Chapter 72. The Choice (4)
[White Serpent’s Venom Sac]
- A toxin sac extracted from the belly of a deadly snake.
- It contains concentrated poison. Once absorbed, it spreads through the body in under a minute, shutting down metabolism and hardening internal organs.
- Use Limit: 10 times
It was the same deadly venom Yoo Ri-Na tried to plunge into his heart. Combined with the pouch he earned during the exam, he had two full sacs of lethal venom. Worried that the hide and scales would block the absorption, he sliced open the damn thing’s neck and dumped them straight into its bloodstream.
[78.25%]
[74.71%]
[71.03%]
...
Its HP bar, which floated above its massive skull, slowly ticked downward.
Eighty-eight, eighty-nine, ninety seconds...
Long past the one-minute mark, the dragon finally collapsed.
Thud!
Maybe the venom took longer to circulate due to its size, or its outrageous defense stat.
“Hyungnim! The dragon’s down!”
Jae-Hyuk’s triumphant yell cut through the dust, but Eun-Ho shot up and lunged, blade-first.
Swoosh—!
Just because the dragon was chained, grounded, and missing a wing didn’t mean it was harmless. He didn’t know how strong dragons really were in this world.
“Don’t let your guard down! Keep attacking!”
“Huh? Yes, Hyungnim!”
Swoosh—!
There was no guarantee the item’s effects worked on monsters the same way they did on humans. He hadn’t poured that venom to kill it outright, but just to buy a window.
“We have to chip away at its HP while it can’t move!”
“Wind Blade!”
Swish—!
Eun-Ho struck with the Shatter Blade—10 Attack Power from the weapon itself, another 20 from Basic Swordsmanship Lv. 3, and Wind Blade layered on top. No feints, no wasted motion—every strike drove straight for the neck.
Thud! Thump!
It felt like trying to stab a petrified tree with a metal skewer, akin to a dwarf hacking at a fallen oak.
Thwack! Swoosh!
Eun-Ho stabbed at it over and over again, like rain eroding stone. Each drop, each hit, shaved away a bit of that health bar.
[66.94%]
“Everyone! Focus on the neck!”
“Yes, Hyungnim!”
[52.09%]
Baam—! Crack!
Jae-Hyuk’s mace shattered scales, bursting off chunks of hide like stone slabs. Underneath, a soft quivering flesh finally appeared.
[40.48%]
Then, Ji-Eun’s dagger plunged straight into its eye.
Thump!
A monstrous eyeball, large enough to fill a man’s arms, hit the ground with a sickening squelch. Blood pooled and mingled with dirt, turning to sludge.
“Ugh!”
Blood streamed from the gaping eye socket. Even as Ji-Eun flinched and shut her eyes, her grip on the dagger didn’t falter.
Blood...
When Eun-Ho saw those weeping red tears, he realized the paralysis was wearing off. Then, as expected, the dragon stirred.
“Gaah!”
The dragon that had been crying with its eyes, its throat, its whole being, lifted itself back up.
Mid-swing with his mace, Jae-Hyuk froze and stammered in shock, “T-the dragon’s getting up again!”
“But it’s not fully recovered yet. We have to end this now!” Eun-Ho shouted.
Unlike before, it was staggering, making it obvious that it wasn’t completely back on its feet yet.
“Kraaaagh!”
Even its Dragon Breath attack lacked the previous ferocity.
“It’s hot—”
“It’s weaker now!”
“Oh. Is it?”
[20.15%]
The remaining HP was close to 20%. Besides, it was still steadily dropping bit by bit, probably due to the poison.
[20.05%]
Eun-Ho thought that a divine beast would be immune to toxins, but apparently that wasn’t the case.
Lucky me...
“Wind Blade!”
He swung his blade, sending a gust slicing through the air, then wasted no time shifting position. He had figured out that the Dragon Breath only fired in a straight line.
“Rooooar!”
The dragon had learned as well. While belching flames, it simultaneously raised its tail at Eun-Ho.
It shouldn’t have fully recovered from paralysis yet. But I guess it’s thinking now, marking me as a target worth that much effort.
There was the tail from the front, and the Breath from the side, meaning no safe path for him.
Thwack—!
“Gah!”
