The Bone Dragon's Lair
All eyes turned toward one man.
It was Kang Yoonsoo.
“I know the internal layout of the excavation site.”
“W-what did you say?”
“I’ll guide you inside.”
Kang Yoonsoo made the outrageously brazen proposal without a flicker of hesitation.
“In return, give me contribution points for every survivor we rescue.”
It was an audacious offer.
The excavation team members openly displayed their displeasure.
“Are you joking right now? You want to bargain with people’s lives?”
“How are we supposed to believe you know the inside of the site so well?”
But excavation leader Ramax shook his head.
The old man mediated between his team and spoke firmly.
“Wait. This young man can be trusted. I’ll vouch for him.”
It was thanks to the excellent artifact he had offered up earlier, which had earned him the leader’s confidence.
Ramax raised his eyebrows high.
“You’re saying you know the geography of the excavation site?”
“Yes.”
“If that’s true, then we have no choice but to take you with us. How many contribution points do you want per person?”
“One thousand.”
One thousand contribution points was the minimum reward for bringing back three or four high-quality artifacts worthy of preservation.
And he wanted that for saving a single life?
While a human life wasn’t worthless, the demand was both extravagant and shameless.
Even Ramax, who had trusted Kang Yoonsoo, frowned.
“That’s too much. I cannot accept that request.”
“Instead, I’ll only claim the accumulated contribution points after we hunt the boss monster.”
Not only Ramax but every single member of the excavation team looked shocked.
“What? You’re saying you’ll kill the boss monster that appeared in the excavation site?”
“Yes.”
Kang Yoonsoo nodded.
There was no way he would pass up a monster with such a good reward right in front of him.
He continued.
“If I fail to kill the boss monster of the excavation site, I won’t take any of the accumulated contribution points.”
“Hmm……”
Ramax fell into deep thought.
The boss monster was indeed an unexpected variable.
If left alone, it would disrupt future excavation schedules and cut off their budget support.
After much deliberation, the excavation leader accepted Kang Yoonsoo’s proposal.
“Very well. I accept your terms.”
Kang Yoonsoo, Shanette, and the Red Rock excavation team walked through the giant boulder crevice and entered the interior of the excavation site.
The underground of the site was still vast and deep.
The excessive silence only heightened the tension.
Kang Yoonsoo took the lead.
When the excavation team hesitated to follow him, Shanette spoke up.
“You can trust him. It’s easier on your mind that way.”
With those words, she was the first to follow after Kang Yoonsoo.
The Red Rock excavation team followed the two of them, half-convinced and half-doubtful.
Kang Yoonsoo walked through the maze-like interior without the slightest hesitation.
Even when choosing paths at forks, he never paused for even a moment.
Not even the most skilled guide in the world could navigate the labyrinthine excavation site so quickly.
Soon, voices came from the other side.
“Ah! People!”
“Thank goodness! We’re saved!”
They were survivors who had been excavating underground.
Chased by the boss monster and lost, they were either injured or exhausted.
The excavation team members bandaged their wounds and gave them the drinking water they had brought.
The group grew larger with the addition of a few survivors.
Kang Yoonsoo continued to lead the way.
Every time he chose a path at a fork or walked through unfamiliar territory, more lost survivors appeared one after another.
The excavation team members couldn’t help but be amazed by this almost magical feat.
One member, stunned by his navigation skills, asked Shanette.
“Just what did he do to know the inside of the excavation site so well when even we don’t? Is that young man some veteran explorer?”
“Hmm. Maybe. But Mr. Kang Yoonsoo is also a swordsman, necromancer, alchemist, and prophet all at once, you know?”
Her answer left the team members with dumbfounded expressions.
Kang Yoonsoo continued to search for survivors.
The boy who had been alone and joined the group last gulped down water and said,
“I was the last one being chased by the boss monster.”
When they asked the other survivors, they all answered that no one else had been separated from the group.
Ramax let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness. At least there were no casualties. Now all that’s left is to get out of the excavation site.”
That was when it happened.
A loud sound came from the other side.
It wasn’t a human voice, but a strange cry like metal being scraped.
“Kiiiirigryaaaaak……!”
“I-it’s the boss monster! The one that tried to kill us all!”
One of the survivors whispered in terror.
All the survivors swallowed dryly and held their breath.
The excavation team members also tensed up and drew their weapons.
A huge, thorn-like shadow was about to loom from the corner.
Kang Yoonsoo stretched out his right arm.
“Summon White, the White Wolf Monster.”
