Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Skill Farming
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Sahā Realm Dungeon interior.
Atop a pile of densely stacked Dragon Palace Beast corpses.
A Half Dark Elf sat there, chin resting on his knee.
"The cleanup is all done. I've reviewed it myself, so there shouldn't be any issues for you, Leyzon."
Leyzon lowered his head.
There, five figures were prostrating themselves in report.
After joining hands with Rafila, Leyzon had ordered these five and Rafila to thoroughly erase any traces of his involvement.
'The deal's been carried out cleanly.'
Leyzon quietly smiled, lips curling upward.
He did have a good eye for people, after all.
A stroke of luck had come rolling right to him.
Things couldn't get any better.
"Good work."
These five hailed from the Empire's Night Raven unit.
If even he said there were no problems, then there wouldn't be any loose ends.
"What will you do with Steel Wolf from now on?"
Leyzon crossed his arms.
Steel Wolf's potential was limitless.
There were plenty of things they could do right away as an above-ground organization.
So.
"First, we'll overhaul everything and improve their image."
Steel Wolf had a bad reputation.
That drew in mostly low-quality people.
Even their guild master, Rafila, came from the back alleys.
He had a weak grasp on distinguishing between such images.
It was undoubtedly the result of habits learned from a young age.
That was why Steel Wolf had ended up like this.
"No talented Pioneer would bother joining Steel Wolf like this."
Talented people always got offers from everywhere.
Naturally, they'd go to better places than Steel Wolf.
"So we'll change Steel Wolf Guild's image and set a new direction."
This was something Rafila had wanted to do originally as well.
Steel Wolf already had sufficient scale.
Plus, Rafila himself was quite skilled.
If they just set the right direction, they'd quickly become a solid guild.
"Five, you'll help redirect Steel Wolf for the time being."
Five was competent enough to have worked for the imperial court.
As part of the Night Ravens, the shadows of the court, no less.
He had the ability to read situations for covert operations, of course.
And the basic etiquette and knowledge for court service.
He possessed far more than a mere assassin would.
Naturally, he had plenty of advice to offer on guild management too.
"Understood."
"If you need input, go through Syria anytime."
Leyzon had managed a guild in Dungeon Replay.
This world was one where Dungeon Replay had become reality.
Even game knowledge applied in countless ways.
He'd use whatever he could.
Even if it meant crushing opposition with force.
Leyzon grinned suspiciously.
Five fell silent.
From experience, he knew that when Leyzon smiled like that.
The man was about to pull off something outrageous.
"Aww, Five, leaving already?"
Then Hanok, who had been sorting Dragon Palace Beasts, called out to Five.
Hanok looked at him with regretful eyes.
Five had been teaching him all this time.
To Hanok, it felt like losing a mentor.
"Yeah. Hanok, keep practicing what I've taught you until I return."
It wasn't a permanent goodbye.
Once Steel Wolf was sorted, Five would come back.
Hanok nodded with a determined expression.
Leyzon watched with satisfaction.
'Hanok's growth is dazzling.'
Hanok had taken down an opponent two Ascensions higher.
Even accounting for Haron's stat buffs, it was an incredible feat.
'Haron's performance and Hanok's growth potential.'
He had verified both in actual combat.
There couldn't be a better haul.
'And Haron's evolution is coming up soon.'
Skills were more instinct than anything.
Leyzon could sense when to evolve Haron based on its growth.
It was a bizarre setup to him.
But in this world, it was par for the course.
'If he keeps growing like this, he might even aim for Shadow Warlord level someday.'
Might as well raise him beyond that.
'And me too.'
Leyzon smiled, thinking of the skillbook he'd stashed in his bag.
It wasn't just the skillbook.
New gear from the black market made his heart race.
How much more explosive would his power get?
He was already thrilled.
With that, Five departed first.
He'd reach Rafila in no time.
"Syria, Hanok."
"Yes!"
"Yeah."
Leyzon called, and the two stepped forward.
Syria was drinking blood from a snake in her mouth.
Steadily consuming Phantasmal Beast blood for her next evolution.
No telling when it'd come.
But preparation was key.
"Sorry for the wait. Let's move on."
Leyzon looked up.
There stood a door depicting intertwined snakes.
The final room of the Sahā Realm Dungeon.
Home to the leader Dragon Palace Beast.
"Well then."
Leyzon flashed a chilling smile.
The day had finally arrived.
"Time to farm some skills."
Fun farming time.
The leader room of the Sahā Realm Dungeon.
It took the form of a massive altar.
At its center.
A coiled black-scaled serpent sat, scales gleaming.
A horn protruded from its forehead.
Eyes dotted not just on its head but down its neck.
And a colossal body that could envelop the entire altar.
The Sahā Realm leader, the Flood Dragon.
The Flood Dragon yawned lazily, mouth agape.
Its routine was nothing special.
Just laze around guarding the altar.
That was it.
But even it had duties at times.
Boom—
As the door opened, the Flood Dragon slowly raised its head.
Intruders.
Its role was to block any who invaded the altar.
To confront these long-awaited intruders, the Flood Dragon rose.
Its eyes gleamed with anticipation of which one it'd swallow whole today.
Three figures came into view.
One Half Dark Elf.
One Sword-Tooth Clan member.
The other, a girl of indeterminable race.
None looked particularly tasty.
The Flood Dragon sighed in disappointment but opened its maw wide to do its job.
Announcing its first phase: area-wide terror.
