Prologue
The massive brawl event was in full swing, with hordes of monsters storming the village.
Because the rewards were so good, a great many players had joined in.
But the sheer numbers were overwhelming them, and the players were steadily being pushed back.
“Are you kidding me!? There are way too many monsters!”
“You maniacs! Is this balance for real?”
“When the hell is backup getting here!?”
One drawback of the brawl event was that once you died, you had to stand in the waiting room and watch.
As countless players lost their lives and gathered in the waiting room to stare at their monitors and chat, someone suddenly shouted.
“W-What is that!?”
A massive shadow spread over the village, and darkness fell.
In that instant, a deafening roar shook the heavens and the earth.
As humans and monsters alike clapped their hands over their ears, something enormous began descending from the sky.
It was a colossal being in the shape of a dragon.
Blue light gathered in the dragon’s maw, then shot upward into the sky.
And then, something strange happened to the once-still heavens.
With a thunderous blast, countless bolts of lightning struck the monsters, and the event ended in the players’ victory.
By the time the users were checking their rewards, the gigantic dragon had already flown off into the distance.
“What was that? An event monster?”
“No, that was a summon from the Praye Guild.”
“That was a summon!?”
*
*
*
“Sisters, brothers, I’m home!”
“Our youngest is here!?”
The older sisters and brothers of our guild welcomed me warmly.
But it was a little too much.
“Our youngest! This is a present for you!”
Greatly increases the summoned creature's stats when equipped.
A necklace once gifted to Ernia, the Demon Dragon King, for her coming-of-age ceremony. If Ernia ever discovers that you possess this necklace, she will become hostile and hunt you down until she reclaims it.
If you die while wearing the necklace, it will vanish, and Ernia's curse will reduce all of your stats by 50%.
“Where on earth did you get this!?”
“We happened to slip into a dragon lair, and there it was! We just thought of you, our youngest, and quietly took it!”
I’d met Ernia before.
If she found out about this, there was no way she’d let it slide.
I'd get kidnapped all over again, just like last time.