Banished from the herd, I was actually a member of a very rare species. ~With the unique skills that only I can use, I can grow and evolve quickly. I will become an unrivaled monster~ - Episode 158: The Ancient White-Fanged Dragon of Unchanging Might 2

Episode 158: The Ancient White-Fanged Dragon of Unchanging Might 2

In close-quarters combat, physical size is an incredibly important factor.  

Reach, durability, the weight of each strike… size impacts nearly every aspect of a fight.  

It’s not as simple as “bigger is always better.” But generally speaking, the larger you are, the more advantages you have.  

This principle applies in the natural world as well. Many high-tier beasts are powerful precisely because of their massive size.  

In that regard, the “Ancient King” is the strongest among the “Ten Kings”, towering over all other creatures.  

It’s enormous, easily more than twice my size, even though we’re both supposed to be on the same level as Beast Kings.  

The close-combat prowess backed by that overwhelming size and peak |Stats| is nothing short of terrifying.  

Each swing of its arm tears the ground apart, and a sweep of its tail can split mountains.  

Every action it takes feels like a natural disaster.  

Especially its bite, which has an extended range that makes it even more dangerous.  

Challenging this thing in close combat is like jumping straight into a storm.  

“(But, the center of a typhoon is calm, isn’t it?)”  

—Gooooaaaarrr!!  

A thunderous roar exploded nearby, like a lightning strike.  

The sound was caused by the “Ancient King’s” long, scythe-like claws slicing through the air. The force of them carved deep gashes into the ground.  

“([Lightning strike]!)”  

—BZZZTTT!  

This time, actual thunder cracked through the air.  

The lightning spear I shot hit its mark, striking the unscaled part of the “Ancient King’s” belly.  

By narrowly avoiding its vicious attacks, I was able to maintain close combat.  

Being smaller had its advantages, making it easier to dodge.  

Ideally, I’d want to latch onto its back and deal damage from there. But the last time I tried that, I got a nasty counterattack.  

It seems the “Ancient King” has the ability to forcibly “transform” anything it touches.  

Because of that, I’ve been avoiding direct contact, responding instead with quick lightning strikes.  

At first, I tried using the bamboo spear. But for some reason, my |Life| drain ability didn’t work on the “Ancient King”, so I switched to using lightning.  

Even so, its skin is absurdly tough, and even my lightning bolts are deflected.  

“(Tch, [Super Jump]!)”  

“GRRAAAHH!!”  

I quickly dodged a stomp. But instead of gaining distance, I moved into its blind spot at close range.  

The “Ancient King”, growing irritated, spun its tail in a full circle. But I evaded it with a jump.  

“([Divine Staff], [Slash]!)”  

“GRRR, RAAAAH!!”  

“(Damn it! Still no effect!)”  

I slashed with the dragon fang sword mid-fall, but it had no effect at all.  

Worse, the weapon chipped, and I had to use up multiple [Super Jumps] just to avoid the retaliatory bite.  

“(Something’s definitely off. I couldn’t absorb |Life| with the bamboo spear, and now even my dragon fang sword, which ignores defense, isn’t working. This isn’t just |Toughness|… It must be a [Skill] that nullifies damage or something.)”  

I barely had time to make jokes about how unfair it was for the “Ancient King” to avoid all damage while dishing out so much.  

I needed to seriously think of a way to break through, or its attacks would eventually kill me.  

“(It’s got to be some sort of [Skill].)”  

The sensation was different.  

If it were just abnormal levels of |Toughness|, the “Ancient King’s” body should have felt hard or rigid.  

But what I sensed earlier was a more fundamental, inviolable resistance.  

It felt like my attacks were being forcibly nullified.  

Just having higj |Toughness| couldn’t explain that.  

Plus, it’s not normal for my unblockable lightning and defense-ignoring strikes to have zero effect.  

There’s a high chance brute force alone won’t get me through.  

The only exception might be using my [Colorless King’s Authority: Timeless Radiance]. But using that would require me to risk taking a hit from the “Ancient King’s” own [King’s Authority] in return.  

