Uhgg, I should not have pulled that all nighter. Nothing about the trip out here was comfortable. Admiral accidentally gave me an Elemental's seat. That would have been fine if it was an air, even a fire elementals seat would have been better. But no, it was a water elemental. Having to be soaked while sitting through a 4 hour trip is already miserable, but add only 3 hours of sleep, it makes it downright torture. Self-inflicted mind you, but still basically torture nonetheless. It was worth it with 422 scrolls sitting in a crate somewhere. Hopefully that should mitigate casualties. Admiral predicted about 40% casualties in the A and A+ ranks. Maybe with all the scrolls, it could go down to 10%.
Though this trip tested my sanity more than normal, we finally have arrived at the mountains the Overlord Dragon claimed. It already changed the scenery drastically. These once calm desert mountains now jagged and burned. Bones of deer and mountain lions lay strewn everywhere. Cattle skulls and even some wyvern bones lay closer to the cave entrance.
Our small encampment, already constructed by the scout team, starts to bustle almost the instant boots hit the ground. Admiral has people setting up the medical tents, view screens, and radio tents. The S ranks looking over the crude map made by the scouts with the whole set of mountains and the newly hollowed out cave the dragon calls its home.
I just get to walk around and help the odd person. It's nice not really having much expectations as I really shouldn't be here in all reality. I should have a bit more to do when they encounter the dragon. But that won't happen for a few more days. Scouting, observations, and strategy meetings will go on until a good plan is found. I could even see an advance party of summons to get an idea on the move set.
It would be very fun to see Survivor and Tornado's summons fight without their masters. An angel and fire spirit would meld extremely well together. But I doubt they would send them with the advance party. I'd honestly not be surprised if they don't even make an appearance with their tendency in attacking allies.
After a long 5 hours, the camp is fully set up. Admiral has rounded up everyone "important" to the mission which somehow included me.
The meeting takes place in the center of the camp. While there is still the hustle and bustle of the camp being finished, a good few of the camp gather around to hear. Why am I on this planning counsel thing? Who really knows.
This lineup is also extremely prestigious. Of course, the S ranks are here, the Ruth couple, and the greatest scout in Sicarius, Scout. Real creative name he got. The great Monolith. There is even some of the lesser known, but still powerful, guild members like Silken Web and Siren. I do wish Elaine was back from her assignment. How crazy would it be if 3 of the 5 S ranks were around, especially with Elaine ranked as the strongest.
"So," Admiral begins, "now that we're here, what is your initial ideas for the hunting of this dragon?"
Scout starts, "Well, this dragon has a surprisingly regular schedule considering the lack of true sentience. It will be back within 12 to 14 hours and leave about 8 hours after. After that, 2 days. So we would have to setup quickly for a rushed fight, or we wait a day and prepare meticulously."
"It depends on its strength. What major things has it done since you started to observe it?" Titania Ruth asks.
"We've observed it carve out almost the whole mountain in just over an hour. If you remember, this mountain is so packed that only high-end earth mages can even crack it, so the dragon casually doing this suggests its raw destructive power to be on the much higher end of dragons."
Tornado turns to me, "Luck, as our expert on light affinity, how much did you plan before hunting the monsters you have fought?"
"Uh, at least a few days. I can't really afford to mess up so I did my research from the area to its general capabilities. If anything, rushing into a light dragon is a very bad idea."
"I will suggest to everyone that we bide our time some to continue observing. Now, based on the structure of the cavern, it should serve as a good arena. With a small threat of a cave in, we need all earth users ready to hold the roof up if needed. Can we count on you Monolith?"
"I'll relay the information. I would second the biding time idea so we can get used to this level of stone and rock."
"Now what of the attack team?" Survivor poses the question. "Without earth users focusing on the enemy themselves, who will take the aggression?"
Monolith speaks up, "Worry not, I should be able to spare most of the lower ranked earth users. I will only take 6 to 7 earth users to stop any cave-ins."
Silken Web says, "With that settled, shall we discuss traps? I can make a myriad of entanglement, damage, and disorienting traps."
"It would be good for the traps to be remote activated rather than triggered by the dragon. Maybe activated when an element comes into contact with a trigger perhaps." Tornado suggests.
Before anyone responds, Admiral turns to me and says, "I think we are good on your expertise for now. If anything comes up, I'll come and get you so get some rest. You deserve it for what you've done." He points to the crate full of scrolls off to the side.
"I'll take up your offer then." With that, time to find a place to curl up and sleep for a bit.