Start Of Volume 3 - Forged Through Fire
( The Dungeon : Dragon's Paradise )
The Dragon's Paradise was a sort of unique land with unseen Herbalife for an Earth resident like Max.
The trees were extremely tall and thick at about 25-45 feet tall, and even the mushrooms that grew on the surface were about 3-4 feet tall making one feel like they had ventured into the land of the giants.
" Feels like home ". Anna said as she breathed the fresh air and hopped happily on the ground while Sebastian felt borderline depressed seeing that even mushrooms were taller than he was.
Since Anna was an elf raised in abundant nature, she was comfortable with such tall lush green trees and healthy plant life, but for the other group members it was a new unseen terrain.
Max had already used ' Scan ' on the area and he knew that at least in the next 100 metres vicinity, there were no dangers lurking.
" RAWRRRR "
[ System Notification ] - You have heard a dragon's roar, you have been affected by dragon's fear, all stats reduce by 2% for next 2 minutes.
The group heard their first dragon's roar and although it was at least several kilometres away, it still reverberated in their cores as they felt goosebumps arise on their skin.
" Hahahahaha, dragon's are no joke ". Sebastian said as he noticed the debuff and the group nodded solemnly in agreement.
The dragon's paradise was a plane that barred any individual stronger than tier 2 entry.
It was the safehaven where most dragon's came to lay their eggs and raise their young.
A dragonling unlike other beast kids took much longer to mature, it took them nearly 2 years to learn how to fly and breathe fire at will, and nearly 6 months more to learn how to hunt by themselves.
It was due to this cycle that the dragon's paradise became even more desirable for dragon mother's as it took exactly 2.5 years for the dungeon to open and close, giving them the perfect time frame to teach their young one's how to survive.
" Stop guys. Something big is moving on the trees above us ". Max said with a slight urgency in his voice as the other group members immediately drew their weapons and stood on guard.
Max could have sworn that he scanned the area not even 3 full minutes ago and found everything to be clear, but this time around there was something lurking over their heads, meaning it had sneaked above them undetected.
*HISSS*
An snake creature that was camouflaged perfectly into the surroundings suddenly lunged at the group with its target being the big fat short dwarf.
" Holy sh** ". Sebastian cursed as he bravely stabbed his sword towards the anaconda but although the sword lodged itself into the anaconda's nose, it did little to no real damage.
-250
[ Draconic snake ] ( level 140 ) - A snake infamous for its camouflaging abilities, it usually waits for weak prey to wander into its territory before taking it by surprise.
If you have already detected the beast then the threat of you dying at its hands is already considerably lower as it does not have many combat abilities.
Fireball
Fireball
Fireball
Fireball
-200
-200
-200
-200
Max spammed a few fireballs at the snake's nose and it clearly annoyed the snake as it hissed viciously towards Max.
*Shua*
*Shua*
Seeing that the snake was distracted, Anna took the opportunity to attack both its eyes as she blinded the beast perfectly.
-3000 Critical Hit!
-3000 Critical Hit!
The beast screamed in pain as with its eyes blinded it could only rely on its tongue to sense where the enemy was.
Unfortunately for it however, the moment it opened its mouth it was met with a flurry of daggers by Asiva.
-2300
-1200
-2200
-5000 critical hit!
Some of the daggers hit inside of its mouth while one pierced straight through its throat, killing the big beast.
[ System Notification ] - Your party has slain one Draconic Snake ( level 140 )
Exp +4000
You have gained +1 draconic snake hide
[ System Notification ] - You have levelled up!
[ System Remark ] - Atlast you have found a good party that can carry you.
" Hahaha, die stupid snake ". Sebastian rejoiced in victory as the group pretended to not see his legs trembling with fear.
Max had levelled up once and everything seemed fine until he used scan once more and realised the danger his party was in.
" GUYS MAKE A RUN FOR THE TREES ". Max shouted in urgency as he picked the trembling Sebastian up like he was a gnome and dived towards the nearest tree.
Although Asiva and Anna did not know the reason behind Max's panic-filled shout, they immediately obeyed his call as they took cover as well as moments later a large predatory bird with a wingspan as wide as a private jet swooped in and took the snake corpse in its claws before flying away.
[ Aerodactyl ] ( Level 290 ) - A form of wyvern species specialising in high speed flying manoeuvres and strong claw grip.
If you are caught in its claws you will most likely end up as its food.
" What the absolute bloody hell " Anna complained as she looked at the beast fly away and realised that except Max none of them could even sense such a large beast coming in towards them.
Max thanked his lucky stars that he chose the skill scan for his tier promotion as without it 2/4 group members would have most likely become snake food or bird food for sure.
" We need to be more careful, this is not our university's wild zone, we cannot walk inside it as if we are on a stroll.
Let's walk in a straight line with one of us monitoring one direction each, so that we have a better chance of spotting threats before they come.
Keep your long range spells ready and keep a lookout for escape routes.
While we can take a fight against the snake, we cannot fight beasts like the aerodactyl at all.
We need to be smart there and choose to retreat safely ". Asiva said as the group reorganised themselves according to her suggestion and began treading the forest ever more carefully.
