NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17
Chapter 17
[Do you wish to absorb the Cursed Light Dragon Bahamut’s Heart?]
‘Absorb Bahamut’s heart?’
It wasn’t just any dragon’s heart; it was the heart of Bahamut itself.
Typically, a dragon’s heart was used by alchemists or sorcerers to craft magical artifacts, so the idea of a human absorbing one seemed questionable in itself.
Perhaps if it were the Ishtar Household, known for their esoteric techniques, they might melt it into their bodies through some bizarre method. But for Zeke, the notion of absorbing a dragon’s heart felt utterly foreign.
‘What if absorbing it causes side effects?’
Having suffered through so much in his previous life, Zeke instinctively leaned toward suspicion first.
At that moment, the system message reappeared.
[Do you wish to absorb the Cursed Light Dragon Bahamut’s Heart?]
Zeke stared at the reappearing message, deep in thought.
It was the legacy and arrangement left behind by the founder, Terakan Draker.
Since he had blocked the curse that attempted to taint his mind using his mental defenses and inherited the legacy mentally, it didn’t seem to carry any particular dangers.
After a moment of deliberation, Zeke nodded as he looked at the system message.
“I’ll absorb it.”
Wuuuuuuung!
The moment Zeke made his decision, the glass tube containing Bahamut’s heart began to tremble.
At the same time, the heart, which had been emitting a resplendent light, released an even more brilliant glow.
“What… what is this?”
Soon, the light emanating from Bahamut’s heart coalesced into a single beam and pierced through Zeke’s solar plexus.
“Urgh!”
Zeke could feel the highly condensed mana surging into his body.
The unexpected surge of immense power nearly caused him to lose consciousness.
‘No… I can’t.’
Instinctively, Zeke utilized the Soul-Body Technique he had learned from his master to disperse the inflowing mana throughout his body.
The mana began circulating from his Ether Hall, coursing through his entire body before returning to the Ether Hall again.
“Grrr…”
Gritting his teeth, Zeke focused on controlling the highly condensed mana.
Before he realized it, his body began to levitate into the air.
Streams of light continued to pour endlessly from Bahamut’s heart.
Wuuuuuuung!
The entire glass tube began to shake violently, and cracks started forming on its surface.
Crack! Crack!
As more mana surged into Zeke’s body, the glass tube teetered on the brink of shattering.
Even in that moment, the highly condensed mana circled through his body several times, accumulating layer by layer within his Ether Hall.
The pure energy of mana, as it was absorbed throughout his body, began cleansing all the impurities and remnants of foreign energy within Zeke.
With each breath Zeke took, black smoke carrying impure energy poured out from his nose and mouth.
At the same time, changes began occurring in Zeke’s body.
Crack!
His muscles and bones instinctively shifted, finding their optimal balance.
The muscle fibers became tougher, and his bones grew denser, turning harder.
Crack! Crack!
“Grrr!”
It felt as though every bone in his body was shattering into pieces. The pain was so intense that Zeke clenched his teeth hard enough to nearly break his jaw.
Yet he didn’t scream. Instead, he focused solely on controlling the mana using the Soul-Body Technique.
He recalled his master’s warning from his previous life: *Never make a sound when forming your Ether Hall.*
Wuuuuuuung!
The light reached its peak intensity.
Suspended in midair with his arms spread wide, Zeke fiercely absorbed every last bit of mana flowing from Bahamut’s heart.
Rumble!
The glass tube began vibrating violently.
As the stream of light was completely absorbed into Zeke, the glass tube shattered explosively.
Crash!
The resulting shockwave threw Zeke’s body from the air, slamming him onto the ground.
“Urgh!”
Zeke tumbled across the floor several times before he managed to steady himself, gasping for breath.
“Damn it… I thought I was going to die from the pain.”
Even Zeke, who had endured countless hardships in his past life, found the agony nearly unbearable.
He glanced down at his solar plexus, where he had absorbed the light.
The area around his solar plexus, where the light had pierced through, had burned away his clothes entirely.
But there, on his solar plexus, was a strange marking.
It resembled both a drawing and a rune, forming a shape he had never seen before.
“Is this a tattoo? Why do I have something like this?”
At that moment, text appeared rapidly before Zeke’s eyes.
[You have absorbed the Cursed Light Dragon Bahamut’s Heart.]
[95% of the mana’s power has been compressed and sealed, as it exceeds the user’s capacity.]
