Chapter 88 - Bloodline is Everything

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter 88: Dungeon Strategy (5)

Immediately after crushing Behemoth's head, numerous messages appeared before him.

However, Kwon Hanul had no time to pay attention to the messages. His focus was solely on GG.

“Could it be...?”

Kwon Hudon and Mei Hong were lying on the ground.

GG, who had been facing Behemoth alone.

The situation was clear.

“Why did you stay behind?”

GG wasn’t a member of Kwon Hanul’s team. They had only spent two days together, strategizing through the dungeon.

Yet, GG had risked his life to draw Behemoth’s attention, all to save these two.

“I was trying to run away.”

GG spoke frankly.

“I even told the lady over there. I told her to run away.”

Behemoth had been a truly dangerous opponent.

The only reason Kwon Hanul could split Behemoth’s head with one strike was because of the Shura King’s power.

“But why didn’t you run?”

“I couldn’t just abandon the client.”

GG averted his gaze as he spoke.

“Well... it just turned out like this.”

Kwon Hanul climbed off Behemoth’s head and stood in front of GG, bowing his head.

Taken aback, GG’s eyes widened.

“Why the sudden change?”

“Thank you. Because of you, my team members are safe.”

“It’s nothing... I mean, if you hadn’t come, we wouldn’t have survived. I didn’t do anything.”

Kwon Hanul shook his head at GG’s words.

It was because of GG’s delay that Kwon Hanul was able to defeat the demon in time.

A demon?

Kwon Hanul noticed a subtle sense of unease.

When he defeated Behemoth, a message had appeared. However, no message appeared from the demon.

“...GG, could you help me a little more?”

Without understanding why, GG nodded.

Kwon Hanul carried Kwon Hudon on his back, leaving Mei Hong with GG. They then headed toward the place where they had fought the demon.

He needed to confirm the demon's death. He couldn’t leave Kwon Hudon and Mei Hong alone with their memory loss.

When they arrived at the demon’s location, they saw the dying demon, Mammon.

Who is this?

The demon, Mammon, was on the brink of death.

I thought you’d leave... but something changed, huh?

“Guess you’re still alive?”

Alive? First time I’ve heard such a ridiculous joke.

Mammon scoffed.

There was a hole in his stomach, and his mana was leaking out constantly. His body was hardening, crumbling like dry clay.

At least someone’s here to witness my death... I had something I wanted to say.

“Something you wanted to say?”

Human, I have one question. Do you have #@%$?

Kwon Hanul frowned.

“What did you say?”

#@%$.

“I can’t understand what you’re saying.”

Mammon licked his lips.

Looks like you’re not ready yet.

“What are you talking about?”

I’ll ask another way. There’s something on your status window that doesn’t show up, isn’t there?

Kwon Hanul’s face stiffened slightly.

“How do you know about that...?”

There’s no way you wouldn’t know. You have five bloodlines, each more than enough for a human.

Without realizing it, Kwon Hanul stepped closer to Mammon.

“Do you know about this ability?”

Why? Curious, are you?

“Tell me. What kind of ability is this?”

You’re in a hurry. You’ll figure it out in time.

Kwon Hanul frowned. Mammon just grinned.

Even if I explain, there’s no way you’ll understand, being human.

“Just explain.”

To put it simply... a vessel? No, that’s too vague. You could say it's an ark.

The metaphor only deepened the mystery.

Don’t look at it that way. I feel like questioning it too. Of all the people, a human like you gets to have such power... after all our searching...

Mammon’s body began to slowly disintegrate.

One piece of advice... perfect your bloodline... someday...

And then, he turned to ashes. At that moment, the messages appeared.

<You’ve successfully defeated a formidable foe!>

<You’ve absorbed part of the foe’s abilities!>

<You’ve acquired the divine ability ‘Falling Sacred Cloud’ (落聖雲)!>

All stats had reached AAA rank.

Kwon Hanul could feel his body changing from the roots, becoming more solid and robust.

But more noteworthy than his stats was the divine ability.

Quality: Legendary (S+)

Description: The divine ability mainly used by the demon count Mammon. Consumes mana to allow flight. As proficiency increases, flight speed increases and special abilities can be used.

The legendary S+ rank. It was truly a demon-class ability.

‘He was weakened.’

An upper-class demon wasn’t supposed to be this weak. Even one such demon would send the entire world into chaos.

But, despite his notorious reputation, Mammon had been easily defeated.

The fact that the ability gained was only at an AAA rank showed just how weakened he had been.

‘What was that about ???’

Kwon Hanul mulled over Mammon’s words. There was nothing particularly useful in them.

‘He said that the reason my name didn’t show up was because I wasn’t ready.’

And then there was the part about perfecting the bloodline. Why?

While Kwon Hanul was deep in thought, he noticed GG was carefully handling the demon’s ashes.

He approached and saw GG sniffing or even tasting the ashes.

“What are you doing?”

GG turned his head at Kwon Hanul’s question.

“I was sensing the demon.”

“Sensing the demon?”

“The ‘Sacred Beast Bloodline’ lineage mimics the abilities of other creatures—monsters, spirits, and…”

GG’s gaze turned to the ashes.

“I joined this dungeon because I wanted to gain the power of a powerful demon.”

GG licked his finger, which was coated in ash. Immediately, Kwon Hanul felt an ominous energy deep within GG’s gaze.

“Could it be... that you’re acquiring the power of an upper-class demon?”

GG’s face, once expressionless, now had a smile. It was a creepy, unsettling smile.

