Chapter 4

Dragon Slayer

“KOOOOOOOOOOOOO-!!!”

A massive roar shook the entire cave.

The eardrums felt like they would tear from the pain.

Piles of bones scattered on the floor trembled and scattered in all directions from the vibration, and fist-sized rocks rained down from the ceiling.

And from within the darkness, it revealed itself.

Red Dragon.

Body length of 40 meters alone.

Each ruby-red glowing scale was the size of a shield.

Just the hot breath spewing from its curved neck made the surrounding air shimmer.

Even with its wings folded, its oppressive presence dominated the entire cave.

“I’ve been curious for a while.”

Kim Jun spoke. His voice held curiosity.

“Why exactly did you descend to the 5th floor?”

Kim Jun knew. That each floor of the Tower was a complete world in itself.

But these worlds weren’t completely isolated. Powerful beings could cross the boundaries of dimensions and intervene on other floors.

But the 5th floor? This was far too blatant.

There were only three places in the Tower that were friendly to Hunters.

Thebes on the 5th floor, Artemis on the 25th, and Kaldion on the 50th—the last bastion for humanity and the final foothold towards the Tower’s summit.

Among these, Thebes was absolutely irreplaceable. A holy ground where novice Hunters received their class changes, maintained their equipment, and built the foundation for conquering the Tower.

If Thebes fell, conquering the Tower itself would become impossible.

For the Red Dragon from the 80th floor to descend to the same floor as Thebes was no coincidence.

“I ask you. Why did you leave the 80th floor and come here?”
“Keukkeukkeukkeuk.”

The dragon laughed mockingly.

“A mere human dares to question me.”

Anger flared in its crimson eyes.

That a mere human would address it, one of the Tower’s Absolute Races, in such an insolent tone.

“Ah, but I suppose you’re just another prisoner here too.”
“Insolent!”

Fwoooosh-!

The dragon’s neck jerked back as a massive flame spewed forth.

Kim Jun was already moving. Using bones on the floor as footholds, he lowered his body and rolled sideways.

Sssssss-!

The flame that passed where he had been standing licked the cave wall. The bones instantly turned to ash and scattered in the wind.

‘Definitely, an existence that shouldn’t be on this floor.’

A record he had read in Kaldion’s library in his previous life came to mind.

[The Tower Chronicles – The Guardian of Thebes].

Kaiser, the father of all warriors, the first Warrior Class Instructor, and also the founder of Thebes.

The record stated that the day a pair of Red Dragons appeared in Thebes, he risked his life to lure them here and sealed them away with a barrier.

If not for his sacrifice, Thebes would have long been reduced to ashes.

But this barrier wasn’t eternal either.

Kim Jun recalled his pre-regression memories.

Right when he had purchased information about the Dragon Slayer hidden class from the 50th-floor information broker.

As if by a twist of fate, right after obtaining the information, this Red Dragon had broken through the barrier and invaded Thebes.

The dragon’s heat, spewing forth for hundreds of years, had eventually melted Kaiser’s seal.

“Ahhhhk!”
“Save me!”
“All forces! Defend Thebes!”

The tragedy of that day was still vivid.

Thebes engulfed in flames, people screaming and fleeing, the city turning to ash in an instant.

Thousands of residents lost their lives, and the beautiful city was completely ruined.

‘Such a tragedy must not happen again.’

The reason it had to end here and now, even without the hidden class.

“You dare have the leisure to think of other things before me?”

The dragon twisted its neck and glared at Kim Jun.

Boom!

Its massive hind legs pushed off the ground, lifting its body. Its enormous frame overwhelmed the entire cave.

Kim Jun switched his grip on the greatsword. A faint red aura swirled around the blade.

‘I’ve seen it countless times on the Dragon’s Plain.’

The dragon’s patterns he had seen while watching Ryu Ji-ah burning to death in the flames, while losing his comrades.

Flame Breath, Charge, Tail Swipe, Dive Attack. Things he had seen countless times.

Boom!

Claws tore through the ground. Kim Jun had already rolled sideways to dodge.

The dragon’s neck jerked back. A red glow surged from deep within its throat. The air began to heat up.

‘It’s coming!’

Kwaaaaaaak-!

Flame Breath erupted like a waterfall.

Thudthudthud-

He quickly threw himself behind a tumbled rock.

The scorching flame licked the rock, and the solid stone instantly glowed red and began to melt.