“(]Temporal Cicada], [Compact Swing]! …The shock wave didn’t work either. Hmm… is it some kind of ‘Unchangeable’ ability?)”  

I recalled the “Ancient King’s” fangs as I considered my options.  

Perhaps it had the ability to make its body or life force unchanging.  

That would explain why my [Mana Eclipse] wasn’t depleting its |Mana| either.  

Neither its bite nor its transformation abilities seem to be usable for defense.  

“ROOOOOAARR!!”  

“(Crap, [Weapon Storage]!)”  

The “Ancient King” raised its massive tail like a hammer.  

As I tried to evade, I felt my body bump into something.  

Something invisible delayed my dodge.  

With no other choice, I braced for defense.  

“([Update]! [Replicant Form]!)”  

I used my ability to modify the Mana Crystal beneath the “Ancient King’s” feet, causing the ground to collapse under it.  

At the same time, I mimicked my bamboo spear, my hardest weapon, and aimed it at the incoming tail.  

It would be hard to block, but if I could time it with [Parry], I might at least soften the blow.  

“(And now, [The Endless Cycle of Thunderous Rebirth] !)”  

On top of that, I activated my [Unique Skill] for reinforcement.  

In the next moment, I was hit with a tremendous impact.  

While the “Ancient King’s” tail didn’t completely ignore my defense, it carried a defense-piercing force much like its fangs.  

The combination of the tremendous power from a Beast King made it so I could only barely deflect its attack.  

My bamboo spear was broken halfway through.  

“(Guh!)”  

Groaning from the shock that pierced through me, I altered my body to escape from the spot.  

The invisible obstruction that had been hindering my movement appeared like a row of pillars. Once I calmed down, it was easy to slip through them.  

“(No damage to my |Life|, good.)”  

I took some distance, staying mindful of the invisible pillars, and assessed the situation.  

Though the bamboo spear had been destroyed in a single hit, it had still managed to blunt the attack’s power.  

“(Solidifying form wasn’t supposed to be this useful, but it’s actually working out pretty well.)”  

I recalled the ability I had awakened through [True Transformation].  

‘Lightning that solidifies forms.’  

That’s how it was described. But in essence, it’s an ability that suppresses transformations.  

If used on water, for example, it solidifies it like jelly. When applied to solid materials, it slightly increases their durability, even raising their melting point a bit.  

I had used this ability in my last move, [The Endless Cycle of Thunderous Rebirth].  

Though the bamboo spear wasn’t a mineral and couldn’t conduct electricity, shape-fixing didn’t seem to have any such limitations.  

“GYUOOOOOOOOOO!!”

“([Super Jump], Sun Laser!)”  

I leaped over the “Ancient King’s” lunging bite and unleashed several |Mana| beams onto its back.  

But they left no wounds.  

This supposed ‘Unchangeable’ power of its is really something else.  

“(Wait a second…)”  

I felt something nagging at me just as a follow-up attack with its massive tail came crashing down.  

I could have dodged, but I deliberately chose to take it because something had piqued my curiosity.  

“([Replicant Form], [Parry]!)”  

I mimicked the bamboo spear again to block the tail strike.

However, this time the bamboo spear barely deflected any of the force. It snapped like a toothpick.  

The full impact of the attack tore through my body.  

“(Damn, that hurt! How did one [Shape-Fixing] change things this much?)”  

Even accounting for the collapsing ground beneath it, this result made no sense.  

The amount of force behind the attack seemed the same as before.  

“(The increase in durability wasn’t that significant… Could it be a compatibility issue?)”  

The “Ancient King’s” defense-piercing ability operates by forcibly inducing changes.  

No matter how hard something is, if it comes into contact with its power, it can’t resist the transformation.  

But maybe my ability to fix shapes could resist that forced change.  

The bamboo spear broke both times because the “Ancient King’s” raw power was simply too high. But if I could neutralize or at least reduce the effect of its defense-piercing attacks, my strategy could shift entirely.  

“(Challenging a Beast King in the first place was all about mastering my [Unique Skill]. It’s risky, but… it’s time to explore the new potential of this [Unique Skill].)”