Chapter 18 Beating Even High-Rank Dragons With One Punch
I, Leaf, defeated a venomous snake that approached the capital city. Well, not really defeated, just absorbed its poison.
"Leaf-kun!"
"Mercury-san"
Riding on a staff, flying over here, is the witch I'm indebted to, Mercury-san.
When Mercury-san and I, along with the adventurers, reached the sky, she gracefully descended.
"Aerial, are you alright!?"
"Yeah, Mercury. I'm (Ore) fine."
Hmm, do these two already know each other?
They seem friendly, so maybe.
"By the way, isn't it more logical to ask if [both of us] are okay if you're worried?"
"Leaf-kun... Yeah. Because I know you won't lose."
"You really trust him a lot, don't you?"
"Well, yeah..."
It feels good to be trusted by Mercury-san.
She's an amazing person too. After all, she's Granny Merlin's granddaughter!
Aerial-san stretched up high.
"Hydra has been defeated safely. Now we just need to return safely to the capital city."
"But before that, we need to disinfect this area."
Due to the poison secreted by the Hydra, the flowers in the grassland had withered, and the earth had cracked.
"Shall we quickly fix this before we go back?"
"Yes... but let's return to the city first. We don't know what might happen."
"What do you mean by 'something might happen'?"
"Because the adventure doesn't end until we return. Well, we probably won't encounter an enemy worse than the Hydra, but you never know, for sure."
And then, at that moment...
Rumble, rumble, rumble...!!!!
"Huh!? What's this magic power reaction!"
"What's wrong, Mercury?"
Mercury-san points at Aerial-san's feet.
"From deep underground, a monster is approaching at super high speed... and it's on a level way beyond the Hydra!"
"What!? Leaf-kun, Mercury! Retreat..."
"No! We won't make it... AAAAHHH!"
BOOOOOOOMMMMM!
Breaking through the ground... [It] appears.
It's a creature bigger than the venomous snake from earlier.
And... it has nine heads...
"I-Is that... a Nine-Headed Basilisk!?"
Mercury-san's expression trembles with horror.
Aerial-san is also shaking.
"That's... an SS-Rank. Isn't it a kind of ancient dragon! Why is it here..."
The eyes of the Nine-Headed Basilisk glare at us.
'Hissshhhh! Oh my, despite being blown away, why are you still alive?'
"I-I-It talked!?"
Aerial-san widens his eyes again.
Mercury-san explains with a tense expression.
"Higher-ranked dragon species have intelligence. That means..."
"So, this dragon is just that strong...!"
The creature with nine heads surveys us.
'Both the woman and the man are small fry. Small fry. Sm-s-m-small fry...hmm~? There's no one here but small fries.'
The snake guy looked at the three of us and burst out laughing.
'What's this? It seems the one who neutralized my poison is no longer here.'
"Poison...no way!?"
Ariel-san showed a fearful expression.
"So the Hydra's poison was just a secretion from the Nine-Headed Basilisk!?"
'Ssshh, that's right! That is just one of my nine poisons! And...sshh! It's the weakest poison of them all!"
"Is that so..."
Ariel-san's face showed despair. I wonder what happened. Is he perhaps feeling sick in his stomach?
"We struggled so much and still...we couldn't defeat the Hydra, which turned out to be just the poison of a Nine-Headed Basilisk...and, moreover, the weakest of them all..."
'Ssshhh! That's right! I left that poison to small fry, and I planned to grab a meal. I came to check because the Hydra was defeated... Ssh? Where are you, [Holy Maiden], or maybe the [Saint]?"
Holy Maiden? Holy Cleric?
I've never heard those words before.
"Mercury-san, what are Holy Maiden and Holy Cleric?"
"Uh...uh...uh..."
"Is your stomach hurting again? Should I take some Elixir?"
Mercury-san shook her head vigorously.
"T-they are powerful wielders of purification magic. They put up barriers against monsters in the city..."
"Wow, I never knew that."
I didn't know that the capital city was so different from the countryside.
'Ssh? what's with you, boy, why aren't you afraid of me?'
"Huh? Why would I be afraid? You're just a snake."
The air in the area suddenly froze.
Huh? Did I say something weird?
'Sshh, sshhh? Wh-What was that? Is it just my imagination? I, who am considered a superior being even among the ancient dragons... a superior dragon species, you say I'm just a snake?'
"Well, but it's a snake. Even though you calls yourself a dragon, you don't have wings."
Crack, a sound of something snapping.
"L-Leaf-kun! What are you doing!"
"Huh, but it's the truth, it's a snake."
'Haha... it's the first time. A foolish monkey who dares to insult me like this!'
Gush! Magic power gushed out from the body of the Nine-Headed Basilisk.
Come to think of it, Granny Merlin mentioned this.
Magic power is usually invisible to the human eye.
However, magic power with a high concentration is visible.
So, this snake must have released a tremendous amount of magic power. Hmm.
'I'll finish you off with my ultimate Dragon Breath! My strongest attack... [Medusa Breath]!!!!'
