Chapter 146

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 146: Power-Up

―Groooaaan.

Loyal Dolsoe.

The freshly summoned creature tilted its head as it looked at the prison.

“Go inside and see.”

“Good grief.”

Dolsoe energetically nodded, entering the Blood Pit.

[This undead has the potential to accept dragon blood!]

[Estimated dragon blood consumption: 10%]

Remaining blood: 40%.

He summoned some Dullahans, Specters, and a group of Skeletons.

‘It’s not wise to put all eggs in one basket.’

With the current mix of new equipment and titles, his mana was close to 12,000.

If he only summoned Dullahans, he could summon close to 240.

However, there were many issues with strengthening only Dullahans.

The maximum summoning capacity of a summoner is proportional to their maximum mana.

In other words, if he summoned 240 Dullahans, he couldn’t summon other summons like Skeletons or Specters.

But where’s the fun in battle if he only uses Dullahans?

First of all, Hail and Myle would be disappointed.

So, he divided them reasonably.

“Everyone, go in.”

50 Dullahans.

100 Specters.

And even group of Skeletons and Mages.

All of them were experienced elites, starting from level 1.

The undead group amicably entered the blood prison.

The number was large, but space wasn’t an issue. The interior space expanded as the undead entered.

[An undead with the potential to accept dragon blood….]

Dullahans passed.

Specters passed.

Even the Skeleton troops passed the potential evaluation.

‘Well, of course.’

Were his Skeletons just ordinary Skeletons?

They were premium Skeletons, scheduled to become Dragon’s Soldier (True), and the first ones on Earth to experience the job advancement system.

It meant that they could absorb dragon blood without any problem.

The Mages were the same.

After hundreds of undead entered reluctantly,

[Estimated dragon’s blood consumption: 40%]

[Would you like to strengthen?]

He could consume all dragon’s blood.

Unlike the Legion commanders, the other undead didn’t have long reinforcement times.

[Enhancement complete!]

[Dolsoe’s body is imbued with dragon blood!]

[‘Blood Explosion’ can be used!]

[Dullahan group’s bodies are imbued with dragon blood…]

[‘Dragon Blood Horse’ can be used…]

[Specter group’s bodies are imbued with dragon blood…]

[The effect of ‘Etherealization’ is greatly enhanced…]

[Skeleton group’s bodies are imbued with dragon blood…]

[‘Dragon Blood Tool’ can be used!]

Numerous messages appeared.

In general, except for Specters, the size of the undead increased, and their bodies became firmer.

[* Blood Explosion: Detonates dragon blood for a self-destructive explosion. Damage is 3 times maximum HP.]

The new Blood Explosion that emerged for Dolsoe.

It was a kind of…

“Suicide bomb?”

The damage was three times Dolsoe’s health.

It was obvious that the damage was immense.

“Dolsoe, we need to test this out. Can you do it?”

A test run was essential.

Dolsoe nodded firmly at his words.

Soon, Dolsoe, embracing a steel scarecrow training dummy in the corner of the training ground like Nongae, turned bright red.

[Using Blood Explosion!]

BOOOOOOM!

The scarecrow disappeared without a trace with an enormous explosion.

The surrounding ground cracked open as if a crater had formed, and it was dug out over 20 meters deep.

“Wow.”

Kim Minwoo clapped in admiration.

The explosion took just about a second.

The warm-up was short.

But the damage easily surpassed most of Merhen’s spells.

It would take at least a triple-stacked spell to produce similar damage.

Great.

Really great.

He could have him block for a while, and if it doesn’t work, he could just self-destruct.

The usage scenario was clear.

It would be especially useful against strong enemies who don’t fall for taunts.

He’s a meat shield anyway, so why not add damage to that role?

It greatly enhanced the diversity of his strategies.

He summoned Dolsoe again.

Kim Minwoo’s eyes had softened like gentle sunlight.

“Dolsoe.”

―Kuooo.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

―Kuooo.

Dolsoe raised his arms energetically as Kim Minwoo patted his legs.

“Just hang in there a bit longer. I’ll make sure you see the light of day. You trust me, right?”

“Good grief!”

The reply was full of trust and affection for his master. Dolsoe was indeed the epitome of a steadfast and reliable golem.

Next, he examined the Dullahans.

[* Dragon Blood Horse: Materializes the dragon blood within the body to create a horse. It can be ridden.]

“You know what to do, right?”

Nod!

The Dullahan squad nodded vigorously and reached out their hands.

At that moment.

