The last remaining stone spear fell away from Cale's body.
Cale's blood fell into the transparent lake and dyed it red and his body slowly fell toward the lake as his blood had just done.
"You're causing all sorts of troubles."
However, Cale did not fall into the lake.
The ancient Dragon that had approached him at some point supported his body with one hand, catching Cale before he fell into the lake.
Cale was already drenched from being in the water and covered in blood that falling into the lake would not have mattered, but that wasn't the problem.
Eruhaben quickly laid Cale down on the grass next to the lake.
Huff, huff.
Cale was not able to breathe properly.
He seemed to be trying very hard to take every breath. He was coughing up black blood and his limbs were shaking. His body was twisting as if he could not handle it.
"Eruhaben-nim! What is going on right now?"
Beacrox frowned after seeing Cale's condition. It was very different than the times when Cale would cough up blood every so often.
The person who was calm even when he was hurt, coughing up blood, or fainting was currently in pain because he was unable to handle the pressure.
Beacrox suddenly recalled his father, Ron's comment.
'You're the only one I can rely on since I cannot go myself.'
He had followed without complaining because it had sounded serious.
He then just sat back and watched as it seemed as if Cale was just going to gain another ancient power.
However, he could clearly tell that something was different after seeing young master Cale's pain-filled expression.
"Can we just leave him like this?"
Beacrox was speaking with a sharp tone.
Eruhaben kneeled down next to Cale and responded back.
"We have to leave him like this."
"What do you mean?"
"Cale Henituse is currently fusing his plate back together."
Eruhaben stopped for a moment before continuing on.
"I didn't expect that to be this painful though. We can't heal him in any way right now. Foreign powers cannot enter his body until this process is finished."
The ancient Dragon was getting a headache.
He had never seen anything like this in his 1,000 years of life.
'I didn't know that there would be such a strong clashing of powers.'
The natural attributes in Cale's body were violently clashing with each other. Eruhaben started to frown. It was hard for even him to watch Cale, who was in so much pain that he could not even open his eyes.
Seeing the always calm and collected punk being in a situation like this was difficult.
"Ugh!"
Cale coughed up another chunk of blood.
Cale felt as if his insides were flipping over. It felt as if his entire body had turned into glass and someone was hitting at him with a small hammer.
He felt like someone was stepping all over his body and that everything inside was twisting around simply to cause him pain.
Cale was getting extremely annoyed.
'Is this supposed to be some type of martial arts novel now? Am I going through a body purification? What kind of sudden and unexpected pain is this?
It'd be one thing if my body would get stronger from this purification, but it's just turning my plate into a slightly bigger glass plate. What's the point of that?!'
Of course, it was a good thing that he would not die, but Cale could not help but be annoyed.
'This god damn, 'Birth of a Hero!' '
He had never experienced such physical pain in his life. It was a different pain than the pain he had felt as a kid and as an adult when he was beaten up by others.
– …You cannot sacrifice yourself.
The Super Rock sounded sad.
– …I can't eat right now.
– Let's get stronger! Let's get stronger so that we can throw money away as well! Think about how happy we will be!
The glutton and fiery thunderbolt chimed in as well.
Cale got even more annoyed as he listened to the ancient powers mumble. However, he didn't have the strength to express his feelings. It felt as if someone had dropkicked his stomach, forcing him to take a deep breath.
"Ugh!"
He could not help but tear up. It was too much physical pain.
Some pain would be fine, but this was beyond what he had expected.
Beacrox, who was watching, could not help but get anxious after seeing Cale tear up from the pain.
'How painful must it be for this person, our young master Cale Henituse, to tear up?'
He looked toward Eruhaben while trying his best to maintain his calm expression. It was because he felt as if he should do something to help.
"Eru-"
However, Beacrox stiffened up as a chill surrounded his whole body before he could finish calling the ancient Dragon's name.
It was the needle-like feeling he felt as soon as they arrived at this gray eye-like lake. No, it was different than that feeling, but it still made his entire body stiffen up.
This sensation was not violent.
In fact, it was calm and silent.
At the same time, it was filled with a deadly chill.
He felt as if he was standing alone during a dark night without the moon.
It was the type of sensation that instilled fear in any living being that was in darkness.
Beacrox took one, and then another, step back.
He then lifted his head.
He looked toward the source of this sensation.
It was in his arms.
Beacrox could see something leave his arms to float up into the air.
Raon Miru.
The Black Dragon was floating higher into the sky while being surrounded by black mana.
A feeling of a strong and unequaled ruler that he had never felt before was coming from this strong, yet oddly cute six-year-old Dragon.
"…He's about to wake up."
Eruhaben's voice reached Beacrox's ear.
The ancient Dragon was looking at the floating young Dragon and getting the chills.
