Starting with Frieren

Linton, filled with worry, knelt on the ground and sincerely bowed his head to Ivan. "Please, could you check the main battlefield for us? We're willing to pay you accordingly! I beg of you—"

"Whoa, whoa, stop that!" Ivan exclaimed, hurriedly helping him up. "No need to bow like that—I never said I wouldn't go. Besides, I'm heading to the Village of the Sword to pull the hero sword and become a hero anyway. Protecting people from magic beasts is just part of the job!"

After helping Linton to his feet, Ivan prepared to fly directly to the battlefield but hesitated, realizing the hunter might be in danger if left behind. He decided to bring Linton along.

"Hold tight—we're taking off!"

"Whoa—aaaahhh!"

Suddenly being lifted hundreds of meters into the air, Linton flailed around in panic. It took him a few seconds to calm down.

Ivan was slightly surprised. When he had taken Flamme into the sky for the first time, she had been thrilled for several minutes. He didn't expect this ordinary hunter to regain his composure so quickly.

◇

"Linton, could you point me toward the main battlefield? The fog's getting thicker, and I can't see very far."

"Sorry, Mr. Ivan, I'm afraid I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I've got my eyes shut... I'm terrified of heights. If I open them, I might faint on the spot."

"...Seriously?"

Fortunately, despite keeping his eyes closed, Linton was able to verbally describe landmarks and the general direction, allowing Ivan to fly there swiftly.

"The fog is getting heavier. Why did you all decide to hold a hunt in such awful weather?"

"I'm not sure. The village elders predicted clear skies today, and it was indeed sunny this morning. I don't know why it's so foggy now."

"Roar—!"

Their conversation was cut short by a loud, guttural roar. A blazing dragon flame burst through the mist, narrowly missing them. Ivan dodged with ease but frowned at the implications.

"Wait... Does your hunt include taking down a Dark Dragon?"

"Impossible!" Linton's eyes flew open in shock but, after glancing at the ground below, he immediately closed them again, trembling.

He explained, "Dark Dragons should be in the Abyss Cavern, more than ten kilometers away. They also hibernate during winter. There's no way one would show up here!"

"Well, it is here."

Ivan descended with Linton to a relatively safe location. The battle not far ahead appeared to be intense.

The Village of the Sword team consisted of five warriors, three mages, and two priest, with several hunter-clad villagers providing auxiliary support. While sufficient to handle an ordinary magic beast horde, their collective strength fell short against a creature at the top of the food chain, like a dragon.

This Dark Dragon bore old wounds: one of its horns had been severed in the past. Mist constantly emanated from the smooth break, likely the cause of the sudden weather change.

If it were a healthy Dark Dragon, its dual horns would allow it to unleash dark-attribute magic. Ivan observed that this one had lost that capability, but it could still use Dragon Flame, a signature attack of its species. Its scales offered incredible magic and physical resistance, except for the vulnerable reverse scale on its neck, making it a formidable foe for the hunting party.

Ivan concluded he couldn't defeat the dragon in a direct confrontation. However, knowing its weakness meant there was no need to face it head-on.

He fired two magic missiles, each carrying the force of three adult farmers' punches, at the dragon's reverse scale. Both were intercepted by a localized defensive barrier. It seemed the Dark Dragon was well aware of its weak spot and had reinforced it accordingly.

Ivan saw a warrior being swatted away by the dark dragon, losing consciousness and on the verge of being crushed under the dragon's massive claw. Acting quickly, Ivan used spatial magic to teleport to his side, then transported him back to the two priest nearby.

"I'm just a passing mage. No time to explain! Heal him immediately!"

Using two consecutive teleports drained half of Ivan's mana. Without hesitation, he retrieved four snow wolf corpses from his spatial ring.

Instant refinement, mana fully restored.

"By the way, mind if I borrow your sword? I'll return it after we deal with the dark dragon." Without waiting for a reply, Ivan stowed the unconscious warrior's longsword into his spatial ring, assuming silence meant consent.

Approaching the blond warrior who seemed to be the leader, Ivan said, "You all keep the dark dragon busy. I'll apply pressure from above. When I give the signal, scatter immediately."

"Understood!"

The blond warrior, sharp-eyed, immediately recognized Ivan's prowess and commanded his team to adjust their tactics accordingly.

Ivan's seamless flight into the air bolstered everyone's confidence. After all, flight magic was still a relatively new spell, and most human mages struggled with it. Seeing someone like Ivan take to the skies so effortlessly either meant he was a genius or an experienced master.

◇

Ascending to his maximum altitude, Ivan grabbed a massive boulder with his spatial ring. Aligning his thumb and squinting with one eye like aiming down a sight, he locked onto the now-diminutive dark dragon below. Disabling his flight magic, he began a rapid freefall, plummeting toward the ground like a meteor.

During his descent, Ivan didn't use any magic. Instead, he relied solely on gravity to accelerate, the wind slicing his skin and leaving faint cuts.

The scene was reminiscent of Stephen Chow's iconic move in Kung Fu Hustle, where a character descended from the sky like a divine strike. However, lacking martial arts skills, Ivan knew diving headfirst would only result in his death.

Instead, he opted for something more "hardcore."

A physical attack.

Objects retrieved from a spatial ring retain the relative motion of the ring. By releasing the boulder while in high-speed descent, Ivan could grant it terrifying velocity.

The faster the object, the harder it hits.

Though simply dropping the boulder would also create substantial impact, such a method was more prone to being detected by the target. Ivan's direct control and fine-tuning allowed for greater accuracy and stealth.

--

Meanwhile, on the battlefield below, the party grew uneasy as time dragged on without Ivan in sight.

"Captain, we should retreat. Our mana is almost depleted!" a mage urged.

Another exhausted mage chimed in, "That powerful stranger might have encountered trouble and can't make it back. We should fall back while we can—"

"Trouble? Why not just say he fled when he saw things were going south?" sneered a warrior, pale-faced and missing an arm after a close encounter with the dragon. "Captain, let's leave now. Otherwise, we're all going to die. We can't stake our lives on an outsider!"

"Just a bit longer… a bit longer," the captain said, gritting his teeth. The battle had reached a fever pitch, and retreating now would mean leaving several behind as a rear guard—a death sentence.

"I trust him. He saved Sean at great risk to himself. He has no reason to lie or harm us."

Resolute, the group braced themselves and charged again, though their morale wavered.

The dark dragon, becoming increasingly frenzied, sensed imminent danger but couldn't pinpoint its source. Its massive body radiated tension and unease.