Find the Seven Pieces
If I could just gather the perfect materials, repairing an item like this would be a breeze. Plus, my Dragon Heart's mana had long surpassed 200 points without breaking a sweat. The repair finished in under a minute.
Kudududuk—crack! The shattered surface of the orb fused smoothly, soon radiating a brilliant, iridescent glow. The mana pulsing within that tiny sphere screamed S-grade through and through. I checked the status window of the repaired Yeouiju with bated breath.
I rubbed my eyes and reread the floating text in disbelief.
"What the hell? Yeobong?"
Yeouiju and now Yeobong? The very weapon Son Ohgong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, kept tucked in his ear? And it wanted me to fetch that and merge it with this orb? The rest from 2nd to 6th stage were just question marks—no clue what they even were.
I stood there dumbfounded by the absurdity when—
Discovered an item with an attached message. Would you like to view it?
Not the Earth system, but the community system alert.
"What now? A message attached? To the item?"
Of course I had to check. "Confirm."
No sooner had I spoken than a silver flash burst from the Yeouiju. The light coalesced in front of it, forming the figure of a seductive beauty with silver hair and blue eyes, glowing translucently. She slowly opened her eyes and stared right at me.
"Ooh… Finally, someone has found this message. Who might you be…?"
"……!?"
It said there was an attached message—why was this turning into a live conversation? Not a pre-recorded video letter, but two-way communication? I masked my surprise and spoke up. To be safe, I gave my community ID instead of my real name.
"Uh, I'm the Philosophizing Repairman?"
"Philosophizing… Repairman? What an odd name. Has so much time passed…? We dragons don't usually go for such strange ones. Ah? Is it a community ID, or perhaps a playful alias?"
"Ah, yeah. Community ID."
The silver-haired beauty smiled in relief, clearly misunderstanding something major.
"Hehe, I thought so. Still, what a relief. For another dragon to cross into this distant Earth dimension. You've eased my worries a bit."
"Uh… well… that. Er… How do I even explain this? I'm not a full dragon."
She blinked, not grasping it.
"Pardon?"
"I'm just a human who got a Dragon Heart transplant."
"Wait… You're… really not a full dragon…?"
Her hologram scanned me head to toe, then showed clear dismay.
"Yeah, that's what I've been saying."
Her expression darkened noticeably, brows furrowing as she muttered.
"Hmm… This is troubling. Was perfect control over every variable impossible after all? Even with the safeguards… A human with a Dragon Heart transplant… Never saw that coming."
"I'd love some details on what you're talking about. Stop brooding to yourself."
"Ah, sorry. I'm Nereis, a Primal Dragon from the Ereinia dimension."
Primal Dragon Nereis. Jermad's long-lost mentor, the very creator of this multidimensional community. Heart pounding, I asked,
"Uh, do you know a redhead dragon named Jermad by any chance?"
"Oh? A friend of my disciple, then?"
Her face softened.
"Yeah, we ended up on brother-sister terms somehow. Could you explain what this item is that your disciple left behind, and how it ties into this apocalypse we're facing?"
Nereis shook her head regretfully at my plea.
"Sorry. I can't go into details on that. The karma remaining in this lingering thought of mine is too faint. But what I can tell you is… follow the clues of this item to the end."
"Yeouiju and then Yeobong?"
"Yes. Pieces of the contingency I left behind long ago for this Earth's safety. Gather all seven and complete them into one, and it'll lend you the power to face the coming cataclysm."
Just as I suspected—a Primal Dragon's backup plan against doom.
"You're wondering why you, of all people. I can't elaborate, but it's how it's meant to flow. Think of it as fate—easier that way."
"No wonder all this weird shit keeps happening to me…."
"Sorry to dump this on you. But surprisingly, you don't seem all that powerful. Ah, not an insult! My contingency is set to go to the being with the highest chance of stopping the doom. Meaning you Repairman have something more special than raw power."
Me? Special? Words like karma, fate, contingency suddenly ballooned the scale, giving me a splitting headache.
"I've got a ton of questions—so what can you answer?"
"Well… Ask away freely? I'll answer as best I can within my limits."
Ah, so the lingering thought couldn't proactively share info—only react to my questions. I tossed out a random one.
"Are you in Earth's dimension right now?"
