Episode 17
[Do you wish to absorb the heart of the Cursed Light Dragon, Bahamut?]
“Absorb Bahamut’s heart?”
Not just any dragon’s heart, but Bahamut’s. It was a staggering thought.
Typically, a dragon’s heart is used by alchemists or wizards to craft magical artifacts, so the idea of a human absorbing one was baffling.
Perhaps the Ishtar family, known for their arcane arts, could meld it into their bodies in some bizarre way, but to Zeke, the notion of absorbing a dragon’s heart was utterly foreign.
“What if there are side effects?”
Zeke, having been burned too many times in his past life, was naturally suspicious.
Just then, the system message appeared again.
[Do you wish to absorb the heart of the Cursed Light Dragon, Bahamut?]
Zeke pondered over the message that reappeared before him.
This was the legacy and arrangement left by the progenitor, Terrakan Draker.
He had managed to block the curse that sought to corrupt his mind with mental defenses, and thus inherited the legacy mentally. It seemed there was no particular danger.
Zeke nodded at the system’s prompt.
“I’ll absorb it.”
A low hum filled the air as Zeke made his decision, causing the glass chamber containing Bahamut’s heart to vibrate.
The heart, which had been emitting a soft glow, suddenly burst forth with a brilliant light.
“What the…?”
The light from Bahamut’s heart coalesced into a single beam and pierced Zeke’s chest.
“Ugh!”
Zeke felt the surge of concentrated mana flooding into his body.
The unexpected power was so overwhelming that he nearly lost consciousness.
“No, I can’t.”
Instinctively, he used the energy control technique taught by his master to distribute the concentrated mana throughout his body.
The mana circulated from his core, coursing through his entire body before returning to its origin.
“Ugh…”
Zeke gritted his teeth, focusing all his will on controlling the potent mana.
Before he knew it, his body was floating in mid-air.
The heart of Bahamut continued to pour out waves of light.
The glass chamber began to shake violently, cracks forming on its surface.
With the increasing influx of mana into Zeke’s body, the glass chamber was on the verge of shattering.
Even as the concentrated mana made several circuits through his body, it accumulated steadily in his core.
As he absorbed the pure energy, the impurities and waste within his body were thoroughly cleansed.
With each breath, black smoke, laden with negative energy, billowed from his mouth and nose.
Simultaneously, Zeke’s body began to transform.
His muscles and bones found their optimal balance, changing on their own.
His muscle fibers became tougher, and his bones denser and stronger.
“Ugh!”
The pain was excruciating, as if every bone in his body was being shattered, and Zeke clenched his jaw so hard it felt like it might break.
But he didn’t scream. He focused solely on controlling the mana with the energy control technique.
He remembered his master’s warning from his past life: never make a sound when forming the core.
The light reached its peak.
Suspended in the air with arms outstretched, Zeke absorbed all the mana flowing from Bahamut’s heart.
The glass chamber shook violently, and as the light was fully absorbed by Zeke, it shattered explosively.
The recoil sent Zeke hurtling to the ground.
“Ugh!”
He rolled several times before finally regaining his balance, gasping for breath.
“Damn it… I thought I was going to die from the pain.”
Even Zeke, who had experienced countless battles in his past life, found the pain nearly unbearable.
He looked down at his chest, where the light had pierced through.
The area around his chest was scorched, the fabric burned away.
But there, on his chest, was a strange mark.
It looked like a tattoo, or perhaps a rune, in a form he had never seen before.
“A tattoo? Why did this appear?”
Just then, a series of messages appeared before Zeke’s eyes.
[You have absorbed the heart of the Cursed Light Dragon, Bahamut.]
[95% of the mana’s power, which exceeds the user’s capacity, has been compressed and sealed.]
[The absorbed mana has transformed the user’s body.]
[The user’s constitution has changed to ‘Celestial Bone Physique.’]
[The unique power of the Cursed Light Dragon, Bahamut, ‘Dragonkind Dominion,’ has been created.]
[As a result of the absorbed power, the dragon skill ‘Word Magic’ has been created.]
