## Chapter 2728 – 2728. Dragon Hunter
Mir, driving the truck, did his best to suppress a yawn. Hitea sat in the passenger seat. He couldn’t possibly yawn in an unsightly manner.
“…….”
“…….”
Rumble, rumble.
Only the sound of the truck shaking on the uneven road could be heard.
Mir glanced at Hitea. He wanted to talk to her, but… he couldn’t think of a topic. They’d already exhausted all the worthwhile conversation starters. It would have been better if Jina were here, but… Jina found the truck uncomfortable and decided to ride in Gwangroe’s carriage.
‘…Even though I’m with Hitea, it strangely feels like I’m driving alone.’
A quick glance. Hitea in the passenger seat was staring blankly ahead. There wasn’t much to see. Gwangroe’s large carriage, along with the people accompanying him and the wagons carrying supplies, were moving along.
It was boring enough to make him yawn.
“Hitea.”
“……Yes, Mir.”
Hitea’s response was slower than he expected. Mir didn’t think much of it. Anyone could see that Hitea was spacing out. It even seemed like she was spacing out now.
“Aren’t you bored? Should we play a word chain game?”
“No. I’m….”
Flintch!
For a moment, Hitea’s expression twisted before returning to normal. Mir briefly doubted his eyes. Wasn’t Hitea’s expression just now a little… suggestive?
“Why, what’s wrong? Hitea?”
“I apologize. I bit my tongue slightly.”
“You don’t have to apologize for something like that. Is your tongue okay?”
“I’m fine… Ugh… Ah, I apologize. My pronunciation was a bit off.”
Rather than her pronunciation being off, it felt more like she was emitting a moan. And didn’t her tongue move strangely when she answered just now? How should he put it? Intricate? Of course, he couldn’t see clearly while driving.
“Well, if you bit your tongue, that could happen. Should we start the word chain game?”
“…Mir. I’m sorry, but I’m feeling a little sleepy right now. Would it be alright if I took a nap?”
“Sure, go ahead and get some sleep. Just don’t sleep for too long. You won’t be able to sleep tonight, okay?”
“30 minutes… No, an hour will be enough.”
Hitea closed her eyes and leaned back in the passenger seat. She seemed to fall asleep instantly. Mir looked at her sleeping profile and felt his heart race for no reason.
Three minutes passed. Hitea didn’t move.
“Hitea. Are you asleep?”
Mir called out to Hitea for no reason. There was no response. She must be in a deep sleep. Mir stole glances at Hitea’s profile.
Ever since Jina became Gwangroe’s lover, Mir had started to be conscious of Hitea. He knew her before, but… lately, Hitea’s beauty had been catching his eye. Her sleeping face was a work of art, more than a doll.
Gulp.
Mir swallowed hard.
His index finger moved slowly.
‘This is… a joke. A joke. A simple joke that friends can do.’
His index finger gently touched Hitea’s cheek. But the texture felt strange. It was soft and elastic, but her body temperature was low.
‘Is it because Hitea’s essence is that of a dragon?’
That’s when it happened. Hitea opened her eyes. Her inorganic blue eyes turned to Mir.
“Mir. What are you doing?”
“Huh? I, it’s a joke. You seemed to be sleeping so soundly….”
“…Mir. You shouldn’t play pranks on sleeping people. Please remove your finger.”
“Oh? Okay.”
Hitea’s gaze was cold. Mir quickly apologized.
“Sorry. I didn’t know you’d dislike it so much.”
“Anyone would dislike having their body touched without permission.”
Anyone.
Mir felt strangely offended by that word. Weren’t he and Hitea more than just colleagues? Or was he the only one who thought so?
He couldn’t say anything because he felt contempt in Hitea’s eyes as she looked at him.
‘…I must be mistaken. There’s no way Hitea would despise me.’
Mir shut his mouth like a sinner and focused on driving. Hitea closed her eyes again.
Flintch, flintch.
Hitea’s body twitched. Was she having a bad dream? But her lips seemed to be subtly upturned. If he woke her up now, wouldn’t she dislike it even more?
Fortunately, Hitea opened her eyes a few tens of minutes later.
“Haa….”
What flowed from her mouth was a sigh that felt somehow suggestive. After a moment, she spoke to Mir first.
