“Aaah.”
My head was throbbing so badly that I clutched it with both hands and sat up.
“Damn, that hurts.”
I’d only been hit by a few stones, but it was pounding like crazy.
When I opened my eyes and looked around, I found myself in an unexpected place.
A wooden house, with a structure and decorations that seemed to carry the style of ancient China.
Medicinal herbs and a sword hung on the wall.
From the looks of it, the interior could be neatly described as a house of the Central Plains.
“Your body’s sturdier than his, at least.”
Following the voice, I turned around and saw Dark Sword sitting on the windowsill, smoking tobacco.
“Who?”
“Lee Gangyeol.”
“Ah.”
“Have you calmed down?”
For a moment, I almost said no, but the sinister aura and look in her eyes made me change my answer.
“Yes. Very much so.”
“What will you do?”
She asked while staring at Sinhyeok.
At that gaze, Sinhyeok let out a deep sigh.
“I’ll have to get out.”
“You will.”
Sinhyeok thought about how to leave this place.
“You said transcendence… but what exactly am I supposed to do with the dragon’s power?”
“Awaken it, absorb it, and learn it.”
She showed him.
“Dragon Eye.”
Dark Sword’s pupils turned into those of a reptile, exuding deep darkness.
“Dragon Scales.”
Dark Sword’s skin was covered in black scales.
“Dragon Claws.”
Dark Sword’s fingernails turned black and grew sharp.
“Dragon Wings.”
Black dragon wings spread wide from Dark Sword’s back.
“Ooh.”
Sinhyeok was genuinely impressed.
“Is it like transforming? I think something similar happened to me too.”
“It’s probably in your memory. You must have temporarily transcended before coming here.”
Sinhyeok searched through his memories.
‘Wings appeared and… well, yeah. It was similar.’
Since he hadn’t seen his own face, he didn’t know whether the rest of him had changed like that too.
“You engrave them into your body one by one. From external changes to internal ones.”
“How far?”
“You must be able to use Breath and Dragon Tongue. Only when you reach that point is it complete transcendence.”
“Mm, that sounds insanely difficult?”
She gave a small laugh and erased every trace of the dragon as she spoke.
“It is. That’s why people use shortcuts. I’m sure the tin can told you about extinction.”
“Ah, something about dying if I don’t become a Dragonian?”
“That’s right. There are two ways to become a Dragonian.”
Sinhyeok pricked up his ears.
“The easy way is to trot over to a dragon and ask for a contract.”
“Oh, then I’ll do that.”
“First of all, dragons have their preferences too. If they don’t like you, they won’t do it.”
“Tch.”
“Even if you overcome that and they agree, the next part is the problem.”
Sinhyeok focused even more intently.
“The contract. You have to propose how much you’ll be bound as the dragon’s guardian, and what you’ll do for them. The more forcefully the dragon awakens your power, the greater the price will be.”
“Ha ha, damn it. Then what’s the other way?”
She smiled, took hold of her sword, and tapped it lightly.
“Training. The classic method. Meditating, learning martial arts, and cultivating yourself.”
It sounded incredibly old-fashioned.
“That is… very classic. And it sounds like it’ll take an incredibly long time.”
“In truth, no one has succeeded at it yet.”
“Ha, ha.”
“That’s why most people choose to trot over to a dragon, receive a task, and accept the dragon’s contract.”
‘A task. Sounds like a quest.’
The way she spoke made it sound just like a system quest.
“If you receive a dragon’s contract and transcend…”
“You can consider most of them subordination. It means their talent for transcendence was paltry.”
In the end, there was only one thing Sinhyeok had to choose.
“Training?”
“Yes. What you’ll be doing is training.”
Suddenly, Sinhyeok became curious about something.
“Then what did Brigadier General Lee Gangyeol do?”
At the mention of Lee Gangyeol, Dark Sword gave a faint laugh.
“He used a trick.”
“What?”
“He made a wager with his contracted dragon. He challenged it to a contest of magic.”
Sinhyeok asked again to make sure he’d heard correctly.
“He challenged a dragon to a contest of magic?”
“Yes. In the end, he won. And then he transcended immediately. Do you want to try that too?”
Sinhyeok smiled awkwardly and shook his head.
“I’m pretty far from magic.”
“You look it. Now then, shall we begin right away?”
At her suggestion, Sinhyeok sighed and nodded.
“Ugh, training. I’m sick of it already.”
Dark Sword chuckled and gave him a meaningful smile.
“If you’re already sick of it, that’s going to be a problem.”
For some reason, Sinhyeok felt uneasy at her meaningful smile.
“Now, follow what I do. I’ll teach you the essence of my martial arts.”
