Chapter 39 : Dragon-like deed(s)

“I’ve brought the 100 people you wanted, packed full. Now keep your promise.”

In a secluded alley in Chungju, the meeting place, a woman hidden in the shadows of a streetlight lightly tossed a red scroll.

The man in black clothes, as if waiting, immediately unfurled the rolled-up scroll.

As the scroll, reeking of an ominous, bloody smell, was opened, a black magic circle drawn in thick ink was revealed.

Confirming the magic circle, the man frowned and spoke.

“…It’s not enough.”

“I can’t concede any further either. Those 100 are the limit.”

“What I wanted were 100 high-quality souls, not these small fries. If you’re this insincere, I might just do something to your precious ‘him’.

The man sighed, gazing into the woman’s red eyes that glowed even in the dead of night.

He liked the reflection of himself in those red pupils, looking as if drenched in blood.

‘Someday, when all this is over— I want to pluck out those eyes and display them somewhere in my room.’

Admiring her eyes, reminiscent of jewels, especially rubies, the man spoke as if granting a favor.

“It’s quite lacking for the result brought by the 4th ranked, but I’ll let it slide just this once.”

“Then!”

“Tsk, I’m not finished talking yet.”

The woman clamped her mouth shut at the threatening, metallic sound.

Satisfied with her submissive demeanor, the man displayed a person’s face in the air.

“That person is…”

“You know him well, I’m sure.”

White hair, golden eyes, and black horns atop his head.

It was a face unmistakable to any user interested in the PvP content of ‘Fantasia Online’.

“Is the job you’re asking me to do now-“

“Correct.”

At the man’s affirmation, her face flushed as she protested—

“No way. He’s someone I’ve known for a long-“

“Is that person more precious than the human I’m holding?”

Silenced by the single warning threat, she clamped her mouth shut again, having nothing more to say.

“I know very well that you and that fellow are close. That’s why I’m making this request.”

“What does that…”

“Assassins specialize in surprise attacks. And you’re close to that 3rd ranked… plus, that guy is a mage inherently weak to ambushes, isn’t

he?”

The woman’s face turned deathly pale as she realized what the man was demanding.

“Finish this one job, and not only will I let you meet that guy, but I won’t interfere with you two at all. This is a ‘Vow’. You know I cannot lie.”

The woman shook her head reluctantly, even showing tears, but the man was confident about the decision she would make.

To the woman before him, nothing was more important than the hostage he held.

When the most important person in the world, the one she loved, was held hostage, nothing else could possibly register in her eyes.

“Alright, I’ll do it. I just have to do it, right…?”

---

“Hmm…”

A grace period of one day was given before implementing the military operation to stop Tokki Gongju.

Thanks to that, with nothing to do for a day, I lay on the bed at home like an unemployed person, holding my hands up in the air.

Staring blankly at them, I released blue mana into the space between my palms.

As the released mana took a specific shape, splendid Dragon Language Magic spells manifested one after another within it.

The flames of hell, with their output extremely lowered, clashed with the breath of an ancient frost giant, and the lightning of the supreme

god swirled together with a small tidal wave.

However, the influence of all these spells did not extend beyond my palms.

It was due to my near-perfect mana control.

When I first started doing this, it was meaningful for improving my mana manipulation skills, but for me, who could already jump rope with

threads made of mana, that purpose had long lost its meaning.

Instead, a new goal had emerged.

Which was…

-[Synchronization Rate has increased.]

“Ah, it went up.”

It was precisely to figure out the conditions under which the ‘Synchronization Rate’ increased.

I still didn’t know the exact conditions, but this much was certain: the more I used skills classified as the Dragon race’s unique <Dragon

Language Magic>, the more the Synchronization Rate increased.

‘It would be simpler if it only rose when using Dragon Language Magic, but the Synchronization Rate also shot up when I saw the jewels last

time… I really don’t know the exact criteria for the Synchronization Rate increasing.’

Whether I needed to perform actions generally depicted as dragon-like in various media to raise the Synchronization Rate, or if there was a

more precise standard, was something I’d have to experiment with in the future.

The reason for trying to figure this out was simple.

The higher the Synchronization Rate rose, the more unsettling the feeling became—specifically, the feeling that my body wasn’t my own.

Therefore, I intended to try and minimize the things that raised this Synchronization Rate as much as possible.

While organizing these thoughts, a notification window popped up in the corner caught my eye.

-[Synchronization Rate: 5.0% Achieved. <Race Quest> has been generated.]

“5 percent? Had it already risen this much?”

Last time, after I basically face-planted into the jewels, the Synchronization Rate I checked was around 2 percent.

I didn’t think I had done anything special since then, but somehow it had already surpassed 5%.

The rate of increase was much steeper than expected.

It was good that I got new skills or useful abilities each time the Synchronization Rate went up, but to be cautious about the aforementioned

side effects, it seemed better to consciously try to prevent it from rising too often.

Frankly, if the Synchronization Rate reached 100%, I might cease to be myself.

“That aside, a Race Quest— Ugh, my head…”

Clutching my throbbing head, I got out of bed and headed to the kitchen.

No matter how much I lowered the output, I had underestimated the mental strain required for Dragon Language Magic.

Even though I inherited the lineage of a great dragon, as long as I was a living being, there was a limit to the capacity of mana formulas my

brain could compute.

