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The Black Dragon and the White Dragon – Part 03

Hikaru was in front of the Black Dragon’s room, thinking.

What to do? Going back to the fifth level and killing monsters to gain points is too inefficient. Might as well just retreat. Retreat? Lavia did tell me to come back if I can’t ensure my safety.

Sweat trickled from his temples.

Sorry, Lavia. I can’t stand the idea of running away without even trying.

Hikaru summoned his Soul Board.

There’s only one way for the threads to not detect me.

Hikaru only hesitated for a moment before putting a point on a stat under Agility—Balance.

【Soul Board】Hikaru
Age: 15 | Rank: 19 | 0

【Vitality】

【Magical Power】

【Strength】
【Muscle Strength】1
【Weapon Mastery】
【Projectile】2

【Agility】
【Power Burst】1
【Balance】1
【Stealth】
【Life Cloaking】4
【Mana Cloaking】4
【Imperceptibility】5 (MAX)
【Assassination】3 (MAX)
【Group Cloaking】3

【Instinct】
【Detection】
【Life Detection】1
【Mana Detection】1

The threads were only laid down right at the entrance. Beyond that, there was a gap—just wide enough for one foot.

Hikaru jumped up and down to check the ground’s condition.

If it can sense me if I stepped on it, then I just don’t have to step on it.

Hikaru leaped—with his one point on Power Burst, he had the jumping power of the average athlete—and landed on his tiptoes in the gap about five meters ahead. He wobbled a bit, but his body quickly stilled.

Wow. I’m pretty sure Balance maxes out at 20 points. If 1 point allows me to do this, what would 20 points be like? Can I cross a log bridge over the roof of a skyscraper doing a one-hand stand?

Upon using Mana Detection, he spotted gaps in some places. He jumped across.

“…”

The Black Dragon was looking around curiously. Was it sensing something? But there was no sign of anything there.

Is this guy the Dungeon Master?

The closer Hikaru got, the more he realized how incredibly gigantic it was. Its face alone was as big as a car. The gaps grew wider. There were almost no mana threads now, and the area around him, right under the Black Dragon’s nose, was safe enough for him to run around in.

I’ll know once I kill it. But how do I do that?

Hikaru racked his brain.

A stab to the heart would kill a human being. This was because the heart pumped the blood that the body needed to function. And it was no different for other living things. He thought about this world. There was one sun, and the moon rose as well. The existence of magic, elementals, and gods might indicate otherwise, but the environment here was very similar to that of Earth. Even the gravity was the same. Same humans. There were even dogs and cats.

What about dragons, then? They looked like lizards, except bigger. Their magical power and life force were at extraordinary levels, and the scales on its surface were probably tremendously tough.

Nevertheless, it still must have a heart.

The pseudo-monsters in this dungeon—the creatures, rather—were imitations of real living beings. The basilisk that Hikaru attacked with his throwing knife died from the hit, and plants such as the Branchmen, Leaf Monsters, and Treants also released mana once they stopped moving, then died. Hikaru guessed that their mana served as a substitute for blood.

Then what about this Black Dragon?

If it’s similar to a lizard, it should have an incomplete heart. Unlike the human heart, which has two ventricles and two atria, a lizard’s heart only has a single ventricle, where blood from both the artery and vein mix together. Its blood circulation is basically inefficient.

Hikaru’s Mana Detection showed mana flowing through its body like blood, with high concentration in the heart, located at the center, and in the brain area. He could stab it, but his blade wouldn’t reach the heart, and its head was too high up, about ten meters.

But there should be an artery in its neck that leads to the brain.

Its neck was long, as thick as a log.

Time to test it out!

He hesitated only for a few seconds.

Hikaru’s jumping ability, enhanced by the 1 point on his Power Burst, was equal to that of an athletic adult. Moreover, he didn’t weigh much, which allowed him to leap vertically about a meter with ease.

Even then, he only reached the base of the dragon’s neck.

“Right here!”

Hikaru was equipped with two daggers. He pulled out one of them, the Dagger of Strength, and swung it as hard as he could.

The blade cut through the scales, shattering them like glass, and tore through the flesh inside.

The dragon howled.

“Hmm?!”

But that was all. The blade pierced about fifty centimeters in, then was blocked by hard flesh. It was like cutting wood. Purple blood gushed out, but the blade wouldn’t move any further. He couldn’t even pull the dagger back out.

The roar of the Black Dragon proved troublesome too. Hikaru was blown away by the sound pressure and slammed hard against the ground.

“Agh!”

His body bounced and rolled backwards.

“What did you do?!”

“Ugh.”

Blood spilled from Hikaru’s ears. His eardrums had been ruptured. One could consider it lucky that he couldn’t hear the dragon’s loud voice anymore, but the sensation of his brain being shaken made him wobbly. If it weren’t for the 1 point he had on Balance, he would have collapsed on the spot.

This is not good…

Hikaru spurred his body into motion. The Black Dragon shouldn’t have actually seen him, but he touched the mana thread on the ground. Immediately after he started running, red flames billowed at the spot where he was.

“I can feel your presence… Where are you…?”

