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Chapter 274: Star, the U.S. (9)

“It’s not easy controlling your lightning energy, is it?” Tiamat asked.

Tiamat knew exactly where Chang-Sun was having trouble right now.

“Well, it’s bound to be. Lightning energy is the fastest, most destructive, and most violent power in the world, so it’s only natural that a mortal cannot freely use it. Yours is even mixed with <Darkness>, so if you’re trying to use your energy and an Element Ruler at the same time and surpass said Element Ruler’s level… Hahaha!”

No, Tiamat seemed to be looking at a much bigger picture, even noticing that Chang-Sun’s final goal was related to something more fundamental than fire or lightning.

“So I’ll teach you how to use [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth].”

When Chang-Sun asked what she meant, she concisely responded, “A [Dragon Breath] is a set of pure elements that have been condensed over and over again, making it extremely destructive. You have already used [Dragon Breath] using [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth], haven’t you?”

Chang-Sun finally understood what Tiamat was trying to do. [Dragon Breath] and Fulgurator had something in common: they both used the maximum power of a pure element. That was also what she meant when she spoke of surpassing an Element Ruler’s level. If Chang-Sun could master the usage of Dragon Breath, he would naturally master Fulgurator too.?

‘I might even be able to use a [Dragon Breath] mixed with Atra Fulmen energy,’ Chang-Sun thought.

[Fiery Lightning Bolt] was already very powerful in itself, but what if he could make it as destructive as [Dragon Breath]? Chang-Sun had no reason to turn down Tiamat’s considerate offer.

].

“How do I start?” Chang-Sun asked.?

He immediately grabbed [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth].

“From now on, you’ll be playing hide-and-seek with my youngest. ”?

Tiamat’s answer was very incomprehensible.

* * *

‘Hunter Base’ was reduced to ruins and filled with a burning smell by the time Chang-Sun left. Sitting on a pile of rubbles, Tiamat burst into laughter. “Bwahaha! That kid is seriously amazing. It was worth the effort.”

Her laughter was hearty and loud, which didn’t match her current petite form.

Pabilsag pouted and grumbled as she looked at Tiamat. “I did all the heavy lifting.”

“Do you think giving advice is easy? I have to constantly check the difference between your and his levels and review everything to determine if I missed anything. Do you have any idea how much effort and work it requi—!”

“You just used your [Primordial Ocean]!” Pabilsag shouted.

Tiamat’s Divine Name was ‘Primordial Evil Dragon,’ but she originated from the Mother Terra Celestial, a being from the beginning of time whom almost no one remembered now. The Mother Terra Celestial was one of the Elder Celestials and was also known as the source of all lives and evolutions.

Tiamat’s [Primordial Ocean] was a Trait based on her origin. It allowed her to take a peek at the potential of all lives that had come from the primordial source of life. In other words, mortals couldn’t stop Tiamat from learning about their potential. She could even see the weaknesses that one wanted to hide, so all the beings who gained immortality through <Exuviation> and <Transcendence> were afraid of getting on Tiamat’s bad side.

Thanks to her Trait, Tiamat learned just how great the potential Chang-Sun, whom Pabilsag obsessed over, possessed. Although Tiamat approached Chang-Sun half-jokingly and half-curiously back then, she was deeply interested in him right now.

It was also thanks to her Trait that she figured out the best way to train Chang-Sun and teach him how to use [Dragon Breath]. The result of that was the hide-and-seek session that Chang-Sun and Pabilsag had just participated in.

True to her Divine Name, which had ‘Hunt’ in it, Pabilsag was very agile, making it impossible for anyone with average speed and power to capture her. Taking those into consideration, Tiamat asked Chang-Sun to do two things: not to move an inch from where he was standing, and to capture Pabilsag using only his Atra Fulmen energy.

Despite how fast Chang-Sun’s Atra Fulmen bolt was, however, it couldn’t capture Pabilsag—not even by a long shot. To become as fast as Pabilsag, Chang-Sun first had to study lightning and <Darkness> in depth, which was the start of the research on Atra Fulmen, the mix of the two elements.

“Did it take him four years?” Tiamat chuckled, stroking her chin.

“No, it didn’t.”

“Then?”

“Three years, eight months, sixteen days, and twenty-one hours,” Pabilsag answered.

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“It’s not. It’s three months and fifteen days shorter than four years, Mom,” Pabilsag said, still pouting.

