Chapter 173

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 173

Chapter Title: Mountainous Dragon

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Myths of the Mountainous Dragon and the hero can be found in various records encountered while passing through the Trials.

They appear even in children's fairy tales, and in some eras, used as idioms to describe the greedy.

As a being that harbored the destruction of an entire world, later generations have deeply etched its existence into memory, never forgetting.

"The Mountainous Dragon grows the more it eats, endlessly expanding until it even tries to devour the [Primordial Forest] itself."

For that reason, the gods inevitably decided to exterminate its kind.

What's interesting is that [Thaladras]'s power was involved in creating Drakalron.

According to one myth, the bored and idle [Thaladras] secretly created it for amusement, away from the other gods' eyes.

They say it combined traits from the pets it raised, leaving pitiful underlings like [Bersia] to suffer the consequences.

A true ancient god, epitome of eccentricity.

"Anyway, the Mountainous Dragon appears only in the Primordial Forest, and precisely at this time."

That's why I regrettably don't know what its offspring look like.

I've only heard the stories, never seen them with my own eyes.

"That's why I can't use the letter envelope."

But summoning becomes possible after seeing them even once, so it wasn't an overly difficult Trial.

Of course, using the letter envelope to brute-force a Trial centered on pursuit and hunting would just unnecessarily stack restrictions...

"Unless it's really tough, don't spam the letter envelopes."

The moment to spam letter envelopes isn't in the early stages of the Selection Process, at least.

Better not to show off like Shin Seo-yeon in my first run, get nerfed a hundred times over, and end up weakened for the most crucial final Trial. For now, keep it under wraps.

Save it for when it's truly dangerous.

"Hah?"

"W-what the hell is this..."

The people who had followed us and finally caught sight of Drakalron's head gaped at the quest.

"Insane, fuck?! How do we hunt a monster like this?!"

"W-we're dead. Eek. None of us will escape this place! We'll all end up as monster chow!"

The crowd wailed in despair. Fair enough. Hand someone a single sword and tell them to fight a massive "mountain," and what would they think?

Fortunately, a few rational voices spoke up.

"Pathetic. Get a grip. We're hunting the offspring anyway."

"We just need to kill them before they get this big."

"Ah...?"

Only then did the people collapsed in despair snap out of it.

"R-right. Then it's doable?"

"Yeah! We smash them before they grow? Hahaha!"

"......"

Truly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pathetic.

With so many still panicking like that, plenty of people would die off in the coming days.

I shook my head at the cheering four hundred or so.

"Everyone, gather up."

"The boss says to assemble! Fall in!"

In this situation, both the Koreans and Chinese were forming teams to pursue Drakalron's offspring and devising strategies.

I focused on the voices around me. Naturally, the Chinese side drifted over.

"First, we'll split into five teams."

The Chinese I'd learned while scraping by at the bottom with them back then was proving useful now.

Hao Zifeng, who had fluently conversed with Kim Jin-woo in Korean earlier, was now issuing orders in southern Chinese dialect to his subordinates.

"I don't know if that's the mother or father, but since the goddess sent us this way, the offspring must be nearby."

Hao Zifeng's insight was spot on, matching what I knew.

"So, Swian, take a hundred men that way. Jun Kai, the opposite direction..."

Maybe because they'd banded together as a minority on Jeju Island and survived tenaciously. The Chinese moved swiftly and in perfect unison.

In contrast, the [Jeju Nohyung Alliance] was pathetic.

They were dividing teams and planning strategies, but passively, while busily running around recruiting people into their guild.

"Join our guild. We're ranked 3rd in guild standings, with rewards to boot."

"Impressive. Only about four hundred members, yet 3rd in guild rankings?"

"Haha, we have great teamwork."

Personal rankings aggregate across the total population, but guild rankings sum per rest area.

Guild ranking 3rd. That one line made their recruitment ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a success.

"Hey! We want to join too!"

"M-me too! But with my skills..."

"Hahaha, no worries. Everyone struggles at first. I did too."

The [Jeju Nohyung Alliance] swelled rapidly. I snorted and turned away.

'...Recruiting guild members. Necessary.'

I got their intent. Same guild means better cohesion, more numbers make things easier.

Still, timing matters.

'Early Trial phase is hectic even moving nonstop. Assess situations, seize advantages... Taking in greenhorns struggling in all that?'

I shook my head. If Joo Ah-hyun and Kim Yu-rim had been mediocre, I'd have ditched them without hesitation.

Five who sync well beat a hundred who don't.

'But these two are fine.'

Having survived near-total wipes through three Trials proved their worth on their own.

With that much savvy, they'd handle themselves without hindering our party.

That was why I'd taken them in so readily.

But those guys? Who knows.

'If it were me, I'd recruit on day 2 or 3. Did they breeze through easy Trials? Pretty sloppy.'

Or maybe both leader and members popped the champagne too early.

'Whatever, not my crew. They'll handle it.'

As I started to leave...

"Hey! You two ladies! Yeah, you!"

