...Ominous, ominous.
Queen Bee Arsha was watching Suho's actions from a distance with a very anxious look.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! The pyramid was making an ominous vibrating sound due to the endless surge of mana from Suho.
On the other hand, Ammut, the owner of the place, was watching all this with interest.
[Hmm. I wonder if a dragon egg can really hatch with such a makeshift method?]
Of course, it wasn't theoretically impossible. But it was unclear whether a normal dragon could be born this way. For one thing, the egg itself was too small compared to a normal one. Originally, it should have received a mana shower from its parents for a long time and grown ten times its current size. But because the father, Kamish, died early, it remained in an immature state. However, perhaps because it was Suho, who wasn't a dragon himself, giving it a mana shower, the egg itself showed no signs of growing.
[...Perhaps even if it hatches, it will be premature or stillborn.] At Arsha's words, Beru, who was munching on a pile of magic stones secretly pilfered from the black market, scoffed.
[Kiha. How ridiculous! How can a mere dragon compare to the noble bloodline of our Suho! He should be honored to be fed mana by the Little Monarch himself, instead of receiving it from a lowly dragon!]
[...I'll just keep my mouth shut.] Sighed Arsha
Ammut ignored Beru and approached Suho for his daily quest. [Now, hatching the egg is important, but first, do your training for today and then continue.]
"Ah, is it already the time?" Suho got up without a word. But Kamish's egg was still in his hand. Ammut chuckled at the sight.
[You're not planning to keep holding that during training, are you?]
"Of course I am. My grandfather's health is at stake; I don't want to waste any time."
Even as he answered, Suho was still pouring mana into Kamish's egg. Ammut's lips curled upwards at his dedication.
[Good! Then do your push-ups with one arm today!]
"It can't be helped." Suho wrapped bandages around his body like a mummy without a word. And Ammut chuckled with an even more satisfied expression.
[How wise! Let's start with a broken arm today!]
Crack!
As soon as he finished speaking and started doing push-ups the refreshing sound of bones breaking was heard from Suho's arm. But he only frowned slightly and continued exercising. With his other hand, he continuously poured mana into Kamish's egg.
[...They're all crazy.] Arsha watched this extreme training relationship from a distance with a tired expression.
Fwoosh!
Meanwhile, Kamish's egg, brimming with an ominous aura, was slowly awaiting the time to hatch.
* * *
Thus, a day passed, then two days, then the third day. Despite Suho's bold claim that he would finish it in a day, it still showed no signs of hatching. It was impossible to finish in a day what took dragons years. But he was desperate, with Sung Il-Hwan's well-being on the line. He had been relentlessly struggling with Kamish's egg for three days without sleep.
"Our Suho is going through so much because of his useless grandfather."
Sung Il-Hwan, who had briefly visited the Shadow Dungeon out of concern for his grandson, muttered with a bitter expression. But even as he spoke, signs of rifts were slowly starting to appear on his body. If he didn't return to the Void soon before it became more dangerous...
* * *
Crack!
And then.
"Huh?"
"Oh."
[Kiek?]
"Kkuong?"
Everyone's eyes widened. Finally, Kamish's egg was showing signs of hatching!
[The King of Beasts, the Monarch of Fangs, perks up his ears.]
[The Queen of Insects and the Monarch of Plagues, folds her arms and watches.]
[The King of the Snow Folk and the Monarch of Frost...]
The hatching of Kamish's egg was a matter of great interest even to the deceased Monarchs. It was only natural; this was the descendant of the Dragon King, the Monarch of Destruction, Antares. Excluding the Shadow Monarch, who was an anomaly in many ways, this was the moment of the birth of the successor to the power of Antares, the undisputed strongest Monarch.
[Kieek! Little Monarch! You have to push harder now!]
Encouraged by Beru's cheers, Suho put another mana potion in his mouth and poured all his strength into it. And finally...!
Crack! Crack! Crack! The egg cracked, and a small lizard peeked its head out.
"Oh, it's born!"
[Kieeeeek! It's really born!]
[I-in the end...]
Everyone cheered at the same time. Only Arsha closed her eyes tightly and sighed.
'...It's finally born.'
In the end... that dangerous creature was born on this land. And indeed, the creature reflected in Arsha's eyes was truly terrifying. Short black horns protruding from its head. An elongated, round body and tail resembling a lizard. Short limbs attached to its sides, with blunt black claws and small wings. It was undeniably a dragon hatchling, just smaller in size. But for some reason, the creature just stared blankly into the air after hatching.
'Could it be blind?'
Suho was worried. It wasn't born under normal circumstances, so he couldn't help but worry. But his concerns were unfounded.
Blink!
Suddenly, the creature came to its senses, eyes opened wide, and looked forward. And its sight met Suho's, who was holding it in his hands.
Blink?
The creature blinked its round eyes, smiled brightly at Suho, and opened its mouth.
"...Beep!"
Ding!
[Pet: 'Red Dragon Lv.1' acquired.]
"Ah!" The pet system was activated after a long time! And a name tag appeared above the baby dragon's head.
[?? Lv.1 Red Dragon]
"Oh, it became a pet right away? Is it because it was born by consuming my mana?" Suho muttered as he saw the system message that appeared before his eyes.
