Chapter 47
After a productive outing, I returned to Polaris.
Soon enough, a delivery arrived for me.
[Here’s the item you requested, big bro~ Make sure to praise me when you get back, okay?]
There was a light-hearted letter attached as well.
“…Is she choosing to deny reality?”
When Lobel found out I was much younger than her,
-‘N-no way! That can’t be! Big bro is strong, capable, and… mature!’
She had been clutching her head, groaning in disbelief.
And this was the conclusion she came to.
-‘Aha! He’s undercover at Polaris!’
-‘There’s no way….’
-‘Exactly. There’s no way big bro is seventeen. Yup, yup~.’
I had to run away because her mental state seemed precarious.
Who would’ve thought she’d still believe that?
“Is it because of this face?”
I pinched my cheek with my finger, testing it out.
Sure, ‘Lan Black’ looks a lot more mature than ‘Alben.’
But to think I could pass off as someone several years older…
‘That’s a bit much, isn’t it?’
Well, Lobel herself looks much younger than her actual age, so maybe she applies the same standards to others.
Beastkin tend to have longer lifespans than humans, regardless of species.
I tossed Lobel’s letter aside and started to examine the package contents.
Carefully, to avoid any damage, I removed the packaging.
“This is incredible…!”
The giant box was filled with materials.
Lobel had put some thought into it; the condition of the materials was excellent.
[Heart Fragment of the Earth Dragon]
[Soul of a Banshee] x666
[Extract of Darkness]
[Thread of Bonding]
[Processed Dark Matter]
[Horn of an Advanced Nightmare]
“Money really is everything.”
If I had to farm all of this, it would take ages.
The [Soul of a Banshee] count of 666 is achievable through simple grinding, but [Extract of Darkness] and [Thread of Bonding] have incredibly low drop rates.
“A dragon is only possible to hunt after I’ve got a full endgame set.”
By that time, there’d be no point in unlocking this hidden piece.
[Dark Matter] is relatively easy to obtain,
but with only a ‘0.001% success rate for processing,’ it’s practically a death sentence.
“…This is about the only material that has a semblance of mercy.”
In a transparent vial at the edge of the box, two small black horns sealed with a talisman.
[Horn of an Advanced Nightmare]
A black horn that only nightmares who’ve drained the life force of over 1,000 people can possess.
They look powerful enough at a glance, but nightmares aren’t inherently strong in combat.
That’s why they only show up while people are asleep.
“But why is it so expensive? It wasn’t this pricey in the game.”
After checking the receipt, I saw a significant cost associated with [Horn of an Advanced Nightmare].
It wasn’t that Lobel siphoned off the money; in fact, the other materials came in even cheaper.
‘Why is that?’
After a brief thought, I arrived at one conclusion.
“There aren’t enough men left to drain…”
In a world where the gender ratio has reversed, with many more women than men,
and women having far stronger desires than men, it’s probably challenging to find good-quality life force.
“I feel a bit sorry.”
But oh well.
The men drained by nightmares end up shrivelled, so it’s their own fault.
Clatter—
I took one of the horns out of the vial.
‘One should be enough.’
The other one… well, it might come in handy later.
Since it was so pricey, I don’t want to waste it.
***
After gathering all the materials,
I went out to Building C in the middle of the night.
From here on, it’s not that hard.
“This should be the spot, right?”
An alley between Building 3 and Building 4 of Building C.
All I have to do is perform a certain ‘interaction’ in this brick path.
“It’s probably going to be a bit gross.”
I took out the [Heart Fragment of the Earth Dragon] that I had prepared from my coat.
Being flesh from a sacred creature, it still retained its bright red colour.
‘Guess I shouldn’t try grilling it.’
In the game system, even if it’s dragon meat, if you grill it, it’s considered [Grilled Meat].
I have no choice but to consume it raw.
Chomp!
As I bit into the fragment, the blood inside burst out, filling my mouth with an overwhelming taste.
It was ridiculously tough, making it nearly impossible to swallow.
“Ugh…!”
I felt like I was going to throw up at any moment, but each time I did, I recalled the numbers printed on the receipt.
With all the patience I could muster, I managed to chew and swallow it.
Gulp!
“Urgh…ugh…”
My insides felt like they were turning over,
but now isn’t the time to worry about that.
I need to draw out as much of the ‘dragon’s power’ left in this heart as possible.
‘Qi to the danjun. Power to the heart.’
I closed my eyes tightly, focusing on extracting what little power remained in the heart I’d just swallowed.
