What Is This?
What the hell was that? But before I could properly clash with the bastard, there were a few things I had to take care of first.
Kuwoong. I slammed my club hard against his sword, using the recoil to launch myself in the opposite direction.
Kwang. I deliberately spun my body and rolled forcefully across the ground, making it look like I'd been shoved back by his push. Lightning surged from my planted foot, spreading out in all directions.
'Kugh!' I sensed someone caught in the aftermath, shifting their body with a faint noise.
'One over there too.' I figured he'd planted eyes all over the place to watch me, and so far, I'd sniffed out four surveillance goons.
The scary thing about lightning was its wide range—even without a direct hit, it still packed a serious punch to anyone in the vicinity. I used that to root out the hidden watchers. To be precise, I knocked them all out cold.
Honestly, compared to the overwhelming presence of that SS-rank Twin Head Ogre, these Draconians—one rank below—weren't that tough. The real issue was these fuckers spying on my every move.
They looked like stealth was their only trick. So once they got swept up in my lightning, they just blacked out and dropped. Even if they had other skills, tanking S-rank lightning would've been the weird part.
'That should take care of them all.' As I shifted the battlefield around the valley's nooks and crannies, I'd spread lightning wide and checked everywhere. No doubt about it—none left in the immediate area.
"Krrrr!" As I dodged around, dragging out the fight, the expressionless Draconian's lips curled up, baring razor-sharp fangs. A face anyone could read as pissed off.
Not even going all out, and the bastard was zipping around pulling side stunts—if he couldn't notice that, he wasn't the Demon Dragon's guardian; he'd be a fucking retard.
Crack.Crack. I casually cracked my neck and walked toward him.
"Now I'll give you my full attention. Not sure if you even understand me."
I smirked and unleashed the Dragon Heart's power, which I'd been holding back.
Ku-kung.Ku-kung. Like it'd been frustrated, the Dragon Heart pounded rapidly, flooding me with mana.
It felt like raging rivers of mana surged through my entire body.
'Let's see what skills you've got.'
Pajik. In that instant, I vanished from the spot, leaving only faint trails of lightning.
"Kruk!" The startled bastard hastily pulled back, wildly swinging his sword in all directions.
"Too slow."
Before he could form a defensive wall with his blade, I'd slipped into his guard. I raised my black club and smashed down on his right knee.
Crack! His shin bone shattered with a gruesome crunch, bending backward.
I immediately dropped low, grabbed his broken leg, yanked it toward me, and hurled his massive body away. Part of his left leg stayed in my hand—unlike the rest of him flying off into the distance.
Spurt! It wasn't cleanly severed; blood gushed from the forcibly torn stump.
As the blood splashed onto me, the Dragon Heart instantly sucked up the mana within it.
Ku-kung!! The moment it absorbed the Demon Dragon's mana laced in the Draconian's blood, the Dragon Heart let out an unprecedented roar.
Then, a familiar chime rang in my head.
'Jackpot!' Grinning in satisfaction, I immediately activated the Dragon Scale skill.
Scales similar to the Draconian's sprouted on my chest, then rippled outward across my entire body.
The difference? They weren't dark red like the Demon Dragon guardian's—instead, they blended almost perfectly with my skin tone. Unless you looked closely, you couldn't even tell.
'Lucky break.' Great effects were one thing, but I didn't want my whole body covered in green or dark red scales for no reason.
Dragon Scale—or Dragon Scales, in other words—boasted top-tier defense and magic resistance.
'Pair this with my new set gear, and I can shrug off most magic attacks.'
Downside: it guzzled mana like crazy. Even with my above-average reserves, sustaining it long-term would be tough.
Smiling contentedly, I canceled the skill and eyed the one-legged bastard.
He was using his massive Dragon Bone Sword like a crutch to stand on his remaining leg.
Drip.Drip. Blood poured from the stump below his torn-off left knee.
"Krr..." Yet his fighting spirit hadn't dimmed one bit.
'That's more like it.' I grinned and launched myself at him.
Pajik. The more I used it, the more intuitive the lightning became.
Pak! My full-force kick aimed at his other leg clashed against his blade.
This time, he reacted properly to my attack.
'Oh yeah?' While I attacked, he'd been adapting to my speed.
True to the rumors, the Dragon's guardian grew stronger mid-fight. I'd nearly gotten cocky and dragged it out too long.
Whooosh! Balancing on one leg, he swung his sword with blinding speed—true instantaneous strike.
