“The Dragon King did not have any seizures last night. It seems he slept soundly thanks to you two. Thank you.”
Sailun bowed his head.
He said that the effect of the Potion Baek Seonwoo gave yesterday lasted quite a long time. Thanks to that, even the light had returned to some extent to the Dragon King’s scales.
“Sailun, surely you’re not satisfied with just that, are you? We have to see him fully recovered!”
Sailun’s expression brightened instantly. If the person who made the medicine directly said such a thing, how high would the trust be?
“Of-of course!”
He carefully tore off the seal of the Elixir.
“Now, I will begin.”
*Gulp.*
In the midst of the tension, the sound of Sailun swallowing was clearly heard. His hands were shaking slightly. Even I was this nervous, so how much more nervous must he be? As if to soothe him, the Dragon King’s steady breathing, different from yesterday’s raggedness, echoed softly.
“Now, you just have to feed it to him,” Baek Seonwoo said in a low voice. Her face was a mix of tension and anticipation.
“Everything depends on this Elixir. O Dragon King, please let this Elixir be effective.”
Sailun whispered as if praying in an earnest voice, a hint of desperation touching his expression. He carefully poured the Elixir into the Dragon King’s mouth. A gulping sound came from the Dragon King’s throat as the Elixir went down.
A quiet moment passed, and for a while, there was no change. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the Dragon King’s movement.
!
Suddenly, the Dragon King’s body trembled, and a bright light burst forth from his entire body.
*Flash!*
The light grew stronger, covering the room. At the same time, the black scales on the Dragon King began to fall off one by one. As if shedding skin, shining silver scales appeared where the traces of the Curse had vanished.
“Dragon King!”
Sailun shouted in a voice filled with emotion. The Dragon King slowly opened his eyes. His deep eyes contained overflowing vitality. He slowly raised his head and looked around the room.
“Is it you all? The ones who pulled me out of the long Curse.”
“It is them, Dragon King.”
“Without you two, I would not have escaped this Curse. I and my kingdom owe you a great debt. Thank you.”
Baek Seonwoo poked me in the side. It meant for me to step forward.
“Dragon King, I am glad you have awakened. As friends of Sailun, we only did what we had to do.”
The Dragon King nodded and then looked at Sailun.
“Sailun, all of this became possible due to your unwavering loyalty and courage. I express my deep gratitude for your dedication and bravery.”
Sailun was unable to speak for a moment, then said with a deep bow, “Dragon King. I am truly glad you have returned safely. Now everything will return to normal.”
The Dragon King nodded and asked me and Baek Seonwoo for understanding.
“Could you leave us for a moment?”
“Of course.”
Heading toward the Audience Chamber, I heard the Dragon King’s low voice in my ear.
“Report everything that has happened without omission.”
Even though it must be hard since he hasn’t fully recovered, it seems he intends to tend to state affairs. He was like a benevolent king from an old story.
‘As expected, he was a good person. That’s why the Merfolk wanted him to wake up so much.’
It didn’t take long for Sailun to come pick us up again. It must have been to not keep us, the ‘benefactors,’ waiting for long. Sailun, whose face had brightened, guided us. As we entered the royal chamber, I could feel the Dragon King’s gaze had changed from before. A sense of awe, as if looking at a hero.
“Welcome. I heard from Sailun about what you have done here for me and for the Merfolk.”
I could sense a slight change in his tone as well. The Dragon King propped himself up on the bed and bowed his head to us.
“Thank you very much. Thank you truly for saving our tribe and me.”
Sailun looked flustered for a moment but tried his best not to show it.
“I simply couldn’t pass by seeing a friend’s difficulty.”
“You are even humble.”
The Dragon King nodded and said solemnly, “Sailun, summon all the Merfolk.”
“Yes, Dragon King.”
—
A peaceful space located deep under the sea, the Great Garden of the Dragon Palace. This wide and open space created a harmonious atmosphere with various marine life and plants. The colorful artificial pond in the center reflected the surrounding lights, creating a beautiful spectacle of light.
“Is it true that the Dragon King has recovered?”
“Of course! That’s why Sailun told us to gather like this!”
The faces of the Merfolk, gathered together after a long time, were a mix of tension and anticipation.
‘Amazing. To be able to create a space like this under the sea.’
We also stood among the Merfolk and waited for the Dragon King to appear. A moment later, the Dragon King climbed onto the platform with Sailun’s support. It seemed movement was still uncomfortable for him. However… despite that, the dignity of a king was evident in every single action.
“My beloved Merfolk.”
The Dragon King’s voice echoed through the Great Garden.
“I deeply understand the hardships and trials you have faced during my long absence. I express my deep gratitude to you for protecting the kingdom with your loyalty and patience through all those difficulties.”
In response to the Dragon King’s speech, the Merfolk cheered, shedding tears of emotion and joy.
“The Dragon King has returned!”
It was the moment tension and worry turned into joy. The Dragon King took a deep breath and continued his speech.
“Humans are present in this place. They traveled all the way to this Dragon Palace to save me and used their wisdom to rescue our kingdom.”
The Dragon King raised his hand and pointed at us.
“Without their efforts, I would still be trapped in the Curse. Therefore, I take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude.”
We bowed our heads at the Dragon King’s words with touched expressions. Since he commended us in a formal setting, we also acted with as much courtesy as possible. The Merfolk did not hold back their applause and praise for us. Finishing his speech, the Dragon King pointed to the wide space of the Great Garden.
“Tonight, we will hold a great festival here to honor everyone’s dedication and celebrate a new beginning. All Merfolk, share in this joy together.”
