Chapter 37 – The Rotom Mountains (３)

“I was tainted by it.”

[I see.]

It.

Even Gijun could roughly guess what that referred to.

It had to be the ‘Ancient Evil’ from the Forest of Prostra.

[Are you saying it corrupted even you?]

Libre’s face was troubled.

The Supreme Being.

That even a dragon—the most perfect creature created by the gods—could be infected by the evil…

It only meant the evil’s power was that strong.

“No need to look so grim. I’m already a body whose life span has run out. I was about to end my ten-thousand-year life and wrap things up when it sensed me and began gnawing at my Dragon Heart. No other dragon could let the ‘evil’ dare invade a Dragon Heart.”

Libre nodded.

Indeed, the Red Dragon’s body wasn’t in good shape.

“To make excuses… I have no memory of how I got here. Whether it was my instinct to escape the pain, or the will of the evil trying to embrace the Heart of God—I can’t tell the difference.”

[Tch…]

Libre clicked her tongue.

‘Complicated.’

Through it all, Gijun couldn’t get a word in.

Still, he could piece together the gist of the situation.

A dragon infected with Corruption had made its way to Rakam Peak for some reason—the very place where fragments of the Ancient God lay buried.

And the monsters, spooked senseless, had fled the Rotom Mountains, spilling onto the Great Road.

That, he gathered, was the trigger for this Monster Wave.

“In any case… your awakening means the prophecy has begun.”

[That’s right. This man is the one who unsealed me. The man of prophecy, bearing the mission to find the path and light the darkness.]

“Is that so. Still faint, yes… but he clearly carries worthy potential.”

The Red Dragon nodded slowly.

For a flicker, something like a faint smile passed across his face.

“I look forward to it.”

[…Good. Anyway, calling me and my master here means you want something, doesn’t it?]

The Red Dragon nodded slowly before speaking.

“Kill me.”

The answer held not a shred of hesitation.

[…I see.]

“It hurts. My Dragon Heart…”

With those words, the Red Dragon lifted himself up.

Something was glowing from within his chest.

A Dragon Heart.

But the light was murky, stained black.

“Destroy this, and grant me eternal rest.”

Libre looked at Gijun and spoke.

[Master. This is your task.]

“…Alright.”

He’d answered, but honestly? He had no confidence.

A Dragon Heart couldn’t be destroyed by Gijun’s magic alone.

The Dragon Heart was something that required repeated assaults from a solid 8th-Circle mage, blow after blow, to shatter.

[I’ll lend you my power.]

But then came a stunning declaration.

[The power your current body can handle is extremely limited. And the duration won’t be long either. One second. Two at most…]

“…”

It was staggering.

He could borrow Libre’s power.

But there were clear constraints.

From what he heard, the amount of power and its duration varied depending on Gijun’s own Stat level.

[Of course, just because I lend it doesn’t mean anyone can do it. Master, whether you can destroy that guy’s Dragon Heart or not hinges on how well you understand and wield my power.]

So she’d lend him the power, but —

destroying the Dragon Heart was entirely Gijun’s responsibility.

[But you can do it. I vouch for your ability.]

“Got it.”

Gijun’s answer came back, a little more assured, and then —

“Please.”

The Red Dragon said.

In that instant —

Crackle-

— the space warped.

In the blink of an eye, Gijun stood on Rakam Peak, right where he’d been moments before.

Whoosh!

Then the Red Dragon unfurled his wings.

He landed dozens of meters from where Gijun stood.

Boom!

The Red Dragon closed its eyes.

Even that short movement seemed to cost it pain.

Watching this, Libre spoke.

[Master. Close your eyes. I will soon grant you my power. As I said, two seconds at most. In that span, you must accept my strength wholly and fire it toward its Dragon Heart.]

Gijun nodded.

He looked back at the Red Dragon.

The Red Dragon stood rigid, motionless.

So its Dragon Heart lay fully exposed.

And then—

Whoosh!

A spark kindled over Gijun’s body.

In an instant, it coiled around him entirely.

[Receive it, Master.]

With Libre’s single word—

Roooooar!

“!!!”

