The Dragon Grows by Devouring

The Eldritch Dragon, bearer of the demon dragon's name.

Nidhogg lazily swiped its foreleg through the air.

It was the motion of someone shooing away a buzzing fly. Though the gesture lacked any real enthusiasm, it proved catastrophic for the monsters facing him.

The upper half of an ogre caught in the arc of the strike simply vanished. Those in the rear ranks that avoided a direct hit were still hurled backward by the shockwave, tumbling and crashing across the ground.

That's right. These weren't orcs. They were ogres.

A few months ago, the residents of a gate that the nation's top three guilds had cautiously raided. Creatures that even Platinum-rank players preferred to avoid in direct combat were being tossed aside like straw.

"Not bad at all."

It was far stronger than the specs listed under its large-monster classification.

Hmm. Winning a pure contest of strength without dragon transformation would be difficult.

"Who are you to lecture me about laziness, Goddess? Wasn't it you I caught lounging on the sofa in a dress woven from Polar Night energy, watching television?"

The truly absurd part was how she somehow maintained an air of dignity even while sprawled in perfect slacker fashion.

This... was a goddess?

If she put in that effort two more times, she'd evolve into a first-rate NEET.

I now understood the combat capability of the Eldritch Dragon.

Not bad at all!

"Rest? That was just a warm-up."

Good grief. This guy was only half dragon, yet he acted more arrogant than the holy dragons I'd faced during my promotion trial.

Lexy and Ark hadn't possessed egos this strong. Was it because he was an Eldritch Dragon?

"Please enlighten this ignorant servant with your wisdom, Goddess."

Ah. Now that she mentioned it, he had grown more proactive. Offering me territory and such.

"The master-servant bond remains unchanged, so I didn't pay much attention to the minor details."

That aside, I'd summoned Nidhogg intending to release him in Siberia so he could accumulate power on his own. Yet the moment I turned my back, it seemed he'd simply find a comfortable cave and laze about.

Troublesome.

I had discovered a side effect of using the Shining Trapezohedron to reflect the void and manifest it into reality.

An inflated ego. A distorted sense of pride.

Hmm. Maybe I should call in a counselor.

"You want to fight me?"

A species that grew stronger simply by breathing in the corner of a room. That was what a dragon was.

The mana accumulation ability attached to the Dragon Heart extracted from a dragon soldier's essence. Mana from the atmosphere was stored within the heart, and the body grew in proportion to that accumulated power. Without external stimuli, dragons lived nearly ten thousand years, growing stronger until the moment of death.

"I'm not saying I didn't know that."

This guy was spouting annoying logic.

If I were willing to wait thousands of years for him to grow strong, I never would have summoned him in the first place.

However, Nidhogg was not a true dragon.

He was a dragon forged using a Dragon Stone as catalyst, various sorceries, and the symmetry ability of imaginary space. A hybrid that was simultaneously dragon, undead, and a being of the void.

Who on earth had created such a horrific hybrid?

Ah. That would be me.

"Yeah. I found the answer in what you just said."

I pulled the mana stone from the ogre's heart.

"Eat it."

Nidhogg's nostrils flared, sniffing eagerly.

Hey now. Already taking the bait?

"Just try one bite. Come on. Come on."

Nidhogg snatched the mana stone with his tongue and crunched it down in a single bite.

The moment he swallowed, I checked my status window. Strength had risen by 1.

"As expected."

"The Eldritch Dragon from my previous life was said to be even stronger."

An Eldritch Dragon that had completed its physical form through sufficient sacrifices and magical power was vastly more powerful. It wasn't a normal dragon but a shadow-like being created by inverting concepts. In other words, it could grow rapidly simply by being fed.

"Doesn't this make you motivated?"

Tsk. This was exactly why dragons were impossible.

They could say such shameless things without batting an eye.

"It is your great master's command. Stop playing around and hunt."

Nidhogg growled low in his throat and moved with obvious reluctance.

For the following three weeks, I traveled back and forth between Manchuria and Siberia, hunting monsters. The dual purpose was to motivate Nidhogg and to collect essences I had yet to obtain.

One sorcery, one permanent buff for summoned creatures, and two holy spells. Not a bad haul.

