𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐
[Ukron, the Black-Stained Earth Dragon (Raid Boss)]
“……Dragon?”
The distance was quite far, but with my improved Agility, I could somehow manage to read that much.
It’s possible because as Agility increases, your vision improves as well.
And after confirming that it was a dragon by reading the text, I lowered my gaze again and looked at the dragon curled up in a ball.
“I can’t see it well, but is that a dragon?”
“Yes, it’s Ukron, the Black-Stained Earth Dragon.”
“Wow~ I never thought I’d see a dragon in Twilight.”
Like Sina, who was expressing her admiration, it was my first time seeing a dragon too.
I had wondered a few times what kind of boss would appear here, but a dragon suddenly popping out?
I wanted to go and kill it right away, but I decided to hold back.
“Are you going to try and catch it?”
“No, we can’t catch a Raid Boss without preparation.”
Besides, I haven’t even properly caught the 26th Apostle.
I didn’t think I could win against that Raid Boss when I couldn’t even catch a regular boss.
Would Ust just get trampled immediately?
‘Should I seal it instead?’
If I sealed the dragon, it would be a tremendous power boost.
Or I could have Ust absorb it.
Since Ukron is too big to summon in places like dungeons, having Ust absorb it seemed like a good idea.
“Oh? If it isn’t the Vice Guild Master.”
“……?”
While I was observing the dragon closely for a moment, an unfamiliar voice came from beside me.
Turning my head, I saw about 10 players, and I easily recognized them as Emperor Guild members. I then looked at the guild member standing at the very front.
The guild member who spoke to me was someone I recognized to some extent.
‘Was his ID…… Row?’
One of the executives, a player who uses a bow.
Since we had hunted together a few times, I could easily recall his ID.
“What brings you here?”
“Ah, while we were exploring, a sudden flash of light appeared. So we came to see what was going on. I didn’t expect to see the Vice Guild Master here either.”
After saying that, Row turned his head towards the ruined village I had discovered.
“Huh? Isn’t that a Raid Boss over there?”
“Well, yes, it is.”
“A Raid Boss…… There have been a lot of complaints because I haven’t been streaming lately, but I think I can film this for a broadcast.”
Film what for a broadcast?
“You’re saying you’re going to film that Raid Boss for a broadcast?”
“Yes. Until now, there hasn’t been anything special discovered, so I haven’t been able to stream, and people are complaining about it.”
Putting aside the fact that they were going to raid and broadcast using the hunting ground I discovered, Row’s attitude of casually saying he would catch the Raid Boss was impressive.
The Emperor Guild is going after something even I’m not confident about?
Moreover, I wondered if they could leisurely raid with Lee Juho’s forces around, but I decided not to worry about it.
They’ll come to their senses once they die.
‘Anyway, it seems like the guild members will hunt too.’
Should I just leave them alone?
Although I discovered this dungeon myself, I wouldn’t have been able to come here without Aizen in the first place.
Also, since they were guild members from the same affiliation, I thought it would be fine as long as they didn’t interfere. I decided to leave Row and the other guild members alone.
Whether they hunt here or not.
“Anyway, we’ll be going now. What are you planning to do, Row-nim?”
“I’m going to explore this place that the Vice Guild Master found. Everyone else is diligently searching, so I can’t just be leisurely hunting.”
‘Is he saying that for me to hear?’
Is it just my imagination that it sounds like he’s saying everyone else is diligently searching while I’m just hunting alone?
However, it wasn’t the first time I had acted independently in the guild, so I didn’t pay much attention to it.
“Yes, then good luck.”
Leaving those words behind, I decided to enter the ruined village with Yua and Sina.
“Let’s go.”
“But can we obtain Attributes here?”
“Attributes?”
Turning my head at Yua’s question, I looked at the village again.
Beluin’s Remnant Thoughts, made of black fog.
I had a feeling that even if we caught them and obtained Attributes, it would only be Darkness Attributes.
‘Does the World Tree Attribute need Darkness?’
No matter how much I thought about it, it didn’t seem necessary, but I was also reluctant to just pass by a dungeon I had already found.
