The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth-Chapter 319: Dragonization

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“Grrrrr...”

“Good, good. Just wait patiently,” Miliana said with a smile as she lightly patted the cheek of the blue-scaled wyvern. She was clearly pleased with her new companion.

Swoosh...!

Rustle...!

Even after the expedition’s ship anchored at the island, the wyverns kept circling them in the sky, though none dared to descend on them. The reason for that was clear—the wild wyvern that had attacked earlier was now bowing its head in submission to Miliana.

“This one must be their leader. Luckily, we managed to avoid an unnecessary fight,” Miliana remarked, pointing to the blue-scaled wyvern.

“To not only overpower a wild wyvern but also tame it... I never thought I’d come across someone like you outside the Magical Era,” said Alteman, shaking his head in disbelief.

Its being the leader meant that the blue-scaled wyvern was powerful enough to defeat the other wyverns in battle.

“She may be an outstanding Sword Master, but there are still more than ten others on the continent at her level. Aren’t you overestimating her?” Karyl remarked, but Alteman shook his head.

“The Ten Strongest on the continent could likely hunt a wyvern, but taming one is a different matter, as you well know.”

“True. After all, the Digons possess dragon mana, even if it’s faint. This confirms that Miliana has dragon blood in her veins,” Karyl admitted.

“It’s more than that. The Digon tribe was around even in the Magical Era. Back then, they weren’t called barbarians... I met them a thousand years ago,” Alteman explained, looking at Miliana with great interest.

“Even in that era of abundant magic, there wasn’t anyone like her. It’s fascinating. Magic generally wanes with each generation, yet her power surpasses that of her ancestors from a thousand years ago.”

Karyl smirked. Alteman had no idea that it was Karyl himself who had helped enhance her dragon mana.

“Isn’t that a good thing? A Sword Master with dragon mana who can now ride a wyvern. Just her presence on the battlefield will boost morale,” Karyl noted.

“That may be, but...”

While Karyl was already thinking about how to best utilize Miliana in the upcoming war against the empire, Alteman wore a slightly uneasy expression.

“Karyl, look at the size of this thing,” Miliana said, holding up one of the wyvern’s blue scales. It was so large that it could easily be mistaken for a dragon’s.

“What do you think? Mine’s better than yours, right? A magnificent scale. From now on, I’ll call you Blue Scales,” she added proudly, her excitement almost childish.

However, Karyl simply shrugged and turned away.

“From here on, we’re in uncharted territory. No telling what might happen, so stay alert,” Karyl warned as he readied himself.

“Yes, sir.”

“Roger that.”

Aidan and the Snakel unit all nodded in response. After encountering a wyvern as their first challenge on the island, they couldn’t help being apprehensive about what else was lurking on this island.

Rumble...

The active volcano at the center of the island occasionally let out low growls, sending thick black smoke rising into the sky. Amidst the eerie atmosphere, the group slowly made their way forward.

“They won’t come down again, will they?”

“As long as she has that blue scale, the wyverns won’t target us. The scent of their leader will linger,” explained Zouk De Holde, glancing briefly at the scale Miliana was holding before nodding.

“Thank goodness.”

Having witnessed Miliana’s overwhelming strength in taming the wyvern, the assassins of the Burning Darkness felt a great sense of relief. The earlier encounter had shown them the vast gap in power, and without speaking a word, they all silently agreed that they never wanted to face a wyvern ever again.

Hiss... Hiss...

Just as they let out a sigh of relief, a strange sound accompanied by rustling in the bushes made everyone look around in alarm.

“Draw your weapons,” Karyl ordered calmly, unsheathing his Freezing Talon and giving it a quick spin.

“It seems the creatures on the island aren’t as willing to let us pass as the ones around it.”

As soon as Karyl said that, a pair of glowing red eyes emerged, casting a sinister light upon the group.

***

“Everyone, spread out!!”

At Zouk De Holde’s shout, the Snakel soldiers swiftly hid within the forest.

Crack—!!

