The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter Chapter 57

Translator: “Kell” Editor: ”Weasalopes”

Treasure Mountain was part of a range of mountains . It was lush with greenery this time of the year with tall trees blocking the light of the sun . Still, since summer was just around the corner, it was quite hot . I wasn’t expecting to be practically boiled by just walking .

Apparently there were valuable fruits and medicinal plants that can be used for blending in the area . Unfortunately, this was royal family property so we couldn’t take anything home .

‘Wait, what about using storage-type skills?’ was what I thought about first, but the guards seemed to suggest that they had methods to check that . Stealing something then would be difficult . Then again, we didn’t have time for that right now . We had our hands full just slaying the dragon .

「I’ll check the enemy’s position first . 」

I asked the【Great Sage】the location of the nearest dragon .

【665 meters to the north . 】it answered .

It was closer than expected . But it didn’t mean that this area was part of its habitat . It was possible that it was moving .

「Let’s wait here . I’ll check its location again after five minutes . 」

I wanted to check for the variance . That way, we’d know how fast it was moving . Five minutes passed and I asked again .

【665 meters to the north . 】it answered .

This could be good news . It wasn’t moving so it was either eating, just resting, or fast asleep . We could proceed safely .

「We’ll stand out with the three of us . I’ll go scout it out first . 」

「Be careful . 」

I went ahead, moving in light feet, then found the dragon . It was sleeping near the entrance of a huge cave . It was incredible how intimidating it was even with its eyes closed .

It was about five or six meters in length from head to tail . A smaller type of dragon . Its body looked tough, covered completely in brown scales . A line of spikes protruded from its head down to its back . Riding it looked impossible .

Like the info mentioned, its wings were too small compared to its constitution . Its body looked too heavy for it to fly . All right, I gotta check more than just its appearance . I moved closer carefully to appraise it .

Name: Earth Dragon
Level: 28
Skills: 【Intimidate】【Roar】【Charge】【Rock Breath】【Weak against Lightning C】

Its level was a lot lower than expected . We were extremely lucky . Still we should not let our guard down .

Clearly, a level 1 dragon was different from a level 1 regular monster or a level 1 human . A level 20 dragon would instantly crush a level 100 goblin in a battle . Plus the skills of an earth dragon would surely prove to be troublesome . Its charge would be more effective, and it had a rock type breath attack .

I checked to see if I could destroy its【Rock Breath】skill but it required 2,500 LP, so I abandoned the idea . I guess I could just make it more susceptible to lightning instead . 1,200 LP was needed to edit its weakness from C to B . It goes without saying, but a higher rank meant it would be more vulnerable . S rank required a whopping 7,000 LP so I just settled with a rank A .

My【Purple Lightning】should be more effective now . Hopefully, the items I imbued with【Electrification】would also work .

I went back to my friends and explained the situation, then as planned, proceeded to dig a hole with a shovel .

「You dig too fast, Noir . 」

「So this is what a digging expert looks like…」

Apparently my digging skills was good — too good, in fact, that they were a bit creeped out . I’m just glad my【Excavation】skill came in handy . Thirty minutes of digging and the hole was ready . I buried some blades facing up . Behold, the Sword Hell! I doubted it would do enough damage but it was better than nothing .

Next we covered it with a huge cloth which we got by sewing a bunch of smaller pieces together . We pinned it down with some stones, pulling it tightly, then covered it with dirt for camouflage .

「All right! We’re all set . I’ll lure it here, then once it falls to our trap, you go on it . 」

「Okay! Leave it to us!」

「You can run away if it proves to be too difficult . Your life’s more important . 」

「I understand . See ya!」

I went back to where the dragon was . I was too busy, going back and forth . It was understandable, however, since I was the decoy .

The dragon was still asleep, breathing wildly through its nose . I moved closer to its tail, just a few meters away . I placed a piece of meat I bought from the market yesterday and sprayed it with water using my【Water Ball】skill . Except it was seawater . I quickly moved to its blindspot, behind a tree, then threw some pebbles at its tail . I was careful not to hit it too hard . I threw and threw but it wouldn’t wake up . It finally worked with the tenth try .

「Gwoah…?」

It finally woke up, letting out a groan . It turned towards my direction, checking its tail . I quickly hid, my heart beating fast . Holy crap!

I could hear it moving on all fours then stopped . I sneaked a peek and saw it standing in front of the meat . It didn’t even stop to smell it . It immediately proceeded to gnaw at it so I quickly granted【Electrification】on the meat . It normally required 1,000 LP but since I used seawater, the cost was halved .

「Gwwoooahh?!」

The dragon got shocked by the seawater-drenched meat it was chewing on and rolled over on its back . It was surprisingly very effective .

After about ten seconds, it roared, furious . It was unbearable . My ears hurt even with【Hearing Protection】on . I staggered from behind the tree, the deafening roar too much for me .

Our eyes met . It roared once again and I froze in place even though I had my【Courage】skill on . With my legs planted stiff, it charged at a reckless speed .

I’ll be torn to pieces if I got hit by that .

「Move…Come on! Move!」

The intense pressure finally disappeared, then I dived desperately, right before I got hit . I made it . The dragon continued ramming forward, mowing down trees . I’ve had enough . This thing’s a freakin’ monster!

It once again faced me with its robust body . I immediately prepared to run . But then there was a problem .

