After Regressing, I Gained the Power of the Demonic Dragon - Chapter 19

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 19
Even as Sang Hyuk examined the transformation of his right arm, the Annihilation Eater spreading through Stone Soldier showed no sign of stopping.
Screech!
With spear and right arm severed, Stone Soldier began to blacken from the stump of his shoulder.
The dark aura soon consumed his entire torso.
Whoosh.
Stone Soldier’s body crumbled into black sand.
The first one hadn’t even completely vanished.
Click.
Click-click-click.
The sound of stone grinding against stone echoed repeatedly from within the haze.
The statues standing on both walls lifted their heads.
Seven Stone Soldiers gripping dark-crimson spears and blades blocked the corridor.
[Remaining Silence Stone Soldiers: 7]
Black mist bloomed from the soldiers’ bodies, surging toward Sang Hyuk all at once.
The mist wound around him, pressing down even harder on his Authority.
[Status Abnormality: The intensity of Silence is rising.]
[Authority Output Limit is strengthening.]
The scroll’s power alone could no longer maintain even twenty-five percent of his Authority output.
The moment the Annihilation Eater wreathing his right hand began to noticeably fade—
Boom!
His heart beat once more.
Where the dark-crimson flow touched his right arm, the Silence’s power rapidly weakened.
The Annihilation Eater that had been fading grew dense again.
It was enough power to erase the soldiers.
In that instant, three Stone Soldiers in the front line simultaneously stamped the ground.
Whoosh!
Two spears aimed at Sang Hyuk’s chest and waist.
Between them, a stone blade fell from above his head.
Sang Hyuk twisted his body, driving between the spear points, and swung his right hand.
Screech!
The black aura swept across the three creatures’ weapons and bodies at once.
Stone spears and blades transformed into black sand, and the soldiers’ bodies crumbled in turn.
Once he’d broken through their ranks, it became one-sided.
Each time the Boundary’s mist weakened the Annihilation Eater, his heart beat, and the dark-crimson flow restored his right arm’s output.
Every time Sang Hyuk’s right hand grazed them, the soldiers’ weapons and bodies scattered into black sand.
Whoosh.
Before long, six Stone Soldiers had been scattered into black sand.
The last Stone Soldier spread both arms wide.
The black mist that had engulfed the surroundings surged into its chest.
Boom!
The Mana Core embedded in its chest thrummed, darkening to crimson as if about to detonate.
Sang Hyuk did not simply watch.
Flash!
He cut through the mist and plunged into the soldier’s body, pressing his right hand against the Mana Core.
‘Annihilation Eater.’
Screech!
The Mana Core darkened and shattered.
The Stone Soldier, now without its Mana Core, scattered as black sand.
Simultaneously, the black mist filling the corridor lost its strength and rapidly dispersed.
The stone gate that had been obscured was revealed.
「You have completed the Eighth Floor trial: Silence Boundary.」
[All Silence Stone Soldiers defeated]
[Hits taken: 0]
[Clear time: 02:17]
[Mana consumption efficiency: Optimal]
[Clear Rating: SSS]
「Your level has risen.」
[Lv.8 → Lv.9]
He exhaled slowly.
As Sang Hyuk’s level rose, warm mana spread through his entire body, replenishing what he’d spent.
Thump.
The crimson aura that had lingered in his right arm now crawled up to his shoulder and settled beneath his skin.
[Bloodline Adaptation is progressing.]
[Adaptation range is expanding.]
[Current adapted areas: Right arm / Right shoulder]
Sang Hyuk rotated his right shoulder lightly.
No pain or rejection radiated from the newly expanded area.
The adaptation hadn’t yet spread to his entire body, but the range had undeniably widened.
* * *
At the same moment.
Moscow, Russia.
Russian Player Council, Overseas Force Bureau.
A red alert flashed across the central monitor in the situation room.
Beep.
[Eastern Channel / South Korea]
[Public Name: Undisclosed]
[Growth Tower Floors 1–8 Clear Ratings: All SSS]
[Floor 8 Clear Time: 02:17]
[Times Hit: 0]
[Current Level: Lv.9]
The director of the Overseas Force Bureau, dressed in a black military uniform, stepped toward the screen.
