Chapter 101: Let's Measure Our Strength

“By the way, what exactly is the Dragon Princess Rite?”

After one thing and another, I ended up accepting Ryune as my apprentice. However, since we have our own home base, her apprenticeship is only for a limited time.

The next day, on our way to Dragon Peak to test Ryune‘s skills, Liliera voiced a question she had been harboring.

“Eh? Ah, yes. The Dragon Princess Rite is something like a festival passed down in this country.”

“A festival?”

“Yes. I told you the story of Lady Dragon Princess and His Majesty the Dragon Emperor yesterday, right? The Dragon Princess Rite is a festival themed around those two.”

I see. They are the protagonists of a tragic love story passed down in this country, after all. So it’s not strange for them to be chosen as the theme of a festival.

“But what does that have to do with your training? Yesterday, it sounded like you needed to become strong to participate in the Dragon Princess Rite.”

Yeah, I thought that too. Based on how Ryune spoke yesterday, the Dragon Princess Rite sounded like a more brutal ritual.

“Umm, well, the Dragon Princess Rite is a festival themed around their love story, but its content is also a martial arts tournament to decide the strongest woman.”

“THE BEGINNING AND END DON’T CONNECT!?”

“No, no, no, how does a tragic love story turn into a martial arts tournament to decide the strongest woman!?”

Mina’s retort is spot on. Honestly, I have absolutely no idea why it turned out like that either.

“Well, this festival celebrates the belief that the two, who were separated amidst battle, will one day be reborn in a peaceful era and be united once again.”

Okay, that’s fine. I understand that part.

“So why does it turn into a martial arts tournament after that?”

“That is because Lady Dragon Princess was the last Dragon Knight of this country who fought alongside a dragon. Therefore, a mayor hundreds of years ago decided that the woman playing the role of Lady Dragon Princess in the Dragon Emperor Performance, which serves as the grand finale of the festival, should be the strongest woman. Ever since then, the woman playing the role of Lady Dragon Princess has been decided not by beauty or acting ability, but by strength, and a martial arts tournament began to be held as the method for that.”

“ISN’T THAT MAYOR TOO MUCH OF A NUISANCE!?”

“Apparently, he used it as a town revitalization project to liven up a plain festival. In fact, participants from outside seeking the title of ‘strongest’ began to increase for a festival that was previously enjoyed only within the town.”

Hmm, the method is questionable, but I guess it means he was competent as a manager?

“And as a descendant of the Dragon Knights connected to Lady Dragon Princess, I want to win the Dragon Princess Rite magnificently and make my strength known to the world. To loudly declare that the Dragon Knights have not perished and that the blood of knights is still being inherited today!”

I see. Since it’s a festival to advertise the strength of their ancestors, she feels she can’t face her ancestors unless she, their descendant, wins.

While talking like that, we arrived at Dragon Peak, which we use as our training ground.

“Then, before we start training, let’s measure Ryune‘s ability first.”

“M-My ability?”

“Yes. To train efficiently, we need to confirm your true ability.”

“I-I understand that, but… in that case, wouldn’t it have been better to do it near the town instead of coming all the way to Dragon Peak? This is dragon territory!?”

Saying that, Ryune looked around anxiously. She seemed worried about when a dragon might attack. However, there’s no need to worry that much.

“It’s fine. This area is still the entrance to Dragon Peak, so only lower-ranking dragons will attack.”

It seems the dragons also noticed intruders; the monster reactions detected by my search magic are approaching.

“N-No, that’s not what I mean… or rather, even if they’re lower-ranking, dragons are bad news!?”

“Ah, look, here they come.”

“Hii!?”

While we were saying that, Green Dragons headed towards us. They came, but…

“Huh?”

For some reason, the Green Dragons stopped approaching us and started wandering around at a distance.

“I wonder what’s wrong?”

Is it some kind of strategy?

“…Hey, aren’t they afraid of Rex?”

While I was suspicious of the Green Dragons‘ behavior, Liliera started saying such things. Afraid? Of me? Green Dragons shouldn’t have the intelligence to sense an opponent’s strength.

“Because Rex defeated the Golden Dragon the other day, didn’t you? The Golden Dragon is the strongest among dragons, right? Then would underlings launch an attack on someone who defeated the boss of the pack?”

