Mad Dragons and Demon Dragons are different from their very essence.
They possess opposing, polar natures.
A Demon Dragon is a fallen dragon.
If it violates the mission given to it, it becomes tainted by demonic energy.
If a dragon that is supposed to protect the forest instead destroys it—like the Green Dragon Crackerus—then it falls and becomes a Demon Dragon.
On the other hand, a Mad Dragon is a dragon of excessive passion.
Rather than being insane, it was named a Mad Dragon because it carries out its given mission far too zealously.
A Silver Dragon's mission is to prevent the pollution of rivers, streams, and seas.
For that purpose, it even regulated human fishing activities.
It went around destroying every vessel floating on rivers and seas.
Because to a Mad Dragon, the highest-priority target to eliminate was humanity itself.
Mad Dragons and Demon Dragons.
Though their beginnings differ, their destinations are similar.
Both are designated as public enemies of dragonkind and hunted for the crime of breaking harmony and balance.
One for abandoning its mission.
The other for overinterpreting its mission.
If there was one thing that made a Mad Dragon slightly better, it was that it was not a fallen dragon.
For that reason, its Dragon Heart was no different from that of a normal dragon.
The Mad Dragon Haspus desired clean water.
Almost to the level of obsession.
Even when contracting with the Administrators, it demanded such an environment.
A lake filled with clear water—so clean that not even aquatic life could survive there.
Thus, the 89th floor of the Black Tower became Haspus's residence.
He was extremely satisfied.
However, there might come beings who would try to soil this sacred 89th floor.
Players possessing the Summoning trait.
The Administrators had warned him in advance.
They were terrifying beings, so do not fight them recklessly.
If possible, hide within the lake, stall for time, and simply interfere with the tower's conquest.
How laughable.
A dragon avoiding insignificant humans?
Once the Summoner entered the 89th floor, he planned to go out personally and kill them.
All of the summoned creatures they brought along as well.
At that moment!
Daring!
[The player has entered the 89th floor of the Black Tower.]
[An 89th-floor mission has been generated.]
[Defend against the player's mission completion or grant the player death.]
"They've come."
He had waited a long time.
First, reconnaissance.
He was curious as well.
The Summoner of Earth and his subordinates.
"Just what kind of bastards are they…?"
Why had the Administrators made such a fuss?
Let's take a look.
He activated Dragon Eyes and observed those who had entered.
"…Huh?"
Strange.
The Summoner himself was nothing special, but the others were hard to judge.
He couldn't tell whether they were strong or weak.
There were only two possibilities.
Either they were beings on par with him—or even stronger.
How dare insects covet the power of a dragon?
Well, it was not impossible.
He had to be cautious.
For now, Haspus decided not to move.
Following the Administrators' advice.
Delay as much as possible.
Just defend against the tower's conquest.
That was extremely easy.
Could they even find him, hidden at the bottom of this vast lake?
But then—
Did I see that wrong?
"What is that bastard?"
No.
He had definitely seen it.
"Why is there a dragon here…?"
Judging by the color, green.
It made no sense.
Because he had entered a free contract with the Administrators for tower defense, Haspus knew a few things about the abilities of Summoning-trait players.
They could summon humans or human-like beings.
But dragons were not included.
How could a dragon swear loyalty to a mere human?
Unless it was a dragon without pride.
At that moment!
The Green Dragon puffed up its neck frill.
"…That bastard, don't tell me?"*
Kwaaaaaaaa!!!
"You bastard!!!"
Haspus flew into a frenzy of rage.
The Green Dragon Crackerus was pressed for time.
At least the first stage was a success.
Fortunately, it wasn't a Demon Dragon, but a Mad Dragon.
A dragon that carried out its mission too faithfully.
So instead of falling, it deviated in another direction.
Since it wasn't tainted by demonic energy, its Dragon Heart would be clean.
Which meant it could be fully used as elixir material.
I'll rip that one out and hand it over instead.
Then I can safely enjoy abundant human civilization on the 17th floor of the White Tower without dying.
"But where the hell did it go?"
Something felt familiar.
He had experienced this before.
It must have checked with remote magic.
And realized.
How terrifying they were.
"…Is it trying to hide?"
That made sense.
He had done the same.
The difference was—
This one wouldn't be easy to find.
Considering the environment of the 89th floor, the Mad Dragon Haspus was Silver.
Which meant its lair was somewhere inside the lake.
He would have to go underwater, which was extremely annoying.
And he wasn't even sure he could find it.
"I need to force it out of the water."
There was a way.
He would have to exploit the Mad Dragon's nature.
A Silver Dragon's mission is to protect rivers, lakes, and seas.
So what if the lake were polluted?
A normal dragon wouldn't fall for such a cheap provocation.
But a Mad Dragon was different.
Crackerus hovered motionless over the center of the lake.
Flap, flap.
Slowly descending near the surface.
"Huuuuup!"
He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs.
Kwaaaaaaaa!!!
The Green Dragon's unique ability.
He fired Poison Breath into the lake.
Thick green poison seeped into the water.
The clear lake was instantly contaminated.
At that very moment!