“…Mir. What will you do after you subjugate Gorgoltis?”
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
“Because my promise with you was only until then.”
Hitea was referring to the promise that she would help Mir until he killed Gorgoltis, the dragon who annihilated his hometown, and Mir would help Hitea until she regained her original power.
“Even if we subjugate Gorgoltis, I’ll still help you. That was the promise, wasn’t it?”
“…Mir. You don’t have to do that for me. You should live your own life. Besides, I’ve almost recovered my strength.”
“A, already? No. You haven’t fully recovered yet, have you?”
“I think that will happen soon too. We should consider our promise fulfilled.”
Cold sweat ran down Mir’s cheek.
The promise is over? So quickly? After the promise ends… will Hitea leave? To where she originally was?
Mir’s heart pounded. He had a bad feeling. The promise between him and Hitea. If that’s gone, can their relationship be maintained?
“Mir. After the promise ends….”
“Later. Let’s talk about that later. We haven’t even finished subjugating Gorgoltis yet, so it doesn’t seem like the right time to talk about it.”
“I suppose so.”
Mir couldn’t easily talk to Hitea until they reached their destination. He was afraid that if he spoke carelessly, the topic of the promise would come up.
And three days later, they arrived at the entrance to the Helgis Mountains, where the Tyrant Heavenly Dragon Gorgoltis was located.
• • •
I spent the last three days rolling around in bed with Jina and Hitea. I was almost disappointed that we arrived at our destination, the Helgis Mountains, so early.
The group set up a temporary base at the entrance. Mir and Hitea’s avatars can be seen getting out of the truck.
‘Mir doesn’t look too good. Did he drive for three days straight? There’s no way an A-class hunter would be that exhausted. Well, whatever.’
Condition management is essential for a hunter. A slight mistake caused by a condition problem. That mistake is likely to lead to death. Mir is the protagonist, so he probably won’t die from a single mistake… but you never know what will happen in the future.
“We’ll rest today and start searching for Gorgoltis in earnest from tomorrow.”
“Yes, Yujin-nim.”
The underlings began to move busily.
Jina and Hitea approached Mir. Since they belonged to the Wolf’s Eye Clan, they couldn’t stay by my side all the time.
‘Hitea and Mir’s promise. If they fulfill it, there will be nothing left between Hitea and Mir. In the original story, Hitea chooses to stay by Mir’s side even after regaining her strength… but is there any reason for the current Hitea to do that?’
To be honest, what has Mir done for Hitea? At best, he gave her a few Saint Dragon-class dragon hearts. Lesser Dragon-class dragon hearts? Those aren’t very helpful to Hitea. On the other hand, Hitea even gave Mir the Thunderous Howling Dragon’s heart.
‘Hitea invested in Mir after seeing his potential.’
So, did she get anything from Mir? No. I hunted almost all of the High Dragon-class dragons around them, and now even Saint Dragon-class dragons are hard to find. Even if Mir wanted to give Hitea a dragon heart, he couldn’t.
‘Besides, unlike the original story, Hitea has become strong quickly. Thanks to trading with me. The current Hitea is stronger than Mir. She’s probably at least a Vice-Chairman level?’
What if she eats the heart of the Tyrant Heavenly Dragon Gorgoltis in this state? Hitea will most likely fully regain her original power.
‘…Let’s say I give Hitea Gorgoltis’s heart. What are the chances of Hitea staying by my side like Jina? ……It’s hard to be sure about this. Unlike Jina, it’s difficult to guess Hitea’s inner thoughts.’
While I was pondering, I saw Mir talking to Hitea. I didn’t like the way he was looking at my woman. I came to a conclusion.
‘Let’s give Gorgoltis’s heart to Hitea. I could get her virginity in return, but… let’s give it to Hitea for free.’
Like Jina, Hitea was also my woman. Well, it doesn’t seem like she’ll give me her purity like Jina. Still, I’m satisfied that I can eliminate the promise between Mir and Hitea.
Did she feel my gaze? The Wolf’s Eye Clan looked in my direction. Mir frowned and then relaxed. Jina smiled brightly and trotted towards me. Hitea stared at me and Jina with a expressionless face.
That’s when it happened.
“KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
A huge roar erupted from inside the Helgis Mountains. The entire mountain shook. Birds sitting in the trees were startled and flew high into the sky.
I felt a huge presence and power and hardened my face.
“There’s only one guy with that much power here. Is he saying he won’t give us any rest?”
Thump. Thump. Thump.
I could feel Gorgoltis approaching. The ground trembled slightly just from that. I ordered the hunters to prepare for battle.
The hunters retreated for now. I would be the one to face Gorgoltis head-on. Mir? That guy is only there to assist me.
Hitea quickly approached me.
“…Gorgoltis is probably after me.”
“You? Why?”
“We didn’t enter the Helgis Mountains, Gorgoltis’s territory. Usually, dragons aren’t interested in beings outside their territory. The exception is… when there’s prey. To Gorgoltis, I probably look like a very delicious prey.”
Dragons can become stronger by eating other dragons’ dragon hearts. That was common sense in this world. Hitea herself was regaining her strength by eating dragon hearts, wasn’t she?
“So? Are you saying you’ll lure him away?”
“You need time, don’t you? I can teleport. I can buy you enough time to prepare for battle and adjust your condition.”
“It’s okay. I’m in top condition right now. When he appears, I’ll hunt him.”
I summoned the Hwaryeon Flying Daggers from my inventory.
I wanted to cut him down with the dragon-slaying sword, Gram, in one fell swoop, but… this wasn’t the world of God’s Atlantis.
‘To use Gram, I have to apply Arta’s elixir to the golden sword and go through the order of Notung and Balmung.’
Those conditions can be done in advance in the ‘God’s Atlantis’ world, and only Gram can be put in the inventory and brought here.
‘The problem is that there’s no support from the system, unlike Atlantis.’
I’ve already confirmed it.
Gram, without the support of the Atlantis system, is just a famous sword that works well against dragons. Nothing more, nothing less. Hwaryeon Flying Daggers are better for fighting dragons. When it comes to the sharpness of the blade, Hwaryeon Flying Daggers are superior.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
It revealed itself between the mountains.
An 8-meter-tall dragon with huge fists and armor-like scales. Gorgoltis drooled as he approached.
The magic power of Gorgoltis petrified not only ordinary people but even A-class dragon hunters like rocks. An oppressive feeling that made it difficult to even breathe, let alone move. That was why he was called the Tyrant Heavenly Dragon.
I reflexively looked at Mir and Hitea.
Hitea, of course, overcame the pressure and prepared for battle. On the other hand, Mir was overwhelmed like the other hunters and couldn’t even breathe.
‘It’s definitely different from the original story.’
Who would think he’s the protagonist looking at that state? My gaze turned back to Gorgoltis.
The tungsten bullets summoned from the inventory were fixed in the air.
Fzzzt!
Thunderous Sky Stream Electromagnetic Cannon.
The target was Gorgoltis’s right eye. Even if he had magical senses, there was a big difference between having eyesight and not.
‘Even if I can’t kill him, just blowing up one eye will be a big help in the future battle.’
Bang!
I struck the bullet with a fist imbued with lightning.
The hypersonic bullet hit Gorgoltis’s forehead instead of his right eye.
It wasn’t a mistake by me, who has shooting characteristics. Gorgoltis moved his head and took the railgun with his forehead. The railgun ended up shattering some of the scales on his forehead. The guy, who had hesitated for a moment, advanced again. His pace was faster than before.
‘…Those are some damn hard scales. Are the scales on his forehead particularly hard? But the broken scales aren’t regenerating right away.’
If I hit the railgun where the scales are broken, I might be able to kill him.
Thunderous Sky Stream Electromagnetic Cannon.
The railgun flew, drawing blue plasma in the air. But Gorgoltis lowered his head to avoid it from the moment I hit the railgun.
“KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Gorgoltis roared in anger. A fierce wave of magic power erupted, shaking the mountains.
-How dare a mere human! Make this body lower its head…!!
“What’s this? Telepathy?”
Hitea, who was next to me, answered.
“No. He imbued his will into the magic power wave. It’s the communication method of Dragon King-class dragons.”
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much time to talk to Hitea. Gorgoltis, who had been walking confidently, began to run towards us.
