Chapter 145: Blood Dragon Jade
Special guests had arrived at the main house. The Sword Sage and three other elders.
“Dragon blood, you need it?”
“Yes, I do, but…”
“We figured as much and stocked up in advance. Might as well hand it over now.”
“You prepared it ahead of time?”
The Sword Sage nodded at his words.
“Heh heh. Of course. Did you think we'd let a single dragonkin corpse wipe our mouths clean?”
“I never imagined…”
“If you need anything else in the future, just say the word. We'll get it for you as best we can.”
The three elders nodded in agreement.
After receiving a great favor from Kim Minwoo,
The four of them had even given him their numbers directly, but he hadn't asked for a single favor. Instead, he'd occasionally send greetings and donations.
That didn't mean he hadn't needed help at all. He'd probably just endured it all quietly on his own.
You could tell just by looking at his growth rate.
If anything, that made the four elders even more anxious.
Especially the Sword Sage.
Not only had he received help from Kim Minwoo, but so had his granddaughter. An immeasurable debt of gratitude.
Without Kim Minwoo, he and his granddaughter would still be estranged.
It was the kind of problem even someone called the Sword Sage couldn't solve.
He had to give something in return.
How could the kid be so deep-hearted?
If he just asked for something, they could help or not accordingly.
The dragonkin corpses were something he'd been stockpiling with his brothers for exactly that reason.
“We've got about forty of them piled up. Where should we put them?”
… Forty?
Kim Minwoo let out an internal gasp of admiration. Dragonkin were a race where each one was at least quasi-boss level, bordering on full boss monsters. And not just one or two—forty of them.
What a windfall.
Dragonkin corpses had no waste. The blood for the Blood Dragon Jade, the bones for Cedric and the undead, the materials for crafting later.
They were naturally expensive.
Of course, the real issue was acquiring them, more than the money.
‘Jackpot.’
Forty was more than enough to strengthen Merhen, Cedric, and the rest of the undead horde.
“I'll gratefully accept. That spot over there is empty. Could you put them there?”
“Very well.”
With that, dragonkin corpses began pouring endlessly from the four men's inventories. Not as massive as ancient dragons, but still sizable bodies.
If he'd tried to buy these, it might have cost at least twenty trillion.
He pulled out the Blood Dragon Jade.
Soon, the round orb began to hum. Red energy rose from the fallen dragonkin corpses.
[Absorb the blood?]
The moment he nodded.
Splash!
Blood surged from all directions, sucked into the orb like an ebbing tide.
“What a wondrous artifact. Is that why you needed the blood?”
“Yes. Absorb blood into this, and I can use it to strengthen my undead. Like with the bones before.”
The orb continued sucking in blood as they talked. Soon, all the dragonkin corpses were shriveled and withered.
[Absorbed all nearby blood! Blood volume is sufficient!]
[Dragon Blood 100% charged.]
[Structure can be changed to Blood Jade. Proceed?]
Dragon Blood.
The pinnacle of blood, worthy of the name.
The first in line for it was obvious.
Merhen and Cedric.
The two legion commanders appeared.
“Oh, Minwoo, your lackeys?”
The Fist King asked curiously, eyeing them.
“That's right. These are the kind elders who look out for me. Say hello.”
Cedric nodded toward the four as if understanding.
—These the ones who fixed my head?
“Yeah. Now we're swapping your blood too.”
—Blood?
He showed Cedric the Blood Dragon Jade. Merhen peeked over curiously as well.
—Whoa, strengthening with dragon blood?
“Yeah. These dragonkin corpses? The elders went out of their way for us.”
—Thank you! You all worked hard helping Minwoo!
Merhen hopped over, grabbing each of their hands in turn.
“Ahem. Miss, your age…”
The Poison Demon asked cautiously.
Merhen tilted her head at that.
—Are you single by any chance?
“I have kids, but…”
—Huh? Then you know how rude it is to ask a woman's age?
The Poison Demon sank in one hit.
Cedric added as if to emphasize.
—No need to feel awkward. We're old too. We just don't age.
—Minwoo! That's a lie. Merhen doesn't age. You know that, right?
“Of course.”
He was not entirely sure, but what did it matter?
What mattered was that the four didn't feel uncomfortable.
