V53C2P1 – Dragon Hunt

‘That is ridiculous.’

Weed, who was observing from afar, was at a loss for words: and how about the Hermes guild that went up against the dragon?

“Sigh, it was a trap.”

“We’re done for. How are we supposed to kill the dragon now?”

The black dragon plunged even the Hermes guild into despair. He flapped his wings in the sky and slowly descended to ground level. Life Drain of the Sacrificed was the highest cla.s.s of dark magic, but it was different from Barkan’s constant Life Steal through the undead. Its weakness was that it only drains life from enemies killed in a short period of time. Even then, considering the dragon’s power it was easy to restore all health points.

“This is illogical.”

Arkhim who had barely survived thanks to his s.p.a.ce rift bracelet, let out a groan. The Hermes guild squeezed out every last drop of effort while hanging off the edge of a cliff, only for it all to be part of the dragon’s plan.

“How in the world do we defeat this dragon…”

Arkhim could not come up with a way to fight against it. The black dragon was descending and the Hermes guild members had lost the spirit they had had just moments ago and fell back.

– Kuuuuuuaaa!

Dragon’s fear activated. Invisible shockwaves swept the battlefield and nearby users were stunned or paralyzed, horses and demonic beasts squirmed simultaneously.

– Charge at me again and amuse me!

Kaybern stomped forward, kicked away the users and swept the land with his tail. The audacious black dragon. It was a first time for the Hermes guild to experience such humiliation. 3,000 draconic soldiers were wreaking havoc on the ground, making it difficult for them to concentrate all forces on the dragon.

*Doong! Doong! Doong!*

Then, someone within the camps of the Haven Imperial army struck the drum. A user who became frustrated by the dragon’s pressure was sounding the drum to charge forward.

*Fuuuuuuu!*

The sounds of horn flutes echoed from various directions and the knights began to move. Their objective was the humongous black dragon that had descended onto the earth.

***

The group that chased after the Haven included Roam, Carlise, Sherwood, Gunter and Michel. They were observing idly as Geomchi and the apprentices followed by the Central Continent users and rushed to fight against the black dragon.

“Wow. Incredible.”

“A dragon and the Hermes guild…”

“Was the Hermes guild that powerful?”

They chased down the Hermes guild and returned the favor for all the times they were hara.s.sed. They kept a far enough distance away when the dragon appeared, but they were overwhelmed by watching the Hermes guild fight. Not just Geomchi and the apprentices, the Central users were also fighting competently. Roam spoke out with a heavy tone.

“This brings back memories of the battle when the Hermes guild united the Central continent. We couldn’t do anything about it.”

Kalis also had terrible memories of that very day.

“The true side of the Hermes guild. Looking at that makes me question how we even won against them.”

Mihel let out a deep sigh.

“The power of the Arpen Kingdom is not just in numbers. They are highly motivated to win. The thought that Royal Road would only continue to be exciting along with the continued existence of the Arpen Kingdom drove them to fight without hesitation.”

Back in the day, they lost to the Hermes guild both in tactics and combat strength. The black Lion guild that united the Tulen region were snapped up by other guilds and could not dare to go against them head-on afterwards. Sherwood did not speak a word and glared towards the battle of the Hermes guild. The Cloud guild where he stood as leader could not compare at all to the Hermes guild in power. The gap in power was at a level that could not be filled even with 3 months, nor 6 months of training.

‘Would we be able to dream once again?’

The leaders of the prestigious guilds were different from one another but had similar thoughts. They thought that if the Hermes guild was defeated, there would be an opportunity for themselves. For the time being they would have to survive under the eyes of Weed but it would be much easier to expand their forces. On the other hand, even such a powerful guild like the Hermes guild was defeated by Weed and the Arpen kingdom. Like the saying ‘There’s always another mountain to climb’ it felt as if there would never be a chance for them to spread their wings wide and rule over the continent.

***

Bard Ray, who’s health points dwindled to the bottom, closed his eyes as he saw Weed’s sword approaching.

‘So, this is the end.’

The tides turned when he used the Devil’s gruesome blade dance in certainty of victory. The chain sequence of the dimensional rift glove and the Moment Sculpting led to quick and precise consecutive attacks. The consistent frenzied attacks during several breaths. It was a chain skill technique that is near impossible to react for someone who’s seen it for the first time.

‘I thought I was better in the basics…’

He reminisced back to when he first started Royal Road. Drew to the fame of the the perfect virtual reality, many set foot into Royal Road. Within this race to outrun the rest, Bard Ray always carried the nickname G.o.dly Warrior. Level 100, 200. Such levels were insignificant compared to the harsh monsters of the Versaille continent, but among the users he outpaced them in growth by one or two steps. With that he carried heavy expectations on his shoulders, but he felt pride in it.

‘To think I would lose in a duel… But this isn’t over yet.’

The moment Bard Ray lost his life, an alert message popped up.

With a single sword in hand you have climbed to the chair of emperor, a mighty dark knight. You rewrote the history of the Versaille continent, and your imperial lands expanded as you conquered various kingdoms. In the path that you walked wasn’t only about glory. Wariness, obsession, jealousy, suspicion. Unable to trust the most loyal subordinates and having them executed in secret has been left as a dark side. In power there is brilliance, which in turn gives existence to darkness. You have perfectly fulfilled the desires as a dark knight but faced a bitter tragic ending…

The world will speak of the new victor. However, history books will never cease to be written. The dark knight will stand again. Maybe… you will attain it all with your sword. >

– You have accomplished the great achievements of glory and despair.

The dark knight challenge is complete.

Rewards are doubled due to the achievements.

< You have completed the job cla.s.s quest of the dark knight.

