After Regressing, I Gained the Power of the Demonic Dragon - Chapter 34

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 34
That night.
Sang Hyuk used his remaining Iron Rookie Participation Permits.
The third match didn’t take long either.
The opposing team assigned all three players to him from the opening bell, but it was they who fell first.
[Iron Rookie Personal Record: 3 Wins 0 Losses]
[MVP: 3 Consecutive Times]
[Sang Hyuk Participating Match South Korea Season Score: +9]
The match formats differed all three times, but the results stayed the same each time.
Back in the Settlement Space, Sang Hyuk pulled out a worn scroll from his inventory.
[Power Enhancement Voucher]
It was a reward he’d earned by completing the hidden objective on the twentieth floor.
Sang Hyuk had held off on using it until now.
He wanted to confirm the limits of his newly acquired Powers firsthand before deciding where to invest it.
[Erosion]
[Dragon’s Eye]
[Dragon’s Bloodline]
[Dragon’s Oppression]
None of them would be a waste to enhance.
If he strengthened Erosion, his most potent offensive tool would grow sharper still.
Should Dragon’s Eye advance, he’d be able to parse even more intricate structures faster than now.
Dragon’s Bloodline could grant him the margin to sustain his Powers longer.
All of them were strengths he needed.
But what he lacked most right now was a means to suppress multiple enemies at once.
Erosion was formidable.
Yet he still had to corrode each enemy individually.
As the number of opponents grew, so did the time and mana consumed—inevitably.
To earn SSS Evaluations on every floor going forward, he’d need to manage not just clear time and damage taken, but be ready to handle whatever hidden objectives appeared.
In that light, Dragon’s Oppression could fill the gap he had—a wide-area suppression tool he didn’t possess.
Weak enemies would fall at once, leaving him free to focus on the strong ones.
‘If I’m going for SSS on every floor, this comes first.’
Sang Hyuk made his choice.
“Dragon’s Oppression.”
The characters inscribed on the scroll blazed crimson.
Whoosh!
The light gathered into Sang Hyuk’s chest, seeping into the Heart of the Apocalypse Dragon.
Thump!
His heart beat hard.
「Dragon’s Oppression is being enhanced.」
[Power Stage]
[Stage 1 → Stage 2]
[You can concentrate oppression on a single target.]
[Mana consumption decreases when deploying it against multiple Magic Beasts.]
[Magic Beasts with higher Levels than the user will find it harder to shake off the oppression than before.]
[Owned Power Enhancement Vouchers: 0]
Sang Hyuk narrowed the oppression’s range to around his right hand.
Unlike before, he could now designate its scope.
When he expanded the range again, the oppression spread throughout the room.
Yet the mana being consumed was less than it had been.
‘It’s definitely different now.’
He’d need to test this change firsthand against powerful Magic Beasts.
That opportunity would come soon enough.
* * *
The next morning.
A brief message came from Kim Seo Yoon.
[Kim Seo Yoon: I finished thirty units of the mass-produced model. They all passed the same conditions, and I didn’t use a single rare tower material.]
[Kim Seo Yoon: Send me real-world data once you get it from Bugangsoa. I’ll ship them right away.]
Kim Do Hyun had set things up so that Sang Hyuk appeared to be delivering Ilsung’s equipment to Bugangsoa.
Kim Seo Yoon, unaware that Bugangsoa was her own brother, had entrusted him with a combat-tested set of equipment.
Sang Hyuk checked the performance of the gear he’d received from his older sister once more.
Ilsung’s mass-produced protective equipment could be manufactured with ordinary Mana Stones and existing production facilities alone.
It was designed so that when the first shield shattered, a backup shield would deploy once more.
The Association had said they would review a trial supply of eighty units pending field data and official verification, and seven guilds were already waiting for samples.
But there wasn’t a single formal contract yet.
It had to prove its function in the tower first.
Sang Hyuk donned the equipment and entered Personal 22nd Floor.
Crack-crack-crack!
Lightning bolts fell relentlessly across the vast plain shrouded in dark clouds.
[Level 22 Personal Trial: <Lightning Plains>]
[Primary Objective]
[Destroy the Discharge Core at the end of the plain.]
[Hidden Objective]
[Do not use Lightning Rod Stones even once.]
Seven Lightning Rod Stones, which dulled the force of lightning strikes, stood scattered across the plain.
Sang Hyuk intended to withstand the strongest lightning bolt instead, using Ilsung’s equipment.
Sang Hyuk passed the nearest Lightning Rod Stone.
At the same moment, his eyes deepened to a dark crimson.
‘Dragon’s Eye.’
The flow of mana traveling between the dark clouds and the earth came into focus.
Three currents were converging into a single point.
That was where the strongest lightning would strike moments from now.
Whether the equipment could withstand it remained unknown, even through Dragon’s Eye.
Still, he had confirmed in advance which direction to escape if the shield failed to hold.
Without hesitation, Sang Hyuk sprinted toward that spot.
Whoosh!
He threw himself into the convergence point of three lightning bolts.
Crash!
The first shield shattered into fragments.
