"XXXX, what would be your next action?"
"...I roll to escape the encounter."
After my words, a dice was thrown. Looking at the faces, it slowly settled on a side.
"Nat 20. No outside interferences, including all the bonus stats, you've successfully escaped the encounter by a small margin."
Hearing the term 'small margin', I looked towards the Dungeon Master.
"What do you mean by a small margin? Wasn't that a critical role?"
"Of course it is. But you see, the enemy this times was a fucking dragon, you know that?"
I tilted my head in confusion.
"Even so, I'm max level, aren't I?"
"You're underestimating the natural force of nature, man. A dragon. Do you even know what that is?"
Of course I do. A dragon is a mythological creature that could breathe fire out of its mouth. Other than that, is there anything else I'm supposed to know?
"I think I have an understanding of what they are."
"In that case, how could you still be disappointed after escaping one? On the contrary, you should've celebrated not being obliterated the moment you meet their eyes. They are proud creatures, after all."
"...Is that so?"
"It is so."
Surviving a dragon encounter is a big deal, huh?
That's a knowledge I've never heard before.
From his words, I could somewhat deduce what a hassle dealing with a dragon would be. But…
"If so, how come I ran into one just by exploring a forest?"
"Hah! That's the problem with new players!"
"I'm max level."
"Whatever! Levels are not a deciding factor that could determine your experience! I doubted you listened while the bard was explaining about the forest's background."
"That was important information? How would I have known?"
"Sigh… I prepared this adventure and yet the players are not even immersed in it. I feel quite hurt."
Looking at the DM's face that seemed like he was sulking, I felt quite bad.
In his words, he did prepare everything for us to just run through. But how could that justify me not listening to a word of a drunk bard? Even my mother would ignore the words of a drunk man on the street!
In that case, maybe asking a few questions could help lift his spirit? Make it seem like I'm interested in the lore of the world.
"In that case, what would've happened if I rolled a 19?"
"Of course, you would've failed. Unless you have advantage, the best thing to happen then would be escaping alive with a few limbs gone."
"...Does that mean any lower would be instant death?"
"See? You're finally catching onto how dangerous a dragon is as an adversary! I planned for any roll under 19 to be instant death whenever you encounter a dragon!"
"That's unfair!"
"Hah! What else could you expect from the final boss? Defeating a dragon would literally give you the title [Dragonborn], the highest honor a warrior could attain."
"What the fuck? You allowed me to encounter the final boss in a random forest!?"
"The unexpected could happen at any point in your adventure! This is why you must be prepared for any and all scenarios!"
I simply sighed at his insistence. Looking around the table, I could see the other party members nodding along to his words.
"Exactly the reason I have a [Totem Of Undying] with me."
"That is the reason I always set my checkpoints nearby."
"I'm a gamer, I seek danger."
One of the three sounded inspiring, but I ignored it.
"So? How would you survive a dragon encounter normally?"
I asked after contemplating.
After that, I listened to the rambling of the Dungeon Master about the dragon's weaknesses.
—
'The unexpected could happen at any point in your adventure.'
Those were the words of an experienced Dungeon Master.
Aria's mind trembled uncontrollably in front of such a majestic creature. Scales shining under the ray of sunlights that escaped through the dark clouds.
Even under such a dark environment, the massive creature still managed to shine without much natural light.
She gulped involuntarily.
Aria intuitively realized, as if a knowledge was pressed onto her brain, she's facing [The Bringer of Destruction].
A being she has never heard of before, yet she has knowledge of the name.
How compelling.
Shaking in terror, Aria's eyes were not able to escape the dragon's eyes. As she looked at the eyes from far away, she could feel herself being analysed.
…There's no way, right? It wouldn't suddenly take interest in such a puny being such as herself, right?
Not even the 5 stages of grief could paint her emotions. Instead, white was beginning to encroach on her vision.
'No… It's not encroaching…! It's gonna happen!'
Not thinking much, Aria simply let her instinct takeover, jumping out of the way of another beam that decimated everything in its path.
Breathing roughly, she held her fist close to her chest, feeling her own heartbeat thumping faster than an athlete's under pressure.
As she took a breather for a second, the dragon simply shot out another beam from its mouth, but this time it was a bit different.
Instead of targeting a single line of target vertically, the area of effect covered the ground horizontally.
