Chapter 120: Dragon’s Resting Ground (3)
They used a helicopter prepared by Isabella to get to Mt. Baekdu. Traversing through North Korea by helicopter was something unimaginable in the past.
‘Well… it has become an abandoned land where no one lives now.’
North Korea was one of the numerous nations that disappeared from the gate incident nine years prior. There were some lucky survivors who were still living in small towns, but their function as a nation was completely paralyzed.
‘It’s quite miserable.’
Ohjin clicked his tongue while looking down at the city from the helicopter. The city that turned into complete ruins after being abandoned for nine years felt rather dismal.
“We’ll arrive soon. Get prepared, Ohjin.”
“Got it.”
Ttutututututu!—
A tender voice was heard through the noisy sound of the propeller.
“By the way, where are we landing this thing?”
Ha-eun tilted her head while looking around Mt. Baekdu.
The geographical features of the mountain were so rough that there didn’t seem to be anywhere they could land the helicopter.
“We’re landing with this.”
Isabella smiled brightly while holding up a backpack containing a parachute.
Ha-eun’s eyes glittered.
“Ooh, it’s like we’re special forces.”
“Well, with our members, it’s not an exaggeration to call us special forces.”
An 8-Star Awakener of Draco, a 6-Star Awakener of Lyra, and even a 6-Star Awakener of Ares that was a part of the 12 Zodiacs—their mustered strength was enough to sweep away most special forces.
‘Though she’s not actually an Awakener of Ares.’
Isabella’s real identity was a high-rank Awakener of Hirudo. There was no way to find out her exact star rank, but she was a 10-Star Awakener at minimum judging from how she was able to defeat a 9-Star Awakener, Marco Giorno, before he was even able to retaliate.
‘At her level, forget about special forces, the entire nation would have to mobilize to face her.’
Ohjin sighed briefly while looking at Isabella, who was handing over a parachute to him with an innocent expression.
“Ohjin, have you used a parachute before?”
“No, this is my first time.”
“Hehe, then use one with me. I even have a license!”
“Then what about me, you bitch.”
Ha-eun sharply glared at Isabella.
“Ah, a bodyguard from our house will assist you.”
The black man with a large body structure who was silently sitting in the passenger seat smiled and raised his thumb once Isabella indicated in his direction.
His white teeth shone overwhelmingly bright.
“Trust me~!”
It appeared he wasn’t using a translation device due to how he said it in awkward Korean.
“I’ll get down with that gentleman. Isabella, go down with Ha-eun.”
“Ah, w-why?”
“There’s no reason in particular.”
Ohjin felt an ominous feeling after imagining Ha-eun sticking right next to that bodyguard… as if an untitled videotape would be sent to his door at a later date.
“Aw… okay. Then I’ll go down with Ha-eun.”
“I’ll leave it to you.”
Ohjin smiled and jumped down from the helicopter with the bodyguard who had been sitting in the passenger seat.
Powerful gusts of wind grazed past his face as a thrilling sensation ran down his spine.
“Wooooooo!!! Do you feel it?! Lightning Wolf!!”
“Feel what?”
“This is the sensation of ‘flying’ in the skyyyyyyyyyyy!!!”
“Ah, yeah.”
“All that falls has wings! This is the undeniable logic of Newton!!”
‘What the hell is wrong with this guy?’
It was a relief he didn’t leave Ha-eun with him for a different reason.
Flap!—
After the short flight, the parachute opened, causing them to descend slowly.
Different from how he seemed to have a loose screw, the bodyguard’s skill in controlling the parachute was quite good, which allowed them to land precisely on a small plot of land.
“Then I’ll take my leave now! Come back safe and sound after clearing the dungeon with our miss!”
The bodyguard’s pure white teeth shone as he raised his thumb.
“Oh right! My name is Vittorio!”
‘So what…’
“Feel free to call me ‘Rioppong’!”
“Don’t wanna.”
“Ehh~ Don’t be like that! Try calling me that one time!”
“Please get lost.”
“Holy moly…! The way the Korean wolf swears is also beautiful!”
‘I’ll have to ask Isabella later why she has a subordinate like this.’
“Hahaha!! Then I’m really going this time!”
Ddududududu!!—
Vittorio turned around on the spot and climbed down the mountains while leaving a path of dust in his wake. Even if his personality was in that state, judging from his frightening speed, he had skill worthy of the Colagrande House.
‘Though I’m not sure if he’s a bodyguard of the Colagrande House or an Awakener of the Hirudo faction.’
In any case, Ohjin didn’t want to see him again.
[…What a truly strange person.]
Dazzle—
The pendant shone as Vega appeared.
“I know right?”
