25-206

EP.206 [Hunting the Female Drake.] 

“If the mage is backing us this much, honestly, from the Imperial Knights’ side, we have no reason to refuse. Since we’re out here on an expedition, we have to produce results one way or another.” 

Victoria first shared her thoughts on the conclusion she’d reached so far. The Drake Quest had grown rapidly in size and complexity. It was already big, but now it felt like it had shifted from being merely unusual to being outright otherworldly. In other words, it was at the point where they’d have to reassess the enemy from scratch. At this stage, it wouldn’t be strange if the party disbanded and reformed. 

But that’s only true for typical groups. For an organization like the Imperial Knights, disbanding a party once formed isn’t easy. If they were to just return in this state, there would be significant backlash internally. So, while Victoria was giving a by-the-book briefing, she felt some unease. However, with Mage Elizabeth at the center, the Red Fox Mercenaries also expressed their desire to keep the party together until they achieved some results. 

‘I can’t just back out now. If we quit here, the Red Fox Mercenaries’ reward will be slashed, and the security agreement for quest failure will actually become a burden.’ 

Eugene kept a neutral expression as he listened to Victoria, arms crossed. He didn’t show it, but the Red Fox Mercenaries were also worried about the party breaking up. For them, disbanding would be a huge problem. The Red Fox Mercenaries, now with big ambitions, still had to produce tangible results to show the mercenaries or the Mercenary Guild back in Pangaea. 

‘And that drake… I need to confront it again and ask what it meant by what it told me yesterday. I can’t shake the feeling it somehow led to my evolution into a Sword Seeker through my relationship with Priscilla.’ 

On a personal level, Eugene Schneider’s interest in the drake had grown. After confirming with Elizabeth that his evolution to Sword Seeker was real, he began to rethink everything. He remembered the strange keywords the drake had given him via telepathy. At first, he hadn’t thought much of them. But the drake’s debuff magic poison and the giant pit that trapped them had set off a chain reaction. After experiencing that, and becoming a Sword Seeker through intense sex with Priscilla, Eugene’s perspective on the drake changed. 

“Elf archer Priscilla’s full recovery is a huge factor. With an Archer Seeker on our side, our fighting power is on a different level now.” 

Still, as the Red Fox Mercenaries’ assault leader, Eugene couldn’t easily take the lead in the camp. But who was at his side? Elizabeth, whose influence in the camp was even greater than Victoria’s. Eugene expressed to Elizabeth his determination to clear the Drake Quest as a Sword Seeker. Elizabeth, now an even more devoted Eugene fanatic, took up the cause and pushed his request through to Victoria, without mentioning his Sword Seeker evolution, instead emphasizing her own magic and Priscilla’s new Archer Seeker power. 

“I see.” 

Victoria, listening to Elizabeth, nodded with a slightly ambiguous expression. 

‘Hmm... Honestly, it seems like Victoria has figured something out.’ 

Eugene glanced at Victoria. ‘She’s sharp and good at reading between the lines. I can’t be sure she doesn’t know about my Sword Seeker status-she figured out I was a Sword Expert before, after all. I can’t underestimate her.’ 

No matter how close they were as quest comrades, the Sword Seeker rank was not something to be revealed lightly. So Eugene hadn’t told Victoria, only Elizabeth and Jeanne. But he couldn’t be sure she hadn’t picked up on it already. 

“In that case, I’m curious. The Elizabeth I know is very cautious. If you’re this proactive about the hunt, I assume you’re fully prepared.” 

After her ambiguous reaction, Victoria asked about Elizabeth’s preparations. Elizabeth’s role had grown even more important, so Victoria didn’t press too hard and decided to approve the drake hunt based on her confidence. 

“I am. This mage Elizabeth always ensures her comrades win.” 

Victoria’s guess was correct. Even though Elizabeth would do anything for Eugene, she wouldn’t recklessly throw him into danger. Last night, she’d been too distracted by Eugene and Priscilla’s drama, but she’d continued her research and found a way to target the drake. 

