Just wanna throw this out there now. when you see the line of !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'s I STRONGLY urge you to follow the link I have up here and listen to the song from the 20sec to 1:50 mark at least. I listened to it as I wrote this and it felt epic! I also listened to other songs from the same show for most of the fights in this chapter. But I'll leave that up to you if ya wanna pair songs to the fights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXedWYVsIfM

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The other players had been following him this long and had found success and a steady rise in levels when they followed his lead. While their confidence in him was strained by the sight of their final target, the momentum his leadership had gained thus far was enough to power through. They began to cheer as Pete pierced the sky with the massive sword that he had picked up off of one of the greater undead they had faced in the lake area around the statue of Freya. Despite its worn looking state given its low durability, the weapon looked fearsome and served to boost the morale of the others even further.

Amidst the crashes and roars of anger of the Bone Dragon as it battled the Geomchis, Pete’s group hurried through the city towards it. As they neared the battle site he directed all ranged fighters to surround the area and prepare to attack on his signal. He had a third of healers break off with them, keeping the remaining two thirds with the melee users. As he did this Weed and Seoyoon surged ahead, unheeding of his orders. After all they had no interest in following some kid, a few followed after them though most opted to stay in the safety of numbers.

When Weed’s group reached the battle site, all buildings within a thousand foot radius had been flattened. The battleground was an uneven ground of ruined buildings. Amidst it the Geomchis ducked and dodged the now landlocked dragon’s attacks as they wove around the obstructions that the ruins provided. Despite their low levels in comparison to the Bone Dragon, the Geomchis that had ended up in Morata had sustained only a few casualties. Weed smiled in elation; with them here he was confident they could complete the quest. Uncaring of those who had followed him and his wife, he dashed into the battlefield with Seoyoon close behind. He stopped a few hundred feet away from the battle and began to empty his bag of only the cheapest of japtem that he had collected from the battles that day.

“Time to find out what happens when I do it; oh my lovely japtem!”

Distress was evident on the greedy, as always, Weed’s face. He then kneeled before the japtem and placed his hand on top of the pile.

“I offer this bounty to you oh great god of Victories. May our swords wield your divine wrath against those that oppose us. May our feet hasten towards these foul enemies so that their death comes swift! Holy Blade, Blessed Step!”

It was a combination of the divine spells of the Jeonshin Weed religion! The spells boosted the attack power and speed of its intended targets, which were the Geomchis as well as himself and Seoyoon. The pile of japtem disappeared in a glowing flash. Weed frowned as if he had been hoping something different would happen to the japtem.

“Guess it must only be disciples.”

Prayer Boost!

The effects of your prayer have been strengthened by the offering to the God of Victory. The number of targets it has affected has also increased.

He stood up and drew his sword. After giving Seoyoon a brief look of confirmation, they joined the Geomchis in battle.

Normally Weed would be more cautious when hunting something that was as absurdly strong as a Bone Dragon. But after having seen that brat’s, Pete’s, leadership he was confident that in a matter of moments, the first barrage of thousands of user’s ranged attacks would hit the dragon. He couldn’t have been more right, as he narrowly avoided the tail of the dragon as it spun about to fling off more Geomchis, an explosive conflagration of fire spells and arrows slammed into the colossal skeleton from every direction. Then a salvo hit the beast as the thunderous roars of thousands of melee users shook the air as they charged towards the dragon.

The southern reclamation group had received the bulk of the remaining waves of users and due to Pete’s tactics they had also suffered much fewer casualties. Because of this, they had an army of users. Despite their miniscule levels compared to the Bone Dragon, they could still do serious harm. Just as a swarm of hornets have annihilated certain animals that threaten their nests, the users were determined to annihilate the Bone Dragon!

Pete led the army of melee users as they engaged the Bone Dragon. Many soon lost their lives as they were unable to dodge its claw swipes and tail sweeps. But still they persisted, their strength in numbers making up for their individual weaknesses. The Geomchis grudgingly welcomed the aid as it gave them a chance to rest and heal up. Weed, on the other hand, glowered as they all got in his way and made it more difficult to dodge.

