Chapter 208
Translator: penny
Chapter: 208
Chapter Title: Assault on the Hatchling
The hatchling looked just as drowsy as it had when the first party reached the ninth floor.
Meanwhile, Ye-rin and Ji-myeong, who had exchanged hand signals, began rapidly advancing from both sides, flanking it.
"Grrrng—"
And right before the two could pass by and head to the opposite side, the hatchling cracked its eyes open.
They froze.
Confirming the hatchling's reaction, the two stopped in place.
"......"
Its body still curled in the exact same sleeping posture, the hatchling scanned the surroundings with only its golden eyes half-open for a moment before deciding the two wouldn't move anymore and closing them again.
Ye-rin and Ji-myeong exchanged glances once more, this time moving a bit more boldly.
"Grrrng."
Did it have some kind of line drawn in its mind?
Not only did the hatchling open its eyes like before, but now it even lifted its long neck, sending a clear signal of activity.
It let out a threatening growl as if issuing a warning—that was basic.
A low, guttural roar that any living creature would feel terrified by.
It hadn't started attacking yet, but the hatchling's intent was clear.
Go any further that way, and it would kill them.
Had it ever encountered a being that ignored such a warning?
Tap.
No one but the hatchling itself could know, but one thing was certain in that moment.
At least Ye-rin was now on that list.
Now, how would it respond?
That alone was the source of the taut tension.
Would it fully awaken, roar ferociously, and charge?
Or unleash an overwhelming spell no human had ever witnessed?
Ye-rin, ignoring the hatchling's warning and pressing forward, kept her eyes fixed on it.
A short but intensely long instant.
Finally, the hatchling made its next move.
Fwoosh—
The spell it unleashed was a simple fireball.
One of the most basic and iconic fire spells, something even an F-rank fire magic trait could manifest.
But the hunters who witnessed the hatchling's fireball were stunned.
A C-rank fire magic trait could manifest over ten fireballs at once.
B-rank, dozens depending on skill.
From A-rank, records existed of up to a hundred simultaneous casts.
So, what about a fireball from a dragon, no matter how young?
"My god......"
At that moment, all the hunters shared similar thoughts.
The hatchling's spell was a fireball, but no longer something that could be categorized as such.
A colossal space with a 50-meter radius.
It lit up in an instant, bright as midday.
No—it blazed fiercely.
Hundreds of fireballs filled the air like countless galaxies in a vast universe.
And those hundreds of fireballs that dominated the entire space soon.
Fwoooosh!
Rained down toward a single point: Ye-rin.
Fireballs flew at her from every direction and angle she could imagine.
Kaboom—
What should have been hundreds of separate explosions merged into one due to their negligible gaps, creating a thunderous roar like a massive spell.
"......"
The hatchling stretched its neck straight, watching silently before returning to its original posture.
As if declaring nothing could survive that blast, and that it was mere child's play for itself.
Even as it curled its neck and closed its eyes, fireballs continued hurtling toward where Ye-rin stood.
At least on the surface, the hatchling's arrogant prediction seemed unlikely to fail.
But the next moment.
The hatchling's just-closed eyes snapped wide open.
Whoosh—
Its golden pupils, with their vertically slit centers, darted rapidly.
They locked onto the direction where its own fireballs were still detonating.
Amid the relentless blasts and billowing smoke.
Tadak—
A figure burst out.
It was Ye-rin.
"Kyaaat!"
Spotting her, the hatchling reared its head as if it had never been sleepy.
This time, baring its teeth in full hostility.
But Ye-rin neither slowed nor veered.
She charged straight at it.
Zzzap—
As the fireballs illuminating the darkness burned out, the dim space brightened once more.
Now it was lightning magic.
Not particularly advanced either.
Lightning Spear.
Ranked above fireball but still usable at E or D-rank.
Yet, like before, the overwhelming quantity compensated for everything.
Too many to even count.
Hundreds—easily surpassed—lightning spears shot toward her even faster than last time.
