<h4>Chapter 30: Non-Compliant Monsters - Part 2</h4>


    By 1:15 pm, all of Londorus'' poption knew about the dragon terrorizing the city.


    Some could see it from their still unaffected homes, or hear its rumbling roar echoing through the streets.


    Video recordings of it flooded the Nav, and Users from all over The Novus promptly named the disaster in many ways:


    ''The Unsuspected Raid''.''The Surprise-Mothaf***** Boss Raid''.And ''The Nuke-Dragon Event''.


    The few Londorus residents who ventured out to get a better shot of the monster ended up vaporized by its death beam, no matter if they were trying to film it from four blocks away.


    Although members of the Titan Hunters guild were better equipped, they did not have a better chance of surviving either.


    The rampaging dragon held its position as soon as it received the first wave of attacks. Mages capable of firing long-distance spells while riding nimble Mounts served as a distraction so that the first hunter squad got close unnoticed.


    These experienced hunters, with maxed Agility status, jumped over rooftops and reached the humongous monster rapidly so they could target its weak spots.


    Although not every Novus monster was biologically the same, the Titan Hunters guild had learned to go for the limbs to immobilize it, for the nds and its tail to get rid of its main weapons, and to inflict it with poison or dark-type paralyzing spells to slow it down.


    Unfortunately, it did not matter if they were wielding epic-grade, anti-oversized-monster weapons, they could not pierce its scales.


    "I''m getting tired of you! Wind Style, <i>Levinal sh!"</i> one hunter cast, targeting the dragon''s long neck.


    A fountain of blood covered her from helmet to boots.


    "As expected from our resident try-hard!" one of her guild partners cheered. "Way to go, Rita!"


    "This is freaking bullshit!" the aforementioned hunter cried, watching the deep wound close up at an rming pace. She then switchedmunication channels and reported to her Guild Master: <i>(Ben, this freaking thing has an Enhanced Healing Factor!)</i>


    <i>(Enhanced?)</i> a male voice replied through Party Chat. <i>(Is that the word you''d use, Rita?)</i>


    <i>(Oh, I''m sorry! Would you like to swap ces and see it yourself?!)</i>


    <i>(Okay. Noted. Anything else?)</i>


    Before she could speak, Rita watched one of its fellow guilders fall from atop the dragon''s head. "What''s he doing?" she muttered, expecting her partner to make a flip andnd safely at thest second, but the body continued in a freefall, all the way to the destroyed street below.


    Then, a purple mist covered the entire dragon''s body rapidly.


    <i>(POISON!)</i> Rita yelled through Party Chat, alerting the rest of her squad. She then coughed violently as she retreated. "This freaking blows! What the hell is our Poison Resistance doing, huh?!"


    Once she jumped over the nearest building, a sudden itch invaded her entire body. "Wait," she muttered, falling to her knees. "This is not poison..."


    She eagerly got rid of her helmet, pauldrons, and breastte as she startedughing. <i>(He... hehe-he... Ha! Um... Guild Master?)</i>


    <i>(What? If it isn''t poison, what is it?)</i>


    <i>(I''m afraid that...)</i> Rita grabbed her de and pointed it against her belly. <i>(T-this tickles! He-hee... HAHAHA! Long live the queen of shadows, asshole!)</i>


    A mile away from there, sitting in a back alley, Benjamin Woods, leader of the Titan Hunters guild, saw Rita''s status change to offline. He scribbled on an electronic tablet right away.


    "I''ll add the ability to cast ''Mental Corruption'' to the list," he muttered, as he closely listened to the Mage squad''s transmission.


    <i>(Ben! This is not my imagination! The spells bounce back! I repeat, everything we''re throwing at the damn thing bounces back!)</i>


    <i>(Magic Immunity, eh? Ah, this brings me memories,) </i>Benjamin said, while adding it to the list. <i>(When was thest time we encountered an enemy that could one-shot us like this?)</i>


    <i>(Herees a big one!)</i> the mage cried, and a deafening sound, apanied by a quake could be heard and felt at a distance.


    <i>(What happened?)</i> Benjamin asked.


    "Another fire breath... Although it looks more like a white beam of death," a girl standing by his side replied, wearing a headset that covered her gaze and ears.


    "Another?" The man whistled. "High Mana Pool, then."


    "It seems so," the girl whispered. "Let me see if I can measure the distance this time." She moved her thumb over a remote control in her right hand, and a ck drone observing the battlefield from atop the sky started scanning. "The Deathly Ray of Doom leaves a... 870 yards path of destruction. Woah."


    "Really?" The man shook his head. "Fantastic. Fan-<i>fucking</i>-tastic." He then gritted his teeth while watching arge system screen in front of him, showing the status and position of all of his guilders. "How can a monster of this size know what <i>camping </i>is?"


    A male guilder made his way towards him and saluted. "Ben, I mean, sir! I brought Ms. Tamara Morin, from the Shooting Stars guild."


    "Who?" Benjamin narrowed his eyes on him.


    The young guilder frowned back. "Um... She alleges to be their temporary First Officer, sir." He then pointed towards the petite girl reluctantly approaching them.


    A taller, more confident, and ''leader-looking'' ck-haired girl pushed Tamara forward.


