The Dragon's Wings
The training hall had fallen silent.
The guild members who had been honing their skills earlier stepped aside and turned to watch me.
It almost felt like I had driven them out.
Is that not the truth?
“No, it is not.”
I meant it.
The moment they heard I was training, they had all come running to spectate.
The training hall was hardly small, either.
At the very least, I had spared no expense when it came to the training facilities.
“Junior, I can go all out, right?”
“Just make sure you don’t bring the guild building down.”
“You’re not the kind of opponent I can afford to hold back against. I’ll try my best.”
Keeping a suitable distance, I activated Dragon’s Wings.
A sensation spread from my shoulder blades.
It felt similar to when I had used the Void Mirror to manifest the essence of the flying monster Urkan.
These were not real wings.
Perhaps because the ability had been born from absorbing a demon’s blood, the dark mana that had taken on a crimson hue unfurled like wings.
“Quite a menacing shape you’ve got there.”
“The performance is just as vicious as it looks.”
The moment I spread Dragon’s Wings, the skill’s mechanics flooded into my mind.
Thanks to the Tower System.
Of course, knowing it in theory was one thing. Actually using it in real combat would require practice.
The core abilities of Dragon’s Wings.
[Grants Thorn Missiles.]
[Grants Dark Fighting Spirit.]
……
Dragon’s Wings
The crimson wings blazed even more fiercely.
Each wing measured ten meters across.
Dark fighting spirit enveloped the wings, radiating a sharp, menacing aura.
“J-Junior?”
“I’m not holding back.”
I swung the Dragon’s Wings as they were.
A gale swept through the training hall.
A crimson wave of dark fighting spirit crashed toward Shin Junseok.
“Looks like ‘holding back’ isn’t in your vocabulary, Junior!”
The white aura that had been spinning around his fists surged upward a full meter, then reversed the flow of the crimson wings and erupted skyward.
The Dragon’s Wings were forced apart on both sides.
This senior of mine.
When had he added the properties of flow to the purely forceful Storm Tiger Divine Fist?
The Storm Tiger Divine Fist Shin Junseok wielded had long since transcended its original form, leaving behind only its basic framework and name.
I flapped the Dragon’s Wings once more, sending another wave of dark fighting spirit surging toward him.
Being swayed by raw power does not suit you.
“Even too much output can be a problem.”
The sheer quantity of mana was several times what my true body could normally produce.
The power was simply too strong, and because Dragon’s Wings manifested outside my body as a concept, controlling it was no easy task.
It was the complete opposite of when I had fought the Prison Queen Demon.
“Hah!”
[Storm Tiger Divine Fist – 7th Form]
[Storm Tiger Layered Fist]
Layer upon layer of condensed aura struck away the waves of dark fighting spirit.
A sharp jolt traveled all the way to my shoulder blades.
The wings I had manifested using the Primordial Dragon’s factor.
They were not a body part humans possessed, yet because they carried the concept of a dragon, the impact reached me as well.
It was not severe damage, but the fact that some of it returned to me meant I could not treat the wings as disposable.
“How about this?”
I wrapped the ten-meter wings in the Blessing of Greed.
Then I manifested Thorn Missiles atop them.
Instead of letting the spikes fly toward their target the moment they were created, I held them in place with the Blessing of Greed.
Then I coated the Thorn Missiles in dark fighting spirit.
Shin Junseok’s complexion turned the color of earth.
“Isn’t this a bit excessive?”
“Judge for yourself after you take it.”
A moment later.
The entire training hall shook, and a voice crying “I surrender!” echoed pitifully through the air.
Thirty minutes later.
“Thank you, Senior.”
“Kuh, ughhh.”
Shin Junseok, clad in what had once been a martial uniform and was now nothing more than rags, lay sprawled on the training hall floor, twitching.
You seem to have grown quite accustomed to it.
“Thanks to Senior.”
I lightly stroked the Dragon’s Wings still attached to my back.
Dragon’s Wings itself was closer to a concept.
It would be more accurate to say I was attaching the flesh of “essence” onto the skeleton of a concept and manifesting it in reality.
“That is also why the dark fighting spirit has settled into the wings like feathers.”
Then it should be possible to fill the wings with other essences as well.
“Well, in theory, even demonic energy would work.”
Would work?
“Controlling it is difficult.”
Dragon’s Wings was not an actual physical limb.
It was a spiritual body constructed from essence.
Controlling the flow of energy through it was several times harder than doing so with my own flesh, and the output was far higher.
“For now, the best I can do is guide the direction the mana flows.”
The dark fighting spirit that composed the Dragon’s Wings.
The jet-red current surged forward with the force of a raging torrent.
The most I could manage was keeping the dark fighting spirit from breaking free of the framework of “feathers” and “wings.”
Moving it freely like Polar Night was impossible.
If you are not careful, it may become a double-edged sword that turns against you.
“I’ll get used to it eventually.”
I spoke calmly.
Dragon’s Wings.
A powerful skill that wove together essences to release several times the mana my true body could normally produce.
If I could wield this according to my own will—
“In three years—no, two—I should be able to regain the strength I had before the regression.”
I clenched my right hand tightly.
But are there no side effects from using the skill?
“The essence I pour into manifesting the wings cannot be used afterward, and if I grant too much essence, I cannot handle the output.”
Simply learning the limits of Dragon’s Wings was already a significant achievement.
The future looked promising.
