#69. The Second Awakening

“Master!” Dominique screamed her lungs out as she hugged her master.

At that instant, Kim Jin-Woo was surrounded by a blinding flash of light, and scorching heat radiated from his body.

“Kaaaargh!” Dominique screamed at the relentless heat. But she held on tightly to her master’s hand, and the blazing heat scorched her fair skin with unsightly burns in an instant.

“You fool! Let go!” If Morrigan had been just a second late peeling Dominique off their master, she would have melted from the intense heat emanating from his body.

“B-but Master!” Dominique, who usually wouldn’t even blink an eye even in the face of a crisis, seemed to have gone completely insane. “Ah… Ah…”

Dominique was overcome with concern over her own pain as she attempted to inch closer to her master, but Morrigan narrowed her eyes as she held her down, barking, “If you don’t want to die, stay still!”

“What the hell is this…” Morrigan grabbed on to Dominique as a sudden burst of energy radiated from Kim Jin-Woo, but neither of them seemed to understand what was going on.

An intense flash of light drowned out even the shadows, confusing the two women as they lost sight of their master. But despite that, it was the familiarity of the intense energy emanating from their king’s body that helped them to maintain their composure.

“Something’s happening to Jin-Woo, isn’t it?” Lee Jun-Young interrupted belatedly.

“Be careful. His name isn’t one you can call lightly,” Morrigan growled wildly at Lee Jun-Young, tossing Dominique at her.

Lee Jun-Young caught Dominique, still unaware of the situation. But before she could inquire any further, Morrigan jumped to her feet and charged straight toward the epicenter of the burning heat.

“Kaaaaaargh!” Morrigan screamed from the pain of her whole body being burned, before transforming into a gigantic crow.

“I don’t know what the hell is going on…” She stood with her wings spread wide open, covering the flash of light. “But if this goes on, it will spread outside.”

The Crow’s feathers melted away in an instant, as did Dominique’s scales, but she didn’t back down a single step.

“Ah!” A powerful wave of energy ebbed and flowed along with the flashes of light. Dominique grasped the situation and stretched out both her hands. “I’ll help!” When the healing light emanating from her hands reached the Crow’s wings, Morrigan’s burnt black feathers instantly regenerated.

“Damn, what kind of power…” Morrigan muttered. In spite of her admirable advance, she was slowly getting pushed away. Even with the added support of Dominique’s healing powers, the flashes of light couldn’t be completely covered up and were beginning to leak out.

She wanted to step aside immediately if she could, but she was well aware that her master didn’t want the labyrinth that had been placed ambiguously in neither the surface nor the Underworld to be discovered. Thus, even if her attempts might be fruitless, she couldn’t just stop.

“I can’t… anymore…”

But the heat was powerful enough to subdue evenher loyalty to her master. Against her own will, her closed wings tried to open little by little, before she seemingly surrendered to the pain. Knowing that at this rate, this unstoppable wave of power would be exposed to the surface, a hint of impatience appeared on her face.

But then…

Goooooah.

Something appeared from the other side of the portal.

“The Treants!” Dominique, who was still assisting Morrigan from behind, shouted.

The Treants crossed the portal and began to spread their branches as they embraced the flashes of light.

“You bastards, you should have come earlier.” Morrigan wasn’t sure why the Treants had suddenly crossed through the portal, but she sighed in relief.

The Treants’ branches and leaves spread out as they intertwined with one another, creating a huge cocoon. Surprisingly, the flashes of light that not even the infamous Death Crow could cover were easily covered up and could no longer be seen. Regardless of the intense heat, the Treants trembled in exhilarating pleasure, as if they were enjoying the sun.

Goooooah.

At first glance, it seemed as if they were just enjoying the process of photosynthesis. Even at that bizarre sight, Morrigan collapsed onto the ground indifferently. She had a strange look of anticipation on her face, despite all the damage done to her body.

***

“Urgh…” After a full day, Kim Jin-Woo finally regained consciousness, and a familiar message window greeted him.

[A Highlord’s true name transcends even its own existence.]

[Highlord Kim Jin-Woo has now learned the true name of a Highlord.]

[The name of the One-Eyed Lord has tremendous power in itself. Now a forgotten name, the true name of the One-Eyed Lord once inspired fear and envy. Just by realizing the name of a great lord who reigned over the Underworld with unrivaled strength, you were able to obtain the enormous power contained within it.]

[You have inherited the name of the One-Eyed Lord, ‘Wotan’.]

[Your physical abilities have increased dramatically.]

[Your body has obtained the strength and toughness of the giant, and has undergone yet another change.]

[Your body was already awakened once as the Naga King. The power of the giant and the power of the Naga has merged, resulting in a surprising change.]

The frantic flashes of message windows flew past so quickly that the half-awake Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t keep up with them.

[You have become the Nagaraja (Dragon King—龍王), the most noble and mighty of Nagas.]

[Although the dragons may now be extinct, they were similar in appearance to you.]

[You have become so similar-looking to the dragons that even the proud Drakans are envious of you.]

This time, even the half-conscious Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t help but perk up. When he heard the message that his body had transformed again, he looked at his body without realizing it.

But fortunately, he hadn’t transformed into a monster or anything of that sort. His fair skin, without a single scratch, was still the same as that of a human.

[However, even the mighty Nagaraja is unable to constantly tap into his dragon powers. In order to use that power, strict conditions have to be met.]

The messages had implied that things had turned out entirely for the better for Kim Jin-Woo, but apparently that wasn’t the case. He ironically sighed in relief at the fact that the dragon’s powers were only activated when certain conditions were met.

