Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Dragon's Reverse Scale
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I raised it with such utmost care, fearing it might shatter even from a mere brush.
It was only Rare-grade, so I knew I'd have to replace it someday.
But because it was my first skeleton, I showered it with extra affection.
I never imagined it would be destroyed so futilely.
"You cherished it so much. But aside from being fast, it was nothing special, Lee Han."
Cha Si-won mocked me after seeing Wind Step for the first time, since Kkaebi hadn't needed to step up during our journey here.
"Ptooey."
I spat out the blood pooling in my mouth and struggled to my feet.
"You would've died. You idiot."
Cha Si-won's face twisted at my words.
"Idiot?"
"What else? We could've claimed all of the Fire Dragon's treasures, but you pull this crap? Huh? Is your head just for show?"
"A mere level 23 dares...!"
Cha Si-won kicked off the ground and charged at me, as if she couldn't hold back any longer.
"You've already used that red shield once anyway, so you can't for the next 60 minutes, right? I'll end you with my own hands!"
Her change was so drastic that I wondered if this was the same Cha Si-won I'd traveled with up to this point.
This was exactly why I didn't trust humans easily...
Because I'd seen behavior like this countless times.
There were rare exceptions like Jeong Sia, but overall, humanity's structure made it hard to foster any love for our kind.
Anyway, with no summons left and unable to use [Lava Shield], Cha Si-won figured I was easy pickings.
She didn't even bother with her magic sword, as if my life force wasn't worth it, and relied purely on her physical strength to kill me.
Then, something utterly unexpected happened.
"Gahk... W-why... me..."
Cha Si-won looked down in disbelief at the bloodied, slender hand piercing through her silver armor.
That hand belonged to the Fire Dragon standing right behind her.
"Insolent human. To think you'd try to use me."
Dragons were monsters, but exalted beings who had lived for eons.
They weren't something humans could manipulate with mere clever words.
A heavy thud echoed through the cavern as Cha Si-won collapsed forward, weighed down by her armor.
And the magic sword she'd been holding vanished without a trace.
A fittingly hollow end for a betrayer.
'Can it work from this distance?'
The moment I confirmed Cha Si-won's death, I activated the skill on a whim.
Of course, I had no intention of pitting a level 1 Cha Si-won skeleton against the Fire Dragon.
'I'm not planning to die here.'
With one summon slot empty after Kkaebi's destruction, I just wanted to fill it in advance for future hunts.
And to exploit the hell out of the one who'd betrayed me as payback.
I wasn't about to leave Kkaebi's spot vacant out of sentiment.
Fortunately, the skill succeeded.
The moment the black skeleton emerged from Cha Si-won's corpse, I immediately unsummoned it.
"Unsummon."
The Fire Dragon was right beside me; a mere gesture could have destroyed it.
Now it was just me and Lee Eun-ju against the Fire Dragon.
I kept my eyes fixed on the Fire Dragon's movements.
"Hey."
I nudged Lee Eun-ju, who lay collapsed nearby with her buffs expired, using my foot.
"Get up quick."
How long had we been stuck here?
Was she still not up?
"Ow. My arms are broken."
Damn it.
Glancing down at Lee Eun-ju, both her arms hung limply.
With no weapons, she'd taken every hit with her body.
"An unusual human."
As I pondered what to do, the Fire Dragon addressed me.
"Human who knows dragons."
I looked up and met the Fire Dragon's gaze again.
"My trial still stands."
Listen to this guy.
"So you're telling me to kill this injured one right now?"
The Fire Dragon calmly withstood my murderous glare and replied.
"Isn't that what you humans do? Kill your own to survive."
It had also said it would spare one survivor between me and Lee Eun-ju, and hand over the treasures—no lies there.
'True dragons, not lesser kin, lose their power if they lie.'
But what bothered me was the Fire Dragon's motive.
"You're not trying to conserve strength at this point, so why give us humans—who attacked you and tried to turn your king into a Death Knight for desecration—even a chance to survive?"
'I just can't figure it out.'
"Ah—motive? Nothing much."
"It's amusing."
"Ah."
It was just a dragon with a twisted sense of humor, viewing humans as inferior.
"Don't you want my treasures? Move quickly, or the human beside you might recover."
At the Fire Dragon's words, I glanced sideways.
