< Chapter 187: Objective (2) >
“Seo-yul… I’ll take a moment to cool my head nearby.”
After Unknown left,
Ai spoke with a bitter expression.
“Alright. Just don’t go too far.”
“Okay. Don’t worry.”
With that, she weakly walked away from us.
“Is she okay?”
Ini, who had been quietly on guard this entire time, spoke to me.
“She will be.”
Given enough time to gather herself, she’ll be able to shake it off quickly. She’s a strong girl.
“Really?”
Ini looked peculiarly towards the direction Ai had left in and then turned her gaze back to me.
“Speaking of which, that guy… He feels really off. Can we really trust him enough to form an alliance?”
I was slightly surprised.
“You… heard everything?”
Unknown and I had conversed in Korean. Naturally, I assumed Ini wouldn’t understand, but it seemed she got the gist of it.
“I have an Empathy ability. Although it’s not high-leveled enough to understand intentions perfectly, I can roughly understand the gist of a conversation.”
Empathy.
A skill that captures intent directly rather than relying on words.
With that effect, she must’ve grasped the essence of our conversation. I understand now.
“Wait, who is that guy to begin with? He seems to know you, and he speaks the same language. Is he like an alumnus from Eden?”
“It’s… complicated. Hard to explain. Our relationship is a bit complex.”
I wasn’t sure how to explain my relationship with Unknown to the people of this era.
How could I explain to those who knew I came from ‘Eden’, the hometown of Adam? I hadn’t even been able to properly explain about Ai earlier.
“If it’s hard to explain, I won’t ask about the relationship.”
Thankfully, Ini showed understanding.
“But you need to answer this. That man… can we trust him?”
Ini stared at me with firm eyes.
Her gaze conveyed her resolute intention, suggesting that as the leader of Savior, she couldn’t ally with shady characters.
“He’s hard to trust. If you had to categorize a person’s disposition, he’d easily fall into ‘evil’ by anyone’s judgment.”
Unknown is like the very embodiment of evil. He’s billions of light years away from the word ‘trust’.
“Still, we can trust him for now. He’s logical. As long as our objective to deal with Demon God aligns, it’s fine.”
As long as interests align, the chances of someone doing something weird are low.
I may not trust Unknown, but I can trust Unknown’s principles and beliefs.
“At the very least, forming an alliance now won’t cause any immediate harm. We also gained crucial information.”
This is a unilateral gain for us.
“…That Demon God will make a move in 8 days?”
“Yes.”
Gaining that information is tantamount to creating the significance of the alliance.
“But is that information truly reliable?”
“Well, we’ll have to see.”
The only way to determine if it’s true or false is to experience it firsthand.
“He probably isn’t lying. He has nothing to gain from lying now.”
If the first piece of information was a lie, there would be no reason for him to propose an alliance to me. Even if he has ulterior motives and plans to pull some tricks, now isn’t the time.
“Well, it doesn’t matter if it’s a lie, right? We aren’t launching an assault. We’re just fortifying our defenses.”
“That’s true.”
There’s no loss in various aspects.
“What I want to ask is, if Demon God directly attacks, can you and the Heavenly God win together?”
“If we prepare adequately and even join forces with the four sacred ones… about 60% chance.”
…Even in an advantageous situation, the odds are only 60%?
“Don’t look at me like that. Do you know how strong the Demon God is? If you had fought him, you’d know, right?”
“…I suppose.”
Dragon Lord knows there’s a connection between me and Demon God. I said something about time-leaping due to some problems while confronting Demon God.
Of course, having read the original work, I have some idea of Demon God’s strength, but…
‘I feel like his might wasn’t that strong in the original.’
“In the original, did they downplay the power of Demon God?”
‘They said the ending of the original was fiction. So, if the protagonist, the savior, and everyone else had been annihilated by Demon God, then Demon God’s power wouldn’t even compare to the original.’
“And that’s the winning percentage without you joining. If you add your power, the winning odds are 80%… no, they would soar to over 90%.”
“…90%? How did you calculate my power?”
‘How much are they overestimating me?’
“Minimum. Just about the combat power of a thousand gods.”
“…The minimum is a thousand gods?”
“Why? Did I estimate too low?”
Was my expression strange?
Ini tilted her head.
“No, it’s not that. Um…”
What should I say?
For now, I’m no match for Demon God.
Right now, I doubt I can even defeat Ini, who is suppressing her power to less than 10%. How can I be a match for Demon God?
There will come a time when I have to face him, but that time is not now.
“I can’t help in the attack on Demon God in 8 days.”
That was the only thing I could say.
“…Why?”
