Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling Vol. 1
Page 13
I pondered this as I rolled around, until I heard a strange noise. Suspicious, I paused.
Thump, squish. Thump, squish.
Thump, squish. Thump, squish.
What in the world was that? I mean, it sounded like footsteps but…odd. It must be a monster I’d never come across before, but I couldn’t glean anything more than that.
I held my breath and hid myself behind the trees. Then I slowly, slowly made my way towards the sound. And there it was…some kind of huge bear.
Well, it looked like a bear, but it wasn’t a bear. I wasn’t actually sure what it was. It was hard to explain, but it almost looked like a model of a bear…like a lump of mud made to look like one.
Uh…at any rate, time to check View Status.
Normal Skill “View Status” Lv 5 cannot provide that information. Target is out of range.
Guess I was a smidge too far out. But it looked dangerous, so I didn’t want to get any closer.
“View Status” cannot retrieve target’s status; however, it is able to provide information regarding Species.
Hey, I didn’t know View Status had such a convenient function. I think I’ll go ahead and use it.
“Claybear” Rank D+ Monster. A monster born from the earth. Very powerful with high regenerative abilities.
A D+ Rank monster, huh? So it was the same rank as me. I could definitely take it on, and I bet it’d give me a lot of experience, too. The only downside was that I doubted any amount of grilling or boiling would make it appetizing.
But maybe if I beat it, I can melt it back down to clay and form some pots out of it? Okay, it’s decided. I’ll destroy it, reshape it, and use it to decorate my home.
PART 2
THE CLAYBEAR still hadn’t noticed me. Maybe it was a little slow on the uptake. But I couldn’t lose the advantage I’d gained by spotting it first.
Still, I mean, it was a bear-shaped lump of clay. It looked like a half-finished figurine, too ugly to even put on a display shelf. I wasn’t sure if its ears and eyes even functioned. Maybe that’s why it was so oblivious.
I didn’t know any specifics, but I was still going to use everything I had against it. I wasn’t going to do something basic like punch it from behind. I needed an opening.
I’d sneak right up behind it, then when the moment was right, I’d pounce. If I attacked when it was eating or relieving itself, I’d get the drop on it. Wait, did it eat?
At any rate, I decided to watch and wait. I didn’t mind stalking it for an hour or two if it meant I got experience and some pots out of the deal. I watched the claybear from the brush some distance away. When it moved, I let it pull ahead before slowly beginning to follow. I wasn’t worried about losing sight of it; it definitely stood out. Plus, its footsteps were loud.
It walked, I followed. When it turned around, I hit the ground. It walked, I followed. I spent three hours tailing the claybear.
I was getting hungry. Maybe I’d go back the way I came and eat that horned rabbit I left lying there. I’d watched the claybear for three hours, but it hadn’t done anything remarkable. It just trudged along, turned around and went back the way it came, then repeated the process. I was beginning to doubt this thing was even alive.
A darkwyrm slowly crawled across the claybear’s path. They ignored each other.
Wow. Even the darkwyrm didn’t see it as a living creature.
Now all I see when I look at the claybear is a lump of mud. This whole thing is stupid. I’ll just punch it in the head and go home.
I stood up, slightly numb from crouching for so long. That was when it happened. The claybear spun swiftly, then slammed its earthen fist into the darkwyrm’s back as it passed by. It crushed the wyrm so fast it didn’t even have the chance to scream, its insides spraying out in every direction.
My jaw dropped and I stood there, staring. The claybear knelt over the squashed darkwyrm, and its stomach split into an enormous maw that ripped into the wyrm. Blood spattered as the claybear sloppily devoured it.
Okay, that is not a bear! It has no right to call itself a bear! I won’t let it! Rename yourself!
But this was no time to get flustered. I had to calm down…calm down! This was exactly what I was waiting for—the claybear was eating! All creatures let their guards down when they were satisfying their biological needs, and this monster was no exception. Or at least I really hoped that was true.
