Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 91
Chapter 91: Lava Zone and History
Centered around the ?Hephaestus Kingdom?, there are large cities to the east, west, north, and south.
Among these cities, the eastern city ?Euclia? has reportedly suffered the most damage from the Lesser Dragon subspecies, so that’s where they decided to head first.
The destination was about half a day’s walk, so the king provided a carriage for Sora and the others, driven by a coachman who skillfully handled the two-horned horse, Bicorn, without any trouble.
The scenery wasn’t very pleasant.
After leaving the ?Hephaestus Kingdom?, the entire area ahead was a lava zone on the map.
The map was called ?The Corpse of the Fire Dragon King?.
Since the view outside was boring, Sora shifted her gaze to the front.
In front of her sat Alice, the Dragon King’s daughter who had recently joined their party, sitting gracefully as she gazed out of the carriage.
She wore a battle dress similar to Kuro’s, with minimal armor.
However, since it was royal equipment, her defense level was far above the others, rated as [A].
The rapier she held in her hand was a masterpiece that rivaled even the king’s own weapon, also a top-tier [A-rank] item.
As Sora was wondering how much all of this gear would cost, she unexpectedly made eye contact with Alice.
Perhaps bored herself, Alice glanced outside and then asked, “Are you familiar with the legend of this land?”
“I don’t think I know it.”
“In that case, shall I tell you the legend of how this land came to be to pass the time?”
“A legend?”
When Sora asked in return, Alice nodded and began her story.
Long ago, there was a Fire Dragon King, enormous like an island and as arrogant as could be, who rampaged across this land.
The Fire Dragon, feared by all, went so far as to burn a branch of the World Tree, Yggdrasil, to flaunt its power even more.
Naturally, the Four Great Archangels were enraged by such barbarity and after a long battle, the fire dragon was struck down and fell to this land.
When the Fire Dragon died, its blood became magma, and its flesh and bones fused with the earth.
In other words, the pools of magma that occasionally erupt are actually the Fire Dragon’s blood, and the giant arch-shaped bones you see scattered around belong to the dead Fire Dragon.
“It’s said that at that time, the Fire Dragon’s soul split into light and darkness. The light became the first Dragon King, who established the kingdom here, while from the darkness, the Demon Dragon King Belial was born and sealed away.”
“The ‘Demon Dragon King Belial,’ huh…”
Sora squinted as she recalled an announcement stating that this Demon Dragon King would be revived during an event at the end of August.
If that’s the case, perhaps advancing this quest would allow them to weaken Belial, just like they had done with Leviathan.
As that thought crossed her mind, Sora, swaying in the carriage, let out a deep sigh as she remembered the skill shop they visited a few hours ago.
Kuro and Alice, knowing why she sighed, chuckled at her downcast mood.
And why was she feeling down?
It was because, at the skill shop in the castle they stopped by before setting out, there was a skill that she really wanted.
The name of that skill was the ?Angriff Fliegen?, an attack skill that worked with all weapon categories.
It was, in fact, the same skill that Sora had learned from Hart previously, allowing her to use flying slashes. However, it could only be equipped once her weapon proficiency reached 70 or higher.
At present, only Sora could use the skill, but the price for it was an astounding 2 million El.
Even if she completed this quest, Sora realized she would still be 700,000 El short, causing her to drop to the floor on all fours in utter disappointment.
After all, being able to use flying slashes would look cool and make her much stronger!
As Sora clenched her fists and trembled with frustration, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, Kuro tilted her head cutely in curiosity.
After a while, the dragonkin knight driving the carriage shouted that they would reach their destination in about 10 minutes.
We all stuck our heads out of the carriage and looked toward the road ahead.
“That’s the eastern city, Euclia.”
“Oh… wow, it’s impressive.”
In the distance, we could see a large city surrounded by walls built to defend against monsters. Its defense rating was [B], which was quite high for a village, and no ordinary monster would be able to damage it.
…Wait, is that smoke I see already?
Sora glanced at Alice, and she, too, was staring intently at the village, sensing something unusual.
“Increase speed! The Lesser Dragons are attacking!”
“Y-Yes, understood!”
At Alice’s command, the carriage sped up.
It looked like a battle was about to begin.
Sora and Kuro both gripped the hilts of their one-handed swords at their waists, exchanged glances, and nodded to each other.
……………………..
