Chapter 134

“……”

I thought I’d blacked out, but I hadn’t.

Essence of Fire had invaded my body.

Even for a moment, the crystal of Blazing Fire—something that melts even dragons—had entered me.

How could I possibly pass out?

They say people faint when they experience unbearable pain.

The brain does it to protect itself.

But Essence of Fire was different.

‘Shit.’

If I woke up and fainted, it would wake me up again with pain.

And if I fainted again, I’d have to get up again.

There was no other way.

This was pain that transcended unconsciousness.

[The power of the Essence of Fire is enormous. Far from receiving help, your body can be strained just by hearing its voice.]

Now I finally understood why the system had warned me like that.

Bang!

Even while I was beating Aranvalon down—

‘It hurts!’

Bang! Bang!

Even while my body moved as if it could ignore physical laws—

‘It hurts, you bastard!’

I was screaming inside.

Enduring.

Wailing.

Honestly, I should’ve felt refreshed—finally beating down a dragon I couldn’t handle.

But there was nothing like that.

On top of the pain of my muscles burning all over—

It felt like my organs were being ripped out raw.

Explosions of pain surged from the tips of my toes to the crown of my head, one after another.

Kroaaaa!

Aranvalon was screaming in agony.

Why did it look cute to me?

‘You’re going to die soon. When you die, all that pain will be over.’

‘But I have to keep receiving this pain.’

Whoosh!

The dragon finally burst into flames.

I should have recovered the bones with Bone Dragon Skeleton (S-class).

But I couldn’t.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The heat was too intense.

It melted the hard dragon bones into liquid—

Then evaporated them into gas.

And at last—

[Ding!]

[The dragon ‘Aranvalon’ has been defeated.]

The dragon died.

No—

The dragon evaporated.

‘Is it done?’

Yes. I killed it.

Now get out of my body.

Get out. It hurts.

Please.

I’m grateful, but please—

And then.

The last gleam of the setting sun.

Like the sun flaring brightest right before it sinks.

Hot!

The fire raging inside me swelled for a brief moment—

Then went out in an instant.

Essence of Fire, which had been filling my body, vanished.

“Cough, cough!”

At the same time—

Puhwak!

I spat blood that had surged back up into my mouth.

Thud!

My muscles stopped listening.

I lost my balance and collapsed.

Honestly, it was inevitable.

That power was absurd.

I’d moved at invisible speed.

I’d handled something that wasn’t mine.

There had to be consequences.

Cause and effect.

A simple truth: if there’s a cause, there’s a result.

“Keuheuh……”

But it didn’t matter.

I’d been prepared from the start.

Didn’t they say certain death leads to life, and certain life leads to death?

If I’d cherished my body and fought only to live—

Then it wouldn’t have been Aranvalon who melted away.

It would’ve been my comrades and me.

I didn’t regret it.

“Hoon!”

“Are you okay?”

My comrades rushed over.

Something sweet touched the corner of my mouth.

‘Elixir.’

Myoi Hana was treating me.

One Elixir for me.

One for Vladimir.

“Keuh……”

I wanted to speak, but my voice wouldn’t come out.

‘I did it.’

I wanted to say.

See?

No matter the method—if I do what my heart tells me, I’m right.

It’s not reckless, is it?

[Hmph, are you calling luck a skill?] The Elder’s voice echoed in my ear, mocking me.

Hehe, Elder.

In our world, luck is also a skill.

You know it too.

Even if you put other hunters in the same place, they wouldn’t get the same result.

Catching the dragon was luck.

But choosing to challenge it wasn’t.

“Hoon! What the hell happened? What was that power all of a sudden!”

“Are you okay? Huh? I don’t think he’s breathing… Is this Elixir really working?”

Meeting comrades like this was luck.

But deciding to save them wasn’t.

“Friend! Don’t tell me you’re dead? Wake up!”

“Hoon? Hoon is dead?!”

“Everyone calm down! Both of them are alive! And keep your distance! Contact with patients is prohibited!”

They made a scene.

And then Myoi Hana’s trustworthy voice cut through it.

[Ding!]

[As the Greed Dragon ‘Aranvalon’ that existed in the ‘Giant Castle’ is annihilated, the hidden quest is achieved!]

[The hidden reward is covered by the Probability of the trial ‘Theme 2’!]

[After 30 minutes, you will be moved to the location of ‘Theme 3’.]

[Number of survivors: 7]

[Calculating rewards.]

A clear message appeared in my vision.

Theme 2—

And the hidden quest Delilah had created—

Cleared.

“……”

I lost consciousness.

—

“Hmm……”

Myoi Hana shut her eyes tight.

After a while, she opened them slowly.

“It’s really… a miracle that they’re alive. Really. Really.”

Joo Donghoon and Vladimir lay on the floor side by side.

They looked terrible.

Their skin was cracked like drought-stricken earth, and their bodies were covered in wounds.

“First of all, I was able to put out the urgent fire thanks to the Elixir… sigh. How did they endure in this state?”

“They are respectable people.”

Judgment Spear nodded.

“And beautiful people. It’s easy to say, but hard to do—that self-sacrifice. I learned a lot in this stage.”

