Chapter 72: Chapter 72

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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Chapter 72: Choice (4)

▣ Venom Pouch of the White Snake

-A venom pouch extracted from a venomous snake.

It is filled with a deadly poison that, when absorbed, spreads through the body within a minute, shutting down metabolism and hardening internal organs.

-Usable Count: 10

The deadly venom that Yurina had tried to stab into me.

And now the sacs I obtained during the test as well.

I poured two entire venom sacs, each with 10 uses, directly into the creature.

Not wanting the venom to be blocked by its scales or hide, I sliced its neck open and let the venom flow inside.

「78.25%」

「74.71%」

「71.03%」

...

The health bar hovering above its head began to shrink steadily.

'88, 89, 90 seconds...'

And after well over a minute had passed.

Thud!

Finally, the creature collapsed.

Its large size or unique resilience must have delayed the spread of the venom.

"The dragon... has fallen! Hyung!"

But.

─ Swish!

I quickly got to my feet and rushed toward it.

Even bound in chains and unable to fly due to a torn wing, a dragon is still a dragon.

I wasn’t entirely sure what kind of rank dragons held in this world, but...

"Don’t let your guard down! Keep attacking!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

─ Slash!

Never let your guard down.

There’s no guarantee items work the same way on monsters as they do on humans.

Pouring venom on it was just to create an opening.

"We have to drain its health as much as possible while it’s immobilized!"

'Sword Wind!'

A sharp slash of wind!

With the base attack power of my Shattering Sword at 10, combined with my Basic Swordsmanship (Lv.3) for an additional 20, and the effect of the Blade Gust skill, I kept attacking relentlessly.

Only aiming at the creature’s massive neck as it lay prone.

Thud! Stab!

Stabbing over and over, slicing away.

It felt like I was a dwarf jabbing at a fallen tree with a metal skewer.

Stab! Rip!

Piercing and cutting, slowly whittling it down.

Like water dripping onto a rock, gradually wearing it away.

Using its steadily decreasing health bar as my guide.

「66.94%」

"Everyone, focus your attacks on the neck!"

"Yes, hyung!"

「52.09%」

Crunch! Smash!

Jaehyuk’s mace shattered its scales.

Fragments of scales scattered in all directions, exposing raw, fleshy spots beneath the hard exterior.

And then...

「40.48%」

─ !!

Jieun’s dagger gouged out one of the dragon’s eyes.

Thud!

An enormous eyeball, larger than an outstretched arm, smashed into the ground.

Blood spurted up, splattering across the battlefield and covering the dust in a muddy film.

"Ugh…!"

Blood poured from the empty eye socket like crimson tears.

Jieun clenched her eyes shut for a moment before resolutely keeping her grip on her weapon.

As I watched the flowing blood...

‘The blood…’

I realized the paralysis was wearing off.

And, just as I feared, moments later.

─ Grrrr…!!

"!!"

The dragon, crying out through its eyes, throat, and entire body, began to rise.

"The-the dragon is getting up again!"

Jaehyuk stammered, halting his mace mid-swing in shock.

But.

"It’s not fully recovered yet. We need to finish this now."

The dragon swayed as it stood, clearly not fully intact.

─ ROAAAAARRRR!

Even the breath attack it unleashed was less potent than before.

"Ha… Hot…!"

"Its power has diminished!"

"R-Really?!"

「20.15%」

Its remaining health: 20%.

「20.05%」n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Even better, it was still decreasing, albeit slowly.

That must be the lingering effect of the venom.

For a divine beast, I expected it to completely neutralize the poison, but it seemed less than perfect.

Not that I was complaining.

Either way, that meant...

"Sword Wind!"

I swung my sword in a sweeping arc, unleashing a slicing wind attack, and immediately shifted position.

The dragon’s breath attack only traveled in a straight line, something I’d confirmed repeatedly.

─ KRAAAAH!

This time, the dragon used its head.

It unleashed its breath attack while simultaneously swinging its massive tail at me.

The two attacks intersected perfectly, leaving no room to escape.

If there was nowhere to run...

Thud!

"Ugh!"

The tail glanced off my left arm.

The burning pain stretched from my shoulder to my elbow, as if my flesh was on fire.

"Sola!"

"On it!"

[The Healer 'Yoon Sola' helps your wounds recover!]

