CHAPTER 120: WHERE THE DRAGON HAS FALLEN ASLEEP (3)

The formed party of three took a helicopter arranged by Isabella to reach Baekdu Mountain. In the past, getting there through North Korea's airspace would have been unthinkable, but the nation was nothing but an abandoned wasteland now. It was one of many countries destroyed during the first gate incidents nine years ago, though some lucky survivors still lived in small villages.

Kwon Oh-Jin clicked his tongue as he looked down at the eerie, desolate ruins of a city below. How tragic.

“We’ll be arriving soon," Isabella conveyed. "Please get ready, Mr. Oh-Jin.”

“Okay.”

Tututututu!

The propellers hummed loudly as Song Ha-Eun's gentle voice cut through the noise.

“By the way, how exactly are we getting off this thing?”

She looked around the mountain, tilting her head sideways. The rugged landscape didn’t hint at any suitable place to land.

“We’ll be going down with these,” Isabella answered with a bright smile, holding up a parachute backpack.

“Oh!" Song Ha-Eun’s eyes sparkled. "This feels like one of those special forces missions.”

“Well, with our current resources, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call ourselves special forces.”

An eight-star Awakener of Draco, a six-star Awakener of Lyra, and a six-star Awakener of Aries were enough to easily wipe out any real special forces unit.

Though Isabella's not actually of Aries, Kwon Oh-Jin thought. She's a high-ranking Awakener of the Leech.

He didn’t know her exact star level, but after her one-sided slaughter of the nine-star Marco Giorno, she was at least ten stars or higher.

Special forces won't do it. He sighed. An entire nation would have to mobilize to take her down.

She handed him a bag with an innocent smile. “Mr. Oh-Jin, have you ever used a parachute before?”

“Nope. This will be my first time.”

“Hehe, then let’s use mine together! I’m even licensed, you know!”

Song Ha-Eun glared at Isabella. “Then what about me, you wench?”

“Oh, don’t worry! One of my family’s bodyguards will go with you, Miss Ha-Eun.”

A large Black man sitting silently in the co-pilot seat grinned and gave a thumbs-up, his pearly white teeth gleaming so brightly that it was almost intimidating.

“Leave it to me!” he said in very awkward Korean, seemingly without a translation device.

“I’ll go down with him," Kwon Oh-Jin interjected. "Isabella, you go with Ha-Eun."

“O-Oh, why?”

“Just cause.”

A strange, ominous feeling crept over him at the thought of Song Ha-Eun and the bodyguard huddled together on their way down like some unmarked videotape would one day show up at his doorstep mysteriously.

“Hmm... alright," Isabella grumbled. "Then I’ll go down with Miss Ha-Eun.”

“I’m counting on you.” He grinned and jumped out of the helicopter with the bodyguard.

The fierce wind whipped against his face, sending a thrilling shiver down his spine.

“Whooooooo! Do you feel it?! Thunder Wolf!”

“Feel what?!”

“This is what it feels like to fly through the skyyyyyy!”

“Uh... okay...”

“All that falls has no wings[1]! This is Newton's undeniable logic!”

“... What the hell is this guy on?”

Kwon Oh-Jin felt even more relieved that he hadn’t paired this guy with Song Ha-Eun.

After a brief freefall, they deployed their parachutes and glided down gently. Despite the bodyguard's unhinged chatter, he maneuvered the parachute with expert precision and landed perfectly on a narrow clearing halfway up the mountain.

Finally, he flashed a bright white grin and gave a thumbs-up. “Well then, I’ll be off! Good luck clearing the dungeon with the young miss!”

Kwon Oh-Jin returned a small nod as the bodyguard began to walk away. Then, he suddenly turned back.

“Oh, by the way! My name's Vittorio!”

So what?

“Feel free to call me Rio-chan!”

“No thanks.”

Seriously, what’s wrong with him?

“Aww, come oooon! Try saying it just once!”

“Please fuck off.”

“Holy moly! Even when the Korean wolf curses, it’s beautiful!”

I should ask Isabella later why the hell she has someone like him as a subordinate, Kwon Oh-Jin thought.

“Haha! Well then, I’ll really be going now!” Vittorio spun back around and sped down the mountain, kicking up a heavy cloud of dust as he faded into the distance.

His weird personality aside, the way he was speeding down that mountain was impressive enough to be hired as a bodyguard of the Colgrande Family.

No wonder he's a bodyguard of the Colgrande Family with that speed, even if he's weird as hell. Though I’m not sure if he’s actually an Awakener of the Leech faction instead.

Either way, Kwon Oh-Jin didn’t want to ever run into him again.