* * *
A week had passed since I obtained Dragon’s Wings.
Main Mission – Cleared the Great Labyrinth.
Clear Time: 05:22:31
Global Team (3) has broken the record for the fastest clear of the 59th floor.
I had cleared up to the 59th floor mission.
My skill level had risen to roughly 40% of what it had been before the regression.
Since my abilities were already on par with Master-rank players, missions in the 50s were not particularly difficult.
One thing I regretted, however—
“All the Constellations that used to hand out rewards so freely have disappeared.”
A short sigh escaped me.
Starting from the 53rd floor mission, the Constellations had stopped intervening.
Perhaps they had consumed too much spiritual energy.
Or maybe they had tried to mess with me and ended up getting burned instead.
Your greed knows no bounds.
“I earned all of it through effort, you know?”
Of course I had.
As the difficulty rose, so did the rewards.
How could it be greed when I had shed blood, sweat, and tears to obtain them?
Do you truly believe that?
I exercised my right to remain silent.
Without stopping even once, I cleared floors 54 through 59.
During the missions, I devoured several additional essences as well.
[Big Hand’s Essence]
Grade: Rare
Skill – Enhanced Grab
A passive skill that strengthens the power of one’s grip.
[Sarnic’s Essence]
Grade: Ancient
Skill – Blink
An active skill that allows spatial leaps of up to 30 meters.
[Sunbird’s Essence]
Grade: Ancient
Skill – Prominence
A mid-tier magic skill that strikes the target with a pillar of flame.
[Water Lion’s Essence]
Grade: Rare
Skill – Steam Gain
An active skill that evaporates large quantities of moisture with intense heat to inflict burns.
The only one truly useful in actual combat was Blink?
Prominence was a fairly useful spell as well, but I already had Solar Explosion for the fire attribute.
Thanks to the Twin-Headed Ogre’s essence, I could cast magic even during close-quarters combat, so casting time was not a concern.
Besides, if I needed a substitute for Prominence, I had Seon Magic.
But what of the Chess Demons’ essences? Will you not take them?
“If I keep running the same mission over and over, the Black Network will catch wind of it.”
A man without a single opening.
To obtain 100% of an essence, I would need to devour roughly thirty to forty of them.
If I ran the 53rd floor mission about twenty times, I could consume the essences of all the pieces except the King and Queen.
But there was something I had to take care of first.
I immediately summoned Madam.
The meeting place was a café near the guild house.
When I arrived on time, the café was completely empty.
“Did you rent the whole place out?”
“A single day is hardly difficult.”
Madam appeared with her usual composed reply.
A beauty in a black dress.
She was still stunning, but after seeing so much of Nyx, I felt little excitement.
“Is that not rather cold of you?”
“That does not seem like the first thing you would say upon seeing me.”
“You have always been as cold as ice. Yet you are not like that with your own guild members.”
“If you wish, I can offer you a place in Yeokcheon.”
“Hoho, what an amusing joke.”
“If that is not the answer you wanted, then let us move on to the main topic.”
“Very well. I have been waiting quite a while myself……”
I took out the blueprint of Galatea that I had stored in the Pocket of Desire.
“May I verify whether that blueprint is genuine?”
“By all means.”
Madam calmly examined the design she held in her right hand.
There were special items in the Tower System capable of falsifying names or options.
They cost quite a few CP, but in a situation like this, it was worth using.
Her suspicion was only natural.
“It really is genuine.”
“I am not bold enough to scam the Black Network.”
“I believe you are more than capable of doing so, Korean Branch Manager.”
“The person in charge of the Black Market gives quite a generous evaluation.”
“Now then, will you hand over the Galatea blueprint?”
“Not yet. There is still one condition.”
I pulled the Galatea blueprint slightly behind me.
“You are making things difficult for me.”
“Well, obtaining the Galatea blueprint was no easy task for me either.”
“Since you already know our circumstances, you may add any conditions within my authority.”
Even now, her words carried hidden barbs.
She had skillfully implied that if the Black Network suffered major losses, it would harm me as well.
However.
This was something far too important to me to compromise on.
“I want to deliver it to the Shadow Puppeteer myself.”
“You mean…… you wish to meet the head of the Black Network?”
“You already knew, yet you still asked.”
A crease formed on Madam’s brow.
Silence filled the café.
How much time had passed?
“Heh heh. Are you perceptive, or simply reckless?”
Tap— Tap—
A steady rhythm of footsteps echoed from the upper floor.
An elderly man descended the stairs, leaning on a cane.
“Guild Leader!”
“It is fine. If the young man wishes to meet face-to-face, then I must come forward.”
Madam hurriedly rose and moved to support the old man.
“Is it you?”
“Yes. I am the master of the Black Network, the Shadow Puppeteer.”
He had the ordinary appearance one might see while walking down any street.
For the head of a criminal organization that controlled the underworld across the entire world, he looked like an unremarkable old man.
Yet.
Anyone who had experienced the cold calculation and cruelty hidden beneath those kindly eyes would never be able to treat him casually.
I myself had been burned by him several times before the regression.
“I did not expect you to be in Korea.”
“Is that sincere?”
“No. I set the condition because I already knew you were here.”
“A bold young man.”
The old man chuckled and took a seat.
A heavyweight lured out by the Galatea blueprint.
To prepare for the coming war, I would need this man’s power and abilities.
“Shall we begin the transaction, then?”