[TL Note: This is the revised, updated version of chapter 168.]

[Roar!]

It felt as though the dragons harsh cry was reverberating even inside my body.

The dragon and I approached each other at breakneck speed; the distance between the dragon and I was closing quickly.

In an instant, it ripped through the darkness and the dragon revealed itself before my very eyes.

Its body appeared as though it were larger than five meters.

It currently wasnt flying, but those giant, widely-spread wings

As well as its teeth and its talons looked as big as my body

Since its close to me now, I can feel that overwhelming mana more clearly than before.

Its very existence was emitting a powerful intense pressure.

Just looking at it face-to-face made me lose my breath.

I repressed that intense pressure and told the holy sword.

Holy sword, focus on blocking the magic.

[Yes.]

[Blink]

I heard the holy sword reply curtly, unlike usual, and blinked to the back of the dragons head.

I simultaneously swung the soul sword, cutting the back of the dragons head as I leaped past.

The sword was enveloped in aura, but the dragon hadnt sustained much damage.

My attack wasnt shallow.

It was just that the dragons defense was excessively high.

Despite precisely-aimed strikes, it just made a scratch mark on the dragons hide, rather than cutting through and causing the dragon to bleed.

[Time Confinement]

I organized the outcome in my head.

It had nullified that simple sword strike.

It wasnt as if my aura was completely ineffective.

It was just that the damage inflicted was insignificant.

In order to land a serious attack, it must contain my auras flames or I have to attempt an even stronger attack.

The formers consumption of my mana and mental strength is huge, and theres too much danger involved in the latter.

Next is the dragons condition.

I could only observe it with my eyes for a split second, but I had seen everything that I needed to see.

The dragons condition wasnt normal.

Fortunately.

The dragons four legs were extremely skinny.

Its muscles looked as if they had shrunk as well.

Its wings webbing was torn to pieces.

I could easily figure out the reason for that.

It wasnt just the wings; the dragons entire body was covered in scars.

They were all self-inflicted wounds from its talons.

As the leading expert on self-injury, I was sure those scars were definitely self-inflicted.

Those self-inflicted scars were different in their direction and location than normal self-inflicted scars.

To add to that, I didnt see the pupils of its eyes.

Its pupils were dyed in a cloudy white color.

No matter how I see it, it looks like its not in the right state of mind.

If the dragons mind is addled, it wouldnt be able to utilize its spells or mana, so I could understand why it was idiotically charging in like that.

Of course, I cant be positive that the dragon wont use magic.

If it feels like its in even a little bit in danger, it may start chaotically firing magic at random.

I formulated a plan until my Time Confinement ended.

I tried to predict the dragons next move, one by one.

I postulated on every type of attack that I could imagine, and considered these situations while factoring in the dragons speed.

Of course, most of my simulations results were negative.

However, it was a lot better than what I had thought before the battle.

Just by approaching the dragon this much, my chances of winning were a lot higher than they were before.

I have to end the fight in a short period of time in order to win.

The next thing I had to think about was whether or not I could use the Light Sword.

Could I use the Light Sword the moment that the Time Confinement ends?

I slowly examined my current condition.

Its impossible.

Positioned in the air.

The direction of the attack.

My body is shaken up by my opponents mana.

Kiri Kiris warning on the mental strain on my brain.

The alarmingly close distance from the enemy.

Using the Light Sword right away is impossible.

I dismissed the Light Sword and pondered on my choice of attack Ill initiate as soon as my Time Confinement ends.

In that instant, the Time Confinement ended.

[Blink]

As soon as the effects of my Time Confinement were over, I used Blink to avoid the dragons front legs.

I held onto the holy sword that had been in my left hand in my mouth.

I changed the Thousand Arms sheath that was attached to my waist into a dagger.

[Blink]

I blinked once again.

This time, I aimed for the dragons neck and bashed into it by casting blink.

[TL Note: I thought Blink reset all kinetic energy?]

The powerful impact was accompanied by a heavy thud sound, as if I were crashing into a wall.

When I had used my blink tackle combo on the waiting rooms wall, I had estimated the strength of the impact before using my blink.

I could ignore the impact and move my body.

I pierced the dragons skin and lodged the dagger in my left hand into the dragons neck.

I had planned to get up close and pierce a tender region; my dagger ended up lodged about half-way into the dragons neck.

[Poison]

[TL Note: Was translated as Poison Energy before. That sounds horrible, and it should be translated as just poison anyway.]

After the 12th floor, I had consistently practiced the skill; it came in handy here.