Boom—!!

With a thunderous rumble, the towering trees were suddenly snapped in half, crashing to the ground on either side.

Thud!!

A massive monster burst from the underbrush, slamming into the boulders on the beach with terrifying force. It shook its head violently, snorting in fury.

The creature had a long horn jutting from its forehead, like that of a rhinoceros, but its sheer size dwarfed even an elephant, and its smooth, glossy skin resembled that of an insect.

Boom—!!!

Another deafening sound followed as a second, identical monster burst from the forest, only to lose control and plunge into the ocean.

“Fshh... Fshhhh...!!”

The creature shook its head as it huffed and puffed, stepping back onto the shore. The sheer size of the monsters left everyone speechless.

“...What is that?”

Miliana frowned as she stared at the monster, which was getting ready to charge again.

“Ghreeee...!!”

When the rock on which Miliana had been standing moments before was shattered by the monster’s attack, her blue-scaled wyvern let out a warning roar, yet for some reason, it hesitated to approach the beast.

“I’ve never seen such a creature before. For a wild wyvern to be afraid of it... What could it be?” Miliana murmured.

“It’s a Burguster...” Karyl muttered under his breath as he stared at the rhinoceros-like monster with a grim expression.

“Hmm?”

“Huff... Huff...”

Each breath the creature exhaled echoed with a heavy, ominous weight.

“Why is a floor monster here?”

“Floor? What are you talking about?” Miliana asked, confused.

“I’ll explain later. For now, we need to deal with these things,” Karyl said as she drew her swords, Arc and Gale.

[That monster... By floor, you’re referring to the different levels of Pharel, right? Are you saying that monster comes from inside the Tower of Pharel?]

Allen’s voice echoed in Karyl’s mind.

Exactly. It’s a form of Tarak. The Oracle hasn’t been prophesied yet, and Pharel hasn’t appeared, so...

[Hmm. It’s not entirely impossible. Even the Seven Elders managed to create something similar to Tarak. You remember the black monster you first cut down in the Gray Training Grounds, right?]

Of course.

[And, naturally, the one who taught us how to forge it was the Platinum Dragon itself.]

Karyl nodded. The Immortal Council had created something similar, though it was far inferior.

The fact that that creature is here means one of two things: either the Platinum Dragon’s ability to create Tarak has reached this level, or it can summon corrupted creatures directly.

Either way, one thing was clear.

In my previous life, we only learned about Tarak after the Oracle had been prophesied. But this shows that Narh Di Maug had been studying it long before then. He deceived us.

It seemed the dragon had wilfully kept silent about the Tarak.

“Everyone, listen up! Form groups of twenty-five to take this thing down. Your primary objective is survival. You’re all valuable assets, and we don’t want any pointless sacrifice here!”

“Twenty-five per group? Is that monster really that strong?” Aidan asked as he began to gather his magic.

“The creature’s shell is extremely durable and elastic, but it has a weakness. The joints between its shell plates—those are its vulnerable spots. Focus on those weak points to immobilize the creature.”

“Aiming for small gaps... That’s what we’re best at,” Zouk De Holde said confidently.

“Exactly. For a single one, that wouldn’t require so many people. The problem is they live in herds.”

“...What?”

Karyl’s gaze shifted to the depths of the forest, now completely ravaged.

“They’re coming.”

Rumble...!!

Boom...!!

At that moment, a deafening roar erupted from the forest, and a cloud of dust rose into the air, gradually closing in on the group.

“Aidan, Zouk, you two take half of the Snakel unit and handle the two coming from behind,” Karyl instructed, gazing through the dust cloud with a resolute expression. “We’ll take care of the rest.”

“Huh?” Aidan and Zook exchanged uneasy glances as Karyl casually warned them of a dozen approaching monsters.

“No, Karyl, stay out of this,” Miliana cut in, extending her arms toward the charging Burgusters.

Crack, crack...!

As her spine cracked, red scales sprouted along her arms.

