The Vow of Purity

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In World Tree’s training hall, Doyun’s sword Yupiter flashed its sky-blue blade, cleaving through the air.

Doyun’s rank within World Tree was B. And only A-rank and above could rent out entire training halls.

However, Doyun had achieved the monumental feat of defeating a Legion Commander.

Without Doyun even having to request it first, the staff provided him a private training hall. Naturally, no one objected.

As Doyun swung his sword, circulating mana throughout his body, his eyes shone golden.

Ever since learning the draconic Mana Cultivation Method from Tiamat, Doyun could train his mana as naturally as breathing in any situation.

But today, an exceptionally dense mana flowed through his blood vessels.

That mana overflowed onto the transparent, pristine sky-blue blade of Yupiter, tinting it with a faint golden luster.

It was the sublime energy lingering in Doyun’s body after consuming the Elixir, now being absorbed.

The tip of his sword, wielded in the state of no-mind, left sharp, brilliant golden streaks trailing in the air.

Shing–

When he halted his sword, the lingering aura in the air scattered, leaving a gentle sword breeze.

At last, the Elixir’s swirling aura-like energy dissipated from Doyun’s body as he stood upright.

“Phew…”

Fuhwoong…

A dense mana fragrance mingled with his exhale, gently wafting outward.

The absorption of the Elixir’s energy was complete.

Ding!

[Stat ‘Mana’ has leveled up. Current Level: 6]

[Skill ‘Razvolnic’s Style (Războlnic’s 流) Mana Cultivation Method’ has leveled up. Current Level: 3]

[Status Window]

Name: Han Doyun

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Stats:

Strength – Level 5

Agility – Level 4

Vitality – Level 8

Endurance – Level 4 -> 6

Mana – Level 4 -> 6

Tightening his fist as vitality surged through him, Doyun closed his eyes and focused on his Dragon Heart.

‘It grew.’

His once minuscule Dragon Heart had rapidly expanded in size from this growth spurt.

Still incomparable to an adult dragon’s, but now too large to be called a hatchling’s.

Ding!

[Innate Trait ‘Hatchling’s Dragon Heart’ has been deleted.]

[Innate Trait ‘Dragon Heart’ has been created.]

Doyun smiled as he viewed the system notification.

‘I gained a lot from this war.’

Although he had consumed one Elixir, defeating a Legion Commander at his current level meant a highly profitable deal.

Moreover, his mana had substantially increased as well.

Not only that, the immense damage accumulated during battle and his endurance of it had greatly raised his Endurance stat.

Considering both had been stagnant at Level 4 for three months, this was truly tremendous progress.

‘The Hecleus’s Style skill was created too. And my Mana Cultivation Method leveled up. This visible growth alone is already…’

Doyun recalled his conversation with Winny-Kaiser.

‘Me, me, me!! Please let me handle it! I’m the disciple of a Master Alchemist and Dragon expert! There’s no one better suited on this continent!’

‘Anyway, this Armored Dragon’s Dragon Heart is completely tainted by mana, so it can’t be consumed as is. I’ll purify it thoroughly for you, okay?’

‘You even received a Wish Token from me last time! This is what you should use it for, not hoard it!’

‘And the Armored Dragon’s scales, will you let them rot? I’ll connect you with the continent’s finest blacksmith. That man is the disciple of a dwarf who has now vanished.’

‘So please…’

‘Just fucking let me handle everything, goddammit!!!’

As the Vagabond Hero had said, she was a woman utterly obsessed with dragons. Such an opportunity to handle a dragon’s corpse and heart had been granted to her.

Winny had begged and pleaded with Doyun. Of course, not for ownership, but merely to be allowed to ‘handle’ the process for Doyun’s use. In other words, out of intellectual curiosity, not greed.

Doyun had readily agreed. Once her ‘very important commission’ from the Alliance was complete, Winny had canceled all other schedules to work on the dragon’s corpse.

‘A Dragon Heart…’

Doyun felt his heart flutter, a sensation he had not experienced in a long time.

The supreme elixir on par with, or even surpassing, the Elixir – the Dragon Heart.

It was an item Enoch, who had accumulated an immense amount of mana over his 18 lifetimes where only memories and mana were inherited, had never once encountered.

