Episode 112 Party Disbandment (1)
A dragon's corpse was a valuable treasure in itself, with no part to be discarded.
It was a material widely used in various spells, as it possessed not only high-quality materials but also immense arcane power.
Moreover, dragons were currently on the verge of extinction.
Considering its value, he had to carefully collect every last piece, even a single piece of flesh.
'But I'm not planning to sell it.'
He wasn't short on money, and there was always a use for such precious items.
And with Hans, who was at the forefront of magic, there was no need to worry about storage.
Of course, he wasn't just going to store all the materials.
He immediately used what he needed…
And one of them was the dragon's blood.
Dragon Blood.
"Hmm… It's definitely effective. I was feeling a bit stagnant lately."
Heinz the Second, who had nourished himself with good blood after a long time, quietly muttered as he repeatedly clenched and unclenched his hand.
"Hybrid Evolution" didn't cause a significant evolution of his bloodsucking factor because it was a skill that activated when he committed cannibalism.
But he could feel that something not displayed systematically, Heinz's level itself, had risen a step further after sucking the dragon's blood.
'It must be because the vampire's racial characteristic, "Blood Kin (True Blood)", has grown.'
Not only had all his abilities improved overall, but the efficiency of his blood manipulation techniques had also increased significantly.
He wasn't at the Sacred Blood level yet, but the experience of sucking the blood of a being like a dragon must have given him considerable experience points.
"So sucking the blood of a higher-level being was the condition for becoming a Sacred Blood."
Heinz possessed power far greater than vampires of the same level due to the influence of various skills.
Especially thanks to "Hybrid Evolution", the bloodsucking factor itself, the basis of his power, was on a different level from others, but its growth had stagnated at some point.
'The factor has already evolved enough, and even when I suck blood, it only seems to increase the total amount of energy, not make me significantly stronger.'
Well, Heinz had been living a peaceful life lately.
He didn't even suck the blood of the True Bloods during the recent fight with the Brokoslack Clan and embraced them all to completely absorb the force.
It was more advantageous to have many capable individuals than to be strong alone, so he didn't regret it…
'And I made a decent profit this time. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future, so there's no need to get hung up on this.'
He could comfortably enjoy his achievements today.
He felt like his skin had even improved, and he lightly stroked his cheek, feeling the same smooth skin as always.
'…I don't know.'
He subtly lowered his hand and looked at the dragon's corpse being dismantled.
The undead, who had their death energy sealed by Hans for fresh quality control, were diligently working.
There wasn't a single drop of blood on the floor of their passionate work site, which didn't suit the task at hand.
Of course, that was the work of Heinz the Second, the True Blood vampire who was here.
'But I didn't drink it all.'
Blood was closely related to other biological tissues, so if he recklessly absorbed it all, the materials might be damaged.
And it was greedy to use all the blood from a single dragon just for drinking.
'And no matter how effective dragon blood is, the effect gradually decreases if you keep drinking from the same source.'
Thanks to that, he was able to secure a considerable amount of blood for other purposes.
Blood was an important medium for all sorts of spells, so this would be useful later.
'For example… Harley's tattoos.'
Higher-level tattoos required materials of a certain level.
He wasn't sure if Harley needed something like that right now, though.
-Individual Name: Harley
-Race: Dragonborn (Hybrid)
-Common Traits: "Mind Hub", "Persona", "Clear Mind"
-Individual Traits: "Mutation", "Physical Transformation", "Bio-Aura", "Frenzied Beast", "Voracity", "Mad Dragon's Heart", "Madness Control", "Gem Eye: Coercion", "Super Regeneration", "Calcos-style Combat Tattoo"
-Special Notes: Absorbed the 'Mad Dragon's Heart', which contained powerful genetic information, and most of his body was replaced with dragon materials, becoming a Dragonborn. Controls the madness in his body through the heart and absorbs madness from the surroundings. 'Gem Eye' combined with 'Dragon Eye', making it more effective at forcibly imposing his will.
"Ugh—"
In a corner of the dragon dismantling site.
Harley, curled up like a wounded beast, was struggling to fully control his body.
'To think my race itself changed… That's how big this transformation was.'
Harley's body wasn't that of a pure human before.
He was an experiment subject born from bio-experiments, with the genes of all sorts of magical beasts and monsters mixed in.
It wasn't reflected in the information window because he couldn't be defined as a specific race, but 'Mutant' would be the most appropriate term if he had to choose one.
But most of his body was replaced with high-performance dragon genes this time, affecting even his identity.
The term 'hybrid' was probably added because of the remaining traces.
Crack— Crack—!
His body, which had grown to over three meters tall after eating the 'Mad Dragon's Heart', started to shrink.
The process continued for a while, until his teeth, claws, scales, and other transformed parts gradually disappeared into his body, and he completely returned to his previous form.
And when the dragon dismantling was mostly finished,
"Whew—"
He finally regained complete control of his body, slowly stood up, and exhaled deeply.
Whoosh—
At the same time, a gentle breeze blew in front of him, rustling the bushes.
'Huh?'
It was a phenomenon caused by his overwhelming lung capacity and the "Mad Dragon's Heart" resonating.
The wind speed wasn't that fast, but it was excessive for something he created just by taking a deep breath.
'As expected of a dragon's heart. Not only the energy inside, but even the surrounding mana is synchronizing with my actions. It'll take some time to get used to this.'
The Mad Dragon had completely lost its magical abilities, but in return, it specialized in the primal use of magic power, and Harley inherited that characteristic.
