Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest-Chapter 648 142.4 - Void Dragon

A cold realization washed over me as I felt the familiar presence of [Shadowborne] vanish from within. It was simply… gone as if it had been erased from my very being. My instinctual reliance on the shadows, my ability to vanish and strike from concealed positions—all of it had been stripped away.

This was one of the Void Dragon's abilities, a terrifying attribute of void energy itself. It could erase the very essence of things, nullifying powers it found troublesome, leaving opponents vulnerable. The dragon had sensed [Shadowborne] as my most elusive strength, the one that had frustrated it again and again and had chosen to erase it entirely.

I clenched my jaw, my mind racing to adjust. This was exactly why I had restrained my attack, focusing first on marking the dragon's weak points. If I had revealed my full strength too soon—if my offensive abilities had been nullified instead—I would have been left defenseless against this creature.

'This is the power of the Void Dragon,' I thought, feeling the weight of the situation settle around me. No more escaping into shadows, no more slipping away at the last second. It was now a battle in the open.

'Heh….That is why, you Primal dogs are weak…..You can't think.'

It was really ironic that one of the strongest beings in this world would make such a mistake. 'Now move.'

I channeled my mana into my legs, using the [Cyclone Stance]'s footwork. SWOOSH! Feeling mana surge through my legs, I blasted forward, crossing the cavern with blinding speed. The Void Dragon's blazing eyes locked onto me as I closed the distance, and with a thunderous roar, it surged forward to meet my advance. SWOOSH! Its massive, clawed foot came crashing down, a strike that would have crushed me if I hadn't twisted at the last second, narrowly slipping past its lethal reach.

CRASH!

The force of its swipe left a gust of wind in its wake, nearly throwing me off balance. But I maintained my momentum, now only meters from the beast, and reached into my pouch, fingers wrapping around the throwing daggers Kieran had provided me. Each blade was crafted with perfect weight and balance, designed for swift, accurate throws—ideal for the kind of precision strikes I needed now.

My gaze locked onto the weak points I had marked earlier, the faint green tendrils from Celestalith's energy still lingering, guiding my aim like threads of fate.

'Perfect.'

With a flick of my wrist, I released the first dagger, watching as it soared through the air, aiming for the dragon's exposed neck where the scales were thinnest. The blade struck true, embedding itself into the weak point. I didn't waste time; in quick succession, I threw the remaining daggers, each one slicing through the air toward the marked weak points along its body.

-THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!-

Each dagger found its target. Yet, the dragon wasn't idle.

With a furious roar, it swung its other massive claw toward me, a strike so powerful that the very air seemed to compress around it. BOOM!

I leaped back, aiming to evade, but the shockwave from the force of the swing caught me, slamming into my body like a hammer. Pain erupted along my side as I was thrown backward, crashing into the hard stone floor with a force that rattled my bones.

I grimaced, clutching my side as I rose to my feet, feeling the sting of the injury. The dragon's raw strength was overwhelming, and even an indirect hit left its mark.

'The daggers.'

But then I had finally, allowed myself to take a look at the body of the monster itself. 'Tch.'

I gritted my teeth, feeling the sting of disappointment as I took in the sight of the Void Dragon. The daggers I had thrown, despite striking the marked weak points, hadn't embedded deeply enough. My strength alone wasn't sufficient to pierce through the creature's dense hide completely. The Void Dragon's natural armor was formidable, each scale layered with hardened mana that resisted my attacks as if mocking my attempts.

SWOOSH! But before I could adjust my strategy, the dragon let out a furious, guttural roar, its massive body coiling as it prepared to launch forward. I barely had a second to brace myself as it surged toward me, jaws wide open, razor-sharp teeth gleaming in the dim light. RUMBLE!

The cavern trembled under the force of its charge, and I realized I wouldn't be able to evade fully.

BITE! I moved as fast as I could, ducking and twisting, but the Void Dragon was relentless, its jaws closing in on me with terrifying speed. SLASH!

I felt the edge of its teeth graze my side, sharp as blades, tearing through my armor and scraping against my skin. The pain flared as blood trickled down, but I managed to shove my foot against its maw, pushing myself free with a fierce kick.

As I leaped back, I focused, calling the daggers back to me. In midair, they shifted, slicing through the shadows as they flew back to my side. I caught my breath as I landed, but there was no time to dwell on the pain. The Void Dragon was still on the offensive, its eyes blazing as it readied itself for another attack.

Without hesitation, I transformed Celestalith into its bow form, drawing the string and infusing a cluster of arrows with highly concentrated mana. The weapon hummed, green tendrils flickering along the arrows as I released them with precision, each one aimed directly at the dragon's eyes.

-THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!-

The arrows shot forward, guided by the green energy of Celestalith. They struck the dragon's eyes with perfect accuracy, but to my shock, there was no explosion. The arrows seemed to vanish upon impact, their energy dispersing into nothingness as if they'd been swallowed whole.

'Void nullification… again.'

The dragon's void energy had canceled out my attack, erasing the mana as if the arrows had never existed. Frustration coursed through me as I realized that, even with Celestalith's enhancements, I was still only scratching the surface of the Void Dragon's defenses.

"SCREEEEECH!"

The Void Dragon let out another enraged scream, the sound vibrating through the air as it gathered energy in its maw. Void energy began to condense, swirling into a dense, pulsing mass that crackled with dark intensity. The air around it grew cold and oppressive as the dragon prepared to unleash a ranged attack, channeling the beam toward me with deadly intent.

'This….'

With Shadow Leap gone, I did not have any other way to defend myself aside from evading the strike. 'Adapt!'

And, I did so. I steadied myself, watching the Void Dragon's eyes and the gathering void energy in its maw. In that instant, I realized its intent—it wasn't targeting me directly, but rather the path I'd instinctively choose to evade. The beast's instincts were sharp, honed by a primal intuition that read my movements as if it knew my intentions. This could be a mindless creature, but it was the epitome of a Hunter. A dragon. 'So, that's what you're doing…'

But if I could read it reading me, I could turn this against it.

As the beam erupted from its maw, searing toward the side I would normally choose for escape, I pivoted, pushing myself to the opposite side at the last second. WROOM! The beam narrowly missed me, scorching the ground where I'd been standing and leaving an ashen trail across the cavern. I rolled with the momentum, using the evasion to position myself better as I rose to my feet.

This was my window, however small.

Without hesitation, I activated [Eyes of Hourglass], mana flooding into my eyes as the world slowed to a crawl. Every detail of the Void Dragon's form sharpened in my vision, the lines of mana pulsing through its body, each weak point illuminated like a faint constellation. I could see its focus shift, the dragon's gaze locked onto me with a burning rage, but I knew it was drawn primarily to protect its most vulnerable spots—its eyes.

With this in mind, I pulled back the bowstring, channeling mana into two arrows and releasing them with precision aimed straight at its eyes. They shot through the air, green tendrils trailing as they flew. The dragon's attention snapped toward the incoming arrows, instinctively moving to counter them, its gaze locked on the threat.

But I was already moving.

I shifted my aim, sending three more arrows toward the other weak points I'd marked earlier along its neck and joints. If my theory was correct, the dragon would prioritize its eyes, ignoring the other arrows. And if those landed, they might destabilize its defenses enough for me to strike deeper.

The first two arrows hit their mark, the Void Dragon's eyes flashing with void energy as it nullified them, dispersing their power into nothingness.

But as it focused on those, the second volley found their targets unimpeded.

-THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!-

The arrows embedded in the weak points along its body, each impact resonating with a deep, pulsing glow.

And then followed by a BOOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Sounds of explosion. The explosions rippled through the Void Dragon's body, each impact resonating with a deep, pulsing blue glow before erupting into violent bursts. My mana had done its job, destabilizing the weak points I'd marked, and the force of the blasts left the creature writhing in agony. The dragon's furious scream echoed through the cavern, its voice thick with rage and pain.

In retaliation, the beast raised its massive claws, void energy swirling around them as it condensed into two enormous, shadowy spears. The dragon's eyes flashed with deadly intent as it lifted the spears high, gathering power with every second before slamming them down toward the ground with devastating force.

-THOOM!-

The spears struck the earth, unleashing a massive shockwave that tore through the cavern, sending cracks racing along the stone floor and walls. The sheer power of the impact vibrated through me, the ground beneath my feet heaving as the wave of energy barreled forward.

But instead of fear, a smirk tugged at my lips. The pain and damage from the explosions had disrupted the dragon's defenses, leaving the weakened areas exposed. This was my chance.

With quick precision, I pulled out the daggers Kieran had given me, feeling their familiar weight in my hands. As the dragon's immense body began to descend, momentarily vulnerable from the agony that wracked it, I flicked my wrists, sending the daggers flying toward the exposed points with lethal accuracy.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! Each blade sliced through the air, guided by the green tendrils still lingering from my previous attacks, the ethereal lines leading them toward their targets.

But before the daggers found their marks, the shockwave from the dragon's impact reached me, slamming into me with crushing force. BOOM! I staggered, the blast driving me back, my body jarred from the impact...