Dungeon of the Dragon Zeryis

June 19th 2018

At school during lunch, Seiji asks Hanabi where she wants to eat today. Instead of answering, she apologizes, now remembering what she meant to tell him yesterday.

“I’m so sorry I completely forgot! Sun and I decided to meet for lunch today to talk about Starfight. I still made you food, enjoy!”

She hands Seiji a boxed lunch she put together for him this morning and gives him a smile before leaving to meet Sun.

Once she’s out of sight, Seiji hangs his head and whines, “Hannnaaa~~”

In Sun and Ryuuji’s classroom, Ryuuji walks up to Sun’s desk and gets her attention as he proudly holds up his own food.

“Lookie here! My first homemade lunch.”

“Wow, I’m impressed.” Sun says in a high pitched tone, “This works out too, now you won’t distract us since you can just eat here.”

“What do you mean?”

Sun then thinks back to last night after she spoke with Hanabi and realizes she never told him their plans. “I guess I didn’t mention it. Hana and I are meeting today to eat together. See ya, enjoy your lunch.”

Sun waves as she leaves Ryuuji to pout.

“But...my first homemade lunch.”

Sun and Hanabi wind up meeting in the hall and walk to a quiet area, leaving the boys behind.

“Ryuuji normally leaves the classroom every day to get food, but today he brought in his own for the first time. We really lucked out.” Sun says.

“If it was the first time he made one himself, I wonder if he was excited to show off his work.” Hanabi considers.

Sun realizes she may have a point. Many people wouldn’t care, but Ryuuji likes to get attention whenever he can, which in part may be due to his current home life. She decides to at least apologize later for leaving in a hurry.

Once they take a seat, Hanabi immediately gets to what they wanted to discuss.

“You wanted to learn a new spell, right?”

“Yes! I’m not the best at learning all the attack spells Ryuuji keeps suggesting for me and wanted to try something different. I was really impressed with the one you used last night!”

Watching her reaction, Hanabi can’t help feeling some jealousy. “I wish Seiji would react like you and Ryuuji did once in a while, but nothing surprises him anymore.”

“It sounds like you go on missions like that often. I guess he’s used to it.”

“Yeah well...” Wanting to complain more, but noticing she’s getting off track, Hanabi changes the subject back to spells. “Anyway, spells for a hunter. Your class has more limitations than mine, but I know a few that have a wide range due to your arrows. Do you want healing or a barrier? The range will widen more and more as you get it to the max level available.”

Sun is once again amazed by Hanabi’s knowledge of the game. “I can’t believe you know so much about a class you don’t use.”

“When I started playing with Seiji, or the ‘Hero Hargrave’, I would sometimes feel useless even though it didn’t matter to him. So I decided I would research everything available for the game to be of better use to him. I didn’t want to be in Hargrave’s shadow forever. I keep up with daily player discoveries too!”

“Here I’ve always been the opposite. I was just happy talking with my friend Steve in Starfight, not taking part in much fighting. Now that we have this large group, I want to be more useful.” Sun is almost embarrassed to admit all this compared to Hanabi’s passion.

“Tonight I can guide you through the quest to learn the spell and help you master it.”

Sun is delighted by the idea of just the two of them playing. Hanabi feels the same way as this is the first time someone asked her for advice. She suggests they meet at the ‘Village of Lost Spirits’. Although Sun will still need directions, she says she has been there before. Steve brought her there in an attempt to scare her, but of course it didn’t end well on his part.

With everything decided, the girls continue their lunch and discuss other topics to pass the time. Just regular girly things they wouldn’t normally discuss in their normal group, including who this ‘Steve’ person is, with Sun saying she hopes to introduce them one day.

Time flies and before the girls know it, lunch is over. They walk back together until they get close to their classrooms, separating at a stairwell.

When Sun enters the room, she sees Ryuuji sitting with his arms crossed, simply staring at his empty container. She asks how his lunch was in which he responds, in his usual dramatic nature,

“It was like a box of loneliness.”

