Chapter 468: New Skill Experimentation

Chapter 468

468 - New Skill Experimentation

My stats are less than half of what they were before evolution, so I want to find a monster weak enough for me to fight and get through the low levels. I've found from previous evolutions that as long as I'm able to find a safe hunting ground, I can quickly get my stats back to where they were pre-evolution.

I could try and rely on my skills and take down a fenrir, but... I'd rather not take any unnecessary risks. My stats are about equivalent to that of a max level fenrir, but my speed so much worse that the risk of fighting one is too high. If I could find a den of monsters that are little weaker than a fenrir, it'd be useful for everyone else's levelling, too.

"Guuo..."

『I'm going to go explore this island some more. I want to see if there's anything a bit weaker than a fenrir.』

I call out to Aro and the others with [Telepathy].

"Didn't you have a close call just now? If a fenrir chases you, you'll be forced to fight."

Volk replies.

『Yeah, I know. But I have a skill that might be useful. Stay there for a moment.』

I move away from them slightly as I speak. Then, I warp the light and space around me to change my appearance.

This is the effect of my characteristic skill, [Dragon Mirror]. The feeling of activating it is same as any other skill, in that I inexplicably know what to do. I stare at the river and adjust my reflection in the water's surface.

I shrink myself down and make myself yellow and round, moulding my body off how I looked as a [Baby Dragon]. My height now is a little shorter than Aro.

It seems like a practical and useful skill... Although it's not as bad as [Humanisation Technique], it continuously drains my MP while it's active, and a certain degree of concentration in required to maintain it, so it seems like it would be difficult to use mid-battle. Of course, the concentration issue might become less of a problem as I gain practice. As the skill explanation stated, if I use it at the same time as [Humanisation Technique], the MP consumption should also go down significantly.

It was added so lightly, but it's an incredible skill. Considering I'm now in the same Legendary category as the ruin, I seem to be a bit lacking in terms of pure destructive power, but I've gained more than enough utility to make up for that.

I didn't take the form of a [Baby Dragon] for any particular reason. It's simply a form I know well, and one that seems easy to move in. I think I could completely disappear if I wanted to, but if I did that, the MP consumption would be even higher than [Humanisation Technique] and I would become unable to move, so this size is close to the limit for anything long-term... But it's worth remembering that, if needs be, I can disappear for a short time.

Checking my stats, I see that my maximum health, attack, and defence have all been halved similar to [Humanisation Technique]... I wonder if my stats would actually increase if I made myself bigger? When Tolman's subordinate, Azalea, used [Dragonisation Technique], his physical stats increased a little, so it's not completely out of the question.

"It's not a hallucination."

Unusually, Volk looks a little astonished.

"Dr-dragon-god-sama...?"

"Kishi...?"

Trembling, Aro and the black lizard slowly approach me. Aro's hand inches towards me like a child reaching out to a cat.

S-stop... Not only are my stats reduced by being level 1, but they've also been halved by my small size, so right now I'm weaker than she is.

The black light of [Gravity] shoots out of treant-san, causing Aro to pitch forwards, and the black lizard is forced to stop in her tracks. Treant-san waves a branch towards me. I see something like a gentle smile from the holes on treant-san's trunk.

Th-thank you, treant-san... Aro and the black lizard are looking daggers at you, but stay healthy while I'm gone. I'm off to go take a look around.

Not only is my presence muted in this form, but the mist covering this should hide me too. Even if I'm unlucky enough to be spotted, I can hit them with [Gravity] while their guard's down and then undo [Dragon Mirror]. My speed is also unchanged, so I might be able to escape with [Roll], too.

In the form of a [Baby Dragon] and alert of my surroundings, I again set about exploring the area around the cavern. I single-mindedly press through the fog... If there was a nest of C+ rank monsters, that would be just about perfect.

I spot a fenrir running in the distance and so crouch down until it has passed. My original huge body would have definitely been spotted there. This strategy might be rather effective.

All of a sudden I hear the "paki, poki" sound of joints cracking in quick succession. The sound is getting louder and louder. Something is closing in on me. It seems it's already noticed my presence.

Cheh, my senses might be a little dull. Can I get away?

The monster's figure begins to be visible through the fog. Now that it's this close, it's probably worth checking its species for future reference...

It looks like it's only a little bigger than a human. Maybe I can fight it.

[[Killer Queen]: A- rank monster]

[It is driven by a strong urge to disassemble everything it sees.]

[Due to their nature, most [Boogie Dolls] run out of strength after fighting battle after battle without rest, and are eventually killed.]

[However, a [Boogie Doll] that has reached the form of a [Killer Queen] is the very proof that it does not know of exhaustion or defeat.]

[Statistically, it is almost impossible for a [Boogie Doll] to survive long enough to become a [Killer Queen].]

I can see the enemy's appearance through the fog. It's a female doll wearing torn western-style clothes. But one of its eyes is missing, and it has four each of bizarrely long arms and legs, giving it a grotesque appearance. In each of its four hands, a knife is clutched.

Its single eye locks onto me. A shock runs through me even greater than the time I first saw an abyss.

"Found...you..."

The killer queen's body hastens, and it closes in on me. I immediately use [Dragon Mirror] to vanish.

At an incredible speed, the killer queen runs to the spot where I was. It wanders around in confusion for a while before tilting its head and leaving for somewhere else. Once it's left, I return to my [Baby Dragon] appearance.

Th-that was dangerous... I was almost killed. It cost me quite a lot of MP, but... Being able to completely vanish for a while really is useful.

After catching my breath, I decide that that's enough exploration in this direction for now. I'll try heading the opposite way. As long as that thing is loitering around, taking Aro and the others this way is impossible.