[The absorbed mana has altered the user’s physique.]
[The user’s body has transformed into the ‘Divine Body.’]
[The unique authority of the Cursed Light Dragon Bahamut, Dragonkin Domination, has been created.]
[As a result of the absorbed power, the Draconian Skill Incantation has been generated.]
[You have inherited the legacy of Administrator Terakan Draker.]
[You have acquired the title of Terakan Draker’s Successor.]
[As a successor, you are granted access to Terakan Draker’s Secure Archive.]
Zeke stared at the system messages in astonishment.
“What is all this? Divine Body? Terakan Draker’s Secure Archive?”
But the system notifications didn’t stop there.
[With the growth of the soul, the administrator system functions have been activated.]
[The Beginner’s Questbook has been activated.]
[A tutorial for junior administrators will now begin.]
[After the tutorial, quests for the administrator’s growth will be initiated.]
[Rewards will be given upon successful completion of quests.]
Zeke looked at the messages with a bewildered expression.
“A tutorial? What now?”
Too much information was flooding in at once, leaving his head spinning.
After closing the message window, Zeke took a deep breath to calm himself. He couldn’t afford to stay here too long; if he lingered, someone might track him down.
Rising to his feet, Zeke moved toward the shattered glass tube where Bahamut’s heart had been housed.
The glass tube was now completely in pieces.
The heart that had once floated within it was nowhere to be seen.
“Did it all get absorbed into my body?”
At that moment, Zeke noticed something.
A strange energy emanated from the bottom of the shattered glass tube where Bahamut’s heart had rested.
Instinctively, Zeke focused mana into his hand.
As naturally as breathing, energy wrapped around his palm.
“Sever.”
A sharp will imbued itself into his strike.
For a moment, Zeke realized something unusual.
“I’m not dizzy.”
In his past life, using the Soul-Body Technique had caused severe side effects, such as intense headaches. Even after his regression, this remained true.
For that reason, he typically limited its use to enhancing his movements in emergencies.
But now, perhaps due to the effects of absorbing Bahamut’s heart, the side effects like dizziness and headaches had noticeably diminished.
“This is an unexpected benefit.”
With the sharp energy imbued in his hand, Zeke slashed at the bottom of the glass tube.
Slice!
The floor split open, revealing something hidden within.
“What’s this?”
What had been concealed was none other than a massive tooth.
Activating Dragon’s Eye, Zeke examined the information about the tooth.
[The hardest fang of the Cursed Light Dragon Bahamut.]
“Bahamut’s fang?”
He couldn’t understand why Bahamut’s fang had been stored alongside the heart, but dragon teeth were incredibly rare and valuable materials.
Picking up the fang, which was as large as an adult man’s forearm, Zeke grinned.
“To think such a pristine dragon tooth is intact. If I give this to Gelion, he might be able to forge a sword from it.”
After reorganizing his inventory space, Zeke carefully stored Bahamut’s fang.
Surveying the Dragon’s Resting Place one last time, Zeke packed his belongings and prepared to leave.
“Let’s smuggle the rest out slowly.”
With that, Zeke left the Dragonslayer’s Tomb and ascended toward the library.
Once he successfully exited the library, the outside had already grown pitch dark.
It had been a challenging ordeal, but the rewards he gained were immense.
Zeke immediately returned to the Platinum Floor.
There, he entered his personal training room and began organizing the relics he had stored in his inventory, sorting them into what he needed immediately and what he would store for later.
“This should wrap up the organizing. Now, before checking the messages… Status Window, open.”
[Junior Administrator Status Window]
Name: Zeke Draker
Class: Immortal (Unique Rank)
Title: Blessed by the Ancient Dragon, Successor of Terakan Draker
Authority: Dragonkin Domination
Physique: Divine Body
System Functions: Inventory (65 slots) / Mini-map / Beginner’s Questbook
Passive Skills: Healing Factor / Unyielding Mental Defense / Endless Stamina / Combat Instinct
Active Skills: Precise Stab [Rank E (Expert)] / Consecutive Slashes [Rank D (Beginner)] / Critical Strike [Rank D (Skilled)] / High-Speed Movement [Rank C (Beginner)] / Mana Reflection [Rank A (Beginner)] / Area Buff [Rank A (Beginner)]
Draconian Skills (Phase 1 Unlocked): Dragon’s Eye (Beginner) / Dragon’s Majesty (Beginner) / Incantation (Locked)
Karma Points: 0
Zeke tapped on the newly acquired authority and physique to open their description windows.
