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[Step one: Return the remains of Uruval and Lev to the Dragonslayers!]
[Step two: Complete the Dragonslayer trial!]
The recent quest got updated but this was not all. As the friends glanced at their journals, they realized that one of their old quests, buried at the bottom, suddenly blinked a few times as if to remind the friends of its existence.
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[Overcome the trial of Dragonslayer!]
[Hint: The trial is separated into five stages.]
"Oh hey, this one still exists?", chuckled Fortune.
"We were forced to drop it out of a lack of ability.", sighed Radiant Shield.
"Strange, aren't the quests basically the same?"
"Did you forget what I told you? Usually, we shouldn't have gotten the faction quest so easily back then."
The others pondered Liam's reminder. Over the last few months there was so much happening, it was difficult to memorize every detail. But their thoughts were interrupted when the sound of the heavy gate opening wide echoed through the room.
"Adventurers, please enter!"
The friends looked at each other. There was no need to hesitate. They confidently stepped through the gate. The world changed again. The group found themselves on a rocky path, seemingly going on infinitely. To the left and right there was only thick fog blocking the way. And in front, there suddenly appeared two beasts. Lizards with dark grey skin and small horns on their foreheads.
[Violent Horned Lizard
Rank: Common
Level: 20
HP: 2400/2400]
[Flaming Horned Lizard
Rank: Common
Level: 20
HP: 1800/1800]
"Ahh, so cute! Did we really die to that back then?"
Fortune chuckled and leisurely waved her staff.
[-14.562!]
The seemingly small magic sphere crashed into the violent lizard, penetrated its body, and carried it somewhere into the fog, never to be seen again.
"Well, let's not lose too much time here.", said Silent Acacia as his arrow took out the second enemy.
As soon as the two lizards died, they were replaced with a wave of four, still unable to put up any resistance. Eight lizards, sixteen, until a lord tier enemy appeared together with four common minions.
The party breezed through this stage. There was not even any need to use skills. No new enemies appeared and the friends advanced on the path. After a few steps the surroundings changed. The thick fog was replaced by a sprawling forest and new enemies appeared on the path. Serpents of multiple metres hissed at the group. They were common enemies of level 34. It was quite the substantial leap. Should trial takers only barely make it through the first stage, they would definitely be stopped here.
In fact, such a situation might happen quite soon. The players whom had met Hotpot outside learned the passphrase from Liam. After a few tries they got the pronunciation right and were transported to the trial chamber. A large part was thrown out again by the dryad, but a few sweet talkers managed to unlock the quest and were admitted to the trial. But whether this was luck or misfortune remained to be seen…
"Let's bet how far they will make it!"
"And how are we supposed to check?"
There was no pressure on the party. They even had the mind to discuss other groups. The big snakes were easily disposed of, wave after wave. Soon, the lord tier enemy appeared. On his own request the party allowed Silent Acacia to face it alone, training his control over his three pets, especially the newest addition, Born.
After the death of the lord, the trial continued without interruption. Two more stages with enemies levelled 48 and 62 were overcome swiftly. Only once the party reached the fifth stage did they slow down.
"Level 76? Five level higher than us?!"
Silver Blade drew a sharp breath. She wasn't afraid of a single monster. But what about the wave of sixteen, or the lord?
"What's there to be afraid of? Aren't we already used to fighting wyverns? Let's go!"
The party courageously faced the large beasts. They struggled quite a bit as they were prevented from summoning their mounts. Fighting against flying beasts on foot turned out to be quite difficult. Especially the lord-tier enemy created a lot of pressure. And on top of that Liam forbade everyone from using their ultimate skills.
Balm was sweating, worry evident in her eyes throughout the fight. There were a few close calls. Cyclone almost used her Dragontear but luckily Balm managed to save her at the last moment. After a bitter and tiring fight, the lord tier wyvern finally crashed to the ground and stopped moving.
"Hah, so frustrating! This stupid beast just kept flying around!", vented Quickstep. She had wasted almost half of the duration of her [Hurricane Mode] as the wyvern kept its distance.
"And this was only a lord… Who knows how strong a real boss is?"
"We'll probably find out soon enough…"
The ominous words spoken by Silver Blade caused everyone to glance at Liam. The latter stopped them from using their ultimate skills. Surely there was a reason for that. The quest didn't end yet.
A dazzling light flashed as Cyclone took her hands away from the wyvern's corpse. She didn't receive any suitable equipment but there were some precious materials and scrolls, bringing a smile to the mage's lips.
At this moment the path they were standing on began to tremble. The current environment showed a clear blue sky to the left and right, with a few clouds drifting around. But a miraculous change could be observed.
In front of the party a mountain with a flat top seemed to grow from the ground. It rose until the path fused into the mountaintop. Crunching noises could be heard. Glancing over their shoulders the friends noticed the path behind them gradually falling apart, threatening to take the ground from under their feet.
"Let's go!"
The friends had no choice. They briskly walked along the rest of the path, reaching the mountaintop. Turning around they watched the path gradually disappear.
"Well, we won't be going back the way we came from."
"Get ready to fight, guys!"
"This won't be easy!"
Alerting each other, the friends adjusted their minds. They stood in formation, with their weapons drawn, observing the surroundings. Yet there was no sign of a boss.
Fortune frowned. She was extremely sensible to mana. She could feel a faint disturbance, as if a breeze arose above a still lake. Liam felt it at the same time, Cyclone and Balm the next moment. Eventually even the rest realized that something was brewing.
"Rooaaarr!"
Suddenly a thundering roar shook the world. One moment it was still far away, the next moment it hammered into the friends' bodies. An unbelievable pressure descended as if the ruler of this world had arrived. Strong gales came from their backs. A moment later a shadow rushed past them. The friends slightly lifted their heads and were greeted with a breathtaking sight.
High above a huge creature was gliding feely. Red scales reflected the sunlight, making the creature look as if enveloped in flames. Each of its four thick legs was the size of a human. Its beautiful, leathery wings spanned wide enough to cover five cars. Its lizard-like head with a crown of horns looked incredibly dignified like the ruler of all beasts. Mana spontaneously converged towards the creature, forming a protective layer around its body. What else could it be but a mighty dragon?
"A real dragon?"
"Are we going to fight a dragon?"
The friends were somewhat intimidated. They heard so much about dragons and their power, once even witnessing a dragon's arm, that they held immense awe and respect towards the mythical beasts. However, exactly because of their experience, Silver Blade quickly came to a conclusion:
"No. It's not a real dragon. It's too small and the pressure isn't enough. It might be a copy created for this trial."
"Trial takers! You dare slander me?! You are doomed!"
An enraged voice came from all sides simultaneously. The friends shook staring at the dragon riding the winds. The majestic creature turned around at the moment, its narrow eyes focusing on the ants on the ground.
"Get away!"
Liam knew exactly what to expect. He shouted a warning as the red dragon dove towards the mountaintop. Ember spread from its closed maw. Suddenly it opened its mouth and a swell of terrifying flames was released, burning hot enough to directly melt the stone. All sound was drowned out. Only the roaring and hissing of flames remained as the dragon drew a straight line, separating the mountaintop into two halves.
Thanks to Liam's early reminder the friends managed to dodge in time. But now they were split up with a wall of flames in between them.
"Woah, so hot…"
Cyclone gulped. She didn't dare to stand too close to the flames, as their heat made the air hard to breathe. The dragon demonstrated its might and yet this was only the start of the battle.