Chapter 166
Chapter 166
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 166
Chapter Title: Dragonia Underground (5)
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If he had his way, Kim Suhyun wanted to down the elixir right then and there. But with no idea what might happen and no comrades around to help him, doing so would be utter madness.
‘Anyway, I’ll have time once I get back.’
With that thought, Suhyun slowly scanned his surroundings. The data he’d gathered here would prove invaluable as reference material once he returned.
The spot where the scroll had been was unusual, but Suhyun put it out of his mind soon enough. More pressing matters demanded his attention. First, he needed to map out the underground passage layout and locate the exits.
Aside from the golems standing here and there, no one else was around. It felt eerie, like wandering a ghost city. Yet Suhyun pressed on without tiring, steadily sketching a map.
* * *
“Isn’t this taking too long? Normally, he should’ve come back to check in by now.”
“Give it time. I’d be worried if it were anyone else, but Kim Suhyun’s on another level. He’s not the type to die in a place like this. He knows how to look after himself.”
“But still…”
“Look at the team members’ faces.”
At Jack’s words, Howard turned his gaze. The Uncle Jo Company members showed no sign of worry. It bordered on callous.
‘Don’t these guys even care? Their team leader went in alone.’
“They know better than us. If they trust him that much, we should wait.”
“Appreciate the vote of confidence.”
“!”
Suhyun emerged from the passage, parting the darkness at its end. His face had grown noticeably rougher over the past few days.
“You okay?”
“No issues. There wasn’t a single enemy inside. Just golems.”
Jack’s face lit up at Suhyun’s words, then darkened again. No enemies was good news, but those golems hadn’t only ignored Suhyun—they’d gone berserk on everyone else.
While Suhyun roamed, they’d tested it themselves, swapping people out just in case. But the golems showed no mercy, charging wildly every time.
-What the hell’s the problem!?
“I found the exit and roughly finished mapping the interior.”
“What? You could’ve sent someone from below for that.”
“You seeing these golems and still saying that?”
“Oh, right.”
This wasn’t typically work for a top-tier superpower user. But the situation called for it. Jack clicked his tongue and nodded.
“Can I see the map?”
“That’s why I brought it. I’ve got some questions.”
While Jack and the others huddled over the holographic map, murmuring among themselves, Suhyun called over the dwarf who’d come down. He was the one who’d discovered this underground ruin through ancient texts and was on-site to assist them.
“What’s it say? I’m hopeless with Dwarven script.”
“Let me take a look. Ah, this is…”
The dwarf began deciphering haltingly.
“We discovered a way to defeat the immortal dragon. We leave behind a weapon for that purpose. No matter how mighty the dragon, it is powerless before time. We cannot wield it, but should one who can appear, they will fell the dragon. Wait, does this mean it’s that immortality…?”
The dwarf trailed off in confusion, glancing at Suhyun. The chairman sought personal longevity. But this was a weapon to end a dragon’s immortality.
He panicked at the thought of disappointing their massive investor, but Suhyun was even more flustered.
‘Damn it, I screwed up…!’
If the dwarf’s translation was accurate, that scroll held a weapon capable of slaying a dragon. The dwarf saw it merely as a dragon-slaying method, but Suhyun, who could manipulate time, grasped its meaning instantly.
Accelerate time against the dragon.
Suhyun recalled an old joke. How to kill an elephant with a needle: prick it, then wait for it to age to death. A lame punchline, but logically sound.
He didn’t know the ancient dwarves’ exact method, but they’d clearly forged a weapon to wildly accelerate time. Yet they couldn’t control it—no one like Suhyun existed back then.
And then Suhyun appeared. The perfect wielder.
The problem? He’d used it on the elixir instead of the dragon.
‘Son of a…’
With no way to show it off, Suhyun berated himself for the first time in ages. He might’ve just tossed away the one surefire way to face a dragon.
“Uh, you alright?”
“Yeah, fine. Just caught me off guard since I wasn’t expecting it.”
“I’m shocked too. The chairman’s gonna be disappointed when he hears…”
“Don’t worry. Nothing was there originally. Even if it really granted immortality, we wouldn’t have gotten it. I’ll smooth things over with the chairman.”
Suhyun’s close ties to Chairman Charles were well-known among those in the know. Relieved, the dwarf nodded gratefully.
‘Damn. I rushed it to hide it from Chairman Charles. Crap.’
Having wasted an item that might’ve eased his dragon phobia, Suhyun’s expression soured.
“You sure you’re okay? From wandering alone?”
“No, it’s not that. Don’t worry. Jack! Done with the map?”
At Suhyun’s call, Jack nodded.
“Good. Then let’s start smashing these golems one by one.”
“You sure?”