The pendant suddenly glowed, and Vega appeared.

“What a peculiar fellow,” she remarked.

“I know, right?”

“By the way, my child, are you sure it’s alright to accept this request? Didn’t you say that 'Isabella' girl's an Executor of the Black Star Society?”

“Well, I don’t think she’ll pull anything for now.”

“Hmm. Still, it worries me.”

“I think it’s shady too... but it’d be a waste to pass up this opportunity.”

“Is the Astral Relic you spoke of hidden in this dungeon?”

“Maybe. I’m not sure yet,” he replied. He would have to check for himself. “Anyway, Vega, stay with me for the entire mission, just in case."

I'll have to rely on her in the worst-case scenario.

“Hmph! Just leave it to me! If that girl tries anything funny, I’ll grant you my blessing immediately!”

“Pfft! Thanks. Oh, and you know not to tell her you’re a Celestial, right?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll just tell her you’re my contracted guardian spirit, so play pretend for now.”

“Alright.”

Now then, time to regroup with Ha-Eun and Isabella, he thought. He heard Song Ha-Eun's voice ring out close by.

“Oh-Jin! Over here!”

Following the sound, he spotted Song Ha-Eun and Isabella.

“Was everything alright on the way down?” Isabella asked.

“Well, if I had to say, it was uncomfortable,” he answered.

“O-Oh my. Did Vittorio say anything inappropriate?”

Yeah, a shit ton.

She continued, “I apologize. Vittorio has... a strong preference for men.”

“... What?”

“I was actually trying to be considerate. Since I figured Miss Ha-Eun might be uncomfortable otherwise, I assigned someone like him.”

You should’ve told me that earlier, lady. Does that mean I could’ve been the lead star of that unmarked videotape?

Holy moly.

“Oh, but don’t worry.” Isabella flashed a sweet smile. “Vittorio prefers being the bottom.”

“Stop.”

Damn it. I don’t want to imagine it, but my brain's forcing me to!

He sighed and asked, “Anyway, where’s the dungeon entrance?”

“It’s over there.”

Isabella led them through the dense foliage. Past a narrow path between cliffs, a massive three-meter-tall entrance came into view.

His eyes widened. This is...

Dense mana radiated from the gate and flowed all around them like an enormous, turbulent river. “This... is a Dragon Vein,” Vega remarked.

“Dragon Vein?”

“Didn’t the opening of gates disrupt Earth’s ecosystem? Dragon Veins are places where the flow of the mana of stars is abnormally dense.”

Hmm. Could the Astral Relic that Lee Shin-Hyuk mentioned really be here?

Dungeons were known for having exceptional rewards, but with a Dragon Vein running through it, there had to be a significant Astral Relic inside at the very least.

Isabella turned to face Vega. “You said you’re a contracted spirit of Mr. Oh-Jin? I’m surprised you know about the Dragon Vein.”

“I once served a Celestial. Naturally, I know a thing or two about the stars.”

“Hehe. I’ve encountered spirits before, but never one with such clear intelligence.”

“My guardian spirit is a bit special,” Kwon Oh-Jin said, placing Vega on his shoulder before stepping into the gate.

As soon as they entered, a glowing blue message appeared before him.

Ring!

[Kwon Oh-Jin has entered ‘Where the Dragon has Fallen Asleep.’]

[Fulfill certain conditions to clear the dungeon.]

Where the dragon has fallen asleep, huh? He began to scan his surroundings.

Next to him, Song Ha-Eun and Isabella gasped.

“Whoa, what the hell? It’s so fucking sparkly.”

“What a beautiful place.”

The cave was massive and easily over two hundred meters tall. Its ceiling was embedded with blue crystals that emitted a soft, glowing light illuminating the cave like stars in the night sky.

“We don’t know what might jump out, so stay on guard,” Kwon Oh-Jin warned.

“Yes!” Isabella replied.

“Ha, whatever pops up, I’ll just roast it nice and crispy.” Song Ha-Eun strode further inside with a cocky smile. Even so, she wasn't being careless. Small candle-sized flames floated around her to light up their surroundings.

Well, Ha-Eun does have a lot of experience, he acknowledged. No matter how confident she seemed, she wasn’t foolish enough to let her guard down inside a gate.

Step. Step.

Their footsteps echoed faintly in the enormous cave. No one spoke as they carefully advanced deeper inside, until Song Ha-Eun suddenly stopped at the front.

“Wait.” She extinguished her flames and stared straight ahead. “There’s something up ahead.”

“Is it a monster?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

“Probably.”

A little further in, they spotted a group of monsters.

Reptilians...?

