chapter_0062

62 – Dungeon Strategy (2)

62 – Dungeon Strategy (2)

The Ice Dragon Lucila

The ancient snow dragon, known as the strongest among the followers of the Ice Dragon God Erashti.

There was a legend that when she exhaled once, the earth would freeze, and when she exhaled twice, winter would descend upon the continent.

The ice dragon sat in place, wrapped in beautiful silver and white scales, resembling a statue.

I had encountered ‘Ice Dragon Lucila’ once while playing the dungeon and had cleared it after dozens of game overs.

So, isn’t it just a straightforward victory like the dungeon until now?

That was… the problem.

The condition under which I had strategized against the ice dragon was that I had set up five fully enhanced SSR characters with all equipment configured.

However, my current situation was that I, a mediocre ranger who could only shoot arrows well, was facing off against one SSR magician.

That’s right.

It was X-ed.

“Grrrr…”

“Lord… I think the ice dragon has seen us.”

As I was completely stunned by the sight of the ice dragon, it began to act before I could.

Upon discovering me and Sharen, the ice dragon started to inhale.

That was one of the ice dragon’s patterns, ‘Ice Breath.’

“Lord, quickly give orders… Lord?”

I could see the white cold air gathering in the dragon’s mouth.

I cautiously spoke.

“Sharen…”

“Yes!”

“Dodge…”

“Understood. I’ll cast magic now… Huh?”

“Dodge!!!”

I grabbed Sharen and pulled her, running with all my strength.

At the same time, a cold blizzard erupted from the ice dragon’s mouth.

“Guaaaah!!!!!”

Crash-!

The spot where Sharen and I were standing instantly froze, creating a massive block of ice, and the Ice Breath relentlessly followed us.

It was impossible to escape by running, and I looked at Sharen.

Without saying a word, Sharen understood my thoughts immediately.

Crash-!

“Volatus (Flight Magic)!”

Whoosh-

Sharen, still holding onto me, flew to avoid the Ice Breath.

The area where we and the ice dragon were located was a vast underground space with a ceiling nearly hundreds of meters high.

As Sharen flew, dodging the Ice Breath, she slipped into the dragon’s blind spot and hid behind a rock where the ice dragon could not see us.

“Hah… Hah…”

“Hah… Sharen, thank you… I owe my life to you.”

“Not at all. Hah… Hah… This is my duty.”

The sudden exertion of Flight Magic placed a greater burden on both Sharen and me than we had anticipated.

After a moment, we calmed down and assessed the situation.

This place seemed to be a hidden room in the dungeon content.

I knew that there were hidden rooms that could be unlocked by achieving certain conditions, and I had played countless times.

But I never dreamed that I would achieve the conditions to directly encounter Ice Dragon Lucila right now.

This game really sucks!

“What should we do, Lord?”

“To be honest, given our situation, it’s impossible to strategize against the ice dragon, Sharen. Let’s use a return scroll.”

I spoke candidly about the situation.

Ice Dragon Lucila was too difficult for us to tackle in our current state.

It was best to give up for now and either handle it through Dungeon Wave or prepare a full party to strategize later.

At my words, Sharen looked very apologetic.

“Um… that is…”

The spot where Sharen’s summoning scroll had been was now empty, covered in frost.

It seemed that the return scroll had been destroyed when it brushed against something while dodging the Ice Breath earlier.

Well, we were completely X-ed.

“Don’t joke, we can strategize with just our strength.”

But seeing Sharen looking so sorry, I couldn’t bring myself to say that we were doomed.

In a way, this was something I had started lightly as a hobby.

That damned crazy dungeon had thrown shit at me, but if I gave up now, Sharen would die.

I didn’t care if I died, but I couldn’t stand by and watch someone precious to me perish.

‘Let’s think, there must be a way.’

This place was called the Chamber of Trials.

Not a challenge room that adventurers could start with permission, but a Chamber of Trials that began forcibly always had unexpected hidden strategies prepared.

There must be something like that in this room too.

I peeked out from behind the rock.

The ice dragon was looking around, searching for us.

From just this view, I couldn’t see any strategy.

Should I give up and wait for outside help? Just as I was about to think that!

I spotted a box beneath the ice dragon’s body.

‘No way…’

If my memory served me right, that box was ‘the box.’

