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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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The second stage of the Blood Demon Divine Art.
Drip.
Just as Lee Rowoon had drawn out the Iron Blood Sphere from the tip of his finger for the first time, he pulled out something in the same posture.
The same shape as the Iron Blood Sphere, but its color was different
‘Violet Blood Sphere.’
A bead-sized sphere with a subtle purple glow.
Thwack!
When Lee Rowoon flicked his middle finger, the Violet Blood Sphere began to fly away in an instant.
Thud!
The Violet Blood Sphere, unable to pierce, was simply lodged in.
Its opponent was not good.
‘Dullahan.’
A mid-tier undead species.
An immense amount of death energy is required for the appearance of the widely known headless knight to naturally occur.
Especially since its entire body was indestructible like steel, it could deflect not only ordinary weapons, but even weapons imbued with inner energy or magic.
It was an impressive feat that Lee Rowoon’s Violet Blood Sphere had pierced through such defense, but it was perhaps natural that it hadn’t inflicted greater damage.
However, the function of the Violet Blood Sphere was not just an increase in power.
Boom!
The body of the Dullahan, where the Violet Blood Sphere had been lodged, exploded.
This was precisely the characteristic of Violet Blood, the second stage of the Blood Demon Divine Art.
‘Compression and Explosion.’
Imbuing the Iron Blood Sphere with Violet Blood was not just a change in color, but a force that changed its very nature.
One of the functions of Violet Blood was to imbue it with the power of explosion and detonate it from within the enemy.
And another thing.
Sizzle!
A thick green mist in all directions.
The deeper one went into the Abyss, the more the thick poison completely dominated the space.
A laborer from the carcass disposal site would melt the moment they set foot in it, and even the supervisors would be no different from them.
“Tsk. Ha.”
But for Lee Rowoon, even this thick poison was no different from fresh air.
Another function of Violet Blood.
‘Invulnerability to All Poisons.’
Although Red Blood also had the effect of neutralizing weak poisons, it could never be compared to Violet Blood.
Violet Blood neutralized dozens, even hundreds, of poisons.
‘Furthermore, if poison accumulates in the blood, it naturally builds immunity.’
That meant that as long as it wasn’t a poison that would kill him instantly, it would never work on Lee Rowoon anymore.
Lee Rowoon continued to absorb the blood of the surrounding carcasses, and defeated the mid-tier undead, heading deeper and deeper into the Abyss.
And finally.
Throb, throb, throb.
He arrived at an area where even the functions of Violet Blood could not easily detoxify the poison.
The end of the Abyss.
“Indeed… it was here.”
At the place that Lee Rowoon had targeted.
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There were monsters that were impossible to fight.
Those things that made one question if the word “monster” even fit them.
‘Calamities.’
Monsters that possessed the highest danger rating and were of the kind that should never be fought.
Just as humans could not stop a storm or a tidal wave.
The monsters called Calamities were the same.
‘Transcendent Species.’
Monsters of the highest difficulty whose levels could not be measured and that could cause the collapse of the world just by their existence.
In the past, a demonic species Calamity-level monster, Balrog, had escaped outside of a gate.
Just by breathing, the world would catch fire, and when it swung its burning whip, hundreds of players would be literally pulverized.
Nearly tens of thousands of players were deployed to defeat Balrog, but the result was the same.
In the end, humanity gave up on defeating Balrog.
Instead, with the help of their allies, the Silver World and Einheart, they sealed Balrog somewhere in the world.
Transcendent species were like that.
‘But there are creatures more famous than Balrog.’
The most well-known among the Transcendent species, and a species that was nothing short of vicious.
“Dragon species.”
Those things called dragons,, were precisely that.
The dragon species that appeared inside the gates were nothing compared to the Ancient Dragons, called the guardians of Einheart, but they were creatures that lived up to the name of Calamity.
An indestructible body, the power to obliterate life itself with their breath.
They had not yet appeared many times, and even if their existence was detected, none had escaped through the gates.
