Chapter 187: Objective
< Chapter 187: Objective (2) >
Seo-yul Ill take a moment to cool my head nearby.
After Unknown left,
Ai spoke with a bitter expression.
Alright. Just dont go too far.
Okay. Dont worry.
With that, she weakly walked away from us.
Is she okay?
Ini, who had been quietly on guard this entire time, spoke to me.
She will be.
Given enough time to gather herself, shell be able to shake it off quickly. Shes a strong girl.
Really?
Ini looked peculiarly towards the direction Ai had left in and then turned her gaze back to me.
Speaking of which, that guy He feels really off. Can we really trust him enough to form an alliance?
I was slightly surprised.
You heard everything?
Unknown and I had conversed in Korean. Naturally, I assumed Ini wouldnt understand, but it seemed she got the gist of it.
I have an Empathy ability. Although its not high-leveled enough to understand intentions perfectly, I can roughly understand the gist of a conversation.
Empathy.
A skill that captures intent directly rather than relying on words.
With that effect, she mustve grasped the essence of our conversation. I understand now.
Wait, who is that guy to begin with? He seems to know you, and he speaks the same language. Is he like an alumnus from Eden?
Its complicated. Hard to explain. Our relationship is a bit complex.
I wasnt sure how to explain my relationship with Unknown to the people of this era.
How could I explain to those who knew I came from Eden, the hometown of Adam? I hadnt even been able to properly explain about Ai earlier.
If its hard to explain, I wont ask about the relationship.
Thankfully, Ini showed understanding.
But you need to answer this. That man can we trust him?
Ini stared at me with firm eyes.
Her gaze conveyed her resolute intention, suggesting that as the leader of Savior, she couldnt ally with shady characters.
Hes hard to trust. If you had to categorize a persons disposition, hed easily fall into evil by anyones judgment.
Unknown is like the very embodiment of evil. Hes billions of light years away from the word trust.
Still, we can trust him for now. Hes logical. As long as our objective to deal with Demon God aligns, its fine.
As long as interests align, the chances of someone doing something weird are low.
I may not trust Unknown, but I can trust Unknowns principles and beliefs.
At the very least, forming an alliance now wont cause any immediate harm. We also gained crucial information.
This is a unilateral gain for us.
That Demon God will make a move in 8 days?
Yes.
Gaining that information is tantamount to creating the significance of the alliance.
But is that information truly reliable?
Well, well have to see.
The only way to determine if its true or false is to experience it firsthand.
He probably isnt lying. He has nothing to gain from lying now.
If the first piece of information was a lie, there would be no reason for him to propose an alliance to me. Even if he has ulterior motives and plans to pull some tricks, now isnt the time.
Well, it doesnt matter if its a lie, right? We arent launching an assault. Were just fortifying our defenses.
Thats true.
Theres no loss in various aspects.
What I want to ask is, if Demon God directly attacks, can you and the Heavenly God win together?
If we prepare adequately and even join forces with the four sacred ones about 60% chance.
Even in an advantageous situation, the odds are only 60%?
Dont look at me like that. Do you know how strong the Demon God is? If you had fought him, youd know, right?
I suppose.
Dragon Lord knows theres a connection between me and Demon God. I said something about time-leaping due to some problems while confronting Demon God.
Of course, having read the original work, I have some idea of Demon Gods strength, but
I feel like his might wasnt that strong in the original.
In the original, did they downplay the power of Demon God?
They said the ending of the original was fiction. So, if the protagonist, the savior, and everyone else had been annihilated by Demon God, then Demon Gods power wouldnt even compare to the original.
And thats the winning percentage without you joining. If you add your power, the winning odds are 80% no, they would soar to over 90%.
90%? How did you calculate my power?
How much are they overestimating me?
Minimum. Just about the combat power of a thousand gods.
The minimum is a thousand gods?
Why? Did I estimate too low?
Was my expression strange?
Ini tilted her head.
No, its not that. Um
What should I say?
For now, Im no match for Demon God.
Right now, I doubt I can even defeat Ini, who is suppressing her power to less than 10%. How can I be a match for Demon God?
There will come a time when I have to face him, but that time is not now.
I cant help in the attack on Demon God in 8 days.
That was the only thing I could say.
Why?
