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The Paper User: Exiled for a ‘Trash Skill,’ Awakens True Power and Rises with Two Unique Skills - Chapter 12

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Chapter 12 : Crystal Dragon – Part 2

Suddenly—

“GROOOAAARRR!!”

A roar so powerful it shook the walls around us echoed through the mine.

Was that... a dragon?

“No time for breaks! Let’s go!”

Kinako shot forward.

Almine, Pirun, and I took off after him.

We rushed down a gentle slope and emerged into a wide cavern housing a vast underground lake. In the center of the space stood a dragon that glittered with a pale, bluish light.

The creature stretched over fifteen meters in length. Countless hexagonal crystals jutted from its back like sharpened spears. Its scales shimmered with a blue-black hue, and its four eyes glowed ominously red.

A Crystal Dragon.
And it’s way bigger than I expected!

At its feet lay the limp body of a massive Subterranean Catfish.

It must’ve just finished fighting that thing...

“Yakumo-kun! Support me!”

Almine began chanting a spell as she rushed toward the Crystal Dragon.
I quickly fell in beside her.

Above the dragon’s head, a massive purple magic circle appeared, releasing a black, mist-like energy that wrapped around the creature’s body.

So this is gravity magic.

A quick glance at Almine showed a magic circle glowing in her right eye.

So she’s engraved the circle into her eye—that must be how she cast such a high-tier spell with such a short chant.

The Crystal Dragon’s hind legs sank deep into the earth.

“Nice! Now it’s our turn! Let’s deal some serious damage!”

Kinako charged in from the side, slashing at the dragon’s blue-black scales with his long, white claws.

“GROOOHHH!!”

The Crystal Dragon twisted its torso and brought one of its red-clawed forelegs down on Kinako. He dodged nimbly and struck back, landing a solid paw punch to the dragon’s gut.

Boom!
The massive body trembled from the blow.

“Grahhh... guh...”

The dragon opened its enormous mouth. The blood vessels under its tongue bulged as it released a chilling white breath.

The ground around it froze solid in an instant.

An ice breath. If we take that head-on, we’ll be frozen to death in seconds.

Still, Kinako is amazing. He actually damaged a dragon that must weigh a thousand times more than he does—with a punch.

“Pirun’s joining the fight toooo!”

Pirun leapt onto the dragon’s tail and launched into the air. Her Magical Hammer expanded in size.

“Berserker Mode: ON!”

Her violet eyes gleamed, the pupils narrowing into vertical slits.

She swung her now-massive hammer down hard. The hexagonal crystals on the dragon’s back shattered with high-pitched cracks.

“Not done yet!”

Still on its back, Pirun kept spinning her hammer. Crystals shattered left and right, shards flying in all directions.

“GRAAAGHHH!!”

The dragon twisted its long neck, trying to bite Pirun off its back.
She dodged with another leap.

Its clawed foreleg followed after her in midair.

Not happening!

“Magic Barrier—Strength Level Ten!”

I pulled out pre-stocked paper from my magic pocket.

The golden paper formed a thick barrier that blocked the dragon’s claw strike—just for a few seconds before vanishing.

Perfect! I shortened the manifestation time to increase the paper’s durability.
Still, a barrier of Strength Ten consumes over 10,000 mana per sheet...

“Everyone, fall back!”

Almine’s voice rang out as a massive purple magic circle appeared in the air.
From its center emerged a gigantic arrow, over three meters long, wreathed in purple flame.

It pierced the dragon’s torso in a brilliant flash.

“GRRRAAAAHHH!”

The Crystal Dragon convulsed, its enormous frame thrashing.

I manifested more paper.

This time, I lowered the strength to keep the constructs floating midair.

I formed a staircase out of paper, aimed straight for the dragon’s head.

With the overwhelming mana boost from [Massive Mana Capacity],
I extended the translucent blue blade of my Mana-Eater Dagger over a meter long.

I poured all my strength into the swing.

The blade sliced more than halfway through the Crystal Dragon’s neck.

Blue blood sprayed out.
The behemoth staggered.

This weapon... with just a little mana, it cuts way better than a paper blade.
And its shape is fully customizable—what an incredible weapon.

“Guh... grrrhh...”