The tail grazed his left arm, and it felt like his bone was melting with raw, burning pain.
“Sol-Ah!”
“Coming!”
[You have been healed by Healer Yoon Sol-Ah.]
He sacrificed his arm to reach his destination, where the eye had fallen.
“Hello there.”
The dragon looked stunned. He arrived at the spot where Ji-Eun had opened for him.
Crunch—!
He plunged the blade in deep.
Splurty! Splash! Swoosh—!
The empty eye socket, once filled with optic nerves, erupted with a geyser of blood.
“Roooargh!”
The dragon reared back, screaming in agony. Eun-Ho was thrown skyward while still clutching his embedded blade.
“Eun-Ho!”
“Hyuuungnim!”
The world spun again and again.
Thud! Whoosh—! Thud! Whoosh—!
“I’ll catch him!”
“Please do!”
A full 360 degree turn was made, then 270, then 180 and then 90 until the dragon’s skull smashed into the dirt.
Thud!
Eun-Ho floated gently above, held aloft by Ji-Eun’s spell.
[Congratulations!]
[You are the first in Sector 13 to defeat the Exquisite Flame Dragon!]
[You have achieved an unbelievable feat.]
[A special reward has been granted!]
He blinked and dazed, watching the messages rain down.
[You have pierced an impenetrable defense!]
[Your Stamina, Strength and Agility stats have been increased (+1).]
[You have secured victory without loss, using brilliant strategy!]
[Your Intelligence and Judgement stats have been increased (+1).]
[You have withstood overwhelming fear and pressure!]
[Your Endurance stat has been increased (+1).]
[You have made an achievement by opposing the Greater Cause]
[Your Resistance stat has been increased (+5).]
It was literally raining achievements.
***
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding...
The cheerful chime echoed in his ears and honestly, he didn’t mind. Even when the sound started to fade, he found himself a little disappointed. Then, the final set of notifications arrived.
[Congratulations!]
[You are the first in Sector 13 to defeat a dragon-type enemy.]
[You have acquired the title Dragon Slayer!]
Dragon Slayer, huh?
It had a nice ring to it, kind of like that Ghost Slayer title he got during the KTX trial. That title had helped him track down the Saetani, investigate them, and even earn a proposal in return. Something about this one felt equally promising.
I’ll check it out later.
There was something else he needed to do right now.
“Eun-Ho! I’m lowering you now!”
“Thanks.”
Thump.
Thanks to Ji-Eun’s careful descent, his boots touched solid ground soft and steady.
“You’re getting better at that.”
“Right?! I swear, I only get it this smooth when it’s you!”
“Maybe that’s because I was your first test subject.”
“M-maybe...”
For some reason, her cheeks turned red. Had he said something weird? He thought about it for a second, then gave up and followed his raging urges.
Thud.
He collapsed next to the dragon’s corpse.
I better move fast... It's fading.
As per this world’s weird rules, the dragon’s body was slowly turning transparent.
“Petrify!”
With a hardened, stone-edged hand, he scraped the dragon corpse.
Skkrrrk, skkrrrk, skkrrrk, skkrrrk, skkrrrk...
Who knew how long the effect would last or when the penalty would kick back in? He didn’t have time to waste. His arm blurred as it scraped at speeds no eye could follow.
I’ll get used to this kind of thing after a while...
Skkrrrk, skkrrrk, skkrrrk, skkrrrk, skkrrrk...
“Y-Young Man?!”
“Hyungnim! What the heck are you doing?” Jae-Hyuk finally asked what everyone else was thinking.
Ah. Yeah. This probably does look a little weird.
He gave a plain and simple explanation. “I’m trying to harvest some scales.”
“Wait, seriously?”
“They’re strong as hell. They could make decent armor reinforcement.”
“Dude, you’re unreal. Thinking about upgrades at a time like this?!”
Modern-day practicality would probably frown on it, but this world was survival of the fittest. Therefore, he might as well live off the land.
“It’s going to vanish soon. Does anyone want to help?” Eun-Ho asked.
That was all it took.
“Whoa! Eun-Ho, I just cut them off like this, right?”
“Yeah. Just tack them onto a store-bought chestplate and you’re good.”
“Someone lend me a knife! This one’s too nice to waste on scraping!”
