Chapter 97 - 97-Dragon Hunt! (Part 1)

"Damn! Did you see that, John? A major event! The second major event is about to start! And it's hunting dragons? I'm about to lose my mind!"

Exiled Immortal kicked the door open. Behind him, Qing, Helena, and others were also eager and clearly had been looking forward to this for a long time.

Yes, although these peaceful days were rare, as pioneers at the forefront of all players, only battles could truly excite them!

"Helena, it's your time to shine. Are you ready?"

"In fact, I can't wait any longer!"

Hunting dragons!

Helena had chosen the Dragon Hunter class precisely for a day like this.

She had thought she might never have the chance to use her Dragon Hunter class bonus to become stronger, but now, it seemed the opportunity had arrived.

"But... they're dragons, creatures of legend. Can we really defeat them?"

Lily hesitated for a long time before voicing her doubts. But clearly, Lily had missed the point.

"Lily, actually, the dragons in this world are not quite the same as the dragons in our imagination. They're just oversized lizards. Aside from their tough scales, there's nothing particularly hard about them."

"Can we use their scales and teeth to make armor and weapons? Like in Monster Hunter! We might have a chance to hunt some of those beasties!"

"...Exiled Immortal, play fewer games."

"You know what I'm talking about because you've played it too, haven't you?"

At this, John opened his mouth but didn't know how to refute, so he shrugged.

"Alright, alright, let's get back to the point. This event is different from the last major event, the Goblin Invasion. This time, the battlefield is not in Talcavano. We will be teleported to an unknown battlefield, facing unknown environments and powerful monsters. So, no going solo, no heroics, team cooperation, understand?"

John looked around at everyone, his gaze pausing on Qing for a moment.

"Well... alright, except for you, Qing. With your strength, you probably don't need anyone else's help to take on those dragons."

"Haha! I can't wait!"

"But only Qing can go solo. He's a warrior class and is about to advance to berserker. We are different; we don't have that much HP, nor do we have such exaggerated strength. So, I'll repeat one last time: teamwork is essential, understood?"

"Will Mac and Elaria join us?" Lily asked.

"Elaria will join, but whether Mac participates depends on his decision. Any other questions, Lily?"

"I'll go ask Mac. I'm sure he'll be very interested!"

"Go and come back quickly. By the way, Helena, if I remember correctly, your class gets rewards for participating in hunts, right?"

"Yes, but if I land the final blow, I get more attribute points."

"Then it's settled. You'll deliver the finishing blow!"

"Loading map... Major Event—Dragon Hunt officially begins!"

After a moment of dizziness, John shook his head to clear his mind.

Just like in his past life, he had already left Talcavano and arrived in a vast, scorched world.

Even the sun on the horizon emitted a blood-red light, coloring the world with its hue.

"Check your status. Elaria, how are you? Are you adjusting?"

"I'm fine, just a bit dizzy, but I'll be okay soon."

"Good. Mac, how about you? How much did you drink? You reek of alcohol..."

"Actually, I wanted to sleep at home, but that kid Exiled Immortal dragged me here."

Old Mac burped, unsteadily stood up, and planted his giant axe into the ground to support his swaying body.

"But don't worry, I'll be fine. The alcohol in my system will evaporate soon."

"It better. We don't have the energy or time to take care of you. Is everyone here?"

"Uh... John, it seems we have an issue. Lily is missing."

John: "What? What did you say?"

"As you can see, Lily is gone. I thought she might have been teleported a bit farther away from us, but if you check the party list, Lily is offline."

"You've got to be kidding me..."

John opened the party list and refreshed it several times. The gray "offline" next to Lily's name remained glaringly visible.

"Is it possible that Lily chose to log off at the last moment?"

"No, Lily is kind but not cowardly. She would never choose to back down. Something must have gone wrong!"

John frowned and ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

To his knowledge, this had never happened in his past life!

"But we can look on the bright side. Lily is only offline, not dead, right?" Qing shrugged, but noticing the looks from John and the others, he wisely kept his mouth shut.

"John, what do we do now? Do we stick to the original plan?"

"We have no choice. We can't exit, and we can't disconnect. No matter what happened to Lily, we can only... wait until this event is over."

...

Meanwhile, in the infinite starry sky...

Lily slowly opened her eyes, and the breathtaking surroundings made her gasp instinctively.

"Where... where am I?"