“He passed through the Silence Boundary with ease.”
“Yes. First attempt in two minutes seventeen seconds, with zero hits taken.”
The Silence Boundary was a section where newcomers who relied on a single strong Authority often got stuck.
Anyone who cleared it flawlessly couldn’t be dismissed as a novice dependent on one specific Authority.
Russia had good reason to keep close watch on this newcomer from the Eastern Channel.
Although Russia belonged to the Western Channel, a player’s channel affiliation changed according to nationality.
If Russia naturalized a promising talent from South Korea, that player would immediately transfer to Russia’s Western Channel force.
The director posed a question.
“What about China?”
“Intelligence suggests they’ve already mobilized their cooperation network within South Korea.”
“As expected—they’re quick.”
The director’s finger tapped the South Korea entry.
“Move the recruitment team in Seoul. Have the special extraction unit stand by as well.”
“Are you preparing an extraction unit from the start?”
“Or were you planning to move only after China secures him first?”
The officer immediately changed the target’s management status.
[Management Status: Observation → Acquisition]
[Korea-based Recruitment Team: Dispatch]
[Special Extraction Unit: On standby for dispatch]
“Once his identity is confirmed, present the highest terms first. If he accepts, finalize the contract immediately.”
The director gazed at the screen where the public name remained blank.
“But the moment he refuses, his status changes from recruitment target to extraction target.”
There was no hesitation in his voice.
“Bring him to Moscow regardless of his wishes. We’ll handle persuasion there.”
* * *
The next day.
Sang Hyuk ascended the Infinite Tower once more.
「You have entered Floor 9 of the Infinite Tower.」
Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack.
The gray floor beneath his feet split open on both sides.
From below, a massive stone staircase rose at a diagonal angle.
The staircase pierced through thick black mist spread like clouds and stretched upward beyond sight.
At the summit stood a azure crystal, tall as a man, rising solitary.
「The Floor 9 trial begins.」
[Trial Name: Thousand-Weight Stairs]
[Time Limit: 10 minutes]
[Objective]
– Ascend one hundred steps and reach the Pressure Stone at the summit.
– Every ten stairs, the magical pressure exerted on your body intensifies.
– The pressure increases by the amount of mana you expend in protection.
[Evaluation Criteria]
– Clear time
– Number of stops
– Authority usage
– Mana efficiency
The Thousand-Weight Stairs was a trial that crushed the challenger’s body with pure magical force.
Those with higher mana resistance found it easier to endure, while those lacking it could reinforce their resistance through protective authority.
However, deploying authority intensified the pressure proportionally and lowered your rating.
The same principle applied to the Blue Resting Points stationed at intervals along the climb.
You could escape the pressure momentarily and recover your body, but the instant your foot touched the next stair, the system recorded a stop.
If you only aimed to pass, using either was permitted.
But to receive an SSS rating, you had to ascend with nothing but your body—no protective authority—and never stop even once.
‘Climb without rest. All the way to the end.’
Having settled on his strategy, Sang Hyuk placed his foot on the first stair.
Thump.
An invisible hand pressed down on both his shoulders.
It was only slightly heavier than ordinary gravity.
Sang Hyuk gauged the pressure’s intensity as he stepped onto the second and third stairs in sequence.
For the first few stairs, the weight pressing on his body barely changed.
But the moment his foot touched the tenth stair.
Rumble.
The air around him grew heavy.
The pressure concentrated on both shoulders spread widely across his back.
‘Just as described—every ten stairs, the pressure intensifies one step.’
He could still endure this easily enough.
Sang Hyuk gauged the shifted weight and stepped onward.
Twenty.
The pressure that had reached his waist now crushed his entire upper body.
Thirty.
Now with each lift of his foot, an invisible force pulled his entire body downward.
The sensation was different from what he’d learned from the strategy guide’s numbers alone.
‘Pure mana alone creating this much weight?’
Past the fortieth stair, Sang Hyuk’s breathing began to grow labored.
[Current Pressure Level: 4]
[Stops Recorded: 0]
The Blue Resting Point flickered right beside him, but Sang Hyuk didn’t spare it a glance.
