Dragon Blood (3)
A place bearing traces of the Heavenly Whale.
This was no ordinary location.
The space behind the scenes.
A little earlier.
Chuchu raced southeast, guiding Azkai to a spot below the cliffs riddled with multiple caves.
"We're heading here?"
"Chu!"
No matter how he looked, this seemed like nothing but endless cliffs, with zero connection to the Heavenly Whale.
"Chuchu!"
But Chuchu led Azkai on without a hint of hesitation.
Azai harbored doubts but followed anyway, soon arriving before a massive cave.
The entrance alone spanned dozens—no, perhaps over a hundred meters, boasting an overwhelming scale.
It was right then.
An ominous aura began to stir.
Scent trails from all sorts of beings mixed together.
Inside that cavern—too vast to call a mere cave—traces of all kinds lingered in disarray.
Some carried presences so intense they instinctively put even the current Azkai on guard.
"Chuuu!!"
Suddenly, Chuchu pointed at one wall of the cavern.
"Hm?"
A strange ripple stirred in Azkai's eyes.
An incongruity emanated from the wall Chuchu indicated.
No way!
Azkai's gaze sharpened.
Perhaps right here.
A hidden space might exist behind that wall.
"Chu!"
Chuchu's next move confirmed Azkai's suspicion.
Dadadada! Paat!!
Chuchu charged straight at the wall, vanishing in a burst of brilliant light.
Azkai followed without delay.
Paaaaat!
The moment he touched the wall, Azkai too was enveloped in light, transferring to another space.
"Hm."
As the light faded, a completely transformed world unfolded before him.
A colossal tree soaring to the distant sky.
An ancient giant, like gazing upon the World Tree, Yggdrasil.
Around it, terrains of every form intertwined in complexity, forming a vast landscape.
Blazing earth.
Snowstorm-swept earth.
Venom-flowing earth.
Death-qi filled earth, and more.
The Heavenly Whale must be perched in that central tree.
A massive aurora unfurled brilliantly in the sky.
It enveloped the tree's crown,
from which emanated a sublime, overwhelming presence—presumed to be the Heavenly Whale's.
But...
Trouble arose.
"Hey, Chuchu. Where'd you go?"
He'd leaped right after Chuchu.
Yet Chuchu was nowhere in sight.
That meant one thing.
Random drop points, huh.
So there must be other entry points besides that cavern.
First, head to that tree, secure the Heavenly Whale's scale, and find Chuchu.
A flicker of worry crossed Azkai's languid face.
That guy's... probably fine, right?
He'd never felt particular attachment to any guardians besides his master.
Yet that one strangely tugged at his mind.
Kwang!
Perhaps because of it.
Azkai's steps were fiercer than usual.
How long had he run?
Soon, a barren wasteland shrouded in death-qi stretched before him.
Graaaaaah!
Gerrrrroooo—
Cries of grotesque undead unable to return to the Underworld.
They harried Azkai's ears.
Any weak-minded being would have their spirit corrupted by these shrieks alone, tainted by death-qi.
But Azkai was a Lava Great Tiger.
Beyond fire affinity, the White Tiger lineage had long held power supreme against foul entities.
In short, these undead couldn't faze him.
Krrrararar...
Suddenly, a massive ghostly hound erupted from the ground.
A Shadow Hound, its form pure wraith-shadow.
Untouched by physical attacks, it was one many avoided.
"You dare bare your fangs before me, mere carrion?"
White Tiger patterns emerged on Azkai's face.
With them, roiling lava aura surged.
......!
The Shadow Hound's face twisted in horror—and at that instant.
"Begone, mongrel."
Kwaaaaaaaa!!!
Vast lava erupted from the earth, swallowing the Shadow Hound whole.
Chiiiiiik.
On the land melting under lava's heat.
No trace of the Shadow Hound remained—it vaporized.
Your level has increased.
Mystical energy welled up in Azkai's body.
Killing the Shadow Hound had raised his level again.
Azkai couldn't see levels, so he didn't know—but he felt his power grow.
Not an illusion. The stalled clock of my growth has started ticking again.
Growing without reclaiming the Lava Emperor Stone.
For Azkai, it eased his pent-up frustration a bit.
"Krrrararar—!"
Kwang!!
Azkai's strides toward the central tree felt lighter than before.
Auction proceeds, minus 10% auction house fee, have been paid.
"Hm..."
I rubbed my eyes at the system message in my ear and sat up.
"Popo!"
Popo was atop me, sharing its energy.
No wonder my body felt lighter.
