Chapter 254: Chapter 254
The word escaped from Su-ho’s mouth before he could stop it—pure instinct, born of surprise.
But really, it shouldn’t have shocked him.
After all, this was a Gate—and every Gate had a boss.
He had just forgotten that detail, lulled by the fact that this particular Gate was a unique one, only accessible to inheritors of the Blacksmith-type class.
Beneath the steel tracks, bubbles churned violently in the lava.
Something exploded up from the molten depths.
A spire of lava shot all the way to the ceiling before collapsing in a fiery cascade, and only then did Su-ho see it clearly—the guardian of this place.
No, he wasn’t mistaken.
To be precise, it was a wingless, Eastern-style dragon—a long, serpent-like body ending in a large, lizard-like head.
But that wasn’t the full extent of its grotesque appearance.
Chunks of lava dripped off the beast’s body, still sizzling.
It had risen straight from the furnace itself.
Worse, between its cracked scales, molten lava glowed like burning veins—a warning in plain sight of just how dangerous this creature was.
Su-ho squinted, focusing his gaze on the nameplate above it.
—Molten Dragon Lv.???
Su-ho let out a dry laugh.
He hadn’t been sure it was a dragon... but now, there was no room for doubt. It even had “dragon” in its name.
“Meeting a dragon ... Never thought it’d happen this way.”
In most fictional stories, dragons were overused tropes.
But in this world shaped by the System, dragons were extraordinarily rare.
Even in his previous life, Su-ho had only encountered two.
And now, in this life, before even meeting the dragons he had previously known, he had already come across two new ones.
The first was the Tower Dragon in the Tower of Trials.
Just like the Flame Demon and the Magmanums, this dragon had no listed level.
“Could it be... another object-like entity?”
He was still speculating when the system spoke.
[Molten Dragon uses Boss Monster-class Fear.]
[Dragon Blood activates.]
[Due to the Dragon Soul effect of Dragon Blood, Fear is nullified.]
The Molten Dragon had used Dragon Fear.
Su-ho furrowed his brow.
“Fear is a skill that deals direct psychological damage... so this means it’s not just an object.”
That much was clear now.
Flame Demon and the Magmanums didn’t have level indicators either, but they had never launched direct attacks.
No need to overthink it.
The system had clearly called this creature a boss monster—and its Fear was classified as a Boss Monster-level skill.
At that moment, the dragon’s jaw expanded.
He knew immediately that this was going to be a breath attack.
Damn it. He hadn’t even finished harvesting all the steel yet.
Just as he expected, fire erupted from the dragon’s gaping mouth.
[Molten Dragon uses Breath.]
Flames—deep red, the same hue as the dragon itself—gushed out in a sweeping blast.
Su-ho darted to the side, narrowly avoiding the cone of destruction.
Fortunately, the dragon didn’t turn its head to follow him.
“Just like I thought—it can’t turn its head while breathing.”
Every dragon Su-ho had fought—besides the Tower Dragon—shared one trait: when using a breath attack, their heads stayed fixed.
He didn’t know the exact mechanics, but it was probably because the technique required intense focus and stability.
“Not that I’m complaining.”
Still, even if its head didn’t move, the breath’s power was terrifying.
The steel tracks where Su-ho had just stood were melted to slag.
“That precious material!”
He didn’t waste a second.
Su-ho began hammering the remaining steel bars.
The steel fragments shot out one after another.
He quickly shoved them into his inventory.
Just as he moved to harvest the next piece, a massive tail burst from the lava and lashed toward him.
Su-ho narrowly dodged, and the tail struck the steel instead.
“Did it damage the steel?”
But thankfully, the material held up—even after taking a direct hit from the Molten Dragon.
It was clearly the newer, enhanced steel.
“Whew. /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ If that had been the old kind, it would’ve been crushed to pieces.”
Still, there was no time to relax.
The sudden appearance of a boss monster had Su-ho rattled—but worse, the accumulated heat was starting to mess with his focus.
He rushed to gather the next batch of materials.
That’s when the dragon let out another roar.
[Molten Dragon uses Boss Monster-class Fear.]
[Dragon Blood activates.]
[Due to the Dragon Soul effect of Dragon Blood, Fear is nullified.]
A second Fear attack.
He’d just keep gathering steel.
But the Molten Dragon had no intention of using Fear to debilitate him.
