Chapter 71. The Choice (3)

“He made a choice!”

The loud shout came from Seung, who had been nervously watching the screen. Harona immediately screamed back with disbelief, “

Aaaah!

What the hell?!”

They watched as the massive and chained dragon thundered toward Arena II.

“

Ugh!

He should’ve saved Kim Ji-Eun! That idiot better not mess this up!”

However, it was far too early to smile.

“Well... It looks like I won the bet—

huh?

”

“W-wait! Why did the other door open too?!”

The door to Arena I, the one with Yul, had opened as well.

“Why is he opening both?! Is he trying to kill everyone or what?!”

“

U-uh...

Maybe they didn’t actually get along? Like secretly?”

“Don’t be stupid! This bastard's pulling something again!”

Harona was practically screeching now. She should probably save some energy because she'd be shouting a lot more soon.

“W-what the hell is it doing?!”

“Is the dragon digging? It’s digging a hole!”

“What the?! What’s wrong with that dragon?!”

***

[Due to the effect of the title Order Opposer, the system penalties have now been reversed.]

Eun-Ho knew that the trait Rebel and the title Order Opposer would come in handy someday, but never expected them to be this great.

[The movement restrictions in forbidden zones have been lifted.]

[Agility stat has been increased by +99%.]

[The damage vulnerability has been reduced.]

[Defense has been increased by +99%.]

[Your Agility stat has been increased drastically.]

[15 → 30]

[Your Defense stat has been increased drastically.]

[10 → 20]

To put those numbers into perspective, Eun-Ho landed three stories down without twisting his ankle.

Thud!

“Eun-Ho! Watch out!”

“Mister! Are you insane?! You can’t just jump down like—”

“Oh gosh.”

Thanks for the buff,

Eun-Ho thought, lips twitching as he struggled to suppress a smile.

Then, the security guard and cleaning lady sprinted toward him like he’d just dug up a mountain of gold.

“Young man! Yooouuuung man!”

“You actually came here for us?!”

“What is up with this place?! And that dragon thing! What even is it?!”

“It looks like we’re in a battleground,” Eun-Ho replied.

It was a place where monsters and humans are pitted against each other for someone’s sick entertainment. The older two blanched, realization dawning in their eyes.

However, Ji-Eun tilted her head slightly, frowning. “But... That dragon’s acting a little weird.”

Others began to regain their composure and noticed it too.

“Yeah! She’s right! Something’s off!”

“Why isn’t it attacking us? Why’s it digging up the ground?”

“Hyungnim!” Jae-Hyuk burst through the door to Arena II, wide-eyed. “

Gah!

I-is that a dragon?!”

He flinched once from the sheer size of it, and again when he saw what it was doing.

Jae-Hyuk frowned. “

Huh?

But why’s it digging? D-does it normally shovel?”

“I don’t think so.”

“But then why is it—”

“It thinks the enemy’s underground.”

“

Huh?

What, is it blind or something?”

“No. It sees too well.”

“What do you mean?”

Since his eyes can see perfectly well, he must be charging straight at the enemy he sees. An enemy that exists only within the illusion I showed him,

Eun-Ho thought.

“Remember that orb we got?”

“Oh! You mean from the Dream Demon boss?”

“Yeah. I used it.”

[The Orb of Phantasms has been activated.]

[Orb of Phantasms]

- It casts a hallucination on a chosen target.

- The content of the hallucination can be anything the user desires, and the duration is approximately 1 minute, affected by the target's mental resilience.

It was an incredible item, and he’d timed its activation precisely when the doors opened. As a result, instead of people, the dragon saw a swarm of underground monsters, like giant burrowing centipedes, gnawing at its legs.

I didn’t think it’d actually work this well.

Perhaps it had to do with realism. Eun-Ho had modeled the illusion after the Mealworms he’d fought at the Training Institute.

[The Exquisite Flame Dragon is under the effects of illusion.]

[Remaining duration: 47 seconds.]

Either way, there were 47 seconds of illusion left. Not too long, but still enough.

