Reborn As An Extra In My Own Novel-Chapter 74: Carapace Rider [3]

The massive hall of the administrative head’s office grew silent and still. However, that stillness wasn’t peaceful, but like a predator that crouched low to the ground, ready to spring into a violent lunge to tear its prey apart.

The students pressed themselves against the walls, giving Frieren and the Carapace Rider room for their battle. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Anica was nowhere to be found, so the students had to erect a low-grade barrier to try and prevent stray attacks from hitting them or at least slow them down.

The Carapace Rider stared at Frieren, whose eyes and upper half of her face were covered by a sleek silver eye mask that resembled a crown that didn’t quite reach her hair.

"Are you sure you want to fight blindfolded?"

Frieren smiled at its concern, the reason she wore the unusual blindfold even when she could see was to enhance the output of spirit zone, since this form required her to use her Visionary talent, her spirit oasis talent, and her mana zone all at once.

"You don’t need to worry." She paused, then summoned a thin sabre in her hand, using it like a cane. "But I’ve been curious about something... Are all higher-tier drifters like you? And how exactly did someone who knew my father even make their way here?"

The dragon’s gaze lingered for a moment. "All that will be revealed in due time."

The princess nodded. "I understand."

As soon as she spoke her last words, the Carapace Rider sent its tail hurtling toward her white combat suit, and with a single leap, she dodged the attack.

The dragon seemed to grin as Frieren rested her left index and middle fingers on her thumb, and as soon as she made this gesture, the tiger behind her vanished and reappeared next to the drifter, its sharp teeth digging into the drifter’s neck.

The drifter growled, flailing from left to right, trying to shake off the golden and white tiger.

As soon as Frieren landed, she dismissed the tiger, and without warning the drifter’s tail swung in her direction, slamming her into the wall.

Blood sprayed from her mouth, part of her mask digging into her flesh, making her face slightly bloodied.

Her vision was blurry, but she had to move. With determination, she tried to stand, only for her knee to give out beside the wall.

’Damnit, is this the gap between a Sequence five and a B-rank?’

The dragon shook its head, the wound on its neck healing. "Is this all you’ve got? If so, then it’s rather disappointing."

Frieren still had the mana and strength to fight, but her bones were now broken, and her vision was filled with blood.

The dragon opened its mouth and unleashed its red flames at Frieren. She clutched her legs, trying to dodge the attack, but couldn’t, and the last thing the dragon saw was her flesh burning within the flames.

’I guess she was still a child.’ It slowly turned to the students, ready to finish them off, before a presence slipped into its already deployed zone. ’What?’

Before it could even turn, the ice water dragon flew out of the smoke and flames with Frieren on its back, unharmed.

The Carapace Rider quickly scanned the room, looking for who could have healed her injuries. Only then did he notice the healers protected by other students.

"Hahaha, it seems you’re not done yet."

Frieren raised her hand, and the ice dragon fired ice glazers that pinned the dragon’s feet in place.

She then coated her icy body in golden flames and leapt onto the golden phoenix that hovered below the dragon.

With the added speed, the phoenix crashed into the dragon, sending it tumbling meters away, its scales slightly cracked from the blow.

The dragon snarled and rose back into the air, releasing a wave of flames that swept through the entire hall.

With a single command, the tortoise soared into the sky, entered its shell, and shielded the princess and the outer part of the barrier from the drifter’s assault.

The dragon glided forward, slicing through the air with each movement and quickly descending as if planning to strike the tortoise’s shell.

But before its claw could land, it soared upward again and let out a deafening roar.

The ground trembled violently, the air thinning. Frieren, using the tortoise’s vision that shielded her, saw a massive white magic circle above the drifter’s head.

’Damnit, my instincts are telling me I can’t let that spell activate.’

Without wasting a second, she pushed Visionary to its limit and dismissed all her spirits except the ice dragon.

What she saw through the talent was horrifying. A massacre of all the students present.

She swallowed hard and burst forward, driving her sabre into its gut from below.

The drifter shifted its weight into its left wing to throw her off, but she immediately dragged herself upward using the sabre embedded in him, leapt onto the ice dragon’s back, and plummeted again, this time a massive axe forming in her hands.