Sora and her team arrived in Euclia City, which was under attack by the Lesser Dragons.
As soon as she got off the carriage, Sora immediately expanded the range of her ?Perception II? skill from 5 meters to cover the entire city.
In sync with her action, the support system ?Lucifel? picked up the number, type, and exact location of the hostile monsters within range, even before she had a chance to search for them herself.
?Master, there is an unidentified response among the Lesser Dragons. Please be cautious.?
Nodding in acknowledgment, Sora issued instructions to the others.
“The Lesser Dragons seem to be gathering in the square ahead. We’re about to engage in battle, so stay sharp, both of you.”
“Got it.”
“Wh-What!?”
Alice, looking surprised, seemed to wonder how Sora could know such detailed information right after arriving, but there was no time to explain everything in this situation.
Sora took off running, with Kuro quickly keeping pace beside her, while Alice, a little behind, hurried to catch up.
…Oh, right, I forgot to use the “Enhancement” skill on Alice.
Still shaken from not being able to buy that skill, Sora had completely forgotten to explain her profession and the enhancement buffs to Alice.
Though it was sudden, she quickly said, “Before the fight starts, I’ll use the ‘Enhancement’ skill on you, Alice.”
Alice gave her a puzzled look, not fully informed about her profession or what the “Enhancement” skill was, probably because Aria hadn’t explained that part to her.
Judging by her expression, she seemed to be wondering why someone would even choose such a class.
…But ?Enchanter? is really strong, though.
Though Alice looked unconvinced, Sora selected the preset buffs that ?Lucifel? had prepared in the meantime, doing her best to optimize the situation.
Since Sora had already applied the “Enhancement” skill to herself and Kuro beforehand, she layered four instances of ?Attack Power Boost Enchantment III? and one ?Water Attribute Enchantment IV? on Alice.
“What? Huh!?”
Alice was even more shocked by the sudden, massive power boost, but there was no time to react to her surprise.
Running with her sword in hand, Sora shouted, “Two Lesser Dragons just around the corner!”
As she turned sharply, she activated ?Sonic Sword IV?, rapidly closing in on the enormous dragon, about 7 meters in length, before it could even react.
Using the roof of a vacant stall as a springboard, Sora leaped into the air and delivered a blow with ?Ice Strike Sword?, an attribute skill granted by ?Water Attribute Enchantment IV?.
Half of the Lesser Dragon’s HP was immediately cut down.
“Gii!?”
It didn’t even have time to scream for its allies.
Sora, with her sword still embedded in the dragon, activated ?Dual Nail?, and with the help of the system’s assistance, she spun her body like a top, executing a rapid, horizontal double strike.
The dragon, hit by the dual attack and its elemental weakness, disintegrated into light particles.
By the time the second Lesser Dragon noticed what was happening, it was already too late.
Kuro dashed by, jumped off the same stall, and slashed the dragon from left to right with ?Ice Sonic Sword III?.
Right behind her, Alice thrust her ?Sonic Pierce? straight into the dragon’s chest.
As the dragon’s HP fell to about 30%, Sora moved to deliver the final blow when—
“Yaah!”
Kicking off a nearby wall, Kuro activated ?Dual Nail III? from behind the dragon, slicing it apart with a fast double strike.
The giant dragon’s body turned to light particles and vanished into the sky.
Kuro landed gracefully. After high-fiving her, Sora issued new instructions to the team.
“There are 18 more Lesser Dragons left. It’s a hassle to take them all on at once, so let’s keep isolating and eliminating them one by one. Also, there’s one unidentified presence that even my ?Perception II? skill can’t detect, so be extra cautious.”
“Roger that.”
“Wait, wait! I’m still shocked you defeated two Lesser Dragons so quickly, and now you’re telling me you also have a legendary sensing skill?!”
“Huh? Oh, didn’t Aria tell you? I’ve got both ?Insight? and ?Perception? skills, and my ?Enchanter? skill level is 77.”
“W-w-w-what…?”
Alice froze in disbelief, her face stiffening as she tried to process this.
Sora flicked her forehead lightly with her finger.
“Ouch!?”
“Save your surprise for later. First, we need to wipe out the enemies.”
“Y-Yes, understood.”
With her forehead slightly red and tears forming in her eyes, Alice followed behind Sora and Kuro as they rushed forward.
Sora couldn’t help but think that when she explained everything later, Alice might just faint.