***
A festival of the Merfolk was in full swing in the Great Garden. On the other hand, in a corner, a special conversation was taking place in a quiet atmosphere. It was the Dragon King, Sailun, and our party.
All the dishes for the festival used only ingredients from the sea. There were plenty of foods seen for the first time, such as parboiled Muneo legs as big as forearms, Shrimp seaweed salad, and fried coral. There was no fishy taste as expected. Rather, because it could be eaten immediately after cooking, a freshness that couldn’t normally be felt could be tasted.
Among them, the most eye-catching was a massive 50cm thick giant grilled scallop, the size of a family-sized pizza. Looking at the size, I was reminded of the giant clam holding a pearl I saw on the way to the Dragon Palace. I fell in love with the tenderness of the scallop that melted as soon as I sliced it and put it in my mouth.
“Eat slowly. Since you’ve come all the way here, I should give you time to taste our unique cuisine.”
When the Dragon King gestured, a servant who had been standing far away approached holding a box. The box was decorated with ornate designs, and it looked somewhat familiar.
‘Oh, that… .’
The Dragon King said while opening the box, “Inside this box is one of the treasures handed down through the generations of the Merfolk. I wish to bestow this treasure upon you in return for your kindness.”
When the lid of the box opened, a mystical-looking deep blue stone was visible inside. It was the Sea God Stone. The Dragon King held out the box to us and added an explanation.
“You will know about this. I also know that you have put it to good use. Please take it. Most of the Sea God Stone’s abilities are already possessed by the Merfolk, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
At the Dragon King’s words, I looked at the Sea God Stone in a daze. Overwhelmed by its mystical light and the Dragon King’s firm attitude, I unintentionally took the Sea God Stone. There’s no way I’d refuse a treasure being offered!
“To give us the treasure of the Merfolk… Thank you, Dragon King.”
I carefully grasped the Sea God Stone. We already knew about the Sea God Stone’s Ability. Especially in the battle against the Starfish, we had benefited greatly from it. To think he would give us that treasure as a reward.
“The Sea God Stone maintains its Ability just by being held as a fragment. So whether one person takes it or you split it into pieces according to the number of people, do as you wish.”
Split it and share it? Even so, it’s the treasure of the Merfolk…?
“The moment you took it, it left our hands. The Sea God Stone is now yours. Do not worry about it.”
As if reading my thoughts, the Dragon King smiled benevolently and added, “I hope the Sea God Stone will be of great help to you.”
“Thank you.”
If processed and divided according to the number of people, the power would weaken, but everyone would be able to enjoy the same effect fairly.
“Brother, what are you going to do?”
“We should share it. There’s no one who didn’t work hard.”
“But how will we split it?”
“First, I’m going to return and look for masters in fields like Artifact processing or jewelry crafting.”
Sometimes while going through Dungeons, one can rarely obtain gems or items from that world. So after Dungeons appeared, even jobs for processing such items were created.
“Is there anyone who can process the treasure of a race?”
“Maybe it’s a mineral that doesn’t break?”
Uh, would that not work?
“Why not leave it to those Dwarves?”
A face came to mind as soon as I heard it. Brogan the Red Hammer, whom I met in the treasure Dungeon. He was a hearty Dwarf who gave us an Artifact just because I provided information about the Thousand-Year Brew.
“For those fellows, processing something like this would be as easy as spitting while lying down.”
“The saying is ‘a piece of cake.’ And since we don’t know when we can meet them again, I’m going to look on Earth first.”
I have a bonus paper that allows me to visit anytime, but I plan to use it at a truly necessary moment. I will save it and get every bit of value out of it.
“Sailun.”
The Dragon King called Sailun. Then, as if he had been waiting, Sailun pulled a beautiful box out from under the table. The box was brilliantly inlaid with mother-of-pearl in shapes of fish and shells.
“I wish to bestow these upon you as well.”
Sailun handed the box to me.
“Please open it.”
Another gift? Is it okay to give things away like this? It was certain that something as precious as the beautiful box was inside. With a pounding heart, I opened the box. Inside the smoothly opened box, small glass bottles were placed in each compartment. These were glass bottles I’ve seen recently…
“…Elixir!”
Baek Seonwoo stared at me, covering her mouth in surprise. Hearing that, the appearance of the medicine bottle I saw earlier came to mind. Because it was passed from Baek Seonwoo to Sailun and then to the Dragon King, I didn’t see it closely, so I was late to realize.
“That is correct. It is an Elixir made from the Inner Core of the Starfish. You contributed greatly to defeating it. It is a reward you deserve.”
I didn’t participate in the battle directly, but there’s no doubt the party performed well. But seven bottles? Is that not the same amount as our party’s number of people?
“How can there be this many…”
Sailun explained instead.
“Was the Inner Core not enormous? They say more than ten bottles of Elixir were made.”
So he was giving them to us according to our head count as a reward. The Dragon King, who was looking at us with satisfaction, slowly rose from his seat.
“It is still uncomfortable to sit for a long time. You all should fully enjoy our banquet.”
Sailun also stood up to support the Dragon King as they left. Then, everyone’s attention turned to Baek Seonwoo.
“What is the effect of this Elixir?”
“Can we drink it right now!”
Perhaps feeling burdened by the sudden attention, Baek Seonwoo said with an awkward smile, “It also has the effect of breaking the Dragon King’s Curse, but it contains the incredible regenerative and recovery power of the Starfish. So don’t drink it now. Later, you should drink it when a very critical situation arises.”
An Elixir containing the bizarre recovery power of the Giant Starfish. With this, we had essentially gained an extra life.