He sidled closer and whispered.
“Elders, please understand. My summons are a bit unique…”
“Haha, we get it. Third Brother, undead are usually older than they look. They don't age. How could they not know better than some mountain hermit?”
“… There are ones that aren't older than they look. Just checking. Ahem.”
Additional info on the Poison Demon.
Sensitive about age.
He smoothly changed the subject.
“I'm planning to strengthen the legion commanders. Want to watch, elders?”
“That alright?”
“Of course.”
They'd given him forty dragonkin.
The least he could do was show this much.
He activated the Blood Dragon Jade's function.
At that moment.
[Blood Jade opens!]
With the message, a room like a red prison popped out.
Big enough for two or three people.
[Place target undead inside the Blood Jade to begin strengthening.]
[The more undead you put in, the larger the Blood Jade grows. However, effects may disperse with more numbers.]
[Blood consumption varies by undead level and abilities.]
—A prison?
“The look's a bit off, but the effect's top-notch. Give it a try.”
Naturally.
It had absorbed blood from forty dragonkin. How could the effect not be top-notch?
The dutiful Merhen opened the prison door and stepped in first.
Cedric followed.
The moment both were inside.
[Both are undead with potential to accept Dragon Blood!]
[Estimated Dragon Blood consumption: 50%]
[Proceed with strengthening?]
“Do it?”
—Yeah.
—As much as you want.
[Strengthening begins.]
With the message.
A red mist-like energy enveloped the two undead.
Cedric's bones began turning redder. Merhen's skin flushed the same way.
“Does it hurt at all?”
—No. Feels like soaking in hot water? Kinda relaxing.
—Perfect analogy.
[Dragon Blood is being absorbed into the two undead's bodies.]
[Estimated time: 10 hours]
Ten hours.
The strengthening process took quite a while.
‘Because it drank so much blood?’
Makes sense.
Absorbing half the blood from forty dragon corpses meant the equivalent of twenty dragonkin's worth.
No wonder it took time.
“It'll take about ten hours. Want to wait inside? Or…”
“No need. We've seen the gist. That should do.”
The three elders nodded at the Sword Sage's words.
They'd seen the wonder.
No need to wait ten hours for the results out of curiosity.
Dragon blood would strengthen them on its own. As long as it helped Kim Minwoo, the process didn't matter.
Mission accomplished.
“Then we'll head out.”
“Rest a bit before…”
“No. Constant training is how you avoid falling behind.”
“Big Brother's right. To give you even scraps of help like this, we need to train hard too.”
The Divine Spear echoed the Sword Sage.
They burned with zeal for training.
“Won't be bored at least. That Isabella girl has some real fight in her. Perfect sparring partner.”
The Fist King snorted, his muscles twitching eagerly.
“Did she stay at Sword Sea Pavilion?”
“Saw her on the way out today. Doesn't seem like she's leaving anytime soon. You can tell just by looking. Eyes glued like fixtures. Fixtures.”
“Keep it secret for now, please.”
“Hm? Wasn't planning to tell anyway. Someone's good is good, and secrets are secrets. Right, brothers?”
“Exactly. We separate personal and official. Just basic training. That's reward enough for sticking around.”
The Poison Demon answered sharply.
Reliable elders.
With that, the four left.
Ten hours later.
[Strengthening complete!]
The prison door opened with the message. Merhen emerged with a dazed expression.
[Merhen's body now contains Dragon Blood!]
[Dragon Heart created!]
[Dragon Power Stage 1 unlocked!]
['Rampage' function unlocked!]
Such messages for Merhen.
And for Cedric.
[Cedric's body now contains Dragon Blood!]
[Blood Dragon Heart created.]
[Dragon Power Stage 1 unlocked!]
[Dragon Knight!]
[Additional corrections applied!]
['Avatar' function activated.]
['Master of the Dragon Knight' title effects additionally unlocked!]
Even more messages popped up. He'd half-expected a bonus for the Dragon Knight bit.
‘Grand slam?’
He looked at his two summons.
Merhen first.
“Anything change?”
—First, this!
[Merhen uses Dragon Power Stage 1: Dragonling Wings.]
Flap!
Cute wings sprouted from Merhen's back, identical to a dragon's.
