Chapter 258

258 – Partial Dragonisation

My partner strains her arms as she glares at the manticore .

“It’s finally okay to struggle, right?”

W-wait a second! Before you get ready for battle, let me check its status! I want to eliminate any reason to be worried!

Plus, if we can, I’d like to aim for the moment it shows an opening . Until we see an opening or it seems suspicious, please stay as you are .

“…Fine, I’ll be careful . ”

A-also, you should crush its legs! So if it’s somehow able to slip away, we can chase it! When I undo the humanisation, please focus on that as much as possible!

“…Cheh . Argh, I got it already . ”

I get why you’re irritated, but it’s gotten away from us two times now . It won’t get a third time . This time we’ll take it down .

Its status is…

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Species: Manticore

Condition: Normal

Lv: 73/80

HP: 453/453

MP: 128/142

Attack: 413

Defense: 228

Magic: 194

Speed: 534

Rank: B

Characteristic Skills:

[Nekomata: Lv -] [Onmitsu: Lv 4] [Presence Sense: Lv 6] [Grisha Language: Lv 1]

Resistance Skills:

[Physical Resistance: Lv 4] [Magic Resistance: Lv 5] [Fire-attribute Resistance: Lv 3] [Poison Resistance: Lv 2][Paralysis Resistance: Lv 4]

Normal Skills:

[Paralysis Claw: Lv 7] [Paralysis Bite: Lv 8] [Humanisation Technique: Lv 8] [Sandstorm: Lv 6] [Needle Body: Lv 9]

Title Skills:

[Cunning: Lv 6] [Obsession: Lv 6] [Chaser: Lv 9] [Cat’s Pride: Lv 3] [Wind Runner: Lv 7] [Final Evolution: Lv -]

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Great, it hasn’t changed much .

I also want to properly understand its characteristic skills . One of them should have something to do with [Humanisation Technique] . I don’t want to rely on God’s Voice that much, but there’s no helping it .

【Characteristic Skill [Nekomata]】

【The user becomes good at deceiving people . A characteristic skill possessed mainly by cat-type monsters . 】

【The MP consumption of [Humanisation Technique] is greatly reduced . 】

As I thought, it’s that one . It reduces MP consumption of [Humanisation Technique]… I see . If I had the same skill collecting skill that the slime had, I’d want to steal it right away . I’ll have to be careful that this sneak attack on it lands .

“Gebagebageba…gebah?”

Perhaps suspicious that its live food is standing resolute, its glares at my partner . Indeed, if she doesn’t act a bit more scared, it’d notice something’s off .

Even Yarg was that frightened of the manticore . There’s no way that someone who was brought over to be live food for it could have this much composure . Partner, please act scared little bit more scared…

“…Ga, gaaah”

She screams, scrabbling with the rope binding her arms, as she runs away from the manticore . She runs slowly, not in such a way as to create too much distance . That monotone scream was just a dragon sound though!

“Ahh! That’s why I wanted to cut your rope!”

Tatark shouts . I thought he was joining in on the act, but a look at his face makes it clear that’s not the case . He’s serious .

The manticore moves to pin down my partner with its foreleg .

“Gebagebagebagebaah!”

My partner stops running and turns around, tearing off the rope .

“Gebaah!”

The manticore pins her with its forefoot, knocking her to the ground face-up .

“Gaah!”

The manticore’s mouth splits open into an eerie smile .

Argh! We got caught . With this, we can’t aim for its feet any more . Should I undo it already…? No, not yet . It’s not the right time yet .

The moment of predation is when living things are at their most vulnerable . Let’s aim for that .

My partner struggles, and the manticore frowns . She’s not able to get out of its grip, however . During [Humanisation Technique], physical status values are halved . Our current strength isn’t enough .

“Gebagebagebaah!”

The manticore’s mouth draws closer . Once it’s close enough, the angle puts us in a blind spot . This is it .

“Gaaaaaah!”

Howling, she swings her arm towards a fang . I focus on the arm . Heat runs through it as though our blood is boiling, and it expands .

The force of the impact of her fist raises a cloud of dust . The sensation of her claw tearing into the manticore’s flesh is transmitted to me . Probably, that’s the manticore’s gums we’re tearing through .

She continues on to gouge out flesh with her claw, tearing it apart . Nerve-and-all, the manticore’s fang flies out into the cloud of dust .

“Gebaaaah!”

A screams resounds from deeper into the cloud, and I feel the manticore’s presence receding . As the cloud of dust fades, I see that only our arm has expanded, becoming black and rugged .

Only the arm has gone back to dragon-form . The manticore did something similar earlier, so I tried it out and, as I’d thought, I can do it too .

My partner kicks off the ground, chasing after the forefoot of the retreating manticore .

“Gaaah!”

“Gebaaah!”

Her claw digs deeply into the flesh of its front leg . Its thick skin is split and chunks of meat dance through the air .

Following up, she slams her fist into its chin . Its huge body scrapes across the ground as it’s sent flying .

“…Didn’t have to hold on that long”

She lets out a bitter complaint… S-sorry .

“Wh-what?! You, what are you!?”

Yarg shouts while illuminating us with the lantern that Tatark had thrown . Nearby, Tatark’s mouth opens in shock .

“OoOOOoOoooOOO…”

Deeper in the cave, the manticore’s eyes shine .

This time, I fully undo [Humanisation Technique] . Heat runs through our body as it swells in size .

With our body returned to normal, the manticore’s anger fades as its face pales . It’s too late to notice we have the same skill as you .

“GuuooooooOH!”

“GaaaaaaaaAH!”

I howl out together with my partner .