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The Blue Dragon of Bravery (3)
If I had to choose the best combat-focused rune among the ones I currently possess, I would unhesitatingly choose [Forgotten Dragon’s Knight Pride].
The legendary rune [Forgotten Dragon’s Knight Pride] possesses tremendous effects befitting its name and reputation. From special effects that increase the power of magic runes and resistance against magic attacks, to the ‘Dragon’s Blessing’ effect that greatly enhances health recovery, magic recovery rate, and internal magic storage capacity, to the ‘Dragon’s Fear’ effect that can demoralize targets when manifesting magic.
Perhaps if other Holders saw the effects of this rune, anyone would crave to possess it regardless of their class.
‘And there are the skills too.’
But the true value of this rune comes from its skills. My currently strongest attack skill [Distortion’s Shadow] goes without saying, and the two derived skills [Dragon Transformation] and [Dragon Breath] also exhibit top-notch performance.
[Dragon Transformation] is a risk-free supplementary skill, while [Dragon Breath] is a destructive magic attack skill. Until now, I wasn’t able to fully utilize [Dragon Breath] due to the lack of a proper spellcasting rune, as this skill places much more emphasis on the magic application process through spellcasting compared to other skills. That’s why I couldn’t properly use it in real combat after acquiring the skill.
‘But now it’s different.’
However, now I’m able to use skills with certainty. After the <Villain> eradication operation, I obtained 15 common runes, one of which was [Florian Spell] at level 11. Now I too can wield magic through quite proficient spells.The first spell I cast by pouring all my magic into it was [Dragon Breath].
Kook, kwaaah–!!
Jjeojjeojjeok–!!
The breath imbued with tremendous magic spreads out from my mouth. And simultaneously, everything touched by the breath starts to freeze.
[Dragon Breath] has the characteristic that the caster can decide the ‘attribute’. The attribute I imbued into this breath was ice, which recently became available to me through the [Ice Antlers] rune. Although it’s not one of the four major elements so it can’t benefit from the [Elemental Master] rune’s effects, it was the optimal attribute to block the Blue Dragon’s attacks that turned the surroundings into an ocean.
The chilly breath froze the entire sea of water and left traces on the Blue Dragon Fluvius as it rose into the sky.
“…?!”
“Ah…!!”
But perhaps I still lack proficiency. I tried to aim the breath away from where the Master was, but I couldn’t control it precisely enough to that degree. The chilly breath grazed past the Master, freezing her leg area.
Stunned by the sudden magic attack, the Master quickly grasped the situation and infused her sword with magic to shatter the ice.
“Wow…”
I was amazed once again at that sight. As I’ve felt several times today, the Master’s instantaneous judgment is incredibly fast. At the moment when others would still be processing the situation in their heads, the Master has already acted.
Even if her expression seems flustered, her body moves naturally as if anticipating what would happen. I was amazed not just by her bold use of the ultimate skill earlier, but by these movements too.
Perhaps it’s these unseen ability stats that make up the qualities of an S-grade Holder.
Jjeojjeok–! Jjwaa–!!
Finally, the chilly breath bound the Blue Dragon’s wings. The seemingly invincible Blue Dragon could still be restrained by pouring all my magic into this powerful skill. It felt like the distance to it had greatly closed compared to before.
The Master, who had approached it with [Skywalking], did not miss this chance.
“Haah…!!”
Her twin short swords danced.
[Snow Blossom].
A martial art I had seen dozens, hundreds of times while sparring with her. Regarded as simply the best among the sword styles used by the assassin class.
True to its name, with graceful movements like a plum blossom in the snow, she slashed at the Blue Dragon’s weak points – the frozen wings, the tail that seemed to have lost some strength, the wide open center of its body that revealed its innards.
Faster, stronger.
Master attacked Fluvius with movements of martial transcendence.
—–!!
——
But the name ‘Dragon’ was no trivial matter after all. Despite being outmatched by my [Dragon Breath] and Master’s combined assault, it did not lose its will to resist. The ice clinging to its wings shattered instantly, freeing Fluvius’ movements.
—–!!
And once again, an eerie, unvoiced roar echoed. Perhaps this was the sound a dragon would make if it strained its voice to the limit.
Moreover, this roar was no ordinary one.
[The Absolute One’s heavy dread flows through your body! Your ‘Keen Mind’ is shaken.]
The oppressive aura I first felt when facing Fluvius washed over me. I knew this effect well – the special ‘Dragon’s Fear’ effect present in my [Forgotten Dragon’s Knight Pride] rune.
However, its might and performance were incomparable to mine, making the entire dungeon tremble with just one roar.
Fortunately, I had the [Keen Mind] rune to remain unaffected by the dread. Though shaken momentarily, I quickly regained my composure.
‘But Master…’
The problem was, Master was directly confronting Fluvius. While she likely had some rune or skill to resist status ailments, the Blue Dragon’s ‘Dragon’s Fear’ overcame all such countermeasures.
If it could momentarily penetrate even [Keen Mind], no amount of high mental stats could easily resist its effect.
Thus, Master froze for a moment, afflicted by the ‘fear’ status.
And in this situation, being unable to move for even a second meant grave peril.
—–!!
Fluvius’ tail lashed out at Master. Simultaneously, five water jets struck her from another direction – a combined physical and magic attack.