The momentum was so intense it seemed Ye-rin's body might bleach white.
"Gr?"
But the hatchling couldn't watch her position to the end and whipped its head back.
There, another figure charged with sword in hand.
In the exquisite timing when all spells targeted Ye-rin, Ji-myeong from the opposite side had begun his assault on the hatchling.
Tadadak—
Ji-myeong closed in on the hatchling at a speed not inferior to Ye-rin's.
Gripping his sword with both hands, charging at the massive dragon.
A heroic figure straight out of legend, but strictly speaking, no different from a moth to a flame.
Yet the hatchling couldn't react immediately.
It had already fired all manifested lightning spears at Ye-rin.
Fwoosh—
It hastily conjured fireballs, but far fewer than the previous two barrages.
Even so, over a hundred fireballs aimed at one person was intimidating.
But like Ye-rin, Ji-myeong neither slowed nor turned.
He charged in a straight line toward the hatchling.
Just as he seemed about to collide with the fireball barrage.
Fwoom—
A wall of flames erupted around Ji-myeong.
Fire Shield.
An application of Fire Wall, focused on protection.
Fire magic was inherently offensive over defensive,
Pffft—
But against fellow fire magic, it provided ample defense.
Dozens of fireballs smashed into the fire shield the instant it formed.
The deafening blasts rang in his ears, but the shock reaching Ji-myeong was minimal.
The shield blocked a dozen or so fireballs before fully dissipating.
That was enough.
Ji-myeong had kept advancing even in that split second.
Meaning he had deviated significantly from the hatchling's targeted spot.
Boom—
Even so, with dozens remaining, a few slammed into his body.
No matter how basic a fireball, its power varied wildly by caster.
Especially from a dragon innately gifted in magic—it transcended fireball norms.
Yet despite his armor and exposed skin charring black, Ji-myeong endured.
On top of that, Ye-rin—who should have been swept by the lightning spears—had broken through the electric wave and was charging at it too.
"Grgrgr!"
Only then did the hatchling sense something off.
Three barrages of its magic yielding no effect was blatantly abnormal.
Growling louder with a furrowed expression, it pinpointed the anomaly.
The two humans charging at it bore traces of an unknown but unmistakable mana.
Even a dragon, master of spell manipulation, had never seen such an attribute.
Pop—
Then, the last remaining fireball struck Ji-myeong.
The hatchling's eyes widened.
"Grgr......"
It let out a quiet growl toward the two hunters charging from both sides.
***
The key issue in the strategy was, of course, how to counter the hatchling's magic.
"If it only uses basic spells, wouldn't that actually make it easier?"
Jeong-hyeon's doubt.
A dragon using basic magic instead of advanced spells?
Hunters capable of facing a hatchling already had top-tier magic resistance.
Couldn't they just tank it with their gear?
But Hwi-gon shook his head.
"That changes if it fires hundreds at once. And naturally, even basic spells have unimaginable destructive power."
The hatchling—no, a dragon's—magic was on another level.
Basic spells that had long surpassed "basic."
If the hatchling's magic was as underwhelming as Jeong-hyeon thought, they wouldn't have waited for the break to hunt it.
"Then we need a way to endure that magic, no matter what."
Even with Jeong-hyeon's attribute enchantment and Seung-jun's protection spells, limits existed.
They needed a reliable third variable neither the hunters nor the dragon anticipated.
Then, Seung-jun—still looking terrified—spoke in a trembling voice.
"Um...... Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon."
"Yes?"
"What about...... that attribute?"
"That attribute? Ah."
Jeong-hyeon quickly grasped what he meant.
The main attribute used since entering this gate was neutral.
Unnoticeable by nature, but a mage like Seung-jun would spot it.
Hadn't Ji-hee noticed the neutral attribute instantly too?
Seung-jun seemed to think this unknown neutral magic could be the variable now.
"Neutral for defense?"
He had only used neutral magic offensively so far.
