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Chapter 321

“Looks like you’re lost in some useless worries,” Yuri said while patting Yeon-woo’s chin. Yeon-woo had nothing to respond to that.

He was indeed pondering, but did it feel like a useless concern? Not exactly.

Even if he became a master, he could never compare to Yuri. He was closer to being called a being above a master before the regression.

However, he felt something was lacking in his own realm. Was it training? Or perhaps stubbornness? What exactly was deficient?

Yuri said, “You’re thinking you became a master just by sheer luck, but that’s just foolish. It doesn’t matter if you want to be something; you can’t simply become it while falling short.”

Then what was this feeling of loss that was currently consuming him? Wasn’t it a lack of training, experience, or strength?

The realm of a martial artist requires mental training.

While there are rare beings who enter the master’s realm solely by innate talent, Yeon-woo knew such individuals appeared only once a century. He also knew he was definitely not one of them.

Yuri, watching him quietly, slowly bent down. Placing her hand on Yeon-woo’s head, she affectionately stroked it.

“You know too much. If you’ve ascended to the realm, it’s already inadequate if you can’t simply rejoice in it. The fact that you realize you’re still lacking makes it worse.”

It’s a curse of knowledge. Yeon-woo knew the countless strong enemies that awaited in the future.

The Demon King was not the only threat. Monsters were becoming stronger, and the difficulty of the Gates was gradually rising. Betrayers siding with the Demon King were appearing in droves, and the situation was worsening by the moment.

But others didn’t know this. Only Yeon-woo understood in this world.

So while others rejoiced at attaining their realms, Yeon-woo couldn’t share that joy. He inevitably compared it to how insufficient his own powers were.

“Why would the gods burden an unconfident guy like me with the title of a hero? The fate of the world truly is heartless.”

Naturally, reaching the realm of a master at sixteen is an unprecedented achievement.

Even Kim Hyun-soo, the youngest master known, only reached that stage in his early twenties.

However, paired with the experience of being a regress and the fate of being a hero, it made clear self-assessment nearly impossible for him.

Ultimately, it was confidence. This kid, strangely lacking in self-assurance, only needed more confidence.

At the point where he reached master, the only thing that could be lacking was trust in himself.

Yuri carefully stroked his brown hair. It was still soft, just like that of a young child, being only sixteen.

“Tsk.”

Growing older doesn’t necessarily mean becoming an adult. Even if one became an adult, it doesn’t mean that every part of them is adult-like.

Sometimes, there are adults who seem overly grown-up yet remain childlike in self-esteem. Perhaps they weren’t adults at all but rather children who simply decided they should be.

*

The world before him twisted. At first, he thought anger was blinding his eyes.

Emotions affecting the body is a common occurrence, but this was a first for Alkeinea.

Having lived in this cave for over a thousand years, she had never needed to express her emotions, except when touching her eggs.

Therefore, anger was an incredibly foreign emotion to her. Her head felt overheated. Her chest tightened, and a strong urge arose to grab something and break it.

Normally, this wouldn’t pose a problem. There was nothing in this space to destroy.

But the twisting of the space before her was the issue. There was clearly an ideal target to unleash this anger upon.

Before she even realized it, Alkeinea had brought her front paw down, digging her claws into the ripples of space.

The area shuddered like the surface of a lake, seamlessly accepting her claws as if it were meant to happen.

“…Something is calling me…?”

She muttered suddenly. Something was interfering with the dimensions to summon her.

The medium was easy to identify. It was likely utilizing the dimensional rifts through which humans sometimes slipped through.

Perhaps it was Shar or her own doppelganger, but if that were the case, they wouldn’t be opening it forcefully like this.

They would be aware of the power needed to tear a dimension apart.

“I can’t tell what trickery is at play here.”

However, if someone recognized her existence and her feelings, then to refuse that invitation would be something unthinkable for the proud Golden Dragon clan.

*

As if piercing water or tofu, Yeon-woo’s violet dagger sunk into the air without any resistance.

Even Yeon-woo had never seen the blade vanish into empty space without anything to hold onto, which sparked a sense of wonder.

“Mana reaction detected. Are you alright, Yeon-woo?”

“I’m fine. Please proceed as planned.”

Yeon-woo calmly replied to Riley’s worried question. After all, if he was to proceed, it should be with maximum efficiency. To Yeon-woo, the usual mana level didn’t pose a problem.

Mechanical devices were lined up in a large circle around Yeon-woo. Their singular purpose was to assist in output that might fall short.

The sound grew louder and louder as mana collected, and the dagger in Yeon-woo’s hands began to tremble as well. Something was happening.

Thus, when he deemed enough power was gathered, he pulled back to tear through the fabric of space.

Unlike the last experiment, goblins did not spring forth this time. Instead, a nonsensical presence was manifesting, as if heavy air was flowing in.

…Did it succeed?

Yeon-woo thought as he stored the dagger inside Relin’s Warehouse. He took a few steps back to observe the situation.

The outcome was clear, as it felt all too familiar. It was the very same sensation he felt when he first opened his eyes immediately after being sucked into the Gate.

A chill ran down his spine. Goosebumps erupted. Rather than fear, it was as if something touched a primal instinct within him.

A giant claw suddenly ripped through the dimension, roughly the size of a person. A massive golden eye gleamed as a colossal figure slowly emerged, vibrating the very ground beneath it.

“…Shar, is that your mom?”

