Chapter 66
Chapter 66
Chapter 66: The Cure (4)
Translation: godtl
"Oppa?"
"Hyung? What's wrong all of a sudden?"
"Kim Si-mun?"
Lee Yu-jeong, Kim Si-hyeok, and even Park Jin-uk.
They all approached with questioning looks at Si-mun's sudden shock.
But when they saw the golden magic circles layered in Si-mun's eyes, they froze mid-step.
"Hyung, you saw something, didn't you?"
These three hadn't missed a single one of Si-mun's broadcasts.
Moreover, they were all top-tier players at least on par with Diamond-rank.
They'd long since realized those mysterious golden eyes held some kind of special vision ability.
"Yeah. But this... it doesn't make sense..."
The shock seemed profound.
Si-mun couldn't smooth out his expression.
And for good reason.
'Why is Dragon Power inside Auntie's body?'
Odin's Eye.
More precisely, the Dragon Power visible through the Death Eye.
Unlike her mana traces which had nearly vanished, leaving her no different from an ordinary person,
the Dragon Power continued moving ceaselessly, declaring its vigorous presence.
From this, two possibilities emerged.
One was that Auntie possessed Dragon Power stats like himself.
'The other is that Dragon Power was forcibly injected into her...'
Naturally, Si-mun leaned toward the latter.
Because—
"Yu-jeong."
"Y-yes?"
"Auntie was purely a combat-type ranker, right?"
"Yes. You know Mom was called the Sword Queen, Oppa."
"Yeah, she was."
The Sword Queen Lee Yeong-hui.
One of Korea's proudest 1st Generation Rankers, later a player who freely wielded Sword Qi—the benchmark separating high-rankers.
Though the term "high-ranker" hadn't emerged yet,
combat-type rankers were already being classified by how much and how skillfully they wielded Sword Qi.
Naturally, the two monstrous juniors present—
Kim Si-hyeok and Lee Yu-jeong—could also wield Sword Qi freely, placing them among the upper echelons of rankers.
And during her Arena days, Lee Yeong-hui had never once—
'Used Dragon Power.'
She had never employed any energy other than Sword Qi.
That's what being a pure combat-type meant.
Not supplementing the weaknesses of combat-types by mixing in other energies like mana, Demonic Energy, or holy power.
Those who soared to new heights through pure martial prowess alone.
Though their growth might be slower than combat-types who blended other energies,
a single epiphany could make them skip entire ranks, creating vast disparities based on talent.
And the Sword Queen Lee Yeong-hui was the epitome of such pure combat-types.
Naturally, she'd never used—much less acquired—foreign energies like Dragon Power.
Which meant—
'It's certain Dragon Power was injected from somewhere...'
As Si-mun's brow furrowed, Yu-jeong, who'd been watching anxiously, asked again:
"Oppa, is something wrong?"
"Ah. Well..."
Si-mun trailed off.
Understandably so.
If he hadn't known, it would be one thing.
But now that he knew Dragon Power was present, he hesitated to use the cure.
Who knew what kind of clash might occur?
"I need to reconsider using the cure for now."
"Huh? Suddenly? Why? At least explain."
"Right, Hyung. You said the cure was perfectly completed. What's the problem?"
At this thunderbolt statement, Yu-jeong pleaded for an explanation,
and Si-hyeok echoed the question.
"There's another type of energy inside Auntie's body. If we're not careful, it might clash with the cure."
"Another energy? You mean like Demonic Energy or holy power?"
When Si-mun silently nodded, Yu-jeong sighed in relief and said:
"If that's all, it's probably because of me. I always cast divine magic on her when I visit."
"No, it's not holy power."
"Huh? Not holy power?"
"Right. This is Dragon Power."
"Whaaat?!"
Yu-jeong's eyes bulged.
Kim Si-hyeok and Park Jin-uk behind her wore identical expressions.
"Dragon Power?"
"Si-mun, by Dragon Power, do you mean the Dragon Power we know?"
"That's right."
As Si-mun nodded, all three faces darkened simultaneously.
A foreign energy that's nothing but poison if you can't control it.
