Volume 3 Chapter 45 Should I Give You Cheat Powers？ ...i Don't Need Them
A greatsword made from a dragon's horn... a big black chunk that connects from the blade to the handle. The only thing wrapped around the handle is a piece of cloth──Randy's torn jacket──that flutters in the air, touched by Randy's fighting spirit.
It looks rough and tough, like it was never made for a person.
Still, the presence of Randy carrying the sword is the strongest it's been all day.
Seeing the confidence on Randy's face, the dragon snorted and turned fully towards him. It realized it had to take Randy down first. It understood that turning its back to him was a bad idea.
'Little one. Why resist──.'
Ignoring the dragon's question again, Randy kicked off the floor with the greatsword on his shoulder.
In one step, Randy closed the distance and swung the greatsword down.
The dragon slightly moved its foot to avoid the incoming sword.
The greatsword hit the floor and bounced back towards the dragon's foot.
The dragon couldn't help but counterattack.
Claws and the greatsword clashed, shaking the air with a loud sound.
"Not done yet!"
Randy swung the greatsword back.
The dragon's claws came at him.
They clashed again and again, each time shaking the air, and a slight change started to show.
"You're not putting your weight into it!"
With a fierce grin, Randy swung the greatsword wide.
For the first time, the dragon's claws were deflected.
Just as Randy said, the dragon wasn't putting its full weight into its attacks.
The reason was the damage from Randy's earlier move.
The dragon still had its feet, but it couldn't put its weight down because of the pain.
Now, all the hits Randy had landed were starting to take effect.
But the dragon wasn't giving up and swung its tail around.
Facing the huge tail, Randy got ready with the greatsword to block it.
The massive weight of the tail sent Randy flying, shaking the wall once again.
Still, Randy stood up unsteadily and drank his last potion.
"You jerk... you made me waste my potion."
As Randy threw the bottle away, the dragon opened its mouth wide, saying, 'You little pest...'
It unleashed its breath attack.
In front of it, Randy switched the greatsword to his other hand──"I'm tired of this"──and threw it with all his might.
The greatsword flew at super speed, breaking through the breath attack and heading straight for the dragon.
Seeing the greatsword──once its horn──the dragon couldn't help but close its mouth and jump up.
"Too bad!"
Randy appeared right above it.
He had predicted the dragon's move.
At the perfect moment when the dragon looked up...
Randy spun quickly and kicked down.
Randy's heel struck the dragon's back,
and the dragon was slammed into the ground, looking like a 'reverse へ'.
*Boom!*
The whole tower shook with a loud thud, and Randy followed up with a flying kick.
Sensing the danger from behind, the dragon dodged to the side with surprising speed for its size.
As Randy's missed kick shook the ground, the dragon spun around.
It aimed its tail at Randy as he landed.
With the tail coming at him, Randy jumped.
As he soared, the dragon lunged at him with a cat-like swipe.
Randy, grinning, punched the dragon's front paw.
The impact shook the air, sending Randy flying and rolling on the ground.
After rolling around, Randy stood up and said, "Tch, did it break again?" He clicked his tongue at his dangling right arm.
It had broken many times before and he had fixed it with potions, but this time it seemed completely shattered.
Even so, Randy kept his fighting spirit and smile, making the dragon take a half step back for the first time.
But the dragon still couldn't use its full power. It hadn't used any magic that could affect a wide area. It was using its strength to hold back the other dragons inside itself.
So it wasn't at its best.
But even if it wasn't at its best, a mere human... just a human had never bitten back at a dragon like this in history, only a handful of times.
Standing on this stage of history,
and knowing that the human in front of it was worthy of this moment.
In such a situation, the dragon felt a bit of fear towards this mere human, making its face tense as it glared at Randy.
Randy was still staring at the dragon when Luke, who had recovered, rushed over, carrying a greatsword and a potion. "Randy!".
