The Primordial Dragon's Shadow

The body reconstructed upon the essence of the Primordial Species. Multiple absorbed essences had taken root throughout the flesh.

I exhaled softly and grasped the newly absorbed essence of the Serpent Deity. Balak's essence, the Dragon Cannon, carried the factor of the Demonic Dragon.

The other name for the Primordial Species I had used as the base for reconstructing my body was the Ancient Dragon Race. An ancient dragon had split its own potential in two. The Primordial Species was the one that abandoned all special abilities to pursue only physical evolution.

Because their directions had diverged so greatly from the dragon race, no synergy occurred. But what if I forced the two essences to merge anyway?

"It was insane, but it worked."

From now on, I would circulate the Serpent Deity's essence through the body I had rebuilt with the Primordial Species' essence. I had done this once before my regression. It was an act of restoring the original form of two split essences.

It would hurt a little, that was all.

I guided Balak's essence into my meridians.

Tap. Tap-tap-tap.

It felt as though needles were flowing through the blood vessels. Even though I wasn't performing any internal energy circulation, I could feel the location and flow of every meridian in my body.

"Kuaaaagh!"

I took ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that back. It didn't hurt a little. It felt like I was going to die.

I screamed. The cry existed only within my mind, never escaping outward. Inside my consciousness, I could scream as much as I wanted.

Even so, I did not stop pushing Balak's essence through the meridians.

The pathways through which human qi flowed. Following the principles of the Asura Demon Spirit Heart Method, I operated Balak's essence and slowly began melting it into my body.

It was clearly a different nature from internal energy. The reason I moved it according to the Asura Demon Spirit Heart Method's principles was not to create internal energy, but to give the essence time to adapt to the body that the Primordial Species' power had transformed.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!

The flow of essence grew increasingly violent. My body trembled violently. When Balak's essence rampaged, my body instinctively felt fear. I suppressed that instinct and continued helping the essence circulate.

Balak's essence, which had been racing through my insides like a runaway train, suddenly stabilized. It began to naturally melt into the body reconstructed from the Primordial Species' essence.

The Primordial Dragon. It referred to the form that existed before the Primordial Species and modern dragon races diverged. The first dragon, perfect in body, mind, and mana manipulation. That existence had left no trace, having torn its own body apart to create descendants. Yet I had artificially merged the two essences and restored the shadow of that primordial being.

The power of the Primordial Dragon I had manifested was minuscule, but even that alone granted synergy to all dragon-related essences.

Crack!

The Primordial Dragon's essence transformed my body. Into a more perfect existence. Closer to the primordial form. The body that had been altered by the Primordial Species' essence underwent yet another change.

When I opened my eyes, Nyx's worried gaze was the first thing I saw.

"I told you I'm fine."

"Then stop convulsing and trembling."

"I'm reconstructing my body. Of course it's going to be rough."

I smiled lightly and repeatedly clenched and unclenched my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fists. The Primordial Dragon Factor had melted into my entire body. It wasn't enough to reconstruct my physique like the Primordial Species' essence had. If I had to compare, it was about the size of a grain of millet compared to divine power.

Well, they do say the beginning is half the battle. What mattered was that I had generated the Primordial Dragon's essence faster than before my regression. With the Primordial Dragon's essence, any future dragon-related powers I obtained would come with additional options and stats.

"Status Window."

Most of my stats had reached the 400s, and thanks to the Primordial Dragon Heart, my mana had reached the 600s. The efficiency of Devour had improved after changing classes to Predator. I had also devoured Shoggus's essence, but I hadn't used Devour much since then, so I hadn't benefited greatly from the efficiency increase.

"Should I invest some bonus stats?"

"Why have you been so conservative with them?"

"It's all thanks to the goddess's power, after all."

The Polar ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Night stat had stopped growing. Like internal energy, it could no longer be increased with bonus stats. I suspected that once my understanding of Polar Night increased, the stat investment restriction would be lifted.

"Hmmm, you should strive harder."

"Easy for you to say."

I furrowed my brow. Polar Night's power was both versatile and powerful. Even Nyx, who had obtained a homunculus body, could perform at least one person's worth of work—actually more—using only Polar Night. Considering that her stats were much lower than mine… If I could wield even half of Nyx's mastery over Polar Night's power, I would become dramatically stronger.

"I understand that you value my power, but wouldn't it be better to strengthen your body instead?"

"Well, you're not wrong. But let's leave it for now."

Except for internal energy and Polar Night, I could increase my stats through Devour. In fact, even without investing bonus stats, I was already overwhelming players of the same level. With the Genius effect adding 20% to those stats, my numbers were comparable to Gold-rank—perhaps even Platinum-rank—players.

"I think I can take on Senior now."

"Hohoho, you will need my help again."

