Chapter 268
Chapter 268
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 268
Chapter Title: Adorable Dragon
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Crack!
I learned something new today.
That the sound of an egg cracking could be so ecstatic and beautiful.
'Finally.'
Was this the fruit of all the energy I'd poured into it endlessly?
It was a fresh feeling of emotion.
The life breathing inside there was born from my own energy.
It wasn't quite maternal love, but something special was sprouting in my chest.
Crack crack!
"Urgh."
Fatigue rushed in because the egg was rapidly sucking up my energy.
The kind of feeling where if I closed my eyes, I'd just pass out into deep sleep?
Crack!
Still, I kept my eyes wide open, watching the hatching process.
Soon enough.
Craaack!
The mysteriously shaped egg split into two pieces.
And inside was a black creature with wings.
"Ahh."
I let out a soft exclamation at the dragon's long-awaited appearance.
The Destruction Dragon, apex predator among dragonkind.
Flutter!
Vinasa, roughly the size of four burly men, shot into the air and spread its wings.
- Kieek! Kieeeek!
Whoosh! Whoooosh!
The freshly hatched creature flapped its wings with apparent difficulty and roared with its mouth wide open.
The emotion it stirred in me was.
'Beautiful.'
Until now, seeing massive dragons had evoked feelings like [terrifying], [awesome], [majestic], and so on.
But Vinasa was different.
Smooth hide, sharp claws, refined eyes.
If other dragons were dressed in regular clothes, Vinasa felt decked out head to toe in luxury brands.
It was smaller than the others too.
Its presence was faint, but it felt inherently different from birth!
"Th-this is... unbelievable..."
Arin murmured next to me, her hands clasped tightly together.
"The process of a dragon's birth! It's so beautiful!"
She was deeply moved.
There are no dragons in the world of magic.
Dragons, a great race equal in stature to the constellations despite hatching from eggs.
Having witnessed with her own eyes a being she'd only read about in archives—what an honor.
"Ahh, look at that glistening, radiant sheen. Is that hide or a gem...?!'
Arin stared at the baby dragon in a trance.
- Krarararara!
As the dragonkin Vinasa roared vigorously toward the sky.
Soon after.
It gazed at the being whose energy it had dwelled in for 100 days—the one most similar to it, me.
Thump, thump.
The moment my heart faintly raced under its gaze.
[The Destruction Dragon Vinasa gazes at you!]
[The Destruction Dragon Vinasa recognizes you as its parent!]
- Kiiak! Kiiiak!
Thud!
It landed on the ground and approached me, nuzzling its head against me.
"Uh, uh?"
It sniffed my nose, rubbed its head on my abdomen.
Like a chick reuniting with its mother.
But isn't this a dragon?
Why's it chirping like a bird?
"Yeah, yeah. Good boy."
The creature wagged its tail and purred.
It was so cute that I stroked its head vigorously with both hands.
- Grurrrrrr!
As if responding to my actions, it snorted roughly.
Exhaling pleasant grooming vibes.
Arin, who had been watching in a daze.
"C-cute...!"
Unable to withstand its ferocious cuteness, she toppled backward.
* * *
Destruction Dragon?
Something felt off.
Attaching such a fearsome label to this adorable creature.
Maybe the system misjudged this time?
[Taming Destruction Dragon Vinasa.]
[Caution!]
[The Destruction Dragon is an utterly ruthless being capable of exerting massive influence on the world.]
[You can check the Destruction Dragon Vinasa's information.]
- Grrr! Grrr!
Atop a mountain peak in Peach Blossom Paradise.
I stroked the creature coiled under a towering tree, purring away, and checked its status window.
[Name: Vinasa]
[Energy: 9,999/9,999]
[Unique Ability: Power of the Destruction Dragon]
[Race: Dragonkin]
[Grade: SSS]
[Growth Stage: Hatchling]
[Strength: ??] [Agility: ??] [Vitality: ??] [Mana: ??] [Technique: ??]
[Possessed Skills]
-'Hatchling's Body' (Lv.Max)
-'Dragon Fear' (Lv.Max)
-'Nuclear Breath' (Lv.Max)
-'Hatchling Tongue' (Lv.Max)
"Whoa."
A gasp escaped me.
Its energy alone was insane.
'9,999?'
I'd barely hit 4,220 thanks to god-slaying grade item buffs.
This dragon surpassed double that right from birth.
And that wasn't all?
Its grade was SSS from the start.
Arin's words were spot on: born with constellation-level power.
However.
"Hatchling?"
What was a hatchling?
Given the growth stage label, it seemed like the beginner "initial" phase.
Its skills were all hatchling-themed too.
Hatchling's Body, Hatchling Tongue.
- Kiaaak!
Did it sense my curiosity?
It lifted its head and let out a scratching cry.
At the same time.
"Ah."
I understood.
Information naturally flowed into my mind.
It had sent its will to resolve my curiosity.
- Dragons have three growth stages. First is hatchling, second is adult dragon, third is ancient dragon. Other dragons grow with time, but the Destruction Dragon is different. As a dragon made for destruction, it grows faster the more it destroys. Meaning, if conditions are met, it could become an ancient dragon right now.
"Impressive."
It felt just like a game.
Level up by accumulating experience, but here by accumulating "acts of destruction."
Of course, the amount of destruction required was probably beyond imagination.
'Anyway.'
I'd scored an utterly broken SSS-grade dragon.
Before seeing Vinasa.
I'd briefly considered using my skill.
[Skill: Bone Dragon Skeleton]
[Grade: S]
[Effect 1: Skill obtainable only by 'Cursed Necromancer.']
[Effect 2: Absorb dragon bones using 100 energy.]
[Effect 3: Replaces bones of all summonable skeletons with absorbed dragon bones.]
