Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: 2-4. Heaven and Earth Great Scripture
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Metatron had said he’d get rid of the thing, but now here he was, all excited with his speech patterns changed.
-Really?
When I asked, a photo popped up in the chat window this time.
It was black with red stripes—a baby Helkite. Helkites were a subspecies of dragons, but they looked almost identical, so calling it a baby dragon wasn’t far off.
After that, I seemed to take a commemorative photo with the air defense battalion—or maybe not—and rushed back to the one-room apartment.
There he was: Metatron, his hair singed, squatting in a corner at the base of the one-room building.
What the hell?
Metatron had his face buried in his knees, wings drooping limply.
He looked utterly dejected at a glance.
“Sniff, hic! Sniff. Sniff.”
Crying?
His arms were covered in soot.
“Hey, Metatron?”
“Huh?”
Metatron, who’d been sniffling in the corner, jumped in surprise and wiped at his eyes. That just smeared the soot across his face in dark streaks. His face looked like he’d been punished with black paint, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Well, you see... Sniff...”
“Calm down. Who made you cry? Just tell me. I’ll smash them.”
“Wah, but you can’t smash them.”
“?”
Turns out, Metatron had been harshly rejected by the newborn Helkite. He’d been doused in flames, singeing his pretty hair, and he reeked of burnt flesh.
“Little Dragon hates me.”
“Little Dragon?”
“I named him. Doesn’t it suit him?”
“Rejected.”
“Whaaat? Why?”
Who asks that seriously? Anyway, I asked where the Helkite hatchling was.
Metatron stood up, looking all mopey, and pointed to a corner of the one-room building. Being rejected by a small animal had clearly shocked her badly; she was totally drained.
First, let’s check out the Helkite.
There it was—some iron bars that had appeared out of nowhere, and inside... Little Dragon—no, the Helkite hatchling—was locked up.
Kieeeek!
The moment it saw me, it let out a piercing shriek.
Without warning, it spewed a flame breath from its mouth.
“Huh!”
Startled, I summoned the Sun God shield’s divine form to block it.
Look at this thing. What a nasty temper.
I’d half-expected it, but it was vicious beyond normal.
Beside me, Metatron stared in dazed devastation, her dreams shattered. She’d probably wanted to frolic with her named baby dragon. But reality was different.
This Helkite wasn’t some cute baby dragon from a fairy tale.
It was a monster—one that even other monsters avoided due to its ferocity.
How rude could it be to ignore a Lord-grade monster? Once fully grown, its power and might would rival a Lord-grade monster—truly, a lone wanderer.
Oh, Metatron.
You went and named it Little Dragon.
Still, feeling sorry for her, I used my healing skill first. We shared a compatibility that let us heal each other, unlike with others.
Soon, Metatron’s wounds vanished cleanly.
But the wounds of the heart lingered.
I gently stroked her head.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make Little Dragon play with you.”
Metatron’s eyes widened in round surprise.
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’ll make sure of it, so wait for me at the sanctuary. You were upset, huh? I’ll grab you some chocolate milk later.”
“Choco milk!”
Only then did Metatron relax, marching back up to the one-room with newfound energy.
“Then I’ll leave it to you! Yoo Jea, you’re a reliable man.”
Who in the world would guess that’s Metatron’s true nature?
If that girl ran into a hunter outside, she’d be ice-cold ruthless.
Just like when we first met in that trap—she’d called our hyenas bugs.
But now I knew. It was just the lonely girl pushing others away to isolate herself.
Michael probably knew too.
That’s why she’d gone to extremes, even wrecking her own sanctuary, to pull Metatron back into the fold.
Lately, Michael seemed to be trying to mend their broken past. But it didn’t look easy. Naturally, the more mature Michael had to do the heavy lifting.
“Alright... Let’s fix that attitude of yours, Little Dragon.”
Honestly, the fact that it had made Metatron cry had me a bit pissed.
What can I say? It’s fine if I make Metatron cry.
But someone else making her cry? Unforgivable.
I immediately activated my Domination ability.
Kieeeek!
The Helkite hatchling shrieked in defiance.
But I poured in effort to strengthen my Domination force, and our grueling battle began.
***
“...Wow, that little shit. I’m the level 4 incarnation of Metatron. This is ridiculous.”
“It’s not a little shit, it’s a dragon shit, sir?”
The maknae piped up snarkily from beside me, so I smacked the back of his head without hesitation.
Thwack!
“Ow, why’d you hit me!”
“’Cause you deserved it, you punk.”
Without the time loop, kid, your life would’ve been ruined ages ago.
This maknae had been a walking disaster since the corpse disguise incident way back.
Still, fondness had crept in, so I’d brought him along when the Black Hyena Team visited this time. Lately, he was pulling his weight without his old clumsiness. Of course, that came after intense discipline from the veterans—no need to elaborate.
“You punk, just don’t cause trouble and do your job.”
“I’m being careful now, sir. Call me Cautious Kim Sang-sik.”
“Your name’s Sang-sik, meaning ‘common sense,’ but you lack any.”
