kscans

Chapter 43 - Griffon Rider

"Whoa, seriously. Ash! What do we do!?"

Hayato checked with Ash. They could not tame it without Maris. It was either retreat or Ash would transform into a dragon and fight.

But Ash did not transform into a dragon. Instead, he used a skill called War Cry that generated hate to draw the Griffon's attention.

"Ren, use Dragon Curse to lower its STR! Diite, use a resurrection spell on Maris! Hayato, hide somewhere around here!"

Hearing those words, Hayato remembered. Diite's Holy Magic was at 100. That meant he could use resurrection magic too. It meant she could be revived right there without having to return to the base or a church.

His own treatment was rough, but it was to be expected. Hayato obediently hid behind a rock.

"Ash-kun, I cannot use the resurrection spell right now. Please generate a little more Hate Value. It would be a problem if the Griffon came after me."

The resurrection spell generated a lot of Hate Value. If he used it now, the Griffon would start attacking Diite. That would make it impossible to recover, so Diite's opinion was reasonable.

Without looking at Diite, Ash replied with just, "Got it!"

After that, Ash continued to periodically use War Cry and other low-damage, high-hate skills. He did not count how many times he used them, but after a certain point, Diite used the resurrection spell.

A faint magic circle of light appeared where Maris was down, and feather-like objects fell from the sky. After that effect, Maris stood up. Then she looked around, bewildered.

"I cannot believe I was defeated in one hit! That is an amazing Griffon!"

"Do not look so happy about being defeated. Uh, want to drink a slightly stronger potion? I think a High Potion would fully restore your HP right away."

As Hayato said that, Diite spoke up, "Stop that."

"Using a high-recovery potion will generate more Hate Value than necessary. If you are going to restore HP, you should use a regular potion."

"That is a good point!"

Maris said this and started drinking a potion she had. It was a highest-quality potion with no cool down time.

I see, Hayato thought. As expected, when it came to combat, everyone else's knowledge was superior to his. He decided it was best to stay quiet and hid behind the rock again.

After that, they seemed to be handling the situation with ease.

Ash drew the Griffon's attention, Maris tamed it, Ren lowered the Griffon's STR, and Diite healed Ash and Maris. Due to the taming, Maris was occasionally attacked, but she was not defeated.

In that case, the only remaining issue was the taming, so Hayato felt relieved. He thought that at this rate, it would just be a matter of time before she could tame it.

But thirty minutes later, Maris's taming still had not succeeded.

"Um, is it possible that you cannot tame an Elder Griffon?"

Hayato asked this to Diite, who was closest to his hiding spot. All the others seemed busy.

"No, that is not the case. It is simply that Maris-kun is unlucky. That said, the probability is likely around one percent, so perhaps it is not unlucky, but normal."

He felt like asking how he knew that, but Hayato was a little relieved. It meant they were not doing something pointless. If the taming success rate was zero, it would have all been for nothing.

Diite was supporting his allies with recovery and support magic as if there was no problem at all. He had thought it on the way here too, but you could call him flawlessly precise.

But there was something that bothered Hayato.

Diite had not run out of MP. There were several ways to recover MP. Drinking juice was the quickest. However, you could not bring food or drinks to this place. And he did not seem to be doing anything to recover it.

"Are you okay on MP?"

"Rest assured. I have the Meditation, Chakra, and Spirit Worship Skills, so my natural MP recovery is fast. In this situation, I probably won't run out of MP."

Diite said this calmly.

Hayato knew that such skills existed. They were all skills that increased natural MP regeneration and were said to be essential for mages. Still, Hayato wondered.

(Did I see those in the skills he showed me...?)

Hayato could not remember if Diite's skill composition had those. He had opposing skills like Necromancy and Holy Magic, so he had forgotten about the other skills. He remembered they were mage-type skills, but he had not memorized all of them.

There was no point in worrying about it, so Hayato stopped thinking.

And he looked at Maris.

She was repeatedly trying to tame the Griffon, but it was completely ignoring her. Since Ash was drawing its Hate Value, she was not being attacked much, but she looked tired from using the Taming Skill so much.

She probably was not physically tired, but her face looked so strained you could say she was mentally exhausted. But in the next moment, Maris slapped her own cheeks.

"Fire myself up! I have decided to make this one my friend! Everyone! I know this is tough, but please bear with me! Uooooo! Let's go on an adventure together! I will brush you every day!"

Maris fired herself up and began taming.

(She is pretty passionate. Ren-chan got influenced and is shouting 'Uooooo!' too. Ash is smiling like he finds it endearing, so the mood has improved a bit. I do not really get Diite, though.)

For now, Hayato started cheering for her in his heart.

After another fifteen minutes, the Griffon began to glow.

This was the effect for a successful taming. The Griffon stopped attacking Ash, approached Maris, and nuzzled its head against her.

"I-I did it!"

Maris also hugged the Griffon's neck. And she hugged it tightly.

Figuring it was safe now, Hayato approached Maris and the others.

"Uh, congratulations. You finally succeeded in taming it."

"Yes! It is all thanks to everyone! I think I can be a valuable asset in the Clan War now!"

"I am counting on you. Now then, shall we use a Ring of Teleportation to go back to the base?"

Just as Hayato was about to use the ring, Diite stopped him.

"Wait. Should we not confirm the Griffon's strength? I do not believe the monster will remain at its current strength as a pet. And does Maris-kun not wish to try riding and fighting with it?"

