Chapter 609: Dragon Raid (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 609: Dragon Raid (7)
I had a feeling we might be facing the worst-case scenario.
A snow-covered mountain.
A wind that saps one’s mana.
A fierce blizzard that blinds the eye.
“…Could it be.”
Irina, standing gracefully atop the deep snow by freezing the ground beneath her feet, asked me as if this were all familiar.
“Did you perhaps misidentify the dragon’s color?”
“……”
I was thinking the same thing.
Could it be that the Pope, that senile old geezer, told me the wrong type of dragon?
Or maybe the young dragon had cast some kind of protective coloration (?) on itself back then.
As I stood there with a look of utter bewilderment, Irina continued as if complaining to herself.
“No matter how I look at it, this doesn’t seem like a Red Dragon. It has to be a White-type.”
“I agree.”
If that were true, the situation would become incredibly complicated.
“If we’re up against a White Dragon, it’s a terrible matchup for me.”
“…It’s beyond bad. It’s the worst.”
As their color suggests, White Dragons are a species known for their mastery over snow and ice.
In other words, Irina, who wields the same cold energy, would lose all her value as a dealer.
Realizing this, she and I clamped our mouths shut and stared blankly at the sky.
A battle where the dealer we went to such lengths to recruit would be completely useless.
Could there be anything more devastating for either of us?
But our daze was short-lived.
“…Let’s assess the situation quickly.”
Everything we’d considered so far was just a worst-case assumption; nothing was set in stone.
Not until we saw it with our own eyes.
The only problem was that the trap the creature had laid was proving tougher to break through than expected.
“Turning back is…”
Shwaaak!
“Out of the question.”
Just look at that rift disappearing the moment I looked away.
For a creature with such a massive body, its actions are petty as hell.
I couldn't help but shower the enemy with praise as I scanned the faces of my party members.
The atmosphere was not good.
This is precisely why a party leader must always remain composed.
If a leader, who has a duty to guide the party down the right path, hesitates, then those who follow will naturally lose focus and fall into disarray.
“Now that we’re in here, we have no other choice.”
“Are you saying we should just push through?”
“We have to.”
The dragon hiding here might not be a Red Dragon, but a White Dragon.
That was nothing more than speculation.
And even if it were true, it wouldn’t change a thing.
“Whatever its color, we will hunt the dragon and return safely. Trust me.”
So what if one of our dealers is neutralized?
It doesn’t matter.
It just means I’ll have to work harder, that’s all.
Sometimes, you need that kind of simple thinking to sort through complicated thoughts.
“If anyone feels they can’t stand the cold, put on more winter gear.”
We finished our preparations quickly.
We added more layers of winter clothing to maintain our body heat and had a light meal of dry rations.
“Let’s move out.”
Our goal was the top of the sheer ice wall.
Once we were up there, we should be able to get a better view of the surrounding landscape.
* * *
Using Kim Do-jin’s Fly magic, they reached the top of the ice wall and saw it.
A snow-covered plain stretching endlessly beyond the horizon.
East, west, south, north.
No matter which way they looked, the scenery was the same.
Perhaps that was why.
Despite the wide-open view, their hearts felt suffocated.
A small seed of anxiety began to sprout.
What if we just wander around in here and die without ever even meeting the dragon?
They may have been superhumans, but they were still human.
They were made of flesh and bone. Sure, they were a bit tougher and more durable than others, but without mana, that was all they were.
That was why even these seasoned veterans, who had seen it all, couldn’t help but feel tense.
This was no different from being stranded in a blizzard that drained their mana.
Naturally, their gazes all turned to one place.
To the one who had brought them here.
To Kim Do-jin.
“Hmm… It all looks the same no matter where I look.”
In a way, it was a comical sight.
He was the youngest person here, and by a huge margin.
Yet he was the calmest of them all, searching for a path forward.
Feeling a sense of reassurance from his demeanor, the others found themselves unconsciously trusting and following the young man.
And as always.
“There’s an illusion spell over there. It’s obviously meant to keep us from going that way… but if they don’t want us to go, that’s exactly where we should go, right?”