At her impressive-sounding words, Sinhyeok’s chest swelled slightly.
“Oh, yes.”
* * *
One hour later.
“Suuup, haaa.”
Again.
“Suuup, haa.”
The moment his breathing interval changed, her correction came as sharp as a blade.
“Hey. The interval. I told you to maintain steady breathing.”
Sinhyeok followed the steady breathing method she had taught him.
But he grew more and more frustrated.
“Suuup, ha, haaa.”
“Hey.”
Sinhyeok opened his eyes and asked her, who was meditating.
“If it’s martial arts, aren’t you going to teach me formulas, movement techniques, acupoints, things like that?”
She had been sitting cross-legged in meditation. She opened her eyes and said quietly,
“If I told you, could you even memorize it?”
“……”
At her remark, Sinhyeok shut his mouth.
“Martial arts are the crystallization of accumulated effort. For someone like you, who wants to build it up halfheartedly, that breathing method is enough.”
At her sharp point, Sinhyeok sighed and flopped backward onto the floor.
“Can something like this really make the dragon power inside me manifest?”
Dark Sword experienced a strange sense of déjà vu at his attitude toward martial arts.
‘He’s exactly like that man Lee Gangyeol.’
“I don’t know about anything else, but this doesn’t suit me. It doesn’t match my nature.”
“You really do resemble that man.”
She shook her head and approached Sinhyeok, who was lying sprawled out.
“You mean Lee Gangyeol?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
Sinhyeok felt a strange disgust at the look in her eyes as she looked down at him.
“Don’t say that carelessly. I don’t resemble him at all.”
He sprang to his feet and left her space.
Leaning her body against the window, she spoke from behind him.
“So you’re going to go find a dragon?”
“I’d rather do that. If that man managed it, there’s no reason I can’t.”
At those words, a smile naturally formed on her lips.
“If you’re going, seek out the oldest lair. The dwelling of a dragon whose years cannot be measured.”
At her advice, he turned back and asked,
“What kind of dragon is that?”
“The Supreme Dragon, the primordial dragon worshiped even by dragons, and the Dragon King. He offers contracts without a price.”
The words “without a price” tempted him.
Seeing his expression brighten, Dark Sword gave a small laugh.
“Did you know? They call dragon contracts ‘quests.’ They give you a task, and if you succeed, they grant you the dragon’s power.”
Sinhyeok focused on her words.
“The harder it is, the greater the power, and the lower the price. The easier it is, the more you must offer up everything you have.”
“What did that man accomplish?”
“The most difficult thing a human could do.”
Sinhyeok’s eyes changed.
“And above that?”
“There is only the contract of the Supreme Dragon, that great dragon.”
“Location.”
She raised a finger and pointed in a direction.
“Ooover there. If you pass through the Land of Self-Oblivion and keep walking endlessly, you’ll see that great being. Or perhaps not.”
Sinhyeok immediately looked in that direction.
Dark Sword laughed and shouted at his back.
“The Supreme Dragon likes alchemists! Try to persuade him!”
Sinhyeok immediately moved in the direction her fingertip pointed.
Hearing her advice from behind him, Sinhyeok smirked.
“That suits me perfectly.”
Watching him bristle, Dark Sword muttered,
“Lee Gangyeol, something seems to have gotten seriously twisted. Will this be all right?”
* * *
“Trainee. Outside is dangerous.”
The goblin warned Sinhyeok as he headed outside.
“More importantly, is the Supreme Dragon’s lair in that direction?”
“Hmm.”
The goblin adjusted his glasses and pointed out the proper direction.
“A little farther to the side.”
“There?”
“Yes. But are you seriously going there? There are many dragons that are more generous.”
“I don’t need a generous dragon. I need one that’ll send me home in one shot without asking for a price.”
Sinhyeok walked forward, looking only ahead. The goblin’s encouragement came from behind.
“Mmm, in that case, I wish you luck. I hope I see you in one piece.”
“Yeah! Me too.”
To find that so-called Supreme Dragon, or whatever it was, he walked across the dangerous land.
“What’s so dangerous about it?”
He walked calmly, searching for the Supreme Dragon, whose whereabouts he didn’t know.
It felt like he’d walked quite a distance across a plain like a vast sea.
“Haven’t I walked pretty far?”
He raised his head and looked at the sky.
Seeing the sun in the same position, he became aware of this space again.
‘Ah, right. This place is strange.’
He realized this was not a place where the normal flow of time applied.
“Do I just have to keep walking forever?”
He stopped for a moment and checked his direction.
‘The goblin said it was that way.’
As he looked around to confirm the direction, he sensed a presence.
