“Is this the 100th floor?”

“It doesn’t feel real having come here all at once.”

As we stepped through the portal, a dizziness-like sensation enveloped my body, and my vision blurred.

When we passed through the portal, we arrived on the 100th floor.

Right in front of the boss room where Tarlos is sealed.

“Judging by the atmosphere, there’s definitely something here.”

Siegfried murmured, looking up at the massive doors in a space as vast as a playground, right in front of the portal.

“Let’s check our equipment one last time before we go in.”

There had been frequent monster attacks before we passed through the shortcut.

Since we’re not dealing with an ordinary boss but an Ancient Dragon, there can be no mistakes.

Anyone with defective equipment came to me for repairs, and those with injuries received healing magic from Emily.

Afterward, I also checked my own abilities.

Although I had no battle data for the Ancient Dragon Tarlos, I did have experience fighting other dragons.

In the later stages of the game, Emily even fought against dragons held by the Demon Tribe’s army.

Even though it's a legendary Ancient Dragon, the basic nature of dragons should be similar.

The problem is Tarlos’s unique abilities.

I know nothing about that.

But that doesn't mean I have no plan regarding those abilities.

After checking our equipment, I gathered everyone to discuss our strategy for the boss fight.

“According to the information, Tarlos can’t move because it’s sealed, but once we enter a certain range, it will attack.”

“So, if we stay outside that range, we’re safe?”

“Yes, so if it becomes dangerous, we all need to back away together.”

As our team’s healer, Emily immediately identified the safe zone, and I nodded at her words.

In the game, this was why Emily could retreat when approaching Tarlos.

If you try to get any closer after entering this room and approaching the boss room, you’re blocked by the familiar text message.

With that in mind, if there’s unexpected danger, we’ll just distance ourselves.

That alone might break the dragon’s hostility.

“Then, can't we attack from a distance outside that range?”

“That would be great, but the seal on Tarlos is dual-layered, and one of those seals would likely block our attacks.”

As Mary mentioned, our party, which excels in ranged firepower, would logically consider such a strategy. However, the seal's mechanics make it so that attacks are blocked from outside the range.

“We don’t know what kind of attacks the enemy might unleash. So, as soon as we enter the hostile range, we need to deal with it swiftly.”

“…Swiftly? You're talking about an Ancient Dragon?”

“Yes, so Siegfried and Raphne distract Tarlos, while Adrian and Mary, you'll need to hinder its movements.”

“What about me? What should I do?”

“Emily, it's too dangerous for you, so stay behind me.”

“…Tsk.”

Emily pouted, clearly disappointed, so I smiled and continued.

“Don’t be like that. You're the most important person here.”

I gently patted Emily's bowed head and explained her role.

We couldn’t pinpoint Tarlos’s abilities precisely. It likely has the typical dragon traits like fear-inducing roars or wide-area breath attacks, but we couldn’t be sure of Tarlos's unique skills.

However, we have Emily.

She is the protagonist of the original game and the Child of Prophecy of Lillias Kingdom.

Her prophetic ability includes the power of sealing.

“So, I just need to seal any strange power I notice immediately, right?”

Emily smiled brightly and clenched her fist, glad to have something to do besides healing.

While we don’t know what abilities Tarlos possesses, as long as it’s not an instant-death ability, Emily should be able to seal it once she identifies it.

I’m confident that the Production Team wouldn't give an Ancient Dragon, already boasting high base stats, an instant-death ability.

‘In the game, only the Demon King's Army’s Supreme Commander had that skill.’

A deadly curse fitting for the game's final boss.

There's no way they would have given such a skill to a dragon meant purely for setting.

After finishing our discussion on how to deal the final blow to Tarlos, we stood up.

“Shall we go then?”

The party members looked at me with determined smiles.

Some to help me, some to save the future.

And I, to change the fate of a precious girl.

━Rumble, rumble, rumble.

As we approached the gigantic door at the entrance to the chamber, it sensed us and began to open automatically.

Soon, the door of the bright waiting room opened, revealing a dark space.

A room with a cave-like, gloomy atmosphere.

But at the centre of that spacious room.