"No, I don't need help."

Thanks to creating the Primordial Dragon Factor, I could now use the skill Demonic Dragon's Rage whenever I wanted. I still couldn't overcome the lack of decisiveness without Nyx, but my combat sustainability had improved with the restoration of the Primordial Dragon's essence, so it was worth trying.

Thump-thump!

The Primordial Dragon Heart beat more powerfully under the influence of the Primordial Dragon's essence. After all, the Primordial Dragon Heart was the existence of the generation immediately following the Primordial Dragon. Before dragons diverged into Red, Blue, White, and other elemental types.

However, at my current level, I couldn't mix the Primordial Dragon Heart's power with the Primordial Dragon's essence. If I tried, my heart would be unable to withstand the power and would burst.

"This has become possible now."

After donning the metal reflective armor, I deployed Demonic Dragon's Rage over it.

Wooong!

A bright red metallic carapace. Though faint, the shape of scales was visible. If I devoured a few more essences, I would be able to manifest Dragon Scale, the final form of defensive skills. Naturally, Demonic Dragon's Rage and the Blessing of Greed overlapped. When stacking skills of similar nature, the amplification coefficient decreased or the effects were nullified entirely. But because the essence of "Greed" was erosion, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they did not conflict with each other.

At this rate, I would reach my pre-regression level in no time. I smiled in satisfaction.

The day after the promotion match. I visited the Player Association for the first time in a while.

"The President is waiting for you, Jinho-nim."

Han Suchang came out to greet me. The dark circles under his eyes seemed especially heavy today.

"Did you put on makeup?"

"What are you—ah…"

Han Suchang sighed deeply, looking exasperated.

"It's all thanks to you, Jinho-nim."

"Sorry about that."

No, his dark circles were already so prominent that I genuinely thought he had applied makeup.

"I'm just an ordinary person with average stamina."

"Looks like your workload has increased a lot."

"It's all thanks to your achievements, Jinho-nim."

"You're not angry, are you?"

"No, I'm genuinely grateful."

Then why did I sense a strange anger at the end of his sentences?

This was my second visit to the President's office in this life. The moment Kim Woosung saw me, he leaped from his seat and pulled me into a tight embrace.

"Hahaha, our lucky charm has arrived!"

Crack!

Kim Woosung was also quite a strong player domestically. If I used all my abilities, he wouldn't be able to hold me down, but it felt wrong to push away someone who was hugging me out of joy. Still, it hurt a bit.

Han Suchang hurriedly spoke up.

"President, expressing your joy is fine, but this seems excessive."

"Ah, sorry."

Chuckling, the President gestured to the seat beside him.

"It's been a while. How about we have something to drink first?"

"An iced Americano, please."

"That's the spirit of a young man. Team Leader Han Suchang, same for you?"

"Ah, I've already had coffee—"

"Secretary, bring three iced Americanos."

Han Suchang shot the President a resentful glare. Those two had always been informal with each other, so I pretended not to notice.

"You know, lately I've been walking around with my chest puffed out thanks to our Special Task Force members."

President Kim Woosung never stopped singing my praises. Indonesia had expressed national gratitude toward Korea. The Special Task Force was growing day by day. The National Assembly was responding favorably to expanding the Player Association's authority and budget reorganization.

"It's all thanks to you, Jinho, isn't it? Hahaha!"

"That's right, President."

Han Suchang chimed in from the side. It wasn't wrong, but hearing it from someone else's mouth made me feel a bit embarrassed.

While the President and Han Suchang continued their chorus of praise, the secretary arrived with the coffee.

"Here, drink up."

I applied a bit of pressure to the straw, and the coffee swirled upward. The bitter aroma and flavor unique to Americano. It was a taste that cleared the mind.

"I came today because I have a request for the Association."

"Hahaha, it's not anyone else—it's you, Jinho. Say whatever you want."

"Please grant me permission to establish a guild."

A player guild. A group of players officially recognized by the nation that had been granted a portion of the Tower's system.

"You've only been a player for how long, and you've already met the requirements to establish a guild?"

"President, Jinho Special Task Force member just passed the Silver rank this time."

"Ah, that's right. Considering the Phoenix Guild was founded in the Tower's third year, this is an incredible speed."

I slightly bowed my head and met the President's eyes directly.

"Will you approve it?"

"No reason not to. It's not anyone else—it's you, Jinho."

President Kim Woosung answered readily.

"President, then the guild establishment procedures and evaluation—"

"Let's skip all the complicated procedures. It's not anyone else—it's Special Task Force member Yu Jinho."

"Understood."

The President stamped his seal with a thud. Normally, guild establishment required several verification and review processes. After my conversation with the President, the establishment was immediately completed.

Alright. Now it was time to fill up that number.