Raided The God’S Warehouse [EN]: Chapter 377

381.

The only things shining in the darkness were the dragon’s eyes.

And for good reason, the dragon before him was entirely black, save for its eyes. The expression ‘Dark Dragon’ suited it perfectly.

Moreover, its size was immense. The eyes, descending to Seun’s eye level, looked like two full moons sinking.

‘The Constellations must be blocked, too.’

Mamon’s noisy messages were gone.

Probably Mamon was furious and yelling, while Leviathan was worried about Seun and panicking.

As he thought this, the two eyes came right up to Seun’s nose.

“You’ve properly qualified as a dragon. If you were just a hatchling-level dragon, you wouldn’t have passed this difficulty.”

“Did you design this trial yourself?”

“Indeed. I risked my life to create this trial, imbuing the Dragon Heart with my will. It’s still amazing to think about—a human passing it.”

The dragon’s large eyes blinked.

Even without roaring, Dragon Fear naturally emanated from its body.

It couldn’t compare to when he faced Lucifer, but it was enough to make an ordinary player lose consciousness.

Even though the Stigmata couldn’t exert its power, Seun was able to converse with it normally thanks to Turiek.

“Besides my trial, I can sense the lingering scent of a dragon on you. You haven’t hunted a dragon… but you’ve received a dragon’s grace.”

At his words, a subtle chill emanated from behind Seun.

Was it because this was a mental space, not reality?

The aura of the Snow Dragon, dwelling in Seun’s Blue Mana Circle, was faintly manifesting like mist.

Not only that.

Nokpung, who had strengthened Seun’s Green Mana Circle in the previous trial, and the Coral Tower Lord, who had helped create the White Mana Circle.

The wills of those who had influenced Seun’s circles flickered faintly, proving their existence.

“Just seeing their lingering scents is enough to trust your disposition. You’re qualified to be a dragon. And your strength is sufficient as well.”

The dragon nodded.

What would have happened if someone had passed the trial and qualified as a dragon but didn’t please him?

Even though it was just the faint will of an old dragon dwelling in the Dragon Soul Stone, its power was enough to shatter the mind of someone drawn into the mental world.

Perhaps it would have driven them mad, destroying their mind along with his will.

‘That’s definitely possible.’

Seun was grateful for the lingering scents standing calmly behind him.

Of course, he was only now learning that their lingering scents remained in his circles.

“Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. I was too focused on assessing your qualifications and disposition, so I’m a bit late. My apologies.”

“Jeong Seun.”

“Yes, Jeong Seun, you say. It seems you’re not from my dimension. I am Gorkunians, the Gold Scent Dragon who was active on the Raftel Continent.”

“Gold Scent Dragon… a Gold Dragon?”

“I was born with the properties of gold. Ah, are you surprised? Anyone looking at me now would think of a Black Dragon, also known as a True Dark Dragon, rather than a Gold Dragon.”

The characteristics of a Gold Dragon included a breath that emitted the energy of gold, but above all, its magnificent golden appearance.

The Gold Dragon boasted the most brilliant and beautiful scales among all dragons.

But now, not a trace of that brilliant gold could be found on his body.

He was truly a Dark Dragon among Dark Dragons.

So thoroughly assimilated into the darkness that even the outline of his body was barely visible, except for his eyes.

If he didn’t open his eyes, it seemed no one could find even such a massive body in the darkness.

“Why did you become like this?”

“It’s not strange. This trial consumed all the magic power of the Dragon Heart, so it’s natural that darkness seeped in during that time.”

The case of the dragon who introduced himself as ‘Gorkunians’ was completely different from when he used the Snow Dragon’s Dragon Heart.

The Snow Dragon’s will remaining in the Dragon Heart had formed a mental barrier, but that was merely a ‘lingering scent,’ as Gorkunians had said.

But the one existing before Seun’s eyes now was exuding a vivid aura as if alive.

His will was perfectly preserved in the Dragon Soul Stone, lacking only a physical body.

“So, what happens now?”

“Ah, I didn’t expect the plan to succeed so well, so I got a little carried away. I keep forgetting the important explanations.”

The Dragon Soul Stone floated between Seun and Gorkunians.

Outside, it had been as black as if absorbing light, but now the Dragon Soul Stone resembled Gorkunians’ eyes, shining fiercely.

“From now on, I will engrave the Dragon Seal on your soul.”

“Dragon Seal?”

“Think of it as raising your soul to the level of a dragon. Although I respect other species, the dragon’s soul is the most vast and pure among all races in the middle realm. Ah…”

Gorkunians, who had been explaining, lowered his head again and met Seun’s eyes.

Then, as if even more amazed, he began to observe Seun from side to side.

“Your soul is truly astonishing. I can’t believe you’re human. The energy of a god, the energy of a demon. And something I can’t identify… hmm, I can’t figure out what it is at all.”

That was inevitable.

