Chapter 40 - Hero (3)
Monsters moved according to instinct and purpose.
But very rarely, there existed individuals endowed with ego and reason, capable of conversation.
Of course, they weren't common enough to encounter easily.
Only beings on par with boss monsters from B-rank dungeons or higher possessed such traits, or so he'd heard.
Naturally, Kim Sun-woo had only heard the stories—he'd never met one himself.
What chance did a ten-year F-rank hunter like him have against such high-tier monsters?
...Until just moments ago.
"Straight to the boss monster?"
Kim Sun-woo stared at Ga Hwaryong's colossal form with a look of utter disbelief.
Towering between the densely packed skyscrapers, the fire dragon's overwhelming presence gazed down at him.
Normally, you'd expect an elite monster first, followed by a guardian or gatekeeper.
Skipping straight past those stages drew a hollow laugh from him.
The gap was so vast it made a mockery of his recent frenzy slaughtering red drakes.
Even if he thrust his sword into its body, would a single drop of blood spill?
The hour of annihilation draws near. Escaping that stale nest to enter the land of the golden rooster must be some higher guidance.
With every word from Ga Hwaryong, crimson flames cascaded over the city skyline.
All Kim Sun-woo could do was awaken his frozen legs, priming himself to move at any instant.
"......"
As the glaring yellow eyes fixed on him, suffocating pressure bore down on his shoulders.
But he clenched his teeth and sharpened his sword tip.
Fuck it. Let's give it a shot.
It wasn't a real dragon anyway.
Its very name marked it as a false fire dragon.
According to records, a true dragon had appeared only once in history—during the S-rank dungeon catastrophe that ravaged the world.
This one fell short of that, so a stab anywhere should at least pierce.
Whoosh.
The False Fire Dragon, silently looming over Kim Sun-woo, lifted one massive foot.
As if to crush and grind him into paste.
Just that motion made his vision blur, the overwhelming mass pressing against his skin.
Of course, he had no intention of dying flattened, so Kim Sun-woo kicked off the ground and charged.
He hadn't slacked on training enough to fall to such sluggish speed.
In an instant, he escaped the attack range and landed atop a car on the road.
─Crack!
A massive shockwave erupted as the False Fire Dragon staggered back, body twisting.
"...A golem?"
A gigantic humanoid golem had abruptly appeared before the False Fire Dragon, smashing its head with a brutal strike.
The impact must have been severe; the dragon shook its head briefly before bellowing in fury with a razor-sharp voice.
Pathetic created scum!!!
Gleaming yellow lasers shot from the False Fire Dragon's eyes.
As the beam swept across the city, carving a long scar, the golem sacrificed an arm to block it before swinging another fist.
Thud!
The heavy golem fist plunged into the dragon's hollow torso.
The eye lasers cut off instantly, and the False Fire Dragon hunched back further.
"Here, over here!"
A shout came from behind.
Kim Sun-woo turned to see a figure on a distant rooftop waving frantically.
Thud!
He surged toward it immediately, kicking off the building wall to reach the roof in a flash.
The man, still waving, flinched with a startled voice.
"Whoa, damn, you're fast. But who are you? Don't recognize the face."
"Kim Sun-woo from Mugung Guild."
"...Kim Sun-woo? Oh, that guy from the recent community post."
Incongruous with the situation, the man flashed a cheerful grin, eyes sparkling.
"Meeting a celeb like you? Total honor. I'm a fan. Handshake?"
"Uh, sure. Thanks."
Kim Sun-woo shook the offered hand with a dazed expression.
"Name's Lee Sang-hoon. Aren't you C-rank? Rushed here hearing about the red drake swarm."
Kim Sun-woo drew a sharp breath at the name.
Lee Sang-hoon, a B-rank hunter in his late twenties—a big name among earth-attribute ability users.
Peering over the railing, Lee whistled at the drake corpses littering the street.
"Dozens at least. You took 'em all solo?"
"More importantly, what about the False Fire Dragon? Plenty of people still in that shelter."
"Yeah. Never dreamed the pseudo-dragon itself would show. Should've brought backup. Anyone else maybe, but bad matchup for me solo."
Lee scratched his head sheepishly.
A fierce exchange raged between the golem and False Fire Dragon below.
Earth and fire were near symbiotic.
Without an overwhelming edge, no quick resolution.
The problem? In such clashes, the B-rank dungeon boss held far more advantage over frail humans.
Boom! Bang! Boom!
Suddenly, crimson meteors plummeted from the sky, slamming into the city and golem alike.
The golem's upper body crumbled instantly from the head blow, on the verge of dissolution.
"Ngh."
Lee twisted his hand lightly, and surrounding earth surged, regenerating the golem in a blink.
True B-rank prowess.
But the city lay in ruins regardless.
