7. The Mustard Dragon's 'Invasion'

"Shinjo-kun... Shinjo-kun, wake up."

I was shaken awake by Seki Midori.

I had slept so deeply that I was completely disoriented, but I felt incredibly refreshed.

Perhaps I had been completely at ease because Kumiko was sleeping next to me.

Sleeping soundly in a world like this was risky, but the town, including the inn, should have been a safe zone.

"Sorry for waking you. I woke up earlier and went to look around town, and something terrible has happened!"

"Something terrible in town... what do you mean?"

What Seki meant by something terrible happening in town wasn't that there was some kind of incident in the town itself.

Nanami Shuichi's combat group, having found the safe town, had apparently geared up and gone to rescue the sixty students and teachers who had remained in the classroom.

And they had returned, completely battered. The locations of the traps should have been mostly known by now, and the monsters shouldn't have been that strong, so it was certainly something terrible.

The people who had fled back were all saying the same thing: an unbelievably powerful monster had appeared.

"They said... a dragon suddenly appeared."

"A dragon, huh..."

Having game knowledge, I immediately realized that an 'Invasion' had occurred.

However, for an 'Invasion' to happen right at the start of the game... the group that had stayed in the classroom was incredibly unlucky.

Genoria's famous 'Invasion' was an event where powerful monsters climbed up from the lower levels.

The timing was random, but it was a phenomenon that occurred periodically.

In Genoria, the monsters that generally inhabited each level were fixed.

For example, the first level had a horde of pig-faced warriors called Orcs and small goblins, while the second level was inhabited by a horde of dog-faced warriors called Kobolds.

Incidentally, Orcs and Kobolds each formed their own unique societies, and perhaps due to territorial awareness among the monsters, they were on bad terms and would fight whenever they met.

Because of this, the pig-men and dog-men lived separately on the first and second levels.

The upper levels maintained a balance of power between the monsters in this way, but occasionally, strong monsters would 'invade' from below, and the weaker monsters would be eaten alive.

The novice players caught up in this were in a terrible situation, and if they failed to escape, they would be killed along with the monsters.

If the invasion involved a dragon, it would likely be a Lesser Dragon from the fifth level or a Mustard Dragon from the sixth level.

"Did you hear what color it was?"

"They said it was a dirty reddish color."

Seki was great for properly gathering information even when flustered, but with just that information, I still couldn't identify it.

Lesser Dragons had a dull crimson color, while Mustard Dragons had a poisonous purple color.

The torches set up in the dungeon weren't bright enough as a light source for the entire dungeon. The difficulty in distinguishing monsters in the darkness was probably another trap.

If it was just a lower-level dragon, a Lesser Dragon that could only attack with brute force, it would be fine, but if the opponent was a Mustard Dragon that breathed poisonous gas, the attacked party might have been completely wiped out.

It went without saying that both were dangerous, but all I could do was pray it was a Lesser Dragon.

"Seki, you're not seriously saying you're going to go help them, are you?"

"But everyone was saying 'help me'..."

This kind-hearted guy might actually go.

I shook Seki's slender shoulders and told him firmly.

"Listen, Seki, if you go, you'll die in an instant. You'll be killed in one hit, I can say that for sure. It's like going to your death."

"Then what should we do...?"

We should just abandon them. For an 'Invasion' to happen so suddenly, they were just unlucky.

...How I wish I could say that. Seki wouldn't accept it.

"I'll go help them, so you... yeah. Make potions for me instead. I don't need health potions, just make as many stamina potions as you can, even if they're just basic ones. You know how to make them, right?"

"I know. I'll do anything I can, but Shinjo-kun, please don't do anything dangerous either."

Either way, if I took a direct hit from a dragon's attack, I would die in one shot too.

In this situation, health was completely meaningless. Whether running or fighting, what was needed was stamina to keep moving.

"Of course, I always act with my own safety as the top priority. I'll scout ahead and help if I can. Kumiko and the others, don't follow me. You'll just get in the way."

What I was saying was contradictory. It was dangerous, yet I was going to help.

But Seki and Kumiko seemed to have accepted it.

Both of them knew very well that I wasn't the kind of person who would risk my own life to help others.

Seriously, I couldn't tell if I was trusted or not. I couldn't help but smile wryly.

