“Daddy! I missed you!”

The first person to greet Woohyuk at the docking station was a high school-aged Lia.

He gently patted her head, as he didn’t know what to do with a young lady. It didn’t seem that long ago that he used to carry her around on his shoulders.

“Was everything alright?” Woohyuk asked.

“Yeah! It was a little harder than I thought, but I wasn’t hurt. Canelion also played with me whenever we got bored,” Lia answered.

He saw that Canelion had grown to about the same height as Lia.

Woohyuk asked her how she was,

“What happened to the trauma that tormented you?”

“It’s gotten more manageable after Alphone treated me. I don’t have as many nightmares when I go to sleep,” she answered. 

Alphone, who was currently working under Aris at her laboratory, had the ability to look into one’s soul.

Thus, he had ordered Alphone to look into Canelion’s soul in the past.

It seemed that Alphone was able to discover and remedy something within Canelion.

As he was conversing with the two children, Leifina walked to his side,

“Lord…!”

“It’s been a while, Fina,” Woohyuk greeted, using a more endearing term.

Though only a month had pa.s.sed in the world they were in, 25 years had pa.s.sed within Arcane Tower.

In other words, Leifina hadn’t seen Woohyuk for 25 years.

As she was about to let loose a monsoon of tears from her happiness, swordmaster Granver called out from behind her,

“As promised, I helped develop this female knight. I have the utmost confidence that she’ll be able to a.s.sist you from here on out.”

“Based on her sword-wielding ability, how would you rank her?” Woohyuk asked.

“Swordmaster. She was quite capable and had a deep propensity. She also didn’t lack motivation,” Granver answered.

Leifina was now able to control her aura ability at will.

Woohyuk took out Grandia to test out Leifina’s upgraded ability.

“Show me your developed skills and abilities, Leifina,” he said.

“…”

Leifina didn’t know if she was supposed to raise her sword against her lord. She was at a total loss.

However, that only lasted for a moment…

Hwi-Eek!

Argent, the treasured sword of the Ecclet Family, glowed with a pink aura as it flew towards Woohyuk’s chest.

‘… Pretty fast.’

In terms of speed, Woohyuk was able to give her attack a pa.s.sing score.

He leaned back and avoided Leifina’s sword attack and immediately changed his stance to counterattack.

KRang!

Leifina moved to block Grandia from striking her head as if she expected his attack beforehand.

Afterward this brief interaction, the two faced each other with their respective swords in hand.

“You’ve developed well. You’ll become quite usable,” Woohyuk said.

“I had to become stronger to stay by and protect my Lord,” Leifina answered.

When he praised her, Leifina slightly blushed.

Subsequently, after exchanging a few more moves, Woohyuk stepped back and put Grandia away.

“You’ve definitely reached a Swordmaster level. Good job, Leifina.”

“… T-Thank you!”

Leifina’s expression brightened, as she antic.i.p.ated that she could continue to be by Woohyuk’s side.

While Leifina was enjoying his praise, Tinia approached the two with a disgruntled expression and said, “My Lord, I also want my developed abilities and skills to be verified.”

“Yes, very good. Let’s take a look at how much you’ve grown,” Woohyuk replied.

“Then, without delay…”

Tinia slightly smiled as she pulled out Stormblade Cardion.

At the same time, a turquoise vortex rushed out.

Living up to her name as Tempest Wind Tinia, she freely handled wind power.

KRang! KRang! KRang!

Tinia opened her battle with Woohyuk with a serious expression.

She also trained under Swordmaster Granver, so she had also reached a considerable sword-wielding level.

However, Woohyuk felt that she was not as developed as Leifina.

‘Tinia’s aura control is still slightly unstable.’

However, she definitely deserved praise for her to grow to this level in just 25 years.

Woohyuk deflected her aura with Grandia and then praised her, “Excellent, Tinia. That’s enough, I’m sure you’ll be able to catch a small dragon by yourself now.”

“Ho! It’s an honor for me to be evaluated so highly by your Majesty,” Tinia said as she laughed loudly, covering her mouth to control her overflowing good feeling.

