Whoosh!
"It's Suho!"
[Kieeeeek! Little Lord!]
Time that had stood still moved again. In an instant, Suho's eyes bounced back to reality as he saw people running towards him, worrying about him. Grandpa and Beru were the first. Beyond that, Ammut, even the others, were looking at him with a bewieldered expression. They had to be. Suddenly, a shimmering fire rose from Suho's whole body. As it turned out, it wasn't just a vision in the eyes of Suho, but rather an actual fire caused by Antares.
Fwuaa!
"AGHH!"
Suho collapsed on the spot with tremendous pain. The flames that covered his body soon turned into smoke and cooled down, but Suho's HP was still on the verge of dying. However this was reality, and there was a way to solve it.
"Accept Status Recovery!"
With a flash! Suho's moribund condition was quickly restored, as if he had leveled up.
"Suho! Are you okay?!"
"Hah.... Yes, I'm fine."
Suho stood up and swept down his chest as he was supported back up by Sung-Il-Hwan. 'It's good I didn't spend my daily quest rewards.' Dodged a bullet with that. The reward was still there, thanks to the recent resolution of the aftereffects of steel exercise with bandages and potions.
"You overdid it, didn't you?"
"No, I didn't. For a moment… I did get to meet the Destruction Monarch."
[Kieeek?! You actually met the Dragon Emperor?! Potions! We need more potions!]
"No, I'm okay now."
Beru freaked out, twirling around the body of Suho to see how he was doing. On the other hand, as soon as Arsha heard the word dragon, she immediately fled.
Ammut stared at Suho's figure with intrigue. How pitiful. Even though his health had been restored, the clothes he was wearing had been burned into rags by the flames of the dragon. Ammut bared his teeth and chuckled.
[If you had come face to face with the dead Dragon Emperor, it would be a stroke of luck that you came back alive and safe like this. So, did he tell you where you can find the World Tree?]
"Yes, about the World Tree..."
Suho smiled wryly as he remembered what his father had said.
-Suho, I can tell you the location of the World Tree. But it won't be easy.
It wasn't just Antares who wandered through the dimensional cracks during the war, but so did Sung Jin-Woo. Unfortunately, even if he knew the location of the World Tree, he couldn't teach Suho the shortcut.
- Standing in front of the World Tree at your current level will only make it dangerous for you. So for now, start with your strength.
In the past, Sung Jin-Woo had obtained the "Fragment of the World Tree" as a trophy for hunting Volkan in the Demon Castle. But that was entirely the result of the system's arrangements, something that Suho doesn't have right now. In the end, Suho had to find the real World Tree -not a fragment of the World Tree- on his own.
-The rest of Antares will tell you from the sidelines.
With that, Sung Jin-Woo touched the system and created a new quest for protection.
Suho raised his eyes and stared at the quest window in front of him.
[The previous quest has arrived.]
[Would you like to accept the previous quest?]
(Y/N)
Gulp.
Suho's throat rang out. Yes or No kept flickering in front of him. His heart was pounding. How could it not? The former quest that he couldn't even expect in his life has finally appeared. The process was also the result of his own search and victory.
'Accept.'
T-ring!
[You've accepted the previous quest.]
At the same time that he decided to accept the quest, the quest window opened up in his sight.
[Ex-Quest: The Draconic Trials-1]
[Antares, the King of Dragons, the Destruction Monarch, laughs at your weakness. If your weak body were to accept the power of the Dragon Emperor now, you would burn into a handful of ashes. Satisfy the minimum qualifications to become the successor of the Destruction Monarch.]
[- Objective: To reach the required level of 99.]
'Level 99.'
Suho seemed to know how this standard was set.
From the 'dream' that he had when he was an adolescent.
At that time, he had been fighting endlessly with his father's Shadow Legion, including Beru, to level up. 'When I think about it now, everyone was examining me as I fought.' But at the time, he didn't even realize what they had seen in him, since the road was so rough and bloody. Mountains over mountains. He made a range of carcasses from so many giants and dragons, while following a long path through the open field until the highest level was reached.
[Level: 99]
That was the end of it. After that, no matter how many battles he went through and how much he became more adept at wielding his powers, he could never move on to the next level. As if the level 100 level does not exist. So at the time, he simply thought that level 99 was the end. But what if that's not…' Suho realized. '...my limit.'
Haha.
Suho bared his teeth and laughed, feeling a simmering sense of triumph. 'Okay, let's start here, right?'
Suddenly:
"Beep?" At this moment, the little lizard, which was still sitting calmly in the guardian's hand, made a sound. Ragnar. A baby dragon that had just been born from an egg was staring at Suho, his round eyes squinting with a dumbfounded expression.
"...Let's ask the Dragon Emperor about the rest."
"Beep?"