It was several times larger than her body, and with her delicate hands she aimed for the drifter’s neck. But just as he was about to swat her with his wing, she released the axe and summoned her phoenix back, just a few meters from the magic circle.

The drifter’s eyes widened then relaxed. "You think you can stop my grand spell."

Frieren smiled. "You’re the fool who told me how to stop it."

The drifter, hearing her words, pieced together the meaning and raised its head, flapping its wings to bite into her spirit summon, but it was already too late.

She raised her hand and channeled her foreign mana into the core of the spell.

And without warning, it cracked and burst into sparks of white light.

The dragon felt the mana within it recoil as blood gushed from its mouth, its scales wearing thin.

Frieren’s body was also weakening by the second, her spirit zone could only last so long.

She quickly formed the sabre she held before and funneled her mana to the tip of the blade.

The worst thing that could happen to a mage undergoing mana recoil was having more foreign mana injected into them, but that was exactly what she was aiming for.

With precision, she dove from the phoenix and drove her blade into the Carapace’s eye, blood splashing across her body and staining her broken white armor and beautiful face.

The drifter roared in agony as its mana spiraled out of control.

Frieren swallowed the blood in her mouth and shouted at the top of her lungs. "Evacuate the premises!"

The students, hearing this, began to exit through the massive door that had previously been sealed by the drifter’s control.

’Damnit.’ She cursed inwardly as the dragon’s strength faded. ’What do I do now?’

The dragon’s unstable core was now a ticking time bomb. She withdrew her blade and plunged it in again with full force, but nothing happened.

"Stop, warrior."

She immediately halted as the dragon spoke to her without moving its mouth.

’Is this telepathy?’

’Yes.’

The dragon’s eyes were lifeless, yet it continued. ’Daughter of Fredrick, as you asked before, I am not a drifter, but a spirit given to Deerheart by his late wife.’

’What?’

Frieren could see the dragon’s memories with every word.

’But... that contract has expired now that he is dead. So in order to save you and the countless souls here, I want you to form a contract with me.’

Frieren’s grip on the sabre slackened. ’If what you say is true, aren’t you a high-ranking spirit?’

The dragon nodded. ’Yes, I am.’

’So how...?’

The dragon interrupted. ’With the help of the Talisman, not only can you contract with me, but you can also safely exit the spirit mode you’re in... It’s your choice now.’

Frieren didn’t need long to decide. The offer felt suspicious, but it was incredibly advantageous, after all, all her spirits were intermediate-ranked, and acquiring a high-ranking spirit would significantly boost her power.

But there was another issue. ’You said Deerheart is dead, but I can’t see anything like that using my talent.’

The dragon slowly descended to the ground. ’That’s because something divine is being born. Something that will shake the world.’

’Do you mean Darling?’

The dragon’s now-soft gaze smiled at Frieren. ’So he is Kaiser Vanguard... Don’t worry, he doesn’t need my corpse to return.’

Frieren’s eyes widened. ’How did you... No more importantly, in my vision, he needed immense amount of mana and energy to revive.’

’As I told you, this isn’t something mundane or something we lower beings can understand. It’s a type of energy not connected to this world.’

Frieren paused to think. She didn’t want to trust the dragon, but at this point, she had no choice. And she knew once they were bonded, she could just ask again, and kill it if it was lying.

She then nodded. "Then become my summon, and I will be your master."

The dragon smiled, forcing words out of its aching throat. "I, Tessia, a spirit born from the body of a Carapace Rider, swear my loyalty to Lady Frieren Hohenzollern, even in death."

A blinding light engulfed the room, the talisman glowing brightly as her combat suit returned to its original form.

The ice in the hall began to melt, and the grand chamber itself began shifting back to its normal size.

Frieren felt a cool sensation wash over her, something she had never experienced after using spirit zone.

Her mask slowly faded into sparks of light, and her eyes opened to meet the dragon, who was now shrinking in size.

[You have earned a high-ranked spirit: Carapace Rider—Tessia]

"It is done, Princess."

Tessia’s new form was that of a beautiful lady with black hair and lightless black eyes. She smiled, kneeling on one leg.

Frieren smiled softly as she looked at her hand, now completely healed. "I never even knew that a drifter could become a spirit..." She sighed. "I’ll research that later. For now, let’s leave this place."

Tessia nodded. "Yes, Princess."