Chapter 8

Dragon Heart

Transplanting a Dragon Heart is an incredibly difficult and dangerous task.

Containing the immense mana held within a dragon’s heart into a human body is like a waterfall pouring into a tranquil lake.

Thump! Thump!

The northern inn of Thebes.

Having rented the largest room, Kim Jun took out the Dragon Heart, as massive as his own body.

‘I can do this.’

The heart he obtained from the 80th-floor Dragon’s Plain in his previous life.

Back then, when he attempted the transplant, his level was 91. His current level was 33, an overwhelming gap compared to his past life.

Even then, it was a dangerous challenge that risked his life.

‘I need Ms. Seo-yeon’s help.’

Having received rewards for the first clear of the 6th floor as well, Lee Seo-yeon’s current level was a whopping 10.

At this level, her unique skill, 「Mana Stabilization」, should also be significantly enhanced.

Knock knock-

Kim Jun carefully knocked on the room where his comrades were staying and called for Lee Seo-yeon.

“Ms. Seo-yeon, could you come out for a moment?”

The door opened, revealing Lee Seo-yeon’s face. Behind her, Ryu Ji-ah’s suspicious expression was visible.

“Oh my, are you only calling me? At this late hour?”
“Why only unnie? That’s weird? I’m coming too.”
“It’s not like that. Just go to sleep.”

After briefly apologizing, Kim Jun quietly walked with Lee Seo-yeon to a forest on the outskirts of Thebes.

“Guild Master? You must have a reason for bringing me all the way here. Will you tell me now?”

Lee Seo-yeon smiled, but her expression held a premonition that something serious was about to happen.

Kim Jun, the guild master of Han, was not a man who acted lightly.

There must be a significant reason for calling her out here at this hour.

And her expectation was correct.

“Ms. Seo-yeon.”
“Yes.”
“Please help me with the Dragon Heart transplant.”
“Excuse me?”

The heart Kim Jun took from his spatial pouch still pulsed red.

Lee Seo-yeon’s body instinctively recoiled from the intense mana waves emanating from the Dragon Heart.

“You, you have a Dragon Heart?”
“Yes.”
“But how are you going to transplant it?”
“I will handle it myself. Please just manage the turbulent flow of mana inside me during that time.”

Without Lee Seo-yeon, even if Kim Jun had obtained the Dragon Heart, it would have taken months for him to fully accept its power.

But he couldn’t afford such leisure now.

The Tower never gives challengers a moment to catch their breath.

A moment of stagnation meant regression, and that was akin to death.

“Let’s begin.”
“Yes, yes…”

Lee Seo-yeon’s voice trembled with tension.

The Dragon Heart’s overwhelming presence planted anxiety in her heart, but she steadied herself by repeatedly taking deep breaths.

Carefully, she approached behind Kim Jun, knelt down, and sat.

Kim Jun placed both hands on the massive Dragon Heart.

Thump! Thump!

The mana felt from the Dragon Heart was immense.

An overwhelming amount, so much that even all the mana in his body combined wouldn’t compare.

‘Will I be okay?’

He hesitated for a moment. Could a human body withstand such power? But he had already crossed a river of no return.

“Hoo.”

After taking a deep breath, he began absorbing the Dragon Heart’s mana.

Gasp!

Thick, red mana climbed up his fingers like a hungry snake.

The flow of mana, initially fine as a thin thread, gradually intensified.

He could see red lines spreading beneath his skin.

Like a river of flowing lava, the mana raced along Kim Jun’s hands to his arms, from his arms to his shoulders, and finally towards his heart.

“Gguuuuh!”

A suppressed scream burst from his mouth.

His entire body stiffened, and all his blood vessels swelled red beneath his skin like chains heated in fire.

The torrent of mana was testing his human limits.

“Uwaaa!!”

Kim Jun’s face contorted.

Pain washed over him.

A sensation as if every cell was burning. His human mana circuits were too narrow and weak to handle the dragon’s immense power.

‘If this continues….’

A danger signal rang in his consciousness. If this continued, his mana circuits would explode from overload.

His body would be washed away by the raging mana, and his soul would be torn apart.

“Guild Master!”

Lee Seo-yeon cried out urgently, but all she could do now was stabilize the flow from behind Kim Jun.

Saa-

Blue mana flowed from her fingertips and enveloped Kim Jun’s body.

But before the overwhelming, violent mana of the Dragon Heart, it was as thin as a strand of thread.

‘Stronger!’

Lee Seo-yeon gritted her teeth and poured out all her mana.

A more violent battle was raging inside Kim Jun.

He turned his consciousness inward. There, Kim Jun could see his own mana circuits.

Small rivers of blue light flowed within his body. The dragon’s red mana poured down upon them.

‘Don’t resist. Don’t reject. Surrender to the flow.’

Like wind blowing over a deep lake causing ripples, Kim Jun’s mana swayed.

He simply closed his eyes and fully felt the flow.