“Keep fighting! Overwhelm it with our numbers and pin it down so the mages and archers can crush it!”

Since the ranged fighters had less chance of physical harm, they vastly outnumbered the number of melee fighters left and therefore, Pete was relying on them to do the bulk of damage to the Bone Dragon. It seemed to be going well. Despite the small amount of damage that they were doing, he felt that the dragon seemed to be getting gradually weaker and weaker.

He began to have a belief that they would be able to overwhelm the beast and crush it before it could do any more real damage to them. But then, a group of wizards revealed their location as they tried to move forward for a better position. The Bone Dragon’s eyes flashed! It had been waiting for this! From the group of wizards it could tell the relative distance of the annoyances that were firing upon it!

Pete watched in horror as the dragon made a motion that looked like it was sucking in its breath before releasing a dark torrent at the foolish group of wizards. However it didn’t stop there, as its breath attack was still firing it spun about in a full circle and thereby completely eliminated the ranged group!

“Shit!”

“No, no, no, no, no!”

“What do we do now!?”

The melee fighters were in despair, without the ranged support they believed it would be almost impossible to fight the dragon since it could now turn its full attention on them. Pete craned his neck back to where Shiro was with the rest of the healers.

“Half of you start using holy attacks, the rest of you keep healing and buffing!”

With the support group now split, casualties began to rise faster. Screams could be heard as bodies were sent flying before turning grey and disappearing. But all of them were overpowered by the roars of the enraged bone dragon! It began to use spells against the users, finally acknowledging them as a threat rather than a mere annoyance.

-You will all die! Poison cloud!

A putrid and purple fog rapidly spread out from the dragon and affected all of those within range. The number of fighters dropped dramatically. There was little the healers could do since they had exhausted their mana keeping the fighters alive and could now only watch as they slowly died through poisoning.

The Geomchis had been away from the frontlines during this attack and now rejoined the battle as the fog cleared! They scampered onto the Bone Dragon’s back and began hacking away at the base of the wings, their goal was to completely eliminate any possibility of the dragon getting airborne again.

Pete sprinted forward. His racial abilities had protected him from the worst of the poison and could therefore still fight unaided. At that moment the Bone Dragon brought its right claw hurtling towards the ground, right at his position. He nimbly leapt off to the side before jumping onto its large leg bone and continued on to its back. Once on top he joined the Geomchis that were attacking the right wing. As his sword joined theirs in hacking at the joint, he looked to see one or two of the Geomchis looking at him with these absurdly happy expressions on their faces. It was then that he came to a realization.

‘These guys are insane! They are enjoying this, even if it means it’ll cost them levels!’

A few moments later though he realized he had the same expression on his face! The feeling was infectious!

As the Bone Dragon continued to whirl about: slashing, crushing, and casting spells on the fighters below, Pete and the Geomchis continued to hack away until they were about two thirds of the way through. Then, they felt a great upheaval! The Bone dragon was airborne! Its massive wings allowed it to climb rapidly as it rocketed, with its tail towards the ground, upwards. Pete and a few of the Geomchis rolled back down along the spine of the monster. Some of them managed to grab ahold of random bones on their tumble down. However, Pete and a few others were not so fortunate.

“AAAaaarrgghh!”

“Damnit!”

Pete had just enough time to rotate so he could land feet first and make a wish.

“Aaarrgghhh! Can’t I just turn into a bat?”

Then, he felt as if his shoulders were being ripped out of their sockets. He began to feel other odd sensations as his downward plummet to the earth slowed.

You have turned into a bat. While in this form you will be unable to equip items of any kind and all physical stats will be reduced.

He gave his wings a hesitant flap before putting to full use.

‘So this race change has some other perks eh?’

He clumsily half swooped, half fell down to the ground and crashed in front of Shiro. When he reverted back to his human form, he was looking up at her from the ground.

“Hey….how’s it going down here?”

“….”

*STOMP*

“OW! Jesus! I didn’t see anything!”

