The next day, Nozomu returned to his part-time job at the commercial district's cargo collection yard. This time he had no partner; the foreman asked him to organize and record incoming and outgoing shipments alone. After checking the loads that arrived and the packages shipped out, the foreman called Nozomu over with a serious expression.
"By the way, Nozomu, have you heard? A hunter spotted a dragon in the forest the other day."
"A dragon...?"
Dragon. The strongest existence on the continent. One of the spirit species, boasting overwhelming power.
Legends say some people once defeated dragons and claimed their strength. Dragon slayers no longer exist in the present day—they remain only in history books and old tales.
"But would a legendary dragon really appear so close to a city like this?" "I think the same. Probably mistook a big wyvern for one. Still, you go into the forest often, so keep it in mind—even if it's just a wyvern, stay careful."
The foreman laughed lightly twice. Unlike true dragons, wyverns are a type of demonic beast. Their strength doesn't match a dragon's, and their intelligence is low, but they remain a massive threat to humans. Their raw power ranks among the highest in the demonic beast category. No matter how he thought about it, Nozomu had no chance against one.
"Okay. I'll be careful."
He thanked the foreman and headed home to prepare for his visit to his master.
Nozomu returned home, readied his sword, and set out for Shino's hut. His clothes were minimal—made from demonic beast hides to avoid restricting movement. A belt at his waist held a knife and a pouch containing healing items like potions, plus smoke balls, sound balls, and depth-charge balls. As the names suggest, smoke balls create thick screens, sound balls emit loud noises to startle foes (sometimes enough to drive off weak demonic beasts), and depth-charge balls unleash lightning comparable to high-level magic in a wide area—expensive, but powerful. Because his base abilities were low and his qi techniques limited by his meager reserves, Shino had bought the depth-charges for emergencies. While enhancement items that directly boosted his body were heavily restricted by his suppression, tools whose power didn't rely on his own stats remained fully effective—so he always carried them into the forest.
On the way to Shino's hut, fog rolled in, so Nozomu quickened his pace. The mist grew thicker until he could barely see a meter ahead.
"This is bad..."
He muttered and checked his ever-present compass—it spun wildly, refusing to settle on any direction.
"What the hell is this...?"
This forest had plenty of demonic beasts, but nothing that could disrupt a compass. Calming his rising panic with deep breaths, he scanned the surroundings again. Dense trees offered cover to hide, but no safe place to rest.
"No point staying here."
Deciding he needed to find safety first, he marked trees with his knife to avoid getting lost and pressed forward. After a while the trees thinned—he seemed to have exited the forest into an open area. The fog began to lift slightly.
Just as relief washed over him, the scenery around him suddenly warped.
"Huh?"
In the next instant, he stood in an unfamiliar place. Mountains encircled the horizon; barren wasteland stretched in every direction. This was clearly nowhere near Arcazam.
A massive shadow fell over him as he stood bewildered. He looked up—and froze speechless.
A colossal black form blotted out half the sky.
It had enormous wings—six in total, each shimmering with five colors—and flew with terrifying power. Jet-black scales covered its massive body, embodying the weight of countless years. Its eyes held the darkness of an endless abyss, staring down at the tiny figure on the ground. Everything about it radiated pure despair.
"Dragon Slayer Tiamat"
A heretical dragon among heretics—one that had devoured even dragons of its own kind and was feared across history. A legendary being said to have vanished from the world more than 5,000 years ago.
Nozomu stood stunned, expression blank. He couldn't comprehend his current situation. Normally, no matter how many demonic beasts appeared, he never imagined encountering a legendary dragon so close to the city where he lived.
He had no way of knowing, but this space was a sealed virtual world created between the spirit realm and reality, using the continent's ley lines to imprison Tiamat. Yet even a narrow seal could waver under the dragon's immense power. Those fluctuations rippled through the ley lines, occasionally opening small paths to the real world—too narrow for Tiamat itself, but wide enough for most smaller creatures, including humans. Unknowingly, Nozomu had stumbled through one such rift into this prison realm.
Tiamat gazed down at Nozomu. Pure joy gleamed in its eyes—prey found after an eternity. The jet-black dragon folded its wings and dove straight toward him.
Nozomu tensed instantly, kicked off the ground, and fled. Right after, Tiamat landed with an earth-shaking roar. The impact of its colossal weight flipped the ground upward; shockwaves scattered debris everywhere. Nozomu was hurled away by the blast and slammed into the dirt. Thanks to his trained passivity, he avoided major injury, but flying rocks and fragments left shallow cuts across his body.
He decided to retreat immediately. Crushing every smoke ball he carried, he vanished into the thick cloud and sprinted toward the distant forest at full speed. He thought hiding among the trees would buy him time to escape.
He was naive.
"GAAA!"
A deafening roar tore through the smoke screen, dispersing it instantly. Another shockwave followed, blasting Nozomu backward again. Tiamat hadn't moved—its simple roar and the accompanying force had cleared the smoke. As Nozomu stood stunned, the dragon opened its maw wide. Chaotic black flames mixed with every color gathered in its throat.
