Chapter 202
Chapter 202
Chapter 202: Spirits and Dragonkin (1)
Translation: godtl
It must have been truly exhausting.
Beneath half-closed eyelids,
a pair of irises as vividly multicolored as its speckled scales were revealed.
Was its condition affecting even its eyes?
Kkyuuuu...
The rainbow-hued eyes flickered faintly, like a dying lightbulb.
The dragonkin, freed from Si-yeon's embrace, managed a few unsteady steps before—
Thud.
It collapsed weakly onto the ground.
"Ah, no!"
Si-yeon, who had been watching with concern, rushed to its side.
"Kkyu-ung! Don't hurt yourself!"
When had she even given it a name?
Calling the speckled-scaled dragonkin "Kkyu-ung," Si-yeon cradled it like a cherished doll—
or perhaps a puppy—stroking its forehead and body repeatedly.
As Si-yeon and Kkyu-ung comforted each other—
"Kyahaha!"
"Try and catch me~!"
"There's so much natural energy here!"
"Hehe! It's different from the spirit realm—so fun!"
Multicolored clusters of light—
groups of spirits—passed by in a playful flurry.
Then—
Kkyu-ung...
For a brief moment, Kkyu-ung's eyes fluttered open in Si-yeon's arms.
Even lifting its eyelids seemed a struggle.
Its dim gaze lingered on Si-mun for a second before closing again.
"Kkyu-ung..."
A faint glimmer of tears welled in Si-yeon's eyes.
And she wasn't the only one.
"......"
High Elf Ernen silently watched Kkyu-ung.
Even though dragonkin were the very enemies who had nearly killed her and the World Tree, corrupting and exploiting them—
Her gaze held nothing but complex emotions.
Clear sympathy shone through.
In truth—
"It's like a spirit too... but I don't know how to help."
"Maybe because it carries the Spirit King's energy? Our healing doesn't work."
"Yeah. The rank's too high."
"Sorry, Ernen."
She had sent water spirits with healing abilities to examine Kkyu-ung,
but they returned with downcast expressions, murmuring about the Spirit King's rank.
As the situation unfolded, a voice reached Si-mun's ears—
"Daddy..."
Si-yeon's voice trembled with unshed tears.
"Make Kkyu-ung stop hurting, pwease!"
Her glistening eyes pleaded.
Si-mun approached her, gently stroking her head.
"Don't worry, Si-yeon. Daddy will definitely make Kkyu-ung better."
"Pwomise?"
"Of course."
He nodded confidently.
Long before Si-yeon had even asked—
'That little guy... He begged me to save him.'
Earlier, when the multicolored dragonkin had briefly opened its eyes,
Kkyu-ung had unmistakably expressed its will to live.
And with the Death Eye, Si-mun had sensed that plea clearly.
Moreover—
'The Galaxy Arena gave this as a reward after much deliberation. I can't just waste it.'
For the system to designate a dying lifeform as a reward, there had to be intent behind it.
'I will save it.'
As that resolve burned within him—
Kiiiiing—
A sharp ringing pierced one of Si-mun's eyes.
"La-la-la~!"
"Heehee! Try and catch me~!"
"Hey! You there!"
Innocent laughter echoed.
The source—vibrant clusters of light—swirled around the colossal World Tree.
More precisely—
"Benefactor. Is this sufficient?"
Under High Elf Ernen's guidance, they orbited a specific spot beneath the World Tree.
Si-mun nodded at her question.
"Yes. Perfect. Just keep dispersing spirit energy around like this."
"Leave it to me."
Confident, Ernen strolled around, playfully interacting with the spirits.
"Kyahaha!"
"That tickles!"
Each time, streams of spirit energy—each a different hue—flowed from them.
After observing for a moment, Si-mun turned his head toward the center where the spirits swirled.
His gaze fixed on the spot where a complex magic circle was drawn.
"Dad! I finished drawing it!"
From not far away, Si-yeon—who had just completed the circle while carefully avoiding stepping on the drawn sigils—
came hopping over excitedly.
