Chapter 224
Chapter 224
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 224
>Chapter Title: The Dragon Slayer's Heir
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This is a tale from before the East achieved its current glory... before the Khan Empire rose from the dust and winds of the East to bask in prosperity.
To tell this story, we must first delve into the deep-rooted legends of the East.
Dragons.
In Pandea, there were three main types of dragons.
The rulers of the skies, who wielded magic and draconic tongue: the ancient dragons.
The wingless dragons, branched off from the primordial dragons, boasting sturdy bodies but unable to use mana.
And the protagonists of this tale, the cloud dragons who commanded the weather.
Cloud dragons wielded not magic, but Taoist arts, and as transcendent beings, they had influenced every aspect of the East for ages untold.
Humans, unable to approach their overwhelming presence, wove countless legends around them—from tales claiming the cloud dragons created Pandea, to stories of humans ascending to dragonhood after centuries of training.
Thus, the roots of the East were intertwined with the cloud dragons. Even the Khan Empire, one of Pandea's two great empires in the present day, traced its origins to them.
In the past, the East was a chaotic battlefield overrun by myriad factions. Human greed and primal malevolent energy mingled, spilling rivers of blood.
Yet, this calamity, which seemed inevitable, bore the mark of someone's will.
The evil dragon of the East, Hagrumu.
The cloud dragons of the East had their own realm and, by custom, did not interfere in the human world.
But Hagrumu sought to bend the human realm to his whims, inciting fools and manipulating them.
Those empowered by the evil dragon's might and serving his will were formidable enough to shake the East, their forces vast and powerful.
Even defeating them offered no respite, for their master, Hagrumu, was beyond imagination to challenge....
Thus, the East seemed destined to fall into Hagrumu's clutches.
But amid the terror of draconic Taoist arts, when all cowered, one man swung his spear at Hagrumu.
A man who pierced the dragon's heart with his spear, even through the arts of fallen stars and moons.
Hongcheon.
After three days and nights of battle, Hongcheon slew Hagrumu and drank the blood flowing from his corpse.
With that, the East's bloodbath came to an end.
It was a catastrophe over 300 years old, still passed down as legend through generations changed many times over. Yet no one dismissed it as fanciful myth.
Hongcheon, founder of the great Khan Empire in the East and dragon slayer.
Hongcheon still lived.
As the Emperor of Khan, as the one who drank dragon blood.
For over 300 years.
And now, after countless ages of balance under his power, the East faced a new chapter.
One month before Kang Seol arrived in the East, the Dragon Struggle to decide the successor to the Khan Empire began.
* * *
A pitch-black, silent space.
Karuna, Karen, Jamad, and Ur were familiar with such voids.
Kang Seol's shadow space was just like this.
However, that didn't mean they were currently inside the shadow space.
They had been sucked into this unknown space right after Kang Seol consumed the Eternal Life Pill and died.
They only recognized each other after some time had passed.
"Ur! You knew, didn't you?"
"Knew what?"
"That things would turn out like this."
"I did know."
Karen asked the bespectacled spirit.
"Then you know where we are and how to get out?"
"......"
"Ur?"
Ur clamped his mouth shut.
In truth, all of this was practically planned between Kang Seol and Ur.
Ur trusted Kang Seol, and Kang Seol trusted Ur.
Otherwise, they never would have plotted that insane stunt off the southern city of Rabenu.
But that didn't mean he bore responsibility for everything that followed.
Jamad glanced at Ur and spoke.
"This... is hard to explain. I can't make sense of it. Ur, can you analyze this space?"
"I can."
Jamad closed his eyes tightly.
He sensed something in Ur's response.
"Time is the issue, then."
"...Yes."
Kang Seol had once explained to Ur that something like this would happen.
Kang Seol knew the Eternal Life Pill's effects and side effects better than anyone.
He had entrusted Ur with what would follow his consumption of it.
