The academy began to attract not only war heroes but also royal family members, officials from duchies, famous noble families, and executives from guilds with high standing.
That’s how much public interest is gathering for the academy ranking battles.
As such, the final weekend before the ranking battle arrived.
—I know the location. The armored dragon.
If you take me there, I’ll tell you.
The dragon that took away a war hero’s comrade,
And it seems Scarlet’s hatred was deeper than I thought,
She secretly called me out today with Dustin, insisting we had to check it right away during the weekend.
Since they also had schedules on the weekend, we had no choice but to leave early in the morning.
“Alright, does that work? Now tell me.”
“It’s in Domentoam.”
“Domentoam? That’s inland, and the sanctuary purification has already…”
“It’s a deception. Illusion magic.”
“Huh?”
According to Claris Academy’s standards, a deserted desert far from human contact, Domentoam.
Dustin, who had been silently listening to Scarlet and me, made a suggestion before we set off.
“Then for now, we should just check if the armored dragon is there. We have a schedule to follow today, and Umberto is absent due to an urgent matter.”
“……”
Scarlet didn’t particularly respond to his words.
.
.
.
‘Being a hero is nice…’
Using a dedicated mount that she had opened ahead of time in coordination with the magic tower and wasting magic stones, this long distance became possible in a day.
We had already arrived at the field dungeon known as the desolate nest, Domentoam.
–Sizzle…
“It’s hotter than I expected.”
Dustin unbuttoned a few of his leather armor’s buttons.
This place looked desolate, with nothing but dirt and rock, resembling the Grand Canyon on Earth,
And as he said, the climate here was the worst.
Not only was no one’s footstep here, but there wasn’t even a single monster in this field dungeon.
In short, it looked like there was nothing here, meaning it perfectly fulfilled the saying that there’s darkness beneath the lamp.
According to the original game, a fairly reputable dark wizard had secluded himself in this desert and spent a considerable amount of time establishing a barrier.
And it is said that the armored dragon, greatly damaged in the long war, hides here to recover.
“You little punk, you could have just told me the location.”
“Well, no matter how much of a war hero you are, if there’s no one there, I’d be the one in trouble pretending otherwise.”
“…You really are suspicious despite your looks, huh?”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“Tch, you insufferable brat.”
As I carelessly answered and started recalling the armored dragon’s patterns…
“Whew!”
Dustin, who had a pretty muscular build like a true knight, loosened his body and asked me.
“So what’s your relationship with that girl from earlier?”
He was referring to Aria.
-[‘Aria Bluebell’’s surveillance level on ‘Lev Denec’ has risen to 3.]
Perhaps due to the last dungeon investigation practice, the surveillance level had reached 3, and when I attempted to sneak out in the morning,
—Would it be alright if I came along…?
There she was, showing up in front of me despite not fully healed yet.
—Uh, who’s this lady?
—I can do a bit of healing magic. It might be a nuisance, but I’m asking for your help.
—Sorry, but I won’t take any injured parties on my journey.
—…
—Ah… My apologies.
Fortunately, Aria couldn’t come along due to Dustin’s firm belief, having watched many of his companions.
Anyway, it was quite a sight to see a frail woman tiptoeing into the dawn to send off a man.
I wasn’t sure if this was how Dustin’s brain worked, but… he seemed to suspect our relationship.
“She’s pretty cute, huh? That desire to stay with her companions means a lot.”
“Yeah.”
And of course, he leaned closer to me and revealed his true feelings.
“Maybe you like her?”
“Hahaha…”
It’s a common narrative to see older guys being curious about young people’s puppy love, even in my previous world.
“Hmmm, I can definitely tell she likes you…”
‘What an annoyance…’
Right now, I had to run brain simulations for each pattern of the armored dragon.
It wasn’t the time to be teased about this stuff.
“Yes, that’s right. We’re dating.”
“Ohh!”
“It’s been two months, I confessed first, and it’s private beyond that.”
As I willingly acknowledged and kept my mouth shut, Dustin gulped, looking disappointed, but didn’t pry further.
