Rising the Dragon Power! (2)

The giant Swordsman galloped down the Dungeon.

The insect-type monsters that he had alarmed all began to pursue him.

He stopped inside a large cave, the creatures closely following his back.

He then turned to face the monsters with a laugh.

Hey, another bountiful harvest!

Another series of ruthless violence unfolded.

Puck! Crunch! Crunch!

Hundreds of monsters fell to the ground, their bodily fluids dripping and creating pools under them.

As if he had been waiting all along, Artis appeared and breathed fire.

Gaaaaarrrrhhh!

Ryu Han-bin laughed at the huge swarm of well-baked insects.

The burnt corpses gave off quite the savory smell.

I remember the fried grasshoppers I used to eat when I was younger.

Horrified, Artis turned to him.

How do you still have an appetite after witnessing this? Did I train you to be a Valtara Warrior too well?

Its just a figure of speech. Who said I would eat that?

After his rebuttal, Ryu Han-bin proceeded to ask him a question.

What do you think? Have you leveled up?

How would I know? You should be the one letting me know.

He wasnt wrong.

After turning on the Guidelines, he shook his head.

Your Dragon forms level hasnt risen yet.

What about this one?

Artis quickly changed into a human form.

It caused the information the Guidelines offered to change as well.

[Race: Human. Mage Lv. 38]

Youre now a level 38 Mage.

You mean I leveled up twice in a day?

Han-bin spoke in a carefree way.

Its possible because youre a dragon.

Latnains level rose only when they improved their skills.

Taking down monsters using the tactic they were using was no different from taking down the scarecrows.

If someone were to destroy hundreds of scarecrows all at once, their skills wouldnt really improve.

However, those who belonged to Latnas Dragon Family could absorb energy directly from the killed monster, allowing their tactic to become effective.

I feel like this should be illegal. Is it common for Aliens to develop strength this way?

I dont know, but isnt this normal? Its concept should feel familiar to anyone who has played online games.

Online games?

Ill explain it later. Its a little complicated.

Evading to answer, Han-bin asked another question.

Im not sure why you havent thought of this before. It isnt such a difficult concept to come up with.

When Dragons killed enemies, they gained power at the same level as the enemies theyve killed.

With that in mind, it shouldve been easy to think of the same concept without any experience in playing online games.

Artis grinned.

Im not an idiot. I have had a similar delusion. But who would think this is actually possible?

Why? Dragons can get stronger at a faster rate this way. Why not just help each other out?

With the same logic, Artis refuted.

If a rich man gives away his fortune, he can make a beggar rich. But why do humans refuse to help each other?

Certainly, everyone on Earth thought it would be nice if the Middle Easts oil-rich people gave them about 1 billion each.

But he didnt think it was realistic.

Well, at least your parents couldve helped you

Only then did Artis realize what kind of misconception Ryu Han-bin had.

Dragon has no affection between parents and children like humans.

The easiest way for a dragon to increase its power was to kill other dragons and absorb their entire cores.

They often targetted their own kind.

Even if you are a parent or child, it was the same.

Artis said that male and female dragons only meet to create eggs as a part of their instincts, but they became strangers after that.

So, Dragons dont even hold hands?

No. Were all in a hurry to eat each other up. Im not living in hiding in the human world for nothing.

Thats surprising. Are the Dragons in this neighborhood mostly evil?

Just looking at Artis, he thought they were generally good creatures.

We definitely cant be labeled as kindhearted or good, but

Artis explained hesitantly.

But were not as evil as human prejudices. Everyones just a little selfish.

They didnt want to help others, only cared about their greed, took whatever they wanted, and sometimes pretended to be human to cause chaos across the world

But we dont covet human blood and flesh! There are so many things in the world that taste better than humans.

Artis complained.

Han-bin had a blank look on his face.

They still sound pretty evil.

Still, he didnt bother to point it out.

He could at least be certain that Artis was an unusual entity among Dragons.

Anyway, that should be enough rest. Lets move on.

Artiss breath still had one more shot left.

He could still level up a bit more.

Han-bin grinned.

I have to raise the level of this guy and advance to the center of the continent.

* * *

The night they closed the Tackle Dungeon and returned home, they had a conversation.

Ryu Han-bin and Artis gathered in the living room to discuss their next task.

Thanks to his disguise as a Valtara warrior, he managed to lose his reputation of being incompetent.

However, Ryu Han-bin was still in a situation where he couldnt reveal his real strength.

Even a Valtara warrior couldnt be as strong as him.

Cant I pretend to be an Aura user?

Pretend?

The symbol of Aura users was a shining blade, a blade aura, and a barrier surrounding the whole body.

Either by magically lighting the sword to make it look like a Blade aura, or by making the body glow to look like a barrier, so Id look like an Aura user.

