打扑克的男女

ED: Julsmul

[Saga: Warrior’s Equipment]

[Gas-Masker Made with the Leather of a Venomous Dragon]

[Purifier Necklace]

Tae Ho utilized his ‘Warrior’s Equipment’ as soon as he entered the poisonous region and made a gas mask and a necklace that purified the poison around him.

‘That’s a weird-looking mask.’

Dark Age was adopted as a fantasy, but it was still a game in the end. Rather than a perfectly historical design, they chose to insert several modern items that would appear in FPS titles for the fun of the game.

Tae Ho took some breaths after donning the gas mask. Normal gas masks just prevented the poisonous gas from entering, but the one from Dark Age had a purifying effect just like the necklace.

The poisonous gas of Nidhogg was so lethal that it could even kill the Gods of Asgard when inhaled, but after equipping two purifying items and bearing the runes Odin had engraved upon him, Tae Ho wasn’t threatened at all.

“Let’s go.”

Tae Ho hit the gas mask and then pointed at the butterfly that was flying in place with his chin.

As Tae Ho got closer to it, the butterfly started to lead the path once again.

The path to approach Nidhogg was solitary. There was no sound aside of the breath of Nidhogg that was heard in the distance, and the field of vision was narrow because of the poisonous fog.

‘Your footsteps are too loud. No, the surroundings are too quiet. I think that it would be better to walk in the air.’

Cuchulainn advised with a low voice.

The thing Tae Ho was stepping on was like a vague swamp. It was like a muddy ground that grew porous after the rain.

No matter how careful one was, their footsteps still made noise, and it was heard more loudly because the surroundings were too quiet.

Tae Ho agreed to Cuchulainn’s advice and activated his saga to walk on the air. He then increased his speed and closed the distance with Nidhogg.

[Saga: The Charge of the Warrior is like a Storm]

The only difference than usual was that there was no gale nor thunder. The moment Tae Ho stepped onto the air, he tottered like an astronaut that’d arrived in space and took a deep breath unconsciously.

It was because a huge wall had appeared before his eyes suddenly.

‘It’s Nidhogg.’

It wasn’t a wall. It was the skin of the dragon; however, with it’s irregular scales covered in dirt and rocks rather than living tissue, it looked like a natural terrain.

Tae Ho kicked in the air once again and propelled himself towards the wall –the body of Nidhogg– and hung onto the scale. It seemed like the dragon wouldn’t even notice as the difference in size was more than a thousand times.

‘It won’t even feel that a bug sat on it.’

Tae Ho listened to Cuchulainn’s words and started to climb Nidhogg slowly. There was no way to know where he was hanging on right now.

‘If you came straight from the direction you decided, there’s a high probability this is its left leg or its side.’

‘I think so too.’

Tae Ho answered inwardly and looked at a more distant place. He saw a part of the wall that was split, and it seemed to be its armpit.

‘It’s troublesome to be attacked while hanging here, so let’s hurry. It seems like Nidhogg still hasn’t noticed that you have approached it.’

Tae Ho agreed to his words and moved more determinedly and increased his speed. He climbed the wall almost as if he was jumping, but fortunately enough, it seemed that Nidhogg hadn’t noticed him.

When Tae Ho successfully climbed the wall, he could know where he was precisely. It was because the poisonous fog only reached Nidhogg’s shoulders.

When he checked the surroundings, he guessed that he was at the left shoulder of the dragon.

‘It’s crazy big. You remember the path to the heart room, right?’

‘Yes, I hope it works properly.’

Actually, the shining butterfly was already leading the path, so there was no need to memorize it.

But the reason Cuchulainn still asked was because the path to the heart room wasn’t normal.

When Tae Ho first heard of the heart room, he wondered whether he’d have to enter through its mouth or another hole.

But fortunately, there was another path.

‘The rocks that protrude from its back are connected to its insides. You can just think of it as a gill of a fish or breathing holes that are in the skin of humans.’