To be fair, I didn’t want to fight it. But I really needed a pot to finish decorating my humble abode.
Who knew when a human might come across my cave? Then they’d say, “Hey, this place looks nice—dragons must be pretty smart! I’d sure like to become a dragon’s friend!” I needed material from the claybear to make that happen.
I charged through the brush using Roll, rushing the claybear from behind while it ate and tackling it with all my might.
“Beeyah!”
The claybear’s back caved in. It let out an incredibly un-bear-like scream and spit the remains of the darkwyrm out of its mouth. I spun in place, aiming for the dent in the claybear’s back.
Hi-yah! Take another one!
“Beeyah!”
The claybear rolled, slamming into the base of a huge tree. But I wasn’t letting up yet. The claybear didn’t seem to comprehend what had happened, so I launched a third punch at it. I kicked off the ground and aimed for its stomach.
“B-beeyah!”
I smashed it hard into a tree. I sensed the claybear’s mouth-stomach opening and swiftly canceled my Roll skill. I stretched out my curled limbs, kicked off its shoulders and used that momentum to gain some distance, landing with both feet planted.
The giant mouth gaping from its stomach seemed to stare at me. This was dangerous. If I didn’t get away, it would chew me up and spit me out.
Surely the three punches I landed must’ve done some damage. The claybear’s arms were barely hanging on and its sides were all caved in. I needed to land one more punch to really finish it off, but it was difficult to plan my moves against a creature I knew nothing about. At least I was close enough for a Status check now.
Species: Claybear
Status: Fury
Lv: 25/40
HP: 57/178
MP: 100/100
Attack: 75
Defense: 136
Magic: 56
Agility: 65
Rank: D+
Special Skills:
Golem: Lv —
Earth Type: Lv —
Resistance Skills:
Soul Contamination: Lv 2
Normal Skills:
Bite: Lv 6
Transform: Lv 2
Regenerate: Lv 4
Clay: Lv 4
Sandstorm: Lv 1
Title Skills:
Clod: Lv 3
Basically the same level as me. Its defense was on the high side, but my attacks were still doing damage. Leveling up Roll had been a good plan after all.
I didn’t want a repeat of the potortoise debacle. Not only did I barely do them any damage at all, but they could completely recover with just one Rest. The claybear’s Bite Lv 6 was what worried me. Good thing I hadn’t just charged it head on like I’d wanted to at first. It definitely would’ve killed me right away.
I did put it in Fury, but that wasn’t a surprise. Anyone would be angry if they got attacked during lunch.
“Beee-yaaaah!”
The claybear’s stomach-mouth opened up and howled. Instantly, its body puffed back up to its original shape, its dangling arms regenerating. That would be its Regenerate skill. Another aspect of high defense tactics. Apparently everybody and their mom in this forest had healing abilities around here lately except me. I had toiled endlessly trying to learn recovery magic, but was cruelly turned away from that path after being tempted by Human Transformation. I’d make them all pay.
PART 3
THE CLAYBEAR finished healing itself with Regenerate, then started flailing around with its brand new arms, like it was te
sting them out. It stomped around loudly. Was it trying to intimidate me? If so, it was definitely about to make its move.
As expected, the claybear raised its arms and rushed me. Quickly, I used View Status to see how much its MP had dropped.
Species: Claybear
Status: Fury
Lv: 25/40
HP: 159/178
MP: 82/100
Its HP, originally at 57, had jumped all the way up to 159. Regenerate gained it back about 100 HP, and it had enough MP left to use Regenerate four more times. If it came to a straight up brawl, I’d run out of steam first. I wanted to finish it off quickly, but its HP and defense were too high for that. Three direct hits using Roll hadn’t been enough.
I needed to pull out all the stops on enemies with high defense, but my strongest attack was Meteorite, and I wasn’t confident I could lift the claybear high enough. It was twice my size.
