< Ancient Dragon Human Type (2) >

Cheng! Geugeugeuk!

Blades and claws crashed against each other, and with rough grinding noises, they spilled down. The dragon human type regenerated their claws in the meantime, and the enduring poison in the surroundings was overflowing. The poison's range quickly spread and became about a radius of a hundred meters.

It was probably the skill, Melted City. It was an SS-Rank poison skill, but maybe because it was broad range, even an S-Rank poison resistance was holding up well. A lot of it was also thanks to Noah's assistance.

'As expected, Riette is impressive, too.'

Both her strength and speed were obviously lacking. The difference wasn't small, and normally, it would've been impossible for her to hold back the dragon human type like that.

But Riette had perfectly restricted the enemy, better than expected.

Eudeudeuk

The arm screamed from being unable to handle the strength of the knife and claw hitting each other. But Riette twisted her body without a single tremble as she let loose a kick that was full of the proximity blow skill, Dazzling Aura. Noah's healing skill, which had come in without a delay in the meantime, treated the arm and the blade let out a lilting noise again.

Ripping and healing and breaking and healing, it continued to repeat.

It might look like an ignorant dash, believing in the healing. But actually, they were injuries following exact cool-headed calculations.

You couldn't not gain injuries if you blocked without avoiding. But if it wasn't an injury that would be immediately recuperated, it was also impossible to keep on blocking and holding back the dragon human type.

That was why Riette narrowly disrupted the dragon human type without doing too much, while at the same time she adjusted things so she would only get wounds that Noah's healing skill could treat within a certain period of time. She precisely calculated the dragon human type's strength and her own strength, the durability, and Noah's healing power, and was exactly and even artistically walking a fine line.

It was with mine and Sung Hyunjae's skills as the basis, but it would've been impossible without an innate combat sense. She was cool enough that you could forget the piled up discontent against her for an instant[1].

"Noah's Stat Rental should have good Mana, right?"

Riette was having so much fun that it seemed like she would get mad if we cut in, but there was nothing good in leaving them for long. Since S-Ranks also had a limit for stamina. And she had gone one round with Sung Hyunjae, too.

"Please lend me your watch. Does it have a stopwatch function?"

"Of course it does."

I took the disgustingly expensive pocket watch, and wrapped the chain around my wrist and clenched it just in case I would lose it. I didn't know what the range was for the Shalos' Bead effect, but while hunting the Babar last time, my clothes and shoes were fine, so the watch in my hand would probably be safe.

And…

"You will be able to use me as a shield."

It nullified all damage. Would there be a better shield than this? With the Babar, we weren't going to be attacked, so I didn't think of it, but it was different now. It was a severe waste to just quietly hold onto me, with this outstanding of a function.

At my words, Sung Hyunjae went 'that is so', softly mumbling in a voice filled with wonder.

"The doubled attack skill sharing continues the effect even if the contact region changes. It is fine if you grab me with the right hand while holding with the left hand, and then take off the left hand. As long as you concentrate on the surroundings so that we do not completely separate, diverse utilization will be possible."

While I was checking the sharing skill effect on Noah, we had experimented together.

"However, it is over if I am taken away by the enemy. It was the same with the Babar, but it seems that the damage nullification only reacts when there is a blow above a certain level, so just being grabbed or pulled is possible."

If it was an item that blocked external stimulus completely, then I wouldn't be able to hear or see or feel. That wasn't damage nullification, but an item that captured people. All sensations would disappear temporarily, so how would you be able to withstand that with a clear mind?

"Thankfully, that guy's hand does not seem like it can grab things normally. If it tries to grab me with the sharp claws, it will be judged as an attack and be blocked, so it will be okay if you are a little careful."

If I was grabbed and pulled by a normal hand, then I would be overcome by the strength and be snatched away, but with the dragon human type's hand's structure, it was impossible. Sung Hyunjae, who was quietly listening to my explanation, grabbed my left wrist and raised it.

"Do you know how to dance?"

"What nonsense again, suddenly."

"There's nothing better than that for matching each other's motions and breathing. And dancing and martial arts have many things in common. Aren't there things like capoeira?"

If it was getting in sync[2], then what, was he talking about something like dance sports?

"Unlike a certain somebody, my life was not free and leisurely, so I do not know well."

"Don't worry. Since you can learn starting now."

Would I worry? I refuse. I ignored Sung Hyunjae's nonsense and called Noah, who was flying in his dragon form.

"Noah-ssi! Please lend your Mana stat to this person!"

Noah turned toward us and Riette also walked over, loosely continuing the organized battle. Noah, who had approached to over our heads, had wet eyes. He didn't need to worry that much.

-Are you alright?

"As you can see, I am fine."

