NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5: Dungeon (II)
It became clear now.
Apparently, the training had been selected to match his rank. Which also meant this dungeon could be used over and over again because it was an illusion.
An illusion that could kill him.
Michael had not one inch of optimism in him. The aftermath was obvious, the serpent was going to crush his bones to powder form and end him in such a way that there won't be any more chances for redemption.
He wanted to quit, he wanted to leave here and go home. At that moment, he'd rather be curling up around his feet and cowering in fear than to be here.
Than to be sparing against a giant monster... A dragon at that!
Not that he had a choice however, the system had clearly told him he would die if he failed this training program. Now Michael was starting to realize that he had underrated the whole thing.
He had been expecting a easier challenge like a goblin or something he could fight with his hands. But instead he got a whole dragon! How can a system portray this much humanism?
He didn't even have a weapon.
"How am I supposed to fight that thing without a weapon?" just then his brain clicked, remembering the tabs on his system monitor.
[STAT]
[NOTIFICATION]
[INVENTORY]
[STORE]
[QUESTS]
"Inventory." He muttered, and the inventory screen opened. There, a collection of weapons were arrayed, ranging from daggers to swords to scythes and many others he did not even think he has seen or heard of before.
However, of all these weapons, only one was free. Of course, the weakest one among them, a dagger named BL.P.
[BL.P. DELIVERS 10-20% OF DAMAGE.]
[SPECIAL DAMAGE: BLOOD CONTAMINATION.]
[SIDE EFFECTS ON USER: NONE.]
[DO NOT USE TO STAB YOURSELF FOR EXPERIMENTS]
Some sassy system. "Now how do I get this thing out of the screen?"
As he contemplated, Michael spotted the tail of the dragon headed his way to throw him off with a giant swat. But his subconscious surfaced, and he instinctively raised his fist to defend himself.
The dagger appeared in his hands immediately, blocking the force between the dragon's tail and him. As he opened his eyes from the aftereffect of the shock, he was surprised to see that a mere black steel dagger was holding up against the power of a dragon.
Although barely.
"Hey, I'm doing it!" He laughed with excitement. "I can actually defeat this thin.."
A wave of heat washed across the tunnel, sending Michael tumbling backwards, crackles of burn echoing in his ear. As he tumbled hard on the ground, Michael felt his clothes burning up.
The creature hissed again but did not wait for him to recover before it eased forward. It opened up its mouth as it pounced above Michael, and brought down its fangs in attempt to devour him.
But then, there was the BL.P in blockage again. Michael didn't know how it was possible, but the knife was actually holding its own against the force of the creature's jaw, his hands quivering as they managed to hold it up.
Michael huffed in desperation to live as he gripped the dagger, forcing it to defend against the serpent.
"I'm not going to die here." He said determingly. "If I'm gonna die somewhere, then it has to be in a room filled with a hundred naked girls!"
[Ding! STAMINA HAS INCREASED BY 3%]
"3%?! Is it until I die before it increases by a lot? " Michael parried away the dragon's mouth. He quickly slid himself and rolled away from beneath the creature, regaining as quickly to his feet.
"I can't play this game of tag forever." He whispered, breathing heavily. "I have to find it's weakness."
The creature snarled, issuing a fierce pair of eyes at Michael. It seemed more angrier now that he had dodged its first murder attempt.
Michael realized he had to think fast or he was going to become dragon's chow. What were the odds? The weak point of a dragon?
Not that he had heard of any anyways. In the books he read, dragons were celestial creatures that ruled the skies. Most of them were immortal, which meant they couldn't be killed.
"Come on Michael, get it together!" He groaned in frustration. "This is reality, not some book!"
The creature opened its mouth, an ethereal green light proceeding from it. Panic surged through Michael like the aftereffect of a shrill echo, and the fear sifted his brain just enough to remember the familiar words of his uncle.
It was after another unsuccessful attempt to defeat him that the Kung Fu master had spoken of another motivational quote. Michael hadn't considered the quotes much, since his uncle was a natural borne of wickedness and wasn't willing to spare him a winning chance.
However, among all the millions of words spoken, Michael remembered just one:
"You never know the weakness of even the Great Serpent until you ask for its yeouju."
The yeouju, according to him was a powerful orb that was the divinity and pride of the dragons. It had the power to make a serpent immortal and untouchable. And it was usually located in their mouths.
The yeouju was what made a dragon... a dragon.
Michael couldn't spot a glowing orb in this serpent's mouth, so what was the point anyways.
"Except..."His brain clicked again. "The core! The core is the yeouju, so that means the the mouth is the weak point!"
It was a common ideology that every creature's core was located at the most vulnerable part of their bodies.
Just then, a rush of light blasted towards him. He tossed over to the side, able to dodge the attack this time. An impaled wall severed with smoke and ashes where he had just been standing.
Michael didn't wait for the dragon to reinforce another heat breath. As quick as lightning, he dashed towards it with all his summoned courage, leaving streaks in the warm air.
Michael reached for the mouth, but his dagger got caught between its fangs.
"Let go you punk!!" Michael gave a knee jab to its jaw, he didn't know how powerful the attack was, but the creature squealed in agony, it's mouth opened just wide enough for his major attack.
As his dagger tore down through the creature's tongue, Michael saw a green liquid that was supposed to be dragon's blood, only that it melted through the floor as soon as they dropped.
He was careful not to let that touch him.
With a final snarl, the dragon staggered violently before collapsing on the floor.
[LEVELED UP!]
[PLAYER HAS DEFEATED A GROUND DRAGON.]
[90 EXP POINTS OBTAINED]
[REWARD: 4000 GOLD]
"4000 gold?" Michael face wried at the screen before him. "I don't know how much that is worth in dollars but I deserve more than that for defeating a beast like this."
He looked down at the unconscious creature and noticed that the green liquid had turned black, the skin of the creature appearing paler even if it had just died now.
"Could this be that blood contamination effect?" He asked, staring interestingly at his dagger.
There was an immediate rumble beneath him in response. The ground shook with frivolity, and he heard snarls and hisses approach from the darkness.
It was as though a stampede was headed his way.
But Michael knew what was coming, and he cursed himself for thinking pretty soon that this training was finally over. His eyebrow dropped unconcerned, and his eyes rolled.
He sighed in discomfort. "There's more of them, aren't there now?"