Fifth Dragon Legacy (3)
Shaaaaah.
A mystical light emanating from Jehyun devoured the purple energy heading toward him. The process was awe-inspiring. In an instant, it felt as though the purple energy had been purified.
‘……!’
Jehyun opened his mouth toward the dragon before him, the one responsible for this astonishing sight, but no voice came out. At that moment, the dragon, scattering multicolored light from its entire body, tilted its head slightly to the side. Their eyes met once more, and Jehyun sensed an indescribable, eerie sensation in those pupils. With that, his consciousness flickered and faded.
…….
…….
“Hah!”
His mind returned. Sweat beaded thickly on his forehead. Jehyun was still in the same position, hand pressed against the blue dragon. Energy continued to flow steadily from it. The purple energy that had previously interfered with him was no longer detectable.
“This is……”
Jehyun let out a low groan. It felt like he had experienced something utterly inexplicable. Regardless, the result was that the threatening purple energy had vanished. For now, a sigh of relief escaped him.
Goooooo.
Even amid this, energy steadily accumulated in his body. At some point, it felt as though his body was brimming full, and no more energy remained in the blue dragon. Electric power surged through his entire frame. It was the euphoric high he hadn’t felt in ages. Every single particle of mana in the air tingled against his skin. And with that, a system message appeared.
Congratulations! You have successfully inherited the Fifth Dragon Legacy.
You have acquired Dragon Blood.
The dragon's energy infuses your bloodstream.
Lightning mana affinity greatly increases.
Affinity with spirits of all attributes rises.
Until now, only fire and light mana attributes had felt particularly familiar, but now every type of mana in the atmosphere felt intimately close. Especially the lightning attribute—it resonated even more deeply. Amid that rapture, Jehyun’s vision flipped inverted.
* * *
“Ugh.”
A low groan escaped his lips. Regaining consciousness, Jehyun felt a slight dizziness and staggered.
―Are you alright?
Yeah. Just a momentary dizziness.
―Your presence has changed quite a bit. Did you successfully obtain the dragon legacy this time as well?
Of course. What’s there to say?
Jehyun grinned and replied to Alkasha. Then he gazed at the bloodstone inside the transparent glass case before him. Externally, it hadn’t changed much from before he inherited the dragon legacy. Except…
The dragon’s energy is gone?
The dragon’s energy that had emanated from the bloodstone had completely vanished. It had become an utterly ordinary bloodstone. For Jehyun, this was a huge relief. If the bloodstone had disintegrated or mutated after he claimed the legacy, he might have had to ponder what to do with it.
Right, Alkasha. Something unusual happened when I obtained this dragon legacy.
He was about to tell Alkasha about encountering the purple energy during the inheritance.
―Something unusual?
Yeah. Well… I’ll explain once we’re back.
* * *
―What? You sensed purple energy during the process of obtaining Dragon Blood?
That’s right.
―Hah…… How could such a thing……
Alkasha fell silent for a long while after Jehyun’s words. Then it spoke.
―It seems the purple energy had partially corroded that dragon’s bloodstone.
Alkasha couldn’t fully grasp the circumstances either. What was clear was that the purple energy had encroached on the dragon legacy. Fortunately, Jehyun seemed to possess the power to purify it.
―No, not purify—annihilate, perhaps.
Jehyun hadn’t explained the multicolored light dragon to Alkasha in detail. Recalling the indescribable eerie sensation from its eyes, he judged it wasn’t time to speak of it yet. He merely said that a mystical light had emanated from his body and eradicated the purple energy.
―Perhaps…… you might possess a power that is the natural counter to that purple energy.
“Yeah?”
―Though we’ll need to observe more to be sure.
Jehyun nodded at those words. In any case, nothing was certain right now. Better to focus on what he needed to do immediately.
“Hmm, anyway, I’ll have to think more about this.”
With that, Jehyun stretched his body. This was one of the magic training facilities in the heart of the 5th floor. To fully assimilate his newly acquired power, he had rented the training room right after leaving the museum.
“Hoo. Alright, let’s begin.”
Jehyun took a deep breath and sat cross-legged. Hatchling's Basic Mana Art (S). He began repeatedly drawing in and expelling mana through his entire body. He could sense and absorb it far more vividly than before. When Alkasha had first taught him mana breathing, he’d thought nothing could surpass that new world. Now, he was experiencing an even greater one.
“Hooo.”
As Jehyun exhaled deeply once more and drew mana into his whole body—
Pajit. Pajijijit.
Lightning energy began to swirl around his body.
―This is……!
Witnessing the sight, Alkasha exclaimed in shock. There was only one meaning to this phenomenon.
―Attribute mana awakening!
It was the same phenomenon as when he received the Golden Mana Blessing. When Jehyun had once asked if he could awaken additional mana attributes, Alkasha had said it was theoretically possible.
―I thought it would only be feasible after inheriting all the dragon legacies.
