Transcendent Awakening

As he briskly traversed the Dimensional Corridor as usual, Pathfinder furrowed his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠brow upon hearing the resonant pulse of the Dragon Heart emanating beyond the dimensional walls.

"What the hell? That sound?"

"Damn it. Those greedy transcendent bastards are gonna swarm like a pack of wild dogs now."

The dimensional realm where he'd hastily erected pillars not long ago to slow the rate of erosion. Though he'd long forgotten it after becoming a transcendent, it was practically his hometown, so he'd kept tabs on it. He'd thought the makeshift pillars were holding up well enough for the time being.

But that sound just now had turned it into the hottest spot for attention.

For transcendents, the prime prey was always a fresh-faced newbie just stepping into transcendence—still hot off the press. Once you got past that vulnerable phase, you could end up as the one getting devoured if you picked the wrong fight. That's why so many targeted that brief window of chaos.

The pulse was like a starting gun announcing it.

'The echo's fading gradually, so there's still some time left, at least.'

Pathfinder decided he'd wrap up his current business quickly and pay that place a visit.

A single ornate door came into view in the distance. He shook his head lightly to clear his thoughts and hurried toward it.

Hwarang Guild's long-prepared SS-rank Demon Dragon's Nest raid had ended in resounding success. Kang Mir became the guild's first hunter to slay an SS-rank dragon, skyrocketing him to ace status in name and deed.

Hwarang Guild slickly edited pre-recorded footage into hype videos and blasted them everywhere. Viewers went wild seeing Kang Mir, cloaked in his water dragon, slicing through dragon breath as he charged ahead.

While all of Korea buzzed in festive chaos with nonstop Demon Dragon's Nest raid news, the supposedly comatose Kang Min-ho lay neatly in bed at Professor Kim Tae-min's house.

Professor Park Cheol-gyu had sensed something off with his condition and brought him here right after exiting the dungeon. As far as he knew, nowhere was safer than Professor Kim Tae-min's place.

Kang Min-ho slept soundly on the bed, breathing evenly.

"Still out?"

Professor Park Cheol-gyu glanced toward the room where he lay and asked.

"His energy's sunk deep inside. Looks like it's not time to wake yet."

"I see."

Professor Park Cheol-gyu nodded lightly, lifting his teacup to his lips as he eyed Professor Kim Tae-min.

"Think everything that guy said is true?"

"Didn't you already get solid proof yourself?"

At that, Professor Park Cheol-gyu recalled the Dragon Scale Armor, nodding with a bitter expression.

"No ordinary item, that's for sure. Hell, calling it an item feels like an insult—it was one hell of an armor."

"You think gear that shrugs off most skills without a scratch would be ordinary?"

Professor Park Cheol-gyu stared at his reflection in the teacup before speaking.

"Guess it all checks out as fact, then."

"Afraid so."

Professor Kim Tae-min thought of his master, the one who'd called himself Pathfinder. If everything that dragon said was true, he was finally piecing together what his master meant by calling them the Seven Pillars.

'Which means Master's a transcendent too, probably.'

When dungeons first appeared, humanity had zero prep. Dungeons went berserk everywhere, spewing endless monster waves. Modern weapons humanity bragged could wreck their planet a hundred times over barely scratched them.

Monsters burrowed into cities—human strongholds—in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seconds, so firing heavy artillery was basically suicide.

SS-rank-plus monsters shrugged off direct missile hits thanks to mana shields, leaving generals watching in helpless despair.

The only way to kill them was direct hits with mana-infused weapons. At that dire moment, his master appeared, granting those powers to the first seven. Leading with them, humanity finally counterattacked.

Having witnessed it all firsthand, Professor Kim Tae-min now understood why his master hadn't intervened directly but worked through them.

If he'd stepped in then, it would've given the other transcendents an excuse to interfere.

'That's why he just watched from the sidelines.'

It had secretly irked him. If his master had acted, they could've flipped the war instantly. Only now did he realize fighting with dimension-bound forces was the best play.

'At this rate, when will I even grasp the hem of Master's robe?'

Professor Kim Tae-min sipped his tea with a self-mocking smile. Clearly, his master had used them to slow dimensional erosion via dungeons, delaying the transcendents' descent.

