With the gaming trio now on the carriage, Zenith had specifically sneaked back to grab three more consoles just so they wouldn't fight over who got to play.
When it came to video games, some didn't require reading comprehension to enjoy—take the classic GBA game *Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure*, for example.
In an action game, the plot didn't matter. As long as you could mash out combos, you were good to go. Plus, all four of them could link up for multiplayer, making for a wonderfully harmonious time.
Charging wasn't an issue either; a solar charger was more than enough to meet the power demands of these little handhelds.
"Slothful! How truly slothful!"
Watching his character get wiped out by Mia's seamless combo, Zenith rested the console on his lap, looking completely dead inside.
Ever since these three figured out the controls, he had rapidly been demoted to the absolute worst gamer among the four of them.
"Speaking of which, we've been traveling for over half a month and haven't encountered a single monster. Isn't it a bit too quiet?"
At the mention of serious business, the group temporarily set down their handhelds. "There are two possibilities. The first is that an incredibly strong adventurer passed through recently and cleared out all the monsters along the way."
"I haven't heard of any big shots roaming around these parts."
Tolkien pondered for a moment before replying, "Then I'm leaning toward the second possibility. Some powerful monster has claimed this surrounding area as its territory, terrifying the lesser monsters into staying away."
The caravan's pace was slow. After all, they were hauling a massive amount of cargo, and the road conditions were far from ideal. Still, over the course of ten-odd days, the group had traveled nearly a hundred kilometers along the main road.
With a territorial range this absurdly large, thinking it over left only one real possibility.
A dragon.
The undisputed apex predator in any fantasy work, synonymous with power and brutality. Slaying a dragon was the ultimate romance for a warrior and a badge of honor for the strong. But more often than not, a dragon simply served as an adventurer's tomb.
Clearly, the others had also arrived at this conclusion, and a faintly oppressive atmosphere settled over the party.
"Looks like this ten-gold-coin reward won't be easy to earn. Can you handle it, Zenith?"
A flash of worry crossed Claire's eyes. A first battle was crucial for an adventurer—it built confidence and forged courage. Only through the crucible of repeated combat could a warrior learn to forge ahead fearlessly.
They still firmly believed Zenith was a rookie. If his very first fight was against a dragon, his chances of survival were astronomically slim.
"If you're scared, then run. I was the one who dragged you into this, after all. Otherwise, you'd probably still be drinking in that tavern right now."
Claire crossed his arms, staring down at the space between his feet. Suddenly, he let out a chuckle and looked up at Zenith.
"Besides, we have the numbers. Even against a dragon, we might just stand a fighting chance."
'They're a good bunch,' Zenith concluded. But with him around, there wouldn't be any accidents. "I'm actually really strong, you know. If we do run into a dragon, try not to drop your jaws too hard."
"You'd better at least live up to that expensive-looking armor of yours." Mia reached out and knocked on Zenith's chestplate. "I've never seen this material before, but it definitely gives off a reassuring vibe."
"Relax. If a dragon shows up, I'll be the first one charging in."
It was a dragon, after all! Sure, back in the End, he had killed and respawned the Ender Dragon dozens of times just to farm Dragon's Breath, but it was really hard to feel intimidated by the blocky, pixelated creatures of Minecraft.
The caravan gradually fell into disarray. The magical aura of this world was vastly different from the Fate universe. Everyone here possessed mana, just in varying amounts, which interfered with Zenith's magical detection.
'Is it a dragon?'
A dark, tyrannical presence loomed—it was massive, far stronger than the combined magical signatures of their nearly hundred-person caravan.
A draconic roar echoed through the air. The greedy beast had caught the scent of treasure. A merchant caravan delivering itself right to its doorstep? The Shadow Dragon was thrilled. These tiny two-legged beasts truly knew how to please a dragon.
The first thing to hit them was the Dragon's Fear—an unreasonable, overbearing pressure much like Conqueror's Haki, an innate ability possessed by every creature with dragon blood.
It was a board-clearing area-of-effect skill, a specialized attack that inflicted immense psychological pressure on weaker beings. The well-trained guards might have been invincible against mountain bandits, but against a dragon, a single encounter left them dropping their weapons and collapsing to the ground, completely paralyzed.
"Now that's a big guy."
The group hopped off the carriage, exchanged nods with the other adventurer parties, and began slowly advancing toward the Shadow Dragon.
Purple specks of light shimmered across its pitch-black body. Ferocious, spiraling horns extended from the top of its head all the way down to its neck. With a wingspan approaching thirty meters, just standing on the ground, it exuded an aura of sheer invincibility.
A Wooden Shield and a Netherite Sword. *Perfect.* This finally felt like a real adventure. Not just an adventure, but it even gave off the vibe of teaming up with friends to play *Monster Hunter*.
"Hey, Zenith!!"
The trio was dumbfounded. The other adventurers were cautiously inching forward, trying to find an opening to force the dragon back. Why the hell was he just mindlessly charging straight at it?!
"Cover that idiot!"
But Claire and the other two weren't about to abandon Zenith. Even though the rest of the caravan looked at them like they were suicidal fools, they charged forward together without hesitation.
They had known each other for less than half a month, but that was their party member running in. How could they just ignore him? Adventurers lived and died together.
Dragon's Claw. Many combat arts adopted this name to emphasize their overwhelming power, but for an actual dragon, this was just a basic attack.
"Did he block it?!"
A cloud of dust kicked up, obscuring Zenith's figure and hiding the outcome from the others.
Of course he blocked it. With the absolute defense of a Minecraft shield, forget a mere dragon—he could tank a nuclear warhead.
He countered with his Netherite Sword. In Zenith's eyes, hitting weak points didn't matter. Thanks to Minecraft mechanics, he could just hack away at its toes until its HP hit zero—*eat my jumping toe-slash!*
Flames! His teammates couldn't see Zenith's condition, but that didn't stop them from reacting.
Claire summoned his magic staff, and a surging torrent of fire blasted into the Shadow Dragon. The flames burned fiercely, but they were still a long way from piercing the dragon's magic-resistant scales.
Tolkien cast a series of buffs on Mia: Warrior's Physique, Stone Skin, Gale Acceleration, and Bull's Strength. Gripping her longsword, Mia kicked off the surrounding trees to gain momentum, leaped high into the air, and brought her blade crashing down right between the Shadow Dragon's eyes.
The sword snapped.
Not everyone was a member of the Hero's party. In the original story, Stark had one-shot the Solar Dragon with his axe because he was trained by humanity's strongest warrior and was a once-in-a-generation genius himself.
This was the reality of ordinary people facing a dragon. Was she going to die?
Mia stared into the Shadow Dragon's purple pupils in silence, as if accepting her fate.
"Don't be so pessimistic, guys! I told you, I'm actually really strong!"
Zenith's voice rang out. From a pure carrying-capacity standpoint, a Minecraft player's strength was absurd. They could hold tens of thousands of tons of blocks in one hand without breaking a sweat, but that was just game logic.
The actual physical strength Zenith could exert came from training, and from repeatedly consuming mythical foods like Enchanted Golden Apples.
Okay, fine, the latter definitely accounted for the vast majority of it.
Regardless, Zenith was strong. Even without relying on his various items, his raw physical power was immense.
This sword strike pierced the heavens.
Powered by sword techniques from the Epic Fight Mod and the constant influence of watching Saber in action, Zenith's strike cleaved the Shadow Dragon cleanly in two, splitting it right down the middle.
"Well? Pretty strong, right?"
Zenith said, striking a cool pose with his hands on his hips.
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