kscans

Chapter 98 - Slaying the Fire Dragon

The Fire Dragon Eddy Owl began to act exactly as Hayato had seen before.

First was the roar known as Dragon Roar, which inflicted Stun over a wide area. However, Ash, Ney, and some of the other members were not affected. Thanks to the effects of the rings and bracelets Hayato had made, they were immune.

Generally, equipment that nullified status effects didn't work retroactively if you equipped it after being afflicted. It was meaningless unless you were wearing it when you received the attack that induced the effect.

If a monster's actions were controlled by AI, there would be preliminary motions, but their opponent was human. There were no such tells. However, there were habits. Ash had researched that aspect and said he had a grasp of most of its actions.

First, as if not wanting to waste the cool down time, it would always use Dragon Roar when it was available. That meant it would use it upon its initial appearance, and then again every minute thereafter.

Then there was the knockback from the wind pressure of its wing flap. It used this when the Imperial Capital's square became packed with players. It was to secure space for a wide-area attack with its tail, called Dragon Tail. Although the dragon's mind was human, you could say the wing flap was the preliminary motion for the Dragon Tail.

Furthermore, there was the fiery Dragon Breath. This was for disrupting the rear guard when they used powerful magic, so it was usually conserved. Since it couldn't be used in rapid succession, Ash said it was saved for crucial moments.

All of this information was shared between the mercenaries and Kokuryu, and they were fighting according to these details.

In this game, there was no strategy information online. So, while there were players who didn't know these things, Ney was loudly relaying such information as she fought.

"Dragon Tail is coming after the wing flap! Watch out!"

Ney shouted, inspiring those around her, and the players followed her lead, taking countermeasures. Of course, her voice reached the Fire Dragon as well, but perhaps judging that the benefit of doing so outweighed the fact that its moves were being exposed, it attacked exactly as Ney had predicted.

Since the Fire Dragon was not an AI, there was no such thing as a hate value. Dealing massive damage or using the War Cry skill to generate hate value was meaningless. The Fire Dragon could choose its attack targets at will.

Naturally, it targeted Ney. From the Fire Dragon's perspective, she was a hateful opponent saying unnecessary things. The dragon attacked Ney with bites and scratches, but it wasn't very effective.

Ney was decked out in a full set of fire-resistant equipment, reducing the damage she took to less than ten percent.

Seeing this situation, Esha glanced at Hayato once before letting out a sigh.

"How on earth did you manage to put together a set of equipment like that? Is that the Red Dragon Series?"

"I got a lot of Red Dragon scales from Ash. So I made a full set of armor with them. But I could only make one set, so I had Ney equip it."

Red Dragon, as the name implied, referred to fire-type dragons. A full set of equipment made from its scales, called the Red Dragon Series, dramatically increased fire resistance. Conversely, it made the wearer take more than double damage from water and ice attribute attacks, but in this Stampede, that was no problem at all.

Furthermore, Kokuryu's members included experts in recovery and support magic, and Ney was carrying a large quantity of Hayato's food and medicine, giving her nearly invincible defense in this location.

Ney was currently acting as a tank. Inspiring the surrounding players was also part of her strategy to draw the target's attention to herself.

Meanwhile, Ash and the others were holding back their strength and attacking inconspicuously. They weren't using the Dragon Eater Replicas they had used to defeat the normal dragons, instead attacking with ordinary weapons to avoid being targeted by the Fire Dragon. This was also for the purpose of damage adjustment.

"Cecil, it's almost your turn. Are you sure you're ready?"

"Leave it to me. In fact, I can't hold myself back, so hurry it up."

Ash and Cecil's voice chat reached Hayato's ears.

This time, Cecil's damage would be multiplied even further on top of his previous attack.

His last attack was 16 times the normal damage, but this time, he had switched his attacking sword to a Dragon Eater Replica. Even a one-star quality weapon dealt double damage to dragons, but a five-star one dealt triple.

And they would have him eat Manga Meat. Furthermore, he would also drink a Power Drink, a medicine that increases attack power, though its effect only lasts for a short five minutes. By using the Manga Meat's 75% attack power boost and the Power Drink's 25% attack power boost, he would be able to deal double the damage he had before.

In other words, instead of the previous 2 times 2 times 4, for 16 times the damage, it would be 2 times 2 times 4 times 3 times 2, for 96 times the damage.

Looking at the numbers alone, it was an incredible value, but actually pulling it off would be difficult.

It had worked last time, but the Fire Dragon used wide-area stun and knockback status effect attacks. Knockback and stun canceled the target's attacks. Since damage-boosting weapon skills could be canceled in the same way, if Cecil were hit by one, it would all be for nothing in an instant.

Weapon skills also had cool down times, so it would take a while before the conditions were met again. And in exchange for the boons of being able to equip multiple weapons and any weapon, Cecil couldn't equip rings or bracelets, nor could he use an item bag.

