Chapter 281
Chapter 281
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 281
Chapter Title: SS-Grade (1)
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What is one of the greatest pleasures a human can feel?
When you've made a killing in stocks or crypto?
When you've achieved the dream you set out for?
Or, going more primal.
When you've satisfied the basic three urges: sleep, hunger, and lust?
Opinions would differ, but after the world changed, neurology experts all agree on one thing.
- The moment you come back from the brink of death.
Ruuuumble...
High above the clouds.
The hunters gazed at the dragon plummeting powerless and felt ecstasy. They felt awe.
"Is that... for real?"
"It's real?"
"You all got the message, right?"
A message floating in the surviving hunters' vision.
[Congratulations!]
[You have defeated 'Earth Guardian Dragon Briass' (SSS Grade)!]
"Wooooaaah!"
"Whooooaaaah!"
The hunters erupted in cheers all at once.
The dragon had been overwhelmingly strong and tough, shrugging off every attack without a scratch.
Seeing it finally fall delivered a thrilling catharsis.
Ah.
Some shed tears.
Others stared blankly at the sky in disbelief.
Still others thrashed their heads wildly, screaming until their throats tore.
Strangers among the rankers embraced each other, while some hurled their weapons skyward.
"Hic, we won, we won! We took down the dragon!"
"Wh-who did it?"
"The Demon King and Heavenly Demon went up just a bit ago!"
"The Magic Tower Master is saying it now? The Skeleton Emperor did most of it. Says he went inside the dragon and smashed its heart. That's why the Demon King and Heavenly Demon's attacks finally worked."
"If that's true, that's the GOAT of all time, no cap."
"I don't know how it happened, but we're alive! We're alive! Isn't that what matters most right now?"
Of course, there were many deaths, so it wasn't cause for unbridled joy.
But for now.
Everyone savored the pure joy of survival.
However.
One problem remained unresolved.
Ruuuuumble...!
The dragon slicing through the air as it fell.
"Wait, hold up?"
"Hey, guys! Everyone, calm down! Is it really okay for us to just stand here?"
The cheers died down at someone's shout.
All heads tilted upward to stare at the approaching dragon corpse.
What would happen when that massive bulk hit the ground?
Wouldn't it unleash another massive shockwave to ravage the area?
And besides.
"...Holy crap, that's practically asteroid-level, right? And you all feel it too? The dragon's lingering mana is going berserk! What do you think happens if that thing explodes?"
"We take down the dragon and then all croak?"
"Sh-shouldn't we run?"
"No, too late to run! Everyone, shields up!"
"Hey, you space mage or whatever! Can't you use a skill to teleport us all out?"
Panic spread.
Hunters shouted desperately amid the chaos.
Meanwhile.
"It'll be fine... right?"
Vladimir clutched his head.
He was already out of mana to cast skills.
And Vladimir wasn't alone.
Most hunters had squeezed out every last drop of their energy.
Just look at the Magic Tower Master over there for proof.
Combat ineffective.
Sophia, leaning on her staff with support from the other mages, had trembling eyes.
But.
They were rankers, through and through.
Veterans among veterans, survivors of countless dungeons and trials.
"Gather up!"
"We'll find a way somehow!"
"Let's move!"
Instinct kicked in, guiding the hunters to their tasks.
Those with energy left deployed defensive skills.
Those without mustered their remaining strength to drag the wounded to one spot.
And then.
Kabuuum!
The dragon, once a tiny speck high in the sky, grew larger and larger.
Despair's black shadow once more blanketed the Yucatan Peninsula.
* * *
'Damn it.'
I scowled.
It hurt.
It felt like nearly ten minutes had passed since I held my breath.
Even for a superhuman who rationed oxygen meticulously, ten minutes spelled danger.
Splat, splish!
Sweeping away the surrounding blood with magic, spear, or sword changed nothing.
The dragon's insides were nothing but gas—no oxygen to expect.
'Should've learned it after all?'
Olena's protective spell was trickier than expected.
I'd roughly read the flow of qi and tried casting it, but it offered no protection, let alone oxygen.
As expected of a water-attribute magic professor?
Her spells were incredibly delicate and precise.
'Water attribute just isn't my thing.'
My Arin.
Thinking of her—whose heart-wrenching image made my chest ache—was fire-attribute, so flames felt more welcoming.
No water-attribute essence to be found anywhere, either.
'...Damn it all.'
The reason for these pointless stray thoughts was simple.
To endure the pain.
Ugh.
Oxygen deprivation was hitting my brain; my mind grew hazy.
[Congratulations!]
[You have defeated 'Earth Guardian Dragon Briass' (SSS Grade)!]
I knew the dragon was dead.
I'd read the message the instant Taeyang and Eldrin unleashed their blinding light.
Truth be told, I could've known without it.
Some mysterious mana had slammed into the heart, and from that moment, I'd felt the dragon's life force drain rapidly.
Rumble, thoom!
The dragon's death made things even worse.
True to its massive bulk, its falling speed was no joke.
Acceleration brought crushing pressure in an instant.
My body shook wildly; space spun dizzily.
"Grooo..."
Probably.
The moment it slams into the ground, there'll be an insane shock.
My body could get pierced through the dragon's fractured bones everywhere.
Or the meteor-fall explosion could burst me apart.
In other words.
Time to decide.