Skkrrrk, skkrrrk, skkrrrk, skkrrrk, skkrrrk...
The sound of survival echoed across the arena. Then, something dropped from the dragon’s body.
Thunk.
It was a jewel that glowed red-hot from within.
[Congratulations!]
[You have acquired the Flame Orb!]
***
Despite all the DIY scavenging, prying off the scales was no easy task. Even with Petrify and boosted agility, Eun-Ho had only managed to nab a few.
“Screw this! I’m done.”
“It won’t budge!”
One by one, the others dropped out. First the Swear-Master, then Ye-Ji, dripping sweat.
“Wait, it’s blinking!”
“Oh my! It’s gonna disappear, isn’t it?!”
Right on cue, the dragon’s corpse vanished completely, just like those who failed their trials before. Thankfully, Eun-Ho’s head start had paid off.
Ding!
[Your Super Mealworm’s Chitin Breastplate has evolved into Exquisite Flame Dragon’s Scale Chestplate.]
[Exquisite Flame Dragon’s Scale Chestplate]
- A chestplate crafted from the scales of the Exquisite Flame Dragon.
- While the material is top-tier, the crude assembly limits its potential.
- Increases Defense by +30.
Crude or not, it was still a triple upgrade from his old Defense +10 breastplate. He felt a little guilty hoarding such a solid item alone, but the others were quick to console him.
“Eh, whatever. My stats went up, so that’s enough.”
“Exactly! Don’t get greedy, Young Man!”
“Yeah. It’s not like we did much anyway.”
Wait. Hold on.
“Your stats all went up?” Eun-Ho asked.
“Yup! One point in everything, thanks to you, Eun-Ho!”
“Same here, Hyungnim!”
Anyone who joined the fight got a +1 boost to all their stats.
“I just got a raise in Endurance.”
“Same. The system message said that it was for withstanding overwhelming presence.”
In the end, even those who didn’t fight got something.
“That’s a relief,” Eun-Ho muttered.
“Relief? I feel like I’m cheating, honestly. I didn’t do jackand still got free stats.”
“Hey! What are you saying! I did fight! You saw me, right?!”
“Fought?! You swung twice and ran away! I saw you!”
Eun-Ho was truly relieved. He was worried that he had dragged people into danger, but they’d made it through, better off than before.
“Come on! Stop arguing, everyone.”
“Move, lady. This liar needs to learn some manners. He just can’t show his gratitude to that Young Man.”
“Manners? I’ve been nothing but grateful! He’s saved my ass how many times now?!”
After breaking up the argument, Eun-Ho let out a sigh.
“Let’s all just be thankful we’re still alive,” Eun-Ho said.
“Oh, what a sweet boy...”
However, even with the dragon gone, something bugged him. They were done here and there was nothing left to do.
So why hasn’t the trial completion message popped up yet?
The dragon’s corpse had completely vanished, but they were still stuck there, with no exit nor message.
“Wait, isn’t the trial over?”
“Yeah, it’s over right?”
Everyone began searching the arena, unease written all over their faces.
“Hey! There’s a door over here!”
“We found a way out!”
Sol-Ah and Yeo-Jin shouted from across the field.
Puff!
Then, a gift box floated in front of him from the Administrator.
[A gift has arrived from your Administrator.]
[Would you like to open it?]
What could it be?
His fingers brushed the ribbon, untying it with more dread than excitement.
A ticket?
It appeared to be a yellowed, vintage train pass, like something out of another era. Anyone else would mistake it for an admission ticket to a movie, a train ride, or an amusement park, but that wasn’t the case for him.
[Arena Exit Ticket]
- When activated, it opens a door that allows you to leave the Arena.
- Only the ticket holder may use it.
- Use Limit: 1 time
Crazy bastards.
The girls finally pushed the door open with a loud creak, revealing a forest beyond. Towering trees brushed against the blue sky and jagged mountains in the distance, painting the image of a fantasy novel’s background. It was the kind of jungle one would expect to see in a wildlife documentary.
“No way! It’s a full blown forest!”
“It’s huge! It’s almost like a freakin’ jungle!”
“What is this, a fantasy novel?!”
Now, two doors laid before him.
“What do you want to do, Eun-Ho?”