Pete got up as he rubbed his face, where a foot like red mark was forming. Looking down at Shiro, she was still clutching at the lower half of her robes in an attempt to make them somehow cover her more.

“Look, sorry. But seriously, how is it going down here? Do we have any melee fighters left? Have any remnants of the ranged

group come out of the woodwork?”

“…..maybe one hundred? I don’t know.”

Shiro looked down, embarrassed that she couldn’t give more definitive news. Pete reached out to comfort her, then sudeenly.

*GGRRRAAAAWWWWRRRRRRO!*

All eyes were immediately trained to the sky. Two large and one gargantuan object were hurtling towards the ground! It was the Bone Dragon and its two wings! The Geomchis had managed to sever both! Their woops of celebration could barely be heard over the raging of the dragon as it plummeted towards the ground.

“It’s coming right for us!”

“Run!”

“AAarrgghh!”

The dragon’s trajectory put its landing right in the center of the remaining users! They desperately began to scatter to avoid the

dragonic meteor that was about to impact!

Pete and Shiro, who had been at the center of where it would land, were running as fast as Shiro was capable of! As they stumbled over the rubble, they heard the crunch of bone on stone behind them!

“Shiro!”

Pete had just enough time to pick up Shiro and cover her with his body before the Shockwave hit them! The pressure wave buffeted them, at first from behind and then from in front of them as the severed wings crashed into the ground!

As the dust began to settle, the sounds of the Bone Dragon attempting to stand up could be heard. The desperation was evident in its motions, it had begun to fear that it would return to being nothing more than a pile of bones. The fall had dealt it quite a massive blow to its health, fractures could be seen spanning almost every remaining bone it had.

*cough, cough*

Pete looked down, to see Shiro coughing from the dust.

“Ah, good! You’re okay!”

“Pete…”

Shiro’s eyes began to tear up as she saw the shards of stone that had pierced his back. During the impact, he had shielded her. But in turn, he had to bear all the damage that would’ve hit both of them. Pete on the other hand was unconcerned. He was more worried about Shiro, his actions to protect her may have been reflex but he was glad she was safe.

“Hey, hey, I’m ok…see!”

He stood up and gave a big smile as he endured the pain that the system allowed him to experience. Of course his smile was forced and Shiro could tell. She began pulling out all the japtem she had gathered. She had gathered enough to be just below over-weight in preparation for the prayer that would lead to her class conversion.

“oh Holy light, I beseech you, restore us our strength. Heal!”

A warm golden glow was sent from Shiro to Pete. However the japtem remained unchanged and Pete winced slightly. He tried to cover it up, but once again Shiro noticed. More tears began to fall out of her eyes.

“………..why?”

Before Pete could say anything, someone else interrupted.

“The priests of Jeonshin Weed can’t heal. They’re strictly combat enhancers.”

It was Seoyoon! She was slowly walking towards them with a grumpy looking Weed in tow. He obviously was opposed to anyone finding out the huge disadvantage that his religion’s priests had, however Seoyoon had taken pity on Shiro. To her she seemed so lost and all she wanted to do was help her.

“How….can…I…save..him…then!?”

Shiro forced out the question between tears. Everyone knew that Pete was in the danger zone where he would bleed out if he didn’t receive aid.

“He can help himself, he’s a vampire right?”

Pete froze as Shiro wiped off her tears, looking confused. It took a while till the realization of what Seoyoon meant dawned on her. She immediately loosened the collar of her robe and tilted her neck to the side. While looking away with a small blush creeping on her face.

“Go ahead.”

“Bu-…. Shiro! It’s-“

“You’ll die if you don’t! I don’t want that, I want to finish this together!”

“Shiro-“

“Hurry up!”

It was the first time over the past two real world days that Pete had ever heard her use such a commanding voice. He was in such a state of shock he just followed her orders. He knelt before her, then….

*chomp!*

“Mmmphhh!”

Shiro bit back a small yelp of pain as Pete’s fangs sunk into her. The effects were almost immediate! All the wounds on his back healed and his health was completely restored! He stood up and wiped his mouth a little.

