As soon as they had entered the cave, there had been way too many crystals, crystals freaking everywhere!

Then the giant crystal lizard had risen, its malevolent topaz eyes landing directly on them. The creature had no expression, but it had felt like it was grinning.

< Tenacious Crystal Pseudo-Dragon! Lv 45! :small_orange_diamond:>

Invaders? They had chosen the wrong cave!

It would take them apart and adorn its lair with their skulls! Heck, in some corners there were skeletons encased in amber!

Fighting a Dragon? How about no! At that moment, the ever calm Jack had lost his cool.

”RUUNNNN!!!!” He bellowed at the top of his lungs.

As the behemoth chased, the earth trembled under its weight. The only thing they could do was escape toward the smaller tunnels!

As they finally reached a tighter area, Derek heaved a sigh of relief, only for Jack to drag him away. “Fool, don’t stop!”

— CRASH! —

Physical obstacle? What’s that? Dragons don’t give a flying scale about that!

With a mighty roar, the magical creature smashed the rock to pieces. It was like a goddamn earthquake followed them!

If only that was all…As the dragon roared, Jack turned solemn.

— RAWR! —

”Dig, a hole now!!!” Jack bellowed.

”Yes, Master!”

— Clang! Clang! —

Derek hurriedly dug, with Jack pushing both of them in the new hole. Sealing the opening with his shield, he grumbled: “Brace yourself.”

That’s when the tunnel was engulfed by scintillating orange energy. It covered everything, seeping toward them. Suddenly the two of them felt their bodies stiffen.

As a swordsman, Derek instantly noticed his hands. They were freaking turning to amber?! Oh god! He glanced at his master sorrowfully, for it seemed it was the end…

But just as he was despairing, the sound of hope resounded.

— Cluck! Cluck! Cluck! —

Jack didn’t have the energy to summon his army of skeleton chickens, so how?! Wait…the shield itself seemed to be calling out?! No, it wasn’t just the shield!

Suddenly he summoned the Cluckinator, putting it forth — Bzzzttt!— The blade and shield started vibrating so hard that Jack had to use everything in his power to hold it all!

He grinned. That’s why Epic weapons were the best! The effect was very minimal, but now the pride of the once-great Chicken Overlord was protecting him!

It wasn’t about strength but about resilience. It had barely given him the edge he needed to survive. Only….this victory had a cost: the two items had begun turning to amber!

”Time to go!!” Jack barked once more, the duo running away while the dragon was recuperating from its failed skill.

Had they even remotely tried fighting this beast, they would have 100% died. Had they been a few seconds late, they would have died too.

When they finally reentered the Iron Area, the both of them erupted in tears of joy. This only intensified when an Iron-Devouring Snake slithered their way. They were so happy to see it!

The snake eagerly approached for a meal but then suddenly froze. The way their eyes shone at its sleek silver scales terrified the poor creature. Without waiting… it fled!

”?!?” Derek was obviously puzzled.

Had they cowered, it would have definitely attacked, but the heated gazes mixed with a faint aura of dragon magic did the trick!

Suddenly Jack couldn’t help but grin.

”Say, disciple, have you ever seen the sea?”

”Never, Master. Why?”

”What about a sea of monsters?”

”Yes? We were chased earlier and— Oh god, no! Are you serious?!” The disciple had finally realized what his master meant.

This was insanity!!

━━━━━━ POV ━━━━━━━

A group of 40 stern men walked in the darkness while grasping their pickaxes tightly. The atmosphere was gloomy: when was the last time MTG had suffered such heavy casualties?!

What they feared wasn’t the pack of Iron-Devouring Snakes but the changes they represented. Their very presence made it clear that the mines had been drastically transformed!

What had once been their playground had suddenly turned into an unknown death trap. Oh, and the humans feared the unknown so damn much for a good reason: it was dangerous!

They progressed methodically, casting magic on their way over — Blessed Mine Shaft!— It would increase the allies’ performance slightly as long as it wasn’t dispelled.

Suddenly the man at the front stopped urgently.

”There they are!” He grumbled as he pointed to the Iron-Devouring snakes lying in ambush. But, there was something wrong: there were 60 of them, not 40!!!

”What?! There’s even more than back then?!” The man known as Gorat stepped forward, his jaw slack in shock. What kind of increase rate was that?!

They all wordlessly prepared themselves for a great battle. They would face the monsters and reclaim their mines! They were just about to engage when a scout in front suddenly turned pale.