Randy drank the potion, but grimaced at his still swollen right hand. "This isn't good. It's not fully healed." The broken bone might have healed a bit, but he couldn't use that arm against the dragon in front of him.
"Then I'll be your right hand."
"I'm counting on you."
Randy rested the greatsword on his shoulder and said, "Alright... this is the final showdown." He crouched down and smiled.
'Kid... why──'
As the dragon opened its mouth again, Randy and Luke both charged at it.
The dragon's foot got slightly cut because it reacted a moment too late.
Still, the dragon jumped up to avoid them, and Randy frowned, saying, "Hey, come down here."
'You're a barbarian who can't even talk...'
The dragon sighed in the air, and Randy raised his eyebrows, saying,
"Talk? If you want to talk, go to a tavern."
"Or maybe a café."
Randy snorted, and Luke laughed along. Randy kept smiling as he supported Luke.
"This is a battlefield. What we need are swords, fists, blood, and... pain."
Randy took a deep breath and adjusted the greatsword with one hand.
'I see... that's true!'
The dragon suddenly laughed, and Randy sighed, saying, "Are you emotionally unstable?"
'And you forgot one thing: death!'
Ignoring that, the dragon lunged at Randy.
At the same time, Randy and Luke kicked off the ground.
They moved quickly, the dragon's claws coming at them.
Randy met it with his greatsword.
A loud crash shook everything.
Randy took the dragon's hit with one hand on the greatsword, holding his ground.
"Lukeee!"
In response to Randy's shout, Luke quickly closed the distance and slashed at the dragon's foot.
The dragon stumbled back in pain.
Randy pushed against the dragon's foot and slashed back.
The dragon couldn't take it and jumped into the air.
Luke, who had jumped up from below, pierced one of its wings.
Randy threw his greatsword and pierced the other wing.
The dragon, now off balance, twisted in the air, snarled in fury, "You pests!" and its tail swung toward Luke.
"Not getting hit twice."
Luke shot a wind blast at himself and blew himself away.
The dragon's tail barely missed Luke as he flew past.
With the momentum, Luke bounced off the ground and rolled again.
The dragon prepared to chase after him in the air.
'First, I'll deal with you──'
Just as it was about to breathe fire, the dragon suddenly shook and crashed to the ground.
'What...?'
The dragon turned to see Randy holding its tail under his arm. Randy had thrown the dragon, but the tip of its tail was still tucked under his arm.
"Randy used a giant swing."
Randy grinned mischievously and started to spin around.
Ignoring his hurt arm, he held the tail with one arm while supporting it with the other, enduring the pain.
Randy and Luke, both reaching for victory, showed the madness of warriors on the battlefield.
The dragon misjudged the situation and found itself spinning at a speed that could create a tornado.
"Randy──!"
Luke, rolling on the ground, threw Randy's greatsword.
The greatsword flew right over Randy's head...
Randy tossed the dragon away toward the greatsword.
Then he chased after it at high speed.
Randy caught the greatsword that Luke had thrown.
He kicked off the ground and jumped up.
The dragon, finally stopping in mid-air, turned to face Randy for a counterattack...
"See ya."
...and there was Randy, bringing the greatsword down toward the dragon. There was no way to dodge it, no matter what.
'Impressive.'
The moment the dragon thought that, Randy's greatsword slammed into its forehead.
The dragon fell to the ground.
The greatsword was deeply embedded in its forehead.
Then, Randy rolled over, saying, "Ah, I'm tired..."
Luke and the others ran over to Randy.
"Randy, you did it!"
"Luke, you saved me. Nice assist!"
Randy bumped fists with Luke, who shyly said, "I was mostly sleeping, though."
"No way. I couldn't have won alone. Your assist, Ellie and Liz's potions, and this greatsword... Thanks to Miss Cecilia for the healing and support too."
Randy laughed, and Cecilia puffed her cheeks and looked away, saying, "That was really hard on my heart."
"You're such a ridiculous guy..."
Ellie sighed and looked at the now motionless dragon.
