Noggenfogger observed closely. Just as Wayne had said, the tail of the black dragon on the screen was thick and not very long, with an end resembling a morning star mace.
In contrast, the black dragon at Blackrock Mountain had a slender, elongated tail with sharp spikes at the tip, connected by webbing.
He couldn't help but feel a chill. This guy... why does he know so much about black dragons?!
Furthermore, unlike his own terror when thinking of the dragons, the Wayne in the game was skillfully attacking the terrifying creature. Even his expression and tone when discussing black dragons were as casual as a food critic debating whether a chicken leg from a takeout meal came from a broiler or a free-range hen.
Noggenfogger looked at Wayne, then at his two subordinates who had survived many life-and-death situations with him. The three Goblins looked at each other, a single question forming in their minds: What is this man's true background?
Inside the game, Wayne used four Small Barrel Bombs and two Large Barrel Bombs across three phases. He timed the explosions to blast open the thick armor on the Black Gravios's belly while it was charging its flame breath.
Instantly, glowing red flesh was exposed. This triggered the Black Gravios's rage mode, drastically shortening the intervals between its various attack patterns.
The reason Wayne had switched weapons was two-fold: water-element weapons provided an attack bonus against the Black Gravios, and the monster's combination of heavy armor and frequent long-range flame breath required constant repositioning. The weakness of bowguns was that the more one moved, the fewer opportunities there were to shoot, leading to very low damage output.
While bowguns had Pierce S ammo that could penetrate armor, achieving maximum damage required shooting the monster head-on so the bullet would pass through the head, the body, and out the tail. However, the Black Gravios frequently used a long-range, straight-line flame breath. This meant that even with Pierce S, one couldn't stand directly in front of the monster, significantly reducing the effectiveness.
On the other hand, weapons like the Greatsword were cumbersome. Every swing consumed a large amount of stamina and slowed the user's movement significantly while drawn. However, when sheathed on the back, it didn't hinder running speed at all.
This meant that after using barrel bombs to shatter the belly armor, Wayne only needed to wait for the monster to charge its breath and stand still. He would sprint to the underside of its belly at top speed, use a Draw Attack to slash the fleshy weak point two or three times for maximum damage, sheath his sword, and run out to circle the monster again, repeating the process.
With the water-element bonus, a single Greatsword slash to the weak point dealt nearly twenty times the damage of a standard bowgun bullet. After consuming a "Might Seed" to temporarily boost his attack power, every one of Wayne's hits produced explosive damage numbers.
The group of four nearby, having finished another hunt against a Rathian in multiplayer, took off their glasses to watch.
Raymond was inwardly astonished. It turns out Teacher is not only proficient in magic, but also so skilled in the art of close-quarters combat with heavy weapons like a two-handed sword!
Jyssetta the priest and Zaldimar the mage, who knew nothing of weapon combat, watched in a daze. It felt as if any ferocious monster became a fool in front of Wayne, unable to even touch him.
Only Lyria, the warrior trainer, understood that Wayne's knowledge of the monster's attack patterns and his timing for his own offensive windows had reached a level of perfection.
Take the Draw Attack under the belly for example: hitting once and retreating was safe but lacked damage; hitting once more before leaving increased damage but significantly raised the chance of being hit by the monster's next attack.
Under the gaze of the crowd, Wayne used precise, machine-like movements to toy with the Black Gravios.
When it breathed fire, Wayne was under its belly. When it swung its tail, Wayne was at its front claws. When it lunged, Wayne was already at its tail.
They had no idea that if it weren't for the quest reward and materials for gear, Wayne—who had already cleared Kirin—wouldn't have bothered farming this Gravios subspecies.
Noggenfogger was the most shocked of all. The others were already used to Wayne's skilled techniques and flashy movements, but this was Noggenfogger's first day. He couldn't even get past a basic large monster like a Diablos, yet here was Wayne, toy-ing with a Black Gravios—a creature many times more powerful—without taking a single hit. In his mind, he subconsciously substituted the black dragon that had once nearly taken his life into the scenario.
He realized this thing was far more than just a game. Beyond killing monsters without risk, increasing one's strength, and running a shop for high profits, if he took this back to train the Goblin warriors in his cartel, he could train combat skills specifically for fighting the Dragonkin!
He was certain that even if this Black Gravios differed slightly from the black dragon he had encountered at Blackrock Mountain, there was definitely a deep connection. If Goblins could one day possess dragon-slaying power that surpassed both the Alliance and the Horde, it wouldn't just be about money. Gadgetzan, which he controlled, would become the center of the world. Not just the other trade moguls of the Steamwheedle Cartel, but even the Alliance and the Horde would bow at his feet.
Compared to this, what was 1,000 gold?
Suddenly, he began to feel contempt for Wayne and humans in general. He believed stupid humans were using such a powerful thing as a mere game for entertainment, while only he truly realized its massive value.
Although Noggenfogger's eyes were on the screen, the image floating before him had changed: he was sitting on a throne, with piles of gold coins beneath him, and both dragons and humans, as well as Orcs, were worshiping at his feet.
Just then, a scream from the black dragon on the screen snapped him out of his daydream. Under a charged slash from Wayne, the Black Gravios collapsed completely. The screen displayed the message: [Returning to village in one minute]. Following that was the scene of Wayne using a knife to carve materials from the carcass.
"500! Not a copper more!"
Wayne ignored him, focusing instead on carving as many materials as possible within the one-minute limit—a core mechanic of Monster Hunter. Most boss monsters allowed three carves, but a few massive or ultra-high-difficulty bosses allowed more. Once the minute was up, the player would be teleported back, so every second counted.
They waited in silence for a minute until the in-game Wayne was sent back to Kokoto Village. Only then did Wayne take off the glasses and look at Noggenfogger. "Are you sure you want to buy?"
Seeing that his offer had seemingly moved Wayne, Noggenfogger was secretly delighted but continued to play hard to get. "You'd better agree quickly before I change my mind."
"Fine." Wayne stood up and picked up the pair of glasses Noggenfogger had just used. "But we need to be clear about this."
"Your two companions are here, and I have customers here to act as witnesses."
"I have three conditions."