Return of the Dragon-Devouring Assassin

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

'Token secured.'

Feyr stuffed the token into his pocket and resumed climbing the mountain.

With the token in hand, the exam was already as good as over—but he had no intention of calling it finished and heading back down on that alone.

There was something he had set his mind on doing with the remaining time.

The very reason famhe had looked forward to ascending this mountain from the start.

'To catch the lord of the mountain.'

The magical beast known as the lord of the mountain—the one that dwelled at the peak of Mount Levelheim.

The Titanoboa was a Yellow-grade magical beast in the form of a massive serpent.

Strictly in terms of danger rating alone, it was not overwhelmingly powerful among magical beasts.

'Green, Blue, Yellow, Red, White.'

In that order, from weakest to strongest, the tiers of magical beast strength.

As much as Yellow-grade was far from a low tier, there was no denying it fell somewhat short of what one might expect for a lord of the mountain. Then what exactly was the reason? How had it come to reign as master of this place?

The answer was twofold.

The first: time.

'A resident serpent that has been here for no less than two hundred years.'

Ordinarily, a Titanoboa's lifespan barely reaches fifty years at most. On top of that, it was sold on the black market for a fortune—prized as a restorative for nobles, believed to aid with skin and vitality alike.

The Titanoboa was, for hunters, essentially a means to overnight riches.

And yet this one was a monstrous serpent that had lingered for two hundred years. Its size was three times that of an ordinary Titanoboa—and its body, a pure white albino at that.

No one had stepped forward to subjugate it. All the more so given that its territory lay within Beilhart's domain.

Over that span of time, it had accumulated Mana within its body, growing larger and stronger than its original form—and so it had come to reign over the mountain. What was more, during all that time, energy had been building up within its belly.

That was the second answer.

The Inner Core.

And in obtaining an Inner Core—

'It had gained a unique ability.'

That was precisely why Feyr intended to hunt it.

The unique ability it possessed.

'Serpent Sense.'

Serpents catch prey and evade predators despite their poor eyesight. This is because their vibration-detection ability—far superior to their vision—serves in place of sight.

If Feyr obtained the Titanoboa's unique ability, Serpent Sense, he too would be able to possess such a capability.

By hunting a magical beast that possesses a unique ability, one can absorb that unique ability through the Inner Core that contains it.

'Furthermore—once fully mastered beyond vibration detection, it will eventually allow perception of ultraviolet light as well.'

In other words, it would be as though an entirely new third eye had opened. It would prove immensely useful. It had to be obtained while the opportunity existed—no question about it.

'Later, there won't be time to come to the mountain—and if not now, it will never be obtained.'

Once time passed, it would already be gone.

Before uninvited guests arrived and disrupted things, he needed to catch it quickly.

'I'll have to hurry, whether I like it or not.'

In any case—it was called the lord of the mountain for a reason, and catching it would be no easy feat. But it was worth exactly that much.

Which was why Feyr was prepared to push himself if necessary—he intended to catch the lord of the mountain now, no matter what.

'If only for the sake of obtaining Serpent Sense.'

Feyr quickened his pace.

***

Fwoooosh—

"Star, protect me!"

The boy was swallowed by the blaze.

But a barrier had formed over his robe, and he suffered not a scratch.

Clang!

The formation, having consumed all its Mana, shattered and the trap was disabled.

"What is with this mountain and all its traps?"

"That's because there's something good at the peak."

"Well—that's true enough."

Two young mages rustled their robes as they snickered.

Then a young man who tilted his pointed hat slightly as he approached the two of them spoke.

"You're both far too giddy. We're here on a mission—conduct yourselves accordingly."

"Ugh, Noel……"

"Sorry……"

The boy called Noel planted his staff and moved to the front, beginning to climb the mountain.

And then—

Wooom—

Out of nowhere, a magic formation rose from the base of a tree.

"Break."

Spell dismantling.

Something that required at least a 4th Circle Mage—and the boy was already doing it with perfect ease.

The boy's blue eyes were fixed on the mountain's summit, and before long, he quickened his stride.

***

Keeping his purpose in mind as he climbed, Feyr had arrived at the mountain's midpoint before he knew it.

'About halfway left, then.'

He stopped and stood, scanning his surroundings.

Unlike the lower slopes, the scenery here was littered with skeletal remains. The majority of the skeletons were those who had died during past exams.

