"It’s over..." Celia collapsed onto the ground, her legs giving out. She was, after all, a woman whose mental fortitude couldn't quite match the hardened resolve of veterans like Gareth.

  The rest of the group shared her despair. Every face was a mask of hopelessness; they all felt that a BOSS this powerful was simply beyond their ability to handle.

  Gareth shook his head and sighed, turning toward Chloe with a bitter smile. "I’m truly sorry. We’re incompetent. In a situation like this, we really might be at our wit's end..."

  Chloe shook her head, her voice trembling as she spoke. "The one truly at fault is me. I was the one who insisted on coming to this Secret Realm. The Hidden Stage only triggered because of me."

  "Gareth, I’m so sorry. You’ve worked so hard for House Sterling all these years, and yet, because of me..."

  "So, you’re all just going to give up and let them take you?" Lucian interrupted, his expression devoid of even a hint of panic.

  "It’s just a Hidden Stage, isn't it? We’ll just grind through it."

  Lucian’s words left everyone bewildered.

  Grind through it?!

  Man, this was a Level 25 Nightmare Difficulty BOSS that was completely immune to physical attacks! How exactly were they supposed to "grind" through that?

  Lucian was incredibly strong, sure, but he was a physical-type class. The BOSS literally ignored physical damage!

  If anyone else had said those words, Gareth and the others would have been certain they had gone insane.

  However, Lucian’s performance from the beginning until now had been nothing short of breathtaking.

  Seeing Lucian’s unbothered attitude, Chloe’s brows knitted slightly. A flicker of hope ignited in her eyes as she asked, "Do you have a way to kill this BOSS? Don't tell me... do you actually have magic attack skills?"

  "Not personally, no," Lucian replied truthfully.

  Disappointment immediately washed over the group. If he didn't have magic skills, how could he possibly kill The Holy Blight?

  But Lucian’s next sentence left everyone utterly floored.

  "I don't have them, but my pet does."

  A pet?!

  Gareth’s face was a picture of disbelief as he stammered, "You... aren't you a Warrior-type Hidden Class? Where did a pet come from?"

  Pets were the exclusive domain of Summoners or Beast Tamers. No other Combat Classes had the means to domesticate them.

  Lucian’s combat prowess had already shocked them time and time again. In their hearts, they had all firmly categorized him as some sort of elite Warrior Hidden Class.

  To hear Lucian claim he had a pet now... how could they not be stunned?

  Lucian offered a slight smile. He reached out and pressed his hand against the empty air beside him. Instantly, a summoning circle ten meters in diameter flickered into existence.

  "I never said I was a Warrior-type Hidden Class. Actually, if you want to get technical, I’m more of a Beast Taming Hidden Class."

  "I'm not the strongest one here. My pet is."

  As Lucian’s voice fell, the summoning array fully manifested. The other side of the circle was linked to a swirling void of chaos, hiding whatever lay within from sight.

  But as the connection between the worlds stabilized, a dragon's roar erupted from the portal. The sound was deafening, a primal thunder that forced Chloe and the others to instinctively cover their ears.

  Then, a pair of dragon claws gripped the edge of the array. They looked like jagged black obsidian, and a massive body—flickering with a rhythmic, dark-red glow—squeezed out from the circle. Each step she took made the very ground tremble.

  Nyx crawled slowly out of the array. Once she fully emerged, she unfurled her massive, dark-red wings, stretching as if she had just woken from a long nap.

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  Even that simple movement, backed by her gargantuan Strength stat, whipped up a violent gale. Chloe and the other mages found themselves nearly blown off their feet.

  "Holy... holy sht!" Gareth stared at the gargantuan creature, his eyes nearly popping out of his skull. His entire body went rigid.

  That... that was a dragon!

  Weren't these creatures rumored to only exist in the Forbidden Zones where humans dared not tread? Weren't they supposed to possess power that crushed every other race on the planet?

  How could one appear here? And more importantly... how was it Lucian’s pet?!

  It wasn't just Gareth; everyone else felt as if their brains had been struck by a sledgehammer. Their entire worldview was shattered into a thousand pieces.

  And then, something happened that made their jaws drop even further. This terrifying, mountain-like dragon, who had just arrived with such overwhelming pressure, saw Lucian and immediately dropped her majestic facade. She lowered her massive head and nudged him, clearly demanding head pats.

  She acted exactly like a spoiled puppy. Where was the legendary dignity of a dragon?

  The sheer "gap moe" of the situation left the onlookers both shocked and speechless.

  Seeing Nyx’s giant head looming over him the moment she arrived, Lucian sighed helplessly. He gave her a few firm pats on the head. "Alright, Nyx, stop acting spoiled. I called you out because there's work to do."

  "Look ahead. See that pitch-black thing over there? Blast it to death with Magma Breath!"