[By the way, my child. Is it really okay to take on this request? Didn’t you say that the child named Isabella is an Executor of the Black Star Organization?]
“Well, I don’t think she’ll try making a move any time soon.”
[Hmm. Still, I am worried.]
“It also feels fishy to me, but I don’t want to miss out on this opportunity.”
[Is the star relic you talked about hidden inside that dungeon?]
“I’m not sure.”
He had to go and find it out for himself.
“Anyways, Vega. Stay next to me at all times during this clear attempt.”
Ohjin had no choice but to rely on Vega’s powers when worse came to worst.
[Hmpf! Rely on this lady! I’ll grant you a blessing as soon as that child tries to do something to you!]
“Thanks. Ah, you know that you can’t tell Isabella you’re a celestial, right?”
[Of course, I do.]
“I’ll tell Isabella that you’re a guardian spirit, so pretend to be a spirit in a contract with me.”
[Alright.]
‘Let’s group up with Ha-eun and Isabella now.’
“Ohjinnn! Over here!”
He could hear Ha-eun from a place not so far away.
Ha-eun and Isabella came into sight as he headed to where the sound came from.
“Was there anything that caused you discomfort on the way down?”
“I guess you could say that.”
“O-Oh, my. Did Vittorio act in a discourteous way?”
‘He did.’
“I apologize. It’s just that Vittorio likes males so much…”
“…What?”
“I intentionally tried to get someone who rolls that way in case Ha-eun was uncomfortable.”
“…”
‘You should have told me that in the first place… then does that mean the main actor of the untitled videotape could be me?’
—Holy Moly.
“Ah, don’t worry.”
Isabella smiled sweetly.
“Vittorio’s tastes are on the ‘maso’ side.”
“Stop.”
‘Damn it, a picture I don’t want to imagine is drawing itself in my head!!’
“Anyways, where’s the entrance of the dungeon?”
“It’s over here.”
Isabella guided them to a place with dense bushes.
Through the gap in the narrow cliff, they could see the entrance of the dungeon that wasabout three meters big.
‘This is…’
Dense mana could be felt starting from the entrance. Ohjin’s eyes widened from the sensation of an enormous river of mana flowing around him.
[This is… a dragon vein.]
“Dragon vein?”
[It has no influence on the Earth’s ecosystem despite the gate being opened. Locations that have abnormally thick mana flowing through them are called ‘Dragon Veins’.]
‘Is the star relic Lee Shinhyuk talked about really here?’
It felt like an amazing star relic would be hidden inside, as there was a dragon vein flowing through a dungeon that was already known to grant good rewards.
“That is the guardian spirit contracted with you, right? It’s marvelous that it knows about dragon veins.”
[This lady is one who has previously served a celestial. I possess marginal knowledge of stars.]
“Oh, my. I’ve seen guardian spirits several times in the past, but it’s my first time seeing one with such coherent intelligence.”
“My guardian spirit is a bit special.”
Ohjin put Vega on top of his shoulder and went into the dungeon.
* * *
-Ring!
[You have entered the ‘Dragon’s Resting Ground’.]
[The dungeon can be cleared upon satisfying a specific condition.]
A blue message appeared as soon as he entered the dungeon.
‘Dragon’s Resting Ground…’
Ohjin engraved the dungeon’s name into his head while looking around. He could hear the exclamations of Ha-eun and Isabella behind him.
“Wow, where are we? Everything’s so damn shiny.”
“What a beautiful place.”
—A massive cave that seemed to far surpass 200 meters high.
Like the stars shining in the night sky, the blue crystals on the roof emitted soft light that brightened the cave.
“We don’t know what will appear, so stay on guard.”
“Okay!”
“Heh, I just have to burn whatever appears.”
Ha-eun smirked and strode deeper inside. They were steps full of confidence, but she wasn’t neglecting her guard—she made several candle-sized flames and spread them out.
‘She has a lot of experience.’
Even if she was full of confidence, she wasn’t stupid enough for her to let her guard down inside of a dungeon.
Thud, thud—
The sound of soft footsteps echoed inside of the massive cave. Ohjin’s party didn’t say a single word and slowly went deeper into the dungeon.
“…Wait.”
At that moment, Ha-eun, who was walking at the forefront, stopped. She extinguished the flames she spread around and stared in front of her.
“There’s something in front of us.”
“Is it a monster?”
“Probably.”
As she said, a group of monsters could be seen once they went a bit farther.
‘Reptilians…?’
They were the monsters he met before in the sewers of Seoul Station. The bipedal lizards were gathered up inside of the dungeon. There were quite a lot of them, but they were merely 3-star monsters.
Normally, they were monsters that could be swept away with the slight movement of a hand, however…
Munch, munch—
“What… are they eating?”
