The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 230

Irehgue is basically in the form of a red dragon with a faint golden glow.

But strictly speaking, no, it wasn't even necessary to speak strictly, it wasn't that Irehgue was a real dragon.

It was a sad thing for Irehgue, who always called himself a dragon and cried out that he was the only one under heaven, but that was the truth.

Because Irehgue was a kind of spiritual life form created by Lee Shin by splitting his own mind, mixing the image of the word 'dragon' with the lingering thoughts of monsters in magic stones, and then stabilizing it with a skill.

Even if he went back to the past and did the same thing again, it was Irehgue who was born through a series of miraculous coincidences that would more likely lead to failure than success.

'Hmm? Thinking about it a little differently, doesn't this mean this guy is rarer than a dragon?'

Such a thought briefly crossed his mind, but Lee Shin shook his head slightly and brought his straying thoughts back.

The important thing is that Irehgue is not a dragon.

And Irehgue knew that fact too.

Then, does the creature called a dragon really exist in reality, not just in imagination?

The answer is 'yes'.

In the various books he had looked through via Irin's memories, the great traces left by the dragons that had once lived and breathed in this world were written in detail.

And there was no need to go far.

Because the race of the great sun, Sun Lucia, who was called the son of God and received the praise of countless people, was a dragon.

'Well, this world doesn't see Sun Lucia as a dragon, though.'

Sun Lucia was the only dragon left in this world, but people regarded Sun Lucia not as a dragon but as the son of God.

The reason was simple.

Because in this world, dragons were regarded as a sinful race, an object of contempt and scorn.

'When Irin told me that, you went on a huge rampage.'

-It's still the same, I'm still dissatisfied.

Irehgue grumbled at Lee Shin's words.

From birth, they possessed bodies stronger than steel, freely wielded the magic that constituted the world, and lived for long ages—that was a dragon.

Because they possessed such power from birth, dragons were all arrogant and full of pride in themselves.

And because of that arrogance, the dragons looked to the heavens and committed the sin of coveting the seat of God.

The enraged god banished all dragons from Carnia.

Forgiving only one small dragon who had sincerely begged for forgiveness on behalf of its race.

People were astonished by the god-like act of banishing all the dragons who boasted of their mighty power.

And that divine punishment brought about a great change in the world.

The dragon was a being of great power.

Therefore, there were people who had accepted the dragon's power in various ways to possess that power.

Originally, they were admired by people, clad in the dragon's majesty.

But overnight, the dragons were punished by God and banished from the world.

At that, the people who had been jealous of those who carried the dragon's blood rose up, using the divine punishment as a reason.

They shouted that they were humans with the blood of a sinful race, claimed that their families would be destroyed by God's wrath, and said that just being with them would spread God's wrath.

And so, time passed, and as if to prove their words, the people who had prospered with the dragon's blood began to collapse in various ways, unable to overcome the human blood.

Of course, the dragon's blood flowing in their bodies gave them great power.

But the world was not so simple that all problems could be solved with power.

Now, people would curse and swing their swords at anyone with dragon features for no reason at all.

And even if they died from such an unreasonable sword strike, no one pitied the half-dragon, half-human.

Because that was the natural course of things.

Of course, not all half-dragons received such contempt.

Because some of the families that carried the dragon's blood had their past merits and rights recognized and were able to maintain their lineage as nobles of the frontier.

In other words, among those who carried the dragon's blood, the survivors were highly likely to be nobles.

Because children born with dragon features who were not nobles would have all been abandoned or killed as soon as they were born.

But now, in front of Lee Shin's eyes, there were two children who, despite looking to be under ten years old, had horns protruding from their heads, showing that they carried the blood so strongly.

On top of that, although it was hard to tell because of the dirt on their faces, they seemed to be twins, judging by their similar features.

"But why are the twins of a noble family stealing in a place like this?"

"Don't compare us to that trash!"

At Lee Shin's single word, the kid who had been quietly crawling on the floor screamed as if having a seizure.

At that, Lee Shin looked at the kid with a curious expression.

'He broke the mute point? How?'

-Judging by the horns on his head, it seems his body structure is slightly different from that of a normal person.

Irehgue, who had said that, wagged his tail as if it were interesting.

-Or maybe that fierce little kid has something special, just like the kid who's about to die below.

At Irehgue's words, Lee Shin snorted and looked at the kid.

'He seems to have a grudge against nobles, so it seems he's been through a lot… but I don't really know for sure with just this.'

While Lee Shin was looking at the kid, Irehgue tapped the back of his head with his tail.

'What's wrong?'

-You there, won't you help these little kids?

"…What?"

At the completely unexpected words, Lee Shin let out a sound without realizing it.

-That is… you tend to care about children with such tragic family histories, don't you?

'I'm not the type to care about all kids like that, you know.'

-That's true, but…

'And didn't you tell me not to get too soft on the word 'family'? Why the sudden change of heart?'

At Lee Shin's words, Irehgue had nothing to say and shut his mouth, groaning.

Irehgue also knew that Lee Shin didn't help all kids.

The theme of family was just a trigger that moved Lee Shin's heart slightly.

Lee Shin, on the contrary, looked more at external factors like personality or talent.

And as Irehgue saw it, the probability of Lee Shin helping the kids was very low.

Because he probably wouldn't want to take care of kids at the moment he was about to run wild in a new world.

'Is there, is there no way? They're children who carry the dragon's blood, I want to take them with me…'

Irehgue also knew that he wasn't a real dragon.

And that was why he wanted to keep those children who carried the dragon's blood by his side.

To put it metaphorically, it was similar to a child's heart wanting to buy a toy of a favorite character.

