Chapter 229

The Dragon's Flowers were all informed that the first Dragon Trial was over.

While a few members of the direct line and highly-ranked Dragon's Flowers showed somewhat ambiguous results... most of them managed to display their true skills.

First, Tae Yul, the Steel Flower, definitely showcased his true skills.

"Lord Tae Yul, the evaluations for the first trial have been released."

"I thought they would be keeping them secret..." responded Tae Yul. "I never expected them to reveal them all..."

"Wouldn't some people question the fairness of the archivists if everything were done privately?"

Tae Yul instantly disagreed with that statement.

"Do you truly believe there would be any Dragon's Flower foolish enough to think that? No one familiar with how the Dragon Emperor oversees the Dragon Palace would make such a ludicrous statement."

"That is simply because you hold fair competition in high regard, Lord Tae Yul. In fact, there have been several Dragon's Flowers who attempted to arrange secret meetings with the archivists."

"But doesn't the fact that you know that mean they have failed?"

"Hahaha, exactly so! They have been given the lowest possible scores and were forced to retire early from the Dragon War."

"The Dragon Emperor has thrown us into a fair battlefield. All we had to do was follow his will, I can't believe there were idiots trying petty tricks..."

"That is simply because you are someone expected to become the next Dragon, Lord Tae Yul. Desperate, incompetent individuals might see things differently."

"Hm... You aren't wrong either. I guess I reached conclusions too hastily."

Apart from his personal beliefs, Tae Yul was not stubborn in the slightest.

Even if it were something that would normally wound someone's pride or tarnish their reputation, he wouldn't mind it at all in order to grow.

This relentless pursuit of improvement was the quality that brought him closest to becoming the next Dragon.

"An intriguing story emerged as well... One of the Dragon's Flowers, who ranked lowest in the succession order, received the highest possible points."

"Oh...? The highest possible score? They have done quite well. Who was it?"

"Seol Hong, the Death Flower."

"...That child? I don't deny its possibility, but the last time I saw her, she definitely didn't have the ability to achieve something like that."

"From what I heard, someone unexpected intervened."

"Someone... unexpected?"

"A newly accepted Dragon's Stone."

"How unfortunate... Did he step in after discovering Seol Hong's identity?"

"I thought so at first, but... that doesn't seem to be the case."

Tae Yul nodded along to the man's words.

Seol Hong had no faction supporting her; she was like a flower buried deep underground, a bloom that might never see the sunlight.

Though Tae Yul didn't know the identity of the newly appointed Dragon's Stone, he was confident they weren't an ordinary individual. Their decision to support a Dragon's Flower with little chance of succeeding to the crown spoke volumes about their character.

"It's an interesting story, but... I don't see a reason to keep it in mind," said Tae Yul.

"...I see."

"After all, you must always look ahead when you march, never behind."

Seol Hong would never be able to reach Tae Yul.

Tae Yul was confident she would collapse from exhaustion long before she could reach him. To him, she was just another fleeting tale from the Dragon War, destined to be quickly forgotten.

However, it wasn't just Tae Yul who heard Seol Hong's story.

Shin Yo, the Cold-Blooded Flower, was a legitimate heir who stood just behind Tae Yul.

After hearing news about Seol Hong, she nodded once before showing no further interest.

The Dragon's Flowers displayed a range of reactions upon hearing Seol Hong's story, but one Dragon's Flower had the most intriguing response.

"Hahaha... One of my sisters did something like that? I should definitely congratulate her, right?"

"Seol Hong has no backing and is not one of the legitimate heirs. She would surely welcome your goodwill much more than just the present itself, Lord Zhe Gak."

"Hahaha! Why don't you write a letter of encouragement on my behalf and send it to Seol Hong, then?"

"Will you not be writing it yourself?"

"Why the hell should I waste my time on someone like her?"

"...You are right, I will do as you command, Lord Zhe Gak."

Despite being a legitimate heir, Zhe Gak was so short-sighted and dim-witted that he was not known by his epithet, the Lion Flower, but rather as the Divine Fool Flower.

He had sent Seol Hong a letter.

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

After exiting the mountain, Seol Hong immediately went to Cheon Ju.

"Cheon Ju!"

"Argh, I can't go on like this!" shouted Cheon Ju. "I'll die early because of you! Do you want to see me dead?!"

"I'm sorry! But the trial..."

"There will always be an opportunity as long as you are alive. Please don't risk everything so recklessly."

Hug...

