Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest

Chapter 646 142.2 - Void Dragon

'Bring it on,' I thought, feeling the thrill of anticipation stir beneath the steady resolve. This was the moment I'd been preparing for, a confrontation years in the making.

From my spatial storage, I withdrew the pair of daggers Kieran had provided just today. The blades glinted dully in the faint light, their edges sharp enough to slice through steel, the perfect tools for a close-quarters encounter. I hadn't had the luxury of training with them yet—they were a last-minute addition, an unexpected bonus—but that didn't matter. Their craftsmanship alone spoke of their potential. They'd find their purpose here, in the shadow of the Void Dragon's lair.

Next, I reached into the storage and pulled out a small vial containing a concoction that I concocted when I was with Maya just now: Void's Bane. A translucent, viscous liquid swirled within, faint wisps of mana coiling up and dispersing in the dense air. I carefully unscrewed the vial and let a single drop trickle onto each dagger. The blades' enchantments responded immediately, recognizing the concoction as poison. The metal hummed softly, absorbing the liquid, the edges of the daggers taking on a faint, dark sheen as Void's Bane melded into their structure.

'Well, just to make sure they're fully prepped,' I mused as I returned the daggers to my storage. But the preparation wasn't over yet.

From my storage, I retrieved several more weapons—arrows crafted for precision and speed, along with additional daggers meant for quick strikes. I carefully applied drops of Void's Bane to each of them, watching as the enchantments recognized the potent concoction, the blades, and arrowheads taking on that same dark sheen. And finally, one final thing was left.

–Celestalith.

Coating Celestalith was a completely different matter, as the weapon would change its form all the time. And, since the weapon would change its form, naturally the parts that would be coated would also lose their form. Essentially that was one of Celestalith's weaknesses. I could coat the dagger form, but then I would be left stuck with a single form of weapon itself, limiting myself too much.

But using external weapons like these, this way, I'd have a range of options in combat, each weapon capable of carrying the poison deep into the Void Dragon's essence, weakening it with every strike.

When every weapon was treated, I took a step back, satisfied with the setup, and stood up to drink from a set of small potions. These weren't the heavy hitters—no dangerous side effects, no harsh crashes afterward—just subtle boosters that would enhance my stats by five percent for the next hour. As the effects settled in, I felt a slight surge in my body—a faint but noticeable increase in strength and awareness. Everything was ready, each detail was accounted for. With every preparation complete, I took a final inventory of myself. My mana reserves were nearly full, boosted by the ambient energy in this dimension. For some reason, the mana here felt different—denser, richer, as though each breath I took brought a purer form of energy into my body. It was as if this dimension, once rich with life, still carried remnants of that vitality, enhancing my senses and focus.

But I didn't linger on the sensation. This wasn't the time to analyze the quality of the mana here. I had only one purpose, and every second counted.

I let [Shadowborne] settle around me, merging with the dim, shadowed environment as I moved silently forward. The pull of the Void Dragon's presence grew stronger, thickening the air with an oppressive weight that seemed to seep into every crack and crevice of this place. Each step brought me closer, and the aura of raw, primal energy intensified, filling the cavern with an ancient, slumbering power.

I moved steadily, feeling the faint pulse of the Void Dragon's essence grow sharper. The quiet hum in the air shifted, vibrating at a frequency I could almost feel in my bones. This was no ordinary creature—Primordial Demons like the Void Dragon were forces of nature and even weakened, its essence was formidable.

As I moved deeper into the cavern, the eerie stillness around me became all the more pronounced. Not a single sign of life stirred in this place—not even the faintest trace of movement. It was as if every living thing that had once existed here had been drained, leaving nothing but emptiness and silence.

Finally, I arrived at my destination, stepping into a vast, circular expanse. The area was unsettling in its design: the ground, a deep purplish hue, seemed to pulse beneath my feet like veins drawing mana from some hidden source. Scattered across the floor were countless bones, remnants of past lives long since expired, their twisted forms rising among fractured stone structures that jutted from the ground like forgotten monuments. The air itself felt heavier, the ancient mana pressing down like an invisible weight.

