‘Not possible,’ Jack thought.
He was not here. He was incorporeal. This was only his consciousness, no way anyone or anything could perceive his presence. He turned his attention back. One sentry was standing not far away. Jack turned back to the eyes again. Whatever possessed the eyes were watching the sentry.
All of a sudden, the eyes receded into the darkness.
What was that? A monster? If so, how strong was it?
Jack kept his attention at the deeper part of the cave where the eyes appeared. Nothing happened. If it was a strong monster, it would have attacked the sentry. From the way those eyes watched, it was clear that it was aware of the sentry. If it didn’t attack, that meant it shouldn’t be a dangerous monster.
Anyway, Jack continued to pay attention a little while longer. When there was still no appearance of the monster, he decided to just leave it alone.
His consciousness returned to his body and he took his rest.
*
The next morning, everyone gathered. Jeanny made a tally to make sure that no one was missing. They left soon after.
They went to the area where the scouts found the level 49 flame drakes. Yet, after looking around for some time, they couldn’t find that drake.
“Higher grade monsters had distinct habits. You can’t expect them to just stay in one place all the time,” Peniel said.
They did see this kind of behavior on high-grade monsters before. They simply thought that if only one night, the beast wouldn’t have wandered far.
Seeing no sign of the level 49 flame drake, Jeanny had no choice but to send the scouts again while they waited. Reports started trickling in, but the flame drakes they found were all above level 50. Peniel mentioned that level 50 monsters had a higher spike growth compared to the one below. So, the success probability in taming also dropped significantly between level 49 and 50 monsters. Jeanny asked them to continue searching for one that was below level 50.
It took some time because they needed to call Life Runner to inspect every time they found a flame drake. It took so long that Jack decided to go farm the flame drakelings again. He told Jeanny to call him once she located a suitable target. The Man wanted to follow but Jeanny forbid it. Jack could move fast using Pandora so he was an exception. The others had to be on standby once they found their prey.
It was late afternoon already when a scout reported the location of a level 49 flame drake. Jeanny sent a message to Jack of the location as the main group headed there. Jack did the same.
The flame drake was just walking around aimlessly when everyone gathered. They were observing it from afar.
“It looks similar to that Grim Sand Drake from before, only this one has red scales and smaller,” Bowler remarked.
“We will still need to be careful. This one is not a Grim, but it is also not in a weakened status like when we fought the Grim Sand Drake,” Jack said and then turned to Peniel, “I assume these drakes have breathe-ability?”
“Yes. That is their standard skill. This one should have fire element breathe,” Peniel answered.
“Okay, everyone, gather around these elementalists,” Jeanny said.
Five elementalists separated themselves, Bitter Rain was one of them. These elementalists had bought and learned fire resist spells. Everyone crowded around them before they cast the spell, increasing their fire resistance. The breath attack covered a long distance and large area, it would be difficult to dodge. Having a high corresponding resistance could boost their survival.
Everyone here except Jack and Domon wore Amulet of Rebirth, but they would prefer to save its usage if possible. Its cost got higher each time they lost one.
After making their preparation, Jack took out his companion token. “Leave the direct fight to Arlcard and me, you people prioritize safety. Be prepared with the restraining tools once its HP falls to 30%,” Jack told the others.
Everyone nodded.
He activated the token and Arlcard appeared. Jack inspected his vampire companion and saw his exp bar was at 85% to level 50 already. This vampire was not slacking around.
Arlcard first looked to the sun. The day was late but not yet evening. Jack saw the vampire’s slightly uncomfortable expression when staring at the sun, but he didn’t say anything about it. Instead, he simply asked, “The target?”
“That flame drake over there,” Jack pointed to the distance. “But please take notice to not kill it. We need it alive. We want to capture it. Please stop attacking when its HP drops below 30%.”
Arlcard frowned. “So troublesome. I would prefer you don’t call me for such a vexing battle,” the vampire uttered.
‘Can you not say such things in front of everyone?’ Jack thought dejectedly.
Arlcard then dashed forward. Jack was not to be left behind, he also ran forward. Domon was next. The Man was about to follow, but Jeanny held him back.
“Damn! They didn’t even ask for the battle plan,” Bowler said.
