Hunting a Dragon
Dragons. Among monster ranks, they were called the most dangerous of all special-grade monsters. But above even them existed creatures from another dimension, boasting entirely different levels of difficulty and peril. And then there was one more truth that took it even further: no dragon ever traveled alone. They always brought along their minions—lesser monsters known as subordinates. Since dragons had no interest in weak prey, those minions were at minimum high-grade. More often than not, they were special-grade monsters themselves.
Hunting a dragon essentially meant wiping out both the dragon and its entire entourage. It was no wonder that Gotrose, once the strongest fighter in the Lions' Legion, had ended up so badly injured from trying to take down a single dragon that he couldn't even complete the monthly evaluation properly.
But I had no intention of getting hurt. With me and my two lovers, taking down a lower dragon should be more than doable.
“I'll handle the dragon. Rachel? You take care of the minions it's dragging around.”
“Okay!”
“Cassandra... I mean, Cassie. Cassie, you have two jobs.”
Cassandra wore a slightly dazed expression. The memory of Rachel's overwhelming hand technique from a few days ago and what had followed with me seemed to still be vivid in her mind. Only when I gave her shoulder a couple of light taps did she snap out of it and lift her head.
“Y-yes?”
“I need you to do two things. First, draw a simple teleportation station on the ground. The second is potion crafting. Think you can manage that?”
Cassandra thought for a moment before nodding. It didn't seem particularly difficult to her.
“I have a Level 3 Magic Circle Fabrication certification. I got it because it sounded useful for the final exams. Drawing a circle in the field isn't hard. But... you're planning to teleport the dragon's corpse, right?”
“That's right.”
“That will require a huge amount of mana, so you'll need a large quantity of magic stones to stabilize the circuit. That'll cost quite a bit of money, though...”
“How much?”
Cassandra tapped her fingers on the table, doing some mental calculations, then spoke carefully.
“You'll need magic stones worth about fifty gold.”
That was quite expensive. Even a student from a noble family might flinch at the amount. But I didn't hesitate for a second. I pulled out fifty gold and handed it to her.
“Here. Anything else?”
“O-once the stones are secured, the rest is... wait, where did you get this kind of money?”
“From the Catel Marquisate. The marquis is rather fond of me.”
Cassandra looked surprised. I added a bit of explanation for her.
“I saved Rachel's mother.”
“Ah, that makes sense. And the other thing? You mentioned wanting a potion made. What kind of potion do you need?”
It was a potion normally only obtainable in the mid-to-late game. A precious item that could only be acquired by completing Cassandra's side quest.
“The White Sea. Can you make it?”
“White Sea? Well... if dragon organs come into the Truth Research Society, I can make it without much trouble using those as ingredients. How concentrated should I make it?”
“Make it as white as you possibly can.”
Cassandra stared at me in shock.
“Th-that concentration isn't meant for people to drink! It's the level used for magic stone crystal research! If a person drinks it, they'll suffer from mana overload!”
“A normal person would, yes.”
I casually showed her the three divine weapons floating behind me. I'd already drunk it several times before. Asbel's body was born with an abnormally high mana capacity. Even the highest concentration of White Sea could be absorbed without issue.
But that wasn't what I was curious about right now.
This will be the first time the Arcane Neuron trait has a chance to awaken.
The expensive medicine White Sea slightly raised physical stats while greatly increasing magic power. It suited Asbel perfectly. I was extremely curious what kind of chemical reaction it would cause when combined with Arcane Neuron.
“Well... making it isn't that difficult.”
A girl who casually claimed she could make a potion that normally required Alchemy skill level A or higher to even imitate. As expected. Even if direct combat was impossible for her, as a supporter, Cassandra was the perfect heroine.
“Thanks. Then let's go with that. We'll head out as soon as you're ready.”
“We're going to hunt a dragon?”
“Yep. Rachel.”
“Sounds fun! Where's the dragon?”
I pulled out a map and pointed to a spot in the eastern region of the Thorn Forest, roughly ninety kilometers from the Academy.
“If you want to find a dragon's lair, just check the quest board at the mercenaries' guild. There's a lower dragon that built its nest here, and they're urgently looking for someone to hunt it.”
Mercenaries—those who sold their strength for money when the imperial army or the Black Magic Tower couldn't mobilize. Their quests updated simultaneously across the entire country, making it easy to gather information on major dangerous monsters in each region.
“There's a teleportation portal nearby, so it's only about a thirty-minute walk. We'll kill the dragon there, then teleport the lower dragon's corpse straight back to the Academy. That'll be it.”
“Can you really take this thing down by yourself?”
At Cassandra's worried tone, I grinned and nodded.
“It's possible.”
Three divine weapons. Three exclusive skills. And on top of that, the skill combination system that let me fuse those exclusive skills together. It was a setup and combination that should have only been possible in the late game, but since the situation was urgent, I had no choice but to start with overpowered specs.
