Although it might have looked as if Arian[Fex] had just fled at the first sign of the Demon tier beast waking up, the vampire had done something before his strategic retreat. He had carefully timed it so his red aura string would shoot out wrapping around the dragon's legs, buying the rest of them additional time.
While running, he was also leaving behind several needles on the ground with string attached to them. As long as he used his blood control, he could make the string rise and wrap around the beast's legs.​​
Unfortunately, the effectiveness of that was vastly limited. As soon as the dragon stood up on all of its four legs, it immediately snapped as if it wasn't even there in the first place.
"These days as the beasts we fight get stronger and stronger, it's like my string is becoming more and more useless. Isn't there any way to increase its strength?' Arian[Fex] wondered, but now was clearly the wrong time to think about anything but the Demon tier beast on their heels.
Arian[Fex] wasn't the only one who had gotten a head start. Tobias[Logan] had made sure to stay further in the back, already equipped with his speed suit, and had passed Arian[Fex] on his left.
From the higher tier beast crystals he had been able to upgrade his three different types of suits, and his speed suit had improved significantly, but there was one thing different about it. The spiders that had transformed into the suit had done so around every part of his body except for his Oregon[Dalki] arm, leaving it in place.
Soon after standing up the Dragon let out an almighty roar that felt like it had the power to shake the entire island. At least the ground beneath their feet had started to vibrate and they had no choice but to cover their s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e ears as they felt like they were going to burst.
The pain they experienced from that single roar alone had been sufficient to make them collapse on the floor for a few seconds, even those that had run away quite a distance already.
"Hey, kid!" Jola[Mona] shouted as one of the few that hadn't started running yet. "You wanted to find out if I can control that thing, right? If I succeed then we won't even need the help of the blonde boy, so throw me out!"
Archer[Quinn] was still recovering from the effects of the roar, and had already summoned his shadow to defend him, on top of everything he had the suit of armour that had been gifted to him by Helen, which improved his speed greatly.
He had stayed behind for two reasons. One, in case the dragon would have continued to guard the tablet instead of chasing after them, and to chase after them, he would need to do more, and two, he was the fastest out of everyone there so he could cover the most ground.
Yet Jola[Mona], who was quite fast with her beast gear on, had just asked to be thrown towards the dragon.
"Are you crazy, that thing will eat you up!" Archer[Quinn] argued.
"Just throw me, you wimp!" Jola[Mona] shouted back. "Don't hold back on your strength! As long as you throw me fast enough, I'll be able to make it to the beast! "
Archer[Quinn] thought this to be the craziest idea he had ever heard, but there was one thing that made him consider it for the moment, and that was the system. Why hadn't the system given him a quest yet?
This was a Demon tier beast, sure it didn't seem like it had any special abilities like the Demon tier tree, but this was clearly a powerful thing, so why didn't it give him any type of quest, even one to survive.
It seemed like the dragon was still gathering its bearings, and Jola[Mona] was already by Archer[Quinn]'s side ready to be thrown.
'With the new gauntlet strength I can do it!' QuInn thought, as he picked up Jola[Mona] by her two feet with one hand, and then pushed her forward as hard as he could. The veins were popping from his neck, and he made sure to continue with all 200+ stats of his Strength, to push through till the end with his fingertips.
'You asked me to throw you as hard as possible, then I'll do just that!'
Even Jola[Mona], had never expected to be launched at such a speed, and so far forward, the G-force was hitting her like crazy.
'That damn boy, just how strong is he to have such inhuman strength?!' She thought. 'Oh that's right, the boy isn't human anymore.'
In an instant she had been launched at the large dragon's neck, and with her hands she held onto one of the dragon's scales. The force from the throw was so strong that she needed to grip onto the scale tight to not fly further. Her fingertips felt like they were slipping.
'Damn you Archer[Quinn], that was a bit too fast and hard!' She thought as she finally pulled herself onto the dragon's neck just under its head.
Then quickly acting fast, she pulled herself up onto the dragon and was now on its head.
