Chapter 194: Edda Chronicles 3

“You need erdium to unlock the second seal. The finest quality erdium there is, like the one in the Valkyrie's ruins.”

Brynhild said with a frown.

Just like Helena, she was worried that Roan would make trouble after getting his seals released.

Meanwhile, Roan was excited and urged Woohyuk.

"Quick! Quickly activate the next rune! Then I can finally humiliate all the girls here!”

“Didn’t I tell you to be quiet?”

“Honestly, don’t you want to mess around with these bitches too? If you release me... Hmmmh?!”

A dry cloth was stuffed in Roan's mouth, who was trying to spread vulgarity.

Helena then dropped a fist on his head.

“You really don’t hold back on your words, don’t you? You’re calling us bitches? Ridiculous...”

“Hmmm...!! Hmmmmm!!!”

“Shut it. You need to be disciplined. Actually, more than a discipline. You need to be punished. A bad child must be punished!”

“You would make a great mother, Witch of Profanity.”

“… What are you talking about now? You’re a rude man who can't read the mood.”

"Haha… Everyone, let’s calm down and return to the original subject...”

The silent Sieg smiled awkwardly and tried to resolve the tension.

As the surroundings became quiet, Woohyuk took out the high quality erdium from his pocket.

"But the erdium won’t be consumed and disappear just by removing the seal, right?"

"It won’t. You saw the power of erdium once in Inotia, the City of Magic-Engineering, right?”

Brynhild reached out her hand and told him not to worry.

When Woohyuk handed over the erdium, she immediately chanted a spell specific for Valkyries.

Swoosh!

A bright light resembling an aurora emanated from the erdium and flowed into Roan's neck.

After some time...

"Hahahahahaha! I’ve finally regained my power! It's an incomplete release, but it’s more than enough!”

Roan cheered joyfully and raised both hands up high.

He had broken through the golden rope.

Woohyuk then grabbed him by the collar.

“Who told you you could break your restraints?”

“Ha! I’m not going to listen to you anymore! Because I am now...”

Thwack!

Thwack!

Thwack!

Woohyuk's relentless began beating Roan, who then cried out loudly in pain.

He tried to resist, but his head kept hitting the marble floor every time Woohyuk’s fist swung down.

“Keuk...!”

“Don’t mess around, brat. I’ll use this opportunity to teach you a lesson.”

It was Woohyuk who had defeated six demon kings and three witches after obtaining the Asura class.

No matter how strong the Homunculus was, Roan couldn’t deal with Woohyuk with only half of his powers and abilities released.

Roan eventually knelt as Woohyuk's continued the beating.

“Aaaah! Roan was wrong! Please stop hitting me!”

“You’d make a great dad.”

“… Shut up, Helena.”

After brushing off Helena's return jab, Woohyuk grabbed Roan's nape.

Then Roan convulsed and began to shout.

“Pl, please spare me, Master! Roan was really stupid and hadn’t thought this through!”

“So you’ve finally realized your position here.”

If Woohyuk hadn’t overpowered Roan as soon as his second seal was released, the Homunculus would’ve blown the office away.

When Roan turned obedient, a series of system messages popped up before Woohyuk's eyes.

[Roan, the Homunculus of Gluttony, has recognized you as his master.]

[You may now select Roan's seal level (0~3) anytime, anywhere.]

Step 0 was to put him into a Shutdown state, just like when he was abandoned.

If he created trouble and messes, Woohyuk could sanction him immediately.

As Woohyuk stood with a satisfied grin, a golden aura suddenly shot out from the Edda Chronicles.

Swoooosh!

Its hidden ability had activated because the owner had satisfied all the conditions required.

When Woohyuk touched the document, a system message popped up once again.

[The Epic Quest ‘Legacy of the Dragon Tribe’ has begun.]

[As according to the ancient covenant, the dragons who departed to another dimension will now return.]

The ancient covenant.

A promise the heads of the nine dragon tribes had made with the Creator.

When the dangers foretold by the Goddesses of Fate would approach the world, they would return to the continent once again to face those dangers.

In other words, the dragon tribes had known in advance that the Three Great Catastrophes would occur.

In Woohyuk’s past life, no one had inherited Asura's name, so the dragons would’ve returned to the Eeth Continent in the distant future, after they had dealt with the infectious disease that polluted their minds.

As Woohyuk stared blankly in the air for a moment, Brynhild spoke first.

“Did you receive the Epic Quest?”

“Right, but there’s a slight problem.”

The return of the dragon tribes.

It would have a tremendous effect on the Eeth Continent.

Unlike his past life, the present life was accelerating at a tremendous pace.

He had yet to gain the Dragon Lord Class, so his current plans would be disrupted if there were friction between him and the dragons.

Helena also frowned at Woohyuk's explanation.

“There wasn't much mentioned in the Prophetic Book, but… there will definitely be some damage since the Eeth Continent is currently ruled by demons.”

“Ma, Master! Roan will get killed when the dragons see him! So please don't drag me outside!”

Roan, who had been listening to the conversation silently, clung to Woohyuk's leg as he feared his demise.

But Alejandro shook his head.

“The quest was activated thanks to this Homunculus, so you should have him accompany you. However, hiding his existence as much as possible will reduce any possible conflict with the dragon tribes.”

“Thanks for the advice. Then you can return to the dungeon now.”

When Woohyuk gave a signal, Sieg grabbed Alejandro and pulled him out of the office.

Watching their figures retreat in the distance, Brynhild spoke to Woohyuk as she suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, by the way, aren’t the Corcas Mountains the territory of Black Dragon King Drakia? If he realizes you are the monarch of the Rhine Kingdom, I don't think he will stay still.”

