TL: Tsubak
ED: Julsmul
[Saga: Warrior's Equipment]
[Gas-Masker Made with the Leather of a Venomous Dragon]
[Purifier Necklace]
Tae Ho utilized his 'Warrior's Equipment' as soon as he entered the poisonous region and made a gas mask and a necklace that purified the poison around him.
'That's a weird-looking mask.'
Dark Age was adopted as a fantasy, but it was still a game in the end. Rather than a perfectly historical design, they chose to insert several modern items that would appear in FPS titles for the fun of the game.
Tae Ho took some breaths after donning the gas mask. Normal gas masks just prevented the poisonous gas from entering, but the one from Dark Age had a purifying effect just like the necklace.
The poisonous gas of Nidhogg was so lethal that it could even kill the Gods of Asgard when inhaled, but after equipping two purifying items and bearing the runes Odin had engraved upon him, Tae Ho wasn't threatened at all.
"Let's go."
Tae Ho hit the gas mask and then pointed at the butterfly that was flying in place with his chin.
As Tae Ho got closer to it, the butterfly started to lead the path once again.
The path to approach Nidhogg was solitary. There was no sound aside of the breath of Nidhogg that was heard in the distance, and the field of vision was narrow because of the poisonous fog.
'Your footsteps are too loud. No, the surroundings are too quiet. I think that it would be better to walk in the air.'
Cuchulainn advised with a low voice.
The thing Tae Ho was stepping on was like a vague swamp. It was like a muddy ground that grew porous after the rain.
No matter how careful one was, their footsteps still made noise, and it was heard more loudly because the surroundings were too quiet.
Tae Ho agreed to Cuchulainn's advice and activated his saga to walk on the air. He then increased his speed and closed the distance with Nidhogg.
[Saga: The Charge of the Warrior is like a Storm]
The only difference than usual was that there was no gale nor thunder. The moment Tae Ho stepped onto the air, he tottered like an astronaut that'd arrived in space and took a deep breath unconsciously.
It was because a huge wall had appeared before his eyes suddenly.
'It's Nidhogg.'
It wasn't a wall. It was the skin of the dragon; however, with it's irregular scales covered in dirt and rocks rather than living tissue, it looked like a natural terrain.
Tae Ho kicked in the air once again and propelled himself towards the wall –the body of Nidhogg– and hung onto the scale. It seemed like the dragon wouldn't even notice as the difference in size was more than a thousand times.
'It won't even feel that a bug sat on it.'
Tae Ho listened to Cuchulainn's words and started to climb Nidhogg slowly. There was no way to know where he was hanging on right now.
'If you came straight from the direction you decided, there's a high probability this is its left leg or its side.'
'I think so too.'
Tae Ho answered inwardly and looked at a more distant place. He saw a part of the wall that was split, and it seemed to be its armpit.
'It's troublesome to be attacked while hanging here, so let's hurry. It seems like Nidhogg still hasn't noticed that you have approached it.'
Tae Ho agreed to his words and moved more determinedly and increased his speed. He climbed the wall almost as if he was jumping, but fortunately enough, it seemed that Nidhogg hadn't noticed him.
When Tae Ho successfully climbed the wall, he could know where he was precisely. It was because the poisonous fog only reached Nidhogg's shoulders.
When he checked the surroundings, he guessed that he was at the left shoulder of the dragon.
'It's crazy big. You remember the path to the heart room, right?'
'Yes, I hope it works properly.'
Actually, the shining butterfly was already leading the path, so there was no need to memorize it.
But the reason Cuchulainn still asked was because the path to the heart room wasn't normal.
When Tae Ho first heard of the heart room, he wondered whether he'd have to enter through its mouth or another hole.
But fortunately, there was another path.
'The rocks that protrude from its back are connected to its insides. You can just think of it as a gill of a fish or breathing holes that are in the skin of humans.'
Tae Ho remembered Odin's words and took out the Axe of the Mad Warrior instead of Dragon Vein. The blade of the axe was the size of a person and was a weapon one could only use if they had superhuman strength, but it was also good for facing big monsters because of its size.
"Mountainous monster, Lukuku..."
'Lukuku? What's that?'
'It's the name of a monsterous turtle that is so big it looks like an island.'
It was the name of a raid boss he had caught in Dark Age. The reason Tae Ho thought of the name of the monster was because he thought that the fight on top of Nidhogg would be similar to that.
The monster, Lukuku, that stretched over one kilometer in length had another field in its back. No, a dungeon. Because of that, one had to first defeat the several monsters that were living within its back before being able to defeat Lukuku itself.
As Nidhogg was a monster that was much bigger than Lukuku, it wouldn't be weird to find a herd of monsters or even tribes.
But it was weird.
Tae Ho, who was checking his surroundings, dropped his axe and frowned.
'I can't feel any presence.'
There really was nothing. The only thing he heard was the breath of Nidhogg.
'Is there really nothing?'
Odin spoke of the probabilities that there would be monsters within its back, but thinking about it, those were just probabilities.
Odin knew about the path going to the heart room, but it was merely information he had heard from Mimir's head.
Odin had never laid foot upon Nidhogg nor even watched it up close. He had merely looked at it from far away with his magic.
Because of that, there were plenty of probabilities that Odin's information was wrong.
'Perhaps, there may be nothing in it.'
There were no enemies.
It was nice to hear it as he was the one infiltrating, but Tae Ho didn't feel comfortable.
'Let's go.'