The heat of the flame transmitted even from behind the rock.

‘Not yet.’

Swoooosh-

The sound of cutting wind was heard. The dragon’s tail was swung towards the rock.

BOOM!!

The rock shattered into pieces. Fragments scattered everywhere.

But Kim Jun was already hanging from a stalactite on the cave ceiling.

Holding onto the stalactite with one hand, he firmly gripped the greatsword with the other.

“When did you—!”
“Too late.”

A being referred to as transcendent, a Dragon.

Its entire body was covered in scales harder than steel, and every single attack was lethal.

What was the only weakness of such a dragon?

Its neck.

Tap-!

Using the stalactite as a launching point, he threw his body forward. Gripping the greatsword with both hands, he fell towards the dragon’s neck.

The tip of the greatsword cut through the air, making a sharp whistling sound.

Shiiiiii-

The dragon tried to turn its head to avoid, but—

Poooooook!!

“KOOOOOO! How dare a mere human!”

The dragon thrashed wildly. It shook its head left and right, writhed its body, trying to throw him off.

“I won’t let go.”

Like a venomous snake that never releases its bite, despite the dragon’s desperate thrashing, Kim Jun somehow held onto the greatsword and pushed it even deeper.

And a single word flowed from Kim Jun’s lips.

“「Severing Strike」.”

────!

A flash of light flickered.

“Whew, just how far has our leader gone? We’re climbing pretty fast too.”

Park Min-soo said, panting.

“He must have already reached the 5th floor by now, right?”

The remaining four members of Guild Han had formed a party and were following behind after Kim Jun went ahead alone.

S-rank Tank Park Min-soo, S-rank Healer Lee Seo-yeon, S-rank Assassin Han Soo-in, S-rank Mage Ryu Ji-ah.

They were among South Korea’s top Hunters, excluding Kim Jun.

“Strange. The bosses are all gone.”

Ryu Ji-ah said, looking at the quest window.

[Objective: Defeat 15 Goblins, Defeat Goblin Squad Leader]
[Reward: EXP 20, 10]

[Objective: Defeat 50 Slimes, Defeat Giant Slime]
[Reward: EXP 50, 20]

“It seems the Guild Master handled everything on his way.”

Lee Seo-yeon said admiringly.

“To defeat even the bosses all by himself…”

It was the same up to the 5th floor. All floor bosses had disappeared, leaving only normal monsters.

Despite that, this party with four S-rank Hunters couldn’t keep up with Kim Jun’s pace.

“I wonder if we’re really the same S-rank, I always think that.”
“Hehe. Someone like you, dummy, is different from our Oppa.”
“Ryu Ji-ah, are you asking for it?”

Just as Ryu Ji-ah teased Park Min-soo and moved ahead, a city surrounded by massive walls appeared in the distance.

The white marble buildings bathed in the sunset light were a magnificent sight.

“There’s a city!”
“So it’s not just monsters coming out?”

The four were admiring the majestic sight of Thebes and moving forward when—

Suddenly, the void flashed.

Ding!

Suddenly, a massive notification window filled the vision of every Hunter who had entered the Tower.

[Hunter-Wide Notice]

• First Tower Dragon Subjugation Achieved!

• Exterminator: [Identity Withheld]

• Hidden Class ‘Dragon Slayer’ Acquired!

• Warrior Class Change Test Temporarily Suspended

“Dragon subjugation? Was it our leader?”
“What was the Warrior Class Change Test that it got suspended?”
“What’s a hidden class?”
“…”

“Cough!”

Kim Jun stood up, letting out a light cough. The dragon’s massive body lay fallen on the cave floor. It no longer breathed.

Ding!

[Dragon Subjugation Complete!]
[EXP 50,000 Acquired!]
[Level Up! 6 → 30]
.
[Hidden Class ‘Dragon Slayer’ Acquired!]
[Skill 「Dragon Blood Awakening S」Acquired!]
[Skill 「Berserk D」Acquired!]
[Skill 「Brand」Acquired!]
[Skill 「Dragon Slash C」Acquired!]
[Title ‘Dragon Hunter’ Acquired!]

“It’s over.”

Although his entire body was stained with dragon blood, seeing the massive EXP made him only smile.

From level 6 to 30 in one go. He had soared.

And that wasn’t all.

“Sorry, but I need to harvest your body a bit.”

Dragons had as much material to be gained as their existence was vast.

