After checking into the inn, Rakan set his things down but didn’t rest.
He quietly left the village, approaching the Solar Dragon’s nesting area once more.
From a distance, he could see those white and green glints of light still flickering temptingly inside the nest.
*If I could just take all of them out…* Even though he couldn’t carry that much, the thought provided plenty of motivation.
According to the original plot, after Fern’s “talk therapy,” Stark would join the fight tomorrow.
And once this warrior from a village of warriors—trained by Eisen and possessing terrifying strength—actually made his move, the Solar Dragon would be killed in a single strike.
When that happened, how would the combat contribution be calculated?
Would he still get decent rewards?
He had to increase his own participation to ensure his share of the battle contribution.
He carefully observed the terrain.
Not far from the nest was a narrow valley path with high rock walls on both sides.
A plan gradually took shape.
He took a deep breath and began to act.
He pushed his Lv.2 Levitation Magic to its limit, selecting several key boulders above the valley path.
Rakan used the light ribbons of his Levitation Magic to carefully loosen the stones and adjust their positions, then used tough vines found on-site to bind and connect them, setting up simple trigger traps.
The entire process was slow and physically draining.
Moving the boulders pushed his mana to the point of exhaustion.
Even though the trap wasn’t meant to be sophisticated—just a one-time use—Rakan stayed busy until well past midnight.
Rakan wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Looking at the crude but powerful rockfall trap he had finally completed, his eyes shone with intensity.
The sense of achievement was overwhelming.
The next day at noon, Rakan woke up around the same time as Frieren.
By then, Stark had already found her.
“I…
I’ll go,” he said, his voice weak, but his grip on his axe was tight.
“For the sake of the village…
I’ll try.
But I want you to promise me something.
If I die in battle, you have to defeat the dragon and protect the village.”
Frieren didn’t say anything; she simply turned and started walking toward the dragon’s nest, but Rakan saw a faint smile touch the corners of her mouth.
When they reached the valley path where he had set the ambush, Rakan stopped.
“Stark,” he began, his tone calm.
“Since you lack confidence, why don’t we do this?
I prepared a trap last night.” He pointed toward the hidden boulders and vines above.
“I will go provoke the Solar Dragon and lure it here into the trap.
You and Lady Frieren will lie in ambush right here.
Once the dragon is trapped, all you need to do is step forward and hold it back for thirty seconds with everything you’ve got.
After thirty seconds, Lady Frieren will finish it.”
Frieren gave Rakan a deep, knowing look.
Stark’s eyes lit up.
He wouldn’t have to face the dragon at full strength—he just had to tangle with a trapped dragon for thirty seconds?
This plan sounded…
like something he could actually try!
“Okay!
Let’s go with your plan!” He nodded vigorously and followed Frieren to hide behind some brush, taking deep breaths to try and steady his trembling hands.
The plan began. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Rakan approached the dragon’s nest alone.
He started by blasting the Solar Dragon with a full-power offensive spell.
The giant dragon was jolted awake, glaring with fury.
Rakan turned and bolted toward the trap, pushing his flight magic as hard as he could.
However, he had underestimated the dragon’s speed in open terrain without dense forest to slow it down.
Within a few breaths, the oppressive wind pressure and the heavy scent of sulfur were right behind him.
The earth shook under the dragon’s claws.
Rakan gritted his teeth, pushing his Levitation Magic to the absolute limit as he skimmed low over the ground, but the air currents from the dragon’s wings still made him stumble.
*No, I won’t make it to the trap point in time!* He suddenly spun around, pointing his staff forward.
“Defensive Magic!”
A barrier of defensive magic instantly deployed.
The Solar Dragon’s talons slammed down with raw, unadorned force.
*Crack!*
The barrier shattered like glass hit by a sledgehammer!
Amidst the shards of mana, Rakan was sent flying by the residual impact, struggling for a moment before stabilizing his flight magic.
Watching the Solar Dragon raise its claw for another strike, he suddenly remembered a saying from the future “First-Class Mage Exam”: Defensive magic has limited effectiveness against large-scale physical impacts.
The dragon’s claw rose again, casting a shadow over him.
In that life-or-death instant, the knowledge of Phantom Magic automatically surfaced in Rakan’s mind.
There was no time to read deep memories to create a complex illusion.
He concentrated all his mental energy, projecting mana toward the dragon’s eyes to construct the simplest, most direct image possible.
An illusion of Stark, red hair flying, eyes wide with rage, wielding his giant axe in a mid-swing!
The Solar Dragon’s movement froze.
Its draconic instincts for perceiving threats made it wary of this red-haired warrior who had suddenly appeared—the same one who had once radiated a dangerous aura.
But that hesitation lasted only a second.
The dragon’s powerful magic resistance quickly identified the illusion as lacking a real energy core and life force.
“ROAR—!!!”
Rage at being toyed with erupted like a volcano.
The Solar Dragon’s scales flared with brilliant light as it lunged with even more ferocity!
But those few heartbeats were enough for Rakan to surge into the valley path, reaching the spot directly beneath his trap.
He turned back and fired a blue-white mana beam at a specific point on the rock wall above.
