Market—

Eat.

Eat.

Eat.

No longer concealing the act.

Chewing forcefully, swallowing entirely.

As if devouring all.

《Proficiency reached threshold. Skill 'Gluttony LV3' upgraded to 'Gluttony LV4'》

《Proficiency reached threshold. Skill 'Divine Domain Expansion LV5' upgraded to 'Divine Domain Expansion LV6'》

Raged through the lower levels.

As if expelling accumulated frustration.

Weak monsters and strong monsters alike were hunted without distinction.

At that moment, met him again.

Earth Dragon Kaguna.

Second Earth Dragon encountered in the lower levels.

Fought.

Lost.

Yes, lost.

Unexpected defeat.

Had the teleportation escape been even a moment slower, would have been incinerated by breath attack.

Aah, well, Dragon's Breath is basically earth power, so it won't burn you.

Aah.

Never thought I'd lose.

Got overconfident after growing stronger.

Dragon's really scary.

What even is that abnormal durability?

Getting only a scratch from corrosion attacks is cheating.

Meanwhile, my sickle's useless after self-destruct damage.

Can't use big spells like Abyss Magic right now.

And low-power magic gets negated by the Raging Scale effect.

Moves slowly, yet defense is too high.

Aah, can't handle this.

Hah.

Still, good opportunity to cool down.

Knew I wasn't acting like myself.

Freaking out, going wild—like that.

But I know the cause. The unpleasant feeling was real enough.

But charging ahead while blood was rushing to my head wasn't like me.

I'll continue leveling up in the lower tier, but I need to calm down a little.

It's partly because the intense battle phase in the middle tier lasted too long. My original combat style was based on fortifying a base and holding position, wasn't it?

What was I doing, charging headfirst into the Earth Dragon with no strategy?

That's how far I'd lost myself.

No way.

This is definitely affecting me.

Otherwise, even if it were a Taboo skill, I wouldn't have snapped like this.

Before, I would've just said, "Seriously? Cool, let's slaughter humans and demons alike!"—light-hearted, carefree.

I wouldn't have felt this much revulsion.

Ah, ah, Mikutes, Mikutes.

Main operator, respond.

[This is the original body operator, go ahead.]

{Signal strong, proceed.}

〈Same on the right, please—〉

〈Same on the left, please—〉

〈Same on top, please—〉

"Wait—top? What’s top? Please—"

Everyone, how are things going?

〈Resistance remains strong, please—〉

〈Generally stable, please—〉

〈Same on the right, please—〉

〈Same on the left, please—〉

〈Same on top, please—〉

"Bottom? Same on bottom, please—"

Continue as is.

Well, just now I challenged the Earth Dragon—lost. Teehee.

〈What?〉

〈Huh?〉

〈Haaah!?〉

〈Are you stupid?〉

〈Are you an idiot?〉

"Are you trash?"

You all talk freely.

Sorry, I’m stupid, idiotic, and trash. Sorry.

〈Well? Damage?〉

None.

I barely escaped via transfer.

〈Well, as long as you’re safe, that’s fine.〉

(After all, the main body is the core—so if it dies, we might all die in sequence?)

"Yeah. Let's be a bit more careful next time."

Yes.

I am reflecting.

Well, I concluded that I alone couldn't defeat that thing.

So, next time we face it—will someone come back?

[Someone? Doesn't everyone need to return?]

Yeah.

One is enough.

(You sure about that?)

Probably.

Besides, if you can't overcome that kind of handicap, being a manager is just a fantasy.

{Understood. Then I'll return.}

Acknowledged.

I'll call you when the time comes.

"So, shall we disband for now?"

(You did well.)

Yes, yes.

Take care.

〈Roger.〉

Now then.

Their side is progressing smoothly.

The issue lies with our end.

We need to devise a strategy to take down the Earth Dragon.

First, recall its status data.

Earth Dragon Kaguna LV 26

HP: 4198/4198 (Green)

MP: 3339/3654 (Blue)

SP: 2798/2798 (Yellow)

ATK: 2995/3112 (Red)

Average Attack: 3989 (Details)

Average Defense: 4333 (Details)

Average Magic: 1837 (Details)

Average Resistance: 4005 (Details)

Average Speed: 1225 (Details)

Skills

Earth Dragon LV2 — Inverse Scales LV9 — Hard Shell LV8 — Steel Body LV8 — HP Regeneration Speed LV6 — MP Regeneration Speed LV2 — MP Consumption Reduction LV2 — Magic Perception LV3 — Magic Manipulation LV3 — Magic Strike LV1 — SP Regeneration Speed LV1 — SP Consumption Reduction LV1 — Earth Attack LV9 — Earth Enhancement LV8 — Destruction Enhancement LV8 — Penetration Enhancement LV6 — Blunt Attack Enhancement LV5 — Accuracy LV3 — Danger Sense LV10 — Heat Perception LV6 — Earth Magic LV2 — Destruction Resistance LV9 — Slash Resistance LV2 — Penetration Resistance LV3 — Blunt Resistance LV6 — Impact Resistance LV4 — Earth Immunity — Fire Resistance LV3 — Thunder Resistance LV7 — Water Resistance LV3 — Wind Resistance LV5 — Heavy Resistance LV2 — Status Effect Resistance LV8 — Corrosion Resistance LV3 — Pain Nullification — Pain Reduction LV3 — Dark Vision LV10 — Vision Expansion LV4 — Vision Enhancement LV3 — Hearing Enhancement LV1 — Fate LV2 — Magic Storage LV3 — Quick Step LV1 — Durability LV1 — Strength LV9 — Fortress LV2 — Taoist LV2 — Castle Keep LV1 — Step Reduction LV1

Skill Points: 31,200

Titles

"Monster Slayer," "Slayer of Monsters," "Dragon," "Conqueror"

Damn right it is!

What's terrifying is the defense of these skills—perfectly impenetrable.

This is a mobile fortress.

Can you win against this with a handicap?

I'm starting to lose confidence.