Effects of all combat skills are increased by 16%.

All stats are increased by 88 points.

Strength and agility are increased by additional 60 points.

Maximum health points increased by 32%.

Infamy disappeared.

Misfortune is temporarily removed.>

Completion of a job cla.s.s quest! Weed sculpted a star in outer s.p.a.ce and became the master of the sculptural arts. Bard Ray climbed to the prestigious position Emperor of the Central continent and was defeated to someone with high fame, thus achieving the completion of the job cla.s.s quest.

With death you have acquired deep enlightenment of the sword.

The characteristic in the dark knight of burning aspirations and gifted talents has been activated.

You have become the master of swordsmans.h.i.+p.

You have slashed through countless moments of silence, performed in battle and came to have a complete understanding of the sword. You have reached the sublime pinnacle of the sword, with no more progress left to achieve.

The base damage of sword techniques is enhanced by 500%.

Sword technique skills can be cancelled at any time and mana will be refunded.

The range of the attack skills is enhanced.

Attack skills can be acquired faster and proficiency level will also increase faster.

No damage is taken when enemy attacks are defended with a sword.

You can absorb enemy sword techniques.

All stats increased by 40 points.

Combat quests can be accepted without any requirements.

You will bring out the potential of weapons and enhance their base attack damage by a multiple of 2.

Durability of swords will hardly decline, and never to be destroyed.

You have acquired the t.i.tle ‘Master of swordsmans.h.i.+p.’

You may meet kings regardless of fame.

Many knights and warriors will come before you to challenge.

Increased effects of spirit and charisma, immune to any influence even if your stats are lower than that of your opponent’s.

Bard Ray confirmed the messages and laughed. Master of swordsmans.h.i.+p! A hard-earned keep after sacrificing so many subordinates including the royal knights and even getting defeated by a rival. The job cla.s.s of the dark knight can only be complete by climbing to the very top and facing the misery of failure.

‘Finally, I’ve done it.’

The Haven empire, his foundation had been defeated. He was confident nonetheless.

‘I was defeated this time… But I became even more powerful. I was victorious at the Melbourne mine and I lost this time. The score is still one to one.’

– You died due to complete depletion of life points. You are unable to log in for 24 hours. Level and skill proficiency decline upon death.

Bard Ray thought to himself before he was logged out.

‘This is not the end. The real game starts now.’

***

Seasoned Crab and Python! They were mixed up in the crowd of Central continent users and desert warriors. They had arrived late after crus.h.i.+ng the straggling troops of the Haven Imperial army.

“What do you think we should do next?”

“I am not certain. But the force of the Hermes guild that had been defeated and was on retreat is surely incredible.”

The two were amazed by the sight of the Hermes guild battling against the dragon. They were wiped out by the Mirror of fate, but the extent to which they fought was acknowledgeable. Users in level 500s with fine-tuned equipment and skills overflowed in numbers at the Hermes guild. The Hermes guild charging madly the moment the black dragon Kaybern settled on the ground was quite spectacular as well.The dragons scales reflected the light of explosions and the picture of users slipping through the magic spells and advancing forward!

“Wow…!”

“This is amazing. Wonderful.”

“I wanted to see a battle like this. The Hermes guild is truly powerful.”

“I can’t believe we won against those guys.”

“You think we won by force? Honestly, we just pushed through with numbers. If it weren’t for Weed-nim we would never have made our rendezvous.”

The Central Continent users that chased after the Hermes guild were also gaping at the scene. The black dragon, draconic warriors and the Hermes guild all coming together in a ma.s.sive war. The higher the level of users, the more they were captivated by battle scenes and wish to become the center of it all. It is a fact that the Hermes guild was criticized a lot, but they had many fans. Not whether they were kind or evil; they were respected because they were powerful.

“Can we even kill this dragon at this rate?”

“I have no idea. They are significant… though the situation turned with a single magic spell.”

“If the Hermes guild cannot defeat it, who else can?”

“There’s Weed-nim.”

“Weed-nim. Nah… Even he would not be enough.”

The words from the crowd of the Central continent users got into Seasoned Crab’s ears and his facial expression turned serious.

“Would the Hermes guild be able to take down the dragon?”

“Who knows. But based on my experiences as a warrior, it would be difficult in this state.”

“How come?”

“Lack of experience. For any monster, there is a huge difference in fighting it for the first time and having gone through an encounter. Furthermore, they were unprepared, and it seems to me that the Hermes guild attacks remind me of fire moths.”

“Won’t they be utilizing secret sword techniques and armor-penetrating skills? They will be doing some damage.”

“I can feel great composure from the dragon. Judging by the previous trap, it seems to enjoy fighting directly and watch humans struggle.”

“That’s a bad preference.”

“He isn’t called the dark dragon for nothing.”

It looked as if the users were ruling the Versailles continent, but at the top of the food chain there were beings called dragons. Various skills and spells were landing on the black dragon’s body, and the Hermes guild members risked themselves dying to friendly fire, charging close to the dragon. To no avail, the dragon seemed to feel nothing.

“Sigh. This is such a letdown. In battles such as this one, I can feel my limits as an a.s.sa.s.sin.”

Seasoned Crab spun the dagger in his hand. a.s.sa.s.sins were weak against non-human types, especially large monsters with high health points.

“Dragon hunt. I want to get up close and personal.”

Python also felt his body steaming from excitement. He could empathize with the warriors scrambling on the ma.s.sive foe, a dragon. Each time Kaybern swung his wings and tails violently, several users died.

– Seismic Impact.

Powerful spells were complete in split seconds and wiped out the entire Hermes guild members.

(To be continued…)