Pick Me Up!

Velkist lay flat on the floor.

He clenched his hands into fists.

He was straining so hard that his entire forearm was trembling.

[Danger!]

[‘Velkist (★★★★)’ is beginning to become contaminated!]

“Ka… hak…!”

A hissing sound escaped from Velkist’s gaping mouth.

Black veins emerged beside his eyes.

Clearly contaminated.

During the process of engraving a high-level imprint, it was inevitable to go through a state of contamination at least once.

From now on, it was crucial. If he could overcome it, he would become the master of the imprint. If he couldn’t…

Sreeung.

I half-drew the sword from the sheath Velkist had given me.

‘He still has his reason.’

Although his face was twisted in pain, there was still light in his eyes.

Thud! Thud-thud!

Velkist slammed his fist on the floor.

After a few more hits, blood began to seep through his clenched fists.

[Danger!]

[‘Velkist (★★★★)’s contamination is worsening!]

[Master, be careful! A contaminated hero cannot be recovered.]

Riiiip.

With a tearing sound, black veins appeared all over his body.

Velkist vomited black, viscous blood from his mouth.

Goo Goo Con hurriedly approached Velkist.

The pigeon tried to push away the glowing white orb near Velkist.

“…Stop, Ra.”

Velkist grabbed Goo Goo Con’s wing.

“It’s not… over yet.”

Velkist brought the orb to his abdomen as if embracing it.

Then he muttered in a voice mixed with a metallic sound.

“I… I need… to become stronger….”

The pigeon looked at me with fierce eyes.

I continued to watch Velkist, with my sword half-drawn.

“Don’t stop him.”

Velkist looked up at me with bloodshot eyes.

“This is… my chosen path. I’ll take responsibility.”

“Just dying won’t count as responsibility.”

“Of course….”

Cough!

Velkist vomited black blood once more.

“I decided to die on the battlefield.”

“….”

“So I won’t die in such a disgraceful manner.”

The sound of Velkist gritting his teeth echoed throughout the room.

‘It wasn’t from the beginning.’

I recalled Eloka’s precedent.

In terms of efficiency, she shouldn’t have participated in the Sea Dragon subjugation.

But she begged me several times to let her fight with us.

This is no different.

A 2% chance gamble.

I once again indulged a comrade’s whim.

Of course, there’s no turning back now.

If I stop here, Velkist will resent me for the rest of his life.

“…Thank you.”

Velkist looked at me and managed a difficult smile.

I sighed deeply.

Now, all I could do was watch to see what would happen to him.

Crack!

The sound of bones dislocating.

The skin tore, and pure white scales emerged from the gaps.

Velkist let out a silent scream.

Crack. From his temples, white horny growths started to emerge.

They resembled those of the legitimate successor of Assinis, Delphine.

I gripped the sword handle tightly.

The contamination was still progressing.

Black blood flowed from his eyes down his entire body.

The characteristic black veins of a contaminated person were so prominent they protruded outside the skin. The moment these veins invaded the heart, he would turn into a monster.

‘Not yet.’

White dragon scales and horns continued to emerge.

The jewel-like sparkling white scales gradually covered Velkist’s skin.

The black veins receded as if pushed back by the white dragon’s aura.

Goo Goo Con exhaled as if in disbelief.

‘Is it a success?’

But something was off.

It was different from my experience. When I engraved the black dragon blood, it seeped in naturally.

But the white dragon’s blood seemed to be rampaging inside Velkist.

Velkist occasionally twitched his body, but showed no other reaction, as if he had already fainted.

Through his torn clothes, his flesh and bones were exposed.

If you didn’t look closely, you wouldn’t recognize who he was.

“….”

Twitch.

Velkist, who was lying down, moved his fingers.

Then, slowly, he began to rise.

Goo Goo Con took a few steps back from Velkist.

Velkist’s eyelids lifted as he stood still.

Silver eyes that seemed to pierce through everything.

His mouth opened and closed.

The first words from Velkist’s mouth were sincere complaints.

Goo Goo Con scratched his wing with his front paw.

I laughed bitterly.

The ancestor of the four great families, Assinis, who had possessed Velkist, looked at me.

A look of surprise crossed Assinis’ eyes as he scanned me.

“What’s the difference between him and me? We are all the same.”

The white dragon Assinis had an endlessly languid look in his eyes.

I continued speaking.

“Sorry to say this at our first meeting, but help him out. He tries hard and won’t cause any trouble.”

“So what.”

“That’s not possible.”

“Maybe now, but who knows later.”

“You won’t really know. He might become incredibly strong.”

Assinis tilted his head.

“Yes, so what?”

Assinis smirked sinisterly.

“….”

Assinis lowered his eyes and said.

Crack.

The horn that had sprouted from his temple disappeared.

So did the white scales and the black veins that signaled contamination.

Assinis’ eyes closed.

At that moment, Velkist staggered and collapsed against the wall.

[Ta-da!]

[Engraving is complete.]

[A special ability is inscribed in ‘Velkist (★★★★)’s body!]

Finally, the engraving message appeared.

There was no failure.

But the subsequent explanation made me sigh.

[True White Dragon Blood (S, Lv.1)]

[Blood that proves the pure lineage of the ancient white dragon. It holds unprecedented power.]

[Unique Skill: 1. White Dragon Horn]

[※ There are many unknown skills.]

[Note 1 – ‘True White Dragon Blood’ cannot be used for some reason.]

The worst-case scenario of falling into contamination was avoided.

However, it was hard to call this a success.

‘It’s sealed.’

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