The noisy sound of eating echoed out.
The group of Reptilians with blue scales were gnawing the blue crystals like ants.
Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape—
They used their awl-like bone to scrape the blue crystals and sucked on the fragments with their long tongues.
“…Ohjin.”
“They don’t look like ordinary Reptilians.”
Ohjin narrowed his eyes.
The energy felt from them was on a different level compared to the ones he encountered in the sewers.
‘6-star… at minimum?’
Ojjin couldn’t be certain.
He wasn’t some kind of master in a Murim nor had he a skill that could reveal the opponent’s skill with just a glance.
“Heh, Reptilians are still Reptilians at the end of the day!”
Fwoooosh!!!—
Ha-eun stepped forward and spread her arms out wide.
Crimson flames spread out like a net.
“It’s Isabella, right? You’re an Awakener of Ares?”
“Yes.”
“Then give me some buffs. I’ll sweep them away in one blow.”
“Hmm… but I wanted to give buffs to Ohjin.”
Isabella put on a dissatisfied expression as she raised the staff grasped in her hand. The golden gem stuck to the end of the staff emitted bright light.
“《Lamb’s Respite》.”
A golden light poured out of the gem and covered the ground. They could feel vitality soaring up inside their bodies once they stepped on the floor made of light.
‘Is she pretending to be an Awakener of Ares by using that staff?’
Ohjin stepped back and examined Isabella.
Golden rays of light flowed out of her left chest, mixing with the staff.
‘She really does look like an Awakener of Ares on the surface.’
Starting from the mana to the stigma’s effect… Nothing made it seem that she was an Awakener with the stigma of Hirudo.
“Kyahaha! The effect is great!”
Ha-eun loudly stomped her feet on the golden floor.
Boom!—
“Krrirk?”
“Krrrrrrrrrrk!”
The group of Reptilians that were frantically gnawing the blue crystals turned their heads to face Ha-eun.
“Take this!!”
Ha-eun shaped her hand into a gun and extended it forward; an enormous flame formed at the end of the index and middle finger.
Fwooooosh!!!—
The flames started to condense, and an intense heat that made it seem their skin was going to burn started to heat up the entire cave.
“Receive the baptism of flames!!!”
Booooooom!!!—
The massive tsunami of flames swept the group of Reptilians.
“Krrrirrieeeik!!!”
“Kiruk! Kirriruik!!”
“Kishaaaaa!”
They were Reptilians that had become abnormally strong by stuffing down blue crystals, but it held no meaning in front of Ha-eun’s flames.
Sizzle!!—
The pungent smell of burning flesh and a savory smell spread out in the cave.
“I heard that lizard meat tastes similar to chicken. Doesn’t it also smell like chicken?”
Ha-eun grinned while looking back to face Ohjin.
“Wow! You said you were an Awakener of Draco, right? It’s my first time seeing one in person. You have amazing firepower!”
“…Woah.”
Exclamations left Isabella’s and Ohjin’s mouths on their own.
‘Do people get this much stronger just by increasing their mana?’
Even though he knew that she always had amazing skill in handling her stigma, he didn’t expect it to be to that extent.
She hadn’t even used her ‘Dragon Eye’ for that attack.
Though Isabella’s buff needed to be accounted for, Ha-eun was able to sweep away dozens of mutant Reptilians in a single blow.
“Hehe, how was it, Ohjin? I’m super amazing, right?”
Ha-eun smiled sheepishly and poked Ohjin with her elbow.
“That was pretty sick.”
“Kyahaha!! Right? Right? I’ll carry you through this dungeon, so sit tight!”
“You’re the only one I can depend on.”
Certainly, Ha-eun was much better than him when it came down to using powerful attacks to sweep away enemies in a wide area.
“Hehe. What should I receive as the boosting fee~?”
“I-I also gave you a buff!”
“Ah, your buff is pretty amazing. To be honest, I also didn’t think they’d all die in one blow.”
Ha-eun’s eyes glittered as if she saw Isabella in a new light.
While the two women were momentarily sharing a conversation, Ohjin headed to the burnt corpses of the Reptilians.
He took out a knife to cut the corpses and harvest the starstones.
‘The starstones are blue…’
It meant that they weren’t mutants.
‘Are they abnormally strong due to the dragon vein?’
Ohjin narrowed his eyes and examined the Reptilians. He wanted to confirm how much stronger he had gotten, but wasn’t able to, as Ha-eun had blown them away all at once.
“…Hm?”
He discovered a spot on the wall where the blue crystals had fallen from Ha-eun’s flame storm.
“…!”
Ohjin’s eyes widened while looking at the spot that had no crystals.
“What’s this?”
His stiffened voice echoed out slowly.
