Do you believe me when I say I’m not a dragon?

"Name?"

"Locke."

"Position?"

"Hunter...the leader of Cangyun Hunting Group."

In the narrow room, bright lights illuminated the walls white. Two people sat opposite each other at the table. Behind one of them, a gentle man, stood two taciturn subordinates.

Opposite the man was Locke, who was full of fear.He held a glass of water in front of him, feeling a little restless. His eyes flinched and looked around from time to time. The hand holding the water glass trembled slightly, and the seemingly calm water surface in the water glass occasionally rippled.

The man pushed up his glasses, glanced at him calmly, and then asked nonchalantly:

"Shortly after facing the mission of subjugating the black dragon, the Hunter Guild issued an announcement to shut down the mission. Are you aware of this?"

"This......"

Hesitation only flashed across his face, and the leader of Cangyun Hunting Group nodded immediately: "I didn't hear the announcement, but famous hunters usually have connections in the guild. I knew the hunter guild's plan in advance. !”

"Hmm...then do you know that this is not in line with the guild rules?"

"...I know! I was wrong! I won't dare to do it next time...No, I will never be a hunter again!"

The man looked at the strong man in front of him. He was considered outstanding among the hunters, but it was hard to imagine what kind of encounter he had suffered that would make him and even his crew members so cowardly. Performance.

"We have no way of interfering with whether you want to be a hunter or not. The main issue now is what happened to you. We called you here because we want you to tell me the details from your encounter with the black dragon to the end of the battle."

"..."

Hearing these words, Locke was silent for a long time, but soon, his breathing began to quicken, and sweat dripped down his cheeks.

The man met his gaze, only to find that Locke's gaze was not looking at him, but had lost focus, as if staring in a deeper direction.

The pupils were also shaking, and the whites of his eyes were bloodshot.

"Take a deep breath, Mr. Locke, please calm down."

The man said calmly, but as soon as he finished speaking, Locke let out a scream, then collapsed and covered his brain.

"Mr. Locke..." Before he could finish speaking, Locke uttered a series of words tremblingly:

"Fire, flames, flames that can't be extinguished, I saw it! It's no use rolling around after my team member was touched by the flames! Even water can't extinguish it! He just screamed in front of me, screaming towards me Others called for help, but the crew member who was touched could not extinguish the flames... Then, then... he just jumped from the ship!"

"..." The man paused and sat back again, writing on the notes with the pen in his hand.

"——And acid! Everything will be corroded! My weapons, armor! And myself!" Locke tore off his clothes, revealing his skin wrapped in straps, "It will also explode! It will be corroded!" After the fire came into contact, it exploded everywhere, and the Blade Hunters' spaceship was destroyed like this!"

"Crossbow arrows can't penetrate its scales. Only continuous attacks with cannonballs can be effective! But even this doesn't work! The Dragon Hunting Stake of the Sky Spin Hunting Group is useless at all! It just blocked it and didn't let it go at all. Fatally injured!"

Venting out the fear in his heart like a scream, Locke turned pale and lowered his head panting. He did not feel relieved at all as he vented. Instead, he tightened his body and kept shaking his head:

"That's all I know...it's too scary, there's no way we can win..."

Calmly pushing up his glasses, the man turned over another page of the note with some regret, and similar words were written in the text above.

It seems that no more information can be obtained from these survivors. If you want a deeper understanding, you may need long-term treatment by a psychologist.

...However, I’m afraid we don’t have this time.

......

"——The black dragon was seriously injured. I think the crusade mission against it can be restarted."

In a room filled with the fragrance of books and wood, Kiryu sat in front of a chair and looked at the old man opposite and said.

"Regarding this matter, our Hunter Guild needs to make a judgment based on the actual situation."

The old man waved his hand and asked his subordinate to hand over a document and began to read it.

After a long while, he replied:

"According to reports from survivors, its strength cannot be underestimated. Even if it is injured, it can be very destructive."