'I can't be stubborn this time.'

Because it was obvious that if he was stubborn and took them, they would soon be abandoned somewhere.

While Irehgue was racking his brain to find words to persuade Lee Shin, Lee Shin looked at Irehgue with a strange expression.

'I don't know why he's suddenly acting like this.'

Just as Irehgue knew Lee Shin well, Lee Shin also knew Irehgue well.

In Lee Shin's eyes, Irehgue was a prideful child.

The way he called himself a dragon and acted prideful, and the way he threw tantrums to get what he wanted, were all the very picture of a child.

That was why Lee Shin found Irehgue's current appearance, calmly stating his opinion and pondering to persuade him instead of throwing a tantrum and hitting his head, to be different.

It was as if a child had grown into an adult. Lee Shin guessed.

'Did Gaia's blessing have some effect on Irehgue's mind?'

It wasn't a bad change.

Irehgue had also gained the ability to exert some physical force with his own will.

So, since there might be a time when Irehgue had to act independently based on his own judgment, this kind of growth was welcome.

Lee Shin, who had come to that conclusion, looked at the kids lying on the floor.

'Come to think of it, I've seen in an article before that raising a pet helps with a child's sense of responsibility…'

Lee Shin, who had been weighing the annoyance against the future benefits for a moment, said in a low voice.

'If you stop hitting my head when you're bored from now on, I'll do as you wish.'

-What?

At Lee Shin's words, Irehgue's eyes widened like a cat that had been told there would be no more Churu.

In that state, Irehgue groaned for a long time on Lee Shin's head, then said with difficulty.

-…Is it okay to touch it sometimes?

'If you control your strength.'

At Lee Shin's answer, Irehgue nodded his head dejectedly, and Lee Shin chuckled.

The contract was established.

'Then first…'

Lee Shin looked at Kid No. 2, who was gasping for breath as if about to die.

"I have to do something about him first."

"If you get any closer to my brother, I'll kill you somehow…"

Kid No. 1 growled at Lee Shin's words.

"So noisy."

At that, Lee Shin raised his killing intent very slightly to shut Kid No. 1's mouth.

Although it was a tiny amount, Kid No. 1, who had faced Lee Shin's killing intent head-on, gasped for breath, drooled, cried, and trembled all over.

His mind was filled with images of himself dying.

"No… way…"

But even in that situation, Kid No. 1's eyes widened, trying to stop Lee Shin from walking towards his brother.

'Oh, his mental state seems more useful than I thought.'

Lee Shin, who was a little pleased by the unexpected situation, decided to give a little service.

"I'm trying to help, so just watch quietly from there."

At Lee Shin's words, Kid No. 1's eyes widened in a different sense.

Because he had never thought that Lee Shin would say such a thing, even after seeing their horns.

While Kid No. 1 was like that, Lee Shin said.

"It seems you tried to do something with the elixir you got from me, but if you had fed it to him, he would have died."

"What does that…"

Lee Shin pointed at Kid No. 2 with his finger and said.

"He's in this state because his body couldn't accept the huge amount of magic power overflowing. It seems he's barely maintaining a balance with his mental strength, but if you had fed him the elixir, you can imagine what would have happened."

Lee Shin held out his hand and then spread it wide, saying.

"The power of the magic power that was trying to swallow your brother's body would have become stronger, and your brother's body would have literally exploded."

Lee Shin's eyes turned to Kid No. 1.

"And you would have seen that right in front of your eyes."

Eudeuk-

"How can you…"

Kid No. 1 said in a trembling voice, as if trying to deny Lee Shin's words.

At that, Lee Shin looked at Kid No. 1 for a moment, then chuckled and said.

"You don't believe me? Haven't you ever felt something like an afterimage of magic power flowing from your brother?"

At Lee Shin's words, Kid No. 1 looked at him with surprised eyes.

At that, Lee Shin smiled as if to say, 'see?'

"That's enough proof, right?"

At Lee Shin's words, Kid No. 1 couldn't say anything and bit his lip hard.

"Well, let's talk after we save your brother first."

"Save my brother?"

Kid No. 1 asked back with wide eyes.

"Yes, so just stay quiet. It's my first time doing this too, so I'm planning on concentrating a bit."

"N, no! I don't know what you're trying to do, but my brother…"

"Ah, so noisy."

Lee Shin shut Kid No. 1's mouth again by hitting his mute point.

He had referred to the sensation of hitting the mute point a little while ago, so he expected the effect to last a little longer this time.

"Hmm… come to think of it, if they're family, and twins at that, their body structures should be similar, right?"

The moment he was about to leave after finishing the pressure point strike, Lee Shin muttered, looking at Kid No. 1.

Shiver-

Kid No. 1's eyes trembled at Lee Shin's words.

But Lee Shin ignored Kid No. 1's pleading gaze.

Seuk-

He reached out his hand without hesitation.

Lee Shin, who had confirmed the physical differences by touching and kneading the kid's body here and there for a while, got up from his seat.

"Hmm, good. It'll be a reference."

Lee Shin, who had finished his preliminary study, looked at the main, Kid No. 2.

-I didn't know you would do acupressure.

'I know, right. And the subject isn't even a person, but a demi-human with dragon's blood. But…'

Lee Shin, who had muttered that, held out one hand and brought Irehgue, who was on his head, to his front.

"What are you talking about as if it's someone else's business?"

-Hmm? What does that mean?

At Irehgue's words, Lee Shin smiled and said.

"This time, you have to help too."

-Me, you say?

At Lee Shin's words, dozens of question marks appeared above Irehgue's head.

(End of Chapter)