Chapter 114: The Dragonblood’s Pact

Learning something new and fully embodying it as my own.

Discarding the parts that didn’t fit and carving out a new path meant only for me.

That’s what learning meant to me.

That’s why it was such a joy.

“A remarkable talent…”

“But did Uncle Jeokpung actually come to see Rain? I haven’t seen him at all since back then.”

Members of the Jeokryong family would occasionally come and watch me from a distance before heading back.

They seemed to want to approach and speak, but since I was so immersed in training, swinging my sword all day long, they never came near.

Was it because they didn’t want to interrupt my training?

In any case, it worked out well for me.

I spent today, too, swinging my sword and letting time pass—trying to recapture that sensation I had felt before.

As the sun set and the sky began to glow with dusk, I lowered my sword and started to focus mana beneath my feet.

Maybe it was because I’d remained in dragonkin form for so long?

Flashes of inspiration constantly sparked through my mind.

Fragmented memories wove together naturally.

That inspiration, spreading like wildfire, pointed out the path I needed to take.

Wind and mana. And fire. I imbued the arrogance of a dragon into my footsteps.

The image of Wendy, whom I met on the airship, came to mind, along with the memory of Cheongbin and Cheonga running alongside Nightmare.

Swish—

I took a step forward, as a test.

It was the act of reclaiming something I had once discarded. But it didn’t feel cumbersome.

Rather, it felt natural, like a perfectly tailored piece of clothing that had always belonged to me.

Fwoosh—!

Mana spun out from the rotating circle and spread out through my feet.

Basic physical enhancement had been achieved.

However, the image I was aiming for didn’t appear.

The moment I stepped onto the wind, it turned into a hot gust and scattered in every direction.

I instinctively frowned.

What I needed was to glide forward as if sliding over the wind. This wasn’t it.

The dazzling inspiration of a dragon flashed through my mind, shifting the direction of my path.

Even I couldn’t achieve everything in a single attempt.

I was simply choosing the correct path among dozens laid out before me and continuing onward.

Step after step, with repeated failures, the flames of the circle spread like wildfire.

Dragon mana was violent and arrogant. That was its nature.

Even if I had fully absorbed it, its fundamental traits hadn’t vanished.

With each failure, the dragon’s fury naturally began to take root in my mind.

And then—it happened.

A gentle warm breeze began to blow from afar, and in the next instant, a man was sitting atop the wall.

His long, red hair shimmered in the sunset.

The blackened handprint marked across the tall horn on his head left a striking impression.

“Jeokpung…?”

“Mm…”

He looked down at me from the wall with a visibly uncomfortable expression.

It was Jeokpung. Why had he appeared here?

“Is something the matter?”

“Well, it’s just…”

Jeokpung mumbled as he sighed deeply.

The hot breath he exhaled shimmered in the air like heat haze.

I glanced at Jeokpung, then turned away.

He just lingered there, not really approaching. It didn’t seem like he intended to interrupt me.

I began moving again.

Just as I was failing once more, I heard Jeokpung’s voice.

“Don’t try to trample the wind.”

“…What?”

“‘Remember that the world lies beneath the blood of the dragon.’ It means to reign over all things naturally. Didn’t Rin teach you that?”

I frowned at Jeokpung’s sudden, out-of-nowhere comment—but he continued speaking.

He started quoting the chants of Gwanghwaryong Seomshik Muguong and kept rambling on.

It seemed like he was trying to teach me something.

But it was a chant I had already discarded.

His advice wasn’t particularly helpful.

“Please be quiet.”

“Ah, um…”

Jeokpung looked awkward, glancing around in embarrassment at my response.

Ignoring him, I changed the nature of my mana.

The blazing fire subsided, and pure white starlight took its place.

Instead of domination and suppression, I chose harmony.

In the place where the dragon’s arrogance had vanished, the sparkle of stars now shone.

When the starlight mana that had started in the circle spread through my body and under my feet, the wind began to follow it.

Fwaaap!

This was the answer.

The spirit that had once swallowed Kalvain’s mana and spewed hot gusts now exhaled cool and refreshing wind.

The area of my foot touching the ground shrank.

The strain on my body lessened drastically, and I could change direction smoothly.

Muscle movement was kept to a minimum, and mana efficiency skyrocketed in an instant.

Fwaaa!

My wide-sleeved red coat fluttered madly in the wind that burst forth.

The golden dragon embroidered on it sparkled brilliantly in the sunset streaming over the wall.

A smile spread across my lips.

How could I not be happy when what I had envisioned had come to life?

I rode the wind and darted around in joy.

The obsession with focusing burning mana into a red blade faded for a while.

For now, I just wanted to enjoy riding the wind.

Of course, “flying” might be a bit of an exaggeration.

Rather than soaring through the sky, it was more like running freely atop the wind.

Walking and running—what I had sought was now complete.

In that case, such an incredible technique needed a name.

I crossed my arms and stopped atop the wind for a moment.

My lightly floating body naturally began to sink.

Without movement, mana ceased to flow.

