Near the summit of the mountain.

"Seth, are you confident you can beat the dragon?"

- "Honestly, no if the dragon is on full hp. But since its HP is at halve, I can definitely hunt it."

".........How many years haven’t you logged in Seth?"

- "One and a half year ago. Nothing much interested me anymore."

Because Seth had pretty much achieved everything in the game, he got bored easily. After relinquishing his Emperor title 3 year ago, he logged in occasionally for nostalgia’s sake and even that stopped one and half a year ago. The news about Gray who gained power worthy of challenging the current Emperor made him return to Emperor Saga to observe the situation.

"(Should I tell him? But if I tell him he may change his mind and decide not to hunt the dragon)"

Emperor Saga’s most recent patch, 3 months ago made a minor change that may prove fatal to Seth. And that change is, Boss monsters will only take a week to fully recover its vitality. Chrono felt conflicted between telling Seth about the recent change or not. If Seth decided not to hunt the dragon, Chrono’s chance to complete his quest was close to zero.

"Seth"

-"Yes?"

" ........The dragon vitality is most likely full by now."

-"How come? It's only been a month."

"ROAARR!!!!!"

When Chrono about to open his mouth, the Ancient Dragon suddenly appear out of nowhere charging in Seth’s direction. Thanks to Seth’s amazing reflexes, he managed to cast 'soul wall' to slow the dragon and activated 'death scythe' almost at the same time.

-"Run!!"

"But, it's dangerous to fight it."

Without answering Chrono, Seth engaged in the fight with the dragon. Knowing he could only be a burden, Chrono ran as fast as he could. Another change from the recent patch, monsters will be extra aggressive to the last user they fought. Ancient Dragon almost died from fighting Seth last time, it was extra aggressive to Seth and will attack instantly when it feels Seth’s presence.

- "(Tchh, I used to break no sweat when hunting dragons. I guess fighting one without the Emperor bonus is too reckless)"

"ROAAARRR!!!"

The dragon attacked Seth with a mighty force and Seth used all of his might to hold his ground.

- "(And I got rusty)"

Hunting boss monsters alone not only required excellent skill. Comprehension of game mechanics and the boss’ habits is a must. Seth skill was still quite excellent, but the change in game mechanics and forgetting some of Ancient Dragon habit proved fatal. In the past, Seth hunted dragons so many times until he knew exactly what skill would come next depending on the dragon’s type.

-"(Next is dragon’s breath?)"

"ROOAARR!!!" The dragon charged Seth with amazing speed.

-"(Damn, its dragon’s charge)"

Seth lowered level also held him back a lot. The fight went on in the Ancient Dragon’s favor. When Seth desperately was fighting to defend against Ancient Dragon’s attack, a figure 1 kilometer away from Ancient Dragon fixed his aim on the beast from the top of the cliff.

"Say hello to mister rifle." Chrono pulled the trigger and the rifle unleashed its bullet.

BAAANNGG!!!

Critical Hit!

Head shot!

Ancient Dragon received 4000 damage!!

But Chrono body was knocked back from the recoil and received damage.

You received 500 damage from the rifle recoil

It’s amazing for a level 50 merchant to deal 4000 damage to Ancient Dragon. But a rifle doesn't take a character’s stats into account. It only needed a bullet and a target. The bullet type highly influenced the damage. This time, Chrono used a Doom Bullet which cost 100 gold each. Back in the expedition group, he made 3 of this kind.

Chrono original plan was to camp the summit until a high level clan came to hunt the dragon. The 3 bullets were his plan B in case the dragon wiped out the whole clan and he might have some chance to finish it. But Seth’s arrival helped him save a lot of time and Seth alone could hold his ground against the dragon. That's when he felt he could hunt the dragon with Seth’s help.

Shocked, the dragon charge at the bullet’s source with lightning speed. Seth lagged 2 second behind because he was also shocked by Chrono’s action.

"GGRRRRR......"

The dragon didn't find anything in its vicinity except a 'corpse'. When Ancient Dragon passed by him, Chrono got up, drank a potion then prepared another shot.

"Looking for something?" Chrono smirked and shot the rifle.

BAAANGG!!!

Critical Hit!

Head shot!

Ancient Dragon received 4000 damage!!

You received 500 damage from the rifle recoil

"RROOAAARR!!!" Ancient Dragon cried in pain.

Getting played by level 50 merchant hurt its pride. The winged beast flew high into the sky then did a sky dive with a speed great enough to make its body burn with fire. Instead of trying to evade the attack, Chrono stood still and pulled out a bomb.

"(Here goes a 30 gold bomb)"

"Time Bomb!!" Chrono throw the bomb and the dragon’s speed slowed to 20%. But it was not enough to stop the dragon’s dive and the speed was still pretty fast.

"Soul Wall!!!" Seth who had just arrived unleashed his skill when the dragon was about 10 meter from Chrono. Now the dragon’s speed slowed by another 80%. Slow enough to make it look like slow motion.

Chrono aimed the rifle at the slow motion dragon head and prepared for his last shot. At zero distance, Chrono pulled the trigger.

BBAAANGG!!!

Critical Hit!

Head shot!

Ancient Dragon received 4500 damage!!

You received 800 damage from the rifle recoil

But the dragon’s attack didn't stop. The beast smashed its head into Chrono and even collapsed the whole cliff. The dragon almost died from the last shot and the head smashed depleted it vitality even further. With the current situation, Seth should deliver the final blow. But he stopped after he saw Chrono’s stand!!

"(He’s not dead yet? I guess I should not barge in)" Although it was near impossible, Seth wanted Chrono to win.

By receiving fatal damage you activated 'Cheat Death' skill. Instead of dying, your hp decrease to 1

Even with 1 hp left, Chrono was determined to fight. His gamer instinct told him to stay and fight. He pulled out a spear from his bag and held it. Ancient Dragon in front of him will also die with one more hit. It was an official one on one fight where the faster one wins.

"(Mister dragon, you know what?)"

"ROAARR!! The dragon charged and prepared the dragon’s breath on the way.

"(In real life I nearly died 3 times by getting bankruptcy. Nothing good has ever happened to me even in game.)"

The Dragon got closer to Chrono.

"(Now I lead a life as a NEET and a loser. Others may fear you but to me, you are just one of many of my misfortunes)"

With less than a feet distance from Ancient Dragon, Chrono leapt inside the dragon’s mouth while holding his spear tightly. After a while, the dragon’s breath unleashed and destroyed everything in it vicinity.

-"(That guy lost? Can't help it)" But deep inside, Seth was hoping for a miracle.

But shortly after, the dragon unleashed it final cry then fell. The Ancient Dragon’s life finally ended. Inside of it mouth Chrono appeared. When he charged to the dragon’s mouth and the dragon’s breath was unleashed, an unexpected thing happened.

You triggered the merchant luck. The most luckiest thing for you now is staying alive. Null one attack completely.

You had hit the dragon golden rose.

Ancient Dragon received 500 damage!!

"(Luck, why has it never happened to me in real life)" But shortly afterwards:

By entering the dragon corrosive mouth, you received 5 damage

"(Now this is more likely)" Chrono’s dying body started to disappear.

-"NO!!" Seth charged towards Chrono and unleashed his skill before Chrono disappeared.

"Soul Snatch!"

Seth then REPLACE the soul he just snatched to one of his small golems.

-"Now he will spawn here instead of Mafoso after 24 hours."

*********