"Ha? This is insane."
With her limp arms dangling, she was crawling across the ground using only her legs.
Desperately trying to put distance between us.
I called out to her.
"Scared I'll kill you, so you're running?"
Lee Eun-ju froze at my question. Unable to even lift her head properly, she stared at the ground and spoke.
"Spare me."
Did she think I was that kind of person?
I'd only known her a short time, but Lee Eun-ju was someone who could be a real help in the war against the Demon Realm.
Not just because she was Lee Kyu’s daughter, but because she seemed trustworthy as a human.
Her abilities and nature both.
"You're not dying."
I had no intention of accepting the Fire Dragon's proposal.
Letting a monster toy with humans? No way.
Lee Eun-ju flipped over, her face lighting up as she looked up at me.
It felt like watching a puppy perform tricks.
"Fine. But don't you dare stab me in the back either. If you do, I'll kill you and your dad too."
"My dad's strong."
"Curious? Go ahead and try stabbing me in the back."
"No way!"
I pulled out my hidden ace as I watched Lee Eun-ju vehemently deny it, shouting.
This was the perfect moment to use it.
A black swamp formed on the ground to my right, and a black skeleton emerged.
It was the legendary healer-trait skeleton.
Sia.
"Heal her."
Once fully materialized, Sia nodded immediately, approached Lee Eun-ju, knelt on one knee, and activated her skill.
A white light instantly enveloped Lee Eun-ju's arms.
Lee Eun-ju flailed her formerly broken arms in the air with a shocked expression.
"They're all healed!"
She pushed off the ground with her now-perfect arms and hopped to her feet.
"Whoa? A healing skeleton?"
Lee Eun-ju stared at Sia in wonder. It was understandable.
Necromancer summons were inherently tied to death and impurity.
They couldn't use holy healing skills and even took damage from them.
"Save the awe for later and get ready to fight. The lizard looks pissed."
Without taking my eyes off the glaring Fire Dragon, I sent Sia back.
I couldn't afford to lose her too.
"Got it!"
Lee Eun-ju responded energetically from beside me and took her stance.
She wasn't comparable to my old comrades, but she felt pretty solid.
I asked the Fire Dragon.
"You waited for us to prepare?"
It had watched impassively as Lee Eun-ju got up.
"I merely observed you preparing to drink the poisoned chalice."
The Fire Dragon took a step toward us.
"So you'd regret your poor choice even more."
"What a beautiful personality. Lizard."
As the approaching Fire Dragon loomed, I gave Lee Eun-ju an order.
"Lee Eun-ju."
"Can you use your enhancement skills on both of us?"
"Yeah. It'll hurt, but I'll try."
Lee Eun-ju had already used her enhancement skill on herself once before.
She was surely enduring the overload on her brain and body through sheer mental fortitude.
"You've got one job."
"No matter what, smash the corpse in that golden coffin over there. I'll cover you."
The body of the king slumbering in this dungeon.
Just target that.
Lee Eun-ju nodded without asking why.
First time since entering this dungeon that I liked her.
"You dare speak of targeting the king right in front of me? Think I'll allow it?"
"You probably will. Because you'll be dealing with me."
The Fire Dragon laughed mockingly, its voice booming through the cavern.
"You alone, against me?"
"Don't laugh too hard. I know I can't beat you. I just need to hold out until your king's corpse is smashed."
"Hold out against me...? Relying on that red shield you showed earlier?"
The Fire Dragon mentioned [Lava Shield].
"The dead human said you couldn't use that power right away. Trying to bluff me?"
Cha Si-won had blabbed about the 60-minute cooldown on [Lava Shield] before dying.
The Fire Dragon had remembered it well.
"Busted."
Thanks for that.
Five minutes had already passed.
My hidden card was about to shine.
"Doesn't matter. I have a feeling smashing that king will mean our win."
I finished speaking and opened my mouth.
"Let's start."
Lee Eun-ju cast her enhancement skills on herself and me.
A blue light enveloped my body.
[Strength +50]
[Agility +50]
[Stamina +50]
My stats rose one by one.
'...Huh?'
I'd never experienced Lee Eun-ju's enhancements myself before, since Cha Si-won had hogged them all, so I didn't know they boosted this much.
"Go."
