Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

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Chapter 47

A little while later.

Yeon-woo, who had neatly folded six sheets of yellow sandy leather resembling crocodile skin and stuffed them into her bag, felt a comforting sense of security swell from deep within her.

“Man, how much is this per piece?”

Humans and luxury go hand in hand. In ancient times, luxury goods were a symbol of authority, and even in this chaotic modern age, that hasn’t changed.

Especially for monster leathers that resemble crocodile skin. They’re luxury items and also functionally superior, making them beloved materials among designer bag collectors.

The reason the Gorge Rock Tribe’s leather is valued higher than that of the Swamp Crocodile Tribe is precisely that.

It’s sturdy, and that unique sandy hue is simply beautiful!

It’s much prettier than the dull mossy color!!

Plus, due to the traits of their tribe inhabiting the depths of the gorge, the products don’t come around often!!!

200,000 won per piece. Considering their excellent condition, maybe even up to 300,000 won. Thinking that a goblin’s eyeball goes for 15,000 won each puts me in a great mood.

“Dad, there was nothing inside.”

“Hmm, that’s a bummer, but I expected that.”

Shar, who had been sent into the cave while Yeon-woo didn’t want to reveal the process of skinning the leather, replied as she emerged. Naturally, the six lizard corpses were buried on the ground. That was just a matter of basic etiquette.

It would seem suspicious to them if I were to show courtesy after killing and skinning them.

“This is just to lighten my heart…”

As she gazed at the opposite gorge that looked like the mouth of the cave, she muttered softly when Shar suddenly plopped down next to her.

“Isn’t it about time we jumped down?”

“…Uh, really?”

“I think it’ll be alright.”

Shar occasionally proposed such simple and straightforward solutions that one would hardly believe she was a dragon renowned for her wisdom from birth. Even Yeon-woo, who had overcome numerous crises and challenges, felt a chill run down her spine at times.

But then again, her wisdom didn’t seem to be mere hearsay; in most cases, if she suggested it, it tended to work out. Of course, I had to dismiss the idea of banging my head with a hammer due to her lack of imagination.

“Well, if you say so, Shar, then let’s jump?”

“Down there, there aren’t many flying monsters. If we conceal our presence with magic and land lightly with airwalking, we should be good theoretically.”

I see. Shar had everything planned out. Yeon-woo nodded lightly.

“Then let’s hurry.”

“Yay… Hehe.”

Yeon-woo swiftly picked up Shar, who had been sitting beside her, and set her in her designated spot. She straightened up and leaned towards the cave entrance.

Her toes kicked against the sandy edge. In an instant, they gained speed, passing by the cave’s interior scenery as they finished their run-up.

Meanwhile, the flow of mana that Shar had conjured wrapped around Yeon-woo’s body.

“Hold on tight, Shar!!”

“Whoa!!”

With joyful screams akin to riding a roller coaster, Yeon-woo and Shar soared through the air clad in shimmering silver mana.

*

The Five Great Families.

Even in status, these five noble households rival the Gubaibang, boasting the most prominent features in the realm of martial arts.

Namgung inherits the blood of the great divine, and Jeong-gal descends from the fallen yellow dragon.

The Shinchangyang family claims to be descended from a woman as pure as the white plum blossom that sprang from a tree.

They chose to refine and develop their outstanding traits rather than repress or exclude them. They did not wish to become human as demi-humans, but rather to be recognized as demi-humans.

Amidst such trends, the Sichuan Tang Family just barely treaded the line of heresy.

Out of the five families, two belong to the orthodox side, one is neutral, and one is close to the military. Despite this composition, people tend to group all five as being on the side of righteousness because of their image.

Even though the Sichuan Tang Family conducts both martial and collaborative actions as an orthodox faction.

The Tang are known as the Bug People (Chungin). Some have the head of a mantis, while others sport wings like beetles on their backs. There are those who, despite resembling humans, have bodies that are unmistakably insect. Conversely, there are also those who look like insects, yet are more human than anyone else.

The reason they appear like this is simply that their ancestors, those odd poisons, mysteriously manifested as humans in the jungles of Yunnan.

In that sense, among all the noble families of the five great families, the Tang is closest to the wild and continues to follow the instincts carried in their bloodlines.

They well understood that human society operates under the laws of the wild, and survival is only possible if one grows stronger.

Still, Tang Sa-ryeon thought it might not have been wise to bring four Nokpungdae with her. Even as she sent three back, the thought crossed her mind. Amidst her musings, her fingers were precise.

The dark green, wide sleeves fluttered. Just like the evening star twinkling in the night sky, the ends of her sleeves shimmered slightly. That alone was enough.

The sandy-hued Rock Turtle that was spinning around, hidden in its shell, suddenly lost control and crashed into the wall.

A guard member who was standing a few steps away, ready for any eventuality, couldn’t help but gasp upon seeing this.

‘At that age, mastering the Moonflower Butterfly!’

Of course, the Moonflower Butterfly was the basic martial art learned first by any member of the Tang Family along with the poison mastery technique. Thus, the content focused on the fundamentals, so it wasn’t particularly difficult.

However, if the opponent were a Rock Turtle violently spinning inside its shell, the story changed entirely.

To either inject enough poison to melt its hard shell or apply needle energy was originally impossible to break through that tough exterior.

From the beginning, Tang Sa-ryeon had unleashed her energy without solidly entrenched internal power. If that weren’t the case, it meant she had aimed precisely at a tiny opening within the spinning shell.

‘…Is this even possible?’

It could be possible. But that didn’t guarantee success.