A gigantic dragon, as large as a mountain and spot lit by the only source of light, lay with its head bowed, sleeping.

“…Golden. Incredible. Its scales are like gold bars.”

Among the party, the most fearless, Raphne, marvelled at Tarlos's form.

Indeed, from a distance, the sight truly exemplified the grandeur fitting of a legendary Ancient Dragon.

Step, step.

Our tense party slowly approached Tarlos, with me in the lead.

And after walking a bit further, we could see a peculiar barrier.A transparent barrier that could only be perceived when close blocked our path.

“Is this the seal?” Mary asked, lightly touching the barrier with her hand.

It was exactly the same location I had seen in the game. Once we passed through this barrier, it would surely become aware of us.

I glanced at the party behind me to ensure they were ready.

After confirming their nods, I cautiously passed through the barrier first.

Then,

[System: Entered the seal of Ancient Dragon Tarlos. The Ancient Dragon recognizes you.]

[System: The trait of Dragon's Essence activates. Ancient Dragon Tarlos becomes hostile to you.]

The moment these messages appeared before me,

━Flash.

The sleeping dragon opened its eyes.

And its vertical pupil immediately fixated on me.

━Rumble.

The dragon slowly rose.

But its enormous size made the entire room tremble, and its gaze, growing higher, remained fixed on me.

Feeling the dragon's gaze capturing me, I sensed a chill running down my spine and an overwhelming fear.

‘Dragon Fear!’

The passive skill of the dragon race.

The power of 'Dragon Fear' varies depending on the rank of the dragon, but it’s a skill that induces strong fear in enemies within its range.

Then, Tarlos immediately opened its mouth and tilted its head back.

Seeing this, I quickly shouted to my companions.

“Everyone, cover your ears!”

Simultaneously with my shout,

[Craaaaaaa!!]

The massive dragon's roar echoed through the room.

[System: Ancient Dragon Tarlos uses the skill 'Dragon Roar'.]

A terror far beyond the passive skill 'Dragon Fear' swept over my body.

Fortunately, everyone had covered their ears as I had instructed, but it seemed they were still affected to some extent, as their faces twisted in discomfort.

I, too, felt my body start to tremble.

[System: Thanks to the effect of Dragon's Essence, you have a strong resistance to the debuffs of Ancient Dragon Tarlos.]

After the message appeared, I felt the fear that had gripped my body subside.

‘The strong hostility and resilience are due to the effect of Dragon's Essence.’

I had almost forgotten about its resistance effect due to its primary function of boosting magical power, but now I felt somewhat relieved.

However, Tarlos still glared at me with bared teeth.

‘...They could have left out the intense hostility.’

In that moment of feeling burdened by this gaze, I resented the production team.

“...Don't stare at Ken like that!!”

At that moment, just as planned, Raphne charged towards the dragon from the front.

With the unique long reach of her spear, Raphne managed to attack it despite the overwhelming distance.

━Slam!!

Her swinging spear scratched the walls of the dark space and finally struck Tarlos on the head.

Boom!!

"…As expected, it didn't even flinch."

Despite the tremendous noise and shockwave, Tarlos' head appeared undamaged once the smoke cleared.

Its intimidating gaze was still locked on me.

"I'm joining in."

Siegfried, who had been watching the situation closely, immediately rushed toward Tarlos.

"Everyone, proceed with the plan we discussed! Mary! Adrian! Cast your magic before it moves!"

At my call, Mary raised her staff, and Adrian extended his hand forward.

A massive flame and ice storm surged simultaneously.

Just as Tarlos was about to swing its sharp claws at Raphne and Siegfried,

—Crack!

A solid ice pillar sprung up around Tarlos, halting its movements.

Then, a vortex of flames rose from beneath, engulfing its massive body.

‘…Great, now that its movement is stopped!’

I instantly reached into the Subspace Pocket.

The sooner this battle ends, the better.

Dragging it out will only put us at a disadvantage.

Even if it seems wasteful, using our best strike now is the strategy.

With that thought, I pulled out a golden spear.

A replica of the Thunder Spear Aspetra.

Although it's a replica, it's still crafted to emulate a legendary weapon from myth.

This hidden ace mimics that legendary weapon exactly.