Red blood spurted from their hands, gradually clumping together, and then…

―Neiiigh!

Crimson horses, nearly 3 meters tall, were created.

The Dullahans mounted their horses.

In no time, the Dullahan troops, now a cavalry, began performing acrobatics on horseback.

Perhaps because the horses were created from the blood within their bodies, the harmony between the horses and the Dullahans was impeccable.

‘This will make their juniors envious.’

There was a reason cavalry had always been considered the best.

The combined power of horse and rider was truly unimaginable.

But now, with the Dullahans combined with dragon blood horses…

From number 1 to 50.

The power of the senior Dullahans was now vastly different. The Specters’ basic ability, Etherealization, had been greatly enhanced.

Physical damage is reduced by 30%.

But now,

[* Enhanced Etherealization: Physical damage is reduced by 50%.]

The Specters had become much more ethereal.

They looked a bit creepy, resembling ghosts.

But when you patted their heads,

―Ssss……

They rubbed against him, looking quite cute, as if they enjoyed it.

Lastly, the Skeletons, who form the foundation of the legion.

[* Dragon Blood Tool: Can create a tool suitable for the apprentice’s job.]

They gained a tool creation skill.

“Myra, summon your tool.”

Clatter!

At that moment, an orb-like object appeared beside Myra’s hand. Myra held a staff in one hand and the globe in the other.

“Magic.”

[‘Myra’ uses Wind Blade (E)!]

Swish!

The wind magic struck the ground with a sharper force.

“Wow, you’re using it well. Who did you learn from to become so skilled?”

At that moment, Myra urgently placed a finger on the ground.

Three letters began to be written neatly.

〈Merhen〉

When did she learn Korean so well?

The learning ability of Skeletons was truly impressive.

―I taught her everything. You know that, Minwoo?

Mage Legion Commander Merhen.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

When summoned at home, her usual routine was to eat, roll around on the sofa while fiddling with the provided smartphone, and educate the Skeleton Mages.

Cedric wasn’t much different. He just enjoyed watching TV instead of playing with the phone after eating.

Teaching the melee summons was an added bonus.

―But she’s still got a long way to go. It’s terrible. I can’t believe I taught her.

T_T.

Myra’s fiery pupils seemed to morph into mysterious emoticons.

“…Did you teach her that too?”

―Yeah. It’s frustrating when you can’t talk during class. So I taught him KakaoTalk emoticons which we use while chatting.

“You can do that?”

—Yeah. If you use a cramming method, they learn everything.

A summon who teaches KakaoTalk emoticons.

‘It makes my heart swell with pride.’

At first, he didn’t think of giving the legion commanders phones.

But then, the chairman personally handed Merhen and Cedric smartphones registered in their names.

And then…

‘He filmed them using the phones and posted it on Ilsung’s SNS.’

Summons using smartphones.

While it made sense for Merhen with touch recognition, it was fascinating to see Cedric’s bony fingers also operate a smartphone so well.

‘Ilsung must have modified them.’

Thanks to that, Ilsung phones saw another surge in popularity.

Anyway, it seemed that frequent summons at home made Merhen gradually get used to modern life.

Actually, this was half intentional. Legion commanders deserve special treatment, don’t they?

Like enjoying modern culture and being able to communicate openly with each other.

Since they could eat, they also had meals together.

Although their loyalty was at 100, fostering a sense of camaraderie was much better than just mechanical loyalty.

That’s why they were frequently summoned.

Fortunately, the family had long since adapted.

They even asked why they weren’t summoned if it didn’t happen.

In any case, he had already gotten his money’s worth from the Blood Prison..

And he planned to continue drawing from it like an endless oil well.

Weren’t the legion commanders at the first stage of dragon’s power?

There must be a second and third stage, right?

‘It probably doesn’t require a lot of blood.’

If that were the case, it wouldn’t have stopped at just 50% absorption.

‘Perhaps the stage would increase if I injected stronger dragon blood.‘

Of course, the dragon corpses brought by the Sword Saint and the others were of a high level, but…

‘They’re weaker compared to truly powerful ones.’

For example, the ancient dragon Cedric used as his body during his golden skeleton days was over ten thousand years old.

Compared to such dragons, these were lacking.

‘But such dragons don’t appear in the Gates.’

If they did appear, the Gates would have already exploded, leading to Earth’s destruction.

In the future, it seemed necessary to search for such dragons as well.

‘Then…’

The remaining summons needed to be strengthened too.

