Dragon Slayer (3)
“Whoa! So this is that tree? It’s ridiculously huge—no wonder people say giants live here!”
“Sis, why are you acting like such a country bumpkin? You’ve never seen anything like this in game before?”
“Shut it if you’re just gonna make lame jokes, Blessed Face. I know for a fact you’ve never been here either.”
The guild members couldn’t hide their awe at the surreal sight, but it was short-lived. Kaiser stepped forward from the rear.
“Leave it to me from here, Sandro. No hunters come to this place, and I know the paths like the back of my hand. I’ll guide us so we don’t pull any unnecessary aggro.”
“Got it, bro. Safe travels to the lair, then.”
I usually flew on Ferari, so handing the lead to Kaiser made sense.
Kaiser took point with Rapunzel. Suddenly, a barrier formed around him—not the blazing Flame Barrier from our first meeting, but a frosty blue Ice Barrier rimed with frost.
Switching between those two based on the situation is such a killer merit. I never get tired of watching it.
The Flame Barrier maximized attack power while dealing AoE damage around him. The Ice Barrier boosted defense and inflicted freeze on attackers. Alternating them masterfully was the core of Kaiser’s Barrier tech tree.
Of course, it ate up a whopping ten skill points split between them. But Kaiser had long proven it was worth every point.
“Hold!”
A ferocious ogre burst from somewhere and lunged at Kaiser. Its massive battle axe—big as a gate—slammed down.
Bam!
But the ogre froze solid from the chill debuff, slowing to a crawl. Our guild and the NPC archers unleashed hell on the hulking target, arrows raining like a storm.
“Ku... ku... kuweck!”
For an ogre—ferocious one, no less—it screeched through hitstun and dropped in just three seconds. Unreal burst.
“Uh... this thing shouldn’t go down that easy... Burning Star, you guys are something else...”
Even Kaiser, who’d tanked it, looked stunned—the most dumbfounded I’d ever seen him. He’d farmed here forever, so he knew the damage output better than anyone.
“What’s surprising about this, bro? This is baseline for dragon-slaying!”
“Right... yeah. Ahem...”
He cleared his throat and pressed on. We tangled with a few cyclops packs and beholders after, but his expert pathing got us to the target faster than expected.
A natural fortress of towering giant trees. The lair of the green dragon Tu Mertus!
“We’ve finally made it.”
“Seeing the lair for real? Insanely cool. These trees look twice as tall as other giant trees!”
“I’ve been here once, but it’s still nuts.”
“Huh? You’ve been here too, Ra Chan?”
The guild chattered in awe. No player could stay unmoved by this.
“Not long ago. Came with Dro bro to scout archer spots and formations. Bows are my expertise, right?”
“Ah! That’s why Dro’s positions were so detailed.”
While they prepped and bantered, I stealthed solo to check for tails.
Good, no followers. No players en route either—no backstab worries mid-run.
Field boss raids were a mess of tailing and steals. Pulling this off quietly as a guild was rare luck. We’d rushed for this shot!
No more chit-chat—it’d loosen tension. I rallied them.
“Alright, stick to the sim. First try means surprise phases ahead, but no panic. Stay calm and follow my calls!”
“Yep!”
“Got it!”
“Thanks again for coming this far. Harsh truth: even if we wipe, first kill clears the quest. No fear! If we drop loot, I’ll recover it no matter what.”
“We’re ready, Guild Master! Let’s go!”
“Haha! Right, Chuk Bing bro. Everyone—in we go!”
Seven guildies and thirty NPC archers. A lean raid party for a dragon, but we crossed the threshold.
Sunlight filtered softly inside, bright and airy. Massive trunks intertwined into a domed canopy ceiling. The entrance was huge, but the vaulted space felt even vaster—deceptively comfy.
Which made it a nightmare boss room. No cover, just a giant empty hall.
No wonder folks assumed you needed a titan army for this map.
Musing, we crept toward the sleeping dragon’s depths. Silence stretched, then its silhouette flickered into view.
“Grrr...”
Third visit, still thrilling. VR made it real: ten-meter bulk curled in sleep, horns like spears, glossy green scales glinting. Wings folded, it dwarfed the lair—oppressive presence.
“Stick to this wall. Summoning now! Volpo, come forth!”
We’d nailed the pre-aggro spot through trial and error. I clustered guild and archers at the woodline, summoning Volpo in front.
Clustering was suicide in boss raids—weak to AoE. But I wasn’t a noob.
Volpo’s five-meter iron bulk laid sideways hid us all. A steel wall: five meters long, three high.
“Whoa, perfect fit! Any shorter and some’d eat shots.”
“But will it hold? Feels sketchy now... Eek, wipe if it fails!”
“Chuk Bol, gotta jinx before we start?”
“Sorry bro, just got scared for real. Meep...”
“Easy. I tested this startup tons. Like siege barricades shielding rears—Volpo’s our cover.”
The dragon’s breath had stumped me most. Iconic AoE nuke, one-shotting most. Solution? Reinforced iron golem.
Luckily, Tu Mertus was green. Info said its Poison Breath was weakest among dragons. Magic attack, radial spread—not focused. Volpo tanked it fine in tests.
“Reminder: big inhale signals breath. Freeze everything, hide behind golem. Control soldiers tight—no exposures! Blessed Face, swap to Aura of Resolve on cue!”
“OK!”
“Chuk Bing bro, Rapunzel—alternate AoE purges, no overlap. Got it?”
“Yeah.”
“Yes!”
“I trust you’ll nail it. Teyon’s top raid team. Begin!”
“Let’s gooo! Fighting!”
“New history today!!”
I climbed a tree amid cheers—for a pre-fight trick.
Ceiling hit 100 meters. Second visit, I’d wall-climbed with thief boots; aggro lagged versus ground start. First strike!
Heart pounding, I deep-breathed, self-buffed, and leaped.
“Come on, lizard! Let’s see who wins today!”
Whoosh—thud! Dropped on its green-scaled back. Wings unfurled as it woke.
I stabbed without pause.
Stab! Stab!
But mid-thrust, my sword—my whole body—locked.
“Who dares wake my slumber?!”
“Kyaooo!”
Dragon Fear has inflicted Stun for 3 seconds.
Dragon’s signature Dragon Fear. Low damage, but magic pierced Mana Shield for stun.
Its tail whipped overhead.
Absorbed 23,215 physical damage.
Absorbed 24,466 physical damage.
Bam, bam! Two hits in stun chewed 20% of my 550k MP. Equivalent to 220k HP—one-shot for normals, dicey for ranker tanks sans heals.
Definitely not tuned for early kills. Without titans...