Flooding flames, falling meteors, two monsters rampaging like from a kaiju flick.
He tsked at the inferno engulfing the streets.
"What a shitshow. What the hell's the Association doing? Letting it get this bad?"
"How're things elsewhere?"
"Better than here, but not great. Monster overflow's too massive; everyone's struggling. Pushed to come here myself, but who knew a pseudo-dragon waited."
"No one else coming?"
"Requested support right away, but timing..."
Lee eyed the False Fire Dragon gloomily—it kept pushing toward the shelter.
Even a boss monster's instinct to kill humans didn't change.
It headed for the densest concentration of people in the city.
"Checked earlier—evac needs at least 30 more minutes."
"Thirty minutes doable?"
"Gotta be. No choice."
Lee exhaled shortly, nonchalant—
─Kieeeek!!
—until eerie cries echoed from the city outskirts.
A fresh red drake swarm joining their master.
"I'll clear the rear. Sang-hoon-ssi, keep the False Fire Dragon pinned."
"Count on you. This is all I can handle."
Thud.
Kim Sun-woo nodded and leaped from the roof, charging the drake pack.
Watching from above, Lee murmured admiration as the figure shrank to a dot.
"Impressive. Wish I'd awakened something like that."
Shiiiik!
Kim Sun-woo plunged into the drake swarm's heart in a heartbeat.
Thirty-one new ones.
Inner energy at about seventy percent.
He'd recovered a bit chatting with Lee.
Enough to wipe these and help pin the dragon.
Sizzle!
He was a red drake expert now.
Patterns, reactions—down pat, could win blindfolded.
No sword aura to conserve energy; after roughly fifteen minutes and ten percent spent, the pack lay slain.
"......"
Shoulders heaving, ragged breaths escaped.
Stamina would recover with a breather.
But inner energy needed saving—smart call.
Rear's clear, but...
Wave-wise, this was around the sixth or seventh.
By pattern, about twenty minutes left.
If Lee held the dragon, shelter evac would succeed.
Problem: the False Fire Dragon was smarter than expected.
It sensed the humans stalling desperately and roared indignantly.
Foolish elementalist! I'll burn you with this city!
Fwoosh!
Whirling flames formed a blazing halo above its head.
Then scorching lava and fierce fire poured down, devouring the city from the dragon outward.
Sizzle!
Roads submerged in lava instantly, buildings crumbled to ash, the cityscape vanishing without trace.
"...Shit."
As lava reached his spot, Kim Sun-woo vaulted to a nearby rooftop.
This couldn't continue.
More rampage meant astronomical damage.
Lee thought the same; the golem went aggressive.
Boom! Bang-bang!
Ditching slow stalling, it unleashed heavy fists in barrage.
But the False Fire Dragon sneered, erecting lava walls to shield from the blows.
Thud!
The golem decided fast.
Kicked ground, leaped over the wall, and grappled the dragon tight.
Siiiizzle!!!
Intense heat melted the earth, crumbling the golem—but far more soil piled on, binding the False Fire Dragon firm.
Kyaak...!
Sensing peril, it thrashed skyward, but torrents of earth buried its head, forming a massive peak.
Crack.
The floating flame halo shattered and faded; encroaching lava receded.
Only a barren city and solitary peak remained.
"...Got it?"
Not slain, but sealed.
As he prepared to join Lee—
─FWOOSH!!
—an unprecedented inferno erupted.
To an outsider, it might've seemed a volcano bursting.
Splat!
Like a hatching beast cracking its egg, the False Fire Dragon burst the peak, roaring in rage amid its battered form.
Inferno!
Fwoosh!
The ground heaved as lava surged anew.
A heavier dread than the halo—this was turning the city into a blazing hellscape.
And Kim Sun-woo knew this phenomenon.
Field transformation!
A high-rank boss skill warping reality into its domain.
Reshaping the environment to unleash full power.
Thud!
Left unchecked, the whole province would boil into a lava plain.
"Is that thing okay─?!"
Landing on the roof, Kim Sun-woo froze at Lee Sang-hoon's wretched state.
Meeting his gaze, Lee wiped his nose with feigned casualness, sheepish.
"Kinda anemic. Nosebleeds happen a lot."
A pooling puddle of blood already stained beneath him.
...How much had he lost?
Ability backlash wrecked the body severely.
Pushed limits to hold the dragon.
Drip.
Blood kept flowing despite wipes.
Not just nose—bloodshot eyes weeping crimson tears, jaw and collar crusted red.
"Shelter evac's nearly done. Just got word—five minutes tops."
Abandoning the futile wiping, Lee grinned awkwardly through his raspy voice.
"Figured you'd bailed earlier. But seeing that and sticking around? Gutsier than I thought. I respect it. You retreat first."
He flashed the same cheerful smile as their first meeting.