Chapter 146: Dragon Blood Reinforcement
—Kwaaa.
My loyal Dolsae.
The freshly summoned guy tilted his head at the sight of the prison.
“Go on in.”
—Kwaa.
Dolsae nodded vigorously and stepped into the blood jade prison.
[An undead with the potential to accept dragon blood!]
[Estimated dragon blood consumption: 10%]
Remaining blood: 40%.
I'd summoned some Dullahan, Specter, and skeleton hordes.
‘All-in on one side isn't ideal.’
With my new gear, titles, and such mixed in, my mana was nearly 12,000.
If I only summoned Dulls, I could pull out close to 240.
But reinforcing only Dulls had issues. A summoner's max summons scaled with max mana.
Meaning if I called 240 Dulls, no room for skeletons or Specters.
But battles weren't just about Dulls, right?
Hail and Miley would feel neglected first.
So I split them evenly.
“Everyone, head in.”
50 Dulls.
100 Specters.
Skeletons and mages too.
All elite vets starting from number 1.
The undead horde amicably filed into the blood jade prison.
Numbers were high, but space wasn't an issue. The internal space expanded as undead entered.
[Dragon blood acceptance…]
Dulls passed.
Specters passed.
Even the skeleton horde passed the potential check.
‘Well, yeah.’
Were my skeletons ordinary?
Dragon child candidates (true), the first on Earth to taste job changes—top-tier skeletons.
They could handle dragon blood, no problem.
Mages too.
After hundreds of skeletons crowded inside, an estimate appeared.
[Estimated dragon blood consumption: 50%]
[Proceed with reinforcement?]
I could use all the dragon blood.
Unlike the legion commanders, the others didn't take long.
[Reinforcement complete!]
[Dragon blood infused into Dolsae's body!]
['Blood Burst' now available!]
[Dragon blood infused into Dullahan horde…]
['Dragon Blood Horse' now…]
[Dragon blood infused into Specter horde…]
['Phantasmal Form' greatly enhanced…]
[Dragon blood infused into skeleton horde…]
['Dragon Blood Tool' now available!]
Messages flooded in.
Most undead grew larger and tougher, Specters aside.
[* Blood Burst: Explode the dragon blood within. Damage is 3x max HP.]
Dolsae's new Blood Burst.
A sort of…
“Suicide bomber, huh?”
Damage: 3x Dolsae's HP.
Insane DPS at a glance.
“Dolsae. We gotta test it. You up for it?”
Test run essential.
Dolsae nodded steadfastly.
Soon, in the training yard corner, Dolsae hugged a steel dummy like a pro.
His body glowed crimson.
[Using Blood Burst!]
BOOOOM!
Massive explosion. Dummy vaporized.
Ground cracked like a crater, dug out over 20 meters.
“Whoa.”
Kim Minwoo clapped in awe.
Explosion in just over a second.
Short wind-up.
DPS rivaled Merhen's top spells.
Maybe matched a triple-stack.
Perfect.
Really perfect.
Let them tank, then boom if needed.
Tons of uses.
Especially vs. taunt-immune bosses.
Meat shields that double as nukes.
Strategic depth boosted big time.
I resummoned him.
My gaze softened like warm sunlight.
“Dolsae.”
—Kwaaa.
“You've been through a lot.”
—Kwaaa.
I patted his legs. He raised both arms and bellowed.
“Stick with me a bit longer. I'll make sure we shine. You trust your bro, right?”
—Guwaaa!
Trust and love for his master. The epitome of a sturdy, reliable golem.
Now the Dulls.
[* Dragon Blood Horse: Manifest dragon blood into a mount. Can ride it.]
“Got it?”
Nod!
The Dull squad reached out.
Red blood sprayed from their hands, coalescing.
—Hiiiing!
Nearly 3-meter crimson horses spawned.
Dulls mounted up.
Now a cavalry unit, they pulled stunts on horseback. Horse and rider breathed in perfect sync, thanks to the blood bond.
‘Juniors gonna cry.’
Cavalry topped for a reason.
Combined power was unreal.
Especially Dulls with Dragon Blood Horses.
From 1 to 50.
Senior Dulls' power leaped worlds apart.
Specters' base Phantasmal Form got a huge buff.
Permanent 30% phys damage reduction.
Now?
[* Phantasmal Form Enhanced: 50% phys damage reduction.]
Far hazier Specters.
Ghostly looks leaned creepy.
But pet their heads?
—Swaaa…
They rubbed affectionately. Pretty cute.
Finally, the skeleton backbone.
[* Dragon Blood Tool: Generate tools fitting the user's class.]
Tool creation skill unlocked.
“Miley, summon a tool.”
Clack!
A jewel orb appeared by Miley's hand. Staff in one, orb in the other.
“Magic.”
['Miley' uses Wind Blade (E)!]
Shuuu!
Sharper wind spell gouged the ground.
“Nice. Who'd you learn from?”
Then.
Miley frantically scratched three letters on the ground.
<Merhen>
When'd he learn Korean?
Skeleton learning was god-tier.
—I taught him everything. You know, Minwoo.
“Yeah. Merhen's hard work is all known.”
Magic legion commander Merhen.
