Isekai Nonbiri Sozai Saishu Seikatsu - Chapter 75

“Whaa!?”

Surprised by the monster emerging from the ground, Rosca falls on her rear.

The creature that appeared seemed to be composed of rock. Its form resembles that of a dragon, but its wings are small, and its tail is short.

Unlike a Red Dragon, its facial features are angular and rugged.

Could this creature be an evolved form adapted to living inside caves, unlike Red Dragons?

【 Dvorak – Danger Level A+】

Another Danger Level A creature!? No, this time it’s marked with a plus. That means it’s more dangerous than the Red Dragon encountered in the forest.

I was just collecting materials, why did it have to turn out like this?

It’s no joke to suddenly have to fight such a creature.

As Dvorak emerges from the ground, it shakes its body, causing rocks and dust to fall.

“Rosca-san, let’s run away!”

“Y-Yes!”

Rosca stands up, and we immediately distance ourselves from Dvorak.

With short legs and a dragon-like body covered in rocks, it probably can’t fly like a Red Dragon or move around swiftly.

If we take refuge in a narrow passage where that creature can’t enter, we should be safe.

Thinking so, I glance backward, but Dvorak is already nowhere to be seen.

Could it possibly fly with that bulky body? I look up, but there’s no sight of it.

Does that mean it’s burrowing underground—

The moment I arrive at that thought, the ground vibrates, and Dvorak bursts out from directly below.

Thrown into the air by the impact of Dvorak bursting out, Rosca and I fall to the ground.

“Ugh!?”

“It hurts!”

I managed to avoid falling headfirst, but I hit my waist and arms, and it hurts.

Rosca also seems to have hurt her waist, as she lets out a pained voice.

I thought we could escape once we got into this narrow passage, but it’s hard to say it’s safe with it attacking from underground.

“Graaah!”

Dvorak staggers back and spits out a blazing fireball from its mouth.

Being on a diagonal, I instinctively throw myself to the side.

Then, a large explosion occurs behind me, and the ground erupts in flames.

That’s the direction we were trying to escape to.

It seems Dvorak has no intention of letting us go.

With flames raging behind us, even if we manage to escape, there will be attacks from underground.

…It seems like we have no choice but to fight this thing here.

“Rosca-san, let’s fight!”

“I’m ready for it!”

Fortunately, Rosca doesn’t seem to be seriously injured, as she immediately readies her hammer, showing her fighting spirit.

With her hammer at the ready, Rosca charges straight toward Dvorak.

Using her agility, Rosca dodges Dvorak‘s bite and gets close, swinging the hammer.

A high-pitched sound of metal hitting metal resounds, and sparks fly dramatically.

“What!? How tough is this thing!?”

Rosca’s hammer is blocked by Dvorak‘s hard body and gets deflected.

So a half-hearted attack cannot penetrate that rock-clad body.

The result was a little painful for me, since I was relying on Rosca as my vanguard.

“Waa, whoa!”

Rosca, who was knocked out of her stance by the impact of the hammer, is attacked by Dvorak with bites and body blows.

While maintaining a precarious posture, Rosca somehow manages to dodge using her beastkin agility and retreats to a nearby rocky shelter.

However, the strangely reddish-black rock catches my attention, so I use appraisal.

【Explosive Stone】

A stone containing flammable gas. It explodes upon exposure to fire or impact.

By the time I realized it, it was already too late. Dvorak was about to let lose a flame bomb like the earlier one in order to detonate the explosive stone.

“Ice Shield!”

I stop shouting warnings and generate an ice wall with a considerable amount of magic power between Rosca and the explosive stone.

Immediately afterward, Dvorak’s fireball ignites, and an explosion ensues.

“Wow!”

“Are you okay, Rosca-san!?”

“Thanks to Shuu-san’s magic, I’m alright!”

Although she seems to have been knocked over by the explosion, there don’t seem to be any noticeable wounds on Rosca.

I use ice magic to freeze Dvorak‘s feet to buy Rosca some time to recover. Then, activating Ice Pillar, I send it flying, shaving off some of the minerals coating its body.

Since practicing after fighting the Red Dragon, my magic’s precision and power should have improved, but the opponent is even tougher.

Just how strong is its defense?

“Ah! Hey, Shuu-san! Please don’t damage the crystals on its back!”

“You’re asking too much!? And the roles seem to have reversed from earlier!”

When defeating the Black Antler, Rosca didn’t care about the materials, but now it seems she’s concerned about the materials used for decoration.

Well, if you consider rarity, the latter is more valuable, but it’s a bit frustrating.

While Dvorak is breaking the ice at its feet, Rosca readjusts her stance and backs away.

“That stone. It caused a huge explosion.”

Despite putting quite a bit of magic power into the Ice Shield I generated, it’s cracked. A weaker defensive magic wouldn’t have been able to fully protect Rosca.

“It seems to explode in response to fire or impact. Be careful.”

“……..”

Seeing Rosca’s lack of response, I worry and glance at her, only to find her alternating her gaze between Dvorak and the explosive stone.

“What’s wrong, Rosca-san?”

“…Well, I was just thinking if we could use that stone somehow. You know, since weak attacks don’t seem to work.”

Indeed, if we could hit Dvorak with that explosion, it would likely be quite powerful.

It would be much better than using trivial magic or Rosca desperately swinging her hammer.

If it goes well, we might even be able to strip off the minerals on its body.

“It seems feasible. Let’s go with that.”

“Then, who will be the decoy—”

“Rosca-san, please!”

“No, no, this is a scene where an ordinary guy like Shuu-san should do it, right!?”

“Rosca-san, as a beastkin, has much higher physical abilities than I do. Besides, I can also use fire magic, so I can hit Dvorak with an explosion from a distance without needing to directly confront it.”

I understand Rosca’s argument, but if I were to be the decoy, I’d be crushed immediately.

Here, Rosca’s agility and astonishing reflexes make her much more suitable.

“I get it, but I still don’t agree!”

Seemingly understanding, albeit not agreeing, Rosca heads toward Dvorak with a sullen expression.