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The Black Dragon and the White Dragon – Part 01

“Who said there were only five levels?!” Hikaru grumbled.

He knew the way so far and was able to take the shortest route, but from the fifth level, he had to make a map of the place himself as he went on. This was extremely time-consuming. Eventually, he found a descending staircase leading to the sixth level.

“Is it noon now? Damn it. I can’t even keep track of time anymore. I wish I had a wristwatch.”

Although there were spring-operated watches in this world, smaller ones such as wristwatches and pocket watches were available only as magic items. Each one was made with highly-advanced Sorcery, making it very expensive.

So far, he had not encountered any Lesser Wyverns or Executioners, and his Soul Rank had not increased. He had no idea what to do with the one available point he had left on his Soul Board.

“Let’s just go down for now.”

The stairs that led down was different from the previous ones. Instead of a crude staircase with steps of varying heights, this one was made of stone, with pristine and uniform steps.

It was shaped in a long spiral, so he couldn’t see what was ahead. Hikaru carefully descended with his Detection Skills active. After going down for about thirty meters, the staircase ended abruptly. The entrance to the sixth level was right in front of him.

It was spacious. So large that it could fit a whole baseball stadium inside. Even without his magic lamp, there was plenty of light pouring down from above—from the high ceiling made of branches and leaves, just like the first level. The walls were tree trunks, which turned into roots near the floor. And underfoot was an uneven ground, a mixture of soil and roots.

Hikaru was frozen, his breath in his throat.

An entity that made the vast space seem small—an enormous monster—was crouched down on the ground, curled up like a cat. It had jet-black scales and a shape that resembled that of a Lesser Wyvern, but it was so large as to make a Lesser Wyvern seem adorable in comparison. A Black Dragon.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me… Things just went from zero to a hundred. Is this the Dungeon Master?”

The moment Hikaru stepped into the space, the Black Dragon opened its eyes.

“Who goes there?”

A powerful shockwave hit Hikaru. It felt like a huge hand just slapped him. The voice blasted him backwards with tremendous sound pressure.

“Ugh.”

He crashed into the wall near the staircase. His whole body went numb, and he fell on his hands and knees. His flesh burned.

That was just its voice?! And it could speak… Wait, how did it see me? I should have my Stealth on right now. Don’t tell me Stealth doesn’t work on that thing.

Hikaru was panicking. Losing his composure. His heart drummed loud in his chest.

Calm down. Collect yourself. Gotta stay cool, or I’ll lose my Stealth.

He looked at the Black Dragon. Its head remained raised, its eyes sweeping the surrounding.

It hasn’t noticed me? No, it definitely asked who was there… Did it sense a presence, and is now searching for it?

The Soul Board’s Instinct stat came to Hikaru’s mind. Lawrence D. Falcon—the commander of the Knights of Ponsonia and known as the Sword Saint, the first foe whom Hikaru had a hard time against since coming to this world—had 6 points on his Instinct. This allowed the man to slice the stones that Hikaru threw at him, though in the end, Hikaru prevailed in a head-on combat.

It’s much more sensitive than that guy. But it’s lost track of me. What’s going on here?

The Black Dragon’s gaze darted around curiously.

If I entered, it would know my location?

The Black Dragon looked up at the sky. Hikaru followed its gaze and saw a large hole in a section of the ceiling.

What’s that hole? Is there Skill or a Magic spell that gives my location away? Like my Detection? Hmm…

Hikaru activated his Mana Detection. And then he realized what was going on. There was a thin, thread-like string of mana crawling across the floor near the entrance. The threads led to the Black Dragon, but Hikaru’s Mana Detection had a range of only ten meters. The threads seemed to be longer.

It noticed me because I stepped on the threads.

If he stepped on a thread again, the Black Dragon would sense Hikaru’s presence and most likely attack, not just emit sound pressure. Lesser Wyverns breathed fire, so there was a chance that the Black Dragon could do the same. In a dungeon with no exit, massive roaring flames would mean certain death.

I have 4 points in Mana Cloaking. Can I slip past it if I maxed it to 5? No, wait. It being a mana thread doesn’t mean it detects mana specifically. What if it senses life instead? Or what if it was just a weight sensor?

He had only one point left.

What do I do?

---

The creature that flew over Cotton-elka—a White Dragon—rapidly descended and landed in the central square, blowing away roofs with a shockwave. The earth trembled, and dust and sand rose. The gale sent several people tumbling to the ground.

Sunlight reflected off the white scales covering its body, giving it a somewhat mystical appearance. But its large mouth, sharp teeth, and ferocious eyes indicated clearly that it was a threat to humans.

