"Please… Stop..!" The man trembled before the figure, huddling into himself as they whipped his bruised body.
The figure continuously hacked at his skin with leather, as if venting out his anger.
—Wuh-pshh!.. Wuh-pshh!. Wuh-pshh!!!
Indeed he was furious, especially on that last one. He was out of breath, he had already beaten the others until they passed out, and this was the last one, the bruised man slumped to the floor as he fainted.
The man hurled the whip against the hard bloody floor, not even flinching from the whip lashing back at his leg. He kicked it away while huffing.
'Damn it! Why did they have to be near the woods?!' The reason for his anger was due to not recognizing the unknown variable earlier.
Due to the raiding beasts, some of his members have suffered greatly.
And he felt great humiliation when he had to run away, he couldn't kill it nor steal the other's base coordinates.
The feeling of chills gripping his feet were still vividly sensible, he couldn't help but frantically peek around the shadows, for fear of those eyes stalking him.
"…Fuck, what am I so scared for?.." He covered his face as he huskily exhaled.
"Hyun-Woo-ssi!" A girl hit his back,"What're you…Uh…" Her face dropped as she felt sweat starting to form.
From her angle, she could see his darkened desensitized face,"…Hyun-Woo-ssi, the others are looking for you…" She slowly made her way out as she didn't dare look back.
"…" Hyun-Woo inhaled as he slowly lifted his head, his arms going behind his head," That fucking scared me…"
—Awwwooooo!
"..!"
'Get me out of here!'
***
Seong happily laid his head down, the ride was comfortable and he didn't have to do anything!
"Chan-Woo, how are you feeling?" The swordsman peeked behind him.
"I..Don't know…" Seong slightly heightened his voice, innocently putting his hand up to his mouth, his pure features aided in his performance.
"Can you hold on for a little longer?"
"I'll try to…" Seong smiled with his ill-looking face,
'Heh heh, how's my acting, you idiots!' He laughed internally.
"Are you sure you're not faking it so you don't have to do anything?" Man-Seok huffed, irking as he met Seong's innocent face.
"Do you think a person puking blood would be okay in just a few hours?" Seong tried to produce some tears, but it wouldn't budge.
"Ughh…" Instead, Man-Seok guiltily lowered his eyes.
Ju-Won and Seong shared a moment of relief because they were excluded from moving the luggage, rather Ju-Won was tasked with carrying Seong on his back. Since Seong was lighter than the luggage, he happily obliged.
And both of them went merrily down the grassy landscape.
***
The members set up their camp near a river separating them from a cave, though they were in an obscured area, they still had to be wary. Hye-Su detected many energy abnormalities within it, meaning they could use it for resources.
After Guem Ji researched the cave, she deducted inhabitants of the lizard-type.
"The lizards will most likely be an orange, if we're lucky, they could either be green or blue." Guem Ji clasped her hands together while muttering,
"Please be blue, please be blue, please be blue!"
"What's wrong with the other colors?" Seong thought she wanted the blue-skinned lizard's hide.
"What else? They're weak, we're in need of better resources right now."
"How does the color of the lizard change that?"
"Chan-Woo, have you ever been to a dungeon?" Seong shook his head,
"Ah, I thought you'd do some research but… Ah. I'm sure you know about monster cores, right?"
"Is that what we're talking about?"
"Yes, and they have more energy too. We could use it for weapons and armor, it has a lot of mana we could manifest from it."
Seong hummed, he did do some mild research because he was clicking through articles, and the book didn't really explain it thoroughly unless you were really paying attention.
But he just skimmed through it because it wasn't important to him.
But the best way he could understand it is knowing the visible spectrum: red is the lowest and purple is the highest.
"Is that all your questions?"
"Can we eat them?"
"…" Every member turned their heads as soon as they heard those words, Seong glanced at each one.
"..Is there something wrong?"
"Yeah, of course!" Man-Seok suddenly hit the back of Seong's head,
"What kind of question is that?!"
"Chan-Woo, you do know what happens, right?" Ju-Won chimed in, but as he saw Seong's confused face, he sighed.
"Chan-Woo, the reason is because it'd be too much mana to cope. Especially the highest, purple, but even red is too much." Hye-Su leveled her eyes with Seong who was sitting down.
