#30 The Dragon's Wasteland (2)
#30 The Dragon's Wasteland (2)
"Raptors."
As we moved across the wasteland, clawed creatures swarmed in from all sides. What I could see wasn't everything. My Detection picked up even more of them. They were lurking in every crevice of the rocky wasteland, watching us.
'...That's a lot of them.'
What did they even eat out here to survive? While I was wondering that, the raptors tightened their circle.
"What's the plan?"
Instead of answering, I sent the fairy dragon back to Baekrok. I ran Insight over them while the creatures tilted their heads at one another.
'About the same level as Gaptorang.'
Running Raptors. They were on the same tier as the ones I'd seen in the Forest Dungeon—nothing too strong. The only thing worth noting was that every single one of them had the Sprint skill.
'I guess that's why they call them Running.'
Running all day might just be a Running Raptor's whole existence. I shot into their ranks, and the startled raptors gaped their jaws wide. Sharp claws and talons. Threatening movements. Wild instincts, raw and alive.
'Still.'
At the end of the day, they were just raptors. The level gap had already widened to the point where it would be harder for them to actually land a hit on me. A raptor lunged, and I skewered it with a Tentacle. Heart and throat. A clean, guaranteed kill.
'That's one.'
I hoisted the body and flung it at the ones charging from the left. On the opposite side, another kept coming even as Gust tore its hide to shreds.
"Kiyaaak!"
Just as its teeth were about to reach me, a black flame flickered. Back in the Ihyeon Park dungeon, I couldn't use it freely because I was afraid the fire would spread—but here in the Dragon's Wasteland, that wasn't an issue.
'Out here, I can use as much as I want.'
The raptors scattered in blind panic as the flames roared to life. The moment two of them were swallowed whole and burned to nothing, their formation collapsed. Without missing a beat, I sank my fangs into the nape of another raptor's neck. Cold blood gushed out and flooded my mouth.
'Fishy.'
I spat out the flesh and blood. I was starting to seriously consider ditching my sense of taste entirely. I ducked under the claws of a raptor that had slipped up behind me and drove its head into the ground with my forepaw. Pinned to the dirt and thrashing, the thing ended up as live prey for Evil Devouring and went limp. The moment the other raptors saw that, they must have decided the fight was hopeless—they started to flee.
"Should we chase them?"
I glanced over. Three or four raptors lay at Baekrok's feet, their heads burst open.
"No."
They'd get caught up in the chaos while we lured the Earth Serpent anyway. There was no point in hunting them down. Honestly, I'd stopped worrying about experience points the moment I first laid eyes on monsters like the Coatl and the Wyvern.
'I'll hit Level 30 no matter what.'
The dungeon's difficulty was genuinely high, but even more than that, the sheer volume of monsters was staggering.
"So? How was it?"
Baekrok's question made me replay the fight in my head.
"......."
I hadn't even activated Perception, but it felt like I had. Everything had simply been visible to me, naturally. Like a game. Once you got used to it, you could predict how an opponent would move. It wasn't a skill manifesting—it was an effect that surpassed skill. Three straight days of evasion training had sharpened my senses to a razor's edge.
[Running Raptor consumed. Experience Points and Satiety increase.]
After devouring all the dead raptors, the remaining experience needed to level up was truly minuscule. Enough to leave me with the nagging regret that just one more would have done it. We sprinted across the wasteland until, at last, I spotted it—the thing coiled tightly around a rocky peak. Up close, it was far more massive than it had looked from a distance, overwhelming by sheer presence alone.
[Tyrant (Earth Serpent)]
[Length 80.4m] [Height 7.16m] [Weight 429t]
[STR 662] [AGI 513] [VIT 582] [MP 416]
[Skill List]
[Rock Skin B] [All Damage Reduction D] [Acceleration D] [Resistance E] [Swimming F]
'I expected something like this, but...'
Its stats were completely unhinged. Even its lowest attribute, Magic Power, was 416. It was a monster that even had a B-rank skill.
'It's a boss, sure, but still.'
As if its position was uncomfortable, the behemoth—coiled around the rocky peak in a tight spiral—shifted its body. That was all it did, and the very ground rumbled.
'You've got to be kidding me.'
That wasn't a vibration. It was closer to an earthquake. Part of it was the 662 Strength, but the Earth Serpent's mass, exceeding 400 tons, was a weapon in its own right. Just getting pinned under that thing would be enough to send you to the next life. I glanced at Baekrok, a flicker of anxiety rising, but he merely nodded as if there was nothing to worry about.
"Don't fret. I've already made it flee once."
"You're joking."
