It was easy!

Seeing a big lizard, I am a bit excited. An azure lizard is sleeping not too far from me. It has two wings, one big tail, shimmering azure scales and sharp nails on its legs or whatever they are.

It's approximately 10 meters long with the tail. It's an approximation. Calling it a lizard might offend some people but to me, dragons are just overgrown flying lizards.

If it's azure colored, it's water or air element. A deduction. I'll check it out later. Those shimmering scales look sharp and sturdy. I have be careful to avoid those.

A dragon's weakness would be the parts which are not covered with scales. So it's rear portion and the inside of its mouth. It seems that its head has less density of scales compared to other parts.

So I should try to catch it off guard. Driving a spear through the nose can do some damage or I can try and crush its eyes.

I have to think a lot. And weapon is a problem as well. I only have Aera and Aegis.

Aera is unusable due to my <Spirit > not working. Aegis is still functioning. At least as a staff.

I take Aegis and extend her. I have never used her as a staff. Maybe this is a good chance. I examine her thoroughly and find a dial. So, it would be really convenient if she can turn into a spear or something pointy.

I turn the dial. I turned it clockwise and in the end, one of her ends became thick and heavy. Her length shortened and she started looking like a mace. For a blunt weapon this would be good.

Do I try it? Why the hell not? I will give that dragon a blunt force trauma. It will be so bad that its skull will be crushed.

The mace is about 10 kilograms. A decent weight. If I hit a normal human with this, the bones will pop.

I take some distance and start running. I have to jump high. That will give me enough elevation to gain a lot of potential energy. I will spin in the air as well to add bit of angular momentum.

I don't understand the exact mechanics but it should work.

After jumping as high as I could, I rotate my body to do a front flip. The energy should be stored in the mace to transfer it directly to the dragon's skull.

It should be fairly strong. I wonder if this will do anything. I just have to rely on my brute strength after this.

I put my strength in my arms and come down with all the force I created.

After making contact, the sound was of a dull thud. The ground beneath broke and dented. The skull rebound some of the force. I did hear a cracking sound.

I didn't wait though. I turned the dial counterclockwise all the way. This time, it became a pointy spear.

I stab the dented wound as hard as I could. The dragon was trying to move but it soon stopped moving and fell down.

The head has been impaled. The spearhead went through the skull. Azure blood is gushing out. I think its dead.

I take out the spear and give it a swing to clean the blood. A dragon! Said to be the pinnacle of strength and wisdom, dead. It wasn't even that hard to kill it.

I did attack it in its sleep. Next time I come across a dragon, I will fight it directly. I was just prioritizing my own survival at this point.

I have to say though, the blunt force sent shivers through my body. Opposite reaction is true. My arms are now numb and heavy.

I should take a rest. I turn around and find a pair of eyes staring at me. She was shivering like I was some monster.

"Don't worry. I have killed the dragon."

She didn't move. Maybe she is too frightened to move. I slowly approach her. She is staring at me. Her eyes haven't moved from me.

I get down to my knees so we are seeing eye to eye.

"What is your name?"

"Nora. That's what my parents used to call me." (Nora)

She is not frightened. She was a bit confused.

"Then Nora, were you the actual sacrifice?"

She nods. I guess I really was a bonus.

"I have killed that lizard. You don't have to worry anymore."

However her stomach grumbles. She is probably hungry.

"Why don't we have dinner?"

"But what will we eat?" (Nora)

"That dragon's tail should be more than enough for us."

I go near the dragon. Nora follows me. I don't have a knife so I will have to make do with the spear head.

I slash off the tail. Even when it's dead, the scales are pretty hard. I had to find a bald spot to slash it off.

I pick up the tail. It's about 3 meters long and pretty heavy. I remove the skin to expose the meat. Is it safe to eat? I have no problems eating it but Nora is a different matter.

"Is dragon edible?"

"I have heard that the capital serves wyvern. Wyverns are lesser dragons. So I think this oe is edible as well." (Nora)

"How old are you? You sound mature."

"I turned 14. That's what the chief said." (Nora)

Her malnutrition must have impacted her growth. There's no way she looks 14. 8 at best.

"I see. I am Clive Belmont. Currently 19 years old."

That's the end of that topic. I start butchering the tail. However, I don't have water and any cooking utensils.

"I will go and get it from the village." (Nora)

"Won't you be caught?"

"No. Everyone is sleeping. Because they know they have offered a sacrifice, they will sleep peacefully tonight." (Nora)

I told her to be careful nonetheless and wait.

Killing a dragon after a few hours of just arriving here, I must be quite lucky. Monsters usually have a crystal as ther core. I ate 2 of those. One from that damned snake and the other one from the monkey.

I should check if this dragon has one or not. The core would work as a heart. Generally, I should start from its chest.

Flipping it over took some work. It's rather heavy. But I guess my brute strength is that of a monster. It's not human anymore.

The chest has no scales. No, they are called reverse scales. If it was threatened, the chest scales would have reversed and become harder.

Lucky! I stab the chest to pry it open. I find a big shimmering azure crystal. It's big and heavy. Maybe I can eat it.

I bit into it and it tastes like blueberries. Not bad. I eat the whole gem. I felt a little hot. Like something started circulating through my body.

This sensation is familiar. I hold out my hand and focus. Soon a ball of water appeared in my hand. So, it was mana. Hmm…I guess my mana problem is solved.

Nora came back with a bunch of cooking utensils. I dug a hole and started a fire. The cooking went without a problem and the tail is ready. I just seared the meat on both sides until it was cooked.

The taste was not bad. Despite being a dragon's meat, it was tender. Maybe this is an exotic cuisine.

"Nora, why were you the sacrifice?"

"This dragon threatened the villagers to keep offering it sacrifices. Our attempts at killing it were all in vain. For 50 years, we kept offering it sacrifices. I was chosen because I am an orphan. My parents died 5 years ago.

Since then, the chief took care of me. He just didn't let me die. I was the original sacrifice but you came and you were added as a bonus." (Nora)

So an orphan? Messed up people exist everywhere.

"Will you go back to the village?"

"I don't want to. I have no one waiting for me there." (Nora)

"Then come with me. I am going to the capital. Having someone with me would make the journey enjoyable. I will dump this corpse in front the village gate. That way, they will know that you and I are alive. I want to make a spectacle out of this dragon."

Fear is the easiest way to get people to cooperate with you. So, I will instill fear in them.

"That's a good idea. When will you do it?" (Nora)

"In the morning. For now, let's sleep. Fortunately they left me here with my bed. That's a good thing."

A rest is necessary. I am a bit tired. This will help me recover as well. However, the journey is probably long. I hope I won't run into many troubles. Again, if it's too easy, people will complain. It's hard being a hero to please others.