- The moment this pill enters your stomach, it'll melt into your body, shatter the frame, and forge a new balance.
- Like body remodeling?
- Not quite. The body does remodel, but more importantly, as it shatters once, a new space will form inside me.
And Kang Seol didn't know everything about that space either.
He had only encountered it as text describing its emergence. Only the legendary Immortal, speaker of his words, could explain all its principles and phenomena.
That Kang Seol could vaguely describe it and warn of its coming was a huge help to Ur.
"Help? What help...."
Ur was confident.
If he couldn't decipher it, no one in this world could.
He expected to escape this darkness swiftly.
But even after their long voyage, Kang Seol hadn't awakened. They thought he'd spring up soon after dying, but neither he nor his summons escaped the oppressive dark.
"How much time... are we talking?"
Karuna asked Ur.
Ur gave the answer he hated most.
"I... don't know."
"We're in trouble."
"What kind of messed-up space is this? Unbelievable. A human made this?"
Huff... huff...
Coco and the crows watched them from nearby.
"But I have some idea. Can't confirm it yet, but things will improve gradually."
Ur furrowed his brow.
"I should have asked for more details about this place."
In times like these, start from the basics.
Not just Ur—everyone knew that.
Jamad spoke.
"Kang Seol knew about this space in advance and tipped us off, so at least it wasn't born for some negative purpose?"
"Exactly. This space wasn't made to trap us like this."
Karen's eyes widened at his words.
"Huh? So this black void is actually helpful to us?"
"More precisely, it will be helpful. Let's investigate that from now on."
"Hmm... Won't the master be in trouble without us?"
All eyes turned to Karen at her words.
Catching the meaning in their gazes, she grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry! No way that's true."
* * *
Swoooosh...
Shadows gathered in his grasp.
Swoooosh...
They gathered even more intensely.
"Not yet. Still too soon."
His shadow power remained intact, but he couldn't summon his familiars.
It wasn't due to external factors or abnormalities blocking summons; even his bloodline's power couldn't connect them.
It was a situation that could rattle anyone, but Kang Seol took it in stride.
'Ur hasn't deciphered it yet. These things happen.'
If Ur finished analyzing the space, his familiars could emerge from his fingertips anytime. Regrettably, there was no response now.
One might think being unable to summon for a while made consuming the Eternal Life Pill a net loss, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Just look at the messages that appeared while he slept.
[The Eternal Life Pill reconstructs the body.]
[The Eternal Life Pill's energy merges with the Primordial Blood.]
[The Primordial Blood amplifies the Eternal Life Pill's energy.]
[All stats increase by 50.]
[You enter the Genesis state.]
[Construction of the Void begins.]
...
The Eternal Life Pill's true effects didn't manifest immediately.
To activate, the body had to crumble—in other words, experience death.
Since the pill itself contained deadly poison, death was inevitable naturally, but Kang Seol chose to use even his death to shake off the Eternal Life Church's pursuers.
And the plan succeeded brilliantly.
A few issues lingered, though.
The first was crises during his prolonged coma, now resolved. The second was the temporary summoning block.
Were the pill's effects worth those drawbacks? Unequivocally yes.
As befitting the Immortal's secret art—the head of the Eternal Life Church who commanded myriad familiars—the Eternal Life Pill had peculiar powers.
Ur was probably struggling with its first effect: the Void's construction.
Thinking of Ur's plight brought a smile to Kang Seol's lips.
The first stage, Genesis, drastically boosted physical stats and formed a new independent space within the body.
This independent space was called the Void, the reason the Immortal could wield such bizarrely powerful familiars.
'Even so, all stats up by 50... impressive.'
In total, a whopping 300 stat points surged. Now, Kang Seol could defeat knights of similar level barehanded with ease.
Normally, it would have been half that—around 30 per stat—but the pill's energy synergized with his Primordial Blood for extra gains.
Fortune favored him there. With such boosts, he worried little about the future.