“Ahem! I knew it! My eyes are still sharp. By the way, nowadays kids are really fast…”
I can understand why he’d react like this, as war heroes probably spent their youth mostly hunting demons.
As Dustin nodded and admired, Scarlet chimed in.
“Dustin, please. Can we be quiet?”
“Why? Isn’t the pure and fun love of young people precious? Sometimes you were…”
“Please shut that mouth of yours.”
Scarlet placed her hand on her wand.
“…I’ll shut it.”
She probably meant that if he made one more silly remark, she would cast silence magic on him, just like in fanfics.
“Wait.”
At that moment, Scarlet’s voice was cut off as she began to mime.
“I really can’t believe there was an illusion magic like this…”
She spoke with a tone of surprise.
“I would never have noticed if we hadn’t come closer to check…”
Still, she looked at me suspiciously.
“Something is definitely off, as you said. If you want to cherish your life, follow my lead.”
–Scratch, Scratch.
Scarlet held a magic pen and began cleverly deceiving the barrier.
Sometimes she frowned as if there were hurdles, but since it was for three people, it didn’t take too long.
“Dustin, focus on the front now.”
“Got it.”
“And you, little punk, keep yourself well positioned in the back.”
“Yes, sir.”
As expected, I had no role to play.
*
At the same time, in the academy during the weekend, Yeriel, with beautiful silver hair braided and adorned with a butterfly hairpin, was watching the duel between Edwin and Aveline.
Since the dungeon investigation practice, Edwin had become more proactive.
It seemed he felt the desire to get stronger, leading to longer practice times.
He charged at Aveline Valantes, the S-rank daughter of the sword master.
“Huah!”
–Thud!
Of course, his battle cry didn’t last long as he fell flat on the ground.
“I can’t feel anything from your sword. Challenging me is like hitting a rock with an egg.”
“Just once more, please.”
“Really… you never get tired, do you? I have group activities, so this is my last time.”
Aveline was barely keeping Edwin at bay with just one hand, looking quite annoyed.
Yeriel, watching this, had different thoughts in mind.
She was thinking about Lev Denec.
—Then we can start getting closer now….
—Are you saying you want to be friends…?
—…Yeah.
What does it mean to be friends?
Someone you can always trust and ask for help?
Or someone you can safely share secrets with?
Today, helping Edwin train with Aveline was due to Lev’s request two days ago.
Helping each other is normal as friends.
—Lev! Good morning…?
However, he had already vanished early in the morning.
And just a moment ago, Sinatis approached her and informed her.
—He left the academy early in the morning, along with Aria.
He had gone out.
With Aria Bluebell.
—So why was he… hugging Aria…?
—I didn’t hug her; I fell.
—Oh really, is that so!
—……………
A rather awkward silence followed.
“Lev, you liar.”
If they were friends, he shouldn’t tell lies.
Yeriel’s heart tinged slightly.
‘I’m not that oblivious…’
.
.
.
Soon enough, the duel reached its conclusion once more.
Again, Aveline’s victory.
“Haah, haah.”
“!!”
However, Aveline, she had both hands gripping the training sword.
Edwin had grown… indeed.
Watching this, Yeriel whispered softly.
“Friendship is quite difficult.”
It would suffice for her to offer support to their friendship, yet for some reason, it felt complicated.
As a gentle smile formed on Yeriel’s face, a tranquil wave began to rise within her.
*
How long had they walked inside the barrier?
A familiar magical wave imprinted in her mind.
“It was real…”
Scarlet felt a rush of blood to her head.
What she faced was a black dragon, armored in sturdy black scales.
Once referred to as [Black Armor].
The Black Armor seemed to be asleep, recovering, as it had not noticed the three of them yet, including Scarlet.
“Scarlet, let’s stop here for today. We’ve confirmed it; let’s go back.”
Dustin also calmed his excited heart while placing a hand on Scarlet’s shoulder.
–Tremble, Tremble…
“Scarlet…?”