There was a way.
'The dragon's dead, so...'
I could use my skill.
'Bone Dragon Skeleton' (S-Grade).
[Skill: Bone Dragon Skeleton]
[Grade: S]
[Effect 1: Skill acquirable only by 'Cursed Necromancer.']
[Effect 2: Consume 100 mana to absorb a dragon's bones.]
[Effect 3: Replaces bones of all summonable skeletons with the absorbed dragon bones.]
[Effect 4: Skeleton's bone density determined by dragon's size, quantity, and summonable skeleton limit.]
The instant I used this skill, those precious dragon bones and hide would disintegrate completely, just like before.
All the top-grade materials the dragon could provide would become my skeletons' bones and teeth.
Fortunately, I still had mana left.
But.
My hand hesitated.
Me.
The great Joo Dong-hoon, afraid of the backlash.
What if I hogged it all without consulting anyone?
Would the far stronger Demon King or Heavenly Demon just sit idly by?
This was my first time seeing them.
I didn't know their personalities—and even if I did, I couldn't fathom how much greed they hid.
Besides.
The whole world of hunters already knew.
That this dragon woke because of my child, the Destruction Dragon Vinasa, sparking this apocalypse raid.
With that track record, if I snatched all the rewards too?
Who knows what social backlash I'd face.
Sure, the social hate was less scary than the hyper rankers turning hostile.
'No.'
There was an even greater fear.
Dying right now.
'Screw it.'
Honestly.
I did the heaviest lifting in taking down the dragon.
I deserve to eat, right?
If the rankers complain, negotiate with something else.
If they try to kill me?
Cross that bridge when we come to it.
'Eat first.'
Gotta survive.
Plus, it protects the ground hunters by lightening the falling dragon's weight.
Decision made, action swift.
Shluck!
Amid the imbalance, I plunged the God-Slaying Spear into the dragon's innards without hesitation.
[Using skill 'Bone Dragon Skeleton' (S-Grade).]
[Consuming 100 mana.]
A chime rang out.
[Ding!]
[Absorbing 'Earth Guardian Dragon's bones.]
Fwoosh!
Welcoming light flooded everywhere.
[Skeletons' bones are remade from the dragon's.]
At the same time, precious oxygen rushed in.
"Huuuuh!"
I gulped it down desperately.
Crackle!
Lightning flashed in my brain, and I blacked out.
* * *
Murmur murmur.
The hunters on the ground buzzed.
"What the hell? What's happening?"
"The falling dragon's crumbling!"
"What? Did someone use a skill?"
Ruuuumble...!
The massive black shroud of a dragon suddenly crumpled, white light bathing the world once more.
And in its place.
"It's Joo Dong-hoon!"
Someone shouted.
Indeed.
After the dragon vanished, a black dot plummeted toward the ground.
It was Joo Dong-hoon, passed out mid-fall.
The Demon King and Heavenly Demon flew close behind him.
"Haa..."
Only then did everyone exhale in relief.
"It's really over now?"
"We can relax? For real?"
Hunters who'd teetered on the edge of life and death twice in mere moments.
They finally released all tension and sighed in relief.
* * *
Time passed.
After the dragon's death, the world erupted.
Never mind the near-apocalypse from the first SSS Grade appearance.
The raid footage against the Earth Guardian Dragon spread through broadcasters and communities.
Humanity's funny and amazing like that.
How they thought to film even as the world nearly ended.
Amid the intense quakes and wind blasts, networks flew drones.
Alan Mask's global entrepreneur satellite link captured every moment from the dragon's emergence to its death.
Thus, high-quality footage made its way to the public.
└ Whoa... you see it? A dragon bigger than a city causing disaster-level quakes and tsunamis, spewing impossible breath... and the top rankers band together to stop it?
└ This is insane.
└ Still can't believe it. A monster that huge existing. And the rankers taking it down...
└ Plus, check the hyper rankers' feats. Speechless. Each one's beyond words.
More cinematic than any CG-laden blockbuster.
A plot more implausible than any movie.
The whole world went wild for that 'Earth Guardian Dragon Raid' footage.
Articles flooded in.
Shockingly, each one topped the front pages with massive impact.
[World Stunned by Unbelievable 'Earth Guardian Dragon Battle Footage.']
['Skeleton Emperor Caught Falling After Dragon's Death! Currently Resting in Nearby Hospital!']
['Caribbean Ruins: Nations Urged to Establish Recovery Plans.']
['Spirit Emperor Ichikawa Takeru: "Sorry, was in a dungeon."']
['Grace of Yggdrasil Nina Kristin: "Sorry, followed Takeru."']
['Highest Casualties Since Magic Tower Establishment.']
['Raid Sparks Mass Ranker Relocation Crisis!']
['Dragon Corpse Vanishes Suddenly? Where Did It Go?']
...
And so on.
Countless hot topics.
To explain them all.
But the hottest was this.
['World Hunter Association President Aira Furious: "Harsh Penalties for Deserters and No-Shows!"]
The Moonlit Goddess, who fought on the front lines, had drawn her blade.
Earth has 1,000 rankers total.
Yet only around 200 stayed till the end for this dragon raid.
"If we don't punish here."
Aira said.
With the coldest, most ruthless expression since taking office.
"Then if it happens again, humanity's done for."
Frost descended on the World Association headquarters.