But before the lightning reached Sang Hyuk, the equipment at his waist flared with light.
Flare!
[Backup shield deploying automatically.]
The second shield held back the remaining electrical current.
‘Good.’
The necessary performance had been confirmed.
But the Lightning Plains did not end with a single strike.
Crack-crack-crack!
The next barrage of lightning gathered within the dark clouds.
Sang Hyuk no longer relied on the equipment’s shield.
He read where the lightning would strike before the mana converged into a single point.
When the right side was blocked, he drove left; when the path ahead was cut off, he changed direction immediately.
Crash! Crash!
Lightning bolts struck the ground moments after Sang Hyuk passed.
The lightning hammered the plain relentlessly, yet never once touched his body.
At the far end of the plain floated a Discharge Core the size of a human head.
[Discharge Core Level 22]
Lightning struck before the core.
The instant the lightning faded, Sang Hyuk crossed its path and seized the sphere.
‘Erosion.’
Crackle-crackle!
The sphere turned to black sand from where his hand touched it.
As the Discharge Core vanished completely, the dark clouds dispersed rapidly.
「You have completed the Level 22 Personal Trial.」
[Lightning Rod Stones Used: 0/7]
[Direct Player Hits: 0]
[Clear Time: 01:38]
[Clear Evaluation: SSS]
[Ilsung Mass-Produced Protective Equipment]
[Maximum Field Protection Output: 144]
[Mana Recharge Rate: 12.1%]
[Backup Shield Deployment: Normal]
[Equipment Function Disabled: 0 times]
「Your level has increased.」
[Lv.22 → Lv.23]
「Your Flawless Ascension consecutive record has been updated.」
[Personal Climbing SSS Evaluation: 22 consecutive times]
[Hidden Objective Cumulative Achievement: 7 times]
[Uncharted Footprints: 2/10]
「You receive a hidden objective assembly reward.」
[Acquired 1 Power Enhancement Voucher Fragment.]
[Current assembly progress: 1/3]
Just moments ago, Sang Hyuk had exhausted all his enhancement vouchers strengthening Dragon’s Oppression, and now the first fragment for the next voucher arrived immediately.
Sang Hyuk cheerfully added the fragment to his inventory.
After returning to reality, he extracted only the equipment’s real-world statistics and sent them to Ilsung.
This would become the foundation for Ilsung’s equipment to seize market share monopolized by Tae Sung.
* * *
At the same moment.
Korean Player Association Headquarters Underground Command Center.
A map of the Republic of Korea displayed on the front screen.
A map that, each quarter, would be covered in red Fissure markers.
But now, no predicted Fissures appeared anywhere in the country.
[Republic of Korea This Quarter Predicted Shortage Points: 0]
[Stability Requirement Surplus Contribution: +4,000]
[Current Estimated Fissure Portals: 0]
Seo Jin Ho, Director of the National Strategy Headquarters, posed a question.
“Is there a possibility the score will fall short again before the Settlement?”
The analyst answered immediately.
“There’s no reason the current score would decrease. However, if any remaining Fissures in the country go berserk, the stability requirement could rise.”
“How likely?”
“All existing Fissures are within our control. Without external variables, it’s less than one percent.”
Seo Jin Ho fell silent for a long moment.
Until last quarter, he had needed to decide which regions to abandon.
Each time, he had weighed priorities with a bleeding heart.
But this time, there were no Fissures left to prioritize.
A man sitting to one side of the conference table slowly unclenched his fist.
Yoo Hyun Seok.
Level 68, the Republic of Korea’s top-ranked Awakener overall.
“If another large Fissure had opened this time, I was prepared to throw myself at it—to close it at any cost.”
Yoo Hyun Seok gazed at the screen, now bare of any Fissure markers, and laughed quietly.
“There’s no longer any need.”
His words came with a smile, but his voice was heavy.
“We’ve incurred a tremendous debt to Impossible.”
“That’s true. This is a debt the entire nation of Korea has incurred.”
No ranker in Korea could have produced this number alone.
Yet a single rookie player who hadn’t even revealed his name was erasing the sacrifices that all of Korea had been forced to bear.
Everyone in this room knew that fact.
Seo Jin Ho issued orders at once.
“Cease designating additional evacuation targets. Have response teams maintain deployment readiness only until the Settlement date.”
“Understood.”
The screen shifted to foreign intelligence.
[Chinese Player Association: Attempting to secure data on Korean new and conditional Awakeners]
[Russian Player Committee: Confirmed recruitment team activity in Korea]
[Russian Special Recovery Team: Standing by for deployment]
China and Russia were both hunting for Impossible.
If recruitment failed, kidnapping or elimination was a distinct possibility.
Seo Jin Ho spoke.
“Elevate all Impossible-related materials to national critical protection classification. Block all external access to the new Awakener roster and conditional awakening records.”
“What about materials already sent out?”
“Plant access logs on dummy accounts. Make China and Russia chase different regions.”
Seo Jin Ho added immediately:
“However, do not use actual civilians as bait.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Yoo Hyun Seok rose from his seat.
“If the Irregular wishes for protection, I’ll step forward personally.”