The recruiters rushed over to us too.

"How about joining our guild?"

"That robed one seems with you. All join up."

One middle-aged man, two young guys.

But their greedy eyes kept raking over Joo Ah-hyun and Kim Yu-rim.

"No thanks."

"Bye bye."

The two firmly rejected them.

"Don't say no right away, think it over. Honestly, what can seven people do?"

"Wandering like that just means dog death. Drop the bravado and accept our offer. Don't think of it as nagging from us old folks."

...Was that a proposal or a demand?

"If guilds feel burdensome, join just for this Trial. We'll let you go without issue at the next rest area. You gotta stick together big in Trials to survive."

Still, Joo Ah-hyun and Kim Yu-rim didn't even glance back. Their resolve showed trust in me.

"Ah-hyun, Yu-rim. They seem like they'd take good care of you in that guild. Why not join?"

The two shrugged at my question and answered readily.

"Survival over pampering. Right, Unni Yu-rim?"

"I've met all sorts through the Trials, but never anyone as strong and skilled as Min-jun. We'll stick with you wherever you go."

Then they fell in behind me without hesitation.

Makes sense. After seeing her solo dozens of Specters in the first Trial, others' combat prowess must've seemed lackluster.

In the end, none of my group joined the [Jeju Nohyung Alliance].

"Damn, missed out. That ass is prime."

"Tell me about it."

"Ptoo, stuck-up whores."

Joo Ah-hyun and Kim Yu-rim frowned at the smacking lips. But since they didn't bother arguing, this must've happened before.

Whatever the reason, grateful they'd chosen me. I pulled chilled water from my inventory and handed it over.

"Whoa, super refreshing. Where'd you get this?"

"Thanks, Min-jun."

Anticipating something like this, I'd frozen it in the freezer beforehand. Seeing that, my crew pulled their own ice water from subspatial pouches and pressed it to their bodies.

"Ahh, feels alive."

"Yeah, best."

"Should've used this sooner. Why didn't we think of it?"

"Probably this place's environment. Hard to breathe, dulls the mind."

Nod. The [Primordial Forest] has harsh conditions. Hard to judge clearly until adapted.

Me? With stamina over 300, I was already fully acclimated, no issue.

Higher stamina means faster adaptation to environments. Well, not the whole story.

"But Dickhead, why're you so fresh? Not a drop of sweat on this guy."

"Wind spirit."

"Huh?"

"Keeps you cool."

Shin Seo-yeon stared at me blankly for a while. Eyes full of admiration. Not like her. Shin Seo-yeon looking at me like that?

'Saw something I shouldn't have.'

"You didn't plan even this...?"

Her gaze burdensome, I grabbed Shin Seo-yeon's tail and tugged lightly.

"Hey hey hey! Ow, don't! I haven't adapted!"

Ah, back to the real Shin Seo-yeon.

She punched me a few times, then hooked her arm in mine and dragged me toward the front of the group.

"But shouldn't we recruit those two behind?"

"Hm?"

"The pair following us."

Ah. Asking if we shouldn't guild up Joo Ah-hyun and Kim Yu-rim.

I shook my head.

"Remember Im Ah-rin?"

"The cute one?"

"Thinking of introducing them there."

"Why?"

"We're going small elite."

Shin Seo-yeon blinked.

"What's gotten into you? You go crazy for girls."

Not just her—even Han So-hee right behind gave me a surprised look.

Reactions because they didn't know the bitch pack's purpose yet.

"Shut it. Almost there, quiet down."

I quickened my pace.

"Wait, where are we headed anyway?"

"Everyone's hustling, shouldn't we get moving too?"

"Yeah!"

Right. While they're busy with distractions not knowing better, we focus on the real priorities.

'Heard it's around here, based on Drakalron's lower belly.'

-Lucky break. Never thought I'd snag that from such a vast area.

I scanned around the Mountainous Dragon's corpse, recalling tales from first-run survivors.

Unlike the densely packed ancient trees on its back, the lower belly area was battle-ravaged—no intact trees left.

All snapped and uprooted, forming a vast plain.

-At first, thought I saw wrong. But it was right there before my eyes.

In a world of pooled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠muddy water, fallen giants, scattered massive leaves—utter devastation—I finally found what I sought.

"Dickhead, that's..."

In the scorched underbrush, a mangled corpse unrecognizable as human leaned against a broken tree trunk, eyes closed.

"Everyone stay here. Not a pleasant sight. So-hee, look after Ha-na."

"Got it."

I approached the body alone.

He was the hero.

The literal world-saver who, with comrades, felled this colossal beast.

The hero party, answering the goddess's call on expedition, slew Drakalron but never returned home.

Left to rot forgotten like this.

That's why the mission to kill its offspring fell to us.

Swoosh.

I found the hero—limbs gone, barely a head left—and four comrades similarly crushed beyond recognition.

"Sorry to disturb, but we need to survive too."

I gathered their items from life.

Eight in total. Mostly shattered relics, few intact. Not immediately useful, but invaluable for survival later.