Chapter 260
When you hear the term "hidden gem," you might think of various things , but in the context of FBO, it specifically refers to prime hunting grounds.
The Marsh Dragon spot is a good example. It's an excellent fishing location.
There are no monsters around, and the only enemy you need to face is a single Marsh Dragon—making it an ideal spot with all the right conditions.
"The sunlight streams in because this area is hollowed out."
The Wind Dragon dungeon also has such a place.
The wind is a bit strong because it blows in from above. Sunlight pours in easily because the area is bowl-shaped rather than canyon-like with walls on both sides.
In terms of size, it's about the size of the Tokyo Dome, maybe a bit larger, with a depth of around fifty meters.
As Amina looks up at the sky, Lady Esmeralda stands beside her and gazes upward as well.
"And the Wind Dragons ride the wind here, I see. Four of them—that's quite few for an area this size.""This area is on the edge of the dungeon, so the number of Wind Dragons that drift here is limited.""But wouldn't that make leveling inefficient? Even if it's safe, if we have to wait for the next one, wouldn't it be better to go outside and hunt them?"
We can see Wind Dragons riding the wind and descending into this hollow.
Perhaps because we're watching from the cave, they don't seem to notice us.
"Shall we test it out?""Test what?"
The hollow has no vegetation—just rocks scattered everywhere—but it's a perfect spot for Wind Dragons to rest their wings.
Seeing how relaxed they are, I immediately call out to Claudia to start hunting.
"Proof is in the pudding, as they say. You'll understand once we fight."
Leading the puzzled Claudia and the others, who prepare for battle upon realizing what's happening, we step out of the cave and into the hollow.
The crunch of gravel underfoot alerts the Wind Dragons even from a distance.
They roar in warning, spread their wings, and try to take flight, but—
"Hound Lightning!"
Lady Esmeralda's lightning crackles, intercepting them and slamming the attempting Wind Dragons back to the ground.
Simultaneously, Nell, Claudia, and I dash forward.
"Golem Summon!! Everyone, come!!!"
With ample space secured, it's time for Amina's song.
She summons the Turtle Golem, leaps onto it, and the Angler with its great shield appears beside her.
"I'll take center stage!!"
Amina, who has mastered singing while dancing through practice, steps into the spotlight. As she begins to sing and dance, the Wind Dragons' attention shifts from Lady Esmeralda, who dealt damage, or us approaching with weapons, to her.
Naturally, their attacks target her, but—
"Power Swing!"
Nell smashes one sideways with full force, sending it flying right where Claudia is waiting.
Aiming for the Wind Dragon's slightly elevated head, Claudia seems to float upward with a light kick off the ground.
"Flying Swallow!"
Her legs dance gracefully through the air, precisely striking the Wind Dragon's jaw.
The impact echoes with a force unimaginable from such a smooth motion, and without stopping—
"Hawk Hunt!"
She ascends further mid-air, driving a side kick into the Wind Dragon's temple.
No Air Step was used in this aerial combo.
These kicking skills, all named after birds, possess aerial mobility like Air Step, allowing for aerial combos among martial skills.
Soaring with Flying Swallow, pursuing with Hawk Hunt.
"Eagle Drop!!"
Drawing an arc as if claiming the high ground, Claudia raises her leg and brings her heel down hard on the Wind Dragon's crown.
Slammed into the ground.
"And, Neck Hunt."
Circling around, I cleanly drive my scythe into the exposed reverse scale and sever the Wind Dragon's head.
Ah, I wish I had this firepower back then, I think, as I finish off the first one. Making eye contact with the other two, I move to the next target just as the sound of flapping wings echoes from above.
"!? Already the next one?""This place has a fixed spawn of four. When one is gone, another replaces it; when three are gone, three replace them.""Then how do we stop the fighting?""Either retreat to the cave or defeat all four at once."
Claudia's eyes widen as she looks up at the sound. It must be surprising to see a new Wind Dragon appear right after defeating one.
"From here, each of us will handle one individually. Prevent them from taking flight, always be aware of party members' positions, and make full use of the area. Ingrid and Lady Esmeralda will handle Amina's side, so don't worry."
From now on, it's solo combat against Wind Dragons.
"I see, I see! This seems like a worthy fight!!"
Thrilled by the environment where she can fight without holding back, Claudia, her battle-lust switch flipped, immediately dashes toward the descending Wind Dragon.
"Nell, call for help if it gets tough. I'll come right away.""Got it! But I can handle one on my own, no problem!"
Following suit, Nell dashes toward her assigned Wind Dragon.
"You can use Fortune's Summon anytime!!""Okay!!"
I shout the skill instruction to her back, and Nell replies cheerfully.
Knowing Nell, she'll probably complete the Wind Dragon drop collection with this.