“Is she transforming?! But she doesn’t have a Master Key... What is this...?”

Alteman was stunned by the sight. Half of Miliana’s face was now covered in scales, as if she were wearing a partial dragon mask.

“Just like you gained power from the Thousand-Year Ice Cave, I haven’t been idle all this time either,” she said.

Flash—!!

In a blur of speed too great for the naked eye to perceive, Miliana darted into the forest.

Boom!! Crash!!!

With her clawed, scale-covered hand, she slammed a Burguster’s head into the ground.

“Ghreeeee...!!”

The creature’s hind legs kicked up as its face was forcefully buried into the ground.

“What in the world is that? A human with a dragon’s visage...? That mana... No wonder the wyverns follow her,” Alteman muttered, awestruck by Miliana’s overwhelming strength.

“Leave it to me,” she said quietly, standing atop the Burguster she had taken down with a single strike.

***

“This one’s the last!” Miliana shouted in an irritated voice as she thrust her twin blades into the neck of the Burguster.

“Keh... Kehhh!!”

The creature was sprawled on its back like a turtle, its short legs thrashing aimlessly. Its intimidating aura had vanished completely, and it let out a final screech before collapsing in defeat.

“That was easier than I thought.”

Srring—

Miliana shook her head, tossing her hair back and forth as the magic dissipated from it.

“Phew...”

“That’s an unfamiliar method of using magic,” Alteman observed.

“My dragon mana doesn’t even compare to yours,” she replied. “While you were away, I had to think of ways to improve.”

“Fortunately or not, my body, infused with elven blood, absorbs magic much better than a normal human’s. So instead of using a weapon, I decided to concentrate the dragon mana directly into my body.”

“It must be a type of body modification,” Karyl nodded in understanding.

“Exactly.”

“And this is the result.”

Crack—

Miliana pulled her sword from the back of Burguster’s neck and twisted her shoulder, the bone cracking loudly as if it had snapped back into place. Her skin, partially covered in red scales, shimmered briefly before returning to normal.

“That’s right.”

As the transformation faded, she exhaled softly and nodded. While Aidan and Zouk De Holde had led the Snakel unit in taking down two of the Burgusters, Miliana had handled seven on her own.

Karyl and Alteman had only had to fight one monster each, and so they had spent most of their time watching her battle.

“I call it Dragonization,” said Miliana.

“Oh, grand name,” Karyl chuckled.

“Grand? It’s fitting for the effect, don’t you think?”

At that, Karyl replied with a smile.

She was one of the Ten of the Oracle, but now her abilities far surpass anything from our past life.

Karyl couldn’t shake the feeling that when the first Tarak appeared after the Oracle, Miliana might be the one to hunt it.

“You think I could learn it too?”

Miliana raised an eyebrow at his question, surprised.

“You’re already plenty strong, and you still hunger for more? Don’t try to steal someone else’s thunder.”

“Who opened the door to dragon mana for you?” Karyl teased.

She pouted at his remark.

“Hmph. But this would be difficult for you. My body can do this because I have elven blood, but no matter how extraordinary you are, you’re still human. It’s not just about concentrating magic into energy channels; you have to infuse dragon mana directly into your muscles and skin. I don’t know if your body could handle that kind of transformation.”

“So the condition is elven blood?”

“Exactly.”

“Elven blood... I see. Got it,” Karyl said thoughtfully, contemplating her words. “Let’s go.”

He then casually moved forward.

Rumble... Rumble...

The massive volcano at the center of the island let out a tremor, and thick black smoke rose from its crater, as though an eruption could occur at any moment.

“That’s where the Platinum Dragon’s lair is, right?”

“Yeah.”

Though the island’s dense forest might have seemed difficult to navigate, the path forward was surprisingly straightforward.

Swoosh—

Miliana unsheathed her sword and cut through the underbrush, clearing a path toward the volcano.

“The fastest way is to make our own path.”

After defeating monsters that could have effortlessly wiped out entire kingdoms, the group began their journey deeper into the island.