Gijun’s whole body was wreathed in flames.

He could feel it.

A power so immense and explosive it defied reason.

‘Unbelievable.’

He repeated that word to himself in a blur.

That was how vast the power felt.

And this was only a sliver of Libre’s true strength.

At the same time, Gijun understood.

What he had to do now.

Neither Libre nor the Red Dragon had given any explanation.

But it was enough.

Fwoooosh!

The moment Gijun opened his palm and looked at it, that colossal power condensed into his hand.

The flames that had cloaked his body rushed to gather above his palm at breathtaking speed.

Then the vast energy coalesced into a single point, forming a small orb.

A blazing sphere the size of a Fireball.

It looked identical to a Fireball from the outside, but Gijun knew.

This was no mere Fireball.

Gijun moved it.

He didn’t need to do anything.

Just looking was enough.

In that moment, the orb felt like part of his own body.

He had only stared at it, after all.

Yet the orb moved as if alive, like a machine executing his will.

Flash!

“!!”

From Gijun’s hand to the Red Dragon’s Dragon Heart.

A single red line traced a straight path.

At once, that line pierced the Red Dragon’s Dragon Heart.

“···.”

The Red Dragon gazed at Gijun without the slightest movement.

—Thank you.

Its voice rang through Gijun’s mind that instant—

Crack… Boom!

The Dragon Heart erupted in a violent explosion within the dragon’s body.

“Khk···!”

A pulse of Mana so powerful it choked his breath swept the entire mountain range.

The whole mountain shook with it.

Yet no avalanche came.

As if it had never happened, the Mana pulse vanished.

The snow that had blown into the air settled back into place.

“···.”

It was a truly magical sight.

And then···.

SSSSHHHHHH—!

The dragon’s colossal form began dissolving into the empty air.

Then a message flashed before his eyes.

[You have slain the Red Dragon!]

[You have achieved an Impossible Achievement!]

[You have acquired a Title!]

[Dragon Slayer!]

>Grade: Legendary

>Attack Power +100%

>Magic Attack Power +100%

>HP Recovery Rate +50%

>MP Recovery Rate +50%

>Max HP +300%

>Max MP +300%

>All Stats +20

[Level Increased!]

[Level Increased!]

[Level Increased!]

.

.

.

[You have reached the maximum level increase per cycle.]

[Bonus experience will be converted into Stats.]

[All Stats increased by 10.]

‘Ha… hahaha…’

A Title.

Dragon Slayer.

Gijun could only let out a hollow laugh at the absurd message.

‘This is insane…’

He had no idea just how much he had grown from this Quest.

[As expected of my master.]

Libre had already returned to her original form, perching on Gijun’s shoulder.

[My judgment was never wrong.]

That was when—

“H-hey!”

“N-no way!”

“What the hell did you just do?!”

The Special Task Force members came running from the other side.

Their faces were utterly shell-shocked.

And they had every right to be.

Hadn’t he just done something too unbelievable to even trust his own eyes?

“D-dra… Dragon Slayer…”

“W-we kneel before the Dragon Slayer!”

Coming to their senses, they prostrated themselves before Gijun.

To think they’d see a Dragon Slayer here.

Wasn’t this something they’d never even dared imagine?

But Gijun waved a hand in refusal.

“Get up. It’s nothing like that.”

“B-but…”

“Please.”

“A-alright… Alright.”

Gijun turned his gaze.

The dragon was slain, but one task remained.

‘Fragment of the Ancient Heart.’

He still had to claim the Fragment of the Ancient Heart that remained inside that cave.

Gijun spoke.

“Head down first. I still have something left to do.”

“…Yes.”

No one dared argue after those words.

Hadn’t they seen it with their own eyes?

That impossible scene of Gijun obliterating the Red Dragon in a single strike.

In their eyes now, Gijun was no ordinary mage.

‘A Dragon Slayer.’

‘He must be a Grand Mage hiding his true power.’

‘Or maybe he’s a dragon himself… That power earlier was truly…’

A moment of a thousand speculations unfolding.

The only certainty was that they stood before a man on a plane they could never hope to touch.

A short while later, after all the Special Task Force members had descended the mountain.

