Bone Dragon.

The special boss of Yonggol Mountain, like Dryzen of Dreamfall Waterfall.

Honestly, it still feels a bit surreal.

Not only did I face Dryzen just recently, but now I’m seeing this guy with my own eyes.

‘My luck is seriously cursed.’

I sighed involuntarily, but what else could I do?

The situation was already happening—I had no choice but to deal with it.

Pshhhhhhh—

At last, the breath that had been scorching my shield ceased.

“Hyung, you okay?”

Ibaekho, who had grabbed my nape and was pulling me back, whispered quietly so no one else would hear.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Fortunately, Bone Dragon’s breath was a relatively narrow laser-like beam shot in a straight line.

If it had been a wide-area blast like other dragons, there would have been damage beyond the shield.

[Krooooooar!]

The Bone Dragon roared as if displeased that we blocked its breath.

Looking at it, I asked Ibaekho one thing.

“Did you calculate that?”

“Calculate what?”

“Stun duration. Did you come exactly timed to rescue me?”

“...No? I just ran because I wanted to be with you, even if I couldn’t save you.”

So he did calculate.

Surely, no explorer would rush straight into the middle of a breath attack when survival seemed impossible.

“Enough.”

I smiled involuntarily and pulled Ibaekho’s hand off my neck.

Whether calculated or not, nothing would have changed anyway.

“Thanks. For coming to save me.”

“......”

What? No reply after I finally thanked him?

Could he be shy too...?

“...Then why were you so slow? If everyone had retreated on time, this wouldn’t have happened.”

...Right. He’s embarrassed.

Feeling awkward, I half-sat up.

“Got any plan now?”

“No. I just ran to save you.”

I see.

“Well, running might be hard now. You’re inside Dragon Pierce.”

But... did that sound like he was especially blaming me?

I couldn’t tell, but I immediately defended myself.

“Whether inside or not, I wouldn’t have escaped like that. The fact it appeared from the sky means we’d already drawn aggro.”

“Huh? But if you’d kept your distance and ran well—”

Hey, talking back?

“That wouldn’t have worked.”

“......”

“But since I took the first hit alone and dodged the breath, we saved two people.”

Hmm, if I think that way, maybe I’m the one who should be thanking him—.

“Ah, enough. Look ahead!”

At Ibaekho’s shout, I refocused on the front.

I saw black orbs forming in the air around the Bone Dragon towering over 20 meters tall.

「Bone Dragon casts [Blessing of Dark Mana].」

Another active skill common to all dragons.

Well, aside from Bone Dragon, others have just ‘Blessing of Mana’ instead of ‘Dark Mana.’

Though the skill’s form differs, it’s still a tier 1 defensive skill.

After all... there’s a saying that the best defense is a good offense.

Like this.

Fshhhhh-!

The black orbs that had been hovering like drones around ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ the dragon flashed and fired magical waves at us.

A smaller-scale version of the breath the Bone Dragon had shot earlier.

「Defense success.」

I blocked one coming head-on.

Kwah-ang-!

Ibaekho shattered another coming at an angle with a hammer strike.

‘What do we do now...?’

My thoughts grew complicated.

The objective was simple, though.

A dragon raid?

If successful, we’d get enormous rewards.

Essences might be hard to expect outside the labyrinth, but dragon byproducts are far more valuable.

Dragon bones and dragon hearts.

‘No dragonhide since it’s a Bone Dragon...’

Clearing the raid would grant achievements, and for me, it would add a stack to the ‘Blessing of Earth Dragon’ I got from dragonborn lore.

But...

‘The raid’s for later, once we’re ready.’

We cannot kill that thing by ourselves now.

So our one goal at this moment:

“Have you thought about how to escape?”

How to get safely away from the Bone Dragon that already has aggro.

While considering that, I commanded the battle.

“We’ll help!”

“One by one! Don’t come close all at once—come inside one by one!”

I brought in the party members one by one into Dragon Pierce’s range to minimize risk.

Because if several were incapacitated at once, protecting them would be even harder...

「A gap in ranks exists.」

「Lek Aures is stunned for 10 seconds.」

We had to bring them in sequentially so the second pierce phase wouldn’t be a problem.

