Reincarnated as a dragon’s egg ～Lets aim to be the strongest～ - Chapter 666

666 – Skill Check
Having checked my stats, I’ll take a look at my skills now. The new ones I got were [Curse Knight], [Limbo], [Dite], [Cocytus], and [Doomsday Tone].

There’s a lot of ominous skill names, but I guess that can’t be helped. Unlike the oneiros, I knew this would be an evil dragon type through and through.

【Normal Skill [Curse Knight]】
【Solidifies mana into the form of a knight bearing a powerful curse.】
【When the knight is struck by an impact or successfully attacks an enemy, it explodes, scattering a curse through the surroundings.】
【In addition to applying the Starvation and Frenzied status condition, if the target’s magical strength is low, the curse can cause death or allow the target’s body to be puppetted.】

I see…? Rather than producing a knight, it sounds more like it produces a projectile the explodes on impact.

Depending on the resistance and magical strength of my opponent, I could combine it with [Berserk], [Death], or [Ruler’s Demon Eye][1] to stack up status conditions… Status conditions and [Death] tend to feel difficult to use because they’re only sometimes. I guess applying multiple status conditions at once makes this skill a little more convenient to use.

But in the end projectile speed is too important, so I doubt it can beat [Dimension Claw’s] complete lack of travel time. [Dimension Claw] is so convenient that it’s entirely benched [Wind Slash], which I had been constantly relying on before. Even if the benefits of hitting increase a little, it doesn’t matter unless I can actually hit with it. As an oneiros, my attack power was high enough that [Dimension Claw] felt like it was plenty. As an apocalypse, I’m even more specialised in attack power.

To be honest, I can’t really expect much of it. Even when hunting weaker opponents, I’ve never bothered to use [Death]. [Wind Slash] has been plenty. [Curse Knight]-san will probably follow a similar path of disuse. I’ll experiment with it later of course, but…

【Normal Skill [Limbo]】
【According to the Holy Guidance, the Holy God and equivalent beings possess magic that can save those who cannot be allowed to live or to die.】
【A single Saint in all history once was able to attain [Limbo].】
【A magic skill that sends the target to a dimension where the concepts of time and space do not apply.】
【It is short range and slow to activate. But, if it connects, enemies will be forever sealed in a separate dimension.】

S-scary… It sounds like the origin matter’s [Dark Frozen Prison].

But, for this to land I’ll have to already be in a position where I could beat my target to death. It seems similar to [Wormhole]-san. If I can somehow set up a situation where I can guarantee it connecting, it could be good, but… To be honest, I’m not super enthusiastic about the idea of trying to work around it.

【Normal Skill [Dite]】
【A magic skill that summons the flames of hell and shoots them in a spherical shape.】
【The flames will continue to burn until the target is reduced to ashes.】

This sounds like another straightforward attack skill. It might be related to sphere-type skills, but I wonder if it might be more powerful?T This type of skill’s usability comes down to the MP cost, power, scale, and speed. I wonder how good it is compared to the easy-to-hit [Dimension Claw] and the powerful [Gravidon]. Testing is needed for sure.

【Normal Skill [Cocytus]】
【A magic skill that summons the ice of hell, and manipulates it freely.】
【The ice can freeze anything, and will never melt.】
【It rapidly drains the heat from the surroundings, so unexpected damage may occur.】
【Once the ice has been deployed, it is practically impossible to erase, so caution is need.】

This one’s ice, huh… It sounds like it might be more usable than [Dite], but the MP cost is probably going to be a little high for me to count on it as a main attack.

Well then. The next skill is my last new skill. It’s also the one with the most unsettling name of them all…

【Normal Skill [Doomsday Tone]】
【Dissolves the user’s vitality and mana to boost attack power and speed.】
【However, the user’s reason is also dissolved, causing them to fall into a frenzied state.】
【The frenzy will not abate until everything in sight is reduced to nothing.】
【Even after ending, it is highly likely that some mental changes will persist.】
【When activated, the force of the mana leaving the user’s body causes a strange sound to be heard, appearing to be coming from far away.】
【According to the Holy God religion, when the divine messengers use instruments to signal the end of the world, the sound they produce is the same as this skill.】

I’m happy for a skill which raises my physical stats, but the downside is way too big. To be honest, this one’s no good. I can never use it.

Of course, I hate the idea of using a skill that has a permanent effect on my psyche, but more importantly, there’s no telling what could happen while I’m frenzied. It’s possible that the spirit servants are only in the Four Great Monster Domains, but there’s a good chance I’ll be fighting them near humans. I don’t want to risk rampaging and killing a bunch of bystanders.

In the first place, the cost of losing all reason in a battle far outweighs a slight increase in stats. Rational opponents are always much difficult to face than irrational ones.

Lilixira was excellent at diversions and surprise attacks. The hecatoncheir moved in fixed patterns, but only ever fought in a way that played to its strengths. Miia attacked with refined movements, but would also defend if it would reinforce her path to victory. If any of them had gone on a mindless rampage, I wouldn’t have struggled anywhere near as much.

In the end, even if it increases my stats a little, it’s meaningless if I’m no longer capable of making good use of them. At the very least, that’s how it would have been for those three. It’s not a skill I can rely on, even when cornered.

『Master-dono, you look troubled. Is something wrong?』

Treant asks me, concerned.

『I was taking a look at my skills, but most of them seem difficult to use. Let’s get going. I need to test my skills and level up. We haven’t got long, so after a tiny bit of levelling we’ll go back to our world.』

[1] This seems to be a mistake. Irushia lost [Ruler’s Demon Eye] upon evolving to an oneiros.