‘Where’s the Master?’
(- Huh? You don’t know? He hasn’t been around lately.)
‘Could he be not coming today either?’
His determination to make me stronger is remarkable, so he’ll probably reveal himself again when the time is right.
Sitting next to Rainy, I got into my swordsmanship training as usual.
That’s because I need to create a sword aura that spans three meters using a technique that cuts through space.
While I’m training hard, I’m not exactly gifted, so it’s essential for me to pour in time, and it’s going to take quite a while to reach the level my Master suggested.
Training, Irmana’s rituals, crafting bombs and daggers, and even making a dagger as a gift for Ah-rin.
Thinking about it, I’ve been a real workaholic, hardly taking breaks.
* * *
The next day, I entered the ‘Living Statue of Strength’ dungeon again.
‘What a bad start…’
Coincidentally, the Paladins who had been pestering me for days entered the dungeon right behind me.
But they no longer seemed to show any interest in me. No, it’s more accurate to say they were oblivious to my presence.
I couldn’t tell how good their recovery ability was, but all traces of the beatings I took from them had completely vanished.
The Deities and their caretaker, Areina, had essentially lost in their battle with me, so I simply hoped they would stay quiet from now on.
‘Let’s head straight underground.’
It had only been a few days, but since most of the little gates in this dungeon were located underground, I went down first.
On the way, I invested some time in catching tasty ones like Big Boars and Hanjaring to stack them up in my space.
After going underground, I widened my sense as much as possible and waited for several hours.
‘They’re coming!’
I felt a spatial rift forming two minutes away at full speed.
Swayyyyyy—
When I rushed over, a small gate was just opening, gradually growing until it exceeded three meters, but there wasn’t even a monster-like figure in sight.
‘If it’s not a monster, at least a person should come out, but this gate doesn’t spit anything out…’
Though it was a new experience for me, there’s always a first time for everything.
‘Hmmm…’
While contemplating, I felt the widened gate starting to shrink again.
‘Damn it!’
I squeezed my eyes shut and threw my body inside.
This was also a challenge I could take because I had multiple lives.
Whoooooooosh—
The sensation welcoming me was somewhat similar to when I entered the dungeon, yet distinctly different.
‘Please… send me to a different B-rank dungeon!’
I tried to manifest my will with this small hope, but a message popped up, differing from my expectations.
– This is a passage beyond the manager’s control!
– Health is continuously decreasing!
– This is a passage beyond the manager’s authority!
– Health is continuously decreasing!
…
‘What the…?! Am I going to get squished and die like this?’
An awful and dark presence seemed to claw at me haphazardly, tearing me into pieces and compressing me into one, and soon my health dropped below half, pushing me into an extreme situation.
Boom-bang!
‘Ahhhh… damn it.’
Just as I thought I was dead, I managed to escape to another space.
‘This feels like crap.’
It wasn’t my own strength that got me out, but rather I felt like I had been swallowed by a giant being and spit out as a disgusting foreign substance.
Anyway, it was a priority to understand where this place was.
Whoooooo—
‘Blood scent… where is that smell of blood coming from?’
The atmosphere looked eerily similar to the other world during my second job change quest.
In the endlessly sprawling desolate desert, two moons, one blue and one red, greeted me from above.
I couldn’t feel any life energy, but still, the scent of blood wafting in the wind provided an extreme sense of tension.
Woooo—
‘Wait a second… this environment… I feel like I’ve read about it somewhere. No way—’
Before I could finish my thoughts, something started moving towards me rapidly from afar.
‘It’s enormous… was this indeed where that guy was?!’
A massive creature shone gold, with the head of a dragon and the body of a turtle.
A behemoth that should be classified as a monster rather than a lesser creature.
The moment I sensed it, I hurried to activate [Stealth], but for some reason, my ability wouldn’t activate.
– One ability of the intruder that has evaded the manager’s gaze is sealed!
‘What do you mean I’m an intruder? I didn’t come here by choice!’
Monsters that entered the dungeons we were running through didn’t seem to face such severe restrictions, so could it be that each dungeon is influenced by the manager’s preferences?
Anyway, it was time to make a choice.
That insane monster’s sense of vibration was beyond imagination, so it must have pinpointed me from dozens of kilometers away the moment I entered the dungeon.
Thus, activating [Dark Illusion Tale] wouldn’t be very helpful. Still, I activated the ability to make my presence faint.
‘No way, this won’t work.’
Usually, I’d gauge the strength of an opponent before deciding whether to engage or not, but that was absolutely impossible, so I fled without looking back.
Switching to Combat-type with Lightning Armor, I focused solely on running forward.
‘Of all places, I ended up in a dungeon with a Dragon Turtle!’
The Sand Dragon Turtle, a giant species exceeding 30 meters in length, classified as one of the top monsters even among A-ranks.
I had been moved to an upper A-rank dungeon where that thing reigned.
I was willing to take risks. I had vowed, but this was too extreme.
‘Damn it, starting off in a place like this is way too harsh!’
I lifted off into flight mode, yet I still couldn’t shake off the Sand Dragon Turtle.
‘You’re saying that thing could chase me down while I’m moving at max speed? With that size? That’s ridiculous!’
Swoosh—bang—
The sound of explosions echoed behind me repeatedly, which was the noise made when it swam through the sandy sea, dragging its body beneath the surface.
And on its armored back, I spotted several wriggling forms reminiscent of caterpillars.
‘Of course, they’d be there too!’
Bugs that live off the back of the Sand Dragon Turtle.
Commonly referred to as ‘Parasitic Bloodline’.
Though they look as if they’ve been left to dry under the sun for days, in reality, they possess combat power robust enough to handle any defense from a distance beyond the Dragon Turtle’s line of sight.