Summon White, the White Wolf Monster
A massive white werewolf appeared.
It was still wearing the Collar of Submission around its neck.
The people gasped in shock, and even Shanette looked greatly surprised.
If White roared in this state, they would surely be caught in the boss monster’s encirclement.
But White was unusually quiet.
The werewolf silently looked down at Kang Yoonsoo without any fierce growls.
The White Wolf Monster let out a low growl and spoke.
“Grrrrr…… Okan, arukiran. Ramikurunura. Ramir, urnokra.”
White began speaking in the werewolf language.
To the others it was nothing but meaningless cries, but only Kang Yoonsoo could understand the White Wolf Monster’s words.
Translated, it meant this:
‘Grrrrr…… Human, I didn’t trust you. I thought you were weaker than me and had a filthy personality. In short, you were a son of a bitch just like your father.’
White’s voice was serious.
‘But my thoughts have changed now. The ancient wolf that came out of your wrist guard last time. The Wolf of Power, Auron! An existence that all wolves respect without exception. If Lord Auron helped you, there must be a reason. I now acknowledge you as my master.’
Then the iron prongs around White’s neck clattered apart.
The Collar of Submission came undone.
White had completely accepted Kang Yoonsoo as his master.
Even though the forced subordination had been released, White looked at Kang Yoonsoo with eyes like a loyal dog, showing no trace of ferocity.
Kang Yoonsoo said,
“White.”
“Charnoroki?”
“Become bait for the boss monster.”
“……Garukur.”
It was an order that the usual White would never have obeyed.
But White nodded and ran firmly toward the other side.
“Unbelievable……”
Werewolves were originally famous for being ferocious and wildly aggressive monsters.
Even a bull would be smashed to pieces with a single swipe of a werewolf’s claws.
When such a creature obediently followed a mere human’s command, everyone’s gaze toward Kang Yoonsoo changed.
There were far too many unusual points about him to consider him a simple guide.
Soon, White’s savage roar and the sounds of fierce combat echoed from the other side.
“Let’s go.”
The survivors and the excavation team hurriedly headed toward the surface.
The moment the exit was in sight, a massive vibration rang out from behind.
It was the same vibration Shanette had felt before.
“Kiiiirigruuuuryaaaaaaaak—!”
A dragon made of bone.
Two wings composed entirely of bones with no flesh.
Red eyes glowed fiercely within its skull.
It was a huge and hideous figure.
Fossil dragon.
An ancient lifeform that lived in a lost era.
Unlike other boss monsters, it appeared alone, yet its presence was terrifying.
Having been suppressed deep within the strata for countless years, it was smaller than a normal dragon and its teeth were dull, but the life core glowing deep within its bones was brilliantly radiant.
The fossil dragon flapped its fleshless bony wings and flew toward them at high speed.
“Grrrrr—! Rokru—! Urnokra—!”
White, who had charged in from behind, leaped high and fiercely struck the wings, disrupting the fossil dragon’s flight.
The survivors screamed and rushed out of the excavation site.
At that moment, one person was pushed by the crowd and fell.
“Ugh!”
“L-leader!”
It was Ramax.
The fossil dragon Skeletrodon did not miss the old man who had fallen behind.
Black flames poured from its bony maw.
The dark flames carried terrifyingly high heat.
While White dodged the black breath, Skeletrodon swiftly flew in and closed in on Ramax.
“Ugh—!”
Ramax squeezed his eyes shut and curled up.
The fossil dragon was about to tear the old man to shreds.
Clang—!
By a hair’s breadth, the longsword Kang Yoonsoo swung deflected the fossil dragon’s claw at an angle.
In that gap, Ramax barely managed to scramble out of the excavation site.
Once outside, the fossil dragon no longer pursued them.
As if to say that this excavation site alone was its territory.
“T-thank you!”
“You saved our lives!”
The surviving survivors rushed to express their gratitude to Kang Yoonsoo.
Even Ramax, who had barely escaped death, shouted in a trembling voice.
“Thank you so much! If not for you, I would have died right there!”
But Kang Yoonsoo didn’t even acknowledge their thanks.
He drew Labian’s longsword from his waist.
Kang Yoonsoo spoke quietly.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Shanette drew her side sword and answered energetically.
The two of them headed back into the excavation site.
White also growled and extended his claws.
The fossil dragon Skeletrodon stared at its enemies with glowing red eyes.
It straightened its spine and let out a ferocious roar.
“Kiiiirigriyaaaaaaaak—!”