WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ My Girlfriend Returned as a Dragon ◈

Chapter 32: It Was No Coincidence

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An emperor who united the continent with a dragon sword.

Then...

I remembered Sia telling me something similar before.

She said that those who drew out the Dragon Bone Sword’s power had all left their mark on human history, whether by becoming Swordmasters famed for their blades or emperors who united continents.

I did not know whether the dragon sword mentioned there was truly a Dragon Bone Sword.

But perhaps this dungeon, the Dragon Sword Garden, was a memorial park built to honor an emperor who had once wielded one.

‘I hope there’s something I can take away from this.’

Of course, looking at it rationally, that did not seem very likely.

I would only know after entering the Gate, but for now, it was nothing more or less than a slightly unusual Gate.

Maybe it was only called a dragon sword, and it was really just an ordinary sword with a dragon carved into its hilt.

‘Still... it’s too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence.’

As I stood lost in thought, Taeseong asked me a question.

“Minjun, what are you thinking about?”

“I was just thinking it’s interesting that it’s called a dragon sword. Even the existence of dragons hasn’t been confirmed yet.”

I answered with a straight face.

After all, dragons had never been reported.

Officially, at least.

At that, Juwon, who had been explaining the Gate with Taeseong earlier, joined in.

“There are Gates and orcs, so who’s to say dragons can’t exist too? Who knows? Maybe they’re already living among us.”

They said it casually, like a passing joke.

But did they know?

That it was true?

Screeeech.

Not long afterward, our vehicle arrived at the Dungeon Gate.

After putting on our equipment, we entered the Gate one by one.

The dungeon raid had begun.

* * *

The first things I saw upon entering were the bright sky, countless swords stuck in the ground like gravestones, and weeds that had grown as high as a child’s knees.

Most Gates had landscapes unlike anything found on Earth.

But this place went beyond unfamiliar. It was strange.

The name Dragon Sword Garden made it sound grand or beautiful, but the reality was nothing like that.

If anything, it felt grotesque.

‘What kind of combination is this?’

When I looked away from the countless swords, I saw the large statue Taeseong had mentioned.

A dragon sword statue towering over a field of weeds and dozens, maybe hundreds, of swords.

I did not know who had designed this place, but their sense of aesthetics was terrible.

“Isn’t it strange?”

As I looked around the dungeon, one of the Hunters approached me.

“This is my first time here too, Minjun. Doesn’t it feel different from the Dungeon Gates we usually visit?”

“I was thinking the same thing. I can’t seem to get used to it.”

As we chatted, Taeseong clapped to call us over.

“The monsters will be coming soon. Everyone, get ready.”

Coming?

That meant monsters would appear from somewhere.

But no matter where I looked, I could not see any.

Then, just as I was thinking that...

Black smoke began rising from the swords embedded in the ground.

Could it be?

“...Ghost-type monsters?”

“Ah, I forgot to explain. I usually come here with the same people.”

According to Taeseong, there was only one kind of monster we would encounter in this Dungeon Gate.

“They are monsters found only in this Gate. They do not have an official name, so we call them the Sword’s Lingering Will.”

That reminded me of something I had learned at the Academy.

Dungeon Gates could contain unusual monsters not found in other Gates.

“Is there a specific way to deal with them?”

“It’s similar to other ghost-type monsters. And...”

Before Taeseong could finish, the smoke rising from the swords began to swell, forming large masses.

Then, the shapeless clouds of smoke took on gloomy forms and rushed at us with eerie cries.

How was a swordsman supposed to deal with ghost-type monsters again?

I recalled what one of my professors had told us at the Academy.

‘Swordsmen and ghost-type monsters have the worst possible compatibility. If you ever have to fight one, focus on concentrating mana more densely at the tip of your sword than usual.’

In short, when a swordsman faced a ghost-type monster, the important thing was not where or how they swung their blade, but pouring mana into its tip.

I concentrated as much mana as I could into the tip of my sword and swung as quickly as possible.

Shhk!

With a single strike, the black smoke split neatly in two.

But considering the traits of ghost-type monsters, splitting it in half did not mean I had defeated it.

As expected, the Sword’s Lingering Will rushed at me in two pieces, as though my strike had not affected it at all.

At the same time, the two halves began joining together as though trying to return to their original form.

Not giving it time to recover, I poured even more mana into my sword and swung again.

With the second strike, the lingering will scattered completely into smoke.

“Whew.”

I had grown a little since before, and my equipment was incomparable to what I used back then.

Even so, I had defeated it too easily.

Normally, ghost-type monsters were difficult opponents that took a great deal of effort to defeat.

They were troublesome even under ideal conditions, and I was a swordsman.

As I dealt with the lingering wills charging at me in the same way, I looked over at the other Hunters.

Taeseong, a B-rank mage with an advantage against ghost-type monsters, stood atop the statue in the center of the dungeon. Like a proper leader, he kept the monsters in check while watching over the Hunters, including me.

Since the purpose of raiding this Gate was to train low-rank Hunters, Taeseong seemed prepared to step in if inexperience created a weak point in the group.

Meanwhile, the other Hunters besides Taeseong were struggling to hold off the Sword’s Lingering Wills.

