Chapter 29: Holy Flame Dragon (2)
After the party with the Lizardmen.
Grand General Rakuwak formed a new party.
Three knight Lizardmen who followed him, plus the newly rising general, Lee Jinhyuk.
The five of them returned with the pretext of “inspecting the Drake’s Nest a bit more.”
‘Rakuwak returned here faster than he did before regression.’
Swish.
‘And this time, he’ll succeed in one go.’
Originally, Rakuwak had to enter this dungeon multiple times.
Because he knew nothing about it.
But Jinhyuk, thanks to his memories after regression, knew this dungeon inside and out.
‘All conditions are set.’
Therefore, this single trip would be enough to get everything he wanted.
“Stop.”
At Rakuwak’s command, Jinhyuk and the knights halted.
“It’s here.”
Soon, the white glowing stone tablet came into view again.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve felt this directly.’
Divine Power.
Literally sacred power, fundamentally focused on healing and defense.
Moreover, it manifests through a form of “faith.”
Because of that, this power was especially granted to devout believers who worshiped the Constellations—beings with god-like forms in the Tower.
‘Though it’s focused on healing and defense…’
Jinhyuk frowned at the increasingly glowing tablet and the dungeon entrance.
‘With enough force, it can be used offensively too.’
For example, Melidus used divine power to reinforce his armor, weapons, and shields, amplifying his stats and durability.
Constellations like <Pure Radiance> would even burn others just by shining their divine light.
‘But that was their problem, not the power’s fault.’
Swish.
‘There’s no need to hate divine power itself.’
For Jinhyuk, stopping <Pure Radiance>’s ambition and preventing the Tower’s great catastrophe meant accepting any power necessary.
That was his basic value system.
“Grand General. This is…”
“Something is appearing.”
Just as Jinhyuk said, a system message appeared before Rakuwak and the others.
However, it was unlike the usual blue holographic window provided by the Tower.
It shimmered with a white light filled with divine energy, and both the borders and the letters burned like fire.
[To enter this place, you must bear the blood of the Sacred Rulers.]
“The blood of the Sacred Rulers?”
“……”
The Lizardmen tilted their heads in confusion.
Sacred Rulers.
There were no records or documents left about them.
‘Well, this inscription isn’t even discovered until decades later.’
Seeing this, Jinhyuk approached Rakuwak and spoke.
“Grand General, isn’t this the <Lava Ocean>?”
“That’s right.”
“Then wouldn’t the Sacred Ruler here refer to the Lord?”
Everyone nodded at Jinhyuk’s interpretation.
“Makes sense.”
“If not us Lizardmen, then who else could rule the Lava Ocean?”
“Should we seek the Lord’s cooperation and bring some of his blood?”
Rakuwak chuckled at Jinhyuk’s words.
“Indeed. General Jinhyuk, you’re an outsider, so you wouldn’t know. But…”
Slash!
Without hesitation, Rakuwak sliced his palm.
“I too carry the blood of the ‘Ruler.’”
[Qualification has been proven.]
The dungeon entrance opened as soon as Rakuwak’s blood touched it.
‘Originally, it opened when Rakuwak, while fighting a Drake, got injured and bled here…’
But this beginning wasn’t bad either.
After all, the destination mattered more than the path.
“Let’s go in.”
Upon entering, only pitch-black darkness unfolded before their eyes.
“It’s dark.”
“Light the torches.”
“Yes, sir.”
Whoosh.
With the knights lighting torches, Rakuwak’s party advanced.
The architecture resembled the temple design of Odusa’s residence on the 2nd floor, <Dedrun>.
But it was much more elaborate.
Fortunately, the structure was simple.
A straight, continuous path.
[Those who bear the blood of the Sacred Ruler must prove minimum martial strength.]
Rumble.
The statues along the walls began to tremble and move.
“What is this?”
“Gargoyles! They’re gargoyles!”
“Prepare for battle!”
Shing!
Gargoyles.
Normally just statues, but they come alive when intruders enter or certain conditions are met.
As monsters imbued with demonic energy, they were weak to divine power.
‘The number’s no joke.’
[Activating skill: <Flame Sword>.]
Jinhyuk also activated his new skill <Flame Sword> from Kagutsuchi and raised the <Scale Breaker>.
“Back to back!”
Rakuwak, though not yet a ranked player, was still incredibly skilled.
Before regression, he had solo-cleared all these gargoyles at this point.
But right now, they had no idea how strong the gargoyles were.
‘I need to exploit that gap.’
Every snake, wyvern, drake, Lizardman in the murals.
Even the dining table, wall carvings, statues, chair legs—everything came alive and attacked.
Crunch!
<Cross Blade>
<Power Strike>
<Venom Slash>
The generals and Rakuwak worked in perfect sync, smashing the gargoyles.
For them, gargoyles weren’t too formidable.
Though their stone bodies were tough with demonic energy, everyone here was an experienced player.
The real problem was their sheer numbers.
No matter how strong an elephant, it couldn’t defeat billions of ants.
With only five of them, gaps inevitably formed.
