Chapter 198

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 198

Chapter Title: Burst Damage

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She always had to watch those closest to her leave far too soon.

The first was her father.

"Comrade Ri Hak-su. Please, just help us out a little. Help us get to Korea."

Her father had a kind heart and couldn't turn down anyone asking for help.

So he helped, and helped again.

And then, it was only natural, as he put it.

Bang!

Just like that, her father vanished from the battlefield with a single gunshot. It was the moment she first lost someone precious.

"Eun-jeong, I'm sorry."

And next came her mother.

She learned why she'd taken her own life only after being dragged into the total control zone.

That place wasn't fit for humans.

Everyone barely clung to a human shape. The main cause of death was starvation, and if you held out a bit longer, it was disease.

Still, those who survived the camp shared something special. They'd fight sometimes, get annoyed with each other, but when a new day began and they saw the comrade beside them had made it through, it brought some comfort to the heart.

"Comrade Eun-jeong. Comrade Cheol-su... he won't wake up, no matter how I try."

But even there, she had to bid farewell to so many.

"Leave him be. Let him rest peacefully in his final sleep."

It was always like that.

Everyone around her died first.

All the ones she knew.

Thud-thud-thud!

Ri Eun-jeong poured every ounce of strength into sprinting forward. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The massive mountain dragon looked down at her like she was nothing.

'Comrade Jong-su died too.'

A colossal leg, fifty meters thick, shifted. Its enormous forefoot came crashing toward her as if squashing a bug was the natural order.

'Comrade Min-cheol. Comrade Young-gil, always grinning like an idiot. Quiet old Kwang-ho. All dead.'

Ri Eun-jeong gripped the Dragon Slayer Spear she'd snatched from Kang Min-jun. She tied the rope from her waist firmly to it.

'And now, I'm the only one left.'

Whoooosh!

The giant forefoot hurtled down. Ri Eun-jeong hurled the Dragon Slayer Spear as if she'd been waiting, then clutched the rope tight.

Whoosh! Thwack! The spear shot toward the mountain dragon, and a split second later, the rope yanked her along.

BOOM!

The ground shattered into pieces as a storm raged. Ri Eun-jeong leaped into the air after the spear just in time, landing squarely on the mountain dragon's back.

'When I was a kid, I had no strength and could only watch.'

Thud-thud-thud. Ri Eun-jeong dashed across the mountain dragon's back.

'In the camp, I was too weak to do anything but stand by.'

She raced straight for its head and positioned herself above one eye.

'I won't lose anyone precious like that again.'

Ri Eun-jeong seized the last Dragon Slayer Spear. If she threw it with all her might into its eye, she might get lucky and pierce straight to the brain, killing it. Even with its incredible regeneration, the head would be different.

'This time, no matter what...'

This time, she'd prove she could protect him. This time, she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wouldn't let someone dear go first. He was the only precious person she had left now.

Ri Eun-jeong's arm snapped back.

"Even if I die today, I'll make damn sure you go down first."

Ri Eun-jeong slammed the spear into the mountain dragon's eye with everything she had.

Splat!

It seemed like the attack had landed perfectly. Then a powerful force struck her from behind.

'Ugh, the bastard's forefoot?'

She hadn't sensed a thing. When did it even move?

But when she turned, Kang Min-jun had grabbed her in a tight embrace and was leaping into the air.

'Why...? How?'

The question cleared up instantly. Jagged rocks suddenly protruded through Kang Min-jun's body.

"...Eun-jeong, listen to me for once. I've yelled it a hundred times—this thing has no blind spots."

"Wha— Huh?"

"Cough."

Their bodies shot forward in a flash, slamming into the ground.

'Ah, this hurts like hell.'

Wind spirit, telekinesis, and even Dracalon's scales on my back—triple-layered defense, and it still pierced right through.

I laid my unresponsive body over Ri Eun-jeong, then used telekinesis to lift her and bolt ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from the spot.

Pffft! Pffft!

Hundreds of sharp stone spears rained down where we'd been. And they kept chasing us relentlessly.

No choice—I dove into the dust cloud first, escaping the mountain dragon's gaze, and fled toward Shin Seo-yeon.

"Hey, Dickhead! You okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

It was a lethal blow, but thanks to the ring, the wound had fully healed.

"What's up with her?"

"She's out cold."

"Out cold?"

"Yeah. She tried shielding me from the rear attack and couldn't slow our fall enough."

She'd smacked her head on impact and passed out.

"She's not dead, right?"

"Just knocked out."

A bit of blood trickled from her head, but Full Appraisal showed no real issues. Simple concussion from the hit—nothing the Saintess's healing couldn't fix.

"Jeez, why'd she charge off like that all on her own? Wouldn't even listen when you called."

Shin Seo-yeon yanked Ri Eun-jeong's cheeks. All she got were some groans in response.

"So how do we take that thing down?"

As the dust cleared, it spotted us again and started stomping closer.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

"Beats me."

But thanks to Ri Eun-jeong, I'd figured it out. Its hidden trump card.

Its size was obvious from the start, and the evolution seemed sluggish—made me wonder what it was plotting. Turns out it'd secretly learned magic.

'It's a dragon at heart, so of course it can use magic.'

And the thing that pierced me earlier was Earth Magic. Piercing even Dracalon's scales meant it'd dumped a ton of evolution points into magic.

"Argh, that jerk! Strutting over all cocky like that!"

Shin Seo-yeon, mana partially restored, hurled a fireball. Rumble! But a massive boulder erupted from the ground, blocking it clean. The beast took zero damage.

