I Was Mistaken as the Novel’s Hidden Boss

Sweat dripping down my face, concealed by the mask I used. Veiled by the illusion items. This was the second times fear gripped me so tight when facing an entity— the first time was when I'm meeting my ancestors, the dragons. 

 

His aura is permeating into every corner of this room, giving me and the three people behind me an insurmountable weight of dread. As if to say, our level isn't the same. 

 

"We met again, my pursuer." 

 

His words are laced with gentleness and dignity, yet the reaction I have is the antithesis of what I should have felt. Rather than the warm feeling of comfort, I get the cold feeling of ghastly emotion. Intimidation which stems from the firm conviction of his own strength, and our own standing compared to him.

 

I sense the glee in his tone. Analogous to a child finding their favorite toy. It made me shudder. 

 

"And you. The rat." Now his attention is focused on me. The dread that was building earlier, now on the brink of erupting, almost petrified me. 

 

"Do you know how hard it is, to obtain this place? And now you want to destroy it?" his carefree persona suddenly shifts and instantly, the air surrounding me thickens. The pressure surged six fold. It was the second time I felt 'death' so clearly, counting the last time I truly died, I can't believe the same feeling of indescribable could emanate from a living being. 

 

Shit! Forget about recruiting that woman, at this rate, I won't even get out of here alive!!

 

Truly unpredictable. To think that the first crisis is in this place. All my plans now became obsolete. At least, if he's alive, I can't predict that everything will go my way just because my existence is unique. Even with my knowledge of the future. 

 

Think, Haneul! Think!! How can I escape from this situation?! 

 

I already activate the timer on the bombs. Three minutes remaining until the explosion. I have potential allies, three of them. I haven't seen their faces since they appeared behind me, but if they were chasing this monster, their level would be at least close or strong enough to hold their ground. 

 

And I have to use 'that'. 

 

Tsk, to think I need to use this so soon. 

 

Rapidly, the plan formed inside my head. It's a rather risque plan, but with no other alternative, this is the best option I have. It's simple. We, me and those guys, will focus entirely on defense and biding our time. It was fortunate that the last bomb was set just in time. After the explosion, this dimension will collapse and all of us would get ejected outside. 

 

Honestly, I think it's better to use the scroll but this space is coiled in some kind of anti-teleportation spell. And one more variable was, I don't know if I would be ejected in Korean gate or in England gate. 

 

Now the only question is how did I get them to cooperate? 

 

"Hey, unknown guy, can you hear me?"

 

!!

 

A voice suddenly rang inside me. It bypasses my ear and directly speaks to me inside my brain.

 

"It seems like our goal is more or less the same, so listen, I propose we fight together. We can't fight him alone, and you definitely won't stupidly challenge him by yourself, right? So let's join forces."

 

Not even a second later I reply. "Our feeling is mutual then." 

 

Without further ado, I agreed to their invitation to team up. There's a slim chance that my identity would get unveiled, but that's a cheap price for surviving here. I share the information about the bombs with them, and briefly tell them I have an ace in the hole. I instruct them to buy some time first and divert his attention. 

 

I didn't inform them when, but to my surprise, immediately after my instruction was done, two of them sprang to action. My eyes widened in surprise to see the two of them are Lee Siyeon-noona and Lee Heiran, two S-class bigshot which I know personally. 

 

"[Ice Age]!!"

"[Full Moon]!!"

 

The two unleashed their best assault skill amongst their arsenal. The air of oppression is instantly overwhelmed by the freezing breath of Siyeon noonas' skill. The cold provides for immediate take over on the space surrounding them, intended to suppress the monster's rumored fire based magic. 

 

On the other hand, Heiran use the [Full Moon] in full power from the very beginning, which could even behead the boss of red gate's. And it should be the case especially for this monster who came from the same type. Or at least, the attack should have injured him badly. But— 

 

*TINGG*

 

"!!!" 

 

"Attacking out of nowhere? Seems like you humans have no ethics. For a race labeling themself as civilized, you don't act like one."

 

The sword was easily blocked by one of his hands. Even from here, I could feel how hard his defense is because Heiran's [Full Moon] only scratches a little. But, befitting of a veteran, she immediately retreated and displaced her position with Siyeon's ice attack. She stays silent in front of his sarcastic remarks, providing no gaps in mental attack. 

 

With Heiran out of the way, Siyeon unleashed her [Ice Age] with no reserve for any potential damage. A tornado of cold wind that shreds and froze anything in its direction is now raging towards that monster. 

 

In response, he stretched his hand forward. 

 

The same tornado is generated from his spell, but it's polar opposite from Siyeon's spell. Instead of cold wind, it's fire. It's burning everything in its path, and their destructiveness is on par with each other. 

