'Hey, hey, hey, a dragon?

　Tetsuya, the stubble-less male player who is the clan leader of the clan "Livestock Task Force", muttered to himself when he saw the ......, or more accurately, the blue dragon that jumped up into the sky.

'I've never seen one before in this game.

'I've seen wyverns before, though. Are you okay, Teck?　Are you okay?

　The girl teasing Tetsuya next to him laughs as she leans against the huge shield that doesn't fit her young body.
　The girl's name is Noel. She was also a tank player who belonged to the same clan as Tetsuya.

'I can't be bruised by something like that. I'm a tank, after all.　It's my job to take the hits in front of me.

It's my job to be in front of the attackers.

　Noel cowered at the sight of Tetsuya's bravado, knowing that he was being teased.
　You can only see the figure of a giant dragon descending slowly when you look up at the sky.
　Noel, thinking that he would not be attacked right away, instructed the third clan member behind him.

'Liu-chan, go to Rinne-san's place. It'll be safer than behind us.'

'Yes, sir.'

　The female player called Liu-chan responded to Noel's instructions without pausing, and ran towards where Rinne and Sukuna were.

'Now that Drago and Rinne are here, I'm afraid I'll fall apart if I manage my hate half-heartedly.

　Tetsuya said as he turned his head to relax his body.
　The two aces behind him had been friends since before Tetsuya created his own clan, and they were also close friends who had defeated named boss monsters together.
　As a result, Tetsuya has a rough idea of how much firepower the two guys behind him are capable of.

　I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do it.

'Both of them have a lot of firepower, you know. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing.

　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea. It is made of the same material as Rinne's Blue Jade Staff, so the blue color it wears is similar.
　However, inside it is the soul of Nameless. Despite the similarity in appearance, Drago's greatsword was far superior as a weapon.

　In addition to the performance of the weapon, Drago himself has tuned up his own status to wield the greatsword most efficiently.
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　And the high firepower simply means that it is easy to attract the hate of monsters.

　Monster hate can be collected mainly through active actions such as attacking, buffing, healing, and using items, as well as by using provocative arts.
　Monsters' hate is basically set for each player, and the rule of thumb is to target the player with the highest hate.
　Therefore, the tank must first increase his or her hate value so that the monsters will always target him or her.
　This allows other players to attack as they please without worrying about counterattacks.

　This is called hate management, but of course, if you gain more hate than the tank, the monster's hate will be transferred.
　While it's the tank's role to manage hate, it's a factor that all players need to be aware of.
　In such a situation, the presence of players like Drago and Rinne, who had outstanding firepower, was definitely a concern.



'Well, but I don't know how much value is packed into those five HPs. Two people's firepower is absolutely necessary.

'There are only a few of us, you know. But well, this time there are three tanks and two healers. I'm sure you'll be able to find a good balance even with nine attackers, although the rest depends on the field.

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I think it's a good idea.

'I don't have much of a relationship with the Round Table, but I do have that bastard Shuya. I'm sure they'll match up well. Dragon Fang should have no problem with that. The rest are two strays and .......'

It's Sukuna. She looks calm, but I wonder what she's thinking.

　Sukuna.
　It's not just the fact that she's Rinne's best friend that makes her a hot topic, but also the fact that she accomplished the feat of defeating a Nameless solo on her second day of play.
　Along with fairies, the demon race has its own quirks, but he uses his player skills to master them, and he's a player to keep an eye on.
　Today, he seemed to be wearing a gauntlet instead of his trademark gold bar.

　As if he had something on his mind, Skuna kept his gaze fixed on the slowly descending giant dragon and did not move.
　It's not that he's unmotivated, but he seems to be lacking in energy.

It's a good idea to talk to them when they're in trouble, because they're probably not going to overreact unless they're really stupid. Besides, Rinne is right behind me. It's a little annoying for a professional, but having her behind you giving orders should help stabilize things.

I guess. In any case, this is the time for us to show off our skills.

'It's not that I want to show off my skills, though. Well, this is no time to be talking nonsense.

