Rex didn't immediately go after the dragon but spent about an hour just hunting back monsters to get his understanding and mastery of the halberd, and during this time he didn't get a wisp of any Infant. That's when he realized how stupid he was. Just because he ran into it once he got tunnel visioned and started believing that they are 'common' monsters like the silverbacks.
It also explains why teams of level two adventurers didn't go out of their way to hunt Infant Dragons exclusively. Unlike the Monster Rexs on the lower floors, which tended to linger in specific areas, these creatures roamed freely across the entire expanse of their respective floors. If a team of level twos—or even a single level two—was strong enough to easily take down an Infant Dragon, it would be more efficient to descend to the middle floors and hunt monsters there for profit.
Of course this didn't stop Rex because he had a skill that made hunting Infant Dragons feasible even if they're moving through the entire floor. What skill, you might ask?
Scavenger, of course.
A scavenger is someone who searches for and collects discarded items, embodying the phrase 'one man's trash is another man's treasure.' The treasure detection aspect of the skill worked in a similar way. It was highly subjective, allowing Rex to define what he considered a treasure.
Of course, he couldn't just say 'rock'—there were rocks everywhere, and it would just 'point' at the closest rock. He had to be specific, like a 'dead body I can loot' or 'an Infant Dragon.' The detection part of the skill functioned like a game of hot and cold. He would know when he was getting closer to the treasure and when he was moving further away.
The skill didn't provide exact directions or distances, but that wasn't necessary. All he needed to do was take a step in any direction and instantly know whether he was getting closer or further from his target. By following this instinct, he could eventually reach his treasure.
Just like now. Rex stood atop a hill overlooking a fog-filled room, and not too far away was an Infant Dragon, feasting on what was likely the remains of an adventurer. The dragon seemed to sense his presence, its reptilian eyes locking onto him as it raised its head.
"OOOoooooooo!" A guttural roar erupted from its throat, the soundwaves clearing some of the fog around it.
Without a word, Rex dropped his bag, which held extra clothes and all his potions, leaving only his dagger on his utility belt. Gripping the halberd with one hand, he inhaled deeply before shouting, "KAIO!" He bent backward, finishing with a scream:
"KEEEEEEEEEN!"
His voice reverberated across the room as his hair stood on end and a surge of hot energy rushed through his body, tightening his muscles. After a few seconds of shouting, he straightened up, his amber eyes now ringed with red, turning the shocked Infant Dragon.
Rex adjusted his grip on the halberd, hands settling at the middle of its long shaft, and widened his stance. His knees bent, weight sinking low, until the ground beneath his boots cracked from the sheer force of his gathering power. Then, with a predatory grin, he launched himself forward, then upward—exploding off the earth like a cannonball—the sheer force sending dirt and rock flying after him with the fog parting in a swirl of pale vapor as he ascended.
As he reached the peak of his jump, he shifted his grip lower on the halberd, twisting his torso as he began to spin. Like a windmill of death, his body rotated in tight, rapid revolutions, the axehead's momentum slicing through the lingering mist. The blade whistled through the air, carving its own path as he descended toward the Infant Dragon.
But the dragon was not idle. Smoke curled from its nostrils as a deep rumble vibrated through its throat before. Its second eyelids flicked closed for an instant as it unleashed its assault: a thunderous burst of fire roared out of its maw, flaring upward with a deafening boom and burning away every wisp of fog in its path.
Rex made no move to dodge.
Even if he had tried, the force of his spin made evasion impossible. The fiery torrent engulfed him in an instant, swallowing him whole as it kept spiraling high into the air in a column of orange flames.
Inside the flames, though, he kept spinning downward, the world a swirling sea of orange and red fire. His clothes had burned away, turning to scattered embers, yet his skin felt merely warm, as if the flames were only room temperature, with the halberd's axehead a glowing purple from the heat.
Still thinking Rex was scorched, the dragon kept its jaw open and continued to spew flames skyward. Its second eyelids flickered again as it believed it had obliterated its foe. Suddenly, it sensed a shift in the air and abruptly stopped its breath, leaping backward on instinct—
*BOOM!*
The earth exploded below where the dragon's neck had been, chunks of dirt and grass flying as Rex's halberd tore into the ground with brutal force. Had the dragon not moved, that strike would have bitten deep into the back of its neck.
When it landed, it looked up and saw its supposedly 'burned' opponent rising from its last attack, now naked with charred scraps of cloth falling away—save for his utility belt that was somehow still completely intact on his waist. Rex grinned, his sharp canines showing, which his eyes narrowed to a slit. Leaning forward, the ground cracked as he dashed towards the Infant Dragon.
"OOOOoooooOOO!" The Infant Dragon roared, and then it lunged forward, jaws opened wide, a maw full of dagger-like teeth aimed straight for Rex's head. Rex dodged to the side, completely evading the attack, but before he could press his advantage, the creature lashed out with its front claws, swiping in an arc.
Rex ducked beneath them, feeling the rush of air ruffle his hair. The second swipe, though, came faster than he expected, and he raised his halberd horizontally, letting the paw slam into the shaft, sending him flying to the side. His feet touched the ground after a few meters, sliding a few feet back before regaining his stance.