Yet in this life, an opportunity to obtain a Dragon Heart had arisen, even if tainted.

‘I’m looking forward to it.’

Through this war, Doyun had taken a great stride towards regaining his peak capabilities.

‘With my current output, I could fight evenly with Ley without needing Hell’s Flame.’

Finally, his martial prowess had reached the level of this generation’s lowest-tier Hero.

Of course, this was before consuming the Dragon Heart.

It was an unexpectedly rapid growth, even for Doyun. Yet he could not feel relieved.

No, he felt impatient instead.

‘With the danger posed by the Celestials reconfirmed, I need to grow stronger swiftly.’

He had asked Winny to produce additional Hell’s Flame, but she deemed it impossible – an exceedingly rare item whose production was now nearly unfeasible.

Moreover, even if production became viable, she had firmly refused to ever provide Doyun with Hell’s Flame again, out of concern for his well-being like the Vagabond Hero.

In other words, such doping was no longer possible.

Doyun pondered.

‘Having grown to the level of the lowest-tier Hero, along with Ley, the Vagabond Hero, Haineken, and Brudhild… could we stop the Celestials within the Holy Stones?’

…He was doubtful.

The Celestials’ might was hopeless.

In the 16th iteration, Enoch, already humanity’s paramount, had died before even realizing it at the hands of the strongest Legion Commander.

The other Heroes of this generation would fare no better. Even Haineken would have his neck snapped before activating his [Dragon and Tiger Clash].

The sole consolation was that Enoch’s 16th demise had occurred outside the Holy Stones, but it brought little solace.

The Celestials, called the ‘Death Gods’ since time immemorial, were even recorded in myths.

Had it not been for the former Demon Lord, they might have acquired the Demon Lord’s title themselves.

‘…I must grow stronger.’

Doyun steeled his resolve once more.

But now, training for stat increases was too slow a process. And the battlefield was expected to remain quiet for a while.

It was time to address outstanding matters rather than solely focusing on stat increases.

‘Purifying the Dragon Heart will take quite some time. And to utilize the facility needed to locate the Celestials, I require time for my reputation to mature further.’

Hence, he had some spare time for now.

Doyun decided to spend it entering the Cradle to scout for talent.

‘With Tia as our mage, that position is essentially covered. As a vanguard, I alone suffice. And Sophie can support the team front and back with her diverse abilities.’

The remaining positions were tank and healer. However, the healer role could be covered by Tia, the draconic lord of magic, if urgently needed.

Moreover, it was too late to find and train a healer from the Cradle anyway. A newcomer could not keep up with Doyun, Sophie, and Tia’s growth rates.

‘But a tank is different.’

The tank position heavily relies on the ‘Endurance’ stat talent. As such, tanks can debut on the frontlines much sooner than other positions.

Hence, finding an exceptionally talented genius was more important than assessing proficiency. Even if that genius was a Cradle fledgling.

‘The chances of such a genius appearing this term are slim… but one never knows.’

That’s how geniuses work.

Just as Doyun had chanced upon Sophie by chance, finding a genius required maximizing the ‘lottery’ opportunities, no matter how low the odds.

This Cradle visit would be part of that endeavor.

‘But before that…’

There was an issue to resolve first.

Doyun felt discomfort from the changes occurring in his body.

As he concluded his training session, a ghostly force surged into his lower regions.

‘There’s definitely something amiss with my body.’

It was a change he had been steadily perceiving.

It had begun the day he started daily spirit energy transfers to Sophie. Since then, Doyun had felt his bodily desires gradually intensifying.

Initially, he had dismissed it as a minor change. But that had been a misconception.

Until now, he had been regularly supplying Sophie with spirit energy. However, that had been significantly disrupted recently due to the war and recovery period. And today was the day he had promised to resume Sophie’s spirit energy transfers.

From the day he had awakened after treatment, Doyun had sensed something amiss with his body’s condition. His unfulfilled desires had accumulated, and the severity of his bodily changes – greater than expected – had become apparent.

‘Peculiarly, engaging with Winny does not provide relief.’

He had attempted resolving it physically with Winny, but it only further stoked his desires.

Clearly, his body now craved Sophie specifically. An evident abnormality.

‘This state would be problematic in the Cradle… I should resolve it before entering.’

It seemed he would need to have a long conversation with Sophie today.