Chapter 221

Ding.

System

You have achieved the Achievement Manifestation of Qi!

This is truly an outstanding achievement! An Achievement reward will be granted!

Spear Energy is now available!

The effect of Unaffected by a Hundred Poisons has taken root in your body!

You have acquired a large amount of EXP!

Level Up!

Level Up!

You have acquired 100 additional Bonus Points!

The System notifications echoed in my ears like a ringing bell. But my gaze remained fixed solely on the spear.

Ssssss.

Blue flames flickered over the spearhead. A thrilling shiver raced up my spine.

I did it.

Today, I had taken one step toward a higher realm and conquered one of the peaks of the perilous mountain known as martial arts.

At the same time, I knew one thing for certain.

I can kill it.

No more thoughts or words were needed. All that remained was to act and make those long years of waiting a reality.

But I wasn’t the only one who had been waiting for this touching reunion.

Its lone eye bulging wide, the creature let out a furious roar.

—Kraaaaaaaah!

No, it was closer to a thunderclap than a roar.

Gooooooom—

Tremendous wind pressure poured from a maw large enough to swallow a car whole and bore down on the ground. The compressed air burst around me, and it felt as though a thousand-geun boulder were crushing my shoulders.¹

Air Breath.

One branch of a unique ability granted only to dragonkin.

Since a Named Monster was using it, even a capable Hunter would have had their eardrums burst and been forced to their knees.

But not me.

Crack. Grrrk.

I silently pressed forward against the crushing pressure.

With every step, my ankles sank into the ground and the pressure grew stronger, but it couldn’t stop me.

The creature might have surpassed the limits of an ordinary monster, but I wasn’t afraid.

Because so have I.

At least in terms of physical ability, I could already be called superhuman.

Strength, speed, stamina—when it came to everything that determined the outcome of a battle, I stood one step ahead of a Peak master at my level, or an A-Rank Hunter.

“Ahh, that’s refreshing.”

I raised my head with a grin.

Atop its skyscraper-sized torso, the red eye of the creature blasting out Air Breath wavered when it saw my smile.

“What was that? A fan set to high?”

—Kraaaaaaaah!

“Turn it off! You’re blowing yellow dust everywhere, you bastard!”²

As I shouted, I swung the spear toward the sky with all my strength.

Whoooooosh!

The blue flame of qi carved a semicircle through the air, burning through it. In that instant, the pressure crushing my body vanished, and I became as light as a feather.

Now!

Boom!

With a single stomp, I shot forward like an arrow.

The confused creature twisted its head and unleashed another Air Breath, but it couldn’t keep up with my speed.

Whoosh! Rat-a-tat-tat!

Clad in nothing but light leather armor and carrying a single spear, I streaked across the battlefield like lightning. In the blink of an eye, I was right in front of it.

—Grrrrrk?

The startled creature spread its folded wings wide. But by then, I had already leaped with all my strength.

Boom!

With a powerful tremor, I soared into the air. Through my hair streaming in the wind, I saw the creature’s knee beneath its flashing black scales.

The exact spot known as the cruciate ligament.

“You’re exempt from military service, you bastard!”³

With that shout, I drove my spear in with all my strength.

Thrust! Shrrrk!

The Wyvern’s hide and scales, said to withstand ordinary magic and weapons alike, split open in an instant.

A sharp, satisfying jolt traveled through my fingertips, like harpooning a fish.

It went in!

The blue-burning Spear Energy cut through and shattered everything in its path.

Once the spearhead opened a gap, the rest was easy. Like hammering in a nail, I slammed my fist against the butt of the two-meter spear and drove it deep into the creature’s knee.⁴

Boom! Fwoooosh!

Dark blood erupted like a fountain. Just as the creature spread its wings to take flight, it dropped to one knee with a scream.

—Graaaaaaaah!

But I didn’t stop there. I stepped onto the end of the spear lodged in its knee and used its spring to launch myself upward.

As I shot several more meters into the air, a dagger appeared in my hand.⁵

If I don’t have one, I can just take one out.

I had countless weapons stored in my Inventory, both in Murim and in the real world.

They had cost me a fortune, but if it meant killing this creature, I wouldn’t mind spending ten times as much.

Thrust!

I suddenly remembered training in the Wall Lizard Technique back in Murim. The cliff I had scaled then was even higher, and there had hardly been anything to use as a foothold.

And whenever I thought I’d made some progress, a certain lunatic would start dropping rocks on me.

Compared to that, this was nothing.

I drove my dagger into the creature’s enormous body again and again, climbing higher and higher.

Thrust, thrust! Thrust-thrust-thrust!

Against Spear Energy, neither hide harder than plate armor nor scales capable of deflecting low-level magic were of any use.

Imagine something the size of your palm crawling up your body and hammering nails into you over and over.

That was exactly what the creature was going through.

—Kraaaaaaah!

Unable to endure the relentless pain, it writhed and roared. It was trying to shake me off, but it was one step too late.

By then, I was already savoring the sensation of floating through the air.

Open Inventory. Equip spear.

The next instant, a solid spear shaft filled my empty hand.

The Scorching Yang Qi that had surpassed one jiazi when I opened my Conception and Governor Vessels surged toward the spearhead like an ebbing tide.⁶

Whoooooosh. Ssssss!

Blue flames enveloped the spearhead without leaving the slightest gap.

Flickering in the darkness, they were the tail of a meteor.

And I was the meteor itself.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

With that quiet murmur, I became one with the spear and plunged downward. My target was its wing, which served as both foreleg and arm.

