Horn (2)
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.
The sound of my heart pounding.
My mind felt strangely exhilarated, power surging through my entire body.
Kkyu-ung! Head itchi!
"Dania, looks like a horn's about to sprout on your head?"
Horn! Yeah. Lotsa horns gonna grow on Dania's head soon.
Dania already knew a horn was growing on her head.
"Once the horn breaks through the outer shell, the itch should go away, right? Know any way to make it grow faster?"
Dania level up, horn grow fast!
Oh.
There was such a surefire, simple method.
'Then let's feed her some Taeumyangjeong.'
I had a gut feeling that once that horn fully blossomed, it'd bring changes for me too.
The reason Dragon Blood had reacted earlier, with Potential stirring—that system message.
It felt like a resonance between Dania's horn and my blood.
'Mix!'
Baekyang Herb and Gongcheong Oil.
I tossed them straight into the .
Congratulations. and have successfully fused.
Success right away.
"Taeumyangjeong. First time trying it yourself, right?"
Yeah! Taeumyangjeong. This yummy!
Gulp, gulp.
Dania eagerly swallowed the Taeumyangjeong I handed her.
Kkyu!
Her scrunched-up face relaxed into a blissful smile.
Downing was a mystical experience—chilly cold and scorching heat all at once.
It must've made her forget the itch in her head, if only for a moment.
Flash—!
A five-colored glow radiated from Dania's body.
Elemental Dragon leveled up!
So good!
She gulped it down one after another.
The five-colored glow flashed again—!
Elemental Dragon leveled up straight to 103!
Nice one, Dania.
You're growing so fast!
"Everyone! Come get a drink!"
"Popo!"
"Chu?"
Keron...
The guardians each took a sip of .
"Poooh!"
"Chuchuuu!"
Keron...!
Exclamations burst from their mouths.
Drunk on Taeumyangjeong.
Our Popo, 110Lv is just around the corner.
Chuchu's heading for 150Lv.
'Archeron's level is too high, so no level-up. Or maybe his energy core's still busted?'
I need to fix Archeron's energy core soon.
At least the Seondo seems to be settling in nicely.
'My turn for a sip.'
Gulp, gulp.
A cool refreshment and warm heat swirled in my throat at once!
'Kya.'
This cool-warm flavor never gets old.
Mana capacity increased.
I leveled up two stages too!
Now I'm level 32.
'At 35Lv, I might summon the next guardian.'
I met Chuchu and Archeron at 25Lv.
A strong intuition told me the next guardian was coming soon.
'Wanna chug more right now.'
Looking at the remaining Taeumyangjeong made me feel like I'd burp.
I thought it was just physical fullness at first.
'Mana saturation phenomenon.'
As 's power strengthened, I understood why.
And there was another issue.
'Sticking to one elixir won't get me to high levels.'
Why?
From repeated Taeumyangjeong doses.
Tolerance builds.
Time for new elixir mixes.
'No rush for now.'
Elixirs with low tolerance.
Manyeon Stone Fungus too.
Seondo and Mandragora as well.
"Chu!"
Then our Sergeant Chu came trotting over.
As if reading my mind, he spread his right paw wide and thumped his chest—trust me!
Declaring he'd procure the needed herbs and plants.
Thinking back, even the Mandragora was Chuchu's find.
Chuchu, free to roam outside the lair, could snag another legendary herb like that.
"Reliable as ever, Sergeant Chu!"
"Churrr!"
I reached out and petted his head; Chuchu purred in delight.
"But when can I leave the lair?"
I'd hoped an exit would appear once Dania hatched.
But no exit to the outside yet.
Dania gotta be adult dragon to go out!
"Figured as much."
I'd suspected since no exit appeared even after hatching.
"Know what level you need to become an adult dragon?"
Yeah. Dania 500Lv, then molt to adult dragon!
Got it.
The level I'd intuitively guessed.
500.
My instincts were spot on.
'Gotta diversify elixirs to level Dania faster.'
"Alright, Dania. Room for more?"
Yeah. Dania still hungry!
Oh, definitely.
This'll speed up her levels even more.
'Is this the potential gap in limit levels?'
Strong gut feeling.
Dania hits adult at 500Lv.
She'll go beyond for sure.
Sky-high limit compared to mine.
No mana saturation after a couple elixirs like me.
"Next up..."
Cheonji Hoesaeng Soup.