If you think about it, each of those surpasses Alpha Rakan’s combat ability by a significant margin.
They congregated together, creating a swarm that I absolutely did not want to get near.
Since they nest in the spaces between the Dragon Turtle’s shell, they’ve been called a degenerated version of vampires by some.
‘Once the battle begins, they’ll shoot arrows made from the Dragon Turtle’s blood. Those arrows have significant destructive power…’
Once struck by their arrows, you’ll lose a certain amount of blood, and because they ignore defense, you can end up in a status condition of ‘faint’ if you keep allowing them to attack.
Of course, I had no blood to give, but suffering damage that ignores defense was still lethal.
‘However, since they’re stationary, as long as I don’t let my guard down, it shouldn’t be too scary.’
What I should be more concerned about was the Dragon Turtle itself.
Swoosh—
‘Why is it so fast?!’
Despite flying at full speed, it persistently followed me, showing no signs of getting further away, but rather closing the distance.
I wondered what it could possibly seek by eating something like me, but it continued to chase me without tiring, and soon it was in my line of sight.
‘I could use Blink to escape, but… moving only up to 500-600 meters max. Then-‘
Since I was in a situation like this, I thought I might as well charge in for a clash and boldly turned my body back.
“Kuwaaaah!”
‘Ahhhhh?!’
But the moment I turned my head, I came face to face with the giant head of the Dragon Turtle.
In the blink of an eye, its head extended dozens of meters long, swallowing me whole.
‘Too fast! What kind of stats makes that much of a difference?’
In an instant, I found myself trapped in a pitch-black cage.
‘Let’s see who gets eaten first.’
Being such a massive creature, I could spot small gaps between its massive teeth.
[Skeleton Bomb]
I summoned all the bombs I had stored in my space, setting them as timed explosives.
Then, I promptly activated [Weasel Step] just in time to squeeze through the gaps.
Swish—
Barely pulling my body out, I flew back behind to avoid being spotted by the creature.
“Shaaaah!”
“Szzzihhh!”
But then, hundreds of the Parasitic Bloodline living on the Turtle’s back spotted me and unleashed a volley of blood arrows.
Human-type monsters with forms that make them look like they’ve crammed a person into a narrow space.
For some reason, I felt an impulse to drench myself in Irmana’s water.
Boom boom boom!!
I kept dodging and parrying with the new Great Sword I received.
Boomboomboomboomboomboom—
As the timed bombs activated, the Dragon Turtle shook tremendously, and I seized that moment to barely escape the attacking range of the Parasitic Bloodline.
‘Damn it… I dodged but still got hit.’
It’s impossible to perfectly evade hundreds of attacks.
For the first time in a while, my health dropped below 400.
Even if I avoided the Dragon Turtle’s line of sight, it seemed hard to get close and land a decisive blow due to those pesky parasites.
‘Unless I don’t call for help with five Flame Explosions, I’m not going to manage this with my current strength.’
I considered throwing a dagger to look for an opportunity, but the thrown dagger veered off course at the ‘Parasitic Bloodline’ level and delivered no meaningful damage.
‘Argh…’
While it was incredibly fast despite its size and had powerful attacks, its back was shielded by hundreds of parasites too.
‘Here, take this!’
I sent numerous Fireballs their way to distract them and climbed higher into the sky.
Whoosh—
Just as I tried to soar to a place where I wouldn’t get attacked, I watched in disbelief as the Sand Dragon Turtle swallowed my fireballs effortlessly.
‘That insane monster… can it eat this too?’
[Meteor]
As I activated the spell, a red-hot ‘magical stone’ tore through space, beginning its descent toward the Dragon Turtle.
My highest-level magic Meteor, pouring 60% of my mana into this spell.
Burning boulders.
A light so intense I couldn’t open my eyes.
The scorching heat rose as if the entire desert were transported straight into a fiery hell.
The turtles seemed to sense something unusual, hastily trying to retreat from their positions, but…
I activated [Chain of Flame], extending my fists forward to bind the Dragon Turtle’s back legs.
[—?!]
For a split second, the turtle couldn’t roll its back legs, and it ended up at a significant disadvantage against the incoming [Meteor].
However, the parasites clinging to the Turtle began to jump into the sky, gathering in groups of ten.
‘What?! They could leave the turtle’s body?’
Their bodies melted away in the strong energy of the Meteor, which was a chilling sight.
‘Self-sacrifice spell?!’
They were sacrificing their own lives to protect the Dragon Turtle.
Even so, the [Meteor] was not dissipated and continued to strike the Dragon Turtle’s body, erupting in a massive explosion.
‘It’s weakened a lot, but it’s still holding strong!!’
I carefully observed its reactions, but the parasites that had been on its back were nowhere to be seen, and the massive Dragon Turtle staggered, kneeling on one leg.
That brilliantly shining golden shell was dented and beginning to melt, catching fire, while smoke rose thickly from the Dragon Turtle’s head due to the [Skeleton Bomb].
It seemed like at least 30% of its health had vanished, but even so, I felt disappointed.
‘No matter how high-level a skill is, it turns out like this if the caster’s level is lower.’
Sure, but the Dragon Turtle’s extraordinary defense was likely the bigger factor.
‘Indeed… it’s not just the head that has a dragon shape.’
– KWAOooOOooO—
The beast that had been staggering got back on its feet and roared.
The rumbling cry sounded ominous. It was clear it was about to do something, so without hesitation, I made my escape.
As I was running for my life, I sensed a tremendous force erupting behind me.
[Blink]
─────
In an instant, I traveled hundreds of meters in one go and looked back, wiping the sweat off my chest.
‘That was close. Phew…’
The magical beam shot by the Dragon Turtle boasted destructive power and range that made the Sword Dragon’s breath look like child’s play.
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