Red Haired Mage (3)
Ryu Han-bin activated the search function while looking at the dragon.
[Race: Dragon. Fire dragon Lv. 52]
“It’s an actual Dragon…”
The level had changed. It jumped from 36 to 52. Human Artis and Dragon Artis seemed to be recognized separately. He suddenly remembered Effir’s complaint, whom he met for the first time after falling into this world.
-Dragons have four legs, wings on their shoulders, and are really huge! My wings are attached to my forelimbs, and I’m really small compared to dragons… I’m obviously a Wyvern. Why did you have such a misunderstanding?
At that time, he wondered what Effir was talking about, but after seeing an actual dragon for himself, he finally understood.
“It really looks different from a Wyvern.”
It wasn’t just about the location of the wings. Effir had an overall slim body that allowed her to be swift. Even if he didn’t know much about aerodynamics, she still had the body to fly quickly in the sky. On the other hand, the red Dragon in front of him was quite plump. Its arms, legs, body, belly, and head were bigger than a Wyvern’s. Its tail was short and thick. Its body wasn’t that long. It was larger than Effir, but their lengths were roughly similar. Even the wings were larger than Effir’s. He was afraid that it would be possible to fly with those wings.
“Why does it feel like it hasn’t matured yet? Oh, that’s right.”, Ryu Han-bin thought to himself.
Suddenly, a story he heard from Buckman came to mind. “It is said that some of the young dragons escaped from human greed and decided to live while hiding from the human world.”
In the Latna Continent, dragons were monsters whose drops fetched quite high prices. Their bones, scales, and leather were really expensive magic materials. Above all else, the Dragon Core, the very essence of a Dragon’s power, had an extremely high value.
For a young dragon whose strength was still insufficient, it was hard to protect itself. They lived hidden from humanity to accumulate strength and wisdom as well as to increase their bravery.
“The story states that humans who noticed their secrets tried to hunt them down no matter the costs.”
One of those Dragons fearlessly revealed its identity in front of Ryu Han-bin—a human.
‘It might have been an unavoidable choice since it’s going to be killed by the Lich regardless, but still…’
Han-bin’s eyes sank. His employer wasn’t a human but a dragon.
“I don’t have to take the initiative right now.”
Looking at its level, the Dragon was unlikely to win. It was more probably to end in the Lich’s victory.
“I’ll just have to get rid of what’s left.”
* * *
The Dragons were certainly a valuable race. The Lich even burst into excitement the moment it saw Artis’s true form.
“A Fire Dragon!”
If it was a fully grown Dragon, even the Lich wouldn’t dare fight it, but Artis was still young. Additionally, in the case of Fire Dragons, the young ones were more expensive.
“Oh, My God! What a jackpot! I thought you were chickens or pheasants, but you turned out to be a dragon!” The Lich exclaimed out of avid excitement.
A black aura rose from the Lich’s body. It looked as if it had finally gotten serious. Unlike human mages, dragons were also physically strong. No matter how strong the Lich was, it could no longer let its guard down like before. That being said, there was still no reason for it to be afraid.
“Chain of Curses!”
The Lich cast his magic. A cursed chain sprang from the ground. Slithering like a snake, it headed for the Dragon with unpredictable movements.
Artis retaliated back with magic as well.
“Ice Wall!”
An ice barrier emerged at the front of the Dragon to block the chains, but it couldn’t hold together against it.
Baaaangang!
The Chain of Curses broke through the gelid wall and coiled around the Dragon’s wings. Artis gave it his all to resist and to break free.
“Gaarghh aaargh!”
The Chain of Curses gave in to Artis’s resistance and finally broke, but its entire body was already covered in blood. It roared in an attempt to relieve the pain.
“Kaaarrrghh!”
Dragon’s Fear. It was a cry that could pierce through the hearts of those that could hear it to awaken their fear.
Of course, neither the Lich nor Ryu Han-bin was affected. Both were not at the level of suffering from Dragon’s Fear.
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“Fuhuhu, it’s a little better than when you dress as a human…”
With a gloomy smile, The Lich swung his hands.
“Well, the level difference can’t be helped! Darkness Storm!”
A dark storm full of black blades blew over Artis. Its thick scales cracked, and blood began to seep through its skin. The Dragon shrieked in pain.
“Guaaaaaarrrhhh!”
Still covered in blood, Artis shook his big forefoot as he stepped forward. Now that he had returned to his original Dragon form, he had more destructive power than flimsy magic spells but he still couldn’t get a proper hit against the undead.
Smash!
Gliding through the air, the Lich easily evaded the Dragon’s attacks. It was having such an easy time that it even criticized the Dragon.
“You gained quite a bit of weight. Your Dragonic power is quite ripe. Are you about 150 years old? It wouldn’t be this easy for me if you’ve been a little older.
Its comment sounded like something butchers would say about their cows or pigs. It almost felt like the Lich believed it had already won, which only further highlighted the difference in levels between the combatants.
“Wouldn’t it be better for you to stop struggling and just give up?”
Artis ground his teeth. “Don’t make me laugh, you dirty monster! I’m not going to get caught that easily!”
“Ha! You’re being funny. To humans, both of us are the same. We’re monsters.”
Artis steadied his feet on the ground and inhaled deeply. His chest began to give off a red glow as it grew hotter.
The Lich was taken aback a little.
“Fire Dragon’s Breath?”
Artis opened its mouth, causing a fiery blast to burst out of it, which spread all over the barrier with tremendous force and hit.
Swooossshhhh!