“Thanks Shiro.”

“mmm.”

“Can you back me up?”

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

“yes.”

“Alright! Weed, Seoyoon let’s go kick the shit outta this bastard!”

Pete immediately began running towards the Bone Dragon, picking up his sword that had fallen to the ground after his transformation, it had finally managed to stand upright! It spotted him and immediately lashed out with its front claw! Pete nimbly dodged it before leaping up to land a slash on it forearm!

“There’s no way in hell I’m going down now!”

He pushed off the arm and landed on the ground in front of the dragon. By now The few remaining fighters and few Geomchi’s that had somehow survived the fall had also rushed to encircle the monster.

“LET’S GET HIM!”

“He’s almost dead!”

“Finish him off!”

The enraged fighters attacked with renewed vigor. During the fight Pete had a chance to look away and spotted Ju! Her group had been too fearful to fight and had only watched, but now they felt that they absolutely had to fight back against this enemy!

“Ju! About damn time you showed up!”

“Screw you Pete! At least we did!”

Despite the high tension as all the remaining fighters struggled to stay alive, Pete and Ju’s personal brand sibling love shown through!

“Just shoot the damn thing already!”

“Don’t tell me what to do!”

Ju along with the two sisters began to fire off arrows and flaming spells. All of them were aimed at the head. Though no real damage seemed to occur, it added to the overall damage that was besieging the dragon!

Meanwhile Shiro knelt before the pile of japtem. It had grown as Weed had requested others to donate to the pile. It now towered above both their heads, rivaling the mountain that Weed had made into a sculpture at Tordeum!

The battle raged in front of them. Despite the massive amount of damage that the Bone Dragon had suffered from the loss of its wings, it still refused to die as the last remaining fighters assaulted it. However, there were less people dying now. Only the elite fighters were still alive. These were people that had martial training in the real world that was finally being put to good use here.

“You know what to do now, right?”

“….Yes…”

Shiro had a determined expression on her face as she placed her hand on the pile of japtem. She then shut her eyes as she mumbled some words, as if ensuring that she remembered them. Then she opened her eyes.

“Great god of victories, my enemy stands before me. Its malice seeks to destroy the world, that you once protected. I make you this offering so that you may aid me in its destruction. Deliver your divine wrath from the heavens and annihilate my enemy. Divine Rend!”

The Japtem glowed in a golden light before disappearing. Then a massive magic circle formed under the dragon. The stones inside of the circle began to float into the air before forming clamps on each of the Bone Dragon’s legs, immobilizing it! Though it was almost night time, an intense light began to shine on the monster as it struggled against the stone restraints. It looked up towards the light.

*GGgrraaawwr-----*

*TTTHHUUUMMMM!*

As it roared a massive bolt of pure energy slammed into it! It caused the Bone Dragon to crash to the ground and it seemed stunned as its stone restraints crumbled away.

Congratulations! You have converted to the class of Priestess of God of Victory!

You have successfully used Divine Rend! You’re mana will be halved for a week and you will be unable to use Divine Rend for half a year. Due to your low faith, the power of the spell is halved from its normal starting value.

Prayer Boost!

The effects of your prayer have been strengthened by your offering to the God of Victory! Due to the large offering, the damage of your prayer will be doubled!

Divine Rend! It was an advanced prayer that normally would’ve been impossible for Shiro to use at this stage, had Weed not given her the spell. It was a spell of awe inspiring power that could smite enemies. It also highlighted the strength of a high level priest of the God of Victory.

Pete and the others stood in a daze for a few moments. The sudden and ferocious attack leaving them stunned as well. Eventually he shook himself free.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“DON’T JUST STAND THERE! FINISH THIS BASTARD NOW! EVERYONE ATTACK!”

“RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!”

Everyone dashed forwards! The priests began to fire off consecutive holy attacks, no longer bothering to heal the melee fighters. The fighters themselves charged in and began to hack recklessly at anything they could find. Cries of pain could be heard from the Bone Dragon, now that it was near its end.