I chased after Lee Eun-ju as she bolted toward the golden coffin.
My steps felt as light as feathers, and immense power surged through my sword hand.
Plus, with this steel-hardened body, I could fight even more dangerously.
Not comparable to my previous regression, but still.
"Arrogant human. I'll kill you first, then her."
For now, this was more than enough.
I could've taken down Cha Si-won easily if she'd only used her magic sword.
'Even better this way.'
The three who deserved death were dead, and the one who deserved to live survived.
The Fire Dragon didn't target Lee Eun-ju first.
Partly because I was nearby, but it seemed confident it could kill her even after dealing with me.
The Fire Dragon moved toward me.
I immediately activated Acceleration and entered the slowed world.
The Fire Dragon's movements slowed instantly.
'Face.'
As it closed the distance, the Fire Dragon swung a fist at my face.
I gripped the sword hilt and flat of the blade, raising it up.
Kaaaang!
The Fire Dragon's fist clashed with the blade's flat. Cracks spread slowly before the sword shattered into fragments.
With so many threats probabilistically, [Lava Shield] was bound to trigger.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Lava Shield activated.] Simultaneously, the Fire Dragon's fist collided with [Lava Shield] right in front of my nose.
The sudden shock nearly knocked me out.
If not for Lee Eun-ju's enhancement and the sword mitigating the blow, I might have blacked out.
'Now, counterattack.'
The Fire Dragon, assuming I was dead since [Lava Shield] hadn't triggered on the previous hit, looked stunned as I thrust my [Lava Shield]-encased fist toward its panicked face.
It wouldn't deal dramatic damage, but it wasn't negligible.
Sure enough, the Fire Dragon raised its arm to block my fist.
At the same time, its foot slowly lifted.
The same attack that had shattered Kim Tae-hyun's skeleton earlier.
Its foot slammed into the ground, unleashing a red explosion and engulfing me in fierce flames.
I could've ignored the flames and pressed the attack, but I didn't.
'Need to time it right.'
I couldn't reveal my [Phoenix's Tear] yet.
I swiftly retreated, dodging the flames and creating distance.
Now it was time to provoke.
Back in normal time, I endured the overload pain and taunted the Fire Dragon.
"Lizard, you're a bit slow, aren't you? That all you got?"
"You... You even tricked your comrade. You can keep using the red shield."
"Comrade? What's that? You mean those random travel buddies? Oh, hey, looks like your master's corpse is about to get smashed back there?"
The Fire Dragon's gaze shifted to Lee Eun-ju at my words.
I gave it a subtle hint while staring.
"No hidden power or anything? That weak punch won't get through me."
The Fire Dragon's eyes flickered slightly.
'It's getting desperate.'
It wanted to kill Lee Eun-ju now, but with me tanking via [Lava Shield], it wasn't easy.
"I tried to hold back my power."
So it had to use a powerful attack to end me quickly.
"Human, behold the terror of a dragon."
The Fire Dragon inhaled deeply as it finished speaking.
Its chest swelled, black smoke rising from its mouth.
'Can't revert to full dragon form due to level restrictions, huh.'
Crimson-black flames poured from the Fire Dragon's maw.
This was a dragon's breath.
Hellfire that incinerated everything.
And I'd been waiting for this moment.
I kicked off the ground and charged straight into the breath.
'[Lava Shield] has 2 seconds left.'
The crimson-black flames assailed my [Lava Shield], melting it like ice cream in the summer heat—as if all its prior defense was a lie.
Shhhhh.
At that instant, the Fire Dragon's eyes met mine, brimming with the certainty of victory.
It didn't take long for that to turn to horror.
The [Flame Resistance] from my [Phoenix's Tear] kept my feet moving.
Without it, I'd have struggled immensely.
'Hold strong, my legs.'
Without S-grade Flame Resistance backed by stamina stats, I couldn't have even stood.
The breath's sheer physical force demanded more power than pushing a freight truck.
'There it is.'
Enduring with my body, I reached the Fire Dragon's snout. Now visible: its reverse scale.
Beneath the humanoid Fire Dragon's chin gleamed a single glossy red scale.
A weakness that only appeared when using dragon breath.
"Pay the price for your arrogance, lizard."
Puuk!
My dagger traced a sharp arc, embedding deep into the Fire Dragon's reverse scale.