The Azure Dragon Spear
"We're here!"
Makina called out cheerfully from the boat's pilot seat. The vessel came to a stop. Beside it, the tail of a twenty-meter great white shark slapped the surface of the water with heavy, rhythmic thuds. Makina was remote-piloting the thing.
I looked around.
Open ocean. Nothing but gently rolling waves as far as the eye could see.
Is this right? …Well, it has to be. Makina may act like a brat, but she's still a machine spirit.
Her personality was a nightmare and she was disgustingly greedy about food, but her computational power rivaled a supercomputer. Hell, if she ever got serious and used her abilities properly, she'd surpass one.
I moved to the boat's railing and prepared to dive.
"I'm coming too!"
Makina slipped into the shark's head. Steel plating sealed over it.
"Just don't get in my way."
Splash!
I hit the water and descended. The massive shark shot past me, diving deeper still.
I'm way faster!
This damn thing…
Makina didn't have a serious bone in her body. She was probably treating this like playtime even now.
I went deeper.
At some point the light vanished. Pitch black. I couldn't see a thing, but the cold of the water and the weightless drift of my body were unmistakable. It felt like floating in the middle of outer space.
Spirit Eye. Heavenly Eye.
I pierced the darkness. Fish swarmed around me in every direction, circling clockwise as if keeping their distance — a wary orbit with me at the center.
Same as the first run. We're in the right place.
I descended further.
Ah, no! My Jaws! Help me, Seong Yujin!!
Makina's thought-voice scrambled through my head. I stopped descending and pretended to study a fish swimming nearby. Living this deep had made it look pretty grotesque.
Nooooooo!
I kept going down, listening to Makina's repeated wailing.
There was a pit. From the black maw of it, blood and chunks of flesh billowed out. A shark eyeball bigger than my head drifted past me.
Makina popped out of the pit. Spotting me, she swam over with an awkward stroke.
Yujin! Jaws is dead…! Avenge him!
I nodded — and grabbed her by the throat.
Ghk?! Wh-what are you doing…?!
You asked for revenge. You're the one who got the shark killed.
N-no! That thing killed Jaws! Let go!
Makina bit my hand. She put enough force into it that I had to release her. I clicked my tongue and looked toward the pit.
A king crab burst out of it. Huge. Big enough to tear apart a twenty-meter monster shark and still have room to spare. The monster crab, covered in jagged carapace, eyed Makina and me and blew foam from its mouth.
Eek!
Makina hid behind my back.
I summoned Stormbreaker and reshaped it into a massive harpoon.
Makina.
I sent my will to her.
A-alright. Like this?
Makina's power flowed into the harpoon. Its form shifted, piece by piece, until it became a harpoon gun. I charged it with lightning. Electricity became propulsion. I pulled the trigger and fired. The harpoon shot forward like a torpedo.
It punched clean through the crab's right eye. The harpoon detonated. Current surged outward in every direction, lighting up the dark seafloor in a brilliant flash.
Did we get it?!
Makina's thought-voice came from where she'd propped her chin on my left shoulder. This was a spirit completely addicted to the internet. She knew exactly what that meme meant — she'd said it on purpose.
Maybe I should just bury the whole thing under the seafloor this time.
Of course, that meant dealing with the giant crab in front of me first.
Having lost one eye, the crab raged and hauled itself fully out of the pit. It was the size of a building.
W-watch those pincers! That's what got Jaws!
The giant crab closed in. Every time one of those massive legs planted itself, silt billowed up and the current churned.
It extended a pincer toward me. The speed was surprisingly slow.
Dodge!!
Shut up. Your thought-voice is way too loud. Are you doing this on purpose?
I'm not! That thing is actually dangerous! Its ability is…!
I know.
The currents the giant crab had stirred began to organize themselves. They sealed around me like a prison. The violently churning water made movement difficult.
I got hit by that too! It's a counter!
The currents tightened, binding my body. The massive pincer drifted slowly in, aiming to shear me in half at the waist.
Heavenly Mind.
Heavenly Mind
Duration: 1 minute
The currents couldn't hold me. I closed the distance on the giant crab. I dismissed Stormbreaker, then summoned it back into my hand.
Makina. Possess it.
Okay!
Makina possessed Stormbreaker. Its form shifted into a drill, locking onto my right hand. The drill spun, powered by my mana.
It punched through the crab's belly.
Drill it open!!
The crab thrashed. Currents tried to seize me, but Heavenly Mind rendered them useless.
Twenty seconds left?
I climbed into the hole the drill had made. Unpleasant as it was, this was the surest method. The drill locked to my right hand pulled free.
Stormbreaker — Split.
Stormbreaker's unique ability activated, and the drill divided into six.
You can control them, right?
Feels like I've got six bodies! But I could handle a hundred!
Do I need to explain what to do?
No! I've got some sense, you know! Here we go! This is for Jaws!!
Six drills tore through the crab's organs. The thrashing stopped. I stayed still, listening to the drill-whine ringing through my skull.