Instinct screamed the loudest warning of his life. Nozomu activated Instant Legs and burst away. The colossal flames passed just beside him and struck the forest.
In the next instant, sound vanished from the world.
When awareness returned, Nozomu was airborne. His first taste of flight felt strangely detached—like watching someone else. Seconds later, the ground rushed up and slammed him back to reality with brutal force. Pain lanced through his body, but he forced himself up, grabbed a potion from his pouch, and downed it.
As the healing warmth spread, he looked toward where the forest had been—and froze.
The forest was completely incinerated.
A crater large enough to swallow Solminati Academy scarred the impact site; everything inside had been erased. Trees around the crater were uprooted and charred beyond recognition in an instant. Even those spared the flames had been torn out by the shockwave.
Turning in a daze, he saw Tiamat spread its five-colored, six-winged span. Countless glowing orbs formed along the wings—each shimmering with five hues.
"Spirit magic."
Magic used by spirit species, the world's favored kin. Unlike other magic, it required no external process—once the spirit decided to use it, the spell activated instantly, granting overwhelming speed compared to normal casting.
Nozomu's instincts rang again. He poured every ounce of qi into body reinforcement. The countless orbs streaked toward him, trailing light, filling nearly his entire field of vision. He dodged at full speed while slashing with his sword, but the sheer volume overwhelmed him. He was swallowed by the rain of light.
When the barrage ended, Nozomu stood pierced through in countless places. He grabbed multiple potions and gulped them down at once.
"Guuuh...!"
Groaning from the forced healing, he looked up. Tiamat approached leisurely. The forest was gone—no cover left. Even if he hid, it could simply blast everything away. Only one choice remained: a battle with nothing but despair.
"Haha..."
Ten minutes had passed since the "battle" began. No—it wasn't a battle. A fight requires a worthy opponent. To the jet-black dragon, Nozomu was no enemy—only a toy to relieve boredom.
Tiamat could kill him in an instant, but it chose to play. Like a cat toying with a doomed mouse. Ironically, that playfulness let Nozomu survive these endless ten minutes.
Yet only despair lay ahead. Full-power slashes and techniques, thrown without regard for tomorrow, couldn't scratch the scales. Even when Tiamat lazily swatted, shockwaves blew him away. Escape was impossible. None of his tools could pierce those scales. His qi was nearly depleted; body reinforcement neared its limit.
Finally, the breaking point arrived. Blown away yet again, he crashed numbly into the ground. The qi reinforcement expired. With trembling hands he swallowed his last potion and forced himself upright.
Tiamat raised its tower-like arm once more. No reinforcement left—no dodging possible. Facing inevitable death, Nozomu's mind flashed through his life like a lantern.
In his fading consciousness, memories flickered before the hopeless end.
His parents' smiles back in his hometown.
"If I think about it... I wasn't very filial."
They were good people. They never complained about his selfish wish to support Lisa, even when money was tight, and let him attend the academy.
He met Lisa and fell in love at first sight.
"If I think about it... first love. They say first loves don't come true, but did mine...?"
He confessed back then. He managed to convey his feelings clearly. But in the end...
He wanted to support Lisa's dream. With that oath burning in his heart, he knocked on Solminati Academy's door.
"I want to support Lisa's dreams... I still do, even now..."
His abilities and grades never rose as hoped. Impatience grew; he struggled desperately. Then ability suppression appeared, sealing the path. Lisa suddenly demanded a breakup. The academy isolated him.
"Was it... my fault? Why... why wouldn't she answer anything...?"
Deep down, he still wanted to believe. He wanted to think he had meant something to her.
Then he met his master. A small light appeared.
"I'm glad I met Master."
Hellish training days, yet she truly cared for him. At first she planned to ignore him, but she saved him from the wild dogs. Now that he thought about it, in front of her he could return to his old self—the one who laughed honestly, got angry honestly.
The next moment, a shock erased the memories from his mind.
Tiamat's arm smashed the ground before him. The aftermath hurled Nozomu away; he rolled like a rag doll. The dragon was clearly toying. Its expression almost amused—no real threat posed.
Tiamat opened its maw wide. Chaotic flames gathered in the depths. Tired of the game? Or testing his endurance? Either way, he had no resistance left.
"Guh... agu..."
He let out a voiceless sound and stared at the flames. Consciousness nearly gone; no more memories surfaced. The running lantern had ended. Only dense, cold death enveloped him.
"Die."
He stared directly at death and froze.
"Die."
A "death" far heavier than when wild dogs cornered him alone in the forest.
"I don't like it."
Rational thought barely functioned; raw thoughts spilled out.
"I don't want to die."
The words became a fierce thirst for life, burning his last spark.
"I won't give up."
The same intense will to live that Shino once saw in his eyes.
"Aaah—!!"
The next instant, he let out an inhuman roar and charged the dragon toying with his life.
