Chapter 211
Translator: penny
Chapter: 211
Chapter Title: The Reverse Scale
A dagger too puny to even scratch one of its claws—no, not even one scale—pierced through layer after layer of shields?
It hadn't taken any real damage, but the hatchling looked thoroughly bewildered.
Up until now, the three humans buzzing around it like flies had been nothing more than an annoyance.
But even if they were targeting its relatively fragile eyes, the fact that it had instinctively layered shield after shield meant there was real power behind their attacks.
So why had that human stayed silent and still all this time, holding its breath?
As it struggled to answer the question that naturally arose—
"Grng?"
The hatchling let out a puzzled growl.
Jeong-hyeon, who had been standing there smirking annoyingly just moments ago, was gone.
Instinctively, the hatchling stopped relying on physical senses like sight and began spreading out its mana.
Dragons were a race that handled mana as naturally as breathing.
To them, mana wasn't just a tool for combat—it was a sensory organ extending beyond their bodies.
The response worked.
Though its physical senses had lost track, mana clearly latched onto a single presence.
At the same time, the hatchling jolted in surprise.
The human was closing in on it at a speed far too fast for any human.
Bzzzzt—
Hundreds of lightning bolts formed simultaneously and fired straight at Jeong-hyeon.
An electric storm that lit up the surroundings.
Though the same number in quantity, it felt like at least half again as many as those it had unleashed at Ye-rin or Ji-myeong.
It didn't think that human would take damage from mere lightning bolts, but it needed to slow that ridiculous speed even a little.
'No chance!'
But contrary to the hatchling's intent, Jeong-hyeon didn't slow down one bit.
His Combat Sense trait was currently A-Rank Level 6.
The gap between B-Rank and A-Rank was like night and day.
Hundreds of lightning bolts?
Jeong-hyeon sensed every single one crystal clear.
With Thought Acceleration now providing virtually no perceptible delay, the thirty meters or so centered on him might as well have been his personal domain.
Swoosh—
Jeong-hyeon generated as many neutral bolts as he could muster.
Of course, it was still pitiful compared to the hatchling's output.
Barely scraping twenty.
'The best defense is evasion, but...'
Even for Jeong-hyeon, dodging hundreds of bolts assaulting from all directions was impossible.
Unless his body shrank to the size of a fingernail.
So, the next best option was offense.
In the slow time afforded only to him, Jeong-hyeon calmly fired off his twenty neutral bolts one by one.
Crackle—
The first erased a lightning bolt aimed straight at his front.
A razor-thin gap opened—just enough for his body to slip through.
The second targeted one burrowing in from the right.
The third from above.
He wasn't simply neutralizing the closest ones approaching him.
It was the straight path to the hatchling.
He erased only the bolts that would obstruct the precise line already etched in his mind.
In other words, erasing a bolt didn't create empty space.
Just a split-second of time.
Milliseconds.
He had to weave through those fleeting gaps like flowing water to advance without taking a single hit from the lightning bolts.
By the time his twenty neutral bolts were spent, Jeong-hyeon had already escaped the storm of electricity.
To anyone not under Thought Acceleration's effect, it would look like he'd leisurely dashed through the magical barrage.
'Even a dragon can't be that different.'
But he couldn't afford to slow down here.
"Kuooo!"
Ignoring the hatchling's furious roar, Jeong-hyeon kept charging.
He was now within the monster's direct striking range.
It had to be boiling with rage by now—its reaction was obvious.
Whoosh—
With a terrifying whoosh of displaced air, the hatchling's forepaw reared high and slammed down.
It had swung its wings and tail before, but this was the first time it used a forepaw.
"Hup!"
To do so, the hatchling twisted its body sharply, forcing Ye-rin and Won-ho—who hadn't even finished their attacks—to fall back momentarily.
"If you thought a stomp like this would kill me, I never would've come up here!"
Jeong-hyeon shouted confidently.
His upgraded Combat Sense bordered on precognition.
As the forepaw descended, he dodged sideways and spun, leaping onto the hatchling's foot instead.
No need to invoke past gates—even compared to the foes he'd felled in the Tower of Repentance, this was a flatly predictable attack.
"Kraa!"
Already irritated by the human grating on its nerves, the hatchling roared in fury at letting him climb aboard.
It roughly lifted its forepaw again.
Intent on shaking him off.
But unexpectedly, the moment the paw left the ground, Jeong-hyeon hopped off lightly.
Then mocked it.
Boom—
At the same instant, a massive explosion erupted from the hatchling's flank—far on the opposite side from Jeong-hyeon, dwarfing anything before.
"Kyaaaa!"
This time, not just rage, but pain laced the hatchling's cry.
Ye-rin and Won-ho, who had pulled back briefly, were now latched on again, pressing their assault.
But how had these two, who hadn't scratched the hatchling before, suddenly gained such unrecognizably potent power?
"This thing's incredible!"
Boom—
Won-ho grinned at Jeong-hyeon as he swung his axe down once more.
An intangible, rippling aura clung to his weapon.
Just like Jeong-hyeon's own.