"Good job. I'll take it from here. Why don't you go play with the spirits, Si-yeon?"
"No! I'm gonna wait until Kkyu-ung is all better!"
"Yeah. Thanks to you, Kkyu-ung's gonna be just fine."
Si-mun gently patted Si-yeon's head as she clenched her tiny fists.
Then—
"Hyun-ah."
—Yeah. Oppa.
Calling out to the Philosopher's Stone, Si-mun stepped toward the center of the circle, where the Dragonkin lay panting.
"You're really okay with this, right?"
—Why wouldn't I be? Not all Dragonkin are trash, you know.
The Philosopher's Stone's response seemed to catch him off guard.
Si-mun's eyes widened briefly.
As if sensing his surprise—
—What? Didn't expect that reaction?
The Philosopher's Stone teased in a playful tone.
"Honestly? No."
Si-mun gave a small nod.
"The method I'm about to use is—"
—I know. It's related to Chimera. And the promise you made to me, too.
Just as the Philosopher's Stone said.
Back when Si-mun had forged the Obsidian Tablet to gain the Human Body Synthesis ability,
he had made one promise to her.
—You said you'd only use Human Body Synthesis for good. That you'd only use it to grow stronger yourself.
"Yeah, I did."
He hadn't specified exactly how,
but he understood it was an implicit vow—not to conduct human experimentation—the very reason Human Body Synthesis was taboo.
And now,
the Chimera creation he was about to perform represented the pinnacle of such forbidden knowledge.
Naturally, Si-mun had to confirm the will of the partner who had regressed alongside him.
Fortunately—
—But Oppa. You don't have to worry about my opinion, you know?
The Philosopher's Stone readily agreed.
The reason was simple.
—Back then, I hadn't been bound to you for long. I didn't know what kind of person you were, so I said that.
"So you're saying it's different now?"
—Of course. I know you better than anyone in this world. Even if you were to conduct cruel human experiments...
The Philosopher's Stone paused briefly.
Then—
—I wouldn't care. Because the Oppa I know would only act with a righteous goal in mind.
For once, her voice carried no mischief—
only bright, solemn certainty.
"......"
Si-mun fell silent.
Why is she suddenly saying all this...?
His face grew so hot he could barely stand it.
Flustered by the Philosopher's Stone's words, he briefly covered his mouth.
Once the heat in his cheeks subsided—
"W-well, I'm glad you trust me."
—Hoho. You should be more embarrassed. Seeing the great and mighty Oppa blush is so deligh—
"Ahem! Anyway, I'm starting now."
He sharply cut off her teasing and turned his attention back—
Pii...
—to Kkyu-ung, who was letting out faint whimpers.
Sssss...
Golden magic circles overlapped in his left eye, interlocking as they rotated.
Through the elongated pupil at their center—
Just as I thought.
Kkyu-ung's multicolored body appeared before him like an architectural blueprint—
or rather, a three-dimensional, intricately detailed hologram.
As expected, the issue lies in the Dragonkin's body and the spirit energy.
Perhaps it was because the spirit energy belonged to none other than the Spirit King, a symbol of nature itself?
His body is deteriorating in real time—weakening, aging, and breaking down.
And yet, at the same time—
Thanks to the Dragonkin's superior physiology, the damaged parts keep regenerating.
After assessing the hatchling's condition, Si-mun let out a hollow laugh.
"Must be excruciating. And yet you're enduring it with just those faint whimpers..."
The body was continuously breaking down and regenerating in real time.
This was no different from the situation of the spirits being wrung dry in the Spirit King's Cradle.
'Why on earth would they attempt something so unstable?'
Like a student solving an exam question,
Si-mun pondered the examiner's intentions.
'At its core, the goal seems to be about containing spirit energy within a dragonkin's body...'
But given the opposing natures of the two energies,
whenever one energy gained dominance, the other would inevitably be consumed and extinguished.
Only one of the two could survive.
