Chapter 267
Chapter 267
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 267
Chapter Title: Divine Beast Hunt (2)
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“An imugi?”
“Damn it, we’ve hooked a bad one.”
Everyone tensed up at the creature’s appearance.
With five Grand Masters on board who were on par with it, they could probably hold it off to some extent, but no one could guarantee they’d make it through unscathed.
That was why Drokshi and the other passengers looked grim.
The cabins would be relatively safe, but if the beast targeted the airship’s underbelly, even that wasn’t a sure thing.
“What the hell is that? Is it supposed to show up?”
“You should’ve studied up... Argh, forget it. That’s a divine beast right there. One of the ones you’ll have to face three of. Though it’s on the stronger side, even among them.”
It clearly wasn’t your average monster—everyone on deck quickly fell back.
They were leaving the fight to the Grand Master crew members.
But one person thought differently. Rokan’s eyes changed.
“That’s a divine beast, huh?”
“Don’t get any funny ideas! That one’s special even among divine beasts. Leave it to the crew and pick easier targets once we reach the Celestial Realm...”
“Just one question. Is this still Celestial Realm territory?”
“Here? Uh, probably... You mad bastard!”
The moment Drokshi confirmed it, Rokan shot forward.
Those who had fallen back followed suit, using the momentum to sprint and leap off the bow.
“Kai!”
Kai appeared beneath him, effortlessly carrying Rokan on his back and charging fearlessly at the imugi.
“Stormwind Incarnation! Rider of Legends! Invincible Form!”
Rokan and Kai’s bodies grew enormous.
Even so, they were tiny compared to the fifty-meter imugi—like children. But Kai was different.
In his great peng form, he expanded to his maximum size, swelling to rival the imugi. With a single flap of his wings, he closed in on its snout.
Kkiiyt!
The imugi reflexively spat out a blast of force, but Kai wasn’t one to back down.
He deployed his elemental barrier at full power to withstand it, then pierced through its defenses and sank his talons into the serpent’s long, sleek body.
“We’re going in too!”
“Uwaaaak!”
In the meantime, Rokan leaped at the beast. He knew Kai alone couldn’t take it down, so he aimed to cling to its body.
And beside him, as he activated wing mode to hurl himself at the imugi, dangled Drokshi—bound in chains like luggage.
“Drokshi, draw its attention!”
“You’re insane!”
Rokan tossed Drokshi toward the imugi’s underside and landed squarely on its back without hesitation.
If Drokshi could just keep its eyes on him, Rokan figured his attack power could handle the rest.
“Martial Soul Awakening!”
Martial Soul Awakening triggered, wrapping his body in brilliant golden light. Drokshi spat curses but faithfully upheld the contract, unleashing his power.
“Weapon Explosion!”
Stabilizing in midair was tough, but he was a Celestial.
Spreading his celestial wings wide, he hovered steadily and prepared to release his energy.
“Krwek!”
The red-hot weapon fragments burrowed into its underbelly, drawing a scream from the beast.
It might be a Grand Master-level monster, but Drokshi was a powerhouse on the cusp of level 380.
Thwack.
It twisted wildly, swatting Drokshi’s small body like a soccer ball, but the pain didn’t fade.
It writhed in agony all over, and Rokan rode the rhythm atop it like a rodeo.
“Lion’s Chain Slash!”
He drove in a powerful blow.
Kiaaaak!
[The Dragon Slayer title activates.]
A tremendous power settled into Rokan.
He’d wondered since it wasn’t a full dragon, but apparently, the imugi had dragon blood flowing through it.
The strike, boosted 300% in attack power with piercing effects, tore through its tough scales. It sliced flesh and cracked bone.
Viscous, sinister blood drenched Rokan, but the lion’s flames cloaking him incinerated even its curse.
“Lion’s Dance!”
Gripping with his thighs, he endured and unleashed a flurry of follow-ups.
Whether the beast bucked or not, he held firm with sheer strength, raining down attacks super-enhanced against dragonkin, widening the wounds further.
‘Maybe it came for me.’
On second thought, the imugi might have targeted him specifically, not the airship.
Dragon Slayer instilled instinctive hostility in dragonkin.
“Full speed ahead!”
“Uwak! Stop! Take us with you!”
By then, the airship had fled the battlefield at maximum speed. Abandoning them.
Drokshi flapped his wings and yelled, but the ship—its course set—didn’t stop.
Knowing the imugi wouldn’t die from this, they mourned their sacrifice briefly and escaped before things escalated.