Dragon Pierce passively reactivates after a certain time.

We had to plan so that from the start of battle, each person gets incapacitated one by one...

“I don’t care.”

Surprisingly, Grandpa Destruction was unaffected even inside the area.

‘So this grandpa’s level 10 too...?’

Of course, mages and priests can’t get essences, so level doesn’t matter for them.

But that doesn’t mean levels don’t exist.

They also gain experience from killing monsters.

And...

‘Only warriors get stunned.’

Surprisingly, except for me and Lek Aures, everyone else only got the level 9 debuff ‘Paralysis.’

「A slight gap in ranks exists.」

「Leighton Briot is paralyzed for 10 seconds.」

The archer is also level 9.

「A slight gap in ranks exists.」

「Jaina Flyer is paralyzed for 10 seconds.」

The Karui priest, too.

「A slight gap in ranks exists.」

「Jurven Havelion is paralyzed for 10 seconds.」

Even the GM who hasn’t entered the labyrinth in years is level 9.

‘...This really is a veteran team.’

A mix of feeling I need to work harder and that I must get through this moment well coexisted.

And with that in mind.

“Havelion, Ruin Genesis. I have a question for you two.”

Before executing a sudden plan, I asked the two mages something.

They both gave positive answers.

“...It’s possible, though.”

“Are you seriously thinking of using that magic to escape?”

Of course, the answers were positive, but everyone—including the mages—showed uneasy reactions.

“Is that... really doable?”

“Or is there another way?”

“......”

They couldn’t suggest any alternatives but still complained.

“What’s with you all? I don’t think it’s bad. Don’t get me wrong. We’re not in a position to pick and choose.”

Ibaekho actively agreed with me, and we finished planning.

So now it was time to execute.

“Beheh—raaaah!!”

As soon as the mages began drawing the magic circle, I shouted a battle cry and charged forward, with Ibaekho right behind.

From now on, we had only one goal.

“Baron, you know, right? To do this, we need to bleed that bastard at least 10%.”

“I know.”

We had to get past Bone Dragon’s phase 1.

With only the five of us, excluding the two mages.

“If your plan fails, you know we have to go to plan B, right?”

“......”

“Don’t worry. I’ve prepared plan B.”

I was really curious about what Ibaekho’s plan B was.

In many ways.

“Those who survive the worst situation must live.”

...Suddenly, I didn’t want to hear that.

If plan A succeeded, I wouldn’t need to know it anyway.

“Lend me your shoulder!”

As we got closer to Bone Dragon, Ibaekho used my shoulder as a springboard and jumped high.

Fshuuuung-!

Black orbs around shot lasers at the airborne Ibaekho, but he evaded with acrobatic steps through the air.

Then...

Kwaaang-!

He boldly landed an uppercut to the Bone Dragon’s jaw.

[Groooooar-!!]

Unfortunately, the damage didn’t seem significant.

Whoosh-!

Arrows fired from behind also didn’t deal great damage, and priest Jaina was focused more on support than offense.

‘Lek Aures is basically a pure tank...’

Because his damage potential was so low, I placed Aures in the rear.

His role in this raid was to block ranged attacks flying toward the mages, archers, and priest with his body...

‘...But Baekho lost that skill.’

As the battle progressed, the damage was so minimal that I felt helpless.

Without [Star’s Extinction] from Ibaekho, our main damage dealers were basically just the mages.

But the mages were completely occupied with drawing magic circles and out of the fight...

‘They wouldn’t be any better even if they joined.’

Mages only support until phase 3.

Since Bone Dragon is a dragon...

Until phase 3, it’s 100% immune to magic damage.

「Leighton Briot cast [Ability Stacking].」

「Leighton Briot cast [Tension Enhancement].」

「Leighton Briot cast [Tension Enhancement]...」

Basically, the damage dealers were Ibaekho and Leighton Briot.

‘Or three if I count myself?’

I put my empty hand into extra space.

And then...

「Character equipped No.687 Siege Slayer.」

「Overall item level increased by +2,800.」

I equipped the new weapon I recently obtained during the roughly 3-second delay from extra space.

「Strength increased by 40%.」

「Agility decreased by 80%.」

Then, with a noticeably sluggish body, I swung the mace with all my might.

