The dragon narrowed its eyes with a frown after hearing Skyler’s words, but Skyler’s face remained dead serious as he continued.
"Trust me."
Ultimately, even the massive creature looked puzzled as it stared at Skyler.
"Are you sure?"
Skyler nodded without the slightest hesitation.
Seeing him nod so confidently, everyone behind him nearly choked.
If there was one thing they had learned after traveling with Skyler, it was that this guy was different from the rest of them.
For some reason, he was always far stronger than them despite being at the same rank.
Moreover, he sometimes behaved in strange and very unpredictable ways.
So, now that the massive dragon had pointed out the possibility that Skyler might be a dragon, all the clues suddenly clicked together in their minds.
His obsession with gems.
His love for anything shiny or valuable.
The fact that he had once even robbed a dragon’s lair without the slightest fear.
Everything finally made sense.
The more they thought about it, the more convinced they became.
There was no mistake.
The problem with Skyler was that he was obviously not of a purely human race.
This guy was definitely part dragon!
Zack, who had already guessed this truth earlier, smiled and thought to himself.
’Just as I thought. Haha.’
At that moment, the dragon finally pulled back. Then, to everyone’s surprise, it nodded.
"Well, maybe I am wrong. The scent of a dragon is faint, and it’s mixed with many other scents that I don’t particularly like."
It stared down at the group of youths.
Then, realizing why this group of kids had entered its territory, it raised an eyebrow.
"Here to clear this level’s challenge?"
Skyler stared straight back at it.
"Yes. We’re here to defeat you."
The dragon blinked for a moment before bursting into laughter.
"You are quite amusing. Still, I can see where your confidence comes from. All of you are surprisingly powerful for your age."
Its golden eyes suddenly narrowed as the water around its massive body began to bubble and churn.
"Then let’s stop wasting time and fight. As long as ’you’ can leave even a scratch on my body, you will pass the challenge."
Zack and the others exchanged glances behind Skyler, thinking simultaneously that the challenge sounded surprisingly easy.
After all, they didn’t need to defeat the dragon—whose strength they had clearly failed to gauge. They only had to leave a single scratch on its body. That’s it.
The corners of the dragon’s eyes subtly curled upward when it saw their reactions, as if it had successfully lured them into a trap. Just as Yuris was about to agree, Skyler shot him a glance, stopping him.
Then he looked back at the dragon and smirked.
"I believe what you just said doesn’t apply only to me."
He pointed at the others behind him.
"It applies to all of us, right?"
The dragon’s eyebrow twitched.
For a moment, it stared at Skyler before snorting.
"I see. Not going to get tricked."
With that, the dragon suddenly pulled its massive body further back. Skyler’s eyes dilated as he realized what was coming.
"Dodge!"
The moment his voice fell, the dragon’s front limb swept forward with terrifying speed.
The surrounding water exploded from the force of the strike, creating a powerful shockwave that sent everything in its path flying. The sheer pressure of the attack was enough to distort the currents, throwing the group away like leaves caught in a storm.
Skyler, who vanished with Riruru, and Yuris, who instinctively teleported far away after hearing his sudden warning, were the only ones who avoided the sudden attack.
Everyone else was caught directly in the sweep and sent flying through the ocean.
Before Isaac, Zack, Charles, and Austin could even stabilize themselves, eerie shadows emerged from every direction, trapping their entire bodies in chains.
Massive underwater creatures rushed toward them, while countless Ironshell Devil Clams hiding in the dark opened their shells, trying to bite down on the people who were struggling to break free.
Yuris appeared in the distance, his expression filled with shock. Without hesitation, he rushed toward Zack and the others to help them break free. Meanwhile, Skyler, together with Riruru, stopped the massive sea creatures surrounding them.
As everyone broke free from the shadow chains and regrouped, the dragon appeared above them. Its enormous figure cast a shadow over the battlefield, and its deep voice echoed through the ocean.
"The challenge has begun."
Zack gritted his teeth.
"Let’s attack it separately!"
The group immediately scattered in different directions, creating distance between themselves and the dragon before unleashing a barrage of attacks from all sides.
Countless attacks tore through the ocean, causing massive waves and powerful currents to spread throughout the battlefield. However, when the attacks reached the dragon, their expressions quickly changed.
The dragon’s body was protected by multiple layers of defense—a thick layer of constantly churning water, a powerful light-blue barrier, and finally its incredibly tough, shiny scales.
Their strongest attacks were completely stopped before they could even reach the dragon itself. The force of their attacks only caused ripples across the layers of protection, leaving no visible damage behind.
The dragon didn’t even move from its position.
Forget leaving a scratch; they couldn’t even touch its body!
Suddenly, the dragon opened its mouth and released a deafening roar.
The sound was so powerful that it shook the entire ocean, causing their ears to ring painfully. The terrifying roar spread far beyond the battlefield, even reaching many of the massive ships floating above the surface and startling everyone onboard.
Many people rushed toward the edges of the ships, trying to see what had caused such a terrifying disturbance.
Then, someone exclaimed in shock.
"Someone’s fighting the dragon!"
Unlike the other ships, those aboard the ship belonging to Eldoria had already guessed who was fighting the dragon.
And their guess proved correct when the underwater battle eventually broke through to the surface. The dragon emerged from the ocean, followed by the group of youths attacking it from all sides.
Those aboard Eldoria’s ship widened their eyes. A group of powerful Lights gathered at the edge of the ship even confirmed it.
"It’s really that group of youngsters!"