The Dragon Heart and a Golden Opportunity
Lim Dojun had decided to spend some time on Earth.
His residence had now been moved to the headquarters of the Blue Magic Tower. He only planned to visit the Tower Master and casually mention that he would be away for a while due to pressing matters.
There were several other duties expected of him as an elder, but he intended to handle those one by one later.
“Elder Dojun.”
As he walked, he ran into Keon midway.
“Ah. Discipline Elder.”
Lim Dojun answered with polite respect.
Discipline Elder Keon.
He was Delcrein’s master and stood in a master-granddisciple relationship with Lim Dojun. Moreover, among all the elders, he possessed the greatest age and experience, so even after becoming an elder himself, Dojun always treated him with deference.
“Hoho. Really now. There’s no need to be so formal between fellow elders.”
Even as Keon spoke, he couldn’t hide the pleased smile spreading across his face.
From an elder’s perspective, a young man who wasn’t arrogant and knew how to humble himself was naturally a welcome sight.
“Where are you headed?”
“I’m on my way to inform the Tower Master that I’ll need to be away for a while due to some matters.”
“You’ve already been scarce lately. Were you training?”
“That, and I have a few personal matters to take care of.”
“I see. Hoho. They call you one of the greatest geniuses in the history of our Blue Magic Tower. Every time I see you, it really does look like you’ve grown again.”
Lim Dojun had become an elder of the Blue Magic Tower in merely his second year.
Naturally, he was the most closely watched rising star in the entire tower. If things continued at this pace for a few more years, he would smoothly rise to Tower Master, and someday perhaps even reach the rank of Grand Mage.
Lim Dojun himself was aware of these expectations, yet he remained utterly calm. He didn’t believe such achievements were beyond him, either.
“Now that I think about it, you’ll soon be forming your own direct forces. Have you decided which direction you’ll lead them?”
The forces serving under an elder usually took shape according to the path the elder chose to walk.
An elder-class mage could handle nearly anything, but everyone still had their specialty. An elder from an alchemy background would naturally prioritize securing materials.
Of course, no mage wanted to be assigned to an elder from the exploration or expedition department. It was obvious they would suffer endless hardship there.
“I’m interested in ancient ruins. Especially those connected to dragons, or any treasures related to them.”
“Ancient ruins… Hoho. Anyone who ends up under you is going to have a rough time, Elder Dojun.”
It was obvious with a single glance that it would be grueling work.
Yet when they considered Lim Dojun’s future potential, there would inevitably be mages willing to endure the hardship just to serve under him.
“Speaking of dragons… The ancients did worship them like gods, so there are a few related ruins. Not that they’re particularly useful.”
Magic that imitated dragons could only be mastered by someone who had achieved the perfect trinity of will, heart, and body—like Lim Dojun. He was likely the only person on the entire continent who met those conditions. That was why, even when related records were discovered, they received little attention. At best, scholars would simply remark, “The ancients really wasted their time on worthless research.”
“Still, hunting for dragon-related treasures doesn’t sound so bad. I believe the Red Magic Tower possesses a Dragon Heart fragment as well. They say its effects are incredible. I wouldn’t mind trying it myself.”
“…Pardon?”
Lim Dojun was genuinely startled. This was the first he had heard of it.
“The Red Magic Tower has a Dragon Heart?”
“You didn’t know? It’s a treasure passed down through generations to their Tower Master.”
Long ago, the Red Magic Tower Master of that era had obtained a Dragon Heart fragment from some ruins. Recognizing that it emitted infinite mana, he had it processed into the form of a staff. The project was so monumental that both a Grand Mage and a dwarf chieftain-level blacksmith had taken part. The result was an artifact of overwhelming power.
“All the great magic towers stand tall, but a few rise even higher than the rest. Everyone claims their own tower is the best, but in truth, everyone knows the Red Magic Tower holds a slight edge. That staff is the reason.”
One of the Red Magic Tower’s greatest treasures.
“…Elder. What would happen if I stole it?”
Even as the question left his mouth, Lim Dojun found the situation faintly amusing. After all, Keon was the Discipline Elder responsible for upholding the tower’s laws. Such an act would surely ignite massive conflict between the two towers and could even spark war…
“Why ask something so obvious? You would become a hero of our tower.”
“Pardon?”
“Uhahaha! Just imagining it brings me joy. If you ever manage to steal it, tell me immediately. I’ll go visit the Red Magic Tower elders myself just to rub it in their faces!”
“…….”
-Psssh.
When Lim Dojun rose from the capsule, he found his own house felt strangely foreign.
It makes sense. I’ve barely returned to Earth at all lately.
These days, the training room in Astelgard and the atmosphere of that world felt far more comfortable.
Still, there were things that needed to be done.
The last known location of Wang Chen was somewhere in China’s Manchuria region. A plane would get him there quickly, but that would leave entry and exit records. To maintain absolute secrecy, Lim Dojun intended to fly there using Fly magic.
Fly magic itself was only intermediate rank, but sustaining it for a long period consumed an enormous amount of mana. Any other mage who heard about it would have been stunned speechless. To Lim Dojun, however, who received a continuous supply of mana from the Dragon Heart fragment, it was entirely feasible.
Before leaving, he checked the unread messages on his phone. There weren’t many, but the one at the very top was from Center Director Kim Eunju.