Both of them charge in bravely, and Lady Esmeralda and Ingrid fight without hesitation.
It's a full-speed ahead attitude that makes you wonder where the common sense of this world went—the one where just hearing about Wind Dragons made the Duke turn pale during the Stampede era.
"Alright then. I shouldn't laze around either; time to take down some Wind Dragons."
The three of us vanguards rush toward the Wind Dragons, drawn straight to Amina.
Nell smashes them sideways, Claudia shatters their fangs with flying kicks.
Compared to them, my style isn't flashy.
I quietly approach from behind using Air Step.
"Heart Strike."
I drive my scythe spear blade, enhanced with Magic Edge, toward its heart.
It stiffens as if convulsing from the heart pierce, but as expected of a dragon species.
A pierced heart isn't enough to kill it?
The instant death judgment rarely triggers, but a critical hit still deals fatal damage.
Aggro briefly shifts to me, but their focus on Amina doesn't waver, their gaze darting around, so no attacks come my way.
Even among the four elemental types, Wind Dragons have the lowest HP, but they still radiate a fighting spirit.
"But how about this?"
There's still time before the recast for Neck Hunt and Heart Strike, but I've added more attack skills.
"Venom Attack."
Purple mana coils around my scythe spear blade, and as I thrust it into the Wind Dragon's scales—
『■■■■■!?』
The Wind Dragon thrashes its head and screams.
Poison—normally a skill used by enemies, but calmly thinking, damage over time is pretty strong.
It's not very effective against highly resistant enemies, but it works on basically everyone, and few monsters have healing手段 (means).
It writhes in agony, and it seems like it might die even if left alone, but—
"Layering, Venom Attack."
In FBO, poison effects can stack.
The higher the skill level, the more the poison damage accumulates. Continuous stacking turns it into a hellish attack with constant damage.
Poison is a broad term, but an acquaintance from the verification team said the poison from this skill is closer to necrotic poison.
The struck area turns purple, followed by intense pain, gradually corroding the body.
Maybe I should take them down coolly like Nell and Claudia, but assassins are all about instant death and poison, right?
The terror of Venom Attack isn't just the damage over time; its recast time is a mere fifteen seconds, and the poison effect lasts five minutes.
If used continuously, you can land twenty hits.
However, even for Wind Dragons, each Venom Attack deals damage, and I'm also using normal attacks while waiting for recast.
"Hmm, around eight or nine times."
In terms of results, it takes less than three minutes to take down one Wind Dragon.
I feel a deep sense of emotion at how easily I can now defeat an enemy that gave me so much trouble before, but I can't afford to dwell on it.
As I explained to Claudia earlier, a new Wind Dragon replaces any defeated one almost immediately.
"Then, let's keep this pace."
Instant death via Neck Hunt or Heart Strike would be ideal, but knowing Venom Attack's damage over time works at a decent speed is a big deal.
As a Wind Dragon descends into the hollow, it notices Amina and immediately prepares to breathe attack.
Ingrid and Lady Esmeralda are with Amina; the three of them handle one Wind Dragon while Lady Esmeralda oversees the entire situation.
Spotting the breath attack, she swings her arm.
A boomerang-shaped ice blade, shining like crystal, spins in an arc, slicing through the Wind Dragon's wing.
"Ice Boomerang is so handy, as expected."
When you think of standard ice magic, you might imagine Ice Needle, Ice Lance, Ice Arrow—anything sharp and projectile. But for me, the most convenient ice magic is Ice Boomerang.
You might think, "Boomerang? The thing that comes back?" but originally, it's a thrown weapon that uses rotational force to slash, a ranged cutting tool.
The best part of this magic is its high stealth capability; the body is ice's characteristic semi-transparent, making it hard to see.
Plus, it flies in an arc instead of a straight line, coming from blind spots, making it hard to dodge.
And (interestingly), the higher the skill level, the more you can form and have them standby around you.
Most magic skills (dissipate) immediately after activation unless they're storage-type skills like Magic Stock.
But Ice Boomerang, right after activation, isn't shot immediately; it orbits the user at a set radius, hovering in place.
The recast time is only ten seconds; at max skill level, they can hover for a full ten minutes.
Do you see? All those glittering objects reflecting light around Lady Esmeralda are her created Ice Boomerangs.
Just by having hovering Ice Boomerangs on standby, she creates an ice blade defense barrier, and this barrier can be instantly shot out for attacks like now.
It's also perfectly sufficient in firepower, capable of slicing through Wind Dragon wings.
Watching the ice boomerang pierce the body as a follow-up, I approach the Wind Dragon and sever its head.
Glancing at Lady Esmeralda, she winks at me.
I wave back in gratitude and dash toward the next Wind Dragon.