[You have inherited the legacy of Administrator Terrakan Draker.]
[You have acquired the title ‘Heir of Terrakan Draker.’]
[As the heir, you are granted access to Terrakan Draker’s secure archive.]
Zeke was taken aback by the messages.
“What is all this? Celestial Bone Physique? Terrakan Draker’s secure archive?”
The system notifications didn’t stop there.
[With the growth of your soul, the administrator system’s functions have been activated.]
[The Beginner’s Quest Book has been activated.]
[A tutorial for lower-level administrators will begin.]
[Upon completing the tutorial, quests for the administrator’s growth will commence.]
[Rewards will be given upon successful quest completion.]
Zeke looked at the messages with a bewildered expression.
“A tutorial? What’s this about?”
The flood of information was overwhelming.
He closed the message window and took a deep breath to steady himself.
He couldn’t stay here too long, or he might be discovered. It was time to leave.
Zeke stood up and approached the shattered glass chamber where Bahamut’s heart had been.
The chamber was completely destroyed.
The heart of Bahamut, which had once floated within, was nowhere to be seen.
“Did I absorb it all into my body?”
Just then, Zeke noticed something.
He sensed an unusual energy emanating from the bottom of the glass chamber where Bahamut’s heart had been.
Instinctively, Zeke focused mana into his hand.
The energy wrapped around his hand as naturally as breathing.
“Cut.”
A sharp intent imbued his hand.
In that moment, Zeke realized something was different.
“I’m not dizzy?”
In his past life, using the energy control technique often resulted in severe headaches due to side effects. This was true even after his reincarnation.
Thus, he only used it to enhance his movements and avoided using it unless absolutely necessary.
But perhaps due to absorbing Bahamut’s heart, the side effects of dizziness and headaches had significantly diminished.
“An unexpected benefit.”
With the sharp energy enveloping his hand, Zeke sliced through the bottom of the glass chamber.
The floor split open, revealing something hidden within.
“What is this?”
What lay hidden was a massive tooth.
Zeke activated his dragon’s eye to examine the tooth’s information.
[The hardest fang of the Cursed Light Dragon, Bahamut]
“Bahamut’s fang?”
He didn’t know why Bahamut’s fang was kept with the heart, but a dragon’s tooth was an incredibly rare material.
Zeke picked up the tooth, as thick as a grown man’s forearm, and grinned.
“To think such a pristine dragon’s tooth remains. Gellion might be able to forge a sword from this.”
He organized his inventory space and stored Bahamut’s fang.
After surveying the Dragon Slayer’s sanctuary, he gathered his belongings.
“I’ll smuggle out the rest slowly.”
He left the Dragon Slayer’s tomb and ascended to the library.
By the time he safely exited the library, night had fallen.
It had been a challenging ordeal, but he had gained much.
Zeke returned directly to the Platinum Floor.
There, he went to his personal training room to sort through the artifacts he had stored in his inventory, deciding what he needed immediately and what to keep for later.
“That should do it for now. Before checking the messages… Status window, open.”
[Lower Administrator Status Window]
Name: Zeke Draker
Class: Immortal (Unique Grade)
Title: Blessed by the Ancient Dragon, Heir of Terrakan Draker
Authority: Dragonkind Dominion
Constitution: Celestial Bone Physique
System Functions: Inventory (65 slots) / Mini-map / Beginner’s Quest Book
Passive Skills: Healing Factor / Strong Mental Defense / Infinite Stamina / Combat Sense
Active Skills: Vital Strike [E-grade (Expert)] / Consecutive Slash [D-grade (Novice)] / One-Hit Kill [D-grade (Adept)] / High-Speed Movement [C-grade (Novice)] / Mana Reflection [A-grade (Novice)] / Area Buff [A-grade (Novice)]
Dragon Skills (Stage 1 Unlocked): Dragon’s Eye (Novice) / Dragon’s Majesty (Novice) / Word Magic (Locked)
Karma Points: 0
Zeke examined the newly acquired authority and constitution, bringing up their descriptions.
