As soon as Boxlunch finished speaking, the group felt an overwhelming presence soaring from above them.
Startled, they all looked up and saw a massive figure, nearly a hundred meters long, flying overhead as it let out a deafening roar.
Its bat-like wings nearly obscured the sky, and each flap produced frightening gusts of wind. The creatureâs body, resembling a desiccated corpse, was completely pitch black, emitting a shadowy aura that transformed into ashen-black miasma as lingered in the air like a smoke trail.
A Shadow Dragon!
Everyone on the team immediately recognized it, having participated in the defense of Blackrock City Quest in the past.
Itâs uncanny appearance as well as the cold, terrifying aura it exudes were undoubtedly similar to the Shadow Dragon they had seen before in that particular quest.
It fact, that dragon boss monster was one of the few well known epic-class creatures listed in the official forumâs monster guide.
However, this Shadow Dragon was even more larger in size than its previous counterpart previously slain by Godwarden Zero.
In particular, the aura this dragon exudes was far more intense and sinister than that of the first Shadow Dragon theyâve encountered beforehand.
The very moment it appeared, almost everyone on the team couldnât muster any thoughts of hunting it down. Moreover, it passive dragon aura almost pinned them down into the ground.
The last time they felt such oppression was in Maple Leaf City during that time wherein the Eternal Lordâs will had manifested. The the clash between Despair Dragon Nidhogg and the will incarnation of the Eternal Lord had brought the same feeling to the playersâŠ
There was no doubt about it!
This Shadow Dragon was also a demigod!
The faces of the five players, including Boxlunch, turned pale upon realizing this.
Under its apocalyptic pressure, they even tried to halt their breathing, fearing that any movement they made might draw the dragonâs attention towards them.
However, even as their bodies lay motionless and their breaths held tightly, they all still couldnât help but instinctively activated the gameâs recording feature.
They discreetly recorded the Shadow Dragonâs appearance and whereabouts.
Documenting new or unknown boss-level monsters is an ingrained habit among the players, as organizing and uploading such data to the game systemâs monster guide can earn them some contribution points.
Fortunately, their actions went unnoticed by the dragon.
The Shadow Dragon seemed unaware of them, or if it did notice their team, then it simply ignored them, flying past with a deafening roar.
It was not until the dragonâs figure and its dreadful aura faded into the distance that all the players within Boxlunchâs team finally breathed a sigh of relief.
âWhew⊠That was terrifying! This game is great in every way, except for how overwhelmingly powerful these boss monsters feel. I canât fathom how the devs managed to achieve itâŠâ
Calabash shuddered, looking in the direction the Shadow Dragon had flown with his heart still pounding.
The feeling that monster gave him just now was really frightening.
Despite knowing it was just merely a game, he still couldnât shake the inexplicable dread it evoked.
Unbeknownst to him and his teammates, this was the innate suppression of a higher existence over a lower one. This passive oppression stemmed from the vast difference in power, something someone from Earth could not experience.
âIs that a Demigod monster? It feels far more terrifying than Spider Queen Rose. Do wild Shadow Dragons spawn here in the underground? I heard from an NPC that such powerful shadow creatures only exist in the Netherworld.â
Optimist pondered aloud.
âI donât know⊠but it was truly terrifying. I almost thought we were going to die. Even though weâre all at level 40, encountering something like that makes me feel so insignificant. Man, the upper-ranked brings in this game sure is just too scary.â
Chopin chimed in whilst patting his chest to calm himself.
His face was still a little pale, as if he was still in shock.
Similarly, the expressions of the others mirrored his.
The light-hearted atmosphere from their prior conversation was gone, replaced by a heavy mood.
They realized that even at max level, they were just small fry in Elven Kingdom as there were still many powerful entities out there.
In fact, the higher their level rose, the more they realized the immense power of their Patron Goddess, Evé.
Behind her sacred and beautiful facade was a being of terrifying strength.
âI wonder when weâll attain such power.â
IAmInvincible sighed.
