[You have accepted a party request.]
[You are now in <Kazu's> party.]
[Your friend, <Arthur> is now in your current party.]
[Your friend, <Razul> is now in your current party.]
Thank you, Kazu. At least there are no restrictions on inviting us during an event or a [Hidden Quest] he mentioned. However, there is still the issue of dealing with this big guy.
[Great Ruby Dragon, <Rudra>]
[A [Ruby Dragon] who has mastered the flames and is one step closer to becoming an elder dragon.]
[HP: 1301/1450]
Looks like Kazu already got a headstart before we arrived. He might be dealing with a lot more than before, which I'm impressed. But this guy is tough with his defense and [HP]. Not even that...
"[Railway Pierce]!"
I fired a steel arrow that turned into a laser beam that hit Rudra's body. But to my surprise, while he takes damage, the arrow simply bounces off him. In that case, I switch to my [Spiral Arrow].
"[Corkscrew Pierce]!"
This one is a bit slower but much more powerful than Wallaby's [Steel Arrow]. With its drill-like movement, was it enough to pierce through its tough scales?
CLANK!
Thought so... I guess the [Great Ruby Dragon] name isn't for show.
"Heads down! [Aftershock]!"
I quickly crouch down after hearing Arthur's voice. I look up and see an energy blade flies toward Rudra. But to my shock, Rudra also shakes off that attack as well. So not even our swords can work, too?!
"[Freeze Burst]!"
I look up and watch Razul fire a light blue bullet at the dragon. It's a direct hit. But my eyes widen as I see him shake off the ice from his body.
[HP: 1232/1450]
Even with Razul's elemental bullets to make up for the lack of spells Kazu and I have, it's not enough to bring him down. Unfortunately, my [Investigate] can only show me basic information. So we're completely clueless regarding its weakness.
"Kaz, did you use your [Thunder] and [Wind] spells on this guy?" I ask.
"I already did along with [Fire] from my [Plasma Staff]. But he only shrugs them off like flies!" Kazu answers. "Still... I don't think he's immune to most of them."
"I'm guessing he's only resistant to weapons except [Magic Artillery], I think." I turn around and see Arthur continue his attacks with Rudra's tail. "Which means we have to change tactics."
"I agree. But..." Kazu looks down and frowns as he looks at the baby dragon hiding behind his legs. "If this guy gets hurt, I might fail the [Hidden Quest]. I already told you that, remember?"
He did. I guess either he doesn't want to fail a [Quest] or he really must be attached to that little dragon. "True. Plus, you can't cast too many spells for a long time. You may have the perks of being an [Insignis], but the long incantations and cooldowns can limit you if we haven't arrived on time."
"Yeah. But we can't just defeat it by making his [HP] zero. We only need to knock some sense out of him until Bai Hu gets back with the baby dragon's mother."
Well, that part is easy if we're careful. However, that doesn't mean we solve our damage resistance issue. With my arrows being useless against this big guy, I'm forced to rely on my [Wind] spells.
"Okay... Guess we just need to stall it out then." I turn to our resident knight next. "Arthur! Take care of the defense as usual!"
"Do I look like I've spent half an hour provoking this jock dragon?!"
"I guess that leaves me with your ranged attacker job," Razul says while taking out his rifle. "Are you sure you're gonna be okay?"
"It's only temporary. Besides, we've still got our [Familiars]."
Well, not all of us. I look down and see my shadow trembling. I guess Soma is also scared of dragons, too. At least there's still Arthur and Razul's [Familiars] to help us out.
"Good idea. They should make up for our disadvantage."
"Uh..." Kazu starts to speak. "About that..."
[ROAAAAARRRRR!!!]
Damn! How impatient is this dragon?!
"No time, Kaz! Let's step it up!" I rush forward and raise my hand to Rudra. "Spirit of Sylph, I call the gale to my growing aura and allow me to manipulate the air all around me! [Wind Sickle]!"
I throw several sickles at the dragon before jumping a few steps back. As I did, I watched them leave a few scratches on his neck.
"My turn!" Kazu switches his staff to [Crystal Staff] and raises it next. "Spirits of thunder, give me a meager of your power to paralyze my enemy!" I hear a cackle as I move away from Kazu's range. "[Static Stun]!"
He fires a small bolt of electricity at Rudra. It is a direct hit, but to our shock, he reacts with a burst of booming laughter.
[HAHAHAHA!!! That barely tickles me!]
Then, another panel appears.
[WARNING]
[<Rudra> is immune to [Paralysis]!]
Of course, he has to be immune to it. He's not making it easy for any of us.
[I think I let you throw enough of your petty attacks. Now it's my turn.]
Crap... Looks like we already used up our headstart!
"Guys! Rudra is about to attack!" I call out.