“I can only use 30% of the pureblood, but how powerful is the full strength of this demon?”

There was a mad gleam in GG’s eyes.

“This will advance my plans.”

Kwon Hanul also knelt to sift through the demon’s ashes. He could faintly feel the demon’s remaining mana.

Then, another message appeared.

<‘???’ is reacting.>

The Sacred Beast Bloodline lineage had now settled within Kwon Hanul’s body.

Unlike with the Superhuman Bloodline, there was no immediate change in his stats or dramatic transformation.

But the true value of the Sacred Beast Bloodline lineage would only show itself now.

<‘Sacred Beast Bloodline’ senses internal energy.>

It was clear now.

In order to manifest a creature’s abilities, he would need to understand them better.

However, to unlock the full potential of the target’s power, the synchronization rate of the Sacred Beast Bloodline lineage needed to be high.

<Warning! The demon’s malice is corrupting your mind!>

Even increasing his understanding was causing his mind to be tainted. This relentless nature of demons, even after death, was truly fitting.

<‘Vassal Bloodline’ preserves your mind!>

<‘Genius Bloodline’ defends against malice-induced corruption!>

For Kwon Hanul, this wasn’t a problem.

<‘Sacred Beast Bloodline’ senses inner energy.>

Then, another message appeared.

<‘Sacred Beast Bloodline’ merges with ‘Black Dragon Bloodline’ (黑龍血).>

<‘Black Dragon’ is now available for manifestation.>

Kwon Hanul’s mouth dropped open.

The first ancestor of the Black Sky family, Kwon Hyun-mun, had slain the Black Dragon and gained its power.

There was no clear record of what the Black Dragon was, but considering it was the first being to exceed SSS rank and be recorded as EX rank, its danger was evident.

He could now manifest the Black Dragon. And he could do it at full power.

It was beyond astonishing—it was terrifying.

‘If Black Dragon Bloodline reacted... this means other bloodlines might be possible too.’

Every bloodline has an origin.

Perhaps with Sacred Beast Bloodline, he could manifest the powers of all those origins.

“Sorry, Kwon Hanul, but I’ll be leaving now.”

Suddenly, GG spoke. Kwon Hanul was puzzled.

“Leaving?”

“Thanks to you, everything is ready. I can’t leave them waiting any longer.”

No need to ask what he was planning. It was clear.

“Don’t use the demon’s power.”

Kwon Hanul said immediately.

“It’s too dangerous. If you use it recklessly, you might lose yourself.”

For Kwon Hanul, the Genius Bloodline and Vassal Bloodline protected him from demon corruption. But GG only had Sacred Beast Bloodline. In his situation, calling upon the demon’s power could lead to disaster.

“How do you... no, wait...?”

A look of shock appeared on GG’s face.

“You... also got Sacred Beast Bloodline?”

Kwon Hanul nodded.

“That’s why I’m warning you. Never use the demon’s power.”

GG silently stared at him.

“The guilty must be punished.”

A hatred rose on GG’s once-stony face. It was obvious who it was directed at.

The Pablo Family.

The anger directed at those who had kidnapped the Garcia family was undeniable.

“If the chance arises, I hope we meet again.”

It sounded like he was saying they might never meet again.

GG turned and disappeared. Kwon Hanul watched where GG had gone for a while.

Kwon Hanul brought his team out of the dungeon.

“What the...!”

Joo Hayun’s face was a mix of shock and disbelief.

“What happened to you? Are you hurt?”

“Oh, I’m fine.”

“Fine? You’re covered in dirt... What happened to the others? What in the world happened...?”

Kwon Hanul explained everything: meeting Behemoth and killing the upper-class demon.

“You really killed an upper-class demon?”

“Luckily, it was weakened.”

It seemed hard to believe. Joo Hayun looked skeptical.

Kwon Hanul took out a small glass vial. The moment she saw it, Joo Hayun’s face went blank.

“This...”

It was the demon’s ashes that he had brought just in case.

Joo Hayun couldn’t find words.

“If I had known how dangerous it was, I would have gone in with you.”

“Dungeons are unpredictable, you know.”

“But...”

Joo Hayun’s face was filled with guilt. Kwon Hanul reassured her.

“By the way, did anyone come out of the dungeon entrance?”

“I haven’t heard any reports from the guards.”

The entrance to the dungeon was guarded by security sent by the Pablo Family.

Given GG’s abilities, slipping past the guards and leaving the dungeon would have been no problem.

“I’ll take charge of the dungeon from now on. You should rest.”

With the dungeon cleared, the only remaining task was processing the materials for transport.

“I’ll call Kwon Mi to update her.”

“I’ll do that.”

Kwon Hudon would have been ideal to handle it, but he wasn’t conscious yet.

Kwon Hanul pulled out his phone and tried to call Kwon Mi.

But soon, he had to put the phone down.

“She's on another call.”

* * *

A ship stationed in the Atlantic.

Inside, Kwon Mi was frowning heavily.

“...Why did you call?”

-My younger sibling sounds unusually down today.

Her brother, Kwon Hyuk, spoke while laughing.

Because of you. Kwon Mi suppressed the words that almost escaped her throat.

“I’m tired.”

-Of course, you must be. You’re out at sea for the mission, right? Something about transporting dungeon materials?

He was asking as if he didn’t know.

“Just get to the point.”

-Oh, it’s nothing major.

Kwon Hyuk continued to grin.

-But I’m planning to send my cute little niece on an eternal journey to a place he can never return from. Interested?

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]