He had missed several of the monthly checkups that were supposed to happen once a month. He had been far too busy and had too many things to prepare. Even though he had asked for her understanding multiple times, the guilt weighed on him, so he replied that he would definitely come next time.
The martial arts game.
Originally, Lim Dojun had intended to use the capsule’s game function for his rehabilitation. Whether it was because of the lightning strike or the Crystal Dragon’s will, he had ended up connected to Astelgard instead. He still didn’t understand exactly how it worked. That was why attempting the martial arts game was still worth trying. If he installed it in the capsule, perhaps he could travel to the world inside that game as well.
After sending the reply, Lim Dojun set his phone down.
He was about to get moving when another message arrived at the perfect moment.
-Ding!
A message from Park Daecheol of Happy Service.
While he kept in regular contact with Center Director Kim Eunju and received monthly checkups, Park Daecheol only reached out when he had actual business. That was why Lim Dojun was slightly surprised.
Last time, after dealing with Yeo Juhwan, he had asked Park Daecheol to handle the aftermath and given him a few additional requests. Perhaps this was related to one of those.
Gang Taebeom, Deputy Minister of National Defense.
He was a high-ranking government official who had participated in the Crystal Dragon summoning experiment. Like former Lieutenant Colonel Yeo Juhwan, he was also a target of Lim Dojun’s revenge.
The reply came back almost instantly, as if he had been waiting.
Normally he would have gone after Wang Chen first since touching a high-ranking government official carried significant risk, but if the man was leaving the safety of his office, the situation changed.
I’ll have to put Manchuria on hold for a bit.
An external schedule for the Deputy Minister meant a natural opportunity for revenge had presented itself. Lim Dojun’s eyes grew icy cold.
“Are the preparations complete?”
“The armored battalion and mortar battalion have finished establishing their positions. They’re only waiting for the order to open fire.”
“Don’t be sloppy. Make sure everything is perfect. One mistake and it’s over.”
“Yes, sir!”
Even as Deputy Minister of National Defense Gang Taebeom issued orders, he couldn’t hide his tension.
A massive gate had appeared in Cheongna. The awakened team assigned to clear it had failed once, and even the government forces sent afterward had failed. Every failed attempt made a gate significantly more unstable. After two failures, it wouldn’t be strange if it burst at any moment.
If the gate exploded, monsters would pour out. If they couldn’t stop them in Cheongna, it wouldn’t take long for the threat to reach Seoul. Fortunately, they had already evacuated the civilians living near the gate. They had to stop it here, no matter what.
Gang Taebeom headed toward the returnees.
They were personnel dispatched after an official request for cooperation had been sent to the Returnee Alliance. Their ages ranged from middle-aged to young adults, but every single one of them looked bored.
“I’m counting on you. The safety of the Republic of Korea rests in your hands.”
“Yeah, yeah. You can stop talking now.”
A young returnee chewed gum loudly and waved his hand dismissively, clearly annoyed.
Gang Taebeom felt his blood boil, but he couldn’t say anything more. Age, position, and national authority meant nothing to these people. They were closer to wild men than citizens, so he could only swallow his frustration with a sigh.
“Huu…”
A short distance away from the tense scene, Lim Dojun stood silently atop the roof of a tall apartment building, looking down at them.
His mana-enhanced vision allowed him to observe the people in the distance as clearly as if he were looking through a scope. His gaze was mainly fixed on Gang Taebeom, the Deputy Minister of National Defense.
Once the gate explosion began and the area fell into chaos, he planned to kidnap or eliminate the man discreetly.
How long had he been waiting like that?
-Rumble.
The gate began to vibrate, and monsters started pouring out from within.
“They’re here! Armored units, open fire!”
At the signal, countless shells flew forward. Massive explosions shook the ground, and the monsters that burst out were shredded beyond recognition.
The awakened and returnees still waited quietly in the rear. Their role wasn’t to deal with regular monsters. They were there to handle the high-ranking monsters capable of neutralizing modern weapons.
-Clatter. Clatter.
-Clatter. Clatter.
Then skeletal undead began walking out of the gate.
“Undead! Damn it. Those things don’t die easily unless you completely destroy their heads.”
Gang Taebeom frowned.
Monsters made of flesh and blood lost most of their combat strength if even one limb was crippled, and damage to their internal organs usually meant death. Undead were different. They were far more difficult to put down.
After the undead appeared, high-ranking monsters began to emerge as well—armored undead, flying skeletal bats, completely translucent ghosts…
-Boom!
And finally, the last to appear was a robed skeleton mage.
“……!”
“!!”
Its presence was clearly abnormal. Even the faces of the waiting awakened and returnees tightened with tension. The skeleton mage hadn’t done anything yet, but its mere existence was enough to put the entire area on edge.
Khehehe. Quite a lot of worthless vermin have gathered here.
The skeleton mage’s mental wave spread across the battlefield, causing everyone to raise their alertness even higher. A monster capable of speech was among the stronger boss-class entities.
I’ll turn every last one of you into my—
That was the moment.
The skeleton mage suddenly stopped speaking and stared off into the distance. Not toward the soldiers and awakened gathered in front of it, but in a completely different direction—toward a faraway point.
It tilted its head several times, seemingly deep in thought. Then—
…I’ll return for now.
The skeleton mage flinched once, then began moving back toward the gate.