Chapter 199: Chapter 198

Whoosh!

"...Suho!"

[Kieeeeek! Little Monarch!]

Time, which had stopped, started moving again. Suho, suddenly thrown back into reality, saw people rushing towards him with worried expressions. His grandfather, Beru and even Ammut were looking at him with a bewildered expression. It was no wonder. Crimson flames were suddenly surging from Suho's entire body. It turned out that it wasn't just an illusion visible only to him, but actual flames caused by Antares.

Whoosh!

"Ugh!"

Suho collapsed on the spot in excruciating pain. The flames covering his body soon turned into smoke and died down, but Suho's HP was still close to zero. But since this was reality, there was a way to change that.

"...Accept health recovery!"

Flash!

Suho, who had been near death, instantly recovered as if he had leveled up.

"Suho! Are you alright?!"

"Haa... Yes, I'm fine." He got up with Sung Il-Hwan's help and patted his chest.

'It's a good thing I saved the daily quest reward.' It was a close call. Thanks to recently recovering from the aftereffects of Iron Body training with bandages and potions, he still had a reward left.

"Aren't you pushing yourself too hard these days?"

"No. I just... met with the Dragon King."

[Kieek?! You met the Dragon King...?! Potions! Have some more potions!]

"Ah, I'm fine now."

Beru frantically checked on Suho, circling him. On the other hand, Arsha had already run away as soon as she heard the word 'Dragon King', and Ammut was staring intently at Suho with an intrigued gaze. He was a mess. Even though his health had recovered, the clothes Suho was wearing were burned to rags by the flames of destruction.

Ammut grinned, baring his teeth. [Krrr. If you faced the Dragon King, it's a miracle you returned alive. So, did he tell you the location of the World Tree?]

"Ah, the World Tree..." Suho smiled bitterly, recalling his father's words in the Dragon King's world of rest.

– Suho, I can tell you the location of the World Tree. But the path there won't be easy. – It wasn't just Antares who wandered through the dimensional gaps while fighting; Sung Jinwoo did the same. But even though he knew the location of the World Tree, he couldn't easily tell Suho the shortcut.

– Standing before the World Tree at your present level would be perilous. So focus on growing stronger for now. – In the past, Sung Jinwoo had obtained the 'Fragment of the World Tree' as a reward for hunting Vulcan in the Demon Castle. But that was entirely due to the system's arrangement, and it was impossible for Suho to use that method now. In the end, he had to find the real World Tree with his own strength, not just a fragment.

– Antares will tell you the rest. – With those words, Sung Jinwoo manipulated the system and created a new quest for Suho.

...And that was it.

Suho raised his eyes and looked at the quest window that appeared before him.

[Job change quest arrived.]

[Do you accept the job change quest?]

[Y/N]

Gulp. Suho swallowed. The Yes or No options were blinking before his eyes. His heart pounded in his chest... How could it not? The job change quest, which he had never even dared to dream of in his life, had finally appeared. And it was the result of his own efforts.

'Accept.'

Ding!

The moment he decided to accept the quest, a new window unfolded before his eyes.

[You have accepted the job change quest.]

[Job Change Quest: The Dragon King's Trial - 1]

[The Monarch of Destruction, Antares, mocks your weakness. If your current frail body were to receive the Dragon King's power, it would burn to ashes.]

[Meet the minimum qualifications to become the Dragon King's successor.]

[Objective: Reach level 99.]

'Level 99.' Suho seemed to understand how this standard was set. It was the 'dream' he had when he was a teenager. Back then, he endlessly fought and leveled up against his father's Shadow Army, including Beru.

'Thinking about it now, they must have been going easy on me.' But at the time, the path was so arduous and filled with fierce battles that he didn't even realize they were holding back. After countless battles, creating mountains of corpses of giants and dragons, he reached the highest level at the end of the long road across the plains.

[Level: 99]

That was the end. No matter how many battles he went through after that, no matter how skillfully he wielded his power, he could never advance to the next stage. As if level 100 didn't exist. So back then, he simply thought that 99 was the end.

'...But what if it wasn't?'

Suho realized. 'Could that have been my limit?'

Hah. A burning competitive spirit surged within him, and he grinned. 'So... Let's start with that.'

Just then...

"Beep?" The small lizard that was sitting quietly on his hand made a noise.

Ragnar. The newly hatched baby dragon blinked its round eyes with a silly expression and looked at Suho.

"Ask the Dragon King, he said..."

"Beep?"