The moment it tried to use Weak Fear [B].
"Syria, Phase 1 is annoying, so let's skip it."
"Got it! I'll go all out!"
The Flood Dragon didn't know.
What kind of monster these intruders had brought.
Syria vanished from the Flood Dragon's sight.
Realizing this, it opened every eye on its body.
To find the vanished Syria.
"Hiss!?"
But in that instant, the Flood Dragon's massive body froze solid.
Filled entirely by pitch-black shadow in its vision.
Its sight plunged into darkness in a heartbeat, and the panicked Flood Dragon thrashed about.
Too late, it realized it was sinking.
A Flood Dragon dozens of times larger than a human.
For it to sink into shadow defied common sense.
Sticky shadows wrapped around its body.
Like an antlion pit, endlessly dragging it down.
"Hiiiisss!"
The Flood Dragon screamed and writhed.
Its body seemed to pull slightly free atop the shadow.
The moment it flailed desperately to survive even a little.
Something descended from above its head.
The girl from moments ago.
Black-and-white hair whipping, she clenched her fist.
Blood-red energy surged and gathered around her fist.
The Flood Dragon felt a chill.
One hit from that, and it was over.
No.
Desperate to live, it struggled even harder.
But to show how futile it was.
"Behave."
The girl, Vampire Queen Syria, slammed her fist down.
"And sink."
Kabooooom!
The Flood Dragon's head snapped downward, brain exploding.
Bubble bubble—
Headless, its body sank fully into the shadow.
A pathetically undignified death for a boss.
Leyzon, who had watched quietly, slowly raised his gaze.
A smile played on his lips.
"Here it comes."
The moment Leyzon spoke, light poured from the altar.
The glow illuminated the surroundings before taking form.
Soon, it became the Flood Dragon from before.
The Flood Dragon, now evolved into a winged serpent, let out a grief-stricken roar.
The second phase upon physical death: the incorporeal Flood Dragon, immune to physical attacks.
Leyzon raised the Staff of Abundance.
'Ah, skipping the Phase 1 DPS check is meta!'
The Sahā Realm Dungeon's leader Dragon Palace Beast.
The Flood Dragon.
The Flood Dragon has two phases.
The first is battle against its sturdy scales and innate magic resistance in physical form.
It has instant petrification on eye contact.
Physical attacks barely work due to its tough scales.
Magic fares no better thanks to its innate resistance.
Plus, all those petrifying eyes make approaching difficult.
But the Flood Dragon has a weakness.
One of its 81 scales grows backward.
This reverse scale, called the weak spot.
To defeat it, parties must target that primarily.
Requiring superb coordination.
Of course.
"In the face of overwhelming DPS."
Weaknesses don't matter.
Everything's a weakness.
Right now.
The Flood Dragon's body had perished to Syria's single blow.
And through the altar, it revived as a soul.
This was Phase 2.
Immune to both physical and magic attacks—an absurd state.
With unlimited mana, it spams skills wildly.
Theoretically near-invincible.
"Hanok, rush the altar."
But Phase 2 Flood Dragon has a weakness too.
The Flood Dragon spewed poison cloud.
Signaling Phase 2 start.
Thud!
As Hanok bolted for the altar, the Flood Dragon reacted instantly.
As mentioned, it revived via the altar.
The altar houses its heart.
Destroy that, and you can damage it for a time.
But once time passes and the heart regenerates inside.
It's invincible again until you smash it anew.
So Leyzon assigned heart-smashing to Hanok.
Solo, no support.
Hanok charged through the poison mist.
A helmet now covered his face.
Bio armor, Haron.
Haron enabled breathing even in poison clouds.
Realizing poison ineffective, the Flood Dragon spun in the air.
Lightning bolts began striking around it.
Each capable of pulverizing bone.
But Hanok dodged them all with acrobatic flips.
His evasion, enhanced by Wolf Leap [A], was outstanding.
'His movements have become far more instinctive.'
Through Five's training, Hanok had relearned his body.
As a result, his latent potential truly shone.
Sword-Tooth Clan boasted top physical prowess among warrior races.
With his innate abilities awakened, Hanok reached heights the Flood Dragon couldn't touch.
Enraged and bewildered, the Flood Dragon unleashed all its skills.
Boom, bang, bang!
Hanok evaded every one.
Leyzon had briefed him on all Flood Dragon skills beforehand.
Even its patterns.
So the Flood Dragon could never catch him.
Before Hanok's beastly movements, the Flood Dragon roared.
Finally, Hanok pierced all skills and reached the altar.
He spotted the heart embedded in the center.
Child-sized, pulsing rhythmically.
The Flood Dragon hurriedly coiled to envelop the altar and block him.
But Hanok was faster, reversing grip on his spear.
Twisting his waist, pulling his legs, he swung with full force.
Thwack!
The spear flew like cannon fire.
Slipping through the gap before the Flood Dragon could cover.
Crunch!
[ Gr iiiiiiiiick! ]
Heart shattering on the spear, the Flood Dragon screamed.
Thin lines appeared around its body as it materialized.
Groggy state.
Groggy lasts about 10 seconds.
Repeated groggies make it thrash harder.
Fail to down it in five max groggies.
And its rampage becomes uncontainable—raid fail.
"Syria, backup please."
"Hee hee hee, gladly!"
But who was Leyzon?
He held strategic superiority even against hero-grade Pioneers.
With magic piercing ironclad defenses.
And now.
Leyzon aimed to advance further, testing a new approach.