Must Save, On the Stage (4)

A week later, Horta and Ella finally came to Evan with an armful of finished equipment. The junior group’s armor was also being made, but the senior groups’ was done first because they needed to enter the dungeon.

‘The plans and scenarios we have in Sherden were exclusively for humans, but the real enemy we have to face are the demons… ’

The Demon King was in the highest tier of monsters. He has been using annoying dirty tricks and sending his servants into the human world, so there was a need to set up a special stage to deal with him.

The stage to take him down and kill him was the ‘New Scenario Operation’ now underway in Sherden.

“Ugh, why is the scenario so messed up…?”

“Master, look at my dagger. It looks very…Master?”

“Huh? Oh, sorry.”

Shine’s dagger was perfected using dragon’s bone, and it caught Evan’s eye. Seeing Shine touching the flawlessly transformed dagger with delight, he started to reminisce of the Silent Knight Shine in the games.

“Thank you very much, Master. I wasn’t even there when you hunted the dragon.”

“Don’t get me wrong; I made it so that you work harder to protect me.”

“Of course! By the way, I’m going to call this double-edged blade ‘Twin Bloodhorn’!”

“There aren’t any horns on it…”

It wasn’t just Shine. Raihan and Arisha were also testing out which weapons and armor would work for them.

“I’m wondering if I deserve this big beautiful shield, Master Evan.”

“Hyeong, I tried to find the best materials for the shield because you didn’t want to change your armor. So, don’t worry about that.”

Raihan didn’t want to change his Invisible Shield because it was still improving, but he eventually decided to switch to the new big and beautiful shield. It was a shield made exclusively for Raihan by flawlessly analyzing his shield techniques.

As a result, Raihan’s defensive posture, which was already monster-like, became perfect. Now Evan wondered whether the Demon King would be able to lay a scratch on Raihan with all the growth he showed. No, since he already had a history of preventing the dragon’s charge, the Demon King may not even attempt to attack Raihan now that he was armed with the dragon’s shield.

“What about Arisha? Does the armor fit?”

“Yes, it’s comfortable and nice. I like the design, but the color…I want to paint it blue.”

Arisha also received mixed armor made of dragon scales, bones, and leather. She usually wore light gloves that didn’t interfere with her movements when she entered the dungeon. Thanks to the scales and bones that functioned like gold, she was dressed in very sophisticated red armor. Arisha looked like she could be called the ‘red dragon warrior’. She was satisfied with her armor’s fit and appearance, but not with the color.

“The sword, too…do you have any dye, Evan?

“You can’t just dye the dragon bone like an ordinary item. I’ll study the dragon’s blood and find out how to do it, so just wait for now.”

“Ugh, I don’t want to appear flawed and unattractive in front of you…”

But she couldn’t help it. It would be Evan’s job to figure out how to paint the armor and weapons blue. He turned his head, asking Arisha to bear with him. Anastasia was wearing a tunic made of dragon leather and holding a pointed cane made by grinding one of the dragon’s fangs.

“What do you think, Anastasia? Can you handle it with your current abilities?”

“I wasn’t present during the Dragon hunt, so it’s going to take me a while before I get used to this armor…but I know it’s very strongly made. Especially this cane… Did a dwarf make it? It’s a great artifact that can maximize the power of a Druid and a Witch.”

Dragons were tyrants that controlled the power of nature rather than harmonizing with it. However, if a Druid used their powers, they could use a technique that channeled Mother Nature’s power destructively. Of course, it couldn’t be performed by ordinary means. Extremely sophisticated magic tricks needed the witches’ powers to make the spell work.

“Not only the weapons but also the tunic is really comfortable and nice. I don’t know if I deserve this.”

“Didn’t you hear what I said to Shine earlier? You have to work for it. You can’t get out of Sherden until you pay that off.”

“I’m supposed to be around Shine anyway. So, I don’t mind; you can keep me in Sherden as long as you want.”

Anastasia smiled and leaned her head against Shine’s back, who was still playing with his dagger. Caught by surprise, Shine let out a laugh as he examined the dagger.

“How’s Serena doing?”

Serena, who disliked awkward armor, also received a tunic and thin undergarment-like clothing. She received a weapon made by mixing dragon leather and scales to be used as a tamer whip. This special weapon was made by borrowing the power of witches as well.

“Everyone, move faster. Yes, Gnar, that’s it!”

[Qutt! Quttt!]

[Quuu!]

[Qutt!]

Serena wasn’t listening to Evan. She was following Gnar’s movements, and the four slimes were following her movements. The scene was more reminiscent of a child playing with street cats rather than training.

