Chapter 278

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'The fusion of Crimson Thunder and Dragon Flame...'

Crimson Thunder itself was originally a mixture of fire and lightning energies.

If Dragon Flame is added on top of that, what would happen?

'Dragon Thunder perhaps? In any case, it's intriguing. A message I've never seen before...'

Despite gaining formidable stats like Void, Crimson Thunder and others through fusion,

He had never received a message related to stat fusion before.

What kind of connection did Crimson Thunder and Dragon Flame have that prompted a stat fusion message?

'Should I try it once?'

Seong Jihan gazed contemplatively at the message window, intending to attempt the fusion, but then:

[The 'Dragon Flame' stat value is significantly lower compared to Crimson Thunder.]

[There is a high chance the stat fusion will fail.]

[Are you sure you want to attempt the stat fusion?]

The following message gave him pause.

'Dragon Flame is only at 50 now... The gap with Crimson Thunder is definitely big.'

No matter how much stat boosting Dragon Flame had absorbed, It still paled in comparison to the Crimson Thunder he inherited.

If he tried fusing them now, the chance of failure would be high.

'It didn't mention any penalties for failure. But there's no need to take that risk unnecessarily.'

Besides, Seong Jihan had zero experience with the Dragon Flame stat itself.

Instead of recklessly attempting fusion, he decided to focus on raising this stat first.

and to do that,

"Altarkaizen. Can you use that breath attack again?"

[...What? You want to be hit by that again... Didn't my initial breath almost kill you?]

"The damage wasn't nothing, but I could endure it."

The initial breath that condensed and fired the sun's scorching heat itself.

Its sheer power was absolute, enough for Artemus to flee and make Altarkaizen doubt if he could withstand it.

'If I hadn't finished planet colonization and grown stronger, I would have suffered severe damage.'

The life force he absorbed from the Ancient Elf, combined with the Void he gained when his mask shattered, Seong Jihan was now a step above his previous self.

He could easily withstand that initial breath that had threatened to incinerate him before.

Altarkaizen in his Blaze Dragon mode looked at the composed Seong Jihan with his mouth agape.

[How can you be so calm, even though you don't carry the Lord's bloodline... Did the Dragon Lord perhaps bless you in another way? Like passing on the blood of dragons...?]

"No. Just got his heart, that's all, right?"

[Ahem. Since you defeated a superior race, I knew you could withstand it! Didn't I clearly say it would hurt a bit?]

The blazing flames raining from the sky were more than "a bit" painful.

But Seong Jihan decided to overlook that part.

"Anyway, can you do that breath attack one more time?"

[No... This is originally a blessing I can request from the Lord once every thousand years to bestow upon my child dragons.]

"Once every thousand years? Nevermind then."

['Dragon Heart' has been partially absorbed.]

[Dragon Flame increases by 10.]

['Dragon Heart' has been partially absorbed.]

[Dragon Flame increases by 10.]

Shoooooo....

Seong Jihan watched as the Dragon Heart in his palm gradually shrank.

After being struck by the initial breath and gaining Dragon Flame, the Dragon Heart began absorbing in earnest.

The fist-sized ruby gem had already shrunk to the size of a pinky finger.

'I've reached 100 already.'

Having properly absorbed one whole Dragon Heart, Dragon Flame had grown to 100.

Seong Jihan gazed quietly at the remaining Dragon Heart fragment,

The last piece that formed the basis of Altarkaizen's Blaze Dragon mode.

[...You're quite adept at absorbing the Dragon Heart.]

"Yeah, it raised my Dragon Flame stat a lot."

[Dragon Flame...! So a human like you has acquired that ability. You really are an unconventional existence. In any case, is the ability... satisfactory now?]

"No, still far from my target compared to this. If I absorb your remaining Dragon Heart, I could probably raise it another 10 or so..."

As Seong Jihan said so while staring intently at the Dragon Heart,

Altarkaizen started flapping his wings frantically in his smaller Blaze Dragon form.

[That gaze. Somehow it sends chills down my spine... But we made a deal, remember? I teach you how to absorb the Dragon Heart, and you release me.]

"We did. But I'm considering just eating the rest too. I'm an inferior race after all, no real obligation to keep promises."

[How dare you! Even for a lesser race, doesn't the representative have any pride in keeping his word!]

"You did try to kill me with that initial breath, assuming I'd die."

[...No! I obviously expected you to withstand it!]

"Swear by dragon's honor?"

[Kuh...!]

Unable to make that vow when challenged, Altarkaizen fell silent.

Seong Jihan chuckled seeing this.

"You really did think I'd die, huh."

[...I won't deny I didn't expect you to withstand it.]

"There, being honest at last."

[So... Will you really absorb this last fragment too?]

"Nah, a deal's a deal. But since you didn't properly warn me about that initial breath, on top of the previous condition, answer a few of my questions."

[Questions...! Ask as you will. I'll answer as much as I can.]

Relieved at not being absorbed, Altarkaizen readily agreed.

"Is there any way to raise the Dragon Flame stat besides investing stat points to it?"

[Other methods... Absorb fire energies. Extract the fire energies from fire-related items or equipment on the Battle Market. But the GP efficiency isn't great, investing stat points is most efficient.]

"Anything fire-related works?"

[S-grade items or higher are needed to have an effect.]

An opportunity to spend the accumulated GP he had no use for.

Seong Jihan nodded at those words.

"Why are you dragons so weak against the World Tree Elves?"

[That's... Alright, since the Lord is sponsoring you, I'll tell you. It's an edict the Dragon Lord has given all dragons. Never fight the World Tree Elves, concede to them always.]

