<h4>Chapter 449</h4>


    The yers gathered in the Dragon’s Nest were top-tier yers on their respective Servers, but all of them perceived Julius as a being of a different dimension. When he appeared, most of them froze, and some were overwhelmed by a terror they dared not resist.


    <i>‘I...I need to run away.’</i>


    Several yers’ minds were paralyzed by a fear they had never experienced before. They even forgot about Kim Chul-Soo’s spectacr bombardment. The only thought they had was to escape from this ce. Fortunately, as Chul-Soo’s Babylon Cannon hit Julius, the magic circle for escaping the Dungeon was activated, and simultaneously, three yers sprinted toward the magic circle with all their might.


    “Aah!”


    “Aaah!”


    Furface gritted his teeth. <i>‘You fools!’ </i>


    In their rush to escape, they had been blinded to everything else.


    <i>‘Can’t you see the falling magma?’ </i>Furface could feel the tremendous heat of the magma flowing from Julius’s mouth despite it being a considerable distance away. If even a single drop touched them, it would instantly melt them away.


    <i>‘They’re done for. They are out of their minds. They can’t think straight.’</i>


    Furface jumped up. He transformed his hair into rock and hardened it, then crossed his arms in an X to block the falling magma and deflect it sideways.


    <i>‘Ugh!’ </i>


    While he managed to block the impact reasonably well, part of his hair melted from the intense heat. The heat spreading throughout him made it harder for him to breathe. Even though he was confident in his defensive abilities, he realized something.


    <i>‘This pce is beyond my level!’</i>


    The falling magma wasn’t even an attack. In human terms, Julius was only bleeding. Just from this one encounter, Furface felt that Julius’s strength was far beyond him.


    <i>‘If he starts attacking, there is no hope for us.’</i>


    Unfortunately, their party didn’t have many Tanks. Julius could instantly wipe everyone out before the damage-dealing yers could prepare their attacks.


    <i>‘I never imagined he would be this powerful...’</i>


    [“I will kill you all.”]


    With Julius’s chilling voice, pirs of fire began to erupt everywhere. The magic circle was still far away, and the yers with weak defense would surely be annihted. At times like this, focusing and choosing the right direction was pivotal.


    “Nick! Jasmine! I will protect you two!” Furface shouted.


    Nick summoned a giant fiery squirrel, and Jasmine yed a fire-resistant flute to increase fire resistance. Now, it was a matter of luck. Those with good fortune would live, and those without it would die.


    “Everyone, run to the exit!”


    Jasmine did her best to help the yers. “This Julius is on apletely different level from before! We must flee!”


    Although Dungeons were known for their unpredictability, this was beyond the norm. Looking at the mes engulfing their surroundings, Jasmine felt dizzy. <i>‘The Fire Dragon was never this powerful before...!’</i>


    For reasons unknown, Julius had be much stronger. Or perhaps this was Julius’s true power. There was no time to analyze the reasons. The important thing was to somehow escape and survive. Jasmine desperately yed her flute, trying to increase the yers’ fire resistance.


    <i>‘I’m running out of mana! Why is the magic circle so far away?’</i>


    Moreover, some yers were still showing baseless confidence against Julius, frustrating Jasmine. <i>‘I can’t save all of them. I need to give up on those idiots.’</i>


    Failure to grasp the dire situation meant inevitable death. That was an obvious principle. She could not save everyone. Her flute’s sound enveloped the fleeing yers. Without her Skill, the yers’ skin would have melted.


    <i>‘Still...’ </i>


    Thanks to Jasmine, most yers were able to escape. The giant fire squirrel that Nick summoned ran toward the magic circle with Jasmine on its back.


    <i>‘But Furface is still there...!’</i>


    The Tank, Furface, was struggling to block the falling magma chunks to protect the other yers. He seemed to be having difficulty running, likely due to having exhausted his stamina. From a distance, Nick shouted, “Jasmine! You might be thest one!”


    Nick had done his best too. He had constantlymunicated with the fire squirrel to save as many yers as possible, and Jasmine was essentially thest one.


    <i>‘Furface, I’m sorry,’ </i>Nick thought.


    Saving Furface seemed impossible. mes were gathering in Julius’s mouth as the dragon hovered in the air. This was one of Julius’s signature attacks, called Fire Breath. When that hot breath of fire would strike the ground, no living being on the surface would remain.


    Nick had an epiphany. <i>‘This isn’t a being that humans can subjugate. Reinforcing our strength? That is meaningless in the face of overwhelming power.’</i>


    Nick felt this to his core. Most of the yers gathered in the Dragon’s Nest felt the same.


    “Furface!” Jasmine shouted.


    At that moment, Jasmine’s mana was depleted. She could no longer produce any flute sound, and the fire-resistant barrier protecting the yers disappeared like melting snow.


    <i>‘No!’ </i>


    She had overexerted herself. At this rate, all the other yers would melt away. That was how intense the heat here was.


    <i>‘Huh?’</i>


    When they arrived in front of the magic circle, Nick pulled Jasmine down.


    “Jasmine, hurry!”


    “Nick.”


    Strangely, Nick seemed unaffected. The other yers also appeared to be fine.


    “Are you... okay?” Jasmine asked.


    “Of course I am. Why?”


    The giant fire squirrel gently bit Jasmine’s nape and threw her toward the magic circle. Jasmine was still confused until that moment. “How is everyone okay...?”


    Even though the sound of her flute had disappeared, no one was hurt. Even Furface, who was enduring stronger mes far away, seemed okay.