But Seong got even more puzzled,'How did I handle it then?'
"Um… What would happen if we were to ingest one?"
"Explode." Everyone said it in sync, Man-Seok made exploding hand gestures and even imitated the sound.
Seong cringed, he did not have such an experience, as evident as he is here right now.
Was it like a nuclear explosion accident, did he have the walking ghost syndrome?! Seong internally panicked as he tried to hide his cold sweat.
"Since our mana and energies cannot synthesize, we use it on non-living things."
Guem Ji went into a whole lesson about mana cores and why we shouldn't eat it, as Seong continued to listen, he couldn't help but worry even more.
Monster cores have life flourishing within it, it's like a heart, keeping the beast alive as it pumps out mana. It also contains the beasts soul and nature, so trying to combine it with another and entirely different core, would cause many issues.
The two cores battle for dominance, the beast's heritage would began clashing with the other core, causing an imbalance of mana and the cores wouldn't be able to handle it.
As a result, the mana would begin trying to stabilize the cores, rushing through the host's veins.
Blood would gush out from every pore in the skin as the mana replaces it, the cores would try their best to merge, but the amount of power from the monster core would completely overpower the host's core.
Eventually suppressing it and taking over the host, but their body would not be able to handle the sudden pressure and change of cores, the amount of mana would begin to burst and…
"BOOM!!!" Guem Ji clapped her hands as Seong trembled before her,
"That's why we use it on non-living things, like weapons or armor. The cores could have their own space for energy fluctuation, without battling with another sign of life."
Seong nervously laughed as he clapped, she sure was enthusiastic when talking about cruel things.
He looked down at his trembling hands, he experienced the blood and mana switch, it's just the explosion that was delayed.
***
—Stab!
Seong wanted to cry, Guem Ji's terrifying words kept replaying in his head over and over, but he couldn't cry over something like this. Could he be affected by radiation?
'They gave me a health potion, surely I'm not affected anymore, right?' Seong reassured himself as he thought about this world's magical capabilities.
The group had begun raiding the cave, however, it wasn't a high-level cave. They were indeed orange crystal-bearers, nothing much of value, but enough to get by.
It was easy to clear and they were already done, soon moving locations once again.
This continued for, as long as Seong could remember, three days straight. The same and continuous routine soon came to an end when…
—SCREEEECHH!!!
They covered their ears, what they heard just now… Was the dungeon's wielder, the king, as well as the epitome of fear of all the inhabitants.
They could see the figure flap away the fog as it flew onto its mountain, screeching once more.
—SCREEECHHH!!!
Seong burrowed his head into his arms,'A dragon?..' He tensed up, this dungeon wasn't supposed to have a dragon,
'It's too low for a dragon to inhabit, unless…'
He moved along the path to the mountain; the book mentioned something like this before, a dungeon that would sometimes contain a rare enemy such as this, the dragon.
It meant that the rank of the dungeon was concealed, therefore a rare beast wouldn't be detected.
In this case anyways.
Crawling his way through the grass, he could smell blood, he looked behind him but there was no one injured.
This blood, it was coming from somewhere in the distance, something was following them.
He lagged behind and waited for Hye-Su," Hye-Su-ssi, there's something following us."
"I think you're paranoid."
"No, really-"
"It's ok, I don't sense anything, there's nothing."
"…" Seong huffed as he watched her push herself by him,
'I'm being disregarded like a child.'
Still, he kept his senses sharp. From what he learned from that incident a few days ago, his senses were extremely developed.
And from him hunting in the caves, especially in the dark, he was automatically aware of his surroundings.
He kept low and lagged behind, just in case anything happened.
***
Hye-Su started tracing magic formations around the entrance, just in case the other teams found this place. It was just a security alarm.
She then allowed the others to enter, securing their presences within the formation.
Seong entered last, glancing behind him nervously,
"Chan-Woo, is there something wrong?"
"…Are you sure there's no one following us?"
Hye-Su deeply sighed, shaking her head,"I am certain."
Seong decided to shrug it off, whether he was right or wrong, he didn't need to take responsibility, he just needed to survive. He quietly climbed the mountain's curvy entrance.
…
The group silently crept through the tunnels, soon reaching the inner cave of the dragon's lair. Seong looked at the vast opening, crystals clung beautifully along the walls, light peeked through at the top, and there laid a singular tree in the middle.