"Great dragon... I will take your body as a reward for showing your power."
At Ellie's words, a small dark red orb appeared from the dragon. It was probably the Dragon's Blood and soul that had grown inside Randy.
'Do as you wish... but I want to ask one thing.'
Everyone turned to look at the glowing orb.
'Kid... why do you refuse my power? With your abilities, you could have tamed even the power of a dragon.'
Randy sighed and replied,
"Oh, is that all? But I don't need them. Who would want to be your subordinate?"
This strange reasoning came from Randy's own beliefs about power.
Getting power from someone... whether it's from a god or a demon, if it's given, there's always a hidden agenda behind it.
Live freely, do what you want.
He wants to say, don't lie.
But can he really use that power to hit them? What if they destroy the world?
That's an extreme example, but once you go against the will of the great being that gave you power, they will try to correct your path. Worst case, they might even try to erase you. Randy doesn't know what to call those who live while worrying about that, instead of calling them puppets or subordinates.
When you go against the will of a great being, you can't fight them with the power you received. You will just lose that power and be killed brutally.
Once you rely on power given by someone, you can never surpass that being. So, you must stand on your own feet and will. That's Randy's pride in living in a cruel world.
"So... I have no interest in borrowed power at all. I want to get strong the way I want, how I desire. If I lose to borrowed power, then I'm just that kind of guy."
After taking a deep breath, the glowing orb stayed silent and didn't respond.
"I want to punch even a god if they annoy me with this fist of mine."
Randy's clenched fist showed countless scars. They were his medals for all the things he had punched, broken, and resisted.
"But if I got power from a god, I couldn't punch them. That's what it means."
Luke and the others looked confused, but no one dared to question him. The glowing orb was flickering wildly, almost as if it was laughing.
'Interesting. Very interesting, little one... or should I say, strong one.'
The flickering orb slowly floated up towards the ceiling.
'We shall meet again someday... when that time comes, I will be ready to face you. Show me the strength you speak of──'
With that, the glowing orb disappeared into countless lights.
"Was that not at full strength?"
Randy lay back down with his arms spread out and laughed, "The mountain is high."
Beside him, Liz, who had taken Ellie's place, looked worried and said, "You're being reckless..."
"Well, I'm a Kid."
Randy laughed it off, but Liz puffed her cheeks and said, "That doesn't matter." They were out of potions, and all she could do was use her newly learned healing magic on his still cracked right hand.
With her weak healing magic, she couldn't fully mend the bone. It was enough for a quick fix, but...
"It's not broken anymore, so do I really need it?"
Randy's hand was in a sling, supported by a triangular bandage.
"No way. You always do reckless things, so fighting is off-limits for a while."
Liz looked at him with narrowed eyes, and Randy reluctantly glanced at his painful right hand, realizing he had indeed worried her a lot this time.
Randy looked at his right hand, which was hanging awkwardly, but he still felt a bit proud.
"Oh, I got it!" he said, his face lighting up with an idea.
"Let's take a group photo!"
"A group photo?" Luke frowned.
Randy suggested that they all take a picture with the dragon in the background.
So, Randy took a heavy piece of metal from his magic bag and made a tripod. He set it up in front of the dragon and started adjusting the angle so everyone would fit in the shot.
"...So, who's going to press the button?"
Luke gave him a tired look, and Randy covered his face, but Liz said, "Oh, I can do it!" She pulled out her staff and started waving it around.
"I'm glad we have a button for the shutter!"
Just then, Liz called out, "Okay, I'm taking the picture!" Everyone struck a pose in front of the dragon.
Liz stood straight but smiled.
Cecilia looked a bit nervous.
Luke held up his sword.
And Randy flashed a big smile and showed a peace sign.
Since there were 4 of them, no, 5 of them, they took a picture that would become a special memory. "Alright, after this one, let's do an Ellie version!" he said, pulling a reluctant Ellie into the shot. This photo would be a keepsake for a long time.
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