Beside being unable to use a painkiller, it wasn't anything new. For now, I had to make it so Noah kept the Shalos' Bead. Since it would be difficult if something happened to the healer who was using the healing skill with perfect timing, with the sensations being shared.

Noah lent his stats, and I also shared the doubled attack skill effect. In the meantime, Riette was slowly approaching with the dragon human type. She shouldn't know much about my skills and item, but she was moving like we had planned ahead of time.

The gold dragon went a safe distance away again, and along with pressing the stopwatch, I used the Shalos' Bead. Ten minutes from now on, and then seven minutes.

The Seeker's Chains rippled, holding a stronger electric energy. Sung Hyunjae started toward the dragon human type, who was several meters away, a distance that could be narrowed in one breath.

Right before rushing into the fierce battle, he quirked his lips toward me.

"Shall we dance?"[3]

…I felt ashamed, wondering if I regressed in order to do this. Instead of my reply asking to shut up a bit,

Kooreureureung!!

Light raced over the ground, along with a heavy ringing. Unlike Riette, who knew ahead of time and quickly dodged, the entire body of dragon human type, who was directly hit with the electric power, was wrapped with a crackling electric current.

"□□□□!"

The skill effect was doubled, but it didn't seem like there was that big of a blow. The guy who yelled something sprayed poison from its entire body as it charged.

Sung Hyunjae didn't avoid the blade-like claws that would've ripped Riette's body into ribbons without the healing skill, and met them directly. With my arm. With one arm propping up and grabbing my body and the other hand grabbing my wrist and raising it, it did look similar to dance movements, like he said. Damn.

"Woah, what is that, darling?!"

Riette, who had dodged, approached again and shouted, surprised. Maybe the dragon human type was taken aback, because the attack didn't continue. In the meantime, Sung Hyunjae took out something lengthy and gold tinted that looked like a long needle, from his inventory.

-Keureureuk!

The dragon human type that was angry over its attack being dispersed bulged out its muscles. The finger claws, the toe claws, the horns, and the tail. The tough scales and even the thorns here and there – that vicious form for which you could say its whole body was a weapon, spewed a more violent energy.

On the other hand, Sung Hyunjae stepped around gracefully as if he really was dancing.

"If you just use electric currents, it spreads to the surroundings so the loss is big."

Tung! The tip of the tail with thorns sticking out smacked down on my back, which had been quickly pulled over. Then, my body turned around and the back of my grasped hand blocked the claws that contained terrifying poison. As soon as the dragon human type showed an opening through the continuing attack nullification,

Kwak!

The gold needle dug into the gap between scales. The sound of blades colliding, the sound of chains scraping. In order to prevent it from having the chance to get rid of the needle, Riette and Sung Hyunjae cornered the dragon human type at the same time.

"Thanks to that, there needs to be preparation to concentrate the attack power."

"That is quite, ugh, an inconvenient attribute."

I was dizzy. Before my feet could even touch the ground for a moment and properly stand, I was pulled to the side again and turned around. What could I do even if I knew how that damned guy would move ahead of time? My body didn't follow.

-Keuahh!

The dragon human type shrieked as it charged like a rhinoceros. With a simple step, the ground was uprooted and split as if an earthquake had occurred. Ooreureung! With each movement, heaven and earth rang out. But all that also had no use. Rather, only the flaws became bigger with the attacks of large movement, so three more needles were stabbed into the spiny back in a row.

"Even so, if you can just concentrate it-."

And then above that,

Chareureu-

The chains stretched out as the electric shocks with minimized loss darted through the needles that were stuck here and there in the body, and poured inside.

-Kyaaak!

The outwardly seen flashes of light were much more insignificant compared to the first electric attack. It was just to the point of a current sparking a little. But unlike before, the dragon human type twisted its body and spit out blood.

Knowing that sensation, I reflexively hunched over. It wasn't to the point of pain being sent over, but my vision flickered pure white, and I felt the sensation of a blade-like current ricocheting through the inside of my body, so the inside of my mouth dried out.

"It has a stronger destructive force than any other attribute."

Sung Hyunjae said, in a low voice, and at the same time, confidently. It was definitely impressive. An SS-Rank curse and poison dragon type. There was the type too, but even just looking at the states of the skills, it was a higher rank than the Babar, and a highest class individual. Even though he pierced the scales and made a direct hit to the inside of the body, to think that he incapacitated that kind of terrifying opponent with one blow.

But it wasn't dead yet. It was instantly weakened from the attack that burrowed through its inside like a sticky poison, but its powerful recuperative powers, possibly a skill, reared its head.

Above the head of the dragon human type that stumbled painfully but didn't collapse in the end.

Kwagwagwa!!

A sword wrapped with a skill pierced down, along with a sound like a giant's heavy hammer was striking down instead of a thin blade. A knife that burrowed through the weakened dragon's scales and pierced the top of its head, widely splitting the nape, and breaking and wedging into the spine!

