Uldran (4)
Sub-Quest Completed.
Since the sub-quest target has vanished, full rewards cannot be granted.
Quest has been removed.
With Uldran gone—the one who was supposed to help complete the sub-quest—the quest itself had vanished.
The talisman that should have been the reward had come to Jeonghyeon anyway, and Uldran had faded away.
"Well, well... I stayed quiet, and look what kinda insane shit I ended up with?"
Nus popped out of nowhere, the one whose existence Jeonghyeon hadn't even been aware of until now.
"You heard all that?"
"Of course. As the Demon King's right-hand familiar and advisor, I endured in silence."
The quick-witted slime had kept quiet, probably figuring that butting in with even a single word might screw everything up.
"Good boy."
"It was too heavy a tale for even me to interject. Dragons are such petty little shits, anyway..."
Classic Nus—trashing dragons and Demon Kings alike without discrimination.
Dismissing thousands of years of draconic history as mere pettiness.
Might be kinda impressive, in a way.
"Still, didn't it work out great?"
Even in his usual ironically cheerful grumbling, Nus seemed especially upbeat today.
Maybe 'cause an enemy dragon bit the dust?
"You snagged both Uldran's badass powers and Elkalabi's god-tier abilities, right?!"
Jeonghyeon was left speechless by Nus's excited outburst.
"Ah."
Right. This guy had a freakishly sharp sense of reality in the most unexpected ways.
"Can't argue with that."
It wasn't wrong.
Uldran's departure hadn't felt all that tragic, either.
Damn...
There was nothing more to add to Uldran's story, but a heavy weight settled in one corner of his heart.
"So, where to now, sir?"
Arak asked.
"Gotta head back to my crew first."
"If there's anything we Rock Dwarves can do, just say the word."
Arak bowed his head.
Will you ally with the Rock Dwarves?
Accept: ???
Decline: ???
Question marks whether he accepted or refused.
From here on out, gotta tread carefully anyway.
Jeonghyeon now knew exactly how each choice could trigger a butterfly effect.
In his previous life, Uldran's awakeners had been nearly nonexistent because Ignirn's awakeners wiped them out.
He hadn't even known Uldran's moniker meant "Mind Dragon," but linking with Philip had led him here.
How he handled relations with the Rock Dwarves from now on could shape his entire future.
And it wouldn't just affect him—it would ripple to his comrades, the dragons who revealed themselves to them, and these very Rock Dwarves.
No more reckless choices.
"Sorry, but..."
"Come back anytime. We'll be right here, waiting."
"...Yeah. Will do."
"We wish you victory. Thanks to you, we've cast off our blindfolds and seen the truth."
Arak bowed first, and the other Rock Dwarves followed suit.
These stubborn bastards, famous for their stiff necks, bowing in greeting.
Truly a sight worth living twice for.
Jeonghyeon hesitated for a moment before replying, but he had only one thing to say.
"Damn right."
"Jeonghyeon!"
Back at Ignirn's sanctuary, they thankfully weren't fighting Garibaldi or anything.
They were just sitting around, chatting amiably.
"You're back."
"Y-yeah."
Garibaldi's reaction was worlds apart from their first meeting—pure goodwill.
"Heard your story. You're more impressive than I thought."
An easy handshake, something unimaginable before. Philip's enthusiasm had surely played a part.
"Eh, whatever..."
Jeonghyeon shook awkwardly and took a seat.
"So, spill the details. Dragon business is dragon business; human stuff is human stuff, right?"
Classic Garibaldi—the very leader Jeonghyeon had modeled himself after.
With the chaos finally sorted, Jeonghyeon felt a surge of emotion.
Seeing Garibaldi before he became humanity's supreme commander.
Garibaldi had stuck with Serin and Jeonghyeon to the bitter end.
The man who'd dueled Behemoth, the worst legion commander, one-on-one and paved their way to the Demon King's Castle.
His leadership drew legions of followers, backed by unmatched skill.
"Well..."
Jeonghyeon figured it was safe to share with him.
And so, he slowly unraveled the tale of Uldran and Elkalabi.
"...That's how it went down."
By the time the long story ended, the sky brimmed with stars. Garibaldi stroked his chin silently throughout, now running fingers over his coarse black beard—still vibrant, not yet whitened by a decade of trials.
"I see. Ignirn had reason enough for his misunderstanding."
"If you see it that way, great."
"Huh? What do you mean? Anything in it for us?"