The instant his foot touched the fiftieth stair.
Boom!
A fiercer pressure crushed Sang Hyuk’s entire body.
The stone stairs beneath his feet cracked.
Crunch.
Sang Hyuk’s knees buckled slightly for the first time.
‘This is no trivial trial, that’s for certain.’
It was then.
Thump!
The Apocalypse Dragon’s heart beat stronger than usual.
The blood-red aura that had lingered only in his right arm and shoulder now faintly spread to his right chest.
In an instant, the weight crushing Sang Hyuk’s body noticeably lessened.
Especially his right arm and shoulder, where Bloodline Adaptation had taken hold, moved with their usual lightness even within the pressure.
「Bloodline Adaptation responds to the intense magical pressure.」
[Mana resistance increases in areas touched by the bloodline.]
‘The dragon’s blood itself is resistant to mana?’
Now that he thought about it, there was nothing strange in that.
It was the blood of a dragon, called the patriarch of all magic.
Resistance to mana pressure was only natural.
That power now began to spread from his arm and shoulder into his upper body.
Sang Hyuk straightened his bent knees and resumed his ascent.
Sixty.
The seventieth step.
The pressure intensified with each level, yet it no longer arrested Sang Hyuk’s movement as it had at first.
The more it weighed upon him, the more vigorously his heart beat, and the blood-red aura spreading across his chest and back grew steadily thicker.
[Current Pressure Level: 7]
[Times Stopped: 0]
[Time Remaining: 08:24]
Sang Hyuk passed through another rest point and stepped onto the eightieth stair.
Crash!
Pressure crashed down as though an enormous boulder had settled upon his back.
Sang Hyuk’s upper body dipped, and the stone steps beneath his feet spiderwebbed with cracks.
Then it came.
Thump!
As the Apocalypse Dragon’s heart beat again, the blood-red aura scattered across his upper body deepened in hue.
Strength returned first to the regions where the aura had grown richer.
Sang Hyuk straightened his torso and pressed forward onto the next step.
The pressure remained fierce.
For others it would have been an ordeal that made even climbing these stairs a struggle, but for Sang Hyuk it was merely stimulus accelerating his Bloodline Adaptation.
‘Excellent.’
He only increased his pace.
Before long, the final rest point beside the ninetieth stair glowed blue.
Sang Hyuk did not turn toward it, pressing straight onto the ninety-first step.
The ninety-fifth.
The ninety-ninth.
At last, the moment his foot touched the hundredth step.
Crush!
The pressure of the final level crushed down upon Sang Hyuk’s entire body.
The stone steps beneath him sank deeply, fissures radiating outward in all directions.
Only three strides remained between him and the Pressure Stone at the summit.
Sang Hyuk exhaled sharply, steadied his wavering balance, and took the first step.
Crack!
The fissures beneath his feet spread wider.
Pushing his body forward, he took the remaining two steps in succession.
Standing before the Pressure Stone, Sang Hyuk extended his right hand.
Click.
The moment his palm made contact with the blue crystal.
Brilliant burst!
Azure light erupted from the Pressure Stone and enveloped Sang Hyuk’s body.
At the same instant, all the pressure that had weighed upon him vanished.
「You have completed the Ninth Floor Trial: Thousand-Weight Stairs.」
[Times Stopped: 0]
[Rest Points Used: 0]
[Protective Authority Used: 0]
[Clear Time: 02:39]
[Mana Consumption Efficiency: Optimal]
[Clear Rating: SSS]
「Your level has increased.」
[Lv. 9 → Lv. 10]
Whoosh.
Warm mana surged upward, flooding swiftly through his body.
The fatigue accumulated in climbing the stairs dissipated in an instant.
Boom!
With the rush of mana, the Apocalypse Dragon’s heart beat powerfully, and
the faint blood-red aura scattered across his upper body converged toward the region around his heart.
Flowing in a single thread, the aura poured unimpeded across his right shoulder and down his arm.
In that moment, a notification appeared—one he had never seen before.
「The Heart of the Apocalypse Dragon recognizes a new condition for growth.」

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————