< Chapter 185: Reveal (2) >
“See you tomorrow.”
“Yes, see you tomorrow.”
After Dragon Lord finally left the room, I was left alone.
“Yes!”
I cheered inwardly. Everything went smoother than expected. Since my possession, things have never worked out this seamlessly.
“That’s right. This is the protagonist’s effect.”
I was very pleased.
‘Now all I need is to get a hint about the Time Leap from the Time Dragon.’
Once that’s settled, I can focus on confronting the forces of Hell.
‘Prepare to fight the Demon God and strengthen my abilities.’
Once I figure out the way back, the past here, a millennia ago, becomes nothing less than the perfect training ground.
“Oh, right.”
Before thinking about training or anything else, I need to check my power. I took out the slab carefully stored in my possession, which Dragon Lord and Heavenly God referred to as the ‘Eden’s Stele’.
“Heh. Finally escaping my low-tier status.”
I was thrilled.
“Ah…”
But there was a problem.
“How do I use this?”
I realized I didn’t know how to use the most crucial item.
“Did I forget to ask how to use it?”
My forgetfulness is legendary. How could I forget such a thing? It’s like buying a computer worth millions and not knowing how to move the mouse.
“What should I do?”
As I blankly stared at the slab,
Zing-
A light emanated from the slab.
“Huh?”
Korean characters started to appear on the slab.
[User Authentication Complete]
[Analyzing user’s physical data.]
“Was it automatic?”
That makes sense. If there was a specific way to use it, Shin would have told me in advance. I sighed with relief.
[Analysis Complete]
[Visualizing user’s physical data.]
The analysis was promptly completed.
[Strength: A Rank (75/99)]
[Agility: A Rank (66/99)]
[Stamina: A Rank (91/99)]
[Magic Power: A Rank (3/99)]
[Sense: B Rank (37/99)]
“…Wow.”
Seeing it with my own eyes feels different.
This is what stats look like.
This is a status window!
I was overwhelmed with inexplicable emotion.
‘Every time I had to note down my stats as [estimated], how sad it was.’
Only those who’ve experienced it would understand. Being the only one unable to do something everyone else can is quite painful. But now, that’s over. I have a status window too! Even if it’s in the form of a slab, what does that matter?
“Unavoidable, but my combat stats have dropped a bit.”
Due to the loss of the giant race’s attributes and other traits that supplemented my stats, there’s been a slight decline. Especially strength. It dropped from S-rank, which I had thanks to the giant race’s attribute, to A-rank.
“On the other hand, magic is much higher than expected.”
Perhaps it’s because the boost in magic isn’t from an attribute but from the full transformation effect. I was expecting it to be at most B-rank, but it’s A-rank. That’s a pleasant surprise.
“To face the Demon God, I need to raise all stats to at least SS-rank.”
Even though it’s just a two-rank difference, it feels far away. In fact, it is. If A-rank and S-rank are as different as the sky and earth, then S-rank and SS-rank are as different as space and earth.
‘Of course, activating the mark will raise the stats to at least S-rank…’
But starting with an A-rank as a base is a bit problematic.
“Can I even transcend?”
I’m not sure if I can reach SS-rank. From my experience so far, I believe I can. But it’s not something I can say for certain.
“I’ll have to try raising my stats to be sure…”
I think it’s possible. Since Brother Shin designed my abilities to defeat the Demon God, it’s unlikely he made it impossible for me to reach SS-rank. I was confident.
“Speaking of which, can’t I check my charm?”
I’ve always heard about how high my charm is, but I’ve never seen it for myself. I’m very curious.
[Visualizing user’s charm.]
The slab’s display refreshed at that moment.
Ding.
“Voice recognition?”
I didn’t know that.
I scratched my cheek and scanned the newly updated content.
[Charm: SS-rank (Max)]
I was left speechless.
I did expect my charm to be high, but transcendent rank? That was unexpected.
“This means I can transcend combat stats too, right?”
Non-combat stats or not, the fact that one of my stats has reached the transcendent rank means the others can too.
“Perfect.”
Just having that confidence is a significant gain.
* * *
The next morning.
“Kang Seo-yul! I’m here!”
Dragon Lord, with a beaming expression, flung open the door to my room. It seemed she intended to surprise me from my sleep early in the morning. But that wasn’t happening.
“Yes, welcome.”
I greeted her calmly.
“Oh, what’s this? You’re up early?”
The current time was 4:40 in the morning. It’s more the crack of dawn than morning.