The old man looked at Kiryu and continued to add without waiting for him to speak: "I know what you want to say. The artillery on the floating island is indeed very powerful, but that is why it should not be squandered."

"But it's just so close to killing the black dragon! Can't you even withstand this amount of consumption?"

"Because of the powerful power of the floating island self-defense system yesterday, the Ministry of Defense has gained some say in the Sky Island Federation. They hope to join forces with our Hunter Guild and others to develop similar weapons to assist in combat, but I refused. "

"why!"

"Ground exploration, material excavation, cargo transportation... these all involve hunters. Any work involving the ground requires the intervention of hunters. This is also the reason why the Hunter Guild lasts so long. But if one day, Hunters There is another Sky Island Defense Department figure in our work, so what do you think will happen to the Hunter Guild’s voice in the Sky Island Federation?”

Kiryu was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then nodded clearly, with reluctance in his eyes, but he still didn't say anything:

"...I understand, then take my leave..."

The old man glanced at Kiryu lightly, then looked at the subordinate beside him, and winked at him.

The subordinate understood immediately and quietly left the place and closed the door.

Just when Kiryu was puzzled, the old man said slowly again: "——To talk about something else, you handled this matter very poorly. You were too anxious. Because of your actions, you even dispatched the artillery of Sky Island. "

"What?" Tongyu didn't understand. He frowned and looked at the old man.

"Do you think that as long as you don't pay, you have completed the task beautifully?"

Facing the old man's gaze, Kiryu was stunned for a moment and suddenly opened his eyes.

"you too......"

"——In the floating island, we are all paying attention to you. I still have hope that you can give this matter a good outcome."

The old man finished speaking calmly, and then waved to him: "I will find a way to deal with the black dragon, but I hope you can remember that your mission is to obtain lava crystals, not for the so-called black dragon - that's it, you Let’s go.”

"......I will."

Chapter 1: Idealism

Click, click...

In the early morning, when the blacksmiths were preparing to start work, there was a scratching sound from the ceiling vent.

Everyone raised their heads and looked into it, only to find a scarlet vertical pupil emerging from a hole.

Gulu opened his eyes wide, and when he was about to open the vent cover, Mercer had already raised his hand, pulled open the cover in front of him, and then dropped it heavily.

——At this time, they discovered that the black dragon in front of them was covered with shocking scars, and the blood was still dripping down until now.

The largest wound on the body was the huge crack on the chest. Fragile flesh and white bones could even be seen inside the crack.

What on earth was it fighting with?

Gulu was wondering in his heart, and was about to ask others to take out metal for the black dragon to eat, but was stopped by Mercer's low roar.

He looked at Mercer carefully, speculating on the black dragon's thoughts.

At this time, Mercer stared at the bearded human, turned his head sideways and looked into the distance.

What does it mean?

Gulu frowned, not understanding his behavior, but then Mercer made an impatient voice again, with an urging look in his eyes.

Looking up at the wounds all over the black dragon's body, a possibility surfaced in Gulu's mind.

"Could it be...you, you mean to let us leave?"

As soon as the words came out, Gulu pointed into the distance and used gestures to describe his understanding.

Seeing this, Mercer paused his head.

Get away from here, far away, and it should still be possible for them to survive.

Facing the unquestionable look in the black dragon's eyes, Gulu was stunned for a moment, then said nothing and agreed.

He had a vague premonition and reminded them that this was the kindness of the black dragon, but if they didn't do this, they would be ruthlessly destroyed.

There was a look of satisfaction in the black dragon's eyes, then he spread his wings and left here.

Staring blankly at the direction the black dragon was leaving, Gulu took a deep breath and turned his head to look at everyone.

After hesitating for a moment, he shouted: "Everyone, there is an emergency. Please pack your things within today. We are leaving here!"

......

"Well...ahem..."

At the same time, Chiyo also walked out of the crater, breathing in the air.

After all, she doesn't have the physique of a natural gas mask like Tiao Ren. As a human, she can't live in a volcano for too long, so every once in a while, she has to come to the surface of the volcano to breathe fresh air.