“Certainly, Fire Dragon’s Breath is an ability that cannot be ignored. However…”
The Lich laughed at the river of flames that enveloped the vicinity.
“I’m still unharmed!”
Its bony finger cut through the air. A sharp dark blade sprinted through the earth and tore the flames apart.
Whoosh!
The cottage burned due to the high heat of the flames.
The Dragon’s irises turned into a circle as if it was astonished and perplexed with what he had witnessed.
‘Th-that easy?’
Even after throwing away his human form, the power gap was still too huge.
At that rate, there was no chance left for them to escape.
“Muahahaha!”
Revealing its blatant greed, the Lich smiled excitedly.
“Even a young fire dragon has a dragon core, right?”
* * *
Darkness, flames, and lightning poured out like heavy rain.
With each strike of magic coming from the Lich, the red Dragon vomited blood and screamed in agony.
“Gaaaaarrrrh!”
Looking at the miserable dragon, the Lich began to speak. “It’s easy to kill, but it takes time to capture it.”
The hard skin of a Fire Dragon was more valuable if it was peeled off while the dragon was still alive; hence the Lich tried to catch Artis without killing him.
“Grrrrrr”
In anger, Artis once again prepared for the Fire Dragon’s Breath.
The Lich was agitated.
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“I’ve shown you. That doesn’t work.”
The Dragon breathed fire.
Gaaaarrrrggh!
However, the breath’s target wasn’t the Lich.
The moment he vomited fire, he turned his head towards the veil of darkness.
Guaaarrrgh!!
The attack pierced through the dome, creating a large hole.
The Lich muttered impatiently.
“Tsk, were you aiming for the barrier?”
A light of hope returned to Artis’ golden eyes.
“I did it!”
Even if the fire dragon’s breath could not harm the Lich, Artis thought it would at least be strong enough to break through the veil of darkness.
“Eric! Run! Quickly! He shouted as he stepped back in a hurry.
Han-bin hesitated.
Run away?
Why would he want him to run away?
“Is it because of the promise you made to protect me?”
As his moment of hesitation prolonged, the Dark Veil began to be restored.
Artis roared, “What are you doing? Hurry and run away!”
However, “Eric Garoon” didn’t move.
It was understandable. He was only a level 5 human. It was natural for his body to freeze in such a dire situation.
“If so…”
Artis glared at the barrier. There was still room for one Dragon to escape.
“I have no choice but to run with him!”
Artis could hear the Lich’s words from behind, however.
“Hey, who said I’d let you go?”
An intense energy spread throughout their vicinity as a violet light filled their sights. The Lich was casting a high-ranking magic, though it was taking some time to execute it. It only had one purpose: to block off the escape route of the Dragon.
Artis became upset as he was forced to step down.
“Shit!”
If he avoided the hit, “Eric Garoon” was bound to die. Without hesitation, he threw himself at the magic’s path. The Dragon’s large body completely blocked Ryu Han-bin, causing the violet light to strike Artis.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
The Dragon’s scales broke off, and its blood flowed out like a waterfall creating crimson pools on the ground.
“Aaaarrghh!”
* * *
The fallen Dragon let out a soft groan.
“Grrrrrr…….”
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The Dragon turned his head towards the human weakly. “Are you okay, Eric? Did you get hurt?”
Han-bin was confused. Artis’s actions were unexpected.
“Uh, why?”
He had never imagined a dragon would try to save him by throwing its own body. It was no human—it was a monster—yet it still willingly gave up its life for him.
A soft smile formed on Artis’s lips.
“I promised to protect you.”
Staggering, Artis raised himself up again.
“It’s only right to keep your promises. Everyone knows that.”
It didn’t take long for the veil of darkness to be completely restored.
Their escape route had been blocked once again.
And, although Artis was still standing, he was already dying.
He had already given up. He laughed softly. “Haha, I hope I was a little stronger…”
Looking back at Ryu Han-bin, the red Dragon spoke in a sorrowful fashion.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my word.”
* * *
Ryu Han-bin stood there blankly. It was as if a storm had just hit his mind. There was no doubt about it anymore. Artis was sincere. He was a monster, yet he fought to protect him. He even revealed his secret in order to keep his words.
“…….”
Without a word, Ryu Han-bin moved his hand to the hilt of his great black sword and unsheathed it silently.
* * *
The Lich began preparing the final blow. Now that the food was prepared, all that was left was to eat it.
“Chain of Curses!”
The Chain of Curses emerged from the ground, coiling itself around Artis. The Dragon no longer had any power to resist. It simply closed its eyes and made peace with its end.
“Taaaassssst!”
Just as the Lich was about to end Artis, Ryu Han-bin charged forward; his sword gripped tightly by his hand.
“E-Eric?”
Artis freaked out.
“Are you insane?! A level 5 hunter won’t be able to do anything!”
Boosting himself off the ground and gliding towards the Dragon, Han-bin swung his sword.
-Horizontal Cut!
A black line was drawn across the chain that wrapped around Artis. For the first time since he entered that world, he swung his sword with all of his strength. A black crescent wind blew, causing formidable pressure to wrap around the chain. A powerful explosion soon took place.
Pang! Pang! Pang!
In an instant, The dark chain shattered into powder-like fragments and rained down on them.
Artis and the Lich both created unique sounds at the same time.
“Eeeeek!”
“Snikt”
One came from the rise of a dragon’s spirit, while the other came from the fall of a skull’s jaw.
“… How did a level 5 do that?”
The red Dragon blinked and looked at Eric Garoon.
“I’m sorry, Artis.” Ryu Han-bin’s tone changed.
“Actually, I’ve been deceiving you too.”