Episode 353
Chapter 108: The Final Stage of Bradamante’s Enhancement (Part 2)
[You can’t obtain it with money or goods.]
“Of course, I expected as much.”
[But you will need some gold. Actually, quite a bit.]
“Gold? You need gold?”
The moment the word ‘gold’ was mentioned, Murakan’s eyes widened as if something had just clicked.
“Hey, Pikon. You’re not seriously talking about Ozdok, are you?”
[Oh, you remember that name.]
Jin knew it too.
“Ozdok? You mean that monster from the folk tales of the Eastern Continent?”
On the Eastern Continent, there were old legends about a monster named Ozdok.
A creature that devoured gold, greedy humans who offered gold to harness its power, and a kingdom that fell into ruin because of their greed.
It was such a famous story that even Jin had heard the name Ozdok a few times.
If you swapped out the name Ozdok, it was the kind of legend you could find in any region—an age-old cautionary tale about how excessive greed leads to destruction and corruption ends in misery.
[Time has passed, though. Kids these days think Ozdok is just a monster from a story. Back in our day, it was a very real headache. It consumed about 30% of the world’s gold production.]
“Is it still alive? Didn’t anyone hunt it down after I went to sleep?”
[Just before you fell asleep, it sealed itself underground beneath Sarba Castle. Since the Sarba Kingdom, its stronghold, had fallen, it couldn’t get any more gold.]
Because Ozdok was a monster awakened through gold, it couldn’t exert its full power without it.
After the Sarba Kingdom’s collapse, Ozdok chose a long slumber over venturing out to find gold.
It was a survival instinct—knowing that the heroes of Runkandel and Ziphl, who controlled the world at the time, would kill it on sight.
A wise choice, but luck was not on Ozdok’s side.
While it hid deep underground in the ruins of the Sarba Kingdom, the territory of the Black Sea began to ‘expand.’
Nowadays, everyone assumes the land where Sarba once stood is part of the Black Sea’s domain, but a thousand years ago, it was just ordinary land outside the Black Sea.
[As the Black Sea rapidly expanded, Ozdok was buried alive beneath its poisonous soil. It tried to hibernate but ended up entombed alive.]
“So, you want the kid to wake the sealed Ozdok, capture it, and bring back its core?”
[Exactly.]
“You crazy bald-headed fool. You think the kid’s some legendary Runkandel knight? How the hell is he supposed to catch Ozdok?”
[You’re here. And Ozdok is far weaker than before—practically dying.]
Since it hasn’t consumed gold in a thousand years, Ozdok has lost most of its tremendous strength.
“What if it’s still fine? What if we wake it up and something bad happens again? Haven’t you forgotten how much trouble it caused a thousand years ago?”
Murakan was right. Back then, Ozdok was a nightmare for every faction.
Before it settled in the Sarba Kingdom, countless civilians died, gold prices fluctuated wildly, and the global economy was thrown into chaos.
Runkandel, Ziphl, Biment, and every major power of the era poured significant resources into capturing Ozdok.
There was no reason they couldn’t have subdued it by force.
But no one realized the danger until Ozdok became an ‘inner core monster,’ and even in its early transformation, it was too late to respond properly.
By the time the great powers decided to take it down, Ozdok was already holding the people of Sarba hostage as a shield.
While they were trying to minimize casualties and find a chance to kill it, the Sarba Kingdom fell.
[Like I said, it’s definitely weaker now!]
“Ah, you bald-headed idiot. This is suspicious. We had a hell of a time with the first tomb because of the Silderay. Ozdok’s probably the same. Asking to wake it up, and saying you need a monster’s core to make weapons—that’s a first for me…”
Clap!
Murakan suddenly clapped his hands as if he’d just remembered something.
“Got it, you bastard. You want the kid’s guardian dragon, right? You want to use Ozdok’s core as a powerful elixir?”
It was known that monster cores were useless to humans.
But for dragons, they were the finest elixirs—one of the few ways to instantly boost the energy of their hearts.
[Ha! Your thinking is so basic. Pikon Minche has never told a lie in his life. If he had a guardian dragon, he wouldn’t have told Jin to come find him. He’d just have sent the dragon.]
“I don’t buy it.”
[Ugh! If you don’t want to go, then don’t! I was just trying to help you finish your weapon, and you treat me like a con artist.]
“Pikon, I didn’t mean that. Hey, Murakan, why are you being like this to Pikon? Huh?”
Jin started soothing Pikon gently.
In truth, Jin shared some of Murakan’s concerns. Waking such a dangerous monster was a heavy burden, and memories of the first tomb’s hardships came flooding back.
