Kumoko watched the carnage unfold. Strangely, she didn't feel shocked anymore. More... numb. So many impossible things had already happened around this Earth Dragon. She just felt incredibly lucky he was on her side.
She'd actually become best friends with this guy! If they were enemies... she couldn't even imagine it!
Sniffle... She was still too weak, always thinking about running away. Look at the Earth Dragon already hunting humans! That was the difference! The huge gap between them!
Wait a second...
Suddenly, Kumoko sensed something wrong. From another direction, a group of humans was rapidly approaching.
The leader, a human, was an incredibly high Level 30! He had white hair and held a peach-wood magic staff topped with a large blue-green gem, covered in magical engravings.
"Drago! More humans are coming! A second group!" Kumoko yelled, loud enough for Elliot to hear.
Just as she finished speaking, the noisy chatter of humans arrived.
"This Earth Dragon killed the advance team!"
"Damn it!"
Two human warriors charged forward, using the Warrior skill [Lunge]. Adventurers had classes like [Warrior], [Mage], [Assassin], [Archer], [Support], etc., and each class had its own skills and talents.
These two were clearly Warriors tough and durable. Both were Level 11, and their HP was a surprisingly high 840, with decent defenses too.
Numbers like that meant a single [Tendo Bansho] wouldn't be enough to wipe them out instantly.
Elliot frowned, glancing at the Earth Dragon egg lying on the ground. He didn't want to give it up. That egg was potentially very useful to him. Letting the humans take it felt wrong.
Gritting his teeth, Elliot decided to fight. He'd just leveled up, his stats were higher now. Giving up without a fight felt like a waste.
"[Tendo Bansho]!"
Without hesitation, Elliot cast the skill again. His MP was only enough for one more cast of this ultimate. Thankfully, in this world, leveling up fully restored HP and MP.
A giant meteor crashed down again. The two charging Warriors were instantly petrified, and despite their high HP and defense, the impact immediately dropped them to critical health.
For a moment, all the humans were stunned by the sheer power of the skill.
Other monsters in the Elroe Labyrinth had petrifying abilities, like the Basilisk's [Petrifying Gaze], which slowly turned you to stone if you looked at it for too long.
But a skill that dealt massive damage and instantly petrified? This was the first time they'd seen anything like it.
At that moment, the white-haired human mage lowered his gaze, muttering incantations.
The magic staff in his hand began to glow, mana swirling around it, the blue-green gem shining brightly. A terrifying pressure instantly spread through the area.
"Drago! The human mage is casting a spell!" Kumoko shouted urgently. She could feel a horrifying power emanating from his staff, even stronger than the Earth Dragon's ultimate!
Elliot took a deep breath. Magic was a complex art. Constructing spell formulas, channeling mana, manifesting thoughts into reality...
Even simple spells required incredibly intricate steps. In large battles, a skilled warrior might influence a small part of the fight, but a skilled mage could end the entire war!
Elliot glanced one last time at the Earth Dragon egg, then finally shook his head helplessly.
Even if that human mage just cast a basic [Impact Bolt], he couldn't survive it in his current state.
He couldn't believe it in the end, he couldn't take the egg with him. Simply put, he was still too weak!
"[Starfell Stone]!"
Elliot activated the skill. Three rock pillars instantly shot up from the ground, blocking the humans' line of sight.
The pillars wouldn't stop them for long, but if the human mage insisted on casting a large-scale spell now, it could put himself in danger.
After all, the Great Elroe Labyrinth was home to top-tier monsters like the Spider Queen and Earth Dragon Araba. Humans wouldn't dare provoke them lightly.
Then, Elliot grabbed the two petrified, nearly dead Warriors and bolted in the opposite direction. No time to waste, gotta run!
….
"Damn it!"
"That Earth Dragon tricked us!"
The adventurers stared furiously at the rock pillars blocking their path. An Earth Dragon hatchling like that, captured alive and sold to nobles or royalty, would have brought them immense wealth.
Who would have thought their whole group couldn't handle one young dragon, and even got played like fools?!
"Sigh..." The human mage, Gordeau, lowered his staff, letting the gathered mana dissipate. He didn't try to violently destroy the rock pillars. Down here in the Elroe Labyrinth, humans weren't the rulers. The Earth Dragon Araba and the Spider Queen were.
"Let's go," Gordeau said calmly.
"But..." Hearing their leader, the others felt unwilling to give up. They'd lost so many comrades, even Level 11 Warriors, and failed to capture the Earth Dragon hatchling. Were they just leaving like this?
Gordeau shook his head. "Forget it. That Earth Dragon has already awakened its intelligence. Only mindless beasts charge recklessly. It knew I wouldn't risk using large-scale magic here, so it blocked the path with rocks. A monster like that won't be easy to catch." Gordeau had encountered intelligent monsters before, but an 8th level Earth Dragon with this level of cunning? Could it be a mutated variant?
Although they suffered heavy losses, they had at least achieved their main objective. The Earth Dragon egg was what they came for. Luckily, the other dragon hadn't managed to steal it. If they'd arrived just a bit later, they might have lost it.
"Mission complete. Time to head back," Gordeau declared. They'd already lost too many people. Since they had the egg, there was no reason to linger.
….
Meanwhile...
Huff... Huff...
Far away, an Earth Dragon and a spider were panting heavily, having run a long distance.
The pressure humans exerted on monsters was genuinely terrifying. Humans were one of the few intelligent races, organized, disciplined, and goal-oriented not just a mindless mob.
Plus, they were masters of using tools, supplementing their weaker base stats with powerful [Equipment].
For most ordinary monsters, fighting equipped humans was like facing opponents from a higher dimension.
Kumoko looked back towards her burnt-out web nest, a pang of sadness in her heart. In her previous life, she never really had a place she could call home.
Broken family, couldn't fit in at school, only games offered an escape.
This little web nest was the first place she'd painstakingly built just for herself, a place she belonged. And now, a single torch from the humans had burned it all to ashes.
She felt like crying. But she held it back. With the Earth Dragon nearby, crying would just make her look pathetic, right?
"These two human warriors are barely alive. You can finish them off."
A mature, steady voice suddenly spoke, making Kumoko jump. Looking up, she realized it was the Earth Dragon talking!
"Eh? Ehhh??"
"Drago, you can talk now?" Kumoko asked, surprised. Using Appraisal, she saw the skill [Language Comprehension] added to Elliot's skill list.
Wow, so extravagant! A 500-point skill, learned just like that!
"Mm, this is much more convenient," Elliot replied casually. "Alright, go ahead and finish off these two warriors."
He sounded nonchalant. With the [Butcher] title, killing humans was a fast track to power.
Leveling up already gave lots of skill points, and now killing humans gave extra points on top of that. Skill points wouldn't be scarce for him anymore. Plus, title skills could be leveled up.
At level 1, Butcher gave one point per kill. Higher levels would grant even more. So, no need to be stingy with the expensive language skill.
….
you can join my discord server: https://discord.gg/5Y7uZ2kN2Y
Or in short just click in join via invite link in your discord and enter this code: 5Y7uZ2kN2Y