“Well, that’s true, but since we’ve found it, let’s go inside.”
“You’re not going to catch the dragon, are you?”
“I told you, we need preparation.”
However, being a Raid Boss, it did make me greedy.
Currently, each guild was taking turns catching the various Raid Bosses, so there weren’t any left.
Even Deronak, whom I had caught before, was now being hunted by each guild, so it was nearly impossible for me to catch it alone now, and the same went for other raids.
Perhaps the only possibility was Beksha?
Thinking that I should catch Beksha again when I had the chance, I entered the village, and soon I could see the heads of the monsters called Beluin’s Thoughts nearby slowly turning towards us.
“Rudin-nim. Isn’t this dangerous?”
It was certainly strange that the nearby monsters were all staring at us just because we entered the village.
━Guests.
“……!?”
For a moment, I turned my head towards where the voice came from.
Upper right. To be precise, someone was on a half-destroyed tower-like structure.
━No, intruders.
‘That guy is……’
[Beluin’s 18th Apostle (Boss)]
His face was hidden under a hood, making it difficult to see properly.
The only noticeable thing was the gauntlets equipped on both hands. They were 2-3 times the size of a normal hand, as if they were some kind of special weapon, and there was a fist-sized orb attached to the back of each hand.
Moreover, his robust physique and armor.
After figuring out that he was a Physical type, I looked at him and said,
“Beluin’s Apostle, was it?”
━Knowing that and coming here means you’re prepared to die, right?
A battle as soon as we enter the village.
I felt a surge of tension.
The 26th Apostle was already so difficult, how strong would the 18th one be?
However, judging from his appearance, I thought he would be a close-combat type, so I didn’t think I would lose easily. I adjusted my grip on my weapon.
━Hmm, never mind. My objective is to protect the dragon.
At that moment, the Apostle seemed to change his mind and gave up on the fight.
“Protect the dragon?”
━I went through a lot of trouble to tame that dragon, so I can’t let it go to waste.
Hearing that, I recalled the modifier attached to Ukron’s name.
Black-Stained, was it?
Thinking that the Apostle must have done something, I continued to stare at him, and the Apostle, as if it wasn’t much of a secret, started talking freely.
━Later, that dragon will lead the conquest of the continent when Beluin-nim awakens.
“……”
It was convenient that he told me everything.
Apart from that, what the Apostle said did bother me.
‘Will a continental war begin when Beluin awakens?’
Right now, it’s the first Main Scenario.
So I thought that the second and third would involve Beluin appearing and trying to conquer the continent, and the players would try to stop him, but since it wasn’t certain yet, I didn’t think too deeply about it.
━But if you want to try and stop it, come to where the dragon is.
Whoosh!━
The Apostle left those words and disappeared in an instant.
He’s probably where the dragon is, which means I have to face both the Apostle and the dragon.
It’s tough enough to face the Apostle alone, but to also face the dragon, a Raid Boss?
‘Even if the Emperor Guild gathers, it seems like it would be difficult.’
“Rudin-nim, come on!”
At Yua’s sudden cry, I turned my head to see the monsters called Beluin’s Thoughts, who had been staring at us, starting to rush in.
The battle began in an instant, but since they were just normal monsters, I wasn’t too worried. I swung Roar of the Thunder Dragon at the first one that charged at me.
Woong━
“Huh?”
It felt like I was swinging at empty air.
Indeed, Roar of the Thunder Dragon passed right through Beluin’s Thoughts’ body, but despite that, a message popped up indicating damage.
[Hit Damage! 918.]
‘Why is the damage like this?’
Is it because I hit it with a weapon?
“Jayer’s Guardian Shield, Thunder Strike.”
Pabat!━
Thinking that damage wouldn’t register with a weapon, I quickly used Jayer’s Guardian Shield to block the Thought’s attack and immediately counterattacked with Thunder Strike, then checked the damage.
[Skill Damage! 1,562.]
‘This is crazy.’
If Thunder Strike deals this much damage, it seems more effective to just swing Roar of the Thunder Dragon.