And among those, Dragon Power was something no player had ever managed to handle before.
Given their standing, there was no way these players wouldn't know that.
"It's a minuscule amount, but it's been flowing steadily along Auntie's circuits—"
Si-mun's explanation cut off abruptly.
He whipped his head around to stare at Lee Yeong-hui.
"Wait. Don't tell me—!"
He hurried toward her.
His actions were sudden, but Yu-jeong silently watched her oppa.
The oppa she knew would never act without reason.
Besides, he's the only one who can save Mom now.
For the first time in seven years, he was the one who had offered a glimmer of hope to her mother, who had only ever received negative answers.
There was nothing else she could do but trust him.
Perhaps it was because of Yu-jeong's unwavering faith.
"As I thought."
After examining Lee Yeong-hui's condition with Odin's Eye, Si-mun nodded slowly.
Circuit Reversal. The cause of this disease was Dragon Power.
Originally, Dragon Power was an energy unique to dragonkin—something only mid-tier dragonkin or higher could wield.
Naturally, a human body couldn't endure it, and even the structure of their mana circuits differed from dragonkin.
In the end, the backlash caused the mana circuits to reverse their flow.
Trying to forcibly control the unruly Dragon Power, the original mana is dragged along against its will.
As if telling it to flow properly.
Of course, the Dragon Power would reject such interference.
And naturally, the mana circuits would begin reversing entirely.
That was the root cause of Circuit Reversal that Si-mun had discerned.
And the treatment for Circuit Reversal forcibly corrects that reversed flow.
As a result, the Dragon Power, unable to move as it wished, would erupt in frustration, triggering a violent backlash.
In the end, the mana circuits are destroyed.
No matter how powerful a player was, once their circuits were damaged like this, recovery was nearly impossible.
Moreover, while suffering from Circuit Reversal,
the continuous degradation of the circuits and stat reductions would persist.
Unless the treatment was administered immediately upon contracting it, becoming crippled was inevitable.
And Mana Deficiency... This also feels strongly tied to Dragon Power...
Was it because he hadn't fully mastered the Death Eye yet?
For Mana Deficiency—a milder Arena disease compared to Circuit Reversal—he couldn't quite grasp the details.
But.
For now, this is enough.
He had gotten all the answers he needed.
With a solemn expression, Si-mun straightened up.
Then—
"Yu-jeong."
"Yes, Oppa."
Perhaps from tension,
her voice trembled slightly as he looked at her.
"If done right, we can treat Auntie without any lasting side effects."
"R-Really?!"
Just a little more... Just a little more...
A skeletal, withered pinky finger.
Before the tiny inch-long wound that the Sword Saint Kim Si-hyeok had carefully made,
Si-mun clasped his hands together, sweat dripping down his brow.
The treatment method itself wasn't particularly difficult.
The root cause of Circuit Reversal—Dragon Power.
All he had to do was extract it from her body.
The problem was—
Come here, come here!
Even if it was just a trace amount of Dragon Power,
for Si-mun, who had activated the Death Eye,
controlling the wildly reversing energy was exhausting.
Extracting the Dragon Power wasn't the hard part.
He could just forcibly pull it out with the Death Eye's coercive power.
But doing so would damage the already weakened patient's mana circuits.
Therefore—
Come on, be good now? Please, just come here!
Like coaxing a hyperactive child,
Si-mun guided the Dragon Power with patience and care.
Fortunately—
—Got it! Oppa, we've expelled nearly 70% now!
Though the progress was slow,
the Dragon Power moved steadily under Si-mun's guidance.
Psshh—
Clasping his hands together,
a faint haze of the extracted Dragon Power swirled in Si-mun's palms.
"Oppa, if you're tired, just give me a signal anytime! I'll cast Divine Magic on you right away!"
From beside him, Yu-jeong cheered him on, watching the growing haze with determined encouragement.
But Si-mun merely smiled faintly.
He had no intention of relying on a Ranker's Divine Magic.
The reason was simple.
[Death Eye and Dragon Power are being controlled to an extreme degree.]
