Chapter 51: Chapter 51

[translator - night][proofreader - gun]

chapter 51: forest of the black dragon (2)

an ominous energy spread throughout the forest, giving off a sinister vibe.

the trees, all blood-red, evoked an eerie sensation.

“red trees... huh.”

“do you know anything about them?”

“there are many trees that appear reddish, but i’ve never seen such a foreboding blood-red color before. even tree monsters like trents weren’t this color…”

even the elf, an expert on trees, seemed clueless.

well, we’ll just have to experiment.

“summon flame chariot.”

i summoned the flame chariot and sent it charging forward.

as the chariot charged, the entire forest trembled, and branches flew at it like whips.

the branches were imbued with dark energy, strong enough to momentarily stop the chariot.

it wasn’t just physical force at work.

whoosh!

but the branches quickly caught fire.

after all, wood is weak to fire, and the dark energy imbued in them was no match for divine flames.

there’s no way they could last long.

however, the burning branches snapped off on their own, falling to the ground, and new ones immediately grew back, blocking the chariot again.

the branches continued burning, but the flame chariot wasn’t making much progress forward.

“those guys are using tricks. phoenix, it’s your turn!”

[understood.]

the phoenix made its grand entrance.

now, it finally looked like a real divine beast.

spreading its massive wings, large enough to obscure a person, it flew swiftly toward the forest.

the branches tried to block the phoenix as well, but the flames radiating from its body were so intense that the branches burned up before they could even make contact.

their energy was being drained rapidly.

[let it burn, oh flame.]

the phoenix declared with majesty as it flew deeper into the forest.

its wingbeats spread fire, and the forest began to burn.

even the ominous blood-red trees couldn’t withstand the flames and were consumed effortlessly.

this was way too easy.

as the tension in the unit began to ease…

[uhhhhh…]

[you dare disturb our rest…?]

as the trees burned away, smoke rose in thick clouds, and ghosts emerged from within.

they looked similar to the ghosts ampellion had summoned before.

[destroy the living.]

[turn them into our kin.]

the ghosts had diverse expressions, though their faces resembled monsters like orcs rather than humans.

the ghosts multiplied quickly and began flying toward our unit.

some ghosts got caught in the flames on the trees and vanished, but most of them soared into the sky and rained down upon our unit.

“they’re ghosts. physical attacks won’t work. use magic or skills to take them down.”

“yes, understood!”

it seemed like one swing of the staff could wipe them all out, but the phoenix had already used up a lot of energy, so i decided to trust my unit.

with all 5,000 of them capable of using magic, we should be able to handle this.

“fire!”

the hunters’ arrows were imbued with magic, and various offensive spells were unleashed like a torrential downpour against the ghosts.

if the ghosts had been faster, it might have been a dangerous situation, but fortunately, they were slow.

“thunder god.”

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[aaaagh!]

[we… disappear…]

whenever any ghosts got too close, i shot lightning at them.

still, i refrained from intervening too much in safer areas.

the soldiers needed something to do too.

“enemies in the sky… i wish my horse could fly,”

muttered jinseong lee as he twirled his green dragon crescent blade and slashed through the ghosts.

“spirit horses can fly depending on their attributes… didn’t you know that?”

“huh? really?”

“yes. the spirit horse’s attribute is determined by its owner’s spirit affinity. if your affinity with wind is strong, it can fly. with other attributes, it can’t fly but gains other unique movements. of course, it depends on the owner’s spirit affinity and magic power.”

as the ranger commander, reblo, explained, jinseong’s eyes lit up.

can a warrior even raise their spirit affinity?

sounds like he’s just filling jinseong’s head with pointless ideas…

“i am the wind from now on!”

jinseong declared.

“that won’t actually increase your affinity…”

reblo looked at jinseong with exasperation.

but jinseong didn’t give up and continued shouting, “i am the wind!” while cutting down ghosts.

his comrades, seemingly amused, began mimicking him, each shouting a different element:

“i am fire!”

“i am water!”

“everyone, yelling won’t increase your affinity…”

reblo’s face twisted in disbelief.

i couldn’t bear to watch anymore, so i turned away.

now i truly understood the meaning of “a sight too painful to behold.”

let’s just pretend i don’t know those idiots.

i focused on shooting lightning at the dangerous areas, listening to the groans of the ghosts.

as the white mist that filled the sky began to clear, signaling the end of the battle…

the phoenix’s urgent voice rang out.

