I Have a Task Log

Colin glanced back at Kase, who wasn’t far away.

Since they didn’t have to stay in the wild for long, Orelia had used a Divine Art to heal his wounds directly this time.

However, the Half-Orc’s injuries weren’t particularly severe. The Damage dealt by the Kobolds was nothing to a big, sturdy guy like him.

Or perhaps Kase had just gotten tougher. At least, Colin hadn’t seen him get dazed in a fight for a long time.

Back when they fought Yenogu the Poison Fang, the guy had been sent flying just as much as Colin. Now, he could face a siege of Kobolds without a hint of fear.

Colin looked down to briefly check his own condition.

Because the Kobolds had little strength and their weapons weren’t up to much, they hadn’t managed to inflict any real damage aside from some scratches on his armor.

Still, Colin could feel a dull ache in the gaps of his armor, areas protected only by Chain Armor and Cotton Armor. He probably had a few bruises, but it was nothing serious.

As for Ale and the others, they were completely unscathed.

Colin took a moment to glance at his Task Log.

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[Request: Urgent Mission]

[Rating: 5]

[Reward: 150 Skill Level points, Tier Two Magic "Web"]

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This mission had been relatively easy.

Colin thought to himself as he waited for the Pegasi to land.

Just as his and Dorn’s abilities had perfectly countered the Grell last time, his and Ale’s Group Damage Spells were the perfect answer for this horde of Kobolds.

This kind of advantageous matchup greatly reduced the mission’s difficulty.

Of course, the fact that Colin’s party had grown stronger was also a major reason.

The Kobolds weren’t exceptionally tough, but they were fully equipped with Capture Nets, Short Spears, and Catapults. Their tactics weren’t disorganized, and their morale was frighteningly high. All things considered, they weren’t such easy opponents.

"Dragon! There’s a dragon in the sky!"

Just as Colin was lost in thought, Kase’s shout reached his ears.

’A dragon? What dragon?’

Colin looked up and was instantly shocked.

’There really is a dragon!’

A white dragon burst out from behind the trunk of a giant tree. It was staring intently at the slowly descending Pegasus, claws outstretched, like a leopard on the hunt.

’Damn it, when did that thing show up?’

The Pegasus was still quite high up; most spells couldn’t possibly reach the White Dragon.

His wounds having just healed, Kase snatched up his Longbow and aimed at the White Dragon in the sky.

Arrow after arrow flew toward the White Dragon’s soft underbelly. However, having been shot upward, the arrows were a spent force in the most literal sense by the time they struck. The smooth Dragon Scales easily deflected them.

In mid-air, as the White Dragon lunged, it spat a gout of dragon’s breath at the Pegasus.

The intelligent Pegasi scattered to evade the breath attack, but judging by their Speed and momentum, the creatures wouldn’t be able to hold out for long.

Witnessing all this, Colin began a Rapid Action.

He quickly reached for his waist, pulling out a glass rod and a piece of Beast Hide, and began Casting.

His resonance with the Magic Net and his regular training made Colin’s Casting speed incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, he had aimed the glass rod in his hand at the flying White Dragon.

The White Dragon, completely focused on its prey, hadn’t noticed the threat from the ground at all.

It dipped its massive head slightly and dove toward a Pegasus that had fallen to the rear of the group. Its cavernous, tooth-filled maw was just about to clamp down on the Pegasus.

In the nick of time, lightning flashed and thunder roared.

A thick, jagged bolt of lightning surged from the tip of the glass rod, lashing out at the White Dragon.

The White Dragon was halfway through its dive, in a position where it couldn’t possibly dodge, and could only watch as the massive bolt of lightning rushed toward it.

"ROAR—!"

A piercing dragon’s roar echoed through the clouds. The electric current instantly invaded its body through the gaps in its scales. Its White Frost-covered scales were scorched black and curled from the shock, and the momentum of its dive was brought to an abrupt halt.

Even so, it managed to forcibly maintain its altitude.

Then, it beat its wings and rapidly gained altitude.

At that moment, Orelia’s [Guiding Bolt] followed close behind. But because the White Dragon had already climbed higher, the Light Ball exhausted its Power before it could hit, slowly dissipating in mid-air until it was nothing more than a few specks of light.

Colin quickly turned his head to his companion. "Ale, do you have any magic left?"

"I used all my magic just now fighting the Kobolds." Ale’s voice trembled as she spoke.

’Is she scared? Could it be the dragon’s aura?’ Colin wondered.

The opportunity was fleeting.

By the time Colin looked up again, the White Dragon had already flown to a thicket of branches and was about to dive into them.

The White Dragon beat its wings and suddenly turned to look back at Colin.

In that instant, Colin could clearly see the vertical pupils in its azure eyes suddenly dilate, slowly swallowing the irises until the White Dragon looked as if it had two black eyeballs.

Then, the White Dragon turned its head away.

With a beat of its wings, it quickly vanished among the branches.

It left behind only a few falling twigs, leaves, and some snowflakes—water vapor that had been frozen by the White Dragon’s breath.

Once the threat was gone, the few Pegasi hurriedly landed.

Two of the Pegasi had a layer of ice covering their wings. The two poor things stood in place, constantly shifting their hooves, their entire bodies trembling uncontrollably.

"I’ll do it..." Orelia stepped forward, intending to use a Divine Art to heal them.

When the three Pegasi saw her approaching, they immediately shied back behind their masters, neighing restlessly.

"Let me, ma’am." The Wood Elf rider hurried to steady his spooked Pegasus.

The Tiefling shrank back, retreating awkwardly.

"It’s not your fault," Colin said, then stepped forward and asked the Wood Elf rider, "About when can we set off?"

The Wood Elf rider stroked his Pegasus’s head. He thought for a moment and said, "It’ll probably be a while. I don’t think they’ll be willing to go back into the sky for now."

"In that case, let’s escort this caravan for now. I don’t think it’s a good idea to just wait around here. I remember reading in a book that White Dragons are the most vengeful of all Giant Dragons."

As he finished speaking, the image of the White Dragon’s eyes flashed through his mind again.

’That stare sent a chill down his spine... What would be the consequences of earning a Giant Dragon’s hatred?’

Dorn, standing nearby, said, "In fact, all Giant Dragons are vengeful. It’s just that White Dragons are so stupid that they easily come across as *only* being vengeful, because they don’t have the brains to think about anything else."

"That works," the Wood Elf rider nodded.

"Are you going to travel with us for a bit?" Hearing this, the Half-Elf hurried over. "Please, ride in my carriage, ladies and gentlemen."