Sieg and Brynhildr, who were watching this scene from behind, smiled in satisfaction and pride.

“The Lord seems to be pleased with Tinia,” Sieg said with a proud voice.

“Now that she’s grown older, I think it’s time for her to get married,” Brynhildr added on.

… It seemed that they were in their own little world, making strange plans that no one else seemed to think or logically follow.

Woohyuk turned his head toward the others as if he didn’t hear the two’s comments. He glanced at his other talented followers while sweating profusely.

Silvia, Choi Kayoon, Song Anna, Yoo Kayoung, Allen, and Reina.

Everyone seemed to be present except one.

“Where did Hong Yuri go?” he asked.

“Huh? I’m here!” she replied, seemingly from mid-air.

She had been away for a while, so she was receiving her report from her vampire organization.

She held the position of Queen, so she was bound to be busy.

“… Ah, so you’re well,” Woohyuk commented.

“Sure. Am I not the Blood Queen?” Hong Yuri said as she materialized and showed off her fangs proudly.

She was wearing a fairly erotic outfit.

However, Woohyuk turned his head toward Allen, as if he wasn’t interested in seeing her alluring body.

“Have you become the successor to Arcane, the High Sage?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Thanks to the medicine you gave me, the Spirit of Immortality, it was much easier to pa.s.s Arcane’s test.”

On the top floor of Arcane’s Tower, he had met Arcane’s spirit.

Once Allen pa.s.sed Arcane’s test, he received a Great Mage Cla.s.s t.i.tle and Arcane’s Crystal Staff.

When Allen pulled the staff out, Woohyuk nodded.

“Good work. You’ll be able to accompany me now.”

“How come you’re not asking about me? I also came back after suffering quite a bit from that stupid tower!” Reina protested while standing next to Allen.

Woohyuk made an annoyed expression, but nodded his head and asked, “Yes, what goals did you achieve through your struggles?”

“Elves are masters of archery. Hence, I worked hard on developing archery skills.”

Reina pulled her bow and aimed into the air in a natural position.

Afterward, as her magic power gathered, it took the form of a blue arrow, and the size began to grow.

“… Are you utilizing wind energy to shoot?”

“That’s right, my wind energy has enough firepower to destroy even a st.u.r.dy castle wall!”

Of course, this was under the a.s.sumption that the walls weren’t reinforced or that additional defensive magic elements weren’t attached to the wall.

As she stated her achievements with pride, Woohyuk stroked her head as if to say that she had worked hard.

“Well done. Well done.”

“W-What! Why are you suddenly treating me like a child!”

Reina blushed embarra.s.singly and took a few steps back.

When his conversation with her was over, Woohyuk addressed those around him, “I can’t afford to check all the results of everyone’s growth right now. I’ll meet with the rest of you individually later on. Anyway, everyone has worked hard for 25 years in the Arcane Tower. Now, take a rest for a week and recharge.”

He was a vicious monarch who made his subjects train for 25 years and gave them a week off at the end.

This was Chun Woohyuk.

When his followers scattered in pairs, Woohyuk went back to the place where the heads of the nine dragon tribes were with Lia and Canelion.

“I brought them back. This is Lia and this is Canelion,” he stated.

“Oh, you grew up really healthy and strong,” Adakar said with a proud smile.

Seeing Lia, Adakar, King of the Yellow Dragon, who had transformed his outer appearance into a human’s, happily grabbed her hand.

Lia tilted her head, not knowing what was going on or who this person was.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I am your real father.”

“…?”

Lia alternated between looking at Woohyuk and Adakar.

It seems that her true ident.i.ty had been kept secret.

Woohyuk told her the secret he had never told her before.

“Your father is Adakar. I was tasked with raising you.”

“…”

Lia was shocked and unable to speak.

Meanwhile, Canelion, who had already known she was an orphan, kept a neutral expression.

“I guess it’s time to choose between one of these two kids,” Woohyuk said.