The crab's insides were reduced to pulp. It didn't move again.
I climbed out. After being inside those guts, the open water felt refreshing. Getting above the surface would feel even better.
How's that drill taste, you bastard?! That's for Jaws!!
I left Makina to desecrate the giant crab's corpse and entered the pit.
The crab's nest was enormous — and filthy. Monster bones and scraps of flesh littered the floor at random. I scanned the surroundings and moved toward one particular spot.
At the center of a giant sea serpent's skeleton, a refined-looking blue spear was embedded. I gripped it and pulled it free.
Rank: C
Commands water.
Extremely durable.
Similar to the Suzaku Sword. With the Azure Dragon Spear, I could re-enter the trial dungeon.
I just need to go in with Ryu Hana. The enemy will appear on its own in front of someone bearing the Mark of Suzaku.
The problem was that I'd either need the Azure Dragon Spear to acknowledge me, or force it to awaken, before the dungeon would open.
Thinking about forcing an awakening… hah. What a pain in the ass.
I felt presences gathering around me. Lighting up Spirit Eye, I surveyed the area. Insects resembling horseshoe crabs were swarming in — scavengers, most likely, that had been feeding on the scraps of flesh scattered here.
I must look like an easy meal. They are a lot smaller than that monster crab, I'll give them that.
I poured mana into the Azure Dragon Spear and swept it through the water. A massive current surged up and crushed the insects flat. Their corpses made the water quality even worse.
I want out of here already. …Hmm?
An unexpected notification window appeared before my eyes.
You are qualified to challenge the trial.
Begin the Trial of the Azure Dragon?
I'd never seen this window in the first run. That was why I'd forced the awakening back then.
…This is showing up? What's different between the first run and now?
I furrowed my brow.
Too many things were different.
It wouldn't be a trait influence. Spirit Eye only had a major effect on spirits, and the Azure Dragon Spear had nothing to do with spirits.
I had no skills or traits related to the Azure Dragon Spear at all.
Traits: Spirit Eye (S), Demon Hunter (S)
Skills: Spirit Contract (A), Spirit Summoning (A), Force Field (C+), Swordsmanship (B+)
Karma:Good 26
…Karma. That's the only thing that makes sense. In the first run my karma was Evil, so it never responded.
Satisfied enough with that conclusion, I climbed out of the pit.
Makina, who'd been taking out her frustration by boring holes through the giant crab's corpse, released her possession and followed behind me.
You came all the way down here for that blue spear? Ah! It's a present for the lady, isn't it?!
No.
No? She's going to be disappointed. You do know when her birthday is, right?
……
Makina chattered on without pause.
Shing.
I drew my blade.
Ryu Hana stood opposite me, watching with cold eyes.
Two weeks had passed since the day she'd fought herself in the dungeon and lost. In that time I'd sparred with her more than a hundred times, and I'd won every single match. Physical ability and experience — I had the edge in both.
And today was the day before the trial. I thought I might actually lose this spar.
…If I used special items or a skill like Heavenly Mind, I'd win easily. But pure technique alone… she won't go down without a fight.
Even I hadn't expected Ryu Hana to grow this fast.
"…I'll start."
Ryu Hana muttered it under her breath. Dual swords in hand, she charged. She wasn't fast — but there was a subtle profundity in her footwork.
No point dragging this spar out. Finish it quick.
A lightning-charged slash aimed for Ryu Hana's arm.
Without so much as a flicker of her brow, Ryu Hana crossed her dual blades and caught the strike. The force drove her back, but her refined footwork bled the power away. Over the course of our spars, she had grasped the principle of Flow.
The technique that had secured more than thirty victories against her — footwork that warped her sense of distance.
Ryu Hana's counter to Blue Stream was simple. She extended both swords and spun like a top. I couldn't close in.
I waited quietly for the instant her rotation stopped, then thrust.
The blade curved like a serpent, snaking toward Ryu Hana's throat.
She reacted as if she'd been waiting for it. Her right sword knocked my blade aside; her left came swinging for my shoulder.
I used Charna and slipped the strike. Ryu Hana didn't flinch — she simply flowed into the next attack.
Three blades wove through the air. I barely parried hers, biding my time for an opening.
It came. The moment she exhaled in fatigue, her arms opened. In that brief golden window between her dual swords, I drove my blade home. It struck her solar plexus — but the barrier training gear stopped the edge from biting into flesh.
Ryu Hana let out a breath and lowered her swords.
"Lost again."
"I got lucky this time."
"…When am I going to be able to beat you?"
"Who knows. You might take me down before long."
Ryu Hana glared at me, eyes full of distrust, clearly convinced I was mocking her.
"That's enough for today."
"…Already? It's not even ten yet."
"You're challenging the trial tomorrow. You need to manage your condition."
Ryu Hana's face went rigid in an instant.
I clapped her on the shoulder.
"You'll be fine. You can win."
"……"
Ryu Hana only nodded quietly.