The White Dragon opened its mouth to the heavens.

“Get down!”

The Four Eastern Stars immediately rushed to the scene, and as soon as Selyse saw the White Dragon, she held up her shield and hid Serika and Sara behind her.

It let out a roar.

A roar that shook the earth, rattled houses, and blew people away. Everyone near the square fainted, and the only store in the village collapsed.

“Serika, Sara, are you okay?!” Selyse shouted.

Her shield, a type of magic item that reduced the impact of all kinds of attack and spells, had protected them.

“We’re good!” Serika exclaimed.

“Ow, my ears…”

“Good. Thank goodness Sophie is in the med area. There should be a lot of people injured.”

“Would be great if they were only injured!”

They were not intimidated by the White Dragon. But the adventurers following them were different. Half of them fainted, and the rest were paralyzed with fear—some of them wetting themselves.

“Split up and evacuate the residents!” Selyse ordered. “Anyone conscious, go!”

“What about you guys?!”

“I wish I could say we’ll take it down. We’ll buy you some time.”

Slumped down on the ground, the leader of the Rank D party Wild Horns noticed an unusual expression on Selyse’s face. She was smiling, but she was focused, her gaze never leaving the White Dragon.

“G-Got it!” the man said. “Hey, get up! This is not the time for a nap!”

Trembling, the leader tried to stand up and fell back down on his buttocks. Not one adventurer laughed. Everyone who remained conscious were in a similar state. Some of them even started crying.

The Four Eastern Stars couldn’t help them up; their hands were full. The White Dragon had already sensed the hostility directed at it—the only three people in this situation who were ready to fight it.

“Oh… The roar was not enough to make you flee.”

The dragon probably thought it was speaking calmly. Yet the air still shook. Selyse was listening with her shield on the ready.

“You speak the human language?” she asked.

“Humans are not the only intelligent creatures out there. You worship the gods and kill other lifeforms. You are naught but mass murderers.”

“Are you a monster from the dungeon? There shouldn’t be a dragon’s den nearby.”

“Correct. I am a White Dragon created by the Master’s wish. I am the brother of the Black Dragon, and the most powerful one there is.”

Selyse’s face contorted. There was another dragon.

“What is the matter? Are you not going to attack? Is the sword hanging from your waist a mere accessory?”

“Not at all. It’s a blade that has sucked the blood of many dragons.” Selyse flashed a smile.

The White Dragon’s eyes widened. “Nonsense!” It took a deep breath.

“Serika, Sara, Plan B!”

“Right!”

“Gotcha!”

The girls dispersed to the left and right. The White Dragon spewed fire on Selyse. The powerful flames seemed to engulf Selyse, but she drew her sword and slashed at the flames.

“Whoa…”

Adventurers cheered. The sword had cut through the flames. The ground on either side of Selyse were scorched, but she was unharmed.

“What is that sword?”

The blade was so slender as to seem a mere accessory.

It glowed faintly with a silvery light. A magic item with Sorcery imbued into the blade itself.

“Like I said: It’s the sword that has sucked the blood of many dragons… the White Ray Blade.”

“The White Ray Blade… It’s my first time seeing it,” said one adventurer.

“What? She’s been fighting monsters all this time, hasn’t she?”

“Are you stupid? The weapons she’s been using so far were for small fry only. That weapon is what earned her the name Sun Maiden. It means she’s going all-out!”

“Is that thing really that awesome?”

“It’s a magic sword. If you feed mana into it, there’s nothing it can’t cut. It was kept in a temple in the royal capital for a long time, but I heard the temple lent it to the Four Eastern Stars after they completed a commission for them.”

The adventurers quickly helped the others retreat. The fact that Selyse remained unperturbed had no doubt encouraged them.

Phew… Glad that worked out.

Selyse, however, was on edge. She knew she could cut through the flames, but she didn’t know where the fire would end up. There were too many people around. Her priority was to buy time to avoid as much casualties as possible.

I can’t win in a head-on battle.

The foe was incredibly huge. There was no way she could get close to the monster and engage it in battle. Selyse thought of ways to buy time while keeping her distance. Getting too close was out of the question.

“What’s wrong? If you think that was a fluke, why not try it again?” Selyse goaded.

“I see. You wish to buy time.”

Selyse’s face twisted.

“I do not like the fact that you cut my flames, but I know better than to be stubborn. I will do this instead.”

“Wait, stop!”

The flame spewed by the White Dragon burned a house. Selyse knew there were villagers taking refuge inside. Screams erupted momentarily, then ceased. The house collapsed with the raging fire.

They were dead. People actually died.