MHGA Chapter 139: Nergigante Shield
"Leave it to me!" Naofumi Iwatani shouted.
The elves, nervous but trusting, all huddled behind Naofumi.
"Four… shield attachments." Naofumi glanced at his Heavy Bowgun.
Then he looked down at his gear—checking what defensive skills were active.
[Guard Boost] would allow a Hunter to withstand normally unguardable attacks. With Guard Level 5, he could greatly enhance the effectiveness of his blocks…
Plus all the gear he was wearing that boosted defense.
And finally—
Naofumi looked down at the Four Holy Shield on his arm.
He had hated that shield for a long time.
It was because of this cursed thing that he had been summoned to another world, unable to wield weapons, framed, mocked, and cast aside.
But now… he had learned to wield it.
When they were strategizing earlier and discussing each Hunter's specialty, Kairo Retsu had said something to them—especially those who already had their own fighting styles.
Naofumi grinned and repeated Kairo's words:
"A Hunter's fighting style is only part of the hunt. To be a true Hunter… you gotta use every ability at your disposal. Fold your power into the hunt—that's how you make it yours."
"Let's give it a try, then!"
Naofumi looked at Shah Dalamadur, now fully charged, and extended his shielded arm toward the behemoth.
"Spirit Shield!!"
Naofumi didn't hold back—he poured stamina into the skill, even as the strain mounted. At the same time, he shoved grilled meat and rations into his mouth to keep himself going.
"Spirit Shield, Spirit Shield…"
Layer upon layer of translucent Spirit Shields stacked in front of him, fanning out to protect everyone in his line of sight.
"Come on, what shield can I use right now…?"
As Naofumi pondered his options, Shah Dalamadur finished charging its breath—a fireball as solid and dense as a miniature sun launched toward him.
It tore through the sky in an instant and slammed into Naofumi's wall of Spirit Shields.
The first layer shattered immediately. The heatwave blasted through, scorching the very air and causing those nearby to recoil. The second shield buckled and fragmented under the searing pressure.
Even the Silver Ridge Beast beneath Naofumi trembled in terror.
If not for Naofumi's presence, the beast would have fled by instinct alone.
"Hold the line—!!"
Naofumi clenched a Max Potion between his teeth, ready to restore his stamina at any moment. His Four Holy Shield braced tightly as he bore down against the breath attack.
But Shah Dalamadur's beam continued to close in, inch by inch.
Think. Think. What shield to use now?
Naofumi's brain raced under the pressure.
The shields he had unlocked so far were all based on relatively weak materials from his original world. They'd been practical for early adventures, but against an attack like this? Not nearly enough.
He'd already used some utility-type shields—but this… this was beyond his expectations.
At this rate, they wouldn't hold.
"Something… anything…!"
Naofumi scoured his memory—and then it hit him.
It was a "souvenir" brought back by Kairo Retsu and Laios during their dragon egg heist—
Just before the last Spirit Shield shattered, Naofumi plunged his hand into his pack, grabbed an object, and slammed it into the Four Holy Shield.
"This is it! All or nothing!!! Let's see what kind of shield this unlocks!!!"
BOOOOM!!!
At that exact moment, Shah Dalamadur's breath exploded—a blast of infernal heat and energy engulfed Naofumi, the Silver Ridge Beast, and the elves cowering behind him.
Some nearby Dwarven troops saw the massive detonation and began preparing casualty reports with grim expressions.
But as the firestorm subsided…
They saw it.
Where the Silver Ridge Beast had once stood—everything had changed.
Countless black spikes had erupted across the beast's body, forming a jagged carapace of armor. On its back, shattered spines cascaded off Naofumi's form, finally revealing him—shaken, but alive.
He had withstood it.
The final stage of Shah Dalamadur's breath had been blocked—by his Heavy Bowgun, by the Silver Ridge Beast…
And by a new shield.
Had he not unlocked it in time, he, the beast, the elves behind him, and Kazuma… would have all been roasted like meat.
"I should've thought of it sooner…"
Naofumi raised his right hand high, revealing a newly transformed Four Holy Shield.
"Materials from other worlds… they can unlock new shields too! This was never just some game!"
A grotesque shield composed of pitch-black spikes now gleamed in the sunlight. Though many of its spines had been damaged in the explosion, they were already regenerating at a visible pace.
It was the power of Nergigante.
"Nergigante Shield! I've got it!!" Naofumi shouted with a radiant smile.
[Nergigante Shield: A newly unlocked shield imbued with the Elder Dragon's regenerative power. Thorned with rapidly regenerating spines, it grows by absorbing energy. The user can graft spines onto themselves or others for protection.]
Just before the blast hit, Naofumi had taken the "souvenir" Laios and Kairo Retsu had given him—a single Nergigante spike—and inserted it into the shield, unlocking its new form.
Before the explosion struck, he'd grafted those spines onto himself and the Silver Ridge Beast, using the terrifying defensive power of Nergigante's regeneration to weather the inferno.
"All that… from just one tiny piece of Nergigante…"
Naofumi stared at the shield, his heart pounding with exhilaration.
"This is the true power of an Elder Dragon…"
"There are still other materials… other Elder Dragons…"
"No—now that I'm a Hunter, I'll have access to even more worlds…"
"How many more shields could I unlock…?!"
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