The lava churned once more—and then, humanoid shapes began to rise.
Soldiers, each as tall as Su-ho, emerged one after another.
—Molten Dragon’s Ironclad Soldier Lv.???
—Molten Dragon’s Ironclad Soldier Lv.???
—Molten Dragon’s Ironclad Soldier Lv.???
It wasn’t just Fear—it was a summoning.
The soldiers had a distinctive deep, blue-steel sheen, and they weren’t few in number.
Each one carried a weapon—but not a sword or spear.
They wielded massive kite shields, large enough to cover their entire bodies.
That question answered itself as the soldiers suddenly charged toward him.
The very tracks shook beneath their heavy steps.
“They’re using those shields like battering rams!”
Like tanks, they rushed Su-ho with shields raised.
Their size and mass alone gave them the force of runaway trucks.
Su-ho quickly shifted his hammer to his left hand and summoned his Blood Sword.
Then, he slashed at the oncoming soldiers.
[Cloud Cleave activates.]
A wave of sparks, a shrieking clash of metal.
The impact stung his wrist.
Cloud Cleave was a wide-area slash—good for hitting multiple targets at once—but it lacked penetration.
Not only did it fail to cut down the soldiers, it didn’t even scratch their shields.
Without hesitation, Su-ho tossed aside the Blood Sword and summoned his Guiyeong Spear, using it to trigger Shadow Step.
The charging soldiers collided—crashing into each other with the force of a multi-car pileup.
Hovering in midair, Su-ho briefly locked eyes with the Molten Dragon.
Right now, it probably found this whole thing amusing.
But would it still be laughing later?
Su-ho conjured a ring using his Blood Weapon, hooked it onto the Great Hammer, and clipped it to his waist.
“This way, I still get the item’s effect.”
The System recognized any gear physically attached to the body as equipped.
Meaning even if he wasn’t holding it, he could still benefit from its unique stat bonus.
And right now, he needed the hammer’s +10% fire resistance more than anything.
Every single percentage mattered now.
Just then, the Molten Dragon stopped laughing—and lunged toward him with jaws wide open.
Su-ho used a double jump to twist midair and shift his trajectory.
Then he rapidly activated multiple skills.
First came the buffs.
[Blessing activates.]
[Holy Enchant activates.]
His stats surged. His weapons glowed.
Next, the perception boost—
[Mana Detection activates.]
As it triggered, mana flow became visible—revealing hidden concentrations and weak points.
Two mana clusters inside the dragon.
One was the Dragon Heart.
The other—the thing dragons feared most—the Reverse Scale.
Su-ho locked eyes on the Reverse Scale and hurled the Guiyeong Spear.
[Shadow Step activates.]
The dragon’s jaws slammed shut where Su-ho had just been.
But Su-ho had already teleported—landing directly behind the dragon.
There it was: the golden glow of its Reverse Scale.
Hidden beneath what looked like a mane of long, flowing back hair.
“Even so... I can cut it!”
Target locked, Su-ho swung his sword with all his might.
[Cloud Cleave activates.]
A gleaming arc sliced through the air—
—but his blade bounced right off.
He’d expected at least some damage.
But the Reverse Scale had deflected the strike effortlessly.
[Molten Dragon is enraged by the Reverse Scale attack.]
[Molten Dragon uses Heat Storm.]
With a roar of fury, the dragon unleashed a storm of searing wind in every direction.
Su-ho crossed his arms in front of his face.
It was like standing in front of a thousand hairdryers set to max.
His skin felt like it was blistering.
Breathing became nearly impossible.
The agony was brutal.
Which meant—it was finally time to use it.
“I used to grit my teeth and endure. But not anymore.”
It was time to activate one of the new Crusader skills he had acquired.
Su-ho forced his trembling hands into a cross and invoked it.
[Endurance activates.]
The skill was called Endurance.
Su-ho recalled its description:
He had acquired it at Level 160, and with his current Level 180, the skill had automatically upgraded to D-grade.
Now it offered 20% damage reduction and 30% pain reduction.
A faint glow marked the activation—a sigil of endurance etched across his body.
It dropped significantly.
“This much—I can handle.”
With renewed strength, Su-ho lowered his arms and stared directly into the storm.
But he wasn’t finished yet. The most update n0vels are published on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚·𝔫𝔢𝔱
He raised his sword again—
—and activated the fourth Crusader skill.