But it didn’t seem like a lie.
Jin also thought that capturing Ozdok could be useful beyond just sword-making.
“Calm down, Pikon. You have to finish your masterpiece, don’t you?”
“Hmm, hmm. Yeah, you’re right. Sorry. I’ll go wake Ozdok or whatever and catch it.”
Murakan spoke cautiously, and Pikon nodded.
[That damn Black Dragon. If it weren’t for Jin, we’d have nothing.]
A vein bulged on Murakan’s forehead, but he held back, scratching the back of his head with an awkward smile.
“Haha, yeah, yeah… I’ll go and do it properly. Besides, finishing off Ozdok for good wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
[When you get the core, don’t eat a single bite. Bring it back as is, Murakan.]
“Got it. I’m strong enough without that stuff anyway.”
August 28, 1799.
A huge cat with cheeks puffed out like it was about to burst strolled along the outskirts of the Black Sea.
It was Shuri.
Once again, Shuri was using its mystical abilities to easily find the spot where the old Sarba Kingdom’s capital had been.
It was a place Shuri had visited a few times back when it was Heluram’s cat, so it was familiar.
“I’ve been thinking about this cat. It’s pretty tempting. Can I keep it, sis? It seems to like me too.”
Mary stroked Shuri’s back.
“No.”
“Then I’ll win this match and use the victor’s right to claim it. Hehehe.”
Mary, Jin, and Murakan were riding on Shuri’s back to settle a contest.
They had chosen not a one-on-one duel, but an ‘Ozdok hunt’ to decide the winner.
They would fight Ozdok together and see who dealt the most damage, who performed better, and who ultimately finished it off.
Murakan was acting as referee and safety officer in case things went wrong. If the two couldn’t defeat Ozdok together, he would nullify the match and join the fight.
Mary didn’t know this was all part of the youngest’s sword enhancement process.
‘I’m grateful to Mary in many ways, but it’s risky to reveal the existence of Bin Blanche and Pikon Minche.’
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Mary Runkandel, the ‘third sister.’
But if Mary learned about Bin Blanche, the ‘Mary of the Runkandel Seven,’ would surely make decisions benefiting the family.
That would mean forcing Pikon Minche, the divine legendary blacksmith of Bin, to craft weapons not just for Jin but for all of Runkandel.
‘That will happen eventually because of me, but not now.’
Pikon’s pride would never accept that.
Runkandel would likely take Bin hostage or use force to make Pikon work, causing serious problems.
It was only natural that Jin’s personal gains through Pikon would be checked.
Until Mary was certain she was on Jin Runkandel’s side, it was best to be cautious with information.
“By the way, an inner core monster, huh? I’ve always wanted to face one. They say the monsters near the Black Sea’s entrance are on a whole different level. This won’t be a walk in the park, right?”
She was so excited at the thought of fighting a formidable monster that she barely slept all night.
She didn’t ask Jin how he knew about such a monster for that reason.
Mary was the kind of person who cared little about anything as long as she could have a proper fight.
“Heh, if Ozdok were in its prime, you two wouldn’t stand a chance.”
Murakan scoffed as if Mary had said something cute.
Mary didn’t seem offended.
“Our guardian dragon sure loves the word ‘prime,’ huh? Guardian dragon, just to be clear—you’re not going to give me a biased ruling, are you?”
“Of course not. Despite appearances, I am a fair dragon.”
“Sounds good. Once we catch it and get back, let’s have a proper drink. I heard you’re into erotic art too—I’ve got some fine pieces in my collection.”
“Good liquor and good art, that sounds perfect. Let’s do it!”
Murakan and Mary hit it off perfectly on the way over. They got along so naturally, as if they’d known each other forever, that Jin didn’t find it all that surprising.
He’d secretly thought the two would get along well.
“Looks like we’ve arrived.”
Shuri stopped walking.
In the middle of the Black Sea’s outskirts, all that could be seen was a desolate stretch of black earth and sky. But this was once the site of the old Sarba royal fortress, built of gold.
Myaaak—
Shuri opened her mouth wide.
Suddenly, a cascade of gold ingots poured out. The gold they’d been carrying since leaving the family was bait, prepared to lure out Ozdok.
It went without saying that human visitors to the Black Sea were extremely rare.
And no one else had ever come here carrying such a vast amount of gold, especially to the site of the old Sarba fortress.
“A monster that eats gold, huh? Let’s see what you look like. We’ve brought your food, so come on out!”
Mary jumped down from Shuri’s back and shouted.
Kuguguguk…!
A powerful tremor began to ripple through the ground beneath their feet.