Chapter 1014
“Ha Leeha?”
“Remember that time when we talked about the conditions with Flamme?”
“What?”
Standing before the corpses of dead dragons, Leeha opened his mouth. Blaugrunn soon realized what he meant.
“Are you referring to the conditions we need to adhere to in order to avoid detection by the Chromatic Dragons?”
“Yes, that. I also pondered a lot about that part back then. Ultimately, if we want to pin everything on Seoryu, it should look like it was done by a Black Dragon… If there’s a gunshot wound, it would give it away.”
“That’s what I mean. It’s impossible to imitate another dragon’s breath.”
Leeha closely observed the massive corpse of Harveti.
The looting had already been completed by Jachung and Hwahong’s guild members. Usually, once looting was done, the corpse would soon disappear, but this time was different. Flamme was going to retrieve it as evidence.
The issue was that it needed to be given special treatment before being retrieved.
A special treatment that could be blamed on the Black Dragon Seoryu.
“Exactly. So, I asked just in case. It said I could do it several times, which allowed me to make a definite decision during the negotiation with Flamme.”
“Who— are you talking about?”
In response to Blaugrunn’s question, Leeha laughed and brandished the Black Bass. The bolt of the Black Bass gleamed.
“With this.”
“What?”
Without answering Blaugrunn’s query, Leeha turned away.
As soon as he pulled the bolt and loaded a shot, the muzzle pointed at Harveti’s corpse.
Technically, it was aimed at the scaled area where a ‘gunshot wound’ was apparent.
—Haha… I am ready, Bearer.—
“Great. Let’s do well on the first test, Black.”
—Then the power to be shot next… I will embody the trait of the Black Dragon I absorbed, the 〈Acidic Breath〉.—
“Okay. Let’s go, 〈Release〉!”
〈Release: Black Dragon’s Acidic Breath (1)〉
Description: Haha… The trait of the Black Dragon lies in their blood brimming with acid.
Effect: The first bullet shot after casting the skill applies the acidic breath effect.
Mana: 1,000
With the recoil shaking Leeha’s body, a loud gunshot echoed. However, the muzzle did not fire a bullet.
“Wow!”
“Gah, Ha Leeha!?”
From just a few centimeters away from the muzzle, an enormous amount of dark green acidic breath poured out!
“Jellypong! Catch it!”
『Myongmyong!』
Feeling as if he was holding a fire hose with incredible water pressure, Leeha hastily called out to Jellypong. Even with substantial strength stats, Leeha could not manage the pressure alone.
Blaugrunn, who had taken a few steps toward Leeha, had no choice but to stop.
“Oh my… The breath of the Black Dragon—
For several seconds, the acidic breath spewed out, completely covering Harveti’s corpse and the gunshot wound Leeha marked, and began dissolving the scales.
Only after all the acid was expelled did Leeha’s expression finally relax.
With twitching lips slowly forming a grin, Leeha felt an overwhelming joy after a long time.
“Hahaha! This is it! This is just the first one, and the second one is the same! Puhaha, and it’s a skill with no cooldown!”
While Leeha bounced with joy, indulging in the power of the 『Mythic』 Firearm, Blaugrunn’s face still bore a smile.
* *
‘The mana consumption was considerable, but with 1,000, it wasn’t an unmanageable level. And most importantly, it had no cooldown and no special time limit on the skill, which was really sweet.’
Even with similar attributes, they didn’t overlap. Leeha remembered the numbers of the skills divided into (1) and (2).
Combining these conditions, it was clear why Leeha couldn’t help but be pleased.
‘In other words… it means I can save some key skills before heading to Laputa. Hehe!’
If he could store the skills of users or monsters, he could use them anywhere in the eastern continent of the New Continent!
That was exactly what Leeha was aiming for.
The registration for departure to Laputa was closing in just two days in real-world time.
Ten days in ‘Middle Earth’ time was certainly not long.
Leeha, in his haste to log in, noticed something as he skimmed through the community.
“Title: Won’t Ha Leeha pop up tomorrow or the day after?”
“Title: When will Ha Leeha step up? I’d like to have a go.”
“Title: re: You’d get cut in a second.”
“Title: re re: You confident?”
“Title: re re re: Nah, just wanted to see him.”
“Title: I asked Lark when for Ha Leeha, but he said he doesn’t know.”
“Huh? They’re talking about me?”
Going beyond being a mere outsider, Leeha was a hero of the Tiamat battle. Users sought him out for reasons beyond fans meeting their star.
“They want to challenge me? And Lark makes the rotations? Why ask him?”
Now would be the only opportunity to face him.
Just how strong was he?
What was the skill that killed Tiamat? What was the secret that allowed him to grow in such a short time compared to other rankers?
Users wanted to experience and analyze Leeha’s strength directly.
Although it felt a bit bizarre, Leeha wasn’t displeased that his name was being discussed.
Most of the posts expressed admiration for Leeha’s power.
“Hehe, maybe I should go have some fun for a couple of hours. First, I ought to ask Lark. By the way, did he collect all the Vatican rewards? I should grab those before they’re all gone.”