"From a distance, I shot some magic power at it. It got angry and chased me."
I wasn't sure if all phantom beasts were like this, or if it was just Baekrok being Baekrok...
'Crazy bastard.'
Still, if he was that confident, there probably wasn't a problem. Even I didn't think Baekrok would get himself caught.
'...The issue is Acceleration.'
The skill the Earth Serpent possessed.
The fact that Baekrok had never mentioned it made me think it must have picked it up relatively recently. After all, the Dragon's Wasteland had been left alone for a long time—acquiring a new skill wouldn't be strange. When I pointed this out, Baekrok nodded, unconcerned.
"Something like Acceleration won't be an issue. More importantly, you possess a Higher Appraisal skill as well?"
His confident claim eased my anxiety a little. Even so, AGI 513. On raw stats, it was higher than Baekrok's, so I couldn't let my guard down.
"Is that enough time?"
"Just a bit more."
I wanted to be at full readiness. I had to get as close as possible before it noticed me and stir up Ghost Flame (C) to its absolute limit.
'...Because a thing that size could probably just rub itself against the ground and put the fire out.'
"Enough now?"
I nodded. Baekrok put some distance between us and then moved farther away. With Stealth active, I slowly crawled up the Earth Serpent's body. True to its Rock Skin skill, its senses seemed dulled—the creature didn't appear to register my presence at all.
'It's rock, so it's hard to set on fire.'
If I was going to be greedy, I wanted to punch through its scales and ignite Ghost Flame (C) directly inside its body. At that moment, the thing writhed, and I nearly lost my balance and fell. The rocky peak crumbled, fragments tumbling down.
RRRUMBLE!
Even the "fragments" were massive boulders that had to weigh several tons, but the creature showed no reaction whatsoever—as if this was business as usual.
'Insane.'
Dodging the falling rocks wasn't the hard part. I waited until it settled down again, then quietly ignited a small flicker of Ghost Flame (C) and shook my head.
'Yeah, that's not going to work the normal way.'
Contrary to my initial thought, I couldn't simply burn it with the flames. Unless it was inside the body—somewhere there were no scales—the Ghost Flame (C) would just sputter out uselessly. And there was no way I could tear off its scales. Dull senses or not, it would definitely notice that and come at me.
'There's got to be a way...'
An idea suddenly struck me, and I used my sense of smell. Bingo. Found it. Just then, a Coatl striding through the sky above let out an obnoxious shriek.
'Damn it.'
If the Earth Serpent woke up now, everything was over. I wanted to slip past as quietly as possible, but I had no choice—I used Intimidation. The effect stacking with my title made the thing flinch in fright and try to flee, and in that instant, heaven and earth shook.
'......!'
Before the tip of the Earth Serpent's tail could move, I bolted in the opposite direction at full speed and barely made it beyond the range where the tail could reach me.
"Ki-ye?!"
The Coatl that had been beating its wings was suddenly constricted. As casually as swatting an annoying mosquito. The crushed Coatl's blood and feathers scattered into the air.
'That's 662 STR?'
And AGI 513. The Coatl wasn't even a weak monster, but it couldn't put up a fight. No, it was in the air and it still couldn't escape. I held my breath for a moment and activated Stealth. The Earth Serpent, still unaware, settled its body back down.
'...Good.'
And then, I finally found the opening. Gas was leaking from it, visible to the naked eye. I deactivated smell and steeled myself.
'Hoo.'
Now it begins.
Ghost Flame (C)—the skill that had reached C-rank, surpassing Ember. The black flame that had even devoured Agail's black mana.
'...This is the first time I've ever drawn it out this far.'
I hadn't dared when I fought Agail. That had been a battle where a single slip meant death, with not a moment to spare. I pulled the roiling black flames to their limit. They slowly distorted, taking shape. A figure glimpsed within the burning flames—in the end, Ghost Flame (C) (鬼火) conjured an apparition that lived up to its name.
'With this...!'
The atmosphere rapidly began to broil. The Earth Serpent must have sensed it too, because it started to writhe.
'Ghost Flame (C)!'
There was no time. I shoved the Ghost Flame (C), now fully shaped into a demonic visage, into the one opening not covered by scales.
'Now I just have to escape!'
No time to hesitate. The Ghost Flame (C) blazed inside the creature's body. The Earth Serpent thrashed in agony. Movements far more violent than anything before. The rocky peak swayed as if about to snap.
'It's coming!'
A gale of wind pressure slammed into me, so massive I didn't even need Detection to sense it. And piercing through that wind, the Earth Serpent's tail swept around at a hideous speed.