"I agree. I think it would be strong even if you just set it on enemies, but I want to see for myself how strong Maris is when she is riding it. We will have to coordinate in the next Clan War, after all."

Ash agreed with Diite's words. Hayato also wanted to confirm that, so he looked at Maris.

"Then let's try fighting the dragon that was nearby! Uh, it is okay to defeat a hardline dragon, right? I think you were talking about that when we got the dragon bone-in meat."

"That is right. Only hardline dragons are on this mountain, so it is okay to defeat them."

In the dragon community, Ash and Ren belonged to the moderate faction. They only defeated hardline dragons. They said they just talked with dragons from the moderate faction.

With Ash's permission, Maris mounted the Griffon.

With her lance and shield, she looked quite respectable. You could call her a Griffon Rider.

Seeing her, there was something that bothered Hayato.

"I want to ask, can two people ride that? Is it possible for me to ride with you? If we are going to fly, I would love to."

A Griffon is a rideable monster that can fly. Hayato himself did not have the Riding Skill, but he hoped that if two people could ride, he might be able to fly.

"That is impossible. You cannot even ride double on a horse."

At Maris's words, Hayato was a little disappointed, thinking it was impossible due to the game's specifications. He really wanted them to implement two-person riding. He even thought about sending a request to the game's management.

"You think of some interesting things, Hayato-kun."

"Huh? You think so? Do not you want to try flying?"

"No, not that, but the two-person riding."

Is it? Hayato wondered. This was such a realistic virtual reality. It seemed like something like that should be possible.

(But then again, everyone here is an NPC. The specifications are the laws of the world they live in. It is probably not strange that they find my opinion interesting.)

"Hayato, Diite, let's get going. Maris is getting antsy and looks like she is about to go wild."

At Ash's voice, Hayato came to his senses and moved from the summit with Diite.

"Maris-san, you are amazing!"

It was no wonder Ren was surprised. Maris controlled the Griffon with a skill that was hard to believe for a first-timer, toying with the dragon. The damage she dealt to the dragon was especially high, and it looked like she could defeat it one-on-one.

To begin with, the Elder Griffon was strong enough to defeat a dragon on its own. If she had just set it on the dragon without riding, it would have been defeated quickly.

And now Maris was riding and fighting, and it was still strong. In addition to her lance attacks, the Griffon would follow up with scratches from its claws and pecks from its beak.

"Maris-kun's Riding Skill must be high. It adds a damage bonus to attacks while riding. For every 10 points, it increases power by one percent. If she has 100, that is a 10 percent increase in power. Her Spear Arts Skill must also be 100, and there are probably other skills that increase damage. The Elder Griffon also has a bonus for mounted attacks. Combined, they must have a considerable damage bonus."

"You know a lot, do you not?"

Hayato was impressed by Diite's explanation.

Hayato also had basic knowledge of skills, but since the Clan War started, that kind of information was no longer available online. It was not clearly written in the in-game skill descriptions either. Now, the only information available was from the past or from one's own testing.

Diite had such valuable information. It might be natural for an NPC, but Hayato was genuinely impressed.

"Even if I know much, I have never tried it. It is merely knowledge."

In a game, that knowledge is the most important thing, but Diite did not seem particularly proud. He had a look on his face like it was only natural.

"I-I did it!"

Maris's declaration of victory echoed through the mountains. She had really defeated the dragon all by herself. Ren was applauding Maris as she raised her lance in a victory pose. Ash was also impressed.

Hayato was pleased, thinking this would be a sufficient addition to their forces. They had the mercenary members, but he had been feeling a lack of attackers, so getting a powerful force now was a blessing.

And Maris's weapons and armor were ordinary. If he made better equipment with his Blacksmithing Skill, it would lead to a further increase in their strength. Hayato calculated that far and did a mental fist pump.

After that, Hayato used a Ring of Teleportation to return to the base. At the base, Esha, who had been minding the shop, greeted them.

It seemed she was greeting the Griffon Maris had tamed rather than Hayato and the others. When she saw the Griffon, her eyes widened, and she staggered towards it.

"What magnificent plumage. Maris-sama, may I touch it? I will touch it even if you say no."

"That is fine, but in your case, Esha-san, will you not die? Its attack power is insane."

Esha had been constantly bitten by the cat, Siegfried. His attack power was low, so even Esha could withstand it, but the Griffon's attack power was high. She probably would not be able to take it.

"I will revive at the base, so I do not mind... is what I would like to say, but on second thought, resurrection is at the Maid Guild. If I return at this hour, I do not know what the Maid Chief will say to me, so I will refrain. Master, could you make me a highly defensive maid outfit? One made of adamantite, five stars, and please hurry."

"There is no such maid outfit. Why do not you just have Diite-chan cast a defense-boosting support spell on you?"

Esha and Diite looked at each other.

"Could I ask you to?"

"You are an interesting one, Esha-kun. Well, I do not mind."

And so, Esha was pecked by the Griffon's beak but still enjoyed its plumage. However, the blow was heavy. Every time she petted it, Esha was on the verge of death, and Diite would use recovery magic on her.

That continued for about ten minutes.

Maris and Diite were clearly giving Hayato looks that said, "Please make her stop." He thought he wanted them to say it to Esha directly, but as the leader of this clan, he decided to do something and spoke to Esha.

"Diite-chan is about to run out of MP, so could you stop soon?"

"There are many melon juices in the storage. Please bring them to me. I need them urgently."

"Those are for the Clan War."

He and Ash had to pull the selfish Esha away to finally calm things down.