With the leader of the Black Order gone, the battlefield was quickly cleared.
“Aaaagh!”
“Kuhak!”
Those resisting until the end were dealt with cleanly, while those who surrendered were gathered in one place. I used the Golden Dragon Eye on them.
‘They’re under a curse.’
I could also feel the Demon King watching through them.
It felt like something was staring at me from between my sharp senses.
I would have to break that curse first to get the information I wanted.
I brought over a Holy Sword that the Black Order had been using for their Demonic Energy Infusion.
The sword contained Divine Power.
Though the Divine Power was nearly exhausted from the Demonic Energy Infusion process, it was still enough to break the curse.
Whirrr!
I amplified the Divine Power.
Under the influence of the Sanctified Fragment artifact, the effectiveness of my Sacred Power was enhanced even further. I swung the sword, which was now leaking Divine Power.
Slash!
I instantly cut through the curse placed on the priests and followers of the Black Order.
Black smoke billowed from their bodies before turning into dust and vanishing.
With that, the monitoring gaze disappeared as well.
“Rynne. Take them and get some information.”
“What kind of information?”
“The Black Order’s structure, its locations, and the current state and history of the outside world.”
“Then are these humans mine?”
“As long as you get the information. I don’t care what you do with them afterward.”
Rynne, who had been annoyed while watching the elf couple until a moment ago, curled her lips into a smile.
“Let’s go, children.”
The vampire unit was the first to depart, taking the members of the Black Order with them.
“Good job, everyone. The danger is over. Focus on resting and recovering for a while.”
Everyone looked more exhausted than usual, perhaps because they had fought a long battle in a place corrupted by demonic energy.
I sent back all the Goblins, Elves, and Wyverns.
I also instructed the Guardians, except for Anne, to return to the Dragon Lair and take a deep rest.
Left alone, Anne spoke while looking at the corrupted land.
“This place needs purification.”
“I’ll start now.”
I placed the swords containing Divine Power that the Black Order had brought in various spots, using the artifact to make up for the lack of Divine Power.
Using the Sanctified Fragment as the center, I spread the Divine Power and used Sanctuary magic by reversing the structure of the Demonic Energy Infusion.
Whirring!
As the Divine Power flowed into the corrupted land, it slowly began to restore the contaminated areas to their original state.
My progress was slow because my Understanding of Sacred Power was low, but it would return to its original form within at least one day.
“Go inside and check on Zeit’s condition.”
“Understood.”
Watching Anne enter the Fifth Temple, I used detection magic toward the Fifth Forest.
I found the Giants whose minds had been controlled by the Black Order and leaped through space with Teleport.
I released the mind control on each of them.
“Thank you.”
“No. Thanks to you, we were able to settle things easily.”
“Then we shall return.”
After sending all the Giants back, I looked toward the First Forest.
What was the secret hidden in the Sleeping Forest? What was the Greed Demon King after?
“Summon Turkan.”
With a flash of black light, Turkan of the Dark Night appeared.
However, his condition didn’t look very good.
It seemed as though he wasn’t recovering; he was summoned in the same battered state I had left him in.
‘Ah, I forgot he said he can’t return to the Demon Realm.’
The source of Turkan’s power was demonic energy. Since he couldn’t replenish it, his recovery was bound to be slow.
“…”
Seeing him hesitate to speak while looking at me, I spoke first.
“Just act like you normally do.”
“…Why did you… call me?”
“I have something to ask. Do you happen to know what the Greed Demon King is after in the Sleeping Forest?”
“I don’t… know. I am just a dog meant for fighting.”
“I can’t understand what you’re saying. Explain it clearly. And I told you to act like you normally do. Is my command that difficult?”
“I… I was the vanguard of the Greed Demon King! I fight when told to fight. Therefore, I know nothing!”
He was still being stiff, but at least he was easier to understand now.
“So you’re saying you’re just a battle-crazy dog?”
“It is not just about battle… I craved great power—”
“It’s the same thing.”
In the end, I had no choice but to find the secret of the Sleeping Forest myself.
[Activating Eye of Bluecat]
[Using Stage 2 Ability]
I located the Lord of the First Forest, and then—
[Using Stage 1 Ability]
I checked to see if I could win.
A deep red color appeared around the Lord. It meant I couldn’t win.
Of course, I knew this wasn’t an absolute answer.
If I utilized certain variables, it wasn’t impossible for me to win.
‘There’s no need to rush.’
The Lord of the First Forest wouldn’t leave that place, so there was no reason to fight unless I attacked first.
More than anything, I had realized something through my battle with Turkan.
I thought about the things I possessed and my actual skills—my lack of experience and the depth of my Enlightenment.
I still couldn’t properly handle everything I had. It was more like I was just crushing enemies with my overwhelming Skill ranks.
This method worked well for now, but I wasn’t sure if it would work against the opponents I would face in the future. I needed time to look back at what I possessed.
‘For the sake of the future, I need to improve my skills.’
Not just me, but the Guardians also needed a general step-up.
Once I hunted the one remaining Lower Apostle, Intermediate Apostles would start appearing.
Even now, the Lower Apostles were desperately trying to hunt me.
I couldn’t imagine how dangerous it would be if the Intermediate Apostles acted with that same desperation.
One thing was for sure: they wouldn’t be defeated as easily as the Lower Apostles. Everyone needed time to grow.
“Turkan.”
“Yes… I mean, yeah.”
“The Greed Demon King said he would open the gates to the Demon Realm and come here. Do you know when that will happen?”
“Even if he starts preparing now, it will take at least fifty years.”
“That should be plenty of time.”
I resummoned Turkan and returned to the Dragon Lair. Inside the cave, I checked the things I could build in the Lair. There was exactly one thing I needed right now.