Tae Ho remembered Odin’s words and took out the Axe of the Mad Warrior instead of Dragon Vein. The blade of the axe was the size of a person and was a weapon one could only use if they had superhuman strength, but it was also good for facing big monsters because of its size.

“Mountainous monster, Lukuku......”

‘Lukuku? What’s that?’

‘It’s the name of a monsterous turtle that is so big it looks like an island.’

It was the name of a raid boss he had caught in Dark Age. The reason Tae Ho thought of the name of the monster was because he thought that the fight on top of Nidhogg would be similar to that.

The monster, Lukuku, that stretched over one kilometer in length had another field in its back. No, a dungeon. Because of that, one had to first defeat the several monsters that were living within its back before being able to defeat Lukuku itself.

As Nidhogg was a monster that was much bigger than Lukuku, it wouldn’t be weird to find a herd of monsters or even tribes.

But it was weird.

Tae Ho, who was checking his surroundings, dropped his axe and frowned.

‘I can’t feel any presence.’

There really was nothing. The only thing he heard was the breath of Nidhogg.

‘Is there really nothing?’

Odin spoke of the probabilities that there would be monsters within its back, but thinking about it, those were just probabilities.

Odin knew about the path going to the heart room, but it was merely information he had heard from Mimir’s head.

Odin had never laid foot upon Nidhogg nor even watched it up close. He had merely looked at it from far away with his magic.

Because of that, there were plenty of probabilities that Odin’s information was wrong.

‘Perhaps, there may be nothing in it.’

There were no enemies.

It was nice to hear it as he was the one infiltrating, but Tae Ho didn’t feel comfortable.

‘Let’s go.’

Tae Ho spoke in a really low voice and then grabbed Arondight instead of the Axe of the Mad Warrior.

He could advance quickly as there was no one blocking his path. Tae Ho arrived at the rock he had set as his objective not long after. The rock itself moved everytime Nidhogg took a breath, just like the gills of fish, and when he climbed it, he saw that there was a big crack in it.

‘This information should be right, right?’

‘Even if it’s wrong, it has several important organs. You won’t lose anything if you don’t enter its stomach.’

Tae Ho took off the gas mask and then stood in front of the protruding rock. He then threw himself into it the moment it opened up.

The space that was like a crevice got closer when he entered it. No. Precisely speaking, it had merely split into several smaller passages.

Tae Ho threw himself to the passage the butterfly chose and entrusted his body to the inclination as if it was a slide.

[Saga: Warrior’s Equipment]

[Leather Cape of a Fire Dragon]

[Ifrit’s Kiss]

The inside of Nidhogg was filled with heat, just like a volcano. Because of that, Tae Ho changed the poison resistant equipment to fire resistant ones.

‘Ragnar was right. It’s not a saga but a cheat. A cheat!’

Cuchulainn laughed and said. Tae Ho agreed to it slightly and kept following the butterfly. As Nidhogg was too big, the passages like the blood vessels were also big, and they gave a feeling similar to if one were exploring a cave.

And after some time-

The shining butterfly turned to dust and disappeared. It meant that the guiding had finished.

Tae Ho stopped for a moment and then equipped himself with battling equipment and pulled out Dragon Vein.

The heart room of Nidhogg was tens of meters big. Big and small pipes including blood vessels were connected to it, and it pulsated periodically like a real heart.

Tae Ho stepped on the thickest blood vessel to approach the heart room and then started to climb the wall after he chose which hole he would enter.

Tae Ho lowered his posture when he arrived at a hole that was a bit smaller than Bracky’s height. There was another hole 2 meters further away and a huge space could be seen beyond that.

Tae Ho crawled to the hole and looked inside of it. The shining moss he had seen in the root was filling up the wall and the floor so it was enough of a lighting.

[Nidhogg’s Essence]

A black dragon, something akin to a miniature version of Nidhogg, was lying down on the ground. It seemed to be more than 10 meters long.

Cuchulainn said,

‘Hey, do you know? I can’t seem to know no matter how long I see it for.’

If it was male or female.