"Sorry, can't say."
"Alive or dead?"
"Sorry."
"Completing all seven items guarantees stopping the apocalypse 100%?"
"Sorry…."
"……Why the hell did this shitty apocalypse system even spawn?"
"Sorry……."
"Where do I even find the next material, Yeobong? At least give a location."
"Sorry…………."
"Can you answer any questions? A damn AI chatbot would do better."
"Sorry……………."
I swallowed my rage and spouted nonsense.
"What'd you have for dinner last night?"
"Sorry……………."
Ah, fuck this. Primal Dragon, community creator—whatever. She was a pro at pissing people off.
"When… are you gonna disappear? You're useless…."
"Sorry. But if you find the other contingency pieces and upgrade the Yeouiju, more of my thoughts will unlock, revealing greater info. Higher dimensional hierarchy loosens karma's grip."
"About that karma constraint, could you explain in more—"
"Sorry…."
Ah, screw it. No more questions!
"Guess I'm out of questions. Bye…."
Any longer and I'd curse out a Primal Dragon.
"Finally, please give my regards to my disciple Jermad. If possible, I hope she'll come to Earth and help you. She has the potential to awaken as a Primal surpassing even me. Then… may fortune follow your journey."
Paat— With a silver flash, Nereis's hologram scattered into the air.
The multidimensional community's creator, the world's strongest—Primal Dragon Nereis. My first impression? Stunningly beautiful, but an infuriating apple villain.
"Wh-what was that insane mana surge just now!!!"
Eriel, headbanging in his glass jar, kicked off the lid and bellowed.
"Ahh! You scared the shit outta me!! My ears! No yelling in the workshop!"
Always blasting heavy metal through earphones—her voice as Wind Spirit King boomed like thunder.
"You think I wouldn't yell!? That silver hair—if my eyes aren't lying, that was Primal Dragon Nereis!"
"Oh? You know her?"
"Of course! One of only two Primals in Ereinia's long history! Too famous not to!"
"Ah, you're well-informed. But that wasn't her real body—just a lingering thought in the item."
Eriel smacked his lips in disappointment at my curt reply.
"Still, she must've left some words."
"Said to gather her Dragon Balls to stop the coming doom."
"Dragon Balls?"
"Not actual balls—items. Collect the seven she hid around Earth, and it'll give power against the apocalypse system…."
"Hoo… So she came to this Earth dimension before me, planted these contingencies, and left? Impressive. Dimensional travel ain't easy…."
"Seems so. But thanks to bullshit karma constraints, she gave zero info—just dumped a fetch quest and bailed."
"If you wanna live, follow the quest, no? If Nereis set it up personally, it'll counter the blue screen system's doom trial for your dimension."
"Haa, where do I even start? No hints!"
I clawed at my hair. Wait—actually, it might be easier than I thought. If a Primal planted them decades ago, they'd likely be museum pieces like the Yeouiju, valued historically.
But the worst case? Too old and busted, tossed by ancient folks. No way. A Primal wouldn't be that sloppy.
I shook off the anxiety. Better to message Jermad-noona. As her disciple, she'd know Nereis's habits inside out.
Shaking off my thoughts, I glanced at the table. The perfectly repaired S-grade artifact Yeouiju gleamed mesmerizingly. Staring at its overwhelming presence, a pang hit my gut.
"Hey, Eriel."
"What."
"Now that it's fixed… I don't wanna give it back. Got any brilliant ideas to swipe it without a trace?"
Eriel lifted his sunglasses in disbelief at my shameless pitch.
"Hah? You want the Spirit King plotting theft?"
"Not theft—logic it out. Nereis made it, so her sole legit heir, disciple Jermad-noona, owns it, right?"
"Could see it that way?"
"And as sworn siblings with her, I inherit some stake and ownership, yeah? Especially since I perfected the repair."
"……Your brazen logic is peak free-spirited rock."
"Quit forcing everything into rock spirit. You've lived hundreds of thousands of years—no ideas?"
"Eh… Is it worth overthinking?"
"Oho, not a wasted lifetime after all. Got a clever ploy? Spill, o Wind Spirit King."
Eriel crossed his arms and dropped it casually.
"Why complicate? Don't wanna give it? Swap it out."
"……Swap… it out?"