The Bear Tribe practitioners of Jiryong Mountain were notoriously unfriendly to humans.
However, they showed an excessive amount of hospitality toward Lee Tae-sung. Seeing this reaction, a thought immediately crossed Tae-sung’s mind.
“Do you happen to know the Flame Emperor?”
“What?”
“He was an individual called the world’s strongest hundreds of years ago…”
“Of course I know him. That legend is still passed down today. But why do you ask?”
The Bear Tribe practitioner tilted his head in confusion.
At that, Lee Tae-sung wondered if he had guessed wrong.
‘Was I wrong?’
Up until now, whenever something strange happened while he was traveling through Dream World, it was almost always related to the Flame Emperor.
A scoundrel of his era who caused chaos everywhere he went.
That was the image of the Flame Emperor in Tae-sung’s mind.
Given the “achievements” he had encountered so far, that assessment didn’t seem far off.
Since the Bear Tribe practitioner was acting so friendly, Tae-sung assumed there was a connection to the Flame Emperor.
Of course, the fact that they were welcoming rather than fearful was a bit unusual…
“Are you asking if I’ve seen him personally? If so, then no. Even if we live longer than humans, only a few Beastfolk live that long. I’m only 120 years old—do I really look that old?”
The Bear Tribe practitioner’s ears drooped as if he were hurt.
Kaizen, who was standing nearby, was dumbfounded.
This man had just been lecturing him about not ruining the mountain air, so why was he acting so sensitive about looking a little old?
“Ah, I see. You don’t look that old at all. I was just curious. By the way, did you say I have a pleasant scent?”
“Yes. It’s a very familiar and welcoming scent… Did you perhaps help our Bear Tribe in the past?”
“Of course—!?”
Tae-sung was about to say “Of course not” when he flinched.
It was certainly his first time seeing the Bear Tribe in Dream World, but…
‘It wasn’t in Dream World, it was in a real-world mission.’
During the early stages of his missions, he had completed a task where he treated an injured Bear Tribe member in a forest and guided him out of the woods.
‘I’m certain the reward back then was an increase in reputation and affinity with the Bear Beastfolk.’
At the time, he had focused only on the Score reward and dismissed the rest as insignificant. But to think that it would be applied here?
‘Is that even possible?’
Dream World and the real world.
Even though Tae-sung was bringing skills from Dream World into reality, this world was still a virtual reality.
Yet, the reputation he earned in the real world was being recognized here.
‘Wait. Just as I can bring skills out, can things I earn in real-world missions be applied to this world as well?’
Perhaps that was the case.
Dream World had many ambiguous aspects that remained unknown.
Many questions filled his mind.
It was a thought he’d had before, but he really needed to find the developer as soon as possible.
While Tae-sung’s mind was occupied, the Bear Tribe practitioner smiled broadly as if he had expected it.
“I knew it! Our kin left a mark on you as a sign of gratitude! Haha! You truly are a decent human!”
The practitioner slapped Tae-sung on the back.
Even though Tae-sung quickly surged his mana to protect his back, the impact felt like it was rattling his internal organs.
‘What kind of strength…’
It looked like a light gesture of encouragement, but from the perspective of the receiver, it was anything but gentle.
—
The person Lee Tae-sung had come to find on Serina’s request was a Bear Tribe practitioner named Volcran.
“Master Volcran? He is near the summit of the mountain. I’ll lead the way!”
The practitioner, who introduced himself as Tukan, said he would lead them so they wouldn’t get lost.
“Human. You can leave now. You worked hard to get this far, but you’re still lacking what it takes to reach the summit.”
“Dammit. I’m leaving anyway, so shut up.”
Kaizen shuddered at Tukan, who spat out rude remarks as naturally as he breathed.
Tae-sung gave him a polite bow.
“Thank you for your help.”
“It was nothing. I didn’t really do anything for you. Good luck.”
Kaizen offered a word of encouragement and then headed back down the mountainside, saying he would return to his own training.
Tae-sung then ascended the mountain with Tukan.
The place where they stopped was in front of a massive cliff near the visible summit.
There was a sheer, vertical cliff, and in front of it sat a single Bear Beastman in a meditative posture.
He was so massive that Tae-sung had to look up at him even though the man was sitting down.
“Master Volcran. It’s me.”
“Tukan. To bring a human here… have you lost your mind?”
Volcran, who had been sitting cross-legged, opened only his eyes and glared.
As a heavy pressure spread through the surroundings, Tukan waved his hands dismissively.
“It’s not like that. He’s not just any human; he’s a human who has done a favor for our kin, Master.”
“Hmm? *Sniff, sniff.* Hmph. I see.”
After his nose twitched a few times, Volcran’s expression changed.
His gaze was now quite favorable, unlike just a moment ago.
“Bring him here.”
“Yes.”
Tukan nudged Tae-sung to go forward.
With that light gesture, Tae-sung was pushed several steps ahead.
Quickly straightening his clothes, he introduced himself.
“Hello. My name is Lee Tae-sung. I’ve come from Elleun.”
“A human with a familiar aura. Since you’ve shown kindness to my kin, I must repay it. What brings you all the way here?”
“Lady Serina Eldore asked me to deliver something.”
“That girl from the Red Magic Tower?”
Volcran blinked.
“Let me see it.”
“Yes.”
Tae-sung handed over the letter he had been keeping inside his coat.
*Ding!*
**[Quest Complete]**
**[Quest rewards will be calculated after you meet and report back to Serina Eldore]**
Tae-sung grinned slightly.
Even though it hadn’t been a very difficult quest, the reward was bound to be substantial.
It was a request from a major faction, and it wouldn’t have been easy for anyone else to climb to the summit of the mountain.
‘I’ll probably get a lot of Skill Points and level up quite a bit.’