Tae Ho spoke in a really low voice and then grabbed Arondight instead of the Axe of the Mad Warrior.
He could advance quickly as there was no one blocking his path. Tae Ho arrived at the rock he had set as his objective not long after. The rock itself moved everytime Nidhogg took a breath, just like the gills of fish, and when he climbed it, he saw that there was a big crack in it.
'This information should be right, right?'
'Even if it's wrong, it has several important organs. You won't lose anything if you don't enter its stomach.'
Tae Ho took off the gas mask and then stood in front of the protruding rock. He then threw himself into it the moment it opened up.
The space that was like a crevice got closer when he entered it. No. Precisely speaking, it had merely split into several smaller passages.
Tae Ho threw himself to the passage the butterfly chose and entrusted his body to the inclination as if it was a slide.
[Saga: Warrior's Equipment]
[Leather Cape of a Fire Dragon]
[Ifrit's Kiss]
The inside of Nidhogg was filled with heat, just like a volcano. Because of that, Tae Ho changed the poison resistant equipment to fire resistant ones.
'Ragnar was right. It's not a saga but a cheat. A cheat!'
Cuchulainn laughed and said. Tae Ho agreed to it slightly and kept following the butterfly. As Nidhogg was too big, the passages like the blood vessels were also big, and they gave a feeling similar to if one were exploring a cave.
And after some time-
The shining butterfly turned to dust and disappeared. It meant that the guiding had finished.
Tae Ho stopped for a moment and then equipped himself with battling equipment and pulled out Dragon Vein.
The heart room of Nidhogg was tens of meters big. Big and small pipes including blood vessels were connected to it, and it pulsated periodically like a real heart.
Tae Ho stepped on the thickest blood vessel to approach the heart room and then started to climb the wall after he chose which hole he would enter.
Tae Ho lowered his posture when he arrived at a hole that was a bit smaller than Bracky's height. There was another hole 2 meters further away and a huge space could be seen beyond that.
Tae Ho crawled to the hole and looked inside of it. The shining moss he had seen in the root was filling up the wall and the floor so it was enough of a lighting.
[Nidhogg's Essence]
A black dragon, something akin to a miniature version of Nidhogg, was lying down on the ground. It seemed to be more than 10 meters long.
Cuchulainn said,
'Hey, do you know? I can't seem to know no matter how long I see it for.'
If it was male or female.
Tae Ho asked soundlessly instead of putting a dumbfounded face.
'Why are you that stubborn?'
'At first it was just a joke, but Odin kept dodging my answer so I became really curious.'
He could understand a bit how he was feeling, and because of that, Tae Ho answered without pondering.
'I don't know either.'
[Nidhogg's Essence]
[Female]
'Really?'
'Really.'
Tae Ho, who'd answered calmly, ignored the groan of Cuchulainn that was struggling in a haunted fashion and looked at his surroundings. As it was a wide and open land, it seemed like he wouldn't be able to use the terrain to his favor.
'Although it is wide, it's not to the point that a monster that big can fly freely. It will probably turn into a ground battle.'
Although the same couldn't be said about other moments, Cuchulainn became serious when advising about a battle. Tae Ho checked the essence of Nidhogg with the 'Eyes of the Dragon' to grasp its weakness and structure of body and stood up. He then entered the hole.
And at that moment-
The essence of Nidhogg opened its eyes. It wasn't because it'd heard Tae Ho's footsteps. As the heart room itself was its magical region, he had sensed Tae Ho's existence.
Tae Ho also looked at Nidhogg before he executed his envisioned surprise attack without regret.
[Saga: The Charge of a Warrior is like a Storm]
Tae Ho kicked the air. He generated thunder and gales and charged towards Nidhogg.
Nidhogg flinched after it rose up and then roared and kicked the ground. It also sped towards Tae Ho.
It was fast. It had only kicked the ground, but it surged towards the sky like a lightning that had transcended time.
Tae Ho didn't take away his eyes off Nidhogg. He faced it head on and kicked the air once again. He moved a step away from its path and swung Dragon Vein.
The sword bounced away from its scales. Tae Ho kept stepping on the air and landed on the ground, and Nidhogg hit its head on the ceiling. Tae Ho breathed out while the entire room shook. He controlled the gale and thunder he had gathered with the 'Charge of the Warrior'. He then stepped aside and fired lightning towards the ceiling.
The essence of Nidhogg clashed head on against the lightning. It had tried to fly towards Tae Ho the moment it had landed on the ground. The dragon screamed in pain as it was covered by lightning and then spread its wings wide.
Tae Ho looked at the dragon. It was certainly a dignified dragon. He could feel a great strength from the stroke of its wing that tore off the lightning.
But Tae Ho put on a bewildered expression.
It wasn't because he'd discovered something new with his 'Eyes of the Dragon'.
Tae Ho became certain of it in merely two clashes, for the insight of Scathach's style technique had told Tae Ho as much.
It was the same for Cuchulainn, and because of that, the two of them said almost at the same time.
'This guy-'
'This bastard-'
The essence of Nidhogg charged towards Tae Ho once again. It was a really simple one that seemed stupid.
Tae Ho moved his body lightly and dodged the attack. He charged towards its open spot and confirmed his theory alongside Cuchulainn.
'-can't fight at all!'
That was the case.
And thinking about it, it was something obvious.
The black, venomous dragon Nidhogg-
It had never fought once since it was born.
< Episode 37 – The one that conquers (4) > End