mana.
And that wasn’t even the main issue.
【What kind of arrangement is this for a species that’s already extinct!!】
The Dragon Race had gone extinct.
Dragon Lord Tenauzes, who lived ten thousand years ago, was the last of them.
So, Prill was left trapped in this place, spending meaningless years alone.
Waiting for a visitor, or perhaps an intruder, that would never come.
【Aaaaargh!】
And so, once again, she screamed out loud, her voice echoing to no one.
But then—
Boom!
A thunderous sound echoed through the dungeon, breaking ten thousand years of silence.
【……Huh?】
Prill’s mind froze at the unexpected turn of events.
However, in the next moment, she realized something.
【N-No way… An intruder!?】
For the first time in ten thousand years, a visitor had arrived.
‘There’s someone out there with over 1,000,000 mana that isn’t a dragon!?’
For a brief moment, doubt crossed her mind, but it was trivial.
The important thing was that for the first time in ten thousand years, there was someone else in this place besides herself.
She excitedly moved towards the source of the sound.
And then, she saw it.
Crack.
Crunch.
A human being with shattered limbs, breaking a glass bottle with their face.
【…Who’s this lunatic?】
It was the first change to occur in ten thousand years in this place, where it seemed like nothing would ever happen again.
But the intruder who caused that change was a lunatic.
With a body that looked like it could die any second, this person was desperately struggling to break a glass bottle with their face.
Prill didn’t know what the liquid inside the bottle was, but to her, it looked like…
【…A drug addict?】
Just a junkie desperately craving their drugs even in the face of death.
【Sigh. Hey.】
Prill let out a sigh and nudged the intruder with her foot.
She had hoped the intruder would at least be a sentient being she could talk to, but it seemed like that hope was dashed.
Crack—
Even now, the lunatic didn’t stop what they were doing, despite being nudged by her.
This person was clearly so obsessed with drugs that they couldn’t see anything else.
【Tch. No fun at all.】
Annoyed at being ignored, Prill changed her plan.
She decided to just observe whatever this lunatic was doing.
After watching for a while, it seemed like this crazy struggle had its own form of entertainment value.
And soon enough—
Shatter—
Gulp. Gulp.
The lunatic succeeded in breaking the bottle and drank the contents inside.
【Oh. Success!】
Prill couldn’t help but applaud.
Watching a drug addict chug down their fix for the first time in ten thousand years was unexpectedly interesting.
Then—
【Huh?】
The drug addict turned their head with great effort and made eye contact with Prill.
“Who… are you?”
It was a voice and gaze far more lucid than she had expected.
【What? You’re actually coherent?】
Prill was quite surprised.
She thought they’d start giggling senselessly, but this was completely unexpected.
“……”
The intruder gave no response.
【Well, whatever. I’m the guardian!】
“Guardian?”
【My role is to block anyone who isn’t a ‘dragon’ from entering this dungeon.】
Prill answered honestly.
After being alone for ten thousand years, even a conversation like this was quite amusing to her.
“…Does that mean you’re going to kill me?”
【Hmm. Probably?】
She wasn’t particularly thrilled about it, but a contract was a contract.
Due to its binding nature, it was impossible to let intruders live.
However…
‘Human lifespan is around 80 years, right?’
There was no need to kill him right away.
The contract didn’t specify an immediate execution.
‘Yeah, I’m not breaking the contract if I don’t kill him right away.’
Letting an intruder die naturally… isn’t that still killing them?
Prill nodded her head, satisfied with her own clever thought.
If she kills the intruder, she’d be alone again, and that would be far too boring.
‘I don’t want that!’
Prill absolutely didn’t want that to happen.
Not ever.
“Phew…”
But then—
“Urgh.”
The intruder’s breathing changed abruptly as he started to push himself up from the ground.
He then raised his fist towards her.
Thud.
【What are you doing?】
“Isn’t it obvious? Getting ready to fight.”
【Why?】
“You… said you’d kill me.”
【Yeah, I did. But, with that body?】
“……”
She was right.
The intruder struggled to move his broken limbs, barely managing to stand on the ground.
His arms and legs were trembling uncontrollably, and cold sweat was pouring from his entire body.
The fact that he had managed to recover this much was impressive, but he was still far from being in any condition to fight.
Besides, she wasn’t some weakling spirit. She was a being ranked among the highest-tier spirits.
Prill couldn’t understand his choice at all.
“I…”
The intruder didn’t seem unaware of that fact.
If he fought her now, nine times out of ten—no, ten times out of ten—he would die.
He bit his lip and continued speaking.
“I have to… survive… Ugh!”
【……?】
Crack!
Just as he was steeling his resolve, his body suddenly gave out.
A cracking sound echoed through the space as something broke within him.
“Damn it…”
【What are you doing?】
“F-freaking Overcharged Mana…”
Before Prill could do anything, the intruder was already collapsing under his own weight.
The resolute determination he had displayed moments earlier now seemed utterly futile.
Prill approached him.
“Gah… Aaargh!”
A scream burst out from the intruder’s mouth.
Crunch!
At the same time, something seemed to explode inside his body, causing his arm to twist grotesquely.
【What… is this? Mana?】
And then, Prill realized something.
This human’s body was overflowing with an enormous amount of mana.
And that mana was tearing his body apart because he couldn’t withstand it.
“This…!”
The intruder desperately tried to move, but it was no longer possible.
The mana, now out of his control, was relentlessly crushing his body from the inside out.
If this continued, he would die even if Prill didn’t do anything.
【…Oh? That’s not good.】
The one who found herself panicking now was Prill.
She had thought she’d be free from boredom for at least a few decades.
But if this human dies like this, she’d be forced to endure another endless solitude.
