Level 1 Strongest Sage 1-Chapter 11Vol. 15 - - Ultimate Clan Battle – Qualification Rounds (/22)

Kikyou’s back.

“Hey, good work out there, Kikyou-san."

"Halt-sama, you don’t need to be so formal, just call me by my name."

She says it in that sweet, affectionate voice, as if she hadn’t snapped at a deity just a little while ago.

"Everyone in the Ernol household is considered as part of my family. This concubine wouldn’t get mad over something like that."

Well, I’m the only one in the house who calls her by just her name, but still.

"Kikyou-san, you did great." (Tina)

"You’ve worked hard.” (Mai and Mei)

"You did awesome!" (Hakua)

"That was insane, meow! Good job taking on that deity." (Merdie)

"Thank you, everyone."

Thanks to Kikyou, our record is now one win, one loss. Everyone crowds around her, showering her with praise. After a while, she slips through the group and comes over to me.

"Halt-sama, I did my best."

"Yeah, I know."

Sorry Sylph, but Kikyou won fair and square, so I should give her something she really wants. Normally, I can’t read her mind with telepathy, but right now, her desire is practically enveloping her that it’s so obvious what she wanted.

"When we get home, I’ll give you a reward."

"──!!"

Judging by that reaction when I told her I’ll give it when we get home, she got exactly what I meant. When Sylph lost, I patted her head and gave her some comforting words right here as her reward. Kikyou won this round, but she wants something a little more intimate, something that has to wait until we get back home.

"Thank you. I’ll be looking forward to it."

Even though normal people can’t see them, her nine tails are swishing all over the place. She’s trying to keep a straight face, but it’s so obvious she’s excited. That contrast is what makes her so cute. Yeah, I’m looking forward to tonight too.

──＊＊＊──

"Can I go next?"

"Yeah. I’m counting on you, Ryuushin."

Our third fighter is Ryuushin, a top-tier dragonoid who can transform back into the black dragon Kokuryuu. If this were a normal clan battle with a knockout-style format, he could probably handle the entire enemy team solo.

However, the opponents are also on another level entirely.

I wonder who they’re sending out next?

Dragon God-sama probably won’t step forward again, but they still have ancient dragon Soryuu-sama left. And then there’s Dairon, the guy who founded the Elven Kingdom of Alheim, and he’s pretty strong enough to take down a dragon.

And also —

"Seems like Halt’s team is sending out a dragonoid. Well then, I will go."

"We’re counting on you, Cain."

My siblings are seriously overpowered, and the strongest one out of all of them stepped forward.

"Hey, isn’t that your big bro?"

"Yep."

"I don’t need to hold back, right?"

"Nope. Go all out."

Cain, my brother, is the strongest human alive if we exclude the reincarnators. Even if Ryuushin transforms into his black dragon form, I think he’s gonna have a rough time. Honestly, Cain’s even stronger against monsters than people, so staying in human form might be better.

"Ryuushin! Fight like your life depends on it!"

"O-oh, yeah!"

Ryuka sends him off while cheering him on. Since she knows resurrection magic, [Resurrection], her words have a different weight. It’s less "Fight like your life depends on it" and more "Even if you die, I’ll just bring you back, so win at all costs."

Ryuushin steps onto the battle stage. Around the same time, I noticed my mom doing something with magic on the enemy team’s side.

"...What’s she up to?"

"That seems to be some serious kind of spell."

Tina and I watch as my mom tears open space itself and pulls out a massive sword.

"W-wait, that’s!!"

"Eh, seriously?"

I recognize it from a grimoire that I read before. That ominous blade is called [Dragon Killer]. As the name suggests, it’s a magic sword that is ridiculously overpowered against dragons.

"Hey! That thing’s legal?!"

Ryuushin shouts, pointing at Cain, who’s now wielding the [Dragon Killer].

Unfortunately, yeah. It is.

Technically, we could give Ryuushin a weapon too, but there’s one problem—he already stepped onto the battle stage. The rules state that once a fighter enters the arena, they can’t receive any new weapons or buffs. The referee, Johan, explained that earlier though Ryuushin probably wasn’t listening.

"Hope you don’t mind a little cheating. Us humans are kinda fragile, you know?"

Said the strongest human to Ryuushin as he stood on the arena with [Dragon Killer] in hand.

That’s not "a little" cheating. But since Ryuushin rushed onto the stage without thinking, we can’t complain. He’ll just have to deal with it.

"Ryuushin! Now’s the time to surpass your limits as a dragonoid! If you’re no longer a dragonoid, [Dragon Killer] will just be a big, heavy sword!"

Ryuka started yelling some insane nonsense.

"Oh! T-That’s it! That’s right!!"

Ryuushin suddenly looks like he’s had some sort of epiphany.

I totally can’t follow, what do you mean by “that’s it”?

Besides, changing your entire species is literally impossible—

“haaahhhhhhhhHHHHHH!!"

A primal guttural scream escaped Ryuushin’s throat.

Massive amounts of magic surge out of him, shaking the ground. Electricity crackles across his body.

Johan hasn’t even started the match yet, so Cain just watches, waiting. He clearly doesn’t believe Ryuushin can actually change species either.

"Haaaahhh!! Gghh... ggggrrrhh!!"

Yeah, that’s impossible—everyone thought so.

But...

Ryuushin, being the single-minded idiot he is, believed it could happen.

And actually—everyone, myself included, forgot something important. In this world, there are beings even higher than dragons. And after years of training with us, Ryuushin had maxed out his species’ potential. He had unlocked the ability to evolve.

"AAAAARRRRGGHHH—GRYAHHH!!"

A small explosion erupts from Ryuushin.

When the dust settles—

There he was, standing on the battlefield, with two horns on each side of his head—four in total. His face now had a bunch of badass markings.

Wait… no way.

Did he actually evolve?

"Sorry for the wait. I’m Ryuushin, no longer a dragonoid but a dragonian!"

"A... ryujin?!"

Cain’s Extreme Intuition immediately told him—it’s real. Ryuushin really did evolve.

"Yeah. And now, I’m way stronger than before."

"But... you do realize..."

"Huh? What’ya mean?"

"Dragonians are still dragons, you know."

“Eh?

Ryuushin, the newly evolved dragonian now has to fight Cain, who’s holding [Dragon Killer].