‘Except for one time.’
Of course, it wasn’t a perfect dragon species.
A being that was not enough to be called a Transcendent species, but whose body was real.
“Corpse Dragon, Augolas.”
A Corpse Dragon, that was, an undead dragon.
A form in which a dead dragon had been resurrected after harboring death energy for a long time.
It could not use the mystics or magic that a dragon species used, but it was a creature that was worthy of being called a Transcendent species.
It’s body was real.
Scales that could not be pierced even with a weapon imbued with magic, and the power to cause an earthquake with every step it took.
‘Acid Breath.’
The creature, which also used the unique breath of a Corpse Dragon, was enough to be called a Sub-Calamity, if not a Calamity.
The Corpse Dragon that escaped outside of the gate was named Augolas.
Countless players risked their lives to confront it.
And the result.
‘Augolas was hunted.’
Naturally, the world was in an uproar.
And what received the most attention was, as expected…
‘The value of the carcass.’
According to the stories of the Silver World and Einheart, the carcasses of dragons and dragonkin have boundless value.
Their blood was the best alchemy material, and even if a craftsman could simply refine their bones, they would become unique-grade weapons.
The value of their scales was incalculable, and above all…
‘The Dragon Heart.’
The highest value of a dragon species was precisely that.
Naturally, those who had hunted Augolas were interested in its carcass.
“As expected, there was a reason why the Silver World or Einheart didn’t step forward.”
A Corpse Dragon.
A being that was covered in poison, death energy, and demonic energy.
Just by touching the carcass, one’s whole body would melt, and even if byproducts were extracted, they could not retain their original value.
Although the beings of Gehenna had taken interest, Gehenna and other worlds were in an antagonistic relationship.
They could not hand over the Corpse Dragon’s carcass there.
In the end, the Corpse Dragon’s carcass became a white elephant that was impossible to deal with and too precious to throw away.
But humans, who were faithful to their desires, found a way to use this carcass.
‘Purification.’
Using Einheart’s knowledge, they were going to naturally purify the Corpse Dragon.
“By pouring poison and death energy into numerous corpses…”
They would extract that death energy and poison from the human bodies.
In other words, they would purify the Corpse Dragon’s carcass using sacrifices.
“Hwasan Guild, those crazy bastards.”
That was the true reason for the existence of the Hwasan Guild’s carcass disposal site.
At the end of the Abyss, in order to purify Augolas’s carcass, they were putting slaves in, and those slaves were becoming poisoned by the death energy and poison that was several times more potent than in other carcass disposal sites, and would slowly die.
If tens of thousands of people died here like that, the Corpse Dragon would be purified and become usable.
“From my perspective, it’s a good thing.”
Because they had decided to have the Hwasan Guild, which received a huge amount of wealth, handle that heinous act, the carcass of Augolas was here.
Splish.
When he stepped on the ground that had melted from the poison, the ground caved in like a viscous fluid.
Splish.
It melted his old shoes that had become rags, and dyed his feet a deep green.
Splish!
Even though he had reached the realm of Violet Blood and had become invulnerable to all poisons, he felt the pain of his whole body burning.
But if he could absorb the Corpse Dragon’s blood…
“I can endure it.”
He would soon reach the peak of Violet Blood and be able to move on to the next stage.
Splish. Sizzle!
As he got closer to the Corpse Dragon, the poison, which had become even more potent, was melting even Lee Rowoon’s skin.
If he delayed any longer, the Corpse Dragon’s poison would pierce through the Violet Blood and invade him.
That was why.
Thud!
Lee Rowoon placed his hand on Augolas’s carcass.
“Kueuk.”
Intolerable poison and death energy spread throughout Lee Rowoon’s entire body.
The poison and death energy that would turn even a ranker into a puddle of blood in an instant.
But Lee Rowoon, with the power of Violet Blood and the function of Rebirth…
“Blood Demon Absorption.”
He began to suck the blood of the Corpse Dragon, Augolas.