Ah, I see. Come to think of it, the Golden Dragon from the other day seemed to be leading the pack around here. But that one was a child dragon, though.

“Hmm, then I’ll hide myself for a bit.”

Saying that, I hid behind cover and activated Invisibility Magic.

“Invisible Field!”

After blinding the dragons, I returned to everyone with an innocent look.

“Eh? Huh? Where did Master Rex go!?”

Because I disappeared, Ryune looked around anxiously searching for me.

“I’m right here.”

“Hyah!? Eh? Ah? Eh!? W-Where are you!?”

Ryune didn’t realize I was right next to her and looked around restlessly.

“I’m hiding my form with magic so the dragons will be more likely to attack. Ah, here they come already.”

“Hiding with magic!? I’ve never heard of such magi… Ukya!?”

With me out of sight, the Green Dragons started moving. Good grief, what calculating guys.

“Kyaaa!!”

With the Green Dragon attacking, Ryune panicked and started to run away.

“Ryune, I can’t measure your ability if you don’t fight properly.”

“Impossible, impossible, impossible! I can’t even fight a Wyvern properly!”

While saying that, Ryune dodged the Green Dragon‘s attacks. Hmm, looking at those movements, I don’t think she’s that incapable of fighting.

“Rex, why don’t you cast defense magic on her for now? If she knows she’ll be okay even if she gets hit, I think it will be easier for her to fight mentally too.”

Liliera gave me nice advice while fighting a Blue Dragon. I see, it’s like training with a wooden sword while wearing armor.

“Also cast it on us too.”

Eh? I don’t think Liliera and the others need it anymore.

“Please, Big Bro!”

“I’m counting on you, Rex!”

“Please, Rex!”

“Thanks.”

For some reason, everyone wants defense magic. What worriers.

“Alright, Area High Protection!”

The defense magic I released enveloped everyone, and magical protection dwelled in their bodies.

“Eh? What is this!?”

Ryune raised a voice of confusion at the defense magic cast on her body.

“It’s defense magic. With this, you can fight without taking damage even from a Black Dragon‘s attack.”

“Eh? Defense? Black Dra… Ukya!?”

Looking back at me caused Ryune to neglect her footing, and she accidentally tripped over a small stone.

“Ouch…”

“Ryune, the Green Dragon is coming!”

“Eh…!? Kyaaaaa!?”

The Green Dragons swarmed the fallen Ryune and struck her with their sharp, large claws.

“Kyaaaaa!! …Wait, huh? It doesn’t hurt?”

However, the Green Dragons‘ claws didn’t work on Ryune, who had defense magic cast on her, and the attacking Green Dragons also tilted their heads in confusion.

“U-Umm… Eh? Why?”

“Now’s your chance! Attack the Green Dragon while the defense magic is still effective!”

“Eh? Ah, yes! Tei!”

Coming to her senses at my voice, Ryune attacked the Green Dragon with the spear in her hand.

Bash!

However, Ryune‘s spear was repelled without penetrating the Green Dragon‘s scales.

“Take this! Take this!”

But no matter how many times she attacked, she couldn’t pierce the Green Dragon‘s scales.

“That’s strange. Judging from her body movements, I think she should be effective enough against a Green Dragon.”

Could this mean… maybe that is the cause? I drew my sword from its sheath and tossed it towards Ryune.

“Ryune, use this!”

“Eh? Kya!? A sword suddenly appeared!? Why!?”

Ah, since it left my hand while I was using Invisibility Magic, to Ryune‘s eyes, it looked like a sword suddenly appeared in mid-air.

“Go on, try fighting with that!”

“I-I don’t really get it, but understood!”

Ryune switched weapons and headed towards the Green Dragon without hesitation. It seems her movements are free of doubt now that she doesn’t have to worry about damage thanks to the defense magic. That’s a good trend.

“I’m not used to a sword’s range, but at this distance! Haaah!”

Ryune attacked again, but the Green Dragon showed no sign of dodging. Since she couldn’t inflict a single scratch despite attacking so much until now, it probably thought she was just an opponent a bit harder than usual and not worth being particularly cautious of.

