Chapter 48
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: 7. Roar of the Blue Dragon (8)
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A blue glow spread out, blanketing the entire corridor.
I shielded my eyes for a moment.
The vibrations rippling across my skin made it hard to draw steady breaths.
The Blue Dragon's movements ground to a halt.
Its massive body froze as if its attack pattern had been interrupted mid-flow, the currents of water and poisonous miasma hanging motionless alongside it.
In that silence, a new energy began to rise.
It didn't belong to the Blue Dragon—it was Yi-seo's.
The transformation unfolding in Yi-seo right now was an explosive awakening, the kind that only happened deep within an Awakener who'd endured immense pressure.
In the original storyline, he'd only reached this point after his comrades' sacrifices. But now, thanks to the environment and the potions, his awakening was coming early.
I glanced down at my trembling fingertips.
The pressure Yi-seo had withstood during that last attack pattern had been enough to shatter his limits, paving the way for this surge of power.
Yi-seo straightened his quivering body.
His hair and eyes gradually took on a blue sheen, ripples spreading around him like waves on water.
The Blue Dragon reacted, its gills flaring open once more.
This time, the attack zeroed in solely on Yi-seo, ignoring the rest of us.
I called his name.
"Yi-seo."
But he didn't glance my way. His gaze locked precisely on the Blue Dragon's aura.
I could see the poisonous miasma and waves on the floor flowing toward his feet.
Han-seong moved to rush in, but Yi-seo raised a hand to stop him.
"Hold on. I'm fine."
His voice had returned to its usual sharp, brooding tone.
The Blue Dragon's assault came crashing down.
Immense water pressure tore through the corridor, but the energy radiating from Yi-seo's fingertips met it head-on, blocking the attack.
The waves split apart like they'd smashed into an invisible wall, the impact's vibrations shaking the floor.
For the first time, the Blue Dragon recoiled.
Yi-seo was reading the flow of its attacks.
It was a sensory gift reserved for higher-rank Awakeners.
A blue glow and black shadows flickered around him simultaneously.
The twisted waves blending the Blue Dragon's poison and water affinity carried the unmistakable presence of an S-rank Awakener.
I let out a soft breath.
"...You're really breaking through."
Han-seong stepped up beside Yi-seo.
"You good now?"
Yi-seo gave a curt nod.
"Yeah. I can... start seeing it now."
He meant he could truly read the Blue Dragon's waves and attack patterns.
The Blue Dragon reared up even higher.
It was the final pattern.
'Looks like the final boss forcibly linked the boss room to this floor.'
That's why annihilation dungeon bosses are so dangerous.
They pull unpredictable stunts like this sometimes.
But thanks to it, we had a tiny bit of breathing room.
Normally, this pattern's end would trigger a dungeon collapse risk, but now we could finish it before that happened.
Yi-seo pointed at a spot near the Blue Dragon's gills.
A blue flicker gleamed deep in his eyes.
"Right there."
Without hesitation, Han-seong charged toward the spot.
His sword sliced through the waves, plunging into the Blue Dragon's core.
A roar erupted, shaking the entire cave.
Blue water and light burst outward as the Blue Dragon's body slowly crumbled.
I exhaled, watching the scene.
We'd cleared it without any sacrifices this time too.
But the moment that thought crossed my mind, the Blue Dragon let out a roar like a sucker punch to the back of the head.
And just like that, impossibly, the kids from the other split group appeared before us.
The ones who'd gone ahead as requested, leading Narin Academy's support team.
'Got it. This is the trial.'
A late memory from the original story surfaced.
It hadn't happened in the Blue Dragon dungeon, but in another annihilation dungeon.
Right before the fallen final boss vanished, it had cursed the enemies who'd defeated it.
'A petty way of saying it wouldn't let them leave the dungeon easily.'
Who knew the Blue Dragon would pull the same trick.
The trial, "Blue Dragon's Abyss," dragged on longer than expected.
The humid stench spreading from the entrance tickled the back of my throat, and I lightly tapped my neck.
The early sections of the abyss were shrouded in a hazy toxic fog, but thanks to the antidote potions Hari had distributed that morning, everyone was breathing without much trouble.
I learned later that those potions decided who survived the day.
The lead team suddenly halted.