Suho held Ragnar's small body and looked into his eyes. The contract between Sung Jinwoo and Antares set a condition for making Suho the Dragon King's successor, and at the same time, a necessary procedure for it. To inherit that power, a 'priest' was naturally needed to carry out the procedure. That's right. If Suho was the Dragon King's successor, Ragnar was the priest.

"Awaken, Antares."

"Beep?"

As soon as Suho finished speaking, a great spirit possessed Ragnar's small body.

Whoosh!

[The spirit of 'Antares' possesses the Priest's body.]

In an instant, Ragnar's eyes, which had been rolling around with a silly expression, deepened. His gaze stared blankly into the void and muttered softly.

"...An unfamiliar ceiling." He opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

The sound of a heart beating violently deep within his small body. He felt the noble dragon blood coursing through his veins. And then...

Breath in - Breath out.

The first breath. Fresh air filled his lungs as he expanded his chest and inhaled deeply. Yes, all of this was proof.

'Ah, I see.' Finally, 'he' realized. He was certain that he had truly returned to life.

"Hehehe... Hahaha!" 'Antares' burst into laughter, overjoyed.

"Haha! I'm back! This Dragon King has overcome even death and returned from the sea of the afterlife! Khahahahahaha!"

"...!"

Everyone in the Shadow Dungeon trembled at the Dragon King's energy contained in that crazed laughter.

"Ugh! This power, could it be...?" Sung Il-Hwan instinctively braced himself to unleash the power of the rift, even if it meant endangering himself.

[Th-the Dragon King?!] Even Ammut was tense, preparing to control gravity.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble...!

[Kieeeeek!] Beru, who had fought countless battles against the Army of Destruction led by the Dragon King long ago, reacted more violently than anyone else.

[Little Monarch! Let go of his hand! I will protect you!]

Antares was extremely satisfied with their reactions.

"Hehe. Yes, tremble in fear before me."

Who was he? The 'First Monarch' and the 'Strongest Monarch,' born from the primordial darkness. The king who reigned over all dragons, the symbol of fear and destruction. Those who knew him called him 'Dragon King' with utmost respect and reverence.

"I am the Dragon King, Antares."

"...!"

Everyone except Suho prepared for a decisive battle at Antares' declaration. But the reason they couldn't attack him right away was simple...

He was currently being held in Suho's hand. But that was only for a moment. Antares escaped from his grasp and jumped down. And he slowly got up and took his first grand step as a Monarch who had overcome death and returned from the sea of the afterlife.

"Hehe. As expected of Kamish's hatchling, this body is quite usable." Antares couldn't hide his satisfaction despite his short legs wobbling.

Second life as a dragon. Who else in the world could walk so skillfully right after being born from an egg, except for a great being like himself?

The principle was simple. Spread the small wings wide to maintain balance. Use the tail to support the body and prevent falling backward.

Wobble. Wobble. Wobble. Of course, he still lacked strength, so his legs trembled incessantly just from standing.

"This much is easy with mana." Antares skillfully drew mana from Ragnar's heart. And then started walking with renewed vigor.

"Hahahaha! Did you see that?! How delightful! To live a second life in the body of a newly hatched dragon!" Antares shuddered with anticipation.

His past self had already reached an insurmountable peak. His power had reached an extreme where further growth was impossible. But with all that experience and talent, he was given the opportunity to grow again, starting as a hatchling! A true second life as a dragon! But then...

"Khahahahahaha! ...Beep?" Antares' eyes, which had been gleaming with a murderous aura as he laughed, suddenly turned vacant.

Ding.

[Ragnar's mana is depleted.]

[The spirit of 'Antares' dwelling in the Priest's body is leaving.]

"Beep? Beeeep?"

Ragnar tilted his head with a clueless expression. Then, he flinched, realizing that countless people were surrounding him, emitting tremendous hostility. And like a newborn baby, he burst into tears.

"Waaaaah-!"

"..."

[...]

No one spoke. Hmm. It seemed something incredible had just happened. Suho silently picked up the crying Ragnar and patted his back... Well, he had to soothe the crying baby for now.

Pat, pat...

"Beee woo..." Finally, Ragnar closed his eyes and fell asleep, relieved.

As everyone breathed a sigh of relief at his needlessly cute appearance. Someone's grievance could be heard from a distant world, directed towards Suho.

[The Dragon King, the Monarch of Destruction, is indignant, claiming this is a scam.]

[The Dragon King, the Monarch of Destruction, is contemplating ways to increase Ragnar's mana.]

[The Dragon King, the Monarch of Destruction, is thinking about Ragnar's upbringing...]