An intricate technique only possible for a ‘Dragon’ whose stats approached the extreme.
If left unchecked, Master could have suffered considerably dangerous damage.
“Rush.”
So I did not leave it be. I used the ultimate skill I had been preparing since casting [Dragon Breath].
[Distortion’s Shadow].
After reaching the target via the ancient ‘Blink’ magic, it negates the target’s entire endurance stat for the next physical attack, inflicting 100% unmitigated damage.
However, instead of designating Fluvius as the target, I set it as Master’s.
If used on Fluvius, I could get closer but miss the chance to counterattack. But if used on Master, I could block its attack while creating an opening to strike back.
‘The water jets were blocked.’
In an instant, I reached the Master’s side. And at that moment, the water jets flying towards her suddenly lost their force and fell to the ground.
Another effect of [Distortion’s Shadow] – by warping space to arrive, it momentarily disrupts the magic array at that point, acting like a ‘magic disruption barrier’ of sorts in special situations like this, despite being meaningless for simple assassinations.
‘Art of Weapon Exchange.’
In my hands was the [Wyvern Spear]. To deflect its tail attack, I needed a longer reach than swords.
And with that, I turned my body. Since I had used the skill on Master, I wasn’t currently facing Fluvius, so I had to turn to attack it.
Utilizing all available supportive runes, I spun in mid-air and, using that rotational force, powerfully thrust the spear into Fluvius.
—–!!
For the next physical attack only, [Distortion’s Shadow] completely negates the target’s endurance stat. No matter how high that stat, if nullified, even 50 strength can inflict damage.
Moreover, my current strength was around 120 after buff skills. More than enough to tear through Fluvius’ defenseless tail.
—–!!
As its tail was nearly shredded, Fluvius thrashed about in agony. And…
“Carve a thousand petals.”
Master, now free of the dread status, landed another strike – an entirely new ultimate skill I had never seen before.
If [Snowfield Descending Blossoms] was her dagger style’s ultimate skill, this seemed to be the pinnacle skill for swordsmanship.
To put it in comparison… Perhaps similar to my [Art of Hidden Throwing Knives] ultimate skill, [Knife Rain]?
Though of course, incomparable in terms of destructive power.
—–!!
Suk- suk- sseuk-
Pabbabaht–!!
Dozens of daggers erupted from Fluvius’ body. Not ‘stabbed’ – they ‘erupted’ from its body, emerging all over as if in reverse.
A grisly sight that belied the image of a blooming flower, yet that was the spectacle that unfolded.
Shwuuuu–
Kwaaang!!
And with that, the battle was over. Having already sustained considerable damage from my [Dragon Breath] and the Master’s [Snow Blossom], Fluvius failed its counterattack and fell.
A thunderous boom echoed as its massive body plummeted from the high sky.
“Ah! Jae-hyun!”
…And my body fell with it. Completely ‘magic drained’, I lacked even the power for [Levitation].
Master swiftly used [Skywalking] to catch my falling body.
And so, after battling from the dungeon entrance all the way to the boss in an unbelievable fight, we slowly descended to the ground.
***
Ippotranslation
***
“Jae-hyun always surprises me.”
After the battle was over, my Master looked at me with amazed eyes and said, “Haha…”
I scratched my head with an awkward smile. …Even I think it doesn’t make sense.
Breathing fire from my mouth, shrugging off status effects, teleporting with Blink, and then striking the dragon with a spear as a B-grade Holder… If you just hear the story without seeing the situation, It sounds like a ridiculous tale that would get you slapped for spouting nonsense.
But in any case, a Holder’s Rune is their personal privacy.
My Master is stricter about this than anyone, so she didn’t ask further about my abilities.
“So then… It’s over now?”
Looking at the massive corpse of Fluvius, and the devastated surroundings, I asked.
Master also nodded at my words.
“Yes. A monster of this level is probably the boss-level at most. Probably…”
But then, I couldn’t hear the rest of my master’s words because a status window had suddenly appeared before my eyes, obscuring my vision.
[You have won the duel! However, since you won against a ‘Clone,’ your victory is only half-recognized. With the mysterious power of the Rune Hunter, you can replicate one of the opponent’s Runes. Due to the half-victory, the Rune to be replicated will be chosen randomly.]
[‘Trace of the Dragon Tribe’ Rune has been selected. As a Max level Legendary Rune that cannot be leveled up further, its rank will not decrease when replicated.]
[You have gained a new Rune.]
[Due to the Rune’s attribute, you gain 6 Magic and 6 Willpower.]
The reward message of the [Rune Hunter] appeared as usual but its contents seemed a bit strange.
‘Clone…?’
A duel against a clone.
And a half-victory.
Phrases I didn’t understand at first hit my head.
And then,
“Greetings, worthy humans.”
A pleasing feminine voice rang out.
I immediately turned my head to see a woman walking towards us.
The brilliant blue light
I had seen from Fluvius’ scales earlier… She had that light in her hair – a mysterious and mature woman.
“Ah.”
And I was able to recognize her identity in an instant.
The mention of ‘Clone’ in the status window.
And her hair color, so similar to Fluvius’ scales.
It would be harder not to make the connection at this point.
‘So that’s how it is.’
…Somehow, for a dragon, it was captured more easily than I expected.
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