It wasnt a skill that was to be used as a finisher, but I had enhanced my sword with the skill and fought several opponents with it before. Therefore, the skill level itself was sufficiently high.

In addition to the poison, I had also added my blazing aura.

Compared to the dragons huge body, a dagger was nothing more than a needle stuck into its body, but it was different when poison and fire were involved.

If they were to pa.s.s through its body, it could obstruct its flow of mana; a critical attack.

Both of the dragons front legs flew towards me.

[Blink]

[Blink]

I used Blink twice and I once again moved to the back of its head.

I raised the soul sword with both hands and focused on my aura.

I couldnt recklessly use the Light Sword, but I could use imitations of the Light Sword as much as I wanted.

[TL Note: The imitations refer to the techniques with those cringy names that the swordmasters created in an attempt to replicate the Light Sword.]

Amongst them, there was a technique with the grandiose name, Cutting the Sky or Falling Fires Judgment or whatever.

Even amongst the many techniques, it was the sole technique that stressed explosive power to such a degree.

Since I couldnt sever the dragons head in one strike, I decided that striking the back of its head was my best plan of action, so long as I can buy even a split second longer for my next attack.

The technique properly struck the back of its head, and the dragon and I were both shocked by the attack.

Due to the impact, my body momentarily floated into the air.

I focused for my next move.

It was. .h.i.t with an attack of this severity, so the dragon will start considering the use of magic.

Now, Id have to move differently based on the dragons response.

Offensive magic, evasion magic, obstruction magic.

I have no idea how many types of magic the dragon can use.

I also have no idea what magic it uses.

I would just react based on the purpose of that magic, thats all.

And in order to respond to that magic, I would have to predict the dragons intent.

In a situation where I dont know how many or what kind of cards my opponent has, I have to predict their next move.

Whats worse, it wasnt even a human; it was a dragon.

I focused on the dragons face and muscle movements.

Regardless of what kind of magic the dragon decides on, there will always be telltale signs of its intent.

No matter how tiny they are.

Along with that, I was also tense from the trembling of the ambient mana.

Even though I was close to a beginner at magic, I had to foresee the characteristics of the magical invocation no matter what.

It was unbelievably difficult, but it was something I had to do.

My focus and my thinking speed sped up faster than ever before.

Due to the acceleration of my thoughts, the world slowed down to a speed that could compare to Time Confinement; I tried to guess the dragons next move.

Despite my attempts, the dragon did something completely preposterous that was outside the realm of my predictions.

The dragon didnt attack, evade, or even restrain me.

It just screamed in agony.

[Shriek!]

I was dumbfounded when I saw the marred dragon clearly exposing its blind spots.

I was locked in confusion and couldnt initiate my next attack.

* * * * * *

When I saw the dragons overly straightforward movements and its dull pupils, I had a.s.sumed it, but the dragon had definitely lost its mind.

Contrary to my expectation, the dragon didnt get a hold of itself when danger was approaching, and even after encountering pain, it couldnt formulate a countermeasure.

It just writhed in pain and chased me because I was in its sights.

It swung its human-sized talons and teeth at me with enough force behind its arms and legs that it seemed as though it could break through anything. But its behavior wasnt much different from a housecat chasing around a mosquito.

Although the dragons close range attacks were backed by a fearsome strength, it wasnt at a level that could threaten me.

Its front legs, as well as its teeth exhibited a simple attack pattern.

Anything that lay in its line of sight was in its aggro.

Its muscles would jerk in order to attack.

The dragon wasnt even aware of its own exposed blind spot and just mustered all its strength to move its body.

Because of that, no matter how strong or fast its attacks were, I could predict the course of its attacks in advance, and calmly avoid them.

It wasnt hard.

Pure strength can lead to different outcomes based on how you use it.

Based on how you use your strength, the result can differ; the results branch off into an infinite number of outcomes.

And far from using magic or mana, the dragon demonstrated an intellect worse than a neighborhood mutts, so there was no way that it would be my match.

Henceforth, what was progressing wasnt a battle, but a one-sided hunt.

I dodged its attacks and whenever there was a gap, I would stab it with my soul sword.

I didnt really need to put myself in danger to get in a damaging strike.

My sword strikes were enveloped in poison and flames, so whenever I hit the mark, the dragon would cry out and worsen its own injuries by thrashing about.

Ultimately, the dragon couldnt bear the exhaustion created by its uncontrolled movements, plus the poison and the flames, and collapsed to the ground.

For a short while, the dragon was gasping intermittently, but eventually stopped moving completely.

I sighed.

How empty.