[Are you kidding me?]

“Uh, no joke. How could I possibly not recognize that?”

Emerging from the dimensional rift was a gigantic dragon. Its golden scales, reminiscent of armor, covered its body, and its thick legs resembled colossal logs.

“…You’ve shrunk quite a bit.”

[Yeah. Looks like she used a lot of energy to send out her doppelganger….]

Despite that, the current form was considerably smaller than what he remembered before his regression.

With the ability to shapeshift, it was plausible she simply reduced her size on her own, but it was odd for Nea, who understood that mass is an excellent weapon, to maintain that size until battle commenced.

“Hello, Nea?”

[How disgusting it is to be called by a thief’s name.]

“You seem quite angry. Is there a chance we could cool things down?”

[Do you think you can calm me down?]

From Nea, an electric sensation continually pulsed through the air. It radiated a clear malice—an intense aura of fury and aggression. Well, it didn’t sound like she’d be very cooperative.

“Shall we discuss this after you’ve calmed down a bit? Assuming I’m still alive by then.”

At Yeon-woo’s words, Nea took a deep breath. For a moment, he thought it was Dragon Breath, but it wasn’t. Yeon-woo quickly covered his ears and shouted.

“Everyone, cover your ears!!”

[────────!!!]

The researchers hurriedly covered their ears, and at that moment, the dragon’s howl burst forth, reverberating through the mountains. Even for Yeon-woo, facing that head-on could mean fainting from the shockwave.

The protective barrier surrounding the area trembled precariously from the force; Yeon-woo clicked his tongue, drawing his sword.

“Shar, Tae-oh! I need backup!”

[Got it!]

[Confirmed.]

[Don’t dare utter my child’s name with that filthy mouth!!]

As Yeon-woo charged forward with his sword, hundreds of elemental spells descended above Nea’s head.

It was akin to a bombardment from missiles; Yeon-woo skated through the explosive barrage.

Though he couldn’t avoid getting dirtied, he remained unharmed. Just as before, Shar countered the elemental bombardment.

In mere seconds, both sides had devised and countered strategic-level spells. Despite having grown accustomed to magic, Yeon-woo figured he better borrow Shar’s strength for this scale.

Boom boom boom!!!

Both sides unleashed spells indiscriminately towards each other.

While an average person would be unable to see through such explosive chaos, Yeon-woo pressed on, unaffected by the smoke. To Yeon-woo, the smoke meant nothing with his dragon vision.

But it was the same for Nea. Without even attempting to conceal her grand form, Nea’s front leg swung towards Yeon-woo, sweeping along the ground.

Crash boom boom!!

The earth gave way as her front leg swept up trees and dirt. Yeon-woo, charging straight ahead, didn’t avoid it and leapt upward.

With a speed much faster than anticipated, he managed to narrowly dodge past her.

With that maneuver complete, Nea’s side was considerably safer since there weren’t many remaining attack options.

Shar had mostly sealed the magic as the mana consumption was severe. Though he didn’t know how long that would last, it seemed fine for the moment.

The ground directly in front of Yeon-woo repeatedly sank and bulged. Shar was holding quite well.

Without hesitation, Yeon-woo dashed towards that direction, and the sunlight illuminating above him suddenly disappeared. Looking up, he saw a colossal wing falling as if the ceiling were crumbling.

“Whoa!!”

Yeon-woo had been cautious of the tail swooping down, but the wings hadn’t crossed his mind at all. If he were to get caught by them, it wouldn’t be strange for him to meet his end.

Nea, while keeping her gaze fixed on Yeon-woo, watched as he leapt to evade. Knowing he was unable to dodge afterward meant he had no counter to offer.

It was irritating, to be accurately thwarted by someone reflecting his magic like a mirror, but surely this too couldn’t be countered.

Taking a deep breath, Nea opened her mouth wide. The mana inside her mana core surged forth, flowing in line with her will.

A flame so intense it could melt mithril erupted from her mouth.

[────!!]

Dragon Breath. A secret technique that even dragons rarely used was revealing itself at last. Watching this unfold, Shar formed a mana body to step outside.

Spinning like a squirrel in mid-air, Shar took a deep breath himself.

[Argh───!!]

The fiery Dragon Breath and the sonic Dragon Breath collided midair. Who could possibly avoid such a situation?

The most logical choice that anyone could agree on was to nullify it with another Dragon Breath.

Fiery flames scattered in every direction. However, Shar’s sonic blast couldn’t simply advance intact either.

Both breaths had erupted at precisely the same moment, fading together. Seeing Shar amidst the flames, Nea erupted in fury.

[My child, my daughter…!! Return Shar to me!!]

“I didn’t get tricked into this, you know!! …Is this thing even getting through?!”

Although Yeon-woo attempted to defend himself, in a situation like this, the thought was the only thing to dwell upon.

At any rate, it appeared the only method left was to endure until Nea’s strength drained away.

“Haha, they say that fighting between a couple is like cutting water, but here we are, having to slice through fire!!”

[Created a point behind mom’s side. You can teleport there at any time.]

“Alright, Tae-oh, Shar!! If I don’t beat your mom now, I might never get another chance! I’m going all out!!”

With that exclamation, arms sprouted from Yeon-woo’s shoulder and his wing bones creaked as they began to move.

Soaring into the air with the grown wings, Yeon-woo swung his sword at Nea’s massive form.

(To be continued in the next chapter)

 

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