Reborn As a Pirate - Chapter 112

Chapter 112: Unicorn Dragon!
[Upper]!

This was his inaugural confrontation with a being denoted as [Upper]. Prior encounters, like that with the male fire dragon, had only warranted a designation at the pinnacle of the [Lower] tier.

The designation [Upper] signified a creature far surpassing any he had faced before.

Moreover, the horn crowning the unicorn’s head stirred a pang of recognition within him.

It didn’t take long for Ryan to pinpoint the source of this deja vu, it was the dragon head crab, the first special species he encountered upon entering the travel area. The resemblance of its shell to the unicorn’s horn was uncanny, save for size and minute details.

“Just after stepping into the inner zone, I’ve stumbled upon an [Upper] entity?”

A bitter taste flooded Ryan’s mouth. His initial hope had been to find a vulnerable species to exploit and secure the [Azure Medal]…

“Whoosh…”

The howling wind intensified, carrying thicker clouds of yellow sand, shrouding the unicorn as it merged with the swirling tempest, vanishing from sight.

Ryan’s gaze sharpened.

“Huahuahua…”

The ground underfoot trembled visibly as a mound of earth, raised slightly from the sand, barreled towards him through the blinding storm.

Though it traveled on the ground, the mound’s speed was astonishing. What started dozens of meters away closed in rapidly, shrinking the distance to mere strides in mere moments.

Ryan backpedaled swiftly, but the beast beneath the mound seemed to home in on his presence, its pursuit relentless.

“Boom!”

As the yellow sand erupted into the sky like a geyser, the earth beneath Ryan’s feet roared with a primal fury. The first thing to breach the surface was not the creature itself but its formidable weapon, a spiraled, colossal horn that pierced the air. This was swiftly followed by the emergence of thick, muscular wings, powerful as the walls of a fortress.

The unicorn Dragon’s immense size dwarfed everything in its vicinity. Despite Ryan’s instinctive leap backward as the ground exploded, the shockwave lifted him off his feet, flinging him into a turbulent midair dance. It was there that a looming shadow, swift and deadly, swung towards him with the force of a sledgehammer.

The shadow materialized into the unicorn Dragon’s tail, earthy yellow and in the shape of a formidable as a double-headed warhammer.

“Bang!”

Ryan’s greatsword hissed from its sheath, interposing itself between him and the incoming tail. The impact when they collided sent a shockwave like a tidal surge, forcing Ryan’s face to contort with the effort. The power behind the unicorn’s tail made the formidable strength of the fire dragons he’d previously faced seem like mere child’s play.

In that moment, before the might of the unicorn, Ryan felt as insignificant as an insect, and the brutal force of the tail sent him hurtling dozens of meters across the desert.

“Sizzle—”

Crashing to the ground, Ryan tumbled end over end before coming to a jarring stop. His face was ashen, the knuckles gripping his greatsword were bloodied, and the pain suggested serious internal injuries. This single strike had debilitated him, a testament to the unicorn’s overwhelming force.

Yet, Ryan knew he was stronger now than he had ever been before. His enhancements and mastery of his hidden class abilities meant he could have bested the male fire dragon leader in a rematch. But against this superior adversary, his newfound strength seemed pitifully inadequate.

This encounter was a brutal reminder, a lone desert knight’s merciless warning to any who dare tread on its dominion the beast relentlessly pursued after him.

As the unicorn Dragon reemerged and began its imposing advance, Ryan’s heart sank. The sparse desert offered little in terms of cover, the scant stones dotting the landscape barely enough to qualify as obstacles for such a beast.

With no avenue for retreat, a resolute fire kindled within Ryan. “Let’s give this a fight,” he muttered, determination flaring in his eyes.

“Hu…”

Taking a deep, steadying breath, he felt his wounds begin to mend, fueled by the [Heart of Gluttony]. His space ring flickered briefly before he pulled out a strip of bloody steak, devouring it swiftly. As he swallowed, his greatsword, [Ferocious Ice Flower], blazed to life with a fiery red glow.

[Food War·Male Fire Dragon’s Sorrow]!

Empowered, Ryan gripped the greatsword now as easily as a one-handed blade with his enhanced physique. As he charged towards the looming threat, an ice-blue crossbow bolt appeared in his left hand, ready to be unleashed.

It was the [Light Crossbow·Ice Crusher].

“Swish!”

The string of the crossbow hummed as Ryan released the bolt, a streak of ice-blue light slicing through the air towards the unicorn’s eyes with deadly precision.

“Ding!”

With a mere tilt of its head, the unicorn deflected the incoming bolt using the robust shield that crowned its brow. The frost from the ice-attribute attack briefly clung to its armor before dissolving ineffectually into the swirling sands.

Unable to breach the defense.

This feeble attempt only served to enrage the unicorn further. Its powerful legs tensed, muscles bulging beneath its hide as it gathered force, accelerating like a locomotive unleashed, churning up a storm of yellow sand.

In its charge, the unicorn wielded its horn like a spear and its wings as shields, an unstoppable force that obliterated any stones in its path.

Ryan steeled his mind. The area of effect of the unicorn’s ‘dragon chariot’ charge was vast, making evasion by mere physical means like dodging or flying virtually impossible. As the behemoth closed the distance to just ten meters, Ryan prepared for a more spiritual confrontation.

“High-spirited War Roar—Engage!”

This wasn’t the usual war cry. This time, the sound waves boomed with unprecedented power, the color of his spiritual aura deepening from pale to rich milky white. His spirituality had surged to astonishing new heights.

[Spirit]: 6.0

[Physique]: 35.82

These were the current attributes of Ryan’s traveling clone, enhanced not just by his base class but also by the complete feedback of the [Gluttony Hunter (First Order)] profession from his main body, along with the potent boost from ten [First Order Spirituality Enhancement Crystals] and the use of Holy Blood. His clone’s spirituality had reached a formidable 6.0. This unique enhancement meant that the spiritual and physical attributes developed in this form couldn’t cycle back to his main body, such a feedback loop would be an exploitable flaw in their world.