With a scream that burned away his final vitality, Nozomu stepped toward Tiamat. His speed was unbelievable for someone so near death. Yet it was still slower than his peak; he couldn't close even half the distance before the flames erupted.
"Slow."
His mind focused solely on eliminating the threat to survive. Extreme concentration stretched his perceived time. In that stretched moment, he grew frustrated at his own slowness.
"Why am I so slow!!"
No way to avoid the approaching flames of death. Glancing down, he saw chains—chains he had never noticed before—wrapped around his entire body.
"Is it because of these!!"
Convinced the chains were his shackles, he grabbed them to tear free. Normally impossible, yet somehow he knew he could break them.
"You're in the way... sorry!!"
With raw force he yanked. The chains snapped with a sharp crack. In the next instant he accelerated explosively, passing beneath the massive flames. The burst was so sudden Tiamat lost sight of him for a moment. Nozomu seized the once-in-a-lifetime chance.
Energy flooded his body like never before. Blood still flowed, yet his body responded instantly. His physical abilities clearly surpassed even his fully healed state. He poured everything into the sword drawn mid-stride. Qi compressed to extreme density. With the spirit of tearing silk, he unleashed the draw.
Qi technique "Genmu"
Thinner than a hair, the ultra-compressed qi flew at sword-draw speed. It sliced a single horizontal line across Tiamat's eye.
Tiamat roared and reared back in instinctive counterattack.
Genmu was simple—compressed qi fired as a slash—but its near-invisibility and speed matching high-speed iaijutsu made it nearly unavoidable within ten meters. The extreme compression cut through steel shields or magic barriers without question—devastating killing power. The drawback: half a second to several seconds of charging, plus vulnerability when surrounded.
Nozomu closed in. Tiamat raised its front paws and slammed them down repeatedly. Each strike shook the ground like localized quakes. Nozomu dodged desperately, slipping between the legs, but the shockwaves still caught him. He couldn't move. Then the earth collapsed—Tiamat's weight had broken through an underground cavity. The dragon struggled to climb out, blinded and disoriented.
Nozomu closed the distance, emptied his pouch, shattered everything, and hurled it at Tiamat's head. Sound balls detonated near its face with deafening echoes. At point-blank range, Tiamat's eyes spun; its movements slowed.
A true spirit would have resisted easily. Dragons were spirit species, yet they possessed physical bodies and lived as living beings. They relied on physical senses—disrupt them unexpectedly, and even they could falter. Tiamat's supernatural senses were vast, but the impossible chain of events overwhelmed its reason.
Tiamat froze completely. Nozomu sprinted to its side. Target: the neck. He lacked confidence to shatter the skull.
Dragons had physical bodies. Kill the body, and the dragon dies. But their bodies were extraordinarily tough.
Nozomu leaped toward the raised neck. He poured qi into his sword again—extreme compression. Mid-draw, he flashed the blade.
Qi technique "Genmu"
The slash cut through scales around the throat; compressed qi exploded inward, bursting the jet-black armor from inside and exposing soft flesh. Nozomu followed immediately.
Qi technique "Genmu – Return –"
A reverse slash retraced the first strike's path. The blow carved deep into Tiamat's neck; blood gushed like boiling water.
Normally, even a mortal wound wouldn't fell the jet-black dragon. Nozomu used the return's momentum to spin his body. Combining rotation and leap, he plunged into the fresh wound. The thrusting sword pierced deep—through throat, nearing the brainstem—yet he hung suspended by the blade alone.
"GUGAAAAA!!!!!!"
Even then, the dragon refused to fall. It roared loud enough to shake the earth and rampaged to shake Nozomu free.
The sword lodged in flesh—neither push nor pull possible. If shaken off, he would splatter across the ground. With his last strength, Nozomu reached for his pouch. He drew the final depth-charge ball and slammed it against the sword blade.
In the next instant, blinding thunder erupted. Lightning rivaling high-level magic surged through the sword, along nerves, and scorched the dragon's brain. But the same lightning burned Nozomu's body, stealing what little power remained.
The dragon's colossal form collapsed. Nozomu was thrown free. The body twitched once, but the eyes held no more life. Finally, the massive corpse disintegrated into soaring particles of light. Nozomu, too wounded to think, simply watched. His limbs hung useless; no part of him was intact. The light particles gathered above and poured down in a raging torrent. Beyond his limit, he was swallowed by the flood and lost consciousness.
Slowly, awareness returned. In the haze between dream and waking, the battle with Tiamat replayed. Agonizing pain wracked his body, but he forced himself upright. Looking around, he found himself back in the forest outskirts near the city.
"Before I knew it... I'm back...?"
In the incomprehensible situation, the pain assured him the fight was real.
"Anyway... to Master's..."
He had no idea how long he'd been unconscious, but staying here was dangerous. Forcing his aching body to move, Nozomu staggered toward Shino's hut in a daze— unaware that he had become a "dragon slayer," a title that existed only in history.