Papapapapap!
The Silver Dragon Haspus burst up from the surface.
"You son of a bitch!!! I'll kill you!"
The Green Dragon Crackerus grinned.
"Found you! Hand over your heart, you crazy dragon bastard!"
"You vulgar wretch! Aren't you ashamed? A lackey feeding off filthy humans!"
"So what if I am?"
"Humans are vermin to be exterminated. You've become vermin too."
"Shut up, you senile bastard! Die!"
"Hah! I'll kill you myself!"
Papapapapapa!
Haspus unleashed Ice Breath.
Kwaaaaaaaa!!!
Crackerus countered with Poison Breath.
Juhyeok and the summoned beings watched the two dragons fighting from the lakeside.
"Woah! This is awesome. Who knew we'd get to see dragons fighting each other?"
"Indeed."
"But don't those guys only know how to use Breath attacks?"
"That's their strongest skill. Isn't bad breath deadly by nature?"
There was one thing they were curious about.
"That one's the real body, right?"
Diamat answered.
"Free-contract dragons don't usually copy their souls. So there should only be one real body."
Then—
"There are 146 towers on Earth. Can that guy really handle them all alone?"
Unless he used clones.
"Do you really think he needs to defend all 146?"
"What?"
"The sole purpose of free contractors is to deal with any potential Summoner-type players."
"Ah!"
"Without the Summoning trait, you can't even climb past the 80th floor."
Juhyeok nodded in agreement.
No matter how much a normal player strengthened their traits, they would stop at the 81st floor.
At the giant-monster zone.
One last question.
"Which one's stronger? Can Crackerus win?"
Then—
"The green one has the initiative."
"The green one with initiative is stronger."
"Green with initiative has the advantage."
"I'm betting on green-with-initiative."
"Green-with-initiative wins!"
"Hoh!"
Everyone predicted Crackerus's superiority.
That was a relief.
No need to worry.
But suddenly!
Chwarrrrrk!
Mari's homunculi poured out in large numbers, merged together, and formed letters.
– We can't let the green one win. –
"Huh? Why's that?"*
Right.
Why not?
– If Poison Breath wins, the silver bastard's body will melt in poison. –
"…Hmm."
– We're planning to secure a Dragon Heart. What if it's contaminated with poison? –
"Gah! Then absolutely not. Deal's off. You can't even wash that off and eat it."
– We're not after system rewards, right? Hurry! Before the poison spreads. –
Spot!
The moment she finished speaking, the gigantic Gobang charged first.
Bounding across the large and small islands on the lake like stepping stones.
The Mad Demon crossed the water using surface-treading.
Kosak kicked off the surface with Shadow Step.
Mackenzie, who had been filming with his smartphone, grabbed Rajiks and flew using magic.
Jephet transformed into a bat.
Mari sent out her homunculi.
Those left behind were Juhyeok, Gyeon Dallae, Major Bae, Mari, Bardin, Diamat, El, and Baek Dana.
"Everyone except me is a woman?"
An unexpected harem.
"…No, it's not."
Bardin was there.
What a shame.
If Bardin weren't here, it'd be a perfect harem genre.
Not that I'm planning anything.
"My lord, I shall excuse myself."
Excuse yourself my ass.
Anyway, we definitely shouldn't recruit that so-called Mad Dragon.
The way he talks, the look in his eyes—everything about him feels wrong.
A dragon with contempt for humans baked into its very being.
That kind should be exterminated.
"Let's just cheer them on."
But then Major Bae spoke up.
"Major Veronica Caliber requests permission for supporting fire."
She's going to fire the magic rifle?
"Sub-light-speed round?"
"No. A large-caliber attribute-absorption shell will be enough."
"Oh! … But which attribute?"
"I'll go with Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal."
"Uh …"
Will that work?
Juhyeok knew what attribute the Silver Dragon possessed.
"He's silver, right? Ice attribute."
"That's correct."
"Can similar attributes work against each other?"
"It should. As long as it's not an elemental body but a physical one, the stronger attribute wins."
Major Bae trusted the power of the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal.
A spiritual material that had accumulated cold energy for ten thousand years.
And it had grown even stronger by absorbing vital qi.
"Cadet Baek Dana!"
Major Bae and Baek Dana had grown noticeably closer.
"Yes! Cadet Baek Dana!"
"Initiate ice-force operation!"
"Operation initiated!"
Woooooong!
A vicious cold surged from Baek Dana's body.
"Ugh!"
Zzzzzzt!
After stabilizing it through attribute absorption,
Major Bae's magic rifle turned white with frost.
"Large-caliber shell loaded. Guidance system active. Target: Silver Dragon Haspus."
How do dragons duel one another?
Physical prowess? Or magic?
The most common method is a head-on clash of breath attacks.
So among dragons, whose breath is strongest?
Flame? Ice? Lightning? Poison? Acid?
The answer is simple.
A dragon's strength comes from its lifespan.
The one that lived even a year longer wins.
The one that has charged more mana into its Dragon Heart.
By that logic, Crackerus is at a disadvantage.