[Effect 4: Determines skeletal density of relevant skeletons based on dragon's size, quantity, and summonable skeleton count.]
But nah.
'Bullshit.'
My current thought was singular.
Like wanting to test-drive a luxury sports car right after buying it.
I wanted to see just how strong Vinasa was.
'I've rested plenty now, right?'
I sprang to my feet and stretched my stiff body.
[Hunter: Joo Dong-hoon]
[Title: Skeleton Emperor]
[Energy: 0/4,220]
My energy was completely depleted.
'But I can't hold back.'
The dragon's energy was 9,999 anyway.
That was it.
I planned to hit up a dungeon right away.
A fairly high-level one at that.
* * *
At that moment.
In Belize, a small federation nation in southeastern Mexico.
Rumble rumble...!
The ground began to shake with vibrations.
"Huh?"
"W-what is it!"
"Earthquake?!"
Belize residents in buildings rushed outside.
The shaking was so intense that runners tripped.
Screeech! Boom!
A speeding car crashed into a building wall.
At least Mercalli Intensity (MMI) VII or higher.
Urgent reports flooded Prime Minister Johnny Briceño of Belize.
- Big trouble!
- It's an earthquake, but not a normal one!
"What do you mean by that."
Johnny, sheltering in an evacuation center, furrowed his brow and demanded explanation.
"Not like it's our first or second quake. Does 'not normal' mean something else?"
- Yes!
- Earthquakes usually come from mantle collisions, i.e., tectonic shifts, right? So epicenters are mostly near oceans. But this one's location is suspicious!
Not every prime minister is a geology expert.
Still, he grasped the gravity of the report.
"Explain in more detail!"
- It's...! The epicenter is right over the Yucatán Peninsula! And the magnitude is intensifying. Like... some creature wriggling around! I'll explain in person! So please, Prime Minister, request urgent aid from the Commonwealth...!
Rumble rumble rumble!
The worsening vibrations cut off the call.
"Damn it."
The prime minister ground his teeth.
What the hell was this all of a sudden?
His hands moved busily, eyes wide.
* * *
Meanwhile.
"Lalala."
Wearing a mask.
I hummed softly inside as I entered an S-rank dungeon.
'Wanted to come alone.'
Association-verified S-rank dungeons can't be entered freely.
Fairness requires bidding processes for guilds, plus other complicated procedures.
Of course, Star Heaven Pavilion could legitimately claim an S-rank dungeon too.
But its rankers were already scattered, so I couldn't find one to go immediately.
'However.'
Kim Jin-ah had sweet-talked the Association President into getting me this one.
[Entering dungeon.]
[Chat window - Receiver from 'Demir Workshop' blocked.]
[Chat window - Receiver from 'Dragon Slayer Alumni' blocked.]
Thanks to her, I could slip into a guild incognito, hiding my golden plaque and identity.
She'd persuaded the president to slot me in as an Association hunter.
- There's a guild cracking their first S-rank dungeon, so the prez said take good care of safety.
- Gotta gain experience, so don't go sweeping it solo.
- Oh, and I told their leader, so no need to reveal your identity.
- Considering our guild master's aversion to prying eyes. Hehe.
Kim Jin-ah's words as she guided me here.
'Right.'
Just testing the dragon anyway.
No one would know who I was for now.
Didn't want to steal rewards from someone else's bid either.
Nor deal with hunters shrinking away because I'm a hyper ranker.
All I wanted to check was the Destruction Dragon's power against live combat monsters.
Better as an unknown hunter.
I'd just test it stealthily when the time came.
"Alright, everyone, snap to it! First S-rank dungeon! As precious an opportunity as it is, the risks are huge!"
Clap clap!
The apparent leader clapped.
An S-rank hunter from mid-tier guild 「Sea」.
Seven other S-rank hunters eyed him tensely.
* * *
Continuous quakes prompted emergency committees in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and other neighbors of Belize.
Guatemala and Belize had territorial disputes, but.
- This isn't the time for that!
- If these quakes keep up, all Caribbean nations are doomed!
- Situation's dire—join hands!
The neighboring leaders gathered amid shouts.
A marine expert hurriedly briefed in the conference room.
- Scans near the epicenter confirm a massive lifeform!
- Can't identify yet, but definitely a dungeon-dwelling monster!
- Most experts speculate a dungeon break beneath the surface!
Kaiju emergence.
Threat to Caribbean nations.
"Damn it all."
The heads of state groaned.
"How could this happen again...!"
"Indeed. It's been less than half a year since the Hungary kaiju incident...!"
"What do we do!"
The Hungary kaiju.
The nuke fired atop it.
Barely half a year since a nation nearly fell, and now a similar crisis.
Rumble rumble...!
The quakes didn't stop.
They intensified over time.
From magnitude 7 to 8, ultimately reaching MMI IX, major earthquake level.
- We can't let this continue!
- Could hit X, even XI or XII! That'd bring global catastrophe!
- Joo Dong-hoon! Call Skeleton Emperor Joo Dong-hoon! He's a hero! High chance he'll help again!
Not just neighbors—world governments flipped out.
Some experts warned the entire planet could face disaster if it worsened.
Moreover.
Testimonies from dispatched S-rank hunters made it graver.
- This is an S-rank hunter from the Hungary op... The energy now is way stronger than that black kaiju back then!
- Legs went weak just approaching...! D-desperate! Maybe the end of the world...!
- Mobilize all rankers, world rankers! Even hyper rankers!
The World Hunter Association had no choice but to step in.
"All national association presidents and rankers, gather in the US."
World Hunter Association head and high ranker.
Ranking 20th, Moon Goddess Ira.
She issued the order to rankers worldwide.
"A planet-wide natural disaster. From now on, all national rankers under the Association follow World Hunter Association command."