Chapter 322
Chapter 322
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 322
Chapter Title: Legacy (2)
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A little blonde kid who looked about seven years old, Horus, scratched the back of his head a few times.
‘The last Gold Dragon.’
It was a fact he already knew, but having the system officially certify it made the whole thing feel strangely surreal.
He had even wondered if there might be other survivors of Shurihartgen’s clan somewhere that even he had overlooked.
‘To count something like this as an achievement, no less.’
Horus’s small, round head tilted slightly to the side.
Despite all the major incidents he’d been through lately, there had been zero recognition—until he became the final survivor of a fallen dragon clan, that is.
Was it because dragons were such an impressive race, or was the “final survivor” title the key factor? Hard to say.
‘At least it’s the last Gold Dragon and not the last Dragon period. Small mercies, I guess.’
Well, he already knew that from Shurihartgen anyway.
Unlike the Gold clan, which had been utterly wiped out, the other dragon clans were barely hanging on by a thread.
‘I’d love to meet some of them someday.’
Of course, not right now.
Contacting them could wait until he had everything sorted out first.
No matter how much they shared the same dire circumstances as fellow dragons, he couldn’t afford to look weak to members of rival factions!
‘Yeah, especially not for his sake. For now, let’s double-check those rewards from earlier.’
With that, Horus narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze to the message list that had popped up moments ago.
There were three big things for him to check out this time.
‘Special privilege “Dragon Lair.” Exactly what it sounds like—a dragon’s den. The special part is... it exists in a pocket dimension, not the physical world.’
In other words, the lair wasn’t tied to any specific location, and in a pinch, it could serve as an emergency hideout no matter where he was.
Definitely a worthy reward for an achievement like that.
‘Next up, then.’
Satisfied, he nodded and shifted his attention to the “Elder Dragon’s Heart.”
It was the gift Shurihartgen had crafted from his own body and soul right before passing on—to leave behind for the lone hatchling he was abandoning on this world.
An Elder Dragon had poured his very essence into it, forging it with his life force. Expectations were sky-high.
‘Talk about monstrous.’
Horus closed his eyes tightly and marveled at the immense density of energy writhing in his chest.
He had watched a good chunk dissipate during the processing, but what remained easily dwarfed the total mana he’d had as a hatchling.
He couldn’t wield it freely just yet, but that wasn’t the point right now.
All the boosts to potential, accelerated growth, and everything else were just side effects of the main event.
‘...Alright, time to get started. Let’s put this thing to proper use...’
Eyes still shut, Horus delved deeper into the energy mass embedded in his chest.
Thump—! Boom—!
The more he focused, the fiercer the pulsations and the stronger the resistance pushing back.
After several cycles, he couldn’t hold out any longer and activated Polymorph, reverting to his true dragon form.
A human child’s body just couldn’t handle any more pressure.
“Raaargh—!”
The calf-sized little dragon that appeared let out a valiant roar.
A small storm whipped up in response, and the surrounding air began to tremble once more.
His aura and power rivaled that of an adult dragon, but physical growth still required time—his body had its limits.
Still, compared to his old dog-sized self, he’d grown a lot into a sturdy calf...
Of course, Horus wasn’t satisfied with that.
‘The “Elder Dragon’s Heart” isn’t just any dragon heart.’
It contained everything from Shurihartgen’s tumultuous dragon life—proof of his exalted status, a black box recording every bit of muscle, bone, scale, and more from his body.
And if he could tap into that aspect...
Shiiiine—
Wings unfurled wide, head thrown back—light poured from Horus’s entire body.
Just like with Shurihartgen moments ago.
But the reaction that followed was night-and-day different.
Unlike Shurihartgen, who shrank while wrapped in light, Horus’s body was growing instead.
5 meters... 10 meters... 15 meters...
Arms, legs, wings, horns—every part of him expanded rapidly.
And finally.
[KROOOOAAAAAR—!]
Flap— flap—!
A Gold Dragon appeared in the now-empty cavern, bellowing fiercely as it beat its wings.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ [Hic, hek— is this... as far as I can go...]
A golden creature sprawled on the ground, tongue lolling out as it panted raggedly.
As if that majestic display had never happened, it looked pathetic rolling on the floor—back to calf-sized once more.
‘No dice on making it work like I hoped.’
Unfortunately, even using the Elder Dragon’s Heart for rapid growth had its limits.
About 10 minutes.
That’s how long Horus managed to hold the transformation on his first try.
And the power he could actually output fell way short of his theoretical maximum.
‘I wasn’t aiming for full Elder level, but I figured I could at least hit one step below!’
Fat chance.
The peak he reached in hyper-growth mode was mid-tier adult dragon at best.
Considering his normal mode was just shy of adult dragon anyway, it wasn’t a game-changer.
‘Still better than nothing. And the physical stats gap is insane.’
Horus groaned and writhed on the ground.