Tae Ho asked soundlessly instead of putting a dumbfounded face.

‘Why are you that stubborn?’

‘At first it was just a joke, but Odin kept dodging my answer so I became really curious.’

He could understand a bit how he was feeling, and because of that, Tae Ho answered without pondering.

‘I don’t know either.’

[Nidhogg’s Essence]

[Female]

‘Really?’

‘Really.’

Tae Ho, who’d answered calmly, ignored the groan of Cuchulainn that was struggling in a haunted fashion and looked at his surroundings. As it was a wide and open land, it seemed like he wouldn’t be able to use the terrain to his favor.

‘Although it is wide, it’s not to the point that a monster that big can fly freely. It will probably turn into a ground battle.’

Although the same couldn’t be said about other moments, Cuchulainn became serious when advising about a battle. Tae Ho checked the essence of Nidhogg with the ‘Eyes of the Dragon’ to grasp its weakness and structure of body and stood up. He then entered the hole.

And at that moment-

The essence of Nidhogg opened its eyes. It wasn’t because it’d heard Tae Ho’s footsteps. As the heart room itself was its magical region, he had sensed Tae Ho’s existence.

Tae Ho also looked at Nidhogg before he executed his envisioned surprise attack without regret.

[Saga: The Charge of a Warrior is like a Storm]

Tae Ho kicked the air. He generated thunder and gales and charged towards Nidhogg.

Nidhogg flinched after it rose up and then roared and kicked the ground. It also sped towards Tae Ho.

It was fast. It had only kicked the ground, but it surged towards the sky like a lightning that had transcended time.

Tae Ho didn’t take away his eyes off Nidhogg. He faced it head on and kicked the air once again. He moved a step away from its path and swung Dragon Vein.

The sword bounced away from its scales. Tae Ho kept stepping on the air and landed on the ground, and Nidhogg hit its head on the ceiling. Tae Ho breathed out while the entire room shook. He controlled the gale and thunder he had gathered with the ‘Charge of the Warrior’. He then stepped aside and fired lightning towards the ceiling.

The essence of Nidhogg clashed head on against the lightning. It had tried to fly towards Tae Ho the moment it had landed on the ground. The dragon screamed in pain as it was covered by lightning and then spread its wings wide.

Tae Ho looked at the dragon. It was certainly a dignified dragon. He could feel a great strength from the stroke of its wing that tore off the lightning.

But Tae Ho put on a bewildered expression.

It wasn’t because he’d discovered something new with his ‘Eyes of the Dragon’.

Tae Ho became certain of it in merely two clashes, for the insight of Scathach’s style technique had told Tae Ho as much.

It was the same for Cuchulainn, and because of that, the two of them said almost at the same time.

‘This guy-’

‘This bastard-’

The essence of Nidhogg charged towards Tae Ho once again. It was a really simple one that seemed stupid.

Tae Ho moved his body lightly and dodged the attack. He charged towards its open spot and confirmed his theory alongside Cuchulainn.

‘-can’t fight at all!’

That was the case.

And thinking about it, it was something obvious.

The black, venomous dragon Nidhogg-

It had never fought once since it was born.

< Episode 37 – The one that conquers (4) > End

====

Episode 37/Chapter 5: The one that conquers (5)

ED: Julsmul

One needed an adversary in a fight.

The concept of fighting couldn’t be established alone.

In addition, Nidhogg didn’t only have an opponent to fight.

‘Completely alone. That’s its weakness.’

Nidhogg had never received an attack.

There was no one that’d attacked Nidhogg in the root, and even less someone that’d hit it.

Because of that, Nidhogg had never felt threatened by anything.

And there was no one there to teach it how to fight.

The offspring of predators learnt how to hunt from their mother. They learned many things by watching how the animals near them fought, hunted, and escaped.

But Nidhogg didn’t even have that process.

Rather than being taught, it didn’t even have something to see.

‘Perhaps, it may not have moved much.’

Because there was no need to.

In addition, the dragon was too big. Moving a body that big without any reason wouldn’t be easy at all.