As Leeha thought of Lark, the Vatican rewards naturally came to mind.
Even when he asked Ram Hwayeon if she needed anything, she didn’t have any particular requests, so the items from the Vatican would be used solely for Leeha’s purposes.
“Since lingering like this is a waste of time, I should log in—huh?”
Just as Leeha was about to spring from his chair, a new post caught his eye on the community.
“Title: Easiest strategy to go to Laputa is Master Kay. If you don’t have transformation skills, it’s doable.”
“Title: re: Didn’t it only appear briefly on the first day?”
“Title: re re: That’s why it might appear again. If it does, I’ll win.”
“Puhaha! What’s this?”
Leeha couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.
With a grin lingering, Leeha quickly grabbed his smartphone. For one clear reason.
After taking a picture of the monitor screen with his camera, Leeha opened the chat.
『Hello there, easiest Master Kay, hahaha』
『Whoa, what is this? Hyung?』
『Haha, I didn’t write it. It’s on the internet.』
『Dang, it was just because I went easy on the first day.』
『Went easy, haha. Anyway, don’t show up next time. You’ll ‘lose’.』
『Hey, hyung! Surely I won’t lose.』
『Dunno, I’m logging in~』
“Hehehe, what a fool.”
Even though the smartphone kept vibrating, Leeha no longer paid attention to it. The indicator light for the Middle Earth connection device had turned on.
* * *
As soon as Leeha connected, a bright lilac light flashed beside him. The long, turquoise hair that shimmered in the sunlight had become a familiar sight for Leeha.
“Blaugrunn!”
“Have you come, Ha Leeha?”
“Hehe, of course, I had to come. Today is such an important day.”
“It will surely be a historic day. It’s the day when the peace treaty between the Metal Dragons and the Chromatic Dragons will be signed.”
Listening to Blaugrunn, Leeha smiled.
Today was the very day when Kurpke, who had just become Bahamut, and Flamme, who had become an elder, were set to meet.
After confirming some details of the treaty with Flamme and passing them on to the Metal Dragons, they engaged in extensive discussions.
Since a peace treaty cannot exist without any penalties, they had to be extra careful, which required time, hence Leeha had logged out.
“But isn’t it still early? Is Bahamut already searching for me?”
Leeha pondered the date for a moment.
Even after accounting for the time he logged out and slept, there was still some time remaining. Blaugrunn listened to Leeha’s words with a slightly disappointed expression.
“You don’t think I came all the way here to rush you, Ha Leeha. It’s just that it’s been a few days since we last met.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
Blaugrunn had picked up on the faint nuance in Leeha’s words that questioned why he’d come without any particular business.
Even though he apologized verbally, Leeha’s face remained cheerful.
‘They say AI has improved dramatically upon becoming an Adult. It’s sharper than most Ancient-class beings!’
Blaugrunn’s reasoning was far different than during his Juvenile days!
As he became smarter and stronger, he became an even greater asset for Leeha, leading him to find joy in even these minor points.
“Oh, Blaugrunn.”
“Yes, Ha Leeha.”
“I received another gift from Kurpke—no, from Bahamut.”
“I’m aware. It’s already a widely spread rumor.”
“People listen well, don’t they? Even if they’re not people, their ears are sharp. Hehe.”
Leeha was about to ask for Blaugrunn’s enhanced wisdom on an issue, but his expression indicated he already knew what Leeha intended to say.
Blaugrunn’s speech quickened, and he displayed a somewhat excited expression after a long period.
“How could I not hear such news? For Bahamut to bestow a Lair directly upon a human, not even a metal dragon! Not even in the recent memory of the clan who has received such honor! It truly is—
“Then, where would be a good place?”
“Pardon?”
“Even if he’s offering to create a Lair for me… I wouldn’t know the first thing about it. Do you have any recommendations, Blaugrunn?”
As soon as Leeha spoke, Blaugrunn calmed his excitement.
His slightly perplexed expression had a good reason. Blaugrunn was already quite familiar with Leeha’s situation.
“Typically, a Lair refers to a dragon’s resting place. It houses their lifetime’s gathered treasures, and it’s decorated according to their preferences, personality, and pursuits.”
“Hmm, like how you had a lot of books in your Lair, Blaugrunn?”
“Indeed. However, Ha Leeha… you already possess a resting place, do you not? With Gaza City, there’s no need to use the Lair for such a purpose.”
Gaza City.
The first and still only castle in Middle Earth owned by an individual rather than a guild!
Most of the income was spent on maintaining Gaza, meaning there was no need to shift to the Lair, plus Leeha didn’t have hobbies like weapon collecting that required a lot of space.
“Hmm, then…”
“You’ll need to adapt it to your desired purpose, Ha Leeha.”
“Even if I consider my objectives… A lair typically ends up being inside a mountain cave, an ant hill buried under desert sand, or hidden within a glacier…”
As Leeha recalled the Lairs of the dragons he had encountered, something sparked in his mind.