Yet it refused to give up! Many users were crushed underfoot when it suddenly regained its footing and launched a ferocious

attack with its tail.

-All of you will die!

It began to suck its breath in! Everyone hesitated as they knew what was coming next!

“Don’t falter we can end this now!”

Pete ran forward, dodging another swiping claw before using the arm as a vault to jump higher into the air! As his ascent slowed he reached out and grabbed a neck bone before using it as a point to push off and continue ascending!

Finally he reached its mouth! Inside he could see an orb of darkness forming that would, in moments, be used as a breath attack to wipe them all out!

“Like I’ll let you!”

He pulled himself into its maw before hacking away at the bones and rotting flesh inside. He could feel the beast shudder as it tried to gather enough energy for one final attack! He brought his sword down once again and it broke! He could almost hear the beast say:

-This is the end!

He gritted his teeth. Then smiled.

“Are you stupid? I don’t have only a sword! …..Blood tornado!”

One of the attacks used by vampires! The red mist swirled around him as it picked up speed and formed blades of incomparable sharpness! The ripped through the creatures maw in a crimson explosion! The dark energy from within suddenly disappeared and Pete was flung out of the creature.

-Curse you!

Pete just grinned as he flipped the Bone Dragon off. Both fell to the ground. The few survivors waited in stunned silence, not daring to move. Then, Pete stood up!

“We win!”

“YYYYEEEEAAAAAAAAAARRRGGHHH”

There were cheers all around! In the real world, others were celebrating. Those that had fallen in the quest and those that had merely watched rather than participate, even people that had fallen in the other reclamation battles cheered for them. Inside the

game, Ju collapsed in tears.

“Thank god, we did it.”

As Pete was battered by users congratulating him and him in turn congratulating them, he made his way towards Shiro.

“There you are!”

“Did I…help?”

“Did you ever! That was amazing! Where did you get that from?”

“Weed.”

Pete looked around, realizing that he hadn’t seen the man anywhere. Then he noticed two figures walking off towards the ruined Citadel.

“Pete?”

“Follow me, this quest isn’t done yet.”

He grabbed her by the hand and began dragging her in the direction of the Citadel. Ju and the other two girls caught sight of them and began to follow. They eventually caught up.

“SHIRO!”

Mira practically tackled her little sister and then immediately proceeded to check and make sure she was alright. While the sisters happily reunited, Pete kept walking with his twin coming up right beside him.

“Why are you following them?”

“Well didn’t you notice that we didn’t get a quest complete notification? I think there is still more to come and my guess is that these two, know what it is!”

“…I see…”

From then on they continued to walk in silence until they reached the now ruined entrance to the Citadel. They were greeted with a frown from Weed and a small smile from Seoyoon. Pete was the first to speak.

“So, this quest obviously isn’t finished yet. What’s left?”

Weed continued to frown and not say anything. Seoyoon thwacked his arm and shook her head before responding.

“The city still needs to be purified.”

There was a pause in the air as Pete and Ju mulled this over and the sisters all did the exact same tilt of the head as they considered what this meant as well.

“What do we need to purify it?”

“Me.”

“Uh huh.”

Pete eyed Seoyoon after this declaration before continuing.

“Alright then, well I guess go ahead and do whatever you need to do!”

Seoyoon now just nodded as they walked into the citadel. It was completely dark now so it was fortunate that Mira and Kurokami had come along. They had picked up a light making spell in the spell book that had been issued from the reclamation camp, which they now used.

Under the dim light emitting from the two orbs above the girls’ heads, they walked to the center of the room. In the center there, a small pedestal had somehow avoided damage from the Bone Dragon and had gone unnoticed by the users that had first entered the Citadel. The light seemed to weaken near it and it gave off an unpleasant feeling. Ju spouted the obvious.

“Let me guess, this is what we need to fix to finish this.”

“Not what you need to fix, what I need to fix. Currently I’m the only one with the capacity to purify Morata.”

It was Kurokami’s turn to step in.

“What do you mean?”

