Minho walked the sidewalk with his hands sunken into his pockets. His mind still strongly fixated on finding out who these Monarchs and Rulers were.
He was completely lost in thoughts that the sound of traffic and all other things seemed to go soundless. Then the system screen snapped into focus.
[Dragon core dungeon detected!]
[Find the dungeon and claim what is yours!]
Minho stared at the message. "Huh?" He said under his breath. The system never really specified a dungeon like this before, more especially one that wasn't nearby.
He exhaled and in a blur of speed, he vanished. Patrolling the entire area as fast as he could, coming across a handful of dungeons, he finally stopped by one that made the system screen appear again with a quest.
[Pop-up Quest 2:
- Clear the dungeon alone.
- Do not fight Dungeon Boss.
- Win without Absolute Domain and Dragon's Vitality.
Reward: First Disciple.]
"Ah, I totally forgot about this disciple stuff." Minho muttered. He cracked his neck, a bit confused. "How do I win without fighting? Tch, I guess I'll figure it out inside."
He walked into the dungeon. The air inside was still, it was awkwardly quiet and empty, a stark contrast to the monstrous amount of mana he had felt from the outside. After minutes of walking, it seemed like the dungeon was unending. When he decided to turn back, he saw the dungeon gate about 20 feet away.
"What the hell?" Minho muttered. It was an illusional loop he hadn't realized he fell for. "I've never been trapped in an illusion this perfect. I couldn't even sense it at all."
He tried blasting his way out of it but it was no use. He also tried activating Matter Disintegration with his hand held out, hoping to find the source. Still no use. He sighed and summoned Dragon Fang. This was the last idea he had. He pressed the dagger on the wall, dragging it as walked.
After about six steps it hit an invisible boundary. He raised an eyebrow. Forcing it forward with his strength, an a mirror-like barrier shattered in front of him. He dismissed the dagger and continued.
Humanoid figures with clawed hands made out smoke started to appear in front of him. This was another illusion, he thought. With a blinding speed, one of them lunged after him, claw reaching out for his arm.
His body moved on autopilot as he dodged by an inch. He was about to say something when he noticed the tear in his sleeve, right where the smoky figure had lunged at.
"Illusions? Illusions aren't supposed to hurt me. Unless... they aren't illusions, but manifestations of mana that can interact with the physical world?" He asked, now utterly confused. He spat and summoned Hell's Blade. "I'm not enjoying this." He muttered.
With a single slash, they all disappeared. But his victory was short lived when more and more started appearing. "It's getting annoying even." He stabbed Hell's Blade on the floor, cracking his knuckles. "I wanted to at least hear you scream…" A grin formed on his lips.
He rolled up his sleeves and stretched out his hands that were now enveloped with crimson flames. "While I roast the soul out of you. Using my sword is aimless for me, so I'll use this."
He bent down a little and with an explosive burst of speed, he started blasting fire from every punch he threw. They were all S-rank at most, so the speed was no joke, which made it more fun.
For minutes, he fought with these smoke humanoids. He lured the last wave into a circle, going round them with insane speed, creating a flame tornado. He skidded to halt outside of it and turned his back on it.
Hell's Blade was embedded on the floor at the center of the tornado. "Alright Helly, burn." Minho said, snapping his fingers.
A massive explosion came from within, before the fire cleared. Flicked his wrist behind him and dismissed the sword.
In front of him was what seemed to be the entrance to where the dungeon boss was. "Alright. Don't fight the dungeon boss. Got it." He whispered, walking in. It seemed empty as he didn't see anything but a dead end. But it was hot and smelt like burnt air.
A massive THUD came from behind. He quickly turned to find a giant dragon, though it wasn't as big as Kamish.
It had obsidian scales with a faint crimson glow giving it a fancy design, two black horns that bent back from the side, a brown underbelly and piercing yellow eyes.
"A dragon? Where's the mana? I sense just a fair amount. How good is it at suppressing?" Minho muttered to himself.
The dragon roared. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to win and clear the dungeon without fighting this thing? Maybe he just had to endure? He thought to use a skill that might help.
[Scale Armor Activated!]
He couldn't have gotten a worse reply as the dragon's clawed hand came for him. He barely leapt back with his chest already cut deep. "Tch." He gritted. "How did I not see it?"
A shadow came from the side. He barely read the attack before the dragon's arm slammed into him, sending him crashing into the dungeon wall. He coughed out blood on impact and fell to the ground.
The dust barely cleared when he saw something like fire behind it approaching. With all the strength he had, he jumped out of the way just in time although his left arm got hit.
He rolled over on the floor, quickly getting to his feet, the pain in his chest getting more intense. He raised his left hand, except there was no hand there anymore. It was just a small roasted part left before his elbow.
The dragon growled at him from the distance. Minho gritted his teeth, realization hitting him. Size aside, the difference in strength between this dragon and Kamish was no joke.
One stupid mistake and he'd be dead.