A Suicidal Flight

Harb, who was climbing ahead, looked back at the older players' party and smirked. On this mountain range, these old-timers were always the perfect targets to tease.

"Hey, old-timers! Fancy meeting you here again!"

"..."

"..."

"How about a race to the summit?"

"Ugh. That little brat."

"I really want to smack him."

The older players grumbled under their breath. The only reason they didn't throw a punch first was because they were decent, law-abiding citizens. They couldn't just swing their weapons at someone just because they were annoying! Besides, they had a strict creed they lived by.

"Never fight a battle that doesn't make money!"

Killing a single player would only raise their Infamy, worsen their reputation with town NPCs, and cause nothing but losses. Unless one was actively playing as a red-named Raider, there was absolutely no benefit to fighting! Harb knew this all too well, which was why he kept pestering them.

Chairman Yoo finally spoke up to give Harb a stern warning.

"Listen here, young man. Why do you keep bothering us?"

"Huh? What did I do?"

"Everyone is climbing the mountain at their own pace. Why do you keep trying to force a race on people who have clearly refused?"

"Oh, come on~ It's just a little friendly competition. Am I not even allowed to talk?"

"They said they don't want to, yet you keep pestering them."

"'They said they don't want to!' Bwahaha!"

Harb mocked Chairman Yoo's words, mimicking his tone. His friends behind him burst into laughter. Chairman Yoo's eyebrows twitched violently.

'Patience... I must endure...'

In the span of a single second, all sorts of scenarios—starting with a thorough background check on these punks in the real world—flashed through his mind, but Chairman Yoo couldn't bring himself to go that far. He had his dignity and conscience as an elder to maintain!

"Seriously, old-timers. Instead of running around in those rags all the time, you should really invest in some decent gear."

Most of the older players' equipment looked incredibly shabby or bizarre. Their appearance was a necessary sacrifice in the name of cost-efficiency! If the stats were good enough, they wouldn't hesitate to wear skirts.

Whoosh—!

"...?"

Just then, something golden shot rapidly up from the base of the mountain. Flying at that speed in the Parbat Mountain Range was practically suicidal. It was an open invitation for all kinds of natural hazards and aggressive monsters to swarm them.

"Who are those crazy bastards?"

"How can they do something so reckless...?"

Stimulated by the sheer speed of the golden streak, the roars of monsters began to echo through the peaks.

Krawrrr!

"It's a Wyvern!"

The older players recognized the roar instantly.

"Judging by the sound, it's a big one."

"Chairman! Over here! Get down low!"

Even they couldn't afford to let their guard down against a Wyvern. Harb's party also realized ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a Wyvern was coming and quickly scattered to take cover, crouching behind large boulders.

Wyverns were monsters that swooped down like arrows to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠snatch their prey before soaring back into the sky. Getting caught by one on this mountain meant a quick trip back to the respawn point.

"Ugh, what kind of lunatic flies at that speed? Is this their first time on a mountain or something?" Harb grumbled in annoyance. Because of some random idiot, they had all been put in danger.

"Well, it'll be nice if we can hunt a Wyvern."

"Just don't get snatched yourself, idiot."

The gathered players waited, their faces a mix of worry and anticipation. Just who on earth was...

"Oh. Did the monsters' levels go up? They aren't running away."

Tae-hyun realized a simple truth: flying around on Yong-yong was a massive provocation in itself. The faster they flew, the more aerial monsters attacked them. If that was the case, they didn't even need to search for Wyvern nests; they just had to fly around like this to draw them out!

'Well, I suppose it's a territorial thing.'

No beast would tolerate an intruder flying so brazenly in front of its home.

Kroooo!

Yong-yong let out an excited roar, thrilled to finally stretch his wings.

"..."

"..."

"Yong-yong. Let's just fly quietly."

"Understood..." Yong-yong replied dejectedly, shutting his mouth and continuing his flight in silence.

Fortunately, after some time, the Wyverns began to gather again.

"Wait, how are we supposed to catch them?" Cain suddenly realized. If they were on the ground, they could just attack the swooping Wyverns, but how were they supposed to fight them while flying at high speed in midair?

Yu Ji-soo, Lee Da-bi, and Tae-hyun each pulled out their ranged weapons—bows and muskets! Jeong Su-hyeok raised his staff and aimed at the incoming Wyverns.

Cain instinctively turned to look at Choi Sang-yun. Surely not you too...!

However, Choi Sang-yun avoided eye contact and pulled out a small, compact crossbow.

"Hey!!"

"What? I always carry this to keep ranged enemies in check when I'm soloing!" Sang-yun defended himself. He was a swordsman, but even he needed a ranged option occasionally to deal with distant targets.

In the end, Cain was the only one left without a ranged weapon.

"Just land your chain."

"Exactly. Hook them with your chain and pull them in."

"You can just pull them in with your chain, Mr. Cain."

"..."

These bastards! Using the Slave's Chain could pull a target in instantly, but it wasn't as easy as they made it sound. How was he supposed to aim when both they and the targets were flying at high speeds?

Meanwhile, the battle began.

Crackle!

Yong-yong put on an incredible display. He wasn't a dragon for nothing! His aerial combat maneuvers were on a completely different dimension. He cast magic haphazardly into the air, forcing the Wyverns into unavoidable paths, before colliding with them head-on to snap their wings.

