Chapter 79 - Dungeon Tour

When I met Rosie after a long time, she didn't seem happy to see me at all.

As if we had parted in the morning and met again at lunch, she greeted me nonchalantly.

“You’re back?”

“What kind of greeting is that. To someone you’re seeing after half a month.”

“Isn’t half a month just the blink of an eye? Ah! Is it not for humans?”

I could see that a dragon’s concept of time was on a different dimension. Well, they were beings that could live for thousands, even tens of thousands of years.

It would take more time for her to get used to the human lifestyle.

“I heard from Ho-joong. That you were incredibly disobedient while I was gone.”

“But what can I do, swordsmanship is just so boring.”

“This isn’t a kids’ playground, it’s a sword family. If you’re going to stay here, shouldn’t you at least pretend to be doing something?”

“I did pretend, just as Ji-han said.”

“The problem is your attitude. Manners are a very important virtue in the human world.”

“I maintained the minimum level of manners. I didn’t hit Choi Ho-joong.”

Thwack—

I immediately flicked Rosie on the forehead.

“Ouch!”

“I know it doesn’t hurt.”

“But it still feels bad. Why did you suddenly hit me?”

“It’s a warning. Not to mess with my people, including Ho-joong.”

As I said that, I put strength into my gaze as I looked at Rosie.

To be honest, this kind of power struggle was not something I was used to.

Because as the emperor, everyone just crawled on their own accord before me.

Trying to tame a hatchling was making me do all sorts of things.

“Now that I hear it, I’m starting to feel upset! Does that mean I’m not one of Ji-han’s people?”

“You’re not a person.”

“But I’m pretending to be a person!”

“Then do it properly. By always observing the manners I mentioned earlier.”

“……Alright.”

As she said that, Rosie’s expression turned sullen, and she seemed to back down more easily than I thought.

“But Ji-han. Can I make just one excuse?”

“What excuse.”

“I don’t know much about swordsmanship, but I felt that what Choi Ho-joong was teaching was very incomplete.”

“So you didn’t listen properly?”

“Yes.”

“That’s an excuse.”

“That’s true. But, Choi Ho-joong’s mana control is a bit unstable when he swings his sword. So that bothers me.”

In terms of mana control, it was practically impossible to satisfy a dragon.

This wasn’t Choi Ho-joong’s fault.

It would have been the same for anyone.

“So, could Ji-han teach me for a bit?”

“Me?”

“Yes. Who knows, right? I might get interested in swordsmanship.”

A dragon seriously practicing swordsmanship was an interesting setup for me as well.

The day Rosie first came to the sword family, I had even imagined that sight in my head.

And I had tried to gauge it.

Just how close could Rosie get to my level.

No matter how much of a dragon she was, the conclusion was that she would be no match for me in swordsmanship, but that was just my imagination, so I felt the desire to see it for myself.

‘A few months of teaching should give me a rough idea.’

I took out the Reapersword.

“Watch carefully. What I’m showing you now is the first form of the Muyoung Sword Style.”

“By the way, Ji-han. You’ve gotten a bit stronger since coming back from the Abyss, haven’t you?”

“Don’t interrupt.”

“Okay.”

Anyway, it seemed I couldn't fool a dragon’s eyes when it came to mana.

She had seen through the effect of the 5 Mana Runes I had consumed as a reward right away.

I immediately began to unfold the Muyoung Sword Style.

The first form was mainly composed of the basics of basics: horizontal slashes, vertical slashes, and thrusts.

The composition itself was simple, but these simple movements gathered and formed the basic philosophy of the sword family.

Therefore, what needed to be polished with the most effort were these basic movements and their combinations.

Rosie remained completely silent and just watched me.

Today, my swordsmanship was particularly satisfying.

As my mana had increased, I could put a little more power into the sword, and that fact alone filled me with a sense of elation.

At the final moment of the form, I even tried to put a little bit of sword qi at the tip of the sword.

Jiiiiiing!

It was still just a thread-like sword qi, but the effect of the runes was indeed good.

The blue light also formed more brilliantly.

“Amazing. Ji-han! Is this really the same swordsmanship that Choi Ho-joong did?”

“Don’t make a fuss.”

“Your mana control is so perfect! How can there not be a single bit of wavering while you’re performing the swordsmanship?”

“Did you only watch that and not the subtlety of the form?”

“I saw it! I saw it! But the mana control is so amazing. It’s to the point where I can’t believe you’re human. Ji-han, are you really not a dragon?”

That again.

I just let out a small smile.

“Stop with the nonsense and try to follow along.”

“Alright. Ji-han.”

Once she got a taste of swordsmanship like this, she wouldn't be able to get out.

Just as I had been in the past.

I could only hope that Rosie would show me something interesting.

***

The Samhan Auction was in two days.

There, I was planning to win the bid for a map.

I still didn't know whether it was really related to my beloved sword, the Holy Sword Bastian, but I couldn't just let it pass.

There was one concern.

If an undesirable result occurred at the auction house, it would be because of money.

The map, which many people were interested in for this auction, was likely to be sold at a high price.

‘To think there would come a time when I have to worry about money problems in the Haewon Sword Family.’

