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Chapter 44




If Run had been a fully grown dragon, he would have collapsed from fear long ago.
Perhaps he might have even suffocated and died on the spot.
The gaze of the dragon species had that much power.
‘Damn. I’ve really stepped into something, haven’t I?’
Even so, his hands steadily picked up the equipment.
The shoulder guards made of iron and the simple armor.
Finally, he firmly gripped his battle axe, Pararium, which would be his partner for a while, and briskly moved his short legs toward the designated meeting place.
Meanwhile, Run had already come to the room with the teleportation magic circle, bringing Banya and Heukmi.
Leaving Banya and Heukmi to play by themselves, Run relayed his thoughts about Jedd to Ferdikion.
“So that’s why you were staring at Jedd like that?”
“There’s something suspicious about that guy.”
Run shrugged.
“Bro, you would have noticed it too. Remember when we took the same class before? You taught me how to channel mana, right?”
“Of course.”
“When I was canceling the mana circle, the traces of mana remained on my fingers. Like this.”
Run raised one hand and tapped a few of his fingertips.
“I saw similar traces on Jedd’s right hand.”
He was certain.
The faint traces of mana lines were left on Jedd’s fingertips.
“Bro, you know that such traces don’t remain with simple artifacts, right?”
Ferdikion’s brows furrowed.
“If that’s true, it means the dwarf used magic. But I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
After saying this, Ferdikion shook his head, thinking it might not be the case.
“It would be a big deal if he knows how to use magic. I was just curious why he would hide it. It could be a mistake, as you said.”
Run continued in a nonchalant tone.
“I’ll keep an eye on him. You just be aware of it.”
“Got it. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Just as their conversation was ending, the door opened, and Jedd entered.
“Jedd Musket, I’ve arrived!”
“Uncle, you’re the last one!”
“Pii!”
Heukmi, who had been fiddling with Banya’s soft wings, jumped up from her seat.
“Ah, chocolate cookies! Heukmi too!”
“Pii!”
“What’s this? They smell really good. I think I’ll wait in line for some too.”
“...”
Unable to speak due to the strong smell of the potion, Run silently distributed the cookies to the others.
‘This is to weaken our mental strength and make the potion effective. Damn, I won’t take this potion again.’
Chapter 47: Abandoned Mine Dungeon (1)
Sadly, Run had used more of the potion than Ferdikion, and no one knew about it.
Knowledge inheritance and verbal magic.
With these two added, the dungeon’s difficulty would skyrocket.
After chewing the cookies like a warrior, Run felt the potion’s effects kick in and they stood in front of the dungeon entrance again.
Run, who had swallowed the potion and the cookies, suddenly noticed the stone carvings on both sides of the entrance.
‘Dragons and humans...?’
On either side of the dungeon entrance, there were carvings depicting a dragon on the left and a human warrior on the right.
They were massive and even more imposing due to the intricate combination of relief and intaglio work.
It was probably the labor of the dwarves who were exploited in the distant past when Fasyas ruled.
In front of the dungeon entrance, there was a railway.
“What’s this path?”
“It’s a path used by the dwarves. They use this railway to reach remote areas since they can’t use magic.”
“Oh, that makes sense.”
While answering, Run glanced at Jedd. The guy was calmly picking his nose without any sign of unease.
Ferdikion took the lead.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
“Haha! I’ll do my best!”
As they moved, Run subtly looked back.
“Banya.”
“Chii!”
At Run’s nod, the young bird immediately landed on his shoulder.
“Don’t leave my side while we’re in the dungeon.”
He hoped nothing would happen, but it was always better to be prepared.
Run looked down at Banya, who he had brought for a reason, but unlike Heukmi, the bird had no special abilities and only made chirping sounds, which worried him.
“Chii!”
Banya chirped loudly in response and nestled into Run’s collar, pushing its head through the fabric.
Although it had grown quite a bit recently, it couldn’t completely hide and poked its round head out.
“We’re entering.”
As the party stepped onto the dungeon magic circle, the scenery began to change.
Whoosh—
‘The sound of waves...?’
A salty scent filled the air.
Crumbled stones were scattered everywhere, and the sound of water could be heard from a distance.
But soon, like a receding tide, it left behind a muddy flat.
The moisture on the ground disappeared, and soon red gems and mineral-like rocks were revealed.
“Really? We have good luck from the start!”
Jedd, looking around, took out his mining tools and rushed to the rocks on the ground.
“It’s a <Sea Rock Formation> that occasionally appears. You can mine salt stones.”
Ferdikion’s voice carried a hint of satisfaction as he surveyed the area.
