A roar. A thunderous howl. It was a sound that made the mountains themselves tremble. Though the body was small, the voice was unmistakably that of a Dragon.

  "Hey, human. You’ve... reminded me of my rage!"

  The air crackled with electricity. A magic circle flared to life, and with a sound like a landslide, a massive shadow rose. A dragon made of wood. Over two meters tall, the timber behemoth groaned and creaked as it manifested.

  "Go, Wood Dragon! Hunt him down!" At that command, the beast lunged toward me.

  〈BOOM!〉

  With a thunderous crack, a massive arm swung in a deadly arc. I leaped back just in time, the wind pressure gouging the earth where my feet had been a second ago.

  "Hah, I see... the Demon Lord, eh? This is getting interesting!"

  The tiny dragon smirked.

  "Our official contract will have to wait until you defeat my Wood Dragon! First, let’s see what you’re made of!"

  The Wood Dragon. A sophisticated hollow shell made of timber, equipped with razor-sharp claws. Its entire body was shrouded in a faint, glowing magical aura.

  The ground at my feet was gouged deep. If I took even one hit, it would be game over.

  The massive body approached slowly. I backed away, step by step.

  (Calm down.)

  He said he wanted to see my strength.

  Every existence has a weak point. The basic of strategy is "striking the weakness."

  If I can exploit that, this fight should end. I don't necessarily have to destroy it.

  But the opponent knows that too. If I can flip that logic against him...

  I continued to observe. This Wood Dragon didn't use breath attacks; it was purely physical. Scolly’s voice drifted over from the sidelines.

  "Go for it, Manager! That thing only uses physical attacks! Dive into its chest and hit it with a counter, ssu!"

  "Watching from a safe zone like a pro-wrestling fan, are you...?"

  Before I could finish my insult, the Wood Dragon’s tail whipped around, gouging the dirt at Scolly’s feet.

  "Whoa!" Scolly dodged and threw a pebble-shinging spell in retaliation, but it was pathetically weak. "I’m almost out of mana today. Tehe~"

  She thinks she can get away with anything just by looking cute.

  (Wait, did I actually think she was a little cute for a second?)

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  〈THUD!〉

  A brick. A brick flown from the bushes struck the back of the Wood Dragon's head. Perhaps because it was a surprise attack, the massive body faltered for a moment.

  In that opening, advice came flying.

  "The joints! The joints are the weak point!"

  It was Igora’s voice. Great advice. Immediately after saying it, he ducked back into the shadows of the trees.

  I looked at the Wood Dragon's joints. It had the massive build of a Western-style dragon. The joints of its legs and arms were glowing faintly, as if some defensive magic had been cast over them.

  "Useless! I've placed defensive wards on the joints!"

  The tiny dragon smirked, the corners of his mouth curling up.

  "You've already got countermeasures for that?!"

  "Reinforcing your weaknesses is the absolute basic of basics! Hahaha!" The dragon laughed haughtily, crossing his arms.

  "Don't do extra work for a beginning-of-the-game enemy!"

  I dodged another attack and tried to strike a joint with a wooden stick.

  〈CRACK!〉

  The stick was violently repelled. The defensive magic had bounced the blow away.

  "Yeah, attacking the joints is a no-go," I muttered, looking at my right hand, which was numb from the impact.

  "Well? Ready to surrender?"

  The dragon had a smug look of victory. It was pretty annoying, especially for a reptile.

  Even though its initial movements were slow, the attacks were incredibly fast once they started. I was pushed to my limit just trying to keep up.

  〈CREAK, SMASH!〉

  The sound repeated over and over.

  "If it’s made of wood, then fire must be the weakness!" Barely dodging, I finally voiced my deduction.

  "Hahaha! I've accounted for that too! The entire body has been treated with fireproof paint!"

  "You’ve prepared way too much!"

  I shouted a retort while dodging, but the opening created by my own sarcasm allowed a claw attack to slip through.

  〈SWISH!〉

  I couldn't dodge completely; a claw grazed my shoulder. A sharp pain flared. The scent of blood. I was completely on the defensive. ...This is bad. If I keep this up, I’m actually going to die.

  "Ugh, I can't watch this anymore," a bored, melodic voice cut through the sound of splintering wood.

  I glanced toward the source. Hildegardie was still sitting on her stump, but her silver twin-tails were now flickering with a pale, mischievous light.

  "Listen, Landlord. Fighting a Dragon—even a wooden one—in those rags is just embarrassing for my neighborhood."

  "Then help me instead of criticizing!"

  I yelled, narrowly dodging a fireproofed tail.

  "Help? No, no. I'm just going to give you a proper 'uniform' for the job. Consider it a professional courtesy," she smirked, raising her massive staff.

  "Cosplay Magic: Shift — [The Nimble Black Cat]!"

  A swirl of shadows and lace enveloped me. Suddenly, my heavy merchant tunic vanished, replaced by a skin-tight, pitch-black tuxedo.

  I felt a strange weight on my head and a twitch behind my lower back. I had... cat ears and a tail?

  〈Buff Applied: Agility +200% / Instinctual Dodge Enabled〉

  "What the—?! Why the ears?!"

  I stammered, but as the Wood Dragon lunged again, my body moved on its own. I didn't just dodge; I practically danced through the air, my movements fluid and feline.

  "Focus, Kitty!" Hildegardie laughed.

  The agility buff was terrifying. My vision sharpened, and the world seemed to slow down.

  The Wood Dragon swung its massive claw, but to me, it looked like it was moving through honey.

  I didn't just step aside—I leaped onto the beast’s arm and ran straight up its shoulder.

  "What?! Such speed?!" the tiny dragon yelped, his eyes widening.

  The wooden behemoth tilted as I reached its neck—the only spot without defensive wards or fireproof paint.

  Driven by the cat-like instincts coursing through my veins, I didn't reach for a weapon.

  I lunged.

  I buried my teeth toward the softest part of the wooden throat.

  〈ZAP!〉

  A sharp discharge of magical energy struck my jaw.

  The same defensive ward that had repelled my wooden stick was now grinding against my teeth.

  The shock sent a numbing pain through my skull, but I didn't let go.

  The Wood Dragon’s massive arm swung in a desperate arc, catching me square in the chest.

  I was sent flying, spinning through the air in a single, dizzying rotation.

  Thanks to the cat-like reflexes, I managed to twist my body and stick a landing on all fours.

  But before I could even catch my breath, the dragon let out a roar so visceral it shook the very marrow of my bones.

  Instinctively, I scrambled back, putting distance between me and the wooden beast.