Volume 1 Chapter 22 Awakening
The Chimera, our enemy, has two trump cards.
First, its massive body. It's like a giant lump of muscles, way bigger than the Manticore, and just a light punch from it could knock us down.
The other is its goat head. According to Clay, it seems to control magic, and we'll have no chance of winning if we don't seal it, though its actual strength is still unknown.
Ice has already dealt with the snake tail at the cost of her own safety. I'm worried, but for now, we're no longer dealing with the other Chimera's trump cards.
Meanwhile, our manpower has decreased, leaving just the two of us.
One is Frain. He's using his swift long-range attack, the Fire Arrow, to try to stop the magic chanting of the goat head.
If he has the chance, he'll directly attack the Chimera's body, but each time, the Chimera swiftly dodges his attacks. It's going to be tough to do anything more than sealing the goat's magic.
Next is my turn. It may sound like bragging, but I am quick on my feet and have strong attacking power. Dealing with the simple yet troublesome massive body of the Chimera will be the key to this battle.
And finally...
"..."
I look towards the shadow at the entrance. The place where Ice is taking a break now. And the two freezing rapiers I received from her. These cards will surely become our trump card.
"Hey, Wade. When should we make our move?"
Frain asked me as I faced the Chimera with my iron lump sword. I thought a bit and answered,
"When the Chimera attacks us. If it charges at us, I'll handle it, and if it uses magic, there will be an opening when you strike. That's when I will move in with Ice's rapier."
"I understand. I'm annoyed that I'm not expected to do anything other than crush magic, so I'll throw in a fireball when I see an opportunity."
"Haha, then I'll leave that to you too."
I couldn't tear my gaze away from the Chimera as I spoke. Losing the snake seemed to make the Chimera much more wary of us.
Taking a deep breath, I focused on the Chimera. It moved around skillfully, like a cat, trying to keep us guessing about its next move.
We just stayed close enough, waiting for the Chimera to make its move.
I remembered hearing somewhere that animals have excellent vision for detecting movement. In other words, this situation was tough. A still target would soon blend into the background.
So, until then. With us not even flinching, the Chimera had no choice but to strike first, knowing it would be countered.
"It's here."
As it leaped at us, it was my turn to act. I used [Weight Reduce], then swiftly followed with [Weight Increase].
Closing in fast, I swung down my ironclad sword.
Yet, the chimera deftly evaded my strike. I curse my own arrogance. It knew it had to seize the initiative, using that advantage to lure me in.
Indeed, despite my slowing down due to [Weight Increase], the chimera swept me away with its log-like front leg. I couldn't defend with my weapon due to [Weight Increase]. I couldn't even dodge, so I was sent flying.
"Wade!"
Getting hit while under the effect of [Weight Increase] meant that the damage received wouldn't escape the added weight. In simple terms, it meant more harm to the body than a regular blow.
"Ugh, ah!"
With a slight delay, I was hit by [Weight Reduce], sent flying, and slammed into the wall. The impact was so severe that I coughed up blood. Damn it, my whole body was numb and I couldn't move.
"Fireball! Hey! Wake up, Wade! I'll buy you some time!"
Frain is making an unusual good guy move. It's enough to make me feel pathetic. With that in mind, I use [Weight Reduce] to make myself lighter and stand up.
After shooting a few fireballs as a distraction, Frain runs over to help me stand up. At that moment, he looks puzzled. When I ask what's wrong, he says,
"...Why are you laughing?"
"Huh?"
As I'm being helped up, I touch my own mouth. Indeed, I'm smiling. Despite the intense pain, why am I laughing? Even though my organs feel like they're in turmoil, why?
Then, I understand. I look at Frain with a confused expression, see Clay looking worriedly at me from the shadows, think of Ice in the background— and still see the chimera watching me warily.
"I see. It was here after all."
"Huh? What are you talking about? Did you hit your head too?"
"I've been thinking about it for so long. My path. My future. Where my passion lies."
I pushed aside Frain and then chuckled.
"I like these kinds of dangerous fights where I might die."
"...What are you talking about?"
Ignoring Frain, I stared at the Chimera. That feint earlier was pretty good. But I won't fall for it again. What's next? And how will I respond?
I could feel my heart pounding with excitement. Despite spitting blood, I couldn't contain my excitement. The thrill of the challenge sharpened within me.
When I considered my path, I struggled. Sword, bow, torch. Thinking they were all the same wasn't entirely wrong.
As long as there was an exchange of life, it was all good.
"...Let's check the situation."
With trembling hands, I checked my own condition. My body was pretty messed up from that last hit. I felt nauseous and dizzy, but at the same time, my brain was flooded with feel-good chemicals, so I didn't really care.