―Authority Information―
Dragonkind Dominion: Grants dominion over dragonkind. Allows summoning and commanding of subjugated dragonkind.
―Constitution Information―
Celestial Bone Physique: Exhibits superior physical abilities and rapid mastery of martial arts. High mana conductivity in the body.
“Dominion over dragonkind, huh. I wonder if it works on dragonkind monsters like wyverns or basilisks.”
After reviewing the details of Dragonkind Dominion, Zeke read the description of the Celestial Bone Physique.
“I’ve never heard of Celestial Bone Physique before. But from the description, it sounds beneficial.”
Enduring the pain of absorbing Bahamut’s heart had been worth it.
The newly acquired dragon skill, Word Magic, had appeared in the list, but it was still locked, preventing him from accessing its information.
It seemed that Zeke needed to level up his dragon skills before he could use them.
He checked the next piece of information.
Curious about the note that, as the heir of Terracan Draker, he could access the secure archives, he tapped on the explanation.
[To access the secure archives of Terracan Draker, the system requires an information update.]
[Please proceed to a location where information can be updated.]
At the same time, a map of the continent appeared before his eyes.
The map gradually zoomed in, eventually pointing to a specific location.
The system had marked a place Zeke knew well.
“Valhalla?”
It was the last place he expected.
After graduating from the academy, Zeke had no intention of going to Valhalla. Knowing the events that would unfold in the future, he planned to build his influence outside his family once he regained some of his strength.
Thus, he found himself deep in thought, staring at the map marked with Valhalla.
‘Just as the academy held the legacy of Terracan Draker, perhaps Valhalla has something similar.’
If Valhalla held a legacy akin to the Heart of Bahamut, it would be worth revising his plans.
Memorizing the location marked on the map, Zeke moved on to the next message.
It was about a newly activated beginner quest book.
“What’s this tutorial about?”
As soon as he spoke, the tutorial began.
[Starting tutorial for junior administrators.]
Suddenly, Zeke’s vision went black, and the surroundings began to change.
“What the…?”
Before he could process what was happening, something appeared in front of him.
“Kaaargh!”
To his surprise, three orcs were charging at him.
Caught off guard by the sudden appearance of monsters, Zeke quickly regained his composure and gripped his claymore.
A message appeared before his eyes.
―Tutorial Mission―
[Eliminate the appearing monsters using at least two active skills within the time limit. (Time limit: 60 minutes)]
“What?”
Zeke was taken aback by the message.
“Kaaargh!”
Meanwhile, the three orcs let out battle cries and charged at him with wild abandon.
Armed with sharp glaives and spiked clubs, the orcs were indeed threatening.
However, Zeke quickly regained his calm and effortlessly deflected the orc’s attack with his claymore.
Thud!
The orc’s attack felt much lighter than he had anticipated.
‘Are they weaker than regular orcs?’
With his sword in hand, Zeke maneuvered into the orc’s blind spot.
He felt lighter and his vision seemed clearer than usual.
The orcs’ weapon swings appeared slow to him.
Zeke easily parried the sluggish glaive and swiftly decapitated the orc with his sword.
Then, using a high-speed movement skill, he glided towards the other orcs.
In a flash, Zeke used a consecutive slashing skill to cut down the orcs and their clubs.
Thud!
In an instant, all three orcs lay defeated.
Zeke looked at his sword.
He had swung it so cleanly and swiftly that not a drop of blood stained the blade.
“At this rate, I might be at the level of a Purple Knight. Did absorbing the Heart of Bahamut cause this rapid growth?”
Suddenly, the dark surroundings vanished, revealing the familiar training ground.
The orc corpses he had defeated were nowhere to be seen.
‘Was that all an illusion? It felt so real.’
Astonished, Zeke saw another message appear before him.
[You have completed the tutorial mission.]
[Critical points have been added to your rewards.]
[Time reduction points have been added to your rewards.]
[You have received 50 Karma Points as a reward.]
[The ‘Shop’ category has been unlocked for completing the first tutorial.]