She's Just Still Inexperienced
Nya-nya had been in an excellent mood lately.
Among everyone running quests at the nest, she held a proud first place—and she even enjoyed the dragon's favor.
And not just any dragon. An unbelievably cute one.
A dragon so adorable you wanted to squeeze her tight just looking at her. At this rate, getting a hug didn't seem impossible at all.
Who is this person?
A man she had never seen before appeared in front of Nya-nya.
Users visiting the dragon's nest weren't exactly rare, but even for Nya-nya—who came and went as if the place were her own home—this face was a complete stranger.
A man wearing a suspicious skull mask that covered half his face.
He was dressed in a menacing dark-gray mage's robe, and she felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
"...Who are you?"
"None of your business. You're the one who made a mana core, right?"
"Yes, I am. Who are you?"
"Really? Then take me to the dragon."
"...Why should I?"
Nya-nya glared at the man, looking thoroughly unimpressed.
He seemed reasonably strong, but with manners this rude, even Nya-nya—who got along well with everyone at the nest—couldn't bring herself to treat him kindly.
Besides, Lea currently had no intention of accepting anyone new...
Woom...
"!"
Before she knew it, a skull-shaped staff was in the man's hand.
The skull's mouth opened, and a gray magic circle began forming in midair.
Fireball?
Nya-nya's eyes went wide. She hastily drew her wooden staff and cast a spell.
"Then die."
"Defend!"
KWAANG!!!!
The fireball and the barrier collided.
It was a powerful fireball incomparable to anything a low-level mage could produce—but it failed to pierce the bluish shield enveloping Nya-nya.
The man—Heurisk—tapped his staff against his shoulder and laughed in a voice full of surprise.
"Your speed is absurdly fast. And you blocked my fireball with something as basic as Shield."
"...What do you think you're doing?!"
"So just having a mana core lets anyone do that much?"
"Do you really think the Dra—Dragon will teach you if you pull something like this?"
"I think she will."
Woom! Woom! Woom!
Three magic circles rose around Heurisk.
"If I'm superior, why would she bother with the likes of you?"
"...Ha... ring."
"Nice. Posted three concept threads today."
"Haring..."
"Ah, if I post too many bait threads I'll get banned... Hmm. Just one? Just one more..."
"Haring!"
"Hyeek?!"
Haring shot up from her seat as if the sudden noise had given her a full-body jolt.
When her mana training—conducted in a deep meditative trance—was interrupted, a slight dizziness washed over her as she faced the world with normal senses again.
Turning her head, she found Yong-ba beside her, and far off, Hidene waving.
"What is it? You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"It's amazing every time I see it. How do you browse the gallery while doing mana training? I couldn't do that even if I tried."
"Why not? You just do it."
"I couldn't, though."
"Multitasking. Breathing technique—huff huff—while gallery browsing. You can't do that?"
"I think Haring is just special."
"Hehe. You think so? But why'd you call me?"
"There's a fight."
A fight?
What fight?
Haring felt puzzled—then noticed how strangely empty the nest looked.
Normally everyone wandered around training in every corner, but today the place looked deserted.
Clang! Boom! Rumble...!
Come to think of it, explosion sounds seemed to be coming from far away...
"Over there?"
"Yes. Can't miss a good fight. That's why I called you."
"Oh. Nice nice. But who's fighting?"
"Let's go see."
Yong-ba and Haring hurried toward the scene of the fight, where seven other users who'd been training together were already gathered.
Users all huddled and half-hidden, clustered together to watch the show.
The ones fighting were...
"Nya-nya and... who's that guy?"
"Heurisk. Rank 7 ranker."
"Rank 7...?"
"Yes."
Yong-ba settled into a decent spot as he answered.
He pulled something like snacks from his pocket and started crunching away, and the other heroes around them did the same.
Haring felt something odd about the whole scene but accepted a snack anyway.
"Why are they fighting? All of a sudden? And why is that guy even here?"
"Don't know."
"?"
"There was a loud noise all of a sudden, so the users who were training ran over and found the two of them already fighting."
"And nobody's stopping them?"
"Lea said to leave them alone."
"Lea did?"
"Yes."
Haring turned her head.
On a high rock with the best view of the fight, Lea sat watching with an unreadable expression.
She looked like she might be enjoying it—or maybe she was angry.