'......!'
I knew it was coming. That's why I could dodge it by a hair's breadth. An Agility stat north of 500 wasn't just for show. The moment I barely evaded it, my vision went dark.
'I figured you'd do that.'
After the tail came the head. True to its name, the great serpent's jaws gaped open to their limit, blotting out my sight. Just before its lashing red tongue could coil around me, I stepped onto a tumbled boulder and launched myself upward with Elasticity. The serpent's jaws snapped shut a beat too late—all it swallowed was a mouthful of rock.
'What's next?'
I detected and mapped out the position of every falling rock and fragment. I had to perceive their trajectories and draw an optimal escape path.
'Seven o'clock!'
The tail and the head came chasing after me. The creature, which had been coiled around the rocky peak, now fully reared up—its fury unhidden as it pursued. Given its Agility, fleeing was going to be a hellish ordeal even if I used every skill I had.
'Baekrok!'
Far in the distance, Baekrok was charging toward me. The Earth Serpent, having crunched up the rock and swallowed it, abruptly picked up speed.
'...Acceleration!'
That skill it had. Aghast, I didn't stop—I shot out my Tentacles.
[Tentacle Bundle (E) Lv.8 proficiency at maximum. Tentacle Bundle (E) Lv.8 → Tentacle Bundle (E) Lv.9]
I used the extended tentacles to pull at a boulder, and because the boulder was far too heavy to be pulled, I was the one yanked toward it instead.
'Good.'
The Earth Serpent wasn't the only thing I had to worry about. I also had to keep dodging the falling rocks and find a viable escape route. Where could I flee to? Even as I thought it, I never stopped launching myself off rock fragments and extending my tentacles. I used Gust to scatter the dust clouding my vision.
'There!'
An empty void with not a single fragment in it. Nothing to grab, nothing to step on. In the end, the creature's speed was far greater, and getting caught was only a matter of time. There was no way to keep running any longer—
"Byuuuu!"
—The moment I heard that cry, I found myself already on Baekrok's back.
"That was close. Are you alright?"
My heart was pounding. I had a fleeting doubt about whether I'd been pointlessly reckless, but there had been a good reason for it.
"Yeah."
I answered shortly and caught my breath. Its body was covered in rock-like scales, and its only weak point—the one opening that led directly inside—was its anus. I had shot the Ghost Flame (C) straight up that opening, and it was burning inside now.
'...Putting that fire out isn't going to be easy.'
Even now, the Ghost Flame (C) would be blazing, eating away at the creature from the inside. If the fire had only been on the outside, it could have rubbed its body against the ground and smothered it with friction—but a fire burning inside you doesn't work like that.
'The risk was worth it.'
It had been a razor-thin gamble, but the gamble paid off. The Earth Serpent, thrashing in agony, had apparently realized there was no way to put out the fire—its eyes blazed red as it chased after us. Not that it would ever manage to catch Baekrok. No matter how it abused that D-rank Acceleration, it couldn't touch Baekrok, who possessed the B-rank Shrink Ground.
'Still, it's terrifying.'
Every time it used Acceleration, the distance between us shrunk like madness. The marks its body left gouged into the wasteland looked like valleys. Especially whenever it hit Acceleration—those gouges grew even deeper.
"Baekrok!"
The moment a ravine suddenly appeared out of the endless wasteland, Baekrok leaped high. With all that running as a running start, the leap created the uncanny illusion that we were flying through the sky.
"Byuuuuu!"
The fairy dragon cried out happily. I, on the other hand, felt an inexplicable chill.
[Faint Sixth Sense (E) Lv.2 proficiency at maximum. Faint Sixth Sense (E) Lv.2 → Faint Sixth Sense (E) Lv.3]
We'd jumped dozens of meters, but the Earth Serpent had a long body exceeding 80 meters. It might not be able to extend its entire length, but chasing up several dozen meters was well within its capability. Just as I expected, it also launched itself from the ravine's edge. Its heaving, colossal form closed the distance in the blink of an eye. Midair, I stomped off Baekrok's back and launched myself even higher with Elasticity.
"You—!"
My tentacle was coiled around a startled Baekrok's waist. Adding the power of Elasticity, I just barely managed to haul him up. By the thinnest of margins, we slipped out of the Earth Serpent's reach. Its jaws snapped shut, chewing on empty, pitiable air.
"Th-thank you."
I barely registered Baekrok's gratitude through my gritted teeth. Not yet. It wasn't over yet. The thing still hadn't gone back down.
'It's still got Acceleration left...!'