 

*BAAAMM*

 

The collision of the two spells resulted in a smoking aftermath. And this is where I do my part. 

 

"ᦔꫀకᡶꪹꪮꪗ." 

 

Immediately, I feel searing pain in my throat. My breath is obstructed and I cannot speak, dry coughing like an asthma patient. I collapsed to my knees from the pain, but I could say, it's all worth it. The mana around instantly obey my [Command]. They swirl, take the most destructive shape as I commanded earlier, and strike that monster down. 

 

Under my mask, I smiled a little. The [Dragon's Speech] or [Draconic Tongue], is one of the perks I get when I was awakened their lineage. [Command], [Oath], and [Imprint]. What I used earlier was [Command], to create a phenomenon by commanding the surrounding mana and defeat my enemy with it. My rapid growth also thanks to [Dragon's Speech]. By [Imprint] the condition into my body, this allows me to quicken my growth which was already fast enough, courtesy to my awakening. 

 

The only [Dragon's Speech] I haven't touched is [Oath]. Since that can only be used by my subordinate. And according to plans, I would use that to that woman beside him after saving her and make her my ally. 

 

Alas, now I should be focused on how to survive first. I don't believe that monster won't leave unscatched, but I also don't think he would die from that. While it's a powerful ability, it depends on who uses it. Even if the dragon's blood is flowing in my vein, I'm but a human myself. A little unique, yes, but as a human, my [Dragon's Speech] was severely lacking compared to the real dragons. 

 

"Did he die?" one of the three who didn't rush in said the word. If my throat was okay, I would like to tell him to shut up. 

 

But it seems like the jinx always worked wonders. 

 

"Ohh, that's impressive. Verily so. To think there's a human who could use [Draconic Tongue]." 

 

Siyeon and Heiran instantly re-ready their stance to attack for the second time. The man who is now beside me is also telling me to quickly recover and resume our assault. But I can't focus on that. Because my mind instantly blanked after hearing his words. 

 

There's no way…

 

Yes, there should be no way a monster knew about [Draconic Tongue].

 

Because dragon was already 'extinct'.  

 

I could only stare in disbelief as the smoke which separated the vision of us and him slowly dissipated. For the first time, I felt an incredible chill from seeing someone smile. He knew. From that smile I conclude that he has knowledge about dragons. The question is, how? Is he really 'The One' my ancestors warned me about? 

 

"To use [Command], at least you should have 30% of it… hmm, is it blood perhaps? A lineage of dragons?" he paused, then after staring at me, he chuckled. "Well, that doesn't really matter though. But you know, killing my fellow kin… even if you aren't good enough to be labeled as 'half', is going to leave a bad taste in my mouth. After all, the blood of my kin is running through your body." 

 

My jumbled head was further jumbled after his words. 

 

How did he know…? No, more importantly, 'kin'? Does that mean— 

 

But there's no way. 

 

My ancestors told me so. The beings who have the authority to regress my time said so. And I choose to believe them. 

 

But then, the question still remains. Who is this monster? 

 

I staggered to lift myself up, aided by the man beside me who constantly told me to stay down. But I need to hear the answer. Even when the pain in my throat is so painful I coughed countless times, my mouth opens. I need to ask. I have to. Because maybe, I would find a clue about my own existence. About this world. And her— 

 

"*cough* Wh-who are *cough* you—"

 

*BAAAAMMM*

 

But as if mocking me, the last explosive I planted exploded exactly before I had my answer. The tremors which indicate the fall of this space is making my wobbled feet once again fail to support my entire body. Yet, my eyes were fixated on his face. His mouth. Hoping he would answer the question I was so desperate to hear. 

 

But hope is just hope. 

 

"I have my fun. See you again, dragon boy." and with that, he left with that violet haired woman. 

 

Leaving me with unanswered questions.

 

***

 

"... what did you say?" 

 

"H̶̪͍̒ͥ͑̓ę̷̵̧̖̫̗̆̊r̶̷̲͍̭͐̾̀͟b̵̸͙̅̽͡ͅr̶̷̲͍̭͐̾̀͟i̵͓͙̱͚̎͟n̷̶̯͉̊̽̐ͦ͘g̴̶̛̮̣͙͠'s̩͙͖̋͛͟ g̴̶̛̮̣͙͠ă̶̸̝ͦ͊̿͋͞t̴͕͖͓̀ę̷̵̧̖̫̗̆̊, g̴̶̛̮̣͙͠ȍ̸̢̢̮͚̐̚n̷̶̯͉̊̽̐ͦ͘ę̷̵̧̖̫̗̆̊."

 

"..." 

 

The tranquil red lake rippled. And the face reflected in the water crumpled for the first time.