The Infant Dragon roared again, spitting a wave of embers from its nostrils as it lowered its body, sinewy muscles coiling for another charge. Rex matched the stance, halberd tip angled low, then they charged in unison. The ground trembled beneath their combined force, and they collided in the center of the fog-shrouded clearing.
Rex's halberd sang as it arced upward, aiming for the dragon's throat. The dragon twisted at the last moment, and the blade glanced off its scales on the side of its face, leaving only a shallow cut.
It retaliated with a powerful tail sweep. Rex, reading the movement in time, planted the halberd's shaft against the ground to brace himself. Still, the impact was brutal. He slid backward several meters, his heels carving twin ruts in the soil. Any peak level one adventurer would have been knocked clean off his feet—maybe even had bones shattered.
But not him.
"Heh." He grinned as they clashed again—steel against scale, fang against flesh.
Sparks lit the fog as the halberd scraped across the dragon's hide. The creature's claws raked at Rex's chest, each near miss reminding him how lethal a single solid hit could be. Rex deflected the slashes, pivoting on his heel and hooking the dragon's leg with the halberd's curved tip, yanking the beast slightly off-balance.
Just as he tried to capitalize on that stumble, the dragon slammed him with a shoulder rush, throwing him back into the side of a small hill. Rex grunted at the shock of impact, wincing at the throbbing in his ribs as bits of rock and dirt raining down around them. He then brought the halberd up in a diagonal slash that ripped across the dragon's flank, sending scales and blood flying, and drawing its first real roar of pain.
The beast reeled backward, muzzle lifting toward the sky. A sinister glow gathered in its throat and Rex dashed sideways, circling around the dragon to keep moving while it kept charging. Then it lowered its head directly at Rex, and a torrent of flame spewed from the beast's mouth, ripping across the clearing in a cone of devastating heat.
'Fast!' It was much faster than he had expected. Faster than any fire breath the last infant dragon had thrown.
Rex quickly shielded his face with his right forearm, letting his flame-resistant skin tank the worst of it, but the swirling orange column blocked the dragon from view. The dragon used this advantage and lunged, raking at him again with a clawed forelimb.
He barely managed to twist aside, the claw only managing to clip his right thigh. Snarling, he hopped back a few paces, blinking embers from his eyes as the Infant Dragon lunged with another powerful swipe of its forelimbs. He sidestepped to avoid the first before dropping low to avoid a second claw, then countered with a swift thrust of his halberd. The weapon's long reach let him clip the dragon's flank, drawing a thin line of blood across its scaly hide.
The beast roared and whipped its tail around in retaliation, a vicious horizontal strike aimed at Rex's ribs. He planted his foot and brought up the halberd shaft, catching the tail's impact. Even so, the blow sent him sliding across the ground, the halberd screeching under the force.
As he regained his footing, the dragon charged, attacking with teeth and claws while he bobbed and weaved, using the extra reach of his halberd to keep just out of its immediate range. Each time the dragon exposed a gap in its defense, Rex darted in with a strike, chipping away at thick scales or slicing shallow wounds along its sides.
A frustrated hiss escaped the dragon's throat—it was as though a relentless dog kept snapping at its ankles, ducking away before it could land a clean hit. Enraged, the dragon roared, staggering back a few paces. Rex circled wide, halberd at the ready, waiting for the next opening. That's when the creature raised its head, nostrils flaring as smoke coiled from its mouth.
'Open your mouth to charge.' Rex thought as he circled around. ' I dare you.'
The dragon's jaws parted again, the sharp intake of breath echoing in its chest. Flame flickered in its throat, swirling into a blinding vortex. The beast reared back, preparing to bathe the entire clearing in fire.
Rex moved first. He shifted his grip on the halberd, took a single forward leap—and then inhaled, gathering the air in his throat, and infusing it with his magic, causing flames to escape the gap of his teeth. Opening his mouth, he spat a concentrated blazing fireball that streaked across the area, past the creature's fangs, and plunged into its throat.
The dragon choked, its eyes bulging as the flames inside its throat twisted in upon themselves—a catastrophic clash of internal fire. A muffled *whoomp* echoed from its neck, and it lurched sideways in a strangled roar of pain with smoke pouring out of its jaws.
Rex could the beast's eyes were unfocused, blood dribbling from its maw, yet he didn't immediately charge in like he would have otherwise did. Afterall, in this situation, the dragon will start attacking randomly in desperation, and just like he thought, dragon's tail snapped forward, whipping across the clearing—trying to keep him at bay while it recovered.
He leapt back as the impact tore a trench in the earth, sending clumps of dirt and shattered rock flying. Ignoring the burning ache in his thigh and the razor-thin scratches lining his arms, he darted in close, aiming the tip of the halberd at the dragon's exposed flank. The dragon swiped with a desperate claw, forcing him to twist aside mid-thrust. The halberd's blade still managed to clip a gap in its scales, drawing a fresh spurt of dark blood.
