Dragon's Saliva

When entering the Nox area, Yohan did not hesitate to grasp the sword he was carrying. The sword belonged to Alastair. He lent it to Yohan because he had just become part of the hunters and did not yet have his own weapon. Normally, a hunter who had just entered would not immediately be invited on an expedition to the Nox area. But Yohan was different. Just a day after he agreed to Alastair's offer to join the hunters, he had to join the expedition to the Nox area.

"Are you okay?" asked Ancel with a worried expression.

Yohan laughed softly. "What? Does my face look really scared?"

Ancel shook his head. "It's precisely because you look so normal that I'm worried."

"Take it easy, Ancel. Dealing with death is not something unfamiliar to me. At least, in my world, I've also come close to death many times. It's just the way it's done that's different from here."

Ancel smiled. "No wonder Captain Indark recommended you to become a hunter, you already have a lot of experience in your world. I'm sure if being a royal knight doesn't have to be a noble, Captain Indark will definitely include you in his division."

Yohan chuckled. "Ah, don't flatter me like that. I'm not as good as you think. Ah, I wonder, those plants, the ones that glitter and look strange, can they be utilized?"

Yohan pointed to a bush-like plant clustered near their expedition path. It looked like a bush, but it was dark purple in color and glittered like there were lights inside. Around the bush, there were sparkling lights flying around it like a bunch of fireflies.

"It's a twilight shrub. It is harmless. Its leaves are luminous and can be used as a lamp. In the city center, there are a lot of people who trade that plant. It's not too far into the Nox area, so there are still many people who dare to take it," Ancel explained.

"Are the hunters illegal? But even if it's harmless, isn't coming into the Nox area dangerous enough?"

Ancel nodded. "Yes, it is. Actually, the kingdom has warned many times that the Nox area should not be entered by anyone. Only knights, hunters, and people authorized by the palace are allowed to do so. But what did you expect? Not all humans can obey the rules."

Yohan smiled sadly. In any world, things like this are very common. Not all humans can be controlled by rules.

"Hey, about that? Is that dangerous? Ancel?"

Yohan turned his head and saw Ancel's pale face. He followed Ancel's gaze and was surprised to see the figure in front of him.

"Wh-What? A monster?"

Ancel pulled Yohan's arm. "Run!"

"What is it? Is it some kind of dragon?" asked Yohan as he looked back.

"Everyone! Prepare your weapons!" Ancel shouted loudly. He stopped pulling Yohan's arm and began to stand facing the dragon monster.

Yohan was confused. This was his first expedition to the Nox area. He thought he was just going to check the Nox area and see if the miasma had begun to appear, but his first expedition was immediately confronted with a dragon monster of enormous size. For someone from a different world, monsters like this were mere imagination. Yohan never thought that he would see a dragon for real.

"Yohan! Hold your weapon properly!"

Yohan drew the sword lent by Alastair. The dragon's growling sound was loud and deafening. When the dragon opened its mouth, its clear green saliva dripped down. Every drop of saliva that fell on the grass, the grass instantly dried up and died.

"Don't let the saliva get to you or your skin will peel off." Ancel warned.

"Where are the knights who led us?" asked Yohan when he realized that there were only his fellow hunters around him.

Ancel shook his head. "Forget about them. Things like this happen all the time. We can't depend on them. We can only guarantee our own safety."

Yohan gulped his saliva with difficulty. This was a horrible experience. His fellow hunters were young men who were quite a bit younger than Yohan. They looked terrified, but the determination in their eyes was strong.

Yohan gulped. He gripped his sword tightly and pointed the sharp edge forward. He took a deep breath, trying to convince himself that he had faced death many times before.

"Just do it as usual." He muttered under his breath.

"Roaaaaaaarrrrrrr!"

The dragon flapped its wings violently. The flapping of its wings sent many of the surrounding plants flying.

"Watch out!" Ancel shouted.

Yohan let out a loud snort. He ran forward recklessly and tried to slash at the dragon's leg.

"Yohan!"

Ancel ran forward and tried to help. Yohan's slash hit the bottom of the dragon's leg. The dragon growled angrily and was about to stomp on Yohan with its huge feet.

"That was close. Don't act rashly, Yohan!" Ancel exclaimed angrily.

Yohan laughed softly. "Calm down, I'm fine."

"We don't need to kill him. Just chase him away so we can get back safely."

"Eh? That's not very exciting. Captain Indark said that dragon body parts are rare and useful. I thought we were going to kill the dragon."

Ancel widened his eyes. "You're crazy, aren't you? Dragons are one of the most dangerous things in the Nox area. You'll die if you get too close to it."

Yohan did not listen to Ancel's warning. He just nodded just so Ancel would stop nagging him. Yohan wanted to try it, he wanted to kill the dragon and bring home one of its body parts. Maybe he could use a tool to support his life in this strange land.

With his fast movements, Yohan approached the dragon again and tried to slash its body parts randomly. Ancel scolded him many times, but Yohan did not give up.

"Yohan, watch out!"

"Aaaaaarrghhh!" Yohan screamed in pain as the dragon's saliva dripped down onto his arm.

Ancel and the other hunters rushed over and pulled Ancel's collapsed body away from the dragon. They hid behind the bushes and examined the wound on Yohan's arm.

"Hey, you're okay, right? Show me your arm, I'll-eh?" Ancel stopped talking and widened his eyes. "I-It's..."

Yohan blinked softly. "What?"

Yohan lowered his head and looked down at his arm that was covered in dragon saliva. "Huh? How come there's no wound at all?"

Ancel shook his head. "We should be the ones asking you."

"But I felt the pain."

Yohan rubbed his arm repeatedly. There was really no scar at all. Clean and healthy.

"Your body's reaction to the poison in this world might be different?"

Yohan shook his head. "How could it be? Compared to you, I'm an ordinary person. The poison would be much more dangerous to me."

"We don't know what happened, Yohan. Anyway, I'm grateful that you're okay. Just ignore that first and let's finish this fight."

"Roooooooaaarrrrr!"

Yohan and Ancel turned their heads. The dragon had found their hiding place.

"Damn it, run!" Yohan screamed.

***