They were the same bipedal lizard creatures he'd encountered before in the underground sewers beneath Seoul Station.

There were quite a few of them, but at best, they were only three-star monsters—weak enough for Kwon Oh-Jin to wipe out with a simple gesture.

Crunch. Chomp.

“... What are they eating?”

The blue-scaled reptilians greedily gnawed at the blue crystals embedded in the walls with their bone-like claws like ants stripping a carcass.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

They extended their long tongues to suck in the shards in a gluttonous manner.

“Mr. Oh-Jin.”

“These don’t seem like ordinary reptilians.” He squinted as he detected drastically higher energy levels than from the ones he'd seen in the sewers.

They’re at least... six-star monsters?

It was hard to tell for sure since he wasn’t some martial arts master from a wuxia novel, who could gauge an opponent’s strength just by looking at them.

“Ha! A reptilian's still just a reptilian." Song Ha-Eun stepped forward and spread her arms wide. Flames materialized and bloomed into a massive curtain of fire.

Fwoosh!

“Isabella, you’re an Aries Awakener, right?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Then buff me up. I’m gonna wipe these guys out in one shot.”

“Hmm...

I was planning to buff Mr. Oh-Jin, though.” Isabella looked reluctant, but she raised her staff nonetheless.

The golden gemstone at its tip gleamed vividly.

“Sheep’s Haven.”

The golden light burst outward and covered the ground, sending a thrilling energy through whoever stepped on it.

Kwon Oh-Jin took a step back and observed her. Is she using that staff to mimic the powers of Aries?

A bright, golden aura flowed from the left side of her chest into her staff.

At a glance, she could easily be mistaken for an Aries Awakener.

From the mana she emitted to the skills she utilized, nothing suggested she bore the Stigma of Leech.

“Hahaha! This is insane!” Song Ha-Eun shouted, standing over the golden energy, and charged forward.

The reptilian horde snapped their heads toward her.

“Krrk?”

“Krrrr!”

She formed a finger gun with her index and middle fingers. “Here I go!”

A massive sphere of fire ignited at her fingertips.

Fwoosh!

The condensed flames flared brightly, filling the cave with a burning wave of heat.

“Be baptized by this inferno!” she bellowed.

A tidal wave of fire swept through the horde.

Boom!

“Keeek!”

“Krrk! Kreee!”

“Kishaaaah!”

Though these reptilians had grown abnormally strong from consuming the blue crystals, they were still small fry against Song Ha-Eun’s flames.

Sizzle!

The stench of burning flesh filled the cave, mingling with an oddly appetizing aroma.

“They say lizard meat tastes like chicken..." She turned toward Kwon Oh-Jin and smiled. "Honestly, it even smells like fried chicken.”

Isabella gasped in awe. “Wow! You’re an Awakener of Draco, right? I’ve never seen one in action before. Your firepower is incredible!”

“Damn.” Kwon Oh-Jin was also shocked by her prowess.

That increase in mana alone made her this much stronger? I always knew she was a master at handling her Stigma, but I didn't expect this. She hasn't even activated the Draconic Eye.

Even with Isabella’s buffs, wiping out dozens of mutated reptilians with a single attack was absurd.

“Hehe, what do you think, Oh-Jin?" Song Ha-Eun smirked and nudged him with her elbow. "I’m amazing, right?”

“Yeah, you actually kinda are.”

“Hahaha! Right? Right? Just sit back, strap in, and let me carry you through this raid!”

“Pfft. I’ll be in your care, then,” he replied. He had no doubts that she was way better at wiping out large groups of enemies with sheer firepower.

“Hehe, what should I charge you?”

“I-I gave you a buff too, you know!” Isabella grumbled.

“Oh, yeah, that buff was insane. Honestly, I didn’t expect to take them all out in one shot.” Song Ha-Eun's eyes gleamed as if she saw Isabella differently now.

As the two chatted, Kwon Oh-Jin walked over to the scorched reptilian corpses, pulled out a knife, and swiftly cut out their Starstones.

It's blue. This means they aren't true mutants. Narrowing his eyes, he examined the Reptilians. Is it the Dragon Vein making them so strong?

He'd wanted to gauge just how much stronger they were, but Song Ha-Eun had wiped them out in one blow.

Just then, he noticed something.

“Huh?”

The firestorm had torn out the blue crystals on the cave walls, revealing something underneath.

His eyes widened, and his shocked voice echoed through the cave.

“What the hell is that?”

1. A play on the poetic phrase “All that falls has wings,” which originated from literature and is often used to suggest that even in failure or descent, there is potential for rise or transformation. ☜