Chapter 4: Burst Nova!

Snippet 1: Graviton

Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.

Chapter 4: Burst Nova!

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- Altair -

Shizu knocked on the door to Heinz's office.

"You two can come in!" A voice sounded out.

Shizu opened the door and walked into the room, I followed after her.

"Ah, Shizu, Altair, it's nice to see you both again." Said Heinz. He was currently seated behind a desk filled with papers. Man this guy has a lot of work, I'd hate to be him.

I gave Heinz a wave. "Hello again Heinz." Responded Shizu.

We both took our seats in front of his desk. 

He slid the papers in front of him to the side and then looked at us. "Now I'll get straight to the point." He looked to Shizu in particular. "I had a quest I wished to give to you. There is a Medium Dragon that has been running rampant a little distance away from the borders of this city. It is far enough away that it is not a threat to the city itself, and so the duty to subjugate it falls upon the Mutual-Aid Association. Now normally such a quest would go up on the board for any group of Adventurers to try their hand at."

Heinz then looked at me. "I just thought that perhaps, your student would like the opportunity to take this quest." Finished Heinz.

A Medium Dragon huh? There are three evolutionary classes for Dragons. Lesser Dragon, Medium Dragon, and Arch Dragon. Within the Arch Dragon class there are lesser and greater Dragons based on how successful the individual Dragon's evolution was.

A Medium Dragon is capable of basically wrecking an entire town. Normally it would require a group of Adventurers to take down, a group of strong Adventurers too. The physique of a Dragon was the most difficult part about them from what I heard.

Practically no weapon can cut through their scales, and those that can are far too expensive for normal Adventurers, even my own Rare Grade rapier likely won't do much.

Still, I may not be shit compared to the truly strong of this world, but I do know that I am far stronger than the average Adventurer.

"A Medium Dragon huh?" Muttered Shizu.

"Altair has not taken a quest just yet has he?" Asked Heinz.

I shook my head. "No, I was focusing on learning a bit more about this world and the various Monsters and Magic Beasts as well as growing a bit stronger before I do something like that."

Heinz nodded. "That is a good move. If you or your teacher do not think you are ready we can just pretend this conversation never happened."

I looked at Shizu, I was willing to attempt the quest, but she was the more experienced of us, in this case she really did know better. I may know a bit more about the lore and the true power level of this world, but when it came to actual combat awareness I was far lacking when compared to Shizu.

"Altair has grown an incredible amount since we first arrived here. I am confident he can handle a Medium Dragon, it will be tough, but he is capable of it." Said Shizu.

I looked to Heinz. "Well you heard her, if she's fine with it then I'm fine with it. I've been meaning to get some combat experience against a Magic Beast anyway."

Heinz nodded with a pleased smile on his face. "Good! I will have my secretary give you all the information necessary. Good luck Altair, though I am sure you will not need it." 

I nodded in response.

Shizu and I took the dismissal for what it was and left the room.

"I will be helping you pack the supplies that you will need, accidentally forgetting something can either be a minor annoyance or turn out to be fatal." Said Shizu.

I nodded. "Got it, thanks for the help."

"It is my job as your teacher, no need for the thanks."

I laughed lightly hearing that. "Sure sure."

I noticed a woman walking towards us, she was a brunette Human dressed in a suit. She looked like the classic secretary.

She quickly walked up to us and gave us a handful of papers. "Greetings Lady Shizu, Mister Altair. Those papers contain all the information we have managed to gather on the Medium Dragon so far. Good luck!" And with that the Secretary left. Straight to the point and doesn't waste time, Heinz knows how to pick em.

"Come, I know somewhere we can examine this information." Said Shizu.

Shizu led me to the other side of the headquarters of the Mutual-Aid Association, we walked through double doors that had Adventurers stationed in front of them.

Apparently this place is limited to only a certain rank, otherwise the guards won't let you in.

Fancy.

I took a look around the area Shizu led me to. It seemed to be a lounge of some kind for higher ranked Adventurers to hang around. 

There were fancy couches all throughout the lounge as well as a board for those who are looking to join parties. There even seemed to be a place to order food.

There weren't many other Adventurers here; whatever rank is needed to come here it must be either Intermediate or Advanced, I'm leaning towards Advanced. The guards didn't even bother checking our Adventurer Cards, seemingly recognizing Shizu by sight.

Shizu led me to a corner of the lounge where there was a fairly large desk and multiple seats stationed.

Shizu took a seat and I decided to sit across from her. 

As Shizu was laying the various papers on the table she looked up at me. "Feel free to order some drinks or food if you wish. This area is for Advanced Rank Adventurers only so they do have some luxuries available to us." 

I nodded. "Do you want anything?"

Once I got Shizu's order I quickly went towards the small booth meant for ordering food and gave our orders. It took less than five minutes for the food to be prepared.

Once I got back I set the food down and took my seat while munching on my sandwich.

"So? Anything of note for the quest?"

Shizu shook her head. "Not particularly. From what we know the Dragon is a Wind Dragon, so it will primarily rely on that for its magical attacks. Its defense is what you need to worry about. It is fairly standard for when a Dragon goes on a rampage that multiple villages will be destroyed. The Dragon has already claimed many lives." Said Shizu.