At the spot where the toxic fog thickened, a blue wind pattern bloomed abruptly.
In that instant, I recalled this was the telltale precursor to the unique air current shifts in the Blue Dragon's Abyss.
Without preparation, three people here would've been caught in razor-sharp slashes and bleeding wounds.
"Air currents shifting!"
The vanguard attack leader shouted.
"Stamina potions, now!" followed right after.
The moment the call went out, the sound of multiple potion bottles uncorking echoed through the abyss.
I nearly flinched at the familiar shout, but I was grateful I didn't have to step up in front of the academy support team.
'Looks like they're making good use of the potions I gave them.'
Not just the ones I'd handed out to our class earlier, but all the ones I'd shared before.
What they were downing were the stamina potions I'd been handing out for practice over the past couple days.
Originally for tuning student conditions, today they served as shields against the air current surges.
When the wind exploded forward, the students with shields were pushed back.
But fortunately, no one fell.
The potions had forcibly boosted their circulation.
For a split second, I thought something felt off.
'This... won't get chalked up to my potions again, will it?'
Even if it was true, it couldn't stand out too much yet.
Once the currents settled, an instructor's order came from the rear.
"Hyun Yi-seo! Check for tunnel vibrations with your senses first!"
Yi-seo replied curtly and pressed his fingertips to the ground, focusing.
A moment later, his eyes flickered.
"Fifty meters ahead—the wall's weakened."
We adjusted our advance route and regrouped.
I snuck a glance at Yi-seo.
His face was hardening as he kept concentrating, sensing something.
The deeper into the Blue Dragon's Abyss, the heavier the pressure on sensory types.
"Yi-seo, you okay?"
"Yeah. For now."
A bead of sweat dripped from his chin.
He'd only awakened to S-rank recently, so this was his weakest point.
His mana had to be depleted.
'Need to wrap this up and get out fast.'
At least the academy support team lightened the load.
I felt the air brushing my hand shift.
An invisible pressure was pushing from the corridor's end.
This was the aura of the Blue Dragon's core zone.
Even after the boss fell, the core zone's magic faithfully followed its dead master's will.
If this kept up, our front line could crumble.
The potions were at least keeping the kids' stamina and recovery above baseline.
That's when it happened.
A sharp crack echoed from deep in the corridor, the air tearing open.
The Blue Dragon's first trial had begun.
A blue light slowly rose from the corridor's end.
It was the signature resonance of the Blue Dragon's aura condensing.
Han-seong instinctively drew a sharp breath.
This section normally wiped out three front lines and injured two others badly enough to carry out.
Mid-to-low tier students couldn't withstand even one sweep of the Blue Dragon's energy.
"Everyone, lower your centers!"
The instructor's voice boomed through the corridor.
The kids steadied their breathing in unison.
The moment they crouched and deployed barriers, the blue currents swept past with dizzying force.
But even in these brutal conditions, no one collapsed.
Not even the weakest line buckled.
It was because Hari's stamina recovery potions from a few days ago kept cycling through their systems.
Someone from the back murmured softly.
"Stamina's holding. This is insane."
Another student nodded.
"Yeah. At this intensity, we'd have been on our knees ages ago."
Han-seong glanced back briefly.
His eyes met Hari's.
She was just quietly matching her breathing, keeping pace.
Her expression said she wasn't doing anything special.
Once the currents passed, the corridor fell quiet again.
That's when Yi-seo flinched.
"...It's here."
His voice was low but clear.
The Blue Dragon's sensory trial was about to start.
Once it kicked in, sensory types risked mental overload from the overwhelming pressure.
The walls on both sides shuddered, blue patterns blooming.
Those patterns expanded to directly assault Yi-seo's senses.
Yi-seo gritted his teeth.
"Just a sec. I got it."
The instructor yelled.
"Hyun Yi-seo! Pull back if it's too much!"
"Still good."
Blue flames of sensation flickered from his fingertips.
As the pressure mounted, the surrounding students swallowed hard.
Anyone could see it was untenable.
But Yi-seo focused even deeper, quieter.
The lingering effects of Hari's mental stability potion in his system were propping up his senses against the overload.
Suddenly, the blue patterns burst apart.
In that gap, Yi-seo's eyes flashed open.
Blue light gathered there.
The power of an S-rank Awakener.