[Constructing Dragon-only Training Ground]
[Dragon-only Training Ground Level 1]
– Training efficiency increases.
I poured in all my resources to raise its level.
[The level of the Dragon-only Training Ground has increased.]
[The level of the Dragon-only Training Ground has increased.]
[Dragon-only Training Ground Level 10]
– Training efficiency increases significantly.
– The depth of Enlightenment changes.
– Concentration increases significantly.
It took me two weeks just to look back at and understand what I possessed.
It took another week to find a direction for improvement.
Finally, it took two weeks of serious training to achieve the results I wanted. I spent a total of five weeks in the training ground.
“…This is difficult.”
The world of magic was both mysterious and vast.
I had spent one month delving into it, but what I had discovered wasn’t even as much as the dirt under a fingernail.
However, the difficulty only made it more fun.
Whenever I gained a small piece of Enlightenment, it connected to other things and returned as an even greater realization.
Learning things was genuinely enjoyable.
Thanks to that, I was able to properly master magic I had only known on the surface and even create new spells.
I was so fascinated by the process that I wanted to spend more time training.
However, as I looked back on that past month, I realized my fundamental problem.
‘An absurdly small Dragon Heart.’
Compared to my Enlightenment and knowledge, the growth of my Dragon Heart was too slow. It was as if my body couldn’t keep up with my mind.
The Dragon Heart currently formed in my body was made to match the Dragon God’s Body.
Compared to a real Dragon Heart, it was like a single grain of sand in a desert.
Even so, the reason I could use powerful magic like Transcendence or Dragon Transformation was because of the Dragon Heart Fragment I had obtained as a Hidden Piece.
‘The limits of a human body.’
I didn’t have a clear idea of how to transcend those limits yet, but I did find a way to become stronger right now.
I needed the Dragon Heart Fragments hidden within the Labyrinth.
Gathering and consuming them was the fastest way for me to surpass my current limits.
“Eeeeyah!”
I stood up and stretched before leaving the training ground.
Before returning to Reality, I headed outside the cave to eat the food Balak prepared.
As I approached the entrance, warm sunlight washed over my eyes.
It was my first time outside in an entire month.
While in the training ground, I had focused only on training and eating the food Balak brought me, so I had no reason to leave.
“Oh.”
Quite a few things had changed since I had been outside.
The World Tree had grown to the size of an apartment building, and several treehouses had been built on its branches.
It was the home of the Elves and Dryads.
Below it, I saw a wide field growing various Potions and Attribute Grass.
On the other side, a village had been built where Wyverns and Goblins could live together.
Near the village, a massive pasture had been created, and various animals I had never seen before were running around.
‘Is this what it feels like for things to grow on their own?’
“Nice.”
I admired the changed scenery as I headed to Balak’s restaurant. Ropenheim and Anne were already there, eating.
“Owner, you’ve come.”
“How have you been?”
“Yes.”
“Hoh, the look in your eyes has grown much deeper.”
“Master Ropenheim, the aura I feel from you is no joke either.”
“It’s all thanks to Anne and you. It’s only the beginning, but I have succeeded in reclaiming my Manahole.”
“Congratulations.”
I sat down with the happily laughing Ropenheim.
“Owner, I have organized the information Rynne sent.”
“Ah, the stuff about the Black Order and the outside world?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll check that after I return. Nothing happened in the forest in the meantime, right?”
“No. It has been very peaceful.”
“I’ve rested for about a month, so it’s time to get moving again.”
Once I returned to Reality, time in the Dragon Lair would flow quickly.
I had a picture in my mind of how I wanted to manage this place during that time.
I discussed those plans while eating the meal Balak brought out.
“I will take responsibility for the training,” Ropenheim said.
“I will handle the lifestyle side of things,” Anne added.
I could trust both of them completely.
“I’ll drop by every now and then, but contact me if any problems arise.”
After taking measures so that Anne could send me Telepathy, I left the restaurant and returned to the Dragon Lair.
Before leaving, I stopped by the Warehouse to check the accumulated wealth.
There were minerals mined from each mine over the past month, equipment created by the Dwarves whose skills had improved by leaps and bounds, and various Potions made by the Witches.
‘Quite a lot has piled up.’
Considering the flow of time in Reality, I needed to expand the Warehouse a bit more.
[Increasing Warehouse Level]
As a massive amount of minerals was consumed, the Warehouse doubled in size.
This should be enough for about six months.
Using the remaining resources, I raised the level of the training ground that Ropenheim would use.
After handling other minor tasks, I returned to Reality.
Whirrr!
“Hmm.”
I smelled the familiar, musty scent of my one-room apartment.
At the thought of being home, my body felt a bit lethargic.
Though I had spent one month in the Dragon Lair, only a few hours had passed in Reality.
I sat on the bed and used magic to clear the smell and freshen up the room.
‘It’s not late enough for everyone to be asleep.’
After checking the time, I pulled out my phone and called Association President Lee Changgeon. After a few rings, a familiar voice answered.
— Ahem. What is it?
“I’m calling because I have a favor to ask.”
— A favor?
“Could you ask the Association Presidents of other nations if I can buy the golden fragments held by Hidden Piece discoverers?”
Finding them in the Labyrinth was fine, but if I could sweep up the ones people had already found, I could become stronger much faster.
— Ah, you mean those stones that symbolize a Hidden Piece? Those should just be meaningless stones…
“Just make the proposal. Tell them I’m willing to match whatever they want as much as possible.”
— How far are you willing to go?
“If the other nation wants it, I’m even willing to hand over the rewards from an SS-Class Red Dungeon.”
— …I see. I will pass that along.