Pwaaaang!!

At least today.

「Character cast [Swing].」

「Character’s strength stat is over 1,200.」

「Deals double damage to enemies with over 90% HP.」

I was the main damage dealer.

One, two, three minutes...

Until this point, it wasn’t too hard.

It felt like doing a bit of grinding.

Like repeatedly striking an unbreakable ore with a pickaxe.

But then...

Five minutes.

The battle noticeably became much harder.

As time passed, Dragon Pierce activated again, causing another stun.

I was hit a few times by its front paw and nearly died, but the healing kept me alive.

The Bone Dragon’s back paw was still intact.

Ten minutes.

The archer Leighton Briot’s MP ran out from continuous skill use.

However, thanks to the mages who completed the magic circle and began support spells, the lack of MP wasn’t very noticeable.

The Bone Dragon’s back paw was getting a bit battered.

Twelve minutes.

Jaina’s resources depleted, and the healing to me and Lek Aures stopped.

On the bright side, I’d gained know-how for quickly swapping the mace in and out of extra space.

Now it only takes about two seconds.

Ah, the Bone Dragon’s back paw was noticeably damaged too.

Seventeen minutes.

Lek Aures, who had been taking all ranged projectiles with his bare body, finally collapsed and was incapacitated.

The Bone Dragon started to watch its back paw more carefully.

Twenty-one minutes.

Ibaekho was badly injured trying to save my stunned self.

With him gone, it got several times harder to land mace hits.

But the end was near.

Twenty-two minutes.

I failed to guard in time and got hit hard.

I thought I’d gotten used to the attack patterns, but a surprise attack caught me off guard.

Twenty-three minutes.

An injured party member appeared in the exposed rear after Aures withdrew.

Karui priest Jaina.

A laser looked like it struck her abdomen properly; whether she’s alive, I don’t know.

Twenty-four minutes.

Ibaekho, who had been drinking potions behind, returned to the battle.

His mace swings per minute increased.

From now on, focus on one thing.

Swing the mace, put it in extra space.

Roll to the side with the lighter body, avoid the front paw.

Repeat. Repeat again.

Twenty-five minutes.

Ibaekho mentioned plan B.

What I heard was ridiculous.

He suggested we just take the destruction scholar and run, and kindly told him that’s why he has no friends.

Twenty-six minutes.

Swing the mace.

It’s tough.

Twenty-seven minutes.

Swing the mace.

Feels like I’m going to die.

Twenty-eight minutes.

Swing the mace.

My MP’s almost gone.

Should I really use plan B?

‘...No way.’

Forget it. I swung the mace—

‘Huh?’

Just as I felt the strike feel a bit different, the mace shattered the Bone Dragon’s back paw that had been full of cracks and hit the ground.

Twenty-nine minutes.

One of the Bone Dragon’s legs finally broke.

Meaning the objective was achieved.

Four legs, horns, wings.

In-game, the Bone Dragon loses 10% HP if any of these are broken.

So...

「Bone Dragon casts [Mastery of Magic].」

Phase 1 ended.

「All magic effects cast in range increase tenfold.」

No need for me to command.

The two mages, who had waited for this moment, activated their magic circle.

「Belvev Ruin Genesis cast 4th-grade spatial magic [Multiple Teleport].」

Though it’s a frequently used spell, that’s how it is.

If a spell is often used, there’s always a reason.

Swooooshhhhhh-!

With [Mastery of Magic] active, this magic circle lets you travel ten times farther than normal.

In other words, we could teleport all the way to the Primordial Land in an instant.

No way this guy could follow us there—

[Where are you going?]

“...Huh?”

Did I just mishear that—?

「Bone Dragon casts ‘Dispel’.」

Wait a second.

‘Bone Dragon is... casting Dispel...?’

That’s not how the game works...

Thump!

My mind went blank, and nothing came to me.

「Belvev Ruin Genesis’s mana exceeds 1,000.」

「Successfully resisted Bone Dragon’s [Dispel] to some degree.」

Flash!

For some reason, the teleport’s usual effect flared up intensely, engulfing me in a bright light.

「Incomplete spell.」

「Character moves to a random coordinate.」