“We’re prepped to bail if needed… Let’s do it.”
Suhyun approached a golem. It stood defenseless.
‘Probably the chest.’
Golems had clear weak points. They needed artifact cores to function. Even wrapped in altaranium plating, the core had to be there.
“!”
The Eclipse team gaped. A flash of light, and the golem crumpled. No one could tell what attack had pierced its chest.
“What? How?”
“You know damn well. Superpower.”
“I know that! But what makes your superpower different from ours?”
“You’re not seriously asking, right?”
Suhyun decided to play it cocky. No need to reveal the mechanics of his combined superpowers.
“You know even the same superpower varies in power by user, right?”
“That’s the only difference?”
The Eclipse superusers couldn’t accept it. Pride wouldn’t let them.
They’d never felt inferior about their powers before. They were always a cut above; inadequacy was for others.
“Some secret? A weak point?”
“Don’t golems just need their core destroyed? Anything else?”
Textbook answer. Faces twisted among those wondering how to breach its defenses. Jack shook his head, patting his men’s shoulders.
“Enough.”
“But…”
“We’re just not up to par. Accept it. Pushing it’ll just look ugly.”
Suhyun felt a twinge of guilt.
‘It’s not just firepower. Oh well.’
“Good that you can drop golems easily, but looks like you’ll handle all of them solo. Cool with that?”
“That’s why I’m here. Let’s work.”
* * *
“I’m dying. Let’s rest a bit.”
“Nutrient shot?”
“You telling me to keep going without rest?”
“N-No, just… Superpower drain sucks, so…”
“I’m good. Haven’t pushed that far. What’s the rush?”
Destroying golems one by one was tedious. Suhyun plopped onto a fallen one for a break. In the distance, Kwak Hyun-tae scanned around furtively.
“What? Lose something?”
“Nah. Just curious.”
“About?”
“Wild they built all this, yet no human traces left. Should be corpses or bones at least. No people, no remains—kinda weird.”
“Interesting thought. What sparked it?”
“Huh? Just popped up.”
“No way it did for you.”
“…Actually, the loot on corpses.”
Other-race tombs always paid off. Grave goods like jewelry were premium as rare metals from alien species.
Suhyun tsked.
“Tsk tsk. Side hustle all the way out here? Think bigger.”
“I was a low-pay grunt soldier till recently. Can’t flip a switch.”
“Tell me if you find bodies.”
“Huh?! You’re richer than me, team leader!”
“More money’s always better. Not cutting your take. Just share if there’s anything interesting. You never know down here.”
“Oh, got it.”
Kwak Hyun-tae brightened, realizing Suhyun wasn’t hogging it.
With only Suhyun able to handle golems, they moved efficiently: clearing a shortest path linking entrance to exit, ignoring other routes.
Jack shook his head at the narrow, steep exit.
“Gotta rebuild that. Checked outside?”
“Roughly. Coordinates say we’ve passed Dragonia Basin by a ways.”
With the basin overhead and a passage piercing below, their goal was met. Issues remained, but Jack was encouraged by the successful new route.
“Great. Finish the passage, and we’re done!”
“Planning to push further from here?”
“Of course. One day, to the continent’s end.”
Jack declared confidently, unwavering in his path.
“Way better than tangling with dark elves via Insurin. Oh, wait—you handled that Insurin gig too?”
Chatting, they returned to the village center. Jack mostly talked; Suhyun listened. Jack rattled off dozens of future expedition plans.
“?”
“What?”
“There used to be light pouring in here.”
Suhyun pointed where the scroll had been. A pillar of light had made it unforgettable.
But now, no light.
“Maybe it doesn’t reach from above? Angles change over time.”
“No, at this hour it should…”
A soft rustle came from above. Like silk brushing silk—so faint, Suhyun thought it a hallucination at first.
Then a dragon descended the vertical shaft. Folding its massive wings to land, it unfurled them roughly in the cavern. A gust roared with the whoosh.
“Uh…”
Even fearless Jack couldn’t stay calm. He clenched his fists instinctively—not for brave combat, but desperate thrashing.
Against an impossible foe, driven to futile frenzy. That’s what Jack neared.
But meeting the dragon’s eyes shattered that resolve. Snapping to, Jack realized he knelt prostrate. Overwhelmed, toppled. No shame, just one thought.
‘That’s not something humans can beat.’
No one charges a typhoon. Dragons were the same. Suhyun’s voice snapped Jack’s daze—calm, issuing wireless orders.
“Dragon sighted. Everyone retreat to the entrance.”
“?!”
Luckily, the others were deeper in the passage. The dragon could shatter them instantly if it wanted, but they had time to flee.
Inappropriate as it was, Jack wondered: How did Suhyun stay cool? What set him apart?