But of course, the essence that was in the heart room was a bit different, but the fact that it didn’t have a reason to move was the same.

No matter how outstanding one was and how much of a shining jewel they were, before they polished their skill, they were merely a rock.

‘That’s good......no, it is enjoying it, right?’

It was howling while flying in the air, but it seemed to be having fun.

‘It doesn’t seem like it’s a perverted masochist that likes to get beaten......well, that may be the case, but anyways, is it that?’

It wouldn’t have had the opportunity to interact with someone else like this.

This moment may be a fun one for it, as if it was playing.

Tae Ho moved the moment Cuchulainn spoke. Whatever the case, he wasn’t planning on playing with it.

‘Let’s restrain it first!’

It was true that Nidhogg was alone.

Honestly speaking, it was a poor.....no, an eternal life of solitude.

However, Tae Ho didn’t get careless. Even if the situation had made it into a sorry figure, there was no guarantee that it was good by nature.

The situation and nature were two different things.

He would first use its weakness, and as it was called an ancient dragon, it would be able to grow stronger while learning during the fight against Tae Ho with its incredible talent. That’s why he had to suppress it now that it was struggling.

‘Sly bastard.’

The moment Cuchulainn shook his head and said some words, Tae Ho threw a flashbang Merlin had made to the opposite side.

Nidhogg turned to look at the flashbang as if it was an obvious thing and was enveloped by a light so strong that it covered the entire room. It seemed like it had gotten quite surprised, for the dragon that was standing on its two feet was about to fall.

Tae Ho closed his eyes for a moment to dodge the light and then clambered atop the tail of Nidhogg and got on its back.

He threw another flashbang once again and put back Dragon Vein.

Chpat!

The flashbang exploded, and Nidhogg struggled while being covered by light once again. It was shouting something, but as this was its first blinding experience, it grew scared in addition to its bewilderment.

‘Wow....you are completely twisting the wrist of a kid. Cruel bastard.’

Instead of rebuking that there was no kid this strong and big, Tae Ho threw a tear bomb this time. It wasn’t even easy to be hanging on it as Nidhogg was struggling fiercely.

[Saga: Warrior’s Equipment]

[Dragon-Slayer Series 09 : Earthquaker]

A black gauntlet made with the leather and bones of a black dragon covered Tae Ho’s hand and arm. The red and yellow lines engraved in the gauntlet made it look like lava flowing down from a volcano.

“Kyaak!”

Nidhogg inhaled all of the tear bomb and coughed. It was an object that could make huge monsters collapse, but it seemed like it just made its nose and mouth itch a bit.

Tae Ho set up the time to throw flashbangs, tear bombs, smell bombs, that could stimulate its sight and sense of smell and threw it in intervals.

The bombs exploded in consecution and took the attention of Nidhogg completely, and Tae Ho, who’d gotten ahold of a scale with his left hand, started to hit its neck with his right arm.

Kang! Kang! Kang!

The sound of hitting metal was heard instead of scales. Nidhogg just focused in the bombs rather than on Tae Ho as if the latter had no particular effect.

But Tae Ho didn’t mind. Originally, one needed patience while accumulating damage. Just like there was the saying that there was no tree that wouldn’t collapse after hitting it with one’s axe ten times, if one hit the same spot repeatedly, they would see some hope.

Tae Ho’s attacks were short and fast. When five of the six bombs went off, Tae Ho’s attacks had already reached a dozen in number.

And they finally had some effect. The scale he had hit started to dangle in tatters, and Tae Ho tore it off roughly.

“Kyak!”

Nidhogg screamed. It concentrated completely on Tae Ho even though it was coughing because of the tear bomb.

‘This is also a first for it.’

The experience of having a scale torn off. The pain that followed that.

Nidhogg fluttered its wing as if it wouldn’t leave Tae Ho alone anymore. It seemed like it had some basic thought, and it twisted its body roughly in the air.

But even so, Tae Ho wouldn’t fall just because of that. He struck with his fist towards Nidhogg’s bare skin beneath the torn scale.

