[“I accept,” Icarus, who had been listening to the talk, finally reached out for us.I wanted to ask if Icarus was alright going in alone in the dark. Although I could provide some sort of cover for him, it would still prove to be difficult charging in without having someone beside him. But I had forgotten that we were talking about Icarus. I was no teammate of Icarus, so I didn’t know all of his strengths and weaknesses. However, I recalled he was still and currently an elite member of the Crimson Guild - the strongest of all organisations known to Earth. Will didn’t have to instruct anything to Icarus. The old man might have realised that his boy from his party already knew what to do, so he let Icarus be and placed his fate on him. I wasn’t even told what to do, considering that I was a massive adventurer filled with combat experiences.Hina, who had also been listening to the conversation, also joined in the fun. She already knew her role. As time passed by, my sister cast a mas
["Are you sure you're going to do that? If you can disrupt the Scarlet Dragon, you can't join in the next fight."] I announced.It would be too much for Icarus to fight against this creature after casting all of these spells. Within a few minutes or seconds, Icarus would fall on the ground due to exhausting his mana.I remembered that the Scarlet Dragon was just chanting a spell, and our goal wasn’t to defeat it immediately. If we could, we would’ve. But we had to make baby steps before we could reach that outcome. We must. All we had to do was to disrupt the Scarlet Dragon and simultaneously cast our spells to defeat the monster. Until we could derange the dragon’s spells, we didn’t have any means of taking it down that easily. So I had the urge to ask Icarus and worried about his existence out of surviving this onslaught. Icarus, who had read my message, acknowledged my concern and replied, [“I can do this, White Fang. Put your trust in your teammates.”][“I trust you ,man. I know
[“Are you sure you’re not a ghost?”] I asked, while carefully observing him from afar. Icarus still had his sword equipped in his hands and the wings still were elegant as ever. I almost wished I had the same abilities as him, but I realised that I was more powerful than this scorching dude. But no matter how hard I tried scrutinising Icarus’ body, my eyes had not deceived me. Icarus remained untouched, and his mana and health was back to full health.[“Yeah. I’m not a zombie, you dumbass. Focus up, White Fang. We need to fight this dragon, and I need you to cover me. And you friend there, too.”] Icarus demanded, as he held his sword tighter in his hand.Of course, I planned on following his lead. If the two of us ganged up against the monster, I doubted the Scarlet Dragon could stand a chance against two powerful adventurers. Not to mention, Hina was also behind us. If she could protect us from taking damage and trap the monster, we would end this fight in no time. ‘Something isn’
[“What are you going to do, brother?”] Hina messaged me one more time, which became the trigger for my change. She was my moral compass. And if we planned on killing the Scarlet Dragon without hesitation, this portal would be just the same as the other. If we want change, it should come inside us. In this world filled with chaos and selfishness, I wanted to give a chance at the glimmer of hope that the Scarlet Dragon had shown. That monster would have already attacked us when we turned our backs against it. But it didn’t. It just showed that the creature wanted to be heard and not to be killed mercilessly.[“We’re going to save the Scarlet Dragon!’] I announced to my sister, and gripped the rifle tighter in my hands. [“I’m sorry, Hina. Honestly, I want you out of this conflict. But it seems to me you’re going nowhere near the exit now that you’re stuck with me here.”][“Don’t be, Aoi. Besides, I will follow you until the end of time.”] Hina replied.Before I knew it, I stood in front
Normally, monsters did not understand human words. No matter how desperate these people had begged for their lives, none of those creatures heeded their pleas. So I assumed that this Scarlet Dragon was the same. But I was proven wrong.As it turned out, the Scarlet Dragon was intellectual enough to understand and acknowledge my words. And when I asked the creature a question, a notification popped up in front of me, telling me that I had the ability to understand and translate monster language if the beast had the capacity to do the same. And it worked with the reptile in front of me.“I am not foolish, human. In fact, I know that you’ve come here to defeat me. Which is why, as shameful as it sounds, I admit my defeat,” the dragon intoned, while slowly lowering its head to match mine.Since I had a jetpack of my own, I used my equipment and flew all the way at the dragon’s fore. When I matched the monster’s height, the Scarlet Dragon calmly opened its mouth and continued.“What are yo
“You are one odd human. I can see that you are not telling lies or using your tales as bait. “There’s no point for me to lie about it. Besides, I am nothing special,” I said, and went straight to the next question and another additional question. A series of questions, which I included as one query with branches that stemmed from its roots.“What happens now that you admit defeat? Will the second phase be uplifted? And I know I might be asking too much, but do you have any means or details that could help my party and me defeat the next monster… You know, just like you,” I asked. “And what’s with this ‘pet’ thingy? Does that mean I can enslave any monster attacking us? What are the procedures? Tell me. Don’t worry, I won’t use it on you… But there might be others out there that are interested in that power. I will not use the information to hunt you down or the things and creatures you love. But if the time comes that I need to use the technique, I will be grateful for your guidance.
“That being had a mana as vast as a universe. It almost felt like that I, as a mighty dragon, had suffocated from the arcane that entity wielded. It was unheard of…,” the Scarlet Dragon continued. “IImmeasurable is the perfect description for it.” There was a figure that had more mana than this dragon and Hina? Hina could almost reach the Scarlet Dragon’s arcane pool, even though she had not received proper training. All the hard work she achieved came from herself and the doctor that experimented the two of us for our growth. But to imagine someone had more mana with the two of them combined and they could hardly reach their level was… rattling. If a monster with that level terrorised the planet, I doubted even the unity of guilds could stand a chance against them. “I may be wrong, human, but most monsters appearing from these portals do not come from various worlds. We could assume that other creatures are just replicas from other planets that existed. But since the creator is f
[The Scarlet Dragon has been killed][The Contract is still active][The Second Phase was defeated.][You have been rewarded with experience points!][Since the Second Phase of the trial has been completed, every adventurer will be rewarded with twelve hours of break time! No monster will appear in all areas of the portal. Timer starts now!]I didn’t kill it… Even though the Scarlet Dragon was a monster, by the time we parted ways, it still had a few arcane and skills in its sleeves. Despite having the chance to kill the monster, that creature was by no means weaker than these swarms of monsters.So who killed the mighty beast? Everyone I knew was present before me. I didn’t do it. I would never break my promises, especially with this contract beside my name. But even though I had a contract, the scroll told me that I didn’t shatter our pledge. In fact, the contract was still there on my notification, but slowly faded away because of the Scarlet Dragon’s death. I was here protecting