The Genius Blacksmith's Game
Dragon Exploration. (2)
A quest that suddenly broke out worldwide.
The Dragon Expedition was a tremendous undertaking that drew the attention of the entire world.
Dragon Barga.
The fact that he was in Talassian, a country reached by only a few users, caused conflict among the users.
I told you Ares is over. Thank you for loving Ares all this time. Let's go server down!
Let's reset everything and start over.
How can you catch a dragon at this level? If it comes up to the surface, everyone dies.
One side claimed that Ares was finished.
– Pureum Co., Ltd., you incompetent bastards. Look at the game balance. Tsk tsk.
I told you we're screwed. Let's just take it easy and start over from scratch.
The other side consisted of those who had infinite trust in Purum Co., Ltd.
All the guys talking right now are noobs lol. They just keep suggesting we start a new character.
Surely, Purum Co., Ltd., the world's number one game company, couldn't have predicted something like this.
– This is all from the script. My uncle is Lee Se-jin.
For reference, Sejin did not have a nephew.
Aside from that, the opinions of experts were also sharply divided.
If the users fail, dozens of nations under the command of the Parion Empire will join forces. On this day, the County Nation will also join in.
Although it is known that the dragons' levels are tremendous, this is a country where even archdemons are raided. Nearly a year has passed since then. Therefore, I think it is too much of a stretch to assume that we would be unable to raid dragons.
Opposing experts raised their voices.
Do you not remember how the Archdemons were raided? It was thanks to the White Tiger Sword crafted by the master craftsman Hyun. The reason Gremory and Halphas could be raided in the first place lies in the very nature of evil. Evil is bound to weaken in the face of good. At that time, Gremory was merely in the level 600 range, and Halphas could not even properly unleash the power of a level 700 character.
But what about dragons? Dragons are neutral in alignment. This means they have absolutely no connection to good or evil. Also, dragons are the strongest beings on Earth. They will receive numerous buffs.
The population of Archdemons reaches 70. In the case of dragons, the number is much smaller. It is known that there are hardly any of them.
The Archdemon 'Azarmok' departed for the Human Realm for his amusement. Countless humans perished during his journey. At that time, Azarmok's power happened to provoke the temperament of a specific being. "Begone, you insignificant demon!" Hundreds of magical spears were thrust into Azarmok's body, and on that day, Azarmok fled. The being he had faced was the Dragon Barimon.
This is a passage from the book *The Games of the Great Demons*. It implies that even the Great Demon Azarmok fled from a dragon.
I suppose that's because Azarmok is weak. Just like you.
-What did you say… …? You just… … .
Experts clashed as they asserted their respective opinions.
There is only one way to solve him.
It is to actually see Dragon Varga.
And that actually happened.
All broadcasters around the world moved quickly, and tens of thousands of experts prepared to see the truth.
-1,000 people out of a population of 1.3 billion. In other words, only one in 1.3 million people gets the chance to face a dragon.
"We will definitely reward those thousand users, so please share the screen you are currently viewing with our broadcasting station. What? 50 million won? You're crazy… Still, accept the offer."
Finally, Dragon Varga began to appear on broadcast screens around the world.
As the outline of Dragon Varga was revealed, groans rang out from all around.
– How is it that big… …?
It resembles a castle.
Viewers, experts, and broadcasting station experts alike.
They all focused on the level of the Dragon Varga placed at the top.
-Fuck… How can something like this even happen?
A commentator blurted out a swear word without realizing it.
[Dragon Barga ???]
Even the archdemons had their levels displayed.
However, commentators with some common sense quickly realized it.
Until now, the level of the dragon Varga has been estimated to be in the 800s. The same goes for most dragons. However, no one actually knew the dragons' levels clearly, and this was merely speculation.
I think I can understand Purum Co., Ltd.'s intention.
The viewers were curious.
What is the intention?
The commentator said in a sighing voice.
See for yourself, that is the reason for the Dragon Expedition.
Gulp-
The sound of someone swallowing spread.
In other words, it meant to see for yourself whether it was worth a try or not.
and…….
The users were trembling like aspen trees just from facing it.
It was on a completely different level compared to when ordinary users faced boss monsters or named monsters that they could not hunt.
Just like seeing a huge truck approaching right in front of you at a crosswalk, genuine terror filled the faces of the users, their minds turning white.
On the other hand… … .
I pressed it thinking, "Will it really work?" but it actually works?
Hyunsu was flustered.
A notification popped up in front of his eyes, and Hyunsu reflexively pressed the 'Join' button.
It was a habit, and my mind was filled with the thought, "Surely it won't work?"
That is understandable, considering the probability is 1 in 1.3 million.
Hyunsu is someone who has never even won a 10,000-won lottery ticket in his life.
“Ughhh…….”
Why is it so big?
Moreover, Hyunsu was at the very back, and the users were in a panic, looking only straight ahead.
Status abnormal?
No, Dragon Varga's status effect was not activated.
When the users were trying to avoid Varga's eyes.
"Where are you looking? Look into my eyes."
The heavy, chilling voice of the Absolute One echoed toward the world.
[Cannot refuse, led by the verb.]
The users were unable to resist and were forcibly looked into his eyes.
To Varga, it did not matter how they appeared.
[Barga's Eye.]
[He looked into Varga's eyes.]
Varga simply wanted to give them despair and real terror.
Among the users who made eye contact with Varga, dozens of users whose level was barely 200 clutched their hearts in terror.