[Dragon Body Transformation is growing minutely.]
[Death Eye is growing minutely.]
The grueling control of Dragon Power.
Because of this, related abilities like Dragon Body Transformation and Death Eye were gradually growing bit by bit.
Since Death Eye—the foundation of Dragon Power control—was developing,
his stamina for controlling Dragon Power naturally increased as well.
If he were to recover his stamina through other means here, the training effect would vanish.
'It's only because my mental strength is being shredded that the training efficiency is insane.'
A true perpetual motion machine of mutual reinforcement.
Even for Si-mun, who knew all manner of stat training methods from his past life, this was an astonishing situation.
'Especially since ability growth—unlike stats—isn't something you can achieve so easily.'
He couldn't afford to waste such a golden opportunity.
'Focus, focus!'
Clenching his teeth despite the sweat pouring down his face, Si-mun continued the work of expelling Dragon Power.
Before long.
Along with the Philosopher's Stone's spirited voice,
"Haaah......"
Si-mun, having completely expelled the Dragon Power, let out a deep sigh and slumped to the floor.
Of course, he didn't let his concentration on controlling the Dragon Power waver.
Because this damn Dragon Power still had another purpose.
Then.
Whoosh.
A cluster of warm, glowing light seeped into Si-mun's body.
Feeling his body lighten on its own, Si-mun raised his head.
"Oppa, are you okay?"
It was Yu-jeong, who had been watching carefully, casting Divine Magic on him.
Kim Si-hyeok and Park Jin-uk, who had been observing from behind, also stepped forward.
"Hyung, you alright?"
"Si-mun nim, are you all right?"
Si-mun nodded at them and managed a smile.
"As expected of a Ranker's Divine Magic—the effect is no joke."
Cracking a joke as he got up, Si-mun's hands still held the compressed haze—the gathered Dragon Power.
"Hyung, what are you gonna do with that now?"
"What else? Oppa, you should dissipate it right away."
Perhaps because it was the very thing that had tormented her mother for so long,
Yu-jeong clenched her radiant Holy Power and glared at the Dragon Power.
"No, no need for that."
Shaking his head, Si-mun brought the Dragon Power close to his chest.
"O-oppa?"
"Hyung!"
"Si-mun nim!"
The three beside him gasped in shock.
But before they could take any action—
Sluurp.
Like melting snow, the Dragon Power seeped naturally into Si-mun's chest.
[High-grade Dragon Power has been absorbed.]
[Dragon Power has increased by 2.]
[Converted into a Bound Stat of Transmutation Power, increasing Transmutation Power by 1.]
The message windows that appeared before his eyes.
Si-mun's eyes sparkled at them.
'Just as expected, no conflict during absorption.'
The Philosopher's Stone continued in an excited voice.
From the moment they began extracting Dragon Power from Yeong-hui,
Si-mun and the Philosopher's Stone had already agreed to absorb it.
Si-mun, who had obtained the power of Tiamat, the Dragon God—the highest rank among Dragonkin.
Naturally, any Dragon Power would act as nourishment for him.
'But even this tiny amount is considered high-grade? My Dragon Power increased by 2.'
Nodding slightly at the Philosopher's Stone's grumbling, Si-mun agreed.
His Death Eye possessed a rank that could make even a Naga—an upper-level Dragonkin—flinch.
Yet if even this minuscule amount of Dragon Power resisted his control so stubbornly,
'It might be Dragon-level—no, perhaps even Dragon Emperor-grade.'
Though he couldn't put it into words,
Si-mun instinctively sensed that the Dragon Power he'd just absorbed was no ordinary rank.
However.
"Oppa, are you really okay?"
"Hyung, just in case, let's get you checked out right now. Okay?"
"That would be wise, Si-mun nim."
Unaware of Si-mun's circumstances, the three continued to express their unease.
Just as Si-mun was about to reassure them—
"Ugh......"
A groan silenced everyone.
Yu-jeong turned her stiff neck with difficulty and—
"Ah......"
Meeting those hollow yet gentle eyes,
"M-Mommyyy!"
She burst into tears.