I had such high expectations as I progressed through the 27th floor.

When I had first saw the dragon, it had demonstrated strength beyond my imagination.

However, it couldnt properly wield that strength and died like this.

It was such a hollow ending that it was sad.

* * * * * *

Only when the matter came to an end was I able to properly examine the dragon.

At the time, the situation had felt seriously dangerous; the dragon had so wildly dashed in, so I hadnt been able to properly examine it.

However, the dragons condition was a little strange, to say the least.

Ahb.o.o.boo. Do you know a bit about dragons?

[Its Ahoubuch, Warrior. If its truly difficult for you to remember, please just call me the holy sword. Since becoming a holy sword, I have encountered a dragon about twice before, but to see one in that state, its a first. Even for me.]

So thats how it is, huh.

The dragons appearance certainly looked strange.

Despite it being my first time inspecting a dragon, it was so strange that I could easily discern that peculiarity.

Its body was far longer than a few meters, decorated with red spots as well as discolored black spots; sometimes, there were sections where the skin would be flaking off, revealing bone.

Of course, there were several wounds caused by my attacks, but even if we exclude those, the dragon had already been on the verge of death.

As its flesh burned, a foul stench emanated from the smoke coming from its body.

I had become used to the foul smell of poisoned and burnt corpses.

However, the foul stench that came from the dragon wasnt like that.

Was it because of the curse that I had seen on the murals?

In any case, the dragon hadnt been in its normal condition.

This did fit the stages high difficulty.

Since it looked like the main process of this stage was to win over a guide, and reach the lowest floor, there was definitely more to this.

Rather than a battle like this, sometimes the stage focused on a different aspect. I believed that the 27th floor was also one of those stages, so there wasnt anything strange with the difficulty.

It just seemed a little empty.

That overwhelming presence that I had felt when I first came inside this room

I had definitely felt like I might die, and in each moment I had strived to make the best decisions.

However, the dragon was worse than I had expected.

I think I knew why the clear condition message clearly specified that it was an earthworm.

It was too low-level to be called a dragon.

Maybe I shouldve given it an elixir and fought it after itd recovered a bit.

[Warrior. I dont believe that an elixir would be able to solve the problem that even the dragon hadnt been able to solve.]

Seregia interrupted.

Thats what I think too.

Im just saying that because Im disappointed.

In any case, I defeated the dragon that had already been half dead. The only thing left to clear was to acquire the treasure.

The clear conditions clearly stated to defeat the earth dragon and acquire the earth dragons treasure.

Yeah itll probably take a quite a bit of time to find it.

As always, the magic in the dungeon was anarchic.

So long as I couldnt use my mana to search my surroundings, I would have to go around and search for it manually.

The clearing Im in right now is considerably vast. No. It looked ridiculously huge, and I also saw dark crossroads; who knows how far those crossroads would continue on for.

Perhaps Ill have to search the entire floor, including the room with the exit.

I didnt even know what exactly the earthworms treasure was.

The lowest floor was boundless.

Around the 11th floor or so, I had received a mission where I had to find a hidden treasure in an underground city.

It felt like I would be trapped inside that underground city forever. Needless to say, I had wandered around in there for a long time.

Ultimately though, I broke down a wall and found a secret room in a fit of anger.

If I have to find a hidden treasure again like that time

I pondered briefly before explaining the situation to Seregia and the holy sword.

And I asked the holy sword if he could find something similar to a treasure with his magic.

[It would be difficult. I cant really do anything about the mana obstruction magic in this room. Also, Warrior.]

Yeah?

[Are you sure that that treasure is in the lowest floor? Based on what you said, Warrior, you dont know where the treasure is, right?]

After the holy sword spoke, I was momentarily silent.

What if the its treasure was outside?

That was actually a little better.

Thats because I can just interrogate anyone who might have the treasure. Interrogate roughly, that is.

For example, that old guide lady.

However, if it were somewhere in the middle floor, the upper-middle floor, or the upper floor

How would I find it?

Im screwed.

I had been so focused on the dragon that I had completely forgotten about the treasure.

* * * * * *

First, I decided to search the lowest floor meticulously.

If I look for it and cant find it at all, I can just use the Order of Vigilance to look for corresponding information on the lowest floor, so there was no reason to be overly anxious.

Since the beginning, the Order of Vigilance was involved in helping with the rankers clears.

I have to use them at times like this.

I took out a magical stone lantern from my inventory and slowly looked around the lowest floor.

There were talon scratch marks here and there on what remained of the walls and the floor.

They were from the dragons talons, of course.