“Do that, then.”
Seo Jin Ho studied the map once more, the Fissure markings now erased.
“But even if we find him first, we must not attempt to bring him to our side. Simply convey our intention to protect him, and leave the choice entirely to him.”
No one had the right to command the man who had saved the Republic of Korea.
If they wanted him to keep choosing Korea, they had to prove first that Korea was a nation that would never betray him.
“Before foreign powers can reach him, we must become his shield.”
* * *
The next day.
The moment Sang Hyuk prepared to ascend the 23rd Floor.
The number he’d been watching counted down to its final digit.
[Threshold of the Dragon’s Treasury and Outer Treasury]
[Entrance restoration in: 00:00:03]
[00:00:02]
[00:00:01]
“Entrance restoration complete.”
Sang Hyuk withdrew the Dragon’s Treasury Seal Key from his inventory.
As he held the key aloft, an enormous door materialized before him.
The door towered several times his height, its surface bearing a dark gleam like ancient blood gone stiff with age.
As Sang Hyuk brought the key closer, a keyhole opened in the center of the door.
Click.
The key slid into place of its own accord.
[Seal Key confirmed.]
[Opening the Threshold of the Dragon’s Treasury and Outer Treasury.]
Groooaaaan!
The door swung outward on both sides.
The stench of ancient dust rushed forth from within.
As Sang Hyuk crossed the threshold, the entrance sealed shut behind him.
Groooaaan.
Darkness swallowed everything.
The Seal Key in Sang Hyuk’s hand glowed faintly, illuminating the ground beneath his feet.
“You have entered the unregistered Irregular Battlefield: Threshold of the Dragon’s Treasury and Outer Treasury.”
[Dragon’s Treasury Seal Key confirmed.]
[Heart of the Apocalypse Dragon confirmed.]
[Authority to manage the Outer Treasury cannot be verified.]
[Seal of the First Storage Area remains in effect.]
[Condition for opening:]
– Recognition of the final Guardian Beast
To enter the Dragon’s Treasury, neither the Key nor the Heart of the Apocalypse Dragon alone would suffice.
The being who had guarded this place until the very end would have to accept Sang Hyuk directly.
Sang Hyuk followed the stone path illuminated by the glowing key.
Broken statues lay scattered on either side of the passage.
A beast with severed legs, a wyvern with wings torn away, a giant kneeling without a head—all lay shattered, facing toward the entrance of the Outer Treasury.
The trail of destruction extended all the way into the Gate Chamber.
It looked as though something had forced its way in from outside.
As Sang Hyuk pressed deeper, the passage opened into a Gate Chamber whose ceiling rose beyond sight.
Massive storage vaults were embedded in every wall, yet none of them would open.
The door at the far end of the chamber was bound with multiple layers of chain.
[Outer Treasury First Storage Area]
[Current status: Sealed]
Then came a sound from the right—small claws scraping against stone.
A moment later, the sound came again.
“Hrrrgh……”
The cry was so faint it seemed ready to fade entirely.
Sang Hyuk lifted the key higher, and light reached beneath a collapsed pillar.
On the ground lay a trail of small paw prints and dried blood.
At the end of the trail, something lifted its head.
A creature so small it could fit in one palm.
Its round face and compact body were deceptive—the oversized front paws belonged to something far larger, yet they recalled a kitten nonetheless.
Elongated ears and a tail split into two forks at the tip caught the eye.
The fur covering its entire body shimmered with a soft violet hue whenever the seal key’s light touched it.
But its condition was appalling.
The creature’s frame was wasted away—ribs visible beneath stretched skin.
Its fur was matted with dust and dried blood, and a deep wound gashed the right flank.
A black collar fitted snugly around its neck, with a crude coupling pin fixed to the back.
A thick chain extended from that pin and was driven deep into the Gate Chamber’s wall.
Beyond a collapsed pillar lay a narrow passage leading into the First Storage Area.
The Guardian Beast blocked that entrance with its small body.
Even in a frame barely capable of drawing breath, it refused to abandon its post before the final door.
[Young Guardian Beast of the Outer Treasury]
‘The final Guardian Beast.’
The creature’s gaze dropped from Sang Hyuk’s face to his chest.
Thump.
The Heart of the Apocalypse Dragon beat once.
The Guardian Beast’s pupils narrowed to slits.
Snarl!
The creature’s claws raked the stone floor.
Whoosh!
Its diminutive form shot forward, closing the distance to Sang Hyuk’s face in a single bound.
The chain, buried beneath rubble, dragged free with a grinding shriek.
Sang Hyuk made no move to evade—his right hand simply caught the rushing paw.
Crack!
The impact drove his wrist backward.
The Guardian Beast wrenched at its trapped foreleg while its opposite claws swept through the air.
Sang Hyuk tilted his head, and the talons whispered past his face.
Crunch!
The wild swipe tore a chunk from the stone pillar beside him.
A stone shard the size of a man’s head tumbled past his feet.
Twisting against his grip, the Guardian Beast bared its fangs again, still refusing to yield.
Even a body on the precipice of death would not surrender the door to him.

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