Seol Hong quickly ran into Cheon Ju's worried arms.

"...I was worried about you."

"I'm sorry, Cheon Ju."

Cheon Ju was practically a second mother to Seol Hong. Like a child who tears up upon seeing their mother after a hard day, Seol Hong teared up upon seeing Cheon Ju.

"Cheon Ju... just a little bit more..."

"Fuuu... Okay."

Seol Hong buried her face deeper into Cheon Ju's arms.

Ahhhhhhhhh...

The sounds she tried to bury in Cheon Ju's clothes quietly leaked out.

Seol Hong was crying.

- The engine sounds stable. Is it an electric car?

- The circuit road is smooth. Pass.

"And what happened to your face? Who made your pretty face like this?" comforted Cheon Ju.

Ahhhhhhhh...

- She's speeding up!

- She took over the lead! She's now in 1st place!

Seol quietly watched and waited for Seol Hong to stop crying.

- LMFAOOOOO She left tear marks on Cheon Ju's stomach.

- It looks like O_O LOL

- Is that a Kuato? LOOOL

- OPEN YOUR MIND

"Is there a reason that you have to cry on her stomach?" asked Seol.

"Crying? Who's crying?" responded Seol Hong. "Dragon's Flowers don't cry. You must be mistaken."

Seol couldn't help but chuckle after hearing her brazen response.

Seeing the two act much closer than before, Cheon Ju asked a question.

"...What exactly happened while I was gone?"

"Well..."

Seol Hong then began explaining everything that happened in the mountains.

Initially, she expected Cheon Ju to be furious and cut her off after hearing what she did, but Cheon Ju just listened quietly.

After Seol Hong finally explained the part where Seol became her Dragon's Stone, Cheon Ju looked at Seol and then bowed.

"Thank you for saving her. If something happened to that child... I... I would've..."

"Don't cry, Cheon Ju..."

"Please don't recklessly jump into danger anymore! And if you are, then take me with you!"

"It's fine now..."

"What is?"

"I have a Dragon's Stone now... I have Kang Seol."

"Urgh..."

- Kang Seol... It's been a while since I heard that name.

- I know, right? I was so used to calling him Snowman too 😭

Cheon Ju then began inspecting Seol.

"Hm... He has some muscle and seems capable of using them."

"The bandits were helpless in front of him!"

"And where did the martial arts you learned go, Lady Seol Hong? How did you end up getting caught, huh?"

"I just... I just dropped my guard for a second, alright?!"

"I've definitely heard that line before, haah... Well, regardless..."

With both hands, Cheon Ju held Seol's hands.

"Please take care of Lady Seol Hong from now on. Though her small steps may seem like mere flaps right now, she holds a strong desire in her heart that will flourish once she matures. So please, watch over her."

"...Okay."

Cheon Ju continued to maintain her gaze on Seol after that as well. After all, it was natural to be interested in a new helper who suddenly showed up.

'Still, she didn't mention that,' thought Seol.

The part where Seol said that Yu Hwa had sent him.

Seol Hong had kept that part from Cheon Ju, probably because she wanted to be certain before sharing it, so as not to worry Cheon Ju unnecessarily.

Regardless, Seol's meeting with the two was successful with this.

And now, with time before the second trial, Seol immediately began inspecting his new items.

Seol could no longer delay checking his new items any longer.

Though Seol had a general idea of what they were, having glanced at them in his free time before, he hadn't inspected them closely because he was busy with Seol Hong.

'I think there were only a few good items this time.'

Seol had been rewarded with a number of Treasure-quality items.

However, as expected, none of them were Peerless-quality. In fact, there were even some items that were quite difficult to use, giving Seol only four worthwhile pieces of equipment.

Click...

Seol began inspecting them one by one.

[[Steel Beast-Catching Gloves]

Quality: Treasure

Recommended Level: 35-37

Defense: 150

Durability: 150/150

Weight: 1.0kg

A pair of gauntlets with the power to suppress wildness just by placing one's hands on them.

Basic Effect: +20 Strength, +18 Dexterity, +30 Constitution

Bonus Effect: The wearer's strength increases by 30 when directly grabbing living creatures.]

Unfortunately, the Bonus Effect didn't seem like it would work when grabbing things like clothes or armor.

However, since it would still apply when grabbing someone's throat or limbs, its use was situational.

[[Scout's Tailwind Boots]

Quality: Treasure

Recommended Level: 36-41

Defense: 95

Durability: 120/120

Weight: 0.1kg

A pair of boots made from the leather of Hosra, a wind beast.