    + +


    +


    <i>(Oh, my goodness, there he is...)</i> Tamara said to Helen through private Voice chat, in a distressed tone of ''telepathic'' voice. <i>(H-He looks pissed.)</i>


    <i>(Rx. You''ll do it fine.)</i>


    <i>(B-But what if he doesn''t listen?! I''m going to hyperventte at any moment, I swear!)</i>


    <i>(Oh, for the love of—Are you listening to yourself?! Would you rather take that stupid dragon head-on than fulfill your new guilding duties?)</i>


    <i>(If that means NOT talking to this man, then yes! You should have seen thest time he and Astrid argued! The poor bar had to be remodeled from the ground up!)</i>


    <i>(They paid the damages in full, of course, andter got wasted together among the rubble. Ha! It was so fun--)</i>


    <i>(WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?!)</i>


    <i>(You passed out and missed all the fun. Anyway! You should be d that I''m here, covering your ass!)</i> Helen spanked her guild partner, forcing her to step forward. (Literally. He-he. Come on, go. He''s waiting.)


    Tamara bit her lower lip before smiling. "G-Good afternoon, Mr. Benjamin. I''m Tamara Morin. I''m here in representation of Astrid Brad--."


    "About time any of you showed up!" Benjamin shouted, making Tamara squeal. "Where is she?! Where is the Golden Comet?!"


    "S-Sorry! But she''s currently battling an equally dangerous enemy."


    Benjamin quietly nced at her female guilder beside him, who started manipting her flying drone.


    "I see multiple explosions in the distance, near Lancesmith Bridge," she informed.


    "Fine." Benjamin sighed, running arge hand through his brte hair. He was the tallest person in that alley. He looked in histe twenties, with a strong yet slim physique. Although his circle beard made his mouth look severe, he gave Tamara a sympathetic look.


    "I heard the news... A portion of your guild quit, right? It''s a relief to see that although you are not in the best of conditions, you''re willing to help. Tell Astrid Bradfordter that I appreciate it, okay? How many men did you bring?"


    "Thank you, sir," Tamara replied, calming herself. "Londorus is also our home, so Shooting Stars will always be here to protect it." She then pursed her lips. "I''ve brought 25 guilders with me."


    The man stood silent for a bit, giving her an apologetic stare. Tamara knew what he was thinking: <i>''Shooting Stars has really fallen from grace.''</i>


    "All right, let me give you a summary of what we''re dealing with," Benjamin said, erging a System Window so they could see a map of the area. "What once was a rampaging monster, it''s now keeping its distance from us. Like a bloody camper, sniping everything in sight."


    "Excuse me, what do you mean by sniping?" Helen asked, as an explosion and a tremor urred.


    "Another Death Beam," the girl on lookout informed.


    Benjamin stared at Helen, annoyed. "No matter from where we attack it, that thing fires a quick, devastating, long-ranged beam at us. And, if we get too close, it creates some sort of ck hole that kills you instantly. As a matter of fact, everything the dragon does it''s a One-hit KO. Its long-ranged breath, its tail swing, its magic."


    "Well," Helen exhaled. "It''s a Superior Summon. I expect no less from it."


    Benjamin''s face turned red immediately. "Listen, sweetheart, we eat monsters like this for breakfast every week. It''s only a matter of—"


    "Why are your guilders dying like flies, then?" Helen asked defiantly with a nasty smirk on her face.


    Benjamin directed his re towards Tamara. "Who the hell is this woman? Does she speak for you?"


    "NO! Absolutely NOT!" Tamara cried, raising her palms. "She''ll remain quiet for the rest of our meeting." She then turned towards Helen. "Isn''t that right?"


    "You got it, boss!" Helen sneered, hid her hands inside her jacket, and leaned over the wall behind her.


    Benjamin loudly exhaled before continuing. "Listen, Tamara Morin. There''s no time. Help my guild prepare an all-out attack, alright? So tell your guilders to be ready in—"


    "S-She''s not wrong, though..." Tamara whispered, making the man raise his eyebrows. "I mean... your major mistake may be that you''re treating it as any other raid boss."


    (Way to go, Tammie!) Helen cheered through their Private Chat.


    Benjamin looked upset and was about to express it with great ire, but Tamara quickly added with a broken voice:


    "A-As I was saying, you''re trying to overpower something that is not following the rules! Unlike us, that thing is not being debuffed by the Safe Zone. So, no matter how many legendary weapons you may have, no matter how many men we throw at the thing, we won''t be able to outss it. We should approach it in the same way we used to, back then, when bosses were way out of our league!" She then paused, acting feeble again. "But by the look on your face, you already knew that..."


    "Let me guess, first day as a First Officer?"


    "Y-Yes... <i>Temporary </i>First Officer though," she mumbled.


    Benjamin chuckled. "To be fair, Tamara Morin, I realized that we were greatly outmatched just a second before you showed up. Well? Any idea on how we should deal with this menace?"


    "I have some ideas... yes..." She cleared her throat first. "How many Priests do you have?"


    Benjamin gave her a funny look before replying. "Still online? Three."


    "Warlocks and witches?"


    "Five."


    "Flying Mounts—Wait, let me correct that. Your fastest Flying Mounts?"


    "Four. Epic tier," Benjamin quickly replied, as his mind started working. "It''s easier to dodge in the sky... eh. Is that what you''re thinking?"


    "As a starting point, yes..."


    "All right, Tamara. Tell me more."