Chapter 7. Epic Weapon (3)

In the middle of the jungle, atop a mountain of draco corpses, Jeonghyeon sat cross-legged on the bodies, staring blankly at his status window.

"Tch."

Killing off these pathetic monsters to take down their boss, the Demon King—and realizing the path itself was designed by the Demon King? That was infuriating enough.

But what pissed him off even more was that even after slaughtering this many, the liberation gauge hadn't hit 100%.

"Fucking bastard. These are supposed to be his minions—how many do I have to kill to satisfy him?"

Everything about these monsters rubbed him the wrong way, from one to ten.

Still, if he wanted to crush that Demon King Malekith he despised so much, he'd have to clear the Demon King's quests. Jeonghyeon stood, aiming to fill the remaining 20% of the liberation gauge.

The way back would be easy—he'd already blazed through every inch of this jungle anyway. D-rank monsters like these didn't scare him one bit. Fearless, Jeonghyeon pressed deeper into the endless jungle.

It was as if he'd wiped out every draco in the area—monsters just wouldn't show up anymore.

Before he knew it, the sun was dipping low.

"Kieeeek!!"

A monster's roar echoed from afar.

"!"

Jeonghyeon expertly steadied his breathing, dropped into a low stance, and gripped his sword tighter.

Every nerve on edge for an ambush, he took slow, deliberate steps forward—when suddenly, a black shape burst out right in front of him.

"Where do you think you're going!!"

About to swing his sword wide to show he wouldn't fall for any cheap ambush, Jeonghyeon caught sight of something odd.

"A human...?"

Not a monster. It was a person.

The moment he registered that, Jeonghyeon sheathed his blade in a flash.

Thud-thud-crash! Tangled in the jungle undergrowth, a battered hunter collapsed at his feet.

"Huff... huff...!"

"What the? Just a hunter?"

Some regular hunter farming the area? Jeonghyeon hauled the guy to his feet.

"Th-thank you."

The hunter, decked out in bulky heavy armor like some 'I'm a warrior~' type, panted raggedly through the dents in his helmet and bowed his head deeply.

"More dracos behind you?"

"Y-yes...? No. The dracos were in the previous zone... A really strong monster popped up out of nowhere..."

"Strong monster?"

At the hunter's words, Jeonghyeon turned to peer into the dark forest the guy had burst from. Between the shadows, he spotted red eyes—several times larger than a draco's glow.

"The boss...!"

Finally. Jeonghyeon left the hunter behind and advanced slowly.

"B-be careful!"

The hunter grabbed his fallen mace, insisting he could help.

"That your weapon?"

"Y-yes...? Uh, yeah!"

"Good. Protect yourself. I'm going to kill the monster..."

Shoooosh!

The monster charged with tremendous wind pressure.

Bam!!

Jeonghyeon was blasted far back, tumbling across the ground.

"Kuhuk!"

Blood poured from his mouth. His regressed body wasn't fully honed yet—that one hit had been so vicious it nearly blacked out his vision entirely.

'Damn... Almost lost consciousness there...!'

He barely regained his sight, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the monster's form only flickered briefly before vanishing again.

"Fuck. Where is it?!"

Swoosh!

This ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time, the attack came from behind.

"Tch!"

He barely twisted away, but by the time he went to counter, the thing was gone.

He figured it was a draco, but even after several hit-and-runs, he hadn't landed a solid retaliation.

'Did that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠first hit rattle me too much? My reflexes are dulled...'

Dodging another strike, Jeonghyeon yelled at the hunter trembling nearby with his mace raised.

"Hey, hunter! You been fighting this thing?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Yes!"

"What kind is it?"

Jeonghyeon racked his brain.

If it were an A-rank or higher elite monster, it'd be one thing—but these low-tier ones? Attack patterns alone weren't enough to pinpoint the subspecies.

"Uh... Draco variant...? Yeah, felt just like draco claws when it hit!"

Uh... you'd know, getting hit that much. Jeonghyeon eyed the hunter's crumpled armor with a twinge of pity.

"Okay. That does it."

Pity aside, it was a crystal-clear answer. As they say, the one who got hit knows best—the description jogged his memory perfectly.

Heavy, sharp, but hard to block. A draco's front claw, specialized for tearing and smashing.

"Draco variant...!"

Jungle-dwelling draco subspecies. Front paws evolved for attack, hind legs packed with muscle for explosive leaps anywhere.

"Dash Draco!"

Named for its explosive dashes. The name clicked, and a status window chimed.

As the window appeared, afterimages of the draco's movements trailed like a path in Jeonghyeon's vision.

"Ha! So this is the power...?!"

That Demon King bastard had been hogging all the good stuff.

Now he got why all his attacks had been predicted against Malekith.

