Chapter 639. The Red Pill (2)
Laughter echoed throughout the dungeon.
“Kikikikikik.”
There was no doubt—it was mocking Skal, who had fallen into a trap.
The pitch of the laugh was eerie enough to send chills down one’s spine.
Yet, even such ridicule was mere child’s play to Skal.
For it paled in comparison to the stern rebuke that struck his eardrums.
“Are you thinking of kneeling from just this, you brat?!”
Struggling to free himself from the trap, Skal retorted.
“The real problem is treating a dungeon like this as just anything…!”
The Dragon Knight, Skal.
And at some point, a polymorphed fledgling form of Frostnax.
[Dungeon: The Laughing Mushroom Kingdom]
[Restriction: Lv.800]
[Collapse Rate: 100%]
The location where Skal was tumbling under Frostnax’s scolding
was none other than one of the hundred thousand caves in the Zero Mountain Range.
He gritted his teeth and escaped from the trap, yet—
Rather than stopping, the nagging only intensified.
“Too slow. Far too slow. Remember my wingbeats!”
“I regret ever letting you ride on my back.”
“Do you intend to waste time in a mere cave like this, you brat?”
The Hidden Class, Dragon Knight.
“Seriously, you’re the only one who ever talks to me like this, Frostnax.”
Among the countless classes in Arcana Continent Chronicle,
Dragon Knight was one of a kind—
meaning Skal’s stats were unknown to all.
Of course, even back when Arcana was just a game,
many speculated about its absurd power.
– Skal, isn’t he basically getting double stat points?
– This is completely broken, seriously.
– Can he really take on an entire major guild alone? Absolute madness.
Naturally, there was no clear answer.
But Skal knew the answer himself.
He glanced at his Dragon Knight-exclusive stat.
[Dragonblood: Extremely Dense]
If the Demon Hunter class had [Natural Enemy],
then the Dragon Knight had [Dragonblood].
Of course, the difference was glaring.
So much so that a certain Demon Hunter would shake in frustration
if he ever found out.
[Your dense Dragonblood burns away the status effect, ‘Hallucination.’]
[Your dense Dragonblood burns away the status effect, ‘Laughter.’]
[Your dense Dragonblood burns away the status effect, ‘Poison.’]
To put it simply, what did Dragonblood do?
It granted players the characteristics of a dragon.
That was why Skal remained at the pinnacle
from the early days of the Cataclysm—
even back when Arcana was just a game.
Flash.
His pupils narrowed like a dragon’s.
His body accelerated.
Not only did he nullify every status effect,
but his movements perfectly mirrored a dragon’s flight.
“…Ghk?”
“Kkkgh!”
“H-Hiiiiik!!”
The dungeon’s monsters, who had been mocking him moments ago,
froze in place—then fled in terror.
Frostnax’s small beak curved into a wicked grin.
“A king is well-acquainted with the sight of fleeing enemies. Get used to it, brat.”
Though Skal himself was unaware,
there was a very good reason why Frostnax
had chosen one of the hundred thousand caves in the Zero Mountain Range
as his training ground.
‘Shoving this brat off a cliff… would be too soon.’
Puffing up his downy feathers,
Frostnax spoke in a smug tone.
“Do you know why there are a hundred thousand caves in Zero Mountain?”
“Of course you don’t. You don’t even realize what terrifying creatures lurk within them.”
Yes.
“If you truly do not know, then look at me.”
“…Huh?”
“For I am the very reason why.”
The monsters of the hundred thousand caves—
were all losers who had been driven underground,
crushed under the overwhelming might of the ruler of Zero Mountain—
the king of all things, a dragon.
[Level Up!]
Skal quickly distributed his stat points and responded.
“I didn’t know before, but now I get it.”
“Now, you say?”
“Yeah, they all burrowed deep down just to escape your nagging!”
“To think you’d dare joke with me. You’ve grown, brat.”
Frostnax stretched his tiny wings wide.
“Sorry, but that form isn’t scary at all.”
Skal stifled a laugh.
‘Even if I complain, I know how much he’s helping me.’
Despite his sharp retorts,
he acknowledged it.
The reason his [Dragonblood] had grown so dense—
was entirely thanks to Frostnax.
…Clench.
Skal balled his fists.
“I am different from the Commander.”
Even if Dragon Knight was a one-of-a-kind hidden class,
compared to the Commander’s unknown class…
His own potential was insignificant.
His always-active Dragonblood—
paled in comparison to the Commander’s bizarre personal stats,
like [Tenacity] and [Natural Enemy].
Skal had no way of knowing.
“I must refine myself further.”
If Hoyeol heard this misunderstanding,
he would flail in outrage—
but Skal was dead serious.
After stepping into the realm of 『Anomaly』,
he was painfully aware of his own shortcomings.
Of course—
“I suppose it’s my turn to make a move.”
Frostnax felt the same.
‘Eunaxus… Compared to you, I was just an ignorant fledgling.’
At last, the dragon and his knight
set their sights on the same goal.
For them, a mere Lv.800 dungeon
was hardly an obstacle.
“A soaring dragon has no time to stop its wings!”
“…You could just use mana to fly, you know?”
“Stop arguing, brat.”
Deep within the hundred thousand caves,
the unstoppable duo surged forward—
until they both froze.
“?!”
Being born from the realm of anomaly,
Frostnax had a sense for events unfolding across Arcana—
even in the separate world of reality.
And Skal, whose blood was tied to his,
saw the same thing.
His vision flickered.
[Someone has entered Curse: ‘Claudi’s Discipline’.]
“!”
Instinctively, Skal shouted—
“Frostnax!”
“I know, brat.”
ROOOOAAARR.
Shedding his fledgling form,
Frostnax unfurled his wings
and tore open a rift to Arcana.
