Chapter 9: Ridiculous Luck
Loran was ready.
The moment Flying Dragon Agheel drew breath for its fire attack, he would blow the whistle and summon Torrent to carry him out of the danger zone.
As for Kiro...
Let her die once.
A single death would be enough to teach her a proper lesson. In this world, death only meant losing runes and returning to the nearest Site of Grace. The cost was low.
What happened next, however, completely overturned his understanding of reality.
At the bottom of the slope, Kiro stood in the muddy water. After her initial panic passed, she did not run.
Instead, like an enraged stray cat, she let out a shrill scream, raised her pitiful little dagger, and charged straight at the dragon.
“It’s just a dragon!”
Her voice trembled with anger.
“You think I’m some pushover?!”
Loran stared in astonishment.
Was this woman truly unafraid of death?
Or was she simply stupid?
Flying Dragon Agheel was clearly enraged by the challenge from such a tiny creature.
It opened its massive jaws.
Scorching dragonfire, like molten gold, surged toward Kiro.
Loran instinctively held his breath.
It was over.
But just as the flames were about to swallow her—
Something unexpected happened.
Kiro stumbled.
Apparently, her foot had caught on a rock hidden beneath the muddy water.
She pitched forward in the most humiliating way possible and landed face-first in the mud.
The fatal dragonfire swept across her back by a hair’s breadth, burning the ground behind her black.
“Cough—! Ptoo! Ptoo!”
Kiro lifted her head from the mud and spat out several mouthfuls of filthy water mixed with grit.
She seemed completely unaware that she had just walked past the gates of death.
If anything, she only looked even more humiliated.
She staggered to her feet and saw the brief stiffness in the dragon’s movements after its missed attack.
Anger once again overwhelmed the tiny amount of reason granted by her 9 Intelligence.
Dagger raised, she charged at the dragon’s ankle.
Compared to that massive limb covered in hard scales, the dagger looked no different from a toothpick.
Clang!
A sharp sound rang out.
The dagger bounced off without the slightest suspense.
It failed to leave even a scratch on the scales.
The backlash numbed Kiro’s hand, nearly knocking the weapon out of her grip.
And yet—
That meaningless attack triggered a chain reaction.
Flying Dragon Agheel reacted.
Perhaps not from pain.
Perhaps simply from rage at being challenged by an insect.
It lifted a claw, preparing to crush the annoying little thing beneath its foot.
Kiro watched the enormous shadow fall toward her and squeezed her eyes shut in terror.
Boom!
A tremendous impact shook the ground.
But the pain she expected never came.
Kiro cautiously opened one eye.
The massive claw had landed several meters away from her.
Because the ground beneath it was too muddy and slippery, the moment the dragon raised its foot and shifted its weight, its supporting leg slipped.
As a result, the stomp that should have crushed her missed completely.
The huge claw sank deep into the mud, splashing sludge into the air and drenching Kiro from head to toe.
“...Huh?”
Kiro froze.
The dragon let out a furious roar and tried to pull its foot free from the mire.
But the harder it struggled, the deeper that foot sank.
Its enormous body swayed violently, like a drunkard trying to stay upright.
At that moment, whether by sudden inspiration or by the simple instinct of kicking an enemy while it was down, Kiro circled behind the dragon and swung her dagger again at the trapped ankle.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
Her attacks fell on the same spot again and again, doing little more than scraping at the scales.
At the top of the slope, Loran had gone from initial shock to complete blankness.
His 99-Intelligence brain was running at full speed, trying to understand the absurd scene unfolding before him.
Then he understood.
Each of Kiro’s attacks was meaningless on its own.
But her presence—
Her provocation—
Had lured the dragon into making one wrong decision after another.
The dragonfire missed because she tripped.
The stomp missed because the ground was slippery.
And then the dragon trapped itself in the mud.
All of it was coincidence.
One coincidence after another, linked together perfectly, forming a complete logical chain.
A person with 9 Intelligence had accidentally created an optimal solution that even someone with 99 Intelligence could never have calculated.
The dragon was still struggling, but its massive body had become a burden.
Every attempt to break free only dragged it deeper into the mire.
It tried to spread its wings and take flight, but the trapped ankle prevented it from maintaining balance.
It twisted its head, trying to breathe fire again, but Kiro’s position happened to fall exactly within the blind spot of its neck’s turning angle.
“Die! Just die already, you big bastard!”
Kiro had completely lost herself in the fight.
She had no idea what was happening.
She simply swung her dagger like a madwoman, pouring all her humiliation and anger into the ankle that could no longer move.
Finally—
After who knew how many strikes—
Crack.
The sound of bone breaking rang out.
Flying Dragon Agheel’s massive body shuddered violently.
It released a shrill, unwilling howl.
The light faded from its eyes.
Its head dropped powerlessly and crashed into the muddy water, sending up one final splash.
[Flying Dragon Agheel Defeated]
[Obtained: Dragon Heart ×1]
A massive flood of runes fell from the sky like golden rain and poured into Kiro’s body.
At the bottom of the slope, Kiro leaned on her dagger, gasping heavily for breath.
Mud covered her entire body.
Her silver hair clung messily to her face.
She looked utterly miserable.
Then she raised her head and looked up at Loran on the slope.
A brilliant smile spread across her face.
“I...”
“I won!”
Loran said nothing for a long time.
Then he slowly walked down the slope and stopped in front of Kiro.
He reached out and placed the Spectral Steed Whistle into her palm.
“You won.”
He looked into her eyes, his voice more sincere than it had ever been.
“From here until the Weeping Peninsula, Torrent is yours.”
“Wait...”
Kiro still wore the foolish grin of victory.
“No rush. Let me level up first.”
She walked over to the nearest Site of Grace, eagerly sat down cross-legged, and reached toward the golden flame.
The enormous amount of runes filled her with the sudden urge to spend like someone who had just become rich overnight.
Loran did not disturb her.
He was reviewing what had just happened.
Was Kiro’s victory really a coincidence?
First, she tripped and avoided the fatal dragonfire.
Second, the dragon missed its stomp and trapped itself in the mud.
Third, she happened to stand in the dragon’s blind spot.
Once was coincidence.
Twice was good luck.
Three times...
Three times formed a pattern.
While Loran was deep in thought, Kiro’s voice suddenly rang out and interrupted him.
“Hey, Loran.”
Her voice carried a hint of confusion.
For once, she was not shouting.
“Come here for a second.”
Loran walked over.
Kiro was looking up blankly at some point in the empty air.
There, only visible to her, was her status panel.
“What exactly is this... ‘Luck’ stat?”
Kiro pointed into the air.
“I don’t remember ever seeing this before.”