At that point Sun would rather ignore him, but decides to give him a second chance. “Why don’t you make another tomorrow? I’ll give you a proper grade.”

“I suppose I can give you a second chance.” Ryuuji responds as if he read her mind.

“When you put it that way then nevermind.” Annoyed by his attitude, Sun walks away, ignoring any of his pleading that follows.

Meanwhile, Hanabi takes a seat at her desk, practically glowing with happiness. Sitting side by side, Seiji asks how her lunch was.

“It was great! Sun and I plan to play together tonight.”

Seiji can only watch as her joy unfolds. Noticing his reaction, Hanabi speaks up.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing. I’m glad you had fun.”

After school, Ryuuji is heading to the exit when he spots Seiji just outside the door seemingly watching someone. Curious, he approaches to see what’s going on. Considering his relationship with Hanabi, he assumed they always walked home together. It’s strange to see only him.

Initially standing slightly behind him, he looks ahead to try and pinpoint what he’s watching. That’s when he sees Hanabi and Sun talking as they leave together. Not understanding Seiji’s actions, Ryuuji speaks up,

“Instead of watching, why don’t you just join them?”

Seiji glances behind him and greets with a simple “Hey Ryuuji” before facing the outside once more.

“You should add senpai to the end of that.” Ryuuji insists.

“When you deserve it.” Seiji then answers his question, “Apparently they plan to play Starfight together tonight. Hana was really excited, I didn’t want to interfere.”

Ryuuji thinks back to if Sun mentioned that, but all he remembers is that she was annoyed by his comments after lunch and only said ‘bye’ when school ended. He didn’t want to bother with it anymore and just let her leave without saying anything, assuming she would be over it by tomorrow.

Seiji speaks in a solemn tone. “It looks like we were both left behind today.”

“Actually, I have off so Sun and I would part ways here anyway.” Ryuuji explains. After a bit of silence, he then says, “I hope you don’t expect me to keep you company.”

“I would rather delete my character.”

“What a bold statement by Hero Hargrave.”

“I just wanted to watch Hana walk with a friend of her own for a bit.” Seiji then reminisces, “Ever since we met, I’ve never seen her with anyone other than me. I know she struggled to fit in for most of her life. I’m just glad she was able to find someone else.”

Ryuuji considers what he just said, knowing Seiji isn’t much different compared to how he just described Hanabi. “And what about you?”

Surprised to hear that, Seiji responds without thinking.

“Me? …being alone is nothing new.” After realizing what he said, he changes the subject to avoid talking about it further. “Besides I have a test to study for and I know you can’t help even though you’re a grade above me.”

Receiving another rude comment, Ryuuji clicks his tongue. “If that’s what I get for being considerate then maybe I shouldn’t bother next time.”

Seiji laughs as he walks away. “See you later, senpai.”

Ryuuji glares and thinks to himself, Yep, still a brat.

Later that night, Sun and Hanabi meet at the ‘Village of Lost Spirits’. Similar to last time, Hanabi sent Sun a map making it easier to find. It’s an area where no light is able to reach no matter the time of day, cursed to forever be drenched in darkness. As the name suggests, it is a village, but of many run-down homes since it was abandoned long ago.

Throughout, you can see something glowing white pop up and quickly disappear. They are said to be the spirits of the villagers who once resided here and were unable to escape a beast’s wrath. Sun gets a chill right after arriving.

“This place is as creepy as I remember.”

“True, but the spirits are very helpful!”

Hanabi offers Sun a ‘Holy Blade’. She accepts and immediately wields it. It has a black handle, light blue blade, and glows slightly just as the spirits do.

“Strike the spirits with that as we walk to our destination. When you purify them, they have a chance to drop a stone. It’s very rare, though.”

Since the task is easy, Sun takes Hanabi’s advice and strikes any spirit that appears near her as they travel. Since they’re everywhere, she does so almost every other second. However, after about 30 spirits with no drops, Sun starts to get discouraged.

“Is there any point in doing this?”

“These items will actually help you strengthen the spell you are about to learn, instead of following the usual method. It’s kind of like a cheat.” Hanabi reassures her.