“Kyaaak!”

Nidhogg went crazy and slammed the wall of the room with its body.

But it was still immature. It was hard to slam the wall while floating in the air. It was impossible to shake off Tae Ho with the shock created by slamming the wall. In the first place, Tae Ho would have already collapsed if he was someone to fall with just that.

Tae Ho punched a few more times in the place the scale got torn off and then waited for a moment. Nidhogg grew a bit calmer as if it’d relaxed because the pain had subsided, or perhaps it was merely exhausted.

This was the best moment.

[Saga: Warrior’s Equipment]

[Dragon Vein]

“Dragonote!”

Tae Ho yelled the activation code when he grabbed the sword, and a red aura started to surge from the blade of Dragon Vein.

Tae Ho stabbed the sword into the neck of Nidhogg without hesitating at all, and at that moment, Nidhogg curled down. It then let out an overwhelming roar.

“Kyyyyyyaaaaak!”

The cry wasn’t only heard in the heart room. It’s original body also screamed. The entire room shook as if it was being swept by an earthquake.

But Tae Ho didn’t stop there. He twisted Dragon Vein. He opened the wound of Nidhogg even more and gave it a more terrible pain.

Nidhogg howled as if it was going to die. It didn’t even struggle now and collapsed on the ground.

It wasn’t because of the power of Dragon Vein.

Nidhogg took a sword for the first time in its life. A pain that couldn’t be compared to having a scale tore off had paralyzed its head.

‘It has no resistance towards pain.’

It was like Cuchulainn had said. Nidhogg was weak against pain. Too weak, at that.

If Nidhogg knew how to fight a bit more, if it knew how to use its physical capabilities, this kind of situation wouldn’t have happened at all.

It would have shaken off Tae Ho and fought a battle that was favorable to it. This place was none other than Nidhogg’s magical region.

But it was all meaningless. Tae Ho knew of Nidhogg’s weakness and didn’t let that go. He rather entered more stubbornly.

“Dragonote!”

Tae Ho yelled once again and a red aura then emanated from Dragon Vein. It spread the aura of a dragon massacrer throughout its body.

The essence of Nidhogg screamed and its original body trembled in pain.

‘An ancient dragon indeed.’

It didn’t show signs of dying even though it’d gotten hit directly by two dragon-massacring runes Odin had made directly. It only cried for a moment as if was too weak towards pain, but it didn’t seem like the actual damage was big.

But it was enough with this.

Because the fact that it was crying like it would die at any moment was more important and the actual damage was secondary. Nidhogg’s consciousness was caught in pain and fear right now.

In other words, it meant that it’s will had been bent.

Tae Ho took a deep breath. He grabbed Dragon Vein tightly, which was embedded deeply within Nidhogg’s neck and moved his left hand.

[Saga: The Hammer of the Blacksmith doesn’t Slip Off]

[The Shining Snare of the Hunter]

[The Comfy Saddle of the Beast]

[Suppressing Reins that are Filled with the Love of Idun]

The rope filled with Ullr’s power swirled around Nidhogg’s neck. Tae Ho got on the beast’s saddle and wore Nidhogg with the rein filled with Idun’s power.

All the preparations were taken. The only thing left now was suppressing it.

[Saga: The One that Controls Dragons]

Tae Ho entered Nidhogg’s consciousness. At that moment, the dragon trembled for a moment and let out a strange cry.

Tae Ho frowned. It didn’t work well. The wall surrounding its consciousness was too thick.

“Dragonote!”

Because of that, Tae Ho activated the last rune magic. Nidhogg struggled in pain once again.

[Saga: The One that Controls Dragons]

Tae Ho activated his saga one more time and closed his eyes and focused. He pushed himself to a deep part of Nidhogg’s consciousness.

Tae Ho opened his eyes. The entire place was dark. It seemed like nothing existed in the world that was pitch black.

But Tae Ho still took a step. It was because he heard a sobbing sound from far away.

It wasn’t easy. His steps were heavy. It felt like he was walking in a swamp.