The breeze, once amplified by mana, gently faded away.

Though I had never named the swordsmanship I learned from the dwarf, this was a technique I had created entirely on my own.

And so, I wanted to give it a name.

Since it was a technique that involved moving with wind wrapped around the body, it was only fitting that the name included a word related to wind.

Dozens of plausible names like Divine Wind or Whirlwind came to mind and disappeared again.

What remained in the end was the name I thought sounded the coolest.

Divine Dragon Whirlwind Art.

It meant that a sacred dragon was beautifully submerged in the wind.

It was a slightly embarrassing name to say aloud, but I had no intention of sharing it with anyone anyway.

Quite a bit of time passed after that.

Because I still hadn’t figured out how to create the crimson blade, time was simply slipping away meaninglessly.

Jeokpung continued to visit me regularly after that.

Each time, he’d offer advice as if he truly wanted to be helpful—but his words never actually helped me.

After about three days of this same pattern, he changed tactics.

Instead of advice, he began bringing me delicious food.

At first, it seemed like he was trying to figure out my preferences, bringing all kinds of things. After about two days, the range of food he brought narrowed.

Things so sweet they made my tongue sting. I ended up with piles of candy made from hardened honey and sugar.

But even then, the distance between Jeokpung and me didn’t shrink.

Then one day, while I was swinging my sword in the yard, Cheongbin showed up.

“It’s been a while, Jeokrin.”

“It’s Seris. More importantly, what brings you here?”

“Do I need a special reason? Considering our relationship.”

“What kind of relationship is that…?”

“We’re Dragonbloods. Descendants of the Great Dragon.”

I sheathed my sword and looked at Cheongbin with a curious gaze.

His eyes held unmistakable goodwill—an all-too-familiar look. Boys from my hometown used to look at me like that.

I wiped the sweat from my cheek and offered a light smile.

“I see.”

“Mm…”

Perfect timing.

I’d already squeezed everything I could out of the Jeokryong Clan, and I had hit a wall with my growth.

Just as I was looking for my next target, one had come to me.

To me, Cheongbin didn’t seem all that different from the wide-eyed boys I often ran into back home.

I felt no guilt.

Even when I told them the truth, they didn’t believe me—so what was I supposed to do?

If they insisted on treating me as a Dragonblood, then I would simply take advantage of that.

I would keep just enough distance to get what I wanted.

It was something I had repeated to the point of exhaustion back home—utterly familiar.

Suppressing the nausea rising within me, I leaned slightly closer to Cheongbin.

“Cheongbin.”

“What is it?”

“Do you happen to know about something called Blazing Dragon Island Eternal Art?”

“I do. It’s the secret technique of the Jeokryong Clan.”

“Then… does the Cheongryong Clan have something similar?”

“Of course they do… It’s called the Cheongryong Ice Soul Technique.”

“Wow… what a cool name.”

“You’ve got an eye for these things…”

“Would it be possible for me to learn this Cheongryong Ice Soul Technique?”

“It wouldn’t be of much help to you…”

“Even so, I’m curious. I want to know everything about the Dragonbloods.”

“Hmm…”

Cheongbin furrowed his brows in thought at my words, and then, in a careful voice, he finally spoke.

“It’d be difficult to teach you… Techniques like the Blazing Dragon Island Eternal Art and the Cheongryong Ice Soul Technique are secret arts that aren’t shared, even among Dragonbloods.”

“So I can’t learn it then…”

I stepped back with a disappointed expression.

Seeing this, Cheongbin hastily added,

“It’s not that there’s no way… it’s just…”

“Just?”

“Well… the Cheongryong Ice Soul Technique is only taught to members of the Cheongryong Clan.

So, in order for you to learn it…”

“I’d have to become one of them?”

“That’s… one way to put it.”

“Then I’ll do it.”

“…What?”

“I’ll become a member of the Cheongryong Clan. So could you teach me first?”

“A-Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“G-Great…! Wait right here!”

Cheongbin lit up with a bright smile at my answer, then hurried out of the Jeokryong Clan grounds in a flustered gait.

I don’t know how much time passed after that, but it was already late evening when he returned, holding a book wrapped in soft silk close to his chest.

“It’s a copy. I was in such a rush transcribing it that it took a little longer.”

“Waaah~”

I held up the book titled Cheongryong Ice Soul Technique and beamed brightly.

About a week later, I was finally able to fully embody the cold energy of Kashpa that had been revolving around the surface of my heart.

It was all thanks to the Cheongryong Ice Soul Technique that Cheongbin had given me.

The starlit circle that had been rotating began to spin in the opposite direction.

Immediately, blue frost began to settle over the brilliant white star, and a piercing cold began to mix into my breath.

Crunch!

The spot where I stood froze over.

Then my body began to change.

The red scales covering my left hand began to turn blue.

At that very moment, Jeokpung, who had come over the wall as usual, met my gaze.

When I smiled lightly and gave a little wave with my newly-colored hand, Jeokpung dropped the basket he was carrying.

Sweets like candy came tumbling out, scattering all over the ground.