Slice, slice—

First, he peeled off the dragon’s scales. Each ruby-red glowing scale would become material for top-tier armor.

Rip—!

He separated the dragon’s bones. ‘Dragon Bone,’ harder yet lighter than any metal, was a core material for legendary weapons.

“Dragon Eye, Dragon Claw, Dragon Tooth…”

He collected them one by one. Every part held value that couldn’t be converted into money.

But then.

Thump thump. Thump thump.

A strange sound was heard.

He turned his head to find the source of the sound. It was coming from the dragon’s chest.

“No way.”

Tear—

Splitting the chest open, inside, a massive heart was still beating.

「Dragon Heart」.

A heart the size of a grown man, pulsating, shining like a red ruby.

Red blood vessels, like flowing lava, spread across its surface like a net, and with each pulsation, mana spread out in waves.

“Ha, haha!”

He couldn’t help but marvel.

A heart that continued beating independently after a dragon’s death, albeit with a certain probability. A legendary material with infinite value beyond S-rank.

It was commonly known that even after slaying 100 dragons, finding one in a beating state was extremely rare.

“Something I only saw on the 80th floor…”

Thump-thumpthumpthump!
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

The Dragon Heart began beating even more strongly.

With each contraction, red flames erupted inside, like a small furnace. Life force and mana condensed and circulated endlessly.

“I can use this usefully later.”

Carefully, he lifted the Dragon Heart. The moment it touched his hands, a hot warmth and powerful mana transmitted through.

‘Heavy.’

It felt quite weighty, fitting its size. But there was no need to worry.

Kim Jun reached for the small leather pouch attached to his waist.

‘「Spatial Pouch」.’

Essential equipment provided by default to all Hunters entering the Tower.

A magical item with a separate space inside, allowing storage of items regardless of weight or volume.

Pushing the Dragon Heart into the dimensional pouch, the massive heart turned into particles of light and disappeared.

Ding!

[Material Collection Complete!]
[Dragon Scale S x47 Acquired!]
[Dragon Bone S x23 Acquired!]
[Dragon Eye S x2 Acquired!]
[Dragon Claw S x20 Acquired!]
[Dragon Fang S x4 Acquired!]
[Dragon Heart S x1 Acquired!]
[Dragon Blood A 2L Acquired!]

“…Did I dissect it too cleanly?”

Looking at the neatly processed dragon remains, with barely any bone left, he felt strangely sorry.

It looked like a skilled butcher had passed through.

“…Think of it as karma from your past life.”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Exit.”

Fade—

“Damn it.”

Redel was muttering while staring blankly into the void.

The Dragon’s Nest. Minimum recommended level a whopping 50.

He wondered why such a place was even designated as the Warrior class change test site in the first place.

‘Are you trying to cut them off at the root from the start? Kaiser, just what…’

Countless individuals had died over the Tower’s endless flow of time until now.

From Outsiders to the Tower’s residents. Just the countable people would easily number at least two thousand.

“A dead guy anyway, why am I waiting… tsk.”

Redel brushed off his backside and stood up. Just as he was about to end the meaningless wait and return to Thebes.

“Huh?”

Someone was walking out from the direction of the Dragon’s Nest.

“No way…”

But something felt off. A different level of energy was emanating from that presence.

The oppressive feeling of a high-level existence that seemed to be from at least the 30th floor.

An overwhelming pressure of a different dimension, something absolutely unfelt on a place like the 5th floor, weighed down the air.

Redel’s entire body froze.

“U, uwaaa! Another invasion!”

Covered head to toe in red blood, emitting a terrifying aura only possessed by high-floor entities, it was approaching.

Only one thought filled Redel’s mind.

He had to run.

He had to run and inform Thebes that another high-floor monster had appeared.

‘First a dragon, and now another monster!’

“D-don’t come! Don’t come!”

He frantically pulled the reins. But the presence was approaching at a much faster speed than expected.

“Uwaaaaaa!”
“Redel! Calm down a bit.”

Kim Jun urgently called out to stop Redel. His expression showed he had no idea why Redel was running away.

But when Redel saw Kim Jun’s face clearly, he was even more startled.

This face was definitely… that Outsider who entered the Dragon’s Nest earlier!

“Ggeheoook!”

Redel’s face turned pale white.

The shock that someone he thought had been eaten by the dragon came out alive, covered in blood, and what was with that energy?