Chương 165: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 165 - Freya's Ambition

Medraco didn't mention being an Undead Mage. Among the natives, that profession was about as welcome as a rat in a kitchen, something to be beaten on sight, not introduced over drinks. At least, not in a tavern. He'd reveal it later, once he'd joined the group and earned some trust. By then it wouldn't matter. Besides, he wasn't undead himself. He just commanded them.

"Oh? You're an alchemist too? Can I see your work?" Freya's gaze held a quiet scrutiny beneath the pleasantry. A dark mage was nothing special, especially one at second tier. That level topped out at low-grade curses. The kind that made you slightly more attractive to mosquitoes for a week. In short: useless. An alchemist, though, was a different matter. Alchemy was the most obscure profession on the continent. Freya didn't fully understand it herself. She just knew it commanded respect.

"But of course, beautiful lady. An alchemical product is the truest measure of an alchemist's power." Medraco gave a slight bow, reached one hand under his wide hem, and pulled the Bolt-action Rifle No. 2 from his backpack. It was more advanced than No. 1. Because Medraco had attached a bayonet to the front. This was a milestone. A watershed moment. It meant the rifle now possessed formidable close-combat capability.

"Beautiful lady, behold — my alchemical masterpiece. Its power is extraordinary." Freya stared at the "fire poker" in Medraco's hand and quietly wondered if this alchemist had taken a blow to the head. Extraordinary power. From the kitchen knife strapped to the end of a stick? He noticed the disdain in her eyes. It didn't bother him. Just a bunch of ignorant natives. How could they possibly understand what firearms were capable of? All he needed was a demonstration.

In about thirty seconds, he'd be the one looking at them with contempt. Medraco's smile was pleasant. He raised the bolt-action rifle, worked the bolt with a crisp click, and leveled the barrel at the Healer Hero Kayal, who was standing right beside Freya.

"Miss Freya, I hear the Healer Hero at your side can mend any wound. Severed hands, severed feet, no problem at all. Is that correct?" Freya nodded, expression cool with pride.

"Of course."

"Then. My apologies." Medraco's smile turned sharp. He pulled the trigger. BANG! The muzzle flash was there and gone. The bullet punched out on a wave of raw kinetic force. At this range, it didn't slow down. It hit Kayal's thigh and shattered it. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"AAAAAGH—" The pain hit like a wall. Kayal's face warped, and he folded, both hands clutching the wreckage of his leg as a ragged wail tore out of him. One breath, two, and the back of his shirt was already soaked through with cold sweat. The tavern erupted. Every adventurer and mercenary in the room had just watched a fire poker obliterate a man's leg.

"Heal me, AAAAAGH—" Kayal screamed and cast his healing skill on himself. A soft green light pulsed. The shattered tissue knit itself back together, bone and muscle and skin reforming as if nothing had happened. Clean. Complete. Like turning back a clock. Kayal's color, though, was considerably paler than it had been two minutes ago. He fixed his gaze on Medraco and the fire poker, lips trembling, still not quite back from wherever the pain had sent him.

"You bastard, you, " SMACK! Freya's palm caught him across the face before he could finish the sentence.

"Shut your mouth." One cold glance pinned him in place. Then she turned back to Medraco and lifted a warm, gracious smile as if nothing had happened.

"You are truly a remarkable alchemist. This fire... ah..."

"You can call it a gun." Medraco tucked the rifle back into his pack. His gaze drifted between Freya and Kayal with quiet interest. The dynamic between these two heroes was rather fascinating. Was there something there he could work with? And that Healer Hero in particular. The healing ability was borderline obscene. If he could bring that asset over to his side...

"A gun," Freya repeated, testing the word.

"What a clean, direct name. Fitting, somehow."

"I've seen dwarven cannons before. The principle seems similar." She offered the comparison as a compliment, a generous one, even, placing his creation alongside the dwarves' most sacred artifact. Medraco was not flattered.

"Dwarven cannons?" He let out a short, contemptuous laugh.

"That junk? You're comparing that to a gun? How far can those primitive things even shoot? How accurately?" He scoffed.

"My gun hits whatever I point it at inside eight hundred meters." He paused, then added: "I should tell you upfront, though, I've tested it. It won't punch through that dragon's scales. That's part of why I'm joining you. Mages have ways to weaken a dragon's defenses, don't they?" Freya nodded. They had no shortage of debuff spells. And even without them, a sustained cycle of extreme cold followed by extreme heat could make biological scales brittle and shave down resistance considerably.

"Mr. Medraco, welcome to the team. I look forward to a successful journey together." She smiled.

"And if you have any companions, bring them along." The invitation was genuine this time, a real warmth in it, not performance. The weapon in Medraco's hands had earned it. In the back of her mind, a thought had already taken root: what if she could bring Medraco back to Ogillar? If an army could be equipped with these guns, How powerful would Ogillar become? Why would they ever need to sit crammed on a small island?

"Companions?" Medraco smiled.

"Oh, I have plenty of those."

Two days had passed since the exposure rating dropped. Su Nian had already led his entire monster force out of the lair and set course for Sakura Island's No. 2 Newbie Village, the one under Ohguchi Akase's management. After absorbing two neighboring villages, its population had climbed to nearly seven thousand. Prime material for grinding system points. The problem was distance. The No.

2 village sat far from the dragon's lair, and even at a full sprint, Grey Wolf and the others needed more than two days to cover the ground. They couldn't fly, after all. And Su Nian wasn't about to haul several tons of dung balls through the air himself. That's right. He had prepared a special gift for the incoming players. The dragon army's long-range arsenal had been completely overhauled. Everything was now poisonous gas bomb, extra-spicy dung balls, courtesy of Little Red and her tireless production work.

The system was elegant. She ate. She pooped. With her skill running, she had churned out three full tons of gas bombs in just two days, and she was still going on the march. The target: five tons by the time they reached the battlefield, enough to supply the entire army. The sun hammered down without mercy. Across the Morigan Plain, the grass had baked to straw. Su Nian and Anna had been flying high, scales and wings providing some overhead cover, but not enough.

Anna hadn't said a word about it, not one complaint, and that was the problem. Su Nian only noticed something was wrong when he felt moisture dripping down his back. He looked. Anna's skin was flushed red all over, damp as if she'd been pulled from the water. On a day this hot, if they kept pushing, even with the Dragon's Heart, she probably couldn't hold out much longer. Su Nian called a halt to the march.

He found a shrub thicket with a water source nearby and brought the column to rest, intending to let Anna soak in the cool water for a while, wash up, and get her temperature back down.

PS: A quick reminder for readers who may have forgotten, the female mage who was captured by the Gale Bandit Gang earlier was a student of Saint Roland Magic Academy. She mentioned that her sister was a lecturer there. Medraco is an American player who has been operating alongside David Jones; he is the gun shop owner. ➤ Next: Faction Abilities Discovered