“The purification process requires a special ability. This ability is the one that was awarded to the top 5 players.”

Pete paled slightly.

“So….if you had died…..we would’ve been screwed.”

“….Yes and no. This place would still be treated as a dungeon and the common monsters would re-spawn eventually. However, something like the Bone Giants and the Bone Dragon wouldn’t have. Anybody who died here also would then be given the option to re-spawn in a different city that was successfully captured.”

Seoyoon took in a breath and looked a bit sheepish. She still wasn’t used to talking so much, especially to strangers. Mira looked up from where she was hugging and teasing Shiro.

“Well I guess it’s good you’re here to finish this then…like now?”

Seoyoon shifted her feet in embarrassment; she was one of only two adults in the room and she was being prompted by children!

After clearing her throat she placed her hand on the pedestal. She had a sharp intake of breath as her had went through the most unpleasant sensation thus far. The pedestal felt as though it were slimy and jagged at the same time and gave that shudder inducing feeling that touching the plants that live on the bottom of a murky lake does. She motioned away Weed who had stepped forward in concern, flashing him a reassuring smile.

“I call upon the light that defeats the darkness. Smite the evil within this domain I have claimed. Purify!”

Light pierced through the sky as it slammed into the pedestal! The shrieks of thousands of ghouls could be heard as the pedestal began to crack. Then with one final ear rending screech it shattered. In its place was a pulsating orb of light. Then in a blinding flash, the light exploded outwards. It quickly engulfed the entirety of Morata. Those in the city and those watching from the real world looked on in stunned silence.

Then…..

Quest Completed!

You have successfully reclaimed Morata!

For surviving you have gained the special skill: Purification, you will now be able to reclaim other places by using this skill!

Congratulations! You have reclaimed Morata before all other cities. You will have a 20% EXP boost for the next week

The cheers from defeating the Bone Dragon had been loud, the cheers from the completion of the quest were deafening!

Pete plopped down beside Shiro, before stretching out on the ground. He looked up at the starry night sky.

“So…what now? What happens to Morata?”

“….It looks like I’ll be ruling it now.”

Seoyoon had seemingly decided to be chatty today. But, to anyone who noticed, she seemed slightly shaky and somewhat nervous. Weed looked at her.

“What?”

“When I purified the city I got a message saying I was its new ruler.”

“I see…”

“But…”

Weed cocked his head. He had begun to notice that his wife was acting strangely.

“But?”

“I won’t really be able to rule it for a while. So…honey….could you rule it?”

Now Weed had broken out in a cold sweat. His wife never said honey, unless she wanted something.

“Alright….but why?”

“Because….. I’m pregnant.”

Silence filled the room as the others watched the scene unfold before them. Pete snickered slightly, until Shiro pinched his arm. They all waited for Weed’s reply

Weed on the other hand had calculations running through his head. Analyzing how much money it would take to raise a child and trying to figure out which would be cheaper to raise. After all if it was a girl, she could have hand me downs from his sister, but if it was a boy he would have to buy new clothes since all of his were worn to tatters…….

“Weed?”

*THUMP*

Weed fell straight backwards. He had fainted, then his body dissipated as the system forcibly logged him out do to what appeared to be an intense shock.

“….”

Seoyoon then disappeared right after him.

Pete snickered again. Shiro pinched him

“OW!”

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So.... Morata has been reclaimed and I have finally updated. I hope you enjoyed the musical pairing. I was thinking about adding it in where suitable for coming chapters. Tell me whatcha think in the comments below. Also do please rate and review my work. I love feedback. Shout out to Yoyo and Jddickinson for the fact checks on chapter 6 once again. Do please nit pick these two chapters for their correctness concerning the dragon. And...uuhhhh....yeah! haha hopefully I'll be able to start working on the story's actual protagonist now that the introduction (THAT IS WAY LONGER THAN I EXPECTED!) is over. [spoiler alert] yeah it's not Pete, nor Shiro, nor Weed and Seoyoon. It's that little redhead I dropped in the woods back in chapter 3? or something like that?