novelraw Chapter 493
Chapter 493
Hwaaaah!
The moment the skill activated, brilliant radiance exploded over Su-ho’s body.
The white-shining light wrapped around him, then spread out to match the shape of his body.
And then the silhouette changed.
Silhouettes of forms you couldn’t see in a human.
It was when the light finally vanished.
[ You have succeeded in transforming into Dragon Form. ]
[ In accordance with Quarter Blood, only parts of your body have transformed. ]
[ Physical abilities greatly increase. ]
[ Recovery abilities greatly increase. ]
A few lines of system notifications.
And at the same time, his body changed.
Su-ho immediately made a mirror and reflected himself.
“Oh.”
A short exclamation.
It couldn’t be helped.
The figure reflected in the mirror was a perfect dragon... no, not even half of him had dragonization completed, but even so, traces of a dragon showed up all over him.
For example, the two small horns that had sprouted on his head, the scales that had grown here and there across his body, and above all—
“I’ve got wings and a tail.”
He had wings and a tail.
But the wings and tail weren’t as huge as he’d imagined.
The tail was as small as a Welsh corgi’s short tail, and the wings, too, were tiny and cute—like the kind you’d only see on a cheap angel costume—compared to Su-ho’s build.
'Does this even mean anything?'
The tail Su-ho had imagined was a superb auxiliary tool—something you could swing coolly, and sometimes use like a hand, sometimes like a foot.
But if it was this short °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° and blunt like a Welsh corgi’s, it didn’t feel like it would be very useful.
The wings were the same.
'Can you even fly with wings this size?'
Seeing is believing.
He decided to check right away.
'But how do I move this?'
Both the tail and wings were things he’d never had before.
When he transformed into a lizardman, he did have a tail, but that tail was basically something he dragged around like decoration, so it didn’t count.
But it didn’t take long to figure out how to move them.
What mattered was the will and imagination to move the new body parts.
“Oh, it works.”
The tail moved, and the wings flapped.
But can you really fly with just this much flapping?
This is slower than a sparrow or even a fly’s wingbeats.
Still, to check for sure, Su-ho cast a double jump and leaped high into the air.
Then he immediately started flapping.
Flap-flap—
The wings moved.
And then.
Shuaaa!
Su-ho’s body dropped downward.
Damn.
He’d thought he’d glide coolly, but his body, like it was saying “not a chance,” fell under gravity’s pull.
Still, he didn’t give up, and he flapped hard.
That was when it happened.
Whoooong!
In that moment, a meaningful result appeared.
His fall time got shorter.
'This is it!'
Su-ho’s eyes sparkled.
He’d gotten the feel for it.
After that, Su-ho summoned Cheolma, rose high into the sky, and repeated the process of dropping from altitude over and over.
After dozens of training runs like that, Su-ho was finally able to fully grasp what his wings could do.
“I have to give up on flying.”
That was the first conclusion he reached.
He definitely had wings, but ridiculously enough, he had to give up on taking off.
Instead, with intense flapping, he could significantly reduce his fall time or change the direction he fell.
'Hey, I’ll take it.'
Most beings that can’t fly become defenseless the moment they’re floating in the air and end up exposed to danger.
In Su-ho’s case, he had enhanced jumping, so it wasn’t as bad for him, but still—being able to reduce fall time and change fall direction without relying on a jump was a huge advantage.
'Still, it’s a shame.'
Even so, he couldn’t help feeling disappointed.
It was called Dragon Mode, so he’d thought he’d soar through the sky on splendid wings like Cheolma, but maybe because he was still only Quarter Blood, still only at Hatchling level, the System didn’t allow Su-ho’s dream.
Next, Su-ho’s interest turned to the tail.
'...Wings, fine, but what the hell am I supposed to do with this?'
Like a short-tailed Welsh corgi, Su-ho’s tail was blunt and short.
With this, he couldn’t think of any meaningful auxiliary use—supporting his back, attacking, anything.
Is it because I don’t understand tails?
After thinking it over, Su-ho decided to ask for advice.
“Grid.”
- You called?
“Have you ever had a tail?”
- If you mean a tail, is it this?
At the mention of a tail, Grid turned his fat body and showed Su-ho his ass.
Seeing that, Su-ho pressed his forehead.
“No, not your ass. A tail.”
- It was a joke. Of course I’ve had a tail before.
“Then where is it now?”
- Obviously, it’s on my true body. You don’t actually think this toad-like appearance is my true body, do you?
“......It isn’t?”
- .......
Grid fell silent.
Why are you the one going silent?
Up to now, the only version of you I’ve ever seen is that stubby half-beast, half-human toad shell.
Grid cleared his throat and said.
- Of course not. This is just an illusory appearance I made so I can face you comfortably.
“Yeah, I guess if the next Demon King looked like that, it’d be pretty lame. Anyway, putting that aside... like you can see, a quarter of my body is a dragon now.”
- Just now you suddenly became a dragon, so I was wondering about it. This works out. Have you awakened any abilities in the meantime?
Huh?
At that, Su-ho tilted his head.
He always seemed like he was watching, but maybe he wasn’t?
He wasn’t.
That made sense, because the dragon lair Su-ho got kidnapped to for the ability unlock was a place only those permitted by Omega and the System could enter.
Of course, if Su-ho called Grid there, by conditional acceptance the summoning itself would be possible.
