Chapter 85

[Iron Will] was a nightmare for opponents reliant on mental manipulation, offering complete immunity to psychological attacks. Meanwhile, [Intimidation] reduced the nuisance of fighting weak mobs and gave him an edge in negotiations or diplomatic situations.

The true value of [Intimidation] was in shutting down swarm tactics entirely—no more getting bogged down by low-level mobs during major battles.

No more wasting time on goblins and orcs, Justin thought with satisfaction.

But that wasn’t the real prize.

Closing his skill window, he opened his inventory and found the true reward for refusing the advancement:

〈Black Dragon Egg〉

• Type: Timed Transformation Item
• Description: A Black Dragon’s egg, ready to hatch. Dragons are born with innate arrogance—only those more prideful than the dragon itself can claim it as their master. A fitting gift for one who dared reject the offers of all four Grand Dukes.
• Special: The egg recognizes its owner instinctively; no binding ritual required.

A grin spread across his face as he read the description.

Of course, a proper Black Mage should have a dragon under their command.

If someone were to ask, “What is the strongest monster in World Breaker?” there would be only one answer, spoken without hesitation:

Dragons.

These colossal creatures, known as dragons, were titanic beings of overwhelming mass and power. Despite their immense size, their massive wings allowed them to soar effortlessly across the skies. Their teeth and claws could shred even the sturdiest armor like paper, while their scales were harder than steel itself.

And then there was the breath—a blast of destruction so powerful that a single misstep could obliterate an entire army.

Living nightmares. That was the only way to describe them.

“They only started appearing in the later stages of the game, but even then, the best strategy was to run for your life rather than fight them.”

Encountering a dragon without prior preparation was nothing short of a disaster. Entire cities and armies, painstakingly built over hundreds of turns, could be wiped out with a single dragon’s arrival.

Some players even developed bizarre rituals—offering water next to their monitors and praying not to encounter a dragon, calling it the “prayer meta.”

But the same strength that made dragons terrifying enemies also made them unparalleled allies.

There was an old saying: “One dragon is worth an entire army.”

“Of course, the odds of actually capturing one were slim—barely once in ten full playthroughs.”

However, there were a few sneaky ways for specific classes to acquire a dragon more easily.

One of those methods was rejecting the Black Mage’s second-class advancement—a hidden event that rewarded players with the chance to raise a dragon from an egg.

It wouldn’t be a fully grown dragon right away, but raising one was worth the effort. The reward was beyond any cost.

“What’s that? It looks like… an egg?”

Ethan blinked, staring at the object in Justin’s hand.

Returning the Black Dragon Egg to his inventory, Justin replied casually, “It’s an egg, all right. Close to hatching, too. I got it as a reward for refusing the second-class advancement.”

“An egg? What kind?”
“A black dragon.”
“…What?”
“You know, the flying lizards that breathe fire.”

The casual explanation left Ethan dumbfounded.

After a moment of silence, his eyes went wide, and he grabbed Justin by the shoulders, panic in his voice.

“Wait, you mean that dragon? The one that shows up late in the game and demolishes entire cities?!”

“Yeah. The same fire-breathing monstrosity.”

“Holy…!”

Ethan staggered back, as though he’d been physically struck by the revelation. His gaze drifted blankly across the air, as if trying to comprehend the absurdity.

“A dragon. An actual dragon!”

“Pretty good reason to refuse the second-class advancement, right?”

“‘Pretty good’?! That’s amazing! Absolutely the right decision!”

Ethan’s reaction was predictably extreme—anyone familiar with the devastation a dragon could cause would be equally shocked.

The other teammates weren’t much different, their eyes sparkling with excitement.

“A dragon’s egg! I’ve only seen those in movies!” Rachel exclaimed.

“So, does that mean we’ll get to fly around on a dragon now?” Nathan asked eagerly.

“First, it’ll hatch as a baby. We’ll need to raise it until it’s big enough.”

“Oh… Well, still, it’s a dragon! Who cares!”

While Rachel and Nathan were practically bouncing with excitement, Derek still wore a skeptical frown.

“Wait, you can actually raise a dragon?”

“You didn’t know? Some players used them occasionally.”

“I’ve seen people summon dragons to ride, but I’ve never seen anyone with an egg before. Are you sure it won’t be weaker as an ally?”

“Not even close. Once it’s fully grown, it can go toe-to-toe with a wild dragon one-on-one.”

Sang-gu’s eyes widened in disbelief as he finally grasped the egg’s true value.

Smirking at their reactions, Justin clapped his hands to gather everyone’s attention.

“Let’s try hatching the egg after we’re done here. First, we’ve got more important business.”

“Ah!”

The group, momentarily distracted by the excitement, turned their attention back to the dungeon.

The second-class advancement incident had interrupted their momentum, but they were still mid-dungeon crawl—only one battle into what promised to be a long grind.

“There are still plenty of rewards left in here. Let’s move.”

“Yes!”

Reinvigorated by the prospect of treasure—and the promise of raising a dragon—his teammates followed him deeper into the dungeon.

“The traps aren’t much different from before.”

While the difficulty of the battles had noticeably increased, the traps remained relatively easy to handle.

With Nathan scouting ahead, most traps were easily detected and disarmed.

Some of the more complicated mechanisms took time to dismantle, but fortunately, they had a faster solution.

• “Master, gaze deeply into my eyes and witness the despair… Aaaagh!”
• “Sorry, buddy, you’ve still got one more to go. Imp, summon!”
• “You… you’re no human! A real human wouldn’t do this! Gaaah!”

Thanks to the imps’ noble and entirely unwilling sacrifices, they made steady progress.

Thankfully, only three traps required such sacrifices, so their pace didn’t slow significantly.

Eventually, they reached a familiar location—one that mirrored the treasure vault from their last dungeon run.

“Kraaaagh!”
“Kieeek!”

A horde of orcs and hobgoblins rushed to meet them, guarding the vault entrance.