[The ability ‘Eyes of Truth’ has been further upgraded. You are now not only able to read the state of your opponent, but also able to read limited, simple thoughts in their minds.]

[You are able to read the minds of beings lower than yourself. Although you are unable to comprehend complex thoughts or peer inside the minds of powerful enemies, it is nevertheless still an extremely beneficial advantage.]

[There are not many beings of a higher rank than you, Nagaraja—the noblest Naga King, Dragon King, and the Highlord. You are now able to peek into the depths of almost every being you know, if you desire. Of course, this is not necessarily an entirely good thing.]

The messages continued.

[With the awakening of your new body, the parasite is also reborn as a new entity.]

[The parasite has evolved into a mystic parasite.]

[The mystic parasite is still an imperfect being that is unable to survive alone, but it is clear that it is on a path of independent evolution.]

[The mystic parasite is able to leave its host’s body for a short time. If it is able to find a new body within this period, it will be able to control the body for a limited duration.]

[The mystic parasite is only able to control those of lower ranks. However, with luck, it may be able to find a body that meets a special set of conditions, preventing it from resisting a takeover by the mystic parasite.]

The parasite, whose existence had almost been rendered obsolete as of late, was reborn as a new entity. Before he could confirm the utility of the evolved parasite, Kim Jin-Woo felt something moving around him. He exclaimed, “Treants?”

The last thing he remembered was desperately opening a portal to escape the evil of the Grand Labyrinth at the last minute. If he had failed to escape, he would have been consumed by the Grand Labyrinth by now.

But now, he was only a little confused, and couldn’t feel any sense of anger or impatience for some reason. Thus, he couldn’t figure out why the Treants were surrounding him.

But even before he could gather his thoughts, Dominique squeezed through a gap that the Treants created for her. “Master!”

***

“So, what you’re saying is that a light surrounded me, followed by bursts of powerful energy? And Dominique and Morrigan were doing their best to prevent those waves of energy from leaking out when the Treants suddenly crossed through the portal?” Kim Jin-Woo asked. Dominique vigorously nodded in response. He fell into deep thought as he listened to her detailed explanations.

It was clear that the sudden change had something to do with the true name of the One-Eyed Lord. The message window had also informed him that he had inherited the name ‘Wotan’. However, it was too big a change for merely the inheritance of a name.

Of course, he knew that the true name of the One-Eyed Lord was no ordinary name, but just that alone couldn’t have been the reason why his body had ascended into a Nagaraja and why his parasite had evolved into a mystic parasite.

“It’s because at one time, he was even called a god. It’s no exaggeration to say that his name contains a certain divinity,” Morrigan said, exasperated.

Kim Jin-Woo was finally able to understand the changes that had happened after hearing Morrigan’s answer. He mused, “But what’s up with the Treants?”

The Treants that had previously been perched near the Labyrinth Core of the Grand Labyrinth were now completely white, as if they had been covered in snow. They looked completely different from their skinny appearances just a day prior, and Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t figure out why.

[After a long period of hard work, the Treants have finally regained their true forms as mistletoe trees.]

[It has been a long time coming, and the Treants who have spent years enduring the winter-like weather in the cold and dark Underworld are no longer debilitated by its chill gloom. They have received enough light to restore themselves to their former appearance.]

[They have gained their true name, becoming the Frost Treants; they will not drop a single leaf even in strong winds.]

[They are the monks of the Underworld, wise sages and seekers of the Mysteries.]

A Frost Treant opened its mouth to explain the situation to the doubtful Kim Jin-Woo. “We were seeking the light that we longed for, and that place was right next to the King.”

Surprisingly, the Frost Treants, despite still speaking slowly, no longer dragged out their words as they had before. Kim Jin-Woo was a little taken aback, but he smiled and congratulated them for their contributions. “I see. Anyway, thanks to you, we were able to avoid a catastrophe. Thanks.”

Morrigan and Dominique had both said that if it weren’t for the Terants, it would have been impossible for them to contain the spread of the wave of unstoppable energy, and it would have drawn attention from their surroundings. Now that the situation had come to an end, Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t be more grateful for the help of the Treants.

“At that time, we were mere mindless beasts that had yet to fully awaken. Your Highness’ grace toward us is undeserved,” the Frost Treant replied.

Following that, Kim Jin-Woo continued conversing with his subordinates. It took some time for him to figure out what had changed and catch up on matters that had occurred while he was unconscious.

“We’ll continue this conversation later. For now, there’s some matters I have to attend to,” he said. With that, he opened a portal and walked through.

“My King!”

The summons of the Grand Labyrinth, who were unable to enter the surface labyrinth without their king’s explicit permission, fell to their knees at the sight of their master.

“Where is Ariane?” Kim Jin-Woo asked. As soon as he finished speaking, Quantus brought forth Ariane, who had been beaten into a complete mess.

But those gathered seemed to misunderstand his frown, as they hurriedly came up with an excuse. “We figured that the trouble that was brought upon the King was all her idea…”

“I’m not trying to scold you.” Kim Jin-Woo didn’t rebuke them particularly harshly, because what he was going to do to Ariane soon was no different from what they had already done. He began, “Ariane.”

Ariane’s face was filled with fear as she mumbled from her completely burst lips, “M-my King…”

“How deeply have you sold yourself out?” Kim Jin-Woo asked. Ariane’s eyes rolled up under her swollen eyelids, but she didn’t respond. However, Kim Jin-Woo had more or less already gotten an answer out of her.

[He still doesn’t know. As long as we keep this up…]

Previously, he would have been able to read only her psychological state with the Eyes of Truth. But now, her mind was like an open book.