Chapter 46
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: 7. Roar of the Blue Dragon (6)
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This time, the movement was even clearer.
The afterimage, like the scales of the Blue Dragon, appeared and vanished in an instant.
It was a signal that the main body was adjusting its posture toward us.
Suddenly, Lee Seo let out a small groan.
It was extremely faint, but I caught it right away.
I carefully peered past the rock to look at him.
His shoulders were trembling ever so slightly.
"Lee Seo."
I called out softly.
He clenched his teeth tight.
"Hari... my... senses are way too open."
That was a dangerous sign.
Awakening on the rise was a good thing, but if your senses flared too wide during combat, you could end up swallowing every stray energy around, leading straight to chaos.
The Blue Dragon Dungeon right now—with its poison gas and water pressure hitting all at once—was especially hazardous for that.
I pulled another potion from my bag.
A stabilizer to tamp down bodily confusion for a short while.
Still experimental, so I couldn't give him much, but this was the perfect moment for it.
"Drink this quick."
Lee Seo drew in a deep breath and sipped it cautiously.
The wildly churning energy around him felt like it settled a bit.
His eyes sharpened with a touch more focus than before.
"A little... better."
He panted out softly.
Han-seong suddenly raised his hand high.
The signal: don't move a muscle.
We froze on the spot.
Moments later, the cave ceiling twitched and shuddered.
A massive something slithered along it, the sound echoing heavily.
Part of the Blue Dragon's body gliding right overhead.
Its motion was agonizingly slow, but the sheer weight of it pressed down on us.
I held my breath.
The faint water pressure creeping up made my ears ring.
My heart pounded hard enough to feel it in my throat.
Just knowing the Blue Dragon was right there, inches away, crushed us with pressure.
Han-seong whispered so low it was barely audible.
"It's passing. Stay put."
Lee Seo shut his eyes, reining in his energy.
He was sensing the Blue Dragon's aura almost raw, unfiltered.
Burden enough to buckle under on its own.
A streak of blue light grazed the underside of the ceiling and slipped by.
A short, guttural rumble trailed it.
Then, the slow sensation of it pulling away.
I let out a quiet breath.
Finally, a moment to breathe.
But right then—
The energy we'd thought was retreating ballooned violently again.
It crashed back like a breaking wave, fierce and unrelenting.
Han-seong's eyes flew wide. "Everyone, back!"
I leaped backward on instinct.
The rock cracked with a thunderous snap.
Blue light flashed once more before our eyes.
The Blue Dragon's strike hammered toward us again.
We scrambled to the walls, dropping into defensive stances.
The real clash was about to kick off.
The Blue Dragon's energy erupted outward.
Cold, heavy—a pressure that chilled the blood in your veins.
I pressed my back to the wall, trying to steady my breathing, but my chest hammered away.
This wasn't some idle threat. It was deliberate, crushing intimidation.
Han-seong moved first.
He cleaved the surging wind energy clean in two, sharp as a blade.
Darkness clung thin to his sword tip for a split second.
The sign he was unleashing his true strength.
Lee Seo crouched low instead, fingertips brushing the floor's energy.
Blue mana laced with water welled up from below.
Poison and depth pressure blanketed the whole stretch.
Reading it wasn't easy.
But Lee Seo was doing just that.
I gripped my bag strap tight again.
Recovery potions, antidotes, stamina boosts.
Not a ton of types needed for this dungeon, but they had to be downed or splashed constantly—quantity was key.
That's why I'd packed them in the lowest-grade subspace bag our homeroom teacher hooked us up with after the Dalmoori Dungeon.
'Would've been screwed without that bag.'
Nothing fancy, but their role on the battlefield was crystal clear.
A low wail echoed from afar.
The thrash of a colossal body churning through water.
That vibration screamed incoming attack.
The Blue Dragon hammered straight-line strikes, over and over.
Weather that, and the pattern shifted from behind.
We were seconds from that turning point.
Han-seong signaled with his hand.
We slipped beside the rocks, one by one.
Had to tuck in tight, shrink our attack profile.
I drew a breath and focused.
Fingertips tallying potions in the bag, waiting for the right beat.
Blue light flared wide once.
Tail strike incoming.
A blow of wind and water swept in a massive arc.
I hugged the floor and barely dodged.
Hot wind seared past my back. Han-seong bared his teeth and met it head-on.
His blade shivered, shoving the blue energy back.
He slid back a step, jaw locked.
But he held his footing.
Blocking it—that was the win.
Lee Seo severed the flow from the opposite flank at the same instant.
Gestures flying fast, choking off the poison currents through the rock crevices.
Blue energy halted under his feet, if only for a moment.
A move to fuzz the Blue Dragon's senses, buying precious seconds.
This dungeon's setup favored the monster hard.
Still, rattle its senses even a hair, and counter openings appeared.
I crawled to their side and murmured low.
"Hold up a sec, both of you—here."
I yanked out a recovery potion and a stabilizer, one each.
Han-seong gasped them down, panting.
His hands shook, but his eyes cleared sharp.
Lee Seo exhaled deep and downed his stabilizer.
When his eyes reopened, his irises burned a shade darker.
The awakening threshold sharpening by the moment.
That's when it hit.
A second rumble rolled in from the distance.
Deeper this time. Faster.
The Blue Dragon's true form was entering our sights at last.
Rocks quaked.
Felt like the whole dungeon bucked.
The Blue Dragon reared high above the water.
Its colossal bulk threw shadows across the passage overhead.
I swallowed hard.
Its eyes locked on us.
Too keen a gaze to call it mindless.
This thing knew we were here.
Han-seong muttered low.
"Hari, further back."
I dropped lower behind the rock as ordered.
Its first breath pattern was revving up.
Dodge perfect? Read the timing dead-on.
Han-seong and Lee Seo had the motions mapped already.
Blue energy pooled at the Blue Dragon's maw.
Blue mist billowed out like exhalation.
Pure poison.
One whiff, and you'd stiffen up in seconds.
I whipped out three antidotes on reflex.
"Poison hits? Slam these! Hold your breath!"
"Got it!" Lee Seo shot back.
Han-seong nodded, wordless.
He held air and sank into stance.
The blue mist rolled in.
Up close, it warped vision like heat haze.
I mashed my face to the rock, breath locked.
Blue Dragon poison slithered alive, sniffing out human breaths.
Movements. Respiration.
As the mist clawed over the rocks, blue light flickered off Lee Seo.
Awakening signs spiking all at once.
Like his poison-reactive transformation kicking in.
'Just a bit longer. Hold.'
The poison flooded the passage's end, then ebbed away slow.
That instant—prime counter window.
Han-seong surged up.
Darkness converged on his blade.
Lee Seo synced in, seizing the floor's flow.
Their motions interlocked seamless.
And I sensed the second collision dropping any second.
This rumble was worlds apart from the first.
Vibrations rattled marrow-deep.
Air split; waves pealed metallic.
Blue Dragon shifting to full assault pattern.
Han-seong bolted first.
Sword tip sliced blue mist razor-sharp, lunging ahead.
Rhythm nailed perfect.
Short leap to its neck zone, jamming the attack angle.
Small frame versus tidal onslaught.
Lee Seo followed right on heel.
Blue poison snaking the floor bucked underfoot again.
He pinned it fingertip-tight.
Blue flared across his knuckles.
Crushed down, then shoved the pressure reverse.
Blue Dragon's senses wobbled off-kilter.
I held breath, pawed the bag, freed three more vials.
Recovery amp, poison dampener, short-burst stamina spike.