Finally Having a Dragon Duel

We were back on track (minus Kobalta) to get to the location marked on the map. I considered using my Quicken spell to speed us all up, but I figured it would be best to save as much as I can. Weak monsters showed up on occasion, but they were quickly dealt with our team of giant robots. As well as collecting as much material from them as we could.

I definitely wouldn’t stand a chance against a dragon without the Craft-Knight, but even with it I’m starting to become a nervous wreck the closer we get.

We took a break halfway to eat. I stared at my rabbit on a stick. Food in this world still tasted pretty mad. Maybe it would be worth it to go to that guild Kobalta talked about. There were probably merchants selling spices by the dozen. But this is a medieval world so they might be way too expensive.

After I forced down my food I walked back over to the Craft-Knight. The wooden pieces meant to be temporary parts were breaking down from taking too many impacts. I sighed as I couldn’t repair it until we got back to the Alcier Village. Thinking back, I probably could’ve taken the workbench from Zelezo’s place with us.

After everyone was done eating, we went on our way. Our path was surrounded by barely anything but stone. There were sometimes that ores were poking out in the open. Which I obviously took. It was a boring part of the adventure, I hoped I’d have a little bit of MP after the fight so I could speed it up.

I wasn’t sure how Stahl-Soldats were powered, but they seemed to have some great battery life. I asked Zelezo how they worked, “Well kid, magic can do a lot and special magic gems keep these things runnin’ a long time.” Great, I knew I should have expected some vague magic answer.

The path started to turn in a way against the direction we needed to go. We jumped up the mountainside ledges. I could see the large cavern that was pointed out on the map. I looked up and saw a smidge of orange in the sky, meaning it would be evening soon. I guess it will take too long if we wait for Kobalta.

We picked up the pace a bit to the metaphorical finish line. A large gaping mouth of a cave stood before us. I psyched myself up and postured myself to look more confident. We walked in to see a green-scaled, four-legged dragon. I was slightly relieved it didn’t look like an endgame boss but now that I’m this close my nervousness really showed up.

“You in the new Stahl-Soldat, I challenge you to a one-on-one duel. I haven’t had one with a much more advanced model in many decades.” I was shocked and surprised that the dragon was able to talk. Though it wasn’t really crazy that a dragon would be able to, I just wasn’t expecting it. “Y-Yeah, I made it myself. It’s called the Craft-Knight! I’ll beat you and earn my reward!”

The dragon gave a chuckle, “I’ve beaten every one of those dolls I’ve come across. I’ve even kept some of the more impressive ones for myself as trophies along with some abandoned ones I find on my travels. Antiques, they are. But if I win, I get yours.” Well at least my life wasn’t probably at stake.

I got into a battle-ready position and took a deep breath. I thought back to when I rejected an offer from a friend to join his martial arts club, those skills would have been useful now. I looked to the side as everyone in the convoy got out of their mechs. I would be getting no help in this fight.

“My name is Osaur, now let us fight!” He charged right at me with full force. I managed to catch him by the shoulders. His physical stats were definitely stronger than the Craft-Knight. I decided to run outside to get more space. “You chose to come to a dragon to fight, but you won’t get away easily.”

I turned back to face him now that I was outside. I used the time it was taking for him to catch up to cast Quicken on myself, which extended and was amplified by the Craft-Knight. He was physically stronger but now I was faster. I got some punches in, though his scales were tough enough to slightly chip at my metal hands.

I jumped back and shot a Fireball spell from my chest gem. Osaur took it face on, barely affecting him. He ran forward and swiped his claw at me, creating large gashes in the armor.

My body was getting pushed around in the cockpit with each impact. I need to think of some way to turn the tide in my favor.