‘Let it all flow through.’

In his consciousness, two rivers met.

The blue mana of a human, and the red mana rushing in from the Dragon Heart.

At first, they collided, creating violent whirlpools, but as Kim Jun let go of all resistance, the two streams gradually began to find a single flow.

Gurgle!

The flow of his original mana. He let it flow there naturally.

The red waves flowing into the blue river soon became one, and

Dududu!

The unified mana soon gathered at his fingertips, and

Fwaaaa-!

Flames erupted from Kim Jun’s hands.

“!!”

It’s coming.

A massive wave flows.

The mana, which had been blocked somewhere and flowing only weakly until now, burst forth like a flood.

The dragon’s mana gradually began to stabilize in all his blood vessels.

“Guild Master! Open everything! Now is the time!”

He had to absorb all the power of the Dragon Heart. Not a single speck could be wasted.

He went back inside. There must be a barrier somewhere. It must be blocking him from fully drawing out the dragon’s mana.

“Gguuuuh!”

He sent his consciousness back into his body.

Like exploring a maze, he traced the path of the mana.

From the hands to the chest. And the flow starting from the chest was spreading everywhere, but it was circling around that area again and again.

‘Found it.’

The connection point between the heart and the soul. The fine gap at the boundary where human and dragon power meet.

The waves of mana that couldn’t flow there and were dissipating.

Woo-

Focusing all his spirit, he widened the gap.

Wooong-

The thread-thin gap gradually widened. And through that gap, Kim Jun saw something.

The dragon’s consciousness.

The power of a primordial lifeform, incomprehensible to human reason.

Woooooong-!

Instantly, the dragon’s consciousness noticed him. And it rushed at Kim Jun.

“Cough!”

His body trembled violently, and blood poured from his mouth.

“Focus! If you stop here, you’ll die!”

Facing the dragon’s consciousness, Kim Jun felt suffocated by its overwhelming presence. Primordial memories pierced his consciousness like lightning.

Moments of flying freely through the blue sky, moments of spewing flames that scorched mountain ranges, desperate battles with Transcendents, and finally… the moment of death.

‘Who are you?’

The dragon’s voice echoed in his consciousness.

‘What should I do?’

Lee Seo-yeon was panicked. Kim Jun’s condition was not normal.

His body was frozen without moving a muscle, and cold sweat streamed down his entire body.

His lips were bluish, and his breathing was only labored.

Above all, his pupils were the problem.

His pupils were severely dilated, staring into space, losing focus.

“Guild Master! Guild Master!”

No matter how much she called, there was no response.

‘Is he really going to die like this?’

Lee Seo-yeon’s hands trembled. Her 「Mana Stabilization」 skill seemed unable to resolve this situation.

The mana waves emanating from the Dragon Heart were still fierce, and Kim Jun’s body trembled, unable to withstand the power.

‘Even if it’s hard, I must endure. I can’t let him fight alone!’

Lee Seo-yeon forced her body, which had already reached its limit, to push forward.

Her arms and legs felt heavy as lead, and her head spun.

Her mana was running dry. But she couldn’t give up.

She couldn’t leave the guild master to fight alone.

Lee Seo-yeon bit her lip so hard it drew blood. The pain sharpened her focus.

She gathered every last bit of mana remaining in her body, down to the last drop.

From her fingertips to her toes, even the faint mana hidden in her hair, she scraped it all together and poured it towards Kim Jun.

‘Please… please come back, Guild Master…’

And so, five hours passed.

Swhiiii-

Heat emanated from Kim Jun’s body.

Lee Seo-yeon’s face was as pale as a sheet of white paper.

Her figure, having focused her entire mind without rest for five hours to sustain Kim Jun’s mana, was as precarious as an ember before the wind.

Her body had long passed its limit, but only her will held onto the last thread of hope.

And finally, as if her sincere devotion was being answered, a miraculous change began.

Like the calm after a long storm, something began to stabilize inside Kim Jun’s body.

The red mana flowing through Kim Jun’s blood vessels.

The dragon’s rough mana waves began to harmonize with his original mana.

Thump! Thump!

His heart, which had been flickering on and off, began to beat anew, and

Fwaaaa-!

The blue mana disappeared.

All that remained was the red mana.

“Guild Master…?”

Lee Seo-yeon was astonished.

Swoooosh-!

An intense wind whipped around Kim Jun in all directions.

Leaves from nearby trees were swept up in the wind and fell, and dust from the ground swirled upwards.

His hair fluttered in the wind, and his clothes billowed violently.

The oppressive feeling of mana emanating from his entire body vibrated the very air.

Kwaaaaa-!

It gathered around Kim Jun again and soared high into the sky. As if a dragon was ascending.

“Thank you, Ms. Seo-yeon.”
“Guild Master…”

Deep fatigue was etched on Kim Jun’s face, but at the same time, there was a sense of relief, as if a great burden had been lifted.