“If you insist I guess I’ll keep at it.”

Just then, Sun gets a dropped item and reads its name, ‘Spirit Stone’. The game has a lot of creative names and to hear something so simple, it comes off as lame in comparison.

After 5 more minutes they reach the start of the quest and by that point Sun was able to get 9 stones total. It is another rundown home in the village, though in slightly better condition than the rest. She can also tell that someone is living here due to the light from the windows.

Not understanding how quests work, since Steve or Ryuuji would always start them, Sun isn’t sure what to do.

“Do we just enter?”

“No, if you look there should be an option to knock on the front door. After that, the NPC should come out to start the quest.”

Sun looks around the screen to see there is a button to knock on the door. She clicks the button and shortly after, the NPC rushes from the side of the house rather than the front door, startling Sun and causing her to jump. It’s an older man with a scruffy beard.

“What do you think you’re doing?! Get off my property!” The NPC shouts. “Oh I know, you’re just here to try and get me to teach you my unique spell aren’t you? Well too bad I don’t do that anymore. Now scram!”

Still frightened by how he suddenly appeared and started yelling, Sun whines, “Why is he so mad?”

Hanabi can’t help laughing at her reaction, now thinking she should have warned her ahead of time.

“Just continue the conversation and depending on your choices, he’ll explain why.”

As she said that, a pop up window appears with two response choices:

1: Yes, I’m very interested in the spell you mentioned. Will you please teach me?

2: I’m sorry to bother you. Do you mind if I ask why you live out here by yourself?

Sun decides to go with the second option. Although she would rather be blunt and get this nightmare over with, she was also wondering why he would be living in this horrific environment.

“Why am I living here? I guess it may seem strange to an outsider, but I’ve always lived here. Even after the beast attacked my village, killing most, I couldn’t leave it behind.”

Another pop up window appears with two more choices:

1: How did you manage to survive?

2: Have you always lived alone?

Once again Sun choses the second option, considering this home is too large for just one person to live in. She notices the NPC is now speaking with a tinge of sadness in his voice.

“...no, I used to live here with my wife and daughter. My daughter was only 6 years old when she was taken from me. You see, the spell ‘Frost Barrier’ is one that is normally passed down in my family from generation to generation. We always followed this tradition, but after losing my family I had no way to continue it. That’s probably why the rumors that I would teach anyone started to spread, though it’s a complete lie.”

Another pop up window with two choices appears:

1: I can’t even imagine. I’m sorry to hear all that.

2: Why not start a new family? Surely there’s someone out there who can help.

Sun choses the first option. While she doesn’t exactly think the second is wrong, it’s not worded at all how she thinks it should be.

“I can tell you’re a good kid. Alright, I’ll teach you my family’s spell. I just need you to gather a couple items for me. And I’m sorry for yelling at you.”

One last pop up window appears, this time asking Sun one thing; ‘Quest for the spell ‘Frost Barrier’ is available. Items needed: 4 dragon shards. Accept? Yes/No’

Before hitting yes, Sun comments on the story portion, stating she didn’t expect it to be so tragic. Hanabi explains that there aren’t too many quests that are this in-depth, but the reward will be worth it.

“Do you have the necessary items?” Hanabi asks

“No, I don’t.”

“That’s fine. To get those shards we need to go to a dungeon just north of here. It’s where the beast that attacked this village resides, the dragon Zeryis.”

“Another giant turtle? Why are there so many in this game?”

Setting her silly comment aside, they make their way. It takes 10 minutes after going the longer route so Sun could gather more stones. To her disappointment, she only received 10.

To reach the dungeon, they need to rent a boat and cross the sea. Before departing, the NPC at the shop warns them; “If you’re headed to that cavern let me give you a piece of advice: don’t go in too deep. The dragon Zeryis has taken many lives. Plus it would be nice to get my boat back.”

“I can’t tell if he’s more worried about us or his boat.” Sun is bothered by his comment, but then considers all the warnings that keep coming up, “Hey Hana, is this really that difficult?”