“Are they training?”
He looked to the side and saw that the way the person walked was strange.
Slow and powerless.
Their body sagged as they walked.
“Must be training hard.”
He was about to simply stay still when the person’s head creaked to the side.
“H-Hai?”
At that strange movement, he recalled the being Dark Sword and the goblin had warned him about.
‘Self-Oblivion…!’
A being who had forgotten themselves.
A being abandoned in this space because they failed to transcend.
The other party looked at Sinhyeok and sniffed.
“Excuse me?”
Then they grinned and muttered,
“Dra… gon.”
Tap.
They stepped on the ground and leapt into the air.
“You scared me!”
Sinhyeok dodged the one making those bizarre movements and ran forward.
“Give… it, give… it!”
Mana unraveled from the man’s hand and formed a sword of murky blue energy.
‘Aura Blade?!’
In martial arts terms, it would be something like sword force.
Swish.
Sinhyeok’s intuition screamed intensely.
He had to dodge no matter what. If he didn’t, he was dead.
He hurriedly ducked his waist.
Kwaaaakakak!
The ground was carved open in a long line, and Sinhyeok went pale.
“L-Let’s talk this out!”
“Give it to me!!!!!”
There was no getting through to him at all.
“Ah, seriously!”
In the end, he had no choice but to run, making sure that thing called the Self-Lost couldn’t catch him.
Without looking back, he ran like mad.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
Strangely, he was out of breath.
“Damn it! Why am I out of breath?!”
He raised his head and looked back. Fortunately, he was nowhere to be seen.
“Wow, that scared the hell out of me.”
At that moment, he had a strange feeling.
‘Why do I feel uneasy?’
His unique intuition warned him.
It felt as if something was seething from every direction.
Tatata.
Tatata?
Following the direction of the sound, he saw that mad bastard coming by stepping through the air.
“G-Give it to me!”
“No, what the hell do you mean?! Is it yours, mister?!”
He tried to run in another direction, but his steps stopped.
He saw several people walking blankly like zombies.
Their bodies, too, were bent in horrifying ways.
K-Kkng.
“No, why are you sniffing? Why! I don’t smell!”
Creak, creak, creak.
Everyone’s heads turned.
Sinhyeok let out a hollow laugh.
“Why? Seriously, why?”
They all charged at once.
And judging by the form and momentum with which they rushed in, none of them were ordinary.
“There’s nothing to bite off me! Please go away!”
With desperate will, he dragged out his mana.
An unprecedented energy gathered in his palm.
Pop.
It shot out of his hand and flew through the air.
It was exceptionally clear mana, almost like a crystal.
Whoosh, whoosh.
All the gazes of the Self-Lost turned.
They leapt after Sinhyeok’s mana crystal sphere flying through the air.
“Dragon!”
“Dra… gon!”
Rumble.
By the slimmest margin, every one of the Self-Lost brushed past Sinhyeok.
“O-Oh my god.”
Having hunched his shoulders tightly, Sinhyeok felt his heart drop as he watched the Self-Lost charge like bulls that had seen a red cloth.
“Now’s my chance.”
Seizing the opportunity, Sinhyeok quickly bolted.
‘So if I don’t transcend in time, or if I hold out too long and stagnate, I end up like that?’
“Awooo! Mister Supreme Dragon! Where are you?!”
He had to hurry and find that Supreme Dragon bastard.
“No, seriously, where the hell are you?!”
Even after he kept walking aimlessly, he still couldn’t see it.
All he could see was the wide plain and the massive mountain far in the distance.
“This really sucks. Does it actually exist?”
He stood still and looked back.
‘Should I just… go back?’
But going back was something his pride wouldn’t allow.
“That’s a bit much.”
‘Where the hell is the Supreme Dragon’s lair?’
He stood there for a moment and looked around, wondering where it might be.
“Please, Lord Supreme Dragon, meet me just once.”
He prayed desperately.
‘Where could it be?’
“According to Dark Sword, it may be visible or it may not be, and the lair is truly ancient.”
He chewed over the hint.
“It may be visible, or it may not be.”
Her hint strangely stimulated his mind.
“It’s visible, but also not visible.”
He stood still and stared at the enormous mountain in the far distance.
“That thing that’s been visible the whole time but never gets any closer.”
‘The oldest dragon’s dwelling.’
“Isn’t the oldest thing in this space actually this Dragon Soul Corridor?”
At his mutter, the mountain moved for an instant.
At that faint movement, Sinhyeok flinched.
“It moved?”
Soon, that mountain shifted, and a massive dragon’s pupil opened.
‘Have you found me?’
“I… I found you.”