“Yes, it just turned out that way.”
To be honest, I didn’t wake up early; I hadn’t slept at all. I had stayed up all night studying the information about the ‘Mark of Adam’ and the ‘Full Racial Transformation Abilities’ that hyung had gifted me. Consequently, I was a bit tired.
“Shall we set off right away?”
Dragon Lord looked as excited as a child about to go on a picnic.
“Do you, by any chance, have a connection with Time Dragon… was it Elder Chronos? Do you have a relationship with him?”
Her eagerness made me wonder if she was excited to meet the Time Dragon, so I cautiously asked.
“Yeah, I do.”
I knew it.
“It seems you were close.”
One doesn’t get excited about meeting someone they dislike.
“Yes, we were. He helped me a lot before I became the Lord.”
A hint of longing flashed in Dragon Lord’s eyes.
“When he suddenly disappeared, leaving only a note saying he wanted to quietly face his end, you wouldn’t believe how shocked I was.”
Between the lines of longing, there’s a touch of resentment. Or is it a sense of being left behind? Likely resentment and sadness for disappearing without a proper goodbye.
“By the way, how long are you going to call me Dragon Lord? You told me not to address you as an Apostle of Adam.”
Dragon Lord glared at me, slightly peeved.
“Then what should I call you?”
“Name! I told you last time, remember?”
“Ah~”
That unnecessarily long name?
“If it’s too long and cumbersome, just call me ‘Ini’. That’s what my close friends call me.”
“Alright, I’ll call you Ini.”
“No need for the formalities. Let’s be informal like friends.”
Dragon Lord offered her hand with a bright smile.
“It’s been a dream of mine to be friends with the Apostle of Adam.”
I chuckled as I took her hand.
“You didn’t even know the Apostle of Adam existed. How did you dream of becoming friends?”
“Of course! It’s natural. If I can be friends with Adam, why not his apostle?”
Ini laughed arrogantly, albeit playfully.
“So, from today, we’re friends?”
“Yes.”
A 4000-year-old and a 28-year-old are friends. It felt a bit odd but becoming close with Dragon Lord wasn’t something I minded.
“Great~ I like how cool you are.”
Ini expressed with genuine admiration.
“Didn’t you notice? That masked woman, she’s totally into you.”
“Really?”
I sensed she had some feelings, but I thought they were more admiration than affection.
“You think she was just happy?”
Probably relieved with the newfound hope.
“Ah, you’re still so naive! You need to live a few more thousand years!”
Ini chuckled and patted my back.
“4,000 years might be pushing it.”
She was acting like an old man.
“Trust my judgment. She’s completely smitten with you. I never thought I’d see that emotionless devil turn so red. Haha!”
Ini ruffled her black hair, acting quite older than her appearance suggested.
The more I saw, the harder it was to believe that this person was the same Dragon Lord from the original story. How did such a warm person turn so cold? Was humanity that disappointing to her?
“Anyway, when you find out her name later, be sure to tell me.”
“Hmm. I don’t think that will happen, but if she does tell me, I’ll definitely pass it on.”
I replied lightly.
Ini took a few steps back, smiling.
“Shall we set off before it gets any later?”
“Just a moment. I need to prepare a few things.”
In the process of organizing my thoughts yesterday, I had forgotten to pack some important items.
“What preparation?”
Ini tilted her head in curiosity.
“This and that. I need to bring some artifacts and organize some documents.”
I meticulously organized the notes and papers on my desk and then picked up the spatial bag I had placed beside it. Now, I just need to pack everything inside.
“A spatial bag? Can’t you use spatial magic?”
Given the Dragon race’s ability, it was a logical question.
“There’s a reason. Unless under certain circumstances, I can’t use the powers of that particular race.”
I replied as truthfully as I could without revealing too much.
“I see.”
Ini’s eyes lit up.
“Want me to help?”
“Help? With what? How?”
“Like this.”
In a split second, Ini took my spatial bag and emptied all of its contents.
I was taken aback momentarily, but considering she’s the Dragon Lord, she wouldn’t have malicious intentions. So, I remained calm.
“Hmm, which gemstone should I use…”
He then reached into thin air and started to rummage around. That must be the true spatial magic of a magic-dominant dragon. It certainly seemed different.
“Okay. I choose the Rainbow Topaz.”
From the void, Ini withdrew her hand, holding a gem that shimmered in rainbow colors.
It was roughly the size of my fist.
What does she plan to do with that?
I had a rough idea of what Ini intended.