Anyhow, why did the dragon become like that? Based on the murals, I know that it was afflicted with some sort of curse or poison. But is it possible for a dragon to lapse into such an incurable idiotic monster?

The murals had also depicted a time when the dragon had been wise, governing the humans under its command.

If thats the case, then it means it suddenly changed like that after the battle with that black being.

[Arent stories of frenzied dragons fairly common?]

A frenzied dragon?

No, thats the first time Ive heard about it. Please explain it to me.

Seregia explained.

[Its not a special story. Its a story commonly pa.s.sed down orally. A dragon that had lived for thousands of years went insane due to a certain reason. Each person has their own theory, but if theres a common denominator, its that the dragon didnt stop rampaging until it died. Most stories speak of an ancient empire that couldnt stop the dragons rampage and fell or they speak of an entire race being wiped out.]

After hearing Seregias explanation, I interpreted it as something that could happen occasionally; however, a dragon going mad was still uncommon.

A mad dragon, huh Then are there any stories of people successfully defeating a frenzied dragon?

[No. There arent any. As it destroyed everything in its sight, it would exhaust itself, weaken, and die. Its a common ending.]

Weaken and die?

Then while its running amok, youre basically saying that you have no other choice besides running away.

Is that so? Then is this guy too weak to be called a dragon?

[Im sorry?]

Well, thats because at its level, I wouldve stopped it regardless.

[Im sorry?]

[Pardon?]

What?

Seregia and the holy sword both expressed their doubt.

I played along.

I mean, it was becoming a bit stale. When I realized that that guy was dumb, I didnt really feel like he was much of a threat to me anymore. Thats why it felt a little empty.

[ From start to finish, I thought that it was very dangerous. In the first place, a dragon that isnt frenzied isnt a being that mere humans can mess with.]

[Hoo. Hoo. As expected, youre truly the warrior that I, the holy sword Ahoubuch, chose. I love you, Warrior.]

The holy sword once again said something that gave me gooseb.u.mps.

I ignored him and asked a question.

Holy sword. Do you have any guesses as to why the dragon turned out like that?

[There are a few causes that could make a dragon go crazy, but in this case, its probably a curse. Considering how the dragon couldnt treat it, there are two possibilities.]

The holy sword started its explanation.

Unlike usual, Seregia and I quietly listened to the holy swords explanation.

[First, theres a chance that it was the type of curse that was impossible to purge. Ive heard about it before, but if its the type of curse that parasitizes the hosts mana, then the dragons immense mana could have been used to poison it. If not, then it could be the type of curse that suppresses ones mana. In this case, other people need to treat you, but not just anyone can treat that kind of curse.]

Surprisingly, the holy sword had a broad knowledge of curses.

And come to think of it, I hadnt thought about learning magic from the holy sword.

I do need offensive spells, but after I possess the knowledge regarding seals and curses, my highest priority will be having a defense against them.

Ill try to learn it when I have the time.

[The other case is that it was a curse that the dragon itself couldnt treat.]

Is that possible? Arent dragons normally at the pinnacle of magic?

Of course, it wasnt exactly information that I had personally witnessed.

Its normally like that.

[There are the G.o.ds.]

Ah. Thats right.

I had forgotten about the G.o.ds.

[If the dragons enemy drawn on the murals was an evil G.o.d, its entirely possible.]

It was an interesting story.

The G.o.ds that were watching the Tutorial.

They were the G.o.ds that were watching me, even at this very moment.

If such G.o.ds existed, they would clearly make their presence known to the world.

In the 16th floor and 26th floor, there were people who had talked about the G.o.ds.

And I had also heard about the consequences of the G.o.ds intervention in those worlds.

The stories that the knight on the 16th floor had told me and the holy sword that the G.o.d of the Sky had gifted mankind on the 26th floor fit in perfectly.

If thats the case, theres a possibility that that dragon had attacked a G.o.d as well.

Since it was a matter that couldnt be found on Earth, I hadnt thought about the possibility of a G.o.d being the attacker.

And inside this Tutorial, the G.o.ds range of activity was significantly limited.

All they could do was use messages to relay their feelings and intent to the challengers, and exhibit their power.

To me, the G.o.ds existence still seemed like a mirage in a far-off place; it felt as though they were unknown beings that I could never reach in my lifetime.

Thats something I need to change.

I have a goal.

As soon as Ive achieved my goal, and if the G.o.ds deny it

Then Ill have to try to convince them, or bend down to their will.

As absurd as I felt thinking about it, it was also a task that was just as hard.