Tiamat looked at her youngest daughter in disbelief, then shook her head as she muttered, “You’re so hung up on a boy that you’re taking it out on your mother. My daughter is still immature.”

“I’m the one who had eyes on him first!”

“I told you, my daughter.” Crossing her arms, Tiamat proudly said, “It doesn’t matter who was the first or who has a justifiable cause. The true victor is the one who obtains what they want in the end.”

“… Ah, sure. Sure, sure.” Pabilsag nodded, not paying attention to Tiamat. Her lesson on being a true leader was about to start.

Pabilsag had actually heard it so many times that she could recite it in her sleep. As she idly nodded, she solidified her resolve to have Chang-Sun in the end, becoming the final victor as her mother said.

Pabilsag looked down at the back of her right hand, which a lightning bolt had wounded. It had quite an impressive shape, looking like a cobweb with a black burn wound in the center. Although it was healing quite quickly, Pabilsag couldn’t take her eyes off it because it was the first wound Chang-Sun left on her.

“One year to understand what [Dragon Breath] is, one year to use it freely, and one year to catch up to your speed. Hahaha! I’m aware that he’s a demigod now, but he still learned everything unbelievably quickly!” Tiamat exclaimed.

The [Dragon Breath] that Chang-Sun learned was by no means ordinary. [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth]… it had taken Chang-Sun around three years to understand and use Tiamat’s [Dragon Breath]. In other words, in the blink of a Celestial’s eye, he surpassed his human limitations, the reached the level of Dragons, and acquired the real [Dragon Breath]. It was nothing compared to Tiamat’s real [Dragon Breath] right now, but if he kept growing stronger at this rate… Chang-Sun’s [Dragon Breath] could become comparable to hers someday.

The hide-and-seek session was the reason why ‘Hunter Base’ was a mess right now.

‘He also spent the last eight months traveling from divine ground to divine ground with the invitations he received.’ Tiamat smirked. ‘He didn’t speak a word about what happened on the other divine grounds, though.’

He was truly wicked and arrogant. Even though he was under Tiamat and her daughter’s protection, he freely contacted the other Celestials and kept the agreements he made with them secret from her and her daughter. That showed how certain Chang-Sun was that Tiamat and Pabilsag couldn’t abandon him and how much he believed that they wouldn’t doubt him.

“He’s more than qualified to become my husband with that kind of gut. Yes, he’s more than enough.” Tiamat turned around with her hands clasped behind her back.

Rumble.

The ground shook, and everything soon returned to its original state. The ruined divine ground quickly recovering made for a marvelous, majestic, and auspicious sight even for Pabilsag. Tiamat was surely part of the Mother Terra Celestial, the mother of all lives.

“The <Purple Star Astrology>… The <Stars>... Everyone seems to be up to some cute schemes, but I can’t just let those happen. They’ll freak out the moment they see my dear. Hohoho!” Tiamat giggled, looking forward to seeing what would happen in the near future.

* * *

Pure elements were the elements’ purest form. Since they hadn’t been mixed with anything and they were in their original forms, utilizing them was very tricky. They often exploded whenever anyone tried to control them, so using them required an extreme level of concentration.

On top of that, [Dragon Breath], the highly-concentrated form of a pure element… was like an exclusive privilege for Dragons. No established rule prohibited a person of another race from using it, but it had so many requirements before it could be used. First of all, one had to have a body sturdy enough to handle [Dragon Breath], which meant they had to have a high Class. One’s understanding and control of the element also had to be exceptional enough to acquire a related divine rank.

Those two requirements alone were already difficult to meet, but they were just the beginning. A mechanism and trigger for [Dragon Breath] also had to be invented, and to use it more than once, a mana-cooling device was also required… There were so many other requisites to using [Dragon Breath] that most Celestials didn’t even dare try acquiring it despite how tempter they were.

To top it all off, if they failed to acquire [Dragon Breath], they would also lose their control over the other elements, further preventing them from completing it. That was why it remained the Dragons’ trademark.

However, it was different for Chang-Sun. He had already used [Dragon Breath] through [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth], and Tiamat and Pabilsag had helped him train. Hence, he could quickly make up for his shortcomings. On top of that, he had also completed [False Belief].

Chang-Sun was actually grateful to Francois Prelati for trapping him in a space created using [Space Severance]. Ever since Chang-Sun had returned to Earth, he hadn’t had enough time to train privately. Fortunately, while Chang-Sun had been pondering on how he should master Fulgurator, Francois had given him the priceless free time he needed to focus on working out his problem.

