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CHAPTER 118: THE GIFT THAT SPARKED A DESPERATE SITUATION




“D-Dragon…” (Esther)
　Esther murmured in a hoarse voice.
　Reptilian eyes and scales covering the body. A gigantic physique. A four-legged creature with wings on its back.
There is no doubt that this creature contains power that cannot be captured by [Intuition]. It was a dragon, the most powerful creature in this world.
“Toru, run away.” (Esther)
“Esther, run!”
“I can’t. I can’t get past the eternal flame! Besides, look…” (Esther)
　Esther’s wide eyes glanced down at her feet.
“My legs are shaking so hard, I can’t move.” (Esther)
“…” (Toru)
　After fighting with monsters, the two of us have been quite collected. Even against the ogres who were far above us, fear didn’t slow us down.
　But dragons are different. They are on a different dimension.
　The primal fear instilled in all living creatures is not something that can be rationalized away.
“Can Toru move?” (Esther)
“Uh, yeah. Sort of.” (Toru)
“So, Toru should escape.” (Esther)
“Hmm…” (Toru)
　There was no way I could abandon my precious friend and run away. I am desperately trying to think of a way.
(If Esther can’t move then…) (Toru)
　I will distance myself from Esther. If I gain hatred, the possibility of Esther being targeted will decrease.
　—At least, as long as I’m alive.
　*Gaze*. The dragon’s eyes focused on me. Just that one look is enough to make my heart freeze. But I grit my teeth and resists the overwhelming fear.
“I’m not going to die without getting a payback.” (Toru)
　Animals are sensitive to the difference between themselves and others. If they see that you are weak, they will come and take your life in a flash. But even if they are weak, if they think, “This is more trouble than its worth”.
　I combined [Flare] with [Magic Sword] and released my mana. I made myself look as big as possible.
　This is first time I did this, I am now waiting to see what the dragon would do.
“……Hmm?” (Toru)
　The dragon’s gaze was curious. I remained alert and moved little by little. Then the dragon’s eyes followed me. It moved to the right, then to the left, and then I turned my hand.
(Hey, that dragon, is it looking at my bracelet?) (Toru)
　As a test, I swung wide my left arm with the bracelet. The dragon’s eyes moved just as wide.
　There was no doubt. The dragon is looking at the bracelet I am wearing.
“You, useless god! You told me there was no special effect!” (Toru)
　To be precise, it’s like they said, “the bracelet has ‘almost no’ special effects like the [Magic Sword]”.
　If there is a disclaimer near the “almost nothing” part with “but attracts dragons,” it makes it a scam.
　It is not a God’s blessing. It is the curse of the demon god.
　I seriously think about throwing the bracelet at it with all my might. However, I wondered if the other party would allow me that chance…?
　It was at that time.
　—*Grumble*.
　The dragon’s stomach rumbled. If I look closely, I can see a trace of saliva in its mouth.
“Oh, it’s going to eat us. We are going to be eaten here!” (Esther)
　The sound upsets Esther. It’s no mystery.
　The world’s most powerful creature had appeared in front of us, hungry. Our fate was now hanging in the balance.
(Speaking of which—) (Toru)
　I suddenly remembered something.
　Immediately, my body began to move autonomously. It was the effect of my [Ad Lib] skill.
I opened my [Inventory] and took out the contents all at once.
　—Thump!
　The objects I had collected appeared with a thump in front of the dragon.
“Grr?” (Dragon)
　It was the ogres that I had defeated since entering the mountain.
　The dragon seemed to have been taken aback by the sudden appearance of a large number of ogres in front of them.
　It tilts its head high in a pose to say, “What about now?”
“Toru. You picked it all up.” (Esther)
“Uh, yeah. Ahaha…” (Toru)
　I thought I should just dump it in the crater of the Eternal Flame, but I didn’t think it would have such a use.
“You’re hungry, aren’t you? You can have that instead.” (Toru)
“Grrr?” (Dragon)
“Really. Go ahead.” (Toru)
Thanks to my [Training] skill, the dragon’s words are somehow conveyed.
　The plan is to literally use the ogres as bait and overlook my life and Esther’s.
　If I fail in this negotiation, we will die. Knowing that, I sharpened my resolve with every move the dragon makes.
>> [Training Lv1] → [Training Lv2]
　As I gasped, the dragon opened its mouth wide and bit into the ogres.
(This is where the real work begins.) (Toru)
　I focused my attention.
　The dragon’s way of eating was so terrifying that Esther, who had turned blue, lifted her feet. I desperately held her back with my eyes alone.
　Wild animals reveal their most aggressive instincts while raising their young and while eating. I had learned this from the dogs I had owned when I was living in Japan.
　Never touch a dog while it is eating, even if it is your own dog.
　This is because if you touch them while they are eating, they will mistakenly (from their wild instinct) think that you will take their food away.
　No matter how friendly they are, that’s why they get angry and try to bite.
　Whether or not dragons are like my domesticated dogs is unknown, but it is best to be extremely careful.
　The ogres disappear in a flash. After eating all of them, the dragon suddenly raised its head and looked at me.
“-!” (Toru)
　Am I next?
　I was thinking about whether I should finally resist by force or not.
　In front of me, the dragon’s eyes lit up.
“Krr, Kyuu!” (Dragon)
　It raised a cry that lacks any hostility.
“Eh?” (Esther)
　A dumbfounded voice leaked Esther’s lips at the sight of the dragon’s transformation. When my body seemed to reflexively lose all strength, I held it back with willpower.
　I never thought that a dragon would raise such a cry.
“What’s happening? Toru, do you know what happened?” (Esther)
“Uh, yeah. Maybe, it liked the food…?” (Toru)
“What? What did you say?” (Esther)
“It looks like the dragon has taken a liking to me.” (Toru)
“…” (Esther)
“You gave it ogres, and it like them?” (Esther)
“Uhuh…?” (Toru)
It has “almost” no special effects
That certain goddess, “You weren’t lying, right?”