“……In Vladimir’s case, his heart was completely pierced. Normally, he would have died instantly… I think using the Elixir while the magic circle was still alive for a moment helped. It’s really Heavenly Luck.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. And in Donghoon’s case…”

Myoi Hana’s brow furrowed slightly.

“It’s just… legendary. Vladimir is the most miserable-looking person I’ve ever seen, but Donghoon is just…”

She swallowed.

“A corpse. He looks like a corpse.”

“……A corpse. Yeah, I agree with that.”

Judgment Spear nodded with a miserable expression.

“Right? He’s only clinging to life. What else would you call that if not a corpse?”

All the muscles had melted.

All the organs had melted.

If the energy from the weapon he held hadn’t preserved his body—

He would’ve turned to ash before the Elixir could even be used.

“Then both of them… can they be saved? That’s what matters.”

“I don’t know yet. First, when time passes and my skill seal is released… I’ll have to start treating them in earnest.”

Resurrection.

If they’d created the miracle of killing the dragon—

Now it was her turn.

A miracle to save them.

“Definitely.”

That was the mission of Myoi Hana, the healer among the seven comrades.

“I’m going to save them.”

She muttered.

“Certainly.”

It was a determined voice.

—

“…….”

A mysterious hologram room.

A strange silence filled it.

Delilah and the ten judges were at a loss for words.

Then—

“What… am I watching right now?”

Someone let out an exclamation, half a groan.

That became the fuse.

One by one, the judges began voicing their emotions.

“How can someone like that be a participant…? Have the requirements for participating in trials gone up these days?”

“They caught a dragon? Crazy! No—before that, I didn’t even know Theme 2 was run by a dragon.”

“Oh, is that so? I didn’t even know dragons existed in this world.”

“Shouldn’t they be ranked players already?”

This was a first.

The Theme 2 they knew was, literally—

A place to test loyalty.

But this time, the participants moved differently.

“I was moved watching it. To the point tears welled up. Ha… it’s like they were filming an action movie. It’s a shame I did this alone back when it was my time.”

“……Me too. When I did it, it was a mess—everyone clawing just to live. These participants feel different. Something is warming my heart.”

It was touching.

Beyond simple loyalty, they were risking their lives for each other and challenging the impossible.

Not because the Theme told them to.

Those who chose sacrifice because their hearts demanded it.

Vladimir, risking his life to protect the team leader.

And the team leader and teammates, risking their lives to protect Vladimir.

“Damn, isn’t that cool?”

Pazzzik!

Electricity sparked off Thunderstrike Floa’s body as she watched.

It happened whenever her emotions swung sharply, whether she wanted it or not.

Floa clenched her fists.

‘Did you see that? I’m a slave to someone like that!’

The words felt wrong.

So she couldn’t bring herself to say them out loud.

Electricity had been running through her since she started watching Joo Donghoon.

Yes, I told you.

He was different from the beginning.

He’s definitely a talent who can reach the single digits.

She’d taken a lot of penalties because of him.

But now something swelled in her chest.

‘Besides.’

I’m not ashamed.

I used to be ashamed, but now I’m not.

“Did everyone see it?”

Floa was practically vibrating.

“Did you see them catch the dragon? Is that speed and power even reasonable? Even Jack Smith—the world’s No. 2 ranked player, the Demon King—wouldn’t be able to do that…!”

“That’s true. It does seem like there are severe side effects afterward, though.”

“Still, it’s amazing. They aren’t even ranked players yet. Of course, there’ll be a board update after the trial ends.”

“Damn, what rank will they be?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know all of them, but I think Joo Donghoon will be in the top 200.”

“Top 200? Top 200 as soon as he gets out? Does that make sense?”

“After seeing that? I’m being conservative. There are four Themes left.”

“Oh… that’s… true…?”

The judges buzzed for a long time.

Everyone was riled up over the appearance of a legendary rookie.

“…….”

The Magic Swordsman, Luka, approached the now-silent Delilah.

“Delilah-nim?”

Delilah lifted her head slightly at the call.

“Yes?”

“What should we do with the remaining trials? Honestly… it seems like we’ve already overshot the goal even if we end it now.”

The trial’s goal was to produce ranked players.

And from Luka’s perspective, they’d already surpassed that level.

Even if they only received the Probability reward from killing the dragon, there would be more than enough ranked players.

It was unprecedented.

“……Of course, we proceed the same way. The future Themes as well.”

After a moment, Delilah nodded.

“Luka knows, too. The trial limit is only six times per person. At the very least, we have to fill that before we leave.”

The dungeon she created had a limit on attempts.

That was why there were six Themes.

So Joo Donghoon still had four more chances to grow stronger.

“Besides.”

Delilah smiled faintly.

“If the existing Themes were just a selection process for motivation… Theme 3 is a training ground where you can truly be reborn as a ranked player.”

A training ground.

What Luka had said at the beginning—

The reason you could definitely become a ranked player if you entered this trial.

“…….”

The Magic Swordsman swallowed.

And thought—

‘That’s why it’s scary. If they grow more in there… I don’t know what kind of monster will be born.’

(T/N: Peak chapter, peak arc. Sooooo gooooood.)