“You’re trying to create an artifact here and now?”
“Yeah. Just a quick one. Just one with a void space feature.”
“…You can make it that easily?”
Gathering mana throughout her body, Ini chuckled.
“Are you underestimating me? I am a Dragon Lord. Among the dragon race, the sovereigns of magic, I’m at the very top. You know?”
The amount of magic power was immense, but not enough to startle me.
She had said she was suppressing her power to avoid the eyes of the demon god, so she wasn’t in a state to use her high magic power.
‘I’m sure she said about 1/10 of it. Yet, that amount of magic power…’
Sovereign of magic, Dragon.
Among them, at the very pinnacle of the pyramid. The Dragon Lord.
I could vaguely sense her grandeur.
‘Not just the amount of magic power, but her control is beyond normal.’
The creation speed of her magic circuits easily surpasses 1000 per second.
When I had a magic duel with Lena, I could create 100 magic formulas per second.
She’s more than 10 times faster than me.
‘In an instant, she’s engraving that many magic circuits into such a small gem.’
She’s engraving a thousand magic circuits per second onto the Rainbow Topaz.
I can’t even imagine the level of magic control required for such detailed work.
“Okay. This should be enough.”
Exactly 12 seconds passed.
After engraving at least 10,000 magic formulas into the gem, Ini, with a light smile, withdrew her magic.
“Here.”
Then, she handed the gem to me, who was standing blankly.
“I’ve inscribed a void space about twice the size of this room. With my current mana, I could only create this much of a void space. Sorry.”
“…”
“Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”
“No, it’s not that… I’m just thankful.”
“Oh, come on. You’re thankful for just ‘this’?”
…I see.
So, creating a spatial artifact was just ‘something like this’ to her.
‘…Is this what being a dragon is like?’
All I could do was marvel.
* * *
Having finished all the preparations for departure,
I bid farewell to everyone and set out from Reperiel.
“Just wait a moment. I’ll prepare it quickly.”
“Take your time.”
Ini smiled smugly and began to draw a magic circle with her power.
“Wow.”
Gazing at the rapidly forming magic circle, Ai exclaimed in awe.
“We really could have just rested in Reperiel.”
“What’s the point of staying alone in a place without you, Seo-yul?”
I had initially intended to quickly handle things with just Ini, but Ai’s opposition was stronger than expected, so I brought her along.
“It’s just resting after all.”
“For me, the best rest is being by your side, Seo-yul.”
“You really have a way with words.”
Ai stuck out her tongue playfully, making me laugh unintentionally.
“Ready!”
Ini announced, rising from her spot. Beneath her, a geometrically shaped magic circle glowed faintly.
“You’re really fast.”
“I said I’d prepare quickly.”
I hadn’t expected her definition of ‘quickly’ to be less than a minute.
“Both of you, come up here.”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
I moved to the center of the magic circle with Ai.
“Just in case, both of you hold my hands.”
Ini extended a hand to both me and Ai.
“Hurry up. Don’t regret getting lost in the gaps of space later on.”
Both Ai and I quickly grabbed Ini’s hands.
“You both look nervous.”
Ini laughed heartily.
“We’re going now, right? The Land of Extreme Cold, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The Land of Extreme Cold.
In terms of the original world map, it refers to a land near the Antarctic.
“Coordinates set and confirmed.”
Ini looked at Ai and me in turn with a sly smile.
“You might get spatial motion sickness and throw up, so be careful. Ready to go?”
At that moment, Ini’s magic flowed into the magic circle.
Pop!
I was overtaken by the sensation of my body being whisked away somewhere.
Thankfully, I didn’t feel any motion sickness. Maybe it’s because my magic resonance is high?
About 5 seconds passed.
“Wow.”
I found myself standing in the center of a land covered in snow.
A landscape befitting its name, the Land of Extreme Cold.
I was tense since it was my first teleportation, but thankfully, it seemed we had arrived safely.
I was taking a sigh of relief.
“Hmm.”
A deep male voice echoed from behind.
“So, you were here too.”
I felt chills running down my spine instinctively. It was an emotionless voice I couldn’t forget even if I tried.
“Bo… Boss?”
The first to turn their head was Ai, trembling as she mumbled.
I, too, slowly turned my head.
“Seeing someone familiar in a foreign land makes it unexpectedly pleasant, doesn’t it?”
Standing there was a man.
From head to toe, he was draped in ominous black.
“Unknown…”
He bared his teeth and smiled brightly.
< Chapter 185: Reveal (2) > End.
