Dragon's Breath
"Huuuuhhhm..."
It was one of those moments when I was seriously craving a breath attack. The area around my nest was swarming with them, but paradoxically, they weren't doing a damn thing. All they were up to was clamoring for quests right in front of me.
If they'd tried stealing like they used to, I would've chased them all out under collective responsibility.
"Should I just blast 'em?"
Heroes were immortals who didn't really die and barely felt pain anyway. Dying once or twice wouldn't be a problem. That's why they knew they could crowd around like this.
I wanted to revert to dragon form and unleash breath all over the nest vicinity, but I held back for now.
'No forest fires, though...'
A wildfire would be a huge hassle. Putting it out was easy enough, but reverting everything back to normal afterward? Total pain in the ass.
And leaving it charred wasn't aesthetically pleasing. I couldn't burn down my own house.
"Eek!"
"W-What's that?"
"Whoa, why are there so many people?"
While I pondered from atop a rock, my disciples started gathering around me one by one. They'd been whining about hating quests just a bit ago, and now they were sneaking peeks at me, gauging my mood.
I stared at them blankly until a good idea hit me.
"You guys wanna clean 'em up?"
"Huh?"
"You said you hate fighting legion commanders. Surely handling some heroes would be a breeze, right?"
"Uh..."
"B-But fighting other heroes would make the goddess super mad..."
"That old hag wouldn't mind much."
The goddess's goal was just to pick strong heroes and have them take on the demon king's army with that power. She never cared much about heroes scrapping among themselves back in the day. She'd occasionally drop some "advice" if it got too out of hand, sure.
"They don't even seem to like each other much. You could do it."
"...There are some good people among them."
"Yeah, if we kill them all, public opinion..."
"So you could kill them?"
"...To a certain extent? But seriously, no, this is different. A legion commander would be better."
I nodded at Haring's firm opposition. For all their words, having the disciples kill fellow heroes wouldn't mean much anyway.
'They'll just respawn.'
No matter how many times you killed them, more would keep coming. And there were holdouts like NyaNya who still hesitated at PvP.
"So why'd they all swarm here like this?"
"Probably... because of the quests."
"Quests?"
"Yeah. Word spread that we took down the Ogre Lord."
According to Yongba, news of the ogre chieftain's defeat had gone viral. The disciples had cleared it in just two weeks, but that boss was something heroes couldn't even scratch despite swarming it. Naturally, the veterans were jealous of the disciples. Plus, rumors had spread that I was handing out easy quests left and right. Heroes flocked to the nest hearing they could power-level effortlessly.
"Was giving out quests the problem?"
"N-No, but since you gave so many easy ones..."
"That was the most efficient way."
One tough monster hunt or fetching some ultra-rare item? Nah. Ten easy monster kills or gathering common herbs was way better in terms of time and resources spent.
NyaNya nodded.
"Right? That's why they're all here..."
"Huuuuhm..."
"Can't you just put up a barrier like old times? They'd back off."
"NyaNya, they're not even coming in anyway."
"If they had any brains, they wouldn't trespass illegally."
"Still, just in case."
"The noise would leak."
The barrier's soundproofing wasn't that great. I could make it total silence, but with them milling around, the vibrations through the ground made it pointless. Barriers were for blocking and detecting intruders, not some sound booth. Magic made for security purposes.
Earplugs or personal sound-block spells? I'd be the one inconvenienced.
'A silent barrier's that tacky translucent pink anyway.'
Situation sucked all around.
"...Guess I should visit the Magic Kingdom sometime."
Hadn't been in ages—maybe they'd invented something new? Like a noiseless, vibration-free, colorless, mana-free eco-friendly barrier.
"You're going?"
"Nah, in four years."
Gonna hole up in the nest and snooze for now. No one was interrupting my deep sleep.
But even if I killed and chased them off, they wouldn't quit. And turning hundreds into Pokémon like that thief? The old hag would whine.
"Modify the barrier... barrier?"
"?"
"Might work? Been a while since I last used it, though~"
"What is it?"
"You'll see."
Flap.
I shifted back to dragon form and took to the skies.
"Okay, everyone, no pushing!"
"Don't wanna end up like 'Husk'? Be polite!"
"Watch it! Mind your manners!"
"Popcorn for sale~ 10 silver~"
"She won't come out like this, right?"
"Please, just one quest...!"
At the entrance to Lea's nest, amid the massive crowd, the users had gathered in surprisingly orderly fashion. Normally, top guilds or rankers would've blocked off the rest upon hearing the news. Honey pots or hidden quests were best monopolized by a few for max rewards. They'd done it elsewhere before, so surely here too...
But they'd seen "Husk."
Once rank 7 on the leaderboards, the tragic user perma-banned for raiding Lea's nest. Even top rankers couldn't survive pissing her off. No matter how OP or revivable you were—Lea could trap you where you couldn't respawn. And when even Husk's guildmates got bounties, rankers decided to play nice. No point starting fights and getting jailed.
"She really giving quests?"
"Not just to disciples?"
"C'mon, she has to with this crowd."
"She won't kill us all... Huh?"
"The sky!"
"Look up, guys!"
The roughly thousand heroes at the nest looked skyward. And that was just those already there—more were climbing the mountain. High above hovered a hill-sized red dragon with wings spread wide.
Her girl form was cute as hell, but dragons symbolized raw power and majesty. Beholding her full glory overwhelmed the users.
"Whoa..."
"Insane."
"Ooooh..."
"Pic! Gotta snap a pic!"
"Transform! Transform!"
"Lea! Lea! Lea!"
The users got even more hyped, responding to the voice—not quite a dragon's roar, more like telepathy booming from the heavens.
"Huh?"
"Of course not!"
"Just one quest from Lea-nim and we'll go!"
"Approved!"
"Great Dragon-nim, we've always admired you..."
[Quest generated.]
Flame Dragon's ??? (Hidden)
📍 You've climbed Red Mountain and met the Flame Dragon.
Capture her interest and claim what you desire. Rewards increase based on your actions.
🎁 Objective: ?
⚠ Notes: ?
💰 Reward: 5,000 EXP
"Ooooh!"
"Holy shit!"
"Thanks, Lea-chan!"
"Lea! Lea! Lea!"
"Greeeat Leeeeaaa~"
The users cheered at the floating quest window. A hidden quest, no less. EXP-only reward, but 5,000 was no joke. Enough to level a level 30 character decently. Lowbies could skyrocket multiple levels.
"But why's the objective all ??"
"Yeah."
"What boosts the reward?"
"What's ? mean?"
They puzzled over the hidden objective and notes, about to experiment—
Tssshhh...
A reddish barrier began enveloping the nest area. In just one minute, it covered the entire mountaintop.
Step.
"Huh?"
"What the—terrain changed..."
Suddenly, they stood not in the warm red forest, but on a flaming red wasteland. More volcanic zone than mountain. Even the sky was crimson.
"Domain expansion!"
"The Flame Dragon's domain?"
"Tch, barrier huh..."
"Ow, hot!"
"Map says it's not teleport..."
Users panicked at the shift but stayed playful. They'd gotten the quest, and Lea didn't slaughter indiscriminately unless you crossed lines.
Or so they thought...
Kiiiiing...!
"Huh?"
They saw it: red energy gathering in the mouth of Lea hovering high above.
The dragon's hallmark. Her innate power unleashed in the most primal attack.
Breath.
"Breath?"
"Huh, yeah?"
"Dodge the breath!!!"
Lea's breath incinerated half the users.