Ah, way to ruin the mood. Still, the Dragon does need to be put down. I'm not one to be a super righteous Hero, but if I can do some good then why not?

Usually Dragons don't generally leave the Caanat Mountains, but on occasion an arrogant Dragon who thinks they are the king of the world does and goes on a rampage.

Dragons are arrogant, that's for sure.

"Then I should leave soon, it's best that it is slain as quickly as possible, less lives lost that way."

Shizu nodded. "Yes, but no matter the circumstances, always make sure to be prepared if you can. Being caught in a situation you are not ready for can be dire. In this scenario there does not seem to be much preparation needed. We already know its general location and its general strength level. All that's left is to pack some supplies for you."

I nodded. "What sort of things should I bring along?"

"I will supply you with Potions, but normally Adventurers would proquire their own. I will also give you a map as well as some other basic supplies."

"Got it."

I'll have to carry that in my Spatial Storage then. It was fairly easy to learn the Spatial Magic Spell with the help of Wise Grimoire. All it needed to do was observe Shizu doing it.

Still, a Dragon huh? They are known to be physically tough, Magic will have a hard time getting through, and my rapier won't be much help either. I definitely won't be punching the Dragon.

A Barrier could be helpful, but I haven't learned how to cast any of the Barriers that were shown later on in the Light Novel. I don't have the Extra Skill: Ranged Barrier and I don't know how to cast Magics like Anti-Magic Area.

Not to mention I likely can't even cast an Anti-Magic Area on my own. When Falmuth invaded it took a team of Mages to cast a single Anti-Magic Area. And those are experienced Mages. I might have more raw power than them, but I'm fairly certain that I would still be incapable of casting those kinds of Barriers all on my own.

I'll have to defeat the Dragon using the Magic and Skills I currently have access to.

It should definitely be doable, Graviton is busted after all.

Yes, I can do this.

"When did you wish to leave Altair?" Asked Shizu.

It's probably best if I leave as soon as possible. But I'm getting a bad feeling, as if I'll miss something if I leave now.

When it comes to Destined Guide, I think I'll trust its nudges, at least for now.

"I think I'll leave in the morning, it's best if I am completely rested and prepared to fight a Dragon."

Shizu did not protest. Even if she was likely upset about all the deaths the Dragon was causing, she knew it was important to be prepared.

Shizu then gave me a short lecture on Dragons and some of their weaknesses before we headed back to the Academy.

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"Now you have everything you need?" Asked Shizu.

I sighed, she's asked me this multiple times throughout our walk to the gate.

"Yes I do. Man you're like a nagging older sister."

"Fufufu, that's fine with me then. Now make sure to be careful, bandits do roam these lands, while the Knight Order does deal with most that pop up, some groups are able to sneak by. Not to mention be careful of other Monsters and Magic Beasts. They may be drawn to your battle."

I nodded. "Yeah, I'll make sure to be careful."

Shizu nodded. "Very well then. Good luck Altair."

"I won't need it!" I said as I passed through the gate. Leaving a city was far easier than entering a city. 

It didn't take long for me to leave the Capital City of Ingrassia in the distance. I already had a general idea of where the Dragon was, it was about 3 days by foot out from the Capital City.

Of course I could make it there faster with all my abilities but I wanted to conserve most of my strength and stamina in case something happens.

I just used a basic application of Graviton to reduce my own personal Gravity so I could walk a bit faster and save some stamina.

Still, I'm sure this is going to be a long trip. To think most of my time in my first quest would be used for traveling. I envy those that are capable of casually flying and teleporting across the world.

Fucking broken ass individuals.

I'd definitely kill for a Skill like Spatial Motion.

I dashed towards the attack I saw happening in the distance. It's only been a couple of hours since I left Ingrassia and I'm already getting in on some action

When I first saw the attack happen I contemplated ignoring it, but in the end I wasn't the type of person to leave someone for dead if I had the possibility to change that fate without a massive cost to myself.

If this fight is too much for me I'll just make use of a Joestar technique that has been honed throughout the ages, I'll… run away!

As I followed the road I withdrew my blade from the sheath attached to my waist, I was still a little distance away from the scene of attack.

I equipped the armor that Shizu got from me. Thankfully there was a Spell called Dress Change that allowed you to swap clothing easily, armor thankfully qualified.

From what I can tell it seems to be a Merchant and a group of Adventurers he had hired, though the Adventurers are getting their shit kicked in.

They seemed to have been ambushed as that part of the road is right next to a grove of trees and bushes.

The Merchant seemed to be hiding out inside his carriage which was a little distance away from the group of Adventurers and the Magic Beasts, the Merchant's horses were already dead, I could see chunks of their flesh missing, almost as if they had been bitten off.

Which tracks with what I suspect the Magic Beasts to be.

It didn't take me long to reach the group. I quickly cut off the head of one of the unsuspecting Magic Beasts, a Barghest I think it is.

They are incredibly similar to Dire Wolves in that they are Beasts that stay in packs. I could sense the Merchant inside the carriage, I better get paid for the help I'm giving!

Unfortunately my earlier action quickly got the attention of the rest of the group, including the Adventurers. The Beasts were quick to take advantage of that fact and took out one of the Adventurers.