He could be handed food and medicine from a clan member and consume it on the spot, but if he couldn't equip rings or bracelets, he couldn't nullify status effects.

This was Hayato's biggest concern for the current operation.

He needs to take off more than one-third of the Fire Dragon's HP in a single blow. I don't know the actual numbers, but it should probably be possible. And even if he can't defeat it in one hit, if there's only a sliver left, they can probably push through with attribute attacks. The problem is the stun and knockback. He really needs to be careful.

Hayato thought this as he watched the situation unfold.

Then, Ash's words to Cecil, telling him to go, reached Hayato as well.

Cecil shouted, "Alright!" and started running from outside the Imperial Capital towards the square where the Fire Dragon was.

"Cecil! Think about the Dragon Roar's cool down! You're too early!"

Since he was overlooking the whole area from the roof of a building, Hayato had a decent grasp of the situation. In about ten seconds, the Dragon Roar's cool down would be over, and it would spread stun throughout the area.

The Dragon Roar's effective range was almost the entire Imperial Capital. He would definitely get caught in it. But Hayato's words didn't seem to reach Cecil, as he showed no sign of stopping.

"I suppose it can't be helped."

Esha readied her Berzerb. Then she looked through the scope and aimed at Cecil.

It wasn't a Critical Shot or a Destroy, but a normal attack. She fired it towards Cecil.

Of course, she wasn't aiming at him, but fired several shots at the ground around him as a warning.

"Whoa! Esha! What the hell are you doing! I haven't done anything weird yet!"

"What do you mean, 'yet'? Get away from there quickly, the Dragon Roar is coming."

"Ah, crap."

Cecil immediately returned to his original spot. Just after that, the Fire Dragon unleashed its Dragon Roar.

Cecil was not caught in it, and his weapon skill was maintained.

"Now, go quickly. You have to hit it before it does the wing flap. In the first place, why did you use the weapon skill so early?"

"It looks cooler to get a running start and land a hit, doesn't it? Alright! Here I go!"

Cecil started running, carrying the Dragon Eater Replica on his shoulder.

Hayato took a deep breath to calm down, but he felt there was a problem with the situation in the square.

Huh? Aren't there too many people in the square? Can he even reach the Fire Dragon?

In this game, it was possible to push people aside, but STR was a factor.

In Cecil's case, his stats were boosted by the performance of the multiple weapons he had equipped, so he probably wouldn't lose out in terms of STR, but even so, with so many people, it would take time to reach the Fire Dragon.

"Ash! Ney! Clear a path for Cecil! He's heading for the square from the west!"

A voice saying, "Leave it to us!" reached him from both of them, and a few seconds later, the people in the square split to the north and south. He didn't know what Ash and the others had said, but in the square, the Fire Dragon was in the center, and a path connecting the east and west of the square had formed.

"Wh, what's this?"

The Fire Dragon also raised a voice of confusion at the sight. But in the next moment, its face twitched. From the west, Cecil was running towards it with a wicked smile.

Cecil immediately set foot in the square and headed straight for the Fire Dragon.

"Disappear, ya punk!"

Dodging the Fire Dragon's intercepting scratch attack, Cecil's diagonal slash with the Dragon Eater Replica hit the dragon's abdomen.

"Guboa!"

The Fire Dragon, struck by the attack, was sent flying out of the square as if it had been flicked away, and it rolled along the ground. The dragon tried to get back up, but it collapsed on the spot. Then, an effect like its body disappearing into particles of light began.

While everyone was stunned, a fanfare played in the square and fireworks shot up into the sky.

"The Fire Dragon Eddy Owl has been successfully subjugated. Participants in the Stampede will be awarded contribution points and a fragment of the Dragon Soul. I repeat..."

A world announcement could be heard. Immediately after, a great cheer erupted in the square. They had defeated the Fire Dragon that they had been unable to beat for nearly half a year. The majority of the players had all but given up, so their joy was immeasurable.

And Hayato, who had been watching, also received contribution points and a fragment of the Dragon Soul.

"So this is a fragment of the Dragon Soul."

The fragment was a long, thin crystal-like object, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. There was nothing particularly unusual about it. Hayato returned it to his item bag.

"Looks like the plan was a success. Well then, let's meet up with Ash and the others and head back to the base."

"Before that, I'd like to confirm, did you receive any contribution points? As an NPC, I did not receive any."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I got quite a few even though I didn't attack at all."

"I see. In that case, tonight is yakiniku. I'll have the kalbi and roast, please."

"Are you talking about the real world?"

"Of course. Since there's prize money, let's celebrate. A chocolate parfait party would also be fine."

"That's a bit much. Alright, let's have yakiniku tonight. It's okay to splurge once in a while. But first, work at the cafe. I'll do my best this afternoon."

Feeling a sense of warmth as he watched Esha raise her hands in a victory pose, Hayato sent a voice chat to Ash and the others.