Chapter 2467 – 2467. God’S Atlantis
「Entered Zone 7,070, Dragon King’s Palace.」
Atlantis has bonuses for being the first. Whether it’s obtaining a title for the first time or entering a zone for the first time.
The fact that the first message didn’t appear meant someone had already been here.
‘The Dragon King’s Palace isn’t in the original story, it’s only in the setting book. Well, the entry conditions aren’t that strict, so it’s not strange that someone came.’
I breathe underwater. This itself isn’t special in Atlantis. There are items, skills, and magic that allow you to breathe underwater.
Even if someone discovered this zone by chance, it doesn’t mean they successfully conquered it.
‘Atlantis isn’t an easy place. It’s even more dangerous without information. The first entrant is more likely to be dead.’
I calmly walk inside.
The Dragon King’s Palace is deep in the sea. However, it was very bright, like a shallow sea. A mysterious light, not the sun, illuminated the zone.
There were also buildings made of huge corals and well-maintained roads. It felt like they had put well-decorated roads into the sea.
‘Why are there roads? They’re not going to walk anyway.’
In the center of the zone was a large, Eastern-style palace.
As I headed there, fish blocked my path.
“Halt, human!”
The fish spoke. Its voice was very clear in my ears.
‘Is this really underwater?’
I opened my mouth.
“I… oh? My voice comes out fine.”
A clear voice came from my mouth as well. Being able to speak underwater seemed to be a feature of this zone.
“The Dragon King’s Palace is not for just anyone! Especially not humans!”
The fish was arrogant for a fish, but I was more amazed than angry. How could I not be amazed when a potential sashimi was talking?
“Can I wander freely in the villages outside the Dragon King’s Palace?”
“That doesn’t matter. The villages are open to everyone.”
“What do I need to do to enter the Dragon King’s Palace?”
“You must accumulate merit. If you accumulate enough merit, you can have an audience with the Dragon King!”
In short, to enter the Dragon King’s Palace, you had to be used as a lackey.
‘There are no system notifications. It’s not a rule recognized by the system, but a rule made by the Dragon King.’
Unlike rules set by the system, there was no restriction that you had to follow them.
“I am the Heavenly Demon, the Supreme of the Heavenly Demon Sect. I must meet the Dragon King, the Supreme of the Dragon King’s Palace, so guide me.”
“You foolish human! I just said! You have to accumulate merit to see the Dragon King!”
“You foolish fish. What meaning does such a rule have when a Supreme meets a Supreme? You’re sashimi now.”
As soon as I summoned the Fiery Lotus Flying Blades, I sliced the fish. Fish blood spread thickly in the seawater. I frowned. The thought of all the fish blood, poop, and pee in this seawater made me shudder.
‘Ugh. It’s making me sick.’
I immediately used the Blessing of Water ability.
Flow of Water. I manipulated the currents around me to prevent the fish blood from reaching me.
New Water. I used mana to create clean water near me.
Sacrifice of Water. I consumed clean water and mana to purify the seawater around me into drinkable fresh water.
‘Much better than the dirty seawater.’
It consumed quite a bit of mana, but in Atlantis, I was much stronger than in reality. My mana was also much greater.
I unsummoned the Fiery Lotus Flying Blades and walked towards the Dragon King’s Palace. Even though it was slower than swimming, walking was more comfortable.
“Halt!”
“Those without permission cannot enter the Dragon Palace!”
This time, fish blocked my path again. They had the bodies of sturdy human males, but their heads were fish, so they were fish.
“This is so annoying. I won’t say much. Get out of my way.”
Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Heavenly Demon Force.
Most guys would feel my aura and immediately back down. But the fish in front of me didn’t budge, instead raising their spears.
“Go back.”
“If you want to see the Dragon King, bring proof!”
The hands of the guys holding the spears were trembling slightly. They knew from my aura that I was not someone they could handle.
“If I were you, I would run to the Dragon King and tell him about the appearance of the Heavenly Demon Supreme.”
“…Our mission is to guard the entrance of the Dragon King’s Palace!”
“If you harm us, the Dragon King will not stand idly by!”
“So you had something to rely on.”
I moved forward.
The spear tips that were thrust at me were imbued with sword energy. They were skilled enough to dare to stand against me.
‘It’s too easy to see through. Even if I wanted to let them hit me, I couldn’t.’
I reached out with both hands, grabbed the spear shafts, and thrust them into each other’s necks. The two fish died without even a whimper. I confidently entered the palace.
“Intruder!!”
“How dare you come here!!”
As if they smelled the blood, fish-men appeared from all directions. They swam freely and surrounded me from all sides. Then, they charged at me, all thrusting their spears at once.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step.
Thud!
One stomp of my foot suppressed the fish-men. The fish-men who were charging flinched and stopped, but soon regained their strength and charged again.
‘Did the power of the Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step weaken because it’s underwater? Well, it bought me a moment, so it’s fine.’
In that moment, the preparation for my technique was complete.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Revolving Heavenly Demon Dragon.
A vortex formed around me. The vortex mixed with Heavenly Demon energy became a sharp blade itself, instantly shredding the charging fish-men.
Their blood and flesh floated in the water. I pushed away the filth with my energy and advanced further into the palace.