In addition, the difficulty wasn’t only in the floor. Harsh waves advanced from the sides that seemed to only be emptiness. It was a strength that could crush Tae Ho to death at any moment.

Tae Ho was inside the consciousness of Nidhogg, who had lived for a long time along with the World Tree.

It was simple and simpler. It was dyed with only one emotion.

Loneliness.

Nidhogg’s consciousness said, but it wasn’t speaking to Tae Ho. That was the word it had spoken for thousands of years.

Nidhogg had been alone since the world had started. Ratatoskr appeared at times, but it didn’t come down next to it. It just looked at it from far away, and in addition, it didn’t even listen to Nidhogg’s words. It only mocked and ridiculed Nidhogg with bad words and disappeared.

Nidhogg hated Ratatoskr, but it still waited for Ratatoskr to visit it.

Because he was still the only one that came to talk to it.

If even Ratatoskr disappeared, it would really be completely alone.

The ‘One that Controls Dragons’ was a saga that connected Tae Ho’s consciousness to the dragon.

Because of that, Tae Ho couldn’t breathe properly when facing Nidhogg’s consciousness head on. He felt like he would suffocate at the overwhelming loneliness.

But he still had to endure. He needed Nidhogg’s strength to get out from the roots.

Tae Ho poured the power of a God into his saga and then walked forward. A bigger wave of loneliness came crashing towards Tae Ho. The shape of Nidhogg that was seen from far away had the appearance of a woman.

Tae Ho gritted his teeth and kept walking.

As he walked, a bigger wave came and crushed down like a lie upon him. It advanced with the intent to wholly eradicate Tae Ho.

I’m lonely.

It had always been alone since the world had started.

Lonely.

It had been trapped in the roots, alone.

Painful.

It didn’t want to be alone. It wanted to catch Ratatoskr that always left it alone.

But it couldn’t do so. The only thing it could do was growl in the roots to signify its own existence, hear the sounds that resounded from the far distance at times, and imagine the outside world.

Nidhogg’s consciousness was too heavy.

Tae Ho couldn’t say sweet words like he would become its friend, or that it wasn’t alone anymore.

The insight of Scathach’s style told him that.

He wouldn’t be able to overcome this situation with soft words and interaction. He had to forcefully break Nidhogg’s consciousness and reach it, that was curling down to protect itself.

Tae Ho struck out with Idun’s power and strengthened the controlling rate of the ‘One that Controls Dragons’. He didn’t stop there and even used Odin’s power.

The shadow that was pressing down on Tae Ho started to break, and Tae Ho advanced and opened his mouth. He added another strength on top of Idun’s and Odin’s.

Bragi’s rune.

The God of Music and Poetry.

The God of the saga that sings legends!

Nidhogg looked at Tae Ho. It had the appearance of a mature and beautiful woman that had black hair, but the expression on her face was that of a child.

Tae Ho approached her and amplified the power of his saga with the power of a God. After much effort, he succeeded and created a stronger saga with Bragi’s rune.

[Myth-Ranked Saga]

[The One that Controls Dragons]

That strength would reach the ancient dragon!

The darkness surrounding Tae Ho broke down completely, and a powerful, controlling power grasped Nidhogg.

Nidhogg turned to look at Tae Ho with surprised eyes, and Tae Ho grabbed her hand.

And that was the limit. Tae Ho couldn’t move anymore.

But it was enough. Nidhogg turned to look at Tae Ho that had grabbed her hands. She opened her eyes widely and then smiled brightly while dissipating all of her resistance that had surged up naturally. She then received Tae Ho’s power completely.

‘The One that Controls Dragons’.

Tae Ho opened his eyes.

The essence of Nidhogg turned its head and looked at Tae Ho that was riding on it.

[Ancient Dragon]

[Black Venomous Dragon Nidhogg]

Green words.

The essence of Nidhogg lowered its posture and expressed etiquette towards Tae Ho in a sloppy way.

< Episode 37 – The one that conquers (5) > End