Chapter 72

〈 Episode 72 〉 Frustration

Dragon, who flew faster than a bird despite his massive size, was struck by Eva’s attack and plummeted out of her sight. The battle with Dragon had been exhilarating, but Eva was inwardly furious at him for sneakily flying around and attacking her. As if swatting a pesky mosquito, she wore a refreshing smile and quickly moved to where he had fallen.

“Hmm!”

The place where Dragon had crashed was more than just broken; it was sunken in. The thick ice had shattered into dozens of pieces from the impact, and in the center was Dragon, covered in blood, his eyes stained red. As she approached, she suddenly sensed a rapid movement of air from where Dragon was.

“Ugh! What?!”

“Kaaaaaaa!”

Kwakwakwakwa!

Dragon opened his eyes and unleashed a Breath attack. Eva shuddered, seeing the burning Mana within the seemingly white, icy Breath. In a split second, she planted her spear in front of her, grabbed the shaft with both hands, and channeled all her Mana into it, concentrating it. Then, Eva and the Breath collided.

Kugugugu-

“Ugh…!”

As the terrifying cold and Mana, shaped like a breath, crashed over her, Eva suffered a sensation of her limbs being crushed by the pressure. She had never felt lacking in her own power, but facing Dragon head-on in a battle of strength made the difference in Mana painfully clear.

Eva poured out every last ounce of Mana, but she couldn’t withstand the Breath, and her left arm slowly began to freeze. Unlike her body, which was protected by Mana, her clothes crumbled from her limbs.

It was a desperate crisis, but Eva refined her defense with a razor-sharp focus. She didn’t just release Mana; she created a solid Magic Shield within a minimal range, fighting against the cataclysm before her. Thus, a short but infinitely long time passed.

“Kaaaaaaa!!”

Just like Eva, who was struggling to hold on, Dragon had scraped together every last bit of strength to unleash his Breath. After spewing Breath like a beam for a long time, he stopped only after pouring out more than half of the Mana inherent in his heart.

Shaaaaa

Frozen mist particles fluttered in the place where the Breath had passed. He muttered, looking at the terrain warped by the aftershock of his attack, creating a small snow mountain.

“D, did I get him…?”

A sound that shouldn’t be heard in the silence-covered snowfield reached Dragon’s sensitive ears.

Step, step-

Although Dragon’s expression, covered in scales, wasn’t clearly visible, he was expressing shock with his entire body.

“H, he’s alive??”

“Ah, yeah.”

Sensing endless ominousness in Eva’s reply, he hurriedly tried to chant.

“Sanc, kuheop!”

“I’m so sick of you, you cowardly, pathetic bastard!!”

Eva disappeared from her spot and instantly lunged at him, delivering an uppercut. Even with a simple height difference of more than ten times and a weight difference of thousands of times, it was natural that he wouldn’t budge, but her Mana made the impossible possible.

Kuang!

With a tremendous sound, Dragon’s head snapped upwards from Eva’s blow, and he couldn’t continue his chant. Gripping a fist blazing with Mana, Eva shouted.

“You’re huge, but you’re just a sneaky attacker! A beating is what you need!”

“Heuk, w, wait, let’s talk, keok!”

Pow pow pow!!

Ignoring the terrified Dragon, Eva jumped up and rained down a barrage of blows. Even without using her spear, she didn’t allow him a moment to escape, unleashing Fist Aura in all directions and pouring down attacks. She beat him so fiercely that Eva’s body, swinging her fists, remained suspended in the air due to the recoil during the attacks.

“Ugh, ack, kkaaaaack!”

As Dragon was hit dozens of times in the blink of an eye, the ground trembled from the shockwaves. With no time to chant and his means of escape blocked, he was helplessly beaten by Eva.

Eva, having beaten Dragon to a pulp, stopped, panting.

“Hah, don’t do that again…”

“…”

Having been beaten to a pulp by Eva, he lay stretched out with his tongue lolling out, his massive size notwithstanding. He looked as if he had been beaten to death, but he couldn’t fool Eva’s senses. She approached Dragon’s head and whispered quietly.

“Are you going to play dead, or just die?”

“Euhet!”

Having experienced his entire life flashing before his eyes for the first time while being beaten by Eva, he was horrified by Eva’s words and lifted his head. The area shook as if there had been a minor earthquake, but Eva skillfully maintained her balance on top of him. She smacked the back of his head hard.

“How can you shake your head like that when someone’s on top of you!”

“Ack! S, stop…”

In a short time of violence, a hierarchy was quickly established between the two. Knowing that she didn’t intend to kill him, Dragon quickly submitted to Eva.

“Turn back into your human form, my neck hurts.”

“Yes…”

He obediently reverted to his original form. As a bright light shone around and then faded, the man Eva had first seen was in Dragon’s place.

However, unlike before, his antique clothes were tattered, and his face and limbs were covered in bruises, making him look quite pitiful. Seeing his objectively pitiful appearance, Eva scratched her head and asked.