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When he first became his teachers’ disciple, and before he had realized what his teachers’ true purpose was, he had made countless imaginations and plans.
If he went back to that time period, to that place, what should he do?
What should he do in order to quickly become stronger and take revenge?
And what was never missing from those plans was this very thing right now.
The absorption of the Corpse Dragon.
It was a thought that he had immediately after learning the Blood Demon Divine Art.
“Kuh-eok!
The Corpse Dragon’s blood circulated through his blood vessels, inflicting immense pain.
‘It’s not impossible.’
He had simulated it dozens, hundreds of times.
He had told his teachers about this as well.
His teachers’ words were right.
‘It’s going to hurt like hell.’
It was a pain that could easily cause one’s mind to break if they did not have countless experiences of death.
The Corpse Dragon’s poison was melting his skin, melting his blood vessels, and melting his bone joints.
Even so, it was heading toward the blood Dantian according to Lee Rowoon’s will.
‘A dragon is a dragon.’
Even though it must have been neglected for a long time, the amount of magic power remaining in its blood was more tremendous than he had thought.
But that, rather, was…
“Kueuk!”
Pain beyond imagination.
Whoosh!
The Corpse Dragon’s blood continued to flow into him through his palm.
And at some point, the blood Dantian became full.
‘Crazy.’
Even though he had reached the stage of Violet Blood and condensed his energy, and the size of his blood Dantian had expanded through Rebirth, he still hadn’t been able to absorb all of the Corpse Dragon’s blood.
‘If I let go, I’ll die.’
He could be sure that if he let go now, the inner energy and blood in his blood Dantian would flow back and melt his whole body.
But if he continued to absorb it, his blood Dantian, and his entire body, would explode and he would die.
It wasn’t an unexpected situation.
When he had told his teachers about his plan.
‘If it’s a Corpse Dragon, this could happen.’
‘It depends on what the original species of the Corpse Dragon is and how long it’s been neglected…’
‘In that case…’
His teachers had provided a solution.
The title of ruler of the world, that was not something that was acquired for free.
‘Do it like this.’
The teaching of the Demon King Verzena.
Lee Rowoon regained his composure and opened his eyes.
Green light, filled with poison, was flickering in his eyes.
“Damn it.”
Another curse escaped his lips.
“I can’t believe I’m going through this so quickly.”
The method that the Demon King had suggested.
‘Rebirth.’
To undergo Rebirth once again.
The pain of the Corpse Dragon was already as powerful as Rebirth itself.
His blood vessels and bone joints were melting down.
This was no different from carving himself to pieces.
Rather, using his current state, he would undergo another Rebirth.
‘But even that might not be enough. In the first place, a dragon’s mana is different from that of humans. Therefore, the best way to absorb and utilize a dragon’s mana is…’
He recalled the teachings.
‘Become a dragon species.’
An absurd statement.
If someone else had said that, that’s what he would have thought.
To change one’s species, he had heard that it was possible in very special cases, but becoming a dragon species was not something that one could simply achieve.
‘What are you worried about?’
But Verzena had said with a smile.
‘What you are trying to become is a species of a much higher level than that. Consider a dragon species as just a step that you’re passing through.’
Pop!
Lee Rowoon opened his eyes wide.
What he was trying to do now was not to become a complete dragon species.
He was only changing his blood, blood vessels, bones, and organs.
He had also learned about biological information from Verzena.
‘It’s right in front of me now.’
Wasn’t the Corpse Dragon’s carcass, the data of a dragon species, right in front of him?
Nothing was impossible.
‘I have contained even chaos itself.’
Lee Rowoon closed his eyes and began to entrust his whole body to the Corpse Dragon’s blood.
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How much time had passed?
Lee Rowoon opened his eyes, which had been closed, halfway.
A body that only a special being born between a dragon and a human could possess.
In the Silver Continent, they called this…
“Dragon Bone Constitution.”
He had succeeded in another Rebirth.
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