[master! it’s a disaster!]

“huh? what is it?”

the phoenix, flapping its large wings, flew hastily toward me and exclaimed:

[it’s a drake!]

"drake? what's a drake?"

[a monster that is a child of a dragon but born without wings. essentially, a wingless dragon.]

"then it must be strong?"

[it is. for one, fire doesn't work on it. while it acts more on instinct than intellect and can't use magic, its body is still that of a dragon. it's extremely powerful.]

"and it's not chasing you right now?"

[it can't catch me either. also, i saw a massive magic circle drawn under its belly, emanating chaotic energy. it seems more focused on protecting that magic circle.]

"hmm. let’s take care of the ghosts first, then check it out. only get involved in dangerous areas when necessary."

[understood.]

after dealing with the ghosts for a couple of hours, the situation was under control.

the ghosts, charging without any strategy, caused hardly any damage.

"a drake, huh..."

"it's a legendary creature. dragons are rare enough, but drakes are even harder to find because dragons see them as a disgrace and hide them away."

"if it can't use magic and doesn't have wings, it must rely solely on physical strength. wouldn't weakening spells work to restrain it?"

"using wind spirits to bind its movements and earth spirits to trap its legs could be effective."

everyone agreed that while it was strong, it was manageable since it couldn't use magic.

right.

if we can’t even handle a drake, there’s no way we can take on a dragon.

"then i'll go ahead and engage it first. use weakening spells when i confront the drake. once its movements are fully restrained, we’ll send in the warriors."

"understood."

"warriors, protect the mages for now, and when the drake is weakened, join in to subdue it."

"yes."

with my mana fully restored, i advanced first.

before long, i felt an intense energy.

the forest, charred black by the phoenix, had one strangely untouched central area.

as i approached, i saw strange blood-red lines drawn on the blackened soil.

is this the chaos magic circle?

just looking at it sent chills down my spine with its eerie power.

"thunder god."

without getting closer, i fired a bolt of lightning.

the lightning was absorbed into the magic circle, causing the lines to shrink slightly.

oh.

it works?

suddenly, a monstrous roar echoed.

"kaaahhh!"

my vision turned red, and my whole body tingled.

wait, my whole body?

sensing danger, i jumped with all my might.

a massive silhouette rushed past the spot i had just been standing, like a charging bull.

is that the drake?

it was far bigger than the 5-meter dragonkin i’d seen before.

its scales were black and looked impenetrable, with massive horns on either side of its dragon-like head, each larger than my body.

[translator - night]

[proofreader - gun]

though it moved on all fours like a beast, its sheer size was overwhelming.

"rrrrrrr!"

the drake reared up, trying to grab me from the sky.

this feels like something out of a monster movie.

if the drake is this big, just how massive are actual dragons?

"summon flame chariot."

riding a chariot of fire in the sky, i evaded.

the drake’s massive claw swiped at where i had been.

hmm... fire doesn't work on it, right?

then how about ice magic?

"ice storm."

from the sky, i cast a 4th-circle ice storm as a probing attack.

as cold energy spread above the drake’s head, ice spears rained down.

honestly, given its massive size, i didn’t expect it to work, but i wanted to see how it would react.

the drake briefly looked at the incoming ice spears before opening its mouth toward me, unfazed.

my body began to tingle again.

is this its breath attack?

"kaaaak!"

i moved the flame chariot just in time to avoid the red-hot stream of fire that scorched where i had been.

"can you absorb that?"

[i can, but not all at once. good thing you dodged.]

"do dragons normally breathe fire like that without any openings?"

[hmm? dragon breath is on a whole different level. that was just spitting.]

what the hell.

spitting?

anyway, looks like we have no choice but to fight.

"ice storm didn’t work..."

the ice spears failed to pierce the drake’s scales, bouncing off harmlessly.

some even melted before making contact, as flames burst out from between its scales whenever it exhaled.

this won’t be easy.

"hmm. fire attacks are useless, right? then, phoenix, just focus on absorbing the flames it breathes out."

[that’s fine, but why not destroy the magic circle while you fight? it’ll divide its attention.]

