episode_0189

“Seeing it like this, it’s definitely female. The way it’s lowering its tail like that means it’s female. Male drakes hold their tails up and eat without covering their genitals.”

As the drake appeared before his eyes, the mind of Priscilla, the fool who fell in love with a harem man, also cleared up.

“But seeing it from this distance, it looks a bit different from the drakes I’ve seen in books? The scales and such feel much glossier too.”

They had approached much closer than when she saw it through the telescope yesterday.

It seemed that this place was designated as a resting spot for the drake.

Thanks to that, Eugene Schneider showed an interesting reaction to the appearance of the drake he was visually confirming.

The drake he knew had a strong, rugged feel,

but the drake he was currently spying on had a rather luxurious feel.

“I guess the mana nullification of the scales was considerable. The appearance of the scales given to us by the Imperial Knights wasn’t that different from the general appearance of a drake.”

Priscilla nodded slowly, her eyes quite focused, agreeing with Eugene’s words.

According to Priscilla, the uniqueness of the appearance that Eugene Schneider was feeling was precisely due to the quality of the mana that the drake was emitting.

Therefore, you could say that you wouldn’t feel it much from a distance, but you could feel it strongly in a place where you can visually confirm it like this.

Moreover, since the mana contained in the scales that fell off the body is greatly affected by the environment, it was difficult to grasp the specific level of the unique mana.

“I think we should approach this carefully?”

“Weren’t you planning on approaching it carefully in the first place?”

“Not just to that level, but even more carefully, you idiot.”

Priscilla recognized that something was unusual,

but Eugene Schneider, who didn’t fully catch the nuance of what she was saying, annoyed Priscilla, who had gone into serious mode for the first time in a while.

“What I mean is that we should consider whether that thing is not a monster drake like we know, but another being that has transformed.”

Priscilla quickly regained her composure and began to explain what she had analyzed.

“For example, a high priest of the Mazoku.”

Then, Priscilla mentioned a rather unique keyword.

“That’s really unfamiliar, Priscilla?”

It was a keyword that made Eugene Schneider’s eyes widen.

“Honestly, what I’m saying now has almost no probability. I’m literally talking about possibilities, about several cases that need to be checked. Among the Mazoku, there are high priests closely connected to the demon god, and among the outstanding ones, there are cases where they change their appearance to top-tier or higher monsters. Of course, I’ve never seen it myself, but I heard it from my parents.”

Just as the Gwangmyeong Goddess Church has priests, the Mazoku also have priests of the demon god they serve.

Of course, after the Mazoku declined and entered the Scandinavian Mountains, no one has officially seen the specific appearance of that priest.

In that situation, ancient literature and secret books record that a Mazoku priest transformed into a drake and came.

Priscilla had heard more specific testimony about that.

“If that thing really is a transformed high priest of the Mazoku, what kind of variables will arise?”

“The addition of having to be aware of the magic that they cast, in addition to the fact that it’s not easy to cast magic from this side. Even if they’re not at the level of a magician or witch, Mazoku priests are quite skilled at debuff magic.”

If the priests of the Gwangmyeong Goddess Church are good at buffs, the priests of the Mazoku are good at debuffs.

“I’m just asking just in case, Priscilla.”

After listening to Priscilla’s words and looking at the drake again for about 10 seconds, Eugene Schneider opened his mouth in a cautious voice.

“That debuff that the Mazoku priest uses, will it be less effective on people with Mazoku blood mixed in?”

Many variables had been added.

But Eugene was going to go ahead.

If it were the original Eugene Schneider, he would go for the safest option possible, but he is a mercenary.

And the fact that he can face the drake so closely right now is also not an opportunity that will come every time.

In other words, there is a risk, but Eugene wants to carry out the mission.

Therefore, he asked the question of whether he, with Mazoku blood mixed in, could withstand it even if the drake in front of him was a Mazoku priest using debuff magic.

“Hmm… Theoretically, there is some truth to that…”

Priscilla seemed hesitant to Eugene’s question.

‘Ha… I’m a rational and logical person… In this situation, what’s like me is to say it’s correct and try the quest…’

It’s logical and the perfect mission execution to have Eugene, with Mazoku blood mixed in, tanking and Priscilla looking after the opponent.

Bearing the risks is the destiny of those who make the battlefield their profession,

but isn’t another Eugene Schneider growing in Priscilla’s heart?

Not mercenary colleague Eugene Schneider, but the man she likes, Eugene Schneider.

Moreover, since she is an elf with a tendency to think severely about the person she is hung up on, Priscilla doesn’t want Eugene to bear the risk.

“Haha! Priscilla, are you worried about me?”

Eugene hit the nail on the head with Priscilla, who was hesitating.

“W-what! Why would I worry about you! Don’t talk nonsense!”

Priscilla, who had been severely hit on the mark, denied it with a flushed face.

“We’re colleagues, so you can worry about me.”

“Umm… w-well, that’s true…”

Once she started getting swayed, Priscilla was really swayed without a second thought.

