Chapter 55: Chapter 55

[translator - night][proofreader - gun]

chapter 55: entering the black dragon’s body (2)

just as my vision seemed to darken, i found myself seated.

a round wooden chair supported me, and in front of me was a circular table.

on the table, a small candle flickered.

"where is this...?"

the surroundings were pitch-black.

i was seated on the chair, but the floor was invisible, and my feet didn’t touch anything.

“this is a space i temporarily created inside my body.”

a translucent old man suddenly appeared before me.

his sculpted face bore an expression of deep fatigue.

his long black hair was unkempt, dry, and messy.

he brushed the hair covering his face back with his hand.

“who the hell are you? oh… could you be arkardian?”

“yes, i am arkardian. it seems you’ve received far too much favor and blessing from the olympians. we don’t have much time to talk.”

pollux?

aurelia?

i called out to them in my mind, but there was no response.

hmm.

blocked, perhaps.

dragons, seriously.

they’re capable of everything.

“since there’s no time, let me share my curse with you first.”

[the black dragon arkardian shares the curse of ‘the one who cannot forget.’]

a system window appeared briefly.

unable to forget?

even though my mental protection was layered multiple times, it pierced through effortlessly.

but nothing seemed to change, despite being cursed—until arkardian began asking questions.

“so. what is the religion and god symbolized by the cross?”

“that’s zeus… no, wait…”

suddenly, my head felt like it was splitting apart.

and a forgotten yet obvious fact surfaced.

“jesus christ’s symbol. the religion is christianity or catholicism.”

the christian republic of korea, where crosses glow in the dark when the lights are off.

who wouldn’t know that?

wait… why had i forgotten this?

“heh. i thought they only did this nonsense on foreign soil, but it seems the same applies to their home planet. when did your memory start breaking?”

“uh, that’s…”

i recalled my memories.

an old man evangelizing on the subway the day before monsters appeared came to mind.

wow!

even memories like that come back.

is this because of the curse?

but after the monsters appeared, people acted as if such religions never existed in the first place.

churches and temples already established worldwide were reassigned to gods from greek or roman mythology. sёarch* the nôvel_fire.ηet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

norse gods like odin and thor were regarded as mere legends and not objects of worship.

wow.

the world completely changed in a single day.

i hadn’t noticed at all.

“it was after the monsters appeared.”

“what date did it start?”

“june 1. and i awakened exactly a year later, on june 1, so it’s unmistakable.”

“hmm…”

arkardian tapped the desk with his fingers, lost in thought.

i asked him,

“how do you know about earth’s gods?”

“i visited earth frequently too. have you heard of fafnir?”

“no.”

“siegfried?”

“i know him. the dragon-slaying hero? that’s his legend, isn’t it?”

“the dragon he killed was me. it was another dimension, so i played along.”

he was the dragon in siegfried’s saga?

as i stared at him in disbelief, arkardian chuckled lightly.

“if you can come to our planet, why can’t i go to yours? ancient dragons are beings close to divinity.”

“close to divinity? s-rank?”

“yes. the pinnacle of a-rank… but ultimately, i couldn’t become a god. and that’s all because of those damn earth gods.”

arkardian’s face twisted with anger.

“i’m currently cooperating with hades to destroy them, but progress is slow.”

“why do you want to destroy them?”

“they eradicated our god. the neutral faction’s god of our planet was the dragon god, drakia.”

dragon god?

i’d seen the dragon god briefly when i was d-rank.

it was during the class selection process for dragons.

[dragon race]

[the highest-ranked race of the neutral faction and guardians of the earth.

descendants of the dragon god, inheritors of divine blood.]

“there was mention of the dragon god when i was choosing a dragon class.”

“those olympians. seems they couldn’t interfere with the system. but you could choose a dragon class? you? why didn’t you pick it?”

arkardian looked at me curiously.

then suddenly, he stood up as if he realized something.

“soul-type! you have that kind of aptitude, don’t you…!”

he was now certain i had a soul-type aptitude.

his previously tired face lit up with energy.

“yes. a soul-type it is. no wonder you received such blessings. and since the neutral faction’s god also blessed you… you’ve gained classes from both factions. a soul-type on top of that!”

muttering to himself, arkardian turned to me.

“you won’t remain free from the gods’ control for much longer. are you aware of that?”

“are you talking about when i reach b-rank?”

“oh. so you know. when you become b-rank, they’ll try to make you an angel by any means necessary. is that what you want?”

i shook my head, and arkardian’s smile deepened.

“then what’s your plan?”

“i’ve been preparing something.”

“you don’t want to be the gods’ puppet?”

“am i crazy?”

“oh. despite those thoughts, you’ve managed to hide it. impressive… i like it.”

after examining me closely, arkardian continued.

“then absorb my power.”

“what?”

“you’re not planning to go down without a fight, are you? having an additional measure would be beneficial.”

“an additional measure?”

“yes. if you become an angel willingly, the olympians will gain immense power. i’d rather hinder them with all my might. i’m dying soon anyway…”

so, the black dragon arkardian, who’s at the peak of a-rank, wants to grant me his power?

it’s tempting, but…

he was my enemy not long ago.

trust doesn’t come easily.

“how can i trust you?”

“fair enough. trust won’t come easy. so absorb me with your power. if you’re truly a soul-type class, you can fully take in my strength. you should’ve started as eeee, right?”

