Chapter 329: Something Incomprehensible (9)

Fwoosh!

With a flash of bright light, Cale’s group appeared in front of the log cabin.

Cale, Choi Han, Eruhaben, Raon.

Due to the urgency, only the minimum personnel moved.

“Raon, here you go.”

Eruhaben stopped in front of the cabin. He pulled out a sphere mixed with black and golden light from his chest and handed it to Raon.

Mmmm-

Raon accepted the sphere with his chubby paws and held it tightly against his chest.

“Let’s go.”

At Cale’s command, Choi Han opened the cabin door. The hideout of the Dragon Lord Neo. The three quickly headed to the basement. And when they opened the basement door, a world filled with furniture as fluffy as cotton clouds appeared.

[Welcome to the dungeon of the seventh evil, the Hell of Time!]

“Hehehe…”

Raising My Precious Absolute God.

The world of the game, New World.

Among them, the Hell of Time of the seventh evil.

“Hehehe. So, this is my place now, isn’t it?”

The fearsome Dark Bear caressed the throne where Neo, the final boss, used to sit. The throne made of fluffy clouds was dazzling.

“I, the fearsome Dark Bear, will be the true master of the seventh evil…!”

Hehehe.

The fearsome Dark Bear, Gomdori, also known as the Teddy Bear, couldn’t contain his laughter. Although he remembered the days when he was mistreated and looked down upon, he ignored them. Because a bright future awaited him.

‘Hmm.’

He recalled the former final boss, the retired hero Gisk, but he tried to forget those memories.

‘I’m the boss!’

I can’t give up this place!

Gomdori struck the armrest of the throne with his fluffy paws. The soft feeling made him smile.

“Haha.”

Below the throne, he could see the grand hall. Imagining the other mid-bosses kneeling before him in that hall…

“This is amazing!”

Hahahahaha!

It felt so good.

Gomdori didn’t hold back his laughter.

“Hahahahahaha!”

The sound of his laughter echoed throughout the hall at that moment.

Boom!

The door to the hall burst open.

“Eh, what?”

The startled Dark Bear shrank back in the throne.

"Gack!"

But someone quickly approached and grabbed him by the neck.

‘Ah, no… Him?’

The retired hero, Gisk. It was none other than the fearsome swordsman who had struck him down with his blade—Choi Han. He remembered that name. ‘Then, if this person is here…’

The Dark Bear’s pupils trembled.

The seventh evil. And the third evil is governed by the shadow.

This eighth evil could drag New World into chaos, that person…

“Among the evils, the worst… ah!”

Dark Bear couldn’t finish his sentence.

“I’m sorry.”

Choi Han calmly apologized. He was in a hurry. So, grabbing Dark Bear by the neck, he moved quickly.

“Gurk, gurk!”

When Dark Bear began choking, Choi Han lifted him and held him in his arms.

‘Almost… almost killed me!’

Terrified, Dark Bear stayed as still as possible in Choi Han’s arms.

But Choi Han was in a hurry.

He was really in a hurry.

He lifted his foot.

Bang!

Choi Han kicked the door and entered, placing Dark Bear on the ground.

‘Here?’

Dark Bear knew this place.

This was where Choi Han, Raon, and others were registered as users.

“Did you arrive?”

Panting.

Dark Bear immediately knelt on the ground.

“Great Master! It’s an honor to see your beautiful face—”

“Stop flattering.”

Gulp.

Dark Bear swallowed his saliva.

The worst of the evils.

Cale Henituse looked disastrous.

His hair was disheveled, his clothes torn everywhere.

Covered in dust, he looked like he had been in a battle…

‘Ah.’

The Dragon Lord Neo.

He fought him.

And…

‘He won!’

Neo was dead.

Realizing this, Dark Bear grew even more nervous.

Because Cale’s face was full of irritation.

“Hey.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Make that machine work. It needs your recognition to turn on, right?”

Cale nodded toward the altar, and Dark Bear moved like the wind.

“Yes!”

Dark Bear activated the sphere on the altar made of candy.

Dragon Lord Neo had created this device to bring his servants and slaves from Aipotu to this place.

Whirrr-

The machine, which had been off for a while, began to function, and the sphere started glowing.

“Once the startup is complete, it can be used immediately.”

Dark Bear, speaking eagerly, wasn’t noticed by Cale.

Cale was staring at the sphere, which was glowing brighter and brighter.

Then, he felt a hand grabbing his clothes.

“Human!”

Raon, with a surprised voice, called out to Cale, who lowered his head.

Raon was gripping Cale’s clothes with one hand and showing the sphere with the other.

“In the sphere…”

The mana sphere.

Cale quickly looked inside.

“Damn it!”

The mana sphere.

Inside it, the black soul, tightly sealed.

The black soul had more cracks and was emitting more black smoke.

‘Disintegration.’

The God of Death had said that even if it was sealed with mana, it would eventually disintegrate, and that was happening.

‘Damn it!’