He faithfully answered their trust.
“Let’s go.”
They followed him, their faith unwavering.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The wind howled, and the snow fell.
The two soon merged into a violent blizzard, blinding them and forcing them back.
But Kim Do-jin did not stop.
He stood at the very front, acting as their windbreak as he walked.
He didn’t just block it with his body, either.
「Shield.」
He cast a translucent barrier around himself and the party, preventing the snow from sticking to their bodies.
Thanks to this, the rate at which the party members’ mana drained was cut in half.
Conversely, Kim Do-jin’s mana began to drain twice as fast, but it was fine.
He wasn’t sure what would happen if this went on longer than expected, but for now…
After about two hours of walking, Kim Do-jin finally arrived at the place he had seen from the top of the ice wall.
Just as he’d seen from afar, a transparent wall blocked the way, concealed by an illusion spell.
Kim Do-jin examined the magic before him with an intrigued gaze.
I wonder what the structure of a dragon’s magic is like?
“Let’s see…”
Could this truly be called a dragon’s work?
The structure of the mana composing the spell was more solid than anything he had ever seen.
That made it difficult to see through to the source beyond it, but who was he?
“There we go.”
Before long, his cheat-like eyes pierced through the hard outer shell and peered inside.
Like gazing upon the bare skin of a woman hidden beneath layers of clothing, he lost himself in appreciation.
A moment later, he offered a brief comment.
“This is a complete mess.”
Surprisingly, the interior hidden behind the solid exterior was in a state of utter chaos.
It was chaos itself, with no order to be found.
But strangely enough, that chaos seemed incredibly efficient and logical.
At the same time, Kim Do-jin felt a sense of déjà vu from this rootless flow.
It was a structure he had never seen before, yet it felt familiar and intimate.
He soon realized why.
‘…It’s similar to mine, isn’t it?’
That flow was not so different from the magic he himself used.
It prioritized pure efficiency over the laws and order created to perform miracles.
It was a level of mastery impossible to achieve without an overwhelming sense for mana.
The only difference was that while Kim Do-jin prioritized efficiency within the framework of a human, the magic before him seemed to be bound by no framework at all, asserting only its own will.
It hurt his pride, but he had to admit it.
In terms of efficiency alone, the magic before him was a cut above his own.
To be more precise…
‘Is this… a superior version?’
For the first time in a long time, he could see a path ahead.
He had always been at the forefront, leaving the first footprints on a snow-covered path. Now, for the first time in a long while, he had found the tracks of someone who had walked ahead.
If he could master this in his own way…
‘Using magic will become even easier.’
It was already easy, but it would become easier still.
That made him curious.
Just how would he have to manifest magic to use it even more easily than this?
He trembled once with faint excitement and placed his hand on the transparent wall.
Around that time, Merlin, who had been examining the barrier in his own way, clicked his tongue.
“Hah… In all my life, I’ve never seen magic like this.”
Hearing his tone of admiration, Irina asked curiously.
“Is it that incredible?”
“Incredible is an understatement!”
He declared, pouring out his praise.
“Look at this flawless efficiency, this form! This is something that could never be created by anyone less than a master of mana… no, someone with a level of control that borders on domination! It’s an artistry, you could say, that is only possible for a dragon.”
Is it really that amazing?
Tilting her head, she asked without any particular intention.
“Does that mean we can’t break through this wall?”
“Urgh… one could interpret it that way.”
Merlin nodded, his expression darkening.
His gaze shifted to Kim Do-jin, who had his hand resting silently on the wall.
“Even if he and I are considered great mages among humans, this barrier is…”
It was at that moment.
Crack!
Crrrack!
Snap!
The sound of something shattering rang out clearly, piercing through the fierce howl of the wind that constantly battered their ears.
With Kim Do-jin’s hand as the epicenter, cracks began to spread across the solid barrier blocking their path.
“It shouldn’t be breakable…?” he muttered in a hollow voice.
CRASH!
The massive barrier shattered into pieces.
And with it, the pride of the man holding the honorable title of Britain’s Royal Magician.