There were some platforms here and there, but overall there was no floor. It looked mystical, almost.
'Would this be the reward room?' Seong looked around frivolously.
Hye-Su brought her hand up, signaling everyone to stop. Mouthing directions for everyone to go, she pointed Seong to go all the way to the end of the cave.
'Couldn't you have chosen somewhere else?' Seong reluctantly followed her orders before approaching the other end, stationing himself behind a pillar.
This cave was special, special in that it held many mana crystals that could be easily harvested.
They were mostly blue or green; there were some that were towards the lower spectrum; it'd be possible to find some purple ones as well if you looked hard enough.
And since there were large amounts of mana swirling in the air, they had an unlimited mana supply to use, so everyone used their abilities to hasten their harvesting.
Hye-Su tasked everyone to harvest the crystals, it was too much of an opportunity to pass up.
•••
—Shuffle, shuffle.
A man peeked through the long grass, eyeing the dragon twirling the apex of the mountain.
"Hyun-Woo-ssi, what if we meet the other teams?"
"What else? Just use them as meat bags."
Hyun-Woo's head started to pummel, he already had enough problems to deal with, especially the amount of people he dragged along the way.
His group and another had accidentally walked upon each other and fought, and now he was doused in blood, carrying another load of baggage.
—SCREEECHHH!!!
Hyun-Woo scrunched up his face, his ears were tingling. This was the dungeon's king, all he needed to do was slay it and take the rewards.
But considering the chances of meeting another team, he cautiously watched his surroundings. His group didn't have enough strength nor space to fight anymore.
As he got closer to the mountain's entrance, he stepped into the cave. But then he stopped himself from going further,
"Everyone, prepare yourselves. There's already someone here."
•••
Hye-Su was about to grab another crystal until she stiffened, her formation alarm started to warn her. She closed her eyes, trying to feel the presences that came through.
Through the darkness, she could see various colors of souls near the entrance.
'Twenty? No, there's a lot more? What kind of team has this much members? Unless…Everyone is working together?..'
She flung her eyes open, panicking to alert her members. She activated a formation on her arm, it acted as a walkie-talkie,
"Everyone, hide, there's a team passing through."
Seong was already in a hidden spot, so he didn't need to do much. Instead, he caressed a small purple crystal with an iridescent shimmer.
If these intruders were who he was thinking of, then it might be safe to keep an extremely powerful crystal on him. Even if he had to bleed to death, he'll just get over it, since he had potions on him.
He patiently waited until they came.
***
—Tak, tak, tak.
Everyone nervously waited, bracing themselves for combat.
"Whooo…. This is a landmine…" His voice echoed, huffing the air in relief.
Nothing was going on, everything was quiet. ..
Or so they thought, Seong could hear very well. They shifted themselves quietly around the perimeter, slowly approaching his teammates.
The compact mana messed with their senses, so they could not easily detect the intruders. So how are they detecting them?
'Do they have developed senses like me?' That was the only possible way for them, what else would it be? Seong peeked through one of the many small holes within the rock, he could see the group from before, but…
'Why're they bloody? Did they fight again?' Seong glanced around quickly, he found at one of the corners were some prisoners and bodyguards.
'Ah.' Seong then noticed the leader of the group, he was moving to where Hye-Su was hiding, in his hand was a device, it seemed to be a radar.
'Ah.' Noticing everyone had one.
Seong turned back, touching the formation on his arm.
Hye-Su trembled, she hoped she wasn't found, why were there so many people? As she pondered, she was startled by a screen suddenly popping from her arm.
It was Seong, she was about to shut it off while gritting her teeth until…
'They… Found… Us…' Hye-Su trembled when reading his lips, the fear of being unknowingly preyed on snatched her heels. She clenched her hand as the screen went away, generating a flame slowly.
—Crk.
As she heard that sound, she twisted her body and shot her flame, the fire spurt out in a sudden straight line, lighting up her side of the cave.
"Wahhh… You could've hurt somebody~" The man curled his lips.
" Sunbae-nim!?"
The man hummed,"Watch where you aim~"
Hye-Su tensed up,"Did you guys team up? Why are there so many people with you-" Her eyes lingered upon a corner, the very same corner that Seong looked at earlier.
