"Dragon…" Max whispered, his voice trembling with shock and disbelief. His eyes widened, and his mouth hung slightly open as he stared at the massive figure floating before him. His face was a picture of pure astonishment, struggling to process the impossible sight in front of him.
The scene before him was nothing short of majestic.
In front of a small hill leading to a cave, a massive black dragon hovered in the air. Its serpentine body was covered in pitch-black scales that shimmered faintly, reflecting the dim light like polished obsidian.
Black flames enveloped its entire body, flickering and dancing ominously, making it appear even more menacing and otherworldly.
However, its overall size wasn't that large—almost the same size as the level 9 lava serpent standing beside Max.
'What is a dragon doing here?' Max frowned, but when he saw its strength, his eyes widened with astonishment. 'Level 10 Novice Rank!'
"How could it be level 10?" he muttered in shock. As far as he knew, only a boss-ranked monster in an F-rank dungeon would have the strength of level 10. Other than that, no monster would possess such a level of power.
'This dungeon is full of mysteries,' Max mused, glancing at the level 9 lava serpent beside him. It seemed to have lost its edge after leading him here and had become as docile as a dog.
'But why did it lead me here?' Max contemplated, looking at the black dragon from afar before his attention was caught by the cave just behind the dragon.
It was then that he saw black flames flowing from inside the cave to the outside, connecting to the black dragon.
"Hiss!" "Hiss!"
The lava serpent frequently turned its head toward the cave, as if signaling that something valuable was hidden there.
Max looked at the lava serpent solemnly. "You brought me here because you want to buy your life in exchange for whatever is in that cave?"
The lava serpent stared at Max blankly at his question.
"Sigh, forget it." Max facepalmed himself and shook his head wryly. For a moment, he had forgotten he was speaking to a lava serpent, a monster.
He then turned his attention back to the cave and pondered. 'According to the level 9 lava serpent, there must be something extremely precious inside that cave. Otherwise, it wouldn't have brought me here in exchange for its life.' He was sure of it.
Moreover, the black flames coming from the cave and connecting to the black dragon made Max suspect that whatever treasure awaited him inside was linked to the black dragon in front of him.
'Should I fight?' Max wondered about his chances against a level 10 monster, though he had complete confidence in himself. Even if he couldn't kill the monster, he wouldn't lose either.
After coming to this dungeon and fighting against level 6, level 7, and level 8 monsters, Max realized that his level 100 skills were far too strong for an F-rank dungeon.
He could literally one-shot any monster in this dungeon with his level 100 magic bullet, and even if he couldn't kill them in one shot, what about 100 bullets? What about the fusion bullets formed by combining two or more magic bullets?
"Though I've heard there's a major difference in power between level 9 and level 10," Max muttered, eager to see if his strength had reached the level 10 Novice Rank.
With that thought in mind, Max aimed and fired a normal magic bullet at the black dragon.
WHOOSH!
A beam of blue light tore through the air and hit the black dragon, only to pass through its body and strike the hill behind it.
"What? My bullet didn't have any effect?" Max was shocked, but before he could think of a reason, the black dragon turned its head toward him.
Its head, adorned with two long horns, twisted toward him, and it roared.
"ROOOAAARR!"
The dragon's roar reverberated throughout the entire charred forest.
"It's coming toward me!" Max's eyes narrowed as he immediately drew his sword, which began to shine with a light blue color. He slashed down with one clean strike as the dragon neared him.
BANG!
Max felt as if his sword had hit an iron wall, forcing him back several steps from the collision. However, his attack wasn't in vain. The black dragon was also pushed back several steps.
But the most important thing for Max was that his sword strike had managed to hit the black dragon, unlike his magic bullet.
"Let me try again." Max aimed at the black dragon and fired another magic bullet.
SWISH!
The bullet hit the black dragon, only to pass through its body once again.
"Again it passed through," Max muttered, frowning. But he noticed something that piqued his interest. When the bullet struck the black dragon's body, the spot where the bullet hit briefly turned into black flames before returning to normal.
"Black flames," Max contemplated and understood what was happening. From what he gathered, the black dragon wasn't a real dragon but something composed of black flames, which seemed to be leaking from the cave behind it.
'Maybe that's why my magic bullets couldn't hit it. As for my sword…' Max mused, noticing the light blue glow around his sword. 'It's probably because of the Sword Aura that my sword was able to strike it.'
"ROAR!"
At that moment, the black dragon attacked again, unleashing a torrent of black fire from its maw. The flames surged toward Max like a raging inferno.
Max darted from one spot to another, nimbly evading the onslaught. He ducked behind trees, leaped over boulders, and, with the help of his Swift Dash skill, maneuvered with precision. Each step was calculated, each move seamless, as he skillfully dodged the deadly flames that scorched everything in their path.
"It's time for my attack." He smiled and, using Swift Dash, swiftly closed the distance between them and appeared at the side of the black dragon.
"Fury Strike." Max immediately unleashed the more powerful skill he possessed.
Hundreds of sword shadows streaked through the air like a relentless storm, converging on the black dragon. They struck its scales with a barrage of sharp impacts, creating a symphony of clangs and sparks that danced across its impenetrable body.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The black dragon was pushed back several steps, but his attack didn't manage to injure it. All his sword shadows were blocked by the dragon's scales, rendering Max's attack useless.
"More," Max intended to attack again. However, just as he was about to strike, something happened to the black dragon: black flames consumed its entire body.
He hurriedly retreated, not wanting to get caught in those horrendous black flames.
"What happened?" Max muttered, frowning as he looked at the cloud of black flames. The black dragon was no longer visible, but the cloud of black flames floated ominously just above the ground.
"You did well, human." A very aged and rough voice came from the cloud, catching Max off guard for a moment.
"Who are you?" Max asked tensely, feeling an intense pressure emanating from the black cloud.
"Me?" The voice echoed softly before the cloud dispersed, unveiling a man holding a sword in his hand. He appeared to be in his fifties, his white hair stark against the backdrop of the fading mist. Despite his age, there was a dangerous gleam in his eyes—sharp and unyielding—exuding an aura that sent a shiver of caution through Max.
However, the man was pitch black like the black flames and the black dragon from before.