I was the only swordsman among them, so theoretically, I should have had the hardest time because of the matchup.

Yet I was cutting down the lingering wills with such ease that even I was surprised.

Taeseong, looking down at us from atop the statue in the center of the dungeon, seemed very surprised as well.

A Hunter passing by me spoke up.

“Minjun, are you really D-rank?”

“Yes.”

“You should get tested again. You look like at least C-rank.”

If other people were saying the same thing, maybe I really was growing faster than I thought.

But that was one thing.

‘When is this going to end?’

The Sword’s Lingering Wills kept rushing at me without giving me even a moment to check the time, so I had no idea how long it had been since we entered the Dungeon Gate.

Gate raids were supposed to be difficult, but this was my first time dealing with monsters that came at us without stopping.

Whenever I cut one down, the same black smoke rose again from the sword.

Once I cut that down too, another cloud of smoke appeared without fail to torment me.

“I’m going to die, seriously.”

Even slimes, classified among the weakest monsters, would be difficult to handle in these numbers.

The others seemed to be in much the same situation, panting and grumbling.

No one had been injured thanks to the healers constantly providing intensive care.

Still, fighting monsters for two hours without even a moment to catch our breath was another matter.

‘So this is why Dungeon Gates are often used to train Hunters.’

It was exhausting, but it seemed quite helpful for increasing combat experience in a short period of time.

But I had something more important to focus on.

‘I should have been focusing on mastering the dragon’s power completely.’

I always promised myself I would keep that in mind, but sometimes I forgot.

Like now.

At some point, instead of focusing on my ultimate goal, I had become preoccupied with defeating monsters that did not suit my strengths.

‘From now on...’

“Only one hour remains!”

Taeseong’s booming voice announced that there was one hour left until the Dungeon Gate raid was complete.

Two-thirds of the three hours had already passed.

Other Hunters might wish for that remaining hour to pass quickly, but I could not.

This was a precious opportunity that might not come again.

During that remaining hour, I had to draw out the dragon’s power sleeping within me to its limit.

‘Then how should I do it?’

Should I keep swinging my sword as before, turning over the two keywords Rokan had advised me on, dominance and will?

This time, though, I wanted to make that will more concrete.

For example, the will to root out every last one of the countless Sword’s Lingering Wills here.

How could I make that will real?

It might have been a rash judgment, but I did not think will alone would be enough to accomplish it.

I needed another strategy.

A groundbreaking strategy that could overturn this entire situation.

There was a B-rank Hunter behind us, so our safety was guaranteed to a certain extent. I decided to change my strategy boldly.

The strategy I chose was to subtly alter the structure of the mana within my sword.

Since I was not a mage who specialized in handling mana, changing its structure so precisely was difficult.

‘I have to do it.’

Until now, I had focused on releasing mana.

From this point on, my goal was to absorb all energy, including mana.

If I absorbed the lingering wills with my sword instead of cutting them down, it would surely create a new variable.

Those lingering wills were beings that defied the natural order, so I had no choice but to defy it as well.

I did not know what would happen if those pitch-black lingering wills were absorbed into my sword.

But it would surely be fine.

This was not just any weapon. It was the Dragon Bone Sword, a blade that would not fall short even against the finest swords.

Perhaps, since this dungeon was called the Dragon Sword Garden, it was an environment where the Dragon Bone Sword could perform even better.

“Ah.”

I let out a short exclamation.

Could the reason I had been able to deal with ghost-type monsters more easily than usual...

Have been this sword?

As I sorted through my thoughts and let my guard down for a moment, a lingering will larger and darker than the rest rushed toward me.

It was too close for me to respond properly.

I twisted my body to avoid it as much as possible, but I could not help brushing against it.

But then...

I expected to feel a sharp pain.

Instead, my body was strangely unaffected.

It only hurt about as much as being lightly pinched.

Why?

The Sword’s Lingering Will had clearly rushed at me with the same hostility it showed the other Hunters.

Yet I was barely affected.

‘I can be a little bolder.’

I forgot about defending myself entirely and began charging through the battlefield like a wild beast.

Since I was focused entirely on attacking instead of defending, the lingering wills fiercely rushed at every opening they could find.

But just like before, I did not feel much pain.

“Minjun!”

Taeseong shouted urgently when he saw me exposed to the attacks of the lingering wills.

But I signaled that I was fine and swung my sword even more aggressively.

The other Hunters seemed just as shocked as Taeseong, but I did not have the time to care about their reactions one by one.

The more I swung my sword, the more I felt unknown energies gathering.

For a moment, I wondered if this was the dragon’s power.

But...

‘I don’t think so.’

I did not know for certain, but it was unlikely that all these lingering wills were connected to dragons.

Then what exactly were these powers?

Even as I wondered, the speed at which I swung my sword continued to increase.

At some point, it felt less like I was wielding the sword and more like the sword was wielding my hand.

It was definitely similar to the feeling I had when I released that aurora-colored sword aura.

But it was clearly different.

As the energies gathered, the Dragon Bone Sword began emitting a gray glow and humming instead of releasing sword aura as it had before.

“W-what is that?”

Whoosh!

Before I could react properly, my sword left my hand and flew toward the dragon sword statue.

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