Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: Where the Dragon Sleeps (4)
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A pure white wall, visible where the blue crystal was pulled out.
No, it wasn't a 'wall,' to be precise.
'Bone.'
A massive bone.
The bone of a being so immense its size was impossible to fathom.
'In that case.'
Oh-jin swallowed hard and looked up.
A vast cave, reaching a staggering 200 meters in height.
'So this isn't a cave... but the inside of some colossal creature.'
Considering the interior was covered in hard rock and even had Reptilians running around, it couldn't be inside a living creature.
"Just how big was it?"
For the inside of a corpse to become a 'dungeon'…
It was difficult to even imagine how colossal its body must have been when it was alive.
[This... is the bone of an Ancient Dragon.]
"An Ancient Dragon?"
[A creature that lives in the Demon Realm. One of the beings closest to a 'Constellation.']
The word 'dragon' naturally brought one being to mind.
'Cheonjuryong Barbatos.'
The 9-star monster that had taken Ha-eun's eyes.
The dragon, a calamity in itself, had slaughtered the hundreds of Awakeners who gathered to subjugate it before vanishing without a trace.
'...After placing a curse on my sister.'
A fierce glint flashed in Oh-jin's eyes.
"Can dragons really grow this large?"
From what Ha-eun had told him, Barbatos was about 50 meters long.
Of course, that was enormous enough to be called a calamity.
But compared to the Ancient Dragon that formed this dungeon, it was like the difference between a Golden Retriever and a Chihuahua.
[Not all dragons are like this. Only a select few can become Ancient Dragons.]
"Hmm."
In any case.
So this dungeon was made from the corpse of an Ancient Dragon.
'So that's why the dungeon's name was 'Where the Dragon Sleeps.''
Oh-jin narrowed his eyes and got to his feet.
"Oh-jin, what are you doing over there?"
"Come take a look at this, Sis."
He explained the true nature of the dungeon to her.
"Are, are you crazy? You're saying this whole dungeon is a dragon's corpse?"
"Probably."
"Heeh. That's information even my family wasn't aware of."
Isabella's eyes sparkled as she nodded.
"Well, let's head deeper inside for now."
Whether this dungeon was an Ancient Dragon's corpse or not.
They needed to go deeper to clear it.
"Ugh. It feels gross thinking we're walking around inside a corpse."
"Fufu. I think it's nice, like something out of a fantasy movie."
"Aish, your tastes are something else."
"What's wrong with my tastes?"
Leaving the two women, who seemed to have gotten along much better than when they first met, he walked deeper into the dungeon.
After walking for a few more minutes.
"...Wait."
This time, it was Ha-eun who raised her hand.
"Reptilians?"
"They're Reptilians, but... they're dead."
"Dead?"
Oh-jin frowned and headed to where Ha-eun was pointing.
Just as she'd said.
A large pile of Reptilian corpses lay there.
"Did they fight amongst themselves?"
"..."
Oh-jin, who was carefully examining the corpses, narrowed his eyes.
'Stigma of Canes Venatici.'
Activating the Stigma, tens of thousands of scents flooded his nostrils.
The smell of moss between the rocks, the fishy scent of Reptilian blood, the stench of rotting corpses.
And.
The nauseating, clinging scent of mana.
'They didn't fight among themselves.'
Someone else killed the Reptilians.
'Which means.'
Oh-jin's party wasn't the only one here.
Before Oh-jin arrived, someone had already found and entered this dungeon.
"Mr. Oh-jin? What's wrong?"
"Isabella. You said only the Colagrande family knew the location of this dungeon, right?"
"Yes."
"When did you find the dungeon?"
"We found it two days ago."
"And there were no signs of anyone else having entered?"
"..."
Only then did she seem to notice something was off, staring intently at the Reptilian corpses.
"We didn't find any traces... but it seems we have a guest who arrived before us."
"W-what? So another party killed these Reptilians?"
"Probably."
Oh-jin brought his nose close to a Reptilian corpse and sniffed.
"Judging by the decay, it's been over three days."
"...So when my family discovered the gate, someone else was already inside the dungeon."
"Right."
He nodded and stood up.
'Someone else got here first, huh.'
Oh-jin's eyes narrowed.
He recalled the slimy scent of mana that had drifted into his nose.
'The Satellite Cult? Or the Black Star Organization?'
He couldn't tell which of the two it was.
"What should we do, Mr. Oh-jin?"
"What do you mean? We keep going."
They couldn't turn back after coming this far.
"Well, anyway, we just have to clear it faster than whoever came in first, right?"
Ha-eun grinned and nodded.
"Let's pick up the pace."
"Okie!"
"Yes!"
Oh-jin's party entered the dungeon at a much faster pace.
Hordes of Reptilians attacked them along the way, but with the venerable Lady Ha-eun specializing in crowd control, they were dealt with easily.
They pressed on quickly, even skipping the collection of Sacred Stones from the dead Reptilians.
"Oh-jin, isn't that something written over there?"
Ha-eun pointed at the cave wall.
Where she pointed, letters written in an unknown language were carved into the wall.
"What does it say?"
"I don't know."
As Oh-jin narrowed his eyes and approached the wall.
-Tiring!
[You have acquired a clue regarding the clear condition for 'Where the Dragon Sleeps.']
[The place where the Ancient Dragon Evergrace returned to nature. It is said that before dragons return to nature, they crystallize their mana within their hearts in a place where the dragon vein flows most strongly.]
[Clear Condition: Acquire the 'Dragon's Heart.']
"The Dragon's Heart."
So that was the Sacred Relic hidden inside this dungeon.
'Sounds damn valuable just from the name.'
Oh-jin stared at the blue message window that appeared before him and gulped.
