“Don’t know about what you’ve got, but Dragonification is something like a magic exercised by the dragon blood running through our veins. In human terms, it’s a form of alchemy. You manipulate the four basic elements to wear a new substance, alter it, and reform it,” Haring explained, showing his transformed right hand. “What you can manipulate changes based on blood. Those folks with fire dragon blood use fire, and water dragons can turn their whole bodies into water. It’s earth, in my case...sand, to be more precise.”
“Really? It’s not stone?”
“Stone is an amalgamation of minerals. Gather up sand, harden it, and you get stone. Carefully select out the iron sand, and you can get iron. Gather up silica sand, you can even make crystal. But carefully selectin’ out the right sand takes way too much time; it slows down the Dragonification. That’s why I usually just use what’s lying around.”
“Hmm...it’s surprisingly versatile.”
Keeping a close watch on Haring’s arm, Yuri ruminated over his words to further his knowledge. Understanding the Tribe Skills he had inherited was an absolute necessity if he wanted to use Tribal Armament.
To duelists, Tribe Skills were the core of their strategy. They were abilities that could completely turn the tides of battles, so without these opportunities, he couldn’t ask for the details on them.
“Come to think of it, and this is a little late...but are you sure you should tell me about your Tribe Skill?”
“Tsk... A bit late for that. I’ve already lost to you. What’s the harm in teachin’ you about a losin’ strategy? Just means I need to find something new.”
As if he had recalled his defeat, Haring began taking out his frustration by punching the rockface. From his usual crude speech and the image of him as a giant stone dragon, it was easy to misunderstand, but he apparently put quite a bit of thought into battle.
“Hey, quit slackin’. Start shatterin’ rock. Weeb elf, hold the fragments up to the sun. See anythin’ that shines funny, you report it to me.”
“Got it! I’ll do my best punching the wall!”
“Sir, yes sir!”
As Eleanor began holding small fragments up to the sun, Yuri imitated Haring and looked at the wall.
“...!!”
He lunged forward, he smacked it with all his might...but not only did he fail to open a hole, he didn’t crumble it in the slightest. If that wasn’t enough, the sensation from his fist seemed off, somehow.
Appearance-wise, it was like any other rocky cliff, but it didn’t feel like punching hard rock or steel. It was as if some invisible substance had rejected his fist.
“How is it? Not as easy as it looks, eh?”
“Right. I feel like I’m being repelled.”
“Thought so. You ever heard of mana veins?”
“Umm...that’s the mana that flows through the ground, right?”
“Right. Out here in the depths, the mana veins are larger, thicker than anywhere else. That’s what makes the monsters bigger and stronger, and plants that feed off of mana-filled water have all sortsa benefits,” Haring said, showing off a fragment he had broken off.
“The rocks are the same. The earth keeps sucking up mana, so the mineral deposits get coated in the stuff and become stronger against physical trauma. When it crystallizes, you get ores with magical properties...in short, what weeb elf is searching for.”
“So we’re already at the right place!”
“Yeah. When it’s this hard, we should smack right into a vein just randomly diggin’ around,” Haring replied before getting right back to work. “Well, there’s a trick to what I’m doin’ here. It ain’t a feat anyone can pick up, and if you think you can’t do it, you can just help sort.”
“No—I think I’ve got the idea.” Rejecting Haring’s proposal, Yuri swung his arm like a hammer—and made a cracking, snapping sound upon impact. Minuscule fragments chipped away from the surface.
“You coat your fist with mana to repel the mana from the cliff... Am I doing it right?”
“Not bad at all. How did you notice?”
“The sound your punches make is different. The reason you used Dragonification on your right hand was to wear the same mana as the earth here, right?”
“You got it. The mana here disperses physical force, so if you hit it with the same mana—the flow goes all out of whack, and your attack gets through.”
Yuri required no further prompting to punch the rocks again. As a result, he finally managed to open a small divot, but...
“Oww... It kinda really, really hurts!”
“Why do you look happy about that? You a masochist or somethin’?”
“At least say I’m feeling delighted by a brand-new sensation!”
“It ain’t brand new or anythin’. If your force ain’t gettin’ dispersed, you’re just back to punchin’ rock with your bare hands. You Human Tribe are feeble compared to us dragons, so if you hit it normally, of course, it’s gonna hurt,” the dragon pointed out in a tired tone. The fact that Haring, who was similarly punching rock, came out completely unscathed really stood as a testament to the sturdiness of the Dragon Tribe.
“It’s because you’re just focusin’ mana. Back when you fought the Beheader, you used multiple Tribe Skills, didn’t you? Try doin’ it like that.”
“Got it! But...you’re pretty knowledgeable about that battle.”
Haring seemed to know about his fight with Elias in detail, so he’d asked on reflex...but the dragon’s face was quick to sour, as if to say he had messed up.
“...Anyone who’s got an eye on you’s seen the broadcast at least once. That’s just how much of a threat your Tribal Armament is, and you’re a person of interest in the Babel Roulette—”
“Meaning, Mr. Haring, you’ve got an eye on me, I see!”
“Shut up, stay away!”
He kicked Yuri away as he tried to approach and backed off.
“You do the rest on your own, brat. I’m gonna take a nap.”
“Eeeh!? Doesn’t that sound kinda unfair!?”
“I told you I ain’t gonna do nothin’ once we reach the depths. You’re the one who picked up the elf, so you do somethin’ about it.”
Finding a random rock to lean against, Haring closed his eyes.
But Yuri turned back to the cliff without a word. The sensation of wearing mana like clothing. The sensation of an impact his body was supposed to receive dispersing instead. They were both...similar to when his brain’s limits remained undone.
He still hadn’t grasped precisely what it was.
“In that case—I’ll just repeat it until I get it!!”
To ascertain the uncertainty, Yuri swung his fists again.