REAPER SCANS
The Martial God Who Regressed to Level 2
[Translator – SCM]
[Proofreader – ilafy]
Chapter 277
"Welcome!" Artmu, who was in his dwarf form rather than his robot form, greeted JiHan in his smithy. "You look splendid today!"
"You seem happier than usual,” JiHan said. “Why are you so excited?"
"Haha! Don't you know what it means for a dwarf to be able to handle a dragon heart?"
"No, I don't."
Artmu stood up. "Dwarves have been serving dragons since ancient times. If you mention dragons to any dwarf, they will probably grind their teeth."
"Dwarves are dragons' servants?” JiHan asked. “That doesn't apply to you, right? After all, you said you unified your planet."
"That isn't the entire truth. According to our ancestral records, our planet was originally supposed to be a new colony for the dragons. That's why they dispatched our ancestors to develop it… However, something went wrong, and the dragons never arrived."
So, Artmu's planet was originally supposed to be a dragon colony? JiHan couldn’t help but ask a question when he heard that. "Colony… Then are there dragons across the universe, just like the World Tree's elves? It doesn't seem like there are only one or two groups of them."
"Indeed, there are many dragon planets. The dragons’ criteria for choosing a planet are extremely strict, so it's hard to compare them to the World Tree's elves, who planted trees all over the place. Our planet probably didn't meet their criteria in the end, so it wasn't chosen."
"I see."
"Anyway… could you show me the dragon heart?"
JiHan took the dragon heart out of his inventory. It was merely a fist-sized, red gem.
Artmu's eyes shone. "What an impressive amount of fire mana! I won't be able to handle it in its current state."
"Then what will you do?"
"I'll equip some gear."
Clank! Clank—!
Artmu returned to his combined robot state.
Ziing—!
A pure white pedestal rose from the center of the smithy.
“Let's start with a more accurate appraisal.” As soon as Artmu placed the dragon heart on the pedestal…
BZZ. BZZT—!
Machines rose from every corner and started to analyze the item. Rather than a simple analysis, it almost looked like Artmu was trying to destroy it.
Clang! Clang—!
"Artmu, are you sure you're appraising it? It looks more like you're beating the hell out of it."
“Don't worry. A dragon heart won't break from this much.” A moment later, Artmu started a full-on offense.
Fwoosh—!
The dragon heart didn’t just sit there. It emitted intense flames in response to the attack, but Artmu seemed to enjoy it and entered a sort of trance. “The smithy wasn't hot enough. This is great!”
BZZT—!
The heart looked like it was about to break before it returned to its original shape.
'When will this ever end…?' JiHan wondered. There didn’t seem to be any progress. 'Should I go and train in the meantime?' He was seriously considering just leaving until Artmu called him back.
“Hmm…? There seems to be something inside,” Artmu said. “Shall I take it out?”
"Go ahead."
“Good.”
Tsss—!
Artmu’s machines moved and started to extract something from the dragon heart.
Fwoosh—!
“Oh?” Fire shot from the top of the gem, and the image of a fiery dragon soon appeared.
“You…!” The fiery dragon glared at JiHan. Although he was smaller than before, JiHan immediately realized who it was. 'He's the dragon species representative from the match.'
Sure enough, it was Altkaizen, who'd come out as the representative of the red-headed dragon species in the Space League match. Thanks to Artmu's appraisal, he'd managed to emerge from the heart.
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator - SCM
Proofreader - ilafy
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“To think you'd join hands with a dwarf to mock me… How long do you plan to shame me for?”
"Oh, you immediately recognized that a dwarf is controlling the robot?" JiHan asked.
“Hmph! It smells like a slave, so there's no way I wouldn't know. Its mana arrangement is still poor.” Altkaizen was making harsh comments from the get-go. Even though he was sealed, he gave his captors an unyielding look.
Clang—!
“How does the hammer of a slave feel?” Artmu asked.
“Y-you bastard…!”
“No wonder my ancestors hated you dragons so much. Just hearing you makes me enraged.”
Clang! Clang—!
Artmu swung his hammer and relentlessly battered Altkaizen's body.
“Ugh… Rather than making me suffer such humiliation, just kill me!”
"We can't just kill you,” JiHan said. “Just wait until we figure out how to use you. Artmu, don't take things so personally."
Swoosh—
In response to JiHan’s statement, Artmu stopped his attack. “Got it. I got too angry at the word 'slave'. It seems that the hatred engraved in the dwarves doesn't easily fade. Anyway, this guy is the dragonkin representative of your League and a descendant of the Dragon Lord, right?”
"Yes. Ironically, it was the Dragon Lord who sealed him and handed him over."
“The Dragon Lord handed him to you?”
"Yes. He's my sponsor constellation."
“To think such a big shot would sponsor you… Both him and the Thunder God… Just what are you?” Artmu asked in disbelief as he lightly tapped Altkaizen on the head with his hammer. Rather than doing it out of anger, he was doing it to provoke the dragon.
“You filthy mongrel…” Altkaizen muttered.
“If he was a gift from the Dragon Lord, then how about you keep him as a pet?” Artmu asked.
JiHan thought about it for a moment and said, "A pet? Are you suggesting I use a dragon as a pet?"
“Yes. It was the Dragon Lord who handed him over to you, so he probably won't mind that. I'm saying you should make him obey you so you can become a dragon rider.”
“Y-you crazy slave…” Altkaizen muttered. “I'd rather kill myself right now than do that!” Enraged by Artmu's words, the dragon spread flames all around.
