Chapter 322
Chapter 322
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 322
Chapter Title: Roughly Got It
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A certain rugged mountain in Murung Do-won.
At the summit.
Craaack...!
A sound echoed, like an ostrich egg cracking.
"Huh?!"
A man dressed in rags jolted awake at the noise.
He wiped the drool from his mouth.
An improvised campsite.
Camping gear strewn across the ground.
And in the center, a deep artificial smoking pit filled with countless cigarette butts.
The identity of the man who seemed to have endured quite a long time here was none other than...
World ranking 67th.
Dragon Knight Matt Gerald.
'What was that sound just now?'
He furrowed his brow.
He had definitely heard it.
Craaack! The sound of an egg breaking.
'Ah.'
A shiver ran through him in that instant.
If it was the sound of an egg cracking here, there was only one possibility, right?
The moment he had waited and waited for!
Could it be!? Finally!? At long last!
Was the dragon hatching?
But.
Slap!
Gerald immediately slapped his own cheek.
"Argh, you idiot."
Slap!
Not satisfied, he slapped it again.
"You stupid idiot, get a grip! Haven't you learned after all this time? It's just another damn dream, a damn dream."
About a year ago.
After receiving the dragon egg from the Destruction Dragon Vinasa, Gerald had incubated it without missing a single day.
He poured his energy into it meticulously every time.
Worried someone might steal it, he never strayed far from it.
He even bought expensive subspatial bags to stockpile nearly three years' worth of food, living alongside the egg.
Some might ask.
The egg.
Why not just take it home and incubate it there?
'Absolutely not.'
This mountain was the former home of the Destruction Dragon, revered as the dragon among dragons.
A true holy site for dragonkind.
The precious creature he would tame needed to hatch safely in the most sacred place possible.
Moreover.
- Grrrrowl...
A massive drake was growling atop the egg.
To keep it warm.
He had layered the egg inside the embrace of the drake he had tamed himself.
Considering the beast's size, didn't that mean he had no choice but to live outdoors?
But.
That led to dreams every time.
Dreams of the egg cracking and the cute, adorable, precious 'hatchling' bursting out.
No exaggeration, it felt like he had those dreams every other day.
"Sighhh."
A deep sigh escaped from the depths of his chest.
'Dragons live for long ages.'
The hatchling that would be born here.
Even a lifetime wouldn't be enough to see it grow into an adult dragon.
At least not with a human lifespan.
So, the hatching period was probably long too, right?
He might incubate it his whole life and it still wouldn't emerge.
'But.'
He had once dreamed of being a paleontologist. He had grit.
Ranker status? Raw power? Making money?
Nothing was more precious than witnessing this dragon's birth and growth.
Of course.
He might not see it in this lifetime.
'Dreams are like that, aren't they?'
If they were easy to achieve, they wouldn't be dreams.
He would have accomplished it long ago.
It was precisely because the process was so arduous that this pain held such value now.
"Whew."
Thick smoke billowed from the corner of his mouth.
Craaaack!
The same sound from before rang out again.
"Whe—cough, hack!"
The smoke caught in his throat, irritating his windpipe.
"Damn it! What the hell, again?"
This time it wasn't a dream?
He was wide awake this time?
And then.
Craaaack! Craaack! Crack! Craaack!
This time, it wasn't just once—it kept going, one after another.
"Huh?"
Wait a minute.
What was really happening?
Gerald scrambled up and rushed to the egg.
- Krrr?
The drake seemed flustered too, rising and backing away.
"Wh-what?"
Gerald stared blankly at the egg.
Fine cracks marred the once mystical, smooth surface.
Crack, craaack!
The cracks slowly spread, weaving together like tree roots in a complex pattern.
"I-is this real? Real?!"
Gerald muttered in disbelief.
[Item: Egg of the Land Dragon 'Bukiar']
[Grade: SS]
[Type: Egg]
[Description: An egg laid by an ancient Land Dragon.]
[Effect 1: Activates once it has absorbed sufficient energy.]
[Effect 2: Upon activation, the dragonkin 'Bukiar' is born.]
[Effect 3: 'Bukiar' can only be tamed with a 'Dragon Taming'-related skill.]
It was real.
Really real.
The offspring of that terrifying Land Dragon...
Was the hatchling finally being born?
Gulp.
The moment Gerald swallowed dryly.
Craaack, craaaaack!
The egg finally split completely in half.
At the same time, a brown head popped out perkily.
- Kyu?
[The hatchling 'Bukiar' (SS Grade) reveals itself.]
"Ah, aaaaaah!"
What was that adorable little creature!
The beauty of that tiny lifeform, infused with his own energy.
Infused with a full year of his devotion.
Gerald couldn't withstand it in his right mind.
"Aaah, uwaaaaaah!"
Mouth agape, emitting shrill squeals, Gerald finally...
Thud!
Toppled backward.
Overwhelmed by extreme excitement, he had fainted.
* * *
At that same time.
The Spirit Realm.
"Spirits, you say?"
Jea muttered, looking troubled.
"A contract with spirits..."
Sua was sweating bullets too.