I held my bile in at watching a man's head get eaten off, now isn't the time to lose my shit about the fragility of life.

I spotted two other corpses and quickly looked away.

Shizu had told me what to do in this kind of situation, she said it was common for newbie Adventurers to feel what I am feeling.

I took a deep breath. I just need to let… go.

I focused on the enemy in front of me. The Barghest jumped at me, I quickly raised my left hand and aimed it towards the Beast and sent it flying backwards. Before it could get up I stabbed it in the head killing it.

Thankfully the other two Adventurers quickly got the hint and began focusing on their own fights.

I quickly went through three more Barghest before quickly turning towards the forest. "Watch out!" I yelled.

Something was coming and it was coming fast, and it was far stronger than these Barghest.

Unfortunately one of the remaining Adventurers was not able to react in time and got cut in half by the Beast's tail.

"Is that a Blade Tiger?! They shouldn't be that strong!" Shouted the remaining Adventurer.

"Focus!" I yelled. Thankfully the remaining Barghest ran off, they were not prepared to take on a foe far stronger than them.

I observed the Blade Tiger while I had a chance, its tail was basically a blade of its own and it had two red stripes forming an X shape on its back.

The remaining Adventurer was a blonde haired male, he seemed to be a swordsman.

I summoned my Grimoire next to me to help assist in this fight. The down side to this was that I had to split off a portion of my power for the Grimoire to draw on, though in this scenario the extra set of hands outweighed the negatives.

He gave me a nod. "What's the plan Boss?"

Boss? Is that way of him asking me to take the lead? Seriously? This is my first quest?!

"I don't know what you are good at, so why don't you take the lead and I'll follow along? This is my first quest, I'd rather follow the lead of a more experienced Adventurer."

The male sighed in resignation. "Alright then, don't leave me hanging!"

The male dashed towards the Blade Tiger with his blade drawn, I supported his dash by increasing the force behind him accelerating him to speeds he wouldn't be capable of.

Thankfully he was able to quickly adjust and was able to quickly cut off one of the Tiger's front legs.

The Blade Tiger roared in rage.

"Haha, that's what I'm talkin about!"

While the Blade Tiger was distracted I sent an Aura Slash towards him, one that only caused a flesh wound, my Grimoire also sent a Wind Slash towards it

Man, I need to work on manipulating Aura.

Most of what I know is self created due to the various fictional worlds I have knowledge of as well as the Magic I know will show up later on in this world.

Wise Grimoire may be able to theoretically create any kind of Magic, but I need the Magicules to fuel the Magic and it needs time to create said Magic.

All of a sudden the Blade Tiger's tail struck out, the male barely managed to dodge it thanks to my Grimoire creating a quick attractive force behind the Adventurer, and even then he had a large gash on his side.

That tail is going to be a problem. It was incredibly sharp, almost like a blade. I guess that's where the name comes from.

"Gah! You piece of shit!" Roared the Adventurer. Uh oh, Shizu made sure to remind me of one thing very frequently, don't let your emotions overwhelm you in a fight, especially anger. Anger makes you sloppy, it makes you a berserker, Milim Nava can attest to that.

The Adventurer quickly ran up to the Blade Tiger, I quickly followed along, hoping to cover for him. I quickly took to the skies and began doing quick hit and runs, hoping to get the Beast's attention focused on me with my cheap shots.

All of a sudden the Beast jumped backwards and looked towards the remaining Adventurer. It opened its mouth and roared towards the Adventurer.

'What is that Wise Grimoire?!'

'Notice. The Common Skill: Voice Cannon fires a powerful shockwave that is capable of atomizing a target.'

Wise Grimoire's words were proven correct when I looked towards where the male should have been and found no one there.

He was atomized. Just like that.

Fuck.

I knew this world was scary… but to see it in action myself? That was different.

I shook my head, I can't afford to be distracted. I can think about my mortality later.

'Wise Grimoire, could you help me focus on this fight?'

'It is doable.'

And with that I felt myself immediately calm down, my emotions weren't suppressed, rather my attention was focused on the fight in front of me. I could still feel my emotions inside of me, waiting to bubble up to the surface, but I could easily ignore them and focus on what was happening in reality.

The Blade Tiger quickly turned towards me and fired another Voice Cannon, one I my Grimoire shielded me from with a quick Barrier.

'Wise Grimoire any ideas?'

'Answer. The Master is capable of defeating the target with a well placed Magic Bullet as long as enough Aura and Magicules is used.'

A Magic Bullet huh? Well that's better than nothing.

I flew higher up in the air, the Blade Tiger kept pointlessly firing off Voice Canons that I was easily able to avoid while my Grimoire kept taking pot shots at the Beast, keeping its attention off me.

Having the ability to fly while my opponent did not was coming in handy.

This Beast might be more intelligent than most of its kind, but in the end, it was still just a Beast, incapable of higher level thinking. This one was just stronger than normal.

I began materializing my Aura and began molding it into a sphere, continuing to compress it as much as I could. I infused it with as many Magicules as I possibly could without completely leaving myself for dead in case this last ditch attack works.

This Merchant better pay me a fuck ton for this.