'Come to think of it, it's similar to Gray.'
Ding!
[You can name your pet.]
[Please name your pet.]
'A name, huh.'
While Suho was pondering a name, a growling sound suddenly came from beside him.
"Growl..."
Was it instinctive rivalry? Gray, his first pet, suddenly started barking fiercely at the baby dragon.
"Growl! Grrr!"
The way he wrinkled his nose and bared his teeth was quite menacing.
[The King of Beasts, the Fang Monarch, nods in satisfaction at his successor's valiant appearance.]
But it was only for a moment.
Tilt?
"Beep?" The baby dragon's head turned to Gray at the sudden noise...
"..." Gray closed his mouth and lowered his gaze with an expressionless face, as if nothing had happened.
"Beep?"
"..."
The baby dragon tilted its head, looking puzzled, but the wolf cub, for some reason, maintained a solemn expression and didn't raise his head. But as soon as the baby dragon turned its head back to Suho, Gray's expression instantly turned ferocious, and he started growling again.
"Grrr...!"
"Beep?"
"..."
Of course, when the baby dragon looked back at him, Gray quickly calmed down, closed his mouth, and lowered his eyes. An amazing transformation. He didn't forget to tuck his tail under his hind legs either. The deceased Monarchs had mixed reactions to this sight.
[The King of Beasts, the Monarch of Fangs, sighs softly.]
[The King of the Snow Folk and the Monarch of Frost, bursts into laughter.]
[The Queen of Insects and the Monarch of Plagues, laughs hysterically.]
Suho couldn't help but laugh as well, despite feeling sorry for his first pet. "It seems he's higher in the pecking order than Gray."
[That's only natural. Even if it was born abnormally and is small, a dragon is still a dragon... Kyaaah?!]
Swish- Grab!
And then, Arsha, who was answering Suho's question, was suddenly snatched away by something like a whip.
[S-save me, Suhooo...!]
The culprit was the baby dragon. Arsha's desperate screams gradually faded as he chewed. It was an accident that happened in an instant. But before Suho could worry, The Queen Bee reappeared behind him, unharmed.
[Phew. Don't worry. Thankfully, it was just an avatar... Kyaaah?!]
Swish- Grab!
[...]
And once again, the baby dragon snatched Arsha with its long tongue and swallowed her.
"Beep!"
He then smiled brightly at Suho, who couldn't help but chuckle. The deceased Monarchs had mixed reactions again.
[The Queen of Insects and the Monarch of Plagues, covers her face and can't lift her head.]
[The King of the Snow Folk and the Monarch of Frost, bursts into laughter.]
"Honestly. It's like a frog despite behaving like a true apex predator." Suho grinned and decided on the creature's name.
"Then I'll just name it Frog or Froggy..."
"No, wait. Suho?" Sung Il-Hwan, who had grabbed Suho's shoulder, said with a serious expression.
"Considering we need to ask the Dragon King for a favor, wouldn't it be better to choose his successor's name carefully?"
"Ah, you're right, Grandpa. Then..." Sung Il-Hwan breathed a sigh of relief. After all, his life was on the line.
Suho thought about it again and recalled a character's name from a game he used to play. That character was also a Monarch who controlled fire, so it seemed appropriate for a Red Dragon.
"...Ragnaros. No, let's shorten it to 'Ragnar.' "
Ding!
As soon as he decided on the name, a new notification appeared above the baby dragon's head, who was sitting quietly on Suho's hand, rolling its eyes, waiting for Arsha to approach again.
[Ragnar Lv.1]
[Red Dragon]
"Yes, that's much better than Frog." Sung Il-Hwan nodded in relief.
But then.
Whoosh!
"...!"
The moment Ragnar was named, black-red flames suddenly ignited all over his body in Suho's hand.
"Beep!" Ragnar let out a long cry towards Suho.
Ding!
[Passive skill: '(Unknown)' activated.]
Suho's eyes widened as he felt time seemingly stop.The plan was successful! To think he could meet the deceased Dragon King right away like this!
But… Something was strange.
Whoosh!
'...Ugh?!'
A terrible scream erupted from Suho's mouth. This time, it was somehow very different from the other Monarchs.
Whoosh!
'Kaaagh! Kaaagh-!'
It was hot! So hot! As if he had swallowed boiling oil! An intense burning pain started from his throat and spread through his blood vessels, setting his entire body on fire!
'Kyaaaaaaaaaaa-!'
Suho's shadow bubbled and boiled, turning into pitch-black flames that started to burn his entire body. In that excruciating pain, his consciousness was gradually sucked into the distant darkness.
And then...
Rumble!
At the end of the deep, deep abyss. In the empty, black and white world that swallowed even light. Suho finally faced him. A man sitting atop a giant dragon's head.
'This is...!'
The Dragon King, the Monarch of Destruction, Antares.
He scanned Suho's entire body with an arrogant gaze. And then…
[You.]
Sensing a familiar energy from Suho, the Dragon King suddenly grinned, revealing his teeth in a ferocious expression.
[...You're the son of the Shadow Monarch!]
Rumble rumble rumble!
At that moment, a murderous intent hotter and more ferocious than boiling lava engulfed Suho.