Let's Eat Dragon Meat!
“This… am I supposed to pick the dagger…?” I need to choose my reward quickly and get out of here… but I’m a bit conflicted. At first glance, it seems obvious that I should just take the dagger, but thinking about it, choosing the cloak would be far more advantageous for survival and moving through the battlefield. But then, if I give up the bag… ‘If it’s 5 tons… couldn’t I just stuff in any corpse I see? Even if I mindlessly just take the heads, it’s a profit…’
Moreover, it says it can automatically categorize things even if I just shove them in haphazardly… I’m not sure exactly what this “self-categorization” description means. Does it just mean it provides categories to make it easier to take things out… or does it mean if I just toss them in, it sorts them and stores them by body part? If it’s a spec that performs self-processing by part, then choosing the bag is definitely the better option.
‘But… if it were like that, the balance would be way off…’ I don’t think the convenience is that high. It probably just means it roughly organizes items by type. In that case, choosing between the dagger and the cloak is the right move.
‘I’m planning to head to the Infinite Hell to escape this place… and the curse of existence erasure that Botamilli placed on me isn’t infinite. It’ll probably be lifted as soon as I leave the Black Market. After all, a god intervening like this is a significant loss of causality…’
Thinking about it that way, choosing the cloak is the right move. The cloak is an item that has a truly direct impact on long-term survival. The fact that I wouldn’t be detected by others’ senses—sight, hearing, smell, and everything else—as long as I stay still is an incredible effect. If they weren’t actively looking for me, they’d surely just walk right past without even knowing I was hiding there.
‘The problem, however, is whether the category of “others” includes the children of the Dragon King… Would even a powerhouse on Ziegfried’s level not notice? I don’t think so. That would be too broken. I don’t think they’d give such a game-ending item just for breaking level 20.’
Furthermore, the restriction that I can’t move felt too significant for me. I’m a workaholic who gets itchy all over if I stay still for even 20 minutes, and now I’m told I have to stay still? Besides, this isn’t a place where you can survive just by hiding. Ridiculous techniques are swirling around every second, so I had to keep moving and changing positions.
“The dagger it is.”
Yeah, let’s go with the dagger that can easily and conveniently dismantle a dragon. I’m not a professional hunter, and I don’t have the confidence to properly disassemble a dragon corpse and extract only the necessary parts. But since this says it automatically harvests them if I just stick it in, this seems like the best choice.
-Clink…
A crudely made hunter’s dagger fell to the ground. It’s a plain-looking Bowie knife with absolutely no decorations. The blade was even a bit dull.
‘One reward down…’ Now, all that’s left is to receive the achievement reward for ‘Breaking Level 20’.
[1. Eldorado Exploration Permit]
[2. Shangri-La Entry Permit]
[3. Erebus Entry Permit]
📍 Eldorado Exploration Permit: A permit to explore the underground city. Various treasures are hidden within. Only players level 25 or higher can explore, and only one item can be carried. If you die within the underground city, you can revive up to 3 times. Up to 2 people can explore together.
📍 Shangri-La Entry Permit: A permit to enter the Tower of White Ivory. There are various quests and trials. Only players level 25 or higher can enter, and only one item can be carried. If you die within the Tower of White Ivory, you can revive up to 3 times. Up to 2 people can enter together.
📍 Erebus Entry Permit: A permit to enter the Palace of Binding. There are countless monsters and rewards. Only players level 25 or higher can enter, and only one item can be carried. If you die within the Palace of Binding, you can revive up to 3 times. Up to 2 people can enter together.
‘Crazy…’ There were three choices provided. All three were permits to enter dungeons. The underground city probably has finding treasure chests as its main goal, and the Tower of White Ivory likely has a structure where you receive rewards upon completing quests. The Palace of Binding… isn’t that Kesia’s home? Judging by the fact that there are many monsters, it looks like the best place to level up, but…
‘Giving me these options as soon as I hit level 20 means… it’s telling only survivors level 20 and above to enter…’
They all commonly state that only players can enter, only one item can be carried, and you get three free revives if you die. This means the difficulty is filthily high, and in reality, it’s basically saying you’ll just die three times for free. It’s telling you not to enter recklessly.
‘It must give that many rewards… It sounds like I should go in periodically and farm while risking my life…’
Moreover, the Palace of Binding that I can enter if I get the Erebus permit… I know that place is definitely Kesia’s nest. It says I can enter there. That means the Manma-jeon manages Erebus… and the other two are likely lower dimensions managed by the Man-gwi-jeon and the Man-shin-jeon, respectively.
‘Shangri-La is Man-shin-jeon… and Eldorado must be Man-gwi-jeon…’
It would be troublesome if I entered blindly and those guys pulled some tricks. Therefore, the only thing I could pick right now was the Erebus entry permit. Of course, the operators wouldn’t just let me do that…
‘Well, it says level 25 or higher anyway… so I’ll hold off.’
I don’t have time to worry about this anymore. I’ve already wasted 9 minutes, so I need to hurry up, loot the corpses, and run.
-Kuaaaaaa!!!!
-Kwagwagwang!!!!
I looked out at the storm-swept exterior and escaped from the ruins of the building that had sheltered me for a while. Then, I ran to where the child of the Dragon King, whom Apophis had half-neutralized, was located. I just ran. If I hesitated, I’d become meat patties from a stray magic bombardment. I had to run no matter what.
‘Ughhhhh!!!’
I clenched my teeth and screamed inside. A mark that looked like it had been cut by a sword appeared right in front of me, followed by a massive explosion. This was definitely Ziegfried’s doing. It wasn’t aimed at me, but rather a missed attack. But for Ziegfried’s attack to miss… the opponent was clearly a child of the Dragon King.
