The red moon glared at the world from the northwestern corner of the Ray Dragon event, overlooking the rainbow-hot mountainscape. The area with an average monster level of 390, too difficult for me to sneak into even with my monster avoidance build. It seemed the final fight of the Ray Dragon would happen there.

  I teleported us to the closest village, since the Wizard’s Tower teleport got destroyed alongside the tower itself. We had a ten minute walk through calm misty mountains, with Stone Wyverns attacking us, until we reached the rim, where the landscape switched from a calm rocky mountainscape to the eerie rainbow with amalgamous purple trees growing from what used to be swamps.

  Before even stepping in, we watched the landscape from a distance, wondering how we’d sneak through level 390 monsters.

  “This is the final fight of the whole event,” Veyra said. “We’re not the only ones who qualified to fight the dragon. All the top guilds will be competing for loot.”

  “So what we’re saying is,” I said, “we’re underequipped and unprepared for this quest as well.”

  “Yeah,” Veyra said. “If this is similar to the Endlich event, a lot of players will die. I watched Zenith Protocol’s livestreams back then, and even they struggled. When everyone finally made it to the arena, PvP got disabled and all the guilds teamed up together. Two thirds of all players died to the boss.”

  “Yeah, I guess we’ll be competing against the best players in the world for an SS-tier quest,” I said.

  “Everyone else will be bringing their full guilds, their best gear, and they’re prepared to risk just about everything they can for a chance to get mythic drops,” Veyra said. “If PvP is not disabled, they’ll just try to kill us.”

  She eyed the landscape. In the distance, a Gore Magician (Level 386) was casually strolling across the hot landscape. The monster was a ten foot humanoid monstrosity with scraggly hair and a disgusting red staff. Its ragged equipment didn’t seem too scary, but I’d still found that sneaking past them was just about impossible. Their perception stat was insane, and they had a pretty much unavoidable [Snare] ability.

  On top of that, just stepping onto the mountain burned the soles of my boots, making me take a percentage of damage every second.

  “We could try to stream-snipe one of the top guilds to follow them in,” I suggested.

  Veyra was about to respond, when a flashing light caught us off guard.

  The flash of inverted colors came fifteen feet beside us. Time magic, and bright enough that it must have been a high level spell. The flash quickly passed, and a figure spawned in its place, having teleported there.

  The figure didn’t stand like a human, however, but had a much lower stature. He spoke in an echoing voice. “Are my two apostles lost? In need of help?”

  All the particle effects finally calmed, revealing a small four-legged lizard with wings. Above, the nametag read, Great Dragon Heywin (NPC Level ???).

  “Heywin?” Veyra asked, her face lighting up. “Wow, you’ve grown!”

  Heywin grinned proudly, puffing his head up. He wasn’t a plump little pumpkin anymore, having doubled in length, feet firmly on the ground now, though he hadn’t gained much height. From the tail to his face, he must have been around six feet long.

  “It seems Amolinn has finally gotten her wish,” Heywin said. “Ray Dragon Embridge is waking up. The dragonborns’ magic reached the moon itself, all just to wake up a goddess. What an insane stunt. I cannot believe she succeeded.”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  I feel like I’ve missed some lore, I thought. We had both been dungeon hunting instead of keeping up with the NPCs.

  Enthusiastically, Veyra asked, “Are you here to bring us to the dragon canyon?”

  “What?” Heywin blurted out. “No, absolutely not. Are you crazy? Why would I take you to Embridge’s home? I’m here to take you out of the Ray Dragon Falls.”

  “Wait,” I said. “Out? What do you mean?”

  “These mountains are about to be destroyed,” Heywin said. “We are waking up a full-grown and fully angry dragon, whose offspring have been used and abused for… experiments. Her rage will reap these lands alive.”

  “Aren’t we supposed to fight her?” I asked.

  Heywin snorted. “Idiocy. Nobody is strong enough to even think about fighting her.”

  This was very odd. I glanced at Veyra and wrote a message.