Magic Bullet was a fairly simple Art, its power depended on how much Magic Power, Aura, and Magicules were infused into the Magic Bullet. This Art theoretically had no limit when it comes to pure power, I imagine a full powered Magic Bullet from someone like Milim Nava would be terrifying.

Easily capable of shattering stars.

Once I infused enough Magic Power into the Magic Bullet I quickly flew towards the Blade Tiger, propelling myself with a repulsive force from behind me and an attractive force from in front of me.

I quickly appeared directly above the Beast and before it could react I fired the Magic Bullet into its head.

BOOOOOOM

I shielded myself from the remnant debris from my attack and quickly flew higher up, I don't want to be taken off guard if this attack fails after all.

Though from what I am sensing, the Beast is dead.

Once the dust cleared up I got to see the results of my attack.

There was a massive crater directly underneath where I aimed my Magic Bullet, and the Blade Tiger was missing its head.

I could feel my shoulders sag as I took in the sight.

The Beast was finally dead.

I'll definitely have to cut off some of its body parts, I'm sure I could make some extra money off of them. It'll be a pain to carry around though.

I looked towards the carriage, I still sensed a presence inside of it so the Merchant should still be alive.

The door to the carriage slowly opened, and out came a man with a rather plump physique. He had a rockin stache though. 

He looked around in panic before spotting the corpses of the Adventurers, I noticed his face go slightly green.

It didn't take long for him to spot me still high up in the sky.

I slowly descended down towards him, I noticed the Merchant stiffen up slightly but he did not make any moves.

Hmm, he seems rather familiar. It is fairly odd to recognize certain people, this isn't an anime or a light novel after all, people do look a bit different from their fictional appearances.

The Merchant gave me an aristocratic bow. "I thank you for your assistance wandering Champion."

I raised my brow. "I am no Champion, just an Adventurer that was passing by."

His eyes widened slightly. "I see, still I wish to thank you for your help. I fear if you had not shown up I would have met a similar fate to… my hired guards."

I shrugged my shoulders. "You just got lucky it seems."

"Indeed, the moment we were attacked I used a Magic Artifact to contact the Knight Order of Ingrassia, they should already be on their way. There are various groups of Knights stationed all around the highway." 

I nodded in understanding. "I see."

"Ah! I have forgotten my manners it seems, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gard Mjöllmile, a Merchant belonging to Blumind."

…..

Huh. So that's why he was familiar. Gard Mjöllmile was the Minister of Finance and the Treasurer of the Jura Tempest Federation.

"I see, nice to meet you Gard, my name is Altair, I'm a student at the Mutual-Aid Association's new Academy."

"A student you say!"

Before we could continue our conversation I sensed a group of Knights on their way.

"It seems the Knights are just about here." Gard's eyes widened slightly.

"I see, I will take your word for it Altair."

It didn't take long for the group of Knights to meet up with us, the one in the lead stepped up. "We had received a distress signal from this location." He then looked at the corpse of the Blade Tiger. "It seems the threat has been taken care of?"

Gard nodded. "Yes, I appreciate your prompt response but this young Adventurer happened to be passing by and came to my aid."

The Knight then turned to look at me, he gave me a nod. "Thank you for your assistance today young man. You are an Adventurer? If so I would like to take a look at your Adventurer's card, we will forward this act of yours to them so that it goes on your record. It may help build your reputation."

I nodded in response and took out my Adventurer Card from my pocket and handed it to him.

The Knight's eyes widened slightly. "An Advanced Rank Adventurer! I see, I suppose it makes sense then how you were able to dispatch that Blade Tiger with minimal injuries."

He recorded my information and then handed my Card back to me.

He then gazed at the fallen Adventurers before turning to look back at Gard. "What rank was the party that you had hired?"

"They were an Intermediate Ranked Party."

The Knight nodded. "I see, I suppose it makes sense that they lost to this particular Blade Tiger. I recognized the X shaped mark on its back, we had gotten reports about a Blade Tiger that was eating its own kin, using their flesh to make itself stronger. This Blade Tiger is stronger than the norm."

Gard's eyes widened slightly as they lit up with greed. He then quickly turned to me. "How would you like to sell me the corpse of that Blade Tiger."

I tilted my head. I wasn't going to be able to take the entire thing anyway, I did still have a Dragon to slay.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Sure."

Gard rubbed his hands together. "Excellent! I shall reward you with 4 Dwarven Gold Coins for saving me. How would you like to sell me the corpse for 8 Dwarven Gold Coins?"

Hmm, the average worker in the capital of Ingrassia made about 21 Gold Coins a year. I'd be making 12 right here and now if I take his offer.

The Blade Tiger itself was fairly damaged as well, the only useful parts of it at this point would be its remaining flesh, I'm sure some Nobles will end up eating it, and then its tail which can be turned into a weapon.

"I would also like to meet with you again sometime to develop our relationship further. I have a feeling that such a thing may come in handy." Said Gard.

He was like this with Rimuru as well wasn't he?

I shrugged my shoulders. "Sure, I'll take that offer."

"Excellent!" Gard took out his pouch from his back pocket and then quickly handed me 12 Dwarven Gold Coins.

Yay, I'm 12 Gold Coins richer.

The Knights group had long since left Gard and I to our negotiation as they examined the sight of the battle.

I turned to Gard. "What will happen with their Equipment?"