Gijun moved.

Towards the cave where the Red Dragon had been hiding.

“It’s in there, right?”

[Yeah. No doubt.]

It was finally time to get his hands on the second fragment of the Ancient Heart.

*

“I brought in a real goldmine.”

“Agreed.”

The corners of Woo Jimin’s mouth showed no sign of coming down.

She’d expected something great, but not this great.

Spread out before her now was the analysts’ data.

This was the undeniable signature of a dual-cast spell.

“I was blown away myself when I first saw it.”

“…I still can’t believe it, and I’m looking at it now.”

There’s no way Gijun carried a sword with him.

No, even if he did, there’d be even less reason for him to deliberately attack a boss monster with it.

What was even more astonishing…

“It’s certain. Mr. Gijun is no ordinary mage.”

Gijun’s footprints.

Those were not the footwork patterns of an ordinary mage.

“I think I get it now.”

The reason Gijun had cleared dungeons while setting such incredible records.

“He’s a Battle Mage.”

Right.

Gijun’s combat style was unmistakably that of a Battle Mage.

“Well, that explains everything. If he’s a Battle Mage.”

A walking artillery piece that only ever existed in theory.

A combat weapon whose creation had been attempted countless times, but never successfully.

And that person had joined Hwarang.

“Hell, I should be bowing down to him on my hands and knees.”

It wasn’t an exaggeration in the slightest.

A Battle Mage of this caliber couldn’t be found anywhere in the world.

If he kept growing like this, he’d surely become a mage surpassing even White Wood of The Genesis.

No, maybe even more than that.

“They say even an 8th-Circle Battle Mage can output 9th-Circle levels of firepower in a raid.”

That was true.

It was a completely different dimension of utility.

‘But…’

With Gijun, the story changed again.

And on top of that, dual-casting with two attributes layered in at the same time?

‘This is insane.’

Just thinking about it sent a shiver down her spine, and Woo Jimin rubbed her own forearm.

He was an unimaginable genius.

Maybe he was too great a talent for even Hwarang to hold onto.

‘Just keep growing like this.’

But she would hold onto him.

She was determined to hold onto that vast universe named Gijun, by any means necessary.

For him, Hwarang had to grow even larger.

So large it wouldn’t fall behind any guild in the world.

‘The Raid Team 1’s condition is perfect too.’

Ha Taehyeong’s voice was brimming with more confidence than ever.

That meant Ha Taehyeong was in top form.

When he showed this kind of confidence, Ha Taehyeong always managed to produce results that stunned everyone.

The day after tomorrow, Hwarang’s Level-8 dungeon raid begins.

Hwarang’s goal is singular.

To push the clear time for a Level-8 dungeon to a world-record pace.

If they managed that, Hwarang’s standing would climb another notch higher.

“We need to set a decisive record this time. That’s the only way we’ll win the bidding war for a Level-9 dungeon entry ticket.”

That was the plain truth.

It was a challenge aimed at the bidding competition for the Level-9 dungeon raid discovered in Siberia.

The Genesis and Ure were already locked in.

A total of five guilds were now competing for the one remaining slot.

To gain entry to that dungeon — which every top-tier guild in the world had its eyes on — they had to post a record within the world’s top three.

She didn’t doubt it.

And around the time the Level-8 dungeon raid wrapped up, Gijun’s own raid would begin.

Perfect timing, really.

‘This is our chance.’

Above,

and below alike.

The momentum of the universe was converging on Hwarang.

Then, the Vice Guild Master spoke.

“But it seems one problem has come up.”

“A problem?”

“Yes. An anomalous phenomenon has been detected in the dungeon that Mr. Gijun is slated to enter.”

“What kind…?”

“Take a look.”

He handed over his tablet.

“Oh, damn.”

Woo Jimin’s brow furrowed as she examined the tablet.

“…Mana levels are spiking, and it’s absorbing other dungeons.”

“Yes. It looks like it could easily become far more difficult than most Level-5 dungeons. At this level of difficulty, for Mr. Gijun right now, it might…”

“Hoo…”

A sigh heavy with worry escaped Woo Jimin’s lips.