That implied not all transcendents were the same. With no clue how many like his master were on humanity's side, they had to stand on their own power like before to save the world.

He pictured the soundly sleeping Kang Min-ho. He'd seen the kid enter as F-rank and skyrocket in that short time—talented, sure.

'Maybe this kid's our hope.'

That dragon's special request to look after Kang Min-ho meant the boy had something special they didn't know.

'Gotta wait till he wakes for the full story.'

Professor Park Cheol-gyu glanced at his deep-in-thought colleague and quietly set down his teacup, careful not to disturb him. He mulled over what that dragon—who'd gifted them and vanished—had said.

'Dragon Heart, huh...'

A fleeting thought crossed his mind: Somehow feels like we got tangled with a ridiculous punk.

"Mm..."

He felt refreshed, like he hadn't slept this deeply in ages. Savoring the pleasant languor, he burrowed into the blanket, face buried in the pillow.

Thump.

Thump.

Not the fierce pounding from before, but the soft, rhythmic pulse unique to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Dragon Heart.

'Wait—what?!'

Finally recalling his last memory before blacking out, he bolted upright.

That demon's gaze, piercing across vast distance, had felt like it would suck in his soul any second.

"Hah, hah... heh, heh..."

Thinking of that demon's shout slicing through his mind like a blade, his hands trembled.

Thump.

Thump.

Then a surge of warm energy rose from the Dragon Heart's strong beat, softly enveloping his body. The shock from facing that demon melted away like snow in sunlight.

'Brunhilde?'

Only then did he realize the unfamiliar yet familiar energy from the Dragon Heart. The dragon's name surfaced in his mind.

He touched his chest where he felt that touch, as if belatedly seeking it.

What the hell had happened? Tilting his head, he summoned his status window—the most objective gauge of changes.

'Huh? Title changed?'

The Irregular title was gone, replaced by Transcendent.

'Transcendent...'

That meant the massive demon-like being from Dragon Lord Brunhilde's memories.

'Me on the same level as that thing now?'

He looked down at himself from his seated position. First thing he noticed: cute animal-print pajamas from who-knows-where.

Even charitably, equating himself to that monster made no sense.

Unless... the Transcendent title covered a huge range. If that demon was endgame and he was just at the entry level?

Yeah, that made it somewhat understandable. His growth was anything but normal, even to him.

Keep this up, and someday he might square up with that demon.

'Dream big, right?'

William Smith Clark didn't say "Youths, have ambition!" for nothing.

Anyway, mental victory it was for now.

'Ooh! Rank's SS now?'

Did SS-rank even exist? As far as he knew, no top hunter worldwide had it.

'Am I the first?'

Sure, folks like Professors Kim Tae-min and Go Taek-hyeon walked unique paths, and hidden masters lurked. But seeing SS plastered there filled him with pride anyway.

'Now, skill window? Whoa, packed.'

Skills had ballooned. Five new S-rank ones grabbed his eye first.

'Dragon Scale and Draconic Aura from Brunhilde's guardian Draconian. Weakness Insight from Professor Park Cheol-gyu. Blink from watching Kang Mir fight. And Big Bang? Guess from high mana control insight—total surprise.'

Five S-ranks from one dungeon? Others rioted over one.

'Talent skill's busted, no cap.'

He smirked, eyes drifting lower. Unique ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠skills: Strike and Acceleration leveled up; Buff stagnant from disuse.

'Passives... Huh? What's that?'

Dragon Heart shifted to unique passive, adding a new slot. Like unique skills, it showed level, not rank.

'Lv.6?'

The unusually calm, stable pulse made sense now. Not just shifted—it jumped to Lv.6.

'What's different?'

Mana Absorption was gone, probably merged. Dragon Heart sucked mana wholesale anyway—superior version wins.

Numbers alone didn't show diffs, so he lightly pulled mana from the Dragon Heart.

Vrrrrooooom!!

The room—no, the whole house—shook like an earthquake.

"Wha—huh?"

The door burst open. Two familiar faces appeared.

"What the fuck?"

"What's going on?"

He quickly reined in the energy, flashing an awkward grin at them.

"Just... testing mana flow a bit. Heh, haha, ha. Ha."

"..."

"..."

Their faces twisted in unison at his words.