Blinded by pain for a moment, the creature had no way to stop the meteor.

Fwoosh! Shraaaaaak!

Scorching Yang Qi blazed like a miniature sun, slicing through hide and scales and burning the flesh beneath. The wing, more than ten meters from top to bottom, split in two along the path of the spearhead.⁷

—Krrrk…!

It was probably the worst pain the creature had ever experienced. The red eye of a beast that had spent its entire life as a predator flew wide.

—Kraaaaaaaaaah!

I landed lightly on the ground and regarded it with a cold, steady gaze.

Its fifty-meter bulk writhed within the billowing cloud of dust.⁸

“Does it hurt?”

—Kwak! Kraaaaaah!

“That little?”

Compared to what it had done three years ago, this was nothing.

A single flap of its wings had shattered entire bodies. Heads clutched in its claws had vanished without a trace. Those swallowed by its enormous maw hadn’t even left corpses behind.

That was when I first learned how much blood and how many organs the human body contained.

How brutally a person could die.

“You bastard. I wouldn’t be satisfied even if I chewed you to death.”

An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.

It would die here today, by my hand. And it would die horribly—exactly as I had imagined countless times before.

“This is just the beginning. Quit whining and get up.”

Whoooosh.

The wind stirred by my swinging spear swept away the dust.

Covered in blood and dirt, the creature glared at me as it panted heavily.

—Krrrk.

Dozens of blades were embedded throughout its body, and blood poured from its open wounds like waterfalls.

Of the wings that symbolized the Wyvern, only one remained.

It was still enormous and imposing, but there was no longer any trace of the dignity befitting a dragonkin offshoot and a Named Monster.

—Grrrrr…

Its eye, brimming with resentment and killing intent, glared at me.

The emotions conveyed by that gaze were unlike anything I had ever known from a monster.

“Watch how you look at me, or I’ll pluck that eye out first.”

I tossed out the words and began walking toward it.

That was when it happened.

—Hu. man.

“……!”

A single word made me doubt my own ears.

My feet froze. The corner of my eye twitched involuntarily.

What did I just hear?

But I hadn’t misheard it. The creature’s maw shifted, and a clearer pronunciation emerged.

—Do. you. want. to. kill. me?

A monster was speaking.

That very monster.

A groan slipped through my parted lips.

“This is impossible…”

—It’s. dif.fer.ent. from. be.fore.

The instant it finished speaking, its red eye turned completely bloodred.

And then…

—Heal.

Sssssss.

Magical power began gathering around the creature.

Carus the One-Eyed.

That was the Black Wyvern’s name.

Before earning that name, he had survived countless crises. He had fought not only monsters, but humans as well.

He had fought hundreds of battles where victory meant claiming prey and defeat meant becoming prey.

That day in the past had been no different.

Not until one human took his eye.

How dare he? How dare a human lower than a bug do this to me!

Carus was furious. At the same time, he made a vow.

He would kill the human who had taken his eye. Even if he never found him, he would kill other humans again and again.

Then one day, after endless battle and slaughter, he realized that he had grown to an enormous size and gained tremendous strength.

Why? Did fighting humans make me stronger?

Before long, Carus understood. It wasn’t his battles with humans that had made him stronger, but devouring other monsters.

Each time he did, something inside his body grew more powerful.

What did the humans call it again? Ah, right.

Magic Gems.

Once he understood the source of his strength, Carus began hunting Magic Gems.

He devoured other monsters, and instead of feasting on human flesh, he studied the magic equipment they carried.

So this is how those human bastards use Magic Gems.

The more Magic Gems he absorbed, the higher his Intelligence rose and the stronger he became.

As a Wyvern, a lesser branch of the dragonkin, Carus had possessed remarkable Intelligence to begin with. At last, he set foot in an entirely new realm.

Magic, huh? Should I learn it?

Carus built a new nest in a nameless wasteland. He killed everything that might get in his way and immersed himself in the study of magic.

Then he noticed the humans invading his territory.

I haven’t even finished digesting the Magic Gems I ate earlier…

Knowing that he was still incomplete, Carus decided to be patient.

Even when several humans recklessly approached his nest, he tried to ignore them.

Until he caught that bastard’s scent.

My eye! It’s the human who took my eye!

Carus saw red and immediately raced across the wasteland.

Using one of the humans he had deliberately allowed to escape as a guide, he finally came face-to-face with that bastard.

I’ll kill him! I’ll chew him up, bones and all!

But that bastard was strong. Even Carus, who had absorbed hundreds of Magic Gems, was pushed back helplessly.

Yet he still had one card left to play.

—Heal.

Sssssss.

His wounds closed, and the bleeding stopped. He couldn’t completely restore his torn wing, but this was enough.

—I’ll. kill. you. hu.man.

Jin Taekyung, his face filled with shock, clenched his teeth.

Having already experienced Jin Taekyung’s speed firsthand, Carus cast another spell without hesitation.

—Sloooow!

A faint trace of dragon blood flowed through Carus’s veins.

Five Slow spells stacked atop one another and enveloped Jin Taekyung’s body.

—Kehahahaha!

Carus burst into laughter as he watched Jin Taekyung move as slowly as possible.

That was when Jin Taekyung spoke.

“One hundred points to Agility.”

—……?

Whoosh.

Carus blinked.

A spearhead wreathed in blue flames filled his enormous eye.

“What are you looking at, you fucking bastard?”

Crunch!