Naturally, the Dragon Power residing in the dragonkin's body had a higher chance of prevailing.
'That's why, despite being a dragonkin, they completely erased its Dragon Power and forcibly injected spirit energy in that manner.'
Like pouring water into an empty vessel—
they must have believed that, as long as the vessel was emptied, the spirit energy would find its place.
And as is the case with any experiment,
'They must have cycled through test subjects until it worked.'
They would have repeated the experiment over and over until the theory succeeded.
"Ha!"
Si-mun scoffed.
'Whoever designed this experiment—they're not just stupid, they're downright ignorant. Human transmutation can't turn the impossible into possible.'
No matter how advanced human transmutation may be,
there was no method to harmonize two fundamentally opposing forces.
If such a method existed,
the celestial and demon races—mortal enemies and the epitome of opposition—
would have long been merged, birthing hybrids capable of wielding both holy power and Demonic Energy.
Reaching that conclusion, Si-mun blinked for a moment.
"Wait. Is it possible?"
The knowledge engraved in his soul—
even if it was only 60% complete—
Judging by what he had learned so far,
he couldn't outright dismiss the idea as impossible.
Then—
Pii...
Kkyu-ung's groan snapped Si-mun out of his thoughts.
"Now's not the time."
Shaking his head to refocus, Si-mun turned his attention back to Kkyu-ung's body.
'Given that Kkyu-ung finds some stability in the spirit energy, this reckless experiment wasn't a complete failure.'
Somehow, for whatever reason—
From the spirit energy infusion facility in the Special Arena until now—
Kkyu-ung had been positively influenced by the nature of spirit energy itself.
Only—
'The problem lies in the Spirit King's spirit energy embedded within it.'
If that was the case—
'What if we extract all of the Spirit King's spirit energy and replace it with ordinary spirit energy?'
After a brief contemplation, Si-mun slowly shook his head.
The reason was simple.
'No. Even if the Spirit King's spirit energy is causing rejection, it's already mixed into Kkyu-ung's body like blood.'
If he carelessly tried to separate it—
Kkyu-ung could die.
After all, he wasn't a machine—he was a living being.
"Hah..."
Taking a moment to cool his head,
Si-mun steadied his breathing.
'Then we'd have to stabilize the Spirit King's spirit energy within Kkyu-ung's body...'
Tap. Tap.
His white fingers drummed against his chin.
Then—
"Wait!"
Si-mun's eyes widened slightly as he snapped out of his thoughts.
'Come to think of it, what kind of dragon species was Kkyu-ung again?'
Kiiing—
Odin's Eye and the Death Eye, which had momentarily relaxed, whirred back into motion.
And then—
"Holy hell!"
Si-mun couldn't help but exclaim.
And for good reason.
Kkyu-ung's dragon species was none other than—
"A Hatchling?! This guy—he was a real Dragon?!"
Just below the Dragon Emperor—
The strongest among dragonkin—a Dragon.
And it seemed Si-mun wasn't the only one shocked.
-What? This kid's a Dragon?! Are you serious?!
Even the silent Philosopher's Stone blurted out in astonishment.
Si-mun nodded.
"Yeah. This guy—he's a Hatchling, a baby Dragon."
Being the strongest dragon species,
Hatchlings were considered exceptionally precious even among dragonkin—
'And they used one for this idiotic human experiment...?'
Just what kind of deranged dragonkin would do something like this?
Recalling the time of the Spirit King's Cradle, Si-mun quickly discerned the mastermind behind this.
'The Second Dragon Emperor.'
Before dominating the Naga in the Spirit King's Cradle,
hadn't they mentioned that the Second Dragon Emperor ordered their queen to assist the Giant Race in their experiments?
'If it's the Second Dragon Emperor, then using a hatchling for such experiments is entirely possible.'
The second of the Dragon Emperors, revered as the matriarch of the dragonkin.
And as Si-mun recalled the turquoise-hued being from Tiamat's memories—
'I'll think about this later. For now, I need to focus solely on Kkyu-ung.'