Summon him home: eats, rolls on the couch fiddling with his smartphone, trains skeleton mages.
Cedric was similar. Just swapped phone for TV.
Melee summons training on the side.
—Still far to go. Horrifying. Can't believe I taught them.
T_T.
Miley's blazing eye sockets formed a mystic emoticon.
“… You taught that too?”
—Yeah. Can't talk in class, frustrating. Taught KakaoTalk emoticons like with you, Minwoo.
“That works?”
“Yeah. Cram it in, they get it.”
Emoticon-teaching summon.
Heart swells with pride.
Never thought to give phones to commanders at first.
Chairman somehow activated ones under Merhen and Cedric's names, handed them over.
Their routine…
‘Filmed them on phones, posted to Ilsung SNS.’
Summon phone addicts.
Merhen's touch recognition was fine, but Cedric's bony fingers worked weirdly well too.
‘Custom Ilsung mods, probably.’
Ilsung phone sales exploded again.
Anyway.
Merhen was adapting to modern life, summoned often at home.
Half-intentional. Commanders deserved perks.
Enjoy modern stuff, open comms.
They eat now, so meals together.
Loyalty maxed at 100, but bonds beat blind obedience.
Frequent summons for that. Family adapted ages ago. They ask if I skip.
Anyway.
Blood jade prison paid off big.
Endless oil well ahead.
Commanders got Dragon Power stage 1, right?
Stages 2 and 3 coming.
‘Not chugging endless blood.’
50% cap proves it.
Stronger dragon blood for upgrades, probably. The corpses from Sword Sage and crew were high-level, sure.
‘Weak vs. real heavies.’
Like Cedric's old 10,000-year ancient dragon shell.
‘But those don't spawn in gates.’
If they did, gate boom, Earth gone.
Hunt some later.
‘Anyway…’
Reinforce the rest.
No need for dragon blood only.
‘Tough to farm anyway.’
High monsters work fine.
“Gotta hit gates soon.”
Power-up nearing end.
* * *
Post-prelims.
Sowed tons of seeds.
Ties with China, US superpowers.
Slime battery dev.
Summon reinforcements.
Short but packed time.
Auction buys delivered to guild long ago.
Real-world tasks done.
Time to grind growth again.
“Gonna hit a gate.”
Dropped hints days ago, so family barely surprised.
Expected it.
“Yeah. Stay safe. Take care of the commanders too.”
Choi bowed politely.
Merhen grabbed her hand quick.
—Don't worry. I'll protect Minwoo.
—Master'd return intact even from hell.
She nodded trustingly.
“Have a good trip, Minwoo. Come back quick.”
“ASAP.”
Naye waved maturely.
No tears—grown up.
Chairman calm.
“Do your best. Ilsung'll handle our part.”
“I trust you, Dad.”
He entered the room, pulled an item from inventory.
[Mysterious Necklace]
[Grade:??]
[Evil machinations faded; heroic aura now dwells.]
[Effect 1. Catalyst for Continent Salvation (S+). Saves progress until then. (Min req: level 251+)]
[Effect 2. Two slots. Seems fittable.]
[Effect 3. Requires title 'Walker of the Hero's Path' to activate.]
‘Been a while.’
Urkan, orcs.
Dwarves, elves too.
Saves progress—no time flow.
Last: crushed Winter Shard at North Fortress, Hayangi ate the pieces.
‘S+ huh…’
No easy mode.
S+ gates spawn 500+ Lv. monsters baseline. Plus? Way higher.
Still.
‘Too OP now? Feels easy.’
Witch ice dragon?
No inferno anymore. Mild annoyance to kill?
Heaven aids the self-helpers, though.
Buffed to the max.
Inferno path still open.
“Gate with Dad.”
—Kku. Kku. Kku?
“Yeah. Gate. See orcs, elves, dwarves again. Hayangi likes?”
—Kku!
Prepped fully in reality.
No hesitation.
[Mysterious Necklace activated!]
[Entering saved progress!]
Scene flipped.
Warm sun. Relaxed orc horde sprawled out.
Exact post-Winter Shard North Fortress.
—Chwik! Big bro! You look badass sudden!
Urkan awed at my gear.
—But who's the lady, not Cedric?
“My friend.”
—Big bro's friend? Big sis?
—Just sis.
“Got it, sis!”
Urkan settled ranks with Merhen quick.
To him:
“Urkan.”
—Chwik! Big bro calling?
“Boring good, or thrilling good?”
—Chwik! Hate boring! Thrilling's best!
“Right? Same here.”
Orc-majority continent.
Urkan spoke for all orcs.
Natives approve.
Time to wreck.
[Drawing Fate Die!]
[Roll?]
Duh.
Roll roll!
Dice spun on my palm.
Then.
[Title 'Super Lucky Guy' activates!]
[Strange luck envelops you!]
Title proc.
Plop. Stop.
Lands on 1.
[Fate decided.]
['Greatest Adversity']
[Unknown power envelops the gate!]
Rumble…!
Ground shook.
—Chwik! Night sudden! Sky dark!
—Chwik! Ground quaking! Fun!
[Disaster arrives!]
[Gate difficulty skyrockets!]
“O, lucky.”
—Kku. Kku.
Hayangi flapped excitedly in agreement.