“Let’s give it a try. Still, the Red Fox Mercenary Corps’ assault captain and the best elite archer have come together, I don’t think it makes sense to go back like this. And trust me.”

If you ask what is most important in a unit-level battle,

meticulous strategy and efficiency are also important, but it was over once the comrades began to be frightened.

If the assault captain and the best member returned without success due to the risk, it would directly affect morale.

Eugene indirectly emphasized that and urged Priscilla to join him.

‘Is this…? Why is this human so cool?’

Eugene’s confident and trustworthy appearance came deeply imprinted on Priscilla’s mind, which was being swayed without a second thought.

Cool.

The race that knows cool and romance is the elves.

They think that only they know how to truly pursue that coolness and romance, so they show a truly noble appearance.

It might be the shaky bridge effect,

but anyway, Eugene’s soft charisma in front of Priscilla, who was worried about all kinds of worldly concerns, was dazzling in itself.

“Hmm… Not bad? Now you’ve become quite the mercenary. You used to be so clumsy that it was embarrassing to watch.”

But who is Priscilla?

She is, according to her own account, a princess of the Elf Kingdom.

She is accustomed to never showing her agitated mind lightly,

and she agreed with Eugene’s words, making a lot of small talk and changing her attitude.

“Then I’ll approach it now. Priscilla, watch from here and give instructions or intervene directly. Also, watch out for swarms of by-products monsters.”

Sssseueueueuk…!

“Okay, be careful.”

Eugene carefully got up.

The determination was grand, but the quest execution is simple.

Eugene will deliberately approach to draw aggro, and Priscilla, who knows a lot about drakes, will continue to watch the thing’s condition.

And all of that will be recorded as it is on Elizabeth’s special magic stone.

‘Whoa! I said it boldly, but it’s true that I’m nervous. It’s something that requires several expert levels to stick to it to make it a game.’

Jeobeok, jeobeok, jeobeok, jeobeok,

Eugene walked slowly.

He was also managing his expression in front of Priscilla in his own way.

The best enemy Eugene has ever faced is Sword Expert Sophist Ricardo.

The drake is an existence that cannot be compared to him.

Of course, it’s not an all-out war, but just being near it makes me scared.

Teoeok!

Eugene stopped there.

‘Is this the right distance? The effective distance that Priscilla and Elizabeth talked about.’

Elizabeth and Priscilla predicted the drake’s attack style to a certain extent and told Eugene about the safe distance for it.

The current distance can be said to be the intersection point between that safe distance and drawing aggro.

As soon as he entered that intersection distance,

“Keureureureureureu…!”

Sssseueueueuk…!

The drake, who had been lying down for a while after drinking water, slowly raised its head and looked towards Eugene Schneider.

‘It’s looking at me!’

Eugene Schneider’s impression when he made eye contact with the drake was that it was looking at him.

Of course, it would be natural to look.

However, what Eugene’s impression meant was

‘I feel like it’s trying to read me!’

Rather than feeling simple vigilance or a puzzled look at an unknown existence, it was closer to the feeling that a very high-dimensional being was trying to see through the human Eugene Schneider.

At that moment,

‘It’s coming!!!’

Eugene recognized the drake’s movement.

ㅡPaaaaaaaht!!!

And as he felt, the drake charged at Eugene with a speed that was difficult to think of as the speed of its heavy body.

‘That!’

Sseueuk!

It was a direct reaction that even Priscilla hadn’t expected.

So she stood up as if she was going to intervene directly.

ㅡCheoeok!

But Eugene stretched out his hand towards Priscilla and sent a stop signal for now.

ㅡTadadadadadaht!!!

Then, he moved quickly to the side and responded to the drake’s straight charge.

ㅡHwiieeeeeeeeek!

The drake’s huge and heavy tail moved dynamically.

It was trying to make a rapid change of direction according to Eugene’s movement situation.

ㅡChuaaaaaaaaaaaht!!!

Thanks to the fact that the huge tail grabbed the repulsive force,

the drake greatly reduced the delay and charged at Eugene again.

‘Oh, this time!’

Not only that.

ㅡHwiririririk!!

Spinning drake at the same time as charging in

ㅡBuaaaaaaaaaaak!!

Eugene stretched out the tail he had waited for before adding a booster again.

ㅡKwaaaaaaaaaang!!

The drake’s huge tail slammed into the floor,

“It’s definitely not just a drake. If it has this much learning ability!”

ㅡCheoCheoCheoCheok!

Eugene avoided it through transcendental acceleration by using mana footwork.

Geureureureureureu…!

The drake, still with its tail slamming into the floor, stared at Eugene Schneider.

“Why? Does it feel like it didn’t go as planned?”

Eugene reacted with a rather confident look.

‘Somehow, I’ve felt more comfortable since I made eye contact with that thing. Is this also a manifestation of magical energy?’

And it wasn’t just about avoiding the opponent’s attack.

Perhaps because the opponent was a top-tier monster, Eugene’s magical energy was activated and a psychological buff was created.

But at that moment

[He was not only a mixed blood of the Mazoku and human, but also had an interesting body beyond that.]

The drake’s voice was heard in Eugene’s head.