It felt like being struck endlessly by a massive tidal wave of stone.
The size and strength of each gargoyle varied, making them hard to defend against.
“Grand General!”
“Damn it!”
Thud!
Since they were dealing with many weaker foes, Jinhyuk was actually defending the best among them.
[Activating skill: <Blood of the Imoogi>.]
Thanks to covering his whole body with Imoogi’s scales, he was perfectly protected.
‘Now’s the time.’
Guarding vital spots with armor and scales, Jinhyuk relaxed his body and slipped between the gargoyles.
“General Jinhyuk!”
“General!”
From Rakuwak and the knights’ perspective, it looked like he was swallowed whole by the wave of stone.
Even with Imoogi’s power and having defeated a ranked player earlier, he was still just a novice who’d barely reached the 3rd floor.
It was a plausible accident.
Especially in such an unprepared situation.
“We need to save him!”
Unexpectedly, Rakuwak rushed toward him, trying desperately to save him.
“Grand General! Let’s go together!”
“We’re coming too!”
The other Lizardman generals swung their weapons wildly, trying to save Jinhyuk rather than moving forward.
‘Just stay back.’
For Jinhyuk, who wanted to slip away unnoticed, their actions weren’t welcome.
‘Though… it’s already too late.’
However, the gargoyle wave was like a natural disaster.
No matter what they tried, Jinhyuk was swept away farther and farther.
“No…!”
‘This should be far enough.’
Surrounded by gargoyles, Jinhyuk’s eyes snapped open.
Crackle.
Snap.
After dropping Jinhyuk off somewhere, the gargoyles simply left.
Their goal wasn’t to kill intruders.
Just to drive them away.
Surprisingly gentlemanly for a Tower dungeon.
Bounce bounce!
“It’s okay.”
The <Mixed Dream Egg> in his arms bounced anxiously.
Jinhyuk patted it to calm it down, then smiled.
“This place doesn’t let in anyone without the right ‘bloodline’ anyway.”
Bounce?
Only those with the Lord’s blood could enter this dungeon.
And the dungeon’s master valued that bloodline.
Grave robbers, intruders—none were considered.
So even if you failed the gargoyle test, you’d just get tossed back to the entrance.
No life-threatening injuries.
‘Rakuwak and the others don’t know this, so they’ll fight the gargoyles with their lives.’
One of the most important things in climbing the Tower was the ‘information gap.’
Jinhyuk, who knew what would happen next and how future dungeons and trials worked, had a huge advantage.
“Well then. Let’s get started.”
Watching the gargoyles return the way they came, Jinhyuk stood up.
After dusting off his clothes, he placed his hand on the wall.
‘Like this. This should do it.’
Exactly five steps from the entrance.
Press the wall at a certain force and rhythm.
Rrrrrrr…
A hidden door appeared.
“Good.”
Rakuwak had only found this after coming here ten times.
But Jinhyuk, with knowledge of the future, found it instantly.
Rakuwak had revealed all this later after becoming the Lord, bragging about his accomplishments.
But there was one condition to using this door.
It required someone who could use ‘Divine Power’ to touch it.
“Divine power… Divine power, huh.”
Murmuring, Jinhyuk placed his hand on the door.
[You who possess divine power. Your entry is permitted.]
The power Jinhyuk usually used was the Tower’s most common energy: mana.
His status window didn’t even list ‘Divine Power.’
Still, that didn’t mean he didn’t have any.
Considering who built this body, and who wanted to use it as a vessel…
‘This body was created by <Pure Radiance> to use as his vessel.’
Swish.
‘It’d be weirder if I didn’t have divine power.’
After rummaging through materials in <Pure Radiance>’s sanctuary, Jinhyuk had confirmed it.
This body did have some divine power.
‘Quantity-wise, it’s almost zero. So little it doesn’t even appear on the status window. But it’s definitely there. And…’
Jinhyuk placed his hand on the door.
“The quality is different.”
Among countless Constellations, only three were Transcendent Constellations.
And among them, <Pure Radiance> stood at the pinnacle of divine power.
His divine energy was powerful enough to destroy the entire Tower.
So, the moment Jinhyuk touched the door…
CRAAACK!
A white fissure spread across the door.
And then—it shattered completely.
“Good.”
Stepping through the broken door, Jinhyuk smirked.
“Sorry for the others but…”
Step. Step.
“Not knowing… is a sin too, right?”
This dungeon had four trials before reaching the final location.
But the path Jinhyuk took was a kind of shortcut.
It might be a bit longer distance-wise, but he’d avoid the remaining three trials.
While the others were still stuck on the first gargoyle trial, could they clear the remaining ones?
It would take a long time.
‘Plus… they’ll keep pushing forward thinking I’m dead.’
[You consume the item: <Health Recovery Potion>.]
[You consume the item: <Mana Recovery Potion>.]
After gulping down the potions he brought, Jinhyuk pushed off the ground.
With the egg settled comfortably on his shoulder, he dashed through the passage.
‘Before them, I’ll arrive first and…’
Swish.
‘Steal the holy relic.’
