Ryota's Trial – The Crusade of the World's Legacy
The dungeon offered no mercy.
From the very beginning, it was clear that this trial had never been designed as a fair challenge. It wasn't interested in testing courage or determination. It existed to overwhelm anyone foolish enough to enter.
The moment the seven dragons unleashed their elemental breaths, the battlefield vanished beneath a storm of destruction.
Flames engulfed everything in sight.
Ice spread across the shattered terrain.
Lightning ripped through the darkness like divine punishment.
Violent winds compressed the air until it felt impossible to breathe.
Massive torrents of water crashed together with pillars of stone erupting from below.
And through it all, darkness swallowed whatever remained.
Ryota stood at the center of the catastrophe.
Pain exploded throughout his body as every element struck simultaneously. His skin burned. Frost formed along his arms. Electricity coursed through his muscles. The crushing pressure of wind and earth threatened to break him apart.
His HP plummeted.
Fast.
Far faster than any battle he had experienced before.
"Ghh!"
His legs trembled as he forced himself to stay upright.
There was no opportunity to dodge. No chance to escape.
All he could do was endure.
His sword rose instinctively in front of him.
Not as a shield.
Not as protection.
Simply as something to hold onto while he survived.
Then something shifted.
The pressure didn't disappear, but Ryota felt a subtle change within the force pressing against him.
His eyes widened slightly.
"...Scalular Impact."
The skill activated almost automatically.
For the first time, he could feel the incoming force itself. He couldn't fully understand it, but he could sense its structure. Its direction. Its weight.
The crushing pressure weakened.
Not completely.
But enough.
Enough to survive.
Ryota gritted his teeth.
"Okay..."
The elemental storm continued battering him for several more seconds before finally exploding outward.
The blast wave tore through the chamber, leaving devastation behind.
When the smoke cleared, Ryota was still standing.
His clothes were scorched.
Frost clung to parts of his body.
His breathing was ragged.
But he was alive.
A weak grin appeared on his face.
"...Still here."
The dragons immediately moved.
There was no pause.
No hesitation.
The earth dragon slammed its massive claws into the ground and vanished beneath the surface.
Ryota blinked.
"Huh?"
The answer came instantly.
The floor exploded beneath him.
A gigantic maw erupted upward and swallowed him whole.
"What the—?!"
Darkness consumed him.
The dragon's throat contracted around his body as he was dragged deeper inside. Heat and pressure surrounded him from every direction.
The monster intended to crush him alive.
Ryota stared into the darkness.
Then sighed.
"...You've got to be kidding me."
He tightened his grip around Iron Steve.
The sword flashed.
A powerful slash tore through flesh.
Blood sprayed through the creature's insides.
The dragon screamed.
Ryota attacked again.
And again.
And again.
Each strike carved deeper into the monster.
Finally, a brilliant light appeared ahead.
With one final swing, he ripped through the dragon's side and burst out in a shower of blood and torn scales.
Fresh air rushed into his lungs.
"That was disgusting!"
The earth dragon collapsed.
Its enormous body plummeted toward the battlefield below.
Ryota instinctively grabbed onto it as they fell.
Then a ridiculous idea entered his mind.
He looked at the dragon.
Then at the distant techno-centaur.
"...Wait a second."
A grin spread across his face.
"...What if this works?"
Using every ounce of strength he possessed, Ryota twisted his body and hurled the dragon.
The massive creature flew through the air like a living projectile.
The techno-centaur turned.
Too late.
The dragon smashed directly into it.
The impact produced a deafening explosion.
Metal shrieked.
The centaur staggered backward, digging its enormous blade into the ground to stop itself from falling.
Ryota landed nearby and slid across the fractured battlefield.
Then he laughed.
"Okay. That actually worked."
The remaining dragons roared in fury.
Now they were taking him seriously.
The battle escalated immediately.
The techno-centaur launched itself forward.
Its mechanical legs anchored against the terrain as its gigantic execution blade rose overhead.
The weapon descended with enough force to split a fortress in half.
Ryota barely reacted in time.
CLANG!
Iron Steve collided with the massive sword.
The sound echoed throughout the chamber.
For a brief moment, both weapons remained locked together.
Then the force arrived.
The impact surged through Ryota's arms with enough power to pulverize bone.
Yet Scalular Impact activated again.
The incoming force weakened.
Redirected.
Instead of sending him flying, the energy transferred into the battlefield itself.
BOOM!
The ground shattered beneath him.
Cracks spread in every direction as entire sections of terrain collapsed into the abyss below.
The centaur's glowing eyes flickered.
Analyzing.
Adapting.
Ryota grinned.
"You hit hard."
He twisted away and broke the clash.
A roar echoed overhead.
The remaining dragons attacked simultaneously.
One unleashed a torrent of fire.
Ryota barely dodged, though the flames scorched his side and shaved away another portion of his HP.
A second dragon followed with a bolt of lightning.
The flash illuminated the entire battlefield.
Electricity surged through his body.
His muscles locked.
Pain exploded through his nerves.
"Tch—!"
Before he could recover, another dragon slammed into him.
A massive claw struck his side and sent him spinning through the air.
Then another dragon intercepted him.
Its jaws closed around his body.
Pressure crushed him from every direction.
His HP dropped even further.
But Ryota refused to surrender.
"Not done yet!"
He forced his arm to move despite the pain.
Iron Steve flashed.
The blade carved upward through the dragon's mouth.
The monster roared and released him.
Ryota fell free.
As he spun through the air, a thought occurred to him.
He reached downward and grabbed the first thing he could find.
A pebble.
Tiny.
Worthless.
To anyone else.
Ryota smirked.
Scalular Impact activated.
This time, instead of reducing force, he concentrated it.
Amplified it.
The pebble vanished from his fingers.
A split second later—
BOOM!
The projectile slammed into a dragon's scales.
The resulting shockwave sent the enormous creature spiraling through the air.
Ryota stared.
Then laughed.
"No way."
He grabbed another pebble.
Then another.
Each tiny stone became a devastating projectile.
Explosions erupted across the battlefield as dragon after dragon lost formation.
One enraged dragon dove directly toward him.
Ryota didn't retreat.
He jumped.
His foot landed on the dragon's skull.
Using its head as a stepping stone, he sprinted across its neck and onto its back.
The dragon twisted violently.
Too late.
"Got you."
Iron Steve descended.
A wing separated from the creature's body.
The dragon screamed as it spun uncontrollably into the abyss below.
Ryota launched himself from the falling monster.
His target this time was the techno-centaur.
The construct saw him coming.
Its weapon rose again.
Ryota pulled back his fist.
Scalular Impact surged through his arm.
Not reducing force.
Not redirecting it.
Maximizing it.
Every ounce of energy condensed into a single strike.
Then he punched.
BOOOOOOM!
The impact snapped the centaur's upper body backward.
Its enormous frame actually lifted from the ground.
Shockwaves erupted across the battlefield.
The already-damaged terrain could not withstand the force.
A quiet crack echoed beneath everything.
Final.
Unavoidable.
Then the entire battlefield collapsed.
Stone broke apart.
The dragons fell.
The centaur fell.
Ryota fell.
Everything disappeared into the abyss.
Darkness swallowed the world.
There was no ground.
No light.
No sense of direction.
Only endless freefall.
Ryota stared upward as dragons roared above him.
The techno-centaur stabilized itself in midair, preparing to continue the fight.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"Man..."
He tightened his grip around Iron Steve.
"This game is insane."
His eyes sharpened.
The battle wasn't over.
Not even close.
"Round two."