Chapter 258
Chapter 258
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 258
Chapter Title: Binasa's Egg
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Thump, thump.
My heart was pounding.
It was a bit embarrassing.
Lately, no matter how hard I trained, it barely raced, but now it was going wild over just a single box.
‘Calm down, heart.’
But I couldn’t help it.
It wasn’t S-Grade or even SS-Grade—it was an astounding SSS-Grade.
A precious reward I’d earned by snatching the ‘War God’ (SSS Grade) constellation with pure luck.
“Come on out, whatever you are.”
Right in front of my eyes.
I lightly tapped the box floating in midair, glowing brilliantly.
[Would you like to open the ‘SSS-Grade Random Box’?]
“Open it.”
It felt just like this:
I’d nailed five out of six lottery numbers for sure, guaranteeing second place.
But that last one was still up in the air.
‘If it’s going to hit, might as well make it something good……!’
First place beats second, doesn’t it!
Whirr!
The box’s wrapping began to unravel on its own.
Rainbow light—red, yellow, green, blue, and more—leaked out from the seams.
[Thump! Thump! Thump!]
[Opening the ‘SSS-Grade Random Box’!]
[Wishing our Hunter the best of luck!]
And then.
With a burst of light shooting into the sky.
The box fully opened.
* * *
“Hmm.”
Once the glow faded, I narrowed my eyes.
Shoooo……
Along with a faint swirling breeze, the dazzling lights dimmed and vanished.
“Hmm.”
I focused my squinted eyes with all my might.
Plop!
Something had dropped to the ground.
What was that?
[Congratulations!]
[You have acquired an SSS-Grade item!]
It had a mysterious, iridescent appearance.
A round object swirling with dark energy and pure white aura……
“……An egg?”
That’s right.
An egg, yet massive enough to reach my chest.
I wasn’t entirely sure it was an egg yet, but anyway.
“Whew.”
With a soft exhale, I cautiously approached and placed my hand on the object.
Then.
[Item: Egg of the Destruction Dragon ‘Binasa.’]
[Grade: SSS]
[Type: Egg]
[Description: An egg laid by the legendary Destruction Dragon.]
[Effect 1: Activates once infused with sufficient energy.]
[Effect 2: Upon activation, the dragonkin ‘Binasa’ is born.]
[Effect 3: Binasa recognizes the first being it sees after birth as its parent.]
“……Holy shit.”
A curse slipped out unbidden.
A dragon?
Dragonkin?
The dragons I’d seen in Eldrin and Demirne’s world?
The dragon hatchling from Delaila’s trial?
‘This is jackpot.’
I didn’t know what kind of dragon a Destruction Dragon was.
But no one knew better than me how mighty dragonkin were.
Back in the day.
The brutal clash between the Giant Dragon and Aranbalon still lingered in my memory as the most horrific and grueling battle I’d ever fought.
And now.
Such a dragon would recognize its first sight as its parent.
‘A bond with a dragon…….’
This.
If handled right, it could turn into a reward beyond SSS-Grade.
Well, I shouldn’t get ahead of myself when I didn’t even know what Binasa truly was yet.
‘Still.’
It thrilled me.
Think about it.
The countless skeletons following me, and the ten absolutes by my side.
Plus, a dragon to carry me into battle.
“Damn…….”
I couldn’t help but marvel.
Alone here, I could indulge in such fantasies.
“Hmm, alright then.”
So where should I put this egg?
I couldn’t just leave it be, either.
I had to activate it too.
Whoosh.
Carefully lifting the fairly heavy egg, I scanned my surroundings.
‘That spot looks good.’
Behind me, they were still clang-clang-clanging away, building the city.
I decided to move further ahead and place it at the peak of a new mountain.
This place was paradise anyway.
I owned it all, every inch of land.
No one would climb that mountain without my permission.
* * *
“What’s this?”
The old man muttered with a face full of curiosity.
“This…… is a dragon egg?”
The polymorphed Arin also prodded it cautiously.
“I’ve read about them in books. Creatures closest to constellations from the moment of birth…… Fully grown adults are said to rival constellations—or surpass them.”
And more.
“Fascinating, Master.”
“To think I’d see a dragon egg with my own eyes—truly moving, my liege.”
“Dragons must fight well, right, Master? Enough to smash apostles in one hit?”
Sun, Kaden, Dana, Mugak, and the others.
I showed the egg’s existence to my precious subordinates too.
The egg mounted at the center of the mountain peak.
“Hmm, says to infuse it with energy here. Shall I?”
Whirr!
Closing my eyes, I drew energy up from my dantian.
The Pure Azure Heart Method in action.
Rumble……!
A colossal surge that shook the mountain slowly coursed through my veins into my hands.
[Infusing energy.]
[Insufficient energy still.]
[Infusing energy.]
[Insufficient energy still.]
[Infusing energy.]
[Insufficient energy still.]
…….
“Hmm.”
Insufficient?
This thing’s a real glutton, huh?
Whirr! Whirrr!