The Stigmata Seun possessed was not something he had created himself from the beginning.

He had created it by devouring the divinity of Pan, the god of animal husbandry, and strengthened it by defeating Outer.

He had also defeated Triton, the god of the sea, and seized the divinity of Khepri of Heliopolis, which he had flexibly discovered.

He had even received help from several Demon Gods.

Currently, Seun’s Stigmata—no, the state of Seun’s soul—was truly…

“Chaos. I can’t understand how you’re maintaining your soul in such a state.”

It was chaos itself.

Good and evil, as well as the power of those called Tyrants, were mixed together, having devoured Outer.

“Is this possible for a human soul? No, ah… I see. Your soul is taking on two forms.”

“Two forms?”

“Even I wouldn’t have noticed if my power to observe souls beyond the physical body, with only my will remaining, wasn’t so clear. Yes, it’s unbelievable, but this form is clearly…”

His eyes, which had been sparkling with curiosity, sank deeply.

Seun could recognize his thoughts from that familiar atmosphere.

“A soul that has experienced regression.”

He had already seen those who had guessed Seun’s regression several times.

He thought their eyes looked similar, and Gorkunians had also realized the truth about the regression.

However, it was the first time he had heard that the soul was divided into two forms through regression.

“You didn’t know, judging by your expression. That’s understandable. Observing one’s own soul is an act that even those who have reached the realm of transcendence cannot easily achieve.”

“Is there a problem with that?”

“A problem? Of course, there is. A single life having two forms of a soul means that the soul is that much more unstable.”

“If it’s unstable…”

“You don’t need to worry now. Your soul is filled with vast power to resolve that instability.”

“It sounds like I could die if that power disappears.”

“That could happen. If the power leans to one side or the power filling the soul falls below a certain level, your soul will surely collapse.”

A more serious situation than he had thought.

It sounded like his soul could have scattered without him even knowing the reason.

“In that situation, it doesn’t seem like a good time to receive this Dragon Seal.”

“Ah, is it because of that?”

He pointed behind Seun.

The lingering scents remaining in the circles had all disappeared, and instead, a faint outline was obscuring his vision.

The end of the outline was not visible even when he raised his head.

Eventually, Gorkunians smiled faintly and shared his vision.

He didn’t know how he did it, but the identity of the outline he saw through Gorkunians’ vision was…

‘A giant.’

It was the giant’s essence he had swallowed in the trial on the 51st floor.

He hadn’t been able to digest it at all, but he didn’t expect it to remain so intact inside Seun.

Thanks to being assimilated with Seun, its unique pressure no longer felt threatening.

However, the magnitude of the power flowing from that giant essence felt even clearer than before.

“I wonder how you swallowed something like that. A coincidence upon a coincidence, combined with confidence? Even the god of luck couldn’t bring about such fortune.”

Certainly, he had pushed himself when he swallowed the giant’s essence.

Thinking about it, it was strange. He had clearly thought it would be impossible, but somehow he felt confident that it was possible.

The Demon Gods had helped him barely swallow the giant’s essence, but somehow that too seemed like a natural conclusion.

Before his regression, Seun had lived as an adventurer, constantly taking on challenges, but since he wasn’t strong at the time, he had always prioritized safety.

The Seun of that time would never have done something as reckless as this.

‘It’s the same this time, too.’

Although Leviathan had given him advice, Leviathan didn’t know much about the Dragon Soul Stone either.

As he had initially thought, the will of the Dragon Soul Stone and the giant’s essence could have clashed, causing his soul to explode.

But for some reason, Mamon’s suspicion grew into conviction, and he used the Dragon Soul Stone as if it were natural.

Could this really be called a coincidence?

Could this really be called confidence?

If this wasn’t a simple coincidence, was some kind of causality leading Seun somewhere?

Just as complex thoughts flashed through his mind to the point of headache, Gorkunians interrupted Seun’s worries and spoke first.

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Does that mean the Dragon Seal has nothing to do with the soul’s capacity?”

“As I said before, the Dragon Seal is a method to raise the soul to match that of a dragon. If a real dragon had used it, they might have reached the realm of a Quasi-God [a being close to godhood] beyond a dragon.”

Indeed, the Dragon Soul Stone he had prepared was originally created for use on a dragon. The trial was the same.

Even though it was a power that could grow the soul of a fellow dragon to the level of a Quasi-God, there was no regret in his expression.

Rather, he was looking at Seun with eyes filled with even greater curiosity than before.

“Although you may not be able to reach the realm of a Quasi-God, your potential for growth surpasses that of a dragon. Above all, if you completely digest that…”

His gaze turned to the giant again.

His gaze was once again conveyed to Seun.

It was a massive size even when looking at it again.

It wasn’t just expressing the bulk, but the magnitude of the power emanating from the giant’s soul was so astonishing that it was beyond description.

“You might reach the realm of a complete God, not a Quasi-God.”