If I asked my father, I could probably get enough money to crush the competition at the auction house, but I didn't want to.

If, contrary to my expectations, the item on the map was not the Holy Sword Bastian, it would be a largely meaningless endeavor.

But to participate in the auction with only my personal funds, it was also true that my capital was a little shaky.

Because among the auction participants, there might be people from the 10 great sword families or famous guilds.

So, the conclusion I came to. For the next two days, today and tomorrow, I decided to do a hardcore dungeon tour.

“What? You’re going to run through twelve dungeons by tomorrow morning?”

Choi Ho-joong looked at me with an incredulous expression.

“You heard me clearly, so why are you asking again?”

“Because it’s physically impossible.”

“That’s for me to judge. I’ve made the list, so just quickly prepare the administrative procedures so I can enter right away.”

Choi Ho-joong answered, but his expression said, ‘this isn’t right.’

“Understood. And I will have the Chamryongdan on standby right away.”

“No. I’m going alone.”

“What?”

“Just know that. I’ll be back by tomorrow afternoon at the latest, so don’t worry.”

“No, what on earth are you thinking!”

There were largely two types of things you could get from a dungeon.

Monster corpses. And dungeon clear rewards.

The ownership of monster corpses went to the guild, so I couldn't take them. What I was after was the dungeon reward.

Because the Mana Stones that came as rewards could be traded for cash immediately.

The best way to monopolize the rewards was, of course, to solo play.

The problem was whether I could clear all these dungeons by myself from today until tomorrow morning. Here, I was thinking of trying one thing.

‘Using a dragon.’

Since Rosie wasn't a person, I had hypothesized that I wouldn't have to share the reward even if I cleared the dungeon with her.

If she cooperated well with me, the dungeon clearing speed would also be considerably faster.

“Sir! Are you really sure nothing is wrong?”

“I said there isn’t. Are you still so worried about me?”

“N-no, sir!”

Worrying about me, Johan Raven, was even more useless than worrying about a celebrity.

It seemed like it was time for him to know, but this guy still didn't get it.

***

But that didn't mean persuading Rosie was a freebie.

In fact, she, a freeloader, had once declared that she wouldn't give me any help.

She even said she wouldn't save me even if my life was in danger, so that said it all.

“Don’t misunderstand. Ji-han. My helping you today is a very exceptional case. If you’re thinking, maybe I can get help next time too? Just put that thought away.”

Even after entering the dungeon, Rosie emphasized that point to me several times.

Understanding the psyche of a dragon was truly a difficult task.

“I’m not expecting anything.”

The reason I was able to persuade Rosie today was none other than sword qi.

She, who was amazed by the harmony of the sword that she had never seen before, pestered me to teach her this.

So, a deal was easily made.

For now, the key point for today was speed.

If possible, the goal was to clear 7 dungeons by this evening.

“Rosie. Can hatchlings also use Roar?”

“It’s possible, but of course, the effect is weaker than an adult’s. And if you’re telling me to do it now, I can’t. I’m in human form.”

“Any thoughts on turning into a dragon just while you’re in the dungeon?”

“None. I will absolutely not do it until all the amusement in Earth is over.”

What a stubborn girl.

But situations where a Dragon Roar wasn't necessary unfolded.

The orcs in this dungeon trembled and lost their will to fight whenever they met Rosie’s eyes.

Slaughtering monsters with no will to resist was like swimming with your feet on the ground.

“Let’s hurry up and deal with them. We have more than one or two dungeons to go to today.”

“To think a dragon has to hunt orcs!”

“That’s why it would be convenient if you turned into a dragon and cleared them out with one breath attack.”

“I said I wouldn’t. And this is enough.”

On both of Rosie’s hands, a fireball had already formed.

Highly concentrated mana had been converted into the element of fire.

Even so, there was almost no change in Rosie’s mana, which was truly amazing.

Whoosh—

The two fireballs Rosie shot exploded, and the surrounding orcs were immediately turned into roasted pigs.

I felt a little strange.

Because it suddenly occurred to me that my own end in Kalia might have looked like that.

‘No.’

I shook my head.

The breath that the Red Dragon Devrias had shot was on a level that couldn't be compared to Rosie’s.

It was a funny thing to say, but I had thought that sight was beautiful back then.

“Ji-han, what are you doing!”

“Thinking.”

“What! You’re the one who said to hurry!”

On Rosie’s hands, another fireball had already formed.

If we launched wide-area attacks like this, the dungeon tour might be faster than I thought, but there was one problem.

If the monster corpses were all burnt, it would be a problem when trading them, but more importantly, it was too unnatural.

“Is there any other way besides fire?”

“The fire element is the specialty of the Red clan, and you’re telling me to use something else? Then should I just freeze them instead?”

“Not bad.”

“Alright. Then.”

Shwaaaaaa!

With a single gesture from Rosie, an ice pillar shot up, and the surrounding orcs died helplessly from hypothermia.

The cold air reached even me.

“Did I do well?”

“You did well.”

The target I was trying to get revenge on was a dragon with this kind of ability.

And an adult dragon at that, incomparable to a hatchling like Rosie. I could feel that the road ahead of me was still long.