"Seki, since you're a priest, keep making potions repeatedly and practice until you can make higher-ranked ones."

"Okay."

Not only Seki, but Kumiko and the other girls also made basic stamina potions for me. I received about ten basic stamina potions and put on my hard leather armor, leather knee pads, and boots. Against a dragon, it was flimsy armor that was only slightly better than being naked, but I prioritized lightness.

Then, I slung my backpack over my shoulder, gripped my samurai sword, and descended into the dungeon.

At the stairs to the first underground level, some of Nanami's group who had been loitering there offered to come with me, but I immediately refused.

Their willingness to go again despite having fled was commendable, but having more people would just be a hindrance.

"Is Nanami here?"

"Nanami-kun is still down below..."

I see. It was Nanami, so he probably wasn't dead.

I didn't need dead weight, but maybe it would be better to have decoys to分散 the monsters' targets.

However, according to my prediction, there were still plenty of decoys down below.

That was if they hadn't been completely wiped out.

"Elementary Low Light..."

This was the simplest spell for a magic torch.

In this game, to draw out and use magical power, you had to recite a combination of Moon Runes.

According to Genoria's setting, mana rained down from the moon on the wind.

The maximum amount you could draw out after receiving that power became your mana capacity.

Well, the detailed theory didn't matter. If you chanted the spell and had enough mana and magician rank proficiency, you could use magic.

Even with my weak mana, I could manage about one use of the weakest light.

It was still dim, but it helped that I didn't have to carry a torch. I had a perfect memory of the terrain and trap locations anyway.

The first level was like my own backyard. I could stroll through it while humming, and if I used the traps as walls, I wouldn't be surrounded by monsters.

In the first place, there weren't any monsters attacking as I advanced through the dungeon. Here and there, there were just corpses that looked like they had been eaten alive by large fangs.

The guys who had escaped must have dragged them to the vicinity of the entrance. It was after the dragon had rampaged.

Against a dragon, the goblins and pig-men, who were just food, must have been fleeing in panic, trembling at the edges of the map.

When I examined the corpses, most of which were just limbs, some were human, while others were Orcs and Goblins.

It seemed like it had been a violent feeding frenzy.

At this rate, it might only be a matter of time before they were all wiped out.

"I guess I'll go check out the classroom area first."

They were probably attacked on their way there or at the classroom itself.

It was doubtful whether anyone was still alive.

Originally, there should have been sixty people in the remaining group, and probably about the same number who had been moving separately.

If Nanami's combat group joined them and they all united to beat the dragon down, they should have been able to defeat it.

If you observed carefully, you should be able to find the fatal weaknesses of a lower-level dragon.

If they dealt with it calmly, they should have been able to manage it. Or, they could have escaped to town while the dragon was targeting someone else.

However, people who hadn't undergone combat training couldn't possibly move efficiently. The remaining group in the classroom were lazy students who didn't even have the energy to move in the first place.

I couldn't imagine many people being able to throw stones or swing swords and stand up against a dragon while the people around them were being eaten alive.

Considering that, it would be reckless to be optimistic and think that maybe things hadn't gotten too bad yet.

It would be one thing if they were all fleeing in different directions.

The worst-case scenario was that they might have been cornered and completely wiped out in the back of the classroom, which they might have thought was safe but was actually a dead end.

As I approached the classroom, the increasing number of corpses and their condition painted such a picture in my mind.

They might have fled to the back of the classroom and were being whittled down little by little. If that was the case, it was the worst.

"Uwaaaaaaaah! Stop it, st-gah!" "Hot, hot, gyaaaaaaah!" "My eyes, my eyes!"

Just as I rounded the corner, at the point where the passage led to the classroom, I heard screams of agony from the depths.

From those voices, I knew that this wasn't a Lesser Dragon, but a Mustard Dragon.

Hot, eyes being attacked... it was a poison attack.

It seemed I had drawn a terrible jackpot.

To think that on the day the adventure started, during the 'Invasion', an enemy from the sixth level would appear, skipping the fifth.

It wasn't impossible, but it was incredibly unlucky.

When I burst into the hallway section of the classroom, as expected, the massive form of a Mustard Dragon with poisonous purple skin was positioned right in the middle of the passage, spewing out poisonous breath in bursts.

