Chapter 267
Chapter 267
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 267
Chapter Title: Destruction Dragon Vinasa
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“Kra ha ha ha! How about it, Master! Do you like it?”
The short, stout dwarf Demir laughed heartily, his hammer slung over his shoulder.
Behind him stood Eldrin, Arin, and Kim Jin-ah.
“It’s a design made with you in mind, Master! Ha ha, when you think of Master, you think of dragons, and when you think of dragons, you think of Master, right?!”
“The final moments of that Giant Dragon, our enemy for five hundred years, are still vividly etched in my heart, Master.”
Demir and Eldrin.
And their mortal enemy, the Giant Dragon Drugen.
“Impressive.”
With my hands clasped behind my back, I took in the splendor of the Dre-El workshop and let out a genuine sigh of admiration.
‘I know because I’ve wielded the hammer myself.’
How difficult that sculpture was.
How intricate that design.
The more you know, the more感動 you feel, as the saying goes.
Of course, a design with such an insane presence would move anyone, but what I felt was on another level.
“This is… a magnificent piece of work, Demir.”
I murmured, my face filled with emotion.
“Even the tiniest scale that no one will ever see is crafted with such care and effort… Ah, I can feel the breath of the artisan.”
Above all.
The fact that they thought of me while creating it was an even greater point of感動.
The idea that this work of art was ‘mine’ made my heart pound.
If you were to put a price on something like that, it’d be priceless, wouldn’t it?
“Ha ha, I mixed in a bit of thousand-year steel, adamantium, and orichalcum. The golden hue of the superalloy makes the dragon’s form even more vivid.”
“Kuuh.”
“And look over there.”
Demir pointed his hammer toward the portal.
Between the two dragons stood an exquisitely placed altar.
Like cold and aloof moonlight.
It was an altar of crystalline, transparent brilliance.
“Do you remember? That altar we used to bind Drugen long ago?”
“……I remember.”
The altar they had constructed by perfectly blending Demir’s alchemy and Eldrin’s ritual magic.
They had sacrificed their lives there to impose a seal of destruction upon the dragon.
“We solved the security issue you requested with ritual magic. The public will love the buffs they get from viewing this piece, but in truth, Eldrin’s ritual is based on causality.”
Causality.
The law of the universe that every power comes with a corresponding price.
“The more visitors gaze upon this work and draw power from it, the more causality accumulates.”
“Ah.”
An exclamation escaped my lips.
So.
The more guests that come, the stronger the power protecting the altar becomes?
Whoever came up with that was brilliant.
This was practically twisting causality itself.
“Is that even possible?”
When I asked,
“It’s difficult and complicated, but yes, it is. I poured every bit of know-how I’ve accumulated in my life into it.”
Eldrin smiled brightly as she replied.
“We incorporated countless other rituals as well. Basic stuff like existing alarms and temperature control for cooling, and we even asked Eloise Arin to add spatial magic.”
“……Spatial magic?”
“The interior of that building is far larger than it appears from the outside.”
“Ah.”
Arin, smiling bashfully beside her, looked especially cute.
For reference.
During my break, all my summons were released into a paradise like Demir and Eldrin’s, left to train autonomously until their energy was spent.
They were sentient beings, after all.
No need to make them rest just because I was.
“Everyone.”
Gazing at the fantastical artistic spectacle, I murmured.
A sight impossible to tear one’s eyes from!
“You’ve all worked hard. Sincerely.”
“Ha ha, Master! What hard work? There was none!”
Demir placed both hands on his hips and twisted his waist in laughter.
“To be honest! I’ve been so happy lately! Sorry to my old rock clan brethren, but life after death has more vitality than when I was alive!”
“Life after death.”
The phrasing felt odd.
But if he was happy, that was good.
“Ha ha, now we just need to finish the city.”
Swish!
Demir slung his staff back over his shoulder, which he had briefly set down.
“Just wait a little longer. With this place done, I can now focus entirely on building the city.”
Today.
Demir looked more reliable than anyone.
* * *
The next day.
“Yawn.”
Ignoring the soft embrace of the bed as best I could, I stretched.
“……Today too.”
The same routine day after day.
Wake up, wash, go hiking.
Pour all my energy into the egg, then come back down.
Then, endless rest.
Since I’ve drained all my energy, there’s no strength left for anything else.
Just rest.
‘The problem is.’
I’m starting to get hooked.
Isn’t that how people are?
When working, you endlessly crave rest.
But after a certain period of rest, the urge to work returns.
That was exactly my state now.
‘I want to train. I want to train. I want to train. I want to get stronger, I want to get stronger.’
It had already been 100 days of rest.
My whole body itched.
Not muscle soreness, but an itch from idleness.
“Whew.”
But I can’t train.
The old man had been firm about it.
‘It’s a promise.’
I trusted the elder.
As the old man said, if me getting stronger resolves the ‘grudge,’ then there must be a reason he’s making me rest.
In fact.
I could feel changes happening bit by bit.
‘The energy feels purer somehow.’
Qi is the root of all things in heaven and earth.
The origin of sky and land, life and elements—everything in the universe.
I draw it in and expel it through my mouth and nose via the Supreme Clarity heart method.