"I will take it and sell it and then give the money I make off of it to their family."

I nodded. "That's a good plan." 

I had one last conversation with the lead Knight before heading off on my own, I did still have a quest to complete. I also gave Gard my information so that he could send me a message sometime, connections were useful after all.

Once I was a safe distance away I had Wise Grimoire stop suppressing my emotions.

My face immediately went pale and I threw up on the side of the road.

"F-fuck."

Seeing bodies for the first time was… an unpleasant experience. Especially since I was not used to this sort of lifestyle.

The sheer adrenaline running through my body at the time helped me quickly focus on other things, and then I had Wise Grimoire suppress my panic.

Now, that was all coming back to me.

I leaned my back against a tree and took a couple of deep breaths.

"This world is fucked up." I muttered as I looked up to the sky.

I ended up setting up camp for the night, I just wasn't feeling like traveling more for the day. Not to mention my Magicules had not completely regenerated, I'd need to be fully topped up for my fight with the Dragon.

I was able to start a fire fairly easily with basic Fire Magic, and I set up a barebones Barrier that would offer me some protection and alert me if anything passes through the Barrier.

Thanks to Life Magic I was able to easily take care of myself, Clean Wash helped remove any odor from my body and cleaned it. Insect Repellent was fairly self explanatory, and Healthcare allowed me a certain degree of control over my body allowing me to halt bowel movements as well as various other things.

Once everything was set up I layed back against the sleeping back I had stored in my Spatial Storage and fell asleep.

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Once I woke up I continued on my journey to slay the Medium Dragon, I could tell I was getting closer, I could sense the remnant Magicules that the Dragon had been releasing, it was faint, but it was there.

The map Shizu provided me was coming in handy.

I'd been following the remnant Magicules for about a day now, I was slowly closing in on the Dragon, I knew a fight was imminent. I wasn't flying as I wished to conserve all the Magicules I could, and while flight through Graviton wasn't particularly draining, I just wanted to be careful.

I had been brainstorming a plan for how best to deal with the Dragon. Dragons were known to be physical monstrosities, their bodies were incredibly difficult to penetrate. I had a Rare Grade rapier that I can enhance with Graviton, but even then I was not completely sure if that would be enough to beat the Dragon.

I theoretically could create a black hole with Graviton, but I was very hesitant to do so, it is a black hole after all, a cosmic force of nature. Not to mention doing such a thing will drain me of a massive chunk of my Magicules.

I was still willing to do it, but I wanted to think through all my options first.

During the time I was training at the Academy, I had Wise Grimoire come up with various Magics that could cause mass destruction, each of them would be capable of easily defeating the Dragon.

Unfortunately I could not use those Spells, I lacked the Magicule Capacity to use them, and the time it would need to gather the Magicules from the environment would be far too long.

So I had to rely on powerful Magic that I was actually capable of using.

My mind wandered to a type of Magic Shizu had been teaching me.

Compound Magic is a Magic that can bring about absurd levels of destruction. It involves casting two or more Elemental Magics that all compliment each other to create something that far surpasses all the individual Spells used in its creation.

When casting Compound Magic, almost all aspects of the Spell used like launch speed, targeting accuracy, size and scope of the effect, and duration are in complete control of the casters whims. 

Of course there is a down side, casting Compound Magic requires an intense amount of mental capacity that normal magicians are unable to handle. This type of magic is incredibly hard to learn due to how restricted access to it is. Usually it is only allowed to be studied by master wizards for military purposes.

Of course, Shizu being the legendary figure that she is, knows Compound Magic and had taught me how exactly it works.

With Wise Grimoire I am confident that I can use it, I am capable of quite a bit of Elemental Magic at this point, both thanks to Magic Manipulation, Wise Grimoire, and Shizu's tutelage. I of course have not tried to use it myself due to all Compound Magic being classified as Tactical Class Magic that can potentially wipe entire cities out. One does not use such a thing casually.

According to Wise Grimoire, theoretically using a single Compound Magic Spell would drain me of about 60% of my current Magicule Capacity, originally it was about 67%, but it has lowered due to my rising Magicule Capacity. 

Being an Otherworlder does have some great perks. The moment we cross through to the Cardinal World our bodies are reconstructed making us Demi-Material Lifeforms, it's thanks to that that I even have my own internal Magicule Capacity as well as any Magic Power at all. 

Compound Magic might be my best bet at taking down this Dragon. Medium Dragons are known to be town destroyers, so Compound Magic should be enough to destroy it. 

I could theoretically combine Graviton with something to drastically increase its power while incorporating some elements of other Magics into it.

Now that I had a plan to take on the Dragon I was feeling a bit less nervous.

Though one thing I had to account for was my misunderstanding about Wise Grimoire's nature. I thought it was basically a reskinned Great Sage, but after my battle with the Blade Tiger I realized that my assumption was wrong. While it did share some of its sub-skills with Great Sage, it was more focused on assisting me with my own Magic casting as well as being a helping hand in battle rather than being a tactical genius like Great Sage.

Something I should have noticed far earlier, seeing as while Chronoa, Michael, and Ciel are all manas, but Ciel is far superior to the rest when it comes to tactical planning as well as Skill creation.