That was literal negligence. Ryune‘s sword entered the Green Dragon‘s foreleg without any resistance and sliced off the leg as if sliding through it. Having lost one leg, the Green Dragon lost its balance before it could understand the situation and collapsed to the ground.

“Eh? What? What just happened?”

Yeah, I knew it.

“The reason Ryune couldn’t defeat the Green Dragon was the weapon.”

“The weapon? What do you mean…?”

I picked up the spear Ryune had thrown aside, checked the condition of its blade tip, and then peeled a scale from a nearby Green Dragon. Then, using that scale, I sharpened the blade tip of Ryune‘s spear.

“Ryune, try fighting the dragon with this spear one more time!”

I threw the improvisedly sharpened spear to Ryune.

“Eh? Ah, yes! Understood!”

Receiving the spear, Ryune took a stance with a practiced look and headed towards the Green Dragon. As expected, it’s easier to fight with a weapon you’re used to handling.

“Haaah!!”

With a spirited flash, the spear Ryune swung easily sliced through the Green Dragon‘s scales and cut through its torso brilliantly to the end.

“N-No way!? Is this my spear!?”

Ryune widened her eyes in surprise, wondering if the spear in her hand was really her own weapon.

“That spear, until just now, had its blade tip almost completely crushed, making it more like a blunt instrument than a spear.”

Of course, if you improved its slashing ability with strengthening magic or something, you could fight even with this spear. The spear itself seems reasonably sturdy, so it should be fine against ordinary monsters.

“It’s just a guess, but I think the master who made Ryune inherit that spear handed it over with the blade intentionally crushed.”

“E-Ehh!? Why would they do such a thing!?”

Ryune was surprised, saying she couldn’t believe it. Well, you wouldn’t think your own master would intentionally give you a weapon in a useless state.

“This is my guess, but I think Ryune‘s master wanted their disciple to be able to survive in any situation. For example, even when a weapon can’t be used properly…”

Even during my training in my past life, my master suddenly handed me an iron bar and made unreasonable demands like telling me to survive on a deserted island for a month using it.

“D-Does that mean become strong enough to fight even without a weapon?”

“Or, they wanted you to become able to perfectly maintain this spear yourself.”

“To think father did such a thing… I completely thought it was because I was too immature to master this spear…”

“Or rather, didn’t you maintain that spear yourself?”

“Or ask a blacksmith to maintain it, right?”

Yeah, Jairo and the others have a point. I can’t imagine a warrior not being able to maintain their own weapon, and in the worst case, asking a blacksmith would be fine.

“Umm, for practice spears, I maintained them myself and used them for monster extermination. But only this spear wouldn’t cut properly no matter how much I maintained it. I asked many blacksmiths to maintain it, but for some reason, no matter who I asked, it wouldn’t become sharp at all. So I was sure this spear had a special usage for defeating dragons.”

I see, she was too serious and couldn’t think of other causes. But I’m relieved. The cause this time was solely an issue with weapon maintenance. Even if the secret techniques were lost, there was no way a descendant of Dragon Knights couldn’t defeat a mere Green Dragon. If she uses a proper weapon, even a rookie should be able to defeat something like a Black Dragon without issues!

“Um, by the way, how did you make this spear usable? And in such a short time.”

“Ah, I’m curious about that too.”

Meguri and the others joined the conversation while hunting dragons. Everyone has become quite relaxed.

“Ah, I just used a Green Dragon scale as a whetstone.”

“E-Ehh!? Using a dragon scale as a whetstone!?”

“Yes, dragon scales can not only be materials for equipment but can also be used like tools such as whetstones. Experienced craftsmen can lightly process picked-up dragon scales and modify them into improvised tools.”

Well, since it’s improvised, the quality of maintenance is what you’d expect, so I think it’s better to ask a proper place for maintenance later.

“A-Amazing! To be able to create such incredible sharpness with a picked-up scale! As expected of Lord Dragon Emperor!”

“No, I’m not the Dragon Emperor. Besides, rather than a jack-of-all-trades like me doing it, asking a proper blacksmith specialist would definitely result in better sharpness.”

“No, I don’t think that’s possible.”

Huh? For some reason, I got a retort from Liliera and the others.