A truly ambiguous face.
It was the first time Haring had seen that expression on her, so it felt somewhat unfamiliar.
Haring turned back and focused on the fight.
"How long do you plan to just keep blocking?"
"Tch... Look at the stat difference! What are you talking about!"
"Die quietly. Looks like the dragon wants that too."
Heurisk's magic was slow but quite powerful.
A top-tier user sitting at Rank 7.
Loaded with various hidden and unique items, a mage grown nearly to the third class advancement—he was quite strong, lacking only a mana core.
Strong enough that even mages of similar level wouldn't dare challenge him.
"Ugh..."
KWAANG!!
"...I'll give you credit for the defense, at least."
Nya-nya, on the other hand, had vastly superior casting speed and mana regeneration.
No matter how Heurisk attacked with expensive gear and skills, she cast spells in the blink of an eye.
Most of his magic failed to pierce Nya-nya's Shield, and even when he used a powerful attack, she simply stacked more shields on top.
Heurisk only attacked. Nya-nya only defended. The fight was bound to drag on.
Haring stole Yong-ba's snacks and muttered through a mouthful.
"But why is Nya-nya only defending? She should attack more aggressively."
"This is probably her first PvP. Nya-nya's, I mean. Monsters are one thing, but attacking a person—this would be her first time."
"That may be, but... still, she could try hitting him once, right? She's even learning magic from Lea."
"From what I know, Heurisk is also known for handling defensive magic quite well. To land a proper attack, she'd have to drop her Shield..."
"So she's scared."
"Exactly."
To land a hit on Heurisk, she would inevitably have to briefly drop her shield and go all-in on attack magic.
Nya-nya still couldn't use proper attack magic and shields at the same time.
But for someone whose first real PvP this was, dropping her shield and attacking bare was a pretty frightening prospect.
Nya-nya is a regular person, after all.
Unlike Haring and some of the gallery regulars who were skilled at games, Nya-nya had always shown a more ordinary side.
She wasn't mentally prepared yet for a fight-to-the-death approach.
Boom!
Cornered and pressed, Nya-nya's shield was finally partially breached. She took a wound and fell.
"Aah!"
"Nya-nya, hang in there!"
"Don't give up!"
"Get up!"
"Attack! Attack!"
The heroes training with her cheered, but it was of little use to Nya-nya.
Instead, only Heurisk—seizing the advantage—grinned as he raised his staff.
"Is that all? Even with a mana core, some people just never make it."
"......"
"Looks like the dragon abandoned you too. Am I right?"
Heurisk grinned and looked up toward where Lea was sitting.
Even with Nya-nya half combat-incapable, Lea still watched the fight with that same unreadable expression.
Lea swung her legs up and down, then—thud—stopped.
"Dragon! I won this fight! Accept me as your disciple!"
"Hmm..."
"This girl just got lucky awakening a mana core. If I had it, I could do far better than the likes of her!"
"I see."
"Yes! So teach me the mana training method too..."
Lea nodded.
"What?"
"You can use it."
Tszzzzzz...
Blue cold energy poured from Nya-nya's chest.
A cold so sharp it sent chills through not just Heurisk but even the heroes huddled around watching.
Heurisk hastily backed away from Nya-nya, assessing the situation.
What is this? A unique weapon? Power granted by the dragon? A hidden piece?
Some unknown force was spreading from Nya-nya, and one thing was certain—if he didn't stop it right now, it would be dangerous.
He burned through three spells including a finishing move he'd been saving for a raid, plus various consumables, preparing a large-scale grand magic.
Inferno.
The strongest technique Heurisk could use right now.
A technique that had blown off even the arm of that powerful Ogre Lord—Heurisk had never been more confident.
Seeing this, Nya-nya gripped her blue staff and muttered.
"...I."
"I'll finish this in one shot. Even ten shields won't stop this one."
"...I also..."
"What have you been mumbling since earlier..."
Crack.
"I'VE GOT A CHEAT ITEM TOO!!!"
Legendary Staff
A legendary ice staff—national treasure of the Ice Elves.
Contains the glacial power that gave birth to the Ice Elves centuries ago.
The power of the glacier that had given birth to the Ice Elves hundreds of years ago erupted.
And the entire mountain range—Heurisk included—froze solid.