"The Dragon Lord ordered it? Why?"

[How would I know?]

The Dragon Lord and the World Tree Elves.

Did they perhaps make some deal?

"No other reasons?"

[None. Or do you think we'd willingly submit to those mannequins?]

"I see."

[Then... Are your questions over?]

Seong Jihan nodded.

[So... You'll release me?]

"Yeah. Can I toss the remaining Dragon Heart back to your planet?"

[Y-Yes!]

"But how will I send it that far?"

[Are... Are you serious?]

Altarkaizen couldn't believe Seong Jihan was actually going to release him.

"Should I just eat it?"

[No! I have a way! Can you Infuse some Dragon Flame here?]

Swoooosh!

Dozens of magic circles materialized in the air as Altarkaizen entered Blaze Dragon mode.

About half activated, glowing red.

"Here?"

[Yes!]

Seong Jihan channeled the Dragon Flame he had gained into the circles.

Instantly igniting the magic circles into flames.

[Good! Then I'll be going! I'll be sure to keep my promise!]

Flash!

The dozens of magic circles converged into one,

Altarkaizen's voice rang out from within as the Dragon Heart fragment vanished along with him.

'That was instantaneous.'

Likely fearing Seong Jihan might change his mind, Altarkaizen seized the opportunity to return to his planet immediately.

Chiiiing!

Artemus descended from above right beside Seong Jihan.

[Customer. As I thought, you're unharmed. But... did you end up releasing that dragon?]

"Yeah, a deal's a deal."

[Such a shame... I wanted to study it a bit more.]

Artemus looked disappointed as he eyed Seong Jihan's empty palm.

Seong Jihan then asked him,

"Do you have any S-grade or higher fire-attribute items?"

[Fire attribute? I've sold off any good ones. Why?]

"For raising my stat."

Seong Jihan explained the method of extracting fire energies from items to grow Dragon Flame.

As an item expert, Artemus questioned this approach.

[Extracting fire energies from items? If you try raising stats that way with your wealth, customer, you'll go bankrupt.]

"Really?"

[Yes. Even for S-grade fire-attribute items, the firepower contained varies greatly despite the same grade. The firepower evaluated is just one factor in determining the high grade.]

"So absorbing based just on grades will be inefficient, huh."

[Exactly. But I have a good service for a customer like you.]

"Which is?"

[Our forge's exclusive market searching system.]

Ziiing!

Artemus projected a screen in the air.

It displayed the Battle Market, but far more specialized than the one Seong Jihan usually accessed, with numerous additional filtering options.

[The regular Battle Market only shows grades. But this searching system incorporates a dwarf's appraising eye. If you purchase high firepower S-grade items prioritized here, it will be much more efficient.]

"Ooh, nice."

[Yes. And if you're just extracting the fire energies... Why not do it at the forge? I can help draw out the maximum firepower contained in the items.]

"Sounds good. What will be my expense?"

[For the items you absorb and are left with... can I have whatever's left? They'll mostly be scrap metal once the firepower is extracted.]

"Do as you wish."

Accepting Artemus's proposal,

[Alright, let's head back then!]

Artemus opened a portal leading back to his forge.

And,

[...Ah, wait. How much more will you be purchasing?]

"Still a long way to go."

Flash! Flash!

The vast forge was soon filled to the brim with items.

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[Fire energies from the item have been absorbed...]

[Dragon Flame has reached 150.]

'Seems like 150 is the limit for absorption from items.'

Seong Jihan licked his lips.

He had exhausted everything from S-grade to even SS-grade items,

Shopping endlessly with his accumulated GP to raise Dragon Flame to 150.

But that seemed to be the limit items could provide.

'Having experienced Dragon Flame now, I think a 20-point difference should allow successful fusion with Crimson Thunder.'

After single mindedly absorbing just fire energies at Artemus's forge, Seong Jihan had become quite familiar with Dragon Flame.

He could sense that fusing it with Crimson Thunder at around a 20-point difference would likely succeed.

Attempting it with the 150-point gap from before,

Or even the current 50-point gap,

Crimson Thunder would simply devour Dragon Flame entirely.

Leaving him with just one remaining Unique stat instead of two fused ones.

But if Dragon Flame reached 180,

It seemed possible to achieve a more equal fusion without being fully absorbed.

"...Customer. Are you all out of GP?"

"I have some left, but items don't seem to raise it further."

"I see... Will you return to your original planet then?"

Surveying the mound of scrap metal that was once items, Artemus asked Seong Jihan.

"Yeah, let's head back first. Open the portal."

"Understood. I'll...tidy up this scrap later."

Flash!

Returning to the penthouse through Artemus's portal,

'Should I use 30 extra stat points to raise it?'

The spare stat points Seong Jihan previously had in surplus had become a precious resource after investing heavily in Void.

He could further raise Void's limit, or try fusing Dragon Flame.

As Seong Jihan pondered this choice,

Thump!

"Uncle!! You're here?! You're here!"

Yoon Seah rushed in hurriedly.

"What's wrong? Why the sudden rush?"

"Uncle... something big has happened!"

"What happened?"

"The Abyss in North Korea! It's expanded to three!"

"The Abyss..."

"Uh-huh. Mom wants to know what the hell Uncle...... did?"

Seong Jihan blinked twice.

What did he do?

"Just devoured some fire energies and came back, that's all."

"Um... Anyway, before more owners for the Abyss are assigned. We need to deal with two of them quickly."

Yoon Seah relayed what she had heard from her Constellation, Seong Jiah.

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