Trolling the Dragon Gallery

“...This won't do.”

In the nest where mana training was in full swing, Haring sat cross-legged, mumbling to herself as she kept focusing. Around her were the other users training alongside, but hers was the slowest progress by far. She'd barely managed to sense mana, but she hadn't grasped any proper mana circulation method yet.

I was the fastest one...!

Haring had been the first to discover Lea, the very one who'd kicked off the Great Dragon Era. Right now, only Prolazia Gallery and a handful of users were coming and going from the dragon's nest, but once the upper raids ended, they'd swarm in for real. She had to push quests as far ahead as possible before then, snag good gear and titles.

My weapon's total trash... and Flame Dragon Training 2 still ain't cleared...

The dragon sword she'd thought was a hidden class weapon turned out to be just an epic-grade one, nothing more, nothing less. The quest wouldn't clear no matter how many thousands of swings she took, so it probably needed smashing a golem or creating a 'star'.

She'd been the fastest, but if someone else made a star like this, she could lose her lead. Worse, interest in it was steadily dropping. Just look at Lea wandering among the users.

“How's it going?”

“Feels like I'm catching some grains...”

“That's right. Grow it bit by bit. Keep the circulation going.”

“Heh heh heh. How am I doing? Perfect, right?”

“Focus more on the rotation. Too slow.”

“......”

Lea only paid attention to promising ones like NyaNya and Kazen, ignoring Haring completely. At first, she'd checked often because Haring was so noisy, but as time passed and her lack of talent showed, the interest vanished. The others got ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠checked every two hours or so, but Haring hadn't gotten a look in six hours straight.

Check on me too!

She considered yelling like old times, but shook her head. That'd backfire now. She'd talked plenty already, and spamming could get her kicked out. Getting kicked drops interest, and dropping interest means quest cancellation.

This won't do.

Flash!

Haring raised her hand.

“Lea!”

“Yeah?”

“Check on me, please.”

“Got anything worth seeing?”

“......”

Too much. Way too much. She wished those cute little lips would say something fitting for that adorable face. Flame Dragon my ass—so cold.

Haring thought that as she drooped her head dejectedly. After about a minute of sulking, Lea shuffled over.

“What's up. Didja succeed or something?”

“No... It's hard, so could you teach me...”

“I told you. So, for mana circulation...”

Lea explained the principles of mana training in detail once more. The theory was perfect, and Haring knew it, but embodying it herself was insanely tough.

Lea stayed by her side for about ten minutes, then suddenly wandered off, seeming to think that was enough. But Haring's progress was exactly the same as before Lea came.

“Haa...”

Maybe check the gallery.

Peak hype.

Still cross-legged, Haring scanned the bustling Prolazia Gallery. A few days ago, some mystery anon had leaked Lea's mana circulation method. It was supposed to be a hidden quest, so it stung a bit for Haring and the dragon pioneers that it'd been spoiled, but it wasn't the real deal anyway. Gaps in the explanation, weird breathing and flow structure.

Probably one of the five who failed the first quest, peeking and spreading it.

Not much progress from it, though.

Even with Lea's personal mark, this was the result—what efficiency could randos get from afar? No way...

“But even with it right here, I can't do it.”

Haring got even more depressed.