That’s enough time for me to escape, get my bearings, and prepare for round two.

“Summon.”

Then, he gripped his new weapon. Logically, swapping weapons before live combat was a terrible idea, but he begged to differ. It just fit his hand as if he’d always known it. He barely had to handle it before his fingers understood how to hold and swing it.

[The title, Human Whetstone, has been activated.]

[Sharpening weapons by hand will significantly increase your grinding speed.]

[Your understanding of the weapon has improved.]

I guess, it’s all thanks to the effect of the title, Human Whetstone, I acquired previously. With that, prep is nearly complete. Just one last thing...

“Shop.”

[You have sent a gift, the Ember of Endurance, to Subject Lee Eun-Ho.]

[Due to the effect of the title First Sponsor, the 10% discount has been activated.]

[The duration of the effect has been increased by 10%]

If he could get the items to himself before the dragon snapped out of it, the real fight could begin on his terms.

“I’ve sent the item. On my count—one, two, three—swallow it.”

“Item...?”

[A gift has arrived from Subject Lee Eun-Ho!]

[Would you like to check it?]

With that, the first of many gift boxes began to appear, floating into view like soap bubbles.

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop...

They materialized one by one, and inside each was a small, flickering ember.

“This is...”

It seemed familiar, like the ember that had once shielded Eun-Ho from the Saetani’s ice attacks. The glowing, bright red, oval-shaped seed softly pulsed with heat. Too small to be considered blazing, it still burned steadily within his palm.

“When I count to three, swallow it. All of us, together.”

“Okay!”

“Man! It’s hot!”

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

“Careful, Jae-Hyuk!”

Startled, Jae-Hyuk nearly dropped his ember, but managed to juggle it like a clumsy circus act.

“One, two, three.”

Gulp!

It felt like the roofs of their mouths had been scorched. However, the burn dulled as it slid down their throat, melting and diffusing through their cores like liquid fire.

[You have consumed the Ember of Endurance.]

[A temporary skill Flame Resistance(Lv. 1) has been unlocked.]

[Duration: 3 minutes 18 seconds.]

“We have to attack together. All at once,” Eun-Ho shouted.

They were ready.

“Target the left wing,” Eun-Ho said.

“Got it!”

“Yes, Hyungnim!”

“Okay!”

“Got it, Young Man!”

From Ji-Eun to the old security guard, the responses came in a quick, steady rhythm. Han-Wool had just arrived, face pale and trembling.

“If you’re scared, it’s okay to hang back. Hide with Yul.”

“N-no! You gave me your sword! I’ll fight. I’ll be fine!”

“I mean, you don’t have t—” Eun-Ho quickly stopped himself. He could feel the determination in the man’s clenched jaw. “Okay. Let’s go.”

Then, he ran, his words trailing like a battle cry on the wind.

Ssshf!

He felt a breeze behind him. Maybe it was the others rushing forward, or maybe it was the leftover tailwind from the system penalty lifting.

“Yes, Hyungnim!”

“I’m right behind you!”

“Alright! Let’s do this!”

Tap! Tap!

One by one, they took position in front of the dragon’s massive, reddish-brown scales like toy soldiers before a skyscraper. Even though it was still headfirst in the dirt, it loomed over them. They braced themselves, ignoring the sheer pressure of its size and the weight of the moment.

“Attack!”

“

Yaaaaah!

”

Jae-Hyuk’s war cry broke through the tension. Steel crashed into scale. Ji-Eun’s dagger struck high, slicing where no one else could reach. The cleaning lady jabbed her spear upward like scrubbing a window. The security guard thrust between the layered wing bones like he was sweeping with a steel broom.

“Acceleration!”

“Is thiiis hoooow weeeee—”

As for Eun-Ho, he leapt using the dragon’s tail as a ramp. He then sprinted up its back.

His stats surged and speed carried him higher. He was up its spine, across muscle and scale, until he reached the nape of its neck. There, where the border between neck and back blurred, he spotted a soft, vulnerable patch between scales and drove the blade in.