The reason he was suffering now was precisely that gulf in physical capabilities.
No matter how much combat power buffs padded his stats, a hatchling was still a hatchling.
The gap with an adult dragon’s body was inevitable.
A hatchling’s scales, muscles, bloodline, mana circuits—everything was softer than an adult’s.
One hit from a strong foe could be fatal; one mistake could backfire their own spell.
Basically an unstable glass cannon.
Adults could tank hits barehanded and spam spells with nary a worry thanks to tough circuits—making the practical combat difference even wider.
Shhhk—
The rolling hatchling smoothly shifted back to human child form.
He squirmed on the ground for a bit, then twisted his whole body to stand up.
“Urgh... ow.”
Just ten minutes of use, and he looked way more worn out than before.
He could rest in dragon form, sure—but as a primarily human body, this felt way more comfortable.
‘Skills scale with proficiency, so no need to get discouraged yet.’
Steady practice and refinement would extend the duration and boost efficiency.
Meaning even bigger transformations next time.
‘Yeah, even for an irregular like me, bigger is always better for dragons.’
He’d confirmed it firsthand: for dragons, size equaled age equaled power.
And hey, didn’t a massive body just have more impact? Way cooler!
“Yawn, oh yeah—that other thing needs checking too.”
The thought hit him as he wiped sweat from his brow, and he muttered under his breath.
Inspecting the Elder Dragon’s Heart had taken longer than expected, but one reward remained.
“Golden Vault.”
The Gold Dragon clan’s secret treasury, passed down through countless generations.
‘Sure, most of the treasures got burned fending off two Immortal King invasions.’
But as the saying goes: even a rich man’s ruin lasts three years.
Who knew what mysteries still lurked in a super-prestigious house’s vault after tens of thousands of years?
‘Might as well check it out now.’
With that, Horus stepped aside in the cavern.
“Open up. “Golden Vault.””
And with those words...
A massive metal door made of gold sliced into existence from thin air.
Creeeak—
It swung open slowly at first, then flung wide—like welcoming its new master.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The ever-dark stronghold of evil, the Immortal Citadel.
“Ahh— mm— ahh—!”
An unfamiliar voice echoed through one of its labs.
Testing out the new pitch, it cleared its throat a few times before chuckling in satisfaction.
“Heh heh— that’ll do.”
The laugh sounded like it was suppressing inner darkness. He pressed his throat a few times, then turned to the mirror on the wall.
Black hair, black eyes, short black beard—a stern middle-aged man stared back coldly.
He glared into his reflection for a moment, then smirked—
Squirm squirm—
Mouth slid to the right cheek. Nose drooped to the chin. Right eye crawled to the forehead. Left eye spun 180 degrees back to place.
His face twisted like a separate creature, features warping in an instant.
“......”
Yet the man just stood there, watching impassively.
“...Tch. Needs more tweaking.”
The mouth, now at his nape, muttered lowly.
Riiip—!
He raised a hand and tore off his own face.
The decisive yank stripped away the facial skin—eyes included—scalp with hair, even down to the throat.
What remained: a bare skull.
Squirm— squirm—
“Ah... uh... err...”
Even then, the face—chimera shaped like one—blinked wildly, spewing eerie noises from its mouth.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [이번에야말로 제대로 될 줄 알았거늘. 번거롭게 됐군.] Fiery eyes fixed on the failed specimen in his hand, the skull—Immortal King Hans—shook side to side.
He tossed it irritably into a metal bin in the corner, then picked up his research notes and scanned them.
‘...Still, we’re almost there. A few more days should wrap it up.’
He was prepping for his trip to the Murim world.
To hide his undead nature and pass perfectly as human.
As Hugo had felt from the Wudang Sect’s Elder Unhyeon recently, Murim masters’ senses defied imagination.
No mask, no matter how good, would fool them.
Worse, Hans wasn’t even technically alive—he’d register as little more than a sentient jiangshi to them.
‘Barreling in as-is and throwing my weight around could work, but better to cover all bases first.’
For smooth operations, minimizing suspicion and blending in was key.
His power alone would draw eyes; looking like a walking corpse left no excuses.
Hence: implant a meticulously crafted “real living being”—a chimera—onto his body.
One that reacted to stimuli, breathed, digested—mimicked human metabolism perfectly.
[Mix E-3 and G-2N. Minimize variables, amp reactivity...]
Creating a lifeform that could parasite on the embodiment of death itself—while syncing to his will, handling full human metabolism—was no easy feat.
Plus, non-Awakened life couldn’t cross dimensions, so he had to ship inert materials and finish on-site.
Even mindless low-grade chimeras weren’t simple to synthesize.
But his persistent efforts paid off.
Just one day later.
“Keh heh heh— perfect.”
The cold-faced middle-aged man with black hair and eyes flashed a sinister grin.
A chillingly natural one.
Legacy (2) End