Chapter 45
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Roar of the Azure Dragon (5)
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A faint vibration traveled up from the tips of my toes.
I bit my lip.
It was faster than expected.
The mid-layers of the Azure Dragon's Abyss weren't supposed to be this dangerous.
But things were different now.
"Han-seong, the gaps between layers feel shallower."
He looked around immediately after hearing me.
"Yeah. I feel it too."
Lee Seo paused mid-step.
He stared at the back of his hand, as if trying to calm a slight tremor.
He spoke slowly.
"Hari, I... I still feel off."
I looked at him.
I'd heard those words many times before, but this time they carried a different weight.
His voice trembled deeply with anxiety.
This was the real sign of awakening.
Han-seong placed a hand on Lee Seo's shoulder.
"It's okay. You can still hold it together."
"How would you know?"
"I can see the mana fluctuations."
Even so, his eyes grew a bit more tense.
He understood Lee Seo's condition better than anyone.
If Lee Seo faltered now, the balance of the fight could shatter in an instant.
'Then the kids following behind us would all die.'
I quietly raised my hand and pulled out a small recovery potion.
"I'll give you more if you need it. Just take it slow."
Lee Seo slowly closed his eyes.
Then he gave a faint nod.
At that moment, a long, low wail like metal slicing through the air echoed from deeper in the cave.
We all turned toward the sound at once.
We were almost there.
Water pressure.
Faint vibrations.
Fluctuations.
These were the harbingers leading to the boss room.
Han-seong slightly raised his sword.
"Get ready. Hari, you support from the back with potions."
I gave a short reply.
"Got it."
In that instant, my heart raced strangely fast.
The first crossroads of the annihilation route.
I could only handle a tiny piece of it, but that small piece suddenly felt more crucial than I'd imagined.
'I knew this might happen. Don't freak out.'
After the Azure Dragon Dungeon, I wouldn't set foot in one again until finals were over.
With that, we took one more step forward.
The passage leading to the boss room was quieter than expected.
"Are the others okay?"
I couldn't hold back and asked. Yoo Han-seong nodded.
"With Yu-hee, Gong Seo-yun, and Lee Hae-sol together, they should survive."
"They looked pale too. Their mana affinities don't match this dungeon well."
Lee Seo said.
Han-seong fell silent for a moment before responding.
"Still, it's better than all of us coming together."
Starting from the mid-boss, the Azure Dragon's influence grew stronger.
Han-seong had split us from the classmates trailing us, citing the intensifying mana fluctuations in the air—something hard to grasp easily.
They were probably handling other tasks he'd assigned on different layers.
'It's an annihilation dungeon, so just clearing the final boss isn't enough.'
Their tasks were important too, but definitely safer than this path.
I'd distributed potions just in case, but would they even work?
The thought didn't last long before a wave of unease washed over us.
According to the original story, small monsters should have been popping out nonstop in the mid-layers.
But strangely, from some point on, there was nothing but the sound of our footsteps.
That silence felt even more unnerving.
My breathing sounded too loud.
Han-seong stopped first.
We quietly halted behind him.
He pressed his fingertips lightly against the wall.
There was a vibration.
Faint, but rhythmic.
Like the boss's breath.
"The air flow in this section is too fast."
Han-seong said lowly.
Lee Seo scanned the surroundings too.
His gaze kept drifting upward.
An energy was seeping in from the upper cave layers.
It was the kind hard for ordinary people to sense.
His senses were sharpened right now.
I adjusted my bag from behind them.
I tightened the inner straps so the potions wouldn't rattle.
You never knew when they'd be needed in this stretch.
Especially recovery and antidote— they'd be twice as vital.
With the Azure Dragon's unique poison and pressure.
"Han-seong."
I called him softly.
He glanced back.
"Yeah."
"If it's this bad in the mid-layers... the bottom boss might have come up."
Han-seong's eyes flickered.
He didn't answer right away.
Instead, he scanned the area once more.
Then he said quietly.
"Could be. The main body should be deeper... but there are signs it's come up."
Sometimes I wondered if Yoo Han-seong even bothered hiding his regression.
'He was like that in the original too, but it feels more obvious around me.'
Was it just my imagination?
At that moment, a spark-like energy flickered briefly in Lee Seo's hand.