Its rank dropped to a hatchling once, and it hasn't been long since it evolved back into an adult.
But Crackerus was confident.
'I'll win.'
Inside his Dragon Heart was something beyond mana.
Not overwhelmingly powerful, but a sublime and mystical vital qi that ultimately governed all forces.
And it was working even now.
Kwaaaaaaa!
The Silver Dragon's freezing breath was being swallowed by the poison breath.
'Just a little more.'
Melt him completely.
Overwhelm him.
Only then could he prove his worth to the Summoner and be released.
Only then would he survive.
That was when—
A chill ran through him.
A terrifying killing intent surged from below.
'There's more than one enemy?'
A guardian of the Silver Dragon?
At this level, it'd be dragon-class.
He glanced downward.
"Huh?"
Boom!
Swoosh!
A giant leaped up toward him with tremendous force.
"…Gobang?"
That's an ally.
'Is he colorblind?'
Can't tell colors?
You're supposed to attack the silver one, not the green!
Grab!
Gobang leapt up and seized Crackerus's tail.
"Hey!"
The poison breath stopped.
The Green Dragon Crackerus was helplessly dragged downward.
"No, why?!"
"Shut your mouth. Don't spit poison. The Silver Dragon's heart will be contaminated."
"It's the Summoner's heart. We need to extract it cleanly."
They're serious.
Dead serious about the Dragon Heart.
Silver Dragon Haspus was confident.
He knew what that Green Dragon was.
It was definitely not a summoned being.
And there was no way a dragon existed on Earth.
So what was it?
Something that came from the Tower.
A traitor dragon.
One that broke its contract.
That's why it suffered a rank-drop penalty.
I'll win for sure.
Overpower it with brute force.
Freeze it solid with a powerful freezing breath.
But what was this?
He was being pushed back instead.
'Did it overcome the penalty?'
It was unbelievable.
No matter how much it recovered.
But soon he realized.
That subtle, mysterious energy mixed into the enemy's breath.
It was neutralizing the extreme frost within his own breath.
At this rate, I'll melt and die.
'Damn it…'
And that wasn't all.
Boom, boom, boom!
A terrifying giant was bounding across the islands like stepping stones, approaching with incredible jumping ability.
At a glance, it wasn't someone to take lightly.
If that giant joined the fight, he'd be finished.
Mad Dragon Haspus calmed down.
Even madmen become sane when they think they're about to die.
'What do I do?'
He had to find a way.
First, escape this place.
At that moment—
Grab!
'…Huh?'
The giant leapt up and latched onto the Green Dragon's tail.
'What?'
What's wrong with them?
Why are they fighting among themselves?
Either way, this is good.
A chance to escape.
The Summoner's subordinates were already closing in.
Haspus folded his wings.
If he streamlined his body like a spear and dove into the lake—
Instantly!
Shwaaaaak!
A projectile flew toward him like a beam of light.
'This is…'
Haspus could feel it.
'…An ice arrow.'
Seriously?
An ice attack against a Silver Dragon with ice attribute?
He wasn't worried at all.
Until the moment it hit him.
Pow!
Major Bae's Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal large-caliber shell struck Haspus.
Crack!
A thin layer of ice formed—
Crckcrckcrckcrrrrrk!
The dragon's body froze rapidly and violently.
"What?!"
This wasn't ordinary cold.
It was freezing an ice-attribute Silver Dragon?
"Guhk!"
Haspus's body froze solid.
Then he plummeted onto a small island below.
Swoosh!
Boom!
At the same time, the summoned beings charged at him.
"If possible, don't slash—beat him to death."
"Don't hit the neck where the heart is."
"Aim for the head."
"The warrior's here too."
"Old man Maeng, put one fire-resistant shot right into his mouth."
"Understood."
Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud!
A brutal beating rained down on the fallen Silver Dragon.
Focused entirely on the head.
Mad dragons are weak to blunt force.
Then Mari's explosive-type homunculus arrived late,
crawled into the immobilized Haspus's anus—
KABOOM! KABOOOM! KABOOOOOM!
Explosions erupted from inside the dragon.
That was decisive.
"Holy…"
"Ugh."
"Damn."
"Uuuugh…"
"That's brutal."
"Everyone, clench up. A blind homunculus might crawl in."
And just like that, the light of life faded from Haspus's eyes.
[Mad Dragon, Haspus defeated 1/1]
[89th-floor mission cleared.]
[Reward: Top-grade Magic Stones × 80 kg]
"Dimensional errand boy, hurry!"
"Hooaah!"
Ssssssh!
Haspus's corpse was sucked into Rajiks's subspace.
[In accordance with the contract, the monster of Black Tower 89th floor has been replaced with a Dragon-Tooth Soldier.]
A complete Tower exit.
[World Announcement: Black Tower No.1 (Korea) 89th-floor clear rank S+++ achieved.]
[S+++ Clear Reward: 2 Platinum Badges awarded.]
At long last, the long-cherished goal was fulfilled.
The material to create 강화 elixirs—
a clean Dragon Heart had been secured.
And somewhere—
[You sons of bitches!!!]
Someone's scream echoed through the void.
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