“You can fly?”
—Yeah. Think so. Hold on.
Flutter flutter!
The small wings flapped, and Merhen took to the sky.
“Whoa, fast.”
—Yeah. Wind magic makes it even faster. Like this.
Swoosh!
Merhen zipped through the air with wind at blinding speed.
Kim Minwoo's eyes lit up.
‘Nice.’
A mage's weakness.
Mobility first.
Merhen's wasn't great either. She just teleported with magic.
But with those wings?
‘Mobility doubled at least.’
Huge survivability boost.
Merhen's changes didn't end there.
—Minwoo, this too!
[Merhen uses Dragon Power Stage 1: Dragonling Hide.]
Her skin soon turned to dragon-scale hide.
“I'll test it. Gotta check the toughness.”
—Yeah. It's super tough. Won't even pierce with your sword?
As Merhen said, the durability was impressive. Even full-power strikes.
Clang!
It blocked with sparks flying.
‘Takes a few stacked hits to break through.’
And this without defensive magic layered on. Mix in spells, and it'd be insane. Finally, Rampage…
[Rampage activated!]
[All magic power +30% for 10 minutes!]
[Magic can be stacked up to five times!]
A small dragon silhouette appeared over Merhen. The amplified damage was brutal.
[Merhen stacks Flame Fury (SS)!]
The fire energy gathering in her hand turned deep crimson.
Boom!
The training ground wall vanished without a trace.
“Whoa.”
Kim Minwoo was impressed.
Five stacks crammed full—the damage was beyond imagination.
Not just fivefold.
Nearly eight times the output. Downside was the longer cast time.
‘Jackpot?’
This was seriously good.
Even just for Merhen.
Cedric, as a Dragon Knight, got extra buffs.
First, the title.
[Master of the Dragon Knight]
[Become the master of Dragon Knight Cedric.]
[Effect 1: All skeleton summons' learning ability greatly increased.]
[Effect 2: Skeletons can reach Dragon Soldier rank.]
[Effect 3: Instills intense intimidation in dragon-related monsters.]
Effects 1-3 unchanged.
But Effect 4 unlocked a new function.
[Effect 4: Can craft Cedric's comrade, Divine Dragon Gleipnir.]
[Effect 5: Locked.]
‘Divine Dragon Gleipnir?’
The bone dragon from the first vault?
Details appeared upon closer inspection.
[Divine Dragon Gleipnir Crafting]
[Material List]
[1. Ancient Dragon corpse (10,000+ years)]
[2. Sor Salon's Flower]
[3. Abyss Lord's Bloodline]
[4. Vulcan's Blood 500L]
[5. Eastern Witch Society Thread x3]
[6. A Handful of Mimir's Sigh]
Familiar and unfamiliar materials mixed in.
“Cedric. Know anything about Sor Salon's Flower, Eastern Witch Society Thread, or Mimir's Sigh?”
—Gleipnir crafting unlocked?
“Yeah.”
—Better not try crafting yet. Every material's tied to some organization.
“Organizations?”
—Sor Salon's Flower to the Dragon Legion, Thread to the Eastern Witch Society, Mimir's Sigh to the Giant Gods.
He got the picture.
‘No point agonizing over it now.’
They'd come together in time.
He shrugged and looked at Cedric.
“So what'd you get?”
—This.
Right then.
Cedric's appearance changed.
[Dragon Aura Avatar!]
Bones fully red, body doubled in size.
Thicker bones, head now 100% synced with a dragon's form.
Flap!
Red bone wings burst from his back.
['Avatar' state.]
[Maintains for 30 minutes.]
[Strength, Agility, Stamina +50%.]
[Can use Dragon Blood Slash.]
Cedric flew freely with the wings.
Using Dragon Blood Slash unleashed a massive red crescent blade that cleaved straight ahead. Power brutal as well.
Not as strong as Merhen's five-stack, but with a much shorter cast time.
‘Top-notch.’
It was like both legion commanders had gained awakening modes.
Combat power boost?
Explosive.
And…
‘Half the dragon blood left.’
This could go to all the regular summons too.
Dolsae first, obviously.
Then the Dullahan, Specter, skeletons, etc.
More than enough summons to inject with Dragon Blood.