Thinking of such a thing, the elite of the Tang Family, a member of the Nokpungdae, felt a sense of shame for even mentioning it. Yet, such was the difficulty, and one must articulate that difficult things are indeed difficult.

Hitting that rapidly spinning Rock Turtle’s mouth within a second was of monumental difficulty.

“Could you fetch it for me?”

Tang Sa-ryeon said lazily, sounding a little annoyed. As the Nokpungdae member stepped forward to retrieve the Rock Turtle, Tang Sa-ryeon frowned and spoke up again.

“…No, just wait a second.”

“Huh? Ah, no, excuse me.”

Amused by the rookie Nokpungdae’s clumsy slip, Tang Sa-ryeon chuckled and looked up at the sky.

“Something is falling. What could it be?”

As she said this, she waved her sleeves. Given the size, it wasn’t the Sand Rock that usually flew around from above. To her eyes, it seemed to be a humanoid figure, no matter how she looked at it.

‘But would an ordinary human jump down from there?’

It did seem like the starting point was around the middle. It was oddly elusive, making it hard to sense.

Well, whatever, it didn’t matter. Even if it were indeed a human, she had the justification. She was just casually tossing one out for deterrence, so if it couldn’t be prevented, then it never was an issue from the start.

“For someone to be falling from the sky, it’s getting interesting. I guess such things do happen on good days?”

The rookie Nokpungdae nearly blurted out that such things don’t just happen.

*

While Shar, falling at a rapid speed, was looking around-curiously, Yeon-woo had to keep her gaze downward.

The mana’s magical effect allows for a reset of all physical and magical constraints, enabling a second jump, but ultimately it’s up to Yeon-woo to time that jump right.

Therefore, it was sheer coincidence that she even caught sight of the incoming attack. Sunlight reflected off something, glimmering in her eyes. In an instant, she channeled her heart’s mana into her eyes, enveloping her body with aura.

In the slow-moving time, she felt her senses extend by several degrees. As Yeon-woo sensed the mana flowing through her, she wrapped her arms around Shar, pulling her in closer while narrowing her eyes for a better view.

The dragon’s keen eyes swiftly caught the object reflecting sunlight amidst the verdant green luminescence.

A silver needle moving like an insect was aimed directly at them.

But then again, it wasn’t a strike that would inflict deadly damage; it carried uncertain power and intent.

Kill? Or restrain?

Whatever the power or intent, an attack is an attack. The moment she recognized that fact, Yeon-woo’s body sprang into action. Her aura strengthened her body and heightened her senses. Mana enveloped her as she prepared.

Ready to respond to any command.

‘Should I block it for now?’

Just as that thought crossed her mind, a shadow from inside her jacket slithered up her arm like a snake, and in an instant, she brandished the sword held tightly in her hand.

Ting!!

With the sound of metal clashing, the needle spiraled several times in midair, thanks to Yeon-woo extending her dark whip with the sword to snag the incoming silver needle.

“Got it, Dad!”

“Uh, great job! Let’s talk about the rest after we land!”

“Got it!!”

They exchanged that brief conversation. The air resistance was becoming so immense that just opening their mouths would cause their lips to be pulled up. Having reached a suitable consensus, Yeon-woo bent her body.

“Let’s see who you are and where you come from!”

Clang!!!

The silver aura surrounding Yeon-woo scattered, and her body came to a halt in the air. As she turned her body around, it felt like she was pushing against the void itself.

Boom!!

Yeon-woo shot her body downward like a cannonball towards the ground, all while keeping her eyes ahead. Naturally, she immediately recognized who had thrown the needle.

As soon as the dark green battle robe, akin to a dress, caught her eye, Choi Yeon-woo regretted that she had wanted to have a look at her face from the sky.

‘Ah….’

She wanted to kill the past Choi Yeon-woo who had suddenly had a mid-teen crisis and demanded a look at her face.

At the beginning of summer, a gust of warm wind blew through the window. Baek In-hwa, who had been staring out the window in a daze, promptly closed it.

She had been living in Korea since last year to acclimate to the climate, but adapting to the heat that began around this time could hardly be achieved in just one year.

Baek In-hwa lay on the long classroom desk. The subject was “Characteristics and Ecology of Monsters.” It was a mandatory course, but honestly, it was quite useless to her. She already knew everything.

Yet, Baek In-hwa struggled to stay awake, still trying to follow the lecture despite feeling a bit faint from low blood pressure.

Normally, she would have dozed off several times and ended up face down in dreamland, but the old professor Reinhardt, who taught “Characteristics and Ecology of Monsters,” felt touched to see her rubbing her eyes in an effort to stay awake.

The reason she was half-heartedly attending the lecture was that it was a form of review. Was what she remembered accurate? Perhaps some new theory or opinion had emerged in academia?

The impetus for this reassessment was undoubtedly the Doppelgänger incident she and Choi Yeon-woo had experienced.

She wasn’t being arrogant, but she never imagined that a classmate, someone who had just recently awakened their mana, could know something she didn’t.

Even though there was a transcendent being involved, a dragon, no less.

Yawn. A restrained yawn pushed its way past her lips. Covering her mouth, Baek In-hwa found herself murmuring slightly with a drowsy gaze.

“…I’m bored.”

Hah! She hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand. Bored? That didn’t make any sense. The academy was a place for education, not entertainment.

…But still, during this past week.

In this week that had suddenly become quite warm, the absence of that brown-haired figure she had gotten used to in just a month was beginning to feel painfully noticeable.

‘…Yeah, I guess it is a bit boring.’

It felt somewhat awkward.

(To be continued in the next episode)