And in the center of it all stood a massive egg. It loomed, dark and foreboding, its surface glossy and untouched, showing no signs of wear or even the slightest hint of cracking. It was easily several times my height, exuding an aura of latent energy—a formidable presence wrapped in silence.

I felt a pang of pity as I studied it. Without any cracks or movement, there was no way to gauge the state of the Void Dragon within. Approaching it would risk triggering a reaction, and studying it up close was out of the question without exposing myself.

'This is going to be bothersome.'

No sense in waiting any longer. I raised Celestalith, the weapon shifting seamlessly in my grip until it took on the sleek, curved form of a bow. With practiced precision, I notched an arrow, letting my mana flow into it, sharpening its potency. I took aim, focusing on the egg's center, then released.

BOOM! The arrow shot through the dim light, striking the egg with a resonant impact, and then the arrow exploded with a blue fire of Lunar Mana. But as the smoke cleared, the scene remained unnervingly calm. There was no reaction from within, no sound, no stirring in the dense mana around me. 'Indeed. No reaction.'

And the egg was just not affected either, completely unbothered by the strike. I watched the egg intently, as it remained completely unscathed, untouched by the explosion of Lunar Mana. My arrow had been powerful enough to shatter most defenses, yet the egg's surface hadn't even been scratched. Its defenses weren't just resilient—they were sustained, bolstered by the very energy flowing through this dimension.

My eyes traced the thick, pulsing veins running along the ground, feeding directly into the egg's base, channeling mana from the surroundings to protect it. If I wanted to weaken the egg, I'd have to disrupt its supply.

With a sigh, I notched another arrow, aiming it toward one of the thicker veins winding its way across the cavern floor. I poured energy into the arrow, charging it with mana until it vibrated with a fierce intensity, then released it.

The arrow struck the vein with a resounding boom, an eruption of energy tearing through the pulsing line. This time, the reaction was violent, as the mana in the vein surged, flaring up before fading into a dim, lifeless gray. The force of the explosion shook the space around me, the ground quaking as the energy supply to that section was abruptly severed.

'It is working indeed. Now the rest.'

I quickly moved, setting my sights on the remaining veins. BOOM! One by one, I released a volley of arrows, each hit accompanied by another fierce eruption of mana as the veins lost their color, the once-pulsing lines growing dark and still. BOOM!

The cavern shuddered with each impact, and the energy in the room shifted, growing unstable as the protective flow to the egg diminished with each severed vein.

With each strike, I could feel the defenses weakening, the energy around the egg beginning to thin. The structure wasn't impervious—it relied on this network, and I was tearing that network apart piece by piece.

The energy in the space had become chaotic, mana filling the air like a raging storm. The veins, severed from their purpose, spilled their power into the open, saturating the cavern with raw, unfocused energy. It crackled around me, creating an almost suffocating density in the air, but I pushed forward, already prepared for this kind of backlash.

As I drew back my bow, aiming at the fifth vein, a sudden tremor coursed through the ground. The entire cavern shook, debris rattling loose from the fractured stone structures around me. I shifted my gaze to the egg—it was trembling, vibrating under the pressure of the condensed mana within it. Hairline cracks had begun to form on its surface, glowing faintly as the energy within intensified, pulsing like a heartbeat.

I could feel it—an immense surge of mana accumulating inside, a force so dense and overwhelming that even from a distance, its presence bore down on me. This was it; the Void Dragon's awakening.

'Time to move.'

Without hesitation, I took cover behind one of the larger stone structures, crouching low as I let the shadows fold around me, fortifying myself with [Shadowborne]. I braced for what was coming, knowing that this was only the beginning.

The egg's cracks widened, light spilling from the fractures as mana surged and coiled within. The entire cavern pulsed, the immense energy ready to erupt as the creature within stirred to life.

CRACK! And with a loud voice, the egg cracked. BOOM! Followed by an explosion. "SCREEEEECH!" And then, followed by a screech of a monster. Indeed, the fight was about to start.