"Boss—why?!"
"ROAR—!"
"Eek—!"
Stark's scream woke the Red Mirror Dragon up on the spot.
A dragon's majesty was sacred and inviolable. The moment it opened its eyes, it locked onto Stark in midair and let out an angry roar.
Stark's voice went shrill from pure fear.
Facing a dragon's roar head-on—with the dragon right in front of him—his legs went weak even while he was still in the air.
Only his last shred of dignity kept him from peeing himself.
If Shichen and the others hadn't been watching, he might've actually wet himself on the spot.
"ROAR—!"
The Red Mirror Dragon fixed on Stark, opened its jaws, and began gathering energy.
"Save me—!"
Stark flailed wildly in the air. He couldn't hover, and there was nothing he could do.
But Shichen and the others just watched.
Frieren and Fern were completely unmoved—mainly because Shichen wasn't doing anything either.
They trusted that he had a plan.
So Stark, hanging in midair, took the dragon's breath head-on and was swallowed whole.
"NOOO—!"
His voice was still audible, echoing from inside the blast.
When the dragon's breath finally ended, Stark dropped to the ground—and landed on his feet, steady and upright.
He stared down at himself in disbelief. He was completely unharmed.
He didn't believe his human body could possibly survive a dragon's breath.
Then he noticed it: a transparent barrier around him. That thing had blocked the breath.
"ROAR—!" The Red Mirror Dragon bellowed and lunged at Stark.
A mere human had blocked its breath—was it supposed to have any dignity left?
If other dragons found out, it would be a total humiliation.
"Help—!"
Stark yelped and twisted aside.
But the pain he expected never came. Instead, there was only a harsh scraping sound—and sparks.
Stark opened his eyes and realized the barrier hadn't even cracked. Even the dragon's claws couldn't break through it.
There was no way he'd conjured that shield himself.
Stark looked up at the cliff and shouted, "Boss! Did you do this?!"
"Yes," Shichen called back with a grin. "Feel better now? The Red Mirror Dragon can't do a thing to you. Go ahead—cut it down whenever you want."
With one above and one below, their voices carried perfectly.
"Boss, you're incredible! But… I can't cut it, can I?" Stark stared at the dragon, which could swallow him in one bite, his heart still trembling.
"You won't get hurt anyway. Just swing."
"…Yeah, you're right."
Realizing he had nothing to lose, Stark stopped overthinking it. He pulled his massive axe from his back, gripped it tight, and met the dragon's claw head-on.
SKRRRCH—!
Sparks burst everywhere.
"ROAR—!"
Something unbelievable happened. With such a ridiculous size difference between dragon and human, you'd expect Stark to be sent flying—but instead, the Red Mirror Dragon was forced back, its body rearing up.
It nearly toppled over.
"This is…" Stark stared at his axe in shock.
"Stark," Shichen called, "that's your strength."
"You're strong—stronger than the Red Mirror Dragon. The reason it spared you and left that day was because it sensed how dangerous you were. It ran."
"Ran?" Stark looked up in disbelief. "Boss… are you serious?"
"Do you really still need to ask? You just saw the result."
"So… I'm strong…"
"Yes. You're strong—stronger than the Red Mirror Dragon."
"Stronger than the Red Mirror Dragon…"
Stark murmured to himself, confidence slowly flooding in. His gaze hardened, he tightened his grip on the axe, locked onto the dragon—
—and charged first.
"ROAR—!"
The dragon refused to back down and unleashed another breath attack.
Stark didn't flinch. He surged forward, and the barrier around him casually blocked the blast.
"Red Mirror Dragon—die!"
"ROAR—!"
"Looks like he'll be fine," Shichen said, nodding in satisfaction.
"He's actually that strong?" Frieren blinked, surprised.
"You forgot? Eisen said he was scared of him."
"Right… that's a warrior for you. Mages don't dare let them get close."
"Then how are we supposed to deal with them?" Fern asked.
"Don't let them get close."
"So that's why you've been training me to cast faster?" Fern asked, realization dawning.
"Yep."
"I understand."
"Shichen." Frieren tugged on his sleeve.
"What?"
"There." Frieren gestured. "The dragon's nest."
"What about it?"
"Is that a spellbook?" Fern noticed something in the nest.
Not just a spellbook—there was also gold and silver, all kinds of weapons and trinkets.
Dragons loved hoarding anything shiny.
"That spellbook is really interesting," Frieren said, smiling as she stared at it from afar.
"You know what it is?" Fern asked curiously.
"Yeah. It's a spell that makes clothes transparent." Frieren grinned brightly.
"…" Fern stared at Frieren in silence.
"What?"
"Frieren-sama… are you a pervert?"
"Why would you say that?"
"You're interested in that book because you want to see people naked, don't you?"
"Of course not. I just like that kind of magic. I wouldn't use it for anything weird—and Shichen wouldn't let me look at other people."
"Huh? Why not?"
"For women it's whatever, but if it's men, he'll be unhappy. In other words—possessiveness," Frieren explained.
"I see…" Fern turned to Shichen. "Shichen-sama, is she telling the truth?"
"She is," Shichen admitted with a nod.
"How could I not mind you two seeing other men naked?"
"So Shichen-sama's possessiveness is that strong," Fern laughed.
"Shichen, hurry and grab that spellbook. We can't let someone else use it for evil," Frieren urged.
"Fine."
Shichen vanished on the spot and reappeared inside the dragon's nest. Without hesitation, he took everything the Red Mirror Dragon had hoarded.
"ROAR—!" The dragon, still locked in combat with Stark, noticed and howled in fury.
"Where are you looking?! Die!" Stark seized the opening, leapt high, and brought his axe down in a brutal arc toward the dragon's neck.
CRACK—
No resistance at all. The blade cleaved straight through, severing the dragon's head.
The Red Mirror Dragon died instantly, collapsing along with its head.
Thick crimson blood spilled out, soaking the ground.
"Boss! I did it!" Stark landed and waved excitedly at Shichen.
"That's your strength. Be more confident from now on." Shichen flashed over to him and patted his shoulder.
"Yes! Boss, you're amazing!" Stark's admiration was overflowing now.
Not just because Shichen had pointed out his weakness, but because that barrier—strong enough to block dragon breath—was far beyond him.
He knew he couldn't break it either, which meant if he ever fought Shichen, he'd have no chance at all.
And that was before even mentioning Shichen's casual teleportation.
"Come on." Shichen clapped him on the shoulder. "The Red Mirror Dragon's down. This village is safe now. Say goodbye to the villagers, then come with us."
"Okay! I'm going with you, Boss—I'm going to get stronger!"
"Easy. Stick with us and you'll get stronger—stronger than Eisen."
"WOOO!"
~~~
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