So, Quagmire spreads word of his name while he carefully searches each country he visits from end-to-end, missing nothing.
If he becomes famous enough in each area, surely a family member will be able to recognize and find him, or so he speculates.
[Ah, but still, at least join us for the rogue Red Dragon Extermination!]
Quagmire received the job request.
If it is successful, he will become quite famous for slaying a dragon.
So together they went to the counter and registered the party.
[Umm... it's not just our party participating is it? Where are the other parties who are also participating?]
[There'll be more joining, Quagmire... It's the first big job like this in a while. Everyone will be motivated to join!]
Dragon exterminations are usually done by two or more parties working together.
To do so with only one party is pretty much... suicidal.
Five parties expressed desire to join in the Dragon Extermination.
S-rank party [Stepped Leader]
A-rank party [Road Knights]
A-rank party [Iron Lump Corps]
A-rank party [Cellar World]
A-rank party [Drunken Jokers]
In total, a 25 member raid group.
A certain kill group would consist of at least 7 or more parties, so the number of people gathered right now is rather low.
[Oi! Oi! It's a Red Dragon you know? It's a huge bounty, so where is everyone already? Everyone here is A-rank, where are all the S-rankers at?]
[Word is that a new labyrinth was discovered out in the east, so everyone went to take a look at it.]
Soldat was impatient.
Inside the Adventurer's Guild, one man sighed then chimed in.
[...I guess with just this few, it's probably impossible to accomplish it after all.]
So the party [Cellar World] withdrew from the raid, and there were just 21 members left.
It seemed that a total dissolution of the mission could be expected at this point.
With the number of people left, it was a very risky proposition. Everyone thought so.
At that point, Soldat spoke with great authority.
[Alright! 21 People, that means everyone gets a bigger cut from the bounty!]
Everyone was anxious enough, but after that, no one said anything disheartening.
Part 3[แก้ไข]
21 adventurers walked the chilly tundra of the Northern Lands.
A thin layer of snow powdered the trails.
The leaves fell from the trees, and the branches were whitening from the chilly air.
Soon, the long winter will come.
[Quagmire, Can you scout ahead?]
Following the order of Soldat, Quagmire used the appropriate magic.
He brought forth a pillar of earth and snow that he stood atop as it rose high up into the air, granting him a great vision for quite some distance.
Quagmire then conveys what he sees. The target is a large Red Dragon.
One that is not difficult to be missed with continual reconnaissance.
What's this?
Quagmire also spied something else.
[Raster Grizzly at 2 o'clock. Seems like a bunch of them. They are kicking the hell up out of the snow!]
[How many are there!?]
[8...no wait, 10 of them moving this way. I wonder if they noticed us. Approaching from dead ahead! And fast!]
These monsters were not the target though.
For the so few members of the group gathered, there isn't really enough spare energy to go wasting on small fry monsters like this.
However, when evil comes, one must defend.
[Everyone, spread out! Quagmire, hurry down, we're going to need you for support!]
[Understood!]
Soldat gave the order, and four parties deployed their members.
The plan was to flank the enemy and herd them towards Quagmire's ambush.
[Quagmire!]
[I'm on it!]
On Soldat's order, Quagmire moved.
He was called "Quagmire" for the skill he had using Earth Magic.
He had an amazing skill that instantly creates mires of mud, bogging down enemies.
Landing him with the nickname of [Quagmire.]
A herd of ten Raster Grizzly were funneled towards him, and all fell victim almost instantly to the highly adhesive mud of which they found themselves quite stuck in.
"Now!"
The members of the raid group who suddenly sprang out from the surrounding areas quickly surrounded the monsters, charging in and ruthlessly dispatching each and every one.
No mercy.
Any mercy shown now could mean death the next time; such a thing was common sense to an adventurer.
And in short order, the Raster Grizzly threat was eliminated.
However, after dealing with these enemies, someone noticed IT.
[Hey! It's the Red Dragon! It's coming!]
[Ah, these Grizzly must have been running away from it!]
The Rogue.
Red Dragon.
The strongest monster that exists on the Central Continent.
And his prey was the group of Raster Grizzly we defeated.
[Quagmire! Why's this guy here?]
[It must have been hiding in the wake of the snow powder that was being kicked up by the Grizzly. I didn't see it anywhere before!]
In regards to dealing with the sudden arrival of the Red Dragon, the adventurers pretty much lost their wits about them.
Originally the plan was to prepare an ambush from farther away, then launch a surprise attack on it.
And now, not only was there no preparation, but the dragon was launching a surprise attack on the raid group instead.
There was practically no chance of winning this fight.
[Damn it! Retreat, everyone Retreat!]