The draco was hidden behind jungle trees, but tracing its path made the next attack route obvious.

Alternating wide and narrow angles, targeting flanks and rear. Rear this time.

Waiting patiently for it to let its guard down and commit, Jeonghyeon twisted the moment it leaped.

"Hey there?!"

Finally revealing itself fully: a grotesquely muscular hind-legged draco.

"Nice meeting you! Let's never cross paths again!"

Jeonghyeon grinned triumphantly and aligned his blade.

No need to swing—the charging beast's forehead met the tip naturally...

Krunch! Flesh tore with a sickening rip, cleaving it clean in half.

Thud.

Not even a death cry. The bisected Dash Draco hit the ground.

"Haa... That was close...! Almost died to a mere Dash Draco...!"

Tension draining, Jeonghyeon staggered over to the corpse.

A status window pinged in his view.

Liberation achieved at last. Jeonghyeon flicked the blood off his sword and triggered it.

"Attribute Liberation!"

With his simple incantation, the sword emitted a faint glow, cracks spiderwebbing across it...

Crack! Crackle!

The outer sheath crumbled away like molting skin, leaving only a razor-thin yellow core.

"Oh..."

The birth of his second Epic Weapon.

Done. Finally.

"This is it!!"

He'd been a sword master in his past life, and yeah, it bugged him that this harvest knife had hit 120% while this only reached 100%—but who cared? He had an Epic Weapon in hand.

"Kahaha! Easy peasy!"

Jeonghyeon swung the now feather-light sword—weight nearing 0g—this way and that.

Tough vines around him sliced like tofu, and a grin plastered his face.

And the quest advanced! How could he not be thrilled?

"Whoa... Is that an Epic Weapon?!"

Then the hunter, who'd been standing there dumbfounded, piped up.

"Oh. You know Epic Weapons, huh?"

"I-I'm an E-rank hunter myself! And you're here too, so you must be E-rank!"

"Do I look like you?"

"Well, no, but..."

His elation at its peak, Jeonghyeon responded to the hunter with uncharacteristic friendliness.

"Looks good, right? Wanna try it?"

"Really?!"

"Nah, of course not, dumbass."

"...?!"

Jeonghyeon cracked up at his own lame joke.

"C'mon, let's head back. I'm in a good mood, and you did kinda help, so I'll spot you a new helmet."

"N-no, it's fine!"

The hunter waved him off, rejecting the offer outright.

"Suit yourself."

"Please do! It's such a good offer!"

The hunter chucked his helmet at him.

"You little shit. Knew you'd say that."

Now that he looked, the male hunter was a towering brute—nearly two meters tall, with striking dark skin.

"Tch, ridiculously huge."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing. Let's go. What's your name?"

As they headed to the safe zone, Jeonghyeon mined mana stones from the dracos he'd killed and asked.

"Philip. Philip Park. Mixed race. Damn, you mine stones like a pro. You sure you're a hunter...?"

Ah, mixed race explained the insane physique.

"Not a hunter. Porter. Awakener?"

"Mind Dragon Uldran..." He trailed off. "Porter?! Porters fight like that?"

"Uldran, huh..."

Mind Dragon Uldran. From the dragons' harshest realm of magma ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and volcanoes, said to temper itself there. Sounded badass, but mid-to-low tier at best—and it hated human interaction, stunting awakener growth.

Awakeners even prayed not to get Uldran.

"Figures. No divine words or communion, then."

"Y-you're really a porter? How do you know so much about dragons?"

Shit. Too much info. Historically, dragons weren't directly guiding humans yet. Philip's dopey face had made Jeonghyeon drop his guard.

"Eh... Just a hunch. Your title's Heart of the Volcano, right? Screams loner."

"Haha... Yeah, no quests since awakening."

Lame excuse, but it worked on Philip. And Uldran? Pitiful, but better than obsessive nutjobs like Solgaleh, who micromanaged every word and deed.

"You'll be fine."

Mining stones and chatting, Jeonghyeon concluded Philip was sharper than he looked.

Didn't pry about a porter in the field, knew his dragons and Epic Weapons decently. Handy errand boy material.

They finished mining and neared the safe zone amid small talk.

"Anyway, you gotta tell me!"

"No way! I don't wanna chat long with a musclehead like you!!"

"I wanna fight that cool someday... Hm?"

A chill tension hung before them.

Draco variants emerged one by one: claw specialists, venomous, fire-skinned. Weaker than the Dash Draco, but still deadly enough to claim plenty of hunters.

"Kieeeek!!!"

One shrieked.

"Ah. Was that guy the field boss?"

Jeonghyeon smirked.

"Hey, Philip."

"Yes!"

"Watch close. Catch anything, and I'll explain the fight after."

A faint smile, as he drew his fresh Epic Weapon.

"Time for your lesson."