But even so, staying here for a long time will be harmful to the body. If she stays here for another month or two, she may feel a significant decline in physical fitness.

But Chiyo has no intention of paying attention to these now. Now she just wants to recover from her physical injuries quickly, and then face the black dragon to get rid of the nightmare that has haunted her for more than ten years.

She took a deep breath and covered her head.

——She still remembers that her pale-skinned mother gradually lost her life in bed. During those few days, a pungent rancid smell gradually emitted, and in the end even the food was contaminated with this smell.

During that time, only she, who was still young, wandered in this dark house, until the scene was engraved in her heart and turned into an endless nightmare.

Over the past ten years, she has been constantly tempering her heart, trying to get rid of that nightmare, but she has never faced a powerful enemy for the first time, and passed death for the first time. This dream has constantly disturbed her, as if He still carries the unwilling ghost of his mother on his body.

Just when she wanted to give up, the ancient man appeared in front of her, giving her a glimmer of hope.

"Damn it! Why are you pretending to be the Riddler!"

Every time he thought of this, Chiyo couldn't help but hammer the mountain wall next to him until cracks appeared on it.

She felt a little irritable, with the nightmare that had been lingering for more than ten years, the straw of hope that appeared again after giving up, and the anger that she could never grasp that hope.

She shook her head, trying to release these emotions, but when she raised her head, she saw the huge island slowly approaching on the horizon.

"......Eh?"

She immediately opened her eyes wide and looked in that direction in disbelief.

"Floating Island, is it floating in this direction?"

In retrospect, those blacksmiths also said that there would be a crusade against the black dragon. If the floating island is at this distance, it means that the hunters can obtain resources more quickly, and their combat intensity will also increase.

If someone gets there first...

Chiyo frowned, took a deep look in that direction, turned around and left.

......

When Mercer returned to his habitat, he lay down on the edge of the lava, feeling the temperature of the lava to the maximum extent.

The wound on his body was very serious. Lying down in the lava now would undoubtedly add salt to the wound. After all, Mercer's body was not strong enough to withstand the burning of the lava.

He closed his eyes and recalled what he had just heard:

[There will always be setbacks on the road of desire. No matter they choose a peaceful life or a magnificent life, as long as they hold desire, they will always walk with danger.But at the same time, desire moves with the birth of life and stops with the death of life—obtaining an extraction function. 】

What kind of stupid thing is this again... Mercer guessed that his battle last night might have alarmed the people on the floating island, which triggered the opportunity to draw again.

As for what the system said, Mercer didn't have much pursuit. He just hoped to live according to his own wishes, but such a wish, or desire, might not be easy to realize.

After all, in the description of the system, whether you have big desires or small desires, everything will not be smooth sailing.

"Extract."

[Drawing...The drawing is successful and the skill is obtained: Idealism. 】

Idealism?

The next moment, pain came from all over the body - this time there was no exaggeration. Mercer really felt as if his cells were starting to hurt, all over his body, from the brain to the tail, no matter how he could transmit pain All the sensory parts sent out painful messages at the same moment.

Mercer's pupils tightened at that moment, and his whole body spasmed due to severe pain. The wound that should have healed split open again as the muscles twitched, and blood flowed out.

He opened his mouth and let out a roar of pain that echoed throughout the volcano.

Chapter 1: Hormones

——Idealism......

According to Mercer's understanding, this is a word that is opposite to the meaning of materialism: To put it simply, when facing a powerful enemy, from a materialist's perspective, if you cannot match the enemy materially, then you cannot defeat the opponent - —Material also includes body, armor, weapons, etc.;

Idealism is spiritual supremacy. If you can't defeat the enemy physically, then use spiritual power, such as emotional outbursts, or family and friends shouting "Come on," and then unknown power will flow throughout the body and defeat the material enemy. An enemy stronger than yourself.

It's just that... Mercer's skill is a little different.

Standing up from the ground, Mercer felt the changes in his body, and confusion appeared in his eyes.