Crunch!

It was tougher than anything he had ever faced, like stabbing concrete. Yet he didn’t stop.

Crunch! Crack! Crunch! Crack!

It was definitely faster than even the doubled speed could explain. His shoulders were burning and sweat stung his eyes.

[00:15]

With ten strikes, the first crack appeared.

[00:10]

With twenty strikes, the crack split wider.

[00:05]

Then, with thirty strikes, a raw sliver of flesh peeked through. He kept going, widening the wound, deeper and deeper until he was ready to pour it in.

Tick—!

“... doooo it?”

As the old security guard finished his words, the dragon screamed as its senses returned.

[The Exquisite Flame Dragon has broken free from the illusion!]

“

Roooar!

”

We gotta move now! Damn it!

He wasn't fast enough. He didn't make enough progress as the dragon was tougher than he thought.

Eun-Ho stumbled.

“Eun-Ho!”

“

Gah!

”

He lost his balance just slightly, but that was all it took. The dragon whipped around, teeth bared, like a beast swatting a parasite.

Fwooosh—!

Then, white-hot heat washed over him. He felt like being burned alive.

[You are within the effect radius of Dragon Breath.]

[Flame has been detected.]

[Due to the effect of the Ember of Endurance, the Flame Resistance(Lv. 1) has been activated.]

[Thanks to the high Endurance stat, you can suppress pain.]

This isn’t enough to kill me!

Boom! Bababam—!

If anyone needed the Ember of Endurance, it was the dragon. Its own pain was driving it wild. He could tell by the tail that slammed into the dirt like a falling tower, and its breath scorching in every direction.

“

Rooooar!

”

It thrashed, blind with agony, and raised its head high. Then with its flap, a gust of wind kicked up, but only from one side.

“Holy shit! No matter how hard you try, you can’t fly!”

That was because its left wing was ruined, torn apart by their earlier assault.

“

Kraaaagh!

”

The dragon shrieked, its pupils rolled back. Then it charged.

“Eun-Ho!”

Shoot! It’s too fast!

Even with double speed, he could barely react. Without it, he wouldn’t have even had time to think.

Boom!

Eun-Ho dodged the claws, but then came the tail. He managed to twist midair and avoid the full brunt of it, but still got knocked off balance.

Thud!

He landed hard, flat on his ass. A shadow loomed right in front of him. The dragon’s jaw opened wide, and rows of marble-pillar-like teeth filled his vision.

Damn it! It’s too close!

This was bad. Even with Flame Resistance, this wasn’t like the Saetani fight as this was hotter. He barely endured the last breath attack. At this distance, he was unlikely to survive!

When is it coming?

He stared into the spiraling vortex forming in its throat. The next breath was coming and there was nowhere to run.

“

Keugh!

”

Then came nothing. The flame choked out and something else took its place.

The dragon rolled its eyes.

It still has time to roll its eyes?

“Slow,

huh?

” Eun-Ho sighed. “It should be paralyzed by now...”

The Dragon Breath failing confirmed it.

“I guess it just takes longer because it’s huge.”

Thump!

As Eun-Ho was clicking his tongue in disappointment, the dragon collapsed sideways, still wide agape. The ground shook as dust and debris exploded into the air.

“

Kek!

”

Eun-Ho shut his eyes just in time, but the dust still got into his nose and mouth. He coughed, choking down the earthy grit. Still, complaining felt pointless because he was fine. On the other hand, the divine beast wasn’t even twitching.

Its half-lidded eyes, stuck between open and closed, screamed confusion.

Therefore, he decided to explain. “You’re poisoned.”

Eun-Ho had poured the toxin down its throat earlier.

“That’s why I kept stabbing your neck.”

That was done just to make that perfect opening.

“I guess 20 doses was enough.”

Both Venom Sacs from the White Serpents were completely drained.

“

Rooooar!

”

The dragon tried to roar, but its throat was blocked. Therefore, it screamed with its whole

being.