“Does your form reflect your body’s original state?”

“Yes. Because I shape my appearance based on my original form, I look like this. I could change it differently, but it’s much more troublesome.”

Seeing him speak informally, Eva’s eyes narrowed.

“Hey… and don’t speak informally. No, call me ‘Noonim’.”

As Eva’s voice rose, he glanced around nervously with a subdued expression and said.

“Um… how old are you, by any chance…?”

“I’ve lived for 24 years.”

Hearing Eva’s age, Dragon looked at her with an absurd expression.

“I’m 512 years old this year…”

Hearing those words, Eva burst out.

“You need to act your age to be treated with respect! Sneaking around with cheap shots and ambushes!”

Based on Eva’s standards, having grown up in the Orcs’ village, the petty Dragon before her was someone she couldn’t even associate with. Startled by her shout, he shrank back, his shoulders slumped, and replied.

“Yes, Noonim…”

Having beaten the Dragon before her to her heart’s content, Eva smiled, finally relieved of her pent-up frustration.

“Still, that was fun. If you come to play again later, I’ll fight you again, okay?”

“Ah, yes. But Noonim, your clothes are a mess…”

As he said, Eva’s clothes were also in tatters, with the sleeves and legs having evaporated due to the aftermath of the Breath, leaving only the torso part, and torn in places during the battle, revealing her underwear.

“Ah, that’s right. My luggage…”

Only then did Eva notice the devastated surroundings. In one place, sparks were still burning from the explosion even in the frozen area, and in another, the ground was shattered into pieces and tilted due to the destruction.

“Hmm… it seems difficult to find my clothes there, what should I do…”

“Noonim, there’s a place where I stay not far from here, would you like to stay there for a while?”

“Huh? Should I?”

Eva nodded at his suggestion.

“I’ll take you up on that! But what should I call you, Dongsaeng? My name is Eva.”

“Max, you can call me Max.”

“Okay, Max. Let’s go!”

As Max held out his hand, Eva took it, and soon the two disappeared from that place.

After moving with the light, Eva raised her head and looked around. This place, like a huge palace, had ceilings several times higher than ordinary buildings, befitting a Dragon’s residence.

“I guess this is where you usually are in your dragon form, Max?”

“Yes. But if I put miscellaneous things here, they’re likely to get broken, so I think there’s something you need in another place. Would you like to change your clothes first?”

“Ah, right. I can’t go around looking like this.”

“Please follow me this way.”

Guided by him, Eva changed her clothes in a room. There were many clothes, but she changed into something comfortable and came out of the room again. When she came out, Max greeted Eva, looking neat and tidy.

“You don’t even need to wash… you’re clean.”

“It couldn’t be helped with the clothes, but was there any reason for my body to get dirty?”

‘Is she even a living being, even if I’m like this?’

Seeing Eva looking as clean as if the previous battle hadn’t even happened, Max clicked his tongue inwardly.

“So, Noonim, would you like something to eat?”

“Ah, that’s great! It’s been a while since I’ve had a normal meal…”

Eva followed him with a face full of anticipation.

Unlike the place where she was first summoned, Max and Eva entered a dining room of moderate size.

“You didn’t bother making this place too big, huh?”

“There are places like that, but it’s too much trouble to use them every time. Here, let’s eat.”

As he gestured, a feast appeared right before Eva’s eyes. Having only been able to chew on jerky while coming north, Eva grinned and picked up her utensils.

“Hehe, then I won’t refuse! Dongsaeng, eat with me?”

“I don’t need to eat often. Let’s eat together later.”

“Dragons are unique, as expected, munch munch…”

Eva didn’t need to eat much either, but having only eaten jerky for the past few days, she succumbed to the temptation before her.

“Ah… this is the best. Max, is this also Magic?”

“You could say I’ve made copies… I can’t create things I haven’t seen, but I can make things I’ve eaten.”

“Maybe I should have learned Magic…”

Max had filled the table with enough food for a whole family, but Eva finished all the food cleanly in no time. Max offered Eva a drink as she sat back, feeling full and relaxed.

“Have a drink of this too.”

“Hwaaam… okay. Huh? The smell is unique?”

“It’s precious.”

“In that case, where…”

Eva took the drink Max handed her and drank it in one gulp.

“Ah, I feel good. I’m so glad I met you, Dongsaeng.”

“Is that so? Noonim.”

“Huh?”

Max said to the puzzled Eva.

“Isn’t a Noonim supposed to take care of her Dongsaeng?”

“Huh? Oh, right.”

“Then shouldn’t you listen to your Dongsaeng?”

“U, um… yeah, you should listen to your Dongsaeng…”

Eva’s clear red eyes had become hazy as she listened to Max’s words. Max looked at her unfocused eyes and smiled slyly.

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[NPC Name : Eva]

Strength : 94

Agility : 106

Durability : 89

Endurance : 113

Mana : 676

Lust : 168

Hypnosis : 17