Inheriting the Novel

Proof of Qualification (2)

"Did you just say... to slay a dragon?"

It was so absurd that Jerta, the Inquisitor, could only mutter in a daze.

It wasn't just Jerta. Rascal and Kisea, too.

And I couldn't say anything at the mention of slaying a dragon.

All I could do was look up at Ban, hoping his words were a joke, but his expression was still dead serious.

"You'll hear the dragon's location from the helper who'll accompany you."

"Are we leaving right now?"

"This trial doesn't have a set date, but we can't just let that thing rampage unchecked."

At Ban's words, rascal spoke up, face stiff.

"If we fail to defeat it... will the other Seven Heroes take care of it?"

"Yes. In that case, no new hero will be born at this Seven Heroes Convocation, and the convocation will end as is. It's unfortunate to settle for a 'Six Heroes,' but we can't appoint someone unqualified, can we?"

In essence, all the tests until now were little more than child's play.

At most, they had only served to select those capable of surviving a life-and-death battle with a dragon.

The real deal was, 'the one who can actually hunt a dragon.'

[Easy, huh.]

At that moment, Grancesia, who had been quietly watching, spoke up.

[Strange, but everything keeps working out in your favor. Tell me, you didn't plan this, did you?]

'What are you talking about? How is this in my favor?'

For a moment, I thought she was spouting nonsense.

As I pondered, I realized something.

'... Come to think of it, you're right.'

[See?]

Though, that was only compared to the others.

Slaying a dragon was by no means an easy feat, even with such an 'advantage.'

Still, it was enough to make me feel confident.

After all, I was starting with a lead over the others.

'Count Ribina, I will inherit your place.'

With everyone tense, I alone was able to smile.

* * *

"Hello, I'm the helper who'll assist you with the final trial!"

The young woman who spoke with a bright smile was Soila Fran.

She was the master of every Magic Tower, known as the most powerful mage on the continent.

Given that Gideon Asktalin, who matched her, was a mage born with the power of dragons, it was clear that she, too, was an extraordinary force of nature.

[See, you really can't judge people by appearances.]

I had to agree with Grancesia on this one.

Soila Fran gave off the impression of a cute child, a simple country girl.

Her outfit was an ordinary robe, and if not for the faint aura of magic power around her, she would've seemed like a regular person.

"The dragon is west of Darsha. Time is short while it's rampaging, so we'll leave right away."

"W-wait! Shouldn't we prepare something first?"

Rascal stammered in panic, but Soila only looked at him in confusion.

"Prepare what? Looks like you all have your arms with you."

"We don't even know how long we'll have to fight the dragon..."

"How long? Didn't I just say we're pressed for time?"

She let out a light sigh and shook her head.

"Don't tell me you were planning to eat a boxed lunch during the fight? You'll be fighting day and night—at least until the dragon is defeated."

"Well, I suppose you're right..."

Even Rascal, said to be the closest to becoming one of the new Seven Heroes, was sweating nervously.

Watching him, I felt again the vast gap between the Seven Heroes and the rest.

The Seven Heroes were strikingly different—even in the way they thought.

When facing an unknown enemy, they showed neither fear nor hesitation.

'Come to think of it, so was Count Ribina.'

Count Ribina had set out alone to face the Calamity of Madness.

There was no way he was not afraid of death.

Yet, he had not hesitated to risk his life to protect others.

That's something not easily done.

Perhaps this, too, was a prerequisite for being one of the Seven Heroes.

"Well, let's be off~."

She lightly gripped her staff and tapped it on the ground.

A red magic array blossomed across the earth, brilliant light flooding out.

When I came to my senses, what greeted us was the barren, scorching wind of the desert.

'Unbelievable.'

The distance between Darsha and Mount Tylaris was immense.

And yet, she had transported not just herself, but all of us over that distance.

"No need to be so startled—you didn't notice because we traveled via a teleportation circle linked to the Magic Tower."

Noticing my shock, soila quietly explained as she approached.

"It was instantaneous, so you didn't realize you passed through a magic array."

Still, it was no less incredible.

I hadn't felt anything like passing through a Magic Tower's magic array.

"Hehe, honestly, I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do, Clay. Good luck."

"You're talking about... me?"

"Of course. I've been watching ever since you climbed up that cliff in the Olten Range."

I never thought anyone saw that.

I figured no one would know, but as expected—the Seven Heroes truly lived up to their name.

"And..."

Soila glanced over at someone.

Before she could say anything, I spoke first.

"It's fine."

"Sorry?"

"I'll handle him myself."

"Hehe, you're right. I wasn't planning to interfere anyway. This is all just part of the test."

She stepped back, her role now to guide us to where the dragon lurked.

"Once I've located its exact position, I'll use magic again!"

With that, soila closed her eyes and began to focus. We had made it to Darsha, but even she didn't know the dragon's precise location yet.

I glanced at Soila for a moment, then looked toward where she'd looked earlier.

'Jerta, that guy... He's been blatantly staring at me more and more.'

Ever since I passed the second trial, jerta had been watching my every move.

He probably thought he was being discreet, but with my mastery of Only Mind, my senses had grown sharper and wider than a typical Swordmaster—he couldn't escape notice.

'I'll need to watch my back during this trial.'

