Chapter 73 (1/2)
Su-hyeun was flustered as well. Only Miru remained unaffected by the event.
Gya-ong—?
Miru tilted its head with an expression that said, “I don’t get it.” Meanwhile, the blue dragon continued to bow its head towards the little Miru.
“…I got him after passing the tenth floor’s trial. More specifically, I passed the tenth floor’s trial and as my reward, I received the Divine Beast’s Egg,” said Su-hyeun.
“And you got this baby from that egg?”
“Yes.”
“So, a really high-tier Divine Beast came out of a Divine Beast’s Egg from a mere tenth floor’s trial….”
“The trial itself was set at the tenth level, after all. Also, I forcibly upped the achievement rate to full 100 percent, as well.”
“If it’s like that, then I can sort of understand, but still. If my Yong is lowering its head to the recently-hatched Miru, then that could only mean your kid is of higher tier than mine….”
Even if the difficulty was set high, the tenth floor’s trial was something Song Hyeong-gi passed by pretty soon after becoming an awakener. Never mind a Divine freaking Beast, he hadn’t even seen hair nor hide of a regular mythical beast in that place.
With the blue dragon continuing to bow its head, Miru began standing tall with a conceited, triumphant look on its face. It was kind of funny to see a hatchling only a day old acting like a top dog.
Su-hyeun looked at the blue dragon before his eyes and asked, “How old is this guy?”
“It’s not “guy,” but Yong.”
“…Okay, how old is Yong?”
“He’s five this year. Dragons only need to eat morning dew but they’ll still grow like crazy and become an adult in three years. Then they’ll live on for another thousand years after that.”
A thousand years.
That life expectancy was a lot longer than what Su-hyeun thought. A dragon becoming an adult in three years also greatly surprised him as well.
Song Hyeong-gi patted the head of the blue dragon and continued on. “It’s a sad thing, really. I’ll probably not live past a hundred years, but this child will have to live for another 900 without me. It’d be nice if my boy forgets about me and lives its life freely during those years.”
“You…really seem to love Divine Beasts.”
“Of course. These guys, they won’t ever betray you, unlike with humans. Unconditional trust and devotion, love — these things are impossible in human relationships, you see.” While saying that, Song Hyeong-gi continued to pat Yong’s head.
His boundless affection reserved for Divine Beasts was on full display. Su-hyeun heard this guy was a Divine Beast otaku, but never did he suspect the level of devotion to be this high.
Kurung, kururung—
The blue dragon seemed to be enjoying the sensation of Song Hyeong-gi’s hand because it slowly raised its head and snorted happily.
“By the way, why did you summon Yong in the first place?” Su-hyeun asked.
“Ah, I forgot. Hey, Yong?” Song Hyeong-gi had forgotten about why he summoned Yong thanks to the suddenly-developing situation. He hurriedly opened his mouth. “Can you ask Miru a couple of things? First of all…”
Song Hyeong-gi asked Yong several basic questions. The blue dragon nodded its head a few times and began chatting to Miru in some kind of dragon-speak.
Kurung, kurung—
Gya-ong, gya-ong—
Yong and Miru conversed for a while.
Of course, all Su-hyeun could hear was a bunch of grunts, growls and gya-ong noises.
“Do you understand what they are talking about?” Su-hyeun asked.
“Nope, no clue.”
“…In that case, there’s really no point even if Yong hears something from Miru, is there?”
“Keep your pants on, will you. I’ll let you know all in good time.”
Seeing how confident he was, he must’ve had something up his sleeve. So, Su-hyeun waited patiently until the conversation between one big dragon and one small one came to an end.
Soon afterward, Song Hyeong-gi placed his hand on Yong’s head began muttering something to the dragon. Judging by how he nodded his head in the middle of doing that, it seemed that holding a conversation with a Divine Beast seemed like an actual possibility.
“Thanks, Yong. You did great. See you later, okay?”
Gurung, gurururu—
At Song Hyeong-gi’s wave of hand, the blue dragon vanished into thin air. It seemed that the creature had returned to where it was residing originally.
Now only Miru remained.
“I see, so you can actually understand your creature,” said Su-hyeun.
“It’s kind of like being an interpreter. It ain’t a skill, though. But, once your familiarity with your Divine Beast gets high enough, you can start sharing your thoughts with it to some degree.”
“It’s not a skill, you say?”
“That’s right. Surprised? There’s no separate interpreter skill because there’s no need for one. If you don’t put in the necessary work, your Divine Beast won’t ever open up to you.”
“I’ll definitely take your advice to heart.”
Next up, Song Hyeong-gi shared the information related to Miru with Su-hyeun, such as what to feed the little guy, what the fundamental traits of dragons were, how to raise a Divine Beast, and things of such nature.
Even though such information could be seen as a type of secret know-how to some, Song Hyeong-gi didn’t hold back on anything. It seemed that he really wanted to see Miru grow up well.
“Also, regarding Miru’s identity… Apparently, even Yong doesn’t seem to know,” said Song Hyeong-gi.
“It doesn’t?”
“Yeah. Kind of like, its head just lowered by itself. ‘I thought I simply had to do it’ is what Yong said. Miru must be from a superior species than my Yong.”
“Is there a hierarchy within the dragon species?”
“Sure, there are some within this large framework called the dragons. Don’t forget that among dragons, there’s also the matter of bloodlines, too. Of course, my Yong wouldn’t have instantly lowered its head like that if it was merely the difference in one’s bloodlines.”
Su-hyeun still failed to fully comprehend the true value of Miru and formed a dumbfounded expression, prompting Song Hyeong-gi to tut unhappily.
“You better take a good care of him. You’re pretty much Miru’s dad from now on. You really got blessed by the heavens this time.”
“You think so?”
In all honesty, it still didn’t hit home with Su-hyeun yet. If Song Hyeong-gi’s blue dragon hadn’t bowed to Miru, then he’d be having a hard time believing that such a little dragon was from a seriously impressive bloodline.
That line of thinking had to change after he heard what Miru’s abilities were, of course.
“Okay, then. I’m leaving now. I’m going to stop by every now and then, so you better open the door when I do,” said Song Hyeong-gi.
“Thank you for all your help.”
“If I think for a second that you’re failing as a parent, I’m gonna take him away so better keep that in mind, okay?”
Su-hyeun nodded his head at Song Hyeong-gi’s intimidating declaration. “I will. If I think I won’t be able to handle it, I’ll leave it in your hands.”
Gya-ong—!
Unlike Su-hyeun, however, Miru cried out in an angry tone of voice as if it didn’t want Song Hyeong-gi to show up again.
It seemed that the little guy really didn’t want to go anywhere near Song Hyeong-gi.
Shu-ah-ahk—
Song Hyeong-gi’s figure disappeared from sight. Su-hyeun quietly watched him become a small dot on the horizon and eventually disappear before shifting his gaze back to Miru, who was wrapping himself around his neck.