I might be able to use Breath until I was nearly dead like I did with the Giant Potortoise, but if I threw the claybear up into the air and aimed Breath at him, it’d probably just crush me to smithereens in midair. In hand-to-hand combat, it had every advantage over me. I was faster and had a higher attack score, but even if I got the first strike, its defense would force me into a prolonged fistfight. Its stamina advantage was overwhelming.
I’d only managed to land those three punches in the first place because of my ambush. The claybear’s defense, its build, and the sheer mass of all that clay in its body meant any more head-on hits either wouldn’t connect or wouldn’t matter. And of course, it always had Regenerate.
A long-distance attack wouldn’t be strong enough. If I set its body on fire, the clay would scorch and harden and I wouldn’t be able to make a pot out of it. Then this whole fight would be pointless.
My staring contest with the claybear continued—not with its false head, with the gaping mouth in its stomach. Okay, one last skill check and I’d come up with a strategy.
Normal Skills:
Bite: Lv 6
Transform: Lv 2
Regenerate: Lv 4
Clay: Lv 4
Sandstorm: Lv 1
Bite Lv 6 was terrifying. I really didn’t want to experience those teeth. I wasn’t sure if I could inflict damage anywhere but its torso, but I couldn’t let myself get too near its stomach.
The Transform skill caught my attention. What if I beat it but then it grew a bunch of extra parts and transformed itself into something else? Seriously, how could they even call this thing a bear? I think the world owed bears everywhere a heartfelt apology!
I wasn’t sure what Clay or Sandstorm were, which meant I didn’t know how to counter them. Should I use this chance to leave and come back with a better strategy? Nah, maybe that’s being a bit too chicken.
If I was too cautious, I might miss out on my best chance to attack. There was no such thing as a totally safe battle strategy, anyway. I couldn’t let myself get bogged down by everything I didn’t know—I was in danger either way. I needed to maximize my advantages, but still remain flexible. At this point my plan was: don’t get eaten by that stupid giant mouth, and circle around behind. Best-case scenario, after that I could start whittling down its HP.
In RPGs they always say not to let your HP go too low before using your recovery magic. No point in conserving MP if you were too dead to use it. I wondered if I could get the claybear to make that mistake and run through its MP quickly? Nah, probably not. That was too big a gamble with my life on the line.
The fact was, I just didn’t have any kind of skills strong enough to defeat it in one blow while it was distracted while casting Regeneration.
My mind raced with possibilities. And while I was thinking, the claybear acted. Fangs appeared from its large, gaping stomach-mouth.
Why the heck does it have so many teeth?! Looks more like a shark than a bear! In that moment, I committed to a plan. I’d aim for its torso, which made up the bulk of it. But from the back, rather than the front.
I used Roll to dodge the claybear’s new assault, circling around it. I was already fast, but when I used Roll I was practically a blur. The claybear hesitated and I used that to my advantage, tackling it hard.
“Beee-yaaah!”
The claybear crouched, then swiftly swung a heavy arm my way. I dodged, spinning around behind it again.
C’mon, c’mon! You think you can chase me when I’ve got Lv 4 Roll? Go ahead and try. I’m gonna keep attacking from behind until I think of something better. Heh, it’s whirling around looking confused. Even the bear head is spinning around. Where the heck are its eyes, anyway? Oh, there’s an opening!
I used Roll to launch myself once more at his back, then beat a hasty retreat.
That’s called a hit and run, ladies and gentlemen! Whoa, that was a close one. Its reflexes are getting better. Heh heh. I was overthinking it before, but this bear’s not such a big deal after all.
I hadn’t expected to land this many blows. I thought I’d have to figure out the claybear’s weaknesses, but this was pretty effective. I might be able to finish it just like this.
It kept raising its arms to attack, but it was easy to evade. And even if it did happen to hit me, I doubted it would do much damage. As long as I avoided a Bite from that stupidly large mouth, I would be fine.