Why would that be? I figured it was because of the Skill Ciel originated from, it came from Raphael, Lord of Wisdom, a Skill that specializes in the management of the Laws of the World as well as Skill upgrading as well as using its superhuman intelligence for planning.

While my Wise Grimoire shares its specialization in the management of the Laws of the World, it does not focus on Skill upgrading, it should be capable of it to some extent though, and while it is capable of incredible tactical moves, it is not on the level of Great Sage, let alone Raphael.

Instead it is a far more capable battle assistant than Great Sage could ever hope to be, it is capable of possessing me just like Great Sage, but it is also capable of acting independently to levels I couldn't even dream of.

The physical manifestation of Wise Grimoire, that being the Grimoire itself might as well be considered the Skill's true body.

Thanks to that I could rely on it for far more than just tactical support in battle, I could rely on it for true combat support.

Something I would be abusing in this upcoming fight.

It would be best if I could sneak up on the Dragon and use the Compound Magic while hidden, instantly killing it, but that was unlikely. For one, the Dragon would sense the Magicules being concentrated on my being, not to mention the supernatural senses a Dragon should have.

I am prepared for a fight, but this was still a Dragon, a race known throughout mythology back in my home world. It was normal to be nervous to face such a legendary race, even if this one couldn't hold a candle to the True Dragons.

A Dragon was still a Dragon.

I continued to follow the trail of remnant Magicules over the next couple of hours while making sure to take plenty of breaks. I did not want to run across the Dragon while running low on stamina, that would be a significant disadvantage.

I had long since veered off the main road and was on uneven terrain in a small forest. The roads of this world were incredibly mediocre from what I've seen, when riding in a carriage there is no way the ride is smooth.

I'm sure traveling by carriage must suck in this world, it's quicker but extremely uncomfortable. I imagine the rest of the world wishes they had those Pegasus Knights Dwarven is known for, they can just fly to their destination.

The Aura of power I was sensing was getting stronger and stronger, it wasn't until I had closed in on a lake that I realized that the Dragon was just up ahead.

Thankfully I wasn't facing a Water or Ice Dragon, or else I fear what sort of advantage they would gain by being near a lake, though why would a Wind Dragon be near a lake in the first place?

Perhaps it was thirsty?

A Dragon still needed to eat and drink after all, at least until they become Spiritual Lifeforms, this Dragon was far from that though, it was a Demi-Material Lifeform just like me.

As I slowly creeped up, using all my various concealment abilities I was finally able to get a good view of the lake, it was easy to spot the green Dragon drinking water. It had green scales that protected it like a layer of armor, wings as well as sharp claws that could rip me to shreds.

A moment after I laid eyes on it I noticed it froze up for a moment before its head snapped in my direction.

What the fuck! Does it have some Skill like Danger Sense?!

I immediately backed off from my spot which proved to be a wise decision as the Wind Dragon's Dragon Breath quickly disintegrated the trees in the area and left the area open.

The Wind Dragon's breath seemed to be a powerful focused blast of wind that shredded all objects it came into contact with. 

I quickly withdrew my rapier from its sheath and prepared myself for the battle.

Taking to the skies won't be as big of an advantage as it usually is, Dragons are well known to be extremely comfortable flying in the air. In this case it could even be a disadvantage.

Thankfully I wasn't alone in this fight, Wise Grimoire could practically be considered a second person with it being capable of assisting me in my own casting as well as sending off Spells of its own.

I portioned off 30% of my Magicule Capacity for Wise Grimoire to work with, leaving me with 70%.

Should it need it, I can allow it access to a larger portion of my Magicules, but 30% should be good enough for now.

I heard the mighty Dragon roar in rage, insulted that I didn't stand still and wait for death like most of its prey.

I activated the various Enhancement Magics I knew, buffing up my physical stats considerably. I was nowhere near as tough as the Dragon, but I could take an offhanded hit by its tail now.

I activated Graviton and increased the weight Gravity forced onto the Dragon causing its movements to become slightly sluggish. It wasn't much, but it was something.

The Dragon immediately flew at me at speeds I could barely follow, I managed to barely avoid its wide open maw, I quickly repositioned by sword in a way that allowed me to jab at the Dragon as it was flying by me. It was large enough that I had enough time to do that.

My rapier failed to penetrate through, only causing some scratches on the Dragon's scales.

My heart was beating faster than it ever had before, I could feel the rhythmic thump banging against my chest, the adrenaline coursing through my body was helping keep my mind off of how close to death I just was. 

If that Dragon lands a clean hit on me, I'm done for.

As the Dragon was passing me by, its tail whipped around smacking me in my side sending me flying into a tree, my grip on my sword loosened sending it flying to the side. Thankfully even while separate, Wise Grimoire was able to utilize Graviton to save me from crashing into a tree by lowering my personal Gravity causing me to float slightly before touching back onto the ground.

"Gah!" Fucking Pain Resistence isn't helping much here! Even avoiding slamming into the tree, the Dragon's tail still hurt like hell, my armor was intact thanks to its special effects, but the vibrations from the attack alone hurt like hell.

This armor wasn't anywhere near as fancy as my rapier, they are Special Grade enchanted to protect me best against blunt force.

Who knew fighting a fucking Dragon could have some learning curves!