“Damn it! You worthless bastards!”
Drokshi fumed at the sight, glancing around warily.
Sensing power surging from the imugi’s body, he beat his wings frantically to break free.
Kurrrung!
“Keuk!”
As it rampaged for a while, dark clouds gathered overhead, raining tears and hurling thunderbolts that struck them hard.
The imugi’s Climate Control skill and its derived Lightning Summon.
The bright yellow lightning pillar scorched its wounded back, but it didn’t care. Its lightning resistance was already maxed out.
Thanks to that, Rokan atop it turned into a charred lump.
“Urgh, is that all you got? Wild Slaughter!”
But he’d picked the wrong opponent. Rokan’s elemental resistances were just as fortified.
His body was blackened from the direct hit, but he had life to spare.
Even if his HP hit zero, his immortality would have pulled him through.
Instead, he flashed a white grin and jammed his battle axe into the wounds repeatedly.
Each critical-laden strike tore off chunks of flesh, spraying blood like rain.
“Hyup!”
Once the gash deepened enough, Rokan wedged himself right into it.
The imugi’s plaintive wails of torment echoed through the Celestial Realm, but he ignored them. What did he care for a dying beast?
“Wheel Wind!”
He spun like a drill inside its body, unleashing attacks.
Kiyak!
In unbearable agony, the imugi went berserk, abandoning flight for a steep dive.
Rokan just gripped his battle axe tighter, unperturbed.
He was already deep inside—no mere crash would faze him beyond impact damage.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwan! Kwan!
It slammed into the ground like it was crushing a bug, but Rokan wouldn’t be dislodged.
Slowly, the imugi died in torment.
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
“Wow.”
Staggering out from the corpse, Rokan grinned at his three-level jump.
Considering the beast’s level, three wasn’t much—but at High Master tier, it meant a lot.
[Divine Beast Hunt: 1/3]
Plus, two more divine beasts to go. Add the Demon Heart, and Grand Master felt within reach.
‘Maybe...’
[Dragon Killer][Quest]
Bearer of the glorious Dragon Slayer name, prove your feats were no fluke.
-Success Condition: Dragon Kills 1/7
-Success Reward: ???
Checking the Dragon Killer quest on a whim, Rokan sighed—it hadn’t counted.
Probably only true dragons qualified.
‘No big loss.’
He’d hunt one eventually.
Celestial dragons seemed even stronger than black dragons, but he wouldn’t cower preemptively. If the enemy was strong, he’d just get stronger.
“Drokshi?”
“Monster... Madman...”
Shaking it off, Rokan collected everything worthwhile from the imugi and turned to see Drokshi staring like he’d witnessed the unthinkable.
He knew he was a monster, but this exceeded imagination.
Vowing never to cross Rokan—especially after this bad hook—Drokshi steeled himself inwardly.
“Where are we?”
“How should I know...?”
“Hmm, at least it’s the Celestial Realm, right?”
“Probably?”
Drokshi scanned the terrain, sounding uncertain.
It looked like Celestial Realm geography, but so remote that one wrong move might take them out of bounds.
“Gotta find cover first.”
After hearing him out, Rokan summoned Digdog.
With an imugi’s blood splattered everywhere, lesser monsters might stay away in fear—but equals or superiors could come sniffing for a bite.
So he had Digdog dig a tunnel, then waited out Stormwind Incarnation’s aftereffects.
In his current state, running into enemies meant dying without a fight.
[Approach Blockade Quest completed.]
“Huh?”
After a long wait, the quest auto-completed.
The airship must have reached its destination safely.
He’d thought distance would cancel it, but completion brought massive fame and EXP.
“What’s this?”
And an item called Heavenly Rune entered his inventory.
“Uh... well... you see...”
Drokshi’s face soured at the mention.
There’d been intent behind it.
“Spill it.”
Catching on, Rokan ordered. Drokshi reluctantly spoke.
“It’s an item to memorize locations, like Earth Runes. Mark a spot, and you can teleport there from anywhere in the heavens. Collect five for a Heavenly Rune Book.”
As expected, a rune. No teleport circles or runes in the Celestial Realm made it hard to associate, but they came from hunts or special quests like this.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Well...”
Drokshi hemmed and hawed, but Rokan got it. If he died after arriving, he’d respawn at Border Village. Drokshi—out of contact—would be half-free.
Hiding out during the contract term would near-nullify it.
A loophole, basically.
Rokan narrowed his eyes. Drokshi looked away.