Its simple. My power right now is very insignificant. Even if I fight you now, I cant guarantee a victory.
The winning odds might be just 50% at best.
Right, you said youre recovering your power.
Ini looked down with a slightly serious expression.
The demons form from earlier unlike the High Elves, it was only at the level of an intermediate level demon.
For the Dragon Lord, an intermediate level demon seems to be just that.
Well, its not wrong to say so.
Ah, right. That demon form! Is that the power of Adams mark?
Yes. If I activate that mark, I can use the power of that species.
Ini widened her eyes in genuine admiration.
Then, can you also become a dragon?
I can if I have the artifact of the dragon race.
Artifact?
Yes. Thats the condition for activating the mark.
Oh~ I see.
Ini nodded repeatedly as if she understood everything.
Presumably, shes thinking about how I was desperately gathering artifacts before coming to this place, realizing, So thats why.
So, you need a lot of artifacts?
I do.
The more, the merrier.
Do you want me to give you some?
Youre giving them? Artifacts?
Yes.
With a mischievous smile, Ini reached into thin air.
What do I have now
She moved her hand here and there, seemingly feeling around inside a void.
Oh, I have some.
About 10 seconds passed.
With a sparkle in her eyes, Ini swiftly pulled her hand out of thin air.
Here.
And then she handed me a dagger.
No, is it not a dagger?
Its too crude to be called a dagger, especially the blade. Instead of an edge, it looks more like a bone.
Its a ceremonial dagger. Made from my fang, so its performance should be quite good.
Ah.
So, its a bone, a fang. My guess was correct.
A ceremonial dagger would have lots of magical enhancements then.
Why are you even asking? Would a dragon wield a sword?
Isnt there some odd one out? Their physical abilities are inherently strong.
Well, thats when theyre in their original form. How would they swing a sword in that state?
Ini glared at me with sharp eyes.
I see.
When they transform into their original form, since the body itself is like a weapon as a dragon, they wouldnt need to swing a sword.
I chuckled and intently looked at the ceremonial sword that Ini was holding out to me.
But if I take this from her hand, wouldnt I transform into the form of the dragon race? Is that okay?
Hmm. It should be fine. If I transform, Id probably be at the Hatchling level.
And I need to feel for myself what power the dragon races mark possesses.
Whats the name of this dagger?
Elra Predesa.
Contrary to its crude appearance, the name has a subtly sophisticated ring to it.
Thank you. Ill make good use of it.
I took the sword from Ini.
Argh!
Ka, Kang Seo-yul?!
At that moment, I experienced an intense pain like I had never felt before.
It was a pain much more intense than when I first activated the marks of the elf and beastman races.
It felt like if I let my guard down for even a moment, Id pass out from the sheer pain.
I remember the information document Shin-hyung gave me about Adams mark mentioned that the first activation of the dragons mark would be incredibly painful!
I never imagined it would be this intense.
I thought at most itd be the pain of the demon race level.
And the pain is longer!
For other marks, the pain usually began to fade after at most 5 seconds.
But the pain from the dragons mark felt more than twice as long. Fortunately, all the pain subsided after exactly 10 seconds.
Gasp, gasp.
Breathing heavily, I knelt down and collapsed.
I really thought I was going to die.
Theres truly something called shock.
I felt it.
Ar-Are you okay?
Ini sat beside me, her face filled with concern, scanning my body.
Im okay.
There was no strength in my voice.
The aftershocks of the pain were still lingering.
The price of regression is high indeed.
Huh?
Suddenly, Ini made a strange remark.
Its not just the loss of power, but theres also a penalty for using it
She looked at me with sad eyes.
How much did you have to sacrifice?
Thinking about it, it was natural for Ini to think this way after seeing my state.
Id think the same.
With a bitter smile, I slowly stood up.
Can you stand?
Yeah. I can bear it.
Although the aftershocks of the pain were so strong that my limbs were still slightly trembling, I really could bear it.
Thats a relief.
Ini sighed in relief.
But looking at you now youre at the Hatchling level, right?
Yes, Hatchling level.
Typically, dragons are divided into three grades.
The state right after hatching, known as the Hatchling.
A somewhat grown state, Wyrm.
And the fully grown state, Ancient.
Most dragons stop growing at the Ancient dragon stage.