Wise Grimoire took the Dragon's attention off me for a moment allowing me to refocus myself by firing off an Icicle Lance near the Dragon's eye. The Dragon roared in outrage as it sent a Wind Breath towards my Grimoire, as Wise Grimoire was a manifestation of my Skill, its Wind Breath did nothing.

I quickly floated my rapier towards me, gripping it tightly in my hand. Losing your weapon in a fight is a death sentence to most.

Wise Grimoire's distraction allowed me to get my bearings, but not much more. This Dragon may not have Human levels of intelligence, but it was still smart.

Far smarter than any Monster or Magic Beast I've killed before.

Shizu had said this would likely be my toughest fight yet, but she believed in me, I wasn't going to betray that faith.

I needed to get my shit together, and I needed to do it yesterday.

Wise Grimoire had already forced my attention onto the fight in front of me rather than the pain and panic I was feeling so I was thankfully able to focus.

I coated my Fighting Spirit over my entire body, enhancing my armor and rapier and exerting my own miniscule Spiritual Pressure over the Dragon. 

The Dragon's as if sensing that my threat level had increased focused its attention back onto me.

The Dragon as if sensing my challenge released its own Draconic Aura with a mighty roar that shook the trees. 

'Wise Grimoire, begin the preparation, draw on my own Magicule Capacity if you need to.'

'Affirmative.'

The Dragon took to the skies and sent various Wind attacks towards me, there was a Wind Cutter, Wind Gust, various well known applications of Wind were used, each that were blocked or avoided.

There were some that I was less aware of, out of nowhere the Dragon released a beam of Wind that was enhanced by the artificial air pressure the Dragon created.

I used Instantmove to grant myself a quick burst of speed and get out of the way. I quickly looked back to where I was standing and saw a massive crater, far larger than any of the Dragon's other attacks.

It's getting serious now.

Wise Grimoire wasn't inactive as it began the preparations for the Compound Magic. It casted various Weakening Spells as well as Slowing Spells which slowed down the Dragon's momentum.

I reinforced my feet with Fighting Spirit and jumped towards the Dragon, with the help of Graviton I was easily able to flip over it, jabbing my rapier into a scale that had gotten loose over the course of our fight.

The Dragon roared in pain as I used the natural force of Gravity pulling me down towards the ground, along with the momentum I had already acquired to help widen the wound I had caused the Dragon. I dragged my rapier deeper into the Dragon as I pulled downwards, hoping to widen the wound further, the Dragon let out another roar of anguish as I was flung off of its back and crashed down into the lake below.

I quickly swam to the surface and barely avoided the Dragon's nose dive into the lake.

"Shit!" I cursed. My rapier was still stuck in the Dragon's back!

I quickly began to improvise and coated my legs with an extreme amount of Fighting Spirit, I could feel Wise Grimoire rapidly draining my Magicules, I had only seconds if I was lucky until Wise Grimoire was ready.

I had no chance of causing a significant amount of damage with my fists, even if they were coated in all the Fighting Spirit I had available, it's best that I improve my speed and extract my rapier in time for Wise Grimoire's Spell.

The Dragon quickly flew out of the lake creating an eruption almost like that of a geyser.

Now was my chance!

I put all of my strength into my legs and jumped up towards the Dragon as it was flying up into the air, I barely managed to latch onto its tail, something it noticed if the frantic waving of its tail was a sign.

I could feel blood pouring out of my nose, but I ignored it and focused on my goal.

I quickly crawled up towards my rapier, all of a sudden a Draconic Aura erupted from the Dragon's body at a greater intensity, I immediately contested it with my own withering Fighting Spirit or else I would be crushed by its Aura.

I groaned out in pain as I coughed out blood, staining the Dragon's emerald green scaled red.

The Draconic Aura still managed to get me.

I could feel myself losing consciousness, my grip slowly loosing off of its tail.

"I believe in you Altair."

All of a sudden my eyes opened wide.

"What am I doing! I refuse to go down here!" I yelled as I quickly grabbed the end of the Dragon's tail and clawed my way up to my rapier. The Dragon roared in surprise as I used all my remaining strength to pull out my rapier.

I felt a laugh coming up and I did nothing to hold it back. "Ghahaha, you ready Wise Grimoire?!" I voice out.

'Affirmative.'

Hearing the signal I gripped my rapier tightly in my hand and then stored it in my Spatial Storage. I used Graviton to its fullest extent to fly upwards while putting as much pressure as I possibly could on the Dragon, sending the Dragon crashing down into the lake.

That used up 90% of my Magicule Capacity, including what Wise Grimoire had used for the Compound Magic. This better work or I'm doomed.

'Do it!' I yelled internally as I continued to fly higher and higher, using my Fighting Spirit to enhance my speed.

I sensed an obscene amount of gravitational force concentrating on a single location as Wise Grimoire focused the dual aspects of Fire and Gravity into a single point.

I felt the air vibrate in a soft ominous hum as the abnormal gravitational weight weighed down the surroundings.

All of a sudden a soft crackling sound lit up the surroundings, even high up in the air as I was, it felt like it was right next to my ear. I could feel the temperature begin to heat up as the use of a never before seen Spell was imminent.