-Thud, thud, thud!!!
Just as I was letting my imagination run wild about how great it would be if I could pick up the corpse of the Dragon King’s child, blood poured down from the sky.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!!!!”
-Bang!!!!
“Shit…!!!!”
A blue dragon with its neck severed fell right above my head. Even if I can decompose magic or breath with the Magic-Decomposing Evil Eye, a mass bomb like this is impossible.
“Almost died…”
I quickly summoned my tentacles to block the falling dragon corpse. Tentacle projection is easy to use for interfering with physical attacks or objects like this. Thanks to that, I survived again.
“Haa… nice…!”
Although it lacked a head, I got my hands on a corpse that was otherwise intact. In a situation where most corpses were smashed, crushed, or melted, to find such an intact corpse… I couldn’t pass this up!
I immediately moved the dragon corpse aside, forced one of its scales up, and stabbed the hunter’s dagger into the flesh…
‘It won’t go in!!’
Maybe because it’s a dragon, the knife won’t pierce it. ‘Dammit!’ I have to either cause a wound or stab the knife into a wounded area. Even after forcing the dragon scale up and barely stabbing it into the flesh, the skin itself was so thick that it didn’t even make a dent.
‘The cross-section where the neck was severed!’
I quickly moved and stabbed the dagger into the cross-section where the neck had been cut.
Dismantling in progress... Remaining time: 2 minutes 59 seconds.
‘Ah..! So I need time…!’
I had secretly hoped it would be dismantled the moment I stabbed it in… but still, 3 minutes to dismantle a dragon the size of a van is incredibly fast… It is fast, but… ‘Damn… hurry… faster…’ If I had known this, should I have just taken the 5-ton bag? I was on edge having to wait for it to be dismantled when I had no time.
“Kiaaaaa!!!!”
Just then, another dragon fell, screaming. One of its wings was torn, and its body was engulfed in flames. ‘It’s Hilde!’ Hilde was grabbing a golden dragon and beating it up. Is the one being beaten the child of the Dragon King? But how high is its HP that it doesn’t die even when being beaten to the point of creating shockwaves? It even showed signs of trying to counterattack. This is truly insane…
“Oh..!”
To think I’m dismantling a dragon while watching a fight like this… I feel like I’m in a completely different place. “This is huge…” I picked up the dagger that had fallen to the ground and marveled. In the spot where the dragon had been, the dismantled dragon corpse was organized by part.
First, the heart. Isn’t the heart one of the most important parts for a dragon?
◈ If consumed raw without cooking, Magic increases by 100 and Durability stat increases by 10.
◈ Caution: If you consume the Heart of the Ice Star Dragon more than twice, your heart will freeze and you will die.
◈ Upon consumption, the Durability stat is unlocked. The higher the Durability stat, the harder your body becomes, making you less susceptible to injury.
“This is crazy…”
It says a new stat is created if I eat it. What kind of insane effect is this… ‘It’s the size of a human head… but I don’t have time to chew on a heart this big…’ I shoved it into my bag for now. Next, I checked the inner core. This is also important.
◈ If consumed, Magic stat increases by 30. All stats increase by 10, and Thermal Insulation increases by 10.
◈ Caution: If you consume the Inner Core of the Ice Star Dragon more than twice, your head will freeze and you will die.
◈ Upon consumption, the Thermal Insulation stat is unlocked. The higher the Thermal Insulation stat, the higher your body temperature retention, making you less susceptible to temperature.
“Gulp.”
I ate it immediately. The inner core was the size of a tangerine, so I forced my mouth open and shoved it in, and it all went down. As I melted it slowly with my tongue, I felt a refreshing sensation spread throughout my body, and my magic power increased.
‘It’s delicious… sob…’
It felt a bit like eating a peppermint candy… but it’s truly tear-jerkingly delicious. Dragon bastards were clearly born to be eaten. With the addition of a new stat, my magic power increased by 30. Is it okay to get stronger by just eating for free like this? Yes, it is. I’m in a place where breath attacks are rampant everywhere, so this much is fine.
-Boom!!!!
“Argh!!”
A sword mark was carved right next to me just now. Ziegfried is fighting nearby. It’s better to get away quickly. If I stay here for no reason, I’ll get cut by a stray sword energy and die. ‘Need to loot quickly and go… what’s left is…’
◈ Dragon Scales: Used as various crafting materials. Very hard and cold.
◈ Dragon Bones: Used as various crafting materials. Very hard and cold.
◈ Dragon Meat: Very high-quality dragon meat. Upon consumption, Strength stat increases by 10 once.
◈ Dragon Leather: Used as various crafting materials. Very tough and cold.
Roughly these items came out. Also, the beast’s entrails were piled up on one side. Unfortunately, it seems I couldn’t collect the blood separately during the dismantling process. Dragon blood is out of the question.
‘No one’s coming here, right…?’
I scanned my surroundings and frantically picked up the Ice Star Dragon’s corpse with my tentacles and shoved it into my bag. Incredible weight… roughly 1 ton. My backpack is already full.
‘This… if I pack one whole dragon, I won’t be able to pack many… I have no choice but to pack them in pieces from now on…’
I have to pick and pack only the useful parts. Otherwise, I’d have to leave them behind without being able to pack many. For now, since there aren’t many corpses in this good of a condition on the battlefield, it’s right to take them all.
‘Let’s get out of here quickly…!’
I ran again toward the fog where Apophis was. The dragons dying over there are almost half-melted, so I think I’ll be able to get only the parts I really need.