Facing the Fire Dragon
I froze, staring blankly at the system windows that had popped up before my eyes.
Even after repeating the game nearly two hundred times, these were messages I had never seen before.
'What... what on earth is going on?'
A hidden message? A distortion of causality?
In my twelve years of playing Lost Elder, not once had I encountered the messages that were now flooding my vision.
...But there was something else that truly threw me into a panic.
Level: 100
Title: The Fire Dragon Sword Master
A madman who roamed the entire continent, picking fights with the strong.
A monster who acknowledged those he liked and brought death to those he didn't.
'...Why the hell did he show up all of a sudden?'
It made absolutely no sense for him to appear at this point in time.
Pokryong was a named NPC who wasn't supposed to show up until the mid-game.
Even then, he was an NPC you could only encounter once the player's reputation exceeded a certain threshold.
'And yet...'
He was showing his face right at the beginning?
And of all places, in the depths of the Labyrinth Village?
'...This is bizarre.'
Everything about this situation was abnormal.
The game's progression, the sequence of events—everything had been warped.
It was as if causality itself had been inverted.
'Ah.'
In that moment, my eyes drifted back to the system messages.
[Causality is warping.]
'Could this message have meant exactly that?'
The butterfly effect.
Just as a tiny flap of a wing could brew a massive storm, it seemed my actions had completely overturned the flow of the original story.
"Why isn't this guy answering? Is he mute?"
It was then that Pokryong growled in an irritated voice.
...Damn it, the silence had stretched on for too long.
"I'll ask you one more time. Are you the newly chosen Seeker?"
"That is..."
Tsk.
Just as I was about to answer, Pokryong clicked his tongue in displeasure. His vertically slit pupils began scanning me from head to toe.
Letting out a scoff of disbelief, the monster growled.
"Fuck, guess it's not this bastard."
BOOM!
Suddenly, a deafening roar erupted, and the world went dark.
A sudden gale whipped up, carrying a cloud of dust that instantly obscured my vision.
'Ugh!'
A sharp, tingling sensation shot through my palms.
...Only a moment later did I realize my posture had changed.
My arms were thrust straight forward.
My legs were braced backward to support my weight.
Before I could even register what was happening, the skill Ultimate Auto-parrying had automatically triggered.
Ultimate Auto-parrying
[Effect: Automatically deflects any fatal incoming attack regardless of the user's perception stats.]
As the dust settled, the situation finally came into view.
...The Feather Sword was blocking Pokryong's straight punch.
And the fist pressed against the flat of my blade was trembling faintly.
'Crazy.'
It was true.
I had perfectly blocked a punch thrown by Pokryong.
A strike from a Sword Master that even the Level 80 Adelia couldn't react to.
"...?"
In an instant, a spark of interest flared in Pokryong's eyes.
"Well, look at this."
A grin spread across his face, growing even more chilling.
The eyes that had been filled with utter boredom just moments ago were instantly dyed with madness.
I maintained a stoic expression, but internally, I was reeling.
'This is insane.'
That lunatic had genuinely tried to kill me.
Instead of trying to talk, he had immediately thrown a punch.
It was exactly how he behaved in the game.
There was a reason he was known as Lost Elder's representative battle-maniac.
"I don't get it. I couldn't feel a shred of energy from you. How on earth did you block my attack...?"
Regardless of my thoughts, Pokryong muttered to himself.
He then growled at me, his posture aggressive as if he might lunge at any second.
"Answer me if you don't want to die. How did you do that just now?"
Think, think.
I widened my eyes, my mind racing.
I had blocked the first strike with Ultimate Auto-parrying, but that was it.
The skill had a twenty-four-hour cooldown. If another attack came, I would be completely defenseless.
I glanced at my MP bar.
The mana I had saved for a single, desperate opportunity.
Though it would only grant me a mere 0.01 seconds, it was my only means of standing against this Level 100 monster.
'...But I can't just use Soul of the Sword Master right away.'
Pokryong, the Fire Dragon Sword Master, would eventually become a crucial ally to the player.
If I killed him here, it could cause massive complications down the line.
'Besides, the Twelve Sword Masters are all on humanity's side.'
Every Sword Master was a Seeker who followed the will of the ancient god, Elder.
They might look like lunatics, but in the grand scheme of things, they acted for the greater good of this world.
If I killed Pokryong here, all the scenarios I had planned would fall apart.
'But...'
The problem was that when my own life was on the line, I didn't have the luxury of worrying about the future.
'...For now, survival comes first.'
If I died here, no plan would matter.
Having reached that conclusion, I spat out a cold warning.
"You really show your lizard heritage with that lack of manners."
"...What?"
"How long do you intend to continue this vulgar display, Pokryong?"
Pokryong froze.
His expression shifted instantly.
His slit pupils narrowed dangerously, like a beast before a hunt.
"...Lizard?"
A hot breath hissed from Pokryong's mouth.
The curiosity in his eyes instantly flared into raw bloodlust.
It was only natural. "Lizard" was the most insulting slur to the dragon race.
"It's been a long time since I've seen a lunatic dare utter that word in front of a dragon... Are you begging for death?"
Rumble!
The entire temple began to shake.
At the same time, the suffocating bloodlust radiating from Pokryong constricted my entire body.
"A dragon, you say."
But I didn't back down. Instead, I pushed even harder.