[translator - night]

[proofreader - gun]

eeee?

sounds similar to the "10, 10, 10" concept from the order class, doesn’t it?

but i started as…

“no, i started as f-.”

at that, the arkardian flinched in surprise.

“f? seriously?”

“yes.”

“hah. no wonder you didn’t seem exceptionally talented… that means you won’t be able to fully absorb my power. you won’t be able to handle the forces of order, neutrality, and chaos. i’ll have to give you only a fraction of the dragon power i have left.”

“well, i mean… you could give me more if you want…”

suddenly, i switched to polite speech.

hearing that i’d only get a small fraction made me feel unexpectedly regretful.

“no. if you absorb all of my power, your meager aptitude would force a complete dragon transformation. that would benefit asgard, and i won’t allow that.”

i could believe it when he said it was to prevent dragon transformation.

but still…

“the neutral faction is asgard? odin’s side?”

“yes. why do you think you remember odin and thor while the rest of the gods are forgotten? the two of them are likely in an alliance.”

makes sense.

so olympus represents order, and asgard claimed the neutral faction?

but i had a question.

“are the gods of olympus and asgard really that powerful? strong enough to wipe out all the others?”

“no, not to that extent. but at some point, all the other gods disappeared. i thought it was just our planet, but earth seems to be in the same state…”

“i see…”

“if you were to join them as a soul-aligned angel, it would be impossible to stop them. and i can’t let that happen.”

ahem.

honestly, i don’t really care whether olympus or asgard takes over.

the problem is turning me into an angel.

if i become an angel, it’s basically the same as me disappearing—dying, even.

i’ve heard you can protect yourself if you max out your sp for form maintenance, but i’ll play it safe and take the power the dragon offers as a double safeguard.

“but if i absorb your power, can i stop the angel transformation?”

“it’s possible, as long as you have the will to protect your freedom.”

“great. then give it to me.”

“alright. i’ll condense a portion of my heart and share it with you.”

wow.

when i was sucked into his mouth, i honestly thought i was a goner.

but suddenly, this feels like hitting the jackpot.

“while you’re at it, can you make it so the gates of chaos don’t open?”

“that’s impossible. even sharing my heart like this is already pushing it. using so much power will cause me to lose my rationality… and i’ll have to start all over again.”

his face looked worn out with deep fatigue.

seeing him like that suddenly reminded me of the curse i’d been shared with: the one who cannot forget.

“that curse, ‘the one who cannot forget,’ does it apply even when kevrian is destroyed and resets?”

“yes. i always remember. i’m a puppet contracted with hades, destined to open the gates of destruction.”

“i see.”

“i didn’t realize the curse i accepted to ascend to godhood would haunt me for eternity like this.”

“but this is our first attempt at challenging kevrian, right? shouldn’t this be your first time, too?”

“heh. in my memory, this isn’t the first destruction…”

so we’re not the only ones challenging it…?

“we don’t have time for idle chatter. take this.”

a fist-sized red gem appeared on the table.

its size was impressive, but the magic flowing from it was even more overwhelming.

the density of magic in the room multiplied several times over in an instant.

“this is the remainder of the neutral faction’s power i hold. i’ve refined it into a fragment of a dragon heart.”

“ohhh…”

“absorb it in your own way.”

the fragment of the dragon heart floated up on its own and moved toward me.

the heat burned through my armor and clothes, leaving me naked as the dragon heart touched my chest.

i grabbed it and crushed it with all my strength.

the dragon heart, though a piece of a heart, triggered the soul reaping ability, allowing me to absorb its power.

soon, i felt an endless surge of mana being generated in my chest.

[you have absorbed a fragment of the dragon heart.]

[the skill “dragon heart mana regeneration” has been activated.]

[neutral faction attributes have slightly increased.]

[you can now choose the dragonborn-ancient dragon class in the future.]

huh?

i thought my abilities would skyrocket, but this is it?

i won’t be picking the ancient dragon class, so in the end, all i got was a small stat boost and a skill.

[dragon heart mana regeneration lv1]

[skill rank: a]

[your magic storage now includes both your heart and the dragon heart. your body’s magic is used first, and when it’s depleted, the dragon heart’s magic is drawn upon. mana recovery increases significantly, and mana affinity is enhanced.]

[you have learned the skill “dragon heart mana regeneration.” absorbing more dragon heart fragments will upgrade this skill to “dragon heart.”]

hmm.

so it’s like getting a backup battery?

there’s no change to my magic stats, though.

i was expecting something amazing from absorbing the dragon heart, but getting only a skill feels underwhelming.

sensing my disappointment, arkardian offered some advice.

“if you become visibly stronger here, it will only attract the gods’ attention. mortal, gaining immense power from me will make them more fixated on you.”

“that’s true. but this doesn’t seem directly related to preventing angel transformation?”

“you obtained the dragon heart skill, didn’t you?”

“i did, but…”

“then it’s possible. don’t worry.”

suddenly, the space began to warp, and arkardian’s face started to blur.

“it’s time for us to part ways. never forget your desire for freedom.”

my body floated up and shot off somewhere again.

the ground i landed on this time was back in the lair.

the lingering heat from the breath attack was still palpable.

the black dragon stood there blankly.

[the forgotten god, dragon god drakia, has left his mark on the dragon heart.]

huh?

the dragon god’s mark?

[translator - night]

[proofreader - gun]