And only a few exceptional dragons evolve to the Lord tier.
Thats the Dragon Lord, which is Ini.
Among those, Im currently in the Hatchling state.
Since I couldnt obtain many artifacts of the dragon race, it cant be helped.
Its only natural.
If a Hatchling is this powerful, just how strong would a Wyrm or an Ancient be?
Even if its a Hatchling level, a dragon is still a dragon, it seems. The strength emanating from my body is tremendous.
As for magic power It might have reached SS rank?
Its a growth rate worthy of being called the ruler of magical power. Its hard to believe that it rose to a transcendent level upon activation.
Furthermore
Among the birth traits of dragons, there is the inherent ability Dragon Words.
I murmured softly, infusing my voice with magic.
Hell Fire
At that moment, a massive fireball rose above my head. It was a flame of an odd hue, mixed with black, different from regular fire. This hellfire, living up to its name, melted all the surrounding ice as it flickered.
Wow.
I couldnt help but exclaim in awe. I had used Dragon Words before with the power of the artifact. But using the Dragon Words with increased magical power was truly magnificent.
Its a bit of a pity I cant use Dragon Eye.
Dragon Eye is exclusive to Wyrm-level dragons. Naturally, I cant use it in my Hatchling state. Of course, once I reach the Wyrm level, that issue will naturally resolve itself.
A real dragon is indeed a dragon.
I was filled with admiration.
Ah.
Speaking of which, among the basic traits of the dragon race, theres also Polymorph. I wondered what would happen if I transformed back into the form of a dragon with this.
Curiosity welled up within me.
Lets try it.
Since Ive transformed, I might as well get the most out of it. I should try everything I can do.
I used Polymorph.
Oh, you can also turn to your dragon form?
With Inis exclamation, I felt a peculiar sensation throughout my body.
Its an indescribable feeling.
The sense of change in my bones and muscles is no joke.
It seems like Im growing, but Im not entirely sure.
Anyway, it feels very odd.
After about 3 seconds
Black Dragon
With Inis murmuring,
Before I knew it, I had taken the form of a small dragon.
Glistening black scales and massive wings attached to my back.
The immense power I felt from my body.
I was filled with a sense of capability as if I could do anything.
Is this what being a dragon feels like?
So thats why it hurt so much.
Synchronizing such incredible traits like Dragon Words and Polymorph with my body for the first time would undoubtedly be painful.
If I can gain this much power, I can withstand any pain.
Yes, certainly.
As I was indulging in this pride, nodding repeatedly,
Cute.
I heard Inis voice near my feet.
How can there be such a fiery and seductive scale color
In a very excited voice, she mumbled something odd.
Among the dragons Ive seen, youre the most perfect one. To possess such beauty even at the Hatchling level
Ah.
Then it dawned on me.
The reason for Inis reaction.
I have an SS-rank charm, right?
So, thats it.
To Ini, even if she looks like that, a dragon is still a dragon.
Her aesthetic standards wouldnt be based on a human form but on a dragons true form.
In other words, while she might not find my human form very attractive, she finds my dragon form charming.
If you grow well in that state, up to the Wyrm level
Because of my SS-rank charm, shes reacting this way.
Its possible. Its blazingly possible.
Inis eyes emitted a chilling light. A genuine, spine-chilling shiver ran down my back.
Scared to death, I quickly reverted to my original form.
And at the same time, I dropped the artifact.
Ah.
Ini let out a disappointed sigh, which was oddly terrifying in its own right.
Wait. This
Suddenly, with a realization in her widened eyes, she took a step towards me.
Alright, lets go.
To where?
She had a determined expression.
Lets go meet Elder Chronos. We need to find a way to deal with the after-effects of the Time Leap, right?
She thought I was looking for the Time Dragon to recover my strength.
We have to quickly call the one who went to cool her head too. Were running out of time!
But why the sudden rush?
We need to quickly overcome the after-effects and regain your original strength
Inis eyes sparkled.
Youll become Wyrm-level, or Ancient-level, right? There wont be any constraints in changing forms.
Yes?
What?
Just become an Ancient dragon with that beauty
How should I put this?
The way Ini looked at me and chuckled, she looked very perverted.
< Chapter 187: Objective (2) > End.
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