I pulled my black club back, raised my arm, and blocked.
I had something to test. The timing was perfect.
'Dragon Scale.'
Kwajik.Kagagagak! A massive shock transmitted through my blocking right arm.
But it didn't sever or wound me. I'd angled it to deflect most of the force.
Sparks flew continuously from the blade sliding along my arm.
Impossible for normal skin, but I now had the same draconic scales as him.
Chrarararak. Ripples started from the blocked area, spreading across my body once more, revealing their presence.
"Krurk?" He noticed the change, staring at me in shock.
Probably never seen anyone else with the same skill besides himself. Hence the "what the fuck" look.
Defense tested—now offense.
"Chaaap!" I slung the black club onto my back and charged with bare fists.
Thud.Thud.Papapuk. I hammered his vital centerline in a blitz, then whipped my leg around to sweep his last standing leg.
He slammed his sword into the ground.
Normally, I'd pull back before slicing my leg, but I grinned and poured more power in.
Pakang! Sparks flew where my leg met the blade.
And the shock feedback wasn't as bad as expected.
'Top-tier hardness, minimal recoil. Nice.'
Grinning, I kicked the blade's center mid-handstand, then launched an axe kick at his head.
Papak! He smoothly dodged my fast heel, countering with a horizontal sword slice.
"Hup!" Muscling my arm while inverted in midair, I crossed both hands to meet the incoming white blade.
Grind. He swung so hard that my surrounding Dragon Scale rippled violently, desperately dispersing the impact.
"Kraaaah!" For the first time, he roared, swinging like a major league cleanup hitter and sending me flying far off.
'Kuh.' Above a certain impact threshold, the recoil reduction dropped off sharply.
I flew a good distance before kicking off the cliff encircling the valley and returning to my spot.
"Hmm..." But the attacker looked worse off than me.
Drip.Drip drip. From his vigorous movements, blood gushed more freely from the stump.
'Damn, such a waste...' I wasn't some blood-fetish perv lamenting it—his blood held mana that could yield more skills via the Dragon Heart.
As the pooling blood soaked the ground, he visibly weakened.
Pewooong!Piiyuwoooo! Then, a red flare streaked upward from above the valley, trailing smoke.
'Time's up.' That was Professor Park Cheol-gyu's signal to me and the team. Kang Mir would soon crash in to take the owner's head.
Meant it was time to wrap this up.
"Wanted to test more stuff while dancing around, but oh well."
"Krr..."
To end it, I summoned lightning denser and stronger than before.
'Grind.' Agonizing pain that ground my teeth surged through my veins, nerves, and muscle fibers down to the cellular level.
The moment my mind went white—
I stomped hard.
Thud!Splat.
Twice as fast as anything I'd shown, I closed in, pressed right against him, and turned my back.
"Haaap!" Then, stomping with both feet, I spun my whole body.
The ground's rebound force converted to rotational torque, surging to my back.
Thuuud! The explosive power bursting from my body hammered his entire frame.
"Keurk!!" He groaned roughly, spewing blood as he flew off.
Speed equaled destruction. Double the speed meant double the devastation—no contest.
"Krrr..." Unlike before, he couldn't properly recover this time.
Because I'd hammered internal damage through his scales before they could react.
No armor saves you if your insides are pulverized. That was the true essence of internal strike arts—striking the vitals.
Residual mana from the recent lightning surge still coursed through me.
Shuk. On the verge of overload, the lightning propelled my nerves at unseen speeds, circling behind him. I swung the club at his temple.
Crack! Light faded from his eyes simultaneously.
'Done.'
Kuwoong. The Draconian's massive body crashed to the ground.
"Huu~" Releasing the lightning triggered backlash—hot steam rose from my body.
Thump thump.Thump thump. My heart pounded like it might burst, while the Dragon Heart relentlessly pumped mana to heal the damage.
'Definitely different from before.'
The mana heart was great, but the Dragon Heart was leagues ahead in quality and quantity. Plus, for some reason, absorbing its mana steadily boosted my body's durability itself.
I approached the dead Draconian, eyes wide, and placed a hand on his corpse.
Then, another chime echoed in my mind.
'What the hell is this?'
Some seriously badass-sounding skill. Suppressing my rising grin, I glanced aside and naturally picked up the pure white sword lying next to him.
The first item I'd claimed with my own hands since regressing.
Steadying my trembling excitement, I immediately checked its info.
'Information Viewing.'