Kukuk. The time has finally come for me to receive the title of S class. Arul, from now on I will concentrate on fighting the "Giant Fire Dragon (Gran Fafnir). I''ll leave you in charge of the unit."


    Sei," he said. Are you really going to fight the Grand Fafnir?


    Of course. That''s why we led the Grand Alliance here. What reason is there to come here and backtrack?"


    We have already collected enough rare metals. We have fulfilled the guild''s mandate. The troops are exhausted from the forceful and reckless march. It''s time to pull out of here. ......


    Don''t be stupid!　How can we back down after coming this far? Come on, let''s get going."


    Oh, wait!"


    Sein, without hearing Arul''s words, continued onward and onward.


    (No good, huh? (If this happens, Sein can''t be stopped anymore.)


    Arul glances back at the troop.


    The allied guilds seemed to have temporarily regained their morale after Sein''s blasting, but they soon began to show signs of passivity.


    They tried not to exhaust themselves as much as possible and let the "Guardians of the Academy of Magic" fight.


    Thanks to this, the adventurers of the "Guardians of the Magical Academy" were completely exhausted.


    What is the matter? "Sir, the second-in-command."


    A jovial "Guardian of the House of Magic" spoke to me.


    No," he said, "I was just wondering if it would be all right to fight like this. Even if we survive the battle with Grand Fafnir, we still have to go down the mountain afterwards.


    What''s that? The captain''s "dragon-headed cage" is all you need. And there are also those from the allied guilds. They are also the elite who have stayed this long. They can manage to get down the mountain.


    (If only they were on our side.)


    Arul glanced back at the route down the mountain.


    The bandit guild, which had seemed to threaten behind him, was eerily silent.


    However, they must have known our movements.


    Even so, they were firing their "dragon-headed cages (dragoon)" at us.


    The guild of thieves must be lurking right behind us.


    The war began when Sein stepped onto the gray ground (marking the territory of the "Giant Fire Dragon (Gran Fafnir)").


    Let''s go. Grand Fafnir!"


    Sein rushed toward "Grand Fafnir" at once.


    The "Grand Fafnir" also sensed Sein''s approach.


    It lifted its long sickle neck in a slow motion and pointed it toward Sein.


    Too late!"


    Sein activates "Dragoon".


    The gauntlet becomes a cannonball, and the magic circle inside shines brightly.


    The flames generated by Sein''s skill, "Fire Blast Magic," converge inside the tube and are released all at once.


    The "Grand Fafnir" also spewed fire breath, and the two sides exchanged fire.


    The fire breath of the "Grand Fafnir" was different from that of the "Fafnir" and "Wyvern" that had been used in the past.


    Thick and tall, the flames swept in like a tsunami, seemingly swallowing the group of more than 100 adventurers whole.


    However, the "Dragoon" was superior in terms of jet power.


    The fire projectile from the "Dragoon''s Baskets" cut through the flaming tsunami and struck the "Giant Fire Dragon (Gran Fafnir)" directly in the forehead.


    Yes, we did it!"


    The wall of flames unleashed by the "Grand Fafnir" shattered into scattered pieces and struck the rear-guard force, which was far behind Thane.


    The breath of fire is coming. "Hold the shield of fire bullets!


    Arulu ordered him to shout.


    The fire breath of the "Grand Fafnir" was indeed broken apart by the "Dragoon," but the fragments were still as large as rocks and turned into a ball of flame that scattered and bounced off the ground and down the mountainside, causing tremendous damage to the surrounding area.


    It burned up even the most scarce vegetation, melted rocks, and attacked the adventurers without abating its fiery power.


    The members of the "Guardians of the Academy" quickly readied their shields.


    The members of the Alliance Guild quickly took cover behind the "Guardians of the Academy.


    The "Shield of Fireballs" repelled countless masses of flames.


    "Ugh!"


    Uh-oh."


    The "fire rests" embedded in some of the "fire shields" are destroyed.


    The flames continue to attack the adventurers who have lost the protection of the "Fire Rest".


    "Oh my shield is broken!


    I need recovery magic!


    And water-based magic."


    Suddenly, firefighting and recovery efforts kept the troops busy.


    The front line of the unit should be about 20 meters down," he said. It''s too dangerous here.


    Arul ordered.


    （Even though they were exhausted, the breath of fire weakened by the Dragoon''s Breath was enough to destroy the Shield of Fire Bullets. What firepower! It was like a disaster. This is the S-class monster "Grand Fafnir". Is Sei-chan alright?)


