The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter

Treasure Mountain was part of a range of mountains. It was lush with greenery this time of the year with tall trees blocking the light of the sun. Still, since summer was just around the corner, it was quite hot. I wasn’t expecting to be practically boiled by just walking.

Apparently there were valuable fruits and medicinal plants that can be used for blending in the area. Unfortunately, this was royal family property so we couldn’t take anything home.

‘Wait, what about using storage-type skills?’ was what I thought about first, but the guards seemed to suggest that they had methods to check that. Stealing something then would be difficult. Then again, we didn’t have time for that right now. We had our hands full just slaying the dragon.

「I’ll check the enemy’s position first.」

I asked the【Great Sage】the location of the nearest dragon.

【665 meters to the north.】it answered.

It was closer than expected. But it didn’t mean that this area was part of its habitat. It was possible that it was moving.

「Let’s wait here. I’ll check its location again after five minutes.」

I wanted to check for the variance. That way, we’d know how fast it was moving. Five minutes passed and I asked again.

【665 meters to the north.】it answered.

This could be good news. It wasn’t moving so it was either eating, just resting, or fast asleep. We could proceed safely.

「We’ll stand out with the three of us. I’ll go scout it out first.」

「Be careful.」

I went ahead, moving in light feet, then found the dragon. It was sleeping near the entrance of a huge cave. It was incredible how intimidating it was even with its eyes closed.

It was about five or six meters in length from head to tail. A smaller type of dragon. Its body looked tough, covered completely in brown scales. A line of spikes protruded from its head down to its back. Riding it looked impossible.

Like the info mentioned, its wings were too small compared to its constitution. Its body looked too heavy for it to fly. All right, I gotta check more than just its appearance. I moved closer carefully to appraise it.

Name: Earth Dragon

Level: 28

Skills: 【Intimidate】【Roar】【Charge】【Rock Breath】【Weak against Lightning C】

Its level was a lot lower than expected. We were extremely lucky. Still we should not let our guard down.

Clearly, a level 1 dragon was different from a level 1 regular monster or a level 1 human. A level 20 dragon would instantly crush a level 100 goblin in a battle. Plus the skills of an earth dragon would surely prove to be troublesome. Its charge would be more effective, and it had a rock type breath attack.

I checked to see if I could destroy its【Rock Breath】skill but it required 2,500 LP, so I abandoned the idea. I guess I could just make it more susceptible to lightning instead. 1,200 LP was needed to edit its weakness from C to B. It goes without saying, but a higher rank meant it would be more vulnerable. S rank required a whopping 7,000 LP so I just settled with a rank A.

My【Purple Lightning】should be more effective now. Hopefully, the items I imbued with【Electrification】would also work.

I went back to my friends and explained the situation, then as planned, proceeded to dig a hole with a shovel.

「You dig too fast, Noir.」

「So this is what a digging expert looks like…」

Apparently my digging skills was good — too good, in fact, that they were a bit creeped out. I’m just glad my【Excavation】skill came in handy. Thirty minutes of digging and the hole was ready. I buried some blades facing up. Behold, the Sword Hell! I doubted it would do enough damage but it was better than nothing.

Next we covered it with a huge cloth which we got by sewing a bunch of smaller pieces together. We pinned it down with some stones, pulling it tightly, then covered it with dirt for camouflage.

「All right! We’re all set. I’ll lure it here, then once it falls to our trap, you go on it.」

「Okay! Leave it to us!」

「You can run away if it proves to be too difficult. Your life’s more important.」

「I understand. See ya!」

I went back to where the dragon was. I was too busy, going back and forth. It was understandable, however, since I was the decoy.

The dragon was still asleep, breathing wildly through its nose. I moved closer to its tail, just a few meters away. I placed a piece of meat I bought from the market yesterday and sprayed it with water using my【Water Ball】skill. Except it was seawater. I quickly moved to its blindspot, behind a tree, then threw some pebbles at its tail. I was careful not to hit it too hard. I threw and threw but it wouldn’t wake up. It finally worked with the tenth try.

「Gwoah…?」

It finally woke up, letting out a groan. It turned towards my direction, checking its tail. I quickly hid, my heart beating fast. Holy crap!

I could hear it moving on all fours then stopped. I sneaked a peek and saw it standing in front of the meat. It didn’t even stop to smell it. It immediately proceeded to gnaw at it so I quickly granted【Electrification】on the meat. It normally required 1,000 LP but since I used seawater, the cost was halved.

「Gwwoooahh?!」

The dragon got shocked by the seawater-drenched meat it was chewing on and rolled over on its back. It was surprisingly very effective.

After about ten seconds, it roared, furious. It was unbearable. My ears hurt even with【Hearing Protection】on. I staggered from behind the tree, the deafening roar too much for me.

Our eyes met. It roared once again and I froze in place even though I had my【Courage】skill on. With my legs planted stiff, it charged at a reckless speed.

I’ll be torn to pieces if I got hit by that.

「Move…Come on! Move!」

The intense pressure finally disappeared, then I dived desperately, right before I got hit. I made it. The dragon continued ramming forward, mowing down trees. I’ve had enough. This thing’s a freakin’ monster!

It once again faced me with its robust body. I immediately prepared to run. But then there was a problem.

