Chapter 708

“What did you just say, Siegfried? Did you just ask for a piece of my heart?”

“Yes, sir.”

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

“...What?”

“Just a little bit. Only about this much,” Siegfried said, gesturing with his thumb.

“...”

Vulcanus was so dumbfounded by Siegfried’s request that he could not even get angry at him. He had never encountered someone as crazy as Siegfried—someone crazy enough to ask a dragon for a piece of their heart.

It was then.

Deus was still gazing at the fishing float bobbing on the lake when he said, “Elder Brother. What are you saving it for? It'll turn into waste if you hold on to it for too long without using it."

“W-What are you trying to say?”

“Would losing a fingernail-sized piece of your heart really cause you any trouble or inconvenience you?”

“N-No, I suppose not.”

Vulcanus was the First Red Dragon, and his heart was so massive that it was the size of a small stadium. Losing a piece the size of a human’s thumbnail would not affect him at all.

“Then just give it to him. It’s not like you have any use for it, right?” Deus urged again.

“But...” Vulcanus muttered, looking troubled.

“I need it to save a life, sir,” Siegfried said, looking at Vulcanus. Then, he continued, “You will be saving a life and protecting a couple’s pure love. If you will ascend as a god anyway, why not build up some good karma in advance, right?”

“Even so, that’s a bit...”

“

Hmm...

” Siegfried muttered, racking his brains. Then, he said, “Sir?”

“Yes?”

“Do you have no need for priests or paladins?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, do you want to be just forgotten after you ascend as a god?”

“F-Forgotten?”

“Other gods have temples and priests! They even have paladins, too!”

“...!”

“But you only have a bunch of sweaty blacksmiths. I have a feeling you will probably end up with a single carved wooden statue in some blacksmith’s workshop.

Ah,

and for your offerings? Cold water and stale bread.”

“

Ugh...!”

Vulcanus grimaced at the thought.

What Siegfried said made more sense the more he pondered over it. The ones destined to become his followers, the blacksmiths, were notoriously stubborn, prideful, and rarely focused on anything other than crafting. There was no doubt that they would not even properly honor him as their god, let alone worship him.

“I am telling you. If you give a piece of your heart to save this couple, you could appoint the woman as a priestess and the man as a paladin.”

“T-That sounds like a brilliant idea!”

“Why not use this chance to start your own religion? And if you help me out, I will take over the Bavarian Workshop and expand your religion throughout the continent. If one of the top three workshops on the continent is supporting your religion, then you'll benefit greatly from it.”

“You’re right!”

“So, what are you hesitating for? Give up a little piece of your heart and be remembered forever!”

“

Oh!

That’s actually not a bad idea!”

“So, are you going to give me a bit of your heart and seize this opportunity or let it go to waste?”

“Well, I suppose I could give a little.”

“Then shall we?” Siegfried asked, leading Vulcanus.

“Brother, do you mind if I step away for a moment?” Vulcanus asked—no, sought permission from Deus as if he needed it before going somewhere.

“Go ahead,” Deus replied with a nod.

“Thank you, brother,” Vulcanus said and quickly followed after Siegfried.

Deus still had his eyes fixated on the fishing float, but he was secretly smiling for some reason.

***

Upon getting convinced by Siegfried, Vulcanus went to the royal infirmary and gave a piece of his heart to Amelia.

Sseuuu...!

A ruby-colored gemstone the size of a thumbnail melted into Amelia’s chest while radiating crimson light.

Wooong!

A powerful mana surged through her body and wrapped around her like a storm.

‘

W-Wow! That’s incredible!’

Siegfried exclaimed inwardly, marveling at the sight. He could sense the immense energy pouring out from the tiny heart fragment and that it contained far more mana than all of the mana he possessed combined together.

It could only mean one thing.

‘

What in the world do I have inside me...?’

Siegfried wondered after recalling the dragon heart he had obtained from Inkarthus, which was residing in his mana hall.

If just a fragment of Vulcanus’ heart had this much power, then an entire, intact dragon heart of the First Black Dragon would be...

‘

This is insane...’

Siegfried stood by quietly and watched as Vulcanus implanted the Dragon Heart fragment into Amelia.

Five minutes later.

Shwaaaa!

A blinding light engulfed Amelia’s body.

[Alert: Class Change Successful!]

[Alert: Amelia is now the Dragon Priestess!]

[Alert: Amelia will obtain additional stats after changing into a Legendary Class!]

[Alert: The Dragon Priestess will obtain buffs when using items crafted by the Dragon Blacksmith!]

[Alert: The Dragon Priestess will serve the God of Blacksmith, Vulcanus!]

Amelia possessed no class and was a normal civilian, but she was now a priestess of Vulcanus, a Legendary Class, the Dragon Priestess.

“It’s done. She will wake up in a few days,” Vulcanus said.

“Thank you, Elder-nim,” Siegfried replied with a bow.

“Also, she is now a priestess serving me.”

“Thank you for everything.”

“Now then...” Vulcanus muttered, turning to Daytona. Then, he asked, “You’ll become my paladin, right?”

“Y-Yes, sir!” Daytona stammered in response. He was caught completely off guard by the question from the Level 998 First Red Dragon.

‘

W-What kind of connections does Siegfried have...?’

Daytona could not help but be astounded. Regardless, he knelt down on one knee in front of the Level 998 First Red Dragon.

“Yes, I will become your paladin, my lord.”

“Good. As a guardian of my church, I will bestow upon you a special power,” Vulcanus said, smiling.

“P-Pardon me, my lord...?” Daytona stuttered.

“You shall become my sword,” Vulcanus said, placing his hand on Daytona’s head.