Yet, she couldn’t just save him, either.
That would be a clear breach of her contract.
【Hey, hey! Don’t die on me!】
“I don’t want to die either… Aaargh!”
Prill was at a loss.
What was she supposed to do in a situation like this?
In all her long, long years as a spirit, she had never encountered anything like this before.
【Seriously, how did this guy end up with so much mana… Oh!】
Then, she suddenly realized something.
‘This guy might not be human after all, right?’
There was a way to save him without breaking her contract.
‘Right. There were dragons that possessed the power of Polymorph.’
Even if he looked human, he might actually be a dragon in disguise.
The contract Prill had made with Tenauzes was only to block intruders who weren’t dragons.
Moreover, this person had managed to break through Tenauzes’ barrier.
‘You can’t get through that barrier without having Dragon-Level Mana.’
There was a slim possibility that he might actually be a real dragon.
The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
So, Prill asked him directly.
【Hey. Are you a dragon?】
“What… Aaargh.”
【I asked if you’re a dragon.】
“What nonsense—”
【Uh-uh. Answer carefully.】
But there was one condition necessary for this plan.
‘There’s no guarantee that he isn’t human, right?’
She needed some certainty that he was a dragon.
Otherwise, she couldn’t help him due to the contract’s constraints.
But if he really wasn’t human… then maybe there was a chance.
【This is your last chance. Are you a dragon or not?】
If he just said yes, Prill was more than willing to be fooled.
Through gritted teeth and struggling with the pain, the intruder finally managed to open his mouth.
“Argh… Of course I’m…”
* * *
“【Hey, are you a dragon?】”
The blue, translucent-bodied woman who had just threatened to kill me asked this question.
Roughly speaking, I guessed she was some kind of spirit.
I’d never actually seen one before, but I had heard about them.
Still, I never heard that spirits could speak the human language.
But right now, it didn’t matter what she was.
The important thing was that this spirit was trying to kill me.
I couldn’t afford to die so easily, so I prepared to fight her, but then my mana started to go berserk, and it seemed like I’d die before even getting the chance to resist.
And now, out of nowhere, the spirit was asking if I was a dragon.
Honestly, I didn’t have the luxury to answer.
“What… 【Urgh!】”
Suppressing the rampaging mana alone was enough to feel like it was killing me.
The pain coming from my damaged and broken body was just a bonus.
“【Are you a dragon or not?】” she asked again.
“What nonsense—”
“【Ah-ah. Answer properly.】”
But she was relentless.
What kind of answer was she looking for? Why did she keep asking me if I was a dragon?
‘…Does it mean something?’
I sensed there was something more to her question.
“【I’ll ask one last time. Are you a dragon?】”
Her final question.
Depending on how I answered, would it mean there was a way to survive?
‘Damn it.’
No matter what it was, the odds were probably better than suppressing my mana, winning a fight against the spirit, climbing back up the cliff, and getting back to the Ironclad Faction to obtain and consume a Mana Suppressant.
So what should I say?
Should I deny it truthfully?
Or just agree?
‘Think.’
I strained my head, which was about to go numb from the pain, to search for a clue.
‘She tried to kill me earlier.’
To block the intruder.
That was roughly the expression she used.
‘So, does that mean I’m considered an intruder…?’
Crack-crack-crack!
“Ugh!”
Even at that moment, my mana was rampaging out of control.
An enormous wave of pain assaulted my entire body.
The agony was such that it felt like every bone and muscle was being crushed.
Even though the recovery effect from the potion was still in effect, it was far from enough to counteract the destruction my mana was causing.
“Ugh. I… am, of course…”
I forced myself to say something.
And I thought simultaneously.
‘What if I’m not considered an intruder?’
If that’s the case, then the appropriate answer should be—
“I-I’m a dragon!”
Yes, that was probably it.
I managed to recall it just in time.
Her earlier words about ‘blocking anything that’s not a dragon.’
【Oh! I knew it. Great. Just wait a moment.】
Was that the correct answer?
The spirit seemed to smile with joy before disappearing somewhere.
And in an instant, she returned and shoved something into my mouth.
“【Eat this.】”
“Mm!”
I had no choice in the matter.
Whatever it was melted immediately upon contact and was absorbed into my body.
【Ding!】
[You have absorbed the Skill Core (Authority: Breath).]
《 Authority: Breath – Skill, Mythical 》
- The authority of a dragon, releasing a massive amount of mana in one go.
- Consumes all available mana upon use and inflicts extremely powerful damage proportional to the mana consumed.
[New skill acquired.]
[‘Authority: Breath’ is a skill exclusive to Dragonkind.]
[Condition met!]
[A hidden Easter egg has been triggered.]
[The skill has been adjusted to fit the human form.]
[Acquired ‘Authority: One Punch’.]
《 Authority: One Punch – Skill, Transcendental 》
- Concentrates all mana into a single punch.
- Originally a dragon’s authority, modified to suit a human body.
- Consumes all available mana upon use and inflicts extremely powerful damage proportional to the mana consumed.
- Causes Mana Exhaustion immediately after use.
[‘Authority: One Punch’ has been engraved onto your soul.]
System messages scrolled through my mind in a rapid stream.
Even before I could register all the information—
‘One Punch?’
I instantly understood what skill I had acquired and how to use it.
【Did you get it? Then use it. Hurry up!】
Following the spirit’s command, I struggled to lift my arm.
I aimed it in the direction where the thick mist was the densest.
“【W-wait. Not that way…!】”
I felt like the spirit was saying something, but I couldn’t hear her.
[‘Authority: One Punch’ is being used.]
[An extraordinary amount of mana is being consumed!]
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