Naturally, overexerting myself would cause a headache, just the same.

As I stepped out of the room, a clattering sound came from the left.

There was someone standing in the kitchen.

Seeing the perked ears, it was Ye-jin.

“Doing the dishes?”

“…Master?”

Seeing Ye-jin now call me by the embarrassing title ‘Master’ without hesitation always felt somewhat incongruous.

It made me doubt if this was the same self-righteous Ye-jin.

“I told you, you don’t have to call me Master… Just give me a glass of cold water.”

“Yes!”

Mobilizing even a skill to enhance leg strength, a glass of ice-cold water was presented before my eyes in an instant.

‘It’s a bit burdensome, but definitely convenient.’

Drinking the cold water seemed to cool down my heated head a bit.

“Status Window.”

As I called for the status window, a blue screen immediately appeared before my eyes.

Scrolling down the status window, which hadn’t changed at all except for the Synchronization Rate, a newly added section caught my eye.

---

[-Race Quest]

[Perform Dragon-like Deeds (0/10)]

[Reward: Inventory Unlocked. World Quest Unlocked.]

---

“…Dragon-like deeds?”

It was a mutter out of disbelief, but the status window, as if waiting for me to say it, listed the items for ‘Dragon-like Deeds’.

---

[Dragon-like Deeds – (Check mark upon completion)]

[Use Dragon Language Magic (-)]

[Hoard Treasure (-)]

[Subjugate Others (-)]

[Kidnap a Princess (-)]

[Despise Races Other Than Dragons (-)]

[Massacre Humans (-)]

[Create Your Own Lair (-)]

[Have Horns Grabbed Forcefully (-)]

[Find a Mate (-)]

[Happy Horn Grabbing with Mate ([Censored])]

---

-Bang.

Looking from number 1 to 7, I thought it might be a normal quest, but as expected, it wasn’t.

The moment I saw the last, 10th item, unable to break my habit of slamming things when provoked, I slammed my fist down on the quest

window.

Naturally, my hand passed through the illusory window and hit the dining table.

A sharp pain shot through my hand, which had no buffs or protective magic applied.

Admiring my own stupidity, I rested my head on the table.

Then, a sudden curiosity struck me, and I called out to Ye-jin.

“Ye-jin?”

“Yes? What is it?”

“You said you also got a Synchronization Rate, right?”

“That’s right.”

Affirming simply, she continued washing the dishes.

Staring blankly at Ye-jin’s tail, I asked the question I was curious about.

“Then, what’s your current Synchronization Rate, roughly?”

The clattering sound stopped for a moment.

It seemed she was checking her status window.

“Checking now, it’s 12%.”

“…What?”

12 percent was more than double my Synchronization Rate.

If the bonuses that came with increasing Synchronization Rate applied to all users, then she, being a Beastkin, should have received a <Race

Quest> similar to mine.

“Did you get a <Race Quest> too then?”

“Yes. It was definitely ‘Act Like a Cat Beastkin’.”

“…And you’ve finished the quest?”

“Out of the ten conditions, I’ve completed nine.”

She had already completed nine of those tricky conditions?

Perhaps the quest content was different from mine.

“Then what were the contents of that quest?”

“Most of them were trivial things like ‘Get Head Pats’, ‘Have Tail Grabbed’, ‘Save Master’. Things that ordinary house cats might do.”

Seeing her use the term ‘Master’ so freely towards me, it seemed likely that the ‘Master’ was me…

After all, I had actually petted her head and playfully grabbed her tail before.

“Then what’s the one task you haven’t cleared yet?”

“While Master is holding my tail, sticky pure love pl—”

“Stop! Stop talking. I think I know without you telling me.”

What on earth is the identity of this status window, giving out quests that include such blatant lewd jokes?

As I blushed at the embarrassing topic and waved my hands dismissively, she found my reaction amusing and added with a mischievous

smile.

“Ah, and when the Synchronization Rate hit 10%, it gave me a few titles.”

“Titles? What titles?”

At ‘Master’s’ question, Ye-jin averted her gaze to check her own status window.

The descriptions for the newly acquired titles listed in order were all quite spectacular.

---

[<Puppy-cat>]

[-A title given only to cats who genuinely love and obey their chosen Master. Effect when equipped: Increased affection towards ‘Master’.]

[<Obsessive Cat>]

[-A title given only to cats who genuinely desire and obsess over their chosen Master. Effect when equipped: Increased obsession towards

‘Master’.]

[<Monarch of Heat>]

[-A title given to Beastkin who endure their heat cycle well. Reduces the effect of the heat cycle when equipped. Side effect: Suppressed sexual

desire may erupt violently.]

---

‘If I tell him this, he’ll definitely try to run away somehow.’

Although her body was bound by contract, the thought of wanting to devour the oppa—now Master—before her eyes right away hadn’t

changed.

However, if she revealed this, her shy Master would surely run far away.

To prevent such a mishap, Ye-jin smiled as if she knew nothing and shook her head.

“…That’s a secret. Hoohu.”

“Really? Then it can’t be helped. Oof, but I suddenly got the chills. Am I not feeling well?”

Watching her ‘Master’ scratching his arm where goosebumps had appeared, completely oblivious, Ye-jin answered innocently.

“I opened the window for ventilation, you must have felt cold. I’ll close it right away.”