Dragon Heart's Rampage

I'm going crazy! Just as my mind was starting to blur from the mana pouring out of the Dragon Heart, I bit down on my lip hard enough to draw blood.

'Don't fuck with me, you bastard!'

Anyway, it's true what they say—skills above S-rank are always itching to devour their users.

Thanks to the sharp pain, I snapped back to my senses and completely blocked the Dragon Heart's movements.

With a heavy thud-thud-thud, the Dragon Heart thrashed once like it was rebelling, then quieted down. It wouldn't last long, but it should hold for a bit.

Professor Kim Tae-min was right—skills retain the lingering thoughts of their creators. And those thoughts were especially strong in L-rank skills.

'All that practice with the Thunderbolt skill paid off.'

The residual thoughts in the L-rankDragon Heart were definitely stronger than in S-rank skills, but I'd grown enough to control it fully.

'Could the Dragon Heart really be from an actual dragon...?'

Given its L-rank status, it felt plausible. The other L-rank skill, Whimsical God's Roulette, even had a 'god'—a transcendent being—built right into it.

That line of thought led me to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tilt my head at my last remaining L-rank skill, Talent.

'Then what the hell is this one?'

This skill looked anything but ordinary, and it was the biggest reason I'd grown this far.

'There's definitely something I don't know about it.'

I roughly shook my head, clearing the foggy haze from my mind like shaking off mist. No point dwelling on it now anyway.

"Grroooaaarrr!"

In the meantime, Kang Mir was tangled up in a fierce clash with the dungeon boss monster, the demon dragon, alongside the orbiting water dragon.

'But that guy's totally fine even after taking a breath attack head-on?'

No matter how high his defense or mana resistance, a dragon's breath is pure condensed mana—no way he walks away unscathed.

'Must be the water dragon's blessing effect.'

His L-rank skill. From my experience, L-rank skills operated on a whole other level.

'Plus that blatant favoritism title: "One Loved by Dragons"?'

No way a title like that comes with zero perks. Probably the combo of those two made it possible. That's why he could take on a dragon with just one S-rank up front.

Click.

I turned at the sound from beside me.

"What're you doing?"

Professor Park Cheol-gyu was drawing his beloved blue dagger.

"What else? Hunting that bastard."

He pointed at the demon dragon blasting breaths while chasing Kang Mir, who darted around nimbly.

"Wasn't our role just handling the guardians?"

He smirked at my question.

"Lending a hand if the situation calls for it is fine."

"...?"

Situation? What situation? The guy was handling it solo just fine. Even his own teammates were watching in awe from the sidelines.

"You coming or not? If you're not feeling it, I'll go alone."

"..."

He kicked off the ground and leaped down the near-vertical cliff. Landing lightly, he charged through the dust toward the dragon.

"Kraaarrgh!"

By now, he'd scaled the massive dragon's back and carved a huge gash in one wing. Incredible how that tiny dagger made such a wound.

'I should've gone too.'

He's offering a free skill demo—only polite to get up close and learn it.

I dashed after him toward the dragon.

'Show me the skills! Show me the skills!'

This wasn't the time to fight the dragon—it was time to steal and copy skills.

Climbing the tail, I watched him slash midway through one wing, then vanish like sinking into the flesh, reappearing on the opposite side.

'So that's Shadow Leap.'

Shadow Leap was a movement skill that freely teleported through the shadows inevitably cast by the dragon's massive body. Top-tier among A-rank movers.

'Moves through a shadow dimension via mana, re-emerging. The medium is the shadow, rich in shadow dimension energy.'

In that instant, I grasped the principle of his Shadow Leap skill completely. I'd never even been to a shadow dimension, yet the knowledge floated up naturally.

'Got it!'

Understanding interdimensional travel in this world where the concept was rare? Astonishing. Every time, I marveled at my own abilities.

Then, the familiar alert chimed.

'Nice, got one already.'

A-rank right off the bat—great start.

Professor Park Cheol-gyu noticed my arrival and smirked, quickly scanning the opposite wing. His eyes tinted gold.

I focused on the mana extending from his eyes, sweeping the dragon's right wing. It spread thin like a living thing, gently brushing the wing membrane.

Then it converged on one spot. He launched himself, shredding it with his dagger.

Shhhwick!!

The wing tore long with a deflating balloon sound.