Had they misheard what Sylphid just said?
To contract with spirits, one needed spirit affinity.
That rare gift was granted to only a tiny fraction in an entire world.
And yet, a spirit contract? How?
'How do I even explain this?'
Sua mumbled to herself.
She wanted to snap, [You're not capable enough, so you can't do it.], but that would just extend the beating she'd received earlier.
"Umm."
Truth be told, there wasn't really a specific method to contract with spirits.
It was all instinctual.
Those with spirit affinity would, at the right time, sense the spirits, call to them, and form contracts.
It was like a baby naturally learning to roll over and toddle—no one taught them the method.
"So... how do I put this..."
As Jea trailed off, the man chuckled softly.
"No need for words. Just show me. How you make the contract."
"Show you?"
Jea tilted her head.
Just by watching, he'd understand?
The sisters blinked in confusion.
* * *
In the domain of Yui-sa Stormtree.
Sylphid foresaw two possibilities.
1. Contracts with the Four Great Spirit Kings.
2. Revenge against the Earth Dragon.
Number 2.
If it was just killing the Earth Dragon, that was comparatively easy.
He could head to that central zone and clash head-on.
Win or lose, it would end there.
But.
If it was number 1?
That was a headache.
He would have to contract with the Four Great Spirit Kings himself.
In a state where all his skills were sealed.
He couldn't summon the dead Yui-sa to contract on his behalf, could he?
'To do that.'
He'd need to know how spirit contracts worked first.
'As for me.'
He was a master of all arts.
Having already mastered ten thousand techniques, he figured he could handle any art without issue.
Even if it was the spirit arts he'd never seen before.
"So, just show me how to contract with a spirit?"
Jea spoke up.
"But I'm already contracted with Sylphystin... Of course, I could try with other attributes. Though I've never succeeded."
Ah.
Sylphid had mentioned it.
Some spiritists were multi-attribute.
These sisters must have checked that first.
From the sound of it, they'd failed.
"Yes, good. Give it a try."
"Which spirit should I call? Salamander? Undine? Gnome?"
Jea settled into a spot on the path, muttering.
"Ah, calling a Gnome in the wind zone might be tough."
"Just call them all."
He just wanted to see the process anyway.
"Got it, one moment."
In the clearing.
"Hoo."
Jea let out a short breath, stood reverently, and gently closed her eyes.
Woooom!
At the same time, surging energy boiled up.
"Calling them all at once is tough, but... I'll focus and do my best."
I focused on that energy.
How it moved, how it formed.
Wooom!
I observed it through the Azure Purity Heart Method.
'Spirit arts or shamanism.'
In the end, all arts of the myriad things were the same.
Mystical patterns began forming around Jea.
Rumble!
Brown patterns appeared on the ground.
Fwoosh! Splash!
Red and blue patterns materialized in the air.
Whooosh!
Even the wind she was calling.
'Ah.'
I roughly got the feel of it.
Fire, water, earth, wind.
The method to call the four attributes' spirits was the same.
But overlaying a specific mental image atop that method determined the spirit type.
Fwoosh!
The first to appear was warm fire.
Red flames coiling around a cute little lizard.
[You encounter the lesser fire spirit 'Salamander.']
"...Hnnngh!"
Sweat beaded on Jea's forehead.
Was it hard to call if the attribute didn't match her main one?
Splaash!
Next came water.
A fairy with blue tresses.
It felt similar to a sylph, but far more mature.
"Hm? This is... the wind zone? Who called me? You?"
[You encounter the lesser water spirit 'Undine.']
Next.
Rumble, grumble!
A squat earth-dweller with coppery skin and a beard rising from the ground.
"What is this! This godforsaken place!"
[You encounter the lesser earth spirit 'Gnome.']
"Did you call me?"
"Hnnngh...!"
"You're not seriously trying to contract me with that weak power, are you? Ha, and it even reeks of that annoying wind?"
The three manifested spirits were far from friendly.
Salamander and Undine held no malice, but they weren't pleased either.
The Gnome outright yelled and vanished.
Scatter!
Flinging pebbles in irritation.
'Hmm.'
She had top-tier affinity, enough for high spirits, yet they reacted like that...
Affinity seemed attribute-specific too.
'That's why Yui-sa was so amazing.'
A spiritist on the verge of contracting with the Four Spirit Kings.
The absolute authority on spirits.
I felt once more the might of my past life's Bone King.
'And these two, Jea and Sua, aren't pushovers either.'
"Hah, haah!"
Finally, after dismissing the fire and water spirits, Jea collapsed spread-eagled.
Her heavy breathing showed that even summoning lesser spirits was no small feat.
"Huff, huff... I showed you as requested... So, is that enough?"
I nodded at her words.
"Yeah, I roughly get it now."
"...Pardon? You get it?"
Jea's eyes widened.
Sua beside her stared at me like I'd said something crazy.
"Roughly, yeah. Shall I give it a try?"
It seemed like casting a spell.
I moved to where Jea had stood and quietly closed my eyes.
Then.
I began slowly recreating the energy flow she had used.