But it meant Grid couldn’t watch Su-ho from the illusory space like usual.
Su-ho continued.
“Yeah, I awakened some abilities. Anyway, I can use parts of a dragon body now, but wings, fine—my tail is only this big. Is there some way to use a tail even at this length? It’s not like I’ve ever had a tail in my life.”
- There is.
“There is?”
- Of course there is. There is no useless part on a living creature’s body.
“Ohhh!”
As expected of the Great Demon Grid!
Even if he looks like a half-beast, half-human dwarf toad, his essence is still the next Great Demon King!
Su-ho asked with an eager expression.
“What is it? How can I use it?”
- First, one of a tail’s biggest advantages is that you can deceive the opponent.
“Deceive the opponent?”
- Yes. Usually, living creatures with tails have their emotional state show up in their tail. You use that in reverse.
“......?”
Su-ho’s eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?”
- Think of it simply. When a dog is happy, it raises its tail and wags it side to side wildly, while a cat raises its tail only when it is angry, doesn’t it? Just like you can read a dog or cat’s emotional state by that, you, too, now have a tail, so depending on your emotional state, your tail’s movement will change.
“......So?”
- You memorize your tail patterns in daily life, then when you have to play psychological warfare, you use that point in reverse. Without saying a single word, you casually show the movement of your tail, and the opponent will watch your mood and...
Grid explained earnestly.
Su-ho looked at Grid like he was pathetic.
Of course.
Figures.
I’m the idiot for expecting anything from you.
No matter what happens, I’m giving you your rune later.
After finishing his explanation, Grid said with a smug expression.
- Well? With this much, isn’t it a sufficiently excellent psychological weapon?
“......Yeah. I guess it is. Is there anything else? Like attacking the opponent, or protecting my body.”
- Tsk tsk, you ask for too much. Don’t you think it’s shameless to want those things with a tail that short and blunt?
“Yeah. I’m the idiot for expecting anything in the first place. So you also live from now on without expecting anything.”
- Partner, what do you mean? Live without expecting anything?
“Just get lost.”
- Partner?
Su-ho shook his head and requested that Grid disappear, and Grid, influenced by Su-ho’s will, gradually slid away and vanished.
Of course, Grid shouted “Partner” fiercely, but still.
'Anyway, that’s wings and tail.'
All that was left were the horns.
Scales were showing little by little in places across his skin, but maybe because he was only Quarter Blood, the area wasn’t very large.
So his gaze naturally went to the horns.
“Hm.”
He touched them.
The two horns that grew along his temple line, somewhere around the boundary between his head and forehead, were shorter than he expected, like a minor demon’s.
But since he was still a dragon, the tips were sharp and the body was thin, so it had its own kind of style.
'No matter how I look at it, this is nothing more or less than a horned helmet.'
He thought about asking Grid if there was some other function, but he gave up, thinking Grid would just say something weird again.
'It’ll be a miracle if he doesn’t call it a portable clothes hanger.'
Still, thinking about it again pisses me off.
Memorize my tail patterns and feed the opponent a fake emotional line.
Is that even words?
Su-ho deactivated Dragon Mode and returned to his original appearance.
Then he checked his status window again.
[ An Su-ho ]
Lv : 300
Class▲ : Rage Crusader
Rank : Middle Player
Traits▲ : ＜New Blood▲＞＜Heracles▲＞＜King of a Ruined Nation＞＜Grid’s Partner＞＜Sun-Moon Body＞
Strength(P) : 48
True Mana(S) : 105
Senses(P) : 16
Command(N) : 119
Bonus Stats : 0
Su-ho’s gaze moved to the class and traits.
He’d allocated all the bonus stats to strength, so there was nothing else to touch there.
That was why he was thinking.
'Originally, I was going to challenge the class quest first, but...'
When he reached level 300, the Dragon Egg suddenly fully hatched, so instead of the class quest, he ended up doing the Dragon Blood matter first, one of the trait quests.
Then since it turned out like this anyway, should he push the trait quests he’d been doing first?
As he thought that, he shook his head.
'No matter what, efficiency is best.'
If you’re going to do big things, it’s better to solve the easy things first.
And if he cleared the class quest, he’d gain new power, so wouldn’t it obviously be better to clear the trait quests in a stronger state?
So first, he decided to do the easy thing.
Like he had before, Su-ho touched the triangle next to the class name slot.
[ The class quest is activated. ]
[ The System wants you, who have met the minimum qualifications, to become even stronger. ]
[ ■■ wants to test you. ]
[ The moment you accept the test, the trial for proof will begin. ]
[ Will you accept the trial? ]
The System’s question.
This time too, that question was the same as it had been at the other singularities before.
So without hesitating even a little, he accepted.
[ You have accepted the trial. ]
[ Moving to the arena of the trial. ]
Along with the system notifications, Su-ho’s vision flickered.
*
Puhhhng!!
“Kyaaaaah!!”
“S-Save me!!”
His flickering vision returned.
And at the same time, what slammed into Su-ho was a deafening explosion and the screams of people, like it was going to tear his eardrums apart.
Su-ho quickly came to his senses and looked around.
That was when it happened.
“Su-ho!!”
Someone desperately screamed Su-ho’s name.
At the same time, goosebumps rose all over Su-ho’s body.
Because the person who called his name was—
“M-Mom?”
It was Su-ho’s mom.