Reincarnated as a dragon’s egg ～Lets aim to be the strongest～ - Chapter 653

653 – The Strengths of [Eclipse]
Twisting through the air, I evade the [Eclipse] beams. The scales of the arm I hold up to block shatter, and blood flows out.

[Eclipse] is way too fast. It’s not completely impossible to dodge, but I can’t do it reliably.

Miia is still ensconced in that black light. [Dimension Claw] did nothing, so [Flash that Drives Away the Darkness] might be needed to break through it. But it’s not realistic to imagine I could evade the beams while getting close enough.

『Sh-should we try going outside the tower…?』

“I don’t… You think we should escape outside each time she uses that skill? I guess it might be effective, but…”

『Is it no good…?』

“I don’t think it’s bad, I’ve just never considered a strategy like that…”

While I think and dodge the beams, treant and Aro discuss ways out of this situation. I’ve also never before used a strategy of fleeing each time a skill is used. It’s definitely not a cool way of fighting.

But, it should be effective. Miia must be using a lot of MP to maintain that skill. As long as I can get way each time she uses it, she should run out in no time.

『Treant, good idea! Let’s go with that!』

『Realy!?』

Treant replies happily.

『But it’s impossible to get outside.』

I glance towards the door.

The door isn’t very big. If I were to try and stroll through, I’d be hit by [Eclipse] for sure. It might not be impossible if I was resolved to take a hit, but if I have to take a hit each time she uses [Eclipse], I’d no doubt be the first to wear out.

『Then, where…?』

『We’re going up! Once we’re far enough away, it shouldn’t be too hard to dodge!』

I shoot upwards.

Miia climbed above me before using [Eclipse]. I had thought it was because she wanted time to heal the damage my [Gravidon] had done, but that was wrong. She wanted to cut off my escape.

Without any way of stopping her my only countermeasure is to run away, so I suppose it’s the obvious strategy for her.

As I draw closer to Miia’s altitude, the black beams become more intense.

Just as one looks like it’s about to hit me, I use [Gravity] to sink down, dropping below it while twisting to just barely manage to dodge.

The closer we get close to Miia’s altitude, the more difficult predicting the [Eclipse] trajectories is becomming. Miia probably knows that if I get past her, it’ll be harder for her to hit me, so she’s using the maximum amount of mana to hit me for certain. With my huge body and flying abilities, there’s no way I can avoid this increased barrage, no matter how I try.

『Treant, pull back your roots!』

『Eh?』

In response to my [Telepathy], treant retracts his roots from my body.  

I kick off the wall and curl into a ball, switching to [Roll]. I roll up the side of the wall, then land on the staircase running up the tower’s circumference, then continue to [Roll] up the stairs. 

Several [Eclipse] beams chase me, but as this was the first time Miia’s seen the speed of my [Roll], it seems I was able to take her by surprise. The beams miss behind me.

『We’re going to keep climbing!』

『Ow ow ow! This hurts!』

…The burden on him is big, but we didn’t have the time to put him in my mouth. If we tried, Miia would definitely have seen and taken advantage.

A thick beam pierces through the stairs in front of me, then swerves towards me. She wants to cut off my path. But I expected this. I use my tail to leap off the stars, escaping to the air.

“Now that you’ve gotten that far, there’s no point keeping this up.”

All the beams shooting from Miia disappear. The sphere of black light covering her body fades. It seems she also thought that once I got past her, there was no point in attacking.

『You managed it, master-dono! As long as we can stay above her, we have nothing to fear should she use it again.』

『…No, that’s not the only problem.』

It’s good that I was able to get through her trump card with only minor injuries. But, that’s not the issue.

The [Eclipse] beams are fast, but as long as I’m not taken by surprise, they’renot impossible to dodge. While she’s using it, Miia also seems to be immobile. It’s powerful, but it might not be very practical against a mobile opponent. Now that I’m no longer pinned below her, it would make little sense to use it against me.

『She’s fully healed with [Autoregeneration] and [Dark Rest]….』

Right, all the damage I did with [Gravidon] has been recovered.

Winning against Miia in a battle of attrition isn’t realistic. By myself, I’m no match for her, and Aro and treant will definitely hit their limits before me. Once that happens, Miia will fight me with her sword once again.

That was why we needed a short battle. Having managed to deal heavy damage, I needed to press the attack and not give her a chance to recover.

But, with [Eclipse], I was forced to be on the retreat. The next time we manage to inflict heavy damage, she’ll hide away with [Eclipse] again.

“Th-then we have no way of winning…”
“Should I have preserved my MP more after all?”
“I really think breaking in with [Wormhole] is our only option…”

The Aros converse inside my mouth.

『…You couldn’t have gotten us the upper hand while conserving mana. I don’t know if this will work, but… I’ll try stopping her the moment she’s about to use [Eclipse]. We had to retreat this time, but I’ve learnt a lot about that skill.』

The longer the battle wears on, the more opportunities she’d have to gain the upper hand with her superior skill. Both me and Miia are fundamentally close-range types, and are capable of blowing away our opponents with big moves. In a battle of attrition, Aro and treant would run out of MP and be forced to retire, so there’s no reason not to try and force a quick battle.