Alternating beats repeating for tolerance reduction.
I'll make this tasty too!
Kkyu! Yay!
An Jaeseong.
His victory speech turned the world upside down.
China faced massive global backlash.
The full story soon emerged.
The Chinese chef from the semis who slipped drugs to An Jaeseong.
He'd cut a backroom deal with finalist Wang Kang.
Wang Kang, already a famous Michelin 3-star chef.
Losing to a Korean? Unthinkable.
They shot themselves in the foot with their dirty tricks.
Not just banned from chef circles forever—straight to prison.
China's central government slapped them with life sentences, harsher than usual, to ease international fury.
An Jaeseong, victor of justice.
The drama made his win shine even brighter.
A tournament most would've ignored got massive spotlight from the scandal.
And then.
"Just who the hell is Madoje?"
"His crops that amazing?"
"Estimated level over 90."
"Rumors he's unofficial rank 1."
An Jaeseong's shoutout shifted the spotlight to Madoje.
It snowballed to the crops Madoje listed.
"What's this Baekyang Herb Madoje sold?"
The first Baekyang Herb sold outside the lair.
Its extraordinary effects exploded on Superhuman Net.
Mana amplification—one of the top stats supers prioritize.
And now a buff for it.
Baekyang Herb's level showed ???, sparking endless guesses.
1.2 million coins.
120 billion won.
No small change.
A fortune no normal person could save in a lifetime.
So folks who'd scoffed at Madoje's selling double market price—now said it was a bargain.
"Oh! Madoje listed 5 Lunadria and 5 Baekyang Herbs at auction!"
Right on cue, Madoje dropped more Lunadria and Baekyang Herbs.
Starting bids same as before.
But bids flew faster than ever.
An Jaeseong's drama had spread Madoje's name far and wide—hype at peak.
Auction prices rocketed endlessly.
"We must buy it! Secure them this time!"
Hong Seolhwa.
She pooled clan funds and jumped into the bidding war.
At least one of each Baekyang Herb or Lunadria.
She had reason.
Now past 80Lv.
To level up again with Madoje's elixirs.
"Must acquire this time."
Alexei Volkov.
Guardian of the North.
Restocked his ammo.
He joined the fray.
With monster waves intensifying, settling at 80Lv rang alarm bells.
He needed to grow stronger.
"Gonna taste how effective Madoje's herbs really are."
"Wonder if they're that great."
Even silent high-level supers worldwide.
Bidders poured in endlessly!
An Jaeseong's spark launched Madoje's herbs to cosmic prices.
Meanwhile.
I'd listed the Lunadria and Baekyang Herbs, then fed Dania.
Kkyuuuung! Yummyyy!!
Dania's joyful squeal.
Understandable.
She'd alternated and multiple times.
"Wow, Dania... you eat like a champ."
How high is her growth limit?
Eating non-stop, leveling non-stop.
Not +1Lv per dose like at first.
But every couple doses now.
Like right now.
Fwaaah—!!
Five-colored light poured from Dania's back.
Reached 110Lv in a single day!
Her body grew slightly larger.
And the bump on her head...
"Huh?"
I looked at Dania's head and gasped.
Why?
-l-
A horn about two finger joints long protruded from Dania's head.
Kkyu-uuung! Cool!! Dania's first horn came out!!
Dania noticed too and cheered.
And that horn.
Elemental Dragon Dania's first horn (Horn of Potential) has sprouted.
It bore the epithet .
Ruuuumble—!!!
is affected by the .
Five-colored radiance from Dania's horn enveloped me.
Congratulations. Limit level has been expanded!
potential has expanded.
unlocked!
"Oh!"
Vitality flooded my body.
I instantly grasped what "limit level expanded" meant.
Just moments ago, more Taeumyangjeong seemed impossible.
Now? I could down more.
'Can level faster now!'
My max limit rose too.
"Jackpot!"
Our little lucky charm!
What's ?
I checked the Platinum Lounge right away.
Entered Platinum Lounge.
Current Platinum Lounge users: 1
A channel only I could enter.
A new list appeared.
Currently activated lists
• Elixir Master (SSS)
Only Elixir Master activated.
Spiritual Exchange, Summoning, Dragon Blood Awakening—all inactive.
I tapped the activated Elixir Master.
"Ah!"
And I saw it.
Filling my vision.
"All these... elixirs and herbs?"
A feast of elixirs and spirit herbs.