Pushing aside thoughts of the Second Dragon Emperor,
he took another step toward Kkyu-ung.
'So he really was a dragon. No wonder he could withstand the Spirit King's spiritual energy.'
The highest-ranking dragonkin, surpassed only by the Dragon Emperors themselves.
With such a body, it was only natural he could endure the Spirit King's power, even if they were polar opposites.
"But..."
Si-mun's eyes narrowed as he studied Kkyu-ung.
'Why is there no Dragon Heart? If he had one, I would've recognized him as a dragon much sooner.'
The Dragon Heart—the source of immense power and a second heart.
Yet Kkyu-ung's chest, where it should have been, was completely hollow.
'Did they extract it for the experiments?'
Dragon Hearts were an exceedingly rare material, after all.
"They've truly lost their minds."
Clicking his tongue in disbelief, Si-mun muttered,
'Even if he's a dragon, without a Dragon Heart, he'd be weaker than even Drake...'
To discard something so precious just to avoid wasting it on experiments—
the cruelty inflicted upon their own kind was beyond comprehension.
Then—
'Well, this actually works in my favor.'
A bright glint flashed in Si-mun's eyes, his expression growing sharper.
'Setting aside their opposing natures, spirits are inherently ethereal. A dragonkin's physical body shouldn't be able to contain spiritual energy.'
However—
'What if I implant a vessel capable of holding spiritual energy into the flesh?'
Something like the Dragon Heart, which condensed all manner of mana and Authority.
'But I don't even know the structure of a Dragon Heart, let alone how to create one. And what about the veins or circuits needed to accept it?'
Questions piled upon questions.
Until—
'If there isn't one, I can use mine as a reference. I'm dragonkin too, and I'm the one leading this homunculus project in the first place.'
His hyper-focused mind swiftly produced an answer.
'The Philosopher's Stone is an even better vessel than a Dragon Heart. Since I've already bound the spiritual energy stat to it, the basic framework should follow this pattern...'
Crack.
Si-mun's body twisted and transformed in an instant.
Closing his eyes, he observed his draconoid form.
'I see. The horns of dragonkin are auxiliary organs designed to stabilize and control immense energy—almost like insect antennae, with multiple sensory functions. And the overall internal structure and composition...'
Using the Philosopher's Stone and his draconoid form as databases, he organized the necessary components for the homunculus.
Then, with the knowledge of homunculus crafting etched into his soul, he refined it further.
"So the general internal structure should be like this... The horns shouldn't be sharp like free-flowing spiritual energy but rounded... Since I need to implant a spiritualized Dragon Heart into the flesh, the surrounding area should..."
Like thunderbolts striking one after another,
countless pieces of knowledge flashed and surged repeatedly in Si-mun's mind.
Until finally—
"Perfect!"
Having reached the end of his calculations, Si-mun grinned.
'The detailed design is complete. Now, all that's left is figuring out how to create a Dragon Heart capable of holding spiritual energy.'
Though the biggest hurdle remained,
his expression was brimming with confidence.
For a simple reason—
'There just happens to be the perfect material right here.'
Without hesitation, Si-mun opened his inventory and retrieved a small orb.
'A Soul Core. With this, constructing a spiritualized Dragon Heart is entirely possible.'
An SS-grade item—the Soul Core.
Once the core component of the Black Smeltery's soul generator, this very Soul Core had been purified in the last Arena,
within the underworld river known as the 'Styx.'
It brimmed with spirit energy, perfectly suited for anything related to spectral entities.
'I was saving this as material for a homunculus, but... Materials can always be gathered again.'
Besides, wasn't this exactly what the Small Regulations were for?
Right now, putting out the immediate fire took priority.
Swish.
Si-mun placed the Soul Core before the collapsed Kkyu-ung and gazed at the little dragon.
"Kkyu-ung. This is going to hurt. It might even be more painful than any suffering you've endured so far."
After all, wasn't this essentially tearing apart and reconstructing a living body?