"oh! good idea. let’s do that. for now... thunder god."

from above, i shot lightning.

i poured a lot of mana into it, but it couldn’t penetrate the scales.

it’s resistant to magic too?

great defense, fire-breathing, massive size...

this is the kind of boss monster you hear about in legends.

while the phoenix circled around to the rear, i drew my sword.

"grow, yeoui."

i adjusted its size just enough to slice effectively—about 10 meters.

more important than size, though, were strength and sharpness.

"imbue ice weapon."

the fire attribute is useless, so let’s go with ice.

i considered imbuing it with lightning, but lightning has a feeling too similar to fire.

the massive, enlarged blade was quickly covered in ice.

i was worried that the sharpness of the blade might dull, but fortunately, it became even sharper.

drake lifted its body, swung its arm, and spewed flames, but i dodged and struck with my sword.

boom!

the blade clashed against the scales.

even though i infused it with the magic of ice, it couldn’t pierce the scales in one strike.

however, it wasn’t without effect—dark blood spurted out from the area where the sword struck.

“kaaargh!”

“it hurts me too, you bastard.”

the clash with those solid scales made my hands feel like they were about to split apart.

if i hadn’t reinforced my physical abilities, the shock from my own attack might have sent my arms flying.

good thing i invested in my stats.

whoosh!

i dodged drake’s massive arm again.

as i moved, flames shot toward where i had been, as if anticipating my movements.

since it wasn’t quite at the level of a dragon’s breath, i decided to test blocking it with my sword.

transforming the sword into a shield-like form, i expanded it and imbued it with ice weapon magic.

the blade withstood the flames fiercely.

ah, as expected of an a-grade weapon.

“enlarge.”

as soon as the flames ceased, i expanded the sword toward drake’s open mouth.

drake quickly lowered its head to dodge.

i swung the blade sideways.

crash!

ugh, what weight!

the blade struck drake’s head and neck with a powerful collision.

the sword was stained with its black blood, and drake’s massive body staggered.

but while it staggered, i was sent flying backward.

if i tried to endure the recoil, it would strain my body, so i let myself be flung and summoned my chariot again.

‘what kind of resilience is that?’

drake’s body, slashed from its face to its neck, was already regenerating rapidly.

i might have to use focus enhancement.

at that moment, i heard my allies' voices.

“slow!”

“weakness!”

“spirit of the wind, bind the dragon!”

“spirit of the earth, restrain the ground... no, the spirit of the earth refuses. it says it can’t break through the magic circle!”

“drake’s defense is stronger than expected. archers, focus on the magic circle instead of drake!”

a massive number of mages cast weakening spells, and elves used wind spirits to restrain its movements. it seemed effective.

drake’s movements became sluggish.

its gaze darted around as if trying to decide where to focus.

torn between the destruction caused by phoenixes and archers, and my strikes, it was clear it didn’t know where to defend.

its instincts, rather than reason, seemed to make it highly susceptible to diversion tactics.

after a few more slashes, the weakening spells were definitely working.

the sword sank in deeply.

hmm, good.

it’s time to go all out!

“focus enhancement. amplify the sword. flame chariot. let’s go!”

i concentrated all my strength and power on the sharpness and durability of the sword, reapplying ice weapon magic.

sensing my powerful energy, drake stared directly at me, but it was already too late to evade.

i charged downward from the sky with the flame chariot, letting its speed carry me.

then, with the amplified sword, i drove it straight down.

slash!

black blood gushed out like a fountain.

the loudest scream i’d ever heard echoed through the forest.

“kaaargh!”

before crashing into the ground, i shifted into a spirit form.

my body hit the ground without taking any fall damage.

the sword slipped from my hand, rapidly shrinking until it returned to its dagger form, falling to the ground with a thud.

i quickly picked it up and looked ahead.

drake, split straight down the middle from head to torso, lay in two halves.

even with a dragon’s regenerative powers, there was no way it could survive this.

[you have leveled up.]

it takes a drake-level enemy to gain a level.

i must have earned a lot of sp, and my stats must have increased.

although my entire body ached, i opened my status window, feeling pleased.

just then, i heard a voice from drake’s bisected body.

[what is this? sterios has fallen... something that has never happened before.]

[translator - night]

[proofreader - gun]