  Assassin: “Is this normal? He’s telling us to do the opposite of what the quest wants?”

  Veyra: “Two possibilities. Either Heywin is just saying that to amp up the stakes with no meaning behind it, or he’s giving a hint. Or maybe he’s offering another alternate questline?”

  Heywin continued while we chatted. “It’s insane that the Dragonborn followers didn’t even move Embridge’s petrified body to a safer location before waking her up. The city will be destroyed. It’s a shame. There was much still to research in these lands, including the Portal Mage’s Lost crypt.”

  “Wait,” I said. “City? Did you say a city will be destroyed?”

  “Yes, the travelers’ volcano city,” Heywin said. “All of its residents will soon die a fiery death to an angry dragon waking up from petrification. If you have loved ones there, I warn you to save them right now.”

  My eyes slowly panned to Veyra. Volcano city. Petrified dragon.

  We both grinned, thinking the same thing.

  “It’s the goddamned statue, isn’t it?” Veyra asked. “That piece of rock up on the city walls? That has been Embridge all along?”

  “And she’s about to wake up,” I said. “Today.”

  We kept staring at each other, thinking about the implications of this. Maybe we didn’t need to move to the dragon canyon at all. Could that be just a bait? Probably not. Wind Virtual wouldn’t trick all of its top players into visiting the wrong location. The dragon canyon would still offer loot for the most devoted players.

  But if Heywin was telling us the truth… Embridge was not there. And the global quest was still active.

  Global Quest: Slay Ray Dragon Embridge (SS Ranked Global Event Quest)

  Quest Details: Ray Dragon Embridge haunts the mountains. Her presence commands the landscape itself. It is said that the warrior who defeats the dragon will gain the title of legends and access to the dragon’s hoard of treasures.

  Completion Conditions: Slay Ray Dragon Embridge.

  Quest Reward: Unknown.

  “I think I have an idea,” I said to Veyra. I then turned to Heywin and bowed. “Thanks for the warning, Great Dragon. Today will get hectic. Is there any way we could contact you later tonight?”

  Heywin gave me a look. “A way to contact me? Yes, I do have one, though I don’t know if I’m happy to see that look in your eyes. You’re planning something.”

  Veyra also seemed curious, but she stayed quiet.

  “Heywin, you mentioned the Portal Mage’s lost crypt, right?”

  Heywin’s head perked up.

  “I know its location,” I said. “And I know it has a lot to research inside, with monsters protecting the secrets. If you’re interested, I am willing to show you inside.”

  “It sounds like you are about to make an offer,” Heywin said suspiciously, puffing through his nostrils.

  “I’ll need a way to call for your assistance later, when the Ray Dragon has woken up. Not to fight her. I wouldn’t make you meet her. I just need a few of your powerful spells. Like the ones you used to kill that invader.”

  “I am inclined to offer you a favor, since you did bring me a dragon egg,” Heywin said, though he still appeared doubtful.

  He pondered, until a smaller flash of time magic came, and an object suddenly materialized next to him, as if pulled out of an inventory. It was a floating cube with hinges on it. “Open that, and I will hear a signal. Depending on your location I will choose whether I wish to hear your request.”

  [You have received Magic Box Transmitter (Heywin, The Great Dragon)]

  I bowed again. “Thank you. I promise we’ll both gain riches tonight.”

  “Hmph,” Heywin said with another puff, this time enhanced by flames. “Don’t get yourself killed. Let’s meet again.”

  He cast a spell and teleported away, the same way he’d come.

  Veyra watched him go, still a bit suspicious. “So, what’s your plan?” she asked.

  “Two ideas,” I said. “The main plan is to clear the portal mage’s crypt. I think that should be possible while everyone is distracted by the main boss. The second one… this one might be a bit ridiculous, but if the Ray Dragon is actually a petrified piece of stone just waking up, I think it could work. It’ll be safer than moving up to the canyon, at least.”

  “And that plan is?”

  I couldn’t suppress the grin anymore. “What do you think the Ray Dragon’s defence stat is?”

  20 chapters ahead on !