Skal leapt onto his back.
“My magic device has activated.”
The curse—’Claudi’s Discipline’.
Skal had not overlooked the sheer oppression he had felt inside it.
He had escaped, but never fully explored the castle’s interior.
-“I will return for sure.”
-“Of course you will.”
-“There must be a clue inside the castle.”
That was why he had focused on leveling up,
synchronizing with Frostnax.
The ruins were filled with dragon corpses.
If he entered that castle—
-“For the Commander’s sake, I must investigate.”
Because at some point—
he had come to wonder.
If the Commander truly was Pride…
Then perhaps,
just perhaps,
he might understand him a little better.
-“For the Commander’s sake, I must investigate.”
The Seven Deadly Sins of Pride.
No—rather, it was because Skal wished to understand the Commander just a little bit more.
That was why he had set up the magic device, [Dwarven Bear Trap], at the entrance to the curse.
“The craftsmanship of the dwarves is truly remarkable. I must remember to express my gratitude to them. Even my senses would have struggled to detect this change, but thanks to their magic device, I noticed it immediately.”
Skal nodded.
“Yes, please do that. No, you absolutely must do that.”
If anyone were to ask where such a rare dwarven artifact had suddenly appeared from,
Skal was more than ready to drop to his knees and beg for forgiveness.
“After all, I… stole it.”
Of course, considering Frostnax’s infamous past, simply calling him a brat was misleading.
This was a dragon that had stirred up Arcana Continent far too much.
Compared to that, exploiting a few kind-hearted dwarven blacksmiths was nothing.
Frostnax casually replied.
“No need for such efforts. I have already erased the memories of every dwarf I encountered. Only I, the King of All Things, remember what transpired.”
“Y-You even erased their memories? That’s… really something.”
“I am not so impoverished a being that I would seek praise, brat.”
What an absolute thug of a dragon.
Skal clicked his tongue in disbelief—but only briefly.
[Dwarven Bear Trap has been destroyed.]
A notification popped up, signaling that the artifact had reached its limit.
“Frostnax, we should brace ourselves.”
“Brace ourselves?”
“If the dwarves’ magic device was so easily discovered…”
Skal swallowed hard.
“Then we may soon come face to face with the Commander.”
Though spoken by a mere brat, his words carried weight.
‘Not many would know of that place.’
The skeletal remains of dragons,
discarded as nothing more than raw materials of legend by humans.
That was proof enough.
The bones and hides littering the old castle’s surroundings had been abandoned for an eternity.
‘And more than that…’
Who, after witnessing such a horrific scene,
would still dare step foot inside the fortress?
No matter how much Skal thought about it—
the only answer that came to mind was Claudi.
Beyond the rift, the landscape of Arcana Continent slowly came into view.
“Brat, I must ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“If.”
Frostnax was being rational.
“If Claudi shows us hostility, brat, what will you do?”
“I must know your answer before we face him.”
Even if he was the Sin of Pride.
Even if they had sworn to follow him.
If the Commander rejected their loyalty…
Frostnax thought of the countless dragon corpses.
‘Then… we…’
Skal chuckled.
“Man, you really worry about the dumbest things.”
“…Dumb things?”
“If he were that kind of person, I wouldn’t have chosen to follow him in the first place.”
If the Commander was truly the Sin of Pride,
then everything he had done so far
must have been influenced by Pride’s very nature.
But what had Hoyeol shown them?
Skal spoke with certainty.
“The Commander has shown us a dignity that surpasses even Pride itself.”
“!”
At those words, Frostnax finally understood.
Yes.
Eunaxus.
You must have known the truth about Claudi’s lineage all along.
It felt as though he was finally shedding the shell of a brat.
Frostnax responded.
“For once, brat, you do not sound like a fool.”
Swooooosh.
A fierce wind rushed out to greet them as they emerged from the rift.
Frostnax wasted no time.
Immediately, he dove down toward Claudi’s old castle.
And there—
“Someone is there.”
A silhouette stood atop the fortress walls.
“That is not Claudi.”
If it were Claudi’s radiant silver hair,
they would have recognized it even from this distance.
Yet Frostnax did not relax his guard.
‘Someone came here, even though it isn’t Claudi…’
For what reason?
‘If this person were to learn the truth about Claudi…’
Frostnax muttered darkly.
“I may need to erase their memories, just as I did with the dwarves.”
But Skal’s reaction was different.
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
“What do you mean?”
“…Harkon Kingsguard.”
That’s right.
“That is the Captain of the Lionheart Knights of the Empire.”
Skal recognized the figure as Harkon.
If it was Harkon,
then even if he learned the truth about the Commander being a demon…
‘He would never waver.’
Just as Skal nodded to himself,
a sudden question struck him.
‘But how…?’
How had Harkon seen through the curse?
No—before that—
how had Harkon even found this place?
According to AAU’s data,
Harkon’s level was only 600…
And then—
Screeeech.
A piercing metallic shriek rang out.
Skal and Frostnax—
both fell silent.
A deadly presence had entered the dragon’s vision.
The Demonic Sword.
Or rather—
A symbol of submission given by the Six Deadly Sins to Pride.
The Hexagram Brooch’s influence had transformed Gwicheol,
and the malice it now radiated was undeniable.
From Harkon’s lips, a voice emerged.
“Grandfell, my son.”
His pupils had already turned black.
“To think that dragons, who once proclaimed themselves rulers before Claudi, still live. To show mercy to Pride, a traitor and parricide of our house. For the one who inherited this house to act so carelessly… There is no other way.”
A chilling declaration, eerily reminiscent of another,
marked the beginning of battle.
“This father. As the former head of this house— I shall step forward myself.”
*
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tl/n: change from little or baby chick to fledgling Frostnax
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