  Nyx looked up at The Holy Blight. There wasn't a hint of tension or the sense that she was facing a formidable foe. Instead, she made a gagging face, as if to say—This thing isn't even edible. I have zero interest in it.

  Seeing such a terrifying dragon make a face like a petulant child left Chloe and the others utterly stunned and speechless. The contrast was staggering.

  Lucian sighed, a bit helpless. He looked at her seriously. "Nyx, be good. Roast it, and I’ll find you something delicious to eat later."

  "Aung—"

  Hearing the promise of food, Nyx finally gave in. She beat her massive wings, lifting herself into the air to face off against The Holy Blight.

  Gareth finally snapped out of his trance. He pinched himself hard to make sure he wasn't dreaming before looking at Lucian in disbelief. "Lucian... this... this is your pet?! A dragon?!"

  Lucian nodded, confirming it.

  Chloe’s mind raced as the pieces fell into place. "I remember now! I heard that a student at Riverport Third Academy had a Class Awakening as a Dragon Tamer... was that you?!"

  A student in Riverport City awakening as a Dragon Tamer was actually quite big news, so it was only natural she’d heard of it. After all, it was a Hidden Class, yet it was widely considered the most useless of the Combat Classes—the kind of irony people loved to gossip about.

  But the strength Lucian had displayed until now was purely that of a warrior-type Hidden Class. Not a single person had even considered the possibility of him being a Dragon Tamer.

  Now that Lucian had summoned a literal dragon and given his background as a student of Riverport Third Academy, his identity was blindingly obvious.

  Lucian hadn’t expected Chloe to have heard of him. He gave a slight smile. "That’s right. I’m the one who awakened as a Dragon Tamer."

  "It really is you..." Chloe’s eyes shimmered with a strange light. She looked at Lucian, then up at the majestic Nyx hovering in the sky. "Everyone says Dragon Tamer is the trashiest class. Looking at this now, that claim is absolutely ridiculous."

  "A Dragon Tamer who actually has a dragon... that’s terrifying..."

  Although she couldn't see Nyx’s stats, Chloe could feel the overwhelming pressure radiating from her. This dragon's combat power was undoubtedly far beyond anything she could imagine.

  Seeing Lucian hold his own against a Level 27 Swordsman like Gareth while only being Level 14 had already convinced Chloe that his Hidden Class was powerful. But now, Lucian had pulled out a dragon and essentially said, I’m done pretending. I’m laying my cards on the table: my dragon pet is the real powerhouse.

  The constant stream of revelations was making Chloe question her very reality. Even among Hidden Classes, the gap in power could be a vast chasm...

  Gareth, however, didn't relax just because Nyx had appeared. He frowned and looked at Lucian. "Lucian, what level is your dragon right now?"

  As soon as Gareth asked, the realization hit everyone else. Lucian was only Level 15; surely his dragon’s level couldn't be that high? If her level was too low, then even as a dragon, she might not be a match for a Nightmare Difficulty boss like The Holy Blight.

  Lucian crossed his arms, showing no intention of helping Nyx. "My dragon is only Level 9 right now," he said casually.

  "What? Level 9?!" Their hearts sank instantly.

  Level 9 against Level 25? Even for a dragon, this fight seemed like a desperate gamble...

  Chloe grit her teeth. "Lucian, you have a dragon, but her level is way too low. Why don't I have the Mage with me help with some damage output..."

  "No need." Lucian waved her off, completely unconcerned about Nyx. "She can handle this boss on her own. We don't need to interfere."

  Despite Lucian’s confidence, Chloe and the others remained anxious. Handle it? Was that even possible? The opponent’s level was nearly three times that of the dragon...

  Just then, The Holy Blight finally made its move.

  From within the humanoid form made of lake water, a staggering amount of resentment suddenly erupted. It formed howling whirlwinds that spiraled outward—The Holy Blight’s skill, Malice Impact.

  Not only was the skill immensely powerful, but the most terrifying part was that anyone hit by Malice Impact would be crippled by a barrage of debuffs.

  However, Nyx possessed the passive trait of the Black Dragonflight bloodline, giving her a 100% resistance to all debuffs. As for the actual damage from Malice Impact, it was utterly negligible against Nyx’s god-tier stats. The attack slammed into her massive body, but to her, it felt like nothing more than a faint itch.

  Even though the attack was barely a tickle, the foul, fishy stench of the resentment was more than Nyx could stand. Her annoyance quickly flared into rage.

  Suddenly, the crimson glow beneath her scales intensified, making her entire body look like a volcano on the verge of eruption. Nyx opened her maw, the red light in her throat growing blindingly bright. A torrent of crimson flames roared from her mouth.

  Magma Breath!

  The incinerating flames, surging with molten lava, erupted with a force that left everyone on the battlefield frozen in awe.