Chapter 73: Three-Dimensional Movement
“I-I’m nervous…”
“There’s no need to be scared. If anything happens, we can just run away like before.”
Even when facing that Red Dragon, Anii showed absolutely no sign of fear.
Honestly, I couldn’t say the same for myself—I’d rather not confront that monstrosity twice. The thought alone made my stomach churn.
That’s the mark of a true adventurer. To her, it wasn’t an impossible opponent. She actually said it as if defeating it was something within reach…
“Geo, Anii, you can do it!”
“Onii-chan, do your best!”
“Yeah… we’ll do our best.”
Encouraged by everyone’s voices, Anii and I once again flew alone toward the Red Dragon’s lair.
“Hot…”
The moment we approached, the temperature around us shifted violently. Even though some time had passed since the Dragon’s fiery breath had scorched the area, the soil of the garden still radiated a burning heat, as if smoldering embers clung stubbornly to the earth.
One side of the mountain, hit directly by that inferno, was blackened and charred, a testament to the sheer destructive force of that single attack. If we had taken it head-on, we might have been reduced to nothing but bones in an instant.
“The Red Dragon… isn’t here?”
I scanned the surroundings, but there was no sign of it. Perhaps it had decided we were already defeated by its previous attack and had wandered off somewhere else.
“…Not within sight.”
“Which means?”
“Beyond those trees… about a hundred meters ahead, there’s a massive presence.”
It seemed the Red Dragon had relocated.
“It probably hasn’t noticed us yet. We’ll have to approach carefully, masking our presence.”
“Uh… yeah… but what are you doing?”
Suddenly, Anii dropped flat to the ground.
“You do the same. It makes us harder to detect.”
“Ah, right.”
I lowered myself beside her, mimicking her position. Then, unexpectedly, Anii grasped my hand.
“Th-This way, if anything happens, we can help each other.”
She said it while staring away from me for some reason.
“Y-Your hands are really sweaty…”
“I-I can’t help it.”
“This isn’t your first time holding hands with a girl, is it?”
“This sweat… isn’t because of that!”
Well… technically, apart from my little sister, this was the first time. But I didn’t need her joking around now.
…Still, I quietly admitted to myself that holding her hand slightly eased the tension gnawing at my chest.
“Normally, we’d just crawl forward like this, but it might be better to move your… contraption instead.”
She had a point—moving the garden itself would make less noise than crawling. So, keeping low to the ground, we carefully rolled the garden in the direction of the Red Dragon.
Soon, the massive form of the Red Dragon came into view. It was crouched low—perhaps sleeping.
Anii pressed her face closer to mine, a silent warning that even speaking now could risk waking the beast.
In a hushed whisper, she instructed:
“(Circle around to the back.)”
“(Y-Yeah.)”
Even if it were asleep, I had no desire to approach from the front. I steered the garden in a wide arc around the Red Dragon’s nest.
“(Isn’t this close enough?)”
“(No. We need to get as close as possible.)”
Following Anii’s direction, we edged closer, skimming the limits of what was safe. Apparently, Sarassa’s lightning strike became more powerful the closer the target—so proximity was crucial. But if we woke the Red Dragon, all efforts would be wasted.
Finally, we came within just a few meters of the Dragon’s tail, and only then did Anii signal:
“(Good. Let’s return.)”
The familiar surroundings of my home replaced the intense tension, and I exhaled deeply, feeling the weight of extreme stress lift.
“Phew…”
Our sighs overlapped. Even Anii, despite her bravado, had been just as tense.
“Ah, welcome back, Onii-chan!”
“Welcome back, Geo and Anii. How did it go?”
“It went well. Right behind the Red Dragon… it’s sleeping, so now’s our chance. Sarassa, are you ready?”
“Y-Yes… I’m preparing.”
Sarassa immediately began gathering her magical energy. Being near a sleeping Red Dragon risked waking it if she tried to channel her power there directly. Thanks to our mobile garden, however, she could safely prepare at a distance.
“Oh, right. The Wyvern’s magic stone.”
I remembered and pulled out the magic stone we’d obtained earlier.
It was sizable. Using the stones collected from defeated monsters, my garden had reached level 44. One more might push it to 45—just enough to unlock a new skill. Hopefully something useful against the Red Dragon.
〈Use the magic stone?〉
“Yes, please.”
〈Magic stone used.〉
―――――――――――
Geo’s Garden
Level 45 — 4/225
Garden Area: 201,050 / ∞
Skills: Wall Creation, Barrier Creation, Fortress Wall Creation, Guardian Summon, Mega Guardian Summon, Giga Guardian Summon, Garden Concealment, Garden Teleportation, Garden Movement, Remote Cultivation, Harvest Preservation, Three-Dimensional Movement
―――――――――――
〈Level Up!〉
〈Unlocked skill: Three-Dimensional Movement (derived from Garden Movement)〉
〈New crops can now be cultivated〉
“Three-Dimensional Movement…?”
I tilted my head in confusion, unfamiliar with the term.
“What’s wrong, Geo?”
“Um… Shifa, do you know what ‘Three-Dimensional’ means?”
“Three-Dimensional…?”
She didn’t seem to know either.
“Anii, do you know?”“Hmm… never heard of it.”
I figured Sena wouldn’t know either, so asking her would be pointless.
“Don’t know!”
“Yeah, I knew that.”
That left only Sarassa—but she was focused, so I didn’t dare disturb her. As we waited, preparations were completed.
“…We’re ready to go.”
And so, without even understanding the capabilities of this new skill, we once again faced the Red Dragon.