“Now!” The beam severed the camouflaged vines.
*Snap!
Rumble—!*
Several boulders the size of houses tumbled from the sky, accompanied by a rain of smaller rocks, accurately crushing the Solar Dragon just as it charged into the narrow passage!
Dust billowed into the air, burying the dragon’s pained roars.
“Stark!
Now!” Rakan yelled.
The red-haired youth behind the brush was stunned by the sudden turn of events, but then he saw Rakan’s bedraggled state and the struggling draconic silhouette in the dust.
A mixture of responsibility and impulsive adrenaline surged through him.
He let out a roar—whether to bolster his own courage or intimidate the foe, he didn’t know.
Gripping his greataxe with both hands, he charged from cover.
He leapt toward the dragon’s head—temporarily pinned by the rocks and disoriented—using every bit of strength and every technique his master had taught him.
He swung his axe with all his might!
What Rakan didn’t know was that Stark was only thinking of hitting its head to stun it and stall for as long as possible.
The axe blade shimmered with the glow of compressed physical power, cutting through the dust.
Time seemed to slow down.
Rakan watched as the blade made contact with the dragon’s head.
Those mirror scales, which even magic could hardly scratch, shattered and flew apart like fragile glass under the weight of pure, brutal physical force. This chapter was copied from novelping.com without permission.
Then, without any resistance, the blade sliced through.
The dragon’s roar cut off abruptly.
The dust slowly settled.
Stark remained frozen in his follow-through posture, eyes wide, staring in disbelief at the axe embedded in the dragon’s skull and the dragon’s eyes quickly losing their light.
“Eh?” He watched as the Solar Dragon suddenly stopped struggling.
In the distance, Fern emerged from the brush, covering her mouth with her hands, equally shocked.
Only Rakan and Frieren looked unperturbed, as if they had known it would end like this all along.
Frieren stepped out from the bushes.
She didn’t even look at the dragon’s corpse, heading straight for the nest.
She had been eyeing that grimoire—the one containing the spell to see through what one considers clothes—for a long time.
Rakan found it hard to suppress his excitement.
He walked over to the pile of collapsed rocks, watching as the massive corpse of the Solar Dragon slowly dissolved into countless dispersing ashes.
And in the thickest part of the ashes at the center, a box emitting a deep purple glow hovered quietly.
*The purple is deep, but what a shame it’s not gold, after working all night.*
Rakan felt a bit of regret as he reached out, his fingertips touching the cool, golden chest-frame that was etched with mysterious patterns.
The dark purple treasure box hovered amidst the fading ashes of the dragon, its light restrained but still carrying the pressure of the creature’s lifeblood.
Rakan touched it, and the box opened silently.
A clump of deep purple, viscous liquid—pulsing as if it were alive—floated inside, radiating an aura of pure vitality.
[Dragon Blood Essence (Body Tempering)] [Quality: Purple] [Description: A condensation of the Solar Dragon’s bloodline core.
Upon use, it guides the body through a mild adaptive evolution, permanently fixing two random effects based on the user’s current constitution and needs.] [Possible Effects (Two will be randomly selected)]: 1.
Strength Essence: Strength +6.
2.
Agility Essence: Agility +6.
3.
Basic Mirror-Reflect Skin: The body surface permanently gains a weak anti-magic property, providing a small amount of resistance to magic damage and a very low chance to deflect attacks.
“Two random ones…” Rakan took a deep breath.
Since it was described as “mild,” he decided to use it now.
He decisively swallowed the essence.
The deep purple essence melted instantly upon entering his mouth, turning into a warm current that swept through his entire body, modifying his tissues gently yet thoroughly.
He could clearly feel his muscle density increasing.
His bones let out faint, crisp pops, and his neural reaction speed noticeably sharpened.
A brief sensation of tightness, as if he were covered in an extremely thin energy film, passed over his skin, but the feeling soon receded without becoming permanent.
Once the process ended, Rakan immediately pulled up his panel:
[Rakan (Monster Mimic – Humanoid Form)] [Strength]: 4 → 10 (Obtained “Strength Essence”) [Agility]: 3 → 9 (Obtained “Agility Essence”) [Intelligence]: 12
[Contract Magic lv.1] [Defensive Magic lv.2] [Ordinary Offensive Magic lv.4] [Levitation Magic lv.2] [Phantom Magic lv.1] [Heaven-Piercing Strike lv.1 (Requires Strength ≥ 10, Agility ≥ 10.
Current attributes insufficient, cannot use.)]
*Increased Strength and Agility?
Not bad.* Rakan felt a surge of excitement and a strong sense of stability.
His Strength had hit the requirement, meaning his physical foundation could now withstand the burst of “Heaven-Piercing Strike.”
With his Agility at 9, he was only one step away from being able to fully execute the technique.
While it was a slight shame to miss out on the “Mirror-Reflect Skin,” these two attributes directly shored up his weaknesses, making for a very practical and necessary combination for his current situation.
By the time he calmed down, Frieren had returned from the dragon’s nest.
She held a thick grimoire with glowing patterns on the cover, a faint look of satisfaction on her face.
“You can check the rest if you’re interested,” she said, pointing toward the nest.