An Unexpected Turn of Events
In the world of Adokchoe, dragons stood at the absolute pinnacle of all living things—exalted beings that inspired equal parts reverence and terror.
That did not mean humans had never defeated one.
Three hundred years ago, a grand mage who had stepped into the Ninth Class battled a dragon for three days and three nights and emerged victorious. Seven hundred years ago, a Grand Master swordsman was said to have severed a dragon’s head. And in the original story of Adokchoe, as tragic as it was, the Light Dragon herself would one day fall to Kang Junhyuk.
With precedents like those, the notion of a human slaying a dragon was hardly an impossible fairy tale.
[Dragonslaying, is it…? Come to think of it, that is the one great feat this body has never achieved.]
Even though you’re the Primordial Magic Sword?
[A bitterly amusing tale, but a completed swordsman has no desire for a weapon as powerful as this body. They fight with nothing but their own skill—sometimes treating their very flesh as the blade.]
So that means I’m still an incomplete swordsman?
[Hah! Stating the obvious, are we?]
I already knew I still had a long way to go. Knowing it and hearing Frach’s snort of laughter were two different things; the latter left a faint sting of irritation.
Then once I become a complete swordsman, I’m free to throw you away, right?
[Wh…?]
You’re the one who said it. A finished swordsman doesn’t want you. So when I get stronger, abandoning you is perfectly fine.
[……D-do not cast this body aside!!]
But according to kingdom law, a magic sword is both cumbersome to carry and potentially dangerous. If I have no real need for it, why keep it around?
[This body is a sword, yes, but it is also a magical implement capable of countless spells. It can serve as a mage’s staff without the slightest difficulty…!]
Faced with the threat of abandonment, Frach began pitching herself with desperate fervor. Emphasizing her value as a magical tool over a mere blade was… interesting. It also showed just how badly she wanted to stay.
[If you will swear never to discard this body, I shall entrust my hilt to you…! If need be, I will even offer up my precious runestone, so please…!]
What? Your hilt and your runestone? That’s way too—!
Hold on.
Why did Frach’s words suddenly sound like she was offering me her panties and her virginity?
My mind went blank for a second. I decided prolonged conversations with Frach were hazardous to my health.
Ahem. I was only joking. Don’t take it so seriously.
[To toy with a sword’s heart…! Contractor, you are a fiend!]
Yeah, yeah.
Ignoring her, I looked down at Rene’s hand. The blackened flesh was gone; her skin was smooth and unblemished once more. Thank goodness. She was back to normal…
“Ugh!”
“Bern?!”
[Do not push yourself. You have expended a great deal of life force. Outwardly you may look fine, but you will need at least three days of complete rest.]
But I have to get stronger as fast as possible.
[If you leave the nest in your current state, the Red Dragon will simply hunt you down. Resting a while would be wiser.]
Fighting Ignite right now would be suicide. And if that vindictive red lizard was as petty as I expected, he was probably waiting just outside for me to step foot beyond the nest. No—he was definitely waiting.
Sorry, Lin and Rewen, but it looked like I would be spending some time in the Light Dragon’s nest.
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah. Just climbed too much—my legs went a little soft, that’s all.”
“Do not lie.”
While I was trying to reassure Rene, the Light Dragon cut in. She pulled me close and scooped me up as if I weighed nothing.
“Your life force has plummeted far more than before. Seeing my daughter’s hand restored, I can only conclude you paid with your own vitality to heal her.”
“I-is that true?”
“Ah…”
There was no fooling the Light Dragon. The truth was already out, so I gave a small nod.
Rene immediately flared up.
“Why would you do that?!”
“I couldn’t just stand there watching someone precious to me get hurt that badly…”
“Do you not understand that you are just as precious to me?!”
Her voice trembled; tears welled in her eyes. The knowledge that I had nearly sacrificed myself for her sake was tearing her apart. That was exactly why I had wanted to keep it hidden.
Cold sweat beaded on my forehead as I scrambled for something comforting to say. Nothing useful came to mind, and I was still racking my brains when the Light Dragon gently stroked Rene’s head with her tail.
“Don’t cry. This entire mess is your mother’s fault. I should have acted more decisively, yet I failed. Because of that, I put both you and the one you love through needless pain.”
“Mother…”
“I will settle this matter myself. The two of you stay here and rest for a while.”
A sharp resolve hardened in the Light Dragon’s eyes. She was prepared to break the dragons’ own rules if that was what it took to fight.