　The two of them, who had been talking lightly to each other, made a heavy landing sound.　The two who were talking lightly turned their gaze to the giant dragon that had landed on the earth with a heavy landing sound.
　It's not a typical flying dragon, even if it is a dragon, but a dragon with its limbs attached to the earth.
　It is more like an earth dragon. Its wings could be used to assist in leaping and to slow its descent, but they were too small and unreliable to support its well-developed and strong body.

　On the other hand, its limbs were so strong that they were naturally covered with shells and scales that looked like hard armor.
　Its claws and fangs were like weapons, and the ground where it landed was gouged out just by being stroked.
　It was not hard to imagine that if one were to be hit by it, one's torso would be cut into rings and one would die instantly.

　I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not.
　The two of them held up their shields in anticipation of the breath, but its roar was directed at the sky.

'Goooooo......aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

　The wolfsbane of the start of the war began with a deafening roar.
　It was so loud that I wanted to cover my ears, but there was no damage, and no binding time had occurred.
　While there are monsters whose roars produce effects such as binding and numbness, the roar was so loud that they were unharmed.
　In other words, the current roar was really nothing more than a loud voice.


　The giant dragon finished its roar and reaped its right arm.


　While some players still tilted their heads at the actions of the giant dragon that was still far away from the players, two of the tanks, especially Noel, stood in front of everyone.

''《Around Shield》!

　A hemispherical defensive shield was created around the two-handed shield that Noel had thrust into the earth.
　The most astonishing thing was its range. Even though they were reasonably tightly packed, the shield was huge enough to encompass all of the scattered players.

　The moment the shield was deployed, a roaring wind storm blew into the shield.
　The [Around Shield], which only creaked lightly even after taking a direct hit from the wind, disappeared without a sound after preventing the wind pressure attack with just a wave of its arm.

'How is it?'

'For now, I guess we can ignore that one in the future. It's not powerful. It's just that some players might get blown away.

　The Around Shield is a ranged defensive art that can protect a large area, but the user takes all damage from attacks that hit the shield.
　On top of that, Noel was not damaged by the current attack.
　In other words, the current wind pressure, like the roar, was not an attack aimed at inflicting damage.

　However, it was hard to say how many players would be able to keep their feet on the ground after being hit by the current wind pressure.
　Aside from players with particularly heavy equipment, the problem is healers, buffers, and wizards who tend to prioritize lighter equipment.
　While wizards can put up barriers, buffers and healers may not have defensive skills, depending on their buffing style.

'No, let Rinne handle it. She's got the basic magic skills, so she can put up a range barrier. And watch your step.

'Alright!　Then you'll have to adjust your hate accordingly.

　Noel said with an air of nonchalance as he shielded himself from the debris that the giant dragon had flung at him.
　If you're not sure what you're looking for, you can always ask for help.
　That's fine. It was planned that Noel would be the main hate taker at first.

'Then cover me. I'll come forward.

　Noel said as he rushed out with his huge shield at the ready.
　The giant dragon seemed to be able to attack from a distance if he didn't close the distance.
　It's not a big deal if it's not very powerful, but if your attackers don't have any long-distance players, you can't avoid close combat.
　However, since there are few attackers with long range, close combat is inevitable.

　Therefore, Noel will close the distance while the hate is on him.
　The reason is that if Noel stays close to the giant dragon and keeps getting attacked, the attacks won't fly to other players except for ranged attacks.
　Knowing this, Tetsuya let Noel go alone, and stepped in front of them to prevent the accidental death of the following players.

'Mr. Tetsuya.

'Drago. What's up, you need something?'

'Nothing, I have a message from Miss Rinne. Ms. Sukuna and Ms. Rinne won't be able to join the attack for a while. She's going to wait until you or Noel have gathered enough hate.



I'm not sure what to make of this, but I think it's a good idea.　...... I don't mind, but tell Rinne to put a barrier on Hira and Buff.

It's a good idea. I'll be right behind you. I'll leave the vanguard to you.'

'I'll take care of it. Noel's about to get to his feet. We'll make our move, keep going.'

　After telling this to Drago, who had somehow come to deliver a message from Rinne, Tetsuya turned his attention to the giant dragon.
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