Aria's arms covered her face instinctively, even while knowing that nothing could be done.
As the beam reached her position, a magic circle appeared out of thin air in front of her crossed arms, massively reducing the effect of such an attack.
'Huh?'
Although confused, she could not question it in peace as she could tell that another wave of beam could be appearing at any moment.
RARGHHHHHHHHH!!!
The dragon roared loudly, anchoring its presence in the mortal realm.
Aria had no choice but to cover both her canine ears lest wanting her eardrums bursting.
[The Bringer of Destruction]
A being that had made its presence known throughout humanity's history as one of the few [Beast] capable of mass destruction.
Unlike other dragons, this one specifically was a massive threat to humanity as a whole. Not only was it hostile upon contact, it also wouldn't hesitate to launch multiple beams of light towards any civilisation in its path.
Normal creatures would never have the honor of having their own [Title].
[The Bringer of Destruction] had obtained its own title by destroying multiple advanced civilizations on its own throughout its lifetime.
Even then, no records have been made about any deduction in firepower. It was as if the dragon itself never grew old and weak.
Ever since the rise of the first ever human civilization, the dragons had existed along with it. Yet none could come close to the power of [The Bringer of Destruction].
Along with four other beings with power comparable to it, one had been taken down.
The King of Demon, the Ruler of the Dark Kingdom, the Sole Enemy of Humanity.
[Fallen Angel], Demon King.
A title obtained after deceiving gods themselves, the Demon King was banished to the Mortal Realm.
But he prospered. Waging war to existing races, colonizing the world and obtaining land masses almost comparable to humans.
Fortunately, [Fallen Angel]'s tyranny had been put to rest by the Hero, [Deus Ex Machina].
As a person loved by the world itself, the Hero had been honored with a title comparable to that of a higher being.
Sacrificing herself, she took down another [Title Holder] like herself.
As a [Title Holder], another [Title Holder] is needed to take care of it. Due to that, [The Bringer of Destruction] was able to do whatever it wanted to since nobody held a [Title] that could threaten its position.
And now… Aria was facing that abomination. Because she doesn't know anything about this world, she didn't know that another [Title Holder] was needed to take care of one.
She's just running away.
"This world is bullshit! Why send me here in the first place if you were gonna try killing me twice in a single week!?"
"Also! Why does this situation feel so strangely familiar!?"
Screaming at the top of her lungs, she continued following her instinct. Dodging whenever she's being screamed at and jumping whenever her legs itches.
The only difference from her last game of tag and hide and seek is that she doesn't need to be quiet. This dragon seems to be able to locate her immediately even though she was hiding.
Not that she ever succeeded in finding a hiding spot in the first place.
Aria's previous sense of dread had been replaced by adrenaline in response to her fight or flight responses.
Meanwhile, the dragon was still sitting in its original position on top of a mountain. It looked very much carefree in comparison to the life and death scenario Aria is going through.
Even while shooting beams from its mouth, it looked like it was enjoying itself.
Never had anyone been able to dodge so many of its attacks before.
But soon, it grew tired of the repetitive scene.
Aria, still running, sensed a massive attack incoming.
She thought that if she just simply followed her instinct, she'd survive. But her instinct suddenly went silent.
As rain slowly started to pour, so did lightning. Although Aria felt refreshed after finally being able to lower her own body temperature, she could not relax herself.
There were no longer any beams of lights targeting her, no need to brace for any tumbling…
But she also realized.
'...This is truly the end.'
Aria had run for quite a while. She could confidently say that she's ran as far as a few kilometres in the dozen minutes since the laser chase began.
In fact, she could barely see the dragon in the distance.
At first, she wondered.
'Did it grow tired of playing with me now? Will it let me go?'
But she also noticed something else.
The firepower of the attacks previously aimed at her, even as she was getting farther away, they were not getting weaker.
Instead, they stayed consistent.
What does that imply?
'...It did not spend any effort whatsoever in its attacks.'
Aria heard another roar in the distance.
Suddenly, a massive beam of light pierced through the sky, pushing away murky clouds that were pouring water on the lands.
Along with it, Aria raised her arms once again, covering her face. With only willpower, she vowed.
'I will not die.'
Boom.
She was engulfed in an attack so devastating, another massive chunk of the geography had been taken out of the map.