“To put it bluntly, for us it will be. With your inexperience and my spells that are mostly to support an offensive player, we make a terrible party.”

“Then maybe we shouldn’t have done this without the boys.”

Sun can’t help wondering out loud, causing Hanabi to shout encouragement.

“What are you talking about? You told me you wanted to be more useful which means you don’t want to rely on them as much, right? Then let’s try it ourselves! Besides, we should be able to get through this without having to fight. Trust me!”

Motivated by Hanabi’s enthusiasm, Sun quickly calms down. The two get on the boat and steer towards the cavern. When they arrive, they leave the boat at a run-down dock. You can tell that little to no maintenance has been done here due to everyone’s fear of the dragon.

Before entering, a pop up window asks; ‘Do you wish to enter Zeryis’ domain? Yes or No’ (Suggested Level 110)

Without discussing it, they both click yes and enter.

Despite all the darkness outside, the dungeon is bright white on the floors, walls, and ceiling as if covered in snow. Hanabi explains that unlike before where they would enter one area before the dungeon, this entire dungeon is Zeryis’ domain. He continually wanders around which is why you need to watch the map that appears in the upper left corner. The red dot is Zeryis, showing that it is currently quite far from the two.

They need to get to a specific area to get the shards and luckily, it’s to the right of where the dragon is. Hanabi warns her to not let her guard down since it could appear at any moment. Taking in all the information, Sun is more confident now that she knows exactly what she needs to do.

With their goal in mind, they start to move, keeping to themselves this time, concentrating on their surroundings. Like normal dungeons, there are still small beasts to fight. This time it’s penguins with sharp teeth named ‘Pengys’. Sun thinks they’re creepy, but they are weak so she is able to easily defeat them with her Myne Blade. Meanwhile, Hanabi focuses on strengthening their defense and leaves the fighting to her. Hanabi is the first to break the silence.

“Just a little more and we’ll arrive.”

“Good. I’m tired of these creepy things.”

Going through the dungeon, they reach the 3rd section, getting closer to the dragon and further from the smaller beasts. Even they know where to steer clear.

The duo reach their destination. Glancing around, Sun doesn’t see any shards. Hanabi then tells her to change the direction of her screen to look upward. After doing so, she sees many clear shards piercing the white ceiling.

“It’s not a monster drop?” Sun asks.

“Actually it is. The shards are scales from the dragon Zeryis. Once a year there’s an event where the dragon completely takes over this area, sometimes even leaving the dungeon temporarily to get the player’s attention. After defeating it, which can take many battles, the dragon sheds it’s scales and goes into hiding. Though if you encounter it again, it will attack.”

“Does that mean you and Seiji took part in the event?”

“Yes! Seiji and I defeated it twice so far.”

Sun knew the answer, but still had to ask. Distracted by the conversation, the two didn’t notice the dragon Zeryis entered the same area. Before it attacks, a warning pops up on the screen. The two quickly react and attempt to dodge, but the dragon attacks Flora and deals a decent amount of damage. Sun gets worried, knowing she won’t be able to finish this by herself.

“Are you okay??”

“I can’t believe I was so careless. I’m alright though.”

Hanabi heals her character and puts up a small barrier to stop a second attack from Zeryis, who is clearly focused on her at the moment. Hanabi takes this as a good thing, swiftly defending herself as she tells Sun to shoot arrows at the ceiling to loosen some scales so she can gather them. Sun knows she needs to move fast and is able to get 4 to drop from her first shot, the exact amount she needed.

“Okay Hana, I’m all finished!”

“Great job!”

With that complete they have no more reason to stay. Hanabi tries to maneuver around the dragon so they can escape and it easily follows her movements. Surprised, Hanabi then realizes she never fought the dragon after it shed its scales, only during the event that leads to this. Without them, it moves much quicker. Feeling a mix of frustration and joy, she complains.

“This game is stupid accurate sometimes!!”

“Is something wrong?”

“Sun, you said you already have some offensive spells right? Do you have anything that can change its target to something besides us?”

