Chapter 77: Practical Dungeon Exam (X)

“…Girls, stay back for now,” Gray declared.

“Uh, why?” Claire asked, tilting her head in pure confusion.

The monsters were too strong for Gray to deal with them alone.

“Yeah, why?” Selina added, looking at him weirdly, “You can’t beat them alone.”

Mira also looked at Gray.

To their words, Gray simply replied.

“I need to test something. If it fails, we go with the same plan as before.”

The three girls exchanged glances, but then nodded slighly. After all, after these battles, their trust in Gray had exponentially increased.

Although… their favorability probably didn’t.

However, just as Gray was about to stretch a little…

[WATCH OUT!]

“Huh?”

BAAAM!

A thunderous impact crushed into his ribs.

“GUAAAHK—!”

His body shot across the cavern like a ragdoll, smashing spine-first into the stone wall. The sound cracked through the air.

A geyser of blood erupted from his lips, splattering the floor as his knees buckled.

“GRAYYY!”

The girls shrieked in unison, their cries tearing out before they could think. But their horror only deepened when they turned and saw a different-looking fallen wyvern…

“T-that… that’s—”

Mira’s hands shook as she staggered back.

“A mutant…?!!” Selina stammered as she bit her lip.

They all were shocked, but Claire, swallowing hard, was the first one to attack.

“Fire—!” Claire screamed, hurling a wave of flame toward the mutant wyvern.

The monster spread its warped wings wide.

Scales already blackened, split apart with glowing red cracks, like molten stone. The fire washed over it without effect, the heat absorbed, the blaze reflected in its glowing chest.

Its tail whipped.

CRAAASH!

The ground split open, stone exploding where Claire had stood. She rolled desperately, but her body slammed against a jagged rock, pain ripping a cry from her throat.

Selina rushed forward, both hands glowing blue.

“Water Barrier—!”

A sheet of water curved up, forming a dome around Claire. The mutant slammed its claw against it.

CRACK!

The barrier shattered instantly, water spraying like glass. Selina was thrown back, skidding across stone, grit tearing into her arms.

Mira’s body trembled, but this time she didn’t freeze completely.

“Rise!” she shouted, voice breaking.

The ground quaked. Jagged pillars of stone erupted beneath the mutant wyvern’s feet, spearing upward to pin its legs.

For a moment, the creature stumbled, but its molten veins pulsed hotter.

BOOOOM!

It wrenched free with a violent jerk, shattering the rock to rubble.

The shockwave blasted Mira off her feet. She landed hard, the scanner slipping from her grasp as blood trickled from her temple.

And then…

FWOOP!

FWOOP!

Two shadows dropped from the cavern’s ceiling.

More Fallen Wyverns.

Thankfully, normal ones, but… it only complicated things.

The cavern shook with their landing, claws screeching against stone as they flared their wings.

The three girls froze, faces pale.

One mutant. Two normal. Three in total.

“We… can’t—” Selina staggered up, hands trembling, barely able to form another seal.

Claire dragged herself upright, coughing blood, flames flickering weakly at her fingertips.

“D-damn it… we couldn’t even handle one…!”

Mira pressed her bleeding temple, shaking, whispering broken words as small stones shivered under her palms, useless against the monsters’ might.

GRAAAAAAAGHHHHHHH!

The mutant wyvern roared.

The cavern shook with the sound, a guttural cry like fire splitting rock apart. The force of it knocked Mira back down, her scream swallowed by the thunder.

Meanwhile, Gray’s vision swam.

The cavern walls bent and swayed, as if the whole dungeon spun around him. His arms wouldn’t respond; his legs felt pinned by invisible chains.

[GRAY! GET UP! NOW! YOU CAN’T STAY DOWN!]

Jasmine’s voice screamed inside his skull, sharp and panicked, but it only made his head pound harder.

He groaned, blood pooling hot in his throat. His fingers twitched against the stone floor, but that was all he could muster.