Realizing the hatchling's attention was fully on him, Jeong-hyeon had bestowed neutral magic on Ye-rin and Won-ho.
A dragon's scales wouldn't yield easily, of course, but they must have felt pain on an entirely different level now.
- Save the neutral magic as much as possible. At first, only use it for defense.
- Huh? Why? Shouldn't we go all-out from the start to corner it?
Before the fight began, when Jeong-hyeon said he'd conserve neutral magic except for defense, his party members had questioned it.
From what they'd seen, his neutral magic was a game-changer.
An esoteric attribute that dealt neither magical nor physical damage.
Unlike elemental magic heavily influenced by matchups, neutral magic multiplied damage several-fold—perfect for close-range dealers.
Yet despite their doubts, Jeong-hyeon stuck to his decision: no neutral magic except for defense.
'Finish it when it's most rattled.'
In Jeong-hyeon's plan, taking down the hatchling required thorough smokescreens.
Repeated, layered smokescreens.
He needed to make it think humans couldn't inflict serious damage on it, barring fire magic.
While keeping it disoriented with constant switching.
Using neutral magic might deal meaningful damage, but it wouldn't be a finishing blow.
The risks outweighed the gains.
'If it gets used to it, we're in trouble.'
This was a dragon.
Reveal a hidden card too early, and who knew how it'd adapt.
Especially magical-wise—underestimating a dragon there was absurd.
Boom—
And Jeong-hyeon's hidden ace seemed to hit home perfectly.
The cramped space relative to the dragon's massive frame rang with incomparable noise.
Ye-rin and Won-ho's empowered strikes played a part, but the main culprit was the hatchling itself.
It began unleashing mid-tier magic of various attributes, far beyond its basic spells.
On top of that, it thrashed its forepaws and entire body, sweeping the surroundings.
No wonder the din grew louder.
'Time to get started?'
Confusion, rage, or perhaps terror from its first-ever crisis.
Or all of it.
Jeong-hyeon couldn't read the hatchling's mind for sure.
But whatever it was, it wasn't helping its combat focus.
Screech—
Jeong-hyeon effortlessly dodged the tail whipping toward him and moved again.
It might look like a manifestation of despair, but a monster berserking without reason was far from the toughest foe.
Roar—
Dozens of fire spears materialized in a blink, hurtling at Jeong-hyeon.
Though its gaze was on Ye-rin, his presence lingered in its sensory range.
Even neutral magic struggled against a tier higher.
Instead of generating bolts like before, Jeong-hyeon wrapped neutral magic around his Cursed Armor.
Intercepting the barrage like earlier wasn't impossible, but inefficient.
Better to enchant the armor and charge—let his head stay clear over his body.
'Honestly, the last one had some showmanship too.'
Even when Ji-myeong sacrificed himself to draw aggro, Jeong-hyeon had to play observer per the plan.
If he was debuting spectacularly, why not instill a bit more urgency?
Anyway, the pivotal moment had arrived in this absurd battle against the hatchling.
Jeong-hyeon reached his target spot in an instant.
The hatchling's hind leg.
Whoosh—
This time, a wing swept back from behind.
Meant as an attack, but Jeong-hyeon was grateful.
'A foothold.'
Flick—
He seized the chance, leaping onto the horizontally sweeping wing.
Such lapses revealed just how sloppy the hatchling's defenses had become.
Boss monsters typically knew letting a human mount them was fatal.
The hatchling wasn't ignorant, but recognizing—and repeating—the openings was the key difference.
Perfect timing too—rising awkwardly as it reared up, providing a handy elevated perch.
Leap—
From the broad wing, Jeong-hyeon vaulted into the air once more.
Now he saw a view similar to what Ji-myeong had glimpsed before being blasted away.
'Somewhere around here...'
First, pinpoint what Ji-myeong had last seen.
With a rough location already known, it wasn't hard.
"There it is!"
Each scale was so exquisitely beautiful—like a masterpiece carved by a great artist with chisel and ruler—that you'd believe it.
No gaps whatsoever.
But at the torso's rear, where it met the tail, there was one lone flaw.
Scales aligned in perfect order from head to tail.
Except for one, jutting in the reverse direction.
Having found his mark, Jeong-hyeon plummeted toward it.
From Ye-rin, Ji-myeong, and Won-ho drawing its eyes at the start.
To Ji-myeong taking the fatal hit.
All of it, stepping stones to this moment.
And now, the payoff.
Tap—
'Chant it: You're dead.'
The instant Jeong-hyeon landed safely on the reverse scale.
Up close, it wasn't just reversed alignment—it had an oddly mystical appearance.
For one, it was far larger than the others.
Even more pronounced than from afar—if normal scales were volleyball-sized, this was basketball territory.
It glowed a deeper crimson, rough and uneven.
Its surface was rugged, etched with faint swirling patterns—enough to seem uncanny even without prior knowledge of reverse scales.
Whatever its look, Jeong-hyeon had one job now.
"Knock here, and the door opens, right?"
Grip—
Stabilizing atop the hatchling's body, Jeong-hyeon clutched the pickaxe with both hands.