Rumors say you can hear a Hosra's cry when sprinting at full speed.

Basic Effect: +32 Intelligence, +20 Dexterity, +25 Constitution

Bonus Effect: When the wearer sprints in one direction for over 3 seconds, they gradually recover their missing health as they run.]

The Bonus Effect was unusual, but it was already valuable solely due to the basic stat increases.

However, since Seol primarily used cloth armor rather than leather, he decided it would be better to give it to Jamad after he returned, instead of using it himself.

While Seol could have worn them, given how good the stats were, he had found a pair of boots even more suited to him on the last adventure.

[[Following Steps]

Quality: Treasure

Recommended Level: 38-44

Defense: 80

Durability: 115/115

Weight: 0.1kg

A pair of cloth boots that reveal their true abilities when chasing something down.

They are incredibly lightweight.

Basic Effect: +20 Intelligence, +35 Wisdom, +30 Constitution

Bonus Effect: When the wearer runs toward their opponent, they steal 10% of the opponent's movement speed.]

Seol quickly changed out of his old boots.

'I definitely grew.'

The Boots of Narrow Escape were boots specialized for running away. Though Seol had only used its effect a few times, it was immensely helpful each time.

But now, after growing immensely, Seol needed effects that would help him chase down an opponent instead of running away from them. This new realization caused Seol to laugh.

[[Whirlwind Plate Belt]

Quality: Treasure

Recommended Level: 37-42

Defense: 100

Durability: 150/150

Weight: 0.5kg

A belt imbued with the energy of blizzards.

It appeared in the world with the disappearance of Vitona.

Basic Effect: +20 Strength, +20 Dexterity, +40 Constitution

Bonus Effect: When the wearer's health drops below 50%, blizzards are summoned around them. However, the item's durability will significantly decrease when this effect activates.]

'It's a fun effect.'

Seol doubted whether Karen or Karuna, the most likely candidates to wear this belt, would ever have their health drop below 50%. Still, it wasn't a bad trick to have up their sleeve.

'They both have decent belts, so... I can decide when they both come back.'

Seol felt their absence even more as he set aside items for them.

'Ur... how much longer will it take?'

Seol wondered when he would hear news from them... He never thought he'd miss those noisy days.

'Ah, now that I think about it...'

There was still one more thing Seol hadn't checked.

It was the skill Santos had passed on to him.

[[Pioneer's Heart]

- Increase all stats by 10% and double proficiency gains for one week after arriving at a new location.]

'This will be useful when I travel often to different locations, especially in unfamiliar lands like this.'

Increasing all stats by 10% was a powerful effect. It was obvious that a condition would be attached to it.

However, seeing that the conditions were relatively easy to fulfill, Seol felt an even stronger urge to recover all of his pieces.

'Even just finding them all would make me much stronger than I am now.'

And for those exact reasons, he had to receive Yu Hwa's unfulfilled desire as well.

Knock knock...

"Seol... are you there?"

"Is that you, Dragon's Flower?"

"J-Just call me Seol Hong. I came to you because... it seems we have to leave soon."

Creaaaak...

Seol opened the door for Seol Hong.

"What do you mean?"

"The next trial has been decided."

"Already?"

"I was surprised too."

Since this was the first Dragon War, even unexpected events shouldn't come as too much of a surprise.

"The archivists told us that we need to move first... before they can tell us what the next trial is."

Since Seol knew a lot about the East's land, simply knowing their next destination would be a huge help for the upcoming trial.

"Where are we headed then?" asked Seol.

"Yocheon."

"Yocheon..."

Seol thought for a moment, his eyes closed before opening them. He then locked eyes with Seol Hong, and they both opened their mouths simultaneously.

"The Warrior's Heart."

"The Warrior's Heart."

"Yes..." nodded Seol Hong. "I'm sure the next trial is likely related to that..."

Seol placed his hand on his forehead after hearing her response.

The Warrior's Heart was a place where warriors from all over, not just the Khan Empire, visited.

It was the Khan Empire's largest arena, a place far from laws and reason. However, it was also for those exact reasons that it was able to flourish.

However...

It was also a place where one of Seol's pieces lost their lives.

Seol quietly murmured to himself while thinking about what would come next.

"If the next trial is related to the Warrior's Heart..."

"......"

"This trial... won't be easy."

If the next trial was indeed related to the Warrior's Heart, as Seol and Seol Hong expected...

The current Seol was severely lacking.