However, she couldn’t help but feel a surging emotion inside her.
-Scarlet! Are you still researching today?
-Eat this while you work!
-Scarlet? Come?
-Would you like to join our party?
The quirky archer, Adrian, who had once reached out a hand to the standoffish Scarlet.
He was the only companion with whom she could open her heart to.
Yet, that Adrian sacrificed himself to save Scarlet.
As the black magic emanated from him…
-Take care, Scarlet.
Scarlet had absorbed it all with her body… until…
“Kill… I have to…”
The left wing joint of the armored dragon had not completely regenerated its black scales yet.
It certainly remembered Adrian’s final blow.
The last desperate fight to save his comrades…
“I must kill… for revenge…”
“Scarlet? Calm down!”
–GROOOAAAR…
In an instant, Scarlet’s magic began to burst out violently.
“Now, calm down, Scarlet! There are still many opportunities! For now, let’s just check… Guh!”
With the lethal wave of magic,
–◼◼◼◼…?
The Black Armor opened its eyes.
–◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Ugh!”
With an ear-splitting roar, its wings flared open.
In an instant, black mist started to envelop the three of them.
“Everyone, fall back!”
The situation became serious.
We had clearly agreed to only check and come back.
Of course, the armored dragon—the Black Armor—was artificially transformed, so it wouldn’t be comparable to a hundred-year-old dragon.
But it was definitely not a simple demon creature.
Moreover, no matter how strong the ten war heroes were, that was only among humans.
Now, it wasn’t even a five-man party, but a two-person party with a freshman student among us, which wouldn’t contribute much to our strength.
Instead, we needed to prioritize protecting ourselves, which made it tricky…
At that moment, the Black Armor unleashed its breath attack.
–◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼◼!!!!!!!!!!
“Everyone, this way!”
Dustin used his sacred power to create a barrier in front.
–Kuakakaka!
The collision of the dome of light barrier and the black magic.
The one fortunate aspect was that, perhaps because the Black Armor hadn’t fully recovered, its strength wasn’t at its previous level.
–…….
Scarlet had already lost the light in her eyes and was simply chanting.
“Damn it!”
The situation had taken a complete turn for the worse.
Dustin had abilities specialized in frontline defense.
In other words, unless Scarlet could properly regain her senses, there would be no effective damage exchange.
.
.
.
“Hooh…”
[Field Dungeon – Domentoam]
I knew Scarlet had a tendency to get carried away, but I never imagined she’d go all-out like this…
While I watched Dustin’s aura, a status window indicating the encounter with the boss popped up in my sight.
–Ding!
—————————————————
▶[Armored Dragon – Black Armor]
[A+ Rank Demon Dragon]
[Dragon class, Boss]
[Danger Level: Very High]
[Feature: Uses dark magic breath, not one of the four elements.]
[Encounter with Boss! : You can preview the patterns!]
[Detailed view available.]
—————————————————
The Black Armor was a dragon that hadn’t fully matured and had fallen into darkness through a pact with demons.
That might be why it was a demon of darkness, not belonging to any element.
Similar to a demon creature.
However, it was also a boss that was two levels stronger than Hwayeomakgui.
And… as expected, I…
[Hermit – Gamer trait is activated.]
[Hermit][Aggro: 0]
[*Aggro reaches 100, the enemy (monster) recognizes you.]
In this desolate and desert-like land…
Like always, I had no presence.
‘As long as I don’t initiate an attack, I’m invincible…’
–Kakakakakakakaka!
Regardless, the holy knight Dustin was continuously blocking the Black Armor’s breath.
Two war heroes versus a high-level boss demon dragon.
This felt just like those questions that pop up during games, doesn’t it?
—Who would win, the field commander NPC or the hidden boss from chapter 2?
—Of course the hidden boss would win, right? Their health is off the charts.
—No way, if they move, the field commander wins.
In other words, it was a situation worth popping some popcorn to watch.
I took out a corn snack sold at the academy and tossed it into my mouth.
–Crisp.
Well, either way.
“The final hit is mine.”