Letting go of the hilt, Riette's body did a somersault backwards as if flying up. At the same time, she shouted animatedly.

"Burn up the knife, too!"

Metal. And a highest rank weapon that was good for receiving a skill, at that. At that unstinting yell, the chains' dance replied.

Light raced around yet again. Maybe because of the violence of the altered medium, the knife, the electric shock growled one level fiercer, and chewed and swallowed the prey's entire body.

-Geureureuk

I heard a weak rumbling that wasn't a scream or a groan. Unless an elixir was poured over it, it was definitely the end. The instant I thought that, I met the hazy eyes of the dragon human type that was losing their light. That guy moved its lips, saying something.

'Isn't there any way to understand it?'

I might be able to get a hint about that guy's owner. I tried focusing the Teacher skill a bit more on the dragon human type. Couldn't I dig in further inside, not just the sensations? It was in the middle of dying, so there was no resistance either. There was the doubled effect, too, so it might work. Just then.

[To think that you'd actively come over like this – thanks.]

Someone's voice rang inside my head. The moment I went 'uh', my sight went dark. For a very short moment.

And when I opened my eyes again, I was standing in an unfamiliar place.

'What is this?'

Neither Sung Hyunjae, Noah, nor Reitte was here. The pocket watch I was gripping in my hand had also disappeared. The translation necklace, and the necklace with the Shalos' Bead, as well as other items were gone. Though my clothes were the same. No, the pants that should've been ripped were fine.

Confused, I searched the surroundings. I saw someone standing a bit away. He looked similar to a human man, but there were bent horns sticking out of his head. And his eyes weren't those of a human's. He had on an unfamiliar form of clothes, similar to a uniform, and there were long cut scars on the neck and bared wrists.

When I used the Seed-Leaf skill, the information popped up in my mind, instead of on a status window, like in Myeongwoo's Forge.

'Ancient dragon human of poison and curses type. Stronger than that guy just then… around SSS-Rank? Other information other that… I don't know.'

He seemed a bit weak to be the owner of the curse and poison dragon king. Would he be the third pet?

Besides that, exactly where was this? First of all, it didn't seem like my body itself was moved somewhere. Since my items disappeared and my clothes became fine. Was I caught in a mind-related skill? That should be a type of skill that's hard to use without preparation though, even if the rank is high.

'Was it because I tried to dig inside first?'

In the meantime, the dragon human type had come over to me. The metallic yellow gold eyes that were similar to Riette's looked down at me as if observing me.

"So you've interrupted my work yet again. Thanks to that, the damage isn't just to a small extent. While overdoing it and sending Vicus, even the rank dropped, though it's temporary."

That guy said. Vicus – it was the name of that dragon human type that was killed a while ago. And a rank drop. Before I could even organize my thoughts, I started off with grabbing that guy's collar. Of course, he didn't move an inch. Damn annoyingly.

"You, did you send the Lauchtas to the dungeon I went into?"

"That was really outside of expectations. To think that Han Yoohyun would die that futilely."

The relaxed voice continued.

"At that time, Han Yoohyun was in a state close to SS-Rank. He definitely wasn't at a level where his life would be threatened, even if he was in front of the curse and poison dragon king. And a Lauchtas at a reasonable level was sent on purpose. So the one dying should have been just you, Han Yoojin."

"What nonsense is that? If you were just going to kill me, you could've just sent an A-Rank, no a B-Rank monster after the gate closed."

"Do you think the dungeon gate had been open at that time?"

At that guy's words, the back of my neck stung. Before the regression, how much time had passed after I went into the dungeon? Not that long of a time passed, but one hour was shorter than you would think. And.

Yoohyun came in alone. Even as a guild leader with healers, assistance, and many other Hunters besides those under his command. Because he came in alone, it was even more impossible to take care of an F-Rank Hunter's and his own life at the same time.

"We made a new contract with Han Yoohyun. With a condition that we would send him into a closed dungeon when his hyung faces an emergency. But Han Yoojin. With you alive, the possibility of Han Yoohyun actively cooperating is low, so we sent a monster that was at a level he wouldn't be able to protect his hyung against. Since Han Yoohyun wouldn't even dream that we had sent it, we thoroughly made it feel like Han Yoojin would die through an accident caused by a dungeon error. There would be nobody to blame, and not being able to protect you would be because of his own powerlessness. He would start to long for an S-Rank Hunter's characteristic strength, and it would much easier to handle him. But."

The words continued, mixed with a sigh.

"No matter how precious of a family member you were, we really didn't know that a born S-Rank would give even his life."

Did they not intend to kill Yoohyun? Even so, nothing changed. Only the problem of how to torment this bastard, became more and more clearly drilled into my mind.