Blood Rage was a decent buff-type sorcery, passives were always welcome, and acquiring two holy spells that rarely dropped in the Tower was especially pleasing.

"That's because you have to set who they're supposed to worship."

Nyx understood immediately.

When the Tower of Babel was first constructed, the Old Gods had not stepped forward openly. They were a gathering of beings who had lost in various mythologies. Had they not concealed their identities, they would have incurred the wrath of the current-generation Constellations who ruled the present age.

"These days everyone pretends not to know that the Old Gods stand behind the Tower even though they're fully aware."

"It's entertaining for them."

The beings who had carved their names upon the stars viewed the Tower as the ultimate form of entertainment. Even if the Old Gods swallowed worlds that had lost in the dimensional competition, they could never defeat the current-generation Constellations no matter how much power they accumulated.

"It's like they're playing blind man's bluff. Since the Old Gods keep their heads bowed, the Constellations see no need to interfere."

"Some Constellations feel that way, but it's not the prevailing opinion."

Not every Constellation was a voyeur. There were benevolent ones like Athena, but the god-king class Constellations who represented the majority showed little interest in the well-being of mortals.

"When I have time, I should go collect more holy spells."

I already had more than enough debuff skills. With the Ars Goetia & Cocytus that let me borrow the authority of the seventy-two demons, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠any curses obtained through Devour would feel lacking by comparison. Buffs and healing spells, however, were still in short supply.

"I can't use it on others."

My only healing spell was basic Heal. I'd poured enormous amounts of mana into it during sparring sessions with guild members to increase its effect, but the skill's low rank meant the casting speed remained slow.

Another reason to visit every gate on the planet. I really wished wormhole technology would be commercialized soon.

Nidhogg crushed the monsters with furious momentum. He seemed to have grown more combative over the past three weeks? No. This was him complaining that hunting was too much trouble.

His laziness hadn't been corrected at all. If anything, he'd started making demands.

"I'll make you a spot in the Necropolis."

Argh. I could feel my blood pressure rising.

Laziness and obsession with decorating a lair. Both were classic dragon traits.

"Please don't sound so amused while watching someone else's suffering."

She gives me the illness then offers the medicine.

Still, after working Nidhogg for three weeks, I had a rough idea of how to handle him. I'd create a cave lair for him near Bolshoy Ussuriysky Island. If hunting became too bothersome, I could simply deliver mana stones to his lair.

"I'll leave lair management to Ark."

"As long as the mana stones are delivered on time."

Nidhogg wasn't the type to diligently patrol the area. The moment he had free time he'd flop onto his belly and roll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠around. While he complained about hunting, he'd drool the instant mana stones appeared before him.

"Just feed him on schedule."

Ark had just won the grand prize as official Eldritch Dragon keeper.

Over those three weeks, while collecting essences and learning Nidhogg's personality, I had also gauged the atmosphere of the region.

"It's land the Russians would be willing to lease."

The player forces in the Siberian region could charitably be called unremarkable. They barely managed to protect the railway, installing detection magic here and there and dispatching forces only when monsters moved.

The situation in Manchuria, where erosion had progressed further, was even worse. Not a single player could be seen. Monster hordes crossed the border freely, toying with the Russian players.

"It's worse than I heard."

"You're right."

In fact, it was perfect. They hadn't installed detection magic along the entire border. Slipping across unnoticed would be simple as long as I erased all traces.

"I'd say it's excellent at this level."

I had also observed the undead army Ark commanded. How would the dead react upon encountering the living? Using the Russian players' cooperation, I had conducted surprise tests. The results weren't bad.

The undead merely watched like spectators at a chicken fight. Despite their instinct to attack the living, they avoided initiating conflict.

"Even when the players attacked first, they didn't counterattack. That's more than passing grade."

They counterattacked only at the bare minimum. Before long, a Death Champion ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠appeared on the battlefield accompanied by Hell Knights. Their intent was to suppress the players with overwhelming force.

"They even said they'd spare their lives."

I would need to install more control measures in the future, but as long as Ark maintained firm command, there shouldn't be any major problems for now.

"Then let's return to Bolshoy Ussuriysky Island."

"How much could it possibly have changed in just three weeks?"