The breath that the Mustard Dragon exhaled was modeled after mustard gas.

It was a chemical weapon that would burn the skin and cause loss of sight.

Due to game mechanics, the gas flew straight ahead. The fact that it only affected targets in a straight line might have been better than real poisonous gas.

You could think of it as being the same as arrows or fireball magic. If you dodged sideways at the right time, you could avoid it.

If real chemical poisonous gas accumulated in the dungeon, all living things would be wiped out.

The straight-line, highly poisonous breath that only had an effect in front was probably a type of poisonous gas magic. Well, the dragon itself was a fantasy creature after all.

Putting that aside, what should I do about this?

There seemed to be a few people who had survived after being hit by the poisonous gas, groaning, but most of the classroom group, which should have had sixty people... what was this?

The people who had been half-heartedly hit by the poisonous gas and were dying looked more miserable than the corpses that had already breathed their last.

Even though it was a game-like attack, the suffering was real. It was painful to look at directly.

The Mustard Dragon, as big as a small mountain, had its back to me, but carelessly attacking it was also dangerous.

If you attacked its back, it would attack with its long tail.

Of course, if I was blown away by its tail, even with my Warrior Rank of only Apprentice, I would die instantly.

The dragon casually turned right and left, using its poisonous breath to keep those trying to escape in check, and seemed to be advancing down the classroom hallway.

I didn't know its thought routine, but I felt a malevolent will skillfully trying to corner the group of humans in the depths.

At this rate, the survivors must be holed up in the very back of the classroom, in the Class 1-A room.

Given the size of the dragon, its body wouldn't fit inside the classroom, even if its head did, so if they guided it well, they should be able to escape.

But that wouldn't be easy. The people who had died or were dying in the hallway had probably tried to escape from the classroom when there was an opening, only to be hit by the breath as they turned around.

I hadn't thought the Mustard Dragon had such an intelligent thought routine. It was dealing with a large group of people with a rather efficient killing method.

No, admiring something like this was in bad taste.

The best option for me was to just turn around and run away. There was no reason to risk my life to save a bunch of idiots who couldn't even escape.

The Mustard Dragon was too powerful. I could just make an excuse to Seki and the others that I had rushed there but couldn't help...

"Everyone, the monster can't get into the classroom! Run to the left and right!"

Nanami Shuichi's clear, sharp shout echoed from the innermost classroom.

He had probably been able to escape but had chosen not to, not abandoning his comrades.

I considered that if I let Nanami die here, it might lead to more trouble later.

It would be less troublesome for me if the surviving students were in a somewhat organized state.

"Alright, let's try killing it."

And well, seeing the massive form of the dragon just made my blood boil.

I discarded any unnecessary luggage, held my samurai sword ready, and quietly approached the Mustard Dragon.

I picked up a small stone and threw it with all my might.

"Hey, big guy! Come over here!"

I sounded confident, but since the breath came straight at me, I hurriedly fled to the large hall.

In the spacious hall, even against a giant dragon, I could avoid the straight-line breath.

And the target wasn't its back.

It was its flank!

"Gyaaaaaaah!"

Even when I slashed its belly, the dragon's hard scales were barely scratched.

However, it seemed annoyed by me constantly slashing at it from the side, and it heavily turned its massive body towards me.

"Alright, sideways!"

I moved around to the side, matching the dragon's movements.

That's right, these lower-level dragons were slow. And the Mustard Dragon, perhaps because its body was hard or because it was too large, was a sad creature that couldn't attack sideways.

If I had heavy equipment, I wouldn't be able to dodge in time, but right now I was wearing light hard leather armor.

Since I had kept my luggage as light as possible, I could fight with a hit-and-away tactic effectively.

When I slashed it from the side, the dragon would still turn its face towards me.

I would circle around it.

"Alright, sideways!"

In this way, I would whittle it down little by little. It was a combat technique called "circling."

All that was left was to repeat it endlessly. My attack power was still weak, and it would take a terrifying amount of time, but I could recover my fatigue with stamina potions.

While I was circling and attacking, Nanami Shuichi, perhaps noticing me fighting alone, also came to the large hall.

It seemed he intended to cooperate.

