The ice sword transformed into its avatar and sliced through the neck of the Intermediate Apostle who was about to transform.
Swish!
The Apostle’s head was cleanly severed, rolling across the floor. Along with it, the doom-shaped barrier surrounding the area vanished.
The snow melted instantly, revealing the canyon once more.
A comforting warmth spread through the air.
The Intermediate Apostle’s body melted away like snow. I stepped forward and gathered what the Apostle had left behind.
[Eye of Bluecat (Sacred Relic)]
– The eye possessed by Bluecat’s Ancestor Deity, capable of seeing various things.
– Current activation stage: Stage 1
– Stage 1 Offering: Intuitively confirm the opponent’s strength.
– Stage 2 Offering: Locate a desired target.
– Stage 3 Offering: See the location of mysterious things.
So this is the power of a sacred relic.
‘It really is beyond belief.’
Though I won’t know for sure until I use it.
If I use Stage 2, I should be able to track Apostles or Potions.
Stage 3 might let me find other sacred relics.
If my guess is correct, this is truly an incredible relic I’ve gotten my hands on.
‘To activate higher stages…’
I had to offer monsters or items as sacrifices. The higher the grade, the more it boosts the stats.
I need to check if I can raise the stats using the items in my rare inventory.
‘For now, let’s head back.’
I collected the Shard of Divinity lying on the ground and looked at the other Successor.
“How are we getting back?”
“If we wait, they’ll open the door for us.”
The other Successor slumped down and looked up at me.
“But are you really just a month in? How can you be this strong after only one month?”
“Is it that impressive?”
“Yeah. Usually it takes at least half a year to get to a dispatch mission like this. The fastest take three months, though that guy took two months.”
“That guy?”
“There’s someone known as the most suitable candidate to be the Dragon Lord’s Successor. I’ve only heard rumors, so I don’t know what he looks like.”
“You seem to know a lot. Mind if I ask a few questions?”
“Shoot.”
“I have to face the second Apostle soon. How strong is this one?”
The other Successor nodded lightly and answered.
“You probably just took down the first one. At your skill level, you don’t have to worry about the third. They’re all low rank. The problem is the fourth.”
“The fourth?”
“After you defeat the first Apostle, the second, third, and fourth descend into that world and start moving.”
So there are three Apostles active right now.
“The second and third will probably use some special event to target you. Have you ever done the Hall of Glory?”
“It opens right after I get back.”
“Be careful then. It can be dangerous. That place is a trap made by the Apostles, so they might impose some restrictions on you.”
I listened carefully to the advice the other Successor gave.
“If you manage to kill the second Apostle, the third one isn’t much of a threat. You can just kill them easily.”
“Why is the fourth so dangerous?”
“That one knows the most about you and can prepare the longest to hunt you. In other words, they can snipe you.”
“And the fifth?”
“No idea. I haven’t faced the fourth yet.”
I was about to ask more, but the other Successor clutched their head.
“Ugh, I’m dizzy. I think I’ve shared enough info. The dimensional energy makes it hard to say more.”
Woosh!
At that moment, the portal to return was created.
I grabbed the other Successor’s hand, helped them up, then summoned the Guardians back and returned to the command post where Baltimos was waiting.
As I entered the command post, Baltimos applauded.
“Congratulations. You’ve completed your first mission.”
“Sir, how could you send someone who knows nothing?”
“Knows nothing?”
“This guy’s only been here a month. He hadn’t even studied avatar magic properly. If things had gone wrong, he’d have died.”
Baltimos looked surprised.
“One month? Really just one month?”
“Yes.”
“…I’m sorry. I thought he was at least on the same level as the rookie I’d heard about. Most get the basics down by two months. I just assumed he’d know everything by now… I really underestimated him.”
“If there’s a good mission later, give it to me first. That’s all I want.”
“Will that be enough?”
“It’s already happened, what else can I do?”
He’d already apologized, and arguing wouldn’t change anything.
Instead, it was better to leave a good impression and get some benefit as compensation.
“Oh, right. I promised you a reward.”
Baltimos pulled something out of subspace and handed it to me.
A huge dragon egg incubator.
“This is a Dragon Egg Incubator. Put a Dragon Egg inside and supply it with Magic Stones consistently. It will hatch naturally.”
“Why didn’t I get one of these…”
“You should be grateful you’re still alive.”
I moved the incubator to the Dragon Lair.
“Well, now that I have the reward, I’ll head back.”
“You should visit the Dimensional Tavern soon and meet Rose. You might hear something useful.”
“Understood.”
“Let’s meet again if there’s a chance.”
The other Successor waved goodbye, and I turned to leave the command post.
The scenery of the Dragon Lair came into view.
[Ding!]
[Main Quest 21 Completed.]
[Encyclopedia Unlocked.]
[Registered Sacred Relic: Eye of Bluecat.]
[Those affiliated with the Dragon Lair have a greatly increased chance to find special items such as Potions, Sacred Relics, and hidden dungeons.]
A buff I’d never seen in any game.
The buffs from sacred relics were definitely special.
[New Main Quest Arrived.]
[Main Quest 22]
– Raise an SS-Rank Guardian through training.
– Unlock Arena and Transcendence.
This one’s about Guardians.
The Arena is a place where Successors use Guardians to duel each other.