“Uhh let me check!”

Sun scrolls through her meager list of 4 spells. She doesn’t believe she has anything like that and instead settles on the one-shot kill spell ‘Single Cell’. Ryuuji taught her this to help take down major bosses with accurate aim, and even if the aim is off it can still deal a lot of damage. Sun has never been able to activate the one-shot kill part, but knows this will give them a chance to escape.

Sun clicks to use the spell and aims at the dragon while it continues to focus on Flora. The arrow glows as it gathers magical energy and, when finished charging, she lets it loose. This results in the arrow hitting the dragon and chipping away at it’s health, but not killing it. The dragon roars from the damage and turns its attention to Sunshine.

Instantly recognizing the spell, Hanabi speaks up. “Was that ‘Single Cell’?”

“Yes it is. Sorry, I’m still not good at using it yet.” Sun is ashamed that she failed again.

“Try the spell one more time, but this time aim for its center.”

“What do you mean?”

“It may sound strange, but imagine the center of the dragon, or turtle, in your mind. Its heart so to speak. I know you’ll be able to hit it.”

Following Hanabi’s advice, Sun uses the spell once more, aiming at the dragon as it rushes towards her. She repeats ‘aim for the center’ over and over in her head until her eyes are able to focus on one point and, once she’s finished charging, she releases the arrow. Sun successfully hits the dragon and it falls to the ground, moving no more.

Speechless that she managed to defeat it on her own, Sun just watches as she receives rewards. Since she dealt the final blow, she gets most of the meel.

“I actually did it?”

“You did!! That was amazing!” Hanabi cheers.

“You’re a way better teacher than Ryuuji, Hana.”

“That’s not much of a compliment, but I’ll take it. Next time let me know you have such a powerful spell ahead of time!”

“I was embarrassed to mention it since I failed to kill the monsters each time.”

“Don’t be! I’m here to help, remember? Besides, you’re a much better player than you give yourself credit for.”

After accomplishing more than they expected, the girls leave the dungeon and go back to complete the quest, this time taking the shorter route.

At the man’s house, Sun knocks on the door expecting a jump scare again, but is surprised he opens the door like a normal person. Without initiating a conversation, a pop up window asks; ‘Give (4) Dragon Shards? Yes/No’

Sun clicks yes and the NPC speaks up.

“So you brought the items already, good work. You may have been able to figure this out, but these ‘shards’ are actually dragon scales. That damn thing stole so many lives...I hope you punched it a few times at least.”

Sun laughs because she was able to defeat it instead.

“Anyway, let me teach you the spell, it won’t take long. Good luck and stay safe.”

A pop-up appears indicating the end of the quest; ‘Congratulations! You have learned the spell ‘Frost Barrier’ ’

After reading that, Sun lets out a sigh, happy to be finished. “That was a lot of fun. Thanks again, Hana.”

“Anytime! And now you can brag to Hargrave that you defeated a monster he didn’t even fight yet. It’s definitely more difficult without the scales.”

“Would he really be surprised though?”

“...no he may be jealous instead.”

Sun opens her spell list to now see 5 with the new ‘Frost Barrier’ included.

“For now, can we keep this spell a secret? I’d rather not hear Ryuuji or Steve complain that I asked someone else for help.”

“Sure! We can tell them we went out to gather items and happened upon the dragon. It will be fun to see their reactions tomorrow.” Hanabi giggles just thinking about it.

Hanabi shows Sun how to level up her spell using the stones, taking her to a training area in the main town, and then they go on a small quest to try it out. At the end of their session, Sun reaches level 64, getting a huge boost from defeating the dragon Zeryis.

********************

Starfight Tips;

Normally skills and spells are leveled up through training at places for each specific class. Despite being labeled as training, all you do is say you want to enhance a certain spell/skill and agree to training, with it only taking a few seconds. The speed at which it levels up depends on your character’s level and how much meel you are willing to spend. You can also hand the trainer certain items specific to that spell/skill which helps increase the level slightly more than regular training would. Very few have this option and the drops are extremely rare.