074 - Designated Request (4)
Kim Sun-woo swallowed hard.
He'd slain baby dragons like drakes until he was sick of them, but this was his first time seeing a real member of the dragon race.
Even if only bones remained, a dragon was still a dragon.
The overwhelming pressure radiating from its very form was no joke.
-Grrrrrr.
The bone dragon stared at the hunters as if it were alive, letting out a low growl.
Yi Seong-jin, at the front, narrowed his eyes and fiddled with the talisman pinched between his fingers.
"Horror. Line Guard. Wall Formation."
The talisman ignited from the tip, blooming with brilliant blue flames.
Right then, thick black slime began dripping from the dungeon ceiling, pouring down over the bone dragon.
Sizzle!
A translucent barrier spread around the bone dragon, but the black slime eroded it in an instant, coating the bones.
-Kieeeek!
The bone dragon shrieked and twisted its body.
Yi Seong-jin, now gripping his spirit banner, clenched his fist and shouted at the hunters.
"Now!"
Thud!
As if on cue, the hunters kicked off the ground and charged the bone dragon.
It was a golden opportunity to claim the feat of felling such a rare guardian.
They unleashed their sharp auras and swung their weapons with all their might at the slime-wrapped bones.
Clang!
But slicing through a dragon's bones was no easy task.
"What the hell, it's so damn tough...!"
"...This shit feels like hitting adamantite."
A dragon's innate magic resistance was top-tier among all living creatures.
These were hunters renowned across the nation, yet they couldn't even scratch the bones and were repelled.
The backlash left them battered as a bonus.
Whoosh!
Amid the chaos, one swordsman leaped toward the bone dragon with a distinctly sharper whoosh of air.
Dazzling light erupted along the trajectory of his Black Flow Sword, briefly illuminating the underground dungeon.
The form of the technique burrowed into the bone dragon's body amid the grinding of bone.
A thick rib bone sheared clean off, scattering into the air.
Yi Seong-jin, clutching his spirit banner, smirked and muttered.
"Looks like we'll have another A-rank soon enough."
Only magic power at the level of sword gang or aura blade could damage the bone dragon.
Controlling power at that level meant he'd already reached mastery as a martial artist.
Kim Sun-woo himself, however, frowned dissatisfied at the bone he'd severed.
"...Fucking tough."
He'd aimed to sweep the torso side clean off, but it stopped at one rib.
If a bone dragon was this bad, what kind of monster would a real dragon be?
-Kieeeeeek!!!
Then the bone dragon thrashed violently, shaking off the slime coating it.
With one rib severed, its rage exploded—it stomped the ground hard and drew up mana fiercely.
Fwaaah!
Above the bone dragon's skull.
Dozens of magic circles materialized, radiating brilliant light.
The hunters gaped in stunned disbelief at the sight.
"...No way, it's dead and it can still cast magic?"
"Dodge!!!"
At Yi Seong-jin's sharp warning, they snapped to and fled the falling barrage of spells overwhelming the ceiling.
—KABOOOM!!!
Crimson flames, azure lightning, countless ice shards, and blade storms rained down in indiscriminate bombardment.
The underground dungeon was vast, but dodging every spell was impossible.
Some gave up evading and hardened their bodies with mana, only to be blasted away by the sheer power, tumbling across the floor.
Swish.
Kim Sun-woo flowed through with Illusion Flow Step, evading nearly all the attacks raining down.
Finding paths where none existed, he slipped past the spells with ease—and even grabbed nearby hunters by the collar, yanking them from danger in a display of skill.
Tzzzz.
Finally, as the magic circles in the sky faded away.
Yi Seong-jin, shielded in a turtle-shell barrier, clicked his tongue and surveyed the surroundings.
"...What a mess."
It stung to have burned so much of his core power, but most of the accompanying hunters were down for the count.
The knight team, joining as support, had wisely retreated to the rear when the bone dragon appeared, so they were mostly unscathed.
The rest of the B-rank hunters, though...
"Looks like it's just us two left."
"Lucky to have you here."
Excluding Kim Sun-woo, everyone else was out with serious injuries.
He spoke into his in-ear mic to the knight team holding back.
"Team leader. We'll draw the bone dragon's attention here—handle recovering the hunters. Request backup from outside too."
—...You sure?
"No choice. If we retreat now, it'll follow."
The dungeon was in break state, still connected to reality.
Meaning the bone dragon could emerge into the real world if it escaped the underground.
The city was already half-destroyed from the break—releasing the bone dragon on top would be a death sentence.
Swish.
Kim Sun-woo readjusted his grip on his sword, exhaled lightly, and said.
"I'll take point."
"Got your back."
Since learning martial arts, this was the first time he'd synced with someone to tackle a single target.
Even skilled hunters struggled to match his tempo.
'But an A-rank hunter.'
He might even need to adjust to him.
Tap.
He kicked off lightly.
No need for tactics or plans.
Once he unleashed full power, the other would adapt.
Flash!
A blinding flash erupted, and the bone dragon's massive frame twisted back.
Kim Sun-woo's strike to its flank had shattered its balance.
