chapter 10
Episode 10 – Activity of the F-Class Loser 3 –
Episode 10 – Activity of the F-Class Loser 3 –
“Are you saying this in your right mind?”
Sylvia begins to question properly at the mention of catching a dragon.
Of course, I said it in my right mind.
“Of course, I am in my right mind. I came here because I only have two competent people, Ms. Elia and Sylvia. And… don’t you have to catch even a straw?”
“…Do you really think we can catch a dragon just because the two of us join?”
As soon as Sylvia Lennon gave the impression that I knew the situation of the two of them, she immediately turned to practical talk.
It was an expression of intent to cooperate if there was a possibility. Give her assurance.
To answer the question, the four of us cannot catch the dragon alone. Unless supported by the Duke of Winterfield or the Count of Montutitehop.
“Of course.”
But, the dragon that I’m going to catch is not an ordinary one.
And after a moment of thought, Sylvia seemed to have noticed the signs and continued the conversation.
“So, it won’t be a normal dragon.”
“Hmm~ Can’t you get the support of the family, Sylvia?”
“If we get support from either the Winterfield or Montutitehop family, we could probably hunt a true dragon, but there would be no reason to call us if that were the case.
Considering our age, we’re only outstanding. There’s still lots of people in the empire who can compete with us. There’s no need to contact us specifically.”
Of course, to me, they only look weak. From others’ perspective, they are monstrous.
People who saw them during the entrance exam say that what they showed in the duel wasn’t even their full power.
If there was a way to render my awakening ineffectual, I might not be able to beat them either.
“Then, can you tell me about that dragon?”
“I’m hearing this for the first time too. That is.”
And then, Theseus and Elijah began to question me.
I explained the plan in detail.
“Why is it hard to capture a dragon?”
“It’s strong.”
Sylvia Lennon succinctly summarized about the dragon.
It’s true. The dragon is strong.
Long life comparable to immortality. Scales that a normal weapon can’t even scratch. Overwhelming amounts of magic power and aura. And powers close to divine strength.
Among all races, the lowest boundary of abilities is the highest in dragons.
‘The highest boundary is similar to other races.’
Yet.
“The saying that dragons are tough to catch implies that weaker dragons, such as Haecheolrings, can be hunted easily.
The reason for hunting dragons is their unique physical by-products, so we only avoid the young Haecheolrings.
“Correct. Dragons are powerful. Unlike elves and vampires, dragons are simply hard to hunt due to their strength. Let’s change our perspective a bit. Suppose someone caught a dragon easily. What method did they use?”
I answer a question with another question. If the other party is clueless, there’s no progress, but if they have knowledge, they can deduce it.
“Catching a weakened dragon or hunting a weak one.”
That’s the answer from Sylvia Lennon.
She’s right.
I smile at Sylvia Lennon who gave the correct answer and explained,
“We will go to catch a weak dragon. Not just any dragon, but one with a lot of value.”
This world is not the game I played in Korea. And in reality, unlike games, difficulty and rewards do not necessarily correlate.
So, take the easiest action to get the most valuable item.
“If we catch a dragon, we will surely… our skills will improve, our reputation will increase, and we can get various by-products… So, can you tell me what kind of dragon it is?”
Elijah’s innocent question. I answered,
“There are many people here, so I will tell you later. Is that okay?”
“I will do some research, so that’s fine.”
“Good. So you agree? I’ll deliver a proper plan next time, so let’s meet then. Your royal highness.”
With Sylvia Lennon’s words in the background, our meeting with the first-year top students ended.
Unlike me who thought we’d done a satisfactory survey, Theseus was unsatisfied.
He immediately voiced his dissatisfaction with me.
“Are you out of your mind? If the dragon is not in its normal state, we can easily solve it by asking for help from our family. Why do we have to hunt it ourselves?”
I had a lot to say, so I immediately refuted.
“Do you think the family will believe me? And do you think they will give me the by-products? At best they will give me more pocket money. I can earn money through other means. But those by-products, I would never get.”
Obviously, because I have a record of scamming before, let alone other people believing me, my father and brother won’t give me their by-products.
They obviously think I will scam with it.
Even if I don’t scam with it, they think I’ll sell it and scam with the money I make.
“So why am I involved?”
“If you worry about your status, I’ll leave it to you.”