'Quite a number dead.'

Feyr swept his gaze over the skeletons, then shifted his attention to the scattered objects nearby.

Various types of weapons lay strewn across the ground, though swords were by far the most numerous. Most of the weapons were corroded with rust—but among them, a few were in passable condition.

'I'll take one.'

Going after the lord of the mountain empty-handed was simply unreasonable. Any weapon would do, but the best choice was undoubtedly a sword—the one he knew best.

'There's a reason swords are called the king of all weapons.'

Feyr picked up the most serviceable sword among those on the ground.

A real blade—one he hadn't held in quite some time.

Unlike the wooden practice swords used in training, it carried a satisfying, weighty feel in his grip.

'This is it.'

The first real blade he had held in his second life.

Feyr felt a peculiar surge of exhilaration and swung the sword several times over.

Fwooong—

The blade cut through the air with a crisp sound.

As he swung briefly, acclimatizing himself to the sword he had picked up—

[Grrrrowl.]

A magical beast that had sensed Feyr's presence emerged from somewhere.

A magical beast resembling a hyena—the Scavenger.

The Scavenger was roughly the size of a wolf, characterized by its tough hide. Each individual's danger rating was Green-grade, but in a pack they were at minimum Yellow-grade.

When multiple packs gathered, it was a magical beast capable of climbing as high as Red-grade.

But what stood before Feyr now was a single one.

Perhaps for that reason, the Scavenger bared its teeth even further, keeping its guard up against Feyr.

'Convenient timing. I had no opportunity to test my Aura, after all.'

Feyr kept his eyes on the Scavenger, adjusted his grip on the sword, and breathed Mana into the blade.

A dark crimson Aura bloomed from it.

Still faint given the small volume of Mana he possessed—but more than enough to pierce the Scavenger's hide with ease.

Aura kindled on the blade, Feyr launched himself at the Scavenger like an arrow.

The Scavenger charged in kind—but Feyr deflected it lightly and sliced clean through its throat.

Shhhk!

[Krak!]

Its throat severed by Feyr's sword, the Scavenger let out a brief death cry and went still.

Feyr shook the blood from his blade and looked down at the dead Scavenger.

A clean cut through the throat.

Feyr gave a satisfied nod.

'Not bad.'

Faint as it was, Aura was still Aura.

Even at the 3rd Star level, the sword's cutting power had risen considerably—he felt it clearly.

Feyr left the Scavenger's corpse behind and resumed climbing. After climbing for a good while longer, he finally arrived at the peak.

'Made it at last.'

The moment Feyr reached the summit, he scanned his surroundings. Unlike the lower slopes, this place was veiled in thick, murky fog.

An environment in which he could not rely on sight because of the fog. This was one of the reasons the Titanoboa had been able to reign as lord of the mountain.

'Its sensory perception is exceptional.'

The Titanoboa compensated for its poor eyesight by detecting heat and vibration. And so this place—with its low temperature and perpetual fog—was its stage. All the more so because its unique ability to detect vibration under any conditions gave it a decisive advantage.

These conditions—optimal for the creature—were precisely what made subjugating it so difficult.

'But it doesn't matter.'

Feyr had the means to counter the ability it possessed.

That was his footwork.

The Moonlit Shadow Footwork he had mastered in his past life.

This technique could erase even the sound of footsteps, one's presence, and vibrations entirely. Which meant the creature's vibration-detection ability was rendered utterly useless against Feyr.

'With this alone, it's nothing special.'

Using the Moonlit Shadow Footwork, Feyr began to move in search of the creature.

After searching for a while—

At last, Feyr spotted its form.

[Sssss.]

A pure white serpent, flickering its forked tongue, slithering across the ground.

He had anticipated it being large—but seeing it in person for the first time made it even more than he had imagined.

Just as he had heard—three times the size of an ordinary Titanoboa.

'Easily twenty meters.'

In length alone, some twenty meters.

Grotesquely long.

Feyr climbed a tree and watched it for a moment—

"Freeze!"

Three presences were detected—by both Feyr and the Titanoboa alike. From those three presences, a cold air like a bitter winter wind surged forth.

'……Magic.'

The uninvited guests had arrived after all.

Feyr immediately lowered himself at the lingering traces of magic.

At his peak, he would have had the confidence to remain standing in plain sight without being detected—let alone worry about detection magic.

