I Gave Up Being Stronger

Chapter 455

Soon, people investigated and found out that this angry Thunder Dragon was famous. Previously contracted to a legendary Tamer named Pupu Baung, this Thunder Dragon was known to be the most short-tempered and powerful among Thunder Dragons. Some rumors even had it that this Dragon had killed his contractor, Pupu Baung, and flown to the Dragon’s Nest.

‘I should go check it out,’ Cha Jin-Hyeok thought. Just then, he received a message from Tamer Nick.

[Sir Chul-Soo, is your contracted Dragon’s name, by any chance, Atanna?]

Nick gave him a quick backstory of Thunder Dragons. Nick’s master was Pupu Baung, and according to the Tamer’s oath, Pupu Baung had contracted the Thunder Dragon and set him free. The Thunder Dragon that Pupu Baung had contracted was Atanna’s childhood friend.

Nick sent another text.

[If an adult Thunder Dragon loses his mind, it’s only a matter of time before an entire Server is wiped out.]

[Then we should have a talk as soon as possible.]

[The Dragon is not in a state where talking will help. My master is heading to Earth right now.]

[Don’t worry about it. My conversations tend to go well with Dragons.]

This was excellent news for Jin-Hyeok. A rampaging Thunder Dragon and the appearance of a legendary Tamer was nothing short of great content.

After a short while, Pupu Baung pounded on the front door. The metal door was dented.

“You could have rung the doorbell,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“I was about to… do that,” Pupu Baung replied, seeming a bit embarrassed.

Glancing to the side, Jin-Hyeok noticed the doorbell was broken.

“I couldn’t control my strength and…,” Pupu Baung said.

“Aren’t you a Tamer?”

“Of course, I’m a Tamer.”

Jin-Hyeok smiled faintly. He had wondered if they could be kindred spirits. “Do you mainly use Taming (Physical)?”

“Do you take me for such a novice?”

“Never mind.” Upon closer inspection, he realized they weren’t kindred spirits after all.

‘He doesn’t seem to be one of my subscribers either.’ Although Jin-Hyeok knew he couldn’t make everyone in the world his subscriber, this still disappointed him a little.

“I’m heading to the Dragon’s Nest right now,” Jin-Hyeok changed the subject.

“I came to stop you.”

“Stop me?”

“Yes. No one can stop a rampaging Thunder Dragon.” Pupu Baung prided himself on knowing Thunder Dragons better than anyone. “Rather than provoking him unnecessarily, waiting for his anger to subside is the best way to minimize damage.”

“Is that really true?”

“It is.”

“That Thunder Dragon must be incredibly strong then.”

“Yes, that’s right.” Pupu Baung let out a sigh of relief. This young man seemed reasonable. Usually, people who succeeded at a young age were blinded by arrogance and acted recklessly, but fortunately, this young man didn’t seem to be like that.

“This is great.” Jin-Hyeok chuckled.

[Emergency: Rampaging Thunder Dragon]

He started his livestream, with a very slight delay.

***

‘He’s insane!’ Pupu Baung thought as he followed Jin-Hyeok. ‘I thought I warned him enough! Does he think he can stop a rampaging Thunder Dragon with mere human strength? Still… I can’t just let him go like this.’

Although Chul-Soo was an impulsive young man, he was one of the talents responsible for the future. Pupu Baung couldn’t lose such talent here.

‘And this incident is partly my fault too.’

Pupu Baung somewhat regretted releasing the Thunder Dragon unnecessarily. If it weren’t for that oath, the dragon wouldn’t have gone on such a rampage. He could have prevented this outburst.

‘I have to finish what I started. Even if the Thunder Dragon is rampaging, I should be able to stop him somehow. Even if it might cost me my life.’

Finally, Jin-Hyeok and Pupu Baung arrived at the entrance of the Dragon’s Nest. Park Terse was waiting there.

“Terse? Why are you here?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“I heard you were with the legendary Tamer Pupu Baung, Chul-Soo. Where is Sir Pupu Baung?”

“Hm…” Jin-Hyeok glanced behind him. The panda Beastkin was flying in on a Wyvern from a distance.

“By the way, Terse, is he really a legendary Tamer?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Of course. He is a living legend in this industry.”