Lacking attributes, it functioned like physical damage—hence useful.
For defense? Regular mana spells would help more, Jeong-hyeon thought.
But Seung-jun looked at him with strange conviction.
Or like a drowning man grasping straw.
No matter how basic, hundreds would overwhelm even counters.
Jeong-hyeon pondered briefly before saying to Seung-jun.
"Then, try using a simple spell."
Test it first.
The result exceeded Jeong-hyeon and everyone's expectations.
Rustle—
"Whoa!"
Neutral mana and fire-attribute mana.
The moment they touched, the fire mana visibly vanished.
"Cancellation......"
Highly efficient cancellation.
The power of neutral in defense.
***
'That's the result right now, you little lizard.'
Jeong-hyeon smirked inwardly.
The strategy had clearly deviated from the hatchling's expectations.
Manifesting hundreds of spells three times in a row was terrifying, but useless if they didn't land.
'No wonder something felt off against Kim Du-yeol.'
Kim Du-yeol's lightning magic had been neutralized too easily.
He'd chalked it up to unstable mana from the guy's poor state, but this was the secret.
Confirming Ye-rin and Ji-myeong's safety, Jeong-hyeon sighed inwardly in relief.
The hatchling's magic proved far more destructive than expected.
His past self couldn't have countered so perfectly, even with neutral magic.
'Plus some good luck.'
Jeong-hyeon recalled the pre-battle result from spending 40 coins.
「Perfect Magic Imbuement」(A, Lv.4)
「Transcendent Combat Sense」(A, Lv.6)
He'd doubted after four renewals.
But the fifth brought luck.
Two gold borders greeted him.
Upgrades to magic imbuement and combat sense.
Combat sense hitting A-rank was huge.
Even basic spells, but hundreds at once.
The noise and blasts could numb most hunters' senses.
Even Jeong-hyeon struggled to time enchantments amid the disruption.
But A-rank Lv.6 combat sense made it possible—just barely.
The result: the two piercing the magic storm to charge the hatchling.
Confirming them, Jeong-hyeon clenched his fist and shouted.
"Go!"
Even without his words, Ji-myeong and Ye-rin wouldn't waver.
"No need to tell us......"
"......Got it!"
As if by prior agreement, the two hunters closing in on the dragon unleashed their best attacks.
Ye-rin swung her right leg powerfully without slowing, while Ji-myeong thrust his sword straight forward.
Boom—
Explosions erupted from both sides of the hatchling.
Minor compared to the prior magic barrage, but no small impact.
However.
"As expected......"
Jeong-hyeon grimaced.
Direct hits, no doubt.
They had targeted vulnerabilities perfectly—no defense possible.
But that was it.
"Insane."
"What kind of scales......"
Even Ye-rin and Ji-myeong, the attackers, were dumbfounded.
Their foot and sword had landed true, yet no damage—not even a flinch.
Like slapping a rock barehanded.
The smooth scales unchanged from before.
'How do you even take down something like this?'
"That's enough—hurry—"
Jeong-hyeon shouted urgently.
No, tried to.
Ye-rin and Ji-myeong's strikes on its sides were instantaneous, but the hatchling gave no time to retreat.
Whoosh—bam—
"Guh!"
Irresistible shockwaves engulfed them.
The hatchling had spread its wings, slamming each with massive wing bones to send them flying.
The fully extended wings asserted its presence overwhelmingly.
"Tch."
Jeong-hyeon clicked his tongue briefly.
He hadn't anticipated such swift physical reaction without magic.
But their prepared assault wasn't one-and-done.
"Brother Won-ho!"
Jeong-hyeon called Won-ho.
He was already.
"Uwaaa!"
Midair, axe raised high behind him.
The usually quiet fighter roaring meant immense pressure.
He had snuck close while the hatchling focused on Ji-myeong and Ye-rin.
And finally, the axe he swung.
Crunch—
Slammed into the wing membrane it had spread to flaunt its presence.