“You’re a duke’s son too.”
“I’m the second son. There’s a 6-year gap between me and my brother. Who do you think will care more about the future duke versus someone who is going to be a high ranking, yet-to-be-decided son-in-law?”
Where I have to go, I could face rejection due to my status, so I absolutely need Theseus.
As a son of a Duke, he could ignore me and proceed, but the problem is my status as a student.
Theseus seemed to accept my argument and moved onto a different question.
“Why is this dragon weak? If it’s a Haecheolring, it’s practically worthless.”
“Do you think I’m seriously trying to catch a Haecheolring? A plan to feed it something like a growth spurt item and pour firepower to kill it as soon as it matures seems better.”
“Is that a human baby’s idea?”
Of course, it’s a human idea. Even here we are raising livestock.
People here might not know it well, but livestock is extremely smart and knows that it will die when it’s time for slaughter.
The only difference with livestock is that dragons can communicate. It’s the same for me anyway.
People kill each other as needed anyway. What’s the problem with another species?
I didn’t have an answer to such ethical issues, so I roughly moved on.
“Even if dragons aren’t immortal, they live extremely long. You’ve heard of this?”
“Well, isn’t that obvious? Dragons are long-lived creatures. They have lived since hundreds of thousands of years before humans even evolved.”
“But who confirmed that?”
“Huh?”
“In the end, even the dragons themselves wouldn’t know, right? Whether they’re aging or living immortally. There’s no species that lives longer than the dragons. Usually dragons die fighting each other, not old age. So, it won’t be surprising that they can’t fully express their lifespan, right?”
Dragons live for a long time. This is a fact.
And the longer they live, the more experienced they become, thus becoming stronger.
Yet, even though dragons are said to be eternal, no dragon has achieved immortality.
No matter the cause of death, old age or whatever, all known dragon’s lifespan is less than 100,000 years.
That’s why people are always living with a misconception. The illusion that dragons are immortal even if they are not.
This illusion arises because the majority of ancient dragons are stronger and live longer than normal dragons, and there are no exceptions besides a small number of beings like the gods or world tree.
However, knowing the setting of the WFS world, I know the truth. Dragons live very long, but there is a limit to their lifespan. It’s just that the timeframe was so vast, no one could see it.
Not even the dragons themselves.
“When dragons get old…their bodies slowly age. However, because the magic that emits from the dragon heart is virtually infinite, the aging isn’t noticeable. The dragon heart is truly eternal.
However, as time passes, an old dragon’s body weakens. The target we are going to deal with is such a dragon.”
The scales are the same. The teeth are the same. The heart is the same.
But the internal organs and muscles etc. are weaker.
Then appears a dragon with the same scales, horns, teeth, dragon heart as a grown dragon, but with a weaker strength.
The mid-game raid boss in the WFS world perspective. He was one of the strongest dragons in the past, but because he lived for too long, he became the weakest dragon.
The old dragon. It’s time to meet him.
“So, are you going to eat the dragon heart?”
“If you’re talking about transplanting it, the principal would die of exertion even if he tried.”
“Then what do you need it for?”
“Maybe rent it to a magic tower. Then, my retirement funds would be sorted out. I can take it out when needed.”
Even if it was an early game boss dragon in WFS, it might still be lost if we clash at this point considering the experience acquired by the character. We might win, but the risk is huge.
But it doesn’t matter. Because I know how to deal with it. This was a characteristic of early-stage bosses, where a myriad of savvy players each sought their own methods.
However, Theseus, who is unaware that I’m from another world, asked the method of dealing with it.
“So, what do we need to capture that dragon?”
“To deal with it?”
“Yes. I don’t think you are the type to gamble on your life. You’re at least a life-preserving type, aren’t you?”
Me, preserving my life? I just don’t waste it when I can preserve it.
I am always ready to stake it out when I have to.
But I didn’t see the need to tell him this. Instead of replying to Theseus, I told him the truth.
“What is needed to deal with a dragon.”
“Yes.”
“Nothing.”
“What?”
“Nothing, I said.”
It’s true. Nothing is needed to deal with a dragon.
“When are we gonna hunt down the Dragon?”
Our mission isn’t to hunt a Dragon.
“We’re just going to have a conversation.”
We’re simply going to deal with an old man who’s just waiting to die.