No matter how strong a Wyvern was, it stood no chance in a one-on-one head-on clash against Yong-yong. Furthermore, there were far more terrifying hunters riding on the dragon's back.

Bang! Bang bang bang!

The moment the Wyverns stalled, a barrage of ranged attacks rained down upon them! Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi's attacks dealt massive raw damage, but Yu Ji-soo's attacks went a step further, piercing vital points and inflicting various debuffs.

Thwack!

Screeech!

A Wyvern shot directly in the eye shrieked in agony. Ji-soo didn't stop, unleashing a continuous rapid-fire barrage. This kind of high-speed aerial ranged combat was the absolute perfect stage for an archer to shine!

"I... I'm going to use my chain too!"

"No need. They're already dead."

"..." Cain slumped, thoroughly dejected.

"Yong-yong! The loot is falling! Dive and catch it!"

"M-Master... surely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you jest..." Yong-yong was dumbfounded. He had to fetch loot in the middle of a dogfight? But what choice did he have? If the master ordered, he must obey!

Yong-yong dived down like a falcon.

Whoosh!

"...?" Lee Da-bi tilted her head in confusion. She had luckily obtained a Wyvern's Heart, but...

[Wyvern's Heart x2]

Was it a mutated Wyvern? Why did two hearts drop from a single monster?

"What's wrong?"

"Uh... do Wyverns normally have two hearts?"

"What are you talking about... Ah. That's because of the drop ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rate. My Luck stat is just that high."

"...!"

It was the magical Luck stat that could make multiple Orc necks drop instead of just one! In truth, normal players only raised the Luck stat hoping for miracles like this. Otherwise, who would waste points on such a useless stat? But no player in the game had a drop rate as absurdly high as Tae-hyun's.

Tae-hyun immediately activated Archisus's Prayer. It was a skill that temporarily boosted the Luck stat significantly. Normally, he wouldn't bother using it since his base Luck was already so high, but now was different.

Tae-hyun leaped off Yong-yong's back! He used Archisus's Charge, slicing through the air. As he fell, he charged upward with blinding speed, slicing open the throat of a falling Wyvern!

Tae-hyun immediately used the reset Archisus's Charge to blink back onto Yong-yong's back.

Thud!

Jumping off had actually been a calculated move to utilize the skill's mechanics to their fullest.

"Whew, that was a close one."

"Senior! That was incredible!"

"That was truly spectacular, Hyung!"

"It's nothing. By the way, Cain. Why are your hands stretched out like that?"

"Ah... it's nothing."

Tae-hyun's party continued their relentless hunt. The Wyvern's Hearts piled up rapidly in their inventory.

"Ah! One of them is escaping!"

"After it!"

The battered Wyvern, unable to withstand the onslaught, tucked its tail and fled, crashing onto the mountain ledge below—right where Chairman Yoo and the other players were waiting!

Crash!

"Aaaah!"

"It's a Wyvern!"

With a deafening boom, ice and snow sprayed in all directions. The players panicked at the sight of the Wyvern, which was thrashing far more aggressively than usual.

"B-Be careful... wait, what?"

"It's already half-dead!"

"Last hit! Steal the last hit...!"

At that exact moment, with a resounding crash, Yong-yong landed directly on top of the beast, snapping the Wyvern's neck in one clean motion!

"Good job, Yong-yong."

Tae-hyun praised his mount. Usually, Tae-hyun and his high-powered companions possessed such overwhelming firepower that Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk rarely had a chance to show off. But riding him like this really allowed the dragon to shine. This was the proper way to utilize a dragon! There was a reason the Dragon Knight class was so highly revered.

As Tae-hyun's party finished off the Wyvern, Harb and his friends finally recovered their senses and began to shout in outrage.

"Hey! Watch where you're flying!"

"Who the hell flies around like that here?! You're causing trouble for everyone else!"

"...?" Tae-hyun looked at them, genuinely puzzled. Trouble?

Cain was equally baffled. Do these guys have a death wish?

"What are those guys even talking about?"

"They must be insane. Let's just ignore them, Hyung," Ji-soo said coldly. She wasn't speaking directly to Harb, but her voice carried perfectly to his ears.

"How many hearts did we get?"

"Three."

"Average."

"?????"

Harb couldn't believe his ears at the absurd conversation, but he shook it off. He had a more pressing point to make.

"Because you guys were flying around like maniacs, all these monsters spawned!"

"This is a mountain. Of course monsters spawn. Are you guys perhaps..." Cain stared intently at the players. To pick such an illogical fight... could it be?

"...members of the Guild Alliance?"

"!"

"!!!"

Tae-hyun's party, who had been completely ignoring them, suddenly turned their heads in unison. What? Who was from the Guild Alliance?

Harb flustered. "Guild Alliance? What kind of nonsense is that?"

"You're flustered, which makes you even more suspicious!" Cain pointed dramatically at Harb. "I knew it! The Guild Alliance must have been green with envy when Kim Tae-hyun won the championship! That's why you were waiting here to ambush us! How utterly despicable!"

"..."

"..."

Harb was completely dumbfounded. He had always pride himself on being a master of picking unreasonable fights. But as it turned out, there was always a bigger fish in the world.

"Wait a minute. Who did you say? Kim Tae-hyun?"

"And now you're playing dumb!" Cain raised his weapon. He was determined to crush these Guild Alliance members and finally earn his keep today!