If I got ambushed in the middle of a life-or-death battle with the dragon, it could be truly dangerous.

Though, honestly, given Jerta's skills, I wasn't all that concerned.

[Don't let your guard down.]

'Hm?'

[Head-to-head, you have the advantage. Your swordsmanship is superior, and even if he uses holy magic—it's nothing compared to your Seven Swords Under Heaven.]

Grancesia warned me in a serious tone.

[But if he uses Sacred Arms, you'll be in danger.]

'Sacred Arms?'

It was the first time I'd heard the term, so I checked Jerta's profile.

I had checked it several times before, but decided to be sure.

'What the—?'

There had actually been a small change in his profile.

Just as Grancesia said, 'capable of using Sacred Arms' had been added.

[Sacred Arms are weapons the Inquisitors use.]

As expected of a Saintess of the Altair Order, Grancesia knew all about Sacred Arms.

Her explanation made me feel sick to my stomach.

'And that's what calls itself a servant of the gods?'

[Fanatics are scary, especially Inquisitors—all but their highest ranks...]

Right as our conversation reached that point, the ground flashed with light again.

Soila must have found the dragon's location.

"We're moving again, so brace yourselves!"

The world shifted once more with a burst of scarlet light.

A scorching sandstorm lashed my face, and an overwhelming surge of magic power crushed my body.

"This...!"

Rascal clenched his teeth, eyes fixed on the source of the wave.

It was a bit distant, but there was no way this level of magic power could belong to a human.

Just feeling it from afar made me tremble.

"Hold it back!"

"Don't let it get past here into the village!"

As we drew closer, the shouts of people became unmistakable.

The warriors of Darsha were risking their lives to keep the dragon from advancing.

「Annoying little pests. They should just have handed over their treasures quietly.」

After crossing several sand dunes, the figure of a black-scaled dragon came into view.

[That's a young dragon—one that just became a full dragon.]

'That's young?'

[It's small, isn't it?]

Small?

It looked about the size of a royal palace, and she called that small?

It was simply hard to believe that thing was a juvenile.

[For dragons, that's small. It can use Dragon Tongue and cast spells, but as far as magic's concerned, that Soila girl should be even more skilled.]

'What?'

I knew she was strong, but I hadn't imagined that she could surpass a dragon in magic.

"That's relieving. If it were any stronger, the army would've been wiped out. We're lucky it's a weak dragon."

Soila didn't seem particularly worried upon confirming the dragon's presence.

Her calmness left the other three candidates at a loss for words.

"In any case, hurry up! I'll evacuate the people, so the four of you keep the dragon at bay!"

Lives were at stake before our very eyes—it was a race against time.

Soila shot into the sky, rapidly spreading a barrier around the dragon, and the army of Darsha cheered as they beheld her power.

"T-the Seven Heroes are here! Pull the army back!"

"Evacuate, now!"

The authority of the Seven Heroes was extraordinary.

The grand warriors, who led the army, withdrew at breathtaking speed.

「Hmm?」

The dragon seemed confused by the barrier around it.

「That's impressive magic for a human.」

It jabbed a thick claw at the barrier pinning it.

Sparks leapt as its claw bounced back, unable to break through.

「How arrogant. A human dares to duel me with only magic.」

Dragon Tongue and regular magic were in a strictly hierarchical relationship.

No matter how powerful, no spell could outstrip the law-bending capabilities of Dragon Tongue.

「Break.」

With that single, resounding word, the dragon shattered Soila's barrier as if it were nothing.

Pleased with its work, it swept its heavy tail at the retreating soldiers.

Crackle!

「... What? I definitely broke the barrier.」

But the tail bounced off another barrier, stopping before it could reach the soldiers of Darsha.

"Since I can weave spells faster than you can talk, that's not a problem."

Soila murmured, slowly moving her hands.

Countless spells formed in rapid succession, with new wards surrounding the dragon at every moment.

「I've heard there are strong humans, but this is amazing!」

Still, it was only barriers, so the dragon was merely surprised, not particularly shaken.

Meanwhile, the four of us candidates charged past the retreating warriors of Darsha toward the dragon.

"You—you're...!"

Amid the chaos, I spotted a familiar face among the warriors—Arsabin Hozen, whom I met at the Founding Festival.

"Clay Vanhart, why are you here...?"

He was bleeding in several places, likely from the fight with the dragon, but seemed more curious about my presence.

Before I could answer, a shadow fell from above.

"Watch out, Clay!"

Normally, we could have dodged in time.

But Arsabin suddenly stopped, causing the warriors following him to stop too.

Of all places, the empty space in front of us fell under the path of the dragon's descending foreclaw.

"Move!"

I shoved Arsabin aside and swung Genova up at the descending dragon's claw.

Peerless Sword Deltode. In that instant, I unleashed a strike that surpassed my limits, twisting the foreclaw's trajectory.

Crash!

「Aagh!」

The dragon, which had spoken thus far with dignified tones, shrieked in a high-pitched voice.

A deep gash remained where Genova's blade had struck its foreleg.

"... Unbelievable."

Arsabin could only mutter in disbelief at the sight.

"We all attacked and couldn't even scratch it, and yet you..."

He looked completely at a loss.

That was only natural—as far as Arsabin remembered, I'd only been a Sword Expert up until recently.