A precious place that provides ‘salt’ in a volcanic region where the sea cannot be seen.
Moreover, no monsters had appeared yet.
“Magic stones are good, but salt is worth its weight in gold. Hehehe!”
Jedd worked hard to mine as many salt stones as possible.
Heukmi patrolled around Jedd, keeping guard, while Ferdikion stood near Run with his sword drawn.
Since Run’s strength was weakened, he leisurely watched their actions.
‘The sea feel is nice.’
The first time he smelled the sea air in this world.
It even felt nostalgic.
Then, it happened.
“They’re coming.”
Flap!
An unusual sound snapped him out of his reverie.
Immediately, Heukmi stepped forward, her fox ears perking up.
“Kyaang!”
-Keeek! Kikik!
With a sound like metal scraping, a group of goblins with leather wings appeared.
Red, green, blue.
They were varied in size and color.
However, perhaps because of Heukmi’s presence, they only circled around warily.
Their sharp fangs protruding from their mouths and hook-like claws revealed their aggressive nature, eager to tear flesh and bone.
Especially, their gaze toward Run seemed to see him as ‘delicious prey.’
Run frowned at the contemptuous treatment.
At that moment, Heukmi suddenly disappeared from her spot.
-Kyaak!
Thud! Roll.
In an instant, the head of a red goblin was severed, and its body, now without a head, fell to the ground, convulsing.
Beside it, another green goblin’s heart was pierced.
-Kuk! Kururuk!
The blue one, trying to escape quickly, had its leather wings torn off with a ripping sound.
Thud!
Heukmi discarded the goblin’s wing, and Jedd quickly picked it up.
Although it wasn’t expensive, he was pleased to have obtained the monster’s skin for free.
“You guys, you can’t target Run-sama. Heukmi will scold you.”
Heukmi’s pink eyes glowed with a sinister red.
The deepened color of her eyes could be mistaken for blood.
The monsters cautiously observed the situation and changed their movements.
One of them suddenly pushed a nearby goblin toward Heukmi.
-Kek! Kuk?
The pushed goblin was instantly split vertically by Heukmi’s hand.
In that moment, the goblins who used their companion as bait rushed at Run.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Swoosh!
Thud. Thud!
In a single stroke.
The crescent-shaped sword trajectory pierced through the group of goblins.
That was the end of it.
“You’re strong, bro.”
“Nah, it’s nothing.”
Despite his words, a smile appeared on Ferdikion’s lips as he sheathed his sword.
Thanks to the black dragon potion, his ability to handle fire was weakened, but he was still strong without using it.
His sword handling was as skilled as that of a seasoned swordsman who had trained for many years.
‘No wonder he didn’t hesitate to drink the cursed potion.’
Ferdikion knew how to fight even when his strength was gone.
From his relatively weak childhood.
He had visited this dungeon countless times since then.
‘Without the potion, he might not have come at all.’
Even with the potion, he was this strong.
If the original Ferdikion had come, the difficulty would have definitely increased.
Because the monsters were relatively weak, the pattern of small groups attacking as they moved to the next floor continued.
When the <Fire Wood> monster, a tree monster engulfed in unextinguishable flames, appeared, Heukmi let out a sharp cry.
“Kyaang!”
Flames burst into the air, and small fox-shaped fire spirits leaped out.
-Keeang!
-Kee!
-Keeang!
The fire spirits clung to the attacking monster and bit into the wood with their mouths.
“Ah, come on, my dear!”
Similarly familiar with fire, Jedd swung the S-rank axe Pararium at the tree monster.
“Phew! Huh! Oh! Heukmi-sama, please draw this guy’s attention! The fallen wood over there is of high quality and doesn’t easily deform with mana!”
...Although Jedd’s constant chatter and lack of confidence were annoying, his work was clean.
Moreover, he didn’t forget his duty as a dwarf responsible for gathering materials.
With quick movements, he collected all the mana stone fragments, usable materials, and monster corpses that fell.
Heukmi, who was engaged in a slaughter, and Ferdikion, who calmly dealt with the monsters targeting the weakest Run.
‘This is easy.’
The dungeon scenery was interesting, and Run’s body was relaxed.
‘It’s annoying that they all charge at me with their eyes wide, but at this level, we’ll clear it soon.’
Their relentless focus on Run was so persistent that it was almost unpleasant. However, thanks to this, Ferdikion could split their heads open with his sword without any interference.
“I don’t understand why they target you so much.”
“Isn’t it because I’m the weakest right now?”
“No, that’s not it. Normally, even if they’re weak and stupid, they would avoid such reckless behavior after being beaten so one-sidedly. But these guys are pushing it too far. It’s as if...”