Magic power gathers in the nine mouths of the snake, and then... it shoots out.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A strong wind blows.
After it passes, everything turns to stone in an instant.
"The barrier won't hold! Run!"
"No, I'll take the hit for the wall... guuuh!"
The breath attacked us.
....
......
........
'Ssssshhhhahaha! Total defeat! This is payback for disrespecting me! Ssshhhahaha!'
"Who said total defeat?"
'WHAT THE HYECKKKKKK!?"
Even when hit by the snake's breath, I'm still fine.
I mean, why are you so surprised...?
'Unbelievable! How are you unharmed after taking the full force of this superior dragon's breath?'
"What, but I have Poison Immunity as a trait"
'P-poison immun... No, no! However, the Hydra's poison is at a level beyond any ordinary poison!? Moreover, my petrification is absolute! Whether living or non-living! Upon receiving it, one would die instantly! You should suffocate and die while the poison is neutralized!'
"No, I mean, what are you even saying?"
I say this to the snake that says strange things.
"Humans don't just die from being killed, right?"
I have faced off against Old Man Arthur many times.
That person strikes mercilessly at vital points without holding back.
Each time, I end up in a state of near-death, unable to move.
That's why I trained so that at the moment of dying, a revival potion would automatically be rapidly produced within my body.
As a result, when I die, it triggers a skill activation, allowing me to perform the "Prescription skill: Revival Potion" automatically.
"Old man used to say that just killing a creature won't make it die. If you're going to kill it, crush its head, he said. Oh, haven't you learned that?"
The snake gaping its mouth wide open in bewilderment.
'Wait a minute. Both of you, I'll revive you now. Prescription."
I create a potion to lift petrification and a revival potion.
Using the Divine Healer staff, I administer them to both.
As the petrification is lifted, Mercury-san and the others become able to move.
"Cough! Hah... hah..."
"Um, what? What happened!? Leaf-kun!?"
Yeah, looks like they're both okay.
"You both seemed to have died from the breath, so I revived you."
"WHAT!? REVIVEDDDDD!?"
Mercury-san is surprised again. Huh, why is she so surprised?
"What's the big deal about reviving?"
"No, no! Reviving is not something you can normally do!"
"Huh? But people in the village can do it normally, right?"
"That's because what's normal in your hero village isn't normal at all!"
Mercury-san is holding her head in distress.
"Um, but many Grannies could do things like reviving the dead, isn't that normal? Like Granny Sei."
"There are many ladies who can revive the dead... that's too much..."
Hey, Aerial-san looks surprised too?
"If you're going on an adventure, you need more ways to revive, right?"
"What's with that? It's like saying you should always carry a handkerchief when going out. Reviving is a divine MIRACLEEEE!"
Oh, is that so?
Well, I wonder... Hmm, even Old Man Arthur, who isn't a magician, usually carries an item called a phoenix feather for instant death prevention, he said it's essential.
'Th-this is ridiculous... to not only survive my attack but also to lift the petrification...'
"Huh? Oh, sorry for keeping you waiting. Well then...I'm going to collect it now."
I took out the Medicine God's treasured dagger and approached the snake.
"Collect...what?"
"Yes! Because it's a snake that secretes high-quality poison..."
I couldn't help but let out a laugh.
"If you put it in a bottle, you can always have high-quality poison on hand, right?"
Sometimes poison can become medicine.
When making medicine, poisonous substances are also needed.
This one has nine powerful poisons.
It's very useful for making medicine.
"But if it's dead, it won't secrete poison anymore, right?"
"Oh, don't worry, I'll make sure it doesn't die by killing it."
"What do you mean by that!?"
I filled the medicine god's treasured dagger with medicine.
"[Compound: Elixir of Immortality]"
"What?!"
The blade shone in seven colors. In an instant, I approached the basilisk.
'Eeeek! Nooo!"'
"Take this!"
Slash, slash, slash!!!!
...The minced basilisk flesh crumbles and falls to the ground.
I take out the Tenmoku Medicine Pot Granny gave me.
Swoooosh! The huge basilisk meat is sucked into the pot...
"Alright!"
"Not alright at all!"
Mercury-san shouts. Isn't she shouting too much?
"Are you okay? Did you hurt your throat? You should use Elixir as a throat remedy..."
"I'm not drinking it! I'm not using Elixir like throat medicine!"
Mercury-san stomps her feet in frustration.
Oh, she seems energetic.
"What was that just now!?"
"Huh? I administered the elixir of immortality to the snake. With this, it won't die, right?"
"No, no, no! The elixir of immortality! That's something only legendary figures could create! It's a super legendary item that only the great sage Nicolas Flamel could make!"
"Oh, is that so?"
Granny Sei taught me how to make it normally, though...?
"Is that so?"
"Hey, Leaf-kun...what did you do? How did you break that huge body into pieces in an instant...?"
Wait, didn't Aerial-san see it?
"I just approached and sliced it, that's all..."
Both of them looked stunned and puzzled.
Huh...?
"Um...did I do something?"
Both of them become red quickly.
""You didn't just do something! You messed up big time!""
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