TOP 69

Chapter 69

Dwarf-Made Draupnir

“Wow! All of this actually fits?”

“I told you. I got a big extra-dimensional space.”

Over a thousand magic stones.

I put them all into the Dragon Rare.

Yu Seol-ah marveled at the performance of a regular extra-dimensional space, something normally invisible.

“The applications must be incredible! Even for transport businesses…”

“I’ve thought about it, but I don’t plan to do that.”

“Why not, Master?”

He squinted his eyes at Yu Seol-ah. That nickname again…

“Yu-jin s… this is way too hard.”

“Sigh.”

I had practiced with her, but it seemed really tough.

Well, that aside.

“Running a business draws too much attention.”

“Is it bad to be noticed?”

“Yes. I plan to grow my strength as inconspicuously as possible.”

I gave Yu Seol-ah a brief rundown of the situation. Everything I had gone through so far.

How my parents died, and how that led me to seek revenge against the Gaia Order.

I summarized it as much as I could, but it was still a long story.

“…My goodness.”

She looked up at me with a pitying gaze.

“…Why?”

“I’ll definitely help you with your revenge!”

Then she clenched her fists. Not exactly reassuring…

More like…

‘It feels comfortable.’

Have I ever shown my entire inner self like this after vowing revenge?

[I already knew this story.]

‘That’s true.’

The only other person I had confided in was Frill, my contracted spirit.

In a world dominated by the Gaia Order, it was a goal I couldn’t share with anyone.

‘But Frill didn’t really sympathize with me.’

[Uh…]

Yet confiding in a fellow human, someone who knew my revenge target well, felt different.

“To think the Gaia Order has that side… the whole world’s being deceived!”

“Exactly.”

“It’s awful, really!”

Frill never reacted like this.

[I didn’t know! That they were that powerful.]

Frill protested. Reasonable, but not empathetic.

Anyway…

‘The Guardian Contract… not bad.’

It was an advantage I hadn’t considered when I first gained the power.

Being able to share my story with someone. Someone who would walk the path of revenge with me, even if technically my guardian.

It was very…

‘…comfortable.’

A feeling of solace.

‘Well, I guess I can only feel this way in front of them.’

There were a few others who shared knowledge of the Gaia Order’s hidden side—like Yoon Ji-ho or Shin Chae-ri, who were ambushed with me in the Snow Mountain Cave dungeon.

But I couldn’t open up entirely to them. The risk of betrayal wasn’t zero.

Frill and Yu Seol-ah. They were the only ones I could show my weaknesses to.

So…

In front of these two, confirmed by the system as zero chance of betrayal,

‘I can afford a little leeway.’

Even a little, it gave me mental ease.

‘…Not bad.’

As I smiled at the thought, Yu Seol-ah asked me a question.

“But, Master…”

“Yes?”

“What’s this magic? The recovery is insane.”

“That’s due to my trait.”

“My trait?”

I explained Excessive Mana to Yu Seol-ah.

“Yes. My mana recovery rate increases a hundredfold. Applied to you, Seol-ah, it’s about thirtyfold.”

“…!”

She was shocked.

“W-What’s with that insane recovery rate?!”

“Yes, basically. You won’t have to worry about mana anymore.”

Typically, a mage can output far more power than a physical-class hunter.

But the downside is, if mana runs out, they’re useless.

But what if a mage’s mana is practically infinite?

A mage who can cast unlimited spells—a mad, unstoppable force—is born!

“I feel like I got a legendary-level skill.”

Yu Seol-ah expressed her delight. Thankfully.

The Guardian Contract was a true win-win.

“Hm. No path here.”

“Indeed.”

We had been walking through the underground of the Burning Land dungeon.

Having overcome the monster waves successfully, we retraced our steps to escape.

I murmured quietly.

“Hm… did the exit move?”

“Move?”

“Originally, this spot is where we fell.”

I remembered the path perfectly.

If retracing it precisely yields no exit, there must be a variable.

“You remember all of that?!”

“Yes.”

“Wow… genius!”

Yu Seol-ah was impressed, then added,

“Why don’t you learn magic, Master? With a brain like that, you should be able to.”

“….”

I didn’t answer. Frill did.

[He can’t learn magic.]

“Why?”

[Because he’s stupid?]

“…What?”

“Frill, that’s harsh.”

The harsh reality.

After realizing Frill’s ice skills weren’t much different from real-world magic, I tried learning ice magic from her.

Unfortunately, I failed.

[Yu-jin has no talent for magic.]

“Ah…”

[And really, none at all!]

“Ah…”

[But his physical skills are genius-level!]

“Ah!”

Giving the poison, then the cure.

“Let’s find a path.”

I changed the subject. This wasn’t the time to talk about my magical talent.

We had to find a way out of this maze.

‘The fissure where we came down… it’s gone.’

The exit was blocked. Usually, this means one of two things:

Either a new exit appeared somewhere else, or…

‘Some condition must be met.’

Suddenly, I remembered something.

The info panel for the Burning Land dungeon mentioned:

• A hidden boss monster, Hellfire Maw, may appear.

‘Maybe it’s related to that─’

At that moment.

Kekke-ke-ke-ke—

A chilling laugh.

Instinctively, I knew.

‘Hellfire Maw!’