Weekly rankings determine rewards.
‘What’s Transcendence?’
It wasn’t a system in any game I knew, so I’d have to wait until it unlocked to judge.
Raising an SS-Rank Guardian wouldn’t be easy right now.
For the moment, I put it aside and thought about what I needed to do immediately. First, I had to set up the incubator Baltimos gave me.
It was nest-shaped.
As the Dragon Lair’s rank increased, its interior had expanded greatly, so there was plenty of room to place it.
I set the incubator in a corner and placed the Dragon Egg on top.
Next to the nest was a container for Magic Stones.
I took some Magic Stones from the warehouse and put them inside.
A gauge appeared on the container. A blue light quickly rose along the scale.
The light flowed into the Dragon Egg.
Whirrr!
[Dragon Egg hatching time remaining: 345,000 days.]
[Dragon Egg hatching time remaining: 344,700 days.]
The more mana it absorbed, the faster the hatching time decreased.
The Magic Stones in the container were quickly depleted.
“What changes if I use higher-grade stones?”
This time, I put in a higher-grade Magic Stone.
The decrease in hatching time became much larger.
[The Dragon Egg has absorbed the maximum amount it can.]
[Cooldown: 08:00]
I’d need someone to manage it consistently.
Higher-grade Magic Stones and steady supply.
‘I’ll ask Balak for supplies and work hard to level up the Magic Stone Mine.’
Remembering this, I increased the mine’s level.
[To level up, two Shards of Divinity and 10 billion are required.]
From level 5 onward, two Shards of Divinity were needed as materials, so I had been unable to level it up.
Normally, I would have had to wait until the next Apostle hunt, but since I killed the Intermediate Apostle just now, I gained quite a few Shards of Divinity.
[Upgrading Magic Stone Mine level.]
[Upgrading Magic Stone Mine level.]
[Magic Stone Mine Lv 8]
[Increased chance to obtain S-Rank Magic Stones.]
[No more E-Rank Magic Stones will be generated.]
[Reduced regeneration time of Magic Stones.]
I also leveled up other buildings.
[Upgrading Library level.]
[Upgrading Library level.]
[Library Lv 8]
[Generates an additional Skillbook.]
[Increased chance to generate S-Rank Skillbooks.]
[No F-Rank Skillbooks except unique skills will be generated.]
[Upgrading Union Center level.]
[Union Center Lv 6]
[Eligible to receive higher-grade dispatch missions.]
[Maximum simultaneous dispatched Guardians increased to five.]
Come to think of it, I could dispatch Guardians now.
No need to waste the opportunity.
I checked the available dispatch missions.
The resources I needed most were Guardian Souls to level up the Guardians, and Shards of Divinity to upgrade buildings.
[Support for Advanced Guardian Subjugation]
– 1 Guardian Soul per Guardian.
That’s where I’ll send them.
[Assigning Orcs, Goblins, Ropenheim, Wyvern King, and Praira to Guardian Subjugation Support.]
[Mission completion time: Unknown]
[Guardians dispatched.]
Originally, I wanted to send Irellin instead of Praira, but since I planned to make a spirit contract, I left Irellin behind and sent Praira.
‘Now it’s time for me to grow.’
I stepped outside the Dragon Lair and summoned Irellin.
“I want to make a contract with a Spirit.”
[Preparing immediately.]
“Do you know what’s needed to contract with a higher Spirit?”
[Strong and abundant mana. Mana is the power of nature, right? The greater it is, the more likely a higher Spirit will take interest.]
“Is that so?”
Just then, I had something suitable.
I took out the Dragon Heart I obtained after dealing with the Corrupted Dragon. I hadn’t had time to consume it before, so I’d been saving it for the spirit contract.
Mouth open.
I swallowed the Dragon Heart as is.
[Consuming Dragon Heart.]
The moment it entered my mouth, it liquefied and flowed down my throat.
This was on a whole different level from any potion I’d taken before.
An incredible amount of mana entered my body, moving toward the Dragon Heart.
My muscles tensed as my body stiffened.
“Ugh!”
I braced myself, welcoming the tremendous mana.
Kuuwaaaaaaang!
It felt like a massive wave reaching for the sky was pouring into my body endlessly.
There was no time to think.
The infinite waves crashed over me.
To survive the waves, I had to swim through them.
Over the waves again.
Amidst the relentless crashing waves—
The Dragon Heart in my possession gradually absorbed the mana, reducing the waves’ height little by little.
As time passed, the absorption increased.
Woooooong!
After drinking all the mana-filled seawater,
I stood on the completely dry ground and slowly exhaled.
The fully digested Dragon Heart belched.
Crack, crack!
This time, changes occurred in my body.
My muscles tore and healed repeatedly.
My bones thickened, and my skin grew tougher.
All impurities drained out, forming a new body.
[Dragon Heart has reached 4 stars.]
[Dragon Heart has reached 5 stars.]
[Due to the effect of Dragon God’s Body, physical abilities have greatly increased.]
[Blessing of Magic grade has risen.]
[The first condition to become a Dragon King has been met.]
Hoo.
I exhaled, savoring the new power coursing through my body.
‘Am I around SS-Rank now?’
I clenched my fist, then opened it and raised my head.
Irellin, fully prepared, was watching me.
[Ready?]
“Let’s begin.”