"Huh?"

Super regeneration, near-ancient dragon-level magic. Haha, takes me back to the fire dragon fight. Wielding such overwhelming spells so freely.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

With our attacks bouncing off, its confidence surged as it closed in faster.

No more fleeing now.

It must think it can win. I could feel its raw hatred—like it wanted to devour us after all we'd put it through.

"My attacks aren't landing at all. What now? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Gonna use that?"

She meant the letter envelope.

"......"

"What're you waiting for? It's over. Even if it died and respawned, we couldn't take it."

"But doesn't it suck? We've come this far—running away now?"

"Got a plan?"

"Not exactly none."

Yeah, not exactly no plan.

'I really didn't want to use this one.'

I'd planned to eventually, sure. Just didn't think it'd be this soon.

I stood up.

"Seo-yeon, take Eun-jeong and fall back."

"Huh?"

"As far as you can. Right to the barrier edge."

"......"

Shin Seo-yeon didn't ask why I was staying behind alone.

"...Don't push yourself."

Truth is, we knew each other inside out. No need for words.

Our usual bickering was just reminiscing about childhood pranks.

Thud-thud-thud.

Shin Seo-yeon hoisted Ri Eun-jeong and bolted.

And I looked up at the mountain dragon shaking the earth as it approached. Thud. Thud.

'Yeah, this thing's legitimately dangerous.'

Surpassing mid-trial raid bosses. Basically a trial failure already.

No one in humanity could solo it. Even if we summoned everyone here, winning might be impossible.

"Gotta say, that hero kid was impressive."

He lost all allies in phase one, took massive damage himself, and decided to go all-in on one burst shot.

And he actually one-shot Dracalon. Skipping phases one through three entirely.

That's the kind of burst damage I needed now.

'Any other way?'

I pondered. Balrog's Breath, infinitely scaling strength. Maybe that could do it.

'No—using Balrog's Breath needs fire and darkness resistance.'

Boost those resistances first for any chance.

With zero right now, my hand would melt before meaningful damage.

Other options? All fell short against its super regen.

"No helping it, then."

I pulled out the letter envelope.

"I was hoping to avoid anything with debuffs, but oh well."

Flap-flap.

The envelope fluttered its wings in response, saluted like a soldier on a vital mission, and vanished. When it returned, it spat out a figure before me.

The shopkeeper.

Not your average one, of course.

The final weapon merchant before the Destruction Dragon in the late Selection Process. I'd bought a Random Box from him.

'Ten million points each. Insane.'

The box rattled and ejected its contents. A bizarre sword with a stunning blade appeared.

Godslayer—named for its prowess to slay even gods. Who knows if it's true. But the luxurious grip molding perfectly to my hand screamed top-tier.

Grip.

After cheap swords, holding a real one felt weird at first, but I adapted quick. Old memories flooded back.

The experience of Kang Min-jun, forged over ten years wielding countless weapons.

Shing.

Gripping the premium blade brought back the late Selection Process days instantly. Goosebumps prickled my skin with tension, sharp senses from life-or-death battles reviving fully.

I gripped the hilt tight and checked the final option on the blade.

[Intelligence +9,824]

I'd reroll if it was low, but after rotten luck streaks, this was a jackpot.

As the option screamed—this was no era weapon. Attack power off the charts from the numbers alone. And it hit like a truck.

"This'll do."

"Slicing up a lizard like this? Piece of cake."

Pure white light infused the bluish blade, crimson flames roaring to life and coiling around it. Overwhelming mana whipped up a gale, staggering my body.

Obvious reason.

My stamina and strength were too low to handle this mana.

Didn't matter. Just a moment. A split second.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The enemy loomed right in front. Bigger than its mom now? Brimming with arrogance. Even sensing my ominous weapon, it figured it could win.

But really?

BOOM!

「?!」

Telekinesis bridged the gap instantly. It tried magical defense, but useless. Archdemon Arken's Ring scales telekinesis with Intelligence.

'My Intelligence right now? A whopping 19,924.'

No way it could track me visually.

I targeted its foreleg up close.

'One strike's all it takes.'

I charged the blade with mana. The torrent shook my arm to the brink of tearing off, but just a moment. I gritted my teeth and swung the mana-loaded sword.

Roar!

Responding to my will, red flames condensed instantly, shooting forward like a sword beam.

Shing!

It cleaved everything in its path. Scales, muscle, bone—all severed. Blood spraying everywhere incinerated mid-air, devoured entirely.

Kraaaaaagh!

Not stopping there, it ballooned massively, climbing the severed leg. Crimson flames erupted from the cut, spreading in a blink to engulf the mountain dragon's colossal body.

Kraaaaaaaaagh!

Before that insane power, it could only scream. Its tough scales melted under near-20k Intelligence, the giant form soon claimed by eternal hellfire.

If it'd invested in magic resistance, it wouldn't have died so pathetically. Attribute resistance might've bought time.

Crumble.

Burst damage overwhelming even super regen turned its body to ash in seconds.

And in the ancient forest where it fell, only the fact that a massive being 'had existed' remained.

The huge silhouette fully dissolved in under thirty seconds.

I sheathed the sword, feeling the acrid smoke from the ground and sweat evaporating in the breeze.

"......"

Victory, but thoughts swirled.

It was strong, yet unsatisfying. Even this powerhouse couldn't fell the Destruction Dragon.

No rush, though. Still early days, plenty of prep time.