"I respect you. Don't wanna make an enemy of a top-tier awakener and hunter like that."
Garibaldi burst into hearty laughter.
"Haha! Young buck talks all fancy, unlike that scruffy mug of yours!"
Technically, I'm older now.
The retort rose to his lips, but he dispersed it into the air.
"Haha."
He flashed an awkward grin.
"Ignirn's still pissed, but we'll cross paths again on a better day."
"Yeah."
"'Cause we're the awakeners who'll kill the Demon King."
Jeonghyeon flinched at Garibaldi's parting words.
That Demon King... includes me?
He'd planned to pull Garibaldi to his side here, but a fundamental doubt crept in.
Before he could dwell, Nus piped up.
"But is this guy that great? Looks like just some middle-aged sword-swinging human to me."
Nus, perched silently on Jeonghyeon's shoulder, spat it out with a tsk.
"Hm. Not that great."
Garibaldi parried the provocation with ease.
"But being the first awakener to conquer the Tower and reach Afraksas... for a 'middle-aged' human, that's pretty damn solid, no? Haha!"
He countered leisurely, never one to just take a loss.
"Big deal. His sanctuary got wrecked by me solo, and he knew jack about Uldran's truth."
But Nus piled on.
What the hell? Why's he going off like this?
Jeonghyeon, who'd smoothed over Ignirn's misunderstanding and eyed Garibaldi as a potential ally, laughed awkwardly at Nus's barrage.
"Haha... Nus, chill."
"No matter how much he thrashes, some puny awakener challenging you—the Demon King—about killing the Demon King?"
Did he have to drop 'Demon King' here? Now?
Jeonghyeon's face hardened.
Nus was the joker card in a game of thieves—always flipping the board, for better or worse.
"Demon King? You?"
Garibaldi eyed Jeonghyeon sharply at Nus's words.
"Th-that's..."
"Pfft—hahaha! Bold ambition! Become the Demon King to catch the Demon King, eh?!"
Thankfully, Garibaldi took it as metaphor.
"Uh... yeah, something like that."
And it wasn't even wrong.
"So, necromancer type? That's how you handle monsters and fiends?"
Nus was a fiend slime, after all.
"Figured the slime familiar was odd, but aiming that high? Fun guy."
Garibaldi laughed heartily, then stood.
"Great talk today. Catch you later... Demon King."
He gave a cool nod and turned to leave.
That should have been it.
But...
Garibaldi soon pivoted back, leaning in with an embarrassing whisper just for Jeonghyeon.
"Hey... where'd you get a fun familiar like that?"
"Fuck off. You think it's easy snagging a familiar on my level?"
Classic Nus response.
But in that moment, an idea flashed through Jeonghyeon's mind.
"Hold up. Garibaldi. You need a familiar?"
Jeonghyeon asked loudly on purpose.
Garibaldi waved it off in panic.
"Huh? Nah... just bored?"
"No way. Familiars are amazing."
Jeonghyeon's eyes lit up.
"...Plotting something again, huh?"
"Y-yeah... obvious..."
Philip and Jeonghu knew that glint all too well.
The mad predator's gaze locking on prey.
His loyal subordinates played along seamlessly.
"Right, yeah. Nus has made things so much easier."
"T-true! Nus is awesome in every way~!"
Even their robotic delivery—like fresh language-model AIs reciting lines—left Nus smug, arms crossed and nose high.
"Hah! These braindead moron idiot humans get my greatness!"
Braindead moron idiot...?
"Exactly. You've seen Nus's power, right?"
Garibaldi, humanity's great general, was a notorious chatterbox.
He'd even made a friend to gab with in Asmodeus's illusion prison—the demon overseer of human lust and greed.
Chatted nonstop for 26 hours straight.
Exhausted, Asmodeus shattered the prison himself, raging:
'My prison ain't for this bullshit yapping!'
The anecdote was legendary.
So yeah, he probably was bored and wanted a familiar—especially right after witnessing Nus's true might.
Solo torching Ignirn's mighty sanctuary.
"If I may!"
"So, if I hook you up with a familiar like that... grant me one wish?"
As Nus boasted to Philip and Jeonghu in the distance, Jeonghyeon cornered his target, fanning the flames.
"Strong, shares my goals, dreams the same dreams, and even..."
"Even...?"
"...A conversation partner."
"...!!"
Nailed it. Garibaldi was hooked.
Now, just find the familiar.