Chapter 271: The Abilities and Characteristics of the Nine-Headed Dragon

"Isn't this thing supposed to be weak to fire magic? That King-Level fire spell should have at least severely injured a monster of the same level if it hit directly, right!"

Wood glanced at the Demon Wolf King, hoping it would provide some sort of explanation.

This is supposed to be its weakness? Wood thought, Its fire resistance seems even stronger than the Demon Wolf King's!

"I definitely heard adventurers who once tried to defeat it say that," the Demon Wolf King explained. "Back then, that group of adventurers was very powerful. By human standards, they were at least an S-rank party. They also challenged the Nine-Headed Dragon, and although they were wiped out, they gathered a lot of information during the fight."

At that time, the Demon Wolf King had only been a small monster. It had stumbled upon this information by accident, and it was during that incident that it had consumed a magic crystal fragment, gaining its current abilities.

"I knew you'd be unreliable! If those adventurers had really figured out its weakness, do you think they would've been annihilated like that?"

Seeing that the Nine-Headed Dragon was unharmed despite their efforts and that it had plenty of magical energy left after unleashing several dragon breaths, Wood decided it wasn't worth continuing the fight. He swiftly led the group out of the room.

If they had been fighting any other monsters in the labyrinth, those creatures would likely have chased after them as soon as they saw the group retreating.

But the Nine-Headed Dragon, as the final boss, was different. It only launched a few more dragon breaths in their direction, which they managed to block, before ceasing its pursuit altogether. It simply watched as they exited the room, making no further attempts to chase them down.

The reason for this wasn't due to a lack of intelligence but rather because the Nine-Headed Dragon was focused on guarding the magic crystal behind it, wary of falling into a distraction or a trap.

Once they exited the room, the group collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily.

Their first encounter with the Nine-Headed Dragon hadn't gone as smoothly as they had hoped.

Though the confrontation was brief, the strength the Nine-Headed Dragon displayed left Wood feeling uneasy.

With the strength of its dragon breath, the only ones in the group capable of standing up to it in a direct confrontation were Wood and the Demon Wolf King.

The power of the Nine-Headed Dragon's breath was truly astonishing. The strength of a single blast was easily on par with a Saint-Level fire spell, and if two heads fired together, the combined power would exceed the level of a Saint-Level water spell.

And because the dragon was a magical beast, it could release these breaths incredibly quickly without the need for lengthy incantations like humans.

Powerful and fast—such a dangerous attack could only be avoided by those with superior physical abilities, like Wood and the Demon Wolf King.

Even if there was no way to dodge, Wood could still use King-Level water magic to defend himself.

As for the Demon Wolf King, its fur provided extremely strong fire resistance, and it had an extraordinarily tenacious life force. Even if it took a few direct hits from the dragon's breath, it probably wouldn't die.

But Zenith was in a different situation. Although she was an Advanced-Level magic user, her magic wasn't enough to block the Nine-Headed Dragon's breath, and her physical abilities weren't enough to dodge such fast attacks, so she had to remain in a support role.

As for Norn and Aisha... well, they were essentially mascots. In some cases, they could provide an emotional boost to Wood and Zenith through their familial bonds.

Taking them along to fight the Nine-Headed Dragon was dangerous, but leaving them outside the door by themselves was equally unsafe.

"Since this is a moving labyrinth, it's possible that other adventurers might eventually come through. That dragon is too strong. I suggest we stay here a while and wait for other adventurers to arrive. We can work with them to defeat the dragon," Zenith proposed after they exited the room, still shaken by the terrifying dragon breath.

Wood, Norn, and Aisha were all her children. Zenith didn't want to see any harm come to them. After witnessing the strength of the Nine-Headed Dragon, she felt they needed to proceed with caution.

There was no denying that Zenith was also worried about the rest of the family back home. But she knew that Paul and Rudy were capable of defending themselves.

As for Lilia... well, to be honest, Lilia wasn't as important to Zenith as her husband and children.

"I've heard adventurers who entered this labyrinth before say that this moving labyrinth is known outside as the 'Unconquerable Labyrinth.' Over the years, I've only seen adventurers pass through here every few years, and only once have I seen a party make it to the Nine-Headed Dragon..."

The Demon Wolf King's words were cut short by Zenith's piercing gaze. She knew that once Wood heard that adventurers only showed up every few years, he wouldn't agree to wait for others to show up and help them.

"Years? That's too long. We don't have that kind of time. Even if we weren't the ones searching for our family, Paul and Rudy are going to be worried after we've been missing this long."

As expected, when Wood heard that it could take years before they encountered any adventurers, he immediately refused the idea of waiting.

And even if they did come across other adventurers, if their strength wasn't sufficient, they wouldn't be much help against the Nine-Headed Dragon anyway.

"Actually, there's no need to be too disheartened. Even though that dragon is powerful, after our brief encounter, I think I've figured out a few of its characteristics.

First, even though the Nine-Headed Dragon can move, it doesn't stray too far from the magic crystal. It won't chase us out of the room. This is a huge advantage for us because even if we can't beat it, we can always retreat safely.

Secondly, its physical defense isn't as high as we thought. During my first attack, I only used the strength of a Sword Saint, but I was able to cut through its scales and cause significant damage.

Its rapid healing also suggests that it has an incredible life force and regeneration abilities.

Third, based on the information we had, the Nine-Headed Dragon's weakness is supposed to be fire magic, right? But even after taking a direct hit from a King-Level fire spell, it didn't seem to suffer any noticeable damage. This suggests that it has extremely high magic resistance.

So, its supposed 'weakness' might not be fire magic after all, or if it is, maybe we're misunderstanding what that means. Perhaps the 'weakness' doesn't refer to directly attacking it with fire magic?

But one thing is certain: its magical energy is staggering. After unleashing several powerful dragon breaths, it's barely used any of its energy."

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