One of the powers in Varga's eyes is the absurd power that causes 'death' to any being 500 levels lower than himself.
"Ugh."
"100 million……."
“Kuh-uh-uh……!”
Varga's eyes are more cruel to the infinitely weak.
Just by making eye contact…
Users are suffering.
Those clutching their hearts, thrashing about, and drooling profusely from their mouths… … .
The other users could not move as they watched those gasping for breath while contorting their bodies.
Since there was no difference of 500 levels, they did not receive the 'death' penalty, but status ailments were sequentially encroaching upon them.
at that time.
“Jumoooook!”
The voice of one user moved the world.
The owner of that voice that spread among viewers is Barzar, ranked 32nd in the world for prosecutors.
He, too, fell into a state of abnormality based on meeting Varga's eyes, but he stretched his sword high into the sky to reveal the truth to the users.
The reason we came here is not to kill the Dragon Varga, but to explore. We will never again encounter or clash with the Dragon Varga.
“……One thing is certain: the sight of you trembling in fear and whimpering in front of Dragon Varga is being broadcast to the entire world. Do you want to keep showing that? We will be forcibly logged out anyway. But there is no penalty, and that thing is just a scrap of AI.”
The frozen body thaws.
"You came in here to die anyway, didn't you?"
Come to think of it, you're right.
The event organizing team also gives them a ray of hope.
Ding!
[Event Quest: Attack Varga.]
Grade: SS
Restriction: All participants.
Reward: Randomly increases the number of stats for each successful attack.
Penalty on failure: None.
Description: Dragon Expedition. Succeed in attacking the dragon to demonstrate to the user that nothing is impossible.
The number of stats increases randomly.
Furthermore, there were no restrictions.
A fire is kindled in the hearts of the users who had been broken.
“Lord Barzar, take the lead. I will be with you!”
There were not only Barzar but also ranked users in that spot.
Dozens of buff lights focused solely on them and struck them.
“Nice! So my stats go up just by landing one successful spell? That’s awesome!”
The wizards' magic was cast and spewed out.
There was a wide variety, ranging from low-level magic to high-level magic.
Dozens of colorful spells extend toward Varga like stems, and a power that explodes instantly from the target shows signs of an explosion.
At that moment.
Whoosh!
The remnants of the flame originating from Varga completely extinguished the 'Fire Boom' that was about to arise from his body.
[Fire Boom casting fails.]
Arrows flying in the shape of a small wolf, arrows falling in a parabolic arc, and arrows flying at speeds several times faster than normal arrows burst into flames and disappeared the moment they approached within a 20m radius of Bargawa.
– A force presumed to be a defensive mechanism is literally obliterating all power.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-
Hundreds of lights flashed, and hundreds of fires of despair burned it all up.
To those who attempted the attack.
Suhwaaaaaa-
Things mixed with flames and ashes spread out like waves, melting their artifacts and bodies.
As the artifacts melted or burned, turning into a handful of ash, the users scattered.
Barzar and the users were taken aback as he ran, claiming he could attack.
Rumble-
Fire Storm activated by Varga without a spell.
It was on a different level from a typical firestorm.
In what was merely a storm of fire, even the ashes were mixed in, and a storm of ash was rising.
[937 users have been logged out.]
Users swept up in the firestorm turned to bone dust and scattered.
"-You're saying that's a Fire Storm…?"
It looks like it would be about 20 times the size of a regular firestorm.
The screen shown to the viewers displayed users who had endured the storm of ashes, survived, and were charging forward.
Barzar and about 60 surviving high-level users had made it through the storm and reached close range.
With their armor and artifacts all melted away and their entire bodies melting, they finally succeeded in reaching Varga.
Aura Condensation.
Rrrrrrrrrrr-!
A longsword soaring high into the sky.
The pinnacle of a sword that instantly holds all of its magical power to unleash strength beyond normal capabilities.
A power that the normal Barzar wouldn't even use burns up all his magical energy to attack Barga.
The whole world marveled at the sight.
Pride as a ranker and an unyielding will.
And the massive fatal blow inflicted on Varga.
– It is known that Barzar's power can deal up to 3,600% damage if all magical power is poured into it.
– At the very least, I could land a blow on Varga.
Unspeakable power rains down from Barzar's sword.
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
That sword, which possessed a massive amount of damage despite its melted blade, attacked Varga.
However… … .
Piiiiiit-
[You have dealt 43,013 damage.]
Barzar's face turned pale.
Just a few drops of blood.
That was the best Barzar could do.
Shhhhhhh-
Barzar and the users disappear, turning into ashes just like that.
The screen the viewers were watching was forcibly shut down.
-Did everyone… … get wiped out?
– Inflicted only 40,000 damage and took out all 1,000?
-What is this… … .
The whole world falls into despair. Everyone swallows dryly, speechless, and stares blankly at the turned-off screen.
Many of them were stunned.
Back then.
It showed 1/1000 survivors earlier? What's that…?
Along with a questioning sound.
Whoaaaaah-!
The screen, which I thought had turned off, turned back on.
In the stormy ashes.
Kwaaaaaak-!!!
[You have dealt 145,013 damage!]
Kwaaaaaak-!
[Critical Hit!]
[You have dealt 184,103 damage.]
Crash-!
[You have dealt 156,313 damage.]
In front of the ashes, one survivor was clearly inflicting damage on Dragon Varga.
In the ashes, he was wielding a sword familiar to the viewers.
A commentator quickly recognized it and shouted.
-Twin… … Dragon Swords!