‘Just how high is its defense?’
[Combat Experience 36,832 acquired!]
“……?”
While I was briefly pondering how to deal with it, a message popped up saying I had gained experience.
Did someone eliminate one of the Thoughts?
Among us, the only one who could eliminate a Thought was Yua, so I turned to her and saw her fiercely stabbing a Thought’s body with a spear imbued with pure white light.
Additionally, the Thought’s body that was attacked by Yua began to visibly crumble.
‘What’s going on?’
And while my attention was briefly on Yua, the Thought’s attack followed.
Almost instinctively, I raised my shield to block it, but the Thought’s hand passed through my shield and struck me, and the corresponding damage appeared.
[Damage received! -1,582.]
‘The attacks can’t be blocked either?’
What kind of monster is this?
Anyway, I couldn’t just stand there and take it, so I focused on dodging and swung Roar of the Thunder Dragon to chip away at the Thought’s health, but it wasn’t very effective.
“Rudin-nim!”
Fortunately, Yua, who had dealt with the surrounding Thoughts, rushed over and eliminated the Thought I was fighting in an instant.
Also, Sina, who had been watching my fight, spoke with a puzzled expression.
“Why can’t you catch it?”
“Because the damage isn’t registering. I’d like to ask you the same. How did you do it, Yua-nim?”
“I don’t know. I just did it like I usually do.”
‘Like you usually do?’
Listening to Yua’s answer, I recalled the pure white light that was imbued in the spear when she attacked the Thought earlier.
“By any chance, do you know what skill you used on your spear?”
“Ah, it’s called Holy Light. It’s a skill that converts to Light Attribute and increases attack power.”
“Light Attribute?”
I turned my head again and looked at Beluin’s Thoughts in the distance.
Beluin’s Thoughts, formed of black fog and in a human shape.
Just by looking at them, they seemed to be Darkness Attribute, so wouldn’t I need to attack them with the opposing Light Attribute to deal proper damage?
“Can you cast that skill on me too?”
“No, maybe because the rank is low, but I can only cast it on myself.”
“……”
So Yua has to hunt here alone?
“Vice Guild Master. Are you still here?”
“Row-nim?”
Suddenly, I saw Row and the guild members entering belatedly.
It seemed like they were being considerate by letting me enter first since I discovered this place, but I thought this was a good opportunity and told them about the conversation I had with the Apostle and about the Thoughts.
“So…… you’re saying that the 18th Apostle is here, he’s protecting the dragon, and the Thoughts are immune to everything except Light Attribute attacks.”
“Yes. So you should be careful.”
“It’s alright. I can use Light Attribute attacks too. Ah, we’ll go check that way first.”
Well, if they had Light Attribute attacks, there might be no need to worry.
Anyway, Row led the guild members to the left, and I started to think about what to do here again.
‘Should I go to the church and learn a Light Attribute skill?’
It wouldn’t be difficult since I had saved up Divine Contribution Points to learn an S-rank skill.
There are Churches of Light all over the continent, so I could go to the Harpe Empire and learn one there.
But it didn’t seem necessary to hunt here specifically.
“Item Storage.”
Just in case, I took out a crystal from my inventory and checked it, and as expected, I saw a crystal that hadn’t absorbed any Attributes.
‘Is it because they’re Thoughts that they don’t have any Attributes?’
Or maybe Darkness Attributes can’t be collected.
Also, seeing that the crystal I took out didn’t emit any light, Yua spoke.
“The Attribute didn’t gather.”
“Yes, so I’m thinking about what to do.”
“We can just find another place.”
“You’re giving up on this place?”
At my question, Yua nodded.
“I think the Elf reward is more important. Isn’t it?”
“No, the reward is more important.”
Since it was a Rare-grade accessory, the Attribute was more important than hunting here.
And since we knew where it was, I thought it was fine and decided to look for another hunting ground.
[Friend ‘ Black Dragon ‘ has requested a conversation. Will you accept?]
‘Black Dragon?’
Puzzled by the sudden contact from Black Dragon, I accepted the conversation request.
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