It didn’t necessarily have to be dragon’s blood.

‘It’s hard to obtain anyway.’

Other high-level monsters could also provide sufficient effects.

“I’ll have to run some Gates soon.”

Gradually, the power enhancement was nearing completion.

* * *

After the tournament rounds.

Many seeds had been sown.

Relations with superpowers like China and the USA.

Development of the slime battery.

Strengthening the summons.

It was a short but truly productive time.

The items purchased from the Sky Auction House had long been distributed to the guild members.

The work in reality was roughly finished.

Now, it was time to pursue growth once more.

“I’ll be off to the Gate.”

Having hinted at it for several days, the family wasn’t too surprised.

They seemed to take it in stride.

“Okay. Be careful. And please take good care of the legion commanders.”

Mrs. Choi bowed politely.

Merhen quickly grabbed her hand and replied.

―Don’t worry. I’ll protect Minwoo.

―Even if our master falls into hell, he’ll return unscathed.

She nodded with a reassuring look.

“Come back safely, brother. Quickly.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Naye waved her hand maturely.

Not crying was a big sign of her growth.

Chairman Kim also spoke calmly.

“Do your best. Ilsung will do what it can.”

“I trust you, Father.”

Entering his room, he took an item out of his inventory.

[Old Necklace]

[Rank: ??]

[A necklace that has begun to imbue the spirit of a hero after the removal of a malevolent arrangement.]

[Effect 1. It is a medium for proceeding with the Continental Salvation (S+). Until then, the previous state is saved. (Minimum requirement: Level 251 or higher)]

[Effect 2. There are two slots. Something can be inserted.]

[Effect 3. This necklace is activated only if the title ‘One Who Walks the Hero’s Path’ is possessed.]

‘I haven’t seen this in a while.’

Urkan and the other orcs.

And the dwarves and elves too.

Since the previous progress was saved, there would be no passage of time.

Last time, it ended with me catching Velitas at the northern fortress and Hayang eating the Winter Fragment.

‘S+…’

The difficulty is certainly not low.

Typically, monsters above level 500 appear in S-rank Gates. With the additional plus, the level would be much higher.

Even considering that,

‘Maybe because I grew too fast, it feels like it’ll be easy now.’

The Witch, Ice Dragon?

It was no longer at the level of a hell difficulty. At worst, it would just be a bit tiring to defeat.

But as they say, fortune favors the bold.

Despite having become incredibly strong, there was still a way to dive into hell.

“Let’s go to the Gate with Dad.”

―Coo. Coo. Coo?

“Yeah. The Gate. We’ll see the orcs again, and the elves and dwarves too. You’d like that, right, Hayang?”

―Coo!

Having finished all preparations in reality, there was no reason to hesitate.

[The old necklace is activated!]

[Entering the previous progress state!]

When the scenery changed,

The orcs were lying under the warm sunlight with relaxed expressions.

It was the same scene as when they had just destroyed the Fragment of Winter at the northern fortress.

―Chwiik! Big brother! You suddenly look amazing!

Urkan admired the new equipment.

―But who is that woman with Cedric?

“She’s my friend.”

―Big brother’s friend? Then is she a big sister?

―Just call her sister.

“Got it, sister!”

Urkan quickly sorted out the hierarchy with Merhen.

He spoke to him.

“Urkan.”

―Chwiik! Big brother, did you call?

“Do you like boring things, or exciting things?”

―Chwiik! I hate easy! Exciting things are the best!

“Right? I thought so too.”

In this continent, mostly inhabited by orcs,

Urkan’s thoughts were basically the thoughts of all the orcs.

So, having the majority of the natives’ consent,

Let’s stir things up a bit.

[Taking out the Dice of Fate!]

[Do you wish to roll it?]

‘Of course, I’ll roll it.’

Rattle!

The dice that floated above his hand began to roll wildly.

At that moment,

[The title, ‘Super Lucky Guy,’ is activated!]

[A strange luck envelops your body!]

With the activation of the title,

Thud. Thud.

The dice stopped, showing the number 1.

[Fate has been decided.]

[‘The Greatest Adversity’]

[An unknown force begins to envelop the Gate!]

Rumble…!

The ground began to shake.

―Chwiik! It suddenly turned to night! The sky is dark!

―Chwiik! The ground is shaking! This is fun!

[A calamity is approaching!]

[The difficulty of the Gate has significantly increased!]

“Oh, lucky.”

―Coo. Coo.

Hayang flapped her wings excitedly in response.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]