Acquired the Scam Rune in the Academy

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The Blue Dragon of Bravery (2)

My body feels heavy.

Just as the information window showed, I can feel that all my ability stats have dropped significantly.

Naturally, my level 10 stealth was easily broken.

And it’s not just me.

My Master’s stealth was also broken, and she was standing in front of me holding a weapon.

Her usually calm expression was tense for the first time in a long while.

That meant that even to her, an S-grade Holder, the current situation didn’t look good.

“Jae-hyun, that might be…”

“Yes. It seems to be the boss of this dungeon. The dragon we’ve only heard rumors about…”

My Master and I turned our gaze towards the sky.

The vast skyscape was the same as before.

A single blue dragon, large enough to cover the entire sky, was circling the area.

Its size was overwhelming, on the same scale as the first Bon I saw without using [Dragon Transformation].

The mighty being, the Brave Blue Dragon.

It exuded a presence befitting its brilliant name.

‘What rank would it be?’

Of all the monsters I’ve seen so far, the highest ranked was the S-grade monster ‘Swirl Leviathan’.

The Swirl Leviathan was the disaster monster that appeared in Pohang, trampling numerous Holders and turning the sea into a field.

It was also the second piece of the [Forgotten Stone of a Dragon], corresponding to the ‘Dragon’.

Comparing that monster to this Blue Dragon, called Fluvius…

—–!!

—–.

A soundless roar echoes again.

A tense chill runs through my body.

It feels like that massive body could lunge at us any moment.

‘…It’s incomparable.’

I shook my head heavily.

It was embarrassing to even compare them.

Just as there are varying skill levels among A-grade Holders and monsters, of course there would be a gap even within S-grade.

The Swirl Leviathan was one of the weakest among S-grade monsters.

Compared to other S-grade disaster monsters that appeared, it was quite easy to hunt, and while its ability stats were very high, its rune level was quite low.

Its main rune [Swirling Tidal Wave] was only level 7.

In fact, the rune level of my contractor Aspidochelone with the same rune was 16…

It should have been classified as a top A-grade monster.

In other words, the Blue Dragon before us now was at the very least a top S-grade monster, or perhaps even a ‘new rank’ of being that hasn’t appeared in the Holder world yet.

‘Wait, Aspidochelone?’

In that pressing situation, as I endlessly pondered countermeasures in my head, I suddenly had a peculiar thought.

The turtleAspidochelone, which served the mighty being.

With its S-grade power, it was a monster I could never have contracted with my original runes.

But like with Bon, I was a dragon knight called ‘Oathman’…

I was able to contract him thanks to [Forgotten Dragon Knight’s Pride] and [Promise Bound by the Dragon].

And the being Aspidochelone served is now in the sky above.

The system directly referred to it as the ‘Brave Blue Dragon’, so there was no doubt.

Then what if I summoned Aspidochelone here?

‘Could it communicate with the dragon?’

With no idea when the dragon might attack, I didn’t hesitate long.

I immediately used the [Call of the Contract] skill of the [Summon] rune.

However….

[A strange flow of magic is interfering with you. Due to a special barrier, magic travel is impossible! To lift the restriction, special conditions must be met or the barrier must be destroyed.]

[‘Call of the Contract’ skill usage has been canceled.]

‘…Damn it.’

I was blocked right away.

The domain of a mighty being.

This dungeon with that grandiose name seemed to have a special barrier installed that blocks any warp effects using magic stones.

If Holders focusing on [Taming Contracts] had entered this dungeon, they probably would have died instantly without being able to do anything.

And so, my attempt at communication through summoning Aspidochelone was in vain.

“Jae-hyun! Run away!”

And then…

As soon as the attempt failed, crisis struck.

At Master’s sharp cry, I turned my gaze back to the sky.

The Blue Dragon, which had been calmly circling and watching us, suddenly began flapping its wings lightly.

“……!!”

Our expressions turned to shock at the sight.

What arose from those wingbeats was not wind.

Water.

It was water.

Not just an amount visible to the eye, but a vast, immeasurable quantity.

From the sky, the ground, or beyond the hills…

Water came flooding in from all directions.

“Crazy… That’s way too much.”

It was far too massive to be considered a simple water-attribute spell.

How much there was, how deep it was.

It was beyond comprehension.

The barren wasteland was being covered by a virtual ocean.

Shaaah-!!

Kuwoong!!

The massive waves sometimes struck the ground like thunder.

With the booming sound, Master and I tried to quickly flee the oncoming waves.

“There’s nowhere to take cover…”

But unfortunately, there was no place nearby to hide.

The wasteland was a true wasteland.

There was not a single geographical feature around that could shield us from these waves.

If I were to somehow leap into the sky, I could temporarily avoid the incoming waves…

But after that, I would inevitably have to face this sea of water head-on.

“…Make a single flower bloom.”

“…?!”

And then, at that moment.

A single command spilled from my master’s lips.

I know the meaning behind that command.