The crackling grew louder and louder until it suddenly became completely quiet, allowing me to hear the Dragon's roar of rage at the thought that its prey was escaping.

All of a sudden a thunderous roar was released, a roar that completely overshadowed the Dragon's own, a roar that shook the air around me causing me to lose my balance for a moment before recovering. The sound was deafening and likely echoed for miles all around. 

The temperature of the surrounding air skyrocketed, the only thing saving me was my Heat Resistance, and even then I was beginning to feel scorched all over my body.

I imagine if I was at the scene of impact I would have been incinerated in moments.

Out of fear of being caught by the aftermath of the blast I used all my remaining Magicules to accelerate towards the heavens leaving me almost with only fumes left over.

The aftermath of the blast still reached me even then, I was immediately disoriented and was sent flying even further up into the sky, a fact that was not helped by the near zero Gravity I was currently under. 

I was able to regain control of myself in a few seconds, I took the chance to look down at the landscape below.

My mouth was gaping as I took in the sheer destruction that was shown below me.

The air down below was still filled with the faint crackle of flickering flames, the trees were all destroyed and the lake was no more, the Dragon gone along with it.

I knew that the levels of power achievable in this world were abnormal, I knew I was not even qualified to be considered a candle compared to the truly mighty. But looking down at the destruction I was capable of causing reminded me once again just what world I was in.

Just what levels of power I had achieved since I first arrived in the world. And the results that I was looking at was from a weakened version of the Spell as I did not wish for mass destruction. The blast was mostly focused on the Dragon itself, everything else was just a side effect.

I wasn't foolish enough to believe that I could do this on my own, I knew it was thanks to Wise Grimoire that I was able to unleash this much power, let alone how difficult it is to perform Compound Magic, it would have taken me ages to learn how to do any of this.

But now…. I-I felt like I actually had a chance to survive the coming chaos.

I took a deep breath as I felt Wise Grimoire return to me, causing me to regain some of my Magicules that I had portioned off earlier..

The Compound Magic Spell that was used was something I only theorized was possible when Shizu first explained everything about Compound Magic to me.

Of course Wise Grimoire took my theory as a "do you dare" challenge and quickly beat my ass creating the most destructive Spell I am capable of using.

I of course had more destructive Spells in my book, as is normal with canon knowledge and a supercomputer like Wise Grimoire.

I had coined the name Burst Nova for this Spell, I thought it was sufficiently chuuni.. It involves using Graviton and mixing it with Fire Magic, something I may as well be considered a master at now thanks to Wise Grimoire and Magic Manipulation. Elemental Magic is a breeze for me at this point, the only issue is powering the more destructive ones.

It basically involves channeling an intense amount of gravitational force into a single point, not quite enough to create a true black hole, but approaching that level.

As the point begins to become unstable due to the gravitational pressure you infuse it with an immense amount of Fire Magic, incorporating the element deeply into the single point, and then you release it, unleashing it upon your foes.

Theoretically it could have been stronger if I allowed it to develop into a true black hole. 

Perhaps I have been underestimating myself if I could cause this much destruction with Burst Nova alone. 

The landscape was scorched for miles all around, I could only thank the heavens that this fight happened deep in a forest, and even then, thanks to Optical Magic I could see trees uprooted in the distance and the land all askew due to the shockwaves of the blast alone.

The entire landscape caught in the direct explosions was completely scorched and forever altered by the cataclysmic event that just took place.

Fires were raging below me, fires I was quick to extinguish with Wise Grimoire's help, quickly draining me of a good chunk of the Magicules I had left.

This was decently overkill, I was seriously underestimating myself, I could have probably beaten this Medium Dragon with a weaker Spell. 

Perhaps Burst Nova was even capable of killing Arch Dragons?

Shizu had said that underestimating oneself can be as deadly as overestimating oneself, I only understood what she truly meant now. I would be careful not to make that mistake again.

I flew towards the road which was near the edge of the forest. Thankfully, I didn't destroy the entire forest, only a portion of it. Hopefully the Knight Order wouldn't be too upset about that.

I did just deal with a threat they were incapable of dealing with right? Not that I blamed them, that Medium Dragon was tough, most would be incapable of even piercing its scales.

It didn't take me long to feel the earth below my feet as I set foot upon the still slightly burned earth. The effects of my Spell had spread this far, even if the effects were only minor at this distance.

I sat myself on the ground and took this chance to rest and apply one of the healing potions that Shizu had supplied me with, something that greatly eased my soreness and overall pain.

Ugh, I had to take responsibility for this much damage didn't I? This area while towards the outskirts of Ingrassia was still part of the Kingdom's territory.

I wasn't worried though, I would leave all that trouble to my new sugar momma Shizu!

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Links: patreon.com/theogbasilisk

Author's Note:

I got another chapter of Graviton that I've been cooking for weeks now, writing it in between Daemon. Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter, I hope my fight scenes have improved over time, I did spend a hell of a lot of time planning that scene out.

But we finally see the amount of raw power Altair is capable of bringing to bear now, and that was when the Spell he used was being suppressed by Wise Grimoire, Wise Grimoire seriously cooked with this spell.

Let me know what you all thought of the fight, I was trying out a bit of a different style than normal.

Anyways see ya guys next time, peace.

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