Rumble―!

Chang-Sun swung [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] horizontally. Although he didn’t fully unlock the sword using [Peter’s Key], a clear layer of [Dragon Breath] still enveloped it. On top of that, the layer was a complex blend of <Darkness>, lightning energy, and demonic energy. Mixed with highly concentrated Atra Fulmen, Chang-Sun’s [Dragon Breath] ripped the floor, shattered the room, and struck Francois.

“Eeeeeek!” Francois shrieked.

Booom!

Francois quickly teleported right before the [Dragon Breath] hit him, but he calculated the magic formula of teleportation on the spot instead of preparing it in advance. The coordinates he had set had a high risk of shifting, which would result in him ending up lost in an empty space.

With deep expertise in teleportation, Francois normally would never take such a risk, but he couldn’t afford to care about it right now. If the [Dragon Breath] hit him, he would be shredded down to his soul.

Woosh, woosh, woosh…!

Narrowly avoiding the [Dragon Breath] and escaping death by an inch, he blankly watched the room collapse.

“I-impossible!” he murmured.

[A part of the Instance Dungeon ‘Abandoned Building in Chicago’ has collapsed!]

The part of the room where Francois had been standing hadn’t just been crushed—it had been pulverized. Cracks spread all over the wall, revealing a view of Chicago.

A Dungeon was destroyed! Francois’ teeth chatter in fear. He had lived for a very long time, but he had never heard about anything like this.

[Self-restoration in progress!]

[Self-restoration has failed for an unknown reason.]

[Attempting self-restoration again.]

[Self-restoration has failed for an unknown reason.]

…

[The Instance Dungeon has failed to restore itself.]

[Cause: <Darkness> Infection.]

Instead of being repaired, the cracks over the Dungeon were spreading farther, following the soot that Chang-Sun’s attack had left.

Francois was even more terrified now. This Dungeon was made using the Authority that he acquired through the [Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan]—books based on the hidden techniques of the Quirinale, the clan of the Elder Celestial known as the wonder of wonders.

As a demigod, it was impossible for Francois to fully understand the depth of the cryptical books, so this Instance Dungeon was incomplete. Nevertheless, he believed it was as complete and sturdy as most Dungeons.

‘It collapsed? How in the world…?’

Francois couldn’t stop shivering… His head turned blank the moment he witnesses power that far surpassed his comprehension. In contrast, Chang-Sun just calmly read the message that popped up before him.

[Dragon Breath]

An Authority acquired through the training with the Celestials ‘Primordial Evil Dragon’ and ‘A Good Season to Hunt.’ Using an Element Ruler’s pure element, a Dragon Breath can be fired.

· Skill level: 1

· Type: Authority

· Effect: Element Domination. Damage Amplification. Impact Infection.

It was Chang-Sun’s first time using the technique in the real world since completing his training, but he didn’t like it. The grip on his sword felt a little loose when he launched it.

“I still have a long way to go,” Chang-Sun murmured.

“… A long… way to go?” Francois became more terrified. If Chang-Sun had a long way to go, then how powerful could he be once he had unlocked his full potential?

“Hey.” Chang-Sun looked at the stunned Francois.

Like a moth stuck to a cobweb, Francois felt helpless even though he could see the spider striding toward him. A magic spell? An Authority? Francois couldn’t find any solution. Not even the fact that he was an Elder Lich was much help to him.

“Are you not going to answer me?” Chang-Sun frowned, not liking Francois’ response.

Francois instinctively straightened his posture and loudly answered, “Y-yes, sir!”

His survival instincts kicked in before his rational judgment.

“Do that again,” Chang-Sun said.

“Excuse me…?”

“Use what you used on me just now, again.”

“Wh-what…?” Francois stammered.

Due to the neverending conversation, Chang-Sun’s face crumpled in annoyance. “Do you take after Heoju’s stupidity because you’re his subordinate? Use the technique you used to trap me, again. I want to practice.”

“…!”

“Keep me trapped until I tell you to stop. If you give up or become too tired to maintain the space, you’re dead meat.”

“…”

The Authority [Space Severance] took up eighty percent of Francois’ mana and stamina, yet he had to use it non-stop? Using it once or twice more would not just deplete his mana. It would be enough to desiccate his soul. However, he had to somehow do it anyway to survive…

Feeling his imminent, grim future, Francois’ cheeks became hollow.

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ shakes his head in disbelief, saying that out of all the people the Elder Lich could mess with, he chose you.]