Grrr…

I focused all that power into my throwing stance.

Soon, magic surged from my fingertips, enveloping the Imitated Thunder Spear and activating countless runes inscribed on it.

The tiny runes glowed.

The light connected to the massive Spirit Stone embedded in the spear's centre.

Crrrack…

The floor beneath my feet started to crack from the force exerted by my entire body.

‘…We'll finish this in one strike.’

While my companions diverted Tarlos' attention with all their might, I completed my throw preparation for the Imitated Thunder Spear.

“━Everyone, fall back━!!”

Once the throw was ready, I shouted, and my companions looked at me.

Seeing me at the centre of the rising electricity, Raphne and Siegfried immediately retreated from the front line.

Adrian and Mary also moved back to ensure they were out of range.

After confirming my companions were safe, I immediately swung my arm.

Holding my breath, I tensed every muscle to throw the spear with all my might.

The spear, imbued with my enhanced physical abilities from the weight loss, soared toward its target.

It was like a cannonball.

—Kwooooom!!

The ear-splitting noise burst as the spear left my hand.

—Crazzzzack!!

[Kroooooooaar━!!!]

Soon, the spear struck Tarlos in the chest, and the legendary lightning manifested.

[Kroooooooaar━!!!]

Caught in the relentless strikes, Tarlos howled in agony, thrashing about.

Some of my comrades had to shield their eyes with their arms from the flashing light.

Under the continuous onslaught of lightning, Tarlos' once golden scales began to scorch black.

—Scccchzzz.

As the spear expended all its energy and the light faded, smoke rose from the immobilised Ancient Dragon.

“I-I think we got him!”

Emily's jubilant voice echoed from behind.

At that moment,

━Flash.

“Damn it, not yet!!”

Tarlos, rolling back his eyes, reopened them.

The difference this time was that a new eye had appeared on Tarlos' forehead, giving him three eyes.

‘The spear's effect definitely activated!’

Something was still missing.

Was it something that Aspetra’s power couldn't fully capture?

…No, as the one who directly crafted the spear, I know its true potential. Its power is infinite lightning strikes.

According to the rune inscriptions, the enemy struck would endure the lightning until they were burnt to death.

But the catch is, the spear I threw was just an imitation, not the original.

‘…The output was insufficient.’

That was the only explanation.

Although we had driven him to the brink of death, the power of the Spirit Stone wasn't enough to strike him with lightning until he died.

‘…But it's still too early to give up.’

Tarlos, now with three glaring eyes, was breathing heavily. His scorched outer skin indicated he was nearly out of stamina.

And that newly formed eye on his forehead.

This is a common pattern seen with bosses at Epiris Academy.

A boss monster's weak point is revealed when it's critically injured.

‘If we can just land one strong blow on that weak spot!’

“Adrian! Mary! Aim for the eye on the forehead!”

Just as I shouted to go for the final blow before giving him any chance,

[Kroooooar!!]

[System: The Ancient Dragon Tarlos uses the skill ‘Dragon Roar.’]

Tarlos' roar echoed through the room.

“Argh!”

“Kyaa━!”

Caught off guard by the roar, my comrades were exposed to Tarlos' debuff skill and became immobilised.

‘Damn it! If I could just!’

Seeing my frozen comrades, I tried to draw my weapon to attack, realising I was the only one who could still move.

But his roar was just a prelude.

[ …◩◩◩◩◩◩…. ]

As he stopped our movements, he began muttering something incomprehensible.

A wave of anxiety washed over me with that eerie voice.

I soon realised what he was muttering thanks to the system.

[System: Ancient Dragon Tarlos uses the skill ‘Whisper of the Soul.’]

It was a skill name I had never seen before.

An unknown and carefully guarded skill was now being activated.

With the appearance of the message window, a purple light burst forth beneath Adrian, Mary, and Siegfried.

“…Ugh. What is this?”

“Ah, argh.”

“Ken... it's dangerous.”

The three, clearly panicked, looked at me with strained, awkward movements as if their bodies were not under their own control, obviously being manipulated.

With stiff, unnatural motions, they reached out towards me.

Each of them was holding their respective weapons: gloves, a staff, and a sword.

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