― Authority Information ―
**Dragonkin Domination**: Grants dominion over dragonkin. Allows the summoning and commanding of subjugated dragonkin.
― Physique Information ―
**Divine Body**: Exhibits the highest physical capabilities, with rapid mastery of martial arts. Greatly enhances mana conductivity throughout the body.
“Dominion over dragonkin, huh? I wonder if it works on dragonkin monsters like wyverns or basilisks.”
After reviewing the description of Dragonkin Domination, Zeke moved on to read the details of the Divine Body.
“Divine Body… never heard of it before. Well, based on the description, it sounds great.”
The pain endured while absorbing Bahamut’s heart had certainly paid off.
The newly unlocked Draconian skill, Incantation, had appeared as an entry, but it was still locked and inaccessible. It seemed that advancing the level of his Draconian skills was necessary to unlock it.
Next, Zeke checked another piece of information.
He pressed on the explanation regarding his access to Terakan Draker’s Secure Archive as his successor.
[System Notification: To access Terakan Draker’s Secure Archive, an information update is required.]
[Please move to a location where an information update is possible.]
Simultaneously, a map of the continent appeared before his eyes.
The map of the continent gradually zoomed in and pointed to a specific location.
The place designated by the system was one Zeke knew well.
“Valhalla?”
It was completely unexpected.
Zeke had no intention of going to Valhalla after graduating from the academy.
Since he knew of the events that would unfold in the future, he had planned to establish his own power outside the Draker Household after regaining some of his strength.
As he stared at the map marking Valhalla, Zeke found himself deep in thought.
‘If Terakan Draker left a legacy in the academy, perhaps there’s something similar in Valhalla.’
If Valhalla held a legacy akin to Bahamut’s heart, it was worth revising his plans.
After memorizing the location marked on the map, Zeke moved on to check the next message.
It was about the newly activated Beginner’s Questbook.
“So, what’s this tutorial about?”
As soon as Zeke spoke, the tutorial began.
[A tutorial for junior administrators will now begin.]
Suddenly, Zeke’s vision went black, and the surrounding space started to shift.
“What… what’s going on?”
Something appeared before him.
“Kaaahhhk!”
To his surprise, three orcs came charging straight at him.
The sudden appearance of monsters startled Zeke, but he quickly regained his composure and grabbed his claymore.
A message appeared before his eyes.
―Tutorial Mission―
[Within the time limit, eliminate the appearing monsters using at least two active skills. (Time limit: 60 minutes)]
“What?”
Zeke was momentarily flustered as he read the message.
“Kaaahhhk!”
In the meantime, the three orcs let out battle cries and charged wildly.
Wielding sharp glaives and spiked clubs, the orcs were more than threatening.
However, Zeke quickly regained his composure and easily deflected the orc’s attack with his claymore.
Boom!
The orc’s strike felt much lighter than he had anticipated.
‘Are these weaker than regular orcs?’
With that thought, Zeke moved into the blind spot of one of the orcs, sword at the ready.
He felt unusually light on his feet, and his field of vision seemed wider.
The orcs’ weapon swings appeared slow, almost sluggish.
Zeke deflected the sluggish glaive with ease and, with a single stroke, severed the orc’s neck.
Without pause, he used the High-Speed Movement skill to glide smoothly toward the other orcs.
Closing in quickly, Zeke executed the Consecutive Slashes skill, cutting through their necks and their spiked clubs in a single motion.
Thud!
In the blink of an eye, all three orcs collapsed.
Zeke glanced at his sword.
His strike had been so precise and swift that there wasn’t a single drop of blood on the blade.
“At this rate, I’m almost at the level of a Purple Knight. Did I grow this much from absorbing Bahamut’s heart?”
Suddenly, the dark surroundings that had enveloped him disappeared, and the familiar scenery of his training room reappeared.
The orcs’ corpses had vanished without a trace.
‘Was that all just an illusion? It felt completely real.’
As Zeke marveled at what had just transpired, a message appeared before him.
[Tutorial mission cleared.]
[Critical Point bonus added to your rewards.]
[Time Reduction Point bonus added to your rewards.]
[50 Karma Points awarded as a reward.]
[First tutorial clear: The ‘Shop’ category has been unlocked.]