"Aura of arcana, hear my call. Aid me to create a barrier to protect my allies from harm!" Kazu yells as he aims his staff at Arthur. "[Mana Shield]!"
I watch a small barrier form in front of Arthur. Once it's formed, Rudra throws his claws in his direction, and just as he strikes him, Arthur raises his shield and blocks most of his hand. I notice his [HP] is slowly dropping from attack, yet he's still grinning from his successful defense.
"T-Thanks for the quick buff, Kaz!" He grunts while enduring the weight of the dragon's clawed hand.
[I'm impressed that you managed to block my attack,] Rudra comments. [But this isn't enough to make me satisfy my lust!]
He takes a deep breath and we already know what it means.
"DUCK!!!!"
We quickly roll out and as we have suspected, the great dragon spews out flames to all of us. I could feel the heat almost burning back when I rolled away. It may have chopped off some of our [HP]. But if I hadn't called out in time, then there's a chance we might've been killed and logged out from that attack alone. And if Kazu hadn't cast [Mana Shield] at Arthur, I wouldn't have seen him behind the smoke by now.
"W-Wind..."
I turn around and gasp to see Kazu crawling towards me. His [HP] is still green, but he doesn't look good after that attack.
"Kaz!" I quickly rush to his side and give him one of my [HP Potions]. "Arthur, Razul, keep him distracted!"
"Why do you think we were doing?!"
Okay, dumb question. Thankfully, it won't be long as I watch my little brother accept my potion and I watch his [HP] rise a bit.
"Thanks, Wind! I-I think the baby dragon is okay, too," Kazu says when I see the same little dragon in his arms.
[Rawr...]
Man... I'm supposed to be worried about him. Instead, he's only worried about the dragon. At least he's okay since he still has the energy to focus on other things.
"We have to change our tactics! We almost brought him down from 1000!"
He's right...
[HP: 1049/1450]
It will take us a while to weaken him, let alone survive his onslaught!
"Still, you and Razul are our only heavy hitters for this battle. If anything happens to you two, then it's game over for this [Quest]."
"But, sti- Huh?"
I notice him looking down and to our surprise, the dragon is gone from his arms! What the heck?! I'd barely took my eyes off him for a few seconds!
"Hey! What are you doing?! Come back here!"
I look up and join in the gasp with Kazu to see the little dragon flying towards the great dragon. He told me the [Quest] would fail if his [HP] goes down under 50%. I would have ignored it if this was Kazu's, but...
"I'll try to get him, Kaz. Try to stop the dragon. Or reason with him again."
I quickly chant the incantation for [Bluster Speed] onto myself. Once it's applied, I run and jump to the baby dragon. But even with my [Super Jump], it's not enough to reach it! He's flapping his wings clumsily, but he manages to fly too high for my skills to reach.
"Whoa... He did it! He can fly really high and fast now!" Kazu exclaims happily.
"Not a good time, Kaz!"
Geez... If I still had enough [SP], I would have fainted in exhaustion and exasperation. But something catches my eye that may change the whole scenario. Once he reaches the large red dragon, he starts scratching him with his blue gem-like claws. Normally, it wouldn't have any effect since he's too small for Rudra. But I then noticed his [HP] change a bit.
[HP: 1043/1450]
He's managed to chip him down by 6 [HP]. That's nearly impossible, but the baby dragon's attempt says otherwise. And he did so without any fear from the great dragon! However...
[Oh? A baby [Sapphire Dragon]? I didn't expect you humans and [Insignis] to have one. And by the looks of it, he doesn't look like he wasn't contracted with either of you.]
Huh?! Not contracted?! Does that mean that the baby dragon wasn't summoned from Kazu's soulstone?
[It looks like that old cat really did harbor a dragon in his forest! The sooner I beat you, the sooner I will fight them next! ROOOOAAAAARRRR!!!]
[WARNING]
[You are [Incapacitated] for 20 seconds.]
Seriously?! He wasn't even letting us have a chance to say a word about it! More importantly, that baby dragon is flying out of control thanks to that dragon's roar! But I can't move for 20 seconds. At that height, there's a chance he will deal major damage to his [HP]!
"Spirit of Sylph, hear our call! Trap our enemies into the gale of storms and imbue our weaponry with your blessings! [Tempest Blow]!"
To my surprise, a small tornado suddenly caught the baby dragon as he spread out his wings and started gliding through it. I think I'm hallucinating in the game, but it seems as if he knew what to do the moment he saw the [Tempest Blow] spell. Unless...
"That's it, little guy!" I turn around and gasp to see Kazu smiling despite being in the same condition as us. "That's how you can fly!"
I don't know what's going on, but I'm surprised to see my brother save the day for once. It even made the dragon's jaw drop at that sight. It's enough for him to be distracted long enough for us to free ourselves from our [Incapacitation].