Filling my vessel with the natural qi, excluding innate essence.
Thus.
I can’t take it in purely as it is from nature.
Meridians.
The pathways through which qi flows in the body inevitably accumulate impurities.
‘But.’
I felt those impurities decreasing in concentration.
Not the murky feel unique to ‘energy,’ but a refreshing, pure accumulation.
My senses told me.
Even with the same 100 units of qi for Poison Flash.
My current Poison Flash would be far stronger than before.
- Rest is training too.
I was starting to understand why the old man said that.
Anyway.
To safely rest through another day, I prepared.
Brushed my teeth, washed my face, changed clothes.
Clang! Clang!
As I stepped out onto the roof to the cheerful sound of dwarven hammers from morning,
Whoosh!
Warm sunlight and cool breeze caressed my cheeks.
And.
Sss! Pababat!
I ascended the mountain with flashy steps, treading shadows.
Absolutely not training.
Just the unavoidable process of hiking to feed the egg.
How much time passed like that.
At the mountain peak, a massive egg came into view.
[Item: Egg of the Destruction Dragon ‘Vinasa.’]
[Grade: SSS]
[Type: Egg]
Oh, how beautiful.
Dark sheen and white light blend perfectly, flowing together.
Twisting, mixing, distorting, transforming.
A thrilling radiance.
Chaos in dance!
“That’s that.”
How long are you going to keep gorging?
You’re a real food thief—no, energy thief.
No matter how much I feed you, it still won’t activate.
[Description: An egg laid by the legendary Destruction Dragon.]
[Effect 1: Activates when it has absorbed a sufficient amount of energy.]
[Effect 2: Upon activation, the dragonkin ‘Vinasa’ is born.]
[Effect 3: Vinasa recognizes the first being it sees after birth as its parent.]
For it to hatch, it needs to activate.
And every time I infuse energy,
[Energy is absorbed.]
[Energy is still insufficient.]
Such status windows appear.
But now, I could feel it.
My intuition told me.
It’s almost full; it’ll awaken soon.
The wriggling life force inside the egg stirred my heart.
Whoosh!
At my gesture, thud thud! Something materialized in the air.
“Professor!”
It was Eloise Arin.
Arin, who first appeared as bones, quickly took her usual form.
A frail girl with pale skin.
“Hehe, as you instructed, Professor, I rummaged through the library?”
Plop!
Arin landed on the ground and opened her sparkling eyes.
In truth, I had ordered her to learn more about the ‘Destruction Dragon.’
As a follower of Ancient Magic, her ‘rummaging through the library’ meant something simple.
Asking the [Ancient Magic] (SSS Grade).
Of course, that immense entity doesn’t appear personally to teach.
It just naturally flows the relevant library information to her.
How that’s possible is a mystery, but.
- Professor. Humans can never contain the universe. No way to understand it, no need to. Like ants unable to comprehend dragonkin.
According to Arin, it’s just possible.
As natural as humans living, breathing, thinking, growing.
“So, did you find anything?”
“Yes.”
Arin grinned and nodded.
“The Destruction Dragon is one of the top predators among dragonkin. Born with constellation-level power, it can grow limitlessly as it matures, with no ceiling. Truly like a freak of the universe?”
“……Is that so? Incredible.”
I was impressed.
The name suggested greatness, but the strongest of dragonkin?
And it would follow me?
My shoulders couldn’t help but lift proudly.
“But it has drawbacks too.”
“Drawbacks?”
“Raising it is hard. First, the experience required for growth is insanely high. Second, it’s so dangerous that surrounding constellations and dragonkin won’t leave it alone.”
“…….”
“If you fail to tame or it goes berserk, the world could be in danger.”
Hmm.
Good or bad?
Hard to judge.
Taming a powerful beast is great, but if you can’t control it?
If I can’t handle it?
That’d be worse than not taming it.
‘The dragonkin I’ve seen…’
Two in total.
Giant Dragon Drugen and Greed Dragon Aranbalon.
Both were overflowing with greed, itching to destroy lifeforms.
‘Then.’
Destruction Dragon, Vinasa.
What about you?
Step, step.
I slowly approached the egg and placed both hands on it.
‘Either way.’
Since you’ve absorbed my energy, you’ll hatch soon.
No stopping it now.
Bury or destroy my precious SSS Grade existence over some potential danger?
What would that be different from abandoning my own child?
‘You.’
I vowed inwardly.
‘I’ll raise you to be good and proper, no matter what.’
Wuuuung!
Vast qi boiling from within my body began flowing gently toward the egg.
Soon.
That momentum swelled uncontrollably, pouring out like a waterfall.
The egg devoured my qi at an astonishing speed, as if starved.
‘This is different from before.’
I poured in more power in surprise.
The suction was on another level from the previous 99 days.
As if, to ignite life.
To leap to those lofty heights, it was stockpiling one final burst of power?
And.
[Energy is absorbed.]
[Sufficient energy reached.]
[Activation begins.]
Kugugugu……
The Destruction Dragon’s egg reacted for the first time.
Crack! Craaaack!
From within, splitting sounds reverberated powerfully through the air.