'No way it rips that easily.'

This was an SS-rank monster's wing—not something a few dagger swings should shred.

Yet Professor Park Cheol-gyu did it effortlessly. His eyes goldened again, dagger flashing toward the spot.

'That's the mana rift.'

Mana-based bodies inevitably have weak points in their flow—mana rifts, we called them.

His eye mana was scouting them. But they shifted constantly, making them hard to find and hit in that split second.

Yet he nailed it casually. No wonder he's the strongest S-rank.

'That's Weak Point Detection?'

The premier assassin skill for finding ever-shifting mana rifts.

S-rankWeak Point Detection.

I understood and acquired it instantly.

'Yes!'

The dragon, wings shredded on both sides, roared wildly and shot straight up vertically.

"Shit!"

"Jump off!"

Professor Park Cheol-gyu yelled at me and leaped to the ground. I followed right after.

Kang Mir approached us, looking up and shouting,

"It's turning to dive-bomb us!"

"This way!"

"Yes."

Professor Park Cheol-gyu pointed to the dense forest on the right and leaped first.

Kang Mir hurled his water dragon upward to block the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dragon's view, then said to me,

"Go first!"

"..."

I glanced back at Kang Mir following. Our intrusion should've annoyed him, but he acted like he'd expected it—waiting for Professor Park Cheol-gyu's orders, even.

"Weren't you just saying you'd solo the dragon a minute ago?"

"No way. I've got plenty of footage of me handling it alone."

I glanced where he pointed and let out a hollow laugh. Teammates with mana stone-modified recording gear were packing up and retreating busily.

"Now we team up, right?"

He turned to me with a bright grin, then tilted his head at my crumpled expression.

"I briefed Professor Park Cheol-gyu ahead of time—didn't he tell you?"

'What? So the whole dramatic briefing and solo fight was staged?'

Seemed like I was the only one out of the loop.

'Damn it, that Park Cheol-gyu bastard knew from the start and kept quiet on purpose.'

No way I'd admit I missed it out of embarrassment. Or call out the asshole for hiding it.

Fuck.

"...Nah. Your skills just looked too good."

The water dragon, back at his side, rubbed its face against his cheek affectionately.

"Hahaha, this guy? He's a real lifesaver. For the me I am now."

He stroked the water dragon gently.

BOOM!!

Suddenly, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a massive explosion rocked from behind, hurling rocks everywhere.

The dragon had soared high and slammed vertically into the ground. I turned and gaped at the huge crater.

'Staying on would've pulverized our bones.'

"Grrraaah!"

Shaking off the impact like nothing, the dragon rose and scanned for its attackers.

Its wavering head locked on one spot.

Crackle-crackle-ZAP! Zap! Crackle!

A barrage of lightning bolts hammered one side of the forest like it would erase it.

'Over there?'

Where Professor Park Cheol-gyu had headed.

'Huh?'

I turned at a presence from the right and spotted him brushing off his clothes casually.

"Didn't you go that way?"

"Yeah, even the dragon thinks I'm still there."

Kang Mir chimed in curiously. Professor Park Cheol-gyu shrugged gruffly.

"Dropped a decoy and bounced."

"Decoy?"

He waved lazily at my question.

"Pull out a dummy, pump my mana into the hollow mana stone inside, kill my presence, and slip away fast. Got it?"

"..."

"Oho~ That's clever!"

The real reaction came from behind me. Kang Mir's eyes were wide, sparkling with admiration at Park Cheol-gyu—borderline burdensome.

Anyone'd think he was the Magic Officer Academy student. Our eyes met with Park Cheol-gyu; we shook our heads lightly and stealthily charged the still-blasting dragon.

"Wait for me!"

Kang Mir whispered—or tried to, voice low—and hurried after.

Crack-ZAP.

The final bolt fell. The dragon raised its head high, sensing something off.

"Grr rumble."

It scanned for enemies.

Thud.

Suddenly, the quiet Dragon Heart thrashed wildly again.

'This fucker again?'

And the dragon's eyes snapped toward me.

"Shit, dodge!"

"What?"

"Pardon?"

Despite their questions, both were already moving. As we leaped, the ground where we'd been sharpened into blades, erupting wildly.

'Driving me crazy for real.'

Unlike my frustration, the Dragon Heart pounded happily away.