The dragon was blocking my way.

「Gaahhh…」

It calmed itself down and instead approached me slowly, trying to exert pressure on me. I could feel the intensity as if it was saying “I’ll definitely kill you.”

「Sorry, but I don’t intend to fight you one on one.」

I activated my【Flash】, a skill I use when in trouble. There was a blinding light. I made it past him just as the light disappeared. It seemed to not follow me, perhaps due to the light’s effect so I tried to put as much distance as possible between us.

Wait a sec. I looked behind me and felt a severe chill down my spine. The earth dragon was staring at me from far away, mouth open wide.

「A breath attack?」

My question was answered by a violent gale of hard rocks. No doubt my bones would be shattered if I got hit. I quickly dodged to my side to avoid the worst case scenario. The rocks’ sizes ranged from about as large as a human head to much larger ones, completely destroying everything they hit.

「I’m getting away! Catch me if you can!」I declared loudly as I ran in a zigzag pattern.

It let out a frustrated cry, chasing me. I struck a triumphant pose as I realized my plan was working. Still, I was in trouble. It was faster than me. I could feel its terrifying breath on my back when I saw the sheet just ahead.

There was no sign of Emma and Luna-san. No time to find them either.

Whoosh!

I jumped. The dragon stretched its neck, not wanting me to get away, but it failed to take a bite at me.

「Gwwwoooaaahhhh?!」

It stepped on the trap and fell all the way to sword hell. I, on the other hand, landed not so splendidly, rolling forward to kill my momentum.

A figure rushed past me, jumping over my head with a valiant battle cry. Luna-san took her spear and pierced the dragon’s upper jaw from above.

「Me too!」

Emma, who was hidden, stabbed its lower jaw from below. The dragon, struck from both directions, had it’s face contorted. Did the【Dragon Slayer】skill make it easier to pierce it?

「Fuuu… fuu…」

There was no time to think. I grabbed my spear and jumped in. It was weakened; the perfect chance. I lodged the spear deep into its throat with all my might. I was sent flying by its tail but it wasn’t anything serious. The dragon’s wound, on the other hand, appeared to be fatal as it stopped moving in the hole.

I rejoiced as my level passed the hundred mark. Luna-san healed my wounds with her【Heal Shot】while Emma rubbed my back which got struck earlier.

「It was barely level 30 and it was this powerful. Man, dragons are freakin’ scary.」

「But we won!」

「Yes… A victory made possible by our bonds, I suppose. (sweats)」

It was amusing watching Luna-san get embarrassed after saying that.

「Yes. It’s our party’s victory.」

I stretched my hand out, palm facing down. Emma placed hers on top of mine, and Luna-san’s on top of Emma’s. I did it on impulse, but this could work as a victory pose.

Anyway, so we moved on to dissection. Our priority was the fang we needed to pass our exam.

「It’s too tough!」

Emma was surprised to find her dagger not cutting through. Ordinary weapons didn’t seem to work. The spears, imbued with the skill, were easier to work with so we used those instead. We got the fangs, but…

「It would be a waste to leave this here. Materials from a dragon sell well. We could use them to make items too.」

「The meat tastes good too apparently.」

「Noir-dono, is your Different Dimension Storage skill rank C? I wonder if the whole thing will fit.」

「It might just work. The dragon wasn’t all that big. Even a rank C had enough room for it.」

I tried it and the dragon suddenly vanished.

「Wow! Amazing~!」

「Let’s go brag to those soldiers.」

We went down the mountain in high spirits. The guards asked how it went so I told them we succeeded in slaying the dragon.

「Ahaha! Lying is bad, you know. But I’m glad you’re all okay. I wouldn’t want youngsters dying in my watch. Especially not these beautiful ladies, no.」

I guess he doesn’t care if I die.

「We’re heading back. We have to inform the guild that we completed the quest.」

「You think if you hold on to your lies, it’ll eventually become true? Is that it?」

「Probably. Here.」

I let the earth dragon’s corpse out for them to see and their expressions changed in an instant.

「D-D-Did you really slay it?」

「As you can see.」

They touched and poked the corpse until their curiosity was satisfied. Then they posed to salute.

「You have earned our respect, great adventurers. We expect great things from you in the future.」

「You too should learn how to judge people properly, Sir.」

「Hmm… I have no words.」

I stopped myself from talking more smack. We strolled towards our carriage and headed back to our familiar town.

We encountered some monsters on the way back so by the time we arrived, it was already late at night. Odin was still open though so we went to submit our report. Laura-san was waiting for us even though office hours should’ve been over.

The first thing she did was run over to me and check for injuries.

「I’m glad you’re okay. How’d it go with the dragon?」

「Let me borrow this place for a sec.」

I showcased the dragon’s corpse in front of the counter. For a moment, the whole guild went still then a second later the members were all over it. I could see Laura-san’s eyes sparkling.

「Hya~! That’s Noir-san for you.」

「Wow! Is this real? How’d you take it down?」

「You guys have been doing great recently!」

It was late in the night, but the whole guild was buzzing with excitement. They were having fun even without booze. Most of all, we were having fun as well.

After all, anyone would lean a serious ear to someone telling a heroic tale. In the end, we all made merry, frolicking deep into the night.