Seeing Raon's plate break and mana flowing out of Raon made him believe that Raon had not unleashed his attribute.
However, that was not it.
This sensation must be related to Raon's attribute.
What could it be?
What could this cold yet silent feeling be?
The ancient Dragon looked at the growing human and young Dragon before doing what he needed to do. He created multiple shields. He then placed one each around the young Dragon, Cale, and Beacrox.
This was an important moment right now.
This was important for both Cale and Raon. This was the moment that would determine their futures. The ancient Dragon wanted them to be able to fully grasp their futures, so he activated his mana in order to prepare for any unexpected situations.
Eruhaben then touched his arm that was full of goosebumps.
Oooooo-
The air was vibrating while a cold yet silent power started to drown out the lake inside the barrier. The ancient Dragon looked toward Raon, who caused this sensation.
At the same time, inside the dream.
Raon was inside the trial ground.
Raon's time was starting to pass by.
He could hear everything and smell everything.
He could feel it as well.
Raon could feel it even though he couldn't reach him.
Cale's painful moans. The smell of Cale's blood. The faint but heavy breathing. Raon could feel that Cale was going through a significant amount of pain right now.
Raon recalled what Cale had said before.
'Human, will you save me again if I become that weak again and require you to save me?'
'Of course, I would save you.'
I will always be by my human's side when he is sick and weak.
Raon could feel the existences chasing after him in the dream.
The large Black Dragon and the fake versions of the people he loved were chasing him.
They continued to chase him, even when he kicked them off of his ankles and dodged them.
However, Raon did not pay any attention to them as he just continued to flap his small wings.
Paaaat-
Black mana suddenly started to approach the young Dragon's wings.
Raon realized that he was able to use mana again. Then there was nothing for him to be scared about. He was very good at magic.
That was something he could do well at any moment.
The black mana started to gather in his wings.
It then turned into a pair of large wings.
These wings that were larger than even the wings of the 30-meter-long Dragon appeared on the small Dragon's back. They then started to flap energetically.
Raon charged toward the highest point of the trial ground that had neither a sun nor a moon.
He then curled up his body.
Raon was heading toward the real world.
Until he was four-years-old. That was how long he had to survive in that dark cave without a single source of light.
He was moving beyond that past.
From four-years-old to six-years-old.
He had seen flowers blooming in the spring, snow falling in the winter, the beauty of the summer, and the sweet fragrance of the fall.
He also thought about the people who were with him throughout those seasons.
He could see the people that made those sceneries that could have easily been ignored into beautiful memories.
Raon could now see the highest spot in the trial ground.
He then started to smile.
He could see a wall.
He could see the transparent wall.
This place really was not real.
'This is not the world that I grew up in.'
Then there was only one thing left for him to do.
'Let's destroy that wall. I can get out of here by doing that.'
Raon curled up his body as tightly as possible.
He curled up, just as he had done whenever he was in pain inside that cave.
He curled up, just as he had done whenever he laid down on the bed in order to sleep with Cale, On, and Hong.
He curled up while thinking about all of his memories.
The large wings curled up around him as well.
Raon Miru's body became like a sharp spear or arrowhead.
That spear charged fiercely toward that transparent wall.
"Human, I am coming!"
Raon slammed into that wall.
Crack.
That small noise was just the beginning.
He continued to push into the wall without stopping.
Crack, crack.
Cracks slowly started to appear on the transparent wall.
Those cracks were appearing in the real world as well.
Eruhaben commented as if he was gasping as he looked at Raon.
"His plate is being completely destroyed."
One plate was breaking while another plate was continuously getting bigger. Eruhaben was worried that Raon's aura would influence Cale, so he created a couple more layers of shields around Cale as he looked around.
Neither of them could hear Eruhaben's voice right now.
Raon could not hear anything at all.
His small head that was covered in mana slammed into the wall again.
Crack, craaack-
The sound started to get louder.
Raon stopped for a moment and turned around.
He could see that the large Black Dragon and the fake people had approached him.
They started to grab at his ankles again.
Raon left them alone this time. It was hard to destroy this wall on his own.
The young Dragon was a child who had learned how to fight together with others. That was why Raon chose to use a different method.
The large Dragon and the fake people surrounded Raon, who stood still.
Raon's black mana covered them as well.
They were fake people made with his future self and people he had built connections with in the past. The people grabbing onto his ankles were actually helpful to Raon, who now had large mana wings.
The arrow that only had an arrowhead now had a shaft.
It was able to find its balance.
Raon stepped away from the wall.
He then charged toward the wall again with everything he had.
'I am the great and mighty Raon Miru.'
The arrowhead that had only been sharp was now reinforced by a sturdy shaft.
That allowed the arrowhead, no, that allowed Raon to slam into the wall even harder.
That was the reason for it.
Crack, crack.
The small crack continued to be hit by strong impacts.