With an ear splitting roar, the creature snapped its jaws at Rex's shoulder. He lurched backward, narrowly avoiding a lethal bite, but the dragon's tail slammed into his ribs, sending pain exploding through his torso, and Rex staggered, momentarily breathless.
He gritted his teeth, pressing a hand to his side as the dragon, half-crouched and trembling, prepared another wild lunge. Rex exhaled, his eyes locking on the dragon and then he charged before the dragon could. Noticing this, it spewed a feeble spray of embers that lacked any real power, which Rex easily powered through, the heat washing harmlessly over his flame-resistant skin. He planted one foot on a rock, launching himself upward over the dragon.
In midair, he performed a tight forward flip and swung down his halberd with all his might, the halberd's axe-blade aimed at the base of the dragon's neck. Scales cracked under the impact, a few chips of metal flying from the halberd's head, and a wet, crunching sound tore through the fog as the blow partially buried itself in the dragon's flesh.
The beast howled, thrashing in pain as Rex landed on the dragon's side, pulling the halberd free in a violent yank that unleashed a spray of crimson across the his body and clearing. Still dizzy from its injuries, the beast tried to rear up—only for Rex to slam the axe-blade down again on the same spot with a final, savage strike. This time, the dragon's scaled hide gave way entirely, and the halberd sank deep, rupturing muscle and bone.
A tortured roar died on the creature's lips. Its legs quivered, then buckled. Blood spattered the mist around them, and with a shuddering groan, the Infant Dragon collapsed face-first into the dirt, still struggling. Breathing heavily, Rex staggered clear, a halberd hanging at his side as the dragon let out one last ragged breath, then went limp, eyes rolling back into its skull.
All that remained was Rex's ragged breathing and the steady drip of blood off the halberd's edge. He let out a trembling sigh of relief, pressing a hand to his bruised ribs.
'That was easier than expected,' he thought, glancing at the battered halberd in his grip. The blade was nicked, and fresh rivulets of red stained the metal's shine. He had expected to sustain far more injuries and for the fight to last at least five minutes, but it had ended in barely two.
Rex finally allowed himself a small, feral grin. "You fought well," he muttered under his breath, nudging the dragon's lifeless head with the tip of his weapon. "GG WP."
He reached forward to claim his loot, only to feel a sharp sting in his ribs. 'I should get in the habit of using my Blue Papilio Powder from my heart while fighting,' he thought, activating his magic. He placed his hand on the dragon's head, and a series of screens appeared before him.
[+273(2.7) Strength, +243(2.4) Endurance, +298(2.9) Dexterity, +213(2.1) Agility, +266 Magic]
[Body Furnace (Skill/Passive): Capable of increasing internal temperature to a high degree.]
"That's…" He stared at the six screens in front of him, "…it?" He had expected two or three abilities, not just one, just like the first time. 'Was I just lucky that last time?' He thought for a moment, then shrugged. 'Eh, no point in being greedy.'
Accepting the skill, he glanced at his status, noticing that the skill Fire Body had merged with Body Furnace, becoming one:
[Body Furnace (Skill/Passive): Greatly increases fire/heat resistance and fire elemental magic damage, while reducing mind usage when using fire elemental magic. Capable of increasing internal temperature to a high degree.]
'I guess if I get another dragon body passive skill, it'll just merge with this one,' he mused. He had never gotten multiple skills of the same type from the same monster before, so this was new information.
Apart from that, his magic had reached A rank at 875 points, while his other stats had increased by at least twenty points—more than the sub-three points he had gained from absorbing the infant dragon's magic stone. Whether this was due to Indomitable Will or just normal excelia, he didn't know, but he didn't dwell on it.
Dismissing the screens, he massaged his side. It would take a few more minutes for his ribs to heal. 'And I need to get dressed.' He looked down at himself—stark naked, with only his utility belt holding a dagger he hadn't even used. "How this survived that flame, I don't know," he muttered.
Picking up the drop items—also fewer than what he had gotten from the first infant dragon—he made his way back to the hill and changed into his spare clothes: a simple gray tunic with black pants and sandals. Since he had already tested his body's fire resistance, he decided not to deliberately get hit by another fire breath. Yes, he had an extra pair of clothes in his bag, but why waste them?
Taking out one of his three canteens, he drank almost the entire bottle before putting it away and picking up his bags. "Time for the second dragon," he declared, extending his halberd toward the dungeon's ceiling. "SCAVENGER!" he shouted, then pointed the halberd forward. "Lead the way."
[Author's Note: The next dragon's battle will be skipped. I only wrote this to show his growth compared to the first fight, better but he is not one tapping an Infant Dragon anytime soon.
As for leveling up, I don't think I am going to make the protagonist reach 1500 max. Scavenger was made in a way that suppressing 1000 will need a lot of grinding and even with Indomitable Will, he will need to put himself in a tough situation to get the 100~150 points on those SS+ stats. And I don't think it's really worth it. Only Bell can reached 1100+, so he already out-stats everyone when they were level 1. Even the Alfia only reached SS1001 in magic and look how overpowered she is. I don't know.
Should he level up without putting all stats at 1500 or reach 1500?]