That could not be allowed. I hurriedly caught her shoulder.
“Mother, if it isn’t too forward of me… would you leave Ignite alone?”
“Hm…? Why?”
“That little lizard who harassed you and wounded Rene—I want to deal with him with my own hands.”
Both mother and daughter’s faces crumpled at once. Had calling him a lizard offended them?
“You speak of dangerous things. Even if he is weaker than I, he is still a dragon. He is not an opponent you can handle.”
“She’s right, Bern! This isn’t something you need to take on yourself!”
Ah. They were only making those faces out of worry for me. Relief mixed with a faint sting of disappointment. I wished they would trust me a little more.
“I’m not saying I’ll fight him right this second. Within a year… no, two years, I will become strong enough to face him.”
“In two years? That is—”
“It is possible! I never make claims without a chance of success.”
My firm declaration left the Light Dragon looking genuinely flustered. But I was not wrong. Even in Bern’s body—whose potential was mediocre compared to Kang Junhyuk’s—I was far from weak. I had already achieved absurd growth: the World Tree’s fruit, Chana’s Time, and Frach herself. Through sheer ridiculous luck I was already stronger than the original Bern.
If I poured everything into getting stronger from here?
I might surpass even the heights the original Bern eventually reached.
I can do this.
I had the original story’s knowledge. The hidden pieces inside the Academy would have to be left for Kang Junhyuk, but plenty of other treasures still lay scattered across the kingdom. If I claimed those…
Who knew? Perhaps a human-versus-dragon duel like the one between Breeze Sepiron and Kang Junhyuk in Part 9 could still take place.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but please trust me.”
I reached out and cupped Rene’s cheek, brushing away the tears that clung to her lashes with my thumb.
“The crime of hurting Rene… and…”
I turned my head, meeting the Light Dragon’s gaze with a quiet smile.
“…the crime of pestering you and making you feel guilty. I’ll settle both of them myself. That red lizard dies by my hand.”
The moment the words left my mouth, both mother and daughter flinched and began to tremble. Their bodies shook without pause, as if something had gone seriously wrong—almost like people who desperately needed a bathroom.
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere—ugh!”
The Light Dragon abruptly dropped me. For a second I was simply stunned by the sudden change. Then a strangely cool, damp sensation spread across the back of my head.
Had I cracked my skull open on the floor?
I carefully touched the spot. Sticky liquid came away on my fingers—transparent, not red. Not blood, then. My head was intact. So why was there liquid on dry stone?
I glanced around and immediately understood where the mysterious fluid was coming from.
“Hah…!”
It was running down the Light Dragon’s legs. For a wild second I wondered if she really had needed the bathroom that badly, but the viscosity was all wrong for urine. There was only one possible explanation left. I scrambled backward toward Rene.
“Mm?”
Squelch—!
The floor where Rene stood was just as soaked. I swallowed hard and looked back. She was in the exact same state as her mother.
“U-um… both of you have really scary eyes right now?”
This wasn’t some sworn sisterhood pact—both of them had gone into heat at the exact same moment?
Shadows had fallen over their eyes, yet their pupils remained vividly clear. Their breathing was rough, their faces flushed, and their gazes locked onto me with zero intention of looking away.
“You said you wanted to grow strong enough to defeat Ignite, didn’t you? Then you might need this.”
A round, pill-like sphere rested in her palm—except it was beating, thump-thump, like a living heart.
Half of a pure dragon’s heart
Grants near-infinite mana and extreme elemental affinity
[A Dragon Heart…!]
Eh?!
[Only half, but there is no mistaking it. To offer something so precious to you means…]
“Mother, stop right there. Are you seriously making a move on Bern so casually? The Dragon Heart I give him will be mine, so step aside.”
“Daughter, let’s think about this rationally. A pure-blood heart is obviously more effective, isn’t it?”
“Compatibility matters more than raw power. My heart is closer to a human’s—he’ll adapt to it far more easily.”
“You can have the wedding if you want, but couldn’t you at least leave the Dragon Heart to your mother?”
“Have you lost your mind? That’s like saying I get to hold the ceremony while you get to put the wedding ring on him!”
“You’re quick on the uptake. Then I suppose we have no choice but to continue our earlier discussion about the law of the jungle.”
“Fine by me. Right now I feel like I could even beat you, Mother.”
“…….”
And that is the story of how a dragon mother and daughter tried to force their hearts on me.