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    <i>‘How is this possible?’ </i>Jasmine thought.


    <strong>[You have escaped the ?Dragon’s Nest?.]</strong>


    Jasmine could not solve her curiosity.


    ***


    Furface stared at the pir of fire descending upon him. <i>‘At least I didn’t sumb to fear.’ </i>


    When Julius had first appeared, Furface had been too terrified to move. It wasn’t that he was weak, but rather that Julius was such a terrifying existence. But in the end, he overcame it. As a Tank, he had done his best.


    “Everyone! Live! Survive and return to your families!” Furface shouted as if he were giving hisst words. Then he looked at Chul-Soo. “Was that good enough?”


    “Yeah. A bit less dramatic, but it will do,” Jin-Hyeok replied.


    Furface waved his arm, and the pir of fire engulfing him dispersed. He copsed to the ground, all strength leaving his body.


    <i>‘How is this possible?’ </i>Furface thought. “I can’t believe you could cast your Absolute Barrier on everyone, Chul-Soo.”


    Furface was sure that Chul-Soo was a Tank, an all-rounder Tank that possessed sleep resistance, sound wave resistance, physical resistance, fire resistance, and even area-of-effect attributes.


    Furface had vowed not to be surprised anymore, but his standards as a Tank werepletely shaken. Hair was falling out all over his body. “My hair... it’s falling out.”


    “Why? My Absolute Barrier was sturdy.”


    “I think it’s an internal issue.”


    <i>‘Can I call myself a Tank? Am I truly a Tank?’ </i>Furface’s pride as a Tank, which had sustained him until now, was crumbling to pieces.


    Jin-Hyeok nced behind him. Four more yers had remained here with strong spirits and determination.


    “We will help you, Chul-Soo.”


    “I can be of great assistance.”


    “Let’s join forces to subjugate this tyrannical Fire Dragon!”


    Jin-Hyeok shook his head. “I’m going to defeat Julius by myself.”


    “What nonsense!”


    “We absolutely can’t let you face him alone!”


    “I don’t run from enemies. Even if it costs me my life.


    <i>Thwack!</i>


    <strong>[You have used the Skill ?Taming (Physical)?.]</strong>


    “Now, everyone, move to the magic circle.”


    Blood trickled down the foreheads of the four yers. Their eyes lost focus.


    “To the magic...”


    “...circle...”


    “Moving...”


    They staggered toward the magic circle like zombies.


    “Furface, I need you to follow them,” Jin-Hyeok said.


    “But...”


    Jin-Hyeok raised Miri. “Do you want to be tamed too?”


    “N-No!”


    “Do you really want tomune with me?”


    “I said no!”


    With patches of missing hair, Furface trudged toward the magic circle. He had already noticed something strange.


    <i>‘The Fire Dragon should have already used his Fire Breath, but...’ </i>A massive fireball had formed in the air, but the dragon had not released the breath attack. <i>‘Well, I guess it doesn’t matter anymore.’</i>


    His pride as a Tank had been shattered. He realized that he needed to be as powerful as Chul-Soo to be considered a Tank. Someone like him wasn’t even a Tank. As self-loathing enveloped him, Jin-Hyeok’s words reached his ears.


    “Hey, Furface. You were an excellent Tank.”


    <strong>[You have escaped the ?Dragon’s Nest?.]</strong>


    After escaping the Field, Furface cried for a long time.


    ***


    Jin-Hyeok looked up at the sky and said, “I get the gist of what you’re feeling, Julius.”


    He had been able to read Julius’s true feelings since their first encounter. Jin-Hyeok didn’t see the Fire Dragon Julius as a tyrannical being. He was just Chul-Soo Land No.1000, a fragile and pitiful existence desperately wishing for death more than anyone else.


    “I know why everyone underestimates your power. It’s because you deliberately let yers escape alive, isn’t it?”


    He could also understand why Julius was now gathering energy for the Fire Breath. “You thought if you attacked with all your heart, I would get angry enough to kill you.”


    Yet, Julius was hesitating to release his attack, worried about what could happen if Chul-Soo died.


    Jin-Hyeok sighed. ording to the original n, he was supposed to overwhelmingly defeat Julius, but he couldn’t. “How could I attack you when you’re the Chul-Soo Land No.1000?”


    This changed everything. Stars only existed because of their fans. No star would attack their fan. If they did, they wouldn’t be a star, after all.


    Jin-Hyeok could hear Julius’s urgent voice.


    [“B-But...”]


    It sounded like the voice of someone who had theirst hope for chance snatched away.


    Jin-Hyeok sighed again. “Do you know why you keep failing to die?”


    [“T-That’s...!”]


    Aftering here, Jin-Hyeok saw clearly why Julius couldn’t kill himself. “It’s because you keep using your seduction technique.”


    [“Seduction technique...?”]


    In Jin-Hyeok’s mind, a seduction technique meant disarming the opponent by seducing them with an attractive appearance or personality. In that sense, yers froze the moment they saw that enormous face. To Jin-Hyeok, it seemed like an excessive seduction technique.


    “When you were in the form of a child at the previous checkpoint, no one was scared of you, right?”


    At that moment, the energy that Julius had gathered in his mouth for the Fire Breath exploded. It had surpassed its critical point and self-destructed.


    [“Oh, no!”]


    A massive pir of fire erupted toward Jin-Hyeok, who raised his right hand and split the fire pir in two.


    “Fortunately, seduction techniques don’t work on me.”