    When Arul looked toward Sein, he saw that he was in this burnt-out area, unharmed and facing the "Giant Fire Dragon (Gran Fafnir)".


    (Is he all right?)


    Arul patted his chest in relief.


    Phew. You''re strangely quiet for someone who took a blow, aren''t you?"


    Sein provokes him by saying so.


    However, the "Giant Fire Dragon (Grand Fafnir)" only moved strangely slow like a rusty machine.


    The "Grand Fafnir" only moved strangely and slowly like a rusty machine.　If you won''t come to me, I''ll come to you."


    Sein activates the "Dragoon" to deliver another blow.


    The "Giant Fire Dragon (Gran Fafnir)" finally lifted its heavy back and began to open its mouth in a lazy manner.


    The two again shot each other with fire bullets and fire breath.


    The result was exactly the same as before.


    The "Dragoon" cracks the rocky body of the "Giant Fire Dragon (Gran Fafnir)".


    The fire breath of the "Grand Fafnir" spread out and chipped away at the adventurers'' equipment.


    Wow!"


    Anyone with a broken shield, get back.


    Please. I need some recovery over here: ......"


    (d*mn. I want to cover Sei-chan, but I can''t get close to her because I''m afraid of her fire breath. Still, it''s strange.)


    Arul looks suspiciously at the "Giant Fire Dragon (Gran Fafnir)".


    (From a while ago, despite Sei-chan''s attempts to mess with it, I don''t feel that it has any intention of defeating us. It''s as if he doesn''t care about us at all.)


    Sein, too, felt an itch.


    (I''m sure I''m doing damage, but ......, I ain''t feeling the response.)


    Although they were evenly matched in terms of firepower, Sein had been shooting at them and they were shooting at him, and it seemed as if he was being shot at rather than shooting at.


    (Is he trying to make us run out of gas?　In any case, a shootout was not going to help. (To get the enemy to move, you can go to ......)


    I''ll have to do more damage," he said. Well, then!


    Sein runs toward the bosom of the "Giant Fire Dragon (Gran Fafnir).


    I''m going to hit it with the ''Dragoon''s Cage'' from a much closer range!


    Then the "Giant Fire Dragon (Gran Fafnir)" spread its rocky wings.


    The huge wings, which almost covered the sky, peeled off the rocks that clung to them just by spreading them out, and the rocks turned into gravel and turned into a rain of stones that poured down around Thane.


    Ooooh!"


    (Gosh, this gravel, the power itself is not much, but there are too many of them. I can''t go any further.)


    Unable to stop, Sein stops.


    In the meantime, the "Giant Fire Dragon (Gran Fafnir)" retreats and takes distance again.


    (d*mn it, this guy took the distance again. Is this an endurance battle?)


    Say-chan, use this!"


    Arul threw his shield toward Sein.


    Oh, thank God."


    Sein takes the shield and holds it up to the "Giant Fire Dragon (Gran Fafnir).


    Now he would be able to approach it even if it rained gravel this time.


    Then, suddenly, the "Grand Fafnir" turns its back to Sein.


    Immediately, its tail, encased in rugged rock, whips around like a whip and strikes Sein.


    Whoa!


    Sein jumps back just in time to save his life.


    He finally managed to fight back. Don''t you like it when I get close to you?


    Sein, saying so, this time does not try to approach carelessly, but keeps a distance from the enemy and tries to get behind the "Giant Fire Dragon (Gran Fafnir)" while drawing a circle around it.


    The "Grand Fafnir" slowly turns its body, but it cannot keep up with Sein''s agility, and it misses him out of sight.


    （The "Giant Fire Dragon (Gran Fafnir)" changes its body direction! Now!)


    Archers, move forward. "Archers, forward. But don''t get too close. Do not go after them too fast, but only cover them.


    Arul saw the "Grand Fafnir" change direction and sent those who still had enough armaments forward to attack.


    Their arrows did not inflict decisive damage on the "Grand Fafnir," but they were still enough to distract the "Grand Fafnir" and slow its movement.


    The small gap created in this way was more than enough to create an opportunity for Sein to approach the "Grand Fafnir.


    I got it!


    Sein dived into the bosom of the "Grand Fafnir," positioned himself in the space between the legs (where he could avoid the tail attack), and fired his "Dragoon" at its flanks at close range.


    The body of the "Giant Fire Dragon (Gran Fafnir)" shook with a jerk.


    Thane chuckled.


    (Response ......!)


    The rocky skin surrounding the "Grand Fafnir" began to rattle and crumble.


    <>