“It’s simple. My power right now is very insignificant. Even if I fight you now, I can’t guarantee a victory.”
The winning odds might be just 50% at best.
“…Right, you said you’re recovering your power.”
Ini looked down with a slightly serious expression.
“The demon’s form from earlier… unlike the High Elves, it was only at the level of an intermediate level demon.”
For the Dragon Lord, an intermediate level demon seems to be ‘just’ that.
Well, it’s not wrong to say so.
“Ah, right. That demon form! Is that the power of Adam’s mark?”
“Yes. If I activate that mark, I can use the power of that species.”
Ini widened her eyes in genuine admiration.
“Then, can you also become a dragon?”
“I can if I have the artifact of the dragon race.”
“…Artifact?”
“Yes. That’s the condition for activating the mark.”
“Oh~ I see.”
Ini nodded repeatedly as if she understood everything.
Presumably, she’s thinking about how I was desperately gathering artifacts before coming to this place, realizing, ‘So that’s why.’
“So, you need a lot of artifacts?”
“I do.”
The more, the merrier.
“Do you want me to give you some?”
“…You’re giving them? Artifacts?”
“Yes.”
With a mischievous smile, Ini reached into thin air.
“What do I have now…”
She moved her hand here and there, seemingly feeling around inside a void.
“Oh, I have some.”
About 10 seconds passed.
With a sparkle in her eyes, Ini swiftly pulled her hand out of thin air.
“Here.”
And then she handed me a dagger.
No, is it not a dagger?
It’s too crude to be called a dagger, especially the blade. Instead of an edge, it looks more like a bone.
“It’s a ceremonial dagger. Made from my fang, so its performance should be quite good.”
“Ah.”
So, it’s a bone, a fang. My guess was correct.
“A ceremonial dagger would have lots of magical enhancements then.”
“Why are you even asking? Would a dragon wield a sword?”
“Isn’t there some odd one out? Their physical abilities are inherently strong.”
“Well, that’s when they’re in their original form. How would they swing a sword in that state?”
Ini glared at me with sharp eyes.
“I see.”
When they transform into their original form, since the body itself is like a weapon as a dragon, they wouldn’t need to swing a sword.
I chuckled and intently looked at the ceremonial sword that Ini was holding out to me.
But if I take this from her hand, wouldn’t I transform into the form of the dragon race? Is that okay?
‘Hmm. It should be fine. If I transform, I’d probably be at the Hatchling level.’
And I need to feel for myself what power the dragon race’s mark possesses.
“What’s the name of this dagger?”
“Elra Predesa.”
Contrary to its crude appearance, the name has a subtly sophisticated ring to it.
“Thank you. I’ll make good use of it.”
I took the sword from Ini.
“Argh!”
“Ka, Kang Seo-yul?!”
At that moment, I experienced an intense pain like I had never felt before.
It was a pain much more intense than when I first activated the marks of the elf and beastman races.
It felt like if I let my guard down for even a moment, I’d pass out from the sheer pain.
‘I remember the information document Shin-hyung gave me about Adam’s mark mentioned that the first activation of the dragon’s mark would be incredibly painful…!’
I never imagined it would be this intense.
I thought at most it’d be the pain of the demon race level.
‘And… the pain is longer!’
For other marks, the pain usually began to fade after at most 5 seconds.
But the pain from the dragon’s mark felt more than twice as long. Fortunately, all the pain subsided after exactly 10 seconds.
“Gasp, gasp.”
Breathing heavily, I knelt down and collapsed.
‘I really thought I was going to die.’
There’s truly something called shock.
I felt it.
“Ar-Are you okay?”
Ini sat beside me, her face filled with concern, scanning my body.
“I’m okay.”
There was no strength in my voice.
The aftershocks of the pain were still lingering.
“…The price of regression is high indeed.”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, Ini made a strange remark.
“It’s not just the loss of power, but there’s also a penalty for using it…”
She looked at me with sad eyes.
“How much did you have to sacrifice?”
“…”
Thinking about it, it was natural for Ini to think this way after seeing my state.
‘I’d think the same.’
With a bitter smile, I slowly stood up.
“Can you stand?”
“Yeah. I can bear it.”
Although the aftershocks of the pain were so strong that my limbs were still slightly trembling, I really could bear it.
“That’s a relief.”
Ini sighed in relief.
“But looking at you now… you’re at the Hatchling level, right?”
“Yes, Hatchling level.”
Typically, dragons are divided into three grades.
The state right after hatching, known as the ‘Hatchling’.
A somewhat grown state, ‘Wyrm’.
And the fully grown state, ‘Ancient’.