But it came at the cost of your left arm.

"Hello?"

─ !!

It arrived.

In the hollow space where Jieun had once dug out its eyeball.

Crunch-!

I raised my sword and drove it in without hesitation.

Splurt! Splurt! Splat-!

The empty space where the optic nerve once was, now replaced by a fountain of blood instead of nerve bundles.

─ Roarrrr!

Then the beast raised its head and roared.

Its body, along with the embedded sword, shot skyward.

"Eunho!!"

"Hyungniiiim!"

Swoosh!

The world flipped.

Thud-!

It flipped back again.

Swoosh!

Flipped once more.

"I’ll lift you up!!"

"…Please… do it!"

The world, spinning in a 360-degree rotation, shifted to a 270-degree spin.

Then 180.

Then a vertical rise… before finally halting.

Like a Viking ride at an amusement park.

And then.

Thud-!

The dragon’s head crashed into the ground.

Buzz-!

I observed it calmly.

Floating in the air, thanks to Jieun.

[Congratulations!]

[You’ve defeated the ‘Meticulously Crafted Flame Dragon' of District 13 for the first time!]

[Subject: Lee Eunho. A monumental achievement has been accomplished.]

[Special rewards will be granted!]

As messages poured in, I stared blankly at them.

[You have penetrated an impenetrable defense!]

[Stats increased: Strength, Stamina, Agility (+1)]

[You executed the battle without any sacrifices, showcasing brilliant strategy!]

[Stats increased: Intelligence, Judgement (+1)]

[You withstood the overwhelming majesty of your foe!]

[Stat increased: Endurance (+1)]

[You’ve achieved results contrary to great righteousness!]

[Stat increased: Resistance (+5)]

...The messages were literally pouring down.

---

─ Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding…!

The cheerful alerts rang incessantly in my ears, though they weren’t annoying.

When the stream finally subsided, leaving me oddly longing for more, the final reward announcement arrived.

[Congratulations!]

[You’ve slain a dragon for the first time in District 13.]

[You’ve obtained the title 'Dragon Slayer!']

Dragon Slayer, huh.

It feels oddly similar to the Demon Slayer title I earned during the KTX mission after slaying a bunch of demons.

Thanks to that title, I discovered Setani, pursued it, and even brought back a proposal.

This feels promising.

'I'll check it later.'

For now, there’s something more pressing to do.

"Eunho! I’ll lower you down now!"

"Thank you."

Step.

I extended my foot and landed firmly on the ground.

Thanks to Jieun’s careful control, it was safe and smooth.

"Your control is improving, isn’t it?"

"Right? I feel like I’m particularly good when lifting you, Mr. Eunho!"

"Maybe it’s because I was your first target."

"Is… is that it…?"

For some reason, Jieun's face turned red.

Had I said something wrong?

As I pondered briefly, the first thing I did was—

Plop!

—sit down next to the dragon’s corpse.

'Better hurry. It’s becoming more transparent by the second.'

In accordance with the rules of this world, the dragon’s body was gradually fading away.

With my blade ready, I focused.

"Petrification!"

Strengthened by petrification, my hand.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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─ Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape...

Who knows when reinforcements will arrive or when the penalty-imposed double speed will end?

So, I decided to carve quickly.

My hand moved back and forth at a speed too fast to see.

'This is starting to feel natural.'

─ Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape...

"Y-young man?!"

"Hyung! What are you doing right now?"

Who knows how much time had passed?

Jaehyuk, representing the bewildered group, asked.

Ah.

It might’ve looked a little strange.

So, I kindly explained.

"I'm taking some scales."

"Excuse me?"

"With something this sturdy, couldn’t we use it to reinforce armor?"

"Wow… Dude, you’re thinking that far ahead right now?"

Though not particularly fitting for the 21st century, I thought to myself, “DIY for survival.”

And then—

"This thing might vanish soon. Anyone want to join?"

As soon as I finished speaking, everyone dashed over.

"Oh wow, amazing! Eunho, do we just cut like this?"

"Yes. Even just adding it to store-bought armor should make it usable."

"Got any spare blades? The one you gave me is too good for this! Hey, lend me a dagger!"

─ Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape...

Amidst the sounds of what felt like a live-action workshop—

Thunk!