"Let's see what I can do!" Jola[Mona] hyped herself up as she touched the beast on top of its head with an open palm.
"Whoa is she really going to control it?" Axel[Chuck]y thought, as they continued to watch everything from what they perceived to be a safe distance. Perhaps there wasn't a need for the plan after all.
'Falling from such a height unconscious will kill her!' Melissa[Hana] thought, as she looked over to the original team to see if they could do something to help her, but they knew there was no need, because the best person to help her was already closeby.
Before she touched the ground a shadow portal had opened and Jola[Mona]'s falling body quickly disappeared inside, now in the shadow space.
'You're a brave person. I understand why you were a World Leader and you had so many people following you. Maybe I can be the same.' Archer[Quinn] thought, as he looked the dragon in the eye.
Using all his strength, Archer[Quinn] threw out his arms in an X shape and fired off two large blood swipes which went straight for the dragon. Unfazed, the dragon started to run towards Archer[Quinn], not caring for the attack.
However, as it hit the dragon's upper body, where its c.h.e.s.t area was, it could feel something for a few seconds, before the attack went away.
"Did it work?!" Axel[Chuck]y exclaimed excitedly.
However, when looking at the dragon, the beast looked absolutely fine.
'How can its skin be as hard as the Diamond crab? I thought since this was just half a Demon tier beast it might be a bit weaker.'
After it had stopped for a few moments, seemingly surprised it had been able to slightly feel the attack, it resumed its charge towards Archer[Quinn]. Each step was heavy, and shook the whole place. Seeing such a colossal beast charging forward, Archer[Quinn] no longer tried to fight it, but made use of his great speed.
'I need to slow it down, or it will catch up to the others as well.' Archer[Quinn] thought as he turned and activated his shadow path skill.
It went out spreading on the ground, wider than usual, but as long as it hit one of the dragon's legs it should slow it down, but it was at that moment that it leaped in the sky, avoiding the shadow completely, and was now flying up high in the air.
"... Was I the only one who forgot dragons could do that?" Arian[Fex] asked, but judging from the silence and the blank faces of those next to him, he wasn't. 'I mean just because a creature has large wings doesn't mean they can always use them.'
With its targets locked on, the dragon was ready to punish whoever had disturbed its sleep. The group continued to run, and as Archer[Quinn] went by the others, Rebecca[Layla] hopped on Archer[Quinn]'s back.
With his Strength, she was practically weightless, and she could continue to fire arrows up high in the sky at the beast. She tried to aim for it's eye, but a flap of it's powerful wings would make the arrows useless.
"Any ideas on how we're going to beat this thing?" Arian[Fex] asked.
"Remember, our goal isn't to beat it, but just to buy time for the other group." Tobias[Logan] said. "So far, I think we have achieved our goal."
Their distraction group had successfully lured it away from the tablet and if its d.e.s.i.r.e to punish them wouldn't have been enough to make it follow them, Rebecca[Layla] continuing to harass it with arrows certainly did the job.
Archer[Quinn] just hoped they could keep this up without anyone getting hurt.
"Looks like it's our time to move." Ryo[Eno] said and everyone in their group hurried towards the tablet, aware that time was of the essence. The longer they took the higher the likelihood of casualties in the other group.
"Shiro, you need to press with both your hands. I will do the same. Don't worry if you feel a strange sensation in your body, that's just the MC cells inside your body adapting to the skill[ability]." Ryo[Eno] instructed. "Now, let's see if the skill[ability] we're looking for really is in here."
The two of them pressed their hands on the tablet, and Ryo[Eno] quickly began to search for the skill[ability]. It took some time, but a smile appeared on his face as he found it.
"Bingo, looks like we are in luck! It's time to give you your skill[ability]."
At the same time, as this process was going on, the distraction group had noticed that the Dragon had turned its head, and it was looking right in the direction of the tablet.
"Crap! We have to stop it from getting back to the tablet, no matter what!" Archer[Quinn] shouted.
To be continued....
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