"Hey, if you can imitate me, attack like I do. This thing can't attack anywhere except with its head and tail."

"Shinjo Wataru-kun, I'll save you now!"

Nanami Shuichi and several men who seemed to be his followers came to help me.

This helped me too, as it would greatly shorten the time it took to whittle it down.

"I'll lure the dragon's aggro. If you get tired, hide in the passage and rest. If you can make stamina potions, that would be the best."

"I don't really understand what a stamina potion is."

"It's a spell. Hold a flask and chant 'Elementary Low Stamina (den)'."

"I see. Now that you mention it, Mikagami Ryuji-kun was saying something like that."

I threw the empty flask I had finished drinking.

I sometimes bought them at the store, but basically, flasks were reusable. They wouldn't break easily even if you threw them (there was a spell to make flask bombs, and those would shatter them).

Don't you dare try to have an indirect kiss with me, Nanami Shuichi, you handsome bastard.

If possible, I wanted the girls who weren't participating in the attack to make them, but there wasn't time to explain. If Nanami Shuichi noticed, he would probably give instructions.

We continued to beat down the rock-hard, bumpy Mustard Dragon, whittling down the enemy's health, and finally, the enemy began to retreat.

Killing a fleeing enemy was pleasurable, but this one was dangerous from behind.

"Rather, this is where the real fight begins, be careful. The enemy is weakening, so it's running away, but if you get hit by its tail from behind, you'll die!"

"Whoa!"

Humans tend to become careless when victory is just a little further away.

I took a deep breath to calm down, and then, matching the slow movements of the Mustard Dragon trying to flee, I constantly kept to its side and continued to chip away at it.

I wanted to defeat it now that I had come this far.

Perhaps it was due to Nanami Shuichi's skillful command, but we succeeded in making the Mustard Dragon let out a death cry without any more casualties.

"Phew, the stamina potions were almost gone."

"D-did we defeat it?"

Not a single one of the potions Seki and the others had made remained.

We had been sharing them, but Nanami Shuichi's remaining companions were probably out of mana too.

"Yeah, we defeated it... good job, everyone."

"Shinjo Wataru-kun, thank you for saving us! What a brave man you are!"

Nanami, choked with emotion, grasped my hand.

Alright, alright, if I let myself get carried away by his words, I might end up being manipulated, so I decided to handle him casually.

Even so, only ten of Nanami's male followers and four, no, five girls had survived properly.

The people who had suffered fatal injuries from the deadly poison probably couldn't be saved. I wanted to believe that there were other students who had managed to escape somewhere...

The classroom group, which should have had sixty people, had been almost completely wiped out by just one Mustard Dragon's 'Invasion'. It would be good if many had escaped.

I felt the tragedy anew. When I was playing video games, I had never imagined it, but 'Genocide Reality' was truly a gruesome game worthy of its name.

Originally, this game was designed to be攻略ed with a party of about four to six people.

And why had they given it such an exaggerated title like 'Genocide'?

I had wondered about it before, but seeing this hellish scene, I understood.

This was genocide in its true sense. The reality that the game couldn't fully convey was right before my eyes.

This might have been the scene in the mind of the genius game designer, the noble Lord Knight, who developed Genoria.

Had a game from 1989 foreshadowed our fate?

Perhaps it was escapism to idly ponder such things.

Once the battle for survival ended, there was an unbearable reality before us.

Nanami Shuichi and the others praised me as a hero for coming to their rescue, but it was ridiculous.

I tried to teach them how to make health potions and antidote potions, but against the Mustard Dragon's potent poison, the rank they could make was too low to be effective.

As for me, I was already out of mana and helpless.

I could only watch as the students writhed in agony from the poison and died one after another. I couldn't feel any joy at having defeated a strong enemy.

Including those with fatal injuries who couldn't be saved, more than half of the people who had stayed in the classroom died.

In military terms, it was a total annihilation. The total death toll exceeded sixty. In just one day since the mysterious transfer phenomenon, one-third of the total number had died.

And the fact that the teachers, the adults whom the children had relied on somewhere in their hearts even though they were unreliable, had all died here made my heart even colder.

Could we really survive here?

Dragon Invasion: Combat Group 8, Remaining Group 32, Independent Group 9 dead.

Total Deaths: 63 Survivors: 123.