"S-Sunbae-nim?"
"Hah… I can't let you go." He swung his fist.
Hye-Su dodged, stumbling on the thin wall she was standing on.
"Ah really, why'd you have to hide in such a spot?" He caught himself, a mechanical weapon suddenly flashed behind him, swinging at her again.
Hye-Su jumped onto a platform, shooting flames out of her hands, the man followed as the weapon transformed into an axe. By now, everyone had already begun fighting, except for Seong.
The outbreak had caught everyone's attention, even the dragon's too. But it seemed to think it was irrelevant for observation, Seong noticed it's horn peeking through the top.
Seong had a thought, moving himself next to a wall that had a hole shaped like a funnel,
"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
"!?!"
"!?!"
Everyone clasped their ears, stopping their incessant brawl to look at each other confused.
The man broke the silence,"Wha-"
But he couldn't finish as something else chimed in,
—Kyu?
Everyone stared at the shadowy figure above with gaping mouths, its eyes were completely dilated. Then it narrowed as it found humans in its cave.
—SCREEEEEEECHHHH!!!!!
"AHHHHH!!!"
They all screamed in horror as the dragon barged through the gaping hole, tumbling rocks began to fall and the mountain shook.
"Aha… Haha…" Seong's half-ass plan worked.
"Throw them away!" The man ordered his subordinates to discard of the trembling prisoners, Hye-Su didn't have the courage to save them.
The dragon bellowed a dark growl, then lifted its head to generate a powerful beam.
—SHHAAAAAAAA!!!!
The dragon shot its beam around its enclosure, causing the people to either duck or fry.
—Thump! Thump! Thump!
They saw the fried bodies flop onto the floor, fearing for their lives, they continued to run from this crumbling death room.
But the dragon disapproved of their cowardly behavior, screaming its lungs out as it lunged towards the crowd.
—SCREEECHHH!!!!
Catching a few of them in its mouth, it then used its tail to fling the others out of the mountain, breaking the walls and crumbling the mountain further.
Seong quickly moved towards the center after his spot crumbled, staying behind the tree to hide.
—Crr…
"A..Ahh. H..lp…pl..ea..e.." Mumbles of pleas stemmed from the dragon's mouth.
Seong's breath hitched, holding it in to avoid its detection. However, it didn't work.
Seong looked up, the dragon met his eyes.
'Shit.'
Seong rashly ran and shot bullets of mana into its eyes,'I should be fine since there's still mana around here.'
But the bullets had little to no effect, its eyes were protected by a invisible film akin to its eyelid.
Seong created a long sword from his hand, running in to slash at the dragon.
—Skkshhhhiikk!!
'The scales are tough!' He crouched down,
' Maybe the underside?!'
As he ran under the dragon's body, it looked at Seong's poor attempt at survival. It began to slash at him but he dodged.
Seong pulled on one of the scales, shoving his sword into the dragon's underside, impaling its belly. He channeled mana through the sword, electrifying its underside all the way up to its head.
—Screee?!!
The dragon bared its teeth, snarling as it used its hind legs to stomp on the floor. The platform rumbled as Seong lost his balance, the dragon swung at him again. He quickly bounced away, grasping the dragon's tail.
But that was his mistake, because the dragon soon swung itself in circles, leaving Seong clinging for his life.
—Slam!!
"Kuek!" Seong let go as the dragon slammed him into the ground, it grabbed his lifeless body and flew away.
***
'Ahhhh… I fucked up.' Seong laid limp in the dragon's claws.
It was taking him somewhere very, very far away. The ground was distant, they were high above the clouds, it was a wonder he could breathe up there…
…
…They soon arrived to a mystical place that had a barrier all around it, the dragon threw him and spat out the other people onto the floor, leaving them there to die alone.
"Hah… How did it end up like this?" Seong looked at the slobbered mess, the people were still breathing.
None of them were apart of his group, the leading member of the group was in front of him. Seong waited for them to wake up.
***
"Ugh… Puek!" The man slowly rised up, swiping the slobber off of his face. Crinkling his nose, his red eyes settled on something blindingly white.
"What the.. Why is there something so pretty?.. Am I in heaven?"
Seong elongated his mouth,'Thanks for the compliment but…'
He sucked his teeth,'I don't really want to hear that from you…'