United for the Dragon Hunt
⊳ Kawara (NPC) has joined your raid party.
⊳ Aishira (NPC) has joined your raid party.
⊳ Tonpe (NPC) has joined your raid party.
⊳ ... Tribal hunters continue to join, triggering dozens of notifications in rapid succession.
As he clasped hands with the tribe's hunters, they began joining one after another, dozens of alert windows chiming in quick succession.
"Those who wish to leave, do so now. But I swear on the honor of the Black Hawk—those who flee will only be clapping when we return with the dragon's head in hand."
Aishira's words swayed even the hesitant hunters, who slowly nodded in resolve.
If they were knights, this would have been impossible.
Kim Do-hyun thought as he added the remaining hunters to the raid party.
The North had chieftains whose authority held weight, but it differed from a king's command. Knights moved for their kingdom, but Northern hunters valued their honor as hunters above tribal loyalty. And for them, honor naturally meant claiming the strongest prey—which made the gamble work.
They knew the stakes, though. Failure in this bet meant paying double the price. If they failed to hunt the Spirit Devourer, they'd resolve to die here, sparing their tribe any fallout.
"What's the plan?" Kawara asked him.
"Will the powder you brought really work on a dragon? The Spirit Devourer's scales are thicker than any armor."
"That's why we need all of you. Hunters with archery skills surpassing any kingdom's archers."
The hunters looked sheepish at his words, but it wasn't flattery—Northern hunters' stats in hunting were undeniably superior.
"Kawara. Aishira. May I have permission to reveal your secrets?"
He called to the two. Aishira extended her hand's back without hesitation. When he brushed his against hers, an alert appeared.
Would you like to view Aishira (NPC)'s comprehensive information?
In the system, a handshake formed parties or raids, while back-to-back hand contact revealed stats. Fortunately, it applied to NPCs too.
Arrow Penetration Lv3
Precise Shooting Lv7
Archery Lv14
Hawk Eye Lv10
Wedge Arrow Lv4
Arrow Penetration Lv2
Precise Shooting Lv3
Archery Lv10
Wedge Arrow Lv4
Rapid Fire Lv2
Quick Shot Lv7
He nodded as he reviewed the status windows from touching their hand backs. Their skills differed, but traits were identical.
Arrow Penetration and Precise Shooting.
Aishira's higher levels made sense, but the key was that every Northern hunter possessed these two traits innately.
Required Skill: Archery
10% chance to ignore target's defense and deal damage. Chance increases with level.
Required Skill: Archery
Increases accuracy within 100m range and boosts archery skill success rate by 5%. Range increases with level.
These archery-specialized traits, shared by all Northern hunters, were the crucial factor in slaying the Spirit Devourer.
"As expected..."
The power of the strong from his memories manifested as skills and trait values in Dimension World.
Aishira's absurd range comes from her high Precise Shooting level.
But dreams lacked one thing: explicit skill info. Games provided clear metrics—from range to probabilities—allowing precise calculations. Memories offered only vague intuition.
Experience could sometimes trump it, but objective views of subordinates' abilities enabled flawless tactics.
"My lord. One key to victory lies in assessing the enemy's strength while coldly admitting your own forces' weaknesses. Never let the immediate might blind you before devising strategy."
At that moment, words from an old mentor in his memory surfaced, drawing a wry smile. Even his recent tactical thoughts stemmed from that man.
Dark Army, Bazarr.
The teacher of tactics and strategy in his dreams, his lessons now carried into reality.
If he'd lived, could I have gained the edge in that final battle?
True to his moniker, Bazarr crafted countless tomes from the shadows, the era's master of schemes and formations. Alongside the Brilliant Army's Jergal Dale, they were the continent's twin sages—rumored that securing either would conquer the land.
Kim Do-hyun, Bazarr's sole disciple, couldn't face the calamity with him.
By the time we met, he was already ill.
Half-elf. Bazarr bore mixed human and elf blood, prone to the incurable Blue Blood—a freezing of the veins that shortened their lives.
His vast knowledge let him brew Sorse Thorn, a flame-attuned herb, into a tonic sustaining him. But it only delayed death, not cured it.
The encroaching chill claimed his heart. Kim Do-hyun could do nothing as he died.
Incurable, texts declared. Yet one cure existed: igniting the frozen heart with unquenchable heat.
A Dragon Heart—the dragon's core, infused with their breath regardless of element, harboring supreme flames. A fragment could save Bazarr.
But hunting dragons, apex predators, was no easy feat.
In my lifetime, I felled only two. One was the Spirit Devourer. But by the time I conquered the North and found it, Bazarr was gone.
In repeating illusions, he was always Eltia Iron Kingdom's king, arriving too late despite every ploy. The other dragon appeared post-calamity, meaningless.
But this time...
This start differed. No kingdom to rule, no conquests delaying him. All conditions for dragon-slaying were ready now.
I can save Bazarr.
He knew nothing of Kim Do-hyun yet, but he'd meet him bearing a Dragon Heart.
One of the strongest NPCs, capable of reshaping the continent—Kim Do-hyun would claim him.
"Lost in thought?" Aishira asked.
He shook his head. Nostalgia ended here.
"Nothing."
To meet Bazarr, this hunt must succeed first.
He checked their stats again. Aishira's Precise Shooting outranged Kawara's at 250m—confirming rumors of her hitting targets hundreds of meters away.
This is our max range limit.
"Do you have a map?"
"Of course."
Aishira pulled a weathered map from her bosom. Lang-a Fortress was taboo; only ancient maps existed.
Would you like to confirm the Wolf Fang Canyon's Map?
Taking the map, he confirmed. A translucent new map materialized—mostly black, with snow-covered terrain faintly visible. A blue dot marked "Kalun Tribe Grounds." Player-friendly minimap.
In this hyper-real virtual world, such features reminded him it was a game.
Reading Wolf Fang Canyon's Map.
Applied to minimap.
No Cartography skill: Map exploration limited.
Exploration Rate: 5%
No Cartography skill: Unexplored areas remain black on minimap unless visited or revealed by magic.
Gripping the map, a small bordered area mid-black screen labeled itself. But the minimap only showed the cliff ascent and altar—other canyons blank.
No matter.
He sought the original map, not the system version. Its terrain was abstract, faded with age.
"Hmm..." Kawara sighed involuntarily at its state.
"We're here now."
Without hesitation, he pointed. Eyes widened in surprise—this location was obscure even to Northern hunters.
"The Spirit Devourer's lair is probably around here."
Faded or not, it didn't matter.
I'll fill the gaps with memory.
System-unfriendly, but his mind held the full terrain.
"We'll head here."
He pointed decisively.
"Third cliff."
Exactly 250m from the lair. He recalled Lorend Man's words from buried memory.
"The method is simple. Savages are gone, no more druids... but on full moon nights, spirit energy surges, letting even those without spirit power like me use this powder."
Lorend dumped finger-dusted powder into his mouth and swallowed.
Whoosh—!!!
Blue flames erupted, enveloping him. Amid shock, Kim Do-hyun sensed the unnatural heat.
"It awakens the spirits slumbering in its belly. If successful..."
Lorend clenched then opened his fist.
Boom—!!
"..."
He slowly looked up at the two and spoke.
Kawara and Aishira watched him with trembling eyes.
"Aren't you curious what's inside a dragon's belly?"
He gave them a faint smile.