Finally.
Boooooooom!
The wall crumbled.
Raon started to flap his wings past the broken wall. The Dragon escaped the trial ground together with his future self and past relationships.
* * *
"Ah."
Beacrox let out a gasp.
The cold and silent sensation started to change.
It felt warm.
It was as if night was ending and the warm morning sun was shining down upon him. That warm sensation started to wrap Beacrox's tired body.
"Hahaha, the aura has changed. It is an attribute that can change."
Eruhaben could not hold back his laughter.
The aura that described the attribute had changed. An attribute that could change. What could it be?
Anything that can change shows that it can grow.
'He must have earned something past the wall.'
The ancient Dragon immediately realized Raon's achievement.
Eruhaben smiled and canceled all of his magic.
The white gold shields around the lake turned into dust before they disappeared into the sky.
The black mana that appeared through the white gold dust turned transparent and revealed Raon's body.
Raon slowly descended amidst the shining white gold dust particles.
He slowly descended like a flower petal falling to the ground.
Tap.
He then returned to his proper place.
"Oh!"
Beacrox tried to approach him in shock before stopping himself.
Hu, huu, huu.
He could hear a child's relaxed breathing that was different than when he was sick.
The young Dragon seemed to be happily dreaming when someone caressed his head.
It was Cale.
Raon had landed on the grass right next to Cale and stuck close to his side. It was how he fell asleep every night, including the night that his first growth phase started. That was the spot he returned to.
Cale opened his eyes a crack in order to look at Raon.
It was still hard to breathe, however, he could not do anything when he heard the child's voice.
– Human, I am better now! It is your turn to get better!
The things Raon said to him before he fell asleep were still echoing in his mind.
Cale's limbs were still shaking and he was having trouble breathing.
His mind was blank from the pain of his entire body breaking down.
Tap.
Cale's shaking hand landed on top of Raon's head. The movement was very rough.
The eyes that took so much effort to open were looking past Raon and toward Eruhaben.
He was looking at Eruhaben with desperation. He was shouting on the inside.
'Bed!'
Even if he was in pain, he would rather be in pain on top of a comfortable bed.
He did not like being on this grass while being drenched.
Cale was relieved after seeing Eruhaben nodding his head with a serious expression. He was thinking that his desperate plea had reached Eruhaben's ears.
Eruhaben started to speak.
"Fine, you unlucky bastard. You probably don't want to leave Raon like this. You should take care of yourself first though."
Although that was not his desire, Cale just closed his eyes.
It wasn't as if Eruhaben was wrong.
Both he and Raon needed a bed.
Snap.
Cale felt his body start to float once Eruhaben snapped his finger.
Eruhaben created a teleportation magic circle at the same time. The magic circle activated once Beacrox joined them above it.
Paaaaat!
A white gold ray of light shot up into the sky, leaving nobody behind at the lake.
* * *
A few hours later.
Rustle, rustle.
In an empty area with a regular lake.
Footsteps could be heard as someone appeared by the lake.
"…Why is it not here?"
The person staring at the regular water started to frown. He clicked his tongue as if he was disappointed.
"I need to quickly find the fifth one."
The person observed the lake before leaving with a confused expression.
* * *
At the same time, Cale felt a bit better after returning to the inn and laying down on a bed.
'These crazy ancient powers! This crazy glass body! It'll be so much better if I could just faint!'
He could not faint and his mind was clear.
Being in pain while his mind was clear was driving him crazy.
His limbs were still shaking while his entire body was in pain because of his internal organs that were twisting. Cale hated this situation where he could not control himself.
He had been so annoyed in the past when he, as Kim Rok Soo, was unable to control his brain's activities because of overload. This time, having his physical body like this was also annoying.
"…Young master-nim."
He could hear Ron's voice.
Cale slowly opened his eyes again. It was so that Ron could know that he was fine.
However, just as he barely opened his eyes and looked toward Ron…
"Cough!"
He coughed up a chunk of black blood that dyed the bed red.
Cale stopped trying to look at Ron and instead closed his eyes again in order to withstand the pain.
"Father!"
Beacrox sounded shocked. However, Cale had no way of knowing what was going on since his eyes were closed.
He heard a different noise at that moment.
Beeeeeeeep- Beeeeep-
It was the sound of the video communication device.
Huuuu. Huuuu, huuuu.
The noise of the video communication device was loud compared to Raon's peaceful breathing.
The ancient Dragon Eruhaben who was holding the video communication device had a concerned expression on his face.
"…It's from Rosalyn."
'Ow, my head.'
Cale felt as if he was suddenly getting a headache.
At that moment, Cale heard the reserved voice of the Super Rock that seemed to be wary of how Cale would react.
– …You will need to be in pain for at least another day.
'This goddamn worthless body!'
Cale just wanted to faint.