‘If any wizards saw this, they’d be foaming at the mouth.’
A dragon’s heart is a top-tier research material.
Dragons, the masters of magic.
More than 20% of the mysteries and structures in their hearts and the remnants of magic inside remain unexplained to this day.
And since the war ended, dragon hearts have become unobtainable, turning any occasional pieces that appear on the market into ultra-rare items that money alone can’t buy.
‘That is, unless you have some special connection like I do.’
The fact that I’d eat something like this without hesitation…
If a wizard saw this, they might kill me and pull the half-digested heart right out of my stomach.
Woooom…!
I extracted the faint “Dragon Power” remaining in the heart and pulled it up to my vocal cords.
“Hoo…!”
As I exhaled, a mystical energy flowed out with my breath.
This was one of the dragons’ powers.
[Dragon Speech]
Of course, since it was an attempt at manifestation using the heart fragment’s residual power, it wouldn’t compare to the authentic Dragon Speech. But even this was close to a miracle.
“Burn.”
I tested it by speaking toward the air.
The echoing waves of my voice collided with the space in my sight.
Whoosh!
A blazing fire instantly sprang to life.
‘This is absurd.’
To manifest magic without any special spell or chant, merely by “speaking”… It’s truly a power befitting the masters of magic.
I would love to play with it more, but…
‘There’s only one use left.’
The amount of dragon power in the heart fragment isn’t large.
I have only one use left.
With focus, I looked down at the ground and spoke.
“Open.”
As soon as my words reached it, the space between the bricks parted like waves.
Drurrk! Druk!
A long staircase became visible.
The brown steps stretched endlessly into the underground.
“Cough! Keh-heck!”
A metallic taste filled my throat.
“My throat’s ruined…”
I only said two words, but my vocal cords were already in shambles.
The backlash isn’t as severe as one would expect after using dragon power, but…
“Cough! Cough!”
The blood mixed in my coughs isn’t exactly a pretty sight.
This will probably last a few days.
“But… I finally opened it!”
After roughly wiping away the blood, I descended the staircase.
How long did I walk?
At some point, stars shining in the darkness began to appear.
Then, the vast emptiness gradually filled with various primitive structures.
[Discovered 『Hidden Piece #3』.]
[You have unlocked the ‘Constellation Workshop’!]
The place looked like ruins from an ancient civilization.
This is, indeed, the “workshop” built by Polaris’s headmaster.
“It’s certainly an otherworldly space.”
Of course, there’s no way such a night sky could exist beneath an academy campus.
This is a magical space created using dragon power.
A completely separate space, thoroughly isolated from the outside world.
‘The headmaster has been missing for over ten years.’
Yet, this place remains intact.
Its existence has simply gone unnoticed, gathering dust as it faded from memory because it can only be opened by Dragon Speech.
“I’ll be making use of this.”
With a smirk, I walked to the centre of the workshop.
The pinnacle of an ancient civilization.
Various intricate facilities intertwined here, but the only thing that mattered to me was the “altar” in the centre.
The top of the pyramid-shaped structure.
Here, the closest point to that night sky above.
“This must be the forge.”
Recalling everything I’d seen in the game, I poured all the materials onto the altar.
Wooooooom!
The molten metal quickly filled the pipes all around the workshop, illuminating them.
[Activating the Constellation Workshop.]
[In this place, equipment imbued with the power of the ‘Constellations’ can be crafted.]
The anticipated messages appeared.
[Verifying the materials provided…]
[One piece of equipment can be crafted from these materials.]
[Would you like to proceed with crafting?]
What’s there to hesitate about?
“Proceed.”
As I nodded, the workshop began to operate seamlessly, crafting something.
Creaaaak! Sssss-! Bang! Clang!
This vast space was mobilized to create a single weapon.
As I watched the awe-inspiring scenery unfold, I found myself captivated.
[Final stage.]
[Please select the constellation’s power to imbue.]
The stars in the night sky sparkled.
‘The power of the constellation…’
I had it in mind from the start.
“I choose the power of the ‘Serpent-Bearer.’”
[Confirmed.]
[Compatibility between crafted equipment and Serpent-Bearer’s power… Excellent.]
[Equipment quality has increased!]
Brilliant starlight descended upon the altar.
[Crafting complete.]
[A transcendent piece of equipment has been created!]
[A masterpiece has been born!]
[The record of this equipment will be preserved in the history of the Constellation Workshop!]
[‘Shadow’ has been bound to the creator.]
—
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