Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Off to Face the Dragon
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Kang Jin-hyuk, who had stayed up all night staring wide-eyed until morning, borrowed Sylva's power to evacuate the village residents.
The villagers, dragged out early in the morning, yawned hugely as they huddled together behind Lucia.
"What's going on at the crack of dawn?"
"He said there's an experiment to run, so if you don't want to get caught up in it, get out of the way ahead of time."
"What kind of experiment?"
"No idea. Something about a barrier that only works on them, or a wall or whatever."
The villagers followed orders without knowing what was happening.
Once all the beastkin living in the southern part of the village had evacuated, Lucia drew out an arrow.
She concentrated her aura into it to the limit it could withstand.
Her target was the southern road connecting to outside the village.
No need for precise aiming, so she focused solely on pouring power into it.
*Paang!*
The bowstring, pulled with all her might, snapped back vigorously, launching the arrow forward.
Wrapped in aura like a beam of light, the arrow flew straight ahead—right to the spot where Kang Jin-hyuk had been blocked earlier.
It collided with the invisible boundary and shot up into the sky.
"Ooh."
"Impressive."
While the villagers exclaimed in admiration, the arrow bounced off the transparent ceiling once more and flew back toward Kang Jin-hyuk.
"Eek!"
Thanks to being deflected twice, its speed had dropped significantly, allowing Kang Jin-hyuk to duck and dodge it.
Fortunately, no beastkin were standing behind him, so there were no injuries.
As the arrow whistled past overhead, Kang Jin-hyuk felt ten years younger in fright.
"That won't pierce it. No way it will."
Lucia spoke with conviction.
It wasn't her full power, but it was a shot infused with real intent.
Even if she added the strength she'd been holding back, she didn't think it would break through that wall.
"As I said earlier, the space itself is severed. We can't interfere with anything beyond it at all."
"It's like hitting a blocked-off map in a 3D game."
It looked appealing on the surface, but you couldn't actually go there.
The area beyond the village's south side was no different.
"What could have caused something like this?"
"What else? They must have botched activating the dimensional magic circle, and that's how it happened."
Connected to another dimension, but not fully—only certain parts could come and go.
As Lucia said, it could only be explained as a malfunction in the dimensional magic circle.
"What about other directions besides south?"
"The reachable distance might differ, but the result will be the same."
"Then we should investigate how far we can go."
"Before that, we need to finish the commission we accepted."
Lucia had the professional mindset of an adventurer.
No matter how urgent other matters were, you finished the job you'd taken first.
As Lucia continued, Kang Jin-hyuk tilted his head oddly.
"Didn't you coolly skip that dwarf old man's commission to find the mine?"
"There's an exception to everything."
"Yeah, right."
Kang Jin-hyuk had no intention of putting off Sylva's commission either.
The invisible wall could be investigated anytime.
But the beastkin's lives were growing harsher by the day.
Daily monster raids and the biting cold that cut into their flesh.
If this continued, the beastkin wouldn't endure and would abandon the village.
Then they'd eventually catch the empire's eye and end up as slaves.
"Alright, then let's head out right away."
Kang Jin-hyuk checked his pre-packed inventory and gear, then pulled out the map Sylva had given him.
Lucia had the compass for finding directions.
Kang Jin-hyuk had one too, but in this world, Earth's compasses didn't work properly.
Whether due to different magnetic fields or something, only the compass Lucia had used since her adventuring days pointed true north reliably.
"You're leaving right now?"
As Kang Jin-hyuk and Lucia finished preparing to depart, Sylva approached with a worried expression.
"Finishing it quick is easier for everyone."
"That's true, but..."
Sylva wanted nothing more than for the commission to be resolved and the area to return to normal.
But sending Kang Jin-hyuk and Lucia off filled him with anxiety.
"It's a bit late to say this, but the opponent is a dragon."
"Yes, I know."
"Aren't you afraid?"
At Sylva's question, Lucia let out a laugh devoid of any soul.
Then she pulled out a platinum plate from her bosom, proving her platinum-grade adventurer status.
Sylva gasped upon seeing it.
"Y-You're a platinum-grade adventurer?!"
Seeing Sylva's reaction, Lucia turned to Kang Jin-hyuk.
Her eyes seemed to say, *This* is the proper response.
It seemed she'd been bothered all along that Kang Jin-hyuk had been nonchalant when he first saw her platinum plate.
"For someone of platinum grade to come all the way to this backwater for a woman's errand..."
"It's personal circumstances, so don't worry about it. And keep it secret from the villagers."
"W-Why? Everyone would be thrilled if a platinum-grade adventurer took the commission."
"That's exactly why it can't get out. For someone of my level, taking commissions without going through the guild is illegal."
In this world, platinum-grade adventurers were treated as key assets on par with or above Earth's S-rank Hunters.