“Really?”

“Why do you ask?”

“It seems he might be a bit overrated.”

Jin-Hyeok had heard rumors that Pupu Baung had tamed the fastest Wyvern in the world, but the Wyvern seemed much slower than expected.

“Look at the size of that Wyvern. It’s not an ordinary Wyvern, but the King Wyvern. Few Tamers can tame that and use it as a mount!” Terse yelled.

“Is that harder to tame than a Thunder Dragon?”

“Thunder Dragons are in a league of their own…”

Jin-Hyeok patted Terse’s shoulder. “Have confidence, Terse. I think you’re a more skilled Tamer than Pupu Baung.”

“That’s nonsense…!”

At that moment, Pupu Baung arrived. Sweat was dripping from his fur.

“Huff…! Huff…!”

Pupu Baung seemed to have exhausted a lot of energy flying the King Wyvern at full speed. Jin-Hyeok clicked his tongue briefly and offered him a Chul-Soo Potion.

“T-Thank you…”

Only after drinking the Chul-Soo Potion did Pupu Baung regain his condition.

‘For a legendary Tamer, his stamina is quite weak. Is it because of his age?’ Jin-Hyeok wondered.

Still, Tamers was closer to combatant Players than Eltubers. No matter how Jin-Hyeok thought about it, Pupu Baung seemed a bit overrated.

***

The Thunder Dragon Maxias was enraged. “Atanna! You’ve betrayed me!”

Lightning bolts raged across the sky. Countless faint lightning bolts poured down like rain.

“Maxias, come to your senses!” Atanna yelled. However, her voice didn’t reach Maxias.

“Atanna, can I kill that one?” Julius frowned.

“No, don’t do anything stupid!”

“You told me to wait earlier. Look, our nest is being destroyed!” Julius was also furious. He was angry that a foreign Thunder Dragon had appeared in his home and was causing havoc. There was no need to hold back; he wanted to end that Thunder Dragon’s life right then and there.

‘Huh?’ Suddenly, the Fire Dragon’s anger began to subside. ‘Sir Chul-Soo?’

Julius sensed the energy of his beloved Chul-Soo. The rampaging Thunder Dragon unleashed a Lightning Breath toward Julius, but he paid it no mind. Atanna countered with a breath of the same nature, blocking Maxias’s attack.

Brilliant light flashed, and intense sparks scattered around as the two breaths collided.

“You idiot! Are you trying to hurt my child? Can’t you see there’s a child here?” Atanna yelled.

“How could you choose that pathetic fire lizard over me? Do you think I’m weaker than him?” Maxias’s eyes turned golden. He drew upon even greater power and inhaled deeply. It was a Lightning Breath filled with murderous intent, ready to erase this entire Dungeon.

“You’d better not do that, young Thunder Dragon,” Julius smirked.

“That’s enough of your bluff, crazy Fire Dragon!”

“My… no, our master is coming.”

The word our infuriated Maxias even more. He could not believe that Atanna had set up a home with that brutal Fire Dragon of all creatures!

“I’ll kill you all!” Forgetting entirely about Atanna’s child, Maxias unleashed an enormous breath attack.

Just then, Jin-Hyeok arrived at the boss room and raised his right hand. The massive lightning bolt split in two and vanished instantly.

“Thunder Dragon, you need to calm yourself,” Jin-Hyeok said. However, his thoughts were different. ‘Please, rampage more.’

“You arrogant fool! You cannot stop me, mere human!” Maxias yelled. He opened his mouth wide again. The rampaging Thunder Dragon boasted unparalleled destructive power, but with little rationality left, his attack patterns were rather simple.

Jin-Hyeok responded to the Lightning Breath with his Babylon Cannon. He figured countering the attack with the Babylon Cannon would create a much more spectacular scene than blocking it with Absolute Barrier.

‘Perfect!’ Jin-Hyeok thought. The collision between the Babylon Cannon and the Lightning Breath created quite an impressive spectacle. ‘I’ll just have to adjust the power a bit.’

He lowered the Babylon Cannon’s power a bit to make it look like he was being pushed back slightly.

