WHOOSH!
The Grayscale Candiru rushed at Draco in droves, their pitch-black eyes reflecting his grinning face. He showed nothing but excitement as they neared him, both fists clenched as he readied his body for battle despite being in their territory.
The benefit of being Level 5 was put on full display at that moment.
"Griawwwl!"
They tried biting and tearing, using all their appendages and terribly large maws, but none were effective against Draco.
Not only was he an excellent swimmer, capable of navigating the dark waters, but he was also fast—much faster than they were—which allowed him to evade their attacks while counterattacking however he could.
"Hehe…" He chuckled, bubbles floating from his lips to the surface.
Once he was certain that every single Grayscale Candiru had made some kind of hostile action toward him, Draco reckoned it was time to go all-out in his attacks.
He would show no mercy.
**********
[Moments Later]
"Draco, you reckless bastard…"
Everyone on the ship looked into the vast waters, their eyes transfixed on the area where Draco had entered, looking around it for any sign of him. The Proctors and Students were on edge as they watched with bated breath, though Head Proctor Dustan remained perfectly calm despite his uncomfortable silence.
A few seconds after those words echoed out, the waters became dyed in dark hues—blood. Bodies began to rise to the surface, all of them corpses of the Grayscale Candiru. At first, only one or two came at a time, but eventually, they rose up in multitudes.
Eventually, dozens of Grayscale Candiru were floating on the surface—dead.
"M-my goodness!"
"Draco did this?! He killed all of them?"
"A-Amazing! Seems his results from the Cave of Trials was actually no fluke!"
The students and some of the Proctors were shocked by what their eyes were seeing, and Jet—who was still reeling from how Draco had killed the Rank 2 Candiru in a single blow—felt helplessly paralyzed as he listened to all of their comments.
His lips quivered and his eyes trembled at that moment.
He could no longer gather any strength in his bloodied hands to clench them, so he simply watched in silent displeasure.
Then—
"Ahhh… haaa…" Draco emerged from the bloodied waters, expelling turbid air while taking in a massive gulp of oxygen.
He looked absolutely spent, panting heavily as he got a hold of the boat, reaching out to the many who stretched out their hands to receive him back on the vessel. Many shot him gazes of pride and respect as he finally made it back on board, more than curious to see how he would grow and the kind of surprises he would pull off as a fully accomplished Dragon Hunter.
"I did it…" He murmured with excitement. "I didn't let any of them escape…"
Everyone could see the passion in his eyes as he uttered those words, now fully convinced of his endless hatred of Dragons and his determination to exterminate all of them.
What they didn't know was that he was simply glad that he had completed all of the System's Quests.
"Draco… well done."
Dustan approached Draco, stretching out his hand to lift him from his kneeling posture on the ground. "You surprised everyone with your seemingly reckless actions, but you've more than made up for it."
"T-thank you." He strained a smile, accepting Dustan's hand so he could rise to his feet.
"At first, I didn't understand why you were so sluggish and hesitant in your fight against the Grayscales. I thought you would be able to make short work of them, yet you were faltering terribly…"
'Ahhh…' Draco couldn't explain the Limiting Conditions of his Class to Dustan, so all he could do was remain silent in his guilt.
Fortunately for him, a conclusion had already been reached on his behalf.
"... But I get it now." Dustan placed a hand on Draco's shoulder, smiling with great pride as he patted him gently. "You intentionally created a weak link to lure the Rank 2 Dragon over to your side so you could defeat it yourself."
"I did? I mean, yes… I did." Draco lied.
"Absolutely brilliant move! You actually figured out that the Rank 2 Dragon was observing the fight, searching for where to strike first. Such insight… and even the ability to exterminate the enemy with no hesitation afterward shows you were never incompetent."
"Indeed… I'm glad you figured out my plan."
"Of course, hehe… who do you think I am, kid?" Dustan and Draco laughed together, and everyone around them cheered for Draco—amazed by the depths of his plans against the Dragons.
Amidst all this, only two people found Draco's supposed plan difficult to swallow.
Jet Ashborne… and Draco himself.
'I didn't attack because of the limiting condition, and the reason I attacked the Rank 2 immediately was because its appearance counted as an attack to me. Plus, I chased down the rest because of the Quest.'
Nothing about his actions was out of ruthlessness towards the Dragons or some hidden tactic that he expertly employed.
However, Draco allowed the people to believe what they wanted.
He had no better explanation, after all.
"In any case, we need to head to the nearest shore so we can fix up our ship. It has sustained some damage as a result of this attack." Dustan said, slowly leaving Draco so he could address everyone—the students especially.
"You all did well using your D-H… as expected of the future of humanity."
Everyone beamed brightly.
"Jet Ashborne… your aptitude is especially high." Dustan smiled at him. "If you were less distracted by Draco and focused on killing as many Dragons as you could, your evaluation would have been higher."
"I understand." Jet responded, lowering his head. He gritted his teeth, enduring the humiliation that assailed his entire being.
"Lizbeth, Jonathan, and Lenard… you three also performed exceptionally. Well done."
The three students nodded and smiled in pride, thanking their Chief Proctor for such 'undeserved praise.'
"With this disaster averted, I hope you all understand now… what it means to be Dragon Hunters." Dustan Kirklane smiled. "Every journey is a battle, every road is fraught with danger… but we forge ahead and keep on fighting because humanity will never give up. We will never surrender to the tyranny of the Dragons. We will forge our own paths and create a world where such fear becomes a thing of the past."
All cheered as they heard his words—students and proctors alike.
"That is our fate as Dragon Hunters… as mankind's greatest champions!"
"WOOOHOOOO!!!"
The cheers grew louder, deafening at some point, as the crew cheered for their survival and the defeat of their first wave of Dragons. There was zero casualty, and the Grayscale Candiru even fled after their leader was defeated.
It was an utterly humiliating defeat for the Dragons and a pride-filled debut for the new students of the Dragon Hunter Academy.
Draco was especially the object of attention throughout this moment of celebration.
A broad smile remained on his face as he received the constant cheers of everyone around him while also getting System Notifications at the exact moment.
[Congratulations! You passed all of the Quests!]
~Additional Rewards will be given~
[System Notice]
~Tutorial (Part 3/3) has been completed!~
You can now log out