Most dragons stop growing at the Ancient dragon stage.
And only a few exceptional dragons evolve to the ‘Lord’ tier.
That’s the Dragon Lord, which is Ini.
Among those, I’m currently in the Hatchling state.
‘Since I couldn’t obtain many artifacts of the dragon race, it can’t be helped.’
It’s only natural.
‘If a Hatchling is this powerful, just how strong would a Wyrm or an Ancient be?’
Even if it’s a Hatchling level, a dragon is still a dragon, it seems. The strength emanating from my body is tremendous.
‘As for magic power… It might have reached SS rank?’
It’s a growth rate worthy of being called the ruler of magical power. It’s hard to believe that it rose to a transcendent level upon activation.
‘Furthermore…’
Among the birth traits of dragons, there is the inherent ability ‘Dragon Words’.
I murmured softly, infusing my voice with magic.
“Hell Fire”
At that moment, a massive fireball rose above my head. It was a flame of an odd hue, mixed with black, different from regular fire. This hellfire, living up to its name, melted all the surrounding ice as it flickered.
“…Wow.”
I couldn’t help but exclaim in awe. I had used Dragon Words before with the power of the ‘artifact’. But using the Dragon Words with increased magical power was truly magnificent.
‘It’s a bit of a pity I can’t use Dragon Eye.’
Dragon Eye is exclusive to Wyrm-level dragons. Naturally, I can’t use it in my Hatchling state. Of course, once I reach the Wyrm level, that issue will naturally resolve itself.
‘A real dragon is indeed a dragon.’
I was filled with admiration.
“Ah.”
Speaking of which, among the basic traits of the dragon race, there’s also ‘Polymorph’. I wondered what would happen if I transformed back into the form of a dragon with this.
Curiosity welled up within me.
‘Let’s try it.’
Since I’ve transformed, I might as well get the most out of it. I should try everything I can do.
I used Polymorph.
“Oh, you can also turn to your dragon form?”
With Ini’s exclamation, I felt a peculiar sensation throughout my body.
It’s an indescribable feeling.
The sense of change in my bones and muscles is no joke.
It seems like I’m growing, but I’m not entirely sure.
Anyway, it feels very odd.
After about 3 seconds…
“Black Dragon…”
With Ini’s murmuring,
Before I knew it, I had taken the form of a small dragon.
Glistening black scales and massive wings attached to my back.
The immense power I felt from my body.
I was filled with a sense of capability as if I could do anything.
‘Is this what being a dragon feels like?’
So that’s why it hurt so much.
Synchronizing such incredible traits like Dragon Words and Polymorph with my body for the first time would undoubtedly be painful.
‘If I can gain this much power, I can withstand any pain.’
Yes, certainly.
As I was indulging in this pride, nodding repeatedly,
“…Cute.”
I heard Ini’s voice near my feet.
“How can there be such a fiery and seductive scale color…”
In a very excited voice, she mumbled something odd.
“Among the dragons I’ve seen, you’re the most perfect one. To possess such beauty even at the Hatchling level…”
“Ah.”
Then it dawned on me.
The reason for Ini’s reaction.
‘…I have an SS-rank charm, right?’
So, that’s it.
To Ini, even if she looks like that, a dragon is still a dragon.
Her aesthetic standards wouldn’t be based on a human form but on a dragon’s true form.
In other words, while she might not find my human form very attractive, she finds my dragon form charming.
“If you grow well in that state, up to the Wyrm level…”
Because of my SS-rank charm, she’s reacting this way.
“…It’s possible. It’s blazingly possible.”
Ini’s eyes emitted a chilling light. A genuine, spine-chilling shiver ran down my back.
Scared to death, I quickly reverted to my original form.
And at the same time, I dropped the artifact.
“Ah.”
Ini let out a disappointed sigh, which was oddly terrifying in its own right.
“Wait. This…”
Suddenly, with a realization in her widened eyes, she took a step towards me.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“To where?”
She had a determined expression.
“Let’s go meet Elder Chronos. We need to find a way to deal with the after-effects of the Time Leap, right?”
She thought I was looking for the Time Dragon to recover my strength.
“We have to quickly call the one who went to cool her head too. We’re running out of time!”
But why the sudden rush?
“We need to quickly overcome the after-effects and regain your original strength…”
Ini’s eyes sparkled.
“You’ll become Wyrm-level, or Ancient-level, right? There won’t be any constraints in changing forms.”
“…Yes?”
What?
“Just become an Ancient dragon with that beauty…”
“…”
How should I put this?
The way Ini looked at me and chuckled, she looked very perverted.
< Chapter 187: Objective (2) > End.