“As I mentioned in last night’s emergency meeting, higher-dimensional beings are limited in places where their foundation isn’t strong. We can exploit that weakness to fight it.” 

“But... even if it makes sense in theory, I can’t see how we’d actually do it...” 

Elizabeth planned to use the point she’d identified as their main strategy. If the drake turned out to be weaker than expected, they’d use the old method. If it really was a higher-dimensional being in disguise, they’d adapt accordingly. 

“The keyword was provided by Captain Eugene and Elf Priscilla. The drake’s debuff magic poison-that’s the answer to the ‘how’ that’s stumped us until now.” 

When Victoria still seemed unsure, Elizabeth brought up the drake’s debuff magic poison. According to her calculations, they could use it against the drake to slow it down. 

“This is a massive operation, Captain.” 

Marie looked around nervously and spoke to Eugene. 

“Yeah, the scale and the power involved are both huge.” 

Eugene nodded in agreement. 

“This feels so strange. It’s my first time being directly affected by magic. I’ve only heard about barriers before.” 

Sssssssss...! 

Marie looked down at her feet, where a blue mana barrier about three meters in diameter was glowing. It would play a key role in the drake hunt. 

“When your mana is specifically targeted like this, you’ll feel it more. I’ve experienced it a few times-it’s like your body is being scanned.” 

Eugene tried to reassure Marie, who was tense. Mage Elizabeth had set up a huge barrier to catch the drake, using several medium-sized barriers to create it. Marie, Thomas, and Ivan were stationed at one of these. 

“Hm... We have to trust the mage, right? The drake won’t break through the barrier and destroy the medium barriers, right, Thomas?” 

Marie was mostly in awe, but Thomas, with his cool head, was worried about whether the plan would work. 

The awakened ones’ mana would amplify and sustain the barrier’s effect, strengthening the drake’s limitations and allowing the team to take the initiative. But if the drake wasn’t fooled by the barrier, the medium barriers could be destroyed one by one. 

If it were just a normal fight with swords and fists, Thomas would be more comfortable. But he’d never been in a battle like this, so he was nervous. 

“It’s natural to feel that way, but in a fight, you have to trust your comrades. We’re still just relying on each other and swinging swords, same as always.” 

Pat. 

“Yeah, Ivan.” 

Ivan, with his mercenary experience, reassured Thomas. 

“Yeah, Thomas. Trust this assault captain. I’ll make sure the drake doesn’t get any funny ideas.” 

Thud! 

Eugene slung his greatsword over his shoulder with confidence. 

Most of the awakened were stationed at the medium barriers. The ones who would fight the drake directly inside the main barrier were those at Expert level and above: from the Red Fox Mercenaries, Eugene and Priscilla; from the Imperial Knights, Victoria, Farnese, and Vincent; and mage Elizabeth would support them. 

[The drake has appeared, Captain Eugene Schneider. Please return to your position.] 

Victoria’s telepathy came through the magic stone. 

“The drake’s movement is showing up in my barrier memory. It’s moving under the barrier’s influence.” 

Eugene joined the main drake hunt team. Elizabeth, her hand to her head and eyes focused as if watching a video, was monitoring the drake through her barrier, which was linked to her memory. She had mixed the drake’s own mana, extracted from its magic poison, into the barrier. If the drake didn’t unleash its true power, it wouldn’t notice anything strange and wouldn’t leave the barrier. Inside, Elizabeth’s magic would work more easily, and she could better respond to any special attacks. 

“All right, everyone, let’s start hunting the big lizard.” 

Swoooosh...!! 

Mounted on her horse, Victoria summoned her sword from her weapon inventory. As quest leader, she signaled the start of the Drake Subjugation Quest. 

‘Huh?’ 

Eugene’s eyes turned to Victoria’s sword. It wasn’t the one he usually saw her use. 

‘That sword...???’ 

And it was a sword he recognized.