Popo must have nursed me while I slept.
"Good job, buddy."
I hugged Popo, who clung back with a worried expression.
"Poo... Poo..."
Popo whimpered as if pleading, Don't get hurt again.
Its voice revealed how much it had fretted.
My nose tingled for no reason.
"Seojun! You okay?!"
"Master! Are you alright?"
"Keron. Master, are you alright?"
The guardians crowded around, checking on me.
"Haha. Yeah. Much better now."
A white lie, actually.
My mana still churned unstably, cold sweat dripping.
Thanks to Popo, though, it was worlds better than before.
"I'm fine, so everyone get back to what you were doing."
Bellerin held a hammer, mid-crafting perhaps.
Archeron was half-disassembled, repairs and core swap unfinished.
Lulumiel and Fenril rushed over from their tasks, huge eyes brimming with worry.
And Dania was stuffing her face with... something.
Huh?
I blinked at Dania's level.
Early 150s before.
When did she hit 167?
Come to think of it, she's grown a bit bigger too.
Mandragora remnants smeared her mouth.
Did she level up by gorging on them nonstop?
Eyes sparkling, I asked Dania.
"Dania, you been eating Mandragora this whole time?"
"Yeah! Dania get strong quick, help Seojun feel better!"
Ah.
That explained why she devoured the stuff she usually hated.
"Dania..."
The kids were hitting me right in the feels today.
Nose tingling again, I pulled Dania into a hug.
"Kkyu-ung..."
Her warmth seeped in, warming a corner of my heart unbidden.
Moments later,
Dania flew off to Mandrian for more Mandragora.
I checked the system message I'd half-heard in my sleep.
"Huh? What the—?"
Two Mithril ingots sold for about 74 million coins.
Without the 10% fee, over 82 million.
41 million per ingot?
Unbelievable.
What happened?
I logged into the Superhuman Net to check.
And quickly pieced it together.
ThunderPhantomSword. He bought them.
Word spread like wildfire about the 100% conductivity.
Now they thought I was a 10th Circle archmage.
Not just that.
What's with all these Gold Lounge notifications?
Tons piled up.
From the commission proxy post I'd put up last time—requests flooded in.
Endless comments trailed on.
One stood out.
NorthernHemisphereTaesan!
The Great General of the Northern Front.
He needed gear too, apparently.
Of course I'd help this guy.
The man sacrificed his life for all humanity, living as a hero.
Keep this one...
I checked other notifications on my posts too.
All asking if more Mithril was coming.
Gotta ask Section Chief Lee Jeong-won if he can proxy Mithril sales.
Mado Corporation.
Supplying through them might waive or cut the 10% fee.
That fee stung more than expected—better check now.
Message sent.
I messaged Lee Jeong-won about Mithril sales.
Then,
glanced at my balance.
Over 100 million coins now.
Whoa. Impressive.
Enough for SSS-grade elixirs or gear from Platinum Lounge shops.
Nice. At this rate, EX-grade stuff's within reach soon.
If I weren't laid up, I'd throw a 100 mil party... Huh?
Suddenly,
it hit me why the lair felt so empty.
"Where'd Azkai and Chuchu go?"
Kwaaaaaaaaang!!!!!
Hwaruruk, hwarururuk—!
Lava exploded, carving a massive crater into the ground.
"Kerrrrraruk...!"
The beast writhed in the fire pit, bellowing.
Twilight Landworm, Terragros—an ancient beast-type monster.
"Krrrar..."
Azkai, White Tiger tattoos covering his body, exhaled.
Terragros.
A tough one.
It took serious back-and-forth to fell it.
Your level has increased.
Feeling power surge again, he licked his lips.
The closer to the central tree, the tougher they get.
These were all blocked en route to the center.
The strongest contenders for the Heavenly Whale's scale had claimed spots there.
Won't be easy.
But.
Who was he?
Lava Great Tiger, immortal guardian of ancient times.
Though fallen without his Lava Emperor Stone, a god-slayer's might didn't fade.
Even against stronger foes, Azkai had confidence he wouldn't lose easily.
Chuchu's the real worry.
Could that guy survive this hellhole?
Quick as he was, this environment was brutal even for his level.
"Tch."
Kept nagging at him.
Better move fast.
Kwang!
Azkai pressed toward the central ancient tree.
And soon,
he beheld it.
@Ooooooo-aaaaaaah
A transcendent divine being unleashing a roar that blanketed sky and earth.
It was none other than.
The Heavenly Whale.
The sky whale.