Chapter 49
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Roar of the Azure Dragon (9)
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The entire passageway fell silent.
Someone up front muttered.
"No way, did he just awaken...?"
It wasn't an awakening right this instant, but since he'd gone from staggering weakly to fully recovered, that's probably how it looked to them.
Before the words could even finish, the second wave of pressure rolled in.
The Azure Dragon's air currents began to shift in earnest.
Han-seong immediately threw up a barrier.
He confirmed Hari retreating to the rear.
Clueless about the dire situation, she was quietly shaking a potion vial.
'Ah, damn it. I should've turned down Lee Hae-sol's request.'
This place was way too dangerous for her.
Letting out a short sigh, he fixed his gaze forward.
If Lee Seo could handle these shifting air currents right after awakening, the front line wouldn't crumble.
But if he failed, the passageway would collapse on the spot.
Blue air currents surged in, and Lee Seo gritted his teeth.
A heartbeat-like throbbing echoed through the entire tunnel, pounding as if it would burst.
He instinctively dropped into a ready stance.
And that was the moment.
A blue circular pattern glowed beneath Lee Seo's feet.
The light shot up sharply in an instant, slashing through the air currents.
The Azure Dragon's abyss halted for a moment.
S-rank senses had dissected the air currents.
Someone nearby whispered softly.
"...He really awakened."
Han-seong slowly lifted his head.
Deep in the passageway, the mana left behind by the dead Azure Dragon was rising.
The Azure Dragon's mana wasn't as potent as the beast itself, but it was still plenty threatening—like waves crashing in from afar.
As the front line wavered for a moment, the instructor raised a hand, halting everyone.
"From here on, max out your senses. The slightest change in the Azure Dragon's core can shatter the balance."
The kids nodded.
And most of their gazes naturally turned to Hyun Yi-seo.
His breathing was still ragged, but his eyes were sharp and clear.
There was some instability from the fresh awakening, but his presence was unmistakably that of a seasoned S-rank.
I was watching from the back.
Steadying my breath while clutching the potion vial in my hand, I caught Yi-seo glancing my way.
There was an oddly calm look in his eyes.
"Hari, back there... thanks."
"What'd I even do?"
I shook my head naturally.
"I just did what I could."
Yi-seo didn't smile, but he looked like someone who'd pieced it all together.
The Azure Dragon's air currents stirred again.
This time, they burrowed in much deeper.
It wasn't just shaking their senses—it felt like it was scraping at the roots of their minds.
A few kids complained of dizziness and braced themselves against the walls.
The instructor stomped hard, reinforcing the barrier.
"Don't scatter! If it's too much, speak up right away."
I was catching my breath beyond the barrier.
My fingertips trembled slightly.
But for now, everyone was holding on.
No one had fallen.
'Must be the potions.'
I murmured quietly to myself.
That was the only explanation I could come up with.
The recovery, antidote, and stamina potions I'd made over the past few days were still quietly circulating through their bodies.
Truth be told, they were just my practice runs.
Unlike the ones I'd painstakingly crafted for the protagonist's party, these were low-grade potions I'd whipped up on a whim.
That's why even yesterday, I'd thought, 'This dungeon run's only meaningful because I'm tagging along.'
'At least I know I won't die.'
But that wasn't the case.
Yi-seo's senses flared once more, expanding sharply.
He stood tall and pointed with his fingertips, tracing a blue trail.
"Here. It's moving."
The instructor looked mildly surprised.
"You're reading it?"
"Yes. The Azure Dragon's showing signs of changing direction."
The kids buzzed with murmurs.
"Then let's follow."
The instructor reorganized the front line.
Yi-seo and Yoo Han-seong took point.
The others, including Yoo Hee, had compatibility issues for leading, so they fell into the middle ranks.
The middle was the barrier reinforcement squad.
The rear had supporters like me who could provide auxiliary aid.
Every step sent subtle tremors through the floor.
The water energy soaked the passageway, slyly throwing off their balance.
Lose your footing once, and the currents would sweep you into the walls.
Knowing that, all the kids were biting their lips tight.
From the back, I kept checking on everyone's conditions.
Who was breathing hard.
Whose mind was fogging up.
Who was wobbling.
And cautiously, I passed out the remaining potions little by little.
Han-seong cleaved through the front and called back.
"The currents are too disruptive. Hari, got any extra antidote potions? Could you pass a few more to the back?"
"Yeah, right away."
I pulled a small antidote potion from my waist pouch and handed it beyond the barrier.
Han-seong took it and distributed it to the middle-rank kids.
Even in that brief moment, his hands were precise, swift, and delicate.
And when our eyes met afterward, just like always, he gave a quick nod.
"Thanks."
Some people knew to say thanks when you gave them what they needed.
Not like the people around me in my past life, or Jin Hari's family in this one, who just demanded it.
'That's why I liked Yoo Han-seong.'
Even reading the original story, I'd genuinely rooted for his victory.
......The currents thickened further.
The water patterns on the floor came alive vividly, twisting into crescent shapes.
Yi-seo brought his hand close to the ground and said.
"There. I can see the core."
Intakes of breath rippled like waves.
The end of the passageway slowly brightened.
But the light wasn't blue—it resembled the dark, inky heart of deep water.
And from within, something was writhing slowly.
I clenched my trembling hands tight.
This was the Azure Dragon's abyss.
If no one died today.
That alone would be a miracle.
The Azure Dragon's heart was a lump of mana that lingered after its master's death, sitting there like a massive crystal.
Watery light flickered and flowed across its surface, and the closer they got, the clearer the heartbeat-like throbbing became.
The kids held their breath.
Even the instructor was holding his tongue.
Yi-seo raised his hand.
His eyes glowed blue.
"Han-seong. Upper left. Barrier first."
Han-seong reacted instantly.
A thin barrier membrane unfurled from his fingertips, slicing through the waves.
Even then, the Azure Dragon's presence didn't let up.
A blast of wind and waves twisted at their bodies all at once.
A few middle-rank kids lost their footing and staggered.
I quickly pulled out a stamina potion from the back.
"Drink this."
The kids took the potions with panicked expressions.
One muttered under his breath.
"This... it really makes it easier to endure."
Another kid drew in a breath.
"You made this? Amazing."
I waved it off lightly.
"Just practice stuff."
"Practice, and it's this good?"
Even in the heat of the moment, the kids' eyes went wide as they exchanged glances.
Han-seong and Yi-seo kept their tension high in front of the core.
The instructor scanned left and right, trying to detect shifts in the attack patterns.
The Azure Dragon didn't attack directly.
Instead, the currents ramped up a notch.
The waves suddenly warped.
In an instant, the floor patterns flipped as if alive.
Someone screamed and plastered themselves to the wall.
"Couldn't see it... it came from behind all of a sudden...!"
I immediately pulled out a recovery potion.
"Here. Drink."
The kid's hand shook lightly.
The moment he swallowed the potion, his breathing steadied.
And right after, something slammed down exactly where he'd been standing.
"Hari... if it weren't for you, I was really in trouble just now."
I answered with a small smile instead.
These little disruptions could turn into disasters in a heartbeat.
Yi-seo, eyes locked on the core, said lowly.
"The heart... it's about to open."
The instructor tensed.
"Everyone, prepare!"
The core's surface slowly split open.
A soft blue light leaked from the fissure.
Everyone swallowed hard.
The light wasn't cold—it felt almost warm.
But there was unmistakably a living will within it.
Yi-seo let out a long breath.
"Han-seong, I'll take right. You left."
Han-seong half-drew his sword and nodded.