How high could it reach? Could I dodge it this time? But contrary to my fears, the serpent didn't chase us with Acceleration. Instead, it accelerated its fall toward the ground.
'......?!'
That's insane. No matter how strong a monster is, the very idea of slamming into the earth with a body weight exceeding 400 tons is irrational. Even with a B-rank skill...?!
'Is it that confident?!'
The Earth Serpent didn't hesitate. The moment it collided with the earth, a thought suddenly came to me—the reason the dinosaurs went extinct. An asteroid impact. Dust bloomed and swallowed heaven and earth. A thunderous boom struck my eardrums, and the winged monsters, startled out of their wits, flapped furiously. The fleeing raptors and terror birds screamed as they were swept away by shattered rock debris. —Baekrok was no exception.
"Ngh!"
No matter how good Shrink Ground is, you can't use it in midair. The fragments that even Gust couldn't block hammered into Baekrok.
"Kyaaaaaak!"
Even the flying monsters, struck by the soaring debris from the shattered ground, plummeted out of the sky. Naturally, Baekrok wasn't unscathed either. At least we managed to use Gust to keep the dust from swallowing us, but the fall was unavoidable. To be colossal was, in and of itself, a hideous weapon.
'Damn it.'
Right before we crashed, the fairy dragon used Blink, and thanks to that, we landed safely.
"...Horrifying."
The ground we landed on was utter pandemonium. The flying monsters crashing down was nothing. The shock of the impact had rippled through the ground, flipping the very earth upside down.
'Crazy.'
Every monster that had been standing on the ground was dead—in shapes too gruesome to describe. Not a single lifeform in the vicinity had survived. My imagination had been too small. An enraged Earth Serpent was a calamity in its own right.
'This damn world's logic.'
It wasn't even one of those hopeless abominations like the Purple Black Tiger or the Cataclysm of the Sea. This devastation was caused by a single Earth Serpent. I was amazed humanity hadn't been wiped out ages ago.
'First, where is it?'
Detection couldn't locate it.
"Baekrok! Keep running!"
Baekrok had just barely righted himself and was sprinting with a limp. The Earth Serpent—if it had died in the crash, I would have at least found a corpse. The fact that I couldn't meant it wasn't dead. As if to prove it, the ground began to tremble.
'No way.'
The moment I swallowed hard, the earth beneath my feet heaved. A massive set of jaws burst through the wasteland and swallowed us whole. And in the next instant, we were outside its mouth.
"Byuuuuuu...!"
The fairy dragon had wrung out its very last drop of magic. It fell asleep with a small sound, clearly completely exhausted.
'Even with Mana Regeneration.'
That meant the fatigue went beyond what it could endure. The fact that it had held out this long with a mere 82 Magic Power was a miracle.
"Can we escape?"
"...That will be difficult."
Baekrok's voice was low. Now that I looked, one of his hind legs was broken at a grotesque angle. The collision hadn't left the Earth Serpent unscathed either, but...
'It's just a few scales scraped off, that's all.'
That was the extent of its damage. It was hard to believe the thing was even alive after an impact so severe it had launched rock fragments up to the sky.
'Just how...'
All Damage Reduction and Rock Skin. A skill set seemingly specialized for defense—I had underestimated it. And so, as the dust finally began to settle and visibility cleared, the Earth Serpent had already coiled its impossibly long body around us in a snare.
'Is it... wet?'
I frowned and took another look at the creature. Its body was wet. Why? No—first, we had to run.
"Baekrok. Can you jump?"
The Ghost Flame (C) was still blazing inside it, burning it away. With its monstrous size and Vitality, it wouldn't die easily—but if I could just buy a little more time.
"...I will manage something."
"Hurry!"
The thing started to move, slowly. The sound of rock scraping against rock—no, the sound of scales scraping against the earth. Baekrok gathered magic power into his hind legs and forced a leap despite his leg being broken. He couldn't jump as high as before, but it was enough. I stomped on Baekrok's back, unleashed Elasticity, and jumped. I wrapped a tentacle around him, laced it with elasticity, and—Baekrok—?!
'Damn it.'
I'd miscalculated. The tentacle strained as if about to snap at any moment. This was different from before. Simply lifting him would have been manageable with Hardening, but I had to use elasticity to throw Baekrok—which made Hardening almost impossible to use.
'The serpent!'
It leaped. I detonated my magic power with all my strength and somehow managed to succeed in throwing him, but... just as I caught the distant, horrified look on Baekrok's face, the tentacle—just barely holding on—tore apart.
'Shit.'
And just like that, the Wolf was swallowed into the great serpent's maw, sinking out of sight.