”Wait, can you hear it?!” He exclaimed.

For a few seconds, no one heard anything. But as they waited, the sound only became stronger and stronger. Then they were soon able to identify it….only to be even more confused!

In the deadly Eternal mines….a diabolical and sonorous cackle echoed. It seemed to come from the depth of Hell itself and made the miners turn weak in the knees.

Chills invaded their trembling bodies as they got ready to face this incredible evil. Was the being approaching the one responsible for everything that was happening?!

They were on high alert…but they weren’t ready for what appeared!

A being casually walked over, one who seemed to be human at first glance. However, the demonic wild laugh and his nonchalant demeanor proved otherwise.

The being headed straight for the Snakes as they lay in ambush! As soon as he confidently stepped in their midsts, the creatures awakened, took one glance at him, and….ran!

The miners loudly gulped as they witnessed this scene. Monsters running away without a fight?! How was this possible?!

”Identify yourself! Who are you!!” The MTG group leader shouted, his voice shaking very subtly.

They expected a cavernous voice, they expected a demonic one, they expected many things…but not this: “Sup, guys. How you doing? Took you long enough.”

The tone was playful, friendly, and even had hints of familiarity. Was he playing with them?! They all unconsciously took a step backward…all but one. Gorat stepped forward instead.

”It’s you! How are you still alive?! Wait, what about— Ah, he’s right behind you!” The man exclaimed in utter surprise.

That’s when they finally noticed Derek. They had been so focused on Jack that they had missed him! He hadn’t especially been hiding. He had simply been in his master’s shadow for protection.

Jack came forward to dispel the misunderstanding. What?! This guy was an ally?! They quickly went from scared, to confused, to relieved, to feeling silly….only to end up utterly terrified the more he spoke.

”Dragon?!”

”Are you serious?!”

”This is bad! Are the mines lost?!”

As soon as they heard the details about the dragon, their shoulders slumped downward. But then their leader, Brehart, stepped forward as he roared.

”Are you done shaking! If there is a threat, we’ll crush it!” Brehart bellowed as he radiated incredible power. This show of strength was enough to reassure the shaking miners.

— Sigh! —

”This won’t work. A Crystal Dragon has inner armor. Without a certain degree of power, slaying it will be impossible.” Jack shook his head.

The miners could only lower their heads in disappointment. This hunting party was already the best that MTG could muster at the moment. That meant they were screwed….

”Hehehe, it seems you know nothing of Brehart the Explosive Miner then!” Their leader suddenly chuckled. He laughed as he suddenly swung his pickaxe toward a nearby wall.

The expected —Clang!— came. But what happened next even had Jack’s eyes widen in astonishment.

— BOOM! —

— BOOM! —

— BOOM! —

What the **?! It had suddenly exploded! Rocks shrapnels flew all over, a dust cloud rose and the entire place trembled!

Did this random NPC have a legendary Class or something?! Was it a treasure? What the heck was he relying on?! Also, how was there someone low-key OP in the party?!

At this moment, he suddenly felt jealous of the NPC. This looked so damn cool! Of course, he had seen similar stuff in the past, but to see it at this level felt insane!

”How about it? Is that powerful enough? Now, how about you show us the way toward this dragon of yours.” The explosive miner grinned confidently.

”Sure, but only if you allow me to lead the raid.” Jack requested. This NPC had to be level 40 . Would he simply accept such a request?

”No way! You may have made a strong entrance, but you can’t fool me. You were simply bluffing with borrowed power!” Brehart revealed what he had just understood.

”You claim I have been bluffing?” Jack chuckled.

”Yes! It’s not your power that scared the Snakes, but the dragon’s scent on your body. You’re actually very weak!”

”Exactly, I’m very, very weak, you see. Hence why I should lead.” Jack gave a wry but meaningful smile as he gazed at the man.

Many couldn’t help but be perplexed. What kind of reverse bragging was this?! Many were confused about his purpose. They were even more confused a few seconds later.

”Fine, my men will follow your orders.” Brehart simply announced with Jack smiling. The miners looked at one another, perplexed. What the heck had just happened?!

Luckily, Gorat was there to explain.

”What’s more impressive? A powerful hero surviving a face-to-face with a dragon or a powerless villager doing the same?” They gasped in realization. Just surviving had proved his worth!

They all departed, following this mysterious man and his disciple. Jack was about to face the dragon again, but this time he had brought an army…