Chapter 172:
Thanks to Seo Jae-yi and Airok’s efforts, the raid team was able to take down five dragons relatively easily.
They had sustained some minor injuries, but those could be easily healed with Guiding.
Compared to the previous raid team, which had barely managed to kill one dragon before fleeing in terror, this was practically a flawless victory.
The raid team’s gazes, as they looked at Seo Jae-yi, were filled with a mixture of awe and apprehension.
They had underestimated her, dismissing her as an Esper from a small Eastern country, but she was far more powerful than they had imagined.
Gratitude, respect, and even a touch of hero worship filled their eyes.
But not everyone was impressed.
Some were suspicious of Seo Jae-yi, who commanded a white dragon.
A monster was still a monster, no matter how helpful. They could turn against them at any moment.
“…Are you sure about this?”
Grayson, sensing the shift in the atmosphere, whispered to Seo Jae-yi,
“It won’t be good if it becomes known that you’re controlling a dragon.”
“Well, that’s true.”
But Seo Jae-yi seemed unconcerned by his worry.
“But they won’t order me to kill him, not yet. We were able to take down the dragons so easily thanks to Logi; they’re not going to demand his immediate execution. They’ll keep quiet until the subjugation is over.”
“And what about after that?”
Seo Jae-yi didn’t know how they would react either, but she wasn’t particularly concerned.
“Airok said he has a solution.”
Baek Joo-won and Airok had said there was a way to appease both sides, whether they were grateful for Airok’s help or insisted on eliminating him as a monster.
But Seo Jae-yi didn’t know what that solution was. Baek Joo-won had kept it a secret, only saying he would tell her when the time came.
She wondered what it could be.
“Right now, our priority is killing the remaining dragons.”
Grayson nodded in agreement.
“Can you locate the others?”
Seo Jae-yi activated her heat detection ability at his question.
The dungeon was filled with heat, but she could now sense the dragons more clearly, having fought them.
There was just one problem.
“They’re not moving.”
“Their positions haven’t changed.”
Airok confirmed her observation.
“They must have sensed our presence, and the deaths of the five dragons.”
“They’re trying to lure us deeper into the dungeon.”
The area near the gate, where they could easily escape, was the safest.
That meant the monsters had a better chance of winning if they could draw the Awakened away from the gate.
That was their strategy.
“But we can’t just wait here. Time is on their side.”
Their objective was clear.
To eliminate all the dragons in this dungeon before a breakout occurred.
They had only one option.
“Okay, let’s move.”
Everyone nodded at Grayson’s decision. They had already accepted the risks; no one objected.
And they could always retreat to the rear with Elizer’s help.
“We received Guiding, but is Seo Jae-yi okay?”
One of the Espers asked, his voice laced with concern.
Seo Jae-yi had used the most power, and her Guide hadn’t entered the dungeon for some reason, so she hadn’t received any Guiding.
They were worried, as she had even taken a dragon’s breath head-on.
“Jae-yi, are you alright?”
Grayson, also concerned, asked her.
Seo Jae-yi, after a moment of thought, nodded.
“I’m fine. I’m not being reckless. My overload level has been at 0% for days. I can hold out until Baek Joo-won arrives.”
“Ah, is that so?”
That was reassuring, so Grayson explained it to the others.
They all readily accepted her explanation, knowing how difficult it was to maintain a 0% overload level and how good her condition would be in that state.
“Then let’s move.”
They started advancing.
Seo Jae-yi, walking at the front with Grayson, discreetly checked her receiver, avoiding his gaze.
【Overload Progress — 0%】
She hadn’t told anyone, as it seemed like something she shouldn’t reveal, but her overload level was still at 0%, even after the battle.
She didn’t know if it was because of the amount of Baek Joo-won’s power she possessed or some other change within her body.
Seo Jae-yi clenched her fist and forced herself to look away from her receiver.
The temperature rose steadily as they approached the center of the dungeon. Seo Jae-yi had to lower the temperature several times as the heat became oppressive.
“I’m starting to sense them.”
After some time, Airok spoke.
“They’re concealing their energy skillfully, so I can’t tell which one is the boss monster. He would have known immediately.”
There was only one person Airok referred to as “He.”
Baek Joo-won, who would be dealing with Park Jung-soo outside.
He must have a knack for sensing boss monsters, perhaps because he was also a dungeon master.
‘He must be doing well.’
She thought of Baek Joo-won, perhaps because his name had been mentioned.