The hidden boss had finally appeared.

“W-What the—”

“Dodge!”

I grabbed Yu Seol-ah, who hadn’t fully assessed the situation, and leapt.

Babababam!

Faint attacks flew toward us. The floor melted wherever they hit.

“Damn… I expected this…”

Hellfire Maw. The monster was powerful.

‘At least 7-star level!’

Even now, able to use the Aura Blade at 6-star, I wasn’t sure I could stop its attacks.

I quickly scanned the incoming attacks.

Kkke-akka—

“…There it is.”

Faintly, I could see Hellfire Maw, a conglomerate of burning monsters, staring with a chilling grin.

“Ice Spear!”

Yu Seol-ah launched a spell at it.

The ice spear flew fast.

Crack!

“W-What!”

The spear shattered before reaching the target.

A single gesture from Hellfire Maw caused it.

“Never fought an ethereal-type monster before…”

I steadied my breath and gripped the Eternal Frost Sword.

This would be a tough opponent. Before the trial, it might have caused despair.

But now, as a 6-star hunter with a mage’s support…

‘It’s doable.’

Not enough to break my resolve.

“Seol-ah.”

“…Yes.”

“Keep using magic. Don’t let your guard down.”

“Understood, Master.”

“Frill, you too.”

[Got it. Frozen Strike!]

A powerful icy strike shot toward Hellfire Maw.

Kkkee—

Its faint gesture neutralized the spell, but the real attack was next.

“Hup!”

Behind Frill’s attack, I charged and swung the Eternal Frost Sword.

Clad in Aura Blade, I sliced through its form.

Bang!

‘…Damn.’

It didn’t cut through. Ethereal monsters had absurd defense.

‘A hidden boss, and no wonder.’

Why it awakened… what its strategy was… unknown.

All that mattered:

‘I have to take it down.’

A filthy strong opponent. Victory was the only goal.

Swooosh—!

Suddenly, something struck me.

[Yu-jin! 4 o’clock!]

Bang!

Too late to dodge; I blocked hastily.

Even with a 6-star hunter strike using Aura Blade, I couldn’t fully repel it.

“Ugh…”

The attack grazed my left shoulder.

“…!”

Pain radiated instantly. Without hesitation, I sliced at the wound with my sword.

Shing—!

‘…Evil Spirit Bullet!’

The agonizing attack struck me briefly, letting me understand its nature.

A terrifying attack that mentally and physically destroys everything it touches, wielded by 7-star or higher ethereal monsters.

“Ice Storm! Master! Are you okay?!”

Thanks to Yu Seol-ah’s spell, I dodged subsequent attacks more comfortably. But I had no time to answer.

‘This has to end in one hit.’

My left shoulder was wrecked. I’d cut it myself to prevent further damage. Moving properly was tough.

Hardly any chance to use a potion.

Clang—

I dropped the Eternal Frost Sword.

And…

‘Mana infusion.’

[Absorbing 100,000 mana from Dwarf-Made Draupnir.]

I drew mana from the unique bracelet obtained in the trial.

‘Even the Aura Blade can handle it.’

With current mana alone, I couldn’t defeat this.

And immediately…

[Using skill: One Punch.]

[112,181 mana consumed.]

I used One Punch.

Thwackkkkk—!

My fist smashed into Hellfire Maw.

‘That hit properly.’

I expected a significant strike. Quickly, I chugged a potion into my shoulder.

“Phew.”

Then I assessed the skill’s effect.

Kkke-kki-ka—

It didn’t die. But it took damage.

Although it was a conglomerate of dozens of spirits, about a third were gone.

“Right. This alone won’t do.”

I muttered, watching it. Still, I confirmed the damage from a One Punch using 100,000 mana.

If I invested more mana and landed the strike, the odds were good.

Just then…

S-S-Pwahh—

It split.

The conglomerate divided into individual entities.

Kki—

Ka—

Kkhi-kke—

The chilling sound now came from all directions.

And from all directions, Evil Spirit Bullets poured down.

Even brushing one was fatal. Harder to dodge now.

However…

“Feeling confident?”

Splitting wasn’t entirely an advantage. If each now had full strength, that’d be strange.

[Entering mana depletion state.]

[Absorbing 10,000 mana from Dwarf-Made Draupnir.]

[Mana infusion ends depletion state early.]

I immediately canceled the depletion caused by One Punch with mana infusion.

Simultaneously…

Tat-tat—!

I caught a slight gap in its slower attacks and charged forward.

I approached one spirit.

One Punch.

[Using skill: One Punch.]

[10,001 mana consumed.]

Kwaaaaaang—!

One entity was obliterated.

“Seems much weaker. Will this do?”

One 7-star monster, or ten 6-star monsters… which’s easier?

Kka, kka?

Huh…!

Normally, the first option. One Punch was usable only once.

‘Ah, with Mana Loan, twice.’

But now I have…

[Entering mana depletion state.]

[Absorbing 10,000 mana from Dwarf-Made Draupnir.]

[Mana infusion ends depletion early.]

I had the item to split and utilize mana: Dwarf-Made Draupnir.

So…

“Looks like I’ve got the estimate.”

Kka! Kki!

Kkhi-kki-kka!

Hellfire Maw? No matter what it does, I win.