"I suppose even half-breeds are counted as dragons these days."
Hearing this, Pokryong let out a scoff of sheer disbelief.
"You've lost your mind. How dare a human insect like you..."
"I believe I made myself clear."
Taking a step forward, I spoke in a low murmur.
Though my voice was quiet compared to Pokryong's booming roar, it echoed clearly throughout the depths.
"One act of insolence is enough."
I tightened my grip on the hilt.
The sharp tip of my blade rose to point directly at Pokryong's throat.
Hum, hum!
The Feather Sword vibrated, crying out in response to its master's will.
The sharp hum of the blade carried a threatening tone, as if ready to slay the enemy before it at any moment.
"Did you say you were curious about how I blocked your attack?"
I took a stance.
I lowered my center of gravity, preparing to swing the sword at any second.
It was an imitation of the preparatory stance I had seen Adelia use.
...Of course, this was all pure bravado.
A Level 1 bluffing in front of a Level 100.
Right now, I was no different from an ant showing attitude to an elephant.
'But...'
I knew for a fact that Pokryong wouldn't dare attack.
He was wary of me. Ever since Ultimate Auto-parrying had deflected his blow, he had been on guard.
The trembling of his fist right after the impact was proof of that.
That was why I could afford to be even more aggressive.
"If you're so curious, try testing my patience again."
My voice carried genuine weight.
Perhaps this wasn't just a simple bluff.
As I thought earlier, Pokryong would be of great help to the player in the future.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say his survival was directly linked to my own.
"However."
That was a concern for the future.
If he threatened my life right now...
"The price of that realization will be your life."
...I was fully prepared to use Soul of the Sword Master to slit his throat once and for all.
'What is this...?'
Pokryong could not comprehend the situation at all.
Roaming the continent and fighting the strong—that was his identity, the very reason for his existence.
...In that sense, when he heard the "Revelation," he had no choice but to abandon everything and rush to the Labyrinth Village.
"A Seeker of ■??????■?????■????? who has taken a new step in this world... is now heading to the depths of the Labyrinth Village."
A Seeker who had taken a new step.
This undoubtedly referred to someone who had newly ascended to the realm of a Sword Master.
He wanted to fight them immediately. That was why he had rushed all the way to the depths of the Labyrinth Village.
Yet, even for Pokryong, who had met countless strong warriors, the man before him was a complete enigma.
'No matter how I look at him, I can't feel any special energy.'
The opponent was clearly an ordinary human.
An insect-like existence he could kill whenever he pleased.
He couldn't sense anything more than that from the man.
'And yet...'
Despite that, the man had perfectly blocked his attack.
As if that wasn't shocking enough, he was now threatening to kill him.
Look at him.
Even now, wasn't he speaking with absolute confidence?
Telling him to attack all he wanted, but warning that the price of doing so would be his life.
"Bwahaha! Interesting!"
It was clear.
This man was different from the fools who were all talk.
He was hiding something beneath the surface, like the tip of an iceberg.
The only way to find out was to clash directly.
"My life? I'd give it up a hundred times over!"
"..."
"As long as you can keep me entertained in this fight!"
Rumble!
His blood boiled.
Fighting spirit surged within him at the prospect of facing an entirely new type of opponent.
Just as Pokryong was about to charge forward recklessly, the man uttered something completely unexpected.
"If it's entertainment you want, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."
Pokryong froze mid-stride.
Frowning slightly, he asked, "What the hell does that mean?"
His excitement cooled.
The moment the man offered some lame excuse, Pokryong planned to tear him apart.
However, the opponent began to lay out an unexpectedly logical argument.
"I welcome a duel anytime. However..."
Trailing off, the man pointed.
He was gesturing toward Pokryong's fists.
His hands were completely bare.
In his rush to the depths of the Labyrinth Village upon receiving the Revelation, he hadn't even had time to grab his sword.
"You are bare-handed. And I, too, am currently unable to fight at full strength."
"..."
"I doubt a duel could be interesting when neither of us is in peak condition."
Pokryong's expression shifted subtly.
He had caught a clue in the man's words.
'Unable to fight at full strength right now?'
In that moment, a possibility occurred to him.
The pieces of the puzzle finally seemed to fall into place.
'...Could that be why I can't sense any energy from him?'
Countless hypotheses flashed through his mind.
Perhaps the man was under some temporary restriction.
Or maybe he was suffering from the aftereffects of a battle with someone else.
Right on cue, the man continued speaking.
"If we are to fight to the death, it would be best to do so when we are both at our best."
"Hmm."
Pokryong fell into deep thought at the man's words.
The opponent who had easily blocked his strike had admitted he wasn't in peak condition.
If that was the case...
What kind of display would he put on when fighting at full strength?
'He makes a fair point.'
His excitement gradually cooled.
It wasn't a feeling of disappointment, but rather his temporarily departed reason returning.
In a true duel, both sides had to risk everything.
Wasn't that the proper etiquette for a Seeker of the sword?
This man was a "true swordsman" who understood such principles.
"Very well."
Pokryong nodded, having made up his mind.
He looked at the man and promised a future encounter.
"I will postpone the duel as you suggest. I did leave my sword behind, after all."
"..."
"So... when will your body be fully recovered?"
Watching Pokryong take a step back, I let out a sigh of relief in my mind.
'Phew... what a simpleton.'
...For now, it seemed I had survived the crisis.