The fish-men who had been rushing at me like moths to a flame were gone. Thanks to that, I was able to meet the Dragon King more easily than I had expected.
The man wearing a crown and sitting on a throne had bright blue eyes.
「The Guardian of the East (Pseudo) is glaring at you.」
「This is the territory of the Guardian of the East (Pseudo). All abilities are reduced by 5%.」
“Just because you have some power, do you think you’re some kind of monkey?”
His name as a god was the Guardian of the East. His true name was the East Sea Dragon King, Oh Gwang. He was one of the many who had their weapons, including the Ruyi Jingu Bang, stolen by Sun Wukong in Journey to the West.
“The Ruyi Jingu Bang. Is it here?”
“No. It left the Dragon Palace long ago.”
“Actually, I know that. I’m not here for the Ruyi Jingu Bang, but for you. Give me your heart.”
The Dragon’s Heart.
The source of the dragon’s power.
Oh Gwang was a sea dragon king. The power his heart held would be enormous.
“…Alright, you reckless fool…! Today, I will show you the fury of the sea!”
Oh Gwang, with veins popping on his forehead, stood up from his throne.
At the same time, his body began to shine and transform. Into a gigantic blue dragon that filled the vast palace, so much so that it seemed like it would break it.
「This is the territory of the Guardian of the East (Pseudo). All abilities are reduced by 10%.」
「The dragon’s aura dominates the surroundings. All creatures feel an instinctive fear.」
「You have overcome the instinctive fear with your superior mental strength.」
Absolute Mentality was doing its thing again.
I looked up at the brilliantly shining blue dragon above the Dragon King’s Palace. There was one spot that stood out. One of the scales on the lower part of its head, on its neck, was growing in reverse.
‘That’s the reverse scale.’
The blue dragon, which had been scattering divine energy, began to gather energy in its mouth.
‘That’s a Dragon King’s aura. Just the energy I feel is making my skin tingle.’
If we fought one-on-one, I would lose. I was sure of that.
‘Well, it’s about what I expected.’
I had known that the owner of the Dragon King’s Palace was the East Sea Dragon King, Oh Gwang. The reason I came despite knowing that was because I had a plan.
‘Even if he’s a Dragon King, he’s still a dragon.’
Among the titles I had was the title ‘Dragon Slayer’.
‘Titles have unknown abilities. Just a little bit of ability. In the case of the Dragon Slayer, my stats slightly increase when facing a dragon. It’s such a slight increase that you wouldn’t notice it if you weren’t focused.’
What I was relying on wasn’t the ability of a title like Dragon Slayer.
‘I came alone because I was confident I could win.’
I took out Arta’s Elixir and the Golden Sword from my inventory.
「Arta’s Elixir
Temporarily transforms gold into a random metal.
The transformation lasts for 30 minutes.
Rank: S」
「Golden Sword
A sword made of unbreakable gold.
Rank: S」
There was a secret to this Arta’s Elixir, that it wasn’t random when it came to the Golden Sword.
I applied the elixir to the Golden Sword.
The Golden Sword immediately turned into a silver sword.
「Nothung
A sword that cuts through the bones and flesh of dragons.
Rank: S」
-That sword… is dangerous. Good. I won’t let my guard down either!
Oh Gwang’s blue eyes shone as he used his authority.
The pressure of the sea pressed down on my body. The amount of water hadn’t changed. This was the blue dragon’s authority being applied only to me.
[Activating Heavenly Heart. Lasts for 1 minute.]
The pressure disappeared, and I regained my freedom.
I smashed Nothung with a fist imbued with strong energy. Even though Nothung was broken, the Golden Sword, which was its foundation, was not broken and returned to its original form.
I applied Arta’s Elixir again.
「Balmung
A sword that curses dragons.
Rank: SS」
“Receive the curse of Balmung.”
The Golden Sword, now Balmung, cursed Oh Gwang.
Blood flowed from Oh Gwang’s massive body, which had been floating in the palace, and he fell powerlessly to the ground. He couldn’t overcome the curse.
-Kueeeeeeeeeeek!
I broke Balmung and applied the elixir to the Golden Sword again.
「Gram
A sword that kills dragons.
Rank: SSS」
“This heavy and cool sensation… it’s been a long time. I am now the Dragon Slayer Heavenly Demon.”
-You pathetic human…! I never thought I’d meet someone worse than that monkey! Stop! I yield! Tell me what you want!
“I want an SSS-rank item related to water. If not the Ruyi Jingu Bang, you must have something else.”
Originally, my goal was the Dragon King’s heart.
But I belatedly remembered that Fafnir’s heart, who was stronger than this guy, was only SS-rank. Killing this guy and taking his heart would only get me an SS-rank item.
Like when I killed Fafnir, an SSS-rank item like Andvari’s Ring could appear… but the chances were low. Besides, what I wanted was an item related to water.
-An SSS-rank item related to water? I see… you were after my Yeouiju from the start. You wicked bastard…!
“…That’s right. If you don’t want to die, give it to me.”
-Da, damn it. To have my treasure stolen by a human again…
The Dragon King’s voice was filled with sorrow. It was none of my business.
“Stop whining and hurry up and bring the Yeouiju.”