Perhaps he might even obtain another skill like the Flame Emperor’s.
Volcran read the letter thoroughly and tucked it into his robe.
“I have received the letter.”
“Yes. Then, I shall take my leave.”
“Wait.”
Volcran stopped Tae-sung as he was about to withdraw after finishing his business.
“It would be disappointing to just send away my kin’s benefactor. I should give you something.”
“I only came here to deliver a letter.”
“A request is a request, and this is this. Do not refuse. Even if you are fine with it, I am not. A practitioner cannot have discomfort in his heart.”
“Well… if you insist, then I understand.”
When Tae-sung stopped his movement to leave, Volcran pointed behind him.
“What does that look like to you?”
“Isn’t it a cliff?”
“Look closer.”
“?”
At Volcran’s words, Tae-sung looked at the cliff again, wondering if there was something more to see.
The cliff, which was tens of meters tall, was a collection of beautiful natural scenery.
There were rocks arranged at regular intervals like scales and…
“Huh?”
“Did you notice?”
Tae-sung was startled.
Something was coiled tightly around the cliff!
The camouflage was so perfect that he had been fooled into thinking it was just a cliff, but it was definitely the body of an animal.
Judging by its thickness, shape, and the “rocks” on the outside that were actually scales…
“Is it a snake?”
“Something like that. To be precise, it’s an Earth Dragon.”
The place was called Jiryong Mountain because an Earth Dragon resided there.
That was the secret of this mountain.
“Isn’t it dangerous?”
Tae-sung asked, resting his hand lightly on his sword hilt.
He couldn’t imagine how powerful a monster of that size would be if it attacked.
“Do you know why Jiryong Mountain became a holy land for practitioners?”
However, Volcran remained relaxed and brought up an unexpected topic.
“It’s because the Earth Dragons are here. They engage in endless training to become true dragons without moving from their spots. Practitioners gathered here one by one to emulate them, and eventually, it became known as the mountain of practitioners.”
Earth Dragons do not react to external stimuli at all.
They focus solely on their own training.
“I was thinking about what to give you as a reward and finally made a decision. You seem to be a warrior as well. I’ll give you some pointers.”
Volcran, who was considered an elder among the Bear Tribe practitioners, was offering to critique his martial arts.
This was a good thing for Lee Tae-sung.
For him, as the successor to the Flame Emperor, most normal skills or item rewards weren’t very helpful.
This kind of assistance was much better.
“Thank you!”
“Show me any attack you can perform against the Earth Dragon.”
“Uh… won’t the Earth Dragon get angry?”
“Not at all. In fact, this is one of our training methods.”
The practitioners of Jiryong Mountain were people who aimed to become stronger in various fields, such as magic or martial arts.
While they practiced to gain enlightenment, they also tested whether what they had realized was enough to wake the sturdy Earth Dragons.
Since the Earth Dragons didn’t react to ordinary attacks, making one twitch was the goal of many practitioners.
*Whoosh!*
Tae-sung drew his sword and unleashed the Flame Tide Wave Sword.
The scales of the Earth Dragon looked like rock but were harder than steel.
It remained perfectly intact even against the searing flames.
“Keep going. Don’t stop.”
Volcran said from the side with his arms crossed.
Tae-sung continued to use his skills, thinking the Elder would observe his swordsmanship and offer advice.
Waves made of flame repeatedly crashed against the cliff.
Soot began to form on the rock, but the areas where the Earth Dragon rested remained pristine, making its form much clearer.
However, the Earth Dragon still showed no reaction as it remained coiled around the cliff.
“You have a good understanding of the sword.”
“Thank you.”
An understanding of the sword.
This didn’t just mean possessing good skills; it meant having a pure sense for the sword itself.
It was a talent usually determined from birth.
Naturally, Tae-sung had no such thing.
Instead, he had the Swordsmanship Passive skill he had purchased from the Dream Special Shop.
From the moment he obtained it, his talent, understanding, and sense for the sword had increased explosively.
“But you must have only recently begun that swordsmanship? You need to swing it more destructively. I don’t know who created that technique, but they must have intended it that way. You too must have that intention.”
Hearing Volcran’s advice, Tae-sung instinctively thought of the Flame Emperor.
If it were that man, he certainly would have performed a swordsmanship that could turn everything into ashes.
An endless wave of fire that would burn the entire world.
The will to incinerate and turn everything that stood in his way to dust.
Tae-sung etched that will into his mind.
In that moment, the erupting flames changed.
The fire billowed much more intensely and powerfully than before!
*Ding!*
**[You have gained insight into Flame Tide Wave Sword]**
**[Proficiency in Flame Tide Wave Sword has increased]**
**[The skill level of Flame Tide Wave Sword has increased]**
**[Flame Tide Wave Sword (Lv. 2) —> Flame Tide Wave Sword (Lv. 3)]**
**[Flame Tide Wave Sword (Lv. 3) —> Flame Tide Wave Sword (Lv. 4)]**
“!”
Tae-sung was shocked that his skill level had gone up by two levels at once.
For an advanced skill like this, it was difficult to level up through solo training alone; he usually had to hunt powerful monsters.
Yet, thanks to Volcran’s advice and his repeated use of the skill against the Earth Dragon—which, although not a hunt, was a powerful creature—his skill level had risen!
As the flames of the Flame Tide Wave Sword became more intense and vigorous, Volcran’s eyes curved into crescents.
“Hahaha. You learn quite fast. You’re a talented swordsman.”
*Whoosh!*
*Boom!*
A wave of fire, now denser and larger, struck the Earth Dragon, and in that moment, the creature twitched for the first time.
The coiled head of the Earth Dragon moved slowly, and a large green eye began to look down at Tae-sung from the cliff.
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