“Human hero, in what way will you test them?” The head of the nine dragon tribes asked as he looked at Woohyuk with curious eyes.

Woohyuk asked to Lia and Canelion after thinking for a while,

“One of you will become the next Dragon Lord. Who wants the t.i.tle?”

“Either way, I don’t care!” Lia said emphatically.

“I want to give way to Lia. The Dragon Lord t.i.tle suits her better,” Canelion said in a monotone voice.

“Okay, then Lia, you’ll become the next Dragon Lord.”

Canelion’s abstention meant that there was only one option.

Lia automatically took the position of Dragon Lord.

“… Arcana’s daughter, the Dragon Lord is an honorable seat. Why are you giving up so easily?”

“You are well qualified to become a Dragon Lord. Because you are the daughter of the former Red Dragon King, Arcana.”

Some of the heads of the nine dragon tribes attempted to persuade Canelion.

But Canelion shook her head and said, “I really want Lia to take the Dragon Lord position because she’s positive and smart.”

… She didn’t want the position, so the heads of the nine dragon tribes couldn’t continue imploring.

When the heads of the nine dragons fell silent, Woohyuk handed Lia a pouch containing the dragon marks/tokens.

“Take them out one by one and inject your magic into them. Then, you’ll obtain the Dragon Lord cla.s.s.”

“…”

Lia nodded her head silently.

Later, once she did what Woohyuk told her,

Flas.h.!.+

A golden pillar descended from above and an image of Green Dragon Hevnia appeared.

“Oh, the Super Dragon! It’s Green Dragon Hevnia!”

“Please bestow to us your wisdom and guidance!”

The heads of the nine dragon tribes fell onto the floor with tears streaming from their eyes.

Hevnia looked down at them and smiled.

“The heads of the nine dragon tribes, listen well.”

“Whatever you say, we’ll listen to the end!”

“This child will inherit my will from now on, so take care of her and follow her words. Even if she is inexperienced now, she carries my will. In the future, the world will become more chaotic, and the dragon tribe will also stand on the path of trial.”

Hevnia hugged Lia with a worrisome expression as if she felt sorry for throwing this young child into a knowingly troublesome situation.

Afterward, she whispered something to Lia…

“… I know,” Leah said as she nodded vigorously.

At the same time, a series of system messages emerged before her eyes.

[Hidden Cla.s.s: You have acquired the Dragon Lord cla.s.s.]

[You now reign over all dragons and have received Hevnia’s protection.]

Lia became the Lord of nine dragon tribes even though she was less than 100 years old.

She looked at Woohyuk, blinking her eyes wildly as if she was at a loss.

“Dad… I’ve become the Dragon Lord.”

“Well done. Now you rule over the dragons.”

For Woohyuk, he could now indirectly control the nine dragon tribes through Lia. This was much more profitable and effective than becoming a Dragon Lord himself and using one of his cla.s.s slots.

As if they just realized Woohyuk’s intentions, some of the heads of the nine dragon tribes yelled out in opposition.

“Human hero, now that Lia has become a Dragon Lord, do not interfere with our business anymore!”

“Her real father is Adakar, King of the Yellow Dragons, so you can leave her to his care!”

“We’ll allow you to take Canelion since she has no one to return to!”

Hevnia said to take good care of Lia, so the heads of the dragon tribes came out quite strongly to protect and maintain Lia in their care.

Lia shook her head and conveyed her wish, “He is the benefactor who raised me until now, so even if he is not my father, please be kind to him.”

“L-Lia…”

It was the Dragon Lord’s request, so no one could object.

Woohyuk smiled happily and asked Canelion, “What are you going to do, Canelion? You can stay here if you want.”

“Then I will remain. Lia is my best friend, so I want to help her out.”

It seemed that they became closer to each other while spending so much time together.

“Alright. I’ll be busy again very soon. There’s a high chance that I won’t be able to visit often, so please know that.”

After saying his goodbyes to Lia and Canelion, Woohyuk stood alone atop Pegasus.

Now, it was time to meet Etheria Rodinus, who was waiting for him in Neustein.