With stats like a war chariot, plus Jamad's martial arts he'd mastered, the absence of summons wouldn't sting much.
At least for now, with no strong foes in sight.
'Later. Plenty to handle first.'
Kang Seol addressed Bitan, dozing on his shoulder.
"Bitan, you okay? Not uncomfortable?"
Bitan woke with a pop of the bubble on his nose.
【Ah, you called?】
"Yeah. No light from the lantern anymore—is it bothering you?」
【No! Bitan grew big, so no more lantern for me!】
Bitan was a vital existence for Kang Seol. He'd thought of it merely as a fused spirit weapon, but it could grow on its own.
'Without Bitan, I might've been in danger.'
Bitan blinked at Kang Seol.
【Bitan heavy?】
"Nah, not at all."
【Then why stare like that!】
"Just... you seem different, Bitan."
Bitan had changed in many ways.
Before, its personality felt forcibly twisted, alienating. Now, it was like a cheeky little rascal.
【Heehee! Bitan had an amazing adventure! So I grew bigger!】
"Good job."
Indeed, Bitan's body seemed twice as large.
Even on Kang Seol's shoulder, it felt weighty.
Bitan's growth was great news, especially with summons sealed.
'Once I settle in an inn, check the rewards too.'
He wasn't expecting much.
Checking titles and achievements showed little change.
Killing Bria, a pillar of the Eternal Life Church, might've yielded something, but no dice.
'Survived that blaze, huh?'
He'd assumed she'd been obliterated with Ur's power, but disappointing.
'Figures she wouldn't go down easy.'
He wasn't too worried.
He'd reached the East; the Church faded from his mind.
Next encounter, he'd kneel her without Ur's aid.
'Shame. Killing her now would've bumped rewards higher.'
Maybe even Immortal status?
Vito was similar.
Inheriting Santos's memories, Kang Seol learned of the duel between Bitan and Vito while he slept—and the reward.
One concern: he hadn't intervened; Bitan fought solo. Would contribution count?
'Even if rewards are light, no biggie. Got the Eternal Life Pill already....'
After summon rush, gear rush, now pill rush—skimpy rewards were fine.
【Village! A village!】
"Yeah, I see it, Bitan."
New rewards and Bitan's changes could wait till there.
He could've checked before entering, so why rush to the village, delaying rewards?
Kang Seol passed inspection into the village.
It was so tiny, one wondered if checks were needed.
Guards were militia-level armed.
Sparsely populated.
Their attire differed utterly from the south.
Leather and cloth over heavy plate, weapons wholly foreign. Meeting street folk made his arrival in the East feel real.
Kang Seol walked the village as if entranced, like a man with a set destination.
He soon reached the bulletin board plastered with wanted posters.
Normally at the Adventurer's Guild, but this speck of a village lacked a branch.
"Wouldn't you like to become a hero?"
A cute girl with braided hair approached a loitering warrior by the board.
He screamed transmigrator at first glance.
"What's this, a brat?"
"Join me, Seolhong, and make Khan greater still?"
"Kid, I'm busy. Go play over there."
"I am the Dragon Flower! Grandchild of the great Hongcheon!"
"Oh yeah? So?"
"Wouldn't you like to become a hero?"
The man patted her head.
"Fun talk. If you're Dragon Flower, I'm Dragon Rock, kid. Buzz off."
"How rude!"
"Seen it all now. Shouldn't come to backwaters... sigh...."
Kang Seol watched silently from afar.
His mind was a whirlwind.
The reason he'd rushed here, postponing everything.
Why.
Why her?
The arrow pointed at that girl.
"Ha...."
Kang Seol sighed, watching the dejected girl's back as the man left.
Pitiful sight, like a drowned rat, huddling.
What irked him was the mission arrow before his eyes, pointing at her.
Incredibly, none of his nurtured horses matched her traits.
"Mind-blowing."
A total stranger was what he had to reclaim.