“How dare you struggle,” Artmu said, suppressing the flames with cold air from every side. Being trapped in the dragon heart and also finding himself on Artmu’s home turf, Altkaizen had no hope of fighting back, no matter how strong he was.
Tsss—!
'A dragon rider, huh?' JiHan shook his head at Artmu's suggestion. "I don't need a pet. Also, riding him won't make me any stronger."
“Is that so? That's a shame. I was looking forward to seeing a noble dragon fall and become your mount.”
"I only care about getting the power of the dragon heart. Even now, I'm absorbing its fire, but that isn't too satisfying." On top of that, there was what the Dragon Lord had told him.
- You must crush his defiance and take control of the dragon heart. You may completely extinguish the fire and absorb it or make it your own, including the flame. Whatever way you choose, make the dragon heart yours… If you successfully do that, I will give you an even greater gift.
The grand constellation had promised him an even greater reward if he managed to make the dragon heart his. Receiving that gift would probably be better than riding a fire dragon.
“Hmm…” Artmu hummed. “What a pity, but it can't be helped. So you're prioritizing absorbing its power? I could also create a weapon for you or strengthen yours.”
"Could you make an EX-rank weapon?"
“EX… I can't guarantee it. No, I think it would be difficult.”
"Then I will prioritize absorbing the power."
“Good. I’ll fragment the dragon heart and process it so it's easier for you to absorb.” Was Artmu saying he’d break the fist-sized dragon heart apart so JiHan could eat it?
"If that's what you’re going to do,” JiHan said, “then I could just smash it myself."
“If you just smash it with force, you won't be able to fully absorb its power. The job must be done neatly. Also, the 'processing' part is the most important.”
"Alright. I'll leave it to you."
“Great. I'll start right away.”
Sung JiHan decided to prioritize absorbing the heart’s power. Following his wish, Artmu was just getting ready to start working when…
“Wait…!” Altkaizen cried out.
"What?"
“What are you going to do with me?”
"Didn't you say we should just kill you?"
“Dragon,” Artmu said, “if the heart is broken into pieces, you will also die. You won't suffer any humiliation. Aren't you happy?”
Altkaizen floated above the heart. Deciding he couldn’t maintain his proud attitude in the face of death, he said, “Didn't you say absorbing the power was your priority? I will tell you how to absorb the heart's power. In return, leave about 10% of the heart and free me on my planet.”
"You should have said that earlier. Why now?" JiHan asked.
“I couldn't emerge because you weren't able to properly absorb the heart's power. I was able to come out only after getting to this disgusting dwarf's home.”
"Hmm."
“Customer,” Artmu said, “if you release this guy, it will end up causing problems for you. The dragonkin are really strong. They'll probably treat you as an enemy and come after you. Why not take this chance to get rid of him? The dragonkin never forget a grudge.”
“No. I swear it in the dragon language…” Altkaizen said. “If you release me, our planet's dragons will always surrender whenever facing you humans. Yes… just like when we face the World Tree's elves.”
"You promise to always lose to humans?"
“Yes. We might’ve lost our last match, but we can win if we just focus our bans on you next time. That will make things turn in our favor. Instead, we’ll just surrender.” Altkaizen was doing anything he could to preserve his life.
'The dragons giving up… It's not a bad deal,' JiHan thought. In the last match against the dragons, they only won because Altkaizen gave away two games. It was unclear how the match would have ended if they’d played normally with their ban and priority cards.
Aside from JiHan, no other human was a match for dragons yet. Wouldn’t it be a good thing for the dragons to surrender whenever they faced humans?
"First, tell me about the absorption method. If it's useful, I'll spare your life," JiHan promised.
“You want me to tell you first? Don't you guys have a form of binding promise like the dragon language?”
"There's no way a lowest species would have something like that. If you don't trust me, just prepare to be destroyed and absorbed."
“Ha. To think I would lose to such a species…!” Altkaizen burst out in frustration. “The method is…” Ultimately, he couldn't help but give in to JiHan's demand.
* * *
Within a vast wasteland…
“Are you really going to do it?” Artmu asked.
"I have to," JiHan said.
“It might be a trap.”
“What trap? I promise it isn't!” Altkaizen exclaimed.
"Yes. If it's a trap,” JiHan said, “I can just devour him right now." Altkaizen had said that one had to be standing in clear sunlight to absorb the dragon heart properly. "Then, do it."
“Okay. It's going to hurt a bit,” Altkaizen warned. “Can you endure it?”
"Don't worry about me."
“Understood. Oh, great ancestor, bestow your blessing upon your blood descendant!” Altkaizen roared toward the sun in the sky.
ROAR—!
All the light began pouring on JiHan.
Flash—!
A giant flame flickered in the sky, and then a massive fissure started to form.
“Hmm… It seems the fire's going to be quite intense. I'm going to step back,” Artmu said. “I'll return when it ends.”
"Alright."
Fwoosh—!
A giant flame poured down toward JiHan from the sky.
“The Dragon Lord's blessing…” Altkaizen murmured. “The First Breath! Remember what I said. You're going to have a hard time enduring it!” The dragon sounded a bit happy, unlike before. “If you survive this, you will fully absorb the heart, but you will probably…”
Fwoosh—!
"This isn't bad," JiHan said as the flames engulfed him.
“What…?”
"Oh, I got it." JiHan calmly looked at a system message and nonchalantly stood within the flames.
[You've obtained the unique stat, Dragon Flame.]
[‘Hellfire' has been fused with 'Dragon Flame'.]
Did that mean it was stronger than Hellfire?
[Would you like to try fusing it with the ‘Red Lightning’ unique stat?]
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