“No, it’s not like that. Well, this is made of dragon skin, so I wonder how it’ll react if I start giving orders using this…”

[Kyuuurttt!]

Perhaps it was because of her mood, but the baby dragon sounded like it was making a similar noise to the slimes. It played with Serena and let out a pleasant noise as if it didn’t know what the red whip was made of. As he watched the scene, Evan felt like a sinner, so he turned his head away. He just hoped that Gnar didn’t resent Evan after learning the truth in the distant future.

Dragons were originally pure creatures who loved nature, but they were caught by Black Magic sorcerers and the Demon tribe, then brainwashed to detest humanity. The dragons, who knew nothing about it, committed innumerable sins, gradually degenerated, and didn’t hesitate to crush the hopes of humankind…On the day of the showdown, a tamer girl appeared in front of a dragon trying to destroy humanity with her innocent eyes. The dragon, who realized true love, discovered the ‘good’ within himself and awakened.

After that, the dragon held hands with the Tamer and swept all the black sorcerers and Demons away with its fiery breath! Human beings welcomed the dragon with cheers! So, the dragon was honored with the Tamer girl as the protector of the dungeon city…

“Huh, I think our gamble on the dragon baby will be successful!”

“Master, that’s the face you make when you imagine a long-drawn future.”

“Shine, shut up.”

When Shine read Evan’s face precisely and spoke up, Belois made him shut up. Surprisingly, she wasn’t wearing a maid’s uniform! It wasn’t the pure white dress she wore at the witch’s coming-of-age ceremony, but a red leather dress similar to the one she wore as the Blood Witch in Yo-Ma Great War 3! It matched the robe of the Astray Knights, creating an absurdly elegant and mysterious atmosphere.

“How’s your dress, Lua?”

“Perfect, Master. I can’t believe you paid so much attention…”

Of course, the dress she was wearing now wasn’t made of ordinary leather but dragon leather. But the peak was a red-skinned witch hat that adorned her head. The wide-brimmed cone hat was slightly bent on the top, and the jewels placed in it looked luxurious and opulent.

‘It looks a lot more luxurious than the battle dress worn by the Blood Witch Belois in the game.’

That’s because it was made of Red Dragon by-products. Dwarf Ella and designer Ottpah’s collaboration made it a masterpiece that had everything from design to performance! Arisha was grumbling that red didn’t suit her. But it was the opposite since Belois’ eyes were red, every red dragon material suited her well.

“I didn’t give Lua any Dragon Bone; I just used the remaining leather for that.”

“I have no complaints because I received armor and weapons that are made of plenty of Dragon bone.”

“Well, I wanted to wear a maid’s uniform so that I could always serve you comfortably.”

Belois liked the magic equipment she received but was deeply sorry that her maid uniform, which was her identity, had disappeared.

“Look—it’ll be really dangerous in the future using that equipment.”

“That’s too bad. Usually…”

Belois flicked her finger to his words. At that moment, the dress she was wearing changed back to her maid’s uniform. Evan, who was excited by her new dress, looked saddened. No, of course, Belois in a maid’s outfit was very beautiful—but still!

“…Lua? Where did the dress and hat go?”

“It’s just a change in appearance, but the material remains the same. I used Mana to camouflage it.”

“What the hell do you want to do in such a pursuit of the maid’s path?”

“It’s because I was your maid before I became a witch.”

Belois answered Evan’s question as if she were waiting for him to ask that. Evan decided to give up arguing with her. Instead, he turned to Ella.

“Ella, you’re done with the last adjustment, right?”

“I wouldn’t have come if I wasn’t ready.”

Ella took something out that was round wrapped in a black cloth. The group, who sensed unusual energy from it, kept their mouths shut and kept still as they watched. Belois, in particular, was squinting with suspicion in her eyes.

“Master. Is that…”

“What Lua’s wearing right now is armor. I prepared a different weapon for you.”

“But I was wearing the earring that the Master gave to me back then…”

“That’s a trinket. I was going to give it to you at the coming-of-age ceremony, but the production has been delayed a little. You’ll take it, right?”

“Oh, I’m a little jealous.”

“I’m fine because I have Gnar.”

[Qoooooo!]

As she handed the sphere surrounded by the cloth, all the senior group’s eyes were focused on it. Belois seemed to be burdened by the intense gaze…Of course, it was invisible, but it seemed impossible to tell what it was because it was wrapped in cloth.

“Master, this… this isn’t ‘the thing’, is it?”

“This was the only thing I could do to make you feel safe about the witch’s coming-of-age.”

“As expected…”

Belois grieved but nodded as if she knew what Evan meant and removed the cloth. The Dragon Orb opened its eyes.