“More importantly, teach me that maintenance method using dragon scales! I want to know a maintenance method that doesn’t require whetstones!”

Meguri seems very interested in a maintenance method that doesn’t cost money.

“Big Bro can seriously do anything! You’re truly amazing!”

No, no, I can’t do everything, Jairo.

Just then. The surrounding dragons suddenly flew into the sky and began to distance themselves. At the same time, the atmosphere of Dragon Peak turned menacing.

“Eh? What!?”

Liliera and the others also felt that atmosphere and heightened their vigilance.

“This is… a pack of dragons approaching.”

Checking the reactions of the surrounding dragons with search magic, dragons were slowly approaching while surrounding us. However, considering that, they were strangely slow. An unnatural slowness, like a human walking.

“Something is strange. Everyone, please be careful!”

“U-Understood!”

“It’s the first time Big Bro has been vigilant like that…”

“You’re right. I guess it means we shouldn’t let our guard down.”

“U-Um, is something happening!? Shouldn’t we perhaps run away!?”

Indeed, in terms of uncertain elements, running away is one option. But we are here at Dragon Peak strictly for training.

“Ryune, if you want to become a top-class Dragon Knight, running from a dragon is not an option.”

“!!?”

At my words, Ryune gasped. Yes, one who becomes a Dragon Knight must defeat and subjugate dragons. Therefore, if a powerful dragon is coming, confronting it head-on is the pride of a Dragon Knight. Well, I’m not a Dragon Knight, so running away wouldn’t be a problem at all for me.

I canceled the Invisibility Magic, retrieved my weapon I had lent to Ryune, and took a stance.

“The one who decides is you, Ryune. What will you do?”

At my words, Ryune showed a momentary expression of hesitation, but soon showed eyes filled with determination.

“Until now, I couldn’t even defeat a Wyvern. But, despite having met you only recently, I was able to defeat a Green Dragon. That might be due to the power of the weapon, but still, I was able to do what I couldn’t before. So…”

Ryune stated her words of resolve.

“Please. Train me… so I can fight dragons!”

Okay, it’s decided.

“Understood. Then shall we start full-scale training now? It will be training in a real combat format, so please do your best to keep up.”

“U-Understood!”

With Ryune‘s resolve firmed up, we prepared to intercept the approaching dragons.

“I’ll treat everyone’s wounds with recovery magic and restore your magic power and stamina. I’ll also boost your physical abilities with strengthening magic.”

It is training, but the enemy’s movements are strange this time. So we will intercept them in perfect condition.

“Here they come!”

Silver-shining wings appeared from beyond the land.

“That wing color is…!”

And a dragon covered in silver scales appeared.

“Silver Dragon!”

“Ehh!? Silver Dragon… isn’t that the strongest class of dragon, said to be next in strength to the Golden Dragon!?”

Yes, what appeared before us was, as Ryune said, the No. 2 of the dragon world, the Silver Dragon.

“Woah… I thought I was going to die the other day, but this one is tough too…”

Liliera and the others broke out in a cold sweat but still didn’t break their weapon stances. Yeah, it seems everyone gained courage from the battle with the Golden Dragon the other day.

“W-W-W-What should we do… It-It’s a Silver Dragon… To think we entered the territory of a Silver Dragon, which has the highest pride among dragons… W-We’re going to die…”

Ryune is exaggerating. If it’s just a Silver Dragon, I don’t think there’s a need to be that vigilant.

“Is what I want to say, but something seems strange.”

Yes, that Silver Dragon was strangely murderous. Indeed, for a Silver Dragon with particularly high pride among dragons, I can understand not forgiving opponents who entered their territory.

However, the killing intent emitted by the Silver Dragon before us didn’t look like it was just angry about its territory being invaded. Besides, that slow movement speed… and I’m curious about the other enemy approaching right now too.

“Everyone be careful, the main threat isn’t this Silver Dragon! Another one is coming!”

As if answering my concern, another reaction that had been approaching later than the Silver Dragon revealed itself.

“!!!!!!”

Drag, drag. Flail, flail.

“…Eh?”

What appeared there was the figure of the Golden Dragon, desperately trying to escape but being forcibly dragged and carried by many fellow dragons.

“WHAT IS THAT?”