“Heh heh heh, that’s exactly what my mom says.”
Ugh.
“You’ll boil over, so have something cool. Love you, Team Leader.”
As I scowled again, the maknae quickly offered a drink. I took it with feigned reluctance and chugged it down.
Gulp, gulp.
Ha... Why is this baby dragon so hard to dominate?
I knew Helkites were a tough breed. But this was weird, even for them. Sure, I wasn’t fully used to the Domination skill, but I had the base stats.
I was confident I could dominate that scary cyclops and make it do my bidding. Yet this hatchling resisted even as a baby.
Was Sui-el right after all?
I sent Sui-el a photo of the dragon via messenger and asked. Her reply: she didn’t know the species either.
-I asked around, no one knows. Sorry, Yoo Jea.
-No worries.
-It’s probably a rare breed. That’s why it’s unknown. Anyway, weird stuff. Helkites are rare already, and this is a rare variant? Raise it if you can handle it. If not, put it down. Could turn into a disaster.
-Thanks for the advice, Sui-el.
-Sure thing. Gotta check out this season’s newbies, so bye!
For now, handling this arrogant Helkite hatchling seemed tricky. I locked it up and set up barriers to keep it from our area. Getting hit by a flame breath up close would suck.
The maknae helped with the work.
Dominating it would have to wait until I raised my Domination skill proficiency some more.
I decided to use the Helkite hatchling like a scarecrow in an online game. Newbies swing swords at scarecrows to level up proficiency. So, I’d grab the Helkite daily for hours to grind my Domination proficiency.
A total living training dummy.
From that day on, after work, I clocked in front of the Helkite hatchling every evening.
Our routine was the same.
It spewed fire, I blocked with my shield, then practiced Domination. The downside: only three uses per day, so limited practice.
Two days later, the first system message appeared.
-Congratulations! Domination proficiency has increased by +1!
Finally.
Tangible progress fired me up.
Four days later, another message.
-Congratulations! Domination proficiency has increased by +1!
My Domination was an S-grade skill, but apparently high grade didn’t mean instant strength. It had a solid base, but proficiency determined the rest.
Proficiency maxed at 100; mine was currently 3. Long way to go.
One week later.
-Congratulations! Domination proficiency has increased by +3!
Oddly, it started slow, then accelerated once momentum built.
The Helkite hatchling, tormented daily, gradually softened its attitude. It still resisted, but no more fire breaths.
Ten days later.
-Congratulations! Domination proficiency has increased by +5!
Proficiency gains sped up further.
Half a month later.
-You can no longer gain proficiency against the same monster type.
New system message.
My proficiency: 50.
Impressive, but the Helkite still resisted Domination.
Kiruk?
It tilted its head at me.
It felt close now.
If I reached out, it’d rub its head against my hand. But that was it.
Like a feral cat, it’d flee at one more step.
Huge progress from the initial shrieking chaos. These days, Metatron even came to watch.
I consulted Sui-el about it.
-Aren’t you some luck freak or what?
-Huh?
-You’re insanely lucky, Yoo Jea. Raising Domination proficiency is brutal. Hunters who get it often call it a curse despite its utility. You can use it three times a day, but most manage once every two or three days. That’s the first gap. Plus, practicing on monsters means risking your life in hunts—where’s the leisure?
-True. But can’t you just cage one like me?
-Normally, monsters you can cage top out at proficiency 10, maybe 15. Big families keep some for their Domination hunters, sure. But jumping straight to 50? Unheard of. 50? That’s 15 years of effort for most.
That tough? Never imagined.
-Really?
-Yeah. And yours is S-grade? Most are B-grade. Rare A-grade ones get VIP treatment in families. Can’t dominate grade 3+, but grade 4 and below become possible. You don’t know hunter fights, but dominating a 4- or 5-grade in the heat of battle flips everything. It’s not just -1 for them; it’s +1 for you.
Sui-el said I could probably dominate high-grade monsters.
-It’s S-grade. Definitely high-grades, maybe more depending on proficiency.
-I see.
Her explanation left me dumbfounded.
I’d just spent half a month grinding on a defiant baby Helkite, and somehow became the nation’s top Domination expert. Man, my potential was terrifying.
-Yoo Jea, as the incarnation of the Angel of Domination, make good use of it.
Chat with Sui-el ended there. I gazed at the Helkite playing cheerfully in its cage, lost in thought. A bit more proficiency, and it’d be done. Then the siren blared.
[Alert, alert. Monster intrusion in the sanctuary.]
Routine here on the front lines.
The sanctuary net would limit intruders to a handful. Resident hunters would handle it.
Heading back to my room, a thought struck.
I’d become the nation’s top Domination authority, yet had zero dominated monsters under me.
That wouldn’t do.
“Outta the way! They’re all mine!”
Shouting that, I sped toward Noryangjin Yongma Mountain where the monsters had appeared.
Too curious about what kind, I even manifested fully and rocketed into the sky.
Kuwang!
With a mana explosion, I shot into the air in an instant.