Chapter 20 - Contract Conditions and Chance

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"I didn't expect to be immediately 'greeted' by two other dragons and a woman of an unknown race as soon as I was summoned here."

The Seven-headed Black Dragon said while looking at Tannin-san, Tiamat-sama, and Penemune-san.

Hearing that, Penemune-san just smiled and put one hand on her chest then bowed in salute.

Meanwhile Tannin-san nodded and then with one fist patted his chest lightly.

"Greetings, Lady. I am Tannin. Former Dragon King."

Tannin-san greeted and introduced himself.

And seeing her friend introduce himself, Tiamat-sama also gave a small nod to the Seven-Headed Black Dragon.

"I am Tiamat.... You?"

But Tiamat-sama only briefly introduced herself.

"Fufufu.... You will find out later."

In response to their greetings and introductions, the Seven-Headed Black Dragon nodded slightly to Tannin-san and only chuckled in response to Tiamat-sama's cold greeting.

Tiamat-sama seemed to frown a little and was displeased that the Seven-Headed Black Dragon did not introduce herself back.

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Seeing that the Dragons seem to have finished with their greetings, I spoke again.

"What should I do to make a contract with you?"

I asked while staring at the middle head of the Seven-Headed Black Dragon.

Hearing my question, the seven dragon heads looked back at me.

"I just want to make a contract with someone who can beat me in a fight."

"Wh...!?"

Hearing the Seven-Headed Black Dragon's answer, I was speechless.

Fight against her!? Seriously!? How can I!?

I'm still training to master spear fighting techniques and still not quite ready for a real fight!

It's true that during my training, I sometimes fought against Scathach-sama or Sakuya-san to test my progress. Even so, it was just a mock battle and they weren't serious! But, this Seven-Headed Dragon asked me to fight against her and defeat her? Give me a break!

What's more, Scathach-sama even said that this Seven-Headed Dragon is stronger than her!

"Can you made it easier?"

I asked back with a slightly stiff smile.

"Hmm...."

The Seven-Headed Black Dragon seemed to be thinking for a moment after hearing my request.

Not long after, the Seven-Headed Black Dragon's middle head nodded slightly.

"Alright.... Since I already have a connection with you because of the summoning you made, also because I am quite interested in you and this other world, I will give you a relief.... All I ask is that you can take my three attacks with only 20% power which I give. You can block, swipe, hold, or whatever it is to defend. Even you can strike back if you can. If you can take my three hits and not die, I will acknowledge you as my master."

Hearing the answer and condition asked by the Seven-Headed Black Dragon, the corners of my lips twitched.

"Ehh.... You call that a relief? Hah~...."

I sighed and palm my face.

"Fufufu.... That's already very light in my opinion."

Give me a break....

She is a colossal Dragon who is even stronger than Scathach-sama. Even if she only devoted 20% of her power to attack, I believe that would be enough to kill a High-class Devil or even an ordinary Ultimate-class Devil. And I have to survive that? I wonder.

"Can I get someone else to help me?"

I asked again.

And hearing my question, the Seven-Headed Black Dragon's middle head seemed to shake her head slightly.

"Not directly."

"...."

I was silenced hearing her answer.

So basically I have to do it myself?

Hmm....

"Why are you silent? Are you afraid? I don't want to have a mediocre master, you know."

The seven heads of the Seven-Headed Black Dragon looked sharp and grinned slightly at me.

And seeing that, I can only frown. Then, I crossed my arms and held my chin and then thought and studied about this 'eligibility test' and its conditions.

Because she said I could only be assisted by other people indirectly, it meant that I could only receive help before the test was carried out and/or other people didn't act actively. Which means I can receive advice, hints, and the like from other people during the exam. But if someone else helped me deal with the attack or saved me, it would be considered a failure.

She would only do three attacks with only 20% of her strength. And the main condition she asked for was that I didn't die after holding off three of her attacks without anyone else's intervene.

Can I succeed?

Hmm....

Wait!

Not dead?

That's right!

How can I forget that!?

I have a chance!

I have the super regeneration of the Infinity Star Flame! No matter how badly injured, as long as it's not fatal to the head and heart, I will survive!

Great!

Now I'm confident and optimistic that I have a pretty good chance of succeeding!

Wait a minute!

No wonder Scathach-sama, Sakuya-san, and Tannin-san are silent! Since the main condition that was asked for was that I could survive and not die, they remained silent and didn't mind because they were pretty sure I would succeed! Putting the Seven-Headed Black Dragon aside, Tiamat-sama and Penemune-san probably also knew about my capabilities because as the watchers assigned to look after the three of us, they were also informed about my Infinity Star Flame.

Haha.... It turns out that of all the people who are here and know me, it seems like myself is the one who is hesitating and not confident in my capabilities. I slightly smile wryly after realizing that.

Then, I went back to talking to the Seven-Headed Black Dragon.

"Do we have to do it now?"

"Not really. I'm not in a hurry. Besides, you still seem a bit exhausted. We can do the test once you're fully recovered and in the best condition."

"Okay.... Do I only have one chance at this eligibility test?"

"No. You can try again as long as you're alive. But if you keep pushing yourself to try and fail, then you should just forget about making a contract with me. I don't like people who don't know their place. So you should consider the best of your chances before taking my eligibility test."

Hearing that for this eligibility test I could prepare myself first and that I could try again if I failed, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Huh~.... Great. A week later then."

"A week? All right.... Then I'll sleep here while you prepare."

After that, the Seven-Headed Black Dragon seemed to lower its seven heads and then closed her eyes.

Tannin-san and Tiamat-sama seemed to be talking for a moment using a foreign language which was probably Dragon Language and then they flew away.

Then, me and the others headed to our camp.

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What Rey and the others don't realize is, shortly after Tannin arrived, someone else had arrived.

That person was a little girl with long black hair.

However, she did not approach them and just floated silently in the distant sky watching them.

"...."

And, after Rey and the others disbanded, the black-haired little girl stared at the Seven-Headed Black Dragon who was lying with her eyes closed.

"...."

Not long after, the little girl with long black hair also left and disappeared.

Although none of Rey and the others seemed to have noticed the little girl with long black hair until she left, there was actually one figure who had noticed the little girl with long black hair from the start, the Seven-Headed Black Dragon.

But the Seven-Headed Black Dragon keep silent and pretended not to know because the little girl with long black hair was just silent and didn't come over.

And after the little girl with long black hair had gone away, the seven-headed black dragon opened her eyes and stare at the sky the little girl with long black hair had previously been.

"Ouroboros too, huh...."

The Seven-Headed Black Dragon said briefly and then closed her eyes again.

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