All right, time to circle behind again. C’mon, c’mon. Hurry up and use Regenerate already. Huh?
“Beeeee-yaaah!”
The claybear screamed and slammed both of its hands against the ground. At first I thought it was throwing in the towel, but then clouds of dust rose. Ugh, it was using Sandstorm. Guess this wouldn’t be over as easily as I thought. Maybe I should just back away quietly. I didn’t want to risk being blinded by that cloud of dust and then chomped on. I couldn’t get anywhere near him until the storm cleared.
I still had the advantage, though. I’d just go wait in a safe place for now.
PART 4
BUT WHEN THE Sandstorm finally cleared, I blinked in disbelief. A cluster of huge spikes poked from the claybear’s back. What the heck? How did it do that?! That’s against the rules! Seriously, why is it called a bear? This is clearly protection against Roll, right? Isn’t this a little too convenient?
This probably messed up its mobility, but the spikes were definitely meant to discourage attacks from its blind spot. It left me only one option: charging from the front. How much MP did it have left?
Species: Claybear
Status: Fury
Lv: 25/40
HP: 137/178
MP: 34/100
Oh, wow, its MP was way lower. Its HP must’ve gone up because it used Regenerate during the Sandstorm, but I couldn’t figure out why its MP was so low now.
Let’s say it used Regenerate twice. It costs 18 MP, so that would be a total of 36. Maybe a combo of Sandstorm and Transform ate away the other 30 MP?
That made sense. Now it wouldn’t be able to use Transform again very easily, and only had enough MP left for one more Regenerate. I was starting to see a path to victory…the only problem was, how to attack? I’d made good progress, so charging in from the front with hand-to-hand combat wasn’t a terrible idea, but it still had Bite Lv 6…
Its back was covered with clay spikes, and its front had the gaping, shark-toothed mouth. I could probably knock its bear-head clean off its neck, but I doubted that would make a difference. The claybear hadn’t tried to defend any part of its body except its torso.
If I was going to attack from the front, I couldn’t do it with a simple move like Roll. It was fast, but I’d just end up right in the claybear’s mouth.
I’d just have to keep punching while evading Bite. If the claybear had a hard shell like the potortoises I could use Meteorite, but I just didn’t think this body would break the same way.
I clenched my fists and ran straight toward it. It raised both its arms in a fighting stance to welcome me, and the huge mouth in the center of its stomach opened wide, baring its fangs. The claybear swu
ng its thick right arm down right at me. I raised my hands to block, but then its left arm rushed at me, too.
I parried the swing with my tail, throwing the claybear’s trajectory way off course and slamming the back of its left hand into the ground. The recoil from blocking with my tail sent me flying into the air.
“Beee-yaah!”
Its stomach-mouth opened, trying to bite me in midair. I landed a kick right above its mouth and tried to launch myself backwards. My right leg hit the claybear’s solid body—and stuck there. Or, more accurately, it got swallowed. I tried to pull it out, but it just kept sinking in deeper and deeper.
He used Transform!
I kicked against the stomach-mouth’s fangs with my other foot, using that leverage to pull my right leg out of its body. I sailed backwards, but not fast enough to avoid a Bite attack, which caught me right in the stomach.
“Raaaar!”
I spread my wings and flew backwards, putting distance between us so he wouldn’t pursue me. I landed, crashing to my knees and clutching my stomach. My scales had gotten ripped off, the flesh exposed. I could walk, but when I checked my Status my condition was now Bleeding (Slight).
I had to be careful with my HP. I might be able to withstand two more shallow Bites, if I was lucky.
Darn it, darn it! Everything was going so smoothly, until one little mistake put me in a terrible position.
If using Transform drained the rest of the claybear’s MP, I still had some hope. I did land a hit on its torso, even if it was a light kick. It should be on the verge of death by now.
Species: Claybear
Status: Fury
Lv: 25/40