Kurose Akira stared intently at Naita and the dragon egg cradled in her arms, the suspicion in his heart growing stronger by the second.
If his conjecture was correct, then it meant the Black Radiance Dragon's heartscale had been hidden by the red dragons in an extraordinarily secret location. Now that the red dragon clan had been wiped out, only Naita—who had come into direct contact with this egg—might still have a chance to trace the heartscale's whereabouts.
"Naita," Akira asked softly, "aside from remembering your name… have any other memories surfaced in your mind?"
"Other things…"Naita fell silent for a moment, then shook her head with a hint of confusion. "I'm sorry, Mr. Akira. I haven't remembered anything else yet. But ever since I found my child, I feel as though some fragmented memories are slowly starting to recover…"
A bright gleam flashed through Akira's eyes!
It matched his hypothesis perfectly—Naita's memories were gradually returning. It was just that too little time had passed for any obvious breakthroughs to appear.
"Get some good rest," Akira said gently. "Your memories will come back little by little."
He reached out and softly stroked her hair, soothing her.
"Mmm~"Naita nodded obediently, then returned to the Soul Crystal Orb.
After tidying up briefly, Akira stepped out of the room.
At this time, Loserine and the others were resting in the guild hall. After the fierce battle with the bone dragon, both their mana and stamina had been heavily depleted—they desperately needed time to recover.
Seeing Akira emerge, Lucia immediately asked, "Did you gain anything?"
They had paid such a heavy price to defeat the bone dragon—it couldn't have been for nothing.
"Mm."Akira nodded lightly, his voice carrying a trace of uncertainty. "Maybe… we've found a possible lead on the Black Radiance Dragon's heartscale."
The moment Lucia heard those words, the golden-red eyes hidden behind her white veil flared with sudden brilliance. Almost instantly, she appeared before Akira like a phantom, the distance between them so close they could practically feel each other's breath.
Her gaze locked onto him, her tone tense and grave."Are you certain it's the Black Radiance Dragon's heartscale?"
Akira nodded.
Her reaction surprised him—confused him, even.
In his impression, the saintess was always composed and unshakable. Seeing such a clear emotional fluctuation from her was rare.
"What's wrong?" Akira asked.
"About the Crimson Dragon, I don't know much," Lucia said slowly. "But the Black Radiance Dragon… I know something about that one."
A hint of reminiscence surfaced in her eyes."Because it once cooperated with the Church of Light—and even signed a contract with a Pope."
"The Black Radiance Dragon worked with the Church of Light?"Akira frowned slightly, thoughts stirring.
"Yes."Lucia nodded faintly. "It was originally a demigod-tier black dragon. After receiving enlightenment from the power of light, it evolved into the Black Radiance Dragon. However, due to a certain incident, its sins drew the descent of a Divine Arbiter."
Her voice grew quieter."The Black Radiance Dragon fought that Arbiter for three days and three nights… and ultimately fell at the Peak of the Holy Spirit."
"A demigod-tier black dragon?"Akira's eyes narrowed, his doubts deepening.
Then why had its heartscale ended up within a red dragon clan?
And what exactly was that incident—what sin could have summoned a Divine Arbiter to execute it?
Still, the power of the Divine Arbiter was truly terrifying. To casually erase even a demigod…
According to the game's settings as Akira understood them, levels 95–99 defined the demigod threshold. Beyond that—true godhood—seemed nonexistent on this continent. Demigods were already the absolute pinnacle of power in the magical world.
And yet that Divine Arbiter's strength had far surpassed even that.
However, Lucia couldn't answer Akira's questions.
Those matters were classified as the Church of Light's highest secrets—some even tied directly to a Pope's hidden past. A trace of helplessness flickered through her eyes; there were things she simply could not tell her guildmaster.
As for a demigod dragon's heartscale…
Its value was beyond question.
A dragon possessed only two such scales in its entire body—the heartscale and the reverse scale. Each contained indescribably immense power. That alone explained why Lucia had reacted so strongly.
"If we could obtain the Black Radiance Dragon's heartscale," Lucia said thoughtfully, lowering her gaze, "it might be of great help to us."
Akira's eyes burned with curiosity as he stared at her, eager for more details.
But Lucia merely glanced at him coolly and said in a soft voice,"It's getting late. I'll return to the Church."
With that, she turned and left the guild.
"..."
Akira watched her departing figure, momentarily speechless.
Late?The sun hadn't even set yet.
"…Whatever. I should focus on forging Loserine's new Oath Sword first."
He opened the player interface.
While players themselves couldn't forge weapons directly, many adventurers had forging as their main profession—and commissions were possible. With trade contracts in place, there was no risk of the forged weapon being swallowed.
Akira immediately searched for a blacksmith on the World Channel.
Very quickly, he received a reply.
Red: "What do you want forged?"
Seeing the other player's name, Akira froze.
Why did that name feel so familiar?
…?
Wasn't this the same guy who'd sold him the flame gemstone before?
Akira: "Why is it you again?"
Red: "..."
Red: "Guess it's fate. So, what do you need?Low-grade forging stone: 5 silver.Mid-grade: 50 silver.High-grade: 5 gold.As for top-grade… I don't have any."
Akira thought briefly.
Forging stones were crucial to a weapon's final quality—the higher the grade, the greater the chance of producing a high-tier weapon. Of course, the most important factor was still the quality of the materials themselves.
"High-grade forging stone," Akira decided.
He gritted his teeth and paid the hefty 5 gold, sparing no expense to craft a superior Oath Sword for Loserine.
The Oath Sword had originally been Elite-tier. Combined with a Legendary-tier black dragon reverse scale, it should at least reach Epic-tier, right?
If luck was on his side…Maybe it could even become Legendary-tier.
"It should be finished by tomorrow," the blacksmith replied.
"Alright."
After sending over the materials, Akira closed the chat window.
When he turned around, he found Loserine staring at him intently.
There was unease in her eyes—the anxiety of a knight who had lost her sword.
"Don't worry," Akira said gently. "It'll be forged by tomorrow."
Only then did Loserine's tightly knit brows slowly relax.
"Thank you."
She gave a grateful reply, then headed toward the training room.
Whew…
Akira let out a long breath.
With Loserine's broken sword taken care of, the next thing he had to face was that volatile Crimson Dragon.
If not for the effect of [Soul Ensnare], he suspected that even a single glance exchanged with that dragon would be enough to reduce him to ashes.
His thoughts shifted.
Akira entered the Soul Space.
The moment he met Marey·Rhine's enormous draconic eyes, his heart tightened slightly. Even on their second meeting, her overwhelming majesty still shook him to the core.
"Human," Marey·Rhine roared, her voice echoing through the Soul Space, "kneel before me now. I may forgive your foolishness—and grant you a quiet death!"
Her furious roar made the entire Soul Space tremble.
Akira responded calmly, not a trace of fear in his voice."Marey·Rhine. I want to talk."
Marey·Rhine stared at him in confusion.
She couldn't understand how this human could be so confident—so fearless.
Did he truly not realize that he stood before a legendary dragon, the embodiment of destruction?
In ages past, every human who laid eyes on her had fainted on the spot from terror.
So why him…?
Had thousands of years dulled her infamy, rendering humans no longer afraid?
Her Flames of Destruction had once incinerated several human kingdoms!
Of course, those kingdoms had brought it upon themselves—driven by greed, they had tried to steal her hoard.
And to those who dared covet a red dragon's treasure—
She had never shown mercy.