This should be more than enough to take down a lower dragon.
It was the next day when we teleported to the mercenaries' guild in the eastern region and began making our way through the Thorn Forest.
“Cassandra, you sit here.”
“Yes.”
After seating Cassandra on the Iron Lion's Greatsword, Rachel and I began walking across the ground. About ten minutes in, just as the mercenaries had warned, monsters started appearing.
They had said that three students entering the Thorn Forest of all places was practically suicide, and it didn't seem like an exaggeration. High-grade and mid-grade monsters with dangerous threat levels appeared, but...
“Rachel, you take the ones on the side. I'll handle that bear.”
“Okay!”
They simply became excellent experience point shuttles for us. Rachel tore the monsters apart, and I easily shredded them using the Spear of Longinus and Blood Thread's Poison Fang. Cassandra remained safely protected on top of the Iron Lion's Greatsword.
“Rachel! Excellent! But don't just charge in recklessly. Got it? Stay calm. Suppress your temper. Probe them first. We don't know what kind of opponents they are yet, right?”
“Yeah.”
While also observing Rachel's fighting style, we advanced at a leisurely pace. After about thirty minutes of moving while taking out various monsters and gaining experience, something changed.
“There's a strange smell.”
A scent reached all of our noses. It was a smoky, burnt odor mixed with the stench of rotting corpses. The monsters that had been annoyingly popping out everywhere had now started to disappear.
These were signs that we were getting close to the dragon's lair.
After moving for another five minutes or so, the three of us finally spotted it in the distance: a thirty-meter-long dragon leisurely finishing its meal, lying sprawled out and sleeping, surrounded by dozens of special-grade monsters and several high-grade ones.
Every single one of them had been forcibly brainwashed by the Dragon Fear that all dragonkin were born with, compelling them to follow the dragon.
“Cassandra. I'll lift you up onto that tree over there. Stay put and watch from above. Understand?”
At my words, Cassandra nodded silently. I lifted the Iron Lion's Greatsword and placed her on a high, thick branch, then stepped forward to prepare for real combat.
“Rachel.”
“I'm ready.”
Rachel clenched her fists so tightly they looked like they might shatter, her fighting spirit blazing. I drew my three divine weapons closer to my body and prepared to fight as well.
“Listen carefully. First, I'll use Mountain Shaker with my Iron Lion's Greatsword right into the middle of those minions. They'll be shaken up pretty badly. While the minions are off-balance and staggering, Rachel, you go in and take them out.”
“Okay.”
“While you're handling the minions, I'll strike the dragon.”
“Okay.”
Aura began to bloom around Rachel's hands.
Heroine Rachel has used the skill Descent of the War God!
Rachel's body erupted with explosive energy. It was a powerful buff skill. When a monster like Rachel from birth used this, she could basically fight an army alone. Even dozens of special-grade monsters would be no problem for her current self.
“Let's begin.”
“Okay!”
My Iron Lion's Greatsword rose into the air. Aggressive mana was poured into it.
“Skill combination.”
Mountain Shaker was prepared. Then another skill fused into it.
“Sonic Sword and Mountain Shaker.”
Skill combination complete!
Activating Earthquake Wave!
With a terrifying sound, the one-ton ultra-heavy sword swung at nearly invisible speed, fully loaded with mana. The massive blade crashed right into the middle of the sleeping minions.
BOOM!!
The ground shook like a wave, and ten minions were instantly reduced to unrecognizable chunks of meat, exploding on impact. The tremendous noise and shock woke every single creature at once. They spotted the two of us in an instant and began roaring with murderous intent.
But while their fierce roars were impressive, they couldn't stop their brains from rattling around from the heavy impact, causing them to stagger.
Watching the minions stumble around in confusion, Rachel let out a roar. It was far wilder and more powerful than the minions' cries. After unleashing a roar more monstrous than any monster, Rachel shot like a bullet into the middle of the minions.
Seeing her fight without yielding an inch even in the middle of a chaotic melee, I retrieved the Iron Lion's Greatsword, mounted it, and approached the massive dragon that had woken up and was now glaring at me.
Grrrr.
The creature that had been watching Rachel tear apart its minions now bared its rage at me for boldly approaching it head-on.
“It would be troublesome if you interfered with Rachel's fight. Don't you agree?”
I raised the Spear of Longinus.
“Skill combination. Hyper Stingray.”
Mana stretched taut like a rubber band around the Spear of Longinus. Then, with a thunderous bang!, it shot toward the dragon.
The lower dragon tried to dodge in a hurry, but its massive body was simply too big to evade a spear flying at the speed of sound. So instead, it tried to block the spear aimed at its eyes with its front leg. It succeeded in protecting its eyes, but its front leg was pierced straight through, causing it to scream in agony.
KWAAAAAHHH!!!!
Watching the dragon charge at me while roaring in fury, I smiled faintly and switched to the Iron Lion's Greatsword.
“Shall we change positions and have a proper fight?”