However, its a task Ive promised myself to do, as well as something I had to do for my own sake.

Thus, in order to fulfill my goal, I cant just remain as an infinitesimally small existence before the G.o.ds.

[The G.o.d of Slowness is pleased.]

[The G.o.d of Adventure is rooting for you.]

[The G.o.d of Dueling is staying silent.]

[The G.o.d of Death is rubbing his eyelids.]

[The G.o.d of the Sky is feeling uncomfortable.]

[The G.o.d of Devotion feels sorry for you.]

[The G.o.d of Nature thinks youre foolish.]

The messages before my eyes pa.s.sed by quickly.

Aside from the G.o.ds that I see often, there were even some G.o.ds that I had only seen a few times.

The total sum of those messages was 100.

[All the G.o.ds of the Temple of a Hundred G.o.ds are watching you.]

I wont be able to think to myself, jeez.

Most of the G.o.ds had negative reactions.

Those that expressed a positive reaction were only a small minority.

The G.o.d of Chaos for example, or the G.o.d of Amus.e.m.e.nt sent reactions. They were, for the most part, G.o.ds who enjoyed ridiculous situations.

Then theres the G.o.d of Adventure and the G.o.d of Slowness.

Are these guys ok?

If you look at it a certain way, I had essentially promised to fight against the G.o.ds will, yet they were cheering me on.

[The G.o.d of Adventure is clenching his fists.]

[The G.o.d of Slowness is embarra.s.sed about someone.]

Subsequently, I couldnt help but giggle.

That old man sure doesnt change.

He really doesnt change.

* * * * * *

After about four hours had pa.s.sed since I started searching the lowest floor, Seregia asked.

[Im sorry, but Warrior. Could you please give more details on the explanation you were presented with? Were lacking too many clues. There wont be an end if we keep searching like this.]

After she asked, I revealed all the information that had been presented to me.

[Ultimately, we dont have any information regarding the dragons treasure.]

Yeah. That was all the guidance it gave me to find it.

[If there are so few clues, lets inversely use the lack of information as a clue.]

How?

[One of the two conditions: if you defeat the dragon, you should be able to naturally find the dragons treasure. If thats true, then the treasure should be close to the dragons body. For example, it could be the dragons corpse itself. Above all, its a dragons corpse.]

[A dragon heart! Hoo. Hoo. Hoo. Hoo. I, the holy sword Ahoubuch, who received the blessing of a G.o.d, have figured out the answer. A dragons most valuable treasure is a dragons heart! Its a dragon heart. This earth-shattering reasoning! Wow though Im a holy sword, Im so extraordinary, arent I?]

No. You just said out loud what Seregia had already figured out.

[No thats not it, Warrior. I figured it out first. I was just late because I sorted my thoughts first and then spoke. Really. Please trust me. If you deduct the time I took confirming my hypothesis, I had figured it out more than an hour ago. Miss Seregia? You also think that way, dont you, Miss Seregia?]

[First, please check if the treasure truly is the dragon heart. Warrior.]

Seregia sharply ignored the holy swords remark.

Just like she said, I returned to the area with the dragons corpse.

I approached the dragons belly as it lay unmoving on its side

When I got closer, the corpses foul stench began to hit my nose

I thought I had seen it all, yet even I felt as though I was going to vomit a little.

I felt nauseous.

My nose was congested with the foul stench.

When you think about my skills corresponding to my senses like Paralysis Resistance and Poison Resistance, its really unbelievable.

The source of this foul smell is probably the curse that the dragon was afflicted with.

Rather than a simple foul odor, theres a high chance that the corpse is still afflicted with magic.

Whatever the case, at least in this instance, I was thankful that my sense of smell was impaired.

It was good to know that my sense of smell had been moderately paralyzed.

In the meantime, I drew the soul sword to gut it.

[Warrior.]

What?

[The great holy sword, Sir Ahb.o.o.boo said that he wanted to cut through the dragon and gain the t.i.tle of Dragon Slayer. Although the dragons already dead, you should at least give him the opportunity now.]

In conclusion, use the holy sword instead of her to butcher the dragon.

I thought about it briefly, sheathed the soul sword, and drew the holy sword instead.

[Warrior! Please just wait a moment. Just a moment.]

The holy sword frantically tried to stop me, but I ignored him and stabbed the dragons chest.

Ugh!

I ignored the holy swords screams and continued butchering it.

The gutting took longer than I thought it would.

I had actually vomited twice and the holy sword whined over and over again. By the time that the holy sword started to beg, I was able to take out the heart from the dragons chest.