Would this virtual world not work either?

“Human, what do we do?”

Raon’s voice trembled.

Cale thought for a moment.

‘What do we do?’

What if the user registration doesn’t work?

But his expression, though full of irritation, was calm, and his tone was indifferent.

“Wait. Let’s try first, then we’ll think.”

Raon felt reassured by that indifferent tone.

Then, they heard Gomdori’s voice.

“Ready!”

Raon immediately headed to the altar.

Cale was already on the altar.

“That—”

Gomdori hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Uh, are you going to register what’s inside that sphere?”

Gomdori’s strange expression made Cale speak.

Time was of the essence.

But someone was faster.

Choi Han.

“Yes. We’re going to register it. Isn’t it possible? Even though physical contact is usually needed, there must be another way, right? Does it really require physical contact?”

“Choi Han.”

Cale had never seen Choi Han talk so much.

And he understood his anxiety, so he softly called out to him.

“...”

Realizing his behavior, Choi Han closed his mouth.

Cale patted Choi Han’s shoulder and asked Dark Bear.

“Inside this sphere is the soul of my comrade.”

Huh?

Raon paused for a moment.

The black soul inside the sphere, the smoke coming from it, trembled strangely.

‘Could it be a form of communication?’

While Raon thought that Cale continued talking to Dark Bear.

“We’re here to save this soul. We need to register the user immediately. But your expression says there’s more to it. What is it?”

No issues could be allowed with the Dragon Half-Blood’s soul, so even though he was in a hurry, Cale needed to make sure.

“Well, this might be irrelevant, but this device is based on the functions of the first evil.”

Dark Bear, aware of the gravity of the situation, spoke quickly.

“When I infiltrated, I saw that the first evil used this to register users. But this is a soul.”

Dark Bear looked at the soul with a strange expression.

A soul.

‘Do I have something like that?’

Dark Bear swallowed his doubts.

The situation was urgent.

“But I’ve never seen such a damaged soul.”

The first evil.

He had heard information about that place, but that question would have to wait for later.

“Anyway, this upgraded sphere can register souls, and physical registration is also possible.”

Dark Bear’s face stiffened.

“But if a soul is registered, it can’t be a sub-NPC. It can only be an NPC. It will be tied to this world.”

Huh?

Dark Bear paused after saying that.

‘Why?’

Cale.

And Raon.

Even Choi Han.

The three were smiling strangely.

Dark Bear thought they looked like three con artists.

Cale spoke with a smile.

“So, if a soul is registered, it becomes an NPC bound to this world and its laws. It can’t escape, right?”

“Yes, yes.”

Raon quickly shouted.

“Human, this is the right place!”

“Let’s do it.”

Choi Han was in a rush.

His heart was pounding.

The Dragon Half-Blood.

He had watched and distrusted that being.

He couldn’t forget the last image of the Dragon Half-Blood.

‘No.’

The last image.

He shouldn’t think about that.

“It goes here.”

Dark Bear pointed to an empty space next to the sphere on the altar.

“Understood.”

Raon placed the mana sphere in the space.

“No, no!”

Dark Bear stopped Raon.

“That outer layer, see? That needs to be removed. It’s not a soul.”

“Ah.”

Raon paused.

If he removed that…

“Human—”

Raon instinctively looked at Cale but then turned back to the mana sphere he was holding.

“Can you hear everything?”

Raon spoke while looking at the mana sphere.

Specifically, at the soul that was disintegrating inside.

“I saw you move before. I’m sure you can hear us.”

That’s right.

The Dragon Half-Blood was watching and hearing everything.

Raon handling the mana.

Cale saving the world.

Sheritt running to him only to be stopped.

The other dragons are struggling to save him.

The faces of everyone who cared for him.

Seeing this, the Dragon Half-Blood wanted to scream.

‘Stop!’

It’s hard for everyone.

Just let me go.

I can disappear.

My life is full of sins anyway.

If I can end like this, isn’t it a relief and a blessing?

But his cries couldn’t reach them.

Somehow, they were all trying to save him.

The mana sphere.

Outside the golden and black light shield, the Dragon Half-Blood could see Cale’s figure.

Seeing his eyes, he remembered his words.

‘I’ll save you.’

Those were his words after resurrecting.

He saw Choi Han behind him.

Choi Han opened his mouth to say something but then closed it. However, his lips were trembling.

The Dragon Half-Blood couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

But he had no choice but to believe it.

Because these people were like this.

At that moment, he heard a trembling voice.

A voice trying to be calm.

“Dragon Half-Blood. See you soon.”

It was Raon.

“Just hold on a little longer. When it’s all done, I’ll give you an apple pie.”

Seriously.

The Dragon Half-Blood thought.

Just let me go.

“You’re amazing, so I know you can do it.”

But his heart thought differently.

I want to live.

Yes.

I don’t want to leave this home, these comrades.

“Dragon Half-Blood.”

Raon spoke energetically.

“This method, it’s worth trying.”

You know that, right?