She should be used to fighting without him by her side, as they had rarely done so before, but she felt strangely… empty.
Perhaps it was because they had been practically inseparable recently.
She knew he was capturing Park Jung-soo for her, but she still missed him terribly. She wanted to hold him, feel his warmth against her skin.
‘But it’ll take some time for Baek Joo-won to return.’
That damn Park Jung-soo. This wouldn’t have happened if he had just surrendered quietly. It was all his fault.
Just wait until she got out of here. She wouldn’t let him off easily.
“Master, I sense movement!”
Seo Jae-yi, who had been fuming about Park Jung-soo, snapped back to attention at Airok’s words.
She activated her heat detection ability and saw several dragons stirring, stretching their wings as if waking up from a long slumber.
“…Only seven are moving?”
“Yes. The remaining three are still hiding their presence. I think the boss monster is among those three.”
Airok provided more detailed information, and Grayson immediately relayed it to the others with hand signals. They quickly formed a defensive formation.
Seo Jae-yi, Grayson, and Airok, at the forefront, stared ahead, tense.
“But if the remaining ten, including the boss monster, attacked us simultaneously, they could easily kill us. Why are only seven coming?”
Grayson asked, puzzled.
“Are they underestimating us? Or do they think seven is enough?”
Seo Jae-yi was also curious, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it.
The ground shook violently, a tremor so powerful that even the S-rank Espers stumbled, let alone the Guides.
Everyone’s faces hardened, sensing the danger. They were all seasoned veterans; they knew instantly…
This battle would be far more difficult than the previous one.
Seo Jae-yi, who had been maintaining her heat detection ability, flinched.
One of the dragons beneath the shaking ground was unfurling its wings and rising, its massive body stirring. The ground shook even more violently in response.
“The ground is splitting! Scatter!”
Elizer, the first to react, immediately teleported himself and the Guides to the rear. The Espers quickly followed.
And then, as if waiting for them to clear the area, the ground began to crack.
Crack, crackle, crunch! Boom!
The ground heaved as massive rocks cracked and crumbled. Flames erupted from the fissures, and the air was instantly filled with scorching heat.
The sudden surge in temperature dried the air, their eyes stinging.
A dragon emerged from the chasm.
Its thick, dark brown hide, almost as if it was made of earth itself, was the first thing they noticed. Its powerful legs, capable of crushing buildings with a single stomp, its thick, heavy tail slamming against the ground.
The moment its black, slitted pupils focused on the Espers, an oppressive wave of power washed over them.
It was a dragon far more powerful than the five they had just defeated.
Someone muttered, overwhelmed by its power,
“It’s this strong, and it’s not the boss monster…?”
It meant there were others, even stronger than this one, still lurking within the dungeon.
“…Hah, now this is a fight worth having.”
But no one despaired, no one gave up, no one cried out in fear.
On the contrary, they tightened their grips on their weapons and raised their own power, refusing to be intimidated.
They were elite S-rank Espers, veterans of countless battles; they wouldn’t be so easily defeated.
“Now this is… interesting.”
Seo Jae-yi grinned, exhilarated by the atmosphere.
A battle lust, a desire to fight, to kill, to claim victory, surged through her.
Ah, this was the perfect battlefield.
<A human… and a dragon… I sensed it from afar, but it’s truly a… peculiar combination.>
The dark brown dragon spoke. Only Airok understood its words, spoken in the monster tongue.
<Fellow dragon, why do you side with humans?>
<I’ve never met you before; why would I side with you just because we’re the same species?>
The dark brown dragon nodded at Airok’s answer, as if conceding his point.
<You’re right. Then I won’t show you any mercy. Don’t blame me if you die along with those humans.>
<We’ll see who dies. You’ll all learn why I sided with humans.>
Airok replied coldly.
To be precise, he wasn’t siding with humans, but with Seo Jae-yi.
He would kill anyone who opposed his Master, even if they were his own kind.
And no one could defeat Seo Jae-yi now.
‘She’s infused with His power.’
Seo Jae-yi hadn’t fully realized it yet, but Baek Joo-won’s power was now completely integrated into her being.
That power would bring her victory.
And he would contribute to that victory.
“Master, he said he’ll tear you apart!”
Airok immediately tattled, and Seo Jae-yi’s eyes gleamed.
“Oh, really? Does it also want its wings ripped off?”
Boom!
She unleashed her power.
Even Grayson, standing next to her, flinched and stepped back, feeling the intense heat radiating from her.