Danmachi: A Despicable Stranger

Chapter 49: Unwritten Rules among Adventurers

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Fighting the exhaustion that made him want to close his eyes and call it a day, Izzy slowly approached the severely injured pterosaur with his spear in hand.

"Hehe... hehehehe..."

The starlight curtain that had once enveloped the pterosaur's body had dissipated, replaced by countless tiny rock crystals attached to its scales, joints, and wounds.

The creature let out a terrible roar, its entire body seemingly bound by invisible shackles, as if a thousand-pound rock hung from it.

It resembled a wild beast fiercely defending its territory, warning the advancing hunter that any closer and it would retaliate with everything it had.

Unfortunately for the pterosaur, the warning was futile.

Izzy, fully aware of the beast's condition, completely ignored the roar and continued forward, step by step.

The silver-grey spear dragged along the ground, its blade still wrapped in flickering blue flames. The intense heat scorched long marks into the earth as he advanced.

"This is it!"

Mustered every ounce of his remaining strength, Izzy raised the spear high before plunging it deep into the pterosaur's chest.

"Roaaarrrrrrr!"

Pinned to the ground by the spear, the pterosaur roared wildly in desperation. The primal fear of death is universal to all intelligent creatures.

Yet, for powerful beings, nothing spurs their remaining strength more than the shadow of death itself.

From somewhere deep within, the beast found a surge of vitality, thrashing violently and twisting its body against the spear embedded in its chest.

The next moment, its massive tail whipped up a cyclone, sweeping across everything within its range.

"!?"

Momentarily dazed by his mental fatigue, Izzy staggered from the sudden movement, becoming acutely alert as adrenaline coursed through him.

Sensing imminent danger, he instinctively dropped his body low, narrowly evading the devastating blow.

The sweeping tail missed Izzy but struck the spear, knocking it loose from the pterosaur's chest.

The distance between Izzy and the enraged creature had never been closer.

As if this was its final gambit, flames erupted from the pterosaur's cracked mouth, the heat intensifying as crimson fire gathered within.

"! Can't you just die quietly already?!"

Taken aback by the pterosaur's desperate final struggle, Izzy, who had assumed the battle was over, felt his irritation flare.

The dark blue flames that had lingered around him disappeared in an instant. With renewed determination, he lunged forward, pressing one hand firmly against the creature's throat.

A brilliant silver light ignited in his palm as the intricate structure of an eight-pointed star magic circle began to form.

"Starfall!"

"——————!"

Boom!

A light as dazzling as the night sky exploded outward, accompanied by a deafening roar that reverberated through the land.

Centered on Izzy's position, the shockwave rippled outward, scattering gray-white dust in all directions.

Though unaffected by his own magic, Izzy was caught by the powerful winds of the blast, sending him tumbling across the jagged terrain. He landed heavily on the ground, gasping for air.

"Are you injured, Mr. Izzy?"

As soon as Izzy sat up, Ryuu, his masked companion, approached and crouched beside him, concern evident in her voice.

"Does feeling like I might drop dead any second count?"

"It seems you're fine..."

Ryuu rolled her eyes at Izzy's dry humor, recognizing it as a sign that he still had the energy to joke.

But Izzy wasn't entirely kidding.

His mental reserves were completely drained, leaving him feeling as though he hadn't rested in days. His entire body felt heavy, his head floated in a haze, and though he sat on the ground, he could barely feel its weight beneath him.

Ryuu observed Izzy's state for a while before sighing quietly.

There were indeed no external injuries on his body, but his face was very pale.

It should be mental fatigue.

Ryuu made this judgment in her heart, and then began to search through Izzy's backpack.

There is always a price to pay for using magic.

To perform and activate magic, one needs to deplete mental strength (magic power) instead of physical strength. But just as physical strength has its limits, mental strength will eventually reach its limits as well.

The consequence of exhausting one's mental energy is fainting without any resistance.

In the dungeon, fainting in such a state is extremely dangerous, so anyone capable of using magic takes great care to avoid pushing themselves to that point.

However, Izzy's current situation...

Was it a last resort? Or simply natural under the circumstances?

After all, he had just used a spell with such an enormous range and destructive power.

After searching for a while, Ryuu found a spiritual power recovery potion in Izzy backpack. She opened the lid of the glass bottle and handed the potion to Izzy.

"Thanks."

Taking the potion from Ryuu, Izzy tilted his head back and drank it.

After consuming two doses of the spiritual potion, Izzy's pale, bloodless complexion recovered significantly.

Potions are truly wonderful things—they bring such reassurance in dire situations.

There's no such thing as having too many of them.

"It's over..."

"Yeah, it's over..."

"Which Familia is that high-ranking adventurer from? So powerful..."

"Don't look at me—I don't know either."

"It must be a monster from some big family, but I don't know what their title is."

"I think so too..."

At the various entrances of the cave, many adventurers—who had been watching the battle until it concluded—began whispering among themselves. Their conversations were filled with amazement and admiration.

"Damn it, it feels like a wasted trip."

"Heh, you say that like you could've taken down that 'Strengthen species' without the guy down there stepping in."

"Hiss! You bastard, don't expose my weaknesses like that, okay? Do I not deserve any dignity?"

"Dignity? You still have that? I'm shocked!"

Many of the adventurers felt fortunate to have avoided death, as facing the pterosaur would undoubtedly have been fatal for them.

Yet, there were others who felt an inexplicable sense of loss, a difficult-to-describe emotion lingering in their hearts.

The battle between Izzy and the pterosaur had shocked them all, especially as they realized the creature was even stronger than they had anticipated, yet it had been taken down by Izzy alone.

Their complex emotions couldn't be conveyed in mere words.

In truth, during the battle, many adventurers could have stepped in to intervene.

But none had chosen to.

This was due to an unwritten rule among adventurers:

Monsters born in dungeons belong to whoever discovers them first. Whether during regular exploration or a subjugation commission, the first to encounter the monster has claim over it.

Of course, if the first discoverer is unable to defeat the monster, then the right to fight depends on one's own ability.

Most adventurers respect this rule and despise those who don't.

Although Izzy hadn't been the first to discover the pterosaur, the original discoverer had been unable to defeat it, allowing Izzy to take over the fight.

As for the other adventurers who arrived later, they refrained from interfering.

In truth, there had been little opportunity for them to step in.

Who could withstand such a massive star falling from the sky?

Would anyone dare to charge in and claim the kill under those circumstances?

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