Of course, there was a chance it might not hurt at all.
But since this was Si-mun's first attempt at human transmutation, he couldn't be certain.
At his quiet warning—
Kkyu...
Kkyu-ung's closed eyelids fluttered open.
The nearly extinguished light in the hatchling's eyes locked onto Si-mun's, and he could feel it—
'I don't care what it takes, as long as I can live.'
—the sheer will in Kkyu-ung's aura.
"Alright. I'll finish this as quickly as possible."
Gently stroking the little dragon, Si-mun steadied his breath and reached out.
"Hyun-ah. If I miss anything..."
-Got it. I'll cover for you cleanly. Just trust me.
The Philosopher's Stone's spirited reply.
Si-mun smiled faintly in satisfaction and flicked his fingers.
Paztchak!
The distinct spark of transmutation crackled through the air.
Then—
Zap!
The Soul Core placed before Kkyu-ung's chest erupted in a violent spark.
[Insufficient Transmutation Power to meet the required threshold.]
[To compensate for the lack of Equivalent Exchange, the Philosopher's Stone demands 100,000 Achievement Points.]
[Do you accept? (Yes / No)]
The cost demanded was a staggering 100,000 points.
Normally, Si-mun wouldn't have hesitated to choose Yes.
'After the last Arena, my current Achievement Points are at 53,300...'
His immediate reserves barely exceeded 50,000.
'Damn it.'
Biting his lip at the sudden complication, Si-mun tensed—
Then.
"Ah! That's right!"
He clapped his hands together and quickly pulled out a crimson-black potion from his pocket.
The gift Vice Guild Master Jong Wan-ji of the Continent Castle had offered as an apology—
DS. Dragon Serum.
'The core of this transmutation is the spectral Dragon Heart, but reconstructing Kkyu-ung's body—from its horns to its internal organs and circuits—will take a considerable amount of work.'
And Kkyu-ung's body was, after all, that of a dragonkin.
Thus, the Dragon Serum, infused with the Dragon Emperor's Dragon Power, would be a massive help.
Just as Si-mun predicted—
Drip... drip...
As the serum's contents spilled into the transmutation circle—
[Insufficient Transmutation Power to meet the required threshold.]
[To compensate for the lack of Equivalent Exchange, the Philosopher's Stone demands 50,000 Achievement Points.]
[Do you accept? (Yes / No)]
The required Achievement Points had halved.
Still, it meant pouring nearly all of his remaining reserves—
"Good enough!"
Having resolved the complication, Si-mun clenched his fist and gathered the converted cost at his fingertips.
Snap.
He flicked his fingers.
And then—
Crackle-crackle-crackle-crackle!!
The human transmutation circle, now infused with DS, erupted into a pillar of crimson-black light.
It swallowed Kkyu-ung at its center—
"Ugh—Master!"
"Daddyyyy!"
—and then Si-mun himself.
Yet, even as the overwhelming transmutation consumed him, Si-mun felt nothing amiss.
On the contrary—
"Ah...!"
He was seized by euphoria.
And for good reason.
The transmutation energy swallowing him was none other than—
'This... this is close to the domain of the gods... Yes! This too is a form of Truth! A Truth I shouldn't even be permitted to witness!'
A Truth far beyond what the current Si-mun could even imagine.
The moment he realized it—
Shiiing!
With a crystalline chime—
The once-crimson pillar of light instantly shifted into a dazzling spectrum of colors.
[A new Dragon Species has been born.]
[Please designate the name of the Dragon Species.]
A series of messages appeared.
Staring blankly at them, Si-mun murmured—
"Fairy Dragon..."
As the name flowed instinctively from his lips—
[The Dragon Species has been designated as Fairy Dragon.]
[Five Constellations observing you have bolted upright from their thrones.]
[The Celestial Constellations express shock at the sudden creation of life.]
[The Constellations of the Ennead react to the sudden...]
[The Constellations of Veda react to the sudden...]
[The Constellations of the Immortal Realm...]
A new myth had been born.