The dragon was blocking my way .

「Gaahhh…」

It calmed itself down and instead approached me slowly, trying to exert pressure on me . I could feel the intensity as if it was saying “I’ll definitely kill you . ”

「Sorry, but I don’t intend to fight you one on one . 」

I activated my【Flash】, a skill I use when in trouble . There was a blinding light . I made it past him just as the light disappeared . It seemed to not follow me, perhaps due to the light’s effect so I tried to put as much distance as possible between us .

Wait a sec . I looked behind me and felt a severe chill down my spine . The earth dragon was staring at me from far away, mouth open wide .

「A breath attack?」

My question was answered by a violent gale of hard rocks . No doubt my bones would be shattered if I got hit . I quickly dodged to my side to avoid the worst case scenario . The rocks’ sizes ranged from about as large as a human head to much larger ones, completely destroying everything they hit .

「I’m getting away! Catch me if you can!」I declared loudly as I ran in a zigzag pattern .

It let out a frustrated cry, chasing me . I struck a triumphant pose as I realized my plan was working . Still, I was in trouble . It was faster than me . I could feel its terrifying breath on my back when I saw the sheet just ahead .

There was no sign of Emma and Lunsan . No time to find them either .

Whoosh!

I jumped . The dragon stretched its neck, not wanting me to get away, but it failed to take a bite at me .

「Gwwwoooaaahhhh?!」

It stepped on the trap and fell all the way to sword hell . I, on the other hand, landed not so splendidly, rolling forward to kill my momentum .

A figure rushed past me, jumping over my head with a valiant battle cry . Lunsan took her spear and pierced the dragon’s upper jaw from above .

「Me too!」

Emma, who was hidden, stabbed its lower jaw from below . The dragon, struck from both directions, had it’s face contorted . Did the【Dragon Slayer】skill make it easier to pierce it?

「Fuuu… fuu…」

There was no time to think . I grabbed my spear and jumped in . It was weakened; the perfect chance . I lodged the spear deep into its throat with all my might . I was sent flying by its tail but it wasn’t anything serious . The dragon’s wound, on the other hand, appeared to be fatal as it stopped moving in the hole .

I rejoiced as my level passed the hundred mark . Lunsan healed my wounds with her【Heal Shot】while Emma rubbed my back which got struck earlier .

「It was barely level 30 and it was this powerful . Man, dragons are freakin’ scary . 」

「But we won!」
「Yes… A victory made possible by our bonds, I suppose . (sweats)」

It was amusing watching Lunsan get embarrassed after saying that .

「Yes . It’s our party’s victory . 」

I stretched my hand out, palm facing down . Emma placed hers on top of mine, and Lunsan’s on top of Emma’s . I did it on impulse, but this could work as a victory pose .

Anyway, so we moved on to dissection . Our priority was the fang we needed to pass our exam .

「It’s too tough!」

Emma was surprised to find her dagger not cutting through . Ordinary weapons didn’t seem to work . The spears, imbued with the skill, were easier to work with so we used those instead . We got the fangs, but…

「It would be a waste to leave this here . Materials from a dragon sell well . We could use them to make items too . 」

「The meat tastes good too apparently . 」

「Noir-dono, is your Different Dimension Storage skill rank C? I wonder if the whole thing will fit . 」

「It might just work . The dragon wasn’t all that big . Even a rank C had enough room for it . 」

I tried it and the dragon suddenly vanished .

「Wow! Amazing~!」

「Let’s go brag to those soldiers . 」

We went down the mountain in high spirits . The guards asked how it went so I told them we succeeded in slaying the dragon .

「Ahaha! Lying is bad, you know . But I’m glad you’re all okay . I wouldn’t want youngsters dying in my watch . Especially not these beautiful ladies, no . 」

I guess he doesn’t care if I die .

「We’re heading back . We have to inform the guild that we completed the quest . 」

「You think if you hold on to your lies, it’ll eventually become true? Is that it?」

「Probably . Here . 」

I let the earth dragon’s corpse out for them to see and their expressions changed in an instant .

「D-D-Did you really slay it?」

「As you can see . 」

They touched and poked the corpse until their curiosity was satisfied . Then they posed to salute .

「You have earned our respect, great adventurers . We expect great things from you in the future . 」

「You too should learn how to judge people properly, Sir . 」

「Hmm… I have no words . 」

I stopped myself from talking more smack . We strolled towards our carriage and headed back to our familiar town .

We encountered some monsters on the way back so by the time we arrived, it was already late at night . Odin was still open though so we went to submit our report . Laursan was waiting for us even though office hours should’ve been over .

The first thing she did was run over to me and check for injuries .

「I’m glad you’re okay . How’d it go with the dragon?」

「Let me borrow this place for a sec . 」

I showcased the dragon’s corpse in front of the counter . For a moment, the whole guild went still then a second later the members were all over it . I could see Laursan’s eyes sparkling .

「Hya~! That’s Noir-san for you . 」

「Wow! Is this real? How’d you take it down?」

「You guys have been doing great recently!」

It was late in the night, but the whole guild was buzzing with excitement . They were having fun even without booze . Most of all, we were having fun as well .

After all, anyone would lean a serious ear to someone telling a heroic tale . In the end, we all made merry, frolicking deep into the night .

Chapter end