hotmtlnovel Chapter 92
Chapter 92
The attitude is somewhat arrogant.
‘It’s because he’s the Swordmaster, so he must be confident in his abilities.’
A humble Swordmaster. It doesn’t quite match up.
Humility doesn’t seem to suit someone who could crush mountains.
‘No one seems angry.’
The players remaining on the 6th floor must also have a decent level of skill. They probably held prominent positions in their own dimensions.
However, the Swordmaster respected them. He even acknowledged players from other dimensions, showing deference to them.
What if they didn’t know each other’s abilities? Wouldn’t some players have felt discomfort and rebelled against the Swordmaster’s attitude?
They began to speak about their skills. Rather than just skills, it was more about explaining what they could do.
They needed to understand each other's abilities if they were to hunt the dragon.
I revealed two of my skills: Ground Slam and Frozen Prison.
I didn’t have an obligation to share all my information.
“Your power is not bad.”
The Swordmaster, having gauged the abilities of all the players, smiled with satisfaction. It was a smile filled with murderous intent aimed at the dragon.
Even if the trial was being conducted by the administrator, it seemed like the Swordmaster took a great deal of pleasure in killing dragons.
“There’s a possibility the administrator increased the dragon’s power level. So, let’s begin by testing its strength.”
“I have a question.”
A martial artist from the martial world spoke to the Swordmaster.
A middle-aged martial artist. This was the first time I’d seen him.
The Swordmaster nodded slightly, giving him permission to speak.
“I’m curious. How strong are dragons in the Middleworld, the dimension you come from?”
“You’ve never seen a dragon?”
The martial artist nodded.
“Except for the administrator of the 1st floor, I’ve never seen a dragon. I think the others haven’t either.”
I had seen a dragon. The red dragon that the Swordmaster slaughtered during the Crew Making on the 1st floor. The one that suddenly charged at me.
“To hunt a dragon... it would take three Swordmasters.”
The Swordmaster casually said that he couldn’t defeat a dragon on his own.
The martial artist was taken aback.
Other players also reacted similarly. Was it really that difficult?
‘The first dragon I saw was the administrator’s, so it’s hard to make an objective judgment.’
The administrator is an ascender.
So, the thought arises that the dragon is strong not because it’s a dragon, but because the administrator is strong.
“If we quantify its power using the Soul System stats... The dragon would likely exceed 200.”
“200...!”
The number 200 must have been based on his own stats.
‘...Even martial artists are really weak, huh?’
A peak martial artist’s stats barely reach around 100. But a dragon has 200?
With this kind of difference, even dozens of peak martial artists wouldn’t be able to defeat a single dragon.
‘Ascenders...’
Are there different tiers even among ascenders?
Well, that would explain why some people give up on climbing and choose to become administrators.
They too are essentially the discarded ones. They just no longer face trials.
The evaluation of the dragon was adjusted upward.@@@@
The way the players looked at the Swordmaster also changed.
“Not all dragons are like that. There are relatively weaker dragons, too. Hatchlings that haven’t fully matured.”
During Crew Making, the Swordmaster successfully killed a red dragon. Considering the dragon’s specs, it would’ve been difficult for me to land a breath attack on it.
‘Was the one I fought not a full-grown dragon?’
Even among humans, there are differences in rank. The same must apply to dragons.
“Is there a way to determine a dragon’s strength?”
Alice asked.
The Swordmaster hesitated for a moment before answering.
Even he couldn’t immediately discern the dragon’s strength.
Although the dragon could be seen in the distance, it was impossible to assess its level with the naked eye. Whether it was a hatchling or a fully grown dragon, there was no way to tell.
“That’s why I asked about your skills. I need to know if anyone can lure the dragon.”
Even if we didn’t know what kind of breath it was about to unleash, we could tell it was about to activate a skill.
“Spread out!”
Surviving is up to each person.
The Swordmaster wasn’t going to help the players.
I instinctively activated my survival instincts and distanced myself as much as possible.
It took less than 2 seconds to do so.
The benefit of consistently increasing my agility was showing.
Tzzzzzz-!
I further distanced myself from the dragon and activated Frozen Prison.
The damage from my Frozen Prison wasn’t the problem, but its durability was key.
‘And the attribute too.’
Being an ice wall, it would greatly help mitigate the damage from the fiery breath.
The fire breath swept across the plain.
It almost felt like I could feel the heat through the ice wall.
“Huff. I’m glad I know some familiar faces.”
“What are you guys doing?”
Inside the makeshift wall I created with Frozen Prison, Yuki and Hikari were standing.
I didn’t even notice when they had entered.
“It’s really tough.”
Hikari tapped the ice wall with her hands.
“Even with your kind of superpowers, you can’t handle the dragon’s breath?”
“You never know.”
Even if players are strong, once their health reaches 0, they die.
Even if your limbs are intact, once your health is gone, you’re immediately out.
Even the strongest can’t guarantee 100% victory.
It’s best to avoid dangerous situations for your mental health.
This was new information to me.
“...So, we’re not invincible?”
“It’s because of the Soul System.”
Yuki, who had melted her body like ice to avoid fatal injuries.
Hikari, who could ignore all attacks by photonizing herself.
They weren’t invincible either.
They still took some damage due to the Soul System.
The fire breath didn’t last forever.
After successfully blocking the breath, I released Frozen Prison.
The plain was burned black.
I could truly feel the power of the dragon’s breath.
‘My hatchling breath can’t compare to this.’
If the real breath was a flamethrower, my breath was like a lighter.
It was more like a fire show where you spit out alcohol you’re holding in your mouth.
“...The administrator is a real bastard.”
“We agreed to participate in the additional mission. There’s no choice.”
Yuki clicked her tongue as she looked around the plain.
I could see that more players than I expected had been killed by the fire breath.
Roughly half of them had died without being able to do anything.
“They’re all trash. Hyenas trying to scavenge something on the battlefield.”
The Swordmaster came closer.
He looked at me and asked.
“You. You’re quite a strong mage, aren’t you?”
“...Me?”
“Ah, there are no mages in your dimension, right? Anyway.”
The Swordmaster’s eyes gleamed.
It looked like he had found prey.
“Come, let’s hunt that dragon together. With your magic, we can definitely take it down.”
“......”