Wooong!

A surge of crimson energy powerfully yet gracefully flowed from Vulcanus’ hand into Daytona.

Thirty seconds later, a crimson flash of light engulfed him.

[Alert: Congratulations!]

[Alert: Class Change Successful!]

[Alert: Your class has changed from Titan Knight to Dragon Paladin!]

[Alert: You will obtain additional stats after changing into a Legendary Class!]

[Alert: The Dragon Paladin will obtain buffs when using items crafted by the Dragon Blacksmith!]

[Alert: The Dragon Paladin possesses immense defensive capabilities, which will provide numerous strategic advantages!]

Daytona had ascended from his Unique Class, Titan Knight, to the Legendary Class, Dragon Paladin.

His chance meeting with Siegfried had not only saved his wife’s life but also granted both of them Legendary Classes.

“Sir Siegfried,” Daytona said, grasping his hands tightly right after changing classes. Then, he bowed his head and repeatedly said, “Thank you... Thank you very much. I truly thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

“

Haha...

It’s fine,” Siegfried replied with an awkward smile. Then, he said, “We’re in the same boat after all, so we gotta help each other.”

“No, if it was not for you, then... I would have—” Daytona said in a trembling voice.

Siegfried cut him off and said, “It’s alright. Don’t worry about it.”

He had also gone to the Southern Great Jungle to find the cure for Brunhilde’s condition when she was in danger during her pregnancy, so he completely understood what Daytona was going through.

Thus, it was only obvious that he would extend kindness to Daytona, as he empathized with his suffering.

“All you need to do is live happily with her.”

“Yes, I will.”

“...At least until this game ends.”

“That day... it will come, won’t it?”

“Yes, it will. Same for me; we just have to be ready when it happens. At least, mentally.”

“Siegfried...” Daytona muttered. Then, he asked, “If it’s not too late, may I join your guild?”

“

Huh?

”

“I mean, now that my wife is better, I think I’ll have more time.”

“You’re going to become my comrade? Will you come all the way to Korea?”

“

Oh,

I live in Itaewon.”

“Excuse me?”

“I came to Korea for a trip and fell in love with the food, so I decided to stay.”

“

Haha... Hahaha...”

Siegfried could not help but laugh in disbelief. He was stunned after finding out that Daytona had been living in Itaewon this whole time.

***

Right after recruiting Daytona, Siegfried gathered the guild members of the Head Crusher Guild They had recruited a total of one thousand Adventurers, and out of those, five hundred were chosen to compete alongside Siegfried in the upcoming battle.

Of course, given that some players might be unable to log in on that day due to unforeseen circumstances, all guild members had to be online on the day of the match to act as substitutes.

Siegfried headed to the Infinite Battleground to do some practice runs in preparation for the battle. The Infinite Battleground was a kind of mock battle arena run by the Church of War God serving Colossus, where Adventurers would usually compete in large-scale battles to broadcast or livestream.

However, the practice session was not easy at all.

Siegfried had no experience leading guild members in large-scale warfare. He was confident moving alone across the battlefield, but commanding an entire guild in such battles was a completely different story.

In contrast, the Three Losers were seasoned veterans, as they had led their guilds through numerous televised or live-stream battles. Thus, from an experience standpoint, Siegfried was undeniably at a huge disadvantage.

On top of that, the Infinite Battleground's terrain often changed as well, which meant that no one could predict what kind of map the two sides would battle on. Thus, both sides would have to practice on multiple maps and get used to every single map.

Despite the odds being overwhelmingly stacked against him, Siegfried diligently prepared for the match and even received advice from Yong Tae-Pung along the way.

Time passed by just like that, and the day of the match soon arrived.

Three hours before the match...

“You’ve all worked hard until now. It must’ve been tough following an inexperienced guild master like me, so thanks for sticking with me. Let’s give it one last push today and win, okay?” Siegfried made a speech to encourage his guild members.

He expressed his gratitude and will to win before logging out and heading to the V-Sports Stadium.

Meanwhile, the Head Crusher Guild members immediately made their way to the Infinite Battleground while Siegfried and the other representatives were on their way to the stadium.

“The car is ready, sir.”

“Great. Let’s get going.”

Tae-Sung was escorted by his bodyguards to the stadium.

‘

Man, these guys are no different from a gold mine,’

Tae-Sung thought.

He could not help but feel grateful to the Three Losers, as they were no different from ATMs to him. The reason he was about to make a fortune from this single match was all thanks to them publicly picking a fight with him in the first place.

‘

Those cute little rascals,’

Tae-Sung thought with a smirk.

His animosity toward them had already disappeared by now, and he could not help but find them to be endearing. The fact that they'd come crawling back like cockroaches bringing him money and gifts no matter how many times he knocked them down was truly pleasing to him.

‘

Hmm... Maybe I should post something,’

Tae-Sung thought while on the way to the stadium.

Thus, he took a selfie and uploaded it to his social media account. Being a celebrity meant that managing his social media accounts was crucial, and the more followers he had, the more sponsorship he'd obtain.

“This should do it,” Tae-Sung muttered with a smile after updating his social media accounts.

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

His phone suddenly vibrated.

— HEY!

Cheon Woo-Jin’s voice came blaring through the phone, hurting Tae-Sung’s ears.

“Hey, why are you so loud? What’s up?”

— Dude! Something big happened! You’re screwed! I’m telling you, you’re really fucked!

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

— Listen to me carefully.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

— Man, let me explain...

Cheon Woo-Jin started explaining the situation to Tae-Sung.

Exactly three seconds later...

Thud!

Tae-Sung dropped his phone without realizing it.