Until my energy reserves ran dry.
I kept pouring it into the egg.
For one hour, two, three.
And still no end in sight.
Just in case, I had my subordinates try infusing their energy too.
But when they did, no system message about infusing appeared.
Looks like it had to be me after all……
“Ha, this thing eats a ton, doesn’t it?”
My energy was already depleted.
“The Destruction Dragon drained my energy!”
Like a river running dry, it sucked up my surging power until nothing remained.
“Hey, take it easy.”
The old man grinned.
“The more it eats, the better it’ll be. Means it’s that strong.”
“Whew, I was hoping for some rest. Fatigue’s already crashing in.”
How long had it been since drowsiness last hit me like this?
Especially after exhausting my energy, it felt even heavier.
“By the way, you. Have you ever properly rested?”
‘Rest?’
“Yeah, since we met. I’ve never seen you take a break.”
‘Rest…….’
True.
Since meeting the elder, I hadn’t taken a single day off from the dungeons.
Even on off days, I trained without fail.
The reason I reached hyper ranker.
Luck played a part, sure, but my own consistent training was undeniable.
As I’d said before, luck favors the prepared.
“Why not use this chance to rest a bit?”
‘Rest?’
“Yeah, no training, nothing. Just rest. For a full month. Not completely idle—you’ll still need to pour energy into that egg.”
‘Hmm.’
Rest.
Truth be told, I wanted to.
Especially fighting the War God—I’d thought hundreds of times about just crashing in bed, brain off.
‘But.’
Something felt off.
I’d just hit ranking 10.
An incredible feat, but nine still stood ahead.
To surpass them, I needed more effort, more training.
Not the time to slack.
And that’s not all.
To unlock my new carrier dungeon, I needed SS-Grade.
That was the activation condition.
I was still S-Grade.
No clue how to reach SS.
Hell, did any hunter even hit SS yet?
I didn’t know that much.
“You fool!”
Boom!
That’s when the old man barked.
“What’s with all the overthinking! When your master tells you to do something, just say ‘Yes, sir!’ and do it!”
‘I-is that so?’
“If you get stronger from nonstop training, who’s happiest? Me! But why do you think I’m telling you to rest?”
‘Why……?’
“Obviously, because it’ll help you more!”
The old man looked at me with a serious expression.
“You’ve hit your absolute limit. Mind and body. Sure, someone remade you, but your soul’s just that of an ordinary human.”
‘Ordinary human…….’
“All life needs rest. Push without it, and you’ll break down or die. Haven’t I drilled that into you?”
‘…….’
Was that it?
Yeah.
Not just lifeforms—machines too.
Overheat without cooldown, performance drops, breakdowns increase, total failure.
“And.”
The old man added.
“How many times in your life do you think you’ll ever fully drain every drop of your energy?”
‘Hmm.’
Fully drain it all.
That’d be.
Against an enemy so tough I’d have to throw everything just to barely win?
Anything stronger, and I’d die even after emptying the tank.
“Right, it’s rare.”
Reading my thoughts, the old man nodded.
“Using up every bit of energy you can muster—that’s the cycle. Like flushing dead blood and filling with fresh to cleanse your insides. Energy’s the same.”
‘…….’
“The more you drain and replenish, the greater the gains than your usual daily Pure Azure Heart Method cycle.”
‘……Then.’
“Yeah, that egg.”
The old man glanced at it.
“That egg’ll do the job perfectly.”
I stared blankly at the egg.
So this was.
A fateful encounter?
* * *
Following the old man’s advice, I headed to my temporary quarters.
A building Demir had hastily completed.
It had plenty of space for me.
Flop!
Freshly bathed and in comfy clothes, I slumped onto the bed.
A top-grade mattress with a soft, plush feel.
A pillow so fluffy it’d melt your flesh just touching it.
Slide.
I slipped my hand under the pillow, savoring the texture.
The fabric hugged my hand so gently, soothing my mind and tingling every cell.
Especially post-bath, the drowsiness amplified.
But something.
This coziness felt foreign.
Foreign?
“Haha.”
I laughed.
I’d made bank.
Hyper ranker.
A position anyone would envy.
What about my group, Star Heaven Pavilion?
It boasted sales rivaling top multinational corps.
Not just sales—social status on par with heads of state.
No, beyond that.
With about 204 nations worldwide, I was one in ten at the top.
‘Yet.’
This life felt alien.
Ridiculous, right?
Plus.
What do I even do to rest?
Truth was, I’d never rested.
From age ten, losing Dad, to now.
Nonstop survival.
As a kid, I did every dirty job to eat.
Adult? Mercenary work via skeletons, day and night.
Even for pay cheaper than day labor.
‘Maybe I’ll find some fateful encounter.’
Looking back, I was dungeon-addicted too.
Few could dungeon-dive for 40,000 won a day.
And now they tell me.
To rest.
Do nothing.
That felt harder.
“Elder.”
So I sought advice.
“W-what should I do to rest?”
“…….”
The old man floating in midair looked at me pitifully.