Having a slight understanding of the strategy for this place, I organized my thoughts and looked at Sharen.

“Sharen, I’ll explain the plan.”

“…Yes!”

I looked at Sharen.

With her fiery red eyes and stunning half-elf beauty,

Receiving her affection was the greatest joy for me.

But because of that, I had to say this.

“Before we start, I have one question.”

“Yes, Lord.”

I looked at her and asked.

“Do you trust me?”

“…Yes! More than anyone else.”

She prioritized my life above all.

That’s why she almost took a direct hit from the Ice Breath earlier.

“If you trust me… during this operation, do not help me at all.”

“Wha-?!”

“No matter what happens to me, focus on the enemy in front of you. That’s how we can survive.”

I spoke while looking into Sharen’s eyes.

Sharen, surprised and worried by my words, nodded as if she understood when I sent her my determined will.

“…Yes! I’ll trust you, Lord.”

“Good, then I’ll explain the plan.”

I explained the ‘Ice Dragon Hunting Plan’ to Sharen.

The plan was perfect.

All that remained was my luck.

After understanding the plan, Sharen flew up from the rock after recovering some of her magical power.

She flew right above the ice dragon and began casting magic without stopping.

“Ignis Pluvia! (Fire Rain Magic)!”

With Sharen’s incantation, fire rained down from the cave ceiling.

Naturally, it couldn’t pierce the ice dragon’s skin and disappeared, but the sudden magic made the ice dragon look up at the sky in displeasure.

Receiving the ice dragon’s gaze, Sharen immediately used her next spell.

“Serpens Ignis! (Flame Serpent Magic!)”

The flame serpents, Sharen’s specialty, poured forth.

The flame serpents began to burrow between the ice dragon’s scales.

“Guaoo!!”

The flame serpents couldn’t pierce the ice dragon’s icy scales.

But they could inflict enough pain on the ice dragon, like thorns stuck in its claws.

Enraged by Sharen’s magic, the ice dragon turned to her and unleashed its Ice Breath.

“Ugh… Guaaaah!!!!!”

Sizzle-!

However, since she was at a very high ceiling, Sharen easily dodged the ice dragon’s Ice Breath.

Continuing to use fire magic, she provoked the ice dragon, which eventually began to act.

Whoooosh- Whoo-! Whoo-!

The ice dragon soared into the sky with its massive wings.

Just that alone created a storm-like wind in the cave.

“Now’s the time!”

Confirming that the ice dragon had taken off, I began to run.

I didn’t know how long Sharen could hold out.

If I didn’t complete the mission quickly, either Sharen would turn into a block of ice or I would be flattened by one.

“Guaaaah!”

“Ignis Pluvia! (Fire Rain Magic)!”

Boom- Sizzle-!

It looked like Sharen and the ice dragon were fighting like crazy against the cave ceiling.

I was too rushed to look up, but when I caught glimpses, I could feel that Sharen was truly a transcendent being.

It was probably only because she was Sharen that it was possible for her to fight that ice dragon.

But even that had its limits.

If I didn’t succeed in my strategy quickly, Sharen would also be in danger from magical exhaustion.

Thud-! Bang-! Crash-!!

“Damn it! That startled me!!”

Desperately dodging the falling ice chunks from the ceiling, I dashed toward the box.

Barely avoiding numerous ice chunks that could threaten my life, I finally reached the box.

It was a type of box given as a reward in the dungeon.

Moreover, it was the highest-ranked box among all, the ‘Platinum Box.’

I opened the box with all my strength and discovered the item inside.

“Just as I thought…”

Inside the box was a bow.

Made with white feathers and golden decorations, it was evident that this bow was crafted by a god, not a human.

I knew what this bow was.

Its name was ‘Ideia’s Mystic Palace.’

It was one of the strongest bows in the World Archive, classified as a top-tier item of [Mythical Grade].

The reason this item was one of the strongest bows was due to its unique effect.

The effect of this bow was [Accumulation of Hope].

This bow could gather hopeful energies such as [Trust, Expectation, Gratitude, Love] that its owner received from the world and release them as arrows.

Only the Lord class could fully manifest all its abilities,

And the higher the public sentiment score, the greater the destructive power, ultimately becoming a ‘bow that pierces through the world’ capable of splitting continents.

I reached out and grasped ‘Ideia’s Mystic Palace.’

Something began to flow into me.