They all watched the three running courageously towards the flame drake. But after closer observation, they realized that Arlcard was not running. His two legs were still. He was floating slightly above the ground, gliding.
When everyone was fascinated by the vampire’s movement, Jeanny snapped them back to attention, “Everyone! Spread out! Encircle the beast. Those that can do ranged attacks, send as many attacks as possible. Melee with the highest strength, take these.”
Jeanny took out ten runic ropes. It was longer and larger than normal. This was crafted by the combined work of their blacksmiths and alchemists to help in restraining the beast. He gave them to selected players, The Man was one of them.
“Remember to prioritize safety. Let’s go!” She commanded.
Everyone then moved out, just as Arlcard had his first clash with the flame drake. His rapier shone with black light. Every thrust generated piercing dark energy. Yet, the flame drake’s scale was thick, though the dark energies still damaged the drake, its effectiveness was halved.
The drake was enraged. It roared as it lifted its foot and stomped at Arlcard, who deftly glided away before the stomp hit.
When the drake’s attention was drawn by Arlcard, Jack shot his range spells while he approached. He and Domon stole some slashes from a flanking position. They didn’t dare to strike from the rear because the drake’s tail kept on swinging around.
The others circled the drake as planned. Ranged classes started sending their attacks. Melees with more confidence came with a hit and run tactic, The Man and his team were of course among these death-defying players.
The flame drake was enraged with all these ants. It made a small jump, but when its feet landed, a tremor erupted. Everyone tried to keep their balance, except Arlcard whose feet didn’t touch the ground. A good number of players ended up falling.
While they were unbalanced, the drake’s mouth flared.
“Breathe attack…!” Jack whose attention stayed with the drake hurriedly warned his teammates.
Sentinels and Paladins who were still on their feet immediately activated their defensive skills. Jeanny had arranged so that these defense classes were situated strategically so every member had at least one sentinel and one Paladin nearby.
Sentinels used their Protection Field. Paladin used Heaven’s Shield, their level 40 skill. It created an image of a giant shield in front of them. Similar to Arhmage’s Magic Wall. It covered less area but was sturdier. Every nearby member hurriedly scurried to the protection of these two classes.
A large stream of fire poured out from the Flame Drake’s mouth. This flame breath struck the imaginary giant shield. The shield’s image was visibly melting as it was cooked by the intense heat of the flame breath.
The drake didn’t just breathe its flame in one direction. Since its attackers were spread out all around it, it started to spin as flame continued to pour forth.
The excess fire that slip through the side of Heaven’s Shield hit the players who couldn’t squeeze close enough to the paladin, but Sentinel’s Protection Field reduced the damage they received. The healer-based class quickly healed those that had suffered damages.
Jack couldn’t let it continue spewing its breath like that. He had taken refuge right below the Flame Drake. Since the drake was aiming at targets in the distance, the area right under him became its blind spot.
Jack made his super jump right below the drake’s head. He struck upward with Flame Strike, right at the drake’s bottom jaw. The attack caused little damage because the drake itself had high fire resistance, but the skill’s knockback effect caused the drake’s bottom jaw to snap upward, forcefully closing its mouth.
The flame that was still pouring forth cooked the inside of its mouth instead. Its head jerked upward as its mouth opened again. The high-pressure air inside caused by the entrapped heat burst out with an explosion. The drake roared due to the pain. It also suffered damage from its own flame breath.
It looked down furiously at the ant responsible for the pain. Jack was about to cast Magic Wall when Jeanny materialized above the drake’s head using her Jump Attack. She stabbed downward at the drake’s skull. The distraction allowed Jack to move away to a safe distance.
When the drake wanted to turn its attention at Jeanny who had backstabbed its head, Jack returned the favor by casting Magic Bind on the drake’s neck. The restrain lasted only a second but it allowed Jeanny to jump away.
Arlcard, in the meantime, never stopped attacking. His high-speed gliding allowed him to move away from the drake’s breath while he continued attacking. He didn’t care less if the drake killed the others.
With Arlcard’s consistent assaults and the group’s careful approach, they managed to wear the flame drake’s HP down to 30% without a casualty.
“Now!” Jeanny gave the signal.
