Chapter 263
Well, some time has passed since that strange idea popped into my head.
Huh? You thought this would lead to some flag where we coincidentally meet a god and receive cash shop items?
No way.
Meeting a god? If you think about it calmly, that could mean being burdened with incredible trouble.
We're already dealing with the hassle of Azhdaha.
I absolutely don't want any more complications.
Everyone in the party is mentally exhausted from the difficult leveling.
Even in this state, thanks to Nell and the others who reliably do what needs to be done, our leveling is progressing smoothly. I don't want to add anything extra to that.
So, considering cash shop items as mere illusions—or rather, recognizing them as things that don't exist in this world—is better for our mental health.
Thirty levels in one week—whether you consider this rate high or low, I think it's high. At this pace, it should take about ten weeks, two and a half months, to finish.
But that's only if the experience table remains the same.
The Mark of the Weakling can reduce levels by a total of 200.
Meaning, once we exceed level 200, the experience table will change, and the real challenge begins.
With the experience table fixed at its minimum, we gained 30 levels in a week. We might maintain this pace for about seven weeks, but if we keep leveling, the experience table will inevitably rise, making each level harder to achieve.
"It's tough not getting EXP from this boss."
Facing this reality, I can't help but feel disappointed that we can't gain EXP from a beatable, higher-level enemy with great rewards.
Today marks exactly one month. I've informed the spirits, including Dark, that they'll return today, so we must defeat the dragon continuously discharging electricity before us.
The Thunder Dragon.
Normally, a Class 7 higher-level enemy should make us Class 6ers tremble with fear, but now I see it as mere EXP.
I smile wryly, wondering if my brain has become too specialized in EXP collection from excessive leveling, as I ready my spear.
The enemy is the Thunder Dragon, boss of the Wind Dragon dungeon.
If Wind Dragons look like Western dragons, Thunder Dragons resemble Chinese dragons.
A long, serpentine body with only two arms extending from it.
Yellow scales with lightning patterns and a standing, pale mane.
Lightning-inspired horns and sharp fangs in a roaring mouth.
Dark clouds and rumbling thunder fill the sky.
The dragon stands firm, with the environment on its side.
"Alright, let's make this one into materials. Amina!""Leave it to me!!"
The deepest part of the Wind Dragon dungeon.
It took about three days to get here. In this obstacle-free plaza at the very end, the battle against the Thunder Dragon begins.
"I'll take center stage!!"
As always, we start with this skill.
The path to this final plaza is wide enough to summon Golems.
Amina, riding the Turtle Golem with Golems as guards, begins her performance, drawing the attention of all enemies in the boss room.
With song and dance, buffs are granted to us, filling us with power. The three vanguards, including me, spring into action.
If we can prepare before a boss fight, going in fully equipped is only natural.
You might think drawing attention immediately against a Thunder Dragon is dangerous.
If the accompanying Wind Dragons also focus fire, Amina could be in peril.
But this is Liberta we're talking about—he always plans ahead.
"Blizzard Wave!!"
It paid off to ask her to use this blizzard first if she could attack first.
Lightning magic isn't very effective against Thunder Dragons.
It won't heal them, but damage is significantly reduced.
So, Lady Esmeralda's attacks are ice-based.
The reason for opening with this attack is to counter their opening lightning magic.
The effect is brief, just enough to stun, but it still causes a delay in their next action.
"Now, now! Next!! Ice Boomerang! Full volley!!"
In that opening, she releases all the Ice Boomerangs charged before entering the boss room, firing them all at the Thunder Dragon.
It twists its body to avoid the ice boomerangs arcing and spreading left and right, but the Blizzard Wave's effect lingers.
Slower movement naturally makes attacks easier to land.
The boomerangs slice through the Thunder Dragon's scales, some embedding themselves in its body.
『■■■■■■！?』
It roars in pain, electricity enveloping its body.
At first glance, it seems defensive.
By electrifying itself, it protects itself by keeping melee fighters at bay. But in reality, it's steadily charging a counterattack.
Seeing this, if you switch to ranged attacks and avoid aggressive advances, area lightning attacks centered on the Thunder Dragon rain down.
However, approaching an electrified Thunder Dragon without countermeasures is difficult.
Lady Esmeralda's magic won't be ready in time recast-wise. You might think there's no way to block the lightning, but—
"Power Swing!!"
That's not the case.
Approaching damages you with the enveloping electricity; leaving it alone lets it use charged lightning skills, damaging you.
It might seem like an all-around style requiring ranged solutions, but knowing how to defeat Thunder Dragons reveals surprising weaknesses.
Nell shouts, impact sounds echo, a groan escapes, and then—
『!?』
A Wind Dragon's body collides with the Thunder Dragon just as it was about to discharge.
This electrocutes the Wind Dragon and dissipates the charged lightning.
The gimmick is simple.
Use the accompanying Wind Dragons to block the Thunder Dragon's skills. It's just that the idea of throwing Wind Dragons at it isn't obvious, but once you think of it, it's surprisingly straightforward.