âWho knowsâŠperhaps weâll get it when higher levels are unlocked in the future. In any case, defeating boss monsters like this probably require either a whole raid group or the intervention of a powerful being like the Goddess, or maybe are just part of a storyline event since weâre merely weak adventurers at the moment.â
Calabash said, shaking his head.
After finishing his words, he turned to Boxlunch:
âIsnât that right, Captain?â
But Boxlunch didnât respond immediately. Instead, their captain was seemingly lost in thought, staring in the direction the Shadow Dragon had gone.
âCaptain?â
Calabash called out again.
This time, Boxlunch finally reacted.
He slung his backpack over his shoulder and said concisely,
âUpload the data. Weâre following it.â
The rest of the players were taken aback.
âWeâre gonna follow it?!â
Boxlunch nodded and said in a serious tone, âLetâs try to trigger a quest.â
A quest?
Hearing this, their eyes lit up, instantly understanding their captainâs intention.
In the Elven Kingdom, hidden quests and main storylines could be triggered in various ways. However, players eventually realized that the two most common methods to trigger these events were either exploring new maps or encountering powerful, unknown bosses.
In this instance, there was no doubt it was the latter.
As the saying goesâFortune favors the bold!
Following the dragon would undoubtedly be filled with peril, but at worst, they could simply die. Fortunately, they had already saved up enough resurrection coins.
But if they somehow got lucky, they could end up on the leaderboard and earn a massive reward!
Everyone on the team quickly formulated a decisive plan as they uploaded their recorded data into the system database, labeling it as âUnknown Suspicious Demigod Shadow Dragon.â
Then, they cautiously followed in the direction the Shadow Dragon had flownâŠ
In the divine kingdom of the World Tree.
âHmm? A suspicious Demigod Shadow Dragon?â
EvĂ©, who was currently engrossed in watching the playersâ antics within the sandbox surveillance table she had recently built, raised an eyebrow at the new entry in the systemâs monster database.
The game system was under Eveâs control, and any information about legendary or stronger entities uploaded into it would be immediately reported to her.
Thus, when Boxlunch and his group uploaded their data, EvĂ© was also promptly notified of the Shadow Dragonâs appearance in the underground.
Curiously, Eve opened the recorded video and saw the monster.
A flicker of surprise crossed her face right away.
âOh? A Shadow Dragon showing clear signs of intelligence?â
Shadow creatures like these were typically violent in nature, and they have the power capable of corrupting the material world.
As such, the more powerful a shadow creature is, the stronger its corrosive power becomes.
However, this particular Demigod Shadow Dragon had flown without spreading its shadow power.
This behavior indicated that its mind was somehow clear and this dragon can control its powers.
A shadow creature having such a state could only mean one thing:
âIt had been tamed by a great being.
âCould it be⊠a servant of the God of Darkness and Shadows?â
Evé pondered.
Thinking for a moment, she quickly located Boxlunch and his groupâs position on the sandbox table and focused her mind on the stars representing them.
Upon observing the playersâ actions and overhearing their conversation, EvĂ© was momentarily stunned.
âHmm? Are they following it? Do they actually dare to chase the Shadow Dragon?â
But soon, she understood why they did so.
âAh I see, so it was because they think they might trigger a hidden quest in doing so.â
Seeing this, EvĂ© rubbed her chin thoughtfully: đđđđđŽđđđ«đđđđ.đđđ
âIndeed, itâs strange for a Demigod Shadow Dragon to appear there all by itself. Surely this supposed servant of the God of Darkness and Shadows must have a purpose for visiting the underground.â
Eve: ââŠâ
âHmm⊠since these five players want to trigger a hidden quest, then Iâll grant them one. Moreover, Iâm also curious about the purpose of this Shadow Dragon as well.â
After some contemplation, Evé adjusted the activity range of Boxlunch and his squad, temporarily removing their 500-kilometer movement range limit.
Then, she used her divine power to assigned them a tracking questâŠ
â 373 â
ă A DEMIGOD SHADOW DRAGON? ă
â â