But at his current level of ability, getting caught by them would simply be a needless annoyance—so he concealed himself.

Feyr narrowed his eyes at their magic.

[Ssssssss!]

The Titanoboa, seemingly enraged, hurled itself toward where the temperature had dropped.

But they had already climbed up into the trees.

They moved with considerable precision—as though they had planned it all in advance.

"Lance of Ice and Snow!"

"Lance of Thunder!"

The two young mages chanted their spells and conjured lances of ice and lightning respectively.

Then, the one among them who appeared the strongest began his incantation.

"O magic of ice, freeze my enemy…..."

Before the incantation had even properly begun, Feyr was already moving.

'This was around the time it happened.'

When the Titanoboa—which the family had half-neglected—disappeared.

'And around the same time that Yuzbel Hertzel, the master of vibration magic, appeared.'

Indeed.

Around this period, a great mage house had secretly dispatched agents to steal the Titanoboa that had reigned as lord of the mountain.

He didn't know how they had found out—but at the time, a mage by the name of Yuzbel Hertzel had obtained the Titanoboa's unique ability, Serpent Sense, and made a name for himself as a master of vibration magic.

But this time, Feyr was here—and so he had caught them in the act.

'The Hertzel lot are up to something rather amusing.'

The Hertzel mage house.

A prestigious house of the Empire that stood as the other great pillar alongside Beilhart.

Unlike Beilhart, which was in truth a den of killers, Hertzel was a genuinely distinguished and respected noble house.

But this time, they had crossed a line.

'Encroaching on another family's territory.'

A Titanoboa could not rear its head like a Hydra to spit venom.

That was because it pressed its body to the ground to detect vibrations.

Which meant that, if there was a weakness, what the Hertzel group was doing now could be considered the textbook approach.

'In any case—I can't just stand here twiddling my thumbs.'

Feyr had no intention of simply watching this unfold.

If the mages intended to fight in the manner of mages, then an assassin had to fight in the manner of assassins.

Feyr focused a little more intently and began to deploy the Moonlit Shadow Footwork.

***

"……and freeze all things in this world."

As Noel completed his incantation, the Titanoboa froze entirely.

"Now."

Noel signaled to the two beside him, and both hurled their lances simultaneously.

But—

Boom! Bang!

The two lances rang out with tremendous noise—yet failed to pierce the Titanoboa's scales.

"What!"

"How is that possible?!"

"……As expected."

Noel clicked his tongue as though he had anticipated it. Then, one of the other two—the scrawny mage, Rondo—spoke.

"Wait, Noel, you knew?"

"Not exactly—I had a feeling."

The plump mage, Beli, let out an impressed gasp.

"As expected of Noel!"

"Still, I'm not certain yet—we need to find a more precise weak point."

"Even so, it's only a matter of time! Thanks to you, Noel……"

At that moment, Rondo's voice cut off.

Noel and Beli turned toward Rondo. Beli's voice came out as though he'd been frightened.

"……Rondo?"

Noel reacted as well, sensing something was off.

"What…… did he fall?"

The moment Noel looked downward—

Swish!

Beli vanished without warning.

"……? Wh-What?!"

With both of them gone in an instant, Noel drew a magic formation with his staff.

"What in the world……"

Noel deployed a self-defense spell.

Magic formations like a barrier, surrounding him on all sides.

Regardless, whatever was moving in the darkness kept moving.

Snap!

Then—something pierced even through the magical barrier.

It was nothing other than a finger.

Struck by Feyr's finger, Noel slipped quietly into sleep.

'If you intend to fight in the manner of a mage—'

Then he would fight in the manner of an assassin.

'At my peak, I wouldn't have needed a technique like this—'

But right now, he was at less than half his peak capability.

And so Feyr had employed the Pressure Point Strike—a technique he had frequently used in his days as an assassin.

'Also known as Acupoint Strike.'

A technique that strikes specific meridians or pressure points in the human body to torture or attack an opponent. With Mana, it was possible to use it like this—to render someone unconscious.

'I could kill them—'

But he would keep them alive for now.

'I need information on how they got into this territory.'

Feyr carefully gathered Noel and the other two together at the base of a tree far from the Titanoboa.

At the same time, he carved Beilhart's symbol into the tree and stepped away.

'Now then—back to it.'

To catch that creature.

Feyr turned once more toward where the Titanoboa awaited.