It was the [Snowfield Descending Blossom] of [Plum Blossom in the Snow, my master’s signature ultimate skill that is quite well-known in the Holder realm.

Being an ultimate skill of the assassin class, it was an extremely powerful offensive skill.

‘The ultimate skill already…?’

But I never thought that ultimate skill would come out already at this stage.

It was an extremely bold judgment.

In my understanding, offensive ultimate skills were always the final attack to finish a battle…

Yet my master did not hesitate to use this to block the enemy’s skill.

Shoooaaa–!!

Sssu– ssut–

Shashasaha–

“Jae-hyun always has the habit of holding back skills.”

My master, quickly moving around me, spoke as she used her skill.

“Whether it’s a practice match or an actual battle. You need to know how to boldly use your skills when you think it’s necessary. Even if it’s an ultimate skill.”

Though her body moved busily, strangely, all those words clearly reached my ears.

“My ultimate skill can slice through anything regardless of direction. That includes things made of magic as well.”

Finally, her blades made contact with the pouring water.

Among the overcast weather and violent waves…

Untimely snow flowers scattered.

My master moved like a dancer wielding blades, using her two short swords to unhesitatingly ‘slice’ through the waves.

“…!!”

It was truly an astonishing sight.

The water pouring at us from all directions was sliced by my master’s short swords, naturally gathering and flowing away in different directions.

The water sliced from the right flowed back to the right, and from the left back to the left.

The waters that had come from different directions all returned the way they came.

Through this, a single ‘whirlpool’ was formed.

Just now, my master had created a whirlpool with just her sword strikes.

Within the small space inside the whirlpool she had made in the sea, my master looked at me.

“Like this, don’t hold back and use your skills freely when you think it’s necessary. Even if it seems trivial, doing so will make you a more skilled Holder.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

A teaching blooming in the midst of real combat.

For me, still lacking experience as a Holder, this was advice that would become my flesh and blood.

Gripping my sword tightly with a tense feeling, I engraved her words into my mind.

Seeing my state, my master nodded before continuing, “Jae-hyun. Can you provide magic support?”

“Magic support…?”

“Yes. It would be good if we could attack together, but with your current stats, it’s nearly impossible to inflict damage on that dragon. That monster Fluvius is showing the most destructive appearance among the S-grade monsters I’ve ever encountered.”

I nodded my head at those words.

No matter how much my stats had improved, there was a clear limit based on my experience.

Even using both [Berserker] and [Dragon Breath], I definitely wouldn’t be able to reach Pluvius.

But a Holder’s power is not all about stats.

If my physical stats were lacking, I just needed to supplement my power through rune utilization.

“Yes. I’ll try.”

“Good. Then just focus on dealing damage support. No need for Levitation separately.”

“No need?”

“Yes.”

Together with those words, my master simply jumped straight up from where she stood.

Literally jumped.

Jumping up, she ‘leapt’ into the air.

‘Damn. What the hell is that?’

My master was leaping towards the sky.

Unlike me, my master is not a Multi-Holder capable of using wind attribute magic runes.

She is solely specialized in combat runes and martial arts as an assassin-class Holder.

Naturally, she could not use [Levitation].

In other words, right now she was walking through the air without using any magic.

‘So that’s the legendary Air-Treading technique.’

A skill derived from pushing physical reinforcement runes like those used by assassin or offensive warrior-class Holders to the extreme.

Commonly referred to as ‘lightfoot technique’ as well, [Air-Treading] is the skill that emerges.

It seemed my master had already reached that realm and was skilled in its use.

Only then did her bold use of the ultimate skill make sense.

Even without relying on the ultimate skill, her innate abilities themselves were already trustworthy powers.

“I should help too.”

I couldn’t just gape blankly at her movements.

I also had a definite opportunity to provide support.

The whirlpool my master created offered me a safe space, indicating it was the optimal situation for me to utilize magic.

‘Berserker, Dragon Breath.’

First, I pumped up my stats.

Using those two skills instantly amplified my stats by 80%.

Naturally, my magic stat easily surpassed the level of an A-grade Holder.

‘Array. Then manifest.’

Using the [Magic Control] rune, I arrayed the magic.

Strangely, the location was inside my open mouth.

Special magic was arrayed within my widely opened mouth.

‘Apply, Amplify.’

And then through the spell rune [Florian Spell] I recently acquired, I applied it.

An essential rune for manifesting formal magic.

Borrowing that rune’s power, I altered the magic formula and further layered [Magic Amplification] on top.

Most of the remaining magic within my body began concentrating towards my mouth.

Preparations were complete with that.

Nothing more was needed.

Slowly, as the magic concentrated and gradually built up…

I raised my head towards the sky and opened my eyes wide.

‘Dragon Breath…!!’

The magic support my master had requested.

The strongest magic skill I could currently use towards that dragon in the sky was…

Ironically, the [Dragon Breath] exclusively used by dragons themselves.

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