[It seems acquiring the Dragon's Heart is the clear condition.]
"Then it seems the people who entered first haven't found this Dragon's Heart yet."
"Heehee! Let's snatch it up first, Oh-jin!"
Of course, we will.
"Let's pick up the pa—"
Just as he was about to say 'ce'.
-Shuuuuuuuk!
-Crack!
A black feather, flying from somewhere, embedded itself in the cave ceiling.
Crack!
A huge crack ran across the cave ceiling.
-RUMBLE!!!
"Aack! W-what's happening all of a sudden?!"
"Keuk! Sis!!"
"Mr. Oh-jin!"
The cave shook as if an earthquake had struck.
The blue crystals embedded in the ceiling began to rain down.
"Dammit...!"
Oh-jin created a wall of lightning to block the falling blue crystals.
[Da-danger!]
Vega's scream echoed.
At the same time.
-KWAAAAAAANG!!!
"Keoheok!"
The blue crystals that hit the lightning wall erupted in a massive explosion.
'Is the mana contained in the crystals exploding from the impact?!'
If so, he couldn't block them with lightning.
"Oh-jin!"
"Dodge, Sis!!"
BOOM! CRASH! KABOOOM!!
The blue crystals that hit the floor exploded one after another.
Under the literal carpet bombing of blue crystals, the dungeon floor cracked apart.
The floor began to collapse in an instant.
"Keut!"
Twang!
Oh-jin fired a wire at the wall and latched on.
"Sis! Grab on!"
He reached out his hand toward Ha-eun.
Kugugung!
The floor cracked and shook as if in an earthquake.
Ha-eun bit her pretty pink lips and kicked off.
"Got it!"
Like crossing a stream on stepping stones.
With nimble movements, she leaped, stepping on the falling rocks.
Tap! Tap! Taptap!
The distance between them closed quickly.
Just as Oh-jin's outstretched fingertips brushed against Ha-eun's—
-Snap!
"—Ah."
Was it because she had moved too violently all of a sudden?
The prosthetic leg supporting Ha-eun below her right knee shattered into two pieces.
"SIS!!!!!!"
Oh-jin quickly leaned over, but he couldn't grab her due to the rain of debris.
"Keut!"
He hurriedly unclasped the pendant around his neck and threw it toward the falling Ha-eun.
"Vega!"
[Understood!]
The pendant floated in mid-air and flew toward Ha-eun.
[I shall take responsibility for protecting Ha-eun!]
"I'm counting on you!"
After confirming that Vega, now in her true form, had caught the falling Ha-eun, Oh-jin looked for Isabella.
'Where did she go?'
He couldn't find Isabella; perhaps she had already fallen through the collapsing floor.
'She can't be dead.'
She was the 3rd Executor of the Black Star Organization.
There was no way she would die from a mere explosion of this scale.
Oh-jin frowned, searching for Isabella.
-Kugugung!
"Dammit."
But that was only for a moment.
Dodging the continuously falling blue crystals, Oh-jin climbed up the cave wall.
He passed the collapsing floor and moved into a passage deeper in the dungeon.
-Kwarururuk!
The entrance was completely blocked by falling rocks.
"..."
A heavy silence descended.
Left alone, Oh-jin turned his head toward the passage, which was shrouded in deep darkness.
'Could Isabella have planned this?'
Oh-jin frowned.
No.
It wasn't Isabella.
'That black feather flew in earlier.'
A feather he had seen so many times he was sick of it.
A feather created by an Awakener of Noctua had destroyed the ceiling.
'So it was the Black Star Organization that came here first.'
Cheon Do-yoon and his direct subordinates, the Night Hunters.
He had a feeling this dungeon was the reason they had suddenly disappeared.
-Clap, clap, clap!
"Wow~ I never thought you'd survive that explosion! Is this the power of Polaris's Apostle?"
From beyond the darkness-shrouded passage.
A young man walked toward Oh-jin with a bright smile.
Sharp, upturned eyes. A pug nose covered in freckles and thin lips.
And the eerie scorpion tattoo on the nape of his neck.
It was a face from Oh-jin's memories.
'Poisonous Bird, Kang Chan-hyeok.'
An Awakener powerful enough to be ranked in the top 30 in Korea, and the Guild Master of the now-defunct Pandinus Guild.
"Kihihit. Looks like you know who I am, huh?"
The corners of Kang Chan-hyeok's mouth curled up as a powerful killing intent rose from him.
"Well, of course you should. I'm the master of the guild you destroyed with that flapping tongue of yours, right?"
"..."
Oh-jin didn't answer, instead looking behind Kang Chan-hyeok.
Thud, thud.
Behind Kang Chan-hyeok, figures in deep black robes were approaching.
'Are those the Night Hunters?'
The Pandinus Guild had long been cooperating with the Noctua faction, so it wasn't surprising to see Kang Chan-hyeok with the Night Hunters.
'Six of them.'
A cold light shone in Oh-jin's eyes.
"Kihit! What? Looking for a way to escape?"
Kang Chan-hyeok shrugged and let out a cunning laugh.
"No matter how hard you look, there's nowhere to run. Huh? You're completely trapped in here, you bastard."
Kihihit!
He shrugged, pulling a sharp dagger from his robes.
"...Trapped?"
Pfft.
Oh-jin twisted his lips into a smirk and took out the metal rod.
Click!
As he channeled mana into it, the rod transformed into a spear.
"You guys don't know anything."
"Huh? What nonsense are you spouting?"
Kikikil.
He shrugged and laughed.
"I'm not the one trapped in here."
Haa.
He let out a low breath and raised his spear.
"You're trapped in here with me."
BZZZZZZZZZZT!!!!
Blue lightning blazed fiercely, illuminating the thick darkness.