Proof his awakening was progressing bit by bit.
He suppressed it with effort and grumbled dully.
"If it's come up, our line weakens."
Han-seong nodded.
"We still have to do it. If we can't pass, the others are in danger."
At the same time, faint droplets fell from the dungeon ceiling.
One drop.
Two drops.
The intervals slowly widening.
A sign the pressure intensified with each boss movement.
I drew a breath and gripped a potion in one hand.
"I'm ready."
Lee Seo gave a light nod.
His expression looked strained, but his eyes were definitely sharper.
He was reining in the bursts of energy himself.
His senses opening in ways even he hadn't anticipated.
We were just about to move again when a low woong vibration suddenly shook the entire floor.
I instinctively grabbed the wall.
The tremor felt like it spread across the whole mid-layer at once.
The kind of wave from something massive shifting.
Han-seong said curtly.
"It's coming."
Right after, wind backflowed from deep in the cave.
As if something enormous was peering right at us.
I froze, holding my breath in shock.
Soon, a blue light flashed in the darkness.
Like the Azure Dragon's gills opening and closing far back.
Definitely part of the main body.
"It never came this high before..."
Han-seong muttered lowly.
The Azure Dragon's Abyss usually kept its main body below certain layers.
But this was power ignoring those boundaries entirely.
Something was affecting the whole dungeon.
This wasn't just a natural monster's movement.
I bit my lip.
The danger level was way higher than expected.
I'd planned to counter with info, focusing on potions and routines, but the situation itself was changing too much.
Lee Seo crouched slightly.
"Hari... are you cold?"
I startled and looked at him.
The air rising from my body felt different than before.
I was shivering a little.
"No, I'm fine."
I answered without thinking.
But Lee Seo kept staring.
His senses were far sharper than a normal person's now.
He could feel my anxiety directly.
Han-seong said.
"It's here. Past this section is the boss room."
We stepped toward the final bend.
Just beyond this corner, we'd face the Azure Dragon itself.
I gripped the potion tight.
"I'll cover you two."
I muttered loud enough for myself to hear.
Han-seong just nodded without a word.
With that, we quietly advanced into the final passage.
The air grew colder the closer we got to the end.
The Azure Dragon's breath-like aura thinly seeped into our skin.
I shook my hand once.
A cold sensation clung to my palm.
Han-seong glanced back.
"Be careful. Attack range gets tricky from here."
I nodded.
Distance control was key in this section.
Get ambushed, and you'd need antidote before recovery.
The Azure Dragon's poison was its main attack.
As we slowly rounded the corner.
The air suddenly scattered violently.
Too sharp for mere wind.
I reflexively leaped back.
Han-seong and Lee Seo raised hands in defense simultaneously.
In that instant, a blue energy slashed long through the darkness.
Like a blade hurtling toward us.
Han-seong twisted aside; Lee Seo rolled the opposite way.
I held my breath.
The wind grazed my cheek.
A split second slower, and I'd have been sliced.
The blue energy exploded against the wall, scattering.
Rock shards bounced off the floor.
A fragment nicked my ankle, leaving a light sting.
Ouch, blood! Bloodbloodblood!
While quickly treating it with potion unseen, Han-seong ahead gritted his teeth.
"Harbinger attacks this strong already."
Lee Seo said as he slowly rose.
"The pressure itself is unlike normal dungeons."
I swiftly opened my bag and pulled out small recovery potions.
"Here, both of you."
Handed one to Han-seong first, then Lee Seo.
Lee Seo didn't drink right away, just held it while catching his breath.
A faint blue light leaked from his fingertips.
The signal of awakening rising.
He bit the potion and swallowed it down.
His throat bobbed heavily.
"Feels a bit better."
His face brightened slightly, but tension remained.
Potion recovery would wear off faster now.
The Azure Dragon's poison ate at their efficiency quickly.
We were about to press on when a dull thung echoed from the cave depths.
Followed by heavy footsteps.
The Azure Dragon was massive but moved fast.
The sound wasn't loud, but it was definitely closing in.
Han-seong whispered.
"Spread out sideways."
We broke from a line into three directions.
Each hiding behind pillar-like rocks.
Held our breath, watching for movement.
My heartbeat sounded deafening.
Far off, the blue energy swayed once more.