Thats a trick thats too easy to detect.

Most of Latnas four major users could sense energy.

Right now, Even Artis could tell to which of the four energies a skill belonged to.

But it was still impossible for him to figure out how powerful and how high-leveled it was.

If they look at you, theyll easily recognize that youre emitting an aura made out of Mana. Well, the general public would be deceived, though.

I see.

To not be suspicious, it seemed that he had to learn how to use Aura.

How can someone be an Aura user?

I heard that Aliens could become an Aura user just by raising their level.

Im in this mess because I cant raise my level in the first place.

Wizards, Priest, and Dark Swordsmen, could use energies such as Mana, Prana, and Force as early as level 1, but the warrior class was slightly different.

They had to gradually increase their level through physical training before they could awaken upon reaching a certain level.

After awakening, they would be able to demonstrate superhuman abilities.

According to the Guidelines, the awakening skill comes at level 50, but it would take too long before I can get that skill due to my circumstances. Thats why Im trying to learn Aura like a Latnain.

Latnains also differed according to individual talents, but they became Aura users between levels 50 and 60.

Artis answered back.

Im a mage, so I dont know much about Aura. All I know are basic knowledge.

There were usually three cases of the Latnain in awakening Aura.

The first was to learn swordsmanship and martial arts handed down from generation to generation of historical knights.

In the case of long-established martial arts, the art itself was said to lead its practitioners down the path of Aura naturally.

However, such styles were closed off to the public and werent just passed to anyone.

Bloodlines and connections were carefully considered, and there needed to be a connection.

It meant that they didnt just teach their techniques to anyone that carried a bunch of money.

The first is impossible.

I think so. The second one is

Some geniuses found themselves on the path to Aura.

Without learning traditional martial arts, they awakened by realizing the worlds logic based on long experience and outstanding high-tier skills.

The founders of venerable swordsmanship and martial arts are such cases.

Ryu Han-bin frowned.

So, when it comes to martial arts masters, it means that theyre the great servants of each Church, right?

He couldnt have that talent.

If Han-bin had been such a genius, he would have already awakened the Aura while dealing with Demon Dogs at the Rocky Mountain.

The third one?

I dont know about that one.

Eh?

Artis laughed at Han-bin, who was confused.

Im not trying to make fun of you. I really dont know. I just know theres another way to gain Aura out there.

The Aura user Artis met before was not from a renowned family, nor was he a genius who had been enlightened to the worlds logic.

Nevertheless, he succeeded in awakening Aura.

He said his limit was that far, although he quit being a Hunter at level 53 to retire.

Besides the two known methods, he said that there were other ways for warriors to awaken Aura.

Most of the Hunter-born Aura users used that method.

But since its a secret, he cant just tell anyone about it recklessly. Im a Mage, so I didnt ask anymore because I wasnt interested.

Han-bin was disappointed.

You should have asked, geez

Regardless, at least they knew there was a way.

Rumors also had it that anyone whos a Hunter-born Aura user would immediately know.

Isnt there a Hunter strong enough to awaken Aura here?

With a level that high, they usually dont come to the countryside anymore. Youll have to go to the Four Major Stations to meet them.

The Four Major Stations, located in the center of the continent, had so many powerful dungeons that they banned commoners from entering.

Artis thought that there would be enough hunters who awakened Aura there.

You cant even get into the Four Major Stations unless you are at the level to awaken Aura in the first place.

Ryu Han-bins next move has been decided.

Go to the center of the continent, meet an Aura user, and learn how to use Aura.

It was already possible for him to do that.

He had already solved the problem with his level and had raised enough funds.

Regardless, he decided to stay in Highten for the time being.

He still had to become a Churchs partner first.

Ill be fine, but Artis cant survive in the middle of the continent yet.

Hunters had to be at least over level 50 to safely raid a powerful dungeon in the middle of the continent.

Artis was only a level 36 Mage.

If he goes back to his Dragon form, hed be over Level 50, but he cant reveal his identity.

Plus, he didnt even want to break up with Artis.

Thanks to him, Ryu Han-bin managed to solve many of his problems, and his life became a lot easier.

Above all, there was no need to hide his identity from Artis.

How likely am I to meet another friend that I can trust like this?

The next Goddesses blessing wouldnt be given until after three years.

He wasnt running out of time.

Instead of going alone, he came up with a new plan.

He would raise the Artis level, so he asked him to advance to the continents center together.

Of course, Artis agreed.

It was an offer with no reason to object.

Artis just doubted about one thing.

My level might not rise fast enough, even with your help. I think its a waste of your time.

* * *

Artis shook his head as he recalled last nights conversation.

After thinking about it, he finally understood why Ryu Han-bin was so confident.

None of what they were doing was a waste of time.

I really can eat the world raw