The dragon, off-balance and bleeding heavily, still swung its foreleg toward me.

“Not a chance!”

Kinako leapt, spinning midair, and struck the dragon’s side with a powerful paw blow.

Boom!
The entire creature shifted back several centimeters.

“GRRAAHH!”

The Crystal Dragon turned its head toward Kinako, opening its mouth.
The blood vessels under its tongue bulged again.

No—this is just like before!

“Kinako! It’s about to breathe ice!”

Kinako jumped back just in time.
The dragon’s freezing breath coated the spot he’d been standing with solid ice.

Even with its neck half-severed, it can still fight?

I clenched my teeth and charged the dragon again.

Kinako moved forward to match my advance.

In that case—

I ran to the opposite side and summoned hundreds of paper daggers.
They flew like arrows, stabbing into the Crystal Dragon from every direction.

“GRRAAAAAGHHH!”

The dragon glared at me with all four of its red eyes, then raised its right foreleg.

Good. If it’s targeting me...

“Nice setup, Yakumo!”

Kinako dashed in from the opposite side and leapt high.
His claws, now over fifty centimeters long, plunged into the dragon’s head.

“GRRAHHH!”

Even now, the dragon didn’t stop moving.

It thrashed its head, tossing Kinako off.
Its jaws snapped shut, trying to bite him.

“I’ve got this!”

Kinako dodged and slipped around to the dragon’s side.

And then—

“Paw Ripple Palm!”

His right paw slammed into the dragon’s scales.
A deep thud echoed as ripples spread through its body.

“Guh... gghh...”

Blue blood trickled from the dragon’s mouth.
Its four red eyes faded to darkness.

“Ghh... grhh...”

With a final groan, the Crystal Dragon collapsed with a thunderous crash.

“Paw Ripple Palm spreads damage through the whole body. Looks like even you couldn’t withstand that.”

Kinako stared at the slain beast with his golden eyes.

“We did it! We took down the Crystal Dragon!”

Pirun flung herself into my arms.

“Pirun’s party is the strongest ever!”

“Strongest? Maybe not... but you were amazing. Almine too—and of course, Kinako.”

“You were impressive yourself,” Kinako said.

“You protected Pirun with a paper wall and made paper stairs to strike from above. Your Skill has serious potential—and you’ve got sharp battle instincts.”

“You think so?”

“Definitely. You used yourself as bait so I could strike, and you figured out the breath attack’s timing, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. I noticed that the blood vessels under its tongue would swell right before it used breath. Once I saw it the first time, I knew what to look for.”

I pointed to the massive tongue hanging from the dragon’s mouth.

“From where I was, I had a clear view inside.”

“Hoh... smart of you to notice.”

Kinako let out an impressed sound.

“Yakumo-kun, you’re amazing!”

Almine beamed and patted my shoulder.

“But seriously... how did someone like you get kicked out of their party?”

“Back in the Holy Sword Order, I couldn’t manifest much paper. I was mostly a support role.”

“Even so, a smart leader would’ve found a way to use your ability well. Oh well—thanks to that, we got to meet you. So I guess I should thank your old leader.”

She stuck out her tongue playfully.

“Just don’t go saying you want to rejoin the Holy Sword Order, okay?”

“I won’t. Not a chance.”

I answered immediately.

Kirsas had called my Paper Manipulation Skill garbage.
He never once appreciated my tactics or approach to battle.

But now... I’m grateful to him.

Because getting kicked out let me meet real comrades who recognize my worth.

From now on, I’ll use my strength—for Almine, and the others.

📝 Translator’s Notes:

  • Paw Ripple Palm (肉球波紋掌 / Nikukyū Hamon Shō): A martial technique with ripple-like internal damage effects—possibly inspired by Hamon from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.

  • Subterranean Catfish (地底ナマズ / Chitei Namazu): A classic fantasy monster often used to showcase a dragon's strength via comparison.

  • Magic Barrier – Strength Ten: Likely based on RPG-like ranking, where “ten” denotes a highly durable magical construct.

  • Mana Consumption (1 paper = 10,000 mana): Implies that Yakumo’s mana pool is enormous, thanks to his [Massive Mana Capacity] Skill.


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