The actual damage was minimal, but that was enough for Yi Seong-jin.
"Bow Formation. Verdant Decay. Binding Prison."
As he chanted the incantation and shook his talisman, it sank into the ground, and thick wooden vines erupted upward.
They grew in an instant, binding the staggering bone dragon's limbs and dragging its body to the earth.
Fwaaah!
At the same time, Kim Sun-woo leaped high enough to touch the ceiling, drawing his sword back and channeling his inner energy.
Sword gang bloomed with a bluish haze along the blade, repelling the darkness cloaking the bone dragon.
-Gruk.
The bone dragon lifted its head toward Kim Sun-woo hurtling down from above.
It gaped its jaws wide, gathering ambient dark mana into a sphere of annihilation.
—Fwaaah!
The black breath pierced the air, engulfing Kim Sun-woo's form.
The surging breath rebounded off the ceiling, scattering everywhere.
His figure, wreathed in black flames, vanished without a trace.
As the bone dragon whipped its head around with murderous eyes, Yi Seong-jin grinned and twisted his spirit banner.
"Moves that fool even monsters. Impressive."
Then, behind the bone dragon, a full moon rose.
A brilliant moon bright enough to illuminate the dark underground dungeon.
Yi Seong-jin found his gaze stolen in an instant.
He'd planned to sync with Kim Sun-woo for the finishing wedge, but the sudden full moon mesmerized him.
Shing!
With a sharp ring, the full moon split in half and shifted.
The Black Flow Sword emerged as if sprouting from the earth behind the bone dragon, slicing through the darkness.
As the first form of Sword Gang Unity, it wielded power beyond the standard White Flow Sword Technique—and for some reason, his inner energy, which countered dark mana, maximized its might.
Inflicting a fatal wound along that arc was inevitable.
Shwaaa!
The clean slash tore through the dark mana, mercilessly carving the bone dragon's body.
Ribs shattered and scattered as the massive frame collapsed.
Yi Seong-jin seized the opening, extending more vines to bind it tight.
"...Whew."
Kim Sun-woo landed and let out a short breath.
One use had drained a third of his inner energy.
But the power was undeniable.
—Boom!
The bone dragon's skull slammed into the ground.
Yi Seong-jin yanked the air like a master angler reeling in a trophy catch.
"Some serious power. Grinding these bones into powder and eating it might even make me young again."
Crunch!
The vines surged higher.
They sealed the bone dragon's limbs and wrapped its entire body, immobilizing it completely.
Kim Sun-woo, standing still to regulate his breathing and replenish his qi, asked in wonder.
"Not ordinary wood, huh. It withstood some serious dark mana concentration."
"Stems of the divine spirit tree. Made by praying for 99 days straight. Good thing I used it before it expired."
Spells had expiration dates too?
Kim Sun-woo chuckled softly, and Yi Seong-jin gestured toward the rear.
"We're good now. Half-sealed."
"No need to finish it off?"
"The divine spirit tree will purify its dark mana. It'll crumble without form soon enough."
"...Incredible sorcery."
Kim Sun-woo admired the bone dragon now trapped in a wooden coffin.
Even his senses couldn't fathom how it'd been crafted.
A testament to Yi Seong-jin's transcendent skill.
"Good work."
Moments later, Robert approached, having tended the wounded.
"Reported the situation outside, and the injured are being healed. Lucky we have a skilled healer on the team."
"That Essential Armory girl? Saw her a few times as a kid—didn't realize she'd grown so much."
"You know her?"
"Know the name. Acquainted with their chairman too. Hold some stock. Thanks to you lately, the price shot up—I've profited nicely."
Kim Sun-woo burst into quiet laughter.
Even A-rank hunters were human.
Yi Seong-jin making a circle with his fingers felt oddly familiar.
Creak.
Then the divine spirit tree seal began to unravel.
Kim Sun-woo and Robert tensed and raised their weapons, but Yi Seong-jin waved them off.
"Faster than expected. Guess the hits you landed weren't light."
All that remained were the bone dragon's shattered remains... and a single gem pulsing with dark energy.
Yi Seong-jin, talisman in hand, bent down and picked it up.
Immense dark mana was condensed within at a glance.
◈ A piece of the dragon heart, pulsing with immense dark mana.
◈ High-ranking mages and magic towers will pay top dollar.
He flashed it with a grin.
"Incredible. A fragment of a dragon heart. Sell this outside, and magic towers or archmages will go wild. Easily tens of billions."
He stroked his chin thoughtfully, eyeing Kim Sun-woo, then nodded.
"I'll handle taxes, auction, all the hassle. Split it half and half?"
"Sounds good."
Kim Sun-woo nodded readily.
Tens of billions wasn't easy pickings.
Letting him handle the annoying bits was fine.
Plus, forging friendly ties with a powerhouse like Yi Seong-jin held value beyond money.
"Good. Refreshingly bold for a young guy. Shall we head inside now?"
Pocketing the dragon heart fragment wrapped in a talisman, Yi Seong-jin pointed to the path the bone dragon had emerged from.
"Wonder what they hid to post a bone dragon as guardian."