Can I move my arms? They move, but nowhere near as fast as before. And my legs... worse than my hands.
But they move. I can still fight, just not as agilely. It's all about strategy now. I need to change tactics―how to beat this boss. I ponder.
"Hey, Wade, you okay?"
"Okay...? Oh, I see. Yeah, let's do this."
"This isn't good. Hmm. What should we do... Hey, wait!"
I take a step forward. "I'm okay." Those words triggered a stereotype. I've only ever used [Weight Reduce] and [Weight Increase] for close-range attacks in a conventional way.
I should be more creative.
Now, I raise my sword. No more waiting. It's my turn, Chimera.
I cast [Weight Reduce]. It makes myself as light as possible and leap.
My body effortlessly reaches the dungeon ceiling. I flip and land on it. Full power of [Weight Reduce] makes my body lighter than air, gently pressing against the ceiling with buoyancy.
"Wade...?"
'Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...'
I look down at the Chimera from the ceiling. With a smirk, I let go of the ironclad sword.
"...?"
At first, the sword falls to the ceiling. It took 1 second, but an object released from my hand loses the effects of [Weight Reduce] in one second.
Now, the ironclad sword falls toward the Chimera.
'!'
The Chimera instinctively dodges it. It's an unexpected attack, catching it off guard. When caught off guard, any being's attention shifts there.
The Chimera easily dodged the sword but lost sight of me.
Now, it's time to take it down.
I adjust the [Weight Reduce] rate and silently land on the ground. Then, I launch a surprise attack from outside the Chimera's field of vision. My target is its legs, and my weapon of choice is the Ice Rapier.
Quickly, I thrust one rapier into each of the Chimera's hind legs as I dash past it. The Chimera tries to react, but it's too slow. I grab my ironclad sword and strike again before it can recover.
I swing my sword horizontally, smashing its frozen back legs into bits.
'ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!'
The Chimera roars loudly as its stance falters. It's not just the head of a lion but also includes the roar of a goat.
"Frain!"
"I got it! Fire Arrow!"
The Fire Arrow flies towards the goat head as it begins its chant. The goat head is hit, causing it to stop chanting. This creates an opening in the Chimera's defense. I swiftly close in and slice off the goat's head.
"GRRRRRROOOARRR!"
The Chimera bleeds heavily from the goat's neck. It lets out a scream that sounds like a wail, thrashing wildly. Now, it's the final showdown. Despite the Chimera's rampage, I approach without hesitation.
"Hey! Wade, that's seriously dangerous―――"
Just as Frain warns, one of the Chimera's reckless attacks comes at me. However, I realize I don't even need to bother dodging.
With [Weight Reduce] almost at full output, I'm pushed back by the force of the attack. This way, the enemy's strike doesn't reach me.
"Huh!?"
While hearing Frain's astonished voice, I'm pushed back by the wind pressure from the Chimera's attack, floating in midair once again. Unaware of this, the Chimera continues to thrash about, bleeding.
So, I decided to crush it with weight.
I unleash a full-powered falling attack with [Weight Increase].
The Chimera is sliced halfway through its side by the blow of the iron sword dropped from above. It thrashes with all its might, but it can't hit me since I've been using [Weight Reduce] right after severing it.
But its movements visibly slow down, so I add more power with a spin and strike the Chimera once again. Its left front leg flies off. The Chimera is finally down to one leg.
"GRR, RRR, GRRRRROOOAAARRRRR..."
With three of its limbs destroyed, the Chimera glares at me with bloodshot eyes. While noticing the strange sensation in my right hand, I taunt it by flexing my fingers with my left hand.
"Let's finish this. Bring it on!"
With just one front leg, the Chimera leaps high and attacks me. This resilience truly shows it's a boss monster.
Therefore, I extended my right hand to show respect to the Chimera.
"Well then, Chimera. Rest peacefully with my new magic ―――Object - Weight Increase."
The Chimera's entire body is weighed down by [Weight Increase].
The Chimera, which should have been jumping, is slammed onto the ground at a rapid speed. However, it continues to move forward, scraping the ground.
Despite being almost crushed by [Weight Increase], the Chimera does not give up. It desperately crawls towards me on its front legs.
At that moment, I release the iron lump sword into the air with [Weight Reduce]. "Object - Weight Increase," I announce, pointing at the ground with my index finger.
"It's my victory. Pierce through, iron lump sword."
The iron lump sword is heavily affected by [Weight Increase] and falls straight towards the Chimera's head.
With a swift strike, its last head is severed, and it rolls away.
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