The Wind Dragon Nell sent flying is still alive but barely breathing due to the powerful lightning.
Leaving it be seems fine, but Ingrid approaches and finishes it off.
Using minions to seal lightning.
Learn this, and you too can be a dragonslayer from tomorrow.
I run to approach the staggering Thunder Dragon, but Claudia, who should be a healer yet fights on the front lines, overtakes me.
She leaps, reaching its face in one breath, delivering a series of kicks, swinging the Thunder Dragon's head up, sideways, and down.
Annoyed, it begins charging lightning in its horns.
This dragon's weakness is needing to charge for skills.
If it could fire instantly, it might be fine, but even its weakest attack requires a fraction of a second to charge.
With that brief opening, we can respond however we want.
Knowing its behavior patterns, Claudia reacts to the horn charging by delivering a powerful kick from under its jaw, exposing its throat.
As she backflips away, I step forward.
Creating a scythe blade with Magic Edge, I swing at a single, upside-down scale.
The usual pattern.
"Neck Hunt."
Instant death would be easiest, but bosses of this class rarely die that quickly.
It's not impossible, but the chance is about one in a thousand.
However, the defense-ignoring critical damage lands, canceling its action again.
Enraged by the struck reverse scale, it tries to shake off Claudia and me by swinging its arms, but Amina's song and dance prevent it from focusing fully on us.
"Hate Down."
Timing it right, I reduce its hate toward me and circle behind.
Suddenly, hate toward one target drops. Even if it tries to attack Claudia, she's distanced herself after her attack.
With two targets gone, it attempts to attack Amina, the top focus, but—
"Hey!!"
Nell tackles it with a body undeniably small compared to the Thunder Dragon.
Normally, such mass shouldn't send it flying, but her stats produce exceptional speed and power.
A sound like two large vehicles colliding at high speed echoes, and the Thunder Dragon's massive body shifts.
Repeatedly interrupted and unsure who to attack.
The confused Thunder Dragon looks up at the sky.
There, dark clouds rumble with lightning.
Those clouds contain vast amounts of lightning, the Thunder Dragon's energy source.
A gimmick: it can use them for attacks or heal by bathing in lightning.
From its current behavior, it seems to be going for healing.
But does it think it can heal with Nell in such close proximity?
"On three!!"
A tackle followed by a Power Swing for a second knockback, canceling its action.
Then, a leaping overhead Severing Sky Battle Axe to lower defense, followed by a Returning Blade Severing Sky Battle Axe targeting the weakened spot.
Its large size lets it withstand Nell's power head-on, but a human-sized opponent would be sent flying, breaking the combo.
Yep, she's connecting the combos exactly as taught.
After four strikes, as hate starts to shift, ice boomerangs pierce the Thunder Dragon's body.
Additionally, Ingrid leaps from the side, entering an iaido stance.
A relentless assault through prearr coordination.
No matter how high its HP or attack power, it can't do much if we never let it act.
Constantly dealing damage, constantly hindering its actions.
Normally, such lockdown shouldn't be possible, but with dragon-slaying equipment and thoroughly meta-reading its actions, we can shut it down completely.
And with free members handling the Wind Dragons—
"Exactly 30 minutes for the takedown."
We can achieve a shutout victory.
Unless there's some irregularity like a mad jester, winning through sheer preparation is best.
We attacked relentlessly. Its behavior pattern changed midway, but we knew that too and adapted for a shutout.
With the Thunder Dragon turned to black ash and the Wind Dragons defeated, the battle ends.
"One rainbow, three golds!""Hey, check the silvers too."
Then comes reward time.
Nell's Fortune's Summoning makes the Thunder Dragon's drops absurd, evident from her joyful voice.
Looking over, I see a dazzling row of treasure chests.
Fixed at the maximum number, they line up impressively: a rainbow chest in the center, flanked by gold and silver chests—a breathtaking sight that almost makes me worry about tomorrow's accidents.
Selling all these would grant enough wealth to live comfortably for life in this world.
Before that, we've already collected an unbelievable amount of Wind Dragon scales and fangs, so money isn't a concern.
Watching the two run toward the rainbow chest with Amina, I think we're finally done for now, but I don't hear their usual cheers upon opening the chest.
Huh? The rainbow chest from the Thunder Dragon should contain something worth their excitement.
Yet, from behind, I see them tilting their heads as if puzzled.
"Liberta! Come here!!""What is it?"
Thinking something's wrong, I jog over in response to Nell's call. She holds out an item presumably from the chest.
"What's this?""Let's see."
An item that fits in Nell's palm—normally, we'd get fangs, scales, or rare materials like reverse scales.
"Why is this in here?"
My eyes widen at the completely unexpected item.
An item that absolutely shouldn't be here.
"Liberta, you know this?""Yeah, this is a Color Changer."
A simple combination of a test tube-like container with a brush included, this consumable changes equipment color without skills.
"It's a cash shop item."
But it's an item you shouldn't be able to get without paying.