Suho clutched Ragnar's small body and made eye contact. The contract that went back and forth between Sung Jin-Woo and Antares. It was a condition that was put forward in place of making Suho the successor of the Dragon Emperor, but it was also a necessary step towards it. In order for there to be an heir to the power, of course a "priest" is also needed to carry out the procedure. Therefore, if Suho is the successor of the Dragon Emperor, then Ragnar is the priest.
"Open your eyes, Antares."
"Beep?"
Before the words of Suho fell, a great spirit began to dwelt in Ragnar's small body.
Whaaaaaaaa!
[The spirit body of Antares is being incorporated into the body of the Priest.]
In a moment, Ragnar's eyes deepened as he rolled his eyeballs with a dumbfounded expression. His gaze stared blankly into the air, and the dragon muttered.
"...What a strange ceiling."
When he opened his eyes, an unfamiliar place appeared before him .
Badum. Badum. Badum. Badum.
The sound of a heart beating wildly deep inside a small body. His noble blood flowed without hesitation through each vein and vessel around him at the same rhythm. And…
Ah***-phew.***
The first breath. His chest swelled and the fresh air he inhaled seeped into his lungs. All of this was evidence. 'Ah. Finally,' he understood. He was convinced. Antares was truly alive again.
"Uh-huh… Hahaha!"
Antares burst into a mad with pure joy.
"Haha! I'm back! This Emperor has overcome even death and returned from the sea after death! MUAHAHAHA!"
!!!
Everyone in the shadow dungeon shuddered at the aura of the dragon in that wild laughter.
"Ah! This power it can't be–"
Sung Il-Hwan was prepared to instinctively draw the power of the cracks even if he put himself at a risk.
[Dra- Dragon Emperor?!]
Even Ammut was nervous, and he managed to control gravity to the highest degree.
Kugugugoogoo!
[Kieeeeeeeeeeek!]
Beru, who had fought countless wars with the Denizens of Chaos led by the Dragons long ago, reacted more fiercely than anyone else.
[Let go of your hand young liege! I will protect you!]
Antares was overjoyed with their response.
"Hah! Yes, cower in terror and reverence!" Whoever you might be.
The 'first monarch' and the 'strongest monarch' born out of the darkness. He is the king who reigns over all the dragons, and is a symbol of terror and destruction. Everyone who knew him called him "Dragon Emperor" with the utmost fear and respect. "The burden is the solvent antares."
!!!
At the declaration that flowed from the mouth of Antares, everyone except Suho prepared for a showdown. There's only one reason why they couldn't release their power towards him. Because he was now in the hands of Suho.
But not for long.
Antares escaped from Suho's hands and jumped down. Then, slowly, he raised himself, overcame death, and took his first great step as a monarch who returned from the sea after death.
Hoh!
"Uh-huh. It truly is a body worthy of being called Kamish's hatchling."
Antares couldn't hide his satisfaction as he fidgeted his short legs. Born as a dragon for the 2nd time. If it weren't for a great being like himself, what kind of dragon in the world could walk so skillfully as soon as it was born from an egg? In fact, the principle is simple. Spread your little wings wide to get a sense of balance. Support the body with the tail so that it does not fall backwards.
Pat-pat.
Of course, he still didn't have enough muscle strength so his legs were shaking incessantly just by standing on his own two feet.
"It's as simple as using mana." Antares skillfully drew magic from Ragnar's heart, and again vigorously.
Fwuaaa!
"Hahahaha! Have you seen it! What a joy! I'm going to live a second life in this newborn hatchling's body!"
Antares shuddered with tremendous anticipation. In his previous life, he had already reached a supreme level that no one dared to climb. Its power was so extreme that it was no longer possible to grow. But with all that experience and talent, he was given the opportunity to grow up again from the time he was a baby hatchling! It's his second dragon life!
But then, reality struck.
"MUAHAHAHA!-- Beep?"
Antares' eyes, which had been smiling as he radiated a murderous momentum everywhere, suddenly became dumbfounded.
T-ring!
[Ragnar's magic power has been depleted.]
[The spirit body of Antares inside the Priest's is being removed.]
"Beep? Bleep?" Ragnar tilted his head, looking as if he didn't know anything. Suddenly, he realized that so many people were surrounding him, spewing tremendous ammounts of mana. He shook again, crying like a newborn baby.
"B-BWUAAAAAAAAA!"
"...."
[...]
Everyone was silent. It seems as though something amazing just happened in a flash. Without saying a word, Suho picked up the weeping Ragnar again and patted him on the back. Well, he felt like he had to soothe the crying child for now.
There, there…
"Piyoo." Only then does Ragnar feel relieved and close his eyes to fall back asleep. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at that uselessly cute appearance.
Meanwhile, from a distant world, Suho could hear someone's annoyance directed at him.
[The King of Dragons, the Destruction Monarch, is furious that this is a fraud.]
[The King of Dragons, the Destruction Monarch, is thinking about how to increase Ragnar's mana.]
[The King of Dragons, the Destruction Monarch, wants to advice you about Ragnar's parenting methods....]