Flames sputtered from the Black Dragon’s mouth.

That’s just not fair…

Just one jet of flames melted the ground, emitting heat and a burnt smell.

My bones… are good. Not broken.

While resting in a safe spot, Hikaru ran his hand over his body. His arms and legs seemed to be fine, as he had landed on his back. But now his back felt numb. It could be internal bleeding or bruising. Either way, he couldn’t afford to worry about that right now, and feeling no pain actually served him well in this situation.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and saw blood. He must have injured the inside of his mouth.

Just knowing that I could break the scales is good enough for me. The Black Dragon noticed me as I was stabbing it. That means my Stealth was dispelled, and the Assassination buff wore off. Reaction time was about 0.3 seconds. That’s all I need.

Hikaru reached around his waist. His usual weapon, the Dagger of Strength, was still stuck in the Black Dragon’s neck.

Time to use this bad boy.

He still had his other weapon, a new one that he had asked Leniwood to craft—a prototype.

“Hikaru,” Leniwood had said. “Interesting job you got for me. I’ve never heard or seen such a weapon before. Anyway, this is just a prototype. Try it out and let me know how it goes.”

“You can only use it once, though. So make sure you use it on someone way bigger than you.”

Someone bigger than him.

The Black Dragon was the perfect foe to test his new blade on. Hikaru pulled the sword from its sheath. Its blade gleamed silver; it almost looked like any other dagger. The only thing that made it unique was the long, thin, triangular shape of the blade. Its pointed tip made it a weapon for stabbing.

“Tch. A nuisance has appeared right when White is gone.”

The Black Dragon glanced up at the ceiling.

It dawned on Hikaru. The hole in the ceiling… Did something force its way out?

He recalled the mighty presence that flew up into the sky.

The Black Dragon called it White. And this area… the Black Dragon is big, but it looks too big for only one.

Hikaru arrived at a conclusion.

There’s another dragon!

A dragon that could fly would soon discover Cotton-elka. Lavia was there. If the White Dragon could breathe fire too, it could cause damage over a wide area. She might have Stealth, but if there were other people nearby, she might get caught in the mess.

“I suppose I could simply burn the whole place. I am worried about the effect on the other levels, but I am certain the Master will not mind if it means eliminating the enemy.”

The Black Dragon’s monologue ended there.

It felt something on its left side—Hikaru’s prototype weapon stabbing it. The buff from Assassination should have worn off like it did earlier. But there was a delay—the time it took for the pain to reach the brain, for it to be recognized as an attack, and for the brain to confirm the presence of someone. It totaled 0.3 seconds.

Pushing the tip of the dagger into its side, Hikaru made sure that the blade had entered the Black Dragon’s flesh, all the way to the base. He pushed the button on the head of the hilt, ejecting the blade. This took 0.3 seconds.

“This thing flies pretty fast. Just don’t expect it to fly straight. I hope that’s okay with you.

No amount of effort by the dragon would prevent the blade from piercing through an organ with no muscle. Even more so if the blade was like a needle, made for stabbing.

“Hmm?”

A slight pain drew the Black Dragon’s eyes to its feet. There was a boy dressed in black. A mere needle should not be able to inflict a fatal wound even if it punctured its internal organs. Unfortunately for the dragon, this was no ordinary needle.

“What are you doi—?”

The Black Dragon’s body trembled. It was more of a jerk, considering its huge size. But that jerk was its last.

“A human heart weighs 300 grams, an African elephant’s 20 kilograms, and a blue whale’s about 600 kilograms. I don’t know how heavy the heart of a Black Dragon is, but…”

“I’ve set the magic item to activate one second after ejection!”

It was Kelbeck who created the magic item installed in the blade.

“What are you gonna use this dangerous thing on? Well, as long as I get paid, I don’t mind selling it to you. But this magic item goes ‘Boom!’ the moment it activates. I’m talking about an explosion. A huge one. You can think of it as a mid-level fire magic.”

Hikaru had ejected the weapon’s blade and planted a bomb directly into the Black Dragon’s heart.

He named this new weapon the Blade Bomb. An extravagant means of attack, it was a disposable weapon made from an expensive magic item. But the immense power it packed was well worth the price.

It was a quiet end.

The body of the Black Dragon, its eyes wide open, immediately turned to ash, falling to the ground along with the Dagger of Strength. The blood, too, turned to ashes.

Hikaru flopped down on the ground. “Phew… I’m beat. I just want to take a rest. My Soul Rank seemed to have gone up. Maybe I should put points on Stamina or Natural Recovery. Not that I have time to give it some serious thought.”

Buried in a pile of ashes was the Dagger of Strength and a large black stone—a slightly-transparent gem the size of a fist. Hikaru couldn’t tell what kind of stone it was, but it was a pure one.

There was something up ahead. Something hidden by the Black Dragon’s mana, perhaps. On the wall was a double door.

“The dragon mentioned a master. That means it wasn’t the Dungeon Master. I hope it’s smaller than the Black Dragon.”

Hikaru picked up his weapon and the gem, stepped over the ashes, and headed for the door.