With that look, the Dragon Half-Blood conveyed a response that couldn’t reach them.

‘I know.’

Yes. It’s worth trying.

The process of registering a soul in this game world.

He just needed to hold on until then.

The black soul trembled, and noticing that, Raon spoke to Dark Bear.

“It’s ready!”

“Then let’s begin!”

Dark Bear began manipulating the sphere.

Whoosh—

Raon deactivated the mana sphere.

Then, the golden and black mana disappeared, and only a small soul like smoke remained.

‘It’s very small.’

Compared to the souls he had seen when infiltrating the first evil, this one was too weak.

Dark Bear’s face stiffened.

But he had to try first.

Dark Bear manipulated the screen that appeared in the sphere.

Flash!

Not just the sphere, but the entire altar lit up.

‘Hmm.’

Dark Bear paused for a moment.

‘That, that…’

Crack-

With the sound of something breaking, the black soul, wrapped in smoke, began to crack further.

It looked like only smoke would be left.

The black smoke seemed to be fading into the air.

Leaving no trace.

‘No!’

Seeing this, Raon felt desperate.

The bright light, with the black soul on top, seemed too fragile.

It looked like it would disappear.

Anxiety consumed his entire being.

But he couldn’t speak hastily.

It might make things worse.

He was afraid.

Crack-

At that moment, the black soul split into two.

And as the smoke began to rise.

“Ah!”

As Raon’s face filled with fear.

“Name!”

Dark Bear, sweating from the tension, shouted.

“We need a name to register the user! Just tell us the name.”

Name.

Hearing that, Raon instinctively looked at Cale.

And Cale spoke.

“Eden.”

Even though the soul broke completely, the black smoke didn’t disappear.

The black smoke trembled.

As if someone was holding it tightly.

Cale continued.

“Eden Miru.”

What name should he give the Dragon Half-Blood?

He thought of names with good meanings, like Raon and Dodam.

He thought of beautiful words in Korean.

But would that matter to the Dragon Half-Blood?

Raon and Dodam.

Those names were given to young dragons with hopes for their future.

But what meaning would that have for the Dragon Half-Blood?

To make it cool?

To make it happy?

To make it joyful?

Would it make sense to say that to the hybrid dragon?

Identity.

That’s what had tormented this being.

That’s why he had wandered, searching for his place.

“Whether you’re a Dragon Half-Blood. My enemy. Or a dragon.”

The Dragon Half-Blood had come to Cale in many ways.

He wanted to tell this being who had lived almost a thousand years without finding his identity.

“You are you, no matter what you are.”

Eden.

A word used to express the equivalence of two or more things.

Whether you’re a Dragon Half-Blood.

An enemy.

Or whatever you are.

“For me, for us, you are you. There’s no difference.”

Dark Bear shouted.

“Registering under the name Eden Miru!”

Flash!

A brighter light emerged from the altar.

Seeing the black soul still holding on, Cale spoke.

“Well, with that platinum light you showed at the end, you now seem like a great dragon.”

And.

“We don’t know what form you’ll take after registration.”

So.

“You can be anything.”

But what does it matter?

“You’ve already created your place.”

Raon and Sheritt.

And others were waiting for the Dragon Half-Blood.

It didn’t matter what form it took.

Cale wanted the Dragon Half-Blood to know that.

And he conveyed his final wish.

“So live.”

“Human.”

Raon grabbed Cale’s clothes.

Cale stroked Raon’s head and spoke gruffly.

“And if you don’t like the name, change it after registering.”

He smiled.

He couldn’t help it.

“Human…”

Raon spoke in a trembling voice.

“It’s… done.”

Yes. It’s done.

The black smoke.

The black soul that seemed to be fading was being enveloped by the light from the altar.

Something was emerging within that light.

“Ha.”

Cale laughed.

When the light completely disappeared.

On the altar, there was a new existence.

“A dragon egg!”

It was a dragon egg. Cale approached the egg.

Ha. Is there such a dragon egg?

Super Rock’s surprised voice echoed.

A dragon egg.

Its surface was covered in various colors.

“Platinum.”

A platinum light, like the special light of the hybrid.

“Black.”

An existence that had changed color after consuming the hearts of various dragons.

And one more.

“Ha!”

Purple.

A beautiful eggshell, decorated with platinum and black.

Among them, there was also purple.

[Eden Miru]

[Status: Pre-hatching (Recovery Rate: 30%)]

[Title: Semi-dragon of light and time]

Cale laughed softly.

He placed his hand on the egg.

It was warm.

It was alive.

“Do you like the name?”

And it quivered.

“Eh?”

The egg trembled. While Cale watched in astonishment, he saw someone hugging the egg.

Raon, with his whole body wrapped around the egg, shouted.

“Dragon Half-Blood, no, Eden Miru! You’re a Miru too!”

Raon rubbed his cheek against the eggshell and spoke.

“I’ll protect you until you hatch.”

The egg quivered again.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Mayank]