"Don’t worry about that. Joanna will explain it well.”

He hadn’t appointed Joanna as the regent while he was away until now for nothing.

Woohyuk immediately went to find her with the others.

“… The dragon tribes have returned?”

“According to the system message, yes.”

“The kingdom will be in turmoil once again. According to the myth, the dragons generally did not like humans very much.”

Black Dragon King Drakia was a very unusual case.

When Joanna showed her anxiety, Woohyuk reassured her.

“If you act wisely, there will be no big problems. At least for the Rhine Kingdom.”

“Wouldn't Drakia make me an unreasonable demand? Even if I am a descendant of Queen Iona, a long time has passed...”

“Be confident, Even Ericsson, the Great Sage who served Queen Iona, said you looked like her.”

As he made plans and calculations, Woohyuk led Joanna to a carriage waiting outside the palace.

They would head to the Corcas Mountains to meet Black Dragon King Drakia.

But unexpectedly, the dragon in question arrived in Blackburn by the time he got on the carriage.

“…You seem to be having fun living in the castle I built for Iona, you bug.”

An extremely furious expression that would reappear in his nightmares.

Woohyuk calmed him down as he got off the carriage again.

“You seem to be misunderstanding something. Calm your anger and listen to me first.”

“…Are you a demon? You seem to be skilled enough to enter this castle that I protected with draconic runes. Your story is not worth listening to, so just die!”

Gliding through the air, Drakia blasted out a black breath from his mouth.

Woohyuk immediately used his demonic energy to create a protective barrier that was large enough to cover Blackburn.

Boooooooooooooooom!

The black breath struck the barrier, creating immense heat.

Nevertheless, the barrier resisted the attack, and Drakia looked puzzled.

“Are you a high-ranking demon? … No, even high-ranking demons can't stop my breath like this. Then you must be one of the 72 Demon Kings.”

“Didn’t I ask you to listen to my story? Will you take responsibility if Iona's descendant dies after attacking so blindly?”

“Iona’s descendant...?”

Drakia looked down at Joanna, who was standing next to Woohyuk.

A beautiful woman with indigo hair.

Even though the sight of a dragon and its breath should’ve shaken her, she had not lost her dignity.

'I can definitely see some resemblance with Iona.'

However, there was no evidence that the woman in front of her was of the Clavis family.

After Drakia transformed himself into a human, he slowly descended to Joanna’s location.

“My name is Joanna. I happened to pass the trial prepared by the Great Sage Ericsson and became Queen Iona's successor.”

“… You are the new successor? Then you would have her heirlooms?”

"Here they are. Both are the genuine articles.”

Joanna pulled out Queen Iona's Guardian Cross and the Blissful Flute.

Afterwards, when she played the Blissful Flute, Drakia's eyes widened.

“It’s true. It's the artifact that Iona received from the Golden Dragon Karlstadt. It can only be used by her descendants.”

“Be grateful to me, Drakia. I saved her from danger and led her to the underground dungeon of Blackburn.”

“… Why do you do good deeds unlike other demons? Are you trying to use Joanna politically?”

“That’s not the case! He is not interested in satisfying his self-interest!”

Joanna defended Woohyuk and told Drakia the details of what had happened in the Rhine Kingdom and the surrounding countries.

Then Drakia turned at Woohyuk with a shocked expression.

“…It can’t be. You are the one who brought us back to the Eeth Continent.”

“Is it that hard to believe? Then I'll bring over more witnesses.”

Woohyuk pointed to Helena and Brynhild, who had just exited the palace and joined his side.

Helena was a saintess who had inherited the divine lineage.

Brynhild was a Valkyrie who once followed the God of Light in the heavenly world.

Both were in a position that opposed the demon faction.

After hearing their testimonies, Drakia lifted his white flag.

“I'm sorry, I was mistaken. I hope you will forgive me with your broad generosity.”

“The past is in the past. Let’s turn the page. But I do have one request.”

“… Is it about Epic Quest?”

“So you know about it.”

Drakia, the Black Dragon King, must’ve heard about the future from the Goddesses of Fate ages ago.

That was why he was most likely roughly aware of the situation right now.

He just didn't know that the black-haired man in front of him was the one who was doing that epic quest.

When Drakia decided to cooperate, Woohyuk stared at the quest information window floating in front of him.

[New Quest]

Name: Legacy of the Dragon Tribe

Type: Epic

Description: After passing the trials given by the heads of the nine dragon tribes, conquer the hidden Dragon Ruins.

Other: Cannot be re-attempted upon failure.

At first glance, it seemed simple, but it was a quest that wouldn’t be easy to clear.

There were nine qualifications he had to pass and acquire, and the Dragon Ruins were certain to be difficult to conquer.

'But I must succeed.'

If he didn’t have this much determination, he would not have used the Return Scroll without hesitation.

He would fill in all the Divine Thrones within 40 years at the latest.

This was merely a stepping stone to achieve his ultimate goal.

Woohyuk calmly spoke as he recalled the plan he had made in advance.

“Black Dragon King Drakia, I request you to make your trial simple.”

“Is anything fine if it’s simple?”

"Yes. But make it something that can be done in less than a minute.”

"Alright. Then go stand next to that carriage. Do a handstand by leaning your legs on it.”

“…Such a piece of cake.”

Woohyuk followed Drakia's instructions, pretending that this was the school gym.

Then, a series of system messages popped up in his inverted vision.

[You have passed the Black Dragon King Drakia’s trial.]

[Remaining trials: 7.]

[Since you have already passed the Golden Dragon King Adakar's trial, it has been counted.]

This was just perfect. Two fewer to go.