“T-that damned f-fucker…”

He tried to move, to rise, but he couldn’t. His body screamed in protest, his chest burning, his ribs aching, and he felt a dull pain in his muscles.

“Ugh…!”

He staggered up a single inch before collapsing, his hand smearing blood across the stone.

[GRAY! IF YOU DON’T ACT NOW—!]

’I can’t,’ he thought bitterly.

His head lolled forward, lips twisted with blood.

But even though he was useless, he still had one advantage.

’…Swarp Mark.’

He marked a loose stone that was as far away as possible from the wyverns.

’…If I can’t fight,’ Gray thought, the faintest bloodstained grin curving his lips, ’then I’ll at least make sure I have a way to run.’

However, as he did that…

Thump!

His heart suddenly started beating hard.

“H-huh…?”

Thump, thump!

A small fire suddenly lit up on his chest, as he started feeling his whole body burning desperately.

And suddenly, a voice reached out to him.

[𖤐 Is this really the soul that possessed me? 𖤐]

“W-who?!” Gray gasped.

[Huh? Who the fuck are you?!]

Jasmine also questioned the voice.

[𖤐 Hah. That’s funny. 𖤐]

The voice laughed, albeit emotionless.

[𖤐 You’re occupying my body, and you don’t even know who I am? Pathetic. 𖤐]

“Gray?!” Gray blurted in surprise.

[…So you are the true Gray?]

[𖤐 Yeah, nice to see you, Jasmine. But that aside… are you seriously going to keep acting like a damn loser? 𖤐]

“The fuck you mean by that? I’m seriously injured here, I cannot do anything, and just like me, you would probably run away and let them die.”

[𖤐 Pfttt… you really are funny. 𖤐]

“Huh?!”

[𖤐 I would run away if I knew I couldn’t beat them, but in this situation… You can indeed beat them. 𖤐]

“How?!”

Gray snapped.

[𖤐 Fucking hell, if you had half a brain, you’d easily understand. You probably figured out that you can probably swap with their cores. 𖤐]

“Yeah? And so? I’ll fucking die still because of the cooldow—”

[𖤐 Did you already forget about your core skill? It’s a manipulation skill… that’s used in puppets. But that doesn’t mean it can only be used in puppets, does it? 𖤐]

“What do you mean…?”

[𖤐 Use it on your own self. Control yourself like a damned puppet; you have enough mana to kill all of them. 𖤐]

At Gray’s words, his eyes widened slightly.

[𖤐 You’re welcome, loser. Now, do me a favor and save those wyvern cores for me, as you and I will need them in the near future. Bye. 𖤐]

“Hey! Hey, don’t fucking go yet!”

[…He’s gone.]

“That motherfucker!” Gray clenched his fists.

[…Why isn’t that Gray my contractor?]

“Shut it, bitch.” Gray gritted his teeth.

His eyes snapped open as tears of blood forcefully slid down his cheeks.

Fwip!

Countless visible strings shot towards the ceiling of the cave before wrapping themselves around Gray’s body carefully.

“Let’s do this fucking suicide mission…”

Instantly, he rushed forward, his body being motionally controlled by his strings.

His right hand shot out, threads bursting from his fingertips, wrapping tight around the wyvern’s forearm.

SNAP!

He yanked down with brutal force. The limb cracked against the stone floor, the monster’s head lowering with the motion.

Gray used the opening, pulling the strings, making him jump and drag his half-broken body up the beast’s chest, ribs grinding as he climbed

“Agh…”

He gritted his teeth through the pain and then picked up his rapier from his waist and pierced it straight into the wyvern’s eye.

CRAAACK!

The orb split like glass as hot liquid splattered across his face.

GRAAAAAAAGH!

The wyvern screamed, its body shaking hard enough to throw him off.

Gray flipped midair, landed on one knee, ribs screaming, blood dripping from his mouth. He forced himself back up, his legs twitching under puppet strings.

’I need to be careful… but maybe, I don’t need to snap with a core. I guess it’s better to maintain mobility…’

The two normal wyverns charged at the same time. One from the left, wings flapping, claws raised. The other from the right, with its mouth wide, ready to bite him.