He couldn't use magic even after becoming a Dragonborn, but instead, the surrounding mana would now support his actions more strongly.
'I'll have to allocate more mental power and pay attention for a while. I might cause an accident if I'm not careful.'
It was a new homework on top of his already difficult task of properly handling his increased strength.
"Ugh— This is stiff! I need to stretch on the way back! Hahaha!"
Harley stretched, bursting into a cheerful laugh.
'To think the journey that started with obtaining Zaonic's pickaxe would lead me here.'
It was a truly eventful adventure, from the Northern Mountains chase that began with the Twin Head Ogre to encountering the dragon and eliminating it.
'But I'm not complaining because I gained a lot.'
Not only did Heinz's stagnant growth resume, but Harley had become a true monster.
His weight was in the tons, even though he had minimized his body size with "Physical Transformation" that defied the laws of physics, because of the incredibly dense mass of his body.
It was unbelievable, considering he was only about 2.3 meters tall.
'I need to train to control the surrounding energy and minimize my weight. At this rate, I won't even be able to enter buildings.'
He had become a body that had to be careful in every situation because the ground could collapse if it was weak.
The only fortunate thing was that the energy efficiency had improved a bit thanks to the "Mad Dragon's Heart" drawing in the surrounding energy.
If it hadn't been for that, he would have had to eat something all day just to maintain this body.
"Tsk, tsk, but I'm still a bit hungry. I need to fill my stomach."
…It was something that came out of the mouth of someone who had been eating nonstop, but it couldn't be helped.
Since a massive amount of energy was consumed for physical transformation, his reserves were significantly depleted now that his entire body had practically changed.
He had to replenish what he had lost.
'There's plenty of food, so there's no need to save. They're all tonics that are helpful the more I eat!'
His gaze turned to the mountain of dragon meat piled up on one side.
"Gulp."
Harley swallowed his saliva and headed straight towards it, diligently storing energy in his body like a bear preparing for hibernation.
__________________
The dismantling of the dragon didn't take long because countless undead were mobilized.
[Good work, Malcolm.]
Hans nodded with satisfaction, looking at the byproducts neatly organized by material, including meat, bones, and organs.
[You're welcome…]
As Death Wizard Malcolm, who had led the undead and finished the butchering, bowed respectfully and stepped back, Hans naturally headed towards the pile of dragon bones and looked around.
[Oh— Indeed, magnificent.]
It was so impressive that he could feel a certain presence just from the pile of bones.
Perhaps because of the aftereffects of the cells being overactivated by madness, the bones were thick and sturdy, making them excellent materials in themselves.
'It would have been quite tricky because of the dragon's strong thoughts.'
A dragon's noble spirit didn't easily accept being turned into an undead even after death.
So a complicated procedure and a long period of corruption were necessary for the task…
'But it seems like no preparations are needed because it's already corrupted by madness. I've saved myself some trouble.'
The most troublesome and time-consuming part was already taken care of.
It was a situation where the ingredients were already prepared and cooked, and all he had to do was heat them up and eat them.
'Of course, other dark mages would have a hard time handling this because it's affected by the abyss's madness…'
But that wasn't a problem for Hans, who handled 'death', which originated from the same abyss.
'There's no need to waste time. Shall I begin right away?'
The preparations were carried out swiftly.
He used "Forbidden Knowledge" to set up a dark magic barrier for the ritual, had the undead arrange a makeshift altar, and even processed some of the dragon's organs to be used as sacrifices.
It was a very simple procedure compared to the scale of the ritual, but could the Immortal King have the same conditions as an ordinary dark mage?
And so, the ritual began.
At the center of the altar, where countless undead surrounding it were arranged in a specific formation,
Hans, facing the dragon's remains, slowly extended his hand.
[Now— What is your name? Tell me.]
The moment Hans lightly stroked the pile of bones, death energy slowly started to rise from the Immortal King's Heart in his chest.
The surrounding plants started to wither from the quietly spreading death, and frost formed everywhere as the temperature dropped below freezing.
[Yes, Heratos.]
Wooong—!
A massive amount of dark magic power instantly enveloped the surroundings and started to resonate with the undead forming the altar.
And it slowly seeped into the dragon's bones.
[I am the King of the Dead and the ruler of death, so I will grant you a second life.]
It would have been impossible for a living dragon.
No, how many would even choose to become undead in the first place?
Especially when the one who killed them was trying to subjugate them and use them as a slave?
[You will be able to walk the land of the living again. Of course, there will be a small price to pay.]
But it wasn't difficult for Hans to entice a corrupted thought that had only fragmented thoughts left after death.
[…Now, I am your master.]
He was the Immortal King, who had reached the pinnacle of necromancy.
Whoosh—!
The death and dark magic power that filled the surroundings were sucked into the dragon's remains in an instant.
Space vibrated from the massive energy flow, and some of the undead forming the altar crumbled.
Inside the violently fluctuating barrier.
And among the grass and trees that had withered from the ritual's aftereffects,
[———!]
A new undead finally opened its eyes.
_________________
"Hahaha! Then let's go!"
Harley, taking the subspace magic tool filled with dragon meat, headed south where his companions were.
"I should check on Heterosis after a long time."
Heinz the Second casually looked around and then disappeared.
And what remained in the forest, which had become a ruin from the aftermath of the battle, was…
[Hehehe— Since I'm here, should I look around? I hope there are many useful guys around here.]
Immortal King Hans, surrounded by countless undead.
And…
[KuoOoooooh—!]
[Kyaaaaaah—!]
Two Bone Dragons.