Letting such figures run free without oversight was too risky—they could bolt anywhere. So platinum-grade adventurers were under strict guild management.
As Lucia said, they could only take commissions carefully selected by the guild.
If word got out she'd taken one on her own, she'd face penalties.
"Understood. I'll keep it strictly secret."
Understanding the situation, Sylva nodded solemnly.
With his promise secured, Lucia tucked the platinum plate back away.
"Don't worry about the dragon—just wait around relaxed."
"Of course. I'll trust and wait."
Sylva, as if a huge weight had lifted from his mind, saw Kang Jin-hyuk and Lucia off in a much lighter mood.
Kang Jin-hyuk, not a native of this world, couldn't relate to Sylva's shift in attitude at all.
"To platinum-grade adventurers, dragons are no big deal, huh?"
"As long as it's not some wild ancient dragon, it's a breeze."
"Impressive. I thought elves were a weaker race than dragons this whole time."
"That's true."
"True how?"
"It's a fact that elves are weaker than dragons."
Kang Jin-hyuk's mind grew complicated hearing Lucia.
Lucia was clearly a half-elf.
Half her blood was elven, the other half human.
It might be rude to her, but Kang Jin-hyuk had assumed half-elves were weaker than pureblood elves.
With half ordinary human blood mixed in, that seemed natural.
But Lucia's words were entirely different.
"Elves are born with exceptional magic talent and the makings of master archers, but they have fixed limits."
"Limits? What's that?"
"If I compare it to your hunters, it's like having a level cap."
If normal people capped at level 10, elves started at 50 or higher innately.
But unlike humans, who could grow infinitely, elves couldn't progress beyond a certain point no matter what.
The elven nature, prizing harmony and balance above life itself, blocked their growth too.
"Elves could die and resurrect, and they still couldn't surpass dragons."
"But you're different."
"Yeah, thanks to my half-human side."
Lucia was a rare case, inheriting only the strengths of elves and humans.
Usually, half-breeds ended up mediocre at both.
Lucia had minimal magic talent but exceptional archery and unlimited growth potential.
That allowed her endless progress to platinum grade.
"Half-elves are that amazing?"
"It's not half-elves that are amazing—it's me."
Lucia stated a simple fact, but to Kang Jin-hyuk's ears, it sounded like pure boasting.
"What if humans and elves paired up en masse by village? Couldn't they sweep the empire and everything?"
"That'll never happen."
"Because elves are too prideful?"
"No, the odds of interspecies offspring are basically zero."
"Then how about you?"
Lucia clamped her mouth shut, as if refusing to answer.
Since the person involved wouldn't speak, Kang Jin-hyuk couldn't know the details, but he gathered it wasn't something she could laugh off.
Realizing he'd brought up something pointless, Kang Jin-hyuk racked his brain for a way to change the subject.
"Anyway, the important thing is you're stronger than the dragon. That's what matters."
Lucia gave a faint smile at Kang Jin-hyuk's abrupt wrap-up.
"Well... As I said, ancient dragons are out of my league."
"Come to think of it, what's an ancient dragon? Just really old ones?"
"No, they're just born stronger."
Like high elves among elves, dragons had exceptionally powerful individuals.
Those were ancient dragons.
"Pureblood lineage passed down from ancient times, I think... There are so few, reliable info is scarce."
"So if the dragon we're going after is an ancient one, we're dead meat?"
"No way. I just said there are hardly any."
Ancient dragons were so rare even other dragons rarely encountered them.
Unlike ordinary dragons rampaging wherever, they nested in hidden spots and lived reclusive lives.
"The dragon the village chief mentioned altered the climate around here. A showoff like that can't be an ancient dragon."
Ancient dragons' seclusion was deathly quiet.
Without someone telling you, you wouldn't even realize a dragon slumbered there.
Ones brazenly flaunting their presence like this were usually freshly matured dragons.
Like human puberty, hatchlings just out of their juvenile phase went through wild, stormy periods.
Unable to contain their newfound power, they rampaged everywhere, so subjugation requests almost always targeted immature ones.
"Using ice means it's a white dragon. That'll make it even easier."
"What's special about white dragons?"
"You're an idiot."
Dragons were known as a race that pursued knowledge, but there were exceptions.
White dragons were that exception.
Despite their beautiful, gleaming white scales, they were innately lazy and dumb.
Lucia's confidence against dragons stemmed from the high likelihood the beastkin feared a white dragon.
Even if it was a fairly aged adult, she was sure she could take a white dragon no problem.
"It's nothing special, so let's wrap it up quick."
Lucia's brimming confidence lasted until they actually headed to the dragon's lair.
"Something feels ominous..."
Every time Lucia boasted loudly, Kang Jin-hyuk felt an inexplicable unease.
But voicing it felt like tempting fate, so he swallowed the anxiety down inside.