Something fell from the dragon’s corpse, which had been gradually worn down.

A jewel imbued with a vivid red glow.

[Congratulations!]

[You’ve obtained the 'Orb of Flame']

Despite it being a field of survival, becoming the master of the scales wasn’t an easy task.

Even with my petrification skill and agility buff, I could barely manage to pry off one or two.

“Damn it… I can’t do this anymore.”

“They won’t come off…!”

The foul-mouthed one gave up first, followed by Lee Yeji, who stepped back, drenched in sweat.

And then, a moment later.

— Blink!

“Huh? This thing… is blinking?”

“Oh my! Is it disappearing?”

That was the prophetic warning of a cleaning lady who had been idly watching.

— Flash!

The dragon’s corpse vanished entirely.

Just like those who failed the mission and were “deleted.”

Thankfully, though:

— Ding!

[‘Super Millworm Shell Armor’ evolves into ‘Refined Fire Dragon Scale Armor’!]

Because I had started early, my ‘modification’ project was successfully completed.

▣ Refined Fire Dragon Scale Armor

-An armor woven with refined fire dragon scales.

The scales are incredibly durable, but the seams are poorly constructed, failing to fully showcase the material's potential.

-Wearing this increases defense by 30.

Even if it’s somewhat flawed, it’s three times better than the Shell Armor’s 10 defense.

Still, I felt a little guilty for monopolizing such a great item.

“Damn it, whatever. My stats went up, that’s enough.”

“Yeah, yeah! Don’t be greedy, young man.”

“Exactly. We didn’t do anything anyway.”

Huh?

Wait a second.

So…

“Your stats… all went up?”

“Yes! All of them increased by 1, thanks to you, Eunho!”

“I got boosts too, bro!”

Everyone who fought had all their stats increase by 1.

“I… I only got an endurance boost!”

“Me too! It said I endured the overwhelming presence of an enemy.”

So those who didn’t fight only got their endurance stat boosted.

“Well, that’s good news.”

“Good news? More like free-loading! Feels weird just getting rewards for nothing… don’t you think, young man?”

“What? I fought! Ma’am, didn’t you see me?!”

“Fight? You call flailing a couple of times and running for your life fighting?”

Thankfully, no one got hurt, and everyone’s stats improved.

It felt like a weight off my chest.

“Hey, stop fighting, okay? Please?”

“Miss, step aside. This one’s lying through his teeth! Just thank the young man and move on!”

“Of course, I’m thankful! Crazy thankful! How many times has he saved us already?”

After separating the two, who were arguing for reasons I couldn’t understand, I spoke up.

“…Let’s calm down. The important thing is that we’re all safe.”

“Oh, what a kind soul you are.”

With that, our business here seemed finished.

But for some reason…

‘The mission end message hasn’t appeared.’

Even though the dragon’s corpse was completely gone, we remained as we were.

No exit, no message.

“Wait, isn’t the mission over?”

“It’s over… right?”

While everyone was searching the arena nervously, I heard a shout.

“It’s a door!”

“There’s a door to the outside here!”

At the same time, a notification popped up.

— Ping!

[Recipient: ‘Lee Eunho.’ A gift from the Administrator has arrived.]

[Would you like to check it?]

A gift box appeared before my eyes.

A gift from none other than the “Administrator.”

— Slide!

What could it be?

Overcome with more unease than excitement, I touched it.

The ribbon binding the box loosened smoothly, revealing the gift inside.

‘…A ticket?’

A yellow train ticket, old-fashioned in design.

Anyone else might have thought it was a pass to enter somewhere or attend something, but…

▣ Arena Exit Ticket

-Activating it will create a “door” to leave the arena.

However, only the ticket holder can use it.

-Usable once.

It was none other than an exit ticket.

A rare one, allowing only me to leave, and usable just once.

‘What ruthless people.’

Meanwhile, beyond the door the two students had struggled to open…

Creak—!

A forest stretched out before us.

Trees towering high enough to touch the blue sky.

Mountains in the distance, painted into the horizon like a backdrop.

It was a lush forest straight out of a nature documentary.

“Wow! The outside is a forest! It’s so vast!”

“Whoa, it’s like a jungle, right?”

“Holy crap, is this a fantasy novel or what?”

In the end, I was left with two doors.

“What should we do, Eunho?”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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