“This is the true power of the Babylon Cannon!” He shouted as he increased the Skill’s power. Like in most heroic tales, the Babylon Cannon’s force slowly pushed back the breath attack, until finally, the golden beam struck the Dragon between his eyes.

In that instant, crackling lightning enveloped the Dragon’s body, forming a spherical shield. It looked as if the Thunder Dragon had hidden inside an egg made of lightning. The light was so intense that Jin-Hyeok could not see past the lightning shell.

Pupu Baung, who had followed him, cried out, “No! Chul-Soo! I acknowledge your amazing ability. But this is not a good approach!”

A rampaging Thunder Dragon that had received a slight shock was far more dangerous than one that had simply lost his mind. With this shock, Maxias had regained some rationality, and his attack patterns would soon become much more diverse and powerful.

A voice emerged from the sphere of flashing light.

“Ah, my anger has clouded my judgment. I should punish you in the way that will cause you the most suffering,” Maxias said. Having regained some of his senses inside the light sphere, Maxias had an epiphany. He wondered what could send that brutal Fire Dragon to devastation. “That’s right, I will devour your master.”

Maxias could sense the Fire Dragon’s absolute affection for his master. That master was probably what the Fire Dragon loved most. Eliminating that master would likely be the greatest punishment for the Fire Dragon.

“Atanna. You should reflect too,” Maxias said. He could feel that Atanna also held great affection for that human. Atanna succumbing to that mere human—just the thought of it was unbelievable. Maxias was furious that two Dragons had submitted to a human. “Your master will die because of you.”

***

“What am I supposed to do when that Thunder Dragon is trying to kill me?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“There is nothing for you to do now, Chul-Soo.” Now that the situation had come to this, it was time for Pupu Baung himself to step in. “Maxias! Can you hear me?! It’s Pupu Baung!”

There was no answer.

“Remember our time together, Maxias! We were good friends!”

Just then, a thin bolt of lightning shot out from the sphere. Pupu Baung could not dodge it and collapsed on the spot. Jin-Hyeok was a bit taken aback.

‘Did he really fall from that attack?’ Jin-Hyeok thought. ‘Can a legendary Tamer be knocked down by such a weak attack? I guess I was right about the rumors about him being exaggerated.’

Though Pupu Baung's life didn’t seem to be in danger, it was a pitiful defense for a legendary Tamer.

In his child-like form, Julius crossed his arms, looked up at the sky, and said, “You shouldn’t provoke Master like that…”

Atanna, who had calmed down since Jin-Hyeok’s arrival, muttered regretfully, “Master, please consider our bond and think twice about killing that Thunder Dragon…”

Jin-Hyeok nodded. His goal was not simply to fight and subdue from the start.

“Terse, I think you’re an excellent Tamer,” Jin-Hyeok said.

The legendary Tamer Pupu Baung was weak in both stamina and defense. Apart from his cute appearance, he wasn’t much to speak of. If someone like that could be called a legendary Tamer, then Terse could be one too.

“Tame the Thunder Dragon,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“Me…?” Terse shook his head. There was no way he could do that with his current skills.

“Yes, you can do it.”

“No, that’s a bit…”

Jin-Hyeok sent a message to Wang Yu-Mi.

[*Please edit this part.]

Then he immediately used his Skill.

[You have activated your Skill ⌜Taming (Physical)⌟.]

Jin-Hyeok swung Miri in the air. Miri emanated a golden light that stretched toward the lightning sphere. Thousands of lightning bolts shot out from the sphere, striking the golden light, but to no avail.

Flash!

Light burst forth. The lightning that had heavily blanketed the surroundings suddenly dispersed. The thunderclouds cleared, revealing a clear sky. The Thunder Dragon Maxias was falling from the sky, confusion apparent in his eyes.

“That Thunder Dragon’s resistance is stronger than I thought,” Jin-Hyeok said.

[You have activated your Skill ⌜Taming (Physical)⌟.]

Jin-Hyeok struck the Thunder Dragon’s face once more. This time, it was a direct hit, which Miri greatly enjoyed.

-Wow! A dragon’s head is delicious! It’s like a delicacy!

Thud!

The Thunder Dragon collapsed and lay sprawled on the ground.

“Now, try to tame it. You can do it, Terse,” Jin-Hyeok said.