“GRAY, MOVE!” Claire screamed, pushing fire at the right one.

FWOOSH!

The flame shot out, hitting the wyvern’s jaw, but it only slowed for a second.

Gray spun, threads firing from his GLOVES.

They wrapped around a loose stone chunk near his foot.

“[✧Swap✧]”

His body vanished and appeared right inside the wyvern’s body.

GRAAAAHHH!

Shortly after, its body collapsed, wings twitching as it fell still. At the same time, the wyvern’s core rolled across the ground.

“W-what?” Selina muttered in shock.

“Did he switch places with the core?”

“He can do that?!”

The other two were surprised as well.

However, as Gray pulled himself from the wyvern’s body…

GRAAAH!

The other one was already on him, whipping his tail towards his back.

BAAAAM!

The impact threw him face-first into the ground, stone cracking, his jaw smashing against rock.

Blood flooded his mouth.

“GUUHHH—!”

He spat red and forced himself to roll just as the wyvern’s claw came down.

CRAAASH!

It dug into the floor where his head had been, sparks flying.

Gray’s hands shook.

He lifted them, threads whipping upward. They latched onto the wyvern’s horns. He yanked its head down and smashed his forehead into its snout.

CRACK!

Pain exploded in his skull.

His vision blurred, but the monster reeled, stunned.

Gray shoved his left hand inside its open mouth, grabbing the burning core he felt pulsing in its throat.

“JUST FUCKING DIEEE!!!” He screamed, forcing his arm deeper despite the searing heat.

RAAAAAHHHH!

The wyvern’s jaws clamped down, tearing his arm.

Flesh ripped, blood poured down his elbow.

“GRAY!” Selina cried, tears streaking her face.

Gray ignored the pain, and he increased his grip on the strings.

RIIIP!

He tore the core free, ripping out the glowing organ in a spray of blood and fire. The wyvern let out a dying screech before crashing down lifeless.

Gray staggered back, panting, blood running from his arm, his face, his ribs. His body shook violently, puppet strings twitching as if about to snap.

But the mutant still stood.

GRAAAAAAAGHHH!

It roared, charging him like a raging bull, molten cracks flaring across its scales.

Gray dropped low, forcing his broken legs to sprint forward with the help of the strings.

“Ugh…” Each step was agony, but he moved anyway.

He slid under the beast’s belly as it lunged, stones grinding under his back.

Fwip!

His threads shot upward, digging into the wyvern’s stomach. He pulled hard, ripping the flesh, blood, and fire spilling down like a waterfall.

RAAAAAAAA!

The monster screamed, trying to crush him under its weight.

He climbed up its chest again, stabbing his fingers into the cracks of its molten scales. His arms sizzled from the heat, skin peeling, but he climbed.

“Huff…”

The wyvern started spireling, trying to shake Gray off its body. But at that moment, Gray gripped his string tightly and jumped, swinging on his string.

However, his eyes kept locked on the monster’s core.

[Now.]

“[✧Swap✧]”

He switched positions with the mutant wyvern’s core.

Thud…

The mutant wyvern’s core flew downwards, rolling into the ground lightly, and at the same time…

CRAAACK!

The mutant shuddered, its wings flaring one last time before collapsing to the ground with an earth-shaking boom.

“G-gray…?” Selina muttered his name, looking at the mutant wyvern’s corpse.

Splurt!

Gray popped out from a hole made with his rapier. He slowly walked towards the girls, but then, his knees buckled.

“Hagh…!”

He fell.

Instantly, Claire, Selina, and Mira all rushed forward, catching him before his head hit the ground.

“GRAY!” Claire shouted, shaking his shoulders.

His eyes flickered half-open, his bloodstained lips curling up into a small grin.

“Told you… I’d… test something…” he muttered weakly, before his body went limp in their arms.

The girls held him close, their hands shaking, blood soaking their clothes.

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