Alkasha was at a loss for words. This was proof of Jehyun’s extraordinarily high assimilation with Dragon Blood. Dragon Blood granted purer mana and heightened mana sensitivity.
―But how, without even a Dragon Heart……
That was why Alkasha was speechless. There was no Dragon Heart to awaken Dragon Blood. Even if awakening occurred, the odds of additional attribute mana were extremely low. Even dragons typically received only one mana blessing.
―From the start, with the Golden Mana Blessing, I knew you were no ordinary one, but this…… words fail me.
Alkasha stared at Jehyun, seemingly bereft of speech. Jehyun was just now acquiring the Blue Mana Blessing.
Congratulations! You have received the Blue Mana Blessing.
You have acquired the title One Blessed by the Blue Mana.
Lightning attribute amplification greatly increases.
Lightning attribute dominance greatly increases.
Lightning attribute resistance greatly increases.
Flicker.
As the system message appeared, Jehyun’s eyes snapped open. Blue light flared in his pupils before subsiding.
“Did you see that, Alkasha? I…… just awakened lightning attribute mana!”
―C-Congratulations. Truly impressive.
“And……”
Jehyun’s eyes tinted gold.
“It’s not just lightning that awakened.”
Right after obtaining Dragon Blood, affinity with spirits of all attributes had increased. He’d felt a persistent itchiness since then. Now, having gathered his inner energy—
Jehyun realized what else he could do.
“Vulcan, summon.”
Roarrrrr.
With those words, golden flames gathered in the air, swiftly forming a shape. Head, two arms, two legs, and a long tail. The summoned being was the mid-level Ifrit soldier Vulcan, resembling a monkey.
Roar!
Vulcan swung its arms and nodded repeatedly at Jehyun, expressing gratitude for the summoning.
―Hoo. As direct subordinates of Ifrit, these spirits all have such unique appearances.
Alkasha circled Vulcan, commenting in fascination. Jehyun issued a few commands to test its power. The results were astonishing.
“This guy…… seems much stronger than a typical mid-level spirit?”
―Indeed, it does.
Vulcan possessed greater power than Sallion, a standard mid-level fire spirit. While Kasa outmatched the low-level fire spirit Salamander, the gap between Vulcan and Sallion was even wider. Mid-to-high level spirit— that might be the right way to describe it.
“Good. I like it.”
Jehyun’s lips curved into a satisfied grin. After confirming Vulcan’s strength, he sent it back with a pleased smile.
“Now then……”
Jehyun sat cross-legged again and began operating High Elf Spirit Art.
Pajijit, pajijijijit.
Lightning energy flowed from his body once more. Focusing a bit more—
Pajijijijijit.
The lightning energy emanating from him intensified. And then—
His vision blackened, and Jehyun’s consciousness was sucked into somewhere.
“This is……”
Regaining his sight, Jehyun looked around. Teal tiles covered the floor. The air was thickly dyed indigo. Hexagonal cubes floated aimlessly everywhere. Some were small, others massive clusters. Lightning coursed over their surfaces.
This is the Thunder Spirit King’s domain.
Jehyun realized his guess was correct. Upon receiving the Blue Mana Blessing and greatly boosting his lightning affinity, he’d felt he could meet the Thunder Spirit King, just like with Ifrit and Rollin.
“Over there.”
Passing through hundreds, thousands of floating cubes, Jehyun spotted the tower rising in the distance—the seat of the Thunder Spirit King. He stepped toward it.
However, approaching the Thunder Spirit King was far from easy.
Pajit. Pajijijit.
Electricity sparked from several airborne cubes—
Kwarrrrng!
And lightning poured toward Jehyun. This was the gateway to meeting the Thunder Spirit King. He had to pierce the barrage from the cubes and reach the thunder tower.
Magic’s no good, of course.
He tried manifesting a shield against the incoming bolts, but spells wouldn’t form in this space. The magic formulas scattered forcibly. Someone’s will utterly dominated this realm.
For now, Jehyun retreated from the cubes’ domain.
Kwajijijit!
Fragments of lightning spread across the tiled floor.
This…… won’t be easy to pass.
He’d have to endure those bolts with his body. The strike just now came from merely three cubes ahead of him. To reach the thunder tower, he’d need to withstand lightning from hundreds, thousands in the sky.
Ziiiiiing.
At that moment, a portal appeared behind Jehyun. It meant to exit through there if abandoning the Thunder Spirit King’s trial. The king was watching from the tower. A clear dismissal: leave if you lack confidence.
Jehyun’s lips twisted into a smirk.
Most would deem it too hard and quit…… but I’ve got a way.
With that thought, immense mana flowed from his entire body. Magic was impossible, but dragon authority worked. Blue scales formed over his skin.
Dragon Scale.
The authority activated.
“Let’s give it a shot.”
Grinning, Jehyun leaped into the onslaught of hundreds, thousands of lightning bolts.