"I need to catch him just in case. Can you guys deal with the great dragon for me?" Kazu asks.
"Yeah. Besides, your little partner just gave me a hint at Rudra's weakness," I answer with a smile. "Arthur...!"
"Do you have to repeat it?! You owe me a sundae tomorrow, Wind!"
Yeah, yeah... But what I've said about his weakness is half-true. Kazu says that the baby dragon is a [Sapphire Dragon]. So is it related to my [Sapphire Sword]? Regardless, there's only one way to find out. And it's through testing out my new [Advanced Mastery].
[Dual-Wielding]
[Ambidexterous] Level 1 Passive
At the moment, I only have one [Dual-Wielding] passive skill since unlike last time, I'm not using it through a trial run. However, that doesn't mean I can't use skills from other [Masteries] at the same time. With that thought, I take out my [Sapphire Sword] and [Iron Dagger] and prepare myself.
"Uh... What's with the Assassin's Creed pose there?" Razul asks. "Aren't you worried about the penalties?"
I smirk. "Not anymore. Help Kazu if you can!" I order before I rush into the front.
"Wait, are you nuts?!"
Yes, I am, Raz. But if what that dragon showed us is true, then using our weapons might not be a lost cause. I can only pray this theory is enough to turn this battle around. All I can do is use my [Super Jump] to gain enough height at the dragon to start my onslaught.
"[Backstab]!"
I let my body move on its own as it transports behind Rudra and stabs his long neck with my [Iron Dagger]. But as expected, it simply bounces off from his scales just like my arrows.
[HP: 1026/1450]
Just a dent... I already knew this would happen. But what about my sword?
[How foolish! Do you expect that petite blade is enough to...]
"[Cross Slash]!"
I swing my sword in a cross-shape. Unlike with my dagger, he screams as I see larger marks on his neck.
[HP: 982/1450]
[What the?! That sword hurts!]
No kidding... I thought it was only a theory after seeing that baby dragon in action. But this confirms it. My [Sapphire Sword] is much more effective than my arrows and dagger. For once, Ol' Wally made something so awesome for me to use.
[I didn't expect that strange sword to be similar to a [Sapphire Dragon's] claws. Now you ask for it!]
Just as I look up to see the dragon, I notice his large tail too late as it hits me point blank. As I open my eyes, I realize I'm still in the air and his tail is coming towards me again. I can't dodge it in time! If I get hit again or fall from this height, I'm dead!
"Wind!!!"
Dammit! I'm screwed! I took the risk and blew it! Looks like my second [Death Penalty] is inevita-
[Windy!!!]
That voice... Just as I find where it came from, my whole vision turns black for a few seconds and when I find the light again afterward, I find myself back on the ground with Kazu and Razul by my side. But they're not the only ones there.
[Windy! Windy! Are you okay?!]
Soma?! I understand why he managed to save me, but how did he do that? I was a few feet away from the ground for him to reach me.
"We saw some shadow thingies swallow you up from Rudra's neck and you suddenly popped right back here!" Kazu explains. "Then this kid suddenly pops right beside you!"
Oh, I see. Since my shadow was in front of me when I was attacking the dragon, Soma had the chance to grab me with his [Darkness] powers. I smile upon that realization as I pat Soma's head.
"Then it looks like it worked. Thanks a lot, Soma. You saved my life back there."
[Hehe... I'm just glad you're okay, Nii-chan!]
I flinch at that nickname again. And it is too late to back up as I notice Kazu, Razul, and even Arthur turn their eyes on us. Even Rudra has stopped attacking as he also joins in with the confused glares.
"Nii-chan?!" Arthur grins creepily.
I was hoping Kazu didn't understand that nickname. But alas, he already knows from our cousins from Japan. "Wind... Who is that?"
Crap... I feel like he's going to kill me with his [Thunder] spell if I make any excuses or delay the inevitable. So I might as well break it to him.
"H-He's...my [Familiar]."
[Yep! I'm his younger brother!]
I flinch again and prepare myself for the worst freakout of my life.
"WHHHHAAAAAAATTTTTT?!?!?!"
-----
Wind's Masteries
[Archery] Level 23
[Woodcrafting] Level 10
[Swordsmanship] Level 24
[Cooking] Level 9
[Wind] Level 17
[Physical Enhancement] Level 18
[Hunting] Level 17
[Blacksmithing] Level 18
[